contents american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 1 weight for height of children in nepal maya nath ghimire 1 & ram krishna maharjan 2 1 mewar university, rajasthan, india 2 tribhuvan university, kathmandu, nepal correspondence: maya nath ghimire, mewar university, india. email: mayanathghimire@gmail.com received: october 09, 2017 accepted: october 12, 2017 online published: january 4, 2018 abstract health is more important for the physical and mental growth and development of children. the children under five years are considered as a critical stage for their future development. food plays vital role in development of children health. in this relation, the study has explored and analysed weight for height of children of 3-5 years with reference to age and gender. the study was conducted in rural area of makawanpur and chitawan districts of nepal among the 1250 samples.the study found that in total, 4.3% children were in sever/worst malnourished (-3sd) of weight for height. similarly, 8.7% children were in moderate malnourished (-2sd), and 26.9% were in mild malnourished (-1sd). the study found that there was very slightly different in nutritional status of chepang and non chepang children. keywords: height, mid-upper arms circumference (muac), malnutrition, under-nutrition, weight. 1. introduction child growth is dependent on the weight for height. if weight for height is not according to children they are called under-nutrition or malnutrition.if a child has a chronic nutritional deficiencies and frequent bouts of illness in early life is best indicated by the infant’s growth in length and the child’s growth in height. stunted is the cause of day to day nutritional deficiencies. they may not gain height in later age; those who live in developing countries (gon, mohp, dohs, 2010). while a deficit in height i.e. stunting is difficult to correct, underweight can be recovered if nutrition and health is improved later in childhood. if the compromised of height at age is covered at the age of four to five, it masks the imbalance of nutrition during pregnancy period. (unicef, 2009). childhood malnutrition is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. it is a complicating factor for other illnesses. the situation of child malnutrition in nepal is very high due to the cultural, social, economic, educational and political structure of nepal(chapagain, et al., 2004). stunting, underweight and wasting are more common in mid and far-west hills, and mountain areas than other parts of the country. approximately 50% children in nepal are undernourished out of which 49% are stunting, 39% are underweight and 12% are wasting(sharma, 2012). the immediate implication of malnutrition is weight loss and faltering growth, as well as increased susceptibility to disease. the long term effect of malnutrition or stunting has intergenerational www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 2 implication as well. bhattarai and colleagues(2012) explored that regarding children, two third of male and 50% female were malnourished. similarly, 51.2% of male and 28% of female were found stunted indicating chronic malnutrition and 39% of male and 42% of female were found suffering chronic energy deficiency (thinness) while 3% male had class-i obesity and they were overweight. almost all of the children were forced to the moderate work, due to cultural impact, lack of awareness and social bad impact. “adult man, women and children from 13 months to 5 years obtained total energy from their daily food” (bhattarai, rai, & rai, 2012, p. 222). there are different causes of under-nutrition. they are economical, cultural, environmental, lack of awareness, etc. to come out of these different causes food security policy act is needed. however, “in nepal, a separate policy for food safety and quality doesn’t exit. how as expects of food safety and quality have been reflected in other policy and strategies such as nepal plan of action on nutrition 1998, multi-sectorial nutritional plan 2013 have stressed the impotence of food safety and quality. food safety and quality policy has been drafted and yet to be approved by the government of nepal.” (wasti & purna, 2013, p. 8). 2. materials & method "a research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure"(kothari, 2009). a research design provides the framework for the collection and analysis of data. this research was an explorative based on mixed method. through such research we can analyse the various factors which motivate people to behave in particular manner or which make people like or dislike in food intake in chepang community of chitawan and makawanpur districts of nepal. this study was non-experimental cross sectional. primary data were collected by using the structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. simple frequency distribution was applied to identify the nutrition status of 3-5 years children. comparative study was conducted between the chepang and non-chepang communities. as well as through fgds qualitative data were collected and narrated. quantitative data, cross-sectional survey method has been used. a well-structured questionnaire and measurement of weight and height were used to determine the nutritional status of children of socio-economic, environmental, demographic and household deprivation on nutritional status of the 3-5 years children in rural areas of chitawan and makawanpur districts in chepang communities. it was compared with brahman/chhetri of 3-5 years children. census method was used for questionnaire survey from chepang population 3-5 year children household for data collection. the key informants were 3-5 years children households. quantitative data were gathered by structured questions containing height, weight and mid-upper arms circumference (muac) measurement. the anthropometric measure as well as department of health and who standards were used for the determination of nutritional status of 3-5 years children. standard deviation of score (z-score) for weight-for-age (waz), height-for-age (haz) and weight-for-height (whz) were calculated. 3. objectives of the research the main objective of this study is to explore and analyse weight for height of children of 3-5 years with reference to age and gender. 4. result & discussion 4.1 sex-wise no. of children in family the collected data show that 49.3% boys and 50.7% girls were found. among them, 49.9% non-chepang and 48.8% chepang boys were reported. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 3 table 1: sex-wise no. of children in family district ethnicity male female total makawanpur non-chepang # 158 155 313 % 50.5 49.5 100 chepang # 123 152 275 % 44.7 55.3 100 total # 281 307 588 % 47.8 52.2 100 chitawan non-chepang # 97 101 198 % 49.0 51.0 100 chepang # 238 226 464 % 51.3 48.7 100 total # 335 327 662 % 50.6 49.4 100 total non-chepang # 255 256 511 % 49.9 50.1 100 chepang # 361 378 739 % 48.8 51.2 100 total # 616 634 1250 % 49.3 50.7 100 the above table shows that 50.5% non-chepang and 44.7% chepang were boys from makawanpur district. similarly, from chitawan district, 49% non-chepang and 51.3% chepang were boys. district-wise, boys' participation was higher from chitawan district whereas girls were higher from makawanpur district. 4.2 age of children (in months) the study was focused among the 3-5 years (36-60 months) children. among them, exact age of children was collected. age was calculated in months. in total, 24.9% children were of 36 months, 16.6% were between 37-41 months, 7.8% were between 42-46 months, 22.9% were between 47-51 months, 5% were between 52-56 months, and 22.9% were between 57-60 months. comparatively, majority children were of 36 months. table 2: age of children (in months) district ethnicity 36 37-41 42-46 47-51 52-56 57-60 total makawanpur non-chepang # 110 11 7 110 4 71 313 % 35.1 3.5 2.2 35.1 1.3 22.7 100 chepang # 113 12 17 64 15 54 275 % 41.1 4.4 6.2 23.3 5.5 19.6 100 total # 223 23 24 174 19 125 588 % 37.9 3.9 4.1 29.6 3.2 21.3 100 chitawan non-chepang # 21 52 34 25 19 47 198 % 10.6 26.3 17.2 12.6 9.6 23.7 100 chepang # 67 133 39 87 24 114 464 % 14.4 28.7 8.4 18.8 5.2 24.6 100 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 4 total # 88 185 73 112 43 161 662 % 13.3 27.9 11.0 16.9 6.5 24.3 100 total non-chepang # 131 63 41 135 23 118 511 % 25.6 12.3 8.0 26.4 4.5 23.1 100 chepang # 180 145 56 151 39 168 739 % 24.4 19.6 7.6 20.4 5.3 22.7 100 total # 311 208 97 286 62 286 1250 % 24.9 16.6 7.8 22.9 5.0 22.9 100 the above table shows that 24.9% children were of 36 months in makawanpur district whereas majority of children were between 37-41 months in chitawan district. ethnicity wise also, 41.1% chepang children were of 36 months and 35.1% non-chepang children were 36 months in makawanpur district. similarly, in chitawan district, majority 28.7% chepang children and 26.3% non-chepang were between 3741 months. 4.3 total family members in a family 50.5% respondents reported that they had less than 5 members in a family, 34.6% had 5-8 members, 12.8% had 8-11 members, 1.7% had 11-14 and 0.4% had more than 14 members in a family. table 3: total family members in a family district ethnicity less than 5 5-8 8-11 11-14 more than 14 total makawanpur non-chepang # 193 96 22 1 1 313 % 61.7 30.7 7.0 0.3 0.3 100 chepang # 104 125 37 7 2 275 % 37.8 45.5 13.5 2.5 0.7 100 total # 297 221 59 8 3 588 % 50.5 37.6 10.0 1.4 0.5 100 chitawan non-chepang # 130 49 19 198 % 65.7 24.7 9.6 100 chepang # 204 163 82 13 2 464 % 44.0 35.1 17.7 2.8 0.4 100 total # 334 212 101 13 2 662 % 50.5 32.0 15.3 2.0 0.3 100 total non-chepang # 323 145 41 1 1 511 % 63.2 28.4 8.0 0.2 0.2 100 chepang # 308 288 119 20 4 739 % 41.7 39.0 16.1 2.7 0.5 100 total # 631 433 160 21 5 1250 % 50.5 34.6 12.8 1.7 0.4 100 the above table shows that 50.5% family had less than 5 members in both makawanpur and chitawan districts. similarly, ethnicity wise, 37.8% chepang in comparison with 61.7% non-chepang had less than 5 members whereas 0.7% chepang and 0.3% non-chepang had more than 14 members in a family in makawanpur district. similarly, 44% chepang in comparison with 65.7% non-chepang had less than 5 members whereas 0.4% www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 5 chepang had more than 14 members in a family in chitawan district. number of family members was found high in chepang in both districts as comparison with other non-chepang communities. 4.4 weight for height of children the weight for height of children was identified on the basis of nutritional measurement scale developed by the world health organization (who). the table 4 shows that in total, 4.3% children were in sever/worst malnourished (-3sd) of weight for height. similarly, 8.7% children were in moderate malnourished (-2sd), and 26.9% were in mild malnourished (-1sd). table 4: weight for height of children wfh non-chepang chepang total # % # % -1sd 142 42.3 194 57.7 336 -2sd 35 32.1 74 67.9 109 -3sd 22 41.5 31 58.5 53 median 94 41 135 59 229 1sd 98 49.7 99 50.3 197 2sd 37 49.3 38 50.7 75 3sd 64 49 67 51 131 na 19 16.2 98 83.8 117 total 511 41 736 59 1247 the results support the research finding of baseline survey report of tanahu that “27% children were suffering from severe and moderate undernutrition and 7% were having severe and moderate wasting indicating acute malnutrition"(united mission to nepal, 2003, p. vi). 5. conclusion the study has focused to explore the weight for height of chepang and non-chepang children of makawanpur and chitawan districts of nepal in relation to malnutrition status as defined by who guideline. the study found that there was very slightly different in nutritional status of chepang and non chepang children. in total, 4.3% children were in sever/worst malnourished (-3sd) of weight for height. similarly, 8.7% children were in moderate malnourished (-2sd), and 26.9% were in mild malnourished (-1sd).the findings of this study is similar to the research finding of baseline survey report of tanahu district of nepal.the study strongly recommend to study on the same issue in other districts and other age groups too. references bhattarai, r. r., rai, b. k., & rai, s. (2012). relating indigenous knowledge and food security in athapahariya community of dhankuta district. organizing committee, national conference on food science and technology, food conerence-2012) 10-11 august, 2012.4, pp. 213-223. kathmadu: organizing committee, national conference on food science and technology (food conference 2012. chapagain, r., adhikari, a., dahal, r., subedi, j., bhengero, j., willams-bhengero, s., & towne, b. (2004). a study of nutritional status of under 5 jirel children of eastern nepal. journal of nepal health research council, 2(2), 64-67. gon, mohp, dohs. (2010). tracking progress on child and maternal nutrition in nepal: a survival and development priority. kathmandu: government of nepal, ministry of health and population, department of health services. retrieved from www.aapd.org/assets/1/25/shulman-17-01.pdf www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 6 sharma, k. (2012). malnutrition in children aged 6-59 months in mugu district. journal of nepal health research council, 10(20), 156-159. retrieved march 9, 2015, from file:///c:/users/dasarath%20neupane/downloads/312-311-1-pb.pdf unicef. (2009). tracking progress on child on maternal nutrition in nepal: a survival and development priority. retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/tracking_progress_on_child_and_maternal_nutrition_en_1 10309.pdf united mission to nepal. (2003). nutritional status of children under five year and women of reproductive age in tanahu. kathmandu: united mission to nepal. wasti, u. k., & purna, c. (2013). food safety and legislation in nepal. food safety and nutrition (pp. 7-16). kathmandu: organizing committee, inter-country workshop on food safety and nutrition. . copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research; vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 13 socio-economic profile of the union members in apsrtc:a case study of visakhapatnam city r. lydia 1 & b. ravi kumar 2 1 department of mba, vijaya institute of management, india 2 department of mba, amrita sai institute of science and technology, india correspondence: b. ravi kumar, amrita sai institute of science and technology, india to cite this article: lydia, r., & kumar, b. r. (2018). socio-economic profile of the union members in apsrtc:a case study of visakhapatnam city. american international journal of social science research, 3(1), 13-21. retrieved from http://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr/article/view/139 received: august 15, 2018 accepted: august 29, 2018 online published: september 6, 2018 abstract trade unions help in accelerated pace of economic development in many ways. they are helping in the recruitment and selection of workers, inculcating discipline among the workforce, enabling settlement of industrial disputes in a rational manner and helping social adjustments with their activities. workers have to adjust themselves to the new working conditions, the new rules and policies. workers coming from different backgrounds may become disorganized, unsatisfied and frustrated. unions will help them in such adjustment. the present study is an attempt to portray the socio-economic-profile of the sample respondents (union members) with reference to visakhapatnam city. keywords: apsrtc, age wise distribution, caste, gender wise distribution, income wise distribution, religion, union members, visakhapatnam city. 1. introduction the existence of a strong and recognized trade union is a pre-requisite to industrial peace. decisions taken through the process of collective bargaining and negotiations between employer and unions are more influential. trade unions play an important role and are helpful in effective communication between the workers and the management. they provide the advice and support to ensure that the differences of opinion do not turn into major conflicts. the central function of a trade union is to represent people at work. but they also have a wider role in protecting their interests. they also play an important educational role, organizing courses for their members on a wide range of matters. seeking a healthy and safe working environment is also prominent feature of union activity. trade unions are a part of society and as such, have to take into consideration the national integration as well. some important social responsibilities of trade unions include promoting and maintaining national integration by reducing the number of industrial disputes, incorporating a sense of corporate social responsibility in workers and achieving industrial peace. hence, the trade unionism in india developed quite slowly as compared to the western nations. indian trade union movement can be divided into three phases. 2. purpose of the study the primary objective of the study is to portray the socio-economic profile of the sample union members with reference to visakhapatnam city. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 14 research design 3. results and discussion table – 1: gender wise distribution of the sample union members in apsrtc gender unions total nmu eu citu male 116 (77.3) 28 (93.3) 20 (100.0) 164 (82.0) female 34 (22.7) 2 (6.7) 36 (18.0) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) figure – 1:gender-wise distribution of the sample union members in apsrtc the table 1: shows the distribution of male and female employees in apsrtc working under three different unions. the above table depicts out of total employees 4/5 th employees are male as male are more preferred to this trade compared to females and in that most of the employees are working under nmu union compared to eu and citu. table – 2: age wise distribution of the sample union members in apsrtc age unions total nmu eu citu 20-29 years 26 (17.3) 3 (10.0) 29 (14.5) 30-39 years 69 (46.0) 5 (16.7) 13 (65.0) 87 (43.5) 40-49 years 38 (25.3) 14 (46.7) 3 (15.0) 55 (27.5) 50-59 years 17 (11.3) 8 (26.7) 4 (20.0) 29 (14.5) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) sampling area visakhapatnam city sample size 200 sampling unit apsrtc sampling method convenience sampling www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 15 figure – 2: age wise distribution of the sample union members in apsrtc the above table 2: shows the age wise distribution of the employees working under three unions. most of the employees are working under nmu union and when the total employees are distributed age wise most of them (43.5%) are of age group 30-39 years which indicates earning age group(30-39yrs) are preferring as a union members when compare with other age groups. table – 3: distribution of the sample union members by their religion religion unions total nmu eu citu hindu 114 (76.0) 19 (63.3) 14 (70.0) 147 (73.5) muslim 7 (4.7) 1 (3.3) 8 (4.0) christian 29 (19.3) 10 (33.3) 6 (30.0) 45 (22.5) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) figure – 3: distribution of the sample union members by their religion the above table 3: shows the distribution of employees according to their religion working under three different unions. out of total employees most of them (75%) are working under nmu union and in all three unions most of them are hindus (73.5%) and very less members are muslims (4.0%). www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 16 table4: distribution of the sample union members by their caste caste unions total nmu eu citu o.c 43 (28.7) 12 (40.0) 4 (20.0) 59 (29.5) b.c 76 (50.7) 8 (26.7) 9 (45.0) 93 (46.5) s.c 31 (20.7) 10 (33.3) 7 (35.0) 48 (24.0) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) figure – 4: distribution of the sample union members by their caste the above table 4: explains about the caste of employees working under three different unions. out of the total employees, 3/4 th are working in nmu union in which half of them belong to backward caste and in remaining half, open category employees are more compared to schedule caste. in eu union open category are more than scheduled class and the least are backward class of employees whereas in citu backward class are more compared to schedule class and the least are open category. table – 5: distribution of the sample union members of their marital status marital status unions total nmu eu citu unmarried 22 (14.7) 4 (13.3) 5 (25.0) 31 (15.5) married 128 (85.3) 26 (86.7) 15 (75.0) 169 (84.5) divorce widower total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 17 figure – 5: distribution of the sample union members of their marital status the above table 5: shows the distribution of unmarried and married employees working under three different unions. out of three unions employees working in nmu are more compared to eu and citu and in overall 3/4 th are married and 1/4 th are unmarried which indicates married are more preferred to work in this department compared to unmarried. table – 6: distribution of the sample union members by their level of education level of education unions total nmu eu citu bellow ssc 14 (9.3) 4 (13.3) 2 (10.0) 20 (10.0) ssc 45 (30.0) 12 (40.0) 5 (25.0) 62 (31.0) intermediate 63 (42.0) 7 (23.3) 8 (40.0) 78 (39.0) graduate 24 (16.0) 5 (16.7) 4 (20.0) 33 (16.5) post graduate 4 (2.7) 2 (6.7) 1 (5.0) 7 (3.5) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) figure – 6: distribution of the sample union members by their level of education the above table 6: shows the level of education of the employees working under three unions. the above table www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 18 depicts that out of total employees, employee with ssc and intermediate qualification are more compared to other educational background which indicates higher qualification people (graduates & post graduates) do not prefer to work in this particular trade. table – 7: distribution of the sample union members by their designation designation unions total nmu eu citu 4 th class 11 (7.3) 2 (6.7) 13 (6.5) mechanic 6 (4.0) 4 (13.3) 2 (10.0) 12 (6.0) driver 54 (36.0) 14 (46.7) 12 (60.0) 80 (40.0) conductor 79 (52.7) 10 (33.3) 6 (30.0) 95 (47.5) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) figure–7: distribution of the sample union members by their designation the above table 7: shows the distribution of sample respondents in terms of their designation under three unions of employees. a significant amount of members are in nmu union working as conductors (52.7%) followed by drivers (36%). among the eu, 46.7 percent of the employees are drivers, followed by 33.3 percent conductors, 13.3 percent mechanics and the least 6.7 percent are 4 th class employees. whereas, under citu 60.0 percent are drivers, followed by 30.0 percent conductors. hence, overall conductors (47.5%) dominate, followed by drivers (40.0%). table – 8: distribution of the sample union members by their traditional occupation of the family family occupation unions total nmu eu citu agriculture 14 (9.3) 2 (6.7) 2 (10.0) 18 (9.0) business 9 (6.0) 2 (6.7) 2 (10.0) 13 (6.5) caste based profession 15 (10.0) 2 (6.7) 2 (10.0) 19 (9.5) employment 112 (74.7) 24 (80.0) 14 (70.0) 150 (75.0) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 19 figure – 8: distribution of the sample union members by their traditional occupation of the family the above table specifies about traditional occupation of the family among three unions in apsrtc. out of the total respondents from all the union employees, majority of their traditional occupation of the family (75.0%) are employees and from the remaining 9.5 percent are caste based profession, 9.0 percent are of their family occupation are agriculture and the remaining very few (6.5%) are business people. table – 9: distribution of the sample union employees of their previous occupation occupation unions total nmu eu citu student 73 (48.7) 13 (43.3) 12 (60.0) 98 (49.0) un employment 64 (42.7) 10 (33.3) 4 (20.0) 78 (39.0) employed 11 (7.3) 3 (10.0) 4 (20.0) 18 (9.0) daily wage earners 2 (1.3) 4 (13.3) 6 (3.0) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) figure–9: distribution of the sample union employees of their previous occupation www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 20 the above table-9 explains about the distribution of the above three types of union employees in apsrtc by their previous occupation. out of the total respondents from all the union employees of their previous occupation, most of them (49.0%) are students and from the remaining 39.0 percent are un employed, 9.0 percent are employed and the remaining very few (3.0%) are daily wage earners. table – 10: distribution of the sample union employees of their annual income of the family annual income (rs.) unions total nmu eu citu less than 50,000 2 (1.3) 2 (1.0) 50,000 1 lakh 92 (61.3) 10 (33.3) 14 (70.0) 116 (58.0) 1 2 lakhs 54 (36.0) 20 (66.7) 5 (25.0) 79 (39.5) 2 4 lakhs 2 (1.3) 1 (5.0) 3 (1.5) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) figure – 10: distribution of the sample union employees of their annual income of the family the above table infers about the annual income of the family among the three unions. out of the total respondents from all the union employees, more than half percent of employees family annual income is between rs 50,000 to 1 lakh then about 39.5% of employees annual income is between 1 to 2 lakhs and near or about 1% employees income is either low i.e less than 50,000 or more i.e. between 2 to 4 lakhs. table – 11: experience of the sample union employees working in this profession experience unions total nmu eu citu below 5 years 20 (13.3) 3 (10.0) 3 (15.0) 26 (13.0) 6-10 years 68 (45.3) 7 (23.3) 9 (45.0) 84 (42.0) 11-15 years 29 (19.3) 9 (30.0) 2 (10.0) 40 (20.0) 16-20 years 33 (22.0) 11 (36.7) 6 (30.0) 50 (25.0) total 150 (100.0) 30 (100.0) 20 (100.0) 200 (100.0) www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 21 figure – 11: period of the sample union employees working in this profession table-11 designates the distribution professional experience among the three types of union in apsrtc. majority of the employees (42.0%) are having 6-10 years of experience, 13.0 percent are having below 5 years of experience as union employees. among the total employees of nmu, most of them (45.3%) are having 6-10 years of experience as a union employee, whereas eu employees, majority of their experience as a union employee (36.7%) are having 16-20 years of experience and 30.0 percent are having 11-15 years of experience,. from the total citu employees of their experience as union employees in apsrtc, most of them (45.0%) are having 6-10 years of experience. 4. findings  the data reveals that male employees in apsrtc are dominating the female employees in number, and among which majority group of employees are from backward caste followed by forward caste and schedule caste. while most of the employees are married, a significant number of employees are unmarried.  the education levels of the employees indicate that a dominated group are with intermediate qualification (39.0%) followed by ssc (31.0%), graduates (16.5%) and post graduates  out of the total employees selected for data, conductors (47.5%) are dominating with their number followed by drivers (40.0%) and very few are 4 th class employees.  according to the data, in nmu and citu majority group of employees are with 6-10 years of experience, but in the case of eu, majority group of employees are having more than 11 years experience in the organization, and it shows that in three unions most of respondents are joined during 1999 to 2005 as union employees. 5. references anjana raju, jim barreto. (1999).trade unionism in goa: a case study of zuhari industries ltd. and goa shipyard, management and labour studies.24(4),219-224. arya, p.p. (1982). labour management relations in public sector undertakings, new delhi, deep and deep publications. bernstein, i.(1954).the growth of american unions. american economic review. chatterji, rakhhari. (1980).union politics and the state – a study, mathur. a.s., and raman, r.trade union leadership in india. agra university, journal of indian labour politics, new delhi, south asia publishing. davio e. guest and philip dewe. (1988).why do workers belong to trade unions? a social psychological study in the uk electronic industry. british journal of industrial relations (london),26(2),178-93. deal, h.s. (1985).trade unionism in public sector a case study of punjab state electricity board, unpublished ph.d. thesis, patiala, punjab university. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 102 violence against women in bangladesh and how we can prevent it? kaniz tania bint-e-basar1 , dewan md. al-amin1 & md. mostofa1 1department of law, faculty of arts, social science & law, bangladesh university, bangladesh correspondence: kaniz tania bint-e-basar, department of law, faculty of arts, social science & law, bangladesh university, bangladesh, e-mail: ktbb2008@gmail.com, tel: +88 01712184268 received: april 12, 2018 accepted: april 29, 2018 online published: may 24, 2018 abstract this paper examines violence against women (vaw) takes place in different sectors in bangladesh. there are various types of violence in our country i.e. physical, sexual, domestic violence, killing, rape etc. socio-economic aspect also plays a pivotal role in violence against women. there are some common features of vaw like polygamy, extra-marital or pre-marital relations, lack of social and economic security, lack of proper education and cybercrime. unemployment is also one of the main reasons of vaw in bangladesh. prevention measures should be taken by family, society and also by the state machine to prevent vaw. implementation of domestic laws of vaw and monitoring system and social awareness will be the effective measures to prevent this criminal activity from the society and from the state. keywords: violence against women, reasons behind the violence, prevention of vaw, enacted laws in bangladesh. 1. introduction violation against woman (vaw) takes various forms such as discrimination, intimidation, harassment, torture and also physical abuse not simply from state organs but also from their own family and other private organizations. violence and gender-based violence and typologies of violence range from emotional to physical and sexual violence. the vicious cycles of violence that a girl experiences begin from the womb (female infanticide, lack nutrition, and health care) to various stages of nutrition, rape, forced prostitution) to adulthood (dowry, killing, intimate partner violence, domestic violence )till old age (widow abuse). status quo of gender-based violence indicates that 56% of women entered their marriage before they were 18 years old and 87% of women had experienced some form of violence at the hands of their current husbands. the incidence of physical and sexual violence experienced by married women where the perpetrators are their husbands stand at 65% and 36.5% respectively and only 77% of women reported violence at the hands of their husbands. compared to urban areas, the prevalence rate of such incidences is higher in rural areas. in rural areas, 43% of unmarried adolescent girls are www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 103 sexually harassed on their way to school, college or social visits (alam, roy, ahmed 2009). not only in our country but also in many parts of the world are regularly subjected to mental and physical violence or sexual abuse, such as incest, rape, dowry deaths, wife battering and forced sterilization. 2. literature review although violence by men against women in bangladesh occurs in most cases within the home, in a larger sense it does not originate in the home nor persist only within the home. it is simply one element in a system that subordinates women through social norms that define women's place and guide their conduct. (schuler, s. r., et al., 1996). using data from a population‐based survey of 2,702 women of reproductive age and from 28 in‐depth interviews of abused women conducted during 2000–01, this study explores factors associated with domestic violence in urban and rural bangladesh. multilevel analysis revealed that in both residential areas, dowry or other demands in marriage and a history of abuse of the husband's mother by his father increased the risk of violence. better spousal communication and husband's education beyond the tenth grade decreased the risk of violence. in the urban area, women's being younger than their husband and participating in savings and credit groups increased the risk of abuse, whereas husband's education beyond the sixth grade had a protective effect. in the rural area, women's earning an income increased the risk. these factors are important to consider when designing interventions. (naved, r. t., et al., 2005). violence against women has many forms including physical aggression or threats, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, controlling or domineering, intimidation, stalking, passive/covert abuse, and economic deprivations. alcohol consumption and mental illness can be co-morbid with abuse and present additional challenges when present alongside patterns of abuse. (khan, n. t., begum, et al., 2017). violence against women (vaw) is the most obvious gender-specific violation of human rights and is a form of discrimination against women [1]. it enforces women`s subordination and patriarchal structures throughout all levels of society, leading to issues such as the undervaluation of women`s economic contributions. vaw is not only embedded in gender norms; gender norms are also constructed through vaw, and “the low status of women – economically, socially, culturally and politically both constitutes and enables the further denial of human rights in gender-specific ways, often at the hands of family members, male and female” (reilly, 2009, p.78). thus, vaw both reflects and determines gendered social structures (mcmillan, 2007). that is why framing vaw as a human rights violation requiring immediate action is crucial to challenge the economic, social and cultural marginalization of women in bangladesh. 3. research methodology this research article is mainly based on qualitative method. secondary source has been applied for this research article such as books, articles, journals, enacted laws, newspaper, media, national and international organizational functions and activities also help to interpret and to analyze data for this research article. 4. objective of the research the objective of the study is to identify and know the reason of the vaw and its preventive measure and the implementation of the domestic laws for the breach of women rights. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 104 5. data analysis and interpretation 5.1 the reasons behind vaw in view of the seriousness of violence against women noted above, this study makes an attempt to discern the causes of the problem. additionally, it suggests some preventive measures. female, being bride has to face serious problems from the very beginning her family and conjugal life. regrettably members of husband's family hardly understand these difficulties of the bride and as a result, it occurs various vaw. some common victims of violence are • maidservants who become the victims of violence for want of moral, social and legal norm; • female employees who are being harassed at the workplace by their colleagues. female students are being stalked by their classmates in the educational institutions; • domestic violence which takes place from the time of entering the matrimonial house of women and in bangladesh. it causes dowry death, hurt, murder culpable homicide, suicide etc; • dower is women's right but dowry is prohibited.in practice, dower cause in a written form in marriage contract and wife can claim for the recovery of dower at any time.unfortunately, there is no written document to recover the amount of dower from the husband. in addition to that, if women are incapable to fulfill the payment of the demanded dowry, she faces humiliation, mental torture, verbal and physical abuses, even murder by her husband and in-laws. having known the victims of violence against women, it is important to maintain the dominant causes of the menace. below are described some of the causes. beside this the women's in our country are not aware of their rights, as a result, they are victim various violation of rights ; first, polygamy, extra-marital or pre-marital relationships are common causes of violence against women. even after marriage, some people continue their previous relationship without caring about wife's emotional condition due to this. this leads to quarrels and eventually maltreatment by the husband. second, in bangladesh, there are some social middle-class norms for which women subjected to violence remain silent because the society doesn't take the matter as a breach of rights or violation against a woman. there is no social and economic security on behalf of the women. most of the time a woman is derived from her right by her husband, brother or nearest family members. as a result, the violation of rights begins with her own family. third, women in our country are not properly educated and independent and they have no freedom of speech or expression in the family thought she may play an important role in the family, society, and country.these are also an important cause of violation of women's rights. fourth, nowadays cyber crimes are of gender nature and they target men and women alike. but there are certain cyber crimes that are more likely to target women than their male counterparts. these include cyberstalking, cyber harassment, email/profile hacking, spoofing, cyber pornography including porn, internet voyeurism defamation, cyber blackmailing, threaten, emotional cheating by impersonation, intimate partner violence through internet and abetment of such offenses. women's right in the cyberspace are abused in many ways in bangladesh and use of internet and mobile phones to stalk, abuse, intimidate and humiliate women's rampant. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 105 cyber pornography which refers to pornography of sexual material on the web is another facet of cyber crimes. criminals often rape or molest a girl, capture the incident by a web camera or mobile phone and spread the video over the internet. these incidents are becoming alarmingly common even in the rural area s of bangladesh. cyberstalking can be terribly frightening. it alarms, torments and terrorizes a girl. it can destroy friendships, careers; self-image, and confidence.if coupled with real space stalking, cyberstalking, and cyberstalking can lead the victim to far greater physical danger including suicide attempts. fifth, unemployment in our country is one of the causes of violence against women. it was mostly seen that men and women are not properly employee according to their qualification. as a result, vaw and crime are increasing day by day. sixth, psychopaths contend that offenders lend into criminality on account of functional deviations and mental conflicts. freud explained mental conflicts in the personality of criminals in terms of ‘id', ‘ego', and ‘superego' he asserted that ‘id', generates basic biological and physiological urges and impulse in a person such as sexual desire, hunger, affection for kith and kins, lust for power etc. while ego refers to the conscious personality of which the individuals are aware.although the desire for sex and hunger are basic urges of a person yet he is all the time conscious that only the righteous means to fulfill these desires protect his personality and any deviation from the normal course shall cast aspersions on his personality. lastly, men and women lend into criminality because they cannot foresee the possible consequence of their acts and are unable to adjust to the complexities of modern life. their incapability to distinguish between right and wrong or to four see the danger of defection is yet another cause of their criminal behavior. 5.2. preventive measure combating of vaw implies an ecological interpretation of sociological problems. therefore, in order to hold in check the incidence of crime, the conditions conducive to criminality must also be kept under control. there is a need for ‘socializing' the administration of criminal justice by greater public participation and invention by representations of the community, both in criminal court proceedings and in the execution of sentences. thus criminal justice and the community must be brought closer together since these who judge and those who are judged are both parts of the society. social participation in the administration of criminal justice is possible through the introduction of the jury system, honorary magistrates, people's assessors, technical advisers and administrative boards. 5.3. laws to combat vaw observing the frequency and expansion of vaw, there have been continuous discussions about the enactment of the law in this regard.special laws have been enacted for preventing domestic violence. these are: • in bangladesh the domestic violence (prevention and protection) act, 2010 is a positive initiative by the government for addressing domestic violence against women.in case of physical or psychological abuse for dowry, women can take resort to the act. • the dowry prohibition act 1980 provides, demanding dowry a punishable offense. • in 2009, hcd has issued few directives (bnwla vs bangladesh, 14 blc hcd 694) which have been treated as a law to ensure the security of women at the workplace in absence of any special law. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 106 • the nari shishu nirjaton daman ain, 2000 has been enacted to protect women and children from private and public offenses committed against them. • the information and communication technology act, 2006 (icta) and the pornography control act, 2012(pca) are important to deal with cyber crimes. beside these special laws we have some ordinary laws like penal code 1860, also ensured crime or violence against women. • it can be noted that existent of law, by itself, is not enough to deal with the issue. it needs education of the people, awareness of the people and above all know about the laws. 5.4. international perspective the vienna declaration focuses upon the rights of women as human rights. the declaration notes: the human rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of human rights. the full and equal participation of women in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life, at the national, regional and international levels, and the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex are priority objectives of the international community.in order to overcome this lawlessness, the united nations general assembly adopted a declaration on the elimination of violence against women. the declaration provides an expansive definition of the term ‘violence against women’ taking it to mean: ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or is psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, certain or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.' the declaration calls upon all states to condemn violence against women and not to invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to justify the continuation of any such violence. the provision is particularly aimed at those societies which continue to justify such policies as female circumcision, sati or dowry as part of the divine ordinance or an integral part of their culture and traditions. the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women has been described as the international bill of rights for women. its many positive aspects include courage of a family comprehensive range of rights and a useful state reporting mechanism which has more recently been supplemented by an individual complaint procedure. "end violence against women and girl child" was a 16 days of activism against gender-based violence programme in 2015. there were some principles. • the inclusion of chapter on morality and values and puberty to be included. • widespread awareness complains regarding the contribution of women in family, society, and state. • change of age-old attitude towards in society. • increasing participation of women in politics and administration. • making education up to hsc free for girls. • recognition of the economic value of women’s households work. • recognizing that women are also a human being and ensuring their right to a life of dignity. • making anti-gbv committees active. • identifying the role of schools in preventive child marriage. • messages regarding gbv, child marriage etc can be imparted through cartoons and dreams. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 107 • eve-teaser should be boycotted socially. • co-education will help change the attitude of boys towards girls which should start from primary level. • there should be counselor and a doctor in each school. apart of laws, activism from time to time such as the above is important for educated people and enforcement of laws. 6. conclusion to achieve our goal of combating violence against women, we need to undertake some mechanisms which will make our society from free of vaw. only law enforcement authority will not able to achieve this goal. we must make aware of this problem and its solution to family society and state. nowadays there are some ngos (bnwla, asok etc.) working along the lines. the awareness program should begin from the schools and higher educational institutions. references agarwal r.s: prevention of crime (1977 ed.)p-46 article 4, the vienna declaration and program of action adopted by the world conference on human rights (1993). dr.n.v paranjape; criminology and penology, tenth edition, page 45 for a multitude examples of the literature see h.j steiner and p.alstone (eds). international human rights in context: law, politics , morals: text and materials, 2nd edition, oxford: clarendon press,2000; pp:408438 silving: “rule of law in criminal justice”. in essays in criminal science (1961 ed), chap.5 ga res. 48/104 of 20 december 1993. see rvr (a husband)(ca(crime: div)court of appeal (criminal division ) march 14, 1991;concern has been expressed on the subject of marital rape ,see ,e.g, concluding observation/comments by human rights committee for uzbekistan 26/04/2011; egypt’s 3rd and combined 4th and 5th periodic report ,cedaw /ciegy/3 and cedaw/c/egy at its 492nd and 493rd meetings (4-19) january 2001. schuler, s. r., hashemi, s. m., riley, a. p., & akhter, s. (1996). credit programs, patriarchy and men's violence against women in rural bangladesh. social science & medicine, 43(12), 1729-1742. the daily star, tuesday, december 29, 2015, p-11 the daily star, thursday, december 29, 2015 “end violence against women and girl child”. the daily star, tuesday, march 10, 2015, cyber crimes, are women the main target? mcmillan, l. (2007) feminists organising against gendered violence, new york: palgrave. naved, r. t., & persson, l. å. (2005). factors associated with spousal physical violence against women in bangladesh. studies in family planning, 36(4), 289-300. khan, n. t., begum, a., chowdhury, t. m. j., das, b. k., shahid, f., kabir, s., & begum, m. (2017). violence against women in bangladesh. delta medical college journal, 5(1), 25-29. reilly, n. (2009) women´s human rights – seeking gender justice in a globalizing age, cambridge: polity. note note 1: cedaw –second general recommendation (no. 19) on vaw in 1992 defined gender-based violence as a form of discrimination. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 9 factor analysis of passengers’ satisfaction in nigerian airports sidiq okwudili ben department of geography college of education ikere, ekiti, nigeria email: sidiqoben@yahoo.com abstract this study determined complex factors influencing passengers’ satisfaction in nigerian airports. theoretical evidence was examined and factor analysis was carried out to identify the main groups of factors affecting passengers’ satisfaction at the airport. primary data was gathered from domestic air passengers with random and systemic sampling techniques. 71.1 percent of questionnaires were retrieved from respondents in lagos, and 61.9 percent of questionnaires were retrieved from respondents in abuja. the findings of the study show that the most important five factors affecting it are: courtesy of staff, availability of staff, effective way finding signs, availability of telecommunications, and cleanliness of restrooms. the results obtained from this study will help airport managers in the nigeria to better serve their passengers through improved attitudes of airport staff and improved technologies. keywords: airport development, customer satisfaction, factor analysis, nigerian airport 1. introduction recently, global aviation industry is gaining more and more weight, what in turn significantly adds to national economies. it plays an important role in moving individuals and products locally or internationally. plus, a new trend in shifting from stately to privately owned airports makes ground open for major transformation of the establishments. as a result, numerous innovations along with more consumer friendly approach lead passengers to higher rate the services they have experience with (sergejs and ksenija, 2015). airports are enterprises that spin around in any country. nigerian government realizes the importance of developing aviation industry. the enterprise coordinated mutual efforts of numerous private and public organizations.in the given conditions, delivery of high quality services to passengers become the primary competitive advantage for the airport sustained growth and efficient operation of domestic air services (arif, gupta, & williams, 2013). providing high quality services to passengers is one of the positive factors for attracting major air carriers to an air hub (saha & theingi, 2009; aksoy, atilgan, & akinci, 2003). this study proposed that the management at nigerian airports shift the focus of their planned activities more towards increasing the service quality. the resulting increased passenger satisfaction would favourably influence the competitive advantage of the airfield. consequently, the retained and newly gained passenger traffic may attract new airlines, investment and greater share in the nigerian aviation market. the aim of this study is to determine complex factors influencing passenger satisfaction in nigerian domestic airport. 2. literature review consumer satisfaction with service quality is a significant aspect that the airport’s management must consider to generate competitiveness, increased income and sustainable growth (fadare & adeniran, 2018). in current competitive environment, the high quality service and resulting increased consumer satisfaction create an important advantage of increased loyalty and positive word of mouth. it is generally believed that higher satisfaction with services can significantly boost customer loyalty and lead to repeated purchases (dolnicar, grabler, grün, & kulnig, 2011). thus customer satisfaction does have a positive outcome on company’s profitability. in order to reach the goal, airport managements need to recognize passenger expectations for services provided (gilbert & wong, 2003). service quality can be defined as a passenger overall impression of the efficiency of the company and its services (johnston, 1995). thus the understanding of what passengers expect is the most vital step in delivering and defining the highquality service. service quality evaluation by customers is one of the best approaches to determine their perception and expectations (adikariwattage, de barros, wirasinghe, & ruwanpura, 2012). fulfilled or even surpassed expectations of passengers lead to their satisfaction with airport’s provided services (sergejs and ksenija, 2015). passenger satisfaction can be defined as a judgment made on the basis of a specific service encounter (archana & subha, 2012). passenger satisfaction with services arises when an organization can provide its customers with benefits that exceed their original expectations, and this is perceived as value-added. airport terminal experience is something special for copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 10 passengers, as they have a variety of choices of services to select from for example, duty free or regular shopping, prayer rooms, numerous eateries, museums, club-rooms, information and transfer desks, smoking areas, security, airline offices, support for passengers with disabilities, restrooms, walkways, gates, all types of transportation and parking areas (sergejs and ksenija, 2015). the airport services may meet the needs of the passengers partly, completely or exceedingly. therefore, it is expected that airport administrations are continuously seeking for new services, developments and innovations to differentiate themselves from the competing airports. there is a variety of options to expand services, and doing that better serve existing, but attract more passengers. airport services, like conference facilities, spa centres, sleep-boxes, exhibitions or even casinos can be presently found in variety of its areas. present-day business traveller with the need to organize a corporate meeting may prefer to choose an airport offering a comprehensive package of a conference business centre, hotel rooms and eateries. having exceptional experience could even make the passenger to pick a particular airport among the rest for the leisure purposes or even as a preferred point for a transfer in future. however, should in case the passenger is not satisfied with the time spent at a particular airport, for instance due to lack of choice or quality of services, the passenger may possibly reconsider his decision to arrive there in favour of another airport with better suitable profile. plus, “an intention to return to the same airport” and “readiness to recommend it to others” positively affect airport’s development (fernandes & pacheco, 2002). thus, the excellent passenger satisfaction is one of the best assets for airport business in competitive environment. marketing theory suggests that increasing customer loyalty and its retention is a chief key to the ability of a company to generate profit (gandomi & zolfaghar, 2013). recognition of the determinants affecting passenger satisfaction and a correlation between the one and loyalty are of utmost importance. there are many factors that can help an airport to form its customer base, where passengers’ satisfaction can become the determining factor in evaluation of achievements of an entire operation. airport passenger satisfaction has been studied by many researchers around the world for decades. studies related to the service quality and customer satisfaction in the given field have been growing an interest for almost a decade. a number of researchers have solely elaborated on related theories (correia & wirasinghe, 2007), methods (de nicola, gitto, & mancuso, 2013) and models (lubbe, douglas, & zambellis, 2011) related to service quality throughout the industry (arblaster, 2014). most of previously conducted studies rely mainly on passenger satisfaction with airport services (norazah mohd, 2014) and conducted analyses of empirical data on the matter (pabedinskaitė & akstinaitė, 2014) with an accent on the effect of quality of services on passengers consecutive behaviour (wittman, 2014; steven, dong & dresner, 2012; park, 2007). some researchers have assumed that the measurement of consumer satisfaction should be used in combination with the assessment of necessity level of services and its perceived value. this is due to the chance, the latter might come out to be more accurate predicator of returning intentions (loyalty) than quality and satisfaction (park, robertson & wu, 2004; chen, 2008). hence, perceived value, service quality and general satisfaction with services, all seem to be good predictors of passengers returning intentions (petrick & backman, 2002). although, the specific relationship between variables still remains unclear, this study is tailored to examine the factors affecting passenger satisfaction with nigerian domestic airports services. one of the major steps to conducting the survey of passengers was to determine the most applicable factors influencing the overall perception of airport functioning by a passenger. for this reason, the skytrax airports indicators were examined by questionnaire, where the matters related to the airport service evaluation process were revived. this survey conveys the factors concerning both the objective and subjective criteria to evaluate the overall quality of airport operations. it is possible to measure objective criteria, like waiting time, walking distance or punctuality, in two ways. the first step is to employ real experimental measurements of these criteria for instance minutes or metres that were gained from the monitoring systems or observation. and the second one is about the passenger perception of evaluation or weighting the criteria. for instance, the researchers would be interested in how passengers evaluate a distance between two points at the airport on a scale ranging from short to very long. the measurement of subjective criteria, like evaluation of overall attitude of the check-in staff or airport security, cleanliness and comfort of restrooms or wi-fi coverage, can be evaluated in terms of the passenger perception only. the airports council international questionnaire contains 51 exceptionally detailed criteria for evaluation. however correia wirasinghe and de barros (2008) stressed seven common factors which are waiting time; processing time; walking time; walking distance; level changes; orientation/information; space availability for passengers. the authors consider these factors being important dimensions, but insufficient to be used as variables for the evaluation of passenger satisfaction with their experience. another attempt to classify the factors influencing passenger satisfaction has been made by de barros, somasundaraswaran and wirasinghe (2007). the researchers have created a questionnaire in order to evaluate passengers’ subjective experience. commuters were asked to rate their experience according ly to 22 offered factors that were previously classified by authors into six categories: which are transit; rest rooms; restaurants & bars; duty free shops; security; other facilities. the passengers were also asked to rate their overall experience at the airport. for this reason, the authors considered this approach more practical for the investigation of problem related factors. after reviewing various studies, thirty-nine (39) consumer satisfaction evaluating factors were extracted. furthermore, it was suggested that these specific factors could be generalized and united into broader categories, and the passengers' satisfaction survey were conducted, where the given number of airport operations influencing factors were included into question statements. the task was to reveal the passengers’ perception on general experience and specific factors. the received results created the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 11 needed pool of data for the conducting of factor analysis, which in its turn helped to find the complex factors. the results of this study could assist airport managers to better serve their passengers, develop and monitor service quality and to gain the highest level of customer satisfaction. 3. methodology this study adopted the use of factor analysis relying on primary data. data was obtained from passengers of eight a irlines in lagos and abuja domestic airports. the populations for this study are domestic air passengers in nigeria since the study focused on demand for domestic air travel passenger in lagos and abuja airports. to specifically put it, the population was those volumes of passengers using the two airports being studied within the study period when data gathering occurred. we were at the two airports for one week each. to get the target population for the one week period at each airport we use the average passenger volume per annum for domestic passenger movement from a ten year period. research population for murtala muhammed airport 2 (mma2), lagos is 3,632,620 per annum. research population for nnamdi azikiwe domestic airport (nada), abuja is 3,273,493 per annum. the weekly population was estimated to be 75,680 and 68,198 for lagos and abuja respectively. to determine the sample size of the study, the some judgments were made by reducing the mean year estimate data to the period of one weekly estimate. also 10 percent of one weekly estimate was chosen because of time limitation and the readiness of respondents to fill the questionnaires. this is shown in table 1. table 1: sample size determination of the study airport estimated yearly mean estimated one monthly mean estimated one weekly mean sample size (being 10 percent of the weekly mean) lagos 3,632,620 302718 75679.5 757 abuja 3,273,493 272791 68197.75 682 total 1439 source: sidiq (2018) the sample size was 1439 respondents. the technique of sampling the passengers for primary data collection was both random and systemic sampling techniques because the population is large and selection were done according to a random starting point and at a fixed periodic interval. the weekly population estimates are 75,680 and 68,198 for lagos and abuja respectively and going by a 10 percent sampling size of the weekly population, a total of 108 passengers/respondents were targeted daily between the hours of 7 am to 7 pm with an average of 9 persons per hour the study in mma2. while for nada 97passengers/respondents were targeted for the same period and an average of 8 persons per hour. it meant that an average of 6.7 minutes was spent with each respondent in lagos and 7.5 minutes with abuja respondents. for model specification, factor analysis is a statistical method used to reduce a large cloud of data to a little amount of complex factors (in this case complex factors reflecting on passenger satisfaction), to detect the attendance of substantial patterns among the initial variables (black, hair, tatham, babin, & anderson, 2007) and to elicit the main factors representing relationships between the sets of many interrelated variables (warne & larsen, 2014). if the observed variables are x1, x2 …. xn, the common factors are f1, f2 … fm and the unique factors are u1, u2 …un , the variables may be expressed as linear functions of the factors: x1 = a11f1 + a12f2 + a13f3 + … + a1mfm + a1u1 x2 = a21f1 + a22f2 + a23f3 + … + a2mfm + a2u2 … xn = an1f1 + an2f2 + an3f3 + … + anmfm + anun …………… (1) each of these equations is a regression equation; factor analysis seeks to find the coefficients a11, a12 … anm which best reproduce the observed variables from the factors. the coefficients a11, a12 … anm are weighted in the same way as regression coefficients because of some reasons: the variables are standardised, and the constant is zero, therefore it is not shown. an example is the coefficient a11 that shows the effect on variable x1 of a one-unit increase in f1. in factor analysis, the coefficients are called loadings (a variable is said to load on a factor) and, when the factors are uncorrelated, they also show the correlation between each variable and a given factor. in the model above, a11 is the loading for variable x1 on f1, a23 is the loading for variable x2 on f3, etc. when the coefficients are uncorrelated, that means the factors are uncorrelated, and the sum of the squares of the loadings for variable x1, namely a112 + a122 + … + a132, shows the proportion of the variance of variable x1 which is accounted for by the common factors. this is called the communality. the larger the communality for each variable, the more copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 12 successful a factor analysis solution is. also, the greater the discrepancy, the less successful the factor solution will be in preserving the information in the original correlation matrix. 4. results and discussion from the questionnaire described above, a list containing thirty-nine (39) initial factors concerning passenger satisfaction with airport services was developed. the factors influencing customer satisfaction were selected on the basis of the named aspects . the survey questions were built by the researcher in such a way, that the obtained data could be further used whilst applying the factor analysis and getting the number of complex factors as a result. the respondents were offered to evaluate each of 39 factors that influence their satisfaction with airport services. ten-point scale was used for evaluating the factors measured, where “1” meant that the factor did not affect the satisfaction level at all, but “10” that the factor extremely affected their satisfaction level. according to a number of scientific studies, the 10-point scale was widely recognized as the most suitable for researching customer satisfaction, expectations or evaluations (coelho & esteves, 2007; hill, roche, & allen, 2007). in order to evaluate the strength of the relationship between variables, correlation coefficient was adopted, which additionally allowed manipulating with different data types simultaneously. then, factor analysis was carried out by the principal component analysis but factor rotation implemented by varimax method with kaiser normalization. the kaiser– meyer–olkin (kmo) test was performed to confirm the sampling adequacy for the implementation of factor analysis. the factor loadings performed are the correlations between the variables and factors. the practical meaning of a complex factor can be produced by combining those variables that have relatively high factor loadings after implementing the principal component factor analysis by varimax rotation. the mentioned variables are loaded maximally to only one complex factor and minimally to the rest of complex factors. the produced six complex factors are the key dimensions of all 39 factors adapted from skytrax. from the result of complex factors, five most significant passenger satisfaction factors were produced by factor analysis. they are as follows: courtesy of staff, availability of staff, effective way finding signs, availability of telecommunications, and cleanliness of restrooms. factor analysis was employed to identify the most important complex factors that could influence passenger satisfaction. the results can be used by the administration of nigerian airports with the purpose of increasing passenger satisfaction and loyalty, as well as avoiding negative reputation. the significance level barrier in this study followed the general level for statistical significance of 0.05. conclusion this study concentrated on the factors revealing passenger satisfaction at nigerian domestic airport. factor analysis was employed to obtain empirical evidence about passenger satisfaction at nigerian domestic airport considering lagos and abuja. the findings of the study suggest that the most important five factors affecting passenger satisfaction with nigerian domestic airport are courtesy of staff, availability of staff, effective way finding signs, availability of telecommunications, and cleanliness of restrooms references adikariwattage, v., de barros, a. g., wirasinghe, s. c., & ruwanpura, j. 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(2014). are low-cost carrier passengers less likely to complain about service quality? journal of air transport management, 35, 64–71. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 16 impact of group dynamics on team r.v. naveenan 1 & b. ravi kumar 2 1 department of management studies, vivekananda institute of management, india 2 dept. of mba, amrita sai institute of science and technology, india correspondence: dr. r.v. naveenan, associate professor, department of management studies, vivekananda institute of management, bangalore, india. e-mail: naveenan.08mba@gmail.com received: may 22, 2018 accepted: may 30, 2018 online published: august 11, 2018 abstract after a brief review of integrative small group learning models that have appeared in the educational psychology literature, this article then looks into the group dynamics literature and describes one of that field’s most welldocumented findings: that interactions among group members change somewhat predictably over time. how theorists from various traditions within educational psychology might explain and explore the phenomenon of “group development” is proposed, followed by a description of the theoretical and practical features of an increasingly popular post-secondary instructional strategy designed to stimulate group development and leverage it to instructional ends. so group dynamics can be called as a life base of a team. so in this study the researcher has conducted a study on various aspects of group dynamics. the researcher has collected data using collection techniques and has used various tools to analyze the outcomes to get considerable results. keywords: group dynamics, team, india. 1. introduction the term group dynamics usually refers to the study of individuals interacting in small groups and this thumbnail definition gives rise to a number of questions related to groups. what is a group? is the concept group needed? if group exist, how do they function? are there principles or laws governing group behavior? as a point of reference, i would like to suggest that a group is a living system, self-regulating through shared perception, interaction, sensing, feedback and through interchange with its environment. each group has unique wholeness qualities that become patterned, by way of members’ thinking, feeling and communicating into structured sub systems. the group finds some way to maintain balance while moving through progressive changes, creating its own guidelines & rules and seeking its own goals through recurring cycles of interdependent behavior. we are all familiar with another usage of group. we may define a group of people who lack motivation, or designate a group of people who succeed. in all these cases the groups of individuals are not interacting together, but separately as individuals and are being used for statistical or comparative purposes. by looking at the dynamics we will quickly see how our focus is better defined as which implies forces that are complex and interdependent in a common reference or setting. 1.1 why look at group dynamics understand that much of our lives are spent with one group or another. therefore, a better comprehension could make our time more productive and fulfilling. if we make an assessment of our time, our contributions, our productivity, and the usefulness of our interactions or return on our investment, we will more demanding of all group activities. if you have goals for your life the only way you will ever see them become reality is to stay www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 17 focused and guard your time and energy closely. the last thing any of us needs is someone else achieving their goals at our expense! “know thyself”. 2 review of literature (galinsky & schopler, 1977; smokowski, rose, & bacallao, 2001; smokowski, rose, todar, & reardon, 1999), an understanding of group dynamics is essential for effective practice with any type of task or treatment group. failure to pay careful attention to group dynamics can lead to unproductive meetings and dissatisfied members. in extreme cases, such as the mass suicide at jonestown, group dynamics gone awry can have serious consequences for individual members or the group as a whole. (bales, 1950; bales, cohen, & williamson, 1979), cartwright and zander (1968), forsyth (1999), hare, blumberg, davies, and kent (1995, 1996), lewin (1951), mcgrath (1984), nixon (1979), olmstead (1959), and parsons(1951), group dynamics can be conceptualized as falling within the following five domains: (1) communication processes and interaction patterns, (2) interpersonal attraction and cohesion, (3) social integration and influence, (4) power and control, and (5) culture. a conceptual framework of group dynamics is an important heuristic device for workers seeking to assess and understand how any group works. a conceptual framework enables workers to identify and understand group dynamics as they emerge during interaction. since the 1940s, many scholars have attempted to conceptualize and categorize group dynamics. some of the most notable include bales and colleagues. according to toseland and rivas (2001), communication includes (1) the encoding of perceptions, thoughts, and feelings into language and other symbols by a sender; (2) the transmission of language and symbols verbally, nonverbally, or virtually; and (3) the decoding of the message by the receiver. communication can be verbal, nonverbal, or virtual. face-to-face group members’ experience both verbal and nonverbal communications, whereas members of telephone groups experience only verbal communications, and members of computer groups experience only virtual communication. communication can also be synchronous (i.e., back and forth in real time) or asynchronous. asynchronous communications occur in computer groups when members may respond to messages long after they are posted. (schopler, abell, & galinsky, 1998; smokowski, galinsky, & harlow, 2001), whenever group members are communicating, they are sending messages that have meanings. effective leaders listen hard for the meaning in messages. in face-to-face groups, members are always communicating, because even if they are not communicating verbally, their nonverbal behaviour is observable and communicating something. in telephone and computer groups, nonverbal communication is absent. the greater anonymity due to the lack of face-to-face contact in telephone and computer groups has important implications 14 theoretical and philosophical foundations for the way members communicate in these groups. for example, it has been pointed out that salience of race and socioeconomic issues is reduced and greater privacy is afforded to stigmatized individuals. (cartwright, 1968), interpersonal attraction is just one of the building blocks of group cohesion. in addition to interpersonal attraction, other factors contributing to cohesion include (1) satisfaction of members’ needs for affiliation, recognition, and security; (2) resources and prestige that members believe will be garnered through group participation; (3) expectations about the beneficial consequences of the work of the group; and (4) positive comparison of the group with previous group experiences . benne and sheats (1948), developed a typology of group roles that included (1) task roles, such as the coordinator and the information seeker; (2) socioemotional roles, such as the encourager and the harmonizer; and (3) individual roles, such as the aggressor and the help seeker. forsyth (1999) has pointed out that those with minority opinions are more likely to be heard if they (1) offer compelling and consistent arguments, (2) are assertive about the importance of listening to their opinion, (3) appear confident rather than rigid or close minded, (4) are flexible and able to grant small concessions to the majority, and (5) confront majorities that are not certain about their positions. therefore, members with minority opinions can have an important voice when their arguments are well reasoned and persuasive, especially in groups in which openmindedness is a valued norm. toseland and rivas (2001) suggest that this can be done by (1) encouraging member-to-member rather than member-to-leader communications, (2) insuring that members have input into the agenda for group meetings and the direction the group will go in future meetings, (3) supporting indigenous group leaders as their attempts at leadership emerge during group interaction, and (4) encouraging attempts at mutual sharing and mutual aid among group members. members can also be empowered by encouraging them to take on leadership roles in subgroups that work on specific tasks between meetings, by recognizing their special skills and talents, and by praising and rewarding them for their active involvement in the work of the group. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 18 levi (2001) views culture as having three levels of depth. on the surface level are symbols and rituals that display the culture of the group. at a deeper level, culture is displayed in the styles and approaches that group members use when interacting with each other. for example, the way conflict or competition is handled in a group says much about its culture. the deepest level of culture consists of core ideologies, values, and beliefs held in common by members of the group. the measurement of group dynamics is essential in understanding the behaviour of individuals and of the group as a whole. over the past two decades, several reviews have critically examined group process and outcome instruments (delucia-waack, 1997; fuhriman & barlow, 1994; fuhriman & packard, 1986). these instruments have been described as useful in analyzing group therapy processes, group climate and therapeutic dimensions, and interactions among group members. in this section, we present a brief sample of group dynamics measures to acquaint group leaders and researchers with currently available standardized procedures for understanding group process. our selected descriptions are intended to be introductory, thus permitting readers to choose measures, review them in further detail, and apply the most suitable instrument for their group work needs. 3 research methodology 3.1 research design the type of research conducted is descriptive research. a descriptive research is under taken in order to ascertain and to describe the characteristics of the variables of interest in a situation. it can be performed through literature search surveying certain people about their experience and focus group. 3.2 method or instruments of data collecting questionnaire is the instrument used for data collection. 3.3 source of data primary data is the source of data. the method adopted for collecting primary data is questionnaire. 3.4 sampling technique the sampling technique adapted in convenient sampling. convenient sampling: convenience or opportunistic is the crudest type of non-random sampling. this involves selecting the most convenient group available. 3.5 population size the size of the population is 500. 3.6 sample size the sample size for this research is 140. 3.7 sample unit the sample unit for this research is eta star property developers ltd at chennai. 3.8 tools used for interpretation  percentage analysis  chi-square 2. statement of problem the group decision making without team mate’s co-operation is difficult. employee’s co-operation in team is influenced by group dynamics. so the researcher aims to study the group dynamics so as to help the organization to enhance team’s performance and to improve decision making in the group. 3. research objectives  to study the relation between type of group and level of team spirit.  to study the relation between type of group and communication patterns.  to study the relation between level of team spirit and leadership style in group. 4. significance of the study  group dynamics plays a important role in leadership, so this project helps the organization to identify the role and impact of leadership.  it helps the organization to know about group member’s behavior. group member’s feelings, opinion, views and their act and react.  it aids the organization to take decision related to group.  it helps to prevent the conflict. 5. scope of the study  helps to improve team’s performance and thereby improving organization performance. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 19  aids in knowing the employee’s behavior.  assist the organization in decision making.  helps in conflict handling.  helps the leader or manager in his roles and assists in better performance. 6. period of the study duration of the project study is three months i.e., from 9.1.2013 to 9.4. 2013 7. area of the study i have done my project on group dynamics with special reference to eta star property developers ltd, chennai. 8. limitations of study every research has its own technical and managerial limitations. time was one of the main limitations of the study. because of the lack of time analysis is based on data collected from 140 employees only. so it also one of the drawbacks for this study. 9. data analysis and interpretation 9.1 relationship between types of group and level of team spirit hypothesis: null hypothesis: there is no relation between type of group and level of team spirit. alterative hypothesis: there exist a relation between type of group and level of team spirit. table 1.observed frequency level of team spirit friendly relationship formal relationship total high 20 20 40 neutral 30 30 60 low 15 25 40 total 65 75 140 oi expected frequency oi–ei (oi-ei) 2 (oi ei) 2 ei 20 18.5 1.5 2.25 0.122 20 21.4 -1.4 1.96 0.092 30 27.8 2.2 4.84 0.174 30 32.14 -2.14 4.58 0.143 15 18.5 -3.5 12.25 0.662 25 21.42 3.58 12.82 0.599 total 1.792 degrees of freedom = (r 1)(c 1) = (2 1) (3 -1)= 1*2 = 2 calculated value = 1.792 using degrees of freedom = 2 5% level of significance, then the table value = 5.991(1.792< 5.991) accepted. inference: null hypothesis is accepted. so there is no relationship between type of group and level of team spirit. 9.2 relationship between types of group and communication patterns. hypothesis null hypothesis: there is no relation between type of group and communication patterns. alterative hypothesis: there exists a relation between type of group and communication patterns. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 20 table 2. observed frequency communication patterns friendly relationship formal relationship total chain network 20 20 40 wheel network 20 30 50 circle network 25 25 50 all channel network 0 0 0 total 65 75 140 oi expected frequency oi–ei (oi-ei) 2 (oi ei) 2 ei 20 18.5 1.5 2.25 0.122 20 21.4 -1.4 1.96 0.092 20 23.21 3.21 10.31 0.444 30 26.78 3.22 10.37 0.387 25 23.21 1.79 3.204 0.138 25 26.78 -1.78 3.17 0.118 total 1.301 degrees of freedom = (r 1)(c 1) = (2 1) (4 -1) = 1*3 = 3 calculated value = 1.301 using degrees of freedom = 3 5% level of significance, then the table value = 7.815(1.301< 7.85) accepted. inference: null hypothesis is accepted. so there is no relationship between type of group and communication pattern. 9.3 relationship between level of team spirit and leadership style. hypothesis null hypothesis: there is no relation between level of team spirit and leadership style in group. alterative hypothesis: there is exist a relation between level of team spirit and leadership style in group. table 3.observed frequency leadership style high neutral low total autocratic style 10 20 10 40 democratic style 15 20 15 50 human relation style 15 20 15 50 laissez fair style 0 0 0 0 total 40 60 40 140 oi expected frequency oi – ei (oi-ei) 2 (oi ei) 2 ei 10 11.42 -1.42 2.016 0.177 20 17.14 2.86 8.180 0.477 10 11.42 1.42 2.016 0.177 15 14.28 0.72 0.518 0.036 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 21 20 21.42 -1.42 2.016 0.094 15 14.28 0.72 0.518 0.036 15 14.28 0.72 0.518 0.036 20 21.42 -1.42 2.016 0.094 15 14.28 0.72 0.518 0.036 total 1.163 degrees of freedom = (r 1)(c 1) = (3 1) (4 -1)= 2*3 = 6 calculated value = 1.163 using degrees of freedom= 6 5% level of significance, then the table value = 12.592 (1.163 < 12.592)accepted. inference: null hypothesis is accepted. so there is no relationship between level of team spirit and leadership style. 10. findings  the most of the respondents are work as a team.  the employees are most interested to be a team player.  most of the individual maintain a formal relationship in the work.  the employees are mostly comfortable within the group.  team spirit level in employee’s neutral.  it is found that employees with skills and experience prove to be a better team performes.  most of the employees participate in team activity.  there in mutual understanding within a group but an equal majority gives an opposite answer.  the study says that there is normally less personal association between team members.  employees mostly help their co-workers during the work. but nearly equal majority say that team mates do not help each other.  employees feel that their social status has not improved after being associated with a present team.  team members do their assigned roles effectively.  employees concentrate on the organization goals. but study says an almost equal majority do not concentrate on the organizational goals.  communication is good within the team.  wheel and circle network of communication are followed in the team.  employees say that they have difficulty in contracting the leader of the team .  there is no domination within the team.  majority of the respondents say that there is freedom to share opinion within the team. but other huge majority says that there is no freedom.  democratic and human relation leadership style is followed in the group.  majority of the decision making within the group is by voting method or decision making tools.  half the majority say that there are considered during decision making. but the other half gives negative opinion.  majority of the respondents say that there is decision making within their team.  there is less conflict within the team.  the frequently of conflict is low within the group.  the study says that lack of clarity in ideas and communication gap are the major reason for conflict within the group. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 22  null hypothesis is accepted. so there is no relationship between type of group and level of team spirit.  null hypothesis is accepted. so there is no relationship between type of group and communication pattern.  null hypothesis is accepted. so there is no relationship between level of team spirit and leadership style. 11. suggestions  measures such as motivational program can be adopted so as to increase team spirit.  skilled and experienced employee can be used to educate new entrance about the advantages and importance of being a team player.  skilled and experienced employee can be used to educate entrants about the advantages and importance of being a team player.  team games and team gathering can be arranged during leisure timings so as to provide better room for understanding and so as to improve personal associate.  team leaders should educate their team about the improvement of being a team and the need of the helping their team mates in need.  team members have to give equal importance to organizational goal.  team members should be encouraged to share their opinions in case need, so as to improve team participation. 12. conclusion understanding of group dynamics is essential for effective practice with individuals and communities, it is our belief that focused attention to the dynamic processes that occur in groups is what distinguishes group work from other forms of social work practice. in the case of treatment groups, it is also important to remain cognizant that group work is not just working with a collection of individuals within a group context. we hope that this chapter has highlighted the power that group dynamics have to change the lives of people. neglecting the therapeutic power of group dynamics greatly diminishes the ability of the worker to help members achieve their goals. similarly, task groups, such as committees, teams, and boards of directors, are not merely collections of individuals. the synergy that is created when people come together to work in these groups transcends the collection of individual efforts. the group takes on a life of its own, and the group dynamic processes that result have an impact far beyond what the collection of individuals working alone could accomplish by themselves. looking to the future, we believe that more attention will be paid to group dynamics in virtual groups. it is becoming easier and less costly for people to meet over the telephone using teleconferencing capabilities and through chat rooms, bulletin boards, and other forms of computer-mediated groups. (see meier, chapter 28, this volume, for detailed information on this subject.) because there are no visual cues in telephone or computer groups, and because communication may be asynchronous in computer groups, dynamic processes are group dynamics somewhat different in these groups than in face-to-face groups. although some work has already been done to elucidate the dynamic processes in virtual groups, more work is needed as these groups continue to become more popular in our culture. it is clear that culture, ethnicity, and race affect the dynamic processes that develop and evolve in groups. in this increasingly multicultural society, it is imperative to examine in greater depth the impact of culture, ethnicity, and race on the groups in which we all participate. this priority is in keeping with a long and rich tradition within social group work practice of bringing together and fostering understanding and mutual respect among people from different backgrounds. references bales, r. (1950). interaction process analysis: a method for the study of small groups. reading, ma: addisonwesley. bales, r., cohen, s., & williamson, s. (1979). symlog: a system for the multiple level observations of groups. new york: free press. benne, k. d., & sheats, p. (1948). functional roles of group members. journal of social issues, 4(2), 41–49. cartwright, d. (1968). the nature of group cohesiveness. in d. cartwright & a. zander (eds.), group dynamics: research and theory (3rd ed., pp. 91–109). new york: harper & row. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 23 cartwright, d., & zander, a. (eds.). (1968). group dynamics: research and theory (3rd ed.). new york: harper & row. delucia-waack, j. (1997). measuring the effectiveness of group work: a review and analysis of process and outcome measures. journal for specialists in group work, 22(4), 277–293. forsyth, d. (1999). group dynamics (3rd ed.). belmont, ca: brooks/cole-wadsworth. fuhriman, a., & barlow, s. (1994). interaction analysis: instrumentation and issues. in a. fuhriman & g. burlingame (eds.), handbook of group psychotherapy: an empirical and clinical synthesis (pp. 191–222). new york: wiley. fuhriman, a., & packard, t. (1986). group process instruments: therapeutic themes and issues.international journal of group psychotherapy, 36(3), 399–425. galinsky, m., & schopler, j. (1977). warning: groups may be dangerous. social work, 22(2), 89– 94. hare, a. p., blumberg, h. h., davies, m. f., & kent, m. v. (1995). small group research: a handbook. norwood, nj: ablex. hare, a. p., blumberg, h. h., davies, m. f., & kent, m. v. (1996). small groups: an introduction. westport, ct: praeger. lewin, k. (1951). field theory in social science. new york: harper. levi, d. (2001). group dynamics for teams. thousand oaks: sage. mcgrath, j. e. (1984). groups: interaction and performance. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall. nixon, h. (1979). the small group. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall. olmsted, m. (1959). the small group. new york: random house. parsons, t. (1951). the social system. new york: free press. schopler, j., abell, m., & galinsky, m. (1998). technology-based groups: a review and conceptual framework for practice. social work, 43(3), 254–267. smokowski, p. r., galinsky, m., & harlow, k. (2001). using technologies in group work: computerbased groups. group work, 13(1), 98–115. smokowski, p., rose, s., todar, k., & reardon, k. (1999). post-group casualty-status, group events and leader behaviour: an early look into the dynamics of damaging group experiences. research on social work practice, 9(5), 555–574. toseland, r. w., & rivas, r. f. (2001). an introduction to group work practice (4th ed.). boston: allyn & bacon. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 34 internally displacement and cognitive reasoning in children of north central, nigeria philemon atume agashua 1 , awopetu ronke grace 2 & jonathan iornenge ugese 1 1 department of psychology, nigerian defence academy, kaduna 2 department of psychology, benue state university, makurdi correspondence: air cdre philemon atume agashua (rtd) ph.d, department of psychology, nigerian defence academy, kaduna to cite this article: agashua, p. a., grace, a. r., & ugese, j. i. (2018). internally displacement and cognitive reasoning in children of north central, nigeria. american international journal of social science research, 3(1), 34-38. retrieved from http://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr/article/view/198 received: october 10, 2018 accepted: october 25, 2018 online published: november 9, 2018 abstract the cognitive progression of displaced children has suffered major setback in nigeria in recent time as a result of boko haram insurgency, fulani herdsmen militia and communal clashes. therefore, this study examines the cognitive reasoning of the children of primary and secondary school ages that are currently seeking refuge at internally displaced camps in north-central, nigeria. 1,222 internally displaced children were assessed using visual, numerical and verbal reasoning analysis tests respectively, developed by barrett (2004). of the total number of participants, 29.8% responded correctly to numerical reasoning tests, 15.6% answered correctly the verbal reasoning tests and 31.7% responded to visual analysis tests. the result showed that majority of the children could not respond correctly to reasoning and analysis tests. the study concludes that children are worst vulnerable to current ongoing displacement in the country and this has resulted into downfall in the educational system and cognitive improvement of the children. it is therefore recommended that quick response to idp children in the area of education should not be ignored or neglected in case of displacement of any type by government, philanthropists and non-governmental organizations. keywords: cognitive assessment, educational development, internally displaced children, north central 1. introduction internally displaced children, are the category of children that do not cross international borders recognized by a state but are displaced within the borders of their own nation. they represent 2/3 of the total number of displaced children. many at times, displaced children find themselves separated from their close relations during such an event. deprived of the basic care and protection of their family, they become very vulnerable to society exploitation and abuse. moreover, they are generally weakened by the long distances that they are forced to travel and by the difficulties they have to thus endure. hence, they become easy targets for smugglers, traffickers, and/or armed groups. furthermore, such displaced children can also become victims of all forms of discrimination and many of their fundamental rights may be violated due to their displacement. for example, rights may be violated if such displaced children travel to a place where they are a minority ethnic group; and more importantly, their education is completely either abandoned or neglected. according to the displacement tracking matrix (dtm) and international organization migration (iom) round v report (2015), the total number of idp children (3-17 years of age) in borno, adamawa and yobe states is 452,620. of these 387,287 (85.6%) live in host communities while 65,333 (14.4%) live in idp camps. the education development of these children is negatively affected on daily basis and schooling has continuously been interrupted by the boko haram insurgency, fulani herdsmen militia, and communal violence for the past few years in north central nigeria. school children were killed, abducted, displaced leading to a high level of trauma. many of the school facilities were destroyed and have been burnt down. large numbers of the population in the affected states and local governments have been displaced leading to thousands of children being out of school. this has adversely affected the gains in education achieved prior to the insurgency and acts www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 35 of terrorism. in the north east, nigeria, reports show that with large numbers of children out of school, especially adamawa, borno and yobe; and north central , benue, nassarawa, and plateau and nigeria as country would likely suffer educationally, socially, economically and even politically unless meaningful interventions are devised to circumvent the situation. ugwumba and udom (2015), observed that over 1000 school children have been killed or wounded, leaving about 50 schools either burned down or destroyed completely, while almost 60 were forced to close down totally. furthermore, as of november 2014, 426 schools have been affected by the insurgency, including 73 in adamawa, 297 in borno and 56 in yobe. at least 115 have been completely destroyed while 311 schools have been partially destroyed with the majority being in borno state. more than 340,000 students have been affected by the insurgency with death among 314 (adamawa-33, yobe-263, borno-18). 196 teachers killed from three states (adamawa14, yobe 4, born -178) with more insurgent attacks in december and since the beginning of the new year, these numbers might have changed drastically. in borno state, almost all schools had been closed in 2014 due to attacks. about 200 schools in only 4 lgas were able to reopen in january 2015. in adamawa and yobe most schools had reopened within the metropolis lgas. with stability returning in most lgas of all states there is a chance for more schools to reopen. the continued attacks and counter attacks on these children and their parents and multiple exposure to violence and crisis could disturb their cognitive and behavioural competencies including attention, concentration and memory as basis for academic learning and achievement. children cognitive and behavioural competences become occupied with their sufferings and are devoted to struggling against surviving the pains rather than growth and mastery of developmental tasks. despite all the numerous efforts made by the government of nigeria towards educational development, the educational sector is besieged by infrastructural decay, dilapidation of structures and production/graduation of illiterate graduate. the monumental increase in the level of illiteracy has made the socio-economic landscape frail and fragile. today, nigeria is ranked among the countries with the highest population of illiteracy in the whole world. the failure to efficiently combat the problem has largely been blamed on infrastructural decay, endemic corruption and poor governance. 2. statement of the problem displacement inevitably takes its ugly toll on children’s education. governmental and non-governmental organizations, united nations international children's emergency fund (unicef), united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) and mental health professionals have argued strongly that educational services is essential for children’s psychosocial wellbeing during the periods of displacement by insurgencies, conflicts and other natural disasters (boyden, berry, feeny & hart, 2002). many of the areas that are affected by fulani militia, boko haram and communal clashes in north central have not yet established formal schooling services, also at the idp camps children of school ages are seen roaming about the camps without any form of temporal educational interventions by government agency and non-governmental organizations to rescue their predicament. it was noted that 28,000 of the children are in transitional class before displacement, which is, preparing for promotion from nursery to primary class to secondary and some from junior secondary to senior secondary class (bsema, 2018). this situation has had a serious adverse effect on their educational progression. most obviously, there is a problem of disruption and loss of access to schools, and idleness among the children, they run the risk of not being able to return to school or completing their education as and when due. in some cases of long term displacement which were found in one of the states of the study dated back to 2012, children have ever know camp life with all its constraints and difficulties. 3. aim and objectives of the study the study aimed to assess the cognitive reasoning of idp children seeking refuge at various idp camps in the north central nigeria. the specific objectives include assessment of their performance on numerical, verbal and visual reasoning tests. 4. methods 4.1 study design a cross sectional ex-post factor design was adopted in which variables such as age, educational level and sex had in fact been manipulated before the study. 4.2 sample the sample for this study was drawn from three idp camps from nasarawa, and benue states of north central region of nigeria. with the use of purposive sampling method, 1,222 children comprising 355(29.1%) males, 324(26.5 %) female and 543(44.4%) who could not indicate their sex completed questionnaires in the study. their age ranged from 6 to 20 years (m= 1.27, sd=0.45). other demographic profile of the respondents showed that 315(25.8%) were in primary class; 217(17.8) were in secondary class; and 690 (56.5%) were neither primary nor secondary school because of no indication. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 36 4.3 instrument a questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection in the study. the questionnaire comprises two sections as follows: demographic background information of the respondents and other reliable tests measuring variables of interest in the study. order of the sections in the questionnaire is as follows: section a consists of demographic such as age, sex, primary class and secondary class. section b is a set of numerical, verbal and visual reasoning tests developed by barret (2004) to assess natural intelligence, progress in education and reason skills in a child. it comprises three subsections: numerical reasoning test (b1) verbal reasoning test (b2), and visual reasoning test (b3). subsection b1 is a 4-item questions in which a respondent is required to identify the missing number at the end of the series. examples of items in this subsection include “3, 11, 19, 27,?” “516, 497, 478, 459,?” etc. five options are provided out of which one is the correct answer. subsection b2 is an 8-item set of tests in which respondent is enquired to draw a logical conclusions from the information that has been given. examples of items in this subsection include “joan and mary enjoy playing hockey. karen and joan enjoy netball. karen and mary enjoy swimming. which girl enjoys both swimming and hockey? “only one word in the brackets means either the same or the opposite of the word in capitals from set of words below, identify this word?” subsection b3 is a 4-item of two different types. type one, respondent has to decide which of the objects displayed the “odd one out” is. this will be the one that in some way makes it different from the others. the other type is shown a sequence of objects or shapes in which a respondent is to choose from alternatives given the one that would come next in the line where there is a large question mark. for every correct answer carries 1 mark while every wrong answer is 0 mark. the sum total score of correct answers determine the educational potential of the respondents. a total score of 1-3 indicate below average, 4-8 average, 9-12 well above average and 13-16 exceptional. the researchers obtained .70, .83 and .65 for numeric, verbal and visual reasoning tests respectively. also, for non idp children (normal population), a minimum score of 4 and maximum of 15 was obtained; and a mean scores of 2.33, 2.31 and 2.35 were obtained for numerical, verbal and visual reasoning respectively. 4.4 data collection procedure data were collected at three idp camps located within nasarawa and benue states. for ethical reason, the researchers approached the coordinators of the camps to seek permission for the conduct of exercise and this was granted having explained the purposes of the research to them. the camp coordinators led the researchers and assistants to various halts where the children were staying in order to meet with their parents for debriefing and administration of the questionnaires. the children were grouped into primary class and secondary class as indicated. the method adopted for the administration was to ask the children to indicate their willingness to participate by signifying with a raise of hands. the children were properly orientated on how to respond to items on the questionnaire before distribution. a copy was given to each to complete. completion of a copy of the questionnaire took about 30 minutes. in all, a total number of 1,500 were distributed across the three camps but 1,325 were retrieved. however, only 1,222 properly completed were used for this study. 4.5 statistical analysis statistical analysis were performed with ibm spss 21 version. as regards the demographic variables; age was measured in ratio as reported by the respondent; sex was measured as male (1) and female (2); primary and secondary class were also measured on nominal scale of 1-6 based on current class of study. numerical, verbal and visual reasoning were measured on discrete variables. descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviation and percentages were used to analyse the demographic characteristics and their performance on the reasoning tests of the participants. 5. results bivariate correlation analyses on interrelationship among the study variables were performed with a view to understanding the association among the study variables as presented in table 1. results show that age does not relate with the sex of the respondents (r = -.03; p>.05), secondary class (r =.10; p>05), numerical (r = -.02; p>.05), verbal (r = -.03; p>.05), visual (r= -.01; p>.05) but positively and significantly related with primary class of the respondents (r= .14; p<.01). sex is positively and significantly related with primary and secondary classes(r = .56; p<.01) and (r= .21; p<.01) respectively, but not related to numerical, verbal, and visual reasons. primary class does not relate with secondary class (r = -.11, p>.05), numerical (r = .01, p>.05), verbal (r = -.04; p>.05), and visual (r= -.08, p>05). secondary class does not relate with numerical (r = .03, p>.05), verbal (r= .05; p >.05) and verbal (r= -.07; p>.05). numerical reasoning is positively related with verbal (r= .06; p <.01) and visual (r= .38; p <.01). verbal reasoning is positively related to visual reasoning (r= .11; p< .01). the result further reveals that the mean scores of the respondents on the reasoning tests (numerical, verbal and visual) are far below (0.48, 0.25, and 0.64) the norm for normal population. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 37 table 1. mean, standard deviation and correlational matrix between variables in the study (n=1,222) variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 age sex -.03 primary class .14 * .56 ** secondary class .10 .21 ** -.11 numerical -.02 .02 .01 .03 verbal -.03 .07 -.04 -.05 .06 * visual -.01 -.02 -.08 -.07 .38 ** .11 ** m 1.27 1.48 1.93 2.28 0.48 0.25 0.64 sd 0.45 0.50 1.00 0.67 0.60 0.49 0.64 **p<0.01; *p<0.05 table 2. mean, standard deviation and performance of idp children on numerical reasoning test variable (numerical) n m sd min max % item b1-1 860 2.02 0.55 1 5 70.4 b1-2 877 1.95 0.48 1 5 71.8 b1 -3 859 2.04 0. 36 1 5 70.3 b1-4 860 3.18 0.59 1 5 70.4 table 3. mean, standard deviation and performance of idp children on verbal reasoning test variable (verbal) n m sd min max % item b2-1 684 1.36 0.67 1 3 56 b2-2 27 1.30 0.47 1 2 2.2 b2-3 27 1.67 0. 48 1 2 2.2 b2-4 29 1.79 0.73 1 3 2.4 b2-5 955 1.97 0.43 1 3 18.2 b2-6 943 2.54 0.67 1 5 77.2 b2-7 938 1.30 0.54 1 4 76.8 b2-8 946 3.66 0.84 1 5 77.4 table 4. mean, standard deviation and performance of idp children on visual reasoning test variable (visual) n m sd min max % item b3-1 885 3.60 0.92 1 4 72.4 b3-2 960 2.31 0.77 1 5 78.6 b3 -3 955 1.77 0.93 1 4 78.2 b3-4 953 1.30 0.49 1 4 77.9 6. discussion the goal of this study was to examine the educational development of the idp children by assessing their performance on numerical, verbal and visual reasoning test. the results indicated that age has no relationship with the reasoning tests. this means that regardless of the age of these children especially the school-age category, it i expected that their performance should be within or above average but this was contrary. this could be as a result of inability of the children ton access regular school attendance. available information revealed that the attacks on them has been on increase in the last five years making it difficult to have regular school attendance. as a result of this, many children have lost focus and concentration, more importantly those children who have lost parents, caregivers and have become orphans. considering their performance in all the tests in table 2, 3, and 4, it is observed that majority of the children had a minimum of 1 maximum core of 5 which is below the non idp children (normal population), with a minimum score of 4 and maximum of 15 was obtained; and a mean scores of 2.33, 2.31 and 2.35 for numerical, verbal and visual reasoning respectively. many factors could responsible for this poor performance. one of the reasons could be that the idp school children are not often guided and directed by the parents due to security threat. this corroborated a study by www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 38 oladunjoye and omena (2013) that idp children displaced from rural villages and schools are often neglected and they live in perpetual fear of attacks which could lowering their cognitive abilities to perform well in educational activities. the performance of the idp children in these test could also be linked to economic hardship faced at the idp camp. as a result of the displacement, many families are faced with economic hardship which predispose the children to high magnitude of malnutrition and significant decrease in cognitive abilities. many live at poverty level or below and such a level of poverty contribute significantly to educational performances and other social problems including poor health and nutrition, exploitative child labour, and violation of the children’s fundamental rights. 7. recommendations government should rise up to the challenge of education of the vulnerable idp children. they should be the prime actor in responding quickly to the educational needs of these children and make resources available and provide a conducive learning environment for the affected children. it is important for government and other relevant organizations and agencies to advance in making commitments to addressing the pertinent needs of improving the quality of life the displaced children and increase the their cognitive development as they grow physically and ment6ally. 8. limitations one of the major limitations of this study is that the status of the parents, caregivers and foster parents were not sought which could be a factor to the educational predicaments of the idp children. information on idp children was difficult to obtain because due to the characteristics of the group, people preferred to remain invisible at least until they felt they were not threatened. references benue state emergency management agency (bsema) 2018 report. boyden, j., berry, j., feeny, t., & hart, j. (2002). children affected by armed conflict in south asia. a review of trends and issues identified through secondary research. iom/dtm, (2015). displacement highlights. https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/48599 lawal, a.i. obasaju, b. rotimi e.m. (2012). towards achieving millennium development goals (mdgs) in nigeria: prospect and challenges, journal of economics and sustainable development, vol. 3, no. 9. oladunjoye, p. & omemu f. (2013). effect of boko haram on school attendance in northern nigeria. british journal of education vol.1, no 2. pp.1-9. www.ea-journals.org ugwumba, e. u. & odom, t. c (2015). boko haram insurgency: a peril to achievement of education for all in nigeria. international journal of education learning and development vol.3, no.1, pp.1-11, www.eajournals.org copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 108 delimitation of maritime boundary with india and bangladesh’s rights over the sea md. mostofa1, dewan md. al-amin1 & kaniz tania bint-e-basar1 1department of law, faculty of arts, social science & law, bangladesh university, bangladesh correspondence: md. mostofa, department of law, faculty of arts, social science & law, bangladesh university, bangladesh, e-mail: mostofa.bu@gmail.com, tel: +88 01723084138 received: may 12, 2018 accepted: may 20, 2018 online published: june 7, 2018 abstract bangladesh and india sea boundary talks started in 1974, renewed in 1978 and in 1982. at last, the hauge-based permanent court of arbitration (pca) gave verdict on july 07, 2014 on maritime disputes between india and bangladesh. in a landmark judgment, the permanent court of arbitration (pca) awarded bangladesh an area of 19,467 sq km, four-fifth of the total area of 25,602 sq km disputed maritime boundary in the bay of bengal with india. now, bangladesh’s maritime boundary has been extended by 118,813 sq km comprising 12 nm of territorial sea and an eez extending up to 200 nm into the high sea. in addition, the ruling acknowledged bangladesh’s sovereign rights of undersea resources in the continental shelf extending as far as 345 nm in the high sea, taking chittagong coast as the baseline. now, bangladesh can go ahead with their plans of search and extraction of energy and mineral resources and exploitation of fisheries within 200 nm from the baseline. the study tries to identify the various rights of bangladesh over various maritime zones such as territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf on the basis of the bangladesh v india case (2014). keywords: territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, pca. 1. introduction bangladesh and india sea boundary talks started in 1974, renewed in 1978 and in 1982; it could not be resolved because of the differences over methods of delimiting the boundary between the two sides. at last, the permanent court of arbitration (pca) at the hague officially conveyed the result to both parties on 7 july 2014. on the basis of the judgment, 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone has been legally ensured for bangladesh. it is a major achievement for bangladesh. now, bangladesh owns more than 1, 18, 813 km of waters comprising territorial sea, contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. as a result, the rights in our different sea area have completely been ensured. according to the convention and statutory law, bangladesh must be able to exercise its legal rights on waters, living and non living resources in the territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. the author tried to identify the various rights of bangladesh over various maritime zones on the basis of the bangladesh v india case (2014) and gave some applicable recommendations which will influence the government. 2. literature review the law of the sea has developed over the years, and is presently codified in the united nations convention on the law of the sea, 1982,1 which was the outcome of the third united nations conference on the law of the sea (unclos iii). basically, the convention does not differ from the four previous geneva conventions, 1958,2 except that it extends jurisdiction of the coastal state over baselines, territorial sea, and the continental shelf and provides for a new sea zone such as the 200 nautical mile (n.m.) exclusive economic zone (eez). the delineation of sea zones gives rise to problems between adjacent and opposite states, and has created problems between bangladesh and its adjacent neighbors-india and burma. this study will deal with how bangladesh designates different sea zones, and in particular the difficulties encountered in prescribing sea zones under unclos iii and in delimiting the zones between bangladesh and its neighbors (rahman, m. h., 1984). www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 109 sea-level rise is one of the certain consequences of climate change. global mean sea level has been rising throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. furthermore, because of the lag in the oceans’ response to warming, it is expected to continue to raise for centuries, even under the most optimistic mitigation scenarios. projections of sea-level rise span a broad range. in its fourth assessment report, the intergovernmental panel on climate change suggested 18–59 cm of global mean sea-level rise by 2100 compared with 1990 levels (plus an uncertain component from dynamic ice-sheet adjustment). semi-empirical methods have since put forward values of 1.5 m and more3, 4. irrespective of the actual level of sea-level rise by 2100, future changes in the world’s coastlines will pose fundamental new challenges, not least for international relations (houghton, k. j, et.al. 2010). 3. objectives of the research the following objectives are pursued • to justify the claims of bangladesh over various maritime zones. • to identify the various rights of bangladesh over various maritime zones with the convention, statutory law and case law. • to offer some recommendations to government to ensure bangladesh’s rights. 4. research methodology the author adopted 'doctrinal research methodology'(tewari, 2004) with 'analytical approach'(faruque, 2009)to identify ratio decidendi of the case. deductive legal reasoning of the case laws and harvard reference style of case citation have been followed. reasonable importance has been given to identify the various rights of bangladesh on the sea (halim, 2008). case study has been taken as empirical tool, where relevant maritime delimitation case 2014 including existing agreements among state parties within the meaning of relevant articles of the unclos iii (1982). 5. data analysis and interpretation 5.1 bangladesh vs. india case (2014) and the judgment total disputed sea area between bangladesh and india was 25,602 sq km in the bay of bangal. bangladesh submitted its statement of claim by may 2011 to the court of arbitration. india submitted its counter-memorial by july 2012. rejoinder of bangladesh was lodged on 31st january and india’s reply was submitted by 31st july 2013. oral hearing from both sides were heard by the arbitration court in december 2013 (9th-18th).the court of arbitration consist of three jurist as arbitrators –tullio treves of italy, i.a shearer of australia and rudigar wolfrum of germany and one each nominated by bangladesh and india. bangladesh nominated former judge thomas mensah from ghana and india nominated d. p.sreenivasa rao, former legal adviser of the external affairs ministry. five arbitrators comprise the court preside over by rudigar wolfrum of germany. in july 2013treves resigned and a french jurist jean-pierre cot was appointed in his place in consultation with both parties. on behalf of india lawyers, rkp shankardass, alain pellet, michael reisman and sir michael wood argued, while for bangladesh lawrence martin, philippe sands, payam akhavan, paul reichler, alan boyle and james crawford. the permanent court of arbitration (pca) gave verdict on july 07, 2014 on maritime disputes between india and bangladesh. in a landmark judgment, the international arbitral tribunal rejected indian’s maritime claim and upheld bangladesh’s claim of 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone and the territorial rights in the bay of bangal. the verdict of the united nations permanent court of arbitration (pca), based in the hague, went largely in favour in bangladesh, as it gave the country a substantial share of the extended continental shelf beyond 200 nm. the tribunal awarded bangladesh 19,467sq km area out of the disputed 25,602 sq km leaving 6,135 sq km to india. the judgment is final and binding on both countries and cannot be appealed against. the tribunal sustained bangladesh’s claims of equitable solution to a full 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone in the bay and to a substantial share of extended continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. 5.2. bangladesh’s benefits on the basis of judgment bangladesh now legally possess 118,813 sq km of air space, waters, subsed and subsoil comprising territorial sea, contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone extending out to 200 nautical miles after peaceful settlement of bangladeshmyanmar and bangladesh-india maritime boundaries. this paves the way for the economic development of this part of bay of bengal which will be beneficial to all the countries. the verdict has been broadly accepted by both the countries as a positive development for further consolidation of friendly relations especially given the geo-strategic / political significance of greater india ocean region and south asian sub-region. moreover, the award has wide security and economic implications not only for india and bangladesh but also for the entire bay of bengal region. the verdict would contribute towards establishing strategic partnerships among the nations sharing borders in the bay. both the countries have accepted the award as it will open the door for exploration of oil and gas in the baythe site of huge energy reserves. international legal experts have heailed the tribunal’s encouragement to parties to exercise their sovereign rights and perform their duties under the convention with due regard to the rights of the other. the award has huge economic significance for a small state like bangladesh. it has www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 110 cleared the obstacles for dhaka to open up its waters for foreign firms to explore and exploit hydrocarbons in the bay. so long, bangladesh’s maritime disputes with india are believed to have deterred many international petroleum companies to invest in the sea-blocks previously offered by it. the ruling has confirmed bangladesh’s rights to exploit the potentially rich waters in the bay region. the united nations convention on the law of the sea (unclos) gives a nation 12 nm of territorial control and ensures sovereign rights to explore, exploit and manage natural resources with 200 nm of eez. now, bangladesh can go ahead with their plans of search and extraction of energy and mineral resources and exploitation of fisheries within 200 nm from baseline. bangladesh will be able to attract international oil companies to explore the deep sea for oil and gas. we should now proceed to carry out a general seismic survey at the bay of bangal. also bapex and petrobangla will have to provide their competence in terms of exploring off-shore blocks for oil and gas. we have now the sovereign right to fish, mine, collect and gather any resource available within the 118,813 sq km sea. even sea birds flying over this territory are ours. shipwrecks are ours too, to recover and claim. any archaeology site found in this area is ours. the verdict is also good news for millions of fishermen in both the countries. on the basis of judgement, our rights in 118,813 sq km sea have been insured conventionally. our different rights in different sea area have been discussed below. 5.2.1 in territorial sea the government may, by the notification of the official gazette, declare the limits of the sea beyond the land territory and internal waters of bangladesh which shall be territorial waters of bangladesh. the sovereignty of bangladesh extends, beyond its land territory and internal waters and, in the case of archipelagic state, its archipelagic waters, to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea. bangladesh has sovereignty to exercise its legal rights to the air space, in water as well to its bed and subsoil. the sovereignty over the territorial sea is exercised subject to this convention and to the rules of international law. bangladesh has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines. bangladesh has right of innocent passage through the territorial sea of all coastal state. bangladesh has right to take necessary steps • to prevent the passage through the territorial waters of any foreign ship having no right of innocent passage; • to prevent and punish the contravention of any law or rule in force in bangladesh by any foreign ship exercising the right of innocent passage; • to prevent the passage of any foreign warship without previous permission of government; and • to prevent and punish any activity which is prejudicial to the security or interest of the republic. in accordance with the article 27 of unclos iii of 1982, bangladesh as a coastal state has rights to arrest any person or to conduct any investigation in connection with any crime committed on board of foreign ship passing during its passage through the territorial sea in the following cases: • if the consequences of the crime extend to the coastal state; • if the crime is of kind to disturb the peace of the country or the good order of the t territorial sea; • if the assistance of the local authorities has been requested by the master of the ship or by diplomatic agent or consular officer of the flag state; or • if such measures are necessary for the suppression of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances. the above provisions do not affect the right of the coastal state to take any steps authorized by its law for the purpose of an arrest or investigation on board a foreign ship passing through the territorial sea after leaving internal waters. according to the article 28(2) of unclos iii of 1982, bangladesh has right of civil jurisdiction to execute against or arrest the ship for the purpose of any civil proceedings in respect of obligations or liabilities assumed or incurred by the ship itself in the course or for the purpose of its voyage the waters of the coastal state .this provision does not affect the right of the coastal state to take any steps authorized by its laws to execute against or to arrest , for the purpose of any civil proceedings, a foreign ship lying in the territorial sea, or passing through the territorial sea after leaving internal waters. 5.2.2 in contiguous zone the contiguous zone is a zone of sea contiguous to and beyond the territorial sea in which bangladesh has limited powers for the enforcement of customs, fiscal, sanitary and immigration laws. the contiguous zone may not extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. that is to say, it is twelve miles beyond the territorial sea. according to the article 33 of unclos iii, bangladesh has rights to enact laws and regulations about customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary within its territory or territorial sea. bangladesh has rights to exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 111 sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea. bangladesh has also rights to punish infringement of the above laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea. 5.2.3 in exclusive economic zone according to the article 55 of unclos iii, the exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific legal regime established under part 5, under which the rights and jurisdiction of the coastal state (bangladesh) are governed by the relevant provision of this convention. according to the article 57 of unclos iii, the exclusive economic zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the base lines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. on the basis of judgement with india and bangladesh (2014) and with myanmar and bangladesh (2012), 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone from baselines has been ensured for bangladesh in the bay of bangal. now, bangladesh shall freely enjoy her rights in the exclusive economic zone. according to the article 56 of unclos iii, bangladesh has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the living and nonliving resources of the sea bed and subsoil and the superjacent waters. furthermore, this right is to be exercised in accordance with the provisions of unclos iii relating to the continental shelf. the non-living resources of the superjacent waters relates to the various minerals which can be extracted from sea water. bangladesh has sovereign rights with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone such as the production of energy from the waters, currents and winds. this provision gives bangladesh quite new rights and reflects and is phrased so as to permit bangladesh to take advantage of developments in technology. the production of energy will usually require the construction of installations of some kind (e.g. wave barrages). in respect of this and the following two rights the unclos iii confers on bangladesh not sovereign rights (as with the first three rights) but the more limited jurisdiction. article 56 of unclos iii provides that bangladesh has jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of this convention with regard to the establishment and use of artificial island, installations and structures. the relevant provisions referred to are to be found in article 60. this article gives bangladesh: the exclusive right to construct and to authorize and regulate the construction, operation and use of; • artificial island; • installations and structures for the purposes provided for in article 56 and other economic purposes; • installations and structure which may interfere with the exercise of the rights of bangladesh in the zone. article 56 of unclos iii gives bangladesh jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of this convention with regard to marine scientific research. the relevant provisions of this convention are to be found in part xiii. article 246(1) of unclos iii provides that the coastal state (bangladesh) has the right to regulate, authorize and conduct scientific research in its eez. article 56 confers on bangladesh jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of this convention with regard to the protection and preservation of the marine environment. the relevant provisions of the convention are to be found in part xiii. this part gives bangladesh legislative and enforcement competence in its eez to deal with the dumping of waste (losc. articles 210 (5) and 216 other forms of pollution from vessels (losc. articles. 211 (5-6). 220. 234 and pollution from sea bed activities (losc.arts.208.214). 5.2.4 in continental shelf the judgment between india and bangladesh (2014) has ensured for bangladesh more than 1, 18,813 sq km of waters comprising territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and also undeniable sovereign rights in the sea bed and subsoil extending as far as 354 nautical miles from the chittagong coast in the bay. bangladesh can exercise over the continental shelf sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources according to the article 77(1) of unclos iii. according to the article 77(4) of unclos iii, natural resources mean the mineral and other non-living resources of the sea bed and subsoil together with living organisms belonging to the sedentary species, that is to say, organisms which, at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on or under the sea bed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the sea bed or the sub soil. bangladesh has legal status of the superjacent waters or of the air space over the continental shelf. according to the article 79, 80 and 81 of unclos iii, bangladesh is entitled to lay submarine cables and pipelines on the continental shelf. bangladesh has right to establish artificial island, installations and structures on the continental shelf. bangladesh shall have the exclusive right to authorize and regulate drilling on the continental shelf for all purposes. according to the article 7(4) of the territorial waters and maritime zones act 1974, the bangladesh government may construct, maintain or operate within the continental shelf installation other devices necessary for the exploration and exploitation of its resources. according to the article 111 of unclos iii, bangladesh has right of hot pursuit to the foreign ship or one of its boats is within the internal waters, the archipelagic waters, the territorial sea or the contiguous zone of the pursuing state (bangladesh), and may only be continued outside the territorial sea or the contiguous zone if the pursuit has not been interrupted. if the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, as defined in article 33, the pursuit may only be undertaken if there has been a violation of the rights for the protection of which the zone was established. according to the article 111(2) of unclos iii, the right of hot pursuit shall apply mutatis mutandis to www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 112 violations in the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf, such safety zones. according to the article 111(4) of unclos iii, the pursuit may only be commenced after a visual or auditory signal to stop has been given at a distance which enables it to be seen or heard by the foreign ship. 6. recommendation 6.1 on territorial sea the government may declare the limits of the sea beyond the land territory and internal waters of bangladesh which shall be the territorial sea of bangladesh specifying the notification the baseline. • from which such limits shall be measured; and • the waters on the land ward side of which shall form part of the internal waters of bangladesh. where a single island rock or a composite group there of constituting the part of the territory of bangladesh is situated seawards from the main coast or baseline, territorial sea shall extend to limits declare by notification measured from the low waterline along the coast of such island, rock or composite group. the sovereignty of the republic extends to the territorial waters as well as to the air space over and the bed and of such waters. no foreign ship shall unless it enjoys the right of innocent passage, pass through the territorial waters. 6.2 on contiguous zone the zone of high sea contiguous to the territorial waters and extending seawards to a line 06 nautical miles measured from the outer limits of the territorial water is hereby declared to be the contiguous zone of bangladesh (according to the territorial waters and maritime zones act 1974). and now bangladesh may establish 24 nautical miles of contiguous zone as against 06 nautical miles which declared under the act of 1974. the government may exercise such powers and take such measures in or respect of the contiguous zone. as it may consider necessary to prevent and punish the contravention of an attempt to contravene any law or regulations in force in bangladesh relating to the security of the republic , the immigration and sanitation, and custom and other fiscal matters. 6.3 on exclusive economic zone the government may, by notification in the official gazette, declare any zone of high seas adjacent to the territorial sea to be the exclusive economic zone of bangladesh specifying there in the limit of the zone from baseline to 200 nautical miles ( according to 1982 convention). all natural resources within the exclusive economic zone, both living and non living on or under the seabed and subsoil or on the water surface or within the water column shall vest exclusively in the republic. nothing shall be dressed to be the affect fishing within the exclusive economic zone by a citizen of bangladesh or any other state. . 6.4 on continental shelf a continental shelf is that zone, where every state can use it for their own purposes. it is the area beyond high sea. therefore, it is the place is not under control of any state. but to avoid certain difficulties government may, by notification in the official gazette, specific the limits there of. no person shall except permission in accordance with the terms of a license or permission granted by the government explore or exploit any resources of the continental shelf or carry out any search or excavation or conduct any research with the limit of the continental shelf. the government may with a view preventing and controlling marine pollution and preserving the quality and geological balance in the marine environment in the high seas adjacent to the territorial coasters, take such measures as it may dress appropriate for the purpose. the government may make rotes for carrying out the purpose of this act in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rotes may provide. • for the regulation of the conduct of any person in and upon the territorial coaters, contiguous zone, conservation and continental shelf. • for measures to protect, use and exploit the resources of the exclusive economic zone. • for conservation measures to protect the living resources in the sea. • for measures regulating the exploration and exploitation of resources within the continental shelf. • for measures designed to prevent and control of marine pollution of the high sea. 7. conclusion in the light of the latest maritime verdict, our responsibilities for controlling our portion of the bay have increased. effective, responsible and coordinated efforts of the concerned authorities are needed for protecting our maritime boundary and its living and nonliving natural resources. because it is not needed to pay or contribute to the international sea-bed authority for any productions from the territorial sea to open sea within five years. for the six year, the rate of payment or contribution shall be 1 percent of the value or volume of production at the site. the rate shall increase by 1 percent for each subsequent year until the twelfth year and shall remain 7 percent thereafter. so, we must move forward dynamically to explore, exploit, conserve and manage all kinds of living and nonliving natural resources in our different sea area. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 113 references churchill, r.r.and lower, a.v. (1983) the law of the sea, manchester university press. faruque, a a. (2009). essentials of legal research, palal prokashani, dhaka. halim, a. (2008). the legal system of bangladesh, university publications, dhaka. halim, a. (2008). the legal system of bangladesh after separation, university publications, dhaka. houghton, k. j., vafeidis, a. t., neumann, b., & proelss, a. (2010). maritime boundaries in a rising sea. nature geoscience, 3(12), 813. itlos, ‘disputes concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between bangladesh and myanmar’ in the bay of bangal’, the bangladesh v myanmar case, 14 march 2012. kapoor s k. (2004) international law and human rights, 15th ed. (india: central law agency). monzur kader, dr. (2007) the law of the sea, shams publication, dhaka. pca.(2014) ‘disputes concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between bangladesh and india’ in the bay of bangal’, the bangladesh v india case rupak bhattacharjee. (2014) delimitation of indo-bangladesh maritime boundary. rahman, m. h. (1984). delimitation of maritime boundaries: a survey of problems in the bangladesh case. asian survey, 24(12), 1302-1317. statutory law, ‘the territorial waters and maritime zones act, 1974’,bangladesh, entered into force on 4th february ,1974. tewari, h n. (2004). legal research methodology, ahhahabad law agency, haryana, india. the united nations, ‘the third united nations convention on the law of the sea’, did on 10 december 1982 in montego bay, jamaica, entered into force on 16 november, 1994. website:www.pca-cpa.org copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 52 gender issue in transportation sector of nigeria: a case study of lokoja, kogi state shaibu hasssan richard 1 & emmanuel okokondem okon 1 1 department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria. correspondence: shaibu hasssan richard, department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria. e-mail: richshaha@yahoo.com. tel: +2347034504427 received: january 11, 2018 accepted: january 14, 2018 online published: january 21, 2018 abstract this paper aimed at finding out what constraint women in transport sector in lokoja and why employers are reluctant in employing women in the sector? the null hypothesis is that women constraints have no significant effect in transportation sector in lokoja. information for the paper was basically from the questionnaire survey method data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, simple percentages and graphical illustrations. chi-square analysis was used to test the formulated hypothesis. the result reveals that women constraints have significant effect in transportation sector in lokoja. transport business in lokoja is so dominated by male counterpart and yet some routes are not adequately covered. based on the aforementioned findings, it is recommended that social attitude in lokoja, kogi state and nigeria in general should be changed in favour of women employment in transport sector. the government of kogi state should establish driving schools and transport scheme meant to enhance the livelihood of women. the national union of road transport worker (nurtw) should encourage women to invest in the sector. keywords: gender bias, transport sector, lokoja, labour force, nigeria. 1. introduction gender bias in transportation sector is a matter of concern for any welfare democratic and developing state. equal opportunities and compensation of female work force are required to be built in governmental policies of such state. for this reason, there are agitations across the globe focusing on the empowerment and right of women in all aspect including transportation sector, employment and economic participation with a view to reduce gender inequality (bivas & panigrahi, 2013). transport is one of several sectors that have traditionally been regarded as ‘no place for women in all respects and in many countries, this is still the case today. detailed and accurate statistics on the employment of women in the transport sector are hard to come by, especially for specific transport modes such as maritime, ports, inland waterways, civil aviation, road and railways (peter, 2013). sustainable transport cannot be said to be achieved if it is not coupled with effective and efficient programs that enhances livelihood of people especially women (odufuwa, 2007). in most developing countries like nigeria, gender dimensions in transportation planning, management and employment have been one of the least considered aspects in transportation and development (odufuwa, 2007). the problem manifest in countless cities in nigeria shows that most cities with regards to public transportation offer little or no perspective for women (fernando, 2002; world bank, 2001; & trb, 2006). the primary goal for national policy maker is to raise the level of women welfare and employment in transportation sector within the nations. the state of transportation in nigeria can be classified into five major modesroads, rail, water, air and pipelines, the contribution of the transport sector to the economy of nigeria if considered tend to stagnate or decline at about 3% of gdp (ogunsanya, 2002). road in particular decline from 5.17% in 1981, 2.90% in 1995 and 2.8% in 1996 and 2.84% in 1997 and less than 2.5% in recent time (odufuwa, 2007). indeed transport planner and policy makers all over the world have increasingly recognized the fact that, the difference between the travel and employment pattern between men and women are central and reoccurring features www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 53 in transportation sector all over the world (peter, 2002). despite improvement in building women capacities, gender gap, inefficient means of employment and travel continue to persist (oyesiku & odufuwa, 2002; asiyanbola, 2007). 2. research problem the transport sector in lokoja appears to be characterized by gender bias, which results in an unequal treatment of women in relations to their access to employment, professional training and working conditions. less attention is been given to this issue due to poor institution established in enlightening the public about the importance of women employment and empowerment in the transportation sector, lack of policy made by government and social partner in protecting women against all form of criminal activities including harassment, sexual assault and loss of property. despite the noble goal of preventing discrimination on the bases of sex, women continue to face disadvantage compared to the male counterpart, who enjoys greater opportunities in the transportation sector in lokoja. 3. research questions this paper attempts to answer the following questions:  what are the constraints faced by women in transportation sector in lokoja?  why are employers reluctant in employing women in transportation sector in lokoja? 4. research hypotheses for the purpose of this study, the following hypothesis was formulated: h0: women constraints have no significant effect in transportation sector in lokoja. 5. review of literature the growing emphasis on promoting sustainable means of transport, to enhanced livelihoods of women has over the year’s motivated conversation among scholars in different fields (odega, 2014; haralambos and holborn, 2007; hara, 2013; jhingan, 2007; and oladele, 2001).the issue has yielded extensive literature discussing different aspects of gender and transport in most countries (srinivasan, 2005; rosenbloom, 2005; anand and tiwari, 2006; kamuhanda and schmidt, 2009; and hanson and hanson, 1980). in nigeria, adetunji (2013) used a sample size of 11 to assess the quality of urban transport services. the findings revealed that some of the urban residents who are less accessible to transport services in their neighborhood commute on foot to meet their travel demands. odufuwa, oriole, & otubaga (2012) used a propulsive sampling technique to administered 203 questionnaires to examine women and the use of public transport in nigeria traditional city-ibadan. it findings reveal that, public transport system in the city is inefficient. bivas & panigrahi (2013) used an annual survey of industry (asi) to find out gender issues in term of female workforce participation and wage differentials the organized manufacture sector in indian, and find out that there is significant variation with female work participation across different industry divisions. oni & okanlawon (2011) studied transport planning in nigeria: a plea for incorporating the gender factor and evaluates gender allocation of transport planners/providers/traffic management agencies at the management level in nigeria and state the need for integrating gender issues into transport planning and policy in nigeria, the study uses secondary data and various data collected were analyzed using percentage. the study reveals that the proportion of women among transport planners in nigeria is insignificant and that women are not adequately represented among transport planners/providers and traffic management agencies in nigeria. apta (2011) conducted a research on the economic impact of transportation investment in nigeria and discovered that transportation generate nearly $500 million to the federal, state and local government annually. tanimowo & ibrahim (2013) used primary data, which were obtained through a random systematic sampling of 500 households in ilorin, nigeria. data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. the results showed unprecedented fear that people have for engaging in transport activities. feeling sad and level of worrisome people subjected to while using transport facilities is also high. 5.1 an overview of nigeria laborforce nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding financial, service, communication, transportation and entertainment sector. it is the most populous country in africa and the eighth most populous country in the world (ngozi, 2010). despite the large economic role of oil, the informal sector (e.g., transportation and agricultural sector) is the biggest employer in the country, employing over two thirds of the population and accounting for a third of nigeria’s gdp. as of 2007, about 66% of the nigerian population was in the labor force, and the country’s population growth rate between 2005 and 2010 is estimated at 2.3% per annum. labor force participation in nigeria for adult women was 38.7% in 2007, a rise from 38.1% in 2005 and 37.0% in 2000 (ngozi, 2010). for adult men, labor force participation has been declining from 73.7% in 2000 to 71.7% in 2005, and then to 70.6% in 2007. the unemployment rate in nigeria was at 4.9% (ngozi, 2010). according to the national bureau of statistics (nbs), the rate of unemployment in nigeria stood at 23.9 per cent in 2011, while urban unemployment was estimated at 29.5 per cent in 2013 (chima, 2014). www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 54 100 80% male female 60% 40% 20% 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+ figure 1: labour force participation in nigeria source: international labor organization (2010) the figures show a high level of inequality in the workforce. the highest percentage of men in the workforce is among those aged 45-49 (99.2%) compared to just 67% of their female counterparts. the highest percentage of women in the workforce (69.5%) is among those aged 50-54. naturally in the labor market, one would always see series of labor market behaviors such as demand for labor, supply of labor, job search, incomes and wages, unemployment, wage determination. in nigeria there are peculiar problems that deter the nigeria labor market from functioning properly and this problem should be put into consideration. one major problem is the increasing rate of the labor force not marched with a corresponding increase in job opportunities. 5.2 an overview of female labor-force in nigeria by the virtue of the population of nigeria the potential female labor forces is 50% but actual value is 31% (peter, 2013). the proportion of women in the formal sector is very minimal. this is noticeable in the industries and the civil service, which is the highest employer in the country; women are mostly found in the junior categories. women are mainly involved in petty trading, selling wares in the market and street hawking in urban areas. according to statistics 78% of women are mostly engaged in the formal sector, which are farming and petty trading. despite this, their contribution is not measure monetarily. the women’s unpaid labor is twice that of men, and its economic value is estimated to be up to 30% of the nation’s gross national product (2010). women self-advancement has been curtailed by the burden of reproduction, particularly in nigeria with a very high birth rate as well as cultural roles associated to womenrole of child bearing, child care and homemaking. in nigeria today, women are excluded from certain occupational categories due to formal barriers as well as informal barriers to entry. few nigerian women are engaged in top management cadre of formal sector establishments simply because majority of them lack the educational qualifications necessary for such positions nigeria women face a lot of discrimination that limit their opportunities to develop their full potential on the basis of equality with men (olukem, 2008). the 1999 constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of sex. nevertheless, the reality is that nigerian women are far from enjoying equal rights in the labor market, mainly to their domestic burden, low level of education attainment and discriminatory salaries. the legal protection granted by the constitution and the labor act has little or no effect in the informal sector –agriculture and domestic services where the vast majority of women are employment. 6. study area and methodology 6.1. a brief history of lokoja, kogi state kogi state is found in the central region of nigeria. it is popularly called the confluence state because the influences of river niger and benue is at its capital, lokoja, which is the first administrative capital of modern day nigeria. lokoja is also a local government area of kogi state with an area of 3180km 2 and a population of about 195,261 at the 2006 census (isah, 2013). it is bounded by the niger in the north and east upstream from the capital until the border with kwara state, and includes the city of lokoja. although the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, the present settlement at lokoja was established in 1857 by the british explorer william baikie. it was in lokoja, that the name nigeria was coined by flora shaw, the wife of lugard, a british colonial administrator which gazing out at the river that stretched before her in the late 19 th century (isah, 2013). www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 55 map of nigeria showing lokoja, kogi state source: google.com (n.d.). the state was created in 1991 from part of kwara state and benue state. it connects the federal capital territory with 22 southern states, being in close proximity to abuja, which is the capital of nigeria. figure2: anyigba motor vehicle and motor cycle figure 3:a lady riding a motorcycle in igala unity park, one hour and thirty minute drive to lokoja, square anyigba. kogi state capital. source: photo from field survey 2014 source: photo from field survey 2014 6.1.1. research design this study used a cross sectional survey design. the purpose of cross sectional survey design is to obtain detailed data and factual information of an existing phenomenon. 6.1.2. population the targets in the population of the study are employers, workers, passengers and individual in the transportation sector in lokoja. these categories of people in the population are large. 6.1.3. instrumentation self-designed questionnaire was specifically used to accomplish the objectives of the study. the questionnaire is divided into two sections. the first section obtained information such as age, sex, marital status, position, occupation and education level the second section contained 16 questions which measured the effect of gender bias in transportation sector. 6.14. sampling technique in order to ensure equal representation, simple random sampling method was employed within lokoja transportation sector which are: road and water transport. random sampling technique was used to give the sample population an equal chance or probability of being selected. the total number in the selected sample is one hundred and twenty (120), and 102 questionnaires were retrieved. it was distributed in order to have large responses from the respondents, since the population sample is infinite. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 56 6.2. technique of analysis the analysis of data was based on the frequency of the people’s perception over issues under investigation and this was determined by a simple percentage representation. in the interpretation, the higher the percentage means the greater the impact or performance of such variable on the subject matter. for the purpose of interpretation and presentation of such data in an easy form, table and bar chart presentation were used while anova and chi-square distribution was used to test hypothesis. 7. result and discussion figure 4: sexof respondents source: field survey 2014 from bar chart above 65.7% were male respondents while 34.3% were female respondents. table 1: what is your occupation? detail frequency percentage (%) driver 18 17.7 motorcyclist 22 21.6 sailor 3 2.9 others 59 57.8 total 102 100 source: field survey. table 1 clearly shows that 17.7% were driver, 21.6% were motorcyclist, 2.9% of the respondents were sailor and 57.8% of the respondents were from other occupation. figure 5: age of respondents source: field survey. from the bar chart (figure 5) above 75.5% belong to the age group of 15-30, while 16.7% belongs to the age group of 31-50, and 7.8% belongs to the age group of 51-70. table2: women are not discriminated based on culture and social norms in the transportation sector. detail frequency percentages (%) agree 38 37.3 strongly agree 15 14.7 disagree 31 30.4 strongly disagree 18 17.6 total 102 100 source: field survey. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 57 table 2 depicts that37.3% of the population agreed that women are discriminated in the transportation sector based on culture and social norms. this response aligns with reskin and roos’ (1990) argument which takes account of non-economic factors such as stereotypes, prejudices, custom and peer pressure that lead workers to rank jobs in a certain way, and for example may lead women to deselect themselves for certain typically male jobs. however, table 2 shows that 30.4% disagree that female are discriminated in the transportation sector based on culture and social norms and 17.6% of the respondents strongly disagree to the statement. figure 6: religion encourages women participation in transportation sector. source: field survey. from the above bar chart 25.4% of the respondents agree that religion support women participation in the transportation sector while 11.8% strongly agree and 36.3% of the respondent disagree that religion encourages women participation in the transportation sector while 26.5% strongly disagree. the result accords h’madoun’s (2010) bid to examine the influence of religion on female labor force participation across countries, the religious women were found to participate less in labor market activities than the non-religious women. table 3: insecurity is not a constraint faced by women in the transportation sector. detail frequency percentage (%) agree 23 22.5 strongly agree 10 9.8 disagree 38 37.3 strongly disagree 31 30.4 total 102 100 source: field survey. as can be seen in table 3, 22.5% of the respondents agree that insecurity is not a constraint faced by women in the transportation sector while 9.8% strongly agree and 37.3% of the respondents disagree that insecurity is not a constraint faced by women in the transportation sector while 30.4% strongly disagree. nonetheless, as turnbull et al (2013) observe, violence against transport workers is one of the most important factors limiting the attraction of transport jobs for women and breaking the retention of those who are employed in the transport sector. table4: sexual harassment encourages women to engage in transportation sector. detail frequency percentages% agree 7 6.8 strongly agree 13 12.8 disagree 30 29.4 strongly disagree 52 51.0 total 102 100 source: field survey. tables 4shows that 6.8% of the respondents agree that sexual harassment encourages women in the transportation sector while 12.8% strongly agree and 29.4% of the respondent disagree that sexual harassment encourages women engagement in the transportation sector while 51.0% strongly disagree to the statement. this result concurs with yusuf (1998) that argued that women face discrimination at workplace right from the point of recruitment throughout their work lives. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 58 table 5: employers considered women as inferior and do not fit in the transportation sector. detail frequency percentage (%) agree 41 40.2 strongly agree 20 19.6 disagree 26 25.4 strongly disagree 15 14.7 total 102 100 source: field survey. from the above table (95), 40.2% of the respondent agrees that employers see women as inferior and do not fit in transportation sector. this result accords the equal opportunity for women in the workplace agency (eowa) & diversity council (2008) and auspoll survey on pay equity (2008) which found that women’s skills are viewed as “soft or social skills” rather than industrial or workplace skills. on the other hand, 14.7% of the respondents strongly disagree to the statement that women are seen as inferior in transportation sector. table 6: nursing mothers are employed by bus and truck owner in the transportation sector. detail frequency percentage (%) agree 27 26.5 strongly agree 9 8.8 disagree 31 30.3 strongly disagree 35 34.3 total 102 100 source: field survey. from the above table (6), 26.5% of the respondent agree that nursing mother are employed in the transportation sector, 8.82% strongly agree while 30.3% of the respondent disagree that nursing mother are employed in the transportation sector, 34.3% of the respondent strongly disagree with the statement. tables 7: employers do not employ women because they considered them as not having the strength for effective job. detail frequency percentage (%) agree 34 33.3 strongly agree 22 21.6 disagree 31 30.4 strongly agree 15 14.7 total 102 100 source: field survey. from table 7, above 33.3% of the respondents agree that employer do not employed women because they considered them as not having the strength for effective job, 21.6% strongly agree and 30.4% of the respondents disagree while 14.7% of the respondents strongly disagree with the statement. table 8: men discourage bus and truck owners from engaging their wives in the transportation sector. detail frequency percentages (%) agree 43 42.2 strongly agree 17 16.6 disagree 27 26.5 strongly disagree 15 14.7 total 102 100 source: field survey . table 8 above shows that 42.2% of the respondents agree that men discourages bus and truck owner from engaging their wives in transportation sectors 16.6% strongly agree and 26.5% of the respondents disagree that men discourages bus and truck owner from engaging their wives in the transportation sector, 14.7% of the respondents strongly disagree. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 59 table 9: employer considered the distance of a journey as a reason for not employing women in the transportation sector detail frequency percentages (%) agree 46 45.1 strongly agree 22 21.6 disagree 18 17.6 strongly disagree 16 15.7 total 102 100 source: field survey. table 9 above it shows that 45.1% of the respondents agree that employer considered distance of a journey as a reason for not employing women in transportation sector, 21.6% strongly agree and 17.6% of the respondents disagree that employer do not considered distance as a reason for not employing women in the transportation sector, 15.7% of the respondent strongly disagree with the statement. 7.1test of hypothesis to test the null hypothesis that women constraints have no significant effect in transportation sector in lokoja, the frequency responses from table 2,3,4 and figure 6 were consulted. analysis data using chi-square test at 5% level of significance shows that the value of the calculated χ² is greater than the critical value, i.e., 43.7 > 16.919. therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis that women constraint has significant effect in transportation sector in lokoja. however, in lokoja and many places in nigeria, insecurity, pregnancy, customs, social norms and religion pose great challenges to women in workplace and affect their productivity. nonetheless, transport business in lokoja is so dominated by male counterpart and yetsome routes are not adequately covered in terms of conveying passengers. this result is contrary to odufuwa, oriola, &otubaga (2012) that showed that women constraints have no effect in transportation growth. 8. conclusion and recommendation transport sector can induce economic growth by increasing job opportunities to march with increasing rate of labour force (especially female). transport is useful for conveying passenger and goods and it should be more planned with gender issues incorporated in it. the following are therefore recommended based on the findings of this research effort: social attitude in lokoja, kogi state and nigeria in general should be changed in favour of women employment in transport sector. to ensure this, strict obedience of gender laws is required which will lead to an increase in the percentage of women participation in transportation institutions. in this regard, the national union of road transport worker (nurtw) which is the umbrella body of road transport workers in nigeria has a strategic part to play by encouraging employment of women in transportation business as well as encouraging them to invest in the sector. the government of kogi state should establish driving schools and transport scheme meant to enhance the livelihood of women. this will help women to acquire the driving skill and commercial vehicles to earn a living whether in rural or urban areas. references adetunji, m. a. 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(2001). integrating gender into the world bank's work: a strategy for action. retrieved from hppt://www.worldbank.org. world bank ( 2010). world bank indicator-nigeria-economic activity.retrieved from http:// www.tradingeconomics.com/nigeria. yusuf, n. (1998). gender issues in nigeria’s industrial relations. journal of arts and social science, department of general studies, federal university of technology, owerri, 1(1), 81-90. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://www.worldbank.org/ http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nigeria contents american international journal of social science research vol. 1, no. 1; 2017 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 42 corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman1 1department of political science, bauchi state university, gadau, nigeria correspondence: department of political science, bauchi state university, gadau, nigeria, e-mail: isuleiman@basug.edu.ng received: september 13, 2017 accepted: september 15, 2017 online published: september 21, 2017 abstract corruption has been corrosively eating the fabrics of the nigerian nation. its persistence in the form of fraud, mismanagement, misappropriation, diversion of public funds, tax evasion, money laundering etc. has led nigeria into unfortunate national and even international circle of criminal minded persons. this therefore has made the development of the country and its attendant benefits only a paper work or rather an illusion. this paper conceptualizes corruption beyond the point of public officers taking bribes and gratification, committing fraud, stealing public funds and assets to equally include, deliberate violation of standards for gainful ends which may be in cash or kind. it therefore, encompasses any decision, act or conduct that is considered pervasive to democratic norms and values. the method utilized by this work is incidence analysis and documentary research. the paper which is divided into five sections concluded that, only anti-corruption policies and programs anchored on ethical, balanced, independent, and self-sustained, people oriented can succeed in nigeria and thereby ensure national economic development. the paper recommended among other things for a successful anti-corruption crusade in third world countries that, international agencies such as paris club, imf, world bank, uno should review their policies and conditions to reflect war against corruption especially among third world leaders even while in office. that a mandatory involvement of all community based organizations be considered in annual budget formulation, monitoring and evaluation to avoids misappropriation and looting in the country. keywords: corruption, cankerworms, economy, development, nigeria. 1. introduction corruption is a global phenomenon and its effect on individuals, institutions, countries and global development has made it an issue of universal concern. although the concept has no universally accepted definition, yet, this has not debarred a collective condemnation of its practice (ikubaje, 2004). with the adoption of new constitution on may 29th 1999, the civilian administration identified massive corruption in governance and business as one of the areas that required urgent attention. this necessitated the establishment of independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc) and economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) to combat the menace of corruption in nigeria. corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 43 corruption could be described as any practice, act or omission of a public official that is a deviation from the norm and cannot be openly acknowledge, but must be hidden from the public eye corruption diverts official (unofficial) decision-making from what a decision should have been to what it should not have been and is not limited to public sector, it permeate all our socio-economic life. in this manner, the report of the political bureau which the federal government of nigeria set up in 1987 sums it up thus: “manifestation of corruption include the inflation of government contracts in return for kickbacks, frauds and falsification of account in the public services; examination malpractice in our educational institutions including universities; the taking of bribes and perversion of justice among the police, the judiciary and the various heinous crimes against the state in the business and industrial sectors of our economy, in collusion with multinational companies such over-invoicing of goods, foreign exchange swindling, hoarding and smuggling”. in this vain, corruption is a phenomenon that has become a matter of great concern to nigerians, especially as it has pervaded all levels of government and civil society. thus, executive and legislative arms of government, the judiciary, religious institutions, the school system, law enforcement agencies, in fact no part of the nigeria society is spared of the cankerworm of corruption. therefore, combating corruption is a necessary step towards economic revamp. different degrees of corruption are inimical and antithetical to development aspirations of nigeria. as it has amply been demonstrated in various sections of the nigerian state, the illegal and abusive squandering of state and local government resources by a few selected or elected political officials deeply hurt any genuine efforts to develop those states or regions. in this presentation, corruption is conceived in the widest possible sense, to include fiscal, environmental and policy fraud. it is clear that corruption with impurity has been the bane of various regimes in nigeria since independence and every attempt at checkmating abuses and wrongdoing by public office holders would not be happily accepted. this paper attempts to critically analyze corruption curtailment in transforming the nigerian economy. in doing this, incidence analysis and documentary research were employed. efforts made in transforming the nigerian economy so far and the challenges facing the current reform are also highlighted. to achieve this, the paper is divided in to five sections. while section one introduces the paper, the second section reviews some literature and theoretical issues. section three discusses the causes and effects of corruption. section four reviews the anti-corruption programmes in nigeria against expectation. the last section concludes the paper and proffers some policy recommendation. 2. literature and theoretical issues corruption has been an abrasive and carcinogen corrosively eating the fabrics of the nation. the persistence of corruption and related fraud, mismanagement, misappropriation and theft that, has led to the unfortunate conclusion in national and international circles that nigeria is a major money laundering centre, and nigerians are criminal minded and preoccupied with crime and fraud. corruption covers a wide range of behavior, which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of a private gains regarding (personal, close family, private clique, pecuniary or status gain. or it is a behavior, which violates rules against the exercise of certain type of duties for private gain (nye, 1976). thus, corruption include such behavior as bribery (use of reward to pervert the judgement of a person in a position of trust); nepotism (bestowal of patronage by reason of ascribtive relationship rather than merit); and misappropriation (illegal appropriation of public resources for private uses). corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 44 corruption (violence, crime and instability) corruption means, more public officers are involve in taking bribes and gratification, committing fraud and stealing funds and assets entrusted to their care. it is the deliberate violations for gainful ends, of standard of conduct, legally, professionally or even ethically established, in private and public affairs. usman, (2001) further assert that these gains may be in cash, or kind or it may even be psychological, or political, but they are made from the violation of the integrity of an entity and involves the subversion of its quality and capacity on the other hand, oboyega, (1996) notes that corruption encompasses any decision, act or conducts that is pervasive to democratic norms and values. it also covers any decision, act or conduct that subverted the integrity of people in authority or institutions charged with promoting, defending or sustaining the democratization process, thereby undermining its effectiveness in performing its assigned roles. it is obvious that corruption manifests in various forms. it occurs when one obtains a business from the public (private) sector through inappropriate procedure; it occurs when one is exempted from the application of certain laws or regulations and when one is given undue preference in the allocation of scarce resources. therefore, regardless of the mode it occurs, its impact is always negative in the societal development. this prompted achebe, (1988) to assert that “corruption in nigeria has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage, and nigeria will die if we keep pretending that she is only slightly indisposed. corruption ,as put by joseph, (2002) can be viewed from the “fraud triangle” consisting of pressure, opportunity and rationality, which is the result of fundamental systemic and system failure, such that individuals, structures, and institutions, helplessly on the one hand and will fully on the other, fall prey to its various admittedly vagarious conflicting complex dimensions. act of corruption became normalized to the extent that it is abnormal for anybody to raise any form of personal, legal or institutional alarm against it. the following model explained this relationship. figure 1 source: joseph t. 2002 pressure conflict corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 45 from figure 1, at pressure level, individuals and interest groups seek available system. wide values and norms and directly or indirectly pressurize the system to allow corruption to thrive in manifold forms by providing the rationality and tacit modes of accepting it as normal and justifiable. sadly however, cultural affinity, religious sentiments, ethnicity, regional and geopolitical alignment are mobilized to construct, deconstruct and reconstruct the reality and seriousness of corruption and allied criminal behaviours in the society. on the second side of the fraud triangle, the opportunity level, and the prevailing system, produces the prevailing opportunities to commit fraud and corruption as there are somewhat deliberate loopholes created in the way and manner life-enhancing opportunities, legal and administrative systems or machinery and institutional core-responsibilities and duties are administered. even the enforcement of laws and administration of penal sanctions are constantly altered to benefits those in position of influence. most time, those who commit crime are not punished and when they are, the punishment does not fit the crime. this precipitates further criminality by those who engage in or want to try the will of the law. obviously, rising unemployment, poverty, social and economic injustice, political repression, community neglect, alienation and abuse and denial of fundamental human and constitutional right are precipitants of violence, crime and other social vices inclusive of corruption. finally, at the level of rationality the combine forces of pressure and rationality produce the rationality and rationalization for corruption and allied crimes. when persons from certain cultural, economic, social, political, ethnic and religious backgrounds are indicted or arrested for involvement in acts of corruption, such primordial connections are put to work to prevent the prosecution of such individuals, because, according to these logic, they are „one of us/ours‟. all these issues arise essentially from the complex and conflict nature of our society, since all interest cannot be merged as one. thus, the bottom line of all acts of corruption, especially when they persist in spite of existing control regimes is the conflicting interests inherent in the society. therefore, corruption is not only about money, stealing public funds or receiving gratifications. it is corruption to deny those who won elections their victory, and award victory to those who lost. it is corruption to misuse the apparatus of government, particularly the security agents, to rig elections as was widely done in the general and presidential elections of april, 2003 in nigeria where some candidates scored more than the total registered voters. it is corruption to claim the result of such elections as mandates from the people. corruption includes the deceit of trusting nigerians whom you promise one thing and do something else. corruption includes creating situations of uncertainty and stress, for the entire populace to gain selfish advantage. corruption also includes playing one religion or ethnic group against the other for whatever gain. last but not the least, usman (2001) describes corruption within the nigeria context as: bribery, extortion, graft, embezzlement, betrayal of trust, unfair advantage, financial malpractices, dash, gratification, brown envelopes, tips, emoluments, greasing, softening the ground, inducement, sub-payments, side payments, irregular payments, payments under the table, undocumented extra payment, facilitation payments, mobilization fees, revised estimates, padded contracts, over/under invoicing, cash commission, kickbacks, pay-offs, covert exchanges, shady deals, cover ups, collusion 10% rule (bribe sub charge), 50% rule (sharing bribe within the hierarchy), let keep our secret, highly classified transaction, vested interest, corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 46 customary gift giving, tribute culture, nepotism, indiscipline and disrespect to society. 3. causes of corruption rose-ackerman (1997) provided six causes of corruption: 3.1 bribes that equates supply and demand through corruption, government officials exercise monopoly of power by determining the quantity of services provided. like a private monopoly, officials may set the supply of services below the official sanctioned level to increase economic rents. conversely, corrupt officials may increase the supply of service if the government has set the supply below the monopoly level. in other situation, the service is not scarce but is, like a passport, driver license, or pension available to everyone who qualified for it. however, corrupt officials may have sufficient monopoly of power to create scarcity either by delaying approval or by withholding them unless bribes are paid. 3.2 bribe as incentive payments for bureaucrats bribes often act as an incentive payment to public officials, but tolerance of these payments, especially by outside lenders and donors such as the world bank, is likely to dim the prospects for long term reform. incentives payments that are widely viewed as acceptable should be legalized, but not all incentives pay schemes improve bureaucratic efficiency. instead, they encourage inefficiency to maximize financial rewards. for example, pay offs to queue managers can be efficient because they create incentives for the managers to work quickly and to favour those who value their time highly. 3. 3 bribe to lower costs governments impose regulations, levy taxes and enforce criminal laws, individuals and firms may pay for relief from these costs. for example, by colluding with tax collector and custom official to lower the sums collected. the economic impact of bribe paid to avoid regulations, lower taxes, and supersede laws depends on the efficiency of the underlying systems and also the western multinational cooperation companies are used to bribing and lobbying politicians to seek favours and profit. 3.4 bribes to obtain contracts and concessions and to private firm bribes paid to win major contracts and concessions and to privatize companies are generally the preserve of big business and high level officials. such bribes appears analogous to cases in which government disburses a scarce benefit. bribing the top officials can have far reaching economic consequences. consider a logging concession that a company obtains illegally over the higher bids of its competitors. if corruption does not restrict who bids and if the official granting the concession can not affect its size, then the firm that pays the largest bribe, value the concession the most. the lost revenue from the higher bids, however, will be felt in the form of higher taxes and cancelled public programmes. the payoff may be “just” a transfer, but it is harmful to the well being of the ordinary citizens. typical examples are how nigerian crude oil export records which remain questionable and many fake firms were awarded contract against the ethics of contract awarding policy or law. 3.5 bribes to buy political influence and votes contrary to the principles of democracy, many corrupt politicians coming to power even through citizens are aware of their malfeasance. moreover, bribes are often used to fund political parties at election campaign due to the fact that modern political campaign particularly in africa require enormous amount of money. in the absence of the public funding, businesses that have a stake in politicians decisions are the most convenient source of funds. corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 47 even if certain contribution from businesses is legal, firms and politicians may prefer to keep them secret if a quid proquo is involved and entrenchment system of illegal payoff can undermine efforts to reform campaign financing. for example many business tycoons had immensely contributed to the success of pdp and obasanjo in particular. notable among them are alikodangote who gave out two private jets and token of five hundred million approximately as a donation to clear ground for his business (daily trust, 13, 2003. p.14). 3.6 bribes to buy judicial decision through their decisions judges have the power to affect the distribution of wealth. thus, like any public official with similar powers, they may be tempted to accept bribes. this temptation is stronger when judges are underpaid and overburdened and have poorly equipped and unstaffed offices. even if judges are not themselves corrupt, clerks in charge of assignment cases and advising judges may demand or accept bribes. in african countries, particularly nigeria, judicial bribe to buy decisions has been exposed. election petition tribunals of the then presidential and gubernatorial elections were found wanting of collecting bribe from the ruling party as a reward for judging a case in their favour (daily trust, september, 20, p.18). gurin, (2003) came up with three principal moral causes of corruption in society which includes; 3.6.1 utilitarianism utility is one of the dominant moral principles of materialistic civilization. the ideas of utility is that the only pursuits which man should undertake in life of those that bring immediate material, gain or profit to him as an individual or as a member of a particular group representing certain material interests. in these pursuits, moral standards that could be tolerated are those that extol man‟s „freedom‟ or „right‟ etc enrich himself or surround himself with material largesse obtained; mostly at the expenses of others. thus only such „moral‟ standards as profit, individualism, comfort and freedom is accepted as the fundamental norms of life. higher ideals and moral principles are given to place with the result that society loses standard, moral value upon which to act. values, standards and norms keep on changing according to the turns of fortune in the pursuit of gains and profits. people who believe in utility are always ready to compromise with every system; they exhibit wonderful capacity adaptability according to changing circumstances,. they can work for any ideology; fight under any flag and die or kill for any cause provided they have something to gain whether the profit to be had is negligible, or even doubtful. 3.6.2 material progress the quest for material progress to the total neglect of all other goals of human existence is another feature of corruption. to achieve this goal the entire societal machinery include literature and „scientific‟ thoughts are geared towards convincing individuals that the man of worth is the rich man, that the ultimate purpose of life is to attain the limit of material and sexual pleasures. consequentlytheories are formulated to „prove‟ that the whole history of man is the struggle to get bread, eat, drink and be married; and that man is directed only by his instincts, the most important of them being the instincts or hunger and sex; in other words, the ultimate aim of human existence is to be materially and sexually happy in this world even if it involves the annihilation of the rest of mankind. as one scholar writes; so strong indeed is our addiction to wealth, so confirmed our belief that it is wealth which above all other things, confers merit upon a man and greatness upon a man and greatness upon a corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 48 state, that it has succeeded in inspiring two theories of the greatest historical importance with regard to the nature of the motive force which makes the wheels of the world go round. one of these laissez-faire economics, dominated in the nineteenth century. it asserted that men would always act in the way, which they considered would conduce to their greatest economic advantages; that in short, they were inspired by, hedonism not of the passions, but of the pocket. the other, which bids fairs to dominate the early part of the twentieth century is marx‟s theory of economic determinism, which insists that the way in which, at any given movement, a society organizes its economic system to satisfy its material needs, determines its arts, its ethics, its religion, and even logic, no less than its form of government. both these theories derive their greatest plausibility from the value which men and women, demonstrably place upon wealth as a criterion of merit in individuals and a sign of greatness in state. 3.6.3 the god denial denial of god is another main feature of materialism. materialism denies god not because he is really not there, but because the decrees of god conflict sharply with the interest the materials are out to protect. the dialogue between prophet shu‟aibu (a.s) and his people who were materialist and who are bent upon promoting their worldly interest at all cost will serve as a god example. “to the people of madyan (we sent) shu‟aibu one of their own brethren; he said “o my people! worship god: you have not other god but him. and give not short measure or weight; i see you in prosperity. but i fear for you the penalty of a day that will compass (you) all rounds. and o my people gives just measure and weight. nor withhold from the people the things that are their due; commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief (corruption). thus, corruption; profiteering, cheating exploitation and confiscation of people‟s property in the name of business are against the law of god and are incompatible with relief in, and worship of god. 4. some effects of corruption in africa, and indeed nigeria corruption has severely undermined national, social and economic development. in fact, corruption often leads to national collapse as witness by the former zaire and somalia, where nepotism led to self-immolation. almost every change of government, violent or peaceful, in the continent is driven by pledges to get rid ofcorruption. indeed, corruption has led to africa‟s political instability and gross abuses of power. to be more specific, corruption has led to bad roads and decaying infrastructure, inadequate medical services, poor schools and falling education standards, and the disappearance of foreign aid and foreign loans and of entire projects without a trace (or their delayed completion, leading to higher costs). corruption has meant that fewer imported goods enter the country than were paid for; foreign exchange earned from exports is not repatriated; national assets are run down and ruined; production capacity in industry; agriculture, and services have been reduced; and repairs of buildings, equipment, vehicles, and physical and social infrastructure have been paid for repeatedly but never performed. corruption distorts the economy it led to waste and misallocation of resources. citizens‟ fundamental needsfood, shelter, health, education are neglected. thus corruption creates an artificial need for external assistance to compensate for corrupt and irresponsible mismanagement for local resources. having created the need, corruption then impedes foreign assistance. corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 49 5. anti corruption programmes in nigeria in order to curb this cankerworm, various governments in nigeria have responded to the problem of corruption by implementing one. programme or the other, and these include ethical revolution, national orientation, and waragainstin discipline, mass mobilization for self-reliance and economy recovery (mamser). despite all these efforts by various regimes to find solution to the problem of corruption, this problem (corruption) seems to be defiling all these curative mechanisms put in place by various governments. this situation prompted president obasanjo when he came to power in 1999 to declare war against corruption, if nigeria will make progress in all facets of the state. since, the social and economic approaches which other regimes adopted seemed to have failed he opted for legal instrument to combat corruption. independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc) and the economic and financial crime commission (efcc) were instituted by the regime in combating corruption in nigeria. to appraise critically the consistency or otherwise of these anti corruption programmes, the incidence analysis that requires the use of descriptive and inferentive tools or explained early is employed. musa (1983) believed that “the most powerful civil servants, military officers, police officers, judges, politicians, academia and journalist who have shaped and shaping the destiny of this country, since independence, when they “retire” almost in all cases retired in to company board-rooms. here, they operate as shareholders, directors, chairmen, consultants, or as landlords, contractors, renters and other form of commission agents, and front-men for foreign business interest operating in nigeria. they get these positions not out of charity of these business interest operating in nigeria, when they held public office and continue to use their inside knowledge and contacts in government to shape public policy to serve these vested interest. the inec chairman in 2003 spent billion of naira promising to get nigerians a digital voter‟s register that will last 50 years, and the data capture machine had not even arrived inec office when some of them were found in political chieftains homes. moreover, some bribe paid to members of the na‟abba led house of representatives by the then executive was dumped as evidence of corruption upon table in the house by some of its members. what was the action taken by the anti corruption agencies? what happened to power project contract issued and fully paid to non-existing companies? what is the explanation for failure to pursue and prosecute those involved? (awoniyi, 2003). in another occasion, ribadu (2006) in his report of corruption practices against the then vice president, atiku stated that globacom limited license was paid for, after public money in the petroleum technology development fund had place 15 million dollars deposit in the equatorial trust bank (etb). while onyinke (2006) in her testimony before the house of representatives committee on capital markets, noted that obasanjo subscribed to 200 million shares in transcorp which were held in the blind trust by obasanjo holdings limited. however, in support of transcorp, president obasanjo (2006) argued that it was formed as “nigeria‟s emulation of a step already taken latest successful industrial countries like china, south korea and india. it was argued that although, there is the need to create indigenous bourgeoisie, to compete in the global economy, but such need should not be done in a clientele manner. nigerians are frowning at the composition of the transcorp membership and are raising questions on the source of the huge fund being used to acquire the company‟s assets. the corporation, it is observed is populated by those described as corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 50 acolytes of the present, most of whom applaud the reform policies and supported his unsuccessful bid for a their term (odunlami, 2006). corruption has cost our nation an estimated 600 billion dollars ever the last 40 years (global news, 2011). economists wonder if this figure is simply hard cash or has been calculated to include the amount of economic value that money could have generated. when correctly invested, n1 could generate as much as n5 of economic values, depending on the national bank reserve rate. therefore, if the $600bn is simply in hard cash, then nigeria might have lost as much as $ 3 trillion in economic value over the last 40 years (the economist, 2007). courtesy of corruption, the rich are becoming richer while the poor becomes poorer. poverty remains widespread in the country with as much as 70% of the total population living on less than one us dollar per day. human development index (hdi) showed that nigerian was ranked 151st out of 174 countries in the world and 22nd out of 45th african countries (undp, 2008). in conducting the 2011 general election, why did the inec chairman abandon the nda finger printed voter register obtained in countrywide registration that took place in january/february, 2011 for the manual register for the election after so much money were spent getting those equipments and personnel in place? 6. conclusion and recommendation the position of the paper is that any anti corruption policy or programme that wants to build independent, balanced, self-sustained and people oriented national economy should be anchored on ethical issues. how can we hate corruption as a people and yet process the documents that make so much of it possible on a daily basis? why do we claim believing in god as muslims and christians yet acted against his injunctions by modifying and destroying his divine arrangements and eternal will? is the god we worship not too good to do anything evil and too wise do anything foolish?if yes why hatred, animosities and even the killings of fellow beings by fellow beings? is our action not opposing the god‟s we say is perfect? are we not guilty of moral corruption? can‟t we see sense in the perfect designer who made us in one nation? can we change the unmistakable arrangement? curtailing corruption lies within answers to these questions. thus, unless we honestly and squarely answer these questions, every nigerian would continue to drink from the evil cup of corruption. in conclusion, if nigeria is to make progress, corruption must be curbed to tolerable proportions, what johnson calls low-corruption equilibrium. corruption is the major obstacle to progress in nigeria, and that its effect on development is disastrous. we must act therefore, and without delay, focusing our effort on eradicating large scale corruption. to eradicate corruption and for nigeria to seriously progress, the following recommendations should be vigorously pursued.  a careful study of the pattern of official fiscal allocations, donations and expenditure towards the amelioration and overall development of the nation with a view to sanctioning previous or past misapplication and mismanagement of funds by all parties involve.  government should make the disposable of corruption proceeds and launder of it into the economy and society impossible for perpetrators. that is, banks, other financial institutions and businesses as well as international judicial and legal institutions must be employed in an integrated manner to enhance the repatriation of proceeds of corruption and punishment of offenders. corruption as cankerworms towards economic development in nigeria ibrahim suleiman 51  international donors like world bank, paris club, transparency international, international monetary fund (imf) etc. should amend their policies and conditions to curb or reflect anti-corruption war against third world leaders while administering the loans.  a mandatory involvement of all communities in budget monitoring and evaluation to avoid misappropriation and looting is equally relevant in this regard. this should be part of the nation‟s fiscal policy.  leaders should inculcate moral discipline, accountability, consider legal and institutional reforms and political and economic adjustment, reducing incentives for pay offs, establishing credible and independent judiciary, reform civil service to suit domestic and global changes as well as ensuring absolute freedom for press and access of knowing government‟s financial affairs at any time. references achebe, c. (1998). the trouble with nigeria enugu, fourth dimension publishers. awoniyi, s. (2003). aso-rock villa the fountain of corruption, african press ibadan daily trust news paper (2003). contribution to pdp and obasanjo, 13 june, p.14 and p.18 gboyega, a. (1996) .corruption and democratization in nigeria, (ed), agboareo publishers, ibadan. global news (2011). massive lost due to corruption, september, 2 p.3-9 ikubaje john, g. (2004). anti-corruption initiative and corruption survey report in nigeria; the challenges and the way forward, cdd‟s project. joseph t. wells encyclopedia of fraud (2002) austin, texas, obsidian publishing company inc. musa, b. (1983).our struggle for a new social order in nigeria: nigerian democratic review. action centre information and documentation ibadan. nye, j. s. (1976).corruption and political development: a case – benefit analysis.the american political science review. onyiuke, n. o. (2006). obasanjo subscribed to 200 million shares. this day, september, 14. obasanjo, a. o (2006).nigeria emulate latest successful industrial countries. the news, july, 17, odunlami t. (2006).baba’s boys and their deals, the news, july, 17, pp.20-22 rose, a. (1997).corruption and development in boris pieskovic et al (ed): annual world bank conference on development economics washington d.c. ribadu, n. (2006).atiku release 14 cheques paid to pdp, others. this day, sept. 14 the economist (2007).a nation in waiting, view from broad. sunday trust, oct. 28, p, 39. usman y.b. (2001).some observations on the problem of corruption in nigeria from a historical perspectives.the nigerian institute of advanced legal studies. abuja undp (2002; 2008) report on nigeria copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 research article published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business,usa 1 personality traits and financial strain as determinants of gambling behaviour among youth in nigeria: a case study of youths in oyo state and ekiti state bankole emmanuel temitope phd department of psychology & behavioural studies faculty of the social sciences ekiti state university, ado ekiti, nigeria e-mail: temitope.bankole@eksu.edu.ng adebunmi oyekola phd department of guidance and counselling faculty of education university of ibadan,ibadan,nigeria e-mail: aladebunmi2008@yahoo.com bankole abimbola mary department of guidance and counselling faculty of education university of ibadan,ibadan,nigeria e-mail: abimbolamary8@gmail.com abstract this study aims to assess personality characteristics and financial strain as a determinant of gambling behaviour among youth in nigeria. three instruments were used in the study which include gambling behaviour scale developed by jeffery (2010) used in measuring prevalence and pattern of gambling behaviour, big five personality scale developed by goldberg (1993) used in assessing personality domain of an individual and financial strain scale developed by aldana & liljenquist (1998) used in measuring the rate of financial strain experienced by people. three hundred and twenty participants (320) were used in this study but two hundred and ninety seven participants (297) responses were retrieved for analysis. hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and independent t-test and the result were discussed according to literatures. it was concluded from the study that personality characteristics and financial strain predicts gambling behaviour and also there is sex differences in gambling behaviour. as a result of this, it was however recommended that youths are to be trained on how to improve their behavioural attitudes and should be well guided so as to avoid gambling because it has serious effects on their psychological health and overall well-being. keywords: gambling, behaviour, personality characteristics, financial strain. 1. introduction gambling has been a part of human existence for ages. it is a social phenomenon that has witnessed an unprecedented rise and sophistication since the last two decades (omanchi and okpamen 2017). in recent times, the culture of gambling has been presented as legal, accessible and widely supported; hence the new wave of participation in gambling cuts across all age groups and gender. these patterns of growth are evident in many parts of sub-saharan africa including nigeria (ssewanyana, derrick and bitanihirwe 2018). gambling is a cross-cultural and global activity which typically involves the wagering of money or an item of monetary value on an outcome that is governed by chance. according to binde (2005), gambling is an established practice of staking money or other valuables on games or events of an uncertain outcome. it is often presented as providing social and economic copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 2 benefits and the growing access to gambling has increased youth’s awareness of gambling opportunities (monaghan and derevensky 2008). in nigeria, the issue of gambling among youth has been heightened by the upsurge in unemployment, underemployment and economic hardship. also, the introduction of online lottery, sport betting, casino slots and diverse virtual games has changed the level of involvement considerably. although some may intend to gamble at a safe level, they often lose control and fall victim of becoming addicted to gambling (dickerson, haw and shepherd 2003). several studies have reported that involvement in gambling behaviour may be a springboard for increase in criminal and delinquent behaviours (omanchi et al. 2017; oyebisi, alao, and popoola, 2012). some other studies have reported more severe negative consequences resulting from gambling, for instance, tade (2014), reported that many gamblers commit suicide after losing their high stakes while some ruin their marriages and important social capital to gambling. also, innumerable proportion of young gamblers develop compulsive gambling problems which may manifest in both psychiatric (such as anxiety, depression, and sleep deprivation) as well as long-term physical conditions e.g. cardiovascular disease, peptic ulcer disease, and hypertension (abdi, ruiter, adal, 2015; langa, 2010; fong, 2005). ironically, in spite of these negative consequences, many youths still engage in one form of gambling or the other. globally, the prevalence rate of gambling differs from country to country. jennifer and richard (2012) reported that 39% to 92% of youth have gambled at least once in their lives. 52% gamble once a week or more and 4% gamble daily. in australia, delfabbro and thrump, (2003) reported that 47% of youths have gambled before the age of 12 and over 60% of those aged between 15 and 17 years’ gamble annually. similarly in oregon (usa), volberg, hedberg, and moore (2008) revealed that 63% youths and young adults had gambled at some time in their lives, 46% had gambled in the last year, and 3% gambled at least once a week. furthermore, derevensky, sklar, gupta, and messerlian (2010) found that in about 1,417 canadian secondary school youths; a quarter had gambling for money before reaching adolescence and only 23% reported never gambling. in scotland, moodie and finnigan (2006) found that out of 2,043 11 to 16 year olds, only 20% reported that they had never gambled. interestingly, consistent with other nations of the world, prevalence rate has been evident in sub saharan african. a recent survey in kenya, uganda, south africa, ghana, nigeria, and tanzania of 3,879 youth aged between 17 and 35 found that 54% of youths in these countries have engaged in some form of gambling activities. kenya was reported as having 76% of youth who had previously participated in gambling or betting, uganda 57%, ghana 42% and nigeria 77% (ssewanyana et al, 2018). this report showed about 9.5% increase in gambling rate among youths in nigeria when compared with eboh (2015) who reported 67.5% gambling rate among university students in nigeria. however, griffiths (2009) and eboh (2015) have attributed this increase in gambling behaviour among youths to the ease of more contemporary patterns of gambling. in nigeria, various patterns of gambling has emerged which has sort of accommodated differences in social class. these include but not limited to wagering and betting on the outcome of sporting event or race (football betting, car racing, horse racing, wrestling, basketball, swimming on platforms such as bet9ja, naira bet, merry bet, sure bet, sahara bet, betpawa bet, ebony bet), virtual games (bingo, babynseju, ajasare), casino games (kalokalo) and lottery style games such as cross-lotto, pools (baba ijebu), tickets and keno, all of which award prizes based on the selection of winning symbol or number combinations. the aforementioned sporting event and games can be waged and bet on both offline and online. however, the newest and fastest growing is the online form of gambling. according to enwereuzor ibeawuchi, leonard ugwu and dorothy ugwu (2016), the usage of smart phones makes it easier for many youths to accessed online gambling sites. for instance, stewart (2011) reported that nearly 3,000 internet gambling sites offer wagering on sports, casino games, poker, bingo, lottery and other games. south africa currently holds the most casinos on the continent with 38 legally operating casinos and their various outlets and other gaming centres in nigeria (clark, averbeck, payer, sescousse, winstanley, and xue, 2013). individual differences in personality are likely to play an important role in explaining the propensity to gamble. one of the potential roadblocks to elucidating the relation between personality and gambling may be inadequately accounting for the diversity of gambling activities. personality traits represent characteristic ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, and are robust predictors of health-risk behaviours such as unsafe sex and dangerous driving habits (krueger 2000), important life outcomes like educational attainment, divorce, and longevity (roberts et al., 2007), and gambling (krueger 2000). an extensive literature implicates the role that personality traits play in shaping behaviour, including behavioural disorders such as disordered gambling (slutske 2005). it is therefore surprising that a consensus has not yet been reached about the personality traits that are related to the propensity to gamble. understanding the role that personality plays in influencing gambling behaviours has the potential to elucidate the individual-level etiology of disordered gambling and may have implications for treatment; for example, an individual whose gambling is motivated by negative affect may require a different treatment approach than one who is driven by impulsivity. the diversity of gambling activities poses a challenge when trying to understand the https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r18 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r32 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r32 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r18 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r38 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 3 relation between personality and gambling. for example, the term “gambling” is used to describe a widely varying array of activities, ranging from purchasing a lottery ticket at the local convenience store to betting on a horse at the kentucky derby. experts have raised concerns about the common practice of lumping together involvement in different activities in studies of the correlates of gambling (coventry & brown, 1993; dickerson, 1993; zuckerman, 2005), and have suggested that this practice may be contributing to the contradictory findings that are frequently found in the literature (griffiths, 2013). considering the variety of available activities that are considered gambling, the diversity of settings in which they take place, and the differences in rewarding and reinforcing properties between activities, there is likely an equally wide array of individual differences in motivations for choosing particular activities. in this regard, personality may play a strong role in shaping an individual’s gambling activity preferences and behaviours. therefore, studying all gamblers without considering activity types may obscure true associations between gambling and personality. the five factor model of personality and the revised neo personality inventory (neo pi-r) to assess these factors have been extensively researched and broadly applied (costa & mccrae, 1992; mccrae & costa, 2003). the five personality domains as outlined by costa and mccrae are: neuroticism (e.g., anxiety, anger,depression, impulsiveness); extraversion (e.g., warmth, assertiveness, excitement-seeking, positive emotions); openness to experience (e.g., feelings, actions, ideas,values);agreeableness (e.g., trust, altruism, compliance, modesty); and conscientious (e.g., competence, order, dutifulness, self-discipline). two studies have used versions of the neo pi-r to investigate personality characteristics in pathological gamblers. first, bagby et al. (2007), in a study of pathological gamblers and non-pathological gamblers, discovered that pathological gamblers scored significantly higher on the neuroticism domain and significantly lower on the conscientiousness domain, as measured by the neo pi-r, relative to non-pathological gambling. also, study conducted by myrseth, pallesen, molde, johnsen, and lorvik (2009) compared pathological gamblers to nonpathological gamblers using the neo-ffi (a short version of the neo pi-r) and found that high scores on the neuroticism domain and low scores on the openness to experience domain were related to pathological gambling. with only two studies investigating this important personality taxonomy as it relates to problematic gambling, more research is required to clarify the relationship of the five factor domains and gambling, and to extend the generalizability of the findings. financial strain is defined as perceived economic stress and lack of economic support. it is described as inability to meet one’s financial obligation (adam, meyers and beidas 2017). financial strain is associated with differs risktaking behaviour and gambling. (shaw, agahi and krause 2011) found financial strain as correlate of alcohol use and smoking, (odimeqwu 2017) reported that financial strain influences sexual risk behaviour, (adam et al 2017) found a positive relationship between financial strain and poor academic performance. financial strain or stress motivate or pushes youths to gambling (okon 2015). ironically financial strain is not just a motivating factor for gambling, it also serve as detrimental consequences (ahaibwe 2016). gambling can result in increased debt which can seem unsurmountable. the level of debt can be so high that gamblers may lose cars, job, savings or even the home to gambling (kimberley, 2005; turner, preston, saunders, mcavoy, and jain, 2009). gender is implicated in gambling behaviour. participation in risk activities and gambling inclusive tends to be male dominated. while women participate in a variety of risk activities, greater proportions of participants in most risk activities are male (d’acremont and van der linden, 2006). grant and kim (2004) noted that gambling tends to be a male phenomenon and women start gambling later in life than men, but may become verse or addicted at a faster rate than men. gambling participation rates vary significantly according to gender. there is difference in prevalence and patterns of gambling in male and female university students (eboh 2015). men are typically more likely than women to gamble on sports, racing, casino card games and racing, whereas few sex differences in participation tend to be observed in relation to gaming machines and lotteries (volberg, gupta, griffiths, olason, and delfabro 2010). some researchers also found no significant gender differences for commencing gambling (clarke, tse, abbott, townsend, kingi and manaia, 2007). 2. statement of the problem the rate at which youths are engaging in various forms of gambling is increasing daily. hardly would one find any clusters of youth that are not ruminating or getting involved in gambling activities in this current dispensation and this could be owned to certain personality differences. coupled with this, time that are supposed to be invested into profitable and precious activities are wasted on argument and speculations on gambling results and related activities as observed by the researcher. also, financial strain experienced by youths could be a determining factor that precipitates gambling behaviours among youth. this could be as a result of unemployment, bad governance, economy recession and lots other factors. so in order to survive, many youths see gambling as a means to end. gambling behaviour often results in behavioural, emotional, relationship, or financial problems which may develop into a diagnosable condition known as problem or pathological gambling if not properly handled. also high availability and easy accessibility of various patterns of gambling render many youths vulnerable to gambling. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r9 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r10 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r51 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r51 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4274195/#r15 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 4 consequently, as a result of onset and continued gambling, many youths experience bankruptcy, loss of job, broken homes, substance use abuse, depression, maladjustment, frustration among others. however, it will be an awesome interest to examining personality characteristics in determining gambling behaviour. 3. purpose of the research this study aim to examine personality characteristics and financial strain as a determinant of gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria other purpose is to explore sex differences in gambling behaviour 4. significance of the research the findings of this study will provide an updated empirical statistics of the widespread incidence of gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria which can be of great benefit to the government, counselling psychologists and other helping professions, stakeholders, youths, researchers and body of knowledge at large. the findings of this study can be used in decision making process concerning the prevalence and pattern of gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria. it will help the government to be aware of the pattern of gambling behaviour exhibited by her youths. this study will also help the government in proper regulation of gambling act and will be useful in formulation of appropriate policy that can curb the menace of gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria. this study will help counselling psychologist and other helping professions to be cognisant of the determinants of gambling behaviour among youths which will in turn help them in guiding youths in making right decision about gambling. it will also help them to better understand gambling behaviour which is necessary for its modification. this study can help stakeholders to be aware of determinants of gambling behaviour among youths which will give them room for proper monitoring and guidance. with this study, youths can be able to identify factors that can predispose them to gambling behaviour which may eventually lead to problem gambling if not controlled. it will also guide them in taking right decision about gambling. this study will also be of immense benefit to researchers who are of interest in conducting similar research in the future by providing empirical statistics, review and research gap. 5. hypotheses of the research  personality traits will significantly predict gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria  there will be a significant sex differences in gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria  financial strain will significantly predict gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria operational definition of terms the following terms are defined according to how they are used in this study: gambling behaviour: this refers to the youth’s act of engaging in betting through playing a game or taking a risky action for money or a desired outcome or it is the act of staking money or some other item of value on the outcome of an event determined by chance. youths: male and female individuals between the age of 18 and 40 financial strain: this refers to inability on the part of the youths to meet primary financial obligations. personality traits: this is a relatively permanent and enduring behavioural characteristics or attributes of a youth 6. methods 6.1 research design this study adopts the descriptive research design of correlational type. such an approach does not involve the manipulation of variables in the study. it neither adds to nor subtracts from the existing fact. however, it carefully observes and record information as it naturally occurred at the time the study was conducted. 6.2 population the population for this study comprises of all male and female in-school and outschool youths from age 18 years to 40 years in oyo and ekiti state and cuts across all available ethnic and religious affiliations. 6.3 sample and sampling techniques the study adopted a multi stage random sampling technique. for the purpose of this study, oyo and ekiti state were randomly selected out of the six south-western states. from each state two local government areas were randomly selected using simple random sampling techniques. ibadan north and ido local government areas were randomly selected for oyo state while ado and ikere local government areas were randomly selected for ekiti state. however, 320 participants were selected based on availability from the 4 selected local government areas in oyo and ekiti state. below is a description of participants in the study. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 5 6.4 research instruments gambling behaviour scale (jeff and gregory 2010) gambling behaviour is a 16 item rating scale developed by jeff and gregory (2010). it was adopted to measure patterns and prevalence of gambling behaviour of the respondents. the scale has a 4-point response format ranging from not at all (a) to once in a while (d). example of items in the scale includes; my betting caused an argument with someone important to me, i felt the need to bet more and more money or valuable. the author of the scale reported alpha of .95. from the pilot study conducted by this researcher, a reliability index of .86 was observed, which is an indication that the scale is suitable to measure the variable of interest. big five personality traits scale (goldberg, 1993) the personality traits scale is a 44 items scale developed by goldberg (1993). the version covers all the five dimensions of personality which are conscientiousness, neuroticism, extroversion, openness and agreeableness. however the researcher tailored it for use in this study to cover just agreeableness, neuroticism and extraversion. thereby reducing the scale to be 25 items spread each on the three personality types. the items were scored as follows: strongly agree=4, agree=3, disagree=2, strongly disagree=1. reliability index of .93 was observed through pilot testing by this researcher. financial strain scale (aldana, stephen & liljenquist wendy, 1998) financial strain is an 18 item rating scale developed by aldana, stephen & liljenquist wendy, 1998. it measures the rate of financial strain experienced by people. the response format of the scale was from never (1) to always (5). examples of the items included in the scale are, there are disagreements about money in my home, do you ever get headaches from worry over money matters, i find it difficult to pay my bills. the author reported alpha of .80. cronbach alpha of .91 was observed through pilot study by this researcher. 6.5 procedure of administration the instruments were administered to the respondents in their various areas. this was made possible with the support and assistance of research assistants who helped out in the distribution and collection of the questionnaires. the respondents were adequately briefed on the need to cooperate with the researcher. they were made to understand that the study was basically for research. the respondents were assured of confidentiality of their responses. the data collection process was spread over a period of two weeks, during which about 320 questionnaires were administered and 297 were found useful for the purpose of this research. thereafter, the data was scored and imputed into spss for analysis. 7. results table 1: regression analysis summary table showing personality characteristics as a predictor of gambling behaviour models β t p r r2 df f p extraversion .133 1.508 >.05 5 agreeableness -.116 -1.561 >.05 conscientiousness .232 -3.085 <.05 .297 .088 292 3.246 <.05 neuroticism .064 1.685 <.05 openness to experience-.176 -2.354 <.05 the table above revealed that personality characteristics predicts gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria (f (292) = 3.246 p<.05) table 2: regression analysis summary table showing financial strain as a predictor of gambling behaviour model r r2 df f p financial strain .945 .893 1 24.89 <.01 295 table 2 above revealed that financial strain significantly predicts gambling behaviour among youths in nigeria (f(1,295) = 24.89 p<.01 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 6 table 3: independent t-test showing the difference in the gambling behaviour of male and female youth gender n mean std. dev. crit-t cal-t. df p value male female 185 112 56.1946 48.1875 13.12544 10.96722 1.96 5.412 295 .000 table 3 shows that there was a significant difference in the gambling behaviour of male and female youth in oyo and ekiti state, nigeria (crit-t = 1.96, cal.t = 5.412, df = 295, p< .05 level of significance). hence, male youths ( x =56.1946) exhibited more gambling behaviour compared to their female counterparts ( x =48.1875) in the study 8. discussion hypothesis one revealed that personality characteristics will significantly predicts gambling behaviour among youths and it was observed from the table that personality characteristics predict gambling behaviour. this result aligned with cooper et al., (2015) who found a link between personality traits and gambling behaviour. their review suggests that neuroticism is positively associated with coping motives, extraversion is positively associated with enhancement motives, and conscientiousness is negatively related to all motives. a few studies have supported this contention. sztainert, wohl, mcmanus, and stead (2014) found that reward sensitivity (i.e., a personality trait representing a tendency to seek out positive reinforcement) predicted enhancement and social gambling motives. also brundorg, hanss, mentzomi, molde and pallesen (2016) reported a significant relationship between personality traits and gambling. furthermore the report of kalischuk, nowatzki, cardwell, klein and solowoniuk (2006) did not support this finding. they found that financial strain including indebtedness, loss of property; defaults on loans and harassment by creditors were prevalent among gamblers. also falconier and epstein (2011) argued that couple that are experiencing financial strain exhibit gambling behaviour. this reflects that individual needs to meet physiological needs which are necessary for survival, in order to meet this, some resulted into gambling. the third research question examined the gender difference in gambling behaviour among youths in oyo and ekiti state nigeria. the result reveals that there is significant difference in gambling behaviour of male and female youth in oyo and ekiti state, nigeria. male youths exhibited more gambling behaviour compared to their female counterparts. this is in tandem with the findings of heater and patton (2006) who reported that male are female differed when it comes to engagement in gambling and vulnerable to gambling addiction. similarly (walker, cournega and deng 2007) reported that males engage in gambling more frequently than female. this implies that males engage in gambling frequently than female. naturally, risk activities and gambling inclusive are male dominated. furthermore wardle et al (2011) found that gambling has been traditionally related with gender. this sex difference is also evident in youth gambling. gender has also been reported as an important determinant of gambling behaviour as gender difference really exists on gambling related behaviour (blinn-pike, worth, jonkman, 2006). female generally have been reported to participate less in gabling related activities when compare to their male counterparts. 9. conclusion this research focused on personality characteristics and financial strain as a determinant of gambling behaviour. it is evident from the result of the study that personality characteristics, financial strain predict gambling behaviour. also, the result of the experiment showed that there is gender difference in gambling behaviour. as such, it is very crucial to work on these factors so as to be able to manage the high prevalence of gambling among youths. it is therefore concluded that the parents, government, counselling psychologist, organizations, and even youths should be aware of the disastrous consequences, and that programs should be put in place to get youths to adopt healthy attitudes toward gambling, such that they recognize it is not a way to make money, nor is it a healthy way to escape from life stressors and for parents to be more involved in the life of their wards in order to tackle the menace of gambling behaviour. acknowledgements a special thanks goes to the co-authors of this work for their due diligence in the conception, preparation and conclusion of this research work. i also appreciate all the research participants and the monitors who ensure that standards are maintained. to all those who contributed in their own way to make this project a reality, i say a big thank you. it is worthy of note to state that the entire research work is sponsored fully by the authors. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 7 references abdi, t. a., ruiter, r. a., and adal, t. a. 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(2017). the modified gambling motivation scale: confirmatory factor analysis and links with problem gambling. journal of gambling issues, (37). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 8 ssewanyana and bitawire (2018) centre for geographic medicine research coast, kenya medical research institute (kemri), kilifi, keny utrecht centre for child and adolescent studies, utrecht university, utrecht, netherlands sztainert, t., wohl, m. a., mc manus, j. f., and stead, j. h. (2014). on being attracted to the possibility of a win: reward sensitivity (via gambling motives) undermines treatment seeking among pathological gamblers. journal of gambling studies, 30, 901-911. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 45 perceptions of inmates on social work intervention in osun state prisons, nigeria eyitayo olufunmilayo akinyemi, ph.d department of adult education adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko, ondo state, nigeria e-mail: drumsbuy@gmail.com abstract the study investigated the inmates on social work intervention in osun state prisons, nigeria. the specific objectives of the study identified the age range of the inmates, inmates’ perception towards a societal valued life, level of engagement in ski ll acquisition and formal education, attitude of government and prison service employees towards inmates’ reformation. the study adopted descriptive research design. the sample consisted of 88 inmates randomly selected from the 880 inmates and eight (8) warders from ilesa prison yard. the research instrument was a close ended questionnaire and focus group discussion. data obtained were analysed using percentages and frequency counts. results showed that inmates’ ages range mostly between 21 and 25 years. findings also showed inmates perceived they could still live a good and societal acceptable life; the societal services rendered to them were good to an extent that they had positive attitudes towards skill acquisition and formal education; inmates were satisfied with the services rendered by prison workers and welfare provisions from the government. findings concluded that the inmates believed they could still live an acceptable life during and as an ex-convict. the study recommended that individual inmate could be tailored and encouraged on the need to better their lives in the prison yard and become acceptable and selfreliant ex-convict. keywords: inmates, intervention, perceptions, prison, social work 1. introduction nigeria prison services operate as government agency in nigeria, with the headquarter of the institution in abuja. it operates prisons and is being supervised by the ministry of interior. merriam webster dictionary defined prison as a place of confinement especially for law breakers, an institution for confinement of persons convicted of serious crimes usually under state control, and a building where people accused of crime are kept before their trials. the researcher sees a prison as a place where adult males and females are confined so as to allow peace to reign in their lives and the society at large, a way of making them realize their mistakes, feel sober, adjust to their new environment so as to become a better person later in life after due parsystem which they might have undergone before leaving the prison environment. laws are made by a society to curb different forms of misbehavior that could be exhibited and experienced by every society, is known for experiencing members committing crime. these offences range from fighting, stealing, killing ,armed robbery, tugery, bulling, cultism, bribery and corruption, money laundering, child trafficking, child abuse, domestic violence, bombing, oil bunkering, kidnapping, illegal protesting, rapping, we also have terrorists like; islamic boko haram, fulani herdsmen and many others.(oloruntegbe, 2014). the prison services through social work are expected to fulfill the objectives of prison as a place of rehabilitating, reformatting and re-integrating prisoners. rehabilitating criminals as one of the activities of social work is to restore them with necessary education and training which will make their reintegration into the society a successful effort. this is the reason for encouraging prisoners to take part in different welfare opportunities available for them in the prison yard. prisoners have the opportunity of learning different skills and registering for different levels of educational pursuit. prison as a place of reformation is the attempt to improve the conditions of inmates inside prison and establish a more effective peril system. reforming prisoners is having access to legal counsel and family, and proactive security against violence. the goal of reformation is to repair the deficiencies in the individual inmate and return them as productive members to reintegrate them into the society. examples are education, work skills, learning how to treat others with respect, and self-discipline. services being rendered to inmates have not been adequate enough in nigeria prison, the reason why many ex-prisoners are still involving themselves in crimes that initially sent them to prison. the prison service was established to ensure criminals are empowered constitutionally as posited by adetula, adetula and fatusin (2010) (cited in oroleye, 2018)  for safe custody, keep convicted prisoners  inmates awaiting trial to be kept in custody until their appearance as demanded by the law courts. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 46  offenders are punished as directed and pronounced by law courts.  reformation of the convicted prisoners should commence.  the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners who have completed their sentences in the prison should proceed. some people felt prisons exist so as to punish wrongdoers, to remove the danger they could later pose to the society, and that prison helps to reform the characters of people who break the law of the society, and keeping criminals in prison is necessary to prevent them from committing more crimes in the society, (guardian 2008). the saturday punch (2015) is of the view that when long term imprisonment is used, in such prison, lack of food, sanitation, and medical care causes wide spread diseases and death. the ilesa prison yard is one of the prisons in nigeria. there are two prisons in osun state; they are ilesa and ile-ife prisons out of the 240 prisons in nigeria. ilesa prison had a total of 880 prisoners. 848 of them were men and 32 women as of september 2018. eighteen (18) prisoners were lifers, 172 convicted and 628 were awaiting trials. the ilesa prison has 41 cells, which was expected to accommodate 588 inmates, so also ile-ife prison has six (6) modern cells that should have 160 inmates instead of the present 370 inmates, although ile-ife prison has no female inmates. the issue of overcrowding is not peculiar with osun state prisons alone but a common issue in nigeria prisons, which could be assumed to be a result of long sentences being given to violent crimes, and long awaiting periods to court for trials. over-populated beyond these capacity designated for them, the federal and state governments had been charged to solve this problem. obioha (2011) challenges the reforms in the nigerian prisons system, that there should be an institutionalization of decongestion committee to be headed by the chief judge of each state and a prerogative of mercy by the head of state of federation. in each state they are expected to function in the following areas:  frequent visitations to be paid to the prisons to see their current situations.  occasionally review cases of suspected and convicted inmates on trials and see to their release as expected.  amnesty are to be granted to prisoners that deserve them. obioha (1995) observed the problem of overcrowding in nigeria prisons had been before the colonial rule which had been a recurring administrative problem and has been causing some killer diseases, inmates experience air born infections, infectious disease such as skin scabies and bilharzias; hiv/aids, asthma, tuberculosis, liver sclerosis, sepsis and dysentery while there were no standard hospitals, qualified doctors nor drugs to care for sick inmates. this was the assertion of some inmates of agodi prison, ibadan (saturday punch, 2017) the prison has the capacity to accommodates, with 88 percent of the number constituting the inmates awaiting trial, complained of overcrowding in the cells, more than 140 prisoners with hiv and even tuberculosis living with others. the prison has no guarantee facility and capacity to isolate the inmates contagious diseases , while inmates live without the assurance of existing the next day, they buy drugs themselves as the officials always tell them there was no money to buy drugs or treat the inmates, while many inmates buy drugs for fellow prisoners. many inmates died of contagious diseases. the controller of agodi prison, oladipo (saturday punch, 2017) claimed that the prison authority is taking the health care of inmates seriously as the federal government was working hard to ensure that inmates are given good medical care, also that the prison clinic has a medical doctor being assisted by nurse. on serious cases, the inmates are transferred to catholic hospital, oluyoro or university college hospital, ibadan,. oladipo further explained that the federal government had begun the construction of another prison yard at olomi area of ibadan, which can accommodate up to 5,000 inmates. the researcher found out that at ilesa prison yard, as at 2018 no frequent outbreak of disease as the cells is being fumigated regularly. there is a single cell where they isolate any inmate with special disease. if an inmate does not have money to buy drugs, will go to the welfare section to call the members of the family through the registered number in the prison in order to help them get drugs of recent, there was no record of death among the inmates. claimed that drugs were distributed to all the prisons in the country by the minister of interior, while non-governmental organisations and religious bodies pay the medical bills of some of the inmates. for example, at the agodi minimum security prison, ibadan, the inmates and families of the diseased person called on the government concerning the poor health care system of the prison yard, where inmates buy drugs for their fellow inmates and even share cells with t.b and hiv patients, while some inmates had no access to medical treatment and eventually died of hepatitis b, liver sclerosis, sepsis and dysentery. (daily punch, 2017). the chief judge of oyo state, muntar abimbola, said the release of inmates was within his power, he has to visit the prison and review the progress of cases of awaiting trial inmates in order to ensure they are tried on time (saturday punch, 2018), amnesty is being granted as a statutory provision which is expected to be done frequently and get the prison decongested which should also be attributed to long sentence being given to violent crimes. prisoners who did well could be released early to decongest the cells. the oyo state governor, abiola ajimobi granted amnesty to 18 convicted inmates. the chief judge of oyo state, abimbola m. granted amnesty to 84 inmates after reviewing their cases (saturday punch, 2018). also at agodi prison, ibadan, 67 inmates that have stayed longer than expected were released, ten inmates were released because of the bad condition of their health with cases of chronic renal disease, hiv/aids, tuberculosis and asthma, seven released because they had no case to answer. oladipo (saturday punch, 2018), this was done based on the agreement between the nigeria bar association and the nigeria medical association. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 47 some convicted inmates believed being prisoners does not indicate the end of their lives. they believed they could be useful for themselves and other members of their societies later in life.the lifer among the prisoners who had additional educational qualification hoped they would be granted amnesty thereby using their certificates to develop their communities. the inmates believed they would still live a societal valued life. the daily punch (2018) gathered information from life prisoners pilling up degrees. an inmate, kabiru did not hide his identity, claimed the prison yard situation would not prevent him from achieving his educational goals. a lifer said “my degree will never be useless” many inmates serving life sentences have been acquiring university degrees as much as possible, like kabiru, who attended the national open university of nigeria was happy to obtain master’s degree in business administration, he said “he would prefer to teach at the basic level so as to impact his knowledge in the younger generation”. he further stressed: “ i would not leave the way i came i must be better i would not bother about stigma because i do not look down on myself. if i feel bad for myself, people will also feel bad for me i would let people know why i am better than any other graduate there with the same degree as mine prison experience has not only shaped my thinking and moral values but has taught me to appreciate everything in life.” although, the prison service in nigeria and other parts of the world are to protect their society through deterrence, rehabilitation, reformation, and retribution of prisoners convicted (oroloye, 2010), but there had been complaints about the social work services in nigeria prisons, thus this paper is particular about the perceptions of inmates at ilesa prison on their social work intervention. 2. literature review nigeria is recording a high population of prisoners to be youths, this has been their inability to get someone or money to support them, thus forcing them to remain in prison for a long time, this has been the view of kabir, (2019). some convicted inmates who were lifers engaged themselves in formal education claiming they believed could gain freedom later in life. this was the assertion of kabiru (2017) who came into prison as a holder of secondary school certificate, later became a holder of master degree in business administration. prison inmates are expected to involve themselves in acquisition of skills depending on their areas of interest. the vocational skills available in most of our prisons in nigeria according to talba (2015) are hair dressing, knitting, dress making, pomade and soap making, laundry and dry cleaning services, metal work, brick-laying and agro-based skills acquisition programmes. the availability of resource persons and finance always determine the type of skills the inmates will be able to acquire. these services available to fulfill according to tenibaije (2010) in abubakar & abba (2018) the united nations’ standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners (unsmretp) 71 (3) rule, that ‘sufficient work of a useful nature shall be provided to keep prisoners actively employed for a normal working day” ex-offenders often lack the skills, knowledge and training to support them when they return to their different societies. davis; steele; bozick; williams; turner; miles; saunders; &steinberg (2014) also observed on an average, inmates who took part in correctional education programmes do not always offend and be sent back to the prison compared with released inmates who did not participate in correctional education, but due to lack of source of income are forced to commit crime that will send them back to the prison yard. the establishment of prison yard is to implement different programmes that are interesting to inmates like remedial and adult education, vocational training, skills acquisition, recreational, attitudinal change, religious instructions and rehabilitating inmates into their society after they might have been released from their jail terms (daramola, 2004). criminals are able to be rewarded with training, education and other items which would not have been available to them if they have not committed crimes and found themselves in the prison yard, this was the assertion of kabiru (2012) that if he had not committed crime, he would not have been able to get to his present level of academic achievement. rand (2013), observed it is cheaper to reform and educate prisoners, and that prisons with education programmes have fewer violent incidents. every prisoner is entitled to programmes that are targeted at reforming them. the human value of a society will be reflected on the way they treat their convicted criminals, thus it is necessary they are provided with all the necessities of life like other members of the society (mc clary, 2003). thus, clemens (2003) felt inmates are entitled to safe and adequate shelter, clothing, nutritious food and prompt medical attention, and that the prison environment should reflect what the society want inmates to be after their release. schiraldi (2003) was of the view that having criminals in prison is punishing them and returning copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 48 them to the society worse than before sending them to the prison, he felt the main target should be helping inmates turn their lives to be better. 3. research questions  what was the age range of the inmates at the prison yard?  what were the perceptions of inmates towards societal valued life?  what were the perceptions of inmates towards skills acquisition?  what were the perceptions of inmates towards formal and literacy education?  what were the attitudes of government and prison service employees towards inmates’ welfare? 4. methodology the total population (880) of the prison inmates in ilesa prison yard selected for the study constituted the study population. ten percent of the 880 prison inmates who were mentally stable were selected for the study. in order to gather first-hand information, the respondents were given open-ended and close-ended questions. with due permission and cooperation of prison officials, the administrations of the questionnaire were done by the researcher. section (a) of the questionnaire contained questions on their sex and age. section (b) was close-ended questions on inmates’ perceptions towards societal valued life; skill acquisition opportunities that was available; opportunities to formal education and the attitude of government and prison service employees towards inmates’ welfare. the researcher visited the prisoners at the approved and appropriate time in order to adhere strictly to the regulations of the prison. under the supervision of prison welfare officer, inmate that could fill the questionnaire were asked to do it while some were guided in filling the questionnaire. eighty eight (88) questionnaires were given out, while only (66) copies of the questionnaire administered on the inmates were returned and being correctly filled. these (66) copies were used to analyze data for this study. information was also collected from prison officials. the researcher also made use of secondary data records from nigerian prisons service, magazines and journals. 5. results research question 1: what is the age range of the inmates at ilesa prison yard? table 1: frequency distribution showing respondents’ personal information factors options frequency % gender male 59 89.4 female 7 10.6 total 66 100.0 age 18 20 years 12 18.2 21 25 years 19 28.8 26 30 years 15 22.7 31 35 years 14 21.2 36 40 years 3 4.5 40 years and above 3 4.5 total 66 100.0 field study, 2018 the table revealed that the sampled inmates consist of male and females. this was such that 89.4% were males, while 10.6% were females. it was also observed that 28.8% were within the age range of 21 and 25 years, while 22.7% were within the age range of 26 and 30 years. the study revealed that most of the inmates were youths. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 49 research question 2:what were the perceptions of inmates towards a societal valued life? table 2: frequency and percentage summary on the perceptions of inmates towards a societal valued life field study, 2018 from the observed distribution, findings revealed 90.9% respondents claimed they could read and write, while 9.1% could not. 95.5% respondents agreed they are important persons in the society, while 4.5% disagreed with the statement. also, 81.8% of the respondents agreed that their lives could be reformed in the prison yard, while 18.2% had contrary opinion.it could be concluded based on the average summary that inmates perceived that they could still live a good and societal acceptable life even with the experience of the prison. this was such that 89.4% ofthe respondents confirmed their perceptions of inmates living a societal valued life as ex-convict, while 10.6% did not agree. research question 3: what is the perception of inmates towards skill acquisition? table 3: frequency and percentage summary on the perception of inmates about skill acquisition items response yes no total are you learning any skill here? frequency 34 32 66 % 51.5 48.5 100.0 do you have enough, and relevant equipment to learn the skill here? have you been practicing the skill before coming here? frequency % frequency 36 54.4 29 30 45.5 37 66 100.0 66 % 43.9 56.1 100.0 do you intend using the skill (if learnt) after leaving this place? frequency 59 7 66 % 89.4 10.6 100.0 do you feel the skill (if learnt) could sustain you and the members of your family? frequency 49 16 66 % 74.2 25.8 100.0 do you feel the skill (if learnt) could help in the development of nigeria? frequency 47 19 66 % 71.2 28.8 100.0 averaged total frequency 52 14 66 % 78.8 21.2 100.0 field study, 2018 it was observed that several skills were acquired by inmates and these include: art work, bag making, computer training, carpentry, photography, tailoring, barbing and shoe making. it was also observed that 54.4% of the respondents were of the opinion that there were enough, and relevant equipment to learn such skill there. findings revealed that 51.5% of the respondents indicated that they are learning skills in the prison, while 48.5% does not. this implied that a large proportion of prison inmates do engage in the learning of any form of skill. among those that learnt one form of skill, it was observed that majority of them have been practicing the skill before coming to the prison via conviction. this was such that 43.9% affirmed that they had been practicing the skill before. also, 89.4% of the respondents indicated that they intend using the skill learnt after leaving the prison, while 10.6% said contrary, it was noted that 74.2% of the respondents were of the opinion that they feel the skill could sustain them and the members of their family after leaving the place if they learnt it. lastly, (71.2%) respondents indicated their support on the view that they feel the skill could help in the development of nigeria. conclusively, items responses yes no total one could read and write. do you agree that you are an important person in the society? do you agree that one’s life could be reformed, while here? average total frequency 60 6 66 % 90.9 9.1 100 frequency 63 3 66 % 95.5 4.5 100 frequency 54 12 66 % 81.8 18.2 100 frequency 59 7 66 % 89.4 10.6 100 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 50 this showed that inmates have a positive attitude towards skill acquisition with 78.8% confirming it, while 21.2% did not. showing that the inmates intend using the skills after their release. research question 4: what is the perception of inmates towards formal and literacy education? table 4: frequency and percentage summary on the perception of inmates towards formal and literacy education field study, 2018 the result indicated that majority of the respondents (90.9%) affirmed that one could read and write as an individual, while 9.1% felt contrary. in addition, 95.5% of the respondents agreed that they are important persons within the society. lastly, majority of the respondents (81.8%) also affirmed that one’s life could be sharpened in the prison, while 18.2% felt contrary . from the observed distribution, it could be summarized based on the average summary that inmates perceived that they could still live a good and societal acceptable life even with the experience of the prison. this was such that 89.4% of the respondents confirmed their perception of inmates living a societal valued life, while 10.6% did not.the test on statement regarding inmates’ perception towards education generally were presented in table 5 and it was observed that 77.3% affirmed that they were student before coming here, while 22.7% were not. it was also noted that majority, even including those that were not in school before (80.3%) intend going back to school after leaving the prison, while 19.7% are not intending to do so. further findings showed that 48.5% of the respondents are preparing for examinations, while 51.5% said they were not. the average total proves that most of the respondents (66.7%) had positive perceptions toward education, while 33.3% indicated negative perception towards formal and literacy education. research question 5: what is the attitude of government and prison service employees (warders) towards the welfare of the inmates? table 5: frequency and percentage summary on the attitude of government and prison service employees (warders) towards inmates and skills acquisition items response yes no total policy makers support effective programmers frequency 8 3 66 % 72.7 27.3 100.0 one treat prisoners as people who have values frequency 8 3 66 % 72.7 27.3 100.0 do you agree that inmates have the ability to improve their potentials frequency 8 3 66 % 72.7 27.3 100.0 do you agree that inmates exposed to education do not go back to previous offence? frequency 6 5 66 % 54.4 45.5 100.0 averaged total frequency 8 3 66 % 72.7 27.3 100.0 field study, 2018 the findings on attitude of government and prison service employees (warders) towards inmates’ welfare were extracted from workers in the prison homes. table 5 shows that majority of the responding workers (72.7%) opined that policy items response yes no total were you a student before coming here? frequency 51 15 66 % 77.3 22.7 100.0 do you intend going back to school? frequency 53 13 66 % 80.3 19.7 100.0 are you preparing for any examination here? frequency 32 34 66 % 48.5 51.5 100.0 one is interested in improving one’s literacy frequency 39 27 66 % 59.1 40.9 100.0 averaged total frequency 44 22 66 % 66.7 33.3 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 51 makers support effective programmers for inmates, while 27.3% felt contrary. it was also observed that 72.7% of the respondents agreed that one treat prisoners as people who have values, while 27.3% does not. it was indicated that majority of the responding workers (72.7%) agreed that inmates have the ability to improve their potentials, while 27.3% did not. lastly, 54.4% agreed that inmates exposed to education do not go back to previous offence, while 45.5% did not. conclusively, the average summary showed that the attitude of government and prison service employees (warders) towards inmates general welfare, although, they might not have actually implemented somepolicies that would materialise the needs of such attitude, the responses was such that 72.7% on the average indicated positive attitude on the side of the government and prison service employees towards inmates general welfare, while 27.3% did not. 6. discussion of findings research question 1 sought to identify the age range of inmates in the prison yard. findings of this research indicate that most the inmates were youths ranging between 21 and 30 years of age. the result is in line with the findings of kabir (2019) that there is high population of prisoners to be youths due to their inability to get someone or money to support then, thus forcing them to remain in prison for a long time, youths are also known to be fond of committing different crimes which always end them up in prison. the findings of this research indicate some prisoners cherish societal valued life. this is in line with the view of some prisoners who pursued university certificate while in the prison like kabiru (2017) a lifer that bagged master’s degree in business administration stated he believed he would gain freedom later in life and be able to use his certificate. the perceptions of inmates towards skill acquisition revealed they loved learning different skills which they believed would help them later in life. however the findings of this study is in agreement with talba (2015); and tenibaije (2010) in abubakkar &abba (2018) who mentioned different skills available in prison yards for inmates to rely upon after their release. findings under research question 4, revealed the inmates perceived formal and literacy education to be important for them after their release. the findings are in line with those of davies et al (2014), rand (2013); kabiru in daily punch, (2017):& daramola (2004) that inmates who took part in correctional educational programme do not always offend and be sent back to the prison compared with released inmates who did not participate in correctional education. findings under research question 5 indicated that prison service employees are of the view that policy makers support effective programme for the inmates, while they believed inmates have values and ability to improve their potentials, this is in line with rand (2013); daramola(2004); schiradi(2003); mc clary (2003); &clemens (2003) that it is cheaper to reform and educate prisoners, and that prisons with education programmes have fewer violent incidents. 7. conclusion the findings of this study established that large populations of inmates are youths and as ex-convicts inmates cherish a societal valued life. it also indicated that convicted inmates engage themselves in vocational training; formal and literacy education so as to fit in to the society by depending on the knowledge they have acquired in the prison yard for survival. 8. recommendations based on the discussions above, the following recommendations are put forward:  youths are advised to be conscious of not breaking the rules of nigeria that could send them to prison. inmates and ex –convict are to see themselves as being important and serving a jail sentence is not the end of one’s life.  inmates that have not been tried are advised to engage themselves in productive activities until they are taken to court for trial  policy makers are advised to see the poor condition of the prison yards in terms of overcrowding in cells, poor health condition, and delay in trial of inmates.  policy makers to understand prison is for reformation, re-integration and but not to send inmates back to the society worse than going to jail. references abubakar, k.h.& abba, m. (2018). participation of prison inmates in vocational skills acquisition programme for self-reliance and sustainable economic growth in sokoto state, nigeria. review of european studies 10 (2) 2018. arnett, (2017) committee www. archieve.pov.org assessed on 17-1-2018 byrne, d. (2018). prison reform www.reasons to be cheerful. clemens, d. (2003). prison: to punish or to reform? archieve.pov.org daramola v.a.o (2004), the administration of relief materials in prison.a paper presented at the workshop for social pastoral workers in the prison by jdpc, ibadan. daily punch, (2017). inspiring tales of life prisoners piling up degrees. http://www.reasons/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 52 davis, l.m, steele, j.l., bozick r., williams, m.v., miles, n.v., saunders, j., turner, s., steinberg, p.s., (2014). does providing inmates with education improve post release outcomes? a meta-analysis of correctional education programmes in united states. journal of experimental criminology. department of safety and security management, tshwane university of http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/daily/index.php/5267 index.php/52674 job creation. international journal of education research, 13(1), 128-144 in kabiru, c. (2019). more than half of nigerians awaiting trialprisoners under age. premium times. kelowna, (2011). www.dataangel.com kruidenier, j. (2002) literacy education in adult basic education: national centre for the study of adult learning and literacy. vol 3 www.ncsall.net mc clary, t. (2003). national criminal justice representative, american friends service committee. www,archive .pov.org assessed on 17-1-2019 nigerian prison service (2014). prisons in edo state, nigeria. en.m.wikipedia.org: assessed 11 february 2019 obioha, e.e. (1995). prison culture in nigeria; a study of life within agodi prison community, ibadan. m.sc dissertation, unpublished. ibadan: department of sociology, university of ibadan. obioha, e.e.(2011).challenges and reforms in the nigerian prisons system. department of safety and security management, tshwane university of technology, pretoria, south africa. journal ofsocialscience, 27(2) 95-109 oloruntegbe. k.o. (2014). creating productive parental and community involvements in science education of the youths. akungba journal of research in education. ( 2), 122-138 oreloye, a.k. (2018).rehabilitation and welfare of inmates in nigeria prisons: a case of selected prisons in southwestern nigeria. canadian social science. 14 (6). pp 78-86 punch, (2015) inspiring tales of life prisoners pilling up degrees. august 29, punching .com saturday punch (2018). 30 prison, inmates to die by hanging. saturday punch, may 12. . pov. org assessed on 17-1-2019 schiraldi v. (2003), founder and president of the justice policy institute www.pov.org social science, 14(6), 78-86 talba, a.m. (2015). remembering the inmates of kaduna prison. daily trust news paper report, april, 22 retrieved august, 2015 from http://www.dailytrust .com.ng/index. php/52674 the guardian (2008). what good is prison? www.the guardian.com assessed 17-1-2019 whelan, r. (2004), prisons are good for society. the telegraph www. telegraph.co.uk copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/daily/ http://www.pov.org/ http://www.dailytrust/ http://www.the/ american international journal of social science research; vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 27 the negative impact of boko haram insurgency on women and children in northern nigeria: an assessment mustapha alhaji ali 1 , ummu atiyah ahmad zakuan 2 & mohammad zaki bin ahmad 2 1 department of political science and administration. yobe state university, damaturu, nigeria 2 ghazali shafie graduate school of government college of law, government and international studies school of international studies (sois), university of utara malaysia, malaysia correspondence: mustapha alhaji ali, department of political science and administration. yobe state university, damaturu, nigeria to cite this article: alhaji ali, m., zakuan, u. a. a., & ahmad, m. z. bin. (2018). the negative impact of boko haram insurgency on women and children in northern nigeria: an assessment. american international journal of social science research, 3(1), 27-33. retrieved from http://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr/article/view/141 received: september 10, 2018 accepted: september 15, 2018 online published: september 24, 2018 abstract this paper studies the negative impacts of boko haram insurgency on women and children in northern nigeria. indeed, boko haram has affected the lives of the general populace in northern nigeria, precisely women and children, by turning the women to widows and children to orphans, the negative events of the sect groups have continually coursing a serious damage to the lives and properties of the peoples in the northern region. the researcher used the secondary source in acquiring the appropriate data. the study found that this set of individuals and their negative activities have affected the lives and properties of women and children. it is noted that many women have turned to widows and children to orphans. in view of this, the paper recommends that the government should intervein to provide the affected women and children with some empowerment programmes. it should also provide a good shelter to those that lost their husbands and residents, the government, traditional rulers, and religious leaders should help in assisting the children by enrolling them to schools like their fellow counterparts. there is a need for special rehabilitation and trauma centers in the affected states, especially for women and children who have had terrible knowledge during the insurgency period. keywords: boko haram, children, insurgency, negative impacts, northern nigeria, women. 1. introduction in nigeria women institute approximately half of the population; they play an important role as mothers, producers, managers, community developers/organizers. however, they also contribute to the society, socially, politically, and economically, to the development of the nation. it is known that women performed double responsibilities in all the society compared to men by virtue of their dual roles in the industrious and reproductive domains (makama, 2013). northern nigeria is patriarchal in nature which is a major feature of a traditional society, where men dominate and control everything, by taking care of the wives and children at all cost, or it is a structure of a set of family members with a material base which enables men to control women. women are therefore subjugated to domestic responsibilities, sometimes they are denied even to obtain proper education, neglected and continually kept at home as house-help(allanana, 2013; makama, 2013). with this it is understood that women in the northern region are been taking care of by their husband, it is the responsibility of the husband to provide all the necessary needed goods and services to the family. considering this major duty of the husband in the family, www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 28 today boko haram sect has killed many men in the northern part of the nation and put the lives of women and children in dilemma. because those in position to cater to the lives of the family members are no longer alive as a result of the boko haram sects. those women that lost their spouse are turned to widows and the children to orphans. a study by (shehu mohammed, 2018), noted that nigeria and her immediate neighbors (republics of chadniger and cameroon) have been knockout by the tragedy of boko haram insurgents since 2009 claiming thousands of lives and properties worth billions of naira. it does not end up on the economic problem alone, but it has course a lot of social damages to the life of women and children, in a nutshell, boko haram insurgency has made and turned many women into widows and children into orphanages like those of asia, other african states, and europe. the activities of the insurgent’s sect have extended not only to many towns and villages in the northern region, but also an attempt to break away an essential part of the nigerian states and transcended to neighboring states of the republics of cameroon, chad and niger, thereby confusing regional security and the fight against insurgency along the lake chad region in a similar vein (osaghae & suberu, 2005), noted that even before the emergency boko haram in nigeria, nigeria was characterized with the highest rates of internal ethnoreligious and communal conflict in the world. right from the year 2009 to present time, boko haram insurgency has confounded the north-east states of nigeria, particularly adamawa, borno, and yobe state, and other parts of the neighboring nations such as lake the chad region – difa, niger republic, far northern cameroon and chad, evacuated millions of people in the above-mentioned places, and turned tens of thousands of women and children to traumatized widows and orphans. in addition to the above a study by (shehu mohammed, 2018), unveiled that numerous houses, schools, educational facilities, villages, towns, and markets have been comparatively or completely damaged, destroyed and uninhabited, this has aggravated the levels of poverty and unemployment among the youth in the society. several business organizations were distorted, many prominent and affluent persons were turned into beggars and refugees, most of the central and international businesses in the affected area has crippled. more so, many women were disconnected from their husbands and children, this has directly or indirectly affected the lives of the women and children. in short, it is noted that in borno state alone, more than 5, 335 classrooms in 512 primaries, 38 secondary schools as well as 2 tertiary institutions were damaged; about 1, 205 public buildings were destroyed. this has affected the educational process of the youth and children leaders of tomorrow. 1.2 problem statement conflict is not only a threat to government or democracy but to the lives and properties of innocent people in nigeria; it is also a threat to the women and children in all the society. the negative impact of attacks and reprisals attacks between the boko haram sects in northern nigeria. has affects the lives of women and children in the northern region. which has turned the lives of women to widows and children to orphan?. it is known that women are mothers of the next generation and children are the leaders of tomorrow that the society expects to contribute to the nation building. the paper merits to examine the negative impacts of the boko haram insurgency on the life of women and children in the northern region. 1.3 objectives of the research this paper examined the negative impacts of boko haram insurgency on women and children and exposed the various areas that the insurgent’s groups course several damages to women and children in the northern region. the paper also discussed the consequences of the insurgency group on the future generation. 1.4 research methodology this study is qualitative in nature. for the purpose of this article, the researcher used a secondary source of data collection to obtain the important information in line with the topic under study. in this case several books, journal, articles, reports, newspapers, etc. were consulted in extracting the relevant data. that help in developing the article(braun and clarke, 2013). 2. the emergence of boko haram boko haram is the terrorist group of people formed by some few islamic sects to fight against western education and the activities related to its operations in the northern region. according to (walker, 2012) boko haram sects jama'atu ahlus-sunnah lidda'awati wal jihad, known the world over as boko haram, is a terrorist islamic sect in nigeria that has formed mayhem across the northeastern part of nigeria and in the federal capital, abuja. its fierce bouts on administration offices, the united nations, mosques and churches loom to disrupt the nation. boko haram appeared in the early 2000s as a small sunni islamic sect supporting a firm clarification and execution of islamic law for nigerians and nigeria(lauren ploch blanchard, 2014). since then nigeria is experiencing a high flood of insecurity, particularly in the northeastern region by the insurgent group called: the jama’atu ahlus-sunnah lidda awati wal-jihad generally known as boko haram. giving this,(musa, 2011), opined that boko haram stated their activities since 2001 but was not popular until 2009 when they engaged vigorously in the religious ferocity which happened in the northeastern region. the name boko haram was derived from the hausa language, in english, it means “western education is sinful”. however, this sect of people rejects everything related to western education and origin, precisely the western www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 29 education; its principles and schemes. “boko is the hausa language, in english means western education, while haram means sinful. it is observed that boko haram rejects not only western education but western culture and modern science as well. in a view of (yusuf, 2009), the belief that the world is a sphere contradict the islamic principles, as such it should be rejected together with darwinism and the philosophy that rain comes from water vanished the sun. to him, the group was initiated in 2002 in maiduguri the state capital of borno by ustaz mohammed yusuf then. they later relocated to a village in yobe state called kanamma in 2004, where they established their base called “afghanistan”. it is from this base they used to organize and attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers, burning churches and schools with the intention to continue with the attacks in as much as the political and educational system is not changed in line with their philosophies. 3. literature review/conceptualization according to (inchi s. i., 1996), insurgency is a violent organized by an individual or group of individuals to fight or oppose the implementation of law or running of government or react against established authority of the state. in a related development (ladan m. t., 2012), describe insurgency from three perspectives firstly, to establishes an attack on an unprotected member of the public resulting into wounds or injuries, loss of lives and properties as well as the involuntary internal displacement of persons or group of persons from their living environment. secondly, to energies of native and external enterprises from the country; and thirdly, it comprise some elements of the traitorous crime, violence, killing, criminalities against humankind. a study by (badiora, 2017) observed that insurgency usually has two main features; these include crime and violation of human right in the society. insurgency is seen as a crime because it is a pattern of internal disorders and stiff nesses that poses serious threats to the society in general and public order for the appropriate authorities, which can ultimately lead to circumstances that loom the life the public and lure the government in power to announce a state of emergency. just like what happens in adamawa, borno, and yobe state where many people were killed by the boko haram group that led to the declared state of emergency by president goodluck jonathan on 14 may 2013, because of the negative activities of the radical boko haram sect (mnch2, 2018). however, it is observed that the activities of this sect of individuals have affected the lives of many married women that lost their husbands as a result of the activities of these bad elements, which has turned many women to destitute, widows, and children to orphans, it is noted that the affected children were later dropped from the schools because their fathers were murdered, no one to settle their school fees and other educational responsibilities. in 2009, the nigerian government took security actions on this sect as a result of their negative attitude and activities towards people and the society at large because their activities were becoming disturbing and intolerable. as a result of this, their leaders were apprehended alive or arrested and kept them in the police custody, which was later executed extra-judicially. (ladan m. t., 2012), narrated that boko haram was basically against the dishonest western-educated muslim leaders and government. the group was also capitalizing on popular dissatisfaction with poor governance in nigeria mostly, in the northern region of the country a study by (amadu, 2013), showcase that with the increased in series of attacks and bombing in the northern region, there is a mass movement and relocation of men and women from the most attacked areas in early 2012 and up to 2015 but with the coming of president mohammad buhari into power, things started changing, because he was able to restore peace in those states. with all this the men mostly, businessmen stay behind to continue with their business and to protect their source of income. the sudden relocation of the individual from their town and villages affect the relationship between the husband and wives and directly affects school attendance of their children. some children forced to join another school in the various town where they relocated to. while those that lost their parents because of the attack were absconded from the school because of financial related problem. it is noted that since the beginning of 2014, about 1,500 people have been killed in the north-eastern region by the insurgent's group. that made many individuals live in an environment of fear and uncertainty, susceptible to attack from boko haram group on the one hand and fronting human rights defilements at the hands of the very state security forces which are supposed to protect them(amnesty international, 2014). according to (lauren ploch blanchard, 2014), over 4,000 persons were projected to have been murdered in boko haram-related activities, in northern nigeria making it one of the lethal terrorist groups in the world. however, u.n. and nigerian officials reported that about 6 million nigerians have been affected by the violence between boko haram sects and the nigerian government, and more than 300,000 have been disorganized from their town and villages. looking at this scenario it is observed that most of the people killed are married, some have four, three, two and one wives, only a few of the murdered that are single. all those married have children of under schools age. this negative attitude of the said group has put many women into widow ship and the children to orphans; this will later affect the lives of the women and the children by extension the national economy. similarly, (amnesty international, 2014), reports that since the violence started in 2009, thousands of fighters have also been murdered in clashes between security forces and boko haram members across different locations www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 30 in north-eastern nigeria. and most of those killed are married men who are breadwinners of a family of families, leaving behind two, three or four wives with enormous children. in addition to this thousands of people have died in military custody in borno and yobe states, and most of them are married men with children. many more have been wounded of enforced disappearances and thousands have been endangered to acts of agony and other forms of painful, insensitive and humiliating action in military and police custody in north-eastern nigeria, many of those affected are family men with many children. however, it is understood that these terrorist group claimed many lives, so also the armed forces and the civilian joint task force (jtf). in view of this, amnesty international (2014), reported that from the available information received from eyewitnesses, lawyers, family members, and community activists, nothing less than 622 persons were killed by the security forces on 14 march. and all those killed are family men, these have added to the number of those killed by the insurgent’s groups, that turned many women into destitute beggars, widowers and several children to orphans, this will in the near future affect the nation development if necessary measures are not taking towards the children and the women widowers lives. however, it is observed that out of the 622 individuals that were murdered 90% are married men with many children. all these children were turned to orphans and the wives to widows. in line with the above revelation, a study by (shehu mohammed, 2018), observed that every child born in any situation the parents adds hope and potentiality to the world and fellow humans. what transpires to children at grave dated is likely to have additional effects and impact than things that happen in standard life (maduewesi, 1999) observed that rightly, about 60% of nigerian children face one type of mishandling or the other in this present society. these children want distinct sensitive treatment as parents and children (santrock, 2003). it is noted that many thousand people have been carried away as detainees and or child-soldiers by boko haram revolutionaries making them end up with armed and dehumanized feelings and therefore, only wanting to murder, rape, hurt or harm others. in a related development a study by (badiora, 2017), unveiled that the internally displaced persons (idps)in nigeria and other nations are living in an unwarranted situation, but it is understood that in some nation like nigeria the idps encountered many problems with their safety, health, and deprivation of basic social services of lives. it is noted that in the nigerian idps camps, there are several complaints of sexual harassment together with numerous health-related cases or diseases which affects women and children. besides, there has been a little outbreak of transmittable diseases related to the poor-quality food, safety, safekeeping, water, and sanitation as well as housing. the activities of the insurgent's group have a negative and at times affected health penalty. this brings an increased absenteeism at the place of work and restricts flexibility, thus dropping the rate of production and incomes. it also leads children to drop out of school when going to school puts them at risk of abuse. insurgency and state of emergency declared in any state affects women and children of all ages and impacts their full contribution to the national economy. violence takes many forms, including not only physical, but also sexual, emotional, and economic, as well as pestering experienced in public and in places of work, worship, and education(paula w. quentin t., 2018). 3.1 widows and orphans widows and orphans are sets of people that lost their lives as a result of the boko haram activities. in a related development a study by (shehu mohammed, 2018), disclosed that boko haram insurgency has led to a huge number orphaned children and widows. is observed that 60% of all the peoples in the idps established because of boko haram insurgency are women and children? similarly, 60% of all the children in those camps are orphans and such children are encountering a lot of problems which includes but not limited to sociopsychological, medical, economic and ecological trials because of this. (zastrow, c. h., & ashman, 2010), observed that abandoned children suffer from or are victims of physical and mental health care, and educationally deserted, without appropriate and regular life management, they as well face housing dangers, and they lack good household and basic individual and hygiene face social and attachment difficulties, at the same time they lack basic nourishment, meet mental and academic shortfalls and also have expressive and social problems. another problem of the insurgent's group epoch is the presence of ignored children all over the affected state's town and villages inclusive and extended to some neighboring areas. nevertheless, it is understood that many orphans were displaced all over the northeastern region, many of them are abused in one form or the other and in extensive poverty and children and women are poorest in pretentious places.because of the insurgency. in a report from the (nema, 2015), it reported that there are over 5, 000 orphans in the north-eastern region alone. these children/ orphans if not immediately go to will grow up unschooled, improvised for life challenges, jobless, and crooks as well as counterproductive to the nigerian state and society(badiora, 2017). 3.2 abducted girls in secondary schools a study by (lauren ploch blanchard, 2014), disclosed that in 2013 this group’s attacks became more ruthless, gradually aiming students and teachers in various schools in the northern region. he revealed that in july 2013, boko haram’s leader openly endangered to burn no spiritual institutions and kill their teachers, describing the www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 31 schools as a “plot against islam.” this menace has discouraged thousands of children from attending school in the northern region that already had low turnout rates and literacy levels, especially among women and girls. national statistics unveiled vast differences within nigeria in the percentage of girls who attend school, with attendance lowest in the northern region. yet, in the same year 2013, the insurgent's group came and attacked one girl's secondary school in chibok and kidnapped over 260 students, after a series of negotiation between the sects and nigerian government they release most of them and withheld some. though, this is also not the first time boko haram has abducted women in nigeria. however, those kidnapped were later forced to convert to islam by the said group and have been used as sex objects by a terrorist group. in february 2018 over one hundred and ten students (girls) were abducted from one secondary school in dapchi of yobe state, still this group of people went into negotiation with the federal government on the release of the abducted girls, at the end the sects agree to released one hundred and nine 109 abducted dapchi girls out of this one hundred and five safely returned five reported dead as a result of stampede during the abduction, but one girl was not set free because of her religious faith (dailytrust, 2018 pp 4). considering the number of the abducted girls from the two secondary schools this has affected the lives of many women in the northern region, and it as well as discourages many parents from sending their daughters to schools, and some of them will hardly get someone to marry them because of fear and anxiety, this affects the entire lives of these girls, mother of the next generation. it is known that women are mothers, home keepers, producers, family activist and community organizers(allanana, 2013; makama, 2013). 3.3 future threats considering the negative activities of boko haram activities on northern nigeria the study noted that most of the children that lost their parents are facing a lot of life challenges, such as child abuse raping broken home among others. these affected children are the future youth, if they grew up in this situation it will affect the society at large, this is because most of these will become irresponsible in the society. and if care is not taking these victims of boko haram will become a terrorist group in the near future. in addition to this many matured girls and women were been raped by the boko haram sect and by extension by some security agents and some agents of the internationaldonors. in relation to child abuse, it is observed that most of the children are drop out from the school because their parents are killed by the insurgents, and no one to take care of them, or to sponsor their education, if these set of people grown up without education and parental care they will become a nuisance in the society. in a statement made by the acting managing director, nigeria interbank settlement system (nibss), mr. niyi ajao, during an exclusive interview with tell, mourned the chaos suicide bombers have done to the nigerian economy which, he observed has affected the national economy as well as every individual in the nation, and will affect the next generation, if not stopped instantly(innocent, 2012). 3.4 psychological effects of boko haram’s attack on children education the activities of the insurgent group are not limited to security agents, but, the students in the various schoolwere been attacked, however, attack on one school or nearby villages put a fear in the mine of students and the people living in the environment, that any schools or villages in the area might be attacked. a study by ugwumba, e. u. odom (2015), disclosed that boko haram's repeated attacks on several schools across the northeastern region of the nation and this has an insuperable obstacle to education for a large number of children’. he added that the psychosocial impact will definitely affect children’s ability to study, and the places where these activities continue may lead to their (pupils/students) withdrawal from school, even if the school remains open, most of the children cannot be allowed to attain school because of the fear of future occurrence. 4. findings the paper found that borno state is the base of the boko haram group that is where it started its operations and slowly spread to the northern states like abuja, adamawa, gombe, kano, and yobe state, the targeted places include schools, mosque, churches, police stations motor parks and public offices across the northernregion. it was exposed that insurgences have amplified the number of idps in the country turning the country into one of the highest idp populations in africa. the research disclosed that some idps lost their spouse because of the insurgency while some children lost both parents to the insurgency. findings displayed that some individuals lost their children because of this unwanted activity of the group. it further found that many people were killed by the military men, police, and civilian jtf. and some innocent person died at the police custody because of congestion, hunger, thirsty and some health-related problems, the study further noted that several women and children have been psychologically traumatized by the negative activities of the boko haram and that of the military, police, and civilian jtf and many things they came across during the events time. therefore, many of them are psychologically affected and they need to be psychologically rehabilitated in order to bring them back to their normal senses and re-integrate them back into their communities. it is observed that many women and children have had their parents and husbands were killed or chopped to death in their presence and their properties and villages set on fire. boko haram has evacuated millions of persons from their residence to idps camps, including a significant number of children www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 32 and more than $67m is required to acclimatize the displaced and psychologically disturbed individuals in the north eastern part of the country, especially those children whose condition has worsened as a result of the insurgency. each and every child needs the necessary social services such as physical, education, and demonstrative backing so as to grow up as a reasonable and responsible adult when grown up in the society, but most of the children problems come up from lack of, poor and rude family, physical and emotional disabilities (see white, s., & white, 1980). the study further found that most of the women and girls kidnapped by the insurgent's group in the northeastern part of the country have experienced sexual abuse and rape, suffering and to some extentkilling. a recent a report from nigeria’s political violence research network unveiled that over 45% of those murdered by the insurgent's sect are christian women and children. it is observed that boko haram is not the only offender in the women abuse in the northern region. but the government security agents also contributed to the raping and killings of both men and women in the region. an eyewitness reported that women have been randomly arrested by some government security personnel for the simple reason that their family members are alleged associates of the boko haram sects. in addition to the above, it is understood that women and girls are also used by the sects at the time of war for labor. though, their main target is assets as well as the women themselves(see ositanjoku, agnes, and chikere, 2015). 5. recommendations  from the available findings, the study recommends that nigerian government should provide free and compulsory education in the northeastern region especially those children that lost their parents as a result of the boko haram insurgents, up to university level.  the federal and states governments should immediately commence reconstruction of all destroyed schools and provide necessary teaching facilities to the schools to encourage people to continue with their education.  to encourage the affected children nigerian government should provide a scholarship to them.  to avoid future occurrence the government of nigeria should show higher commitment in mobilizing the armed forces to the northeastern region and provide adequate security in all institutions of learning.  the government should provide special economic intervention programmes, bail out and fundto the affected states and areas hit by the insurgency.  there is a need for special rehabilitation and trauma centers in the affected states, especially for women and children who have had terrible knowledge during the insurgency period.  all trauma visible persons should be given a special mental examination action to avoid and contain possible post-traumatic stress and disorder (pstd).  those children affected by the boko haram insurgency should be retrained, re-oriented and put under special care and attention so that they become potentials elements in the future.  religion leaders should advise and encourage those with one or two wives to marry more to reduce the number of the windows in the society. and those that are not married should empower to get married to reduce the numbers of the widows roaming on the street.  both federal and state government should provide employment opportunities to those affected.  to overcome future occurrence there is a need for women empowerment to enable them to take care of the orphan’s children, or else these children will develop the ideology of retaliation in the near future.  the federal and state government should call the military men, police, and civilian jtf to order to stop indiscriminate killings in the northern region.  there is a need to provide adequate security to all targeted places like schools, mosques, churches, market police stations among others. 6. conclusion the paper concluded that since the coming of the insurgent sect in the country, it is observed that women and children live have been had shaken. the negative impact of the insurgent group has brought a physical, psychological social and economic harm to nigeria’ssocial and economic development. based on the above study, it is the conclusion of this paper that the boko haram insurgency in north-eastern nigeria has crippled social economic, activities as well as security. several women have turned to widows, children to orphans, numerous families have become destitute, family ties/bonds broken, many others have become traumatized widows and orphans, many millionaires have been demoted to houseboys, beggars and refugees several enterprises have distorted tens of thousands of lives lost in addition to those eternally disabled and traumatized, abandoned and or uninhibited offspring. likewise, children born and grownup to mothers in such expressive mayhem are more disposed to difficulties and more likely to grow as adults with psychiatric syndromes. finally, the activities of the sect have distressing, many communities have become immigrants in their own state; hamlet and homes are 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(2010). understanding human behavior and the social environment. belmont: brooks/cole cengage learning: copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 14 public debt spiral in nigeria: can a structural gap result from pervasive corruption? fisayo fagbemi independent researcher nigeria e-mail: fisay4real@yahoo.com olufemi solomon olatunde independent researcher nigeria e-mail: olufemi.olatunde@gmail.com abstract it is increasingly recognized that good understanding on the corruption-related causes and remedies of the modern fiscal crisis would bolster informed decisions and key governance standards. many of the governance weaknesses have been exacerbated by ingrained fiscal indiscipline and lack of effective bureaucratic provisions. these concerns necessitate ongoing research efforts aimed at galvanizing the best compilation of perspectives on the role of public institutions in debt accumulation process. hence, this study examines the long run and short run effect of corruption on public debt in nigeria over the period of 1996 to 2017 using ardl bound test to cointegration analysis. empirical evidence reveals that both corruption index and control of corruption have an insignificant adverse effect on public debt in the long run, but with a significant influence in the short run. considering the long-term implication, current anti-corruption efforts might be ineffective in enhancing strategic monitoring and sustainable fiscal standards. nonetheless, it is emphasized that effective corruption control measures could mitigate spiralling incidence of government debt. further findings indicate that there exists bi-directional causality between corruption index and public debt, whereas none is found between control of corruption and public debt. the study suggests that strong corruption-based control mechanisms are fundamentals to decreasing fiscal deficits and debt reduction. overall, a significant insight distills from the study is that the goal of attaining global financial stability and fiscal sustainability through sound regulatory framework has embodied the provisions that enhance corruption-reducing measures and institutional standards to curb persistent debt accumulation. keywords: public debt, corruption, fiscal crisis, ardl, nigeria. 1. introduction the orthodox stance on the concept of structural gap is that when fiscal revenues of the state are insufficient to finance everincreasing public expenditures. with increasingly unsustainable government spending levels in the social and economic development process, the state faced a huge financing deficit. hence, evolving empirical expositions reveal that structural gaps could lead to spiraling incidence of public borrowing and debt (bailey, 2004). in this context, structural gap and ‘fiscal crisis’1 are synonymous. in most developing economies, the public debt trajectory has approached unsustainable levels which threaten the fiscal health of countries. many african countries, in particular, are struggling with a combination of rising public debt, budget deficits and poor growth. over the years, much of this debt upsurge is driven by an absence of fiscal discipline and sound corruption control measures. the injudicious choices for debt accumulation posed a problem to citizens of such indebted jurisdiction, since future servicing of public debt with no long-term development impact would exacerbate intergenerational inequity (liu, 2017). some economists (researchers), in general, have espoused to the adverse effect of government debt on economic growth and development in any economy (kumar & woo, 2010; reinhart, reinhart & rogoff, 2012). thus, debt deliberately amplified through corrupt actions may be inimical to fiscal performance and the economy as a whole. recognizing that a robust fiscal state is a springboard for socio-economic development, in sub-saharan africa (ssa), recent years have witnessed a great deal of policy actions initiated to bolster the fiscal position of the central government across countries. nonetheless, political leaders and economic actors often reinforce the formation of large structural gaps in ssa 1 fiscal crisis occurs when there is a substantial increase in much-needed government expenditures over state revenues, which give rise to insufficient finance. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 15 countries. in africa, the culture of self-serving ethos and dishonest political control are ubiquitous. due to high levels of corruption and inefficient resource utilization, public debt has turned out to be a new succession of slavery for most countries in the region. the biggest challenge confronting ssa is how the borrowed funds can be utilized. nigeria, indeed, best fits this scenario, as pervasive corruption impedes strict adherence to fiscal rules and prudence in the country. in nigeria, the advent of civil rule in 1999 has led to the introduction of anti-corruption initiatives by the successive governments. despite these, coupled with institutional control measures, corruption is festering. according to transparency international, nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. the corruption perceptions index (2018) shows that out of 175 countries ranked, nigeria is the 144 least corrupt nation — close to the bottom of the ranking. the alarming proportion of nigeria’s public debt which could have an adverse effect on the development path of the country has escalated debate among policymakers, in spite of the argument of government’s financial managers. given the debt management office (dmo) report, the country’s total debt stood at n22.43 trillion in 2018, a rise of 85.06 per cent when compared with what it was in june 2015 (leadership nigeria newspaper, 2018). the percentage of public debt to gdp has been on the rising side vis-à-vis low corruption index (figure 1). it is worrisome that nigeria is approaching the pre-2005 paris club levels. the causes of and responsive approach to the fiscal crisis are being viewed by researchers. following call for restraining the escalation of public debt, the goal of attaining global financial stability and fiscal sustainability through sound regulatory reform has embodied the provisions that enhance the institutional framework for addressing frail fiscal levels in developed and emerging economies. however, the literature on the role of political and bureaucratic factors in public debt accumulation process is sparse, perhaps still budding in developing countries. thus, the question as to whether the high level of corruption magnifies the growing incidence of indebtedness of nigeria’s government should be accorded considerable attention. figure 1: corruption index and % of public debt to gdp (2012-2018) source: authors’ estimates based on data from transparency international and imf world economic outlook database (2018) furthermore, most findings on the relationship between corruption and public debt are cross-country studies (alfredo & luca, 2015; cooray et al., 2017; benfratello et al., 2018), whereas, regarding nigeria, major studies center on the nexus between corruption and economic performance (obadan, 2002; osunyikanmi, 2007; adewale, 2011). hence, like the way grechyna (2012) opines that there is need for convincing empirical evidence of the effect of corruption on public debt for high-income countries, a study that will examine the influence of corruption on the rising debt profile in nigeria is central. the main reason advanced for this study is the paucity of systematic analysis significant for enhancing holistic expositions that would drive robust regulatory response to escalating fiscal crisis. specifically, the study’s key objective is to explore the long-run and short run relationship between corruption and public debt in nigeria. the rest of the paper is organized as follows. in section 2, literature review is presented. data description and detailed econometric techniques adopted are provided in section 3. section 4 is the presentation of results and discussion, while the last section (section 5) gives the concluding remarks. 2. literature review 2.1 theoretical and conceptual discussion over the years, many scholars have dealt with various institutional and economic factors that could navigate fiscal operations in any economy. the close nexus between feeble bureaucratic system and shadow economy2 has a substantial influence on the performance of fiscal institutions. for instance, (friedman, johnson, kaufmann, & zoido-lobaton, 2000; schneider, buehn, & montenegro, 2010) contend that a larger shadow economy results from high corruption. the two concepts are closely related 2 although there seems to be no consensus exists as to the precise definition of the shadow economy, the concept can be viewed as an unobservable (unrecorded) economic phenomenon (buehn & schneider, 2009). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 16 and analogous3, as both involve illegal activities such that the market-based production of goods and services remains elusive in official gdp estimates (tanzi, 1998; smith, 1994). accordingly, by compromising the capacity of the government to collect taxes and fees, corruption gives rise to revenue shortfalls (arusha & friedrich, 2013). given that a corrupt bureaucracy alters the design, structure and functionality of fiscal arrangement, the effectiveness of public investment and infrastructure is undermined by increasing opacity in the public sector (dzhumashev, 2014a). in any case, the quality of institutions shapes the effect of government spending, and hence determines the growth rate of public debt. another theoretical linkage in the literature is anchored on the elite theory. the theory emphasizes that, at the governance level, the perpetrators of corruption are mostly the elite class. proponents of the theory assert that public policy is shaped by the preferences and values of the governing elite (gaetano mosca (1858-1941); jose ortega (1855-1983); vilfredo pareto (1923-1948)). they elucidate that every society is controlled by a group of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social and economic status necessary for its accession to full political and economic power. this group manipulate the structures and institutions of politics to suite their private ends (selfish purposes). moreover, the ideological and philosophical direction of the society are determined by a minority. the development of governing class in most developing economies is strongly linked with their colonial background4. specifically, in nigeria, the elite group has features similar to its colonial progenitor — an instrument of exploitation and a means for primitive resource accumulation. public policy is characterized by ill-informed decisions and sharp corrupt practices of the ruling class, which undermine fiscal performance, and in turn, the retardation of economic growth and development (obialor, 2017). the literature on rent-seeking theory which emphasizes the pursuit of private gains by public administrators at the expense of the common good also offers an explanation on corruption-fiscal nexus. corruption which is often viewed as the “misuse of public office for private gain” (mauro, 1995) could facilitate rent-seeking behavior in the public sector. a corrupt environment is characterized by an extreme case of violated legal rules and the pervasiveness of questionable illegal activities. corruption is an unconstitutional pursuit of selfish goals by public officials (liu, 2017). previous studies have stressed that government officials are likely to espouse to large capital investments, as they engender maximum rent seeking. owing to nontransparent bureaucracy, the effectiveness of various financial assistance programs is hampered, because funds are often channeled away from the intended purposes. in such economies, prior evidence posits that it is rampant to bribe officials who can exert political leverage in public contracts and regulation-related industries (kaufmann 2010; liu and mikesell, 2014). thus, public expenditure is deemed to be wasteful due to injudicious choices (shleifer and vishny 1993; tanzi and davoodi 1997). overall, there is evidence that corruption exacerbates inequalities and poverty in a country through the distortion in the composition of public spending (delavallade, 2006; mauro, 1998). historically, as most government projects are financed primarily through borrowed funds, some authors opine that presence of corruption will induce increased public debt, ceteris paribus (butler, fauver and mortal, 2009; liu, 2017). 2.2 empirical evidence with the expansion of public debt in most economies, establishing a convincing ground that could consolidate the role of institutional control measures in the economy is central. in light of this, empirical studies bolster up the ulterior reasons for supporting that a link between corruption and the level of public debt is tenable, as many researchers argue that corruption may affect government debt through various channels. for example, tanzi and davoodi (1997) support the notion that an increase in public spending could be reinforced by corruption. similarly, dzhumashev (2014b) corroborating this view with assertion that the perpetuation of large public expenditures may result from the interplay of high levels of corruption and public spending. furthermore, given that the composition of public spending can be altered by corrupt elements, mauro (1998); wei (2001) indicate that more resources may be allocated to sectors which involve less transparency (like defense) against the vital sectors (such as health and education), because military expenditure is most often not subject to the usual auditing and frequent public legal scrutiny (gupta, de mello & sharan, 2001). thus, public debt would increase as large-scale investment projects and public expenditures (such as defense) are financed by both internal and external borrowing, (kaufmann, 2010). moreover, using a panel of 166 countries between 1995 and 2013, luigi, alfredo & luca (2015) examine the relationship between corruption and public debt. the authors show that high corruption in the public sector is found to increase government debt. based on a large panel of countries between 1995 and 2015, benfratello et al. (2018) assess the impact of corruption on public debt. results indicate that corruption leads to increased public debt, but the effect seems to be heterogeneous across income-related sample splits; such that in advanced economies, it is stronger, while in less-developed countries, it appears to be weaker and less statistically robust. pani (1996) focuses on the effects of corruption on the macroeconomic variables of the public budget. the study analysis centers on the situation whereby the management of public expenditure is induced by public bribes, in the long term, it is stressed that these corrupt acts could accentuate an accumulation 3 for example, arusha, ratbek, & friedrich (2017) posit that a larger shadow economy and high corruption in an economy trigger spiralling public debt. 4 in nigeria, with propensity for unbridled materialism, the culture of self-serving ethos was imbibed by the country’s elites who took over power from the erstwhile colonial administrations. their actions were mostly influenced by the exploitative tendencies (activities) of the colonial masters (ojukwu and shopeju, 2010:5). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 17 of debt that might result to financial crisis in the country, although the outcome depends on some prevailing factors — the incentives with which it is confronted and preferences of the government. cooray et al. (2017) using ordinary least squares (ols), fixed effects, system generalized method of moments (gmm) and instrumental variable estimation, examine the relationship between corruption, the shadow economy and public debt. with the use of two measures of corruption (the transparency international corruption perceptions index and the kaufmann et al., 2010 —corruption index) for 126 countries over the period of 1996–2012, estimates reveal that increased corruption and a larger shadow economy result to a rise in public debt. employing the system generalized method of moment (gmm) estimator, njangang (2018) explores the impact of corruption on public debt with a panel of 29 sub saharan african countries (ssa) between 2000 and 2015. although recognizing that a large literature concludes on the damaging effect of corruption on any economy, findings reveal that corruption positively influences public debt in the sample countries. on the other hand, some authors argue that corruption adversely affect the economic performance as a whole (hall & jones, 1999; kraay, zoido-lobaton, & kaufmann, 1999). in particular, corruption retards the level of investment (mauro 1995), and it also undermines the quality of procurement services (rose-ackerman 1997). other studies on the effect of corruption on most economies also corroborate these conclusions (johnson, kaufmann & shleifer, 1997; depken & lafountain, 2006). analogously, with a focus on nigeria, corrupt practices are found to be inimical to the economic system (obadan, 2002; osunyikanmi, 2007; adewale, 2011). they further posit that corruption impairs hard work, accountability and efficiency. in general, there exists a significant adverse relationship between corruption and output growth in nigeria. however, the preceding review underscores that evidence on the influence of corruption on fiscal level is sparse. there is limited understand on how it accentuates fiscal impacts. by and large, a sufficient gap is left for a study assessing how corruption affects the spiralling incidence of public debt in nigeria. 3. data and methodology 3.1 data description given the systematic significance of the main objective, the study employs annual time series data between 1996 and 2017. based on the availability of data, the choice of scope is vital for establishing a robust ground on the role of public institutions in fiscal development process. in the study, two indicators of corruption are used — the transparency international corruption perceptions index and the kaufmann et al., 2010 (corruption index). the percentage of public debt to gdp is included as the dependent variable in the model. while taking into account the relevance of certain variables in governance-fiscal literature, gdp per capita, inflation rate, consumer prices (annual %) and gross national expenditure (% of gdp) are employed as control variables. accordingly, detailed description and the corresponding data source are given in table 1. table 1: variable description variable description source fiscal indicator % of debt to gdp it is the ratio of a country’s public debt to its gross domestic product (gdp). imf historical public debt database (2018) corruption indicator transparency international corruption index it shows the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). transparency international (2018) kaufmann et al., 2010 (control of corruption) it captures perceptions of the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and grand forms of corruption, as well as "capture" of the state by elites and private interests. estimate gives the country's score on the aggregate indicator, in units of a standard normal distribution. the close the index to negative, the worse the institutional quality (-2.5 to 2.5). world governance indicators (2018 edition) macroeconomic indicator gdp per capita gdp per capital (constant 2010 us$), it is expected to be indirectly linked to public debt. world development indicators (2018 edition) inflation rate inflation rate is measured by consumer price index (annual %). it is expected to positively world development indicators (2018 edition) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 18 affect public debt. gross national expenditure (% of gdp) it represents the sum of household final consumption spending, general public final consumption expenditure and gross capital formation. theoretically, it is positively correlated with public debt. world development indicators (2018 edition) 3.2 methodological framework following the preceding theoretical linkage between corruption and fiscal levels (butler, fauver and mortal, 2009; liu and mikesell, 2014), a linear regression model is formulated in a functional form as; where is defined as % of debt to gdp. represents corruption index. is the gdp per capita. connotes inflation rate while is the gross national expenditure (% of gdp). indicates the time period. 3.2.1 cointegration technique as many econometric techniques exist for finding the long run relationship among variables, autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model has been viewed to be more efficient and reliable given its numerous advantages over others (engle-granger, 1987; johansen and juselius, 1990; johansen, 1991). unlike other cointegration methods, where the order of integration matters and the requirement for large sample size, ardl approach developed by peseran and shin (1997); pesaran, et al. (2001) is applicable irrespective of the order of integration (i.e. whether it i (0) or i (1), it does not matter). it is also effective for small sample5. with ardl, long run and short run relationship can be allowed for within the same model. in view of these, and considering the small sample size of the study, ardl bound test to cointegration is applied. hence the model is stated as follows: the white noise error is represented by . is the log of variables while the difference operator is defined as . in eq. (2), ……, indicate the optimal lag length determined by information criterion. using bound test approach (pesaran et al., 2001), the cointegration relationship between and other variables (explanatory) can be found with the placing of restriction on the whole estimated parameters of lagged level variables to be equal to zero. in this case, the null hypothesis is stated as; = = 0, against alternative hypothesis; : . in this model, the null hypothesis states that there is no long run relationship among the variables. on the other hand, the alternative hypothesis implies the presence of long run relationship among the variables. decision rule: if the computed f-test exceeds the upper bound critical value, is rejected. however, if the calculated fstatistics is less that the lower critical value, cannot be rejected, while the decision remains inconclusive, if the calculated fstatistics lie between the lower and upper bounds. after confirming the existence of cointegration among the variables, an error correction model is specified from eq. (2) as; is the speed of adjustment, which is expected to be negative and significant. indicates the residuals that obtained from the estimation of eq. (2). following a shock in the short-run, the negative sign of parameters implies that adjusts back to its equilibrium value. 4. empirical results and discussion taking into account the ineffectiveness and the spurious outcome that may occur when the order of integration in any of the series is i (2), augmented dickey fuller (adf) and phillip peron (pp) unit root tests are performed. although, in ardl model, no pre-test is required to ascertain the order of integration, if the level of stationarity is above i (1), the estimates could 5 the use of ardl approach circumvents the problem of biasness that often associated with small sample size (see haug, 2002; narayan, 2005). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 19 be inefficient and unreliable. essentially, results of the tests in table 2 confirm that no variable is not found to be stationary at first difference. adf and pp indicate a mixture of i (0) and i (1) in the series. with no i (2) variable in the model, the use of ardl offers an adequate basis for the study. also, in table 3, bounds f-tests are applied to determine the cointegration relationship among the variables. following pesaran et al. (2001), the null hypothesis of no cointegration is rejected at 1% significant level in model (i) & (ii), as the computed f-statistics in both models6 are greater than the upper bound critical value. the stability of the parameters in the model is established by cumulative sum of recursive residuals (cusum) and cumulative sum of squares of recursive residuals (cusumsq) — in figure 1, the two tests fall within the critical boundaries. the diagnostic tests conducted further verify the validity and robustness of the estimated results. table 2. augmented dickey fuller (adf) and phillips-perron (pp) unit root test results variable augmented dickey fuller phillips-perron level first difference level first difference public debt -3.69 (4)** -3.95 (0)*** -1.11 -3.95** corruption index -2.15 (0) -5.20 (1)*** -2.17 -10.43*** control of corruption -1.91 (0) -4.65 (0)*** -2.09 -4.64 gdp -0.80 (0) -3.47 (0)** -0.82 -3.47** inflation -5.93 (0)*** -7.07 (0)*** -5.70*** -11.35*** national expenditure -3.77 (0)** -5.14 (4)** -3.77** -11.47*** ***, **, & * indicates the level of significance at 1%, 5% & 10% respectively. figures in (.) represents lag length selected by aic criterion. the pp length was selected by newey-west band width. table 3. bounds f-tests for cointegration relationship model fstatistics level of significance critical value lower bound upper bound corruption index model (i) (1, 2, 1, 2, 1) 7.28*** 1% 5% 10% 3.74 2.86 2.45 5.06 4.01 3.52 control of corruption model (ii) (2, 2, 2, 2, 2) 18.80*** *** represents statistical significance at 1% level. in assessing the long run and short run effect of corruption on public debt, table 4 is presented, and the regression results regarding main measures (corruption indicators) mostly correspond to the apriori expectations. starting with long run estimates, corruption index (model (i)) has an adverse effect on public debt, suggesting that the higher the index, the lesser the level of public debt. also, in model (ii), control of corruption is negatively related with the public debt. this implies that an effective corruption control measure could mitigate a high incidence of government debt. further findings indicate that in both models, the estimated parameters of the two indicators are not significant. a plausible justification for this is that the current ant-corruption efforts might not be well suited to the improvement of public debt management strategy. in another way, it can be stressed that it has a shallow effect on the fiscal management process. in terms of entrenched corrupt bureaucracy and structural gap relations, it is difficult for states with greater fiscal crisis to curb wasteful expenditures and levels of debt. however, given these results, it is evident that, in practice, debt accumulation is restricted with lower levels of public corruption. this empirical assertion is consistent with previous studies on corruption-public debt nexus (cooray et al., 2017; liu, 2017). on the hand, with respect to short run relationship, the estimated parameters of two indicators are significant, while the negative signs are retained. this suggest that, in the short run, the level of corruption substantially navigates the direction of government debt. table 4. ardl long run and short run estimates variable model (i) variable model (ii) long run short run long run short run constant 0.20* 0.25** constant 1.03** -1.44*** 6 in this study, model (i) indicates the inclusion of corruption index computed by the transparency international, whereas model (ii) represents the use of control of corruption developed by kaufmann et al. (2010) as an institutional indicator in the model. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 20 [1.99] [-2.89] [2.79] [-12.99] corruption index -0.79 [-1.03] -0.03** [-4.29] control of corruption -1.71 [-0.53] -0.84** [-2.78] gdp -1.27** [-2.95] 1.01* [2.15] gdp -0.89 [-0.32] -0.85** [-2.83] inflation 0.12 [0.57 0.02*** [3.26] inflation 0.47* [1.69] 0.01* [2.04] national expenditure 0.68* [1.96] 1.49** [4.85] national expenditure 4.86* [1.77] 1.98*** [9.89] ecm (-1) -0.11*** [-8.42] ecm (-1) -0.12*** [-13.01] d.w 1.94 d.w 2.02 ramsey reset test 0.58 ramsey reset test 0.51 normality test 0.53 normality test 0.58 serial correlation 0.91 serial correlation 0.32 *, ** & *** indicate statistical significance at 10%, 5% and 1% respectively, whilst figures in (-) are t-values. on the control variables, signs of the estimated parameters also marry up with the theoretical expectation. the results reveal that, in the long run, the effect of gdp per capita remains substantial and statistically significant, indicating that in the period of economic boom, government tends to borrow less compared with the financial crisis period. similarly, the assertion is also retained in the short run. in contrast, inflation and national expenditure have a direct significant association with public debt in the long run as well as in the short run. although inflation is insignificant in model (i), high inflation rate and excessive public spending are the fundamental causes of spiralling levels of public debt in nigeria. in buttressing this empirical ground, large – scale government expenditures on unsustainable projects could exacerbate fiscal imprudence and the rising incidence of indebtedness in the economy (gupta, de mello & sharan, 2001; kaufmann, 2010). moreover, the speed of adjustment of government debt to shocks in exogenous variables is shown by the estimated coefficients of the error correction term (ecm (1)). the negative statistical significance of the estimated parameters of error correction term in the two models indicates a stable process of adjustment to the long run equilibrium. essentially, the validity of the error correction term (ecm (-1)) is established by the estimated values respectively. model (i) — corruption index -10.0 -7.5 -5.0 -2.5 0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 cusum 5% significance -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 cusum of squares 5% significance model (i) — control of corruption -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 cusum 5% significance -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 cusum of squares 5% significance figure 2: cusum (left) & cusumsq (right) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 21 table 5.pairwise granger causality test model hull hypothesis fstatistic prob. model (i) corruption_index does not granger cause logpub 2.80 0.09* logpub does not granger cause corruption_index 3.01 0.07* model (ii) control_of_corruption does not granger cause logpub 1.65 0.22 logpub does not granger cause control_of_corruption 1.57 0.23 * indicates statistical significance at 10% in table 5, the granger causality results show that corruption index as the tendency to induce the rate of debt in the country, while the causality is also run in opposite direction. this implies that, in model (i), there is bi-directional causality between corruption index and public debt. however, both control of corruption and government debt do not granger cause each other in model (ii). these findings depict little effectiveness on the part of corruption-based control mechanisms, including bureaucratic and fiscal adjustment mechanisms. one of the main factors that could be responsible for such ineffectiveness is that public policies’ enforcement rate may be too low. furthermore, the entrenchment of corruption in the public sector and social misalignment have led to a litany of compromising corrupt officials in the system, which undermine the application of governance principles and support for long-term strategic monitoring. 5. concluding remarks it is increasingly recognized that good understanding on the corruption-related causes and remedies of the modern fiscal crisis would bolster informed decisions and key governance standards. many of the governance weaknesses have been exacerbated by ingrained fiscal indiscipline and lack of effective bureaucratic provisions. these concerns necessitate ongoing research efforts aimed at galvanizing the best compilation of perspectives on the role of public institutions in debt accumulation process. hence, this study examines the long run and short run effect of corruption on public debt in nigeria over the period of 1996 to 2017 using ardl bound test to cointegration analysis. while pairwise granger causality test was applied to know the causal direction between corruption indicators (corruption index and control of corruption) public debt, other significant tests were also checked for. new empirical evidence documented reveals that both corruption index and control of corruption have an insignificant adverse effect on public debt in the long run, but with a significant influence in the short run. considering the long-term implication, the current anti-corruption efforts might not be well suited to the improvement of public debt management strategy or perhaps ineffective in enhancing strategic monitoring and sustainable fiscal standards. thus, entrenched corruption in the public sector may widen the structural gaps. nonetheless, it is emphasized that effective corruption control measures could mitigate spiralling incidence of government debt. more findings from the analysis indicate that there exists bi-directional causality between corruption index and public debt, whereas none is found between control of corruption and public debt. the study suggests that strong corruption-based control mechanisms are fundamentals to decreasing fiscal deficits and debt reduction. on the contrary, fiscal imprudence and the rising incidence of indebtedness could be worsened by large – scale government expenditures on unsustainable projects. overall, a significant insight distills from the findings is that the goal of attaining global financial stability and fiscal sustainability through sound regulatory framework has embodied the provisions that enhance corruption-reducing measures and institutional standards to curb persistent debt accumulation. references adewale, s. b. 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(2001). negative alchemy? corruption, composition of capital flows, and currency crises. nber working paper no. 8187, doi: 10.3386/w8187. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.jstor.org/stable/23247932 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research ;vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 35 investigating the contributing factors affecting high school students’ self-confidence and the solutions for enhancement: a case study of arabu qala high school, kandahar, afghanistan abdullah rahimi english language and literature department education faculty kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail:abdullahhaidari365615@gmail.com abstract this research paper examines the contributing factors affecting high school students’ self-confidence and the solutions to enhance students’ self-confidence. the study used quantitative approach, the researcher conducted a survey study by developing a questionnaire comprising 20 items based on five likerts scales. the data was collected from 100 high school students through random sampling which 75 were male and 25 females. the data was analysed and interpreted in terms of mean and standard deviation through spss software (24) version. it was concluded that different factors like, students’ feeling depressed, fear of making a mistake and others’ much focus toward students affected their self-confidence. on the other hand, factors like, teachers’ humor, students’ feeling a sense of pride and students’ encouragement and support from teachers’ side could enhance their self-confidence. keywords: high school students, self-confidence, kandahar 1. introduction in general, education nowadays has become a prominent thing as it involves most people to take part in this matter. in addition, it cannot be separated from human’s life. both males and females need to be educated. they have the same right to get education as much as they want because there is no limitation for education. no matter how old a person is, he / she can still get education during the rest of their lives. hence, there is no such thing as too late to get education. education is the only bridge that leads people to their better futures (johan & harlan, 2014). besides, education department has the major role to fix the student’s belief on his/her own self, to perform a task at a particular level in order to have attention to a specific academic goal and it can be possible to hire the professional teachers based on psychological experience (sander & sanders, 2005). likewise, the child who perceives himself confident has a high level of academic achievement. the researcher further stated that the child who perceives himself as a worthless is less confident and may not come up to his optimum level (eccles & wigfield, 2002). confidence is believed to effect performance through the influence on task perception. for example, high confidence creates a feeling of calmness when approaching a difficult task. low confidence on the other hand, may result in an individual perceiving a task more difficult than it really is, which leads to stress and nervousness of ideas when taking the solution of the problem (cole & kinzie, 2008). related to self-confidence, ozbey (2004) mentioned that self-confidence is defined an individual’s recognition of his own abilities, loving himself and being aware of his own emotions. furthermore, students with low self-confidence enter college with lower academic skills and are found to be less engaged and face more transition difficulties (sander & sanders, 2005). in addition, individuals who are successful at school are in the habit of good work and these individuals are also interested in school and they are confident (tamel & askoy, 2001). moreover, school has been thought to play an important role in developing confidence, while studying at school, students need to communicate effectively with their friends and others strangers in high level confidence specially high school students to be successful in their academic life (koc & polat, 2006). according to mutluer (2006) who stated that self-confidence does not mean that a person will be happy despite all challenging conditions. on the other hand, people who have high self-confidence have been copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 36 thought to be active in new enterprises and to have position attitudes. individuals who have low self-confidence have difficulties in making of their minds, taking responsibilities and communicating with other people (rutledge, 2000). regarding self-confidence, bengtsson, persson, & willenhag (2005) stated that a gender difference is evident that there is growing literature that men are more self-confident than women in exam situations. the overall effect is that students who repeatedly under estimate their performances can lose motivation for learning due to lack of selfconfidence. similarly, students who over estimate their performances may be at a disadvantage as their over confidence may impede their motivation to learn new techniques (stankov, morony & lee, 2014). with regards to students’ self-confidence, tett (2000) explained that the students’ selfconfidence can change student if he/she enters into the academic environment and it involves giving learning opportunities to refine the students’ academic skills. the researcher also stated that confident attitude, a belief and a faith in oneself and one’s ideas are essential in getting ahead, but it should also be remembered that self-confidence grows with success that means it’s desirable to develop those qualities within oneself that makes for success. regarding self-confidence, srivastava (2013) mentioned that self-confidence is one of the attitudes possessed by each individual who has a positive outlook on himself and his situation. researcher also stated that, self-confidence is the belief in self and self-ability, a mental attitude that trusts or relies on oneself. 1.2 problem statement generally appears that students’ self-confidence is really important and it is essential to be existed in students, specifically in high school students. however, there are more challenges that avoid students’ self-confidence, such as shyness, nervousness, and no trust on his/her self. thus, there are some barriers and difficulties of twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school. although the students are in high level (twelfth class) and they are under graduates, but still they are faced with weak self-confidence. a similar concern was revealed by martin (2004) who found that for one particular sample of indian students, a significant negative association did exist between grade level and the classification of self-confidence. the students in high levels were really weak regarding self-confidence and self-belief, and they had a weak moral against their responsibilities. there are very few studies conducted regarding students’ self-confidence. therefore, the researcher want to fill this gap. 1.3 significance of the study this study may help the kandahar education department, in particular, arabu qala high school department and those students who are faced self-confidence problems, to bring effective changes in this part (students’ selfconfidence). 1.4 purpose of the study: the purpose of this study is to find out the challenges that prevent high school students’ self-confidence and the solutions that enhance twelfth class students’ low self-confidence at arabu qala high school. 1.5 research objectives  to investigate the contributing factors that affect twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school.  to investigate the solutions that enhance twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school. 1.6 research questions  what are the contributing factors that affect twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school?  what are the solutions that enhance twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school? 2. literature review students’ self-confidence is probably the ability of self-belief in learners wish to improve as soon as possible. there is a large volume of previous literature and ideas of scholars regarding students’ self-confidence as following. the researcher covered two aspects of self-confidence. 1) factors that affecting students’ self-confidence 2) factors that enhance students’ self-confidence. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 37 2.1 factors that affect students’ self-confidence relating to students’ self-confidence, dhall & thukral (2009) investigated intelligence as related to self-confidence and academic achievement of school students. the result of the study revealed that intelligence is significantly and positively related with self-confidence and academic achievement. similarly, conducted a comparative study on selfconfidence of rural and urban students studying in 8th standard of various schools of amravati. it was found that, the average self-confidence of rural and urban, boys and girls are almost same and the rural boys were superior in their self-confidence in comparison to rural girls. the self-confidence of both sexes from urban are found almost same (wankhade, rokade & meena, 2011). according to previous literature, selvaraj & gnanadevan (2014) revealed that there is a significant and negative relationship between self-confidence and different dimensions of stress such as, academic stress, interpersonal stress, intrapersonal stress, environmental stress and total stress. in addition, the impact of sources of confidence on self-efficacy beliefs and academic achievement in the concept of bandura’s self-efficacy theory. the results revealed that, learning disability status had indirect influence on self-confidence via the source variable, gender did not have direct or indirect influences on self-confidence, and sources of confidence had direct impact on selfconfidence, which in turn affected academic performance (hampton & mason, 2003). likewise, suzuki & tomoda (2015) who found that, early life stress in children, because of lack of care, reduces child’s self-confidence and safely bond that it has with his parents and is likely for child to have depression in the future. in this study, stressful events are considered maltreatment, parental illness, death and sociopathic behaviors. all these facts reinforce to avoid behavior as well as insecure. as a result, children which have experienced these stressful events have low selfconfidence and are possible to have depressive signals. regarding self-confidence, lots of researches have been shown that low self-confidence is associated with mood disorders and depression. in particular, carter & garber (2011) had shown that, low self-confidence and low self-worth are associated with stress and depression. both of them, constitute risk factors for appearance of depression, as people cannot manage and cope with the stressful life events. furthermore, another study, investigated that, successfully coping with anxiety, depressiveness, and stressful situations may contribute to high levels of self-esteem and self-confidence. the results in the present study show that anxiety and depression partially effects on self-confidence (nima, rosenberg, archer, & garcia, 2013). according to rubio (2007) who had shown that low self-confidence may lead to some psychological conditions such as sense of insecurity, fear, anxiety, and antisocial behaviors. this may be the case in learning too. at least, due to low self-confidence, the student will not be able to make a good start in learning, because low self-confidence affects students’ learning motivation. similarly, an individual who lacks in self-confidence will most probably have a negative bias towards the course and the classroom. a student will have always negative feelings like fear of failure, being inadequate, fear of making fun, and anxiety towards the teacher and course during the class, and avoid from speaking and participating in classroom activities (bong, 2008). furthermore, obidigbo (2006) revealed that as a child, parents are the biggest influence on self-confidence. children who are consistently criticized, threatened, yelled at or beaten by a parent quickly learn they are worthless. if children are continually ignored, teased or ridiculed at home or at school or if they are expected to be perfect all the time in order to be accepted at home or at school, they will eventually develop a poor selfimage. regarding students’ self-confidence, stankov, morony & lee (2014) had shown that, the overall effect is that students who repeatedly under estimate their performance can lose motivation for learning due to a lack of self-confidence. similarly, students who over estimate their performance may be at a disadvantage as their over confidence may impede their motivation to learn new techniques. in addition, socio economic status and parents’ education had significant effects on students’ overall academic confidence scores. the researcher also mentioned that these two factors have a big impact on school students’ self-confidence particularly, high school students (farooq, chaudhary, shafiq & berhanu, 2011). in terms of previous literature, schramla, perskia, grossia & simonsson-sarnecki. (2011) examined, three major groups of stressrelated factors, namely, adolescent subjective psychosocial conditions, lifestyle, and selfconfidence. the results of this study showed that a substantial number of high school students, especially females, feel stressed and psychologically burdened. furthermore, it was shown that highly stressed individuals, are more likely to feel worse about themselves, base their self-esteem on performance, and have more sleep problems as compared to non-stressed individuals. compared to male students, the females not only reported significantly more stress signals but, lower global self-confidence, and higher performance-based self-confidence in females was also reported. furthermore, the factors that affect undergraduate female students in confidence, performance, attitudes, and experience in undergraduate education. hence, women can face unique barriers that include negative copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 38 stereotypes, negative influences and discrimination. in the past women have been faced with a lack of role models, lack of encouragement and insufficient opportunities to succeed in education (stoilescu & mcdougall, 2011). relating to students’ self-confidence, rhee, pan, norman, crow, & boutelle (2013) revealed that controlling parenting behaviors can have negative consequences for child self-confidence while more accepting parenting behaviors may help children utilize healthier eating practices when feeling stressed. this study suggested that controlling parenting behaviors decrease child self-confidence and self-esteem to engage in healthy eating behaviors during difficult emotional situations. likewise, rubio (2007) had shown that cognition is the center of selfconfidence, that success or failure is felt cognitively. this brings us to the conclusion that self-confidence is a sense (cognitive) just like anxiety and fear in humans. many different factors may lead to anxiety and fear decrease selfconfidence. 2.2 factors that enhance students’ self-confidence according to parachin (2003) who found that there are seven key steps for developing self-confidence: 1begin the task with certainty, 2accept responsibility, 3not let what you speak make you weak, 4take the bravery, 5 reject negative advice, 6follow the positive voices, and 7make anxiety omit. moreover, collaborative learning really emphasizes students to actively participate in joint tasks. this will certainly make students better understand the concepts they are learning and can develop student self-confidence. in addition, students in the group decide and find out for themselves how they are solving a problem, task, or product without direct direction from the teacher, and find the sense of self-belief on his/herself (laal & laal, 2011). on the other hand, aggarwal & mishra (2005) found that demand, symbolic reward love, motivation and object reward affects the self-confidence of students significantly, and it can improve students’ self-belief on his/herself as soon as we want. despite, make the individual feels the excellence and success, improves self-confidence and raises self-belief level, whereas, success makes the individual feels proud and confident of his potentials and abilities, and that he is able to succeed and make achievement, and that such impact is a mutual one. the need to self-actualization is the top priorities of human needs and it is materialized on the education level through the need of the learner to obtain a high social rank (al hamaoui, 2010). furthermore, ziegler & heller (2000) reported that girls expressed significantly lower levels of self-confidence than boys. there are various factors which have favorable impact on self-confidence of students. cognitive style, problem solving ability and educational aspiration are the important ones which also affect self-confidence of school students. likewise, the enhancement of self-confidence is influenced by some factors such as, life experiences, parents, siblings, friends, and teachers. from them, the individual learn how to think about him/herself and the world around him/her. it is the support and encouragement individuals receive from the people around them or the lack of it that helps shape their inner feelings about themselves. a nurturing environment that provides positive feedback improves self-confidence. hence, there is a need of environment support and more speaking practice in order to gain the students’ self-confidence (bitterlin, 2011). al-hebaish (2012) demonstrated that the sources of building selfconfidence points to self-confidence being derived from several factors. the most important factors are: (1) personal experiences. successful experiences increase the development of high self-confidence, while the experiences of failure have the opposite effect, (2) social messages received from others. community, home, school, and peers are important for self-confidence growth. in addition, self-confidence is developed during the age of childhood and shows from the accumulation of inter and intrapersonal experiences (harris, 2009). moreover, rhee, pan, norman, crow, & boutelle (2013) found that, parents may play an important role in preventing emotional destruction in children by promoting self-efficacy (belief or confidence in one’s ability) to eat healthily during stressful situations. with regards to enhancing self-confidence, caldwell, horrison, adams, quin & greeson (2010) revealed that meditation helps students improve their self-confidence. students’ meditation is helpful for increasing self regulation, calming themselves, relieving stress, increasing relaxation, and improving emotional coping. in addition, students reported knowing themselves better and increased abilities to pay attention and to control thinking. meditation can also be taught as a method of self-care as it has been shown to be an effective stress reliever. furthermore, self-enhancing humor has a humorous outlook on life which is utilized to maintain self-confidence and cope with stress and pressure. the self-moral humor style is one of particular interest because it was found to have a strong and positive correlations with self-belief, and researchers suggesting that, this humor style tends to be used by individuals’ experiencing psychological distress (stieger, formann, & burger, 2011). related to development of students’ self-confidence, husainay (2004) demonstrated that, physical training refers to all outdoor activities, such as jungle tracking, canoeing, abseiling, flying fox and other physical activities, which require high power, physical copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 39 and mental strength, may has a major role in enhancing self-confidence of an individual. conversely, communication among individuals in classroom brings success faster than any material and technique, and can improve their self-confidence. a good communication with students is an achievement of self-confidence success for high school students. only self-confident students can achieve this success. self-confident students feel comfortable in classroom, and can present their messages to other students in the class (arnold, 2007). according to improvement of selfconfidence, bandura (2006) demonstrated that encouraging students to act and speak correctly, giving them feedbacks especially, positive feedbacks and offering them in-class activities they will enjoy and can improve their self-confidence. therefore, a student’s sense of self-confidence can be promoted by other students’ sense of self-confidence in classroom with those students that they are higher in self-confidence. in addition, ewald (2007) reported that, only about half of the students in her study claimed to experience a relative level of confidence in their upper-level classes. the researcher revealed that even more surprising is that, only 12 of the students out of 21 reported they feel more confident now about their learning ability than ever before. the researcher then suggested that teachers work actively is useful to build upper level students' confidence and selfperception. in other words, when students do something correctly, tell them well-done and convince them to avoid the challenges and barriers of their self-belief. meanwhile, juhana (2012) mentioned that solution for lack of self-confidence to overcome those psychological factors, most students believed that motivating them to be more confident in the class is worth considering. this finding suggests that the teachers should be more aware of the obstacle of their students using activities and oral presentation in the class. on the other hand, teachers need to take the time to teach the students how to work in groups and how to communicate their ideas. students may not know how to help effectively and may require special training to learn how to elaborate their thinking in order, to increase their confidence (blumenfeld, marx, soloway, & krajcik 1996). despite, giving students several strategies to use to help them determine what will be most effect to solve their problems. students should get ways of thinking, habits of persistence and confidence in unfamiliar situations that will serve them well outside the classroom (national council of teachers of mathematics, 2000). 3. material and method 3.1 research design this research was quantitatively conducted. according to fraenke, wallen & hyun (2016), in a survey method, the researchers collects information from a large group of participants through their responses to the questionnaire items. the researchers added that quantitative study essentially tries to explain the problem using numbers and attempts to generalize the study from a larger population. the aim of the study is to investigate the contributing factors affecting high school students’ self-confidence and the solutions for enhancement: a case study of arabu qala high school, kandahar, afghanistan. in general, case study is the preferred strategy when the investigator has little control over events, “how” or “why” questions are being posed and when the focus is on contemporary phenomenon within some real life context (yin, 1998). 3.2 research site arabu qala high school was selected as the data collection source because it is one of the biggest schools of kandahar city and also many students from different places come here for getting their education. 3.3 population and sampling the population for this study was selected students from 12th grades and the total population of the study was four twelfth classes which consist 140 students. then the researcher selected the sample 100 students based on the formula of (krejcie & morgan, 1970). among which 75 are males and 25 are females. participants were all aged between 15 to 30 years old. participants were selected through random sampling in this study, and from each class 25 students were selected to participate. the random sampling technique helped the researcher to ensure every respondent in the sample had an equal chance of being selected (gravetter & forzano, 2006). 3.4 instrument the main instrument used in this survey study was a questionnaire. the researcher adopted and adapted questionnaire from different articles of (ciarrochi, heaven & fiona, 2007) and (rosenberg, 1965). the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 40 questionnaire had three parts part: a demographic information, part: b there were 10 items related to challenges affecting students’ self-confidence and part c: were 10 items related to solutions that enhance students’ selfconfidence based on 5 likert scales. 1strongly agree 2agree 3undecided 4-disagree 5strongly disagree. 3.5 questionnaire validity and reliability concerning the validity of the questionnaire, the researcher shared the questionnaire with supervisor and received effective feedback. also the researcher measured and checked the reliability of the questionnaire through (spss) software (24) version. as a result, the consistency of the questionnaire and items’ scales was (0.70) cronbach alpha, which means that the scales and items were reliable. the general reliability values between .75 and 1.00 considered excellent, .60-.74 good, .40.59 fair and below .40 is poor (madhan & kensinger, 2017). 3.6 data collection procedure the researcher has collected the data through questionnaire in one week and participants were invited to participate and find out the relevant factors. as the participants were from school, it was necessary to translate the questionnaire by pashto. first, the researcher took the permission from the education department, then from the head of school to collect the data. then, the researcher went to the classes introduced himself, explained the questionnaire to the participants and described the aim of the study for conducting this research, and all the participants (male and female) were willing to participate in this study. 3.7 data analysis after collecting the data from participants, the data was analyzed in order to know the result of the research. the analysis process was held with the help of spss software (24) version. data was analyzed through different aspects regarding to the contributing factors of students’ self-confidence based on mean and standard deviation. 4. result and findings characteristics of the respondents table -1 shows the demographic information of the respondents in categories of gender, age and shift. characteristics no. of respondents percentage gender: male 75 75 female 25 25 age: 15-20 77 77 21-25 16 16 26-30 7 7 shift: morning 25 25 afternoon 50 50 night 25 25 table-1 shows that there were hundred participants. out of hundred, 75 were male and 25 female students. depending to their age, 15-20 years old were 77, 21-25 years old16, and 26-30 years old were7 students. regarding to shift (term) 25 students were from morning shift, 50 students from afternoon shift and 25 students from night shift. research question1: what are the contributing factors that affect twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school? copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 41 table -2 indicates the contributing factors affecting twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school. factors that affect students’ self-confidence mean standard dev. i often tend to think negatively in the class. 4.19 1.23 i think that others don’t respect me in the class. 3.62 1.47 i am usually anxious and fearful in the class. 3.49 1.45 i am very concerned about my appearance in the class. 3.45 1.52 i often feel in the class like i don’t know the right thing to do or say. 3.36 1.54 i am easily embarrassed in the class. 2.87 1.61 i am very fearful of criticism and rejection in the class. 2.34 1.47 i think others in the class are much focused towards me what i say or do. 2.16* 1.30 i fear making a mistake in the class which others might notice. 2.10* 1.41 i often feel depressed in the class when i have done something wrong. 1.96* 1.18 likerts scales: 1=strongly agree, 2= agree, 3=undecided, 4=disagree, and 5= strongly disagree. table -2 represents the mean scores for the contributing factors that affect twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school. all of the items had the mean scores between the ranges of one to four. the average level of the twelfth class students’ self-confidence affecting factors was in the range of “strongly agree” and “disagree”. items which gained higher mean scores in this dimension were identified as “i often tend to think negatively in the class.” (m= 4.19, sd= 1.23), “i think that others don’t respect me in the class.” (m= 3.62, sd= 1.47) and “i am usually anxious and fearful in the class.” (m= 3.49, sd= 1.45). on the other hand, the three items with comparative lower mean scores were “i think others in the class are much focused towards me what i say or do.” (m= 2.16, sd= 1.30), “i fear making a mistake in the class which others might notice.” (m= 2.10, sd= 1.41) and “i often feel depressed in the class when i have done something wrong.” (m= 1.96, sd= 1.18). the result indicates that the major factors which has effect on twelfth students’ self-confidence are: 1) when the students felt depressed in the class whenever they have done something wrong. 2) when the students fear making a mistake which others might notice. 3) when the students think that others in the class are much focused towards them what they say or perform. research question2: what are the solutions that enhance twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school? table3 indicates the contributing factors that enhance twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school factors that enhance students’ self-confidence mean standard dev. i am able to do things as other people do in the class. 2.27 1.32 on the whole i am satisfied with myself in the class. 2.13 1.20 i get courage and bravery from my peers in the class. 2.09 1.27 i feel positive while being with one or more adults in my class. 2.07 1.17 i feel that i have a number of good qualities in the class. 2.06 1.30 my class fellows respect my ideas in the class. 2.01 1.26 i am confident that i will achieve the goals that i have set for myself in the class. 1.98 1.12 my teacher continually encourages and supports me in the class. 1.92* 1.26 i feel a sense of pride about my activity in the class. 1.90* 1.00 my teacher has humor during the teaching in the class. 1.85* 1.14 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 42 likerts scales: 1=strongly agree*, 2= agree, 3=undecided, 4=disagree, and 5= strongly disagree. table-3 shows the mean scores for the contributing factors that enhance twelfth class students’ self-confidence at arabu qala high school. all of the items had the mean scores between the ranges of one to two. the average level of the twelfth class students’ self-confidence enhancement was in the range of “strongly agree “and “agree”. items which gained higher mean scores in this dimension were identified as “i am able to do things as other people do in the class.” (m= 2.27, sd= 1.32), “on the whole i am satisfied with myself in the class.” (m= 2.13, sd= 1.20) and “i get courage and bravery from my peers in the class.” (m= 2.09, sd= 1.27). meanwhile, the three items with comparative lower mean scores were “my teacher continually encourages and supports me in the class.” (m= 1.92, sd= 1.26), “i feel a sense of pride about my activity in the class.” (m= 1.90, sd= 1.00) and “my teacher has humor during the teaching in the class.” (m= 1.85, sd= 1.14). the result indicates that the respondents are (strongly agree) and (agree) in all items of the questionnaire. as a result, the major factors that enhance twelfth class students’ selfconfidence are: 1) when their teachers are humorous during the teaching. 2) when the students feel a sense of pride about their activities in the class. 3) when teachers continually encourage and support students in the class. 5. discussion after analyzing and interpreting the data, the result of the current study revealed that there were some barriers and challenges in terms of high school students’ self-confidence. participants identified that they feel depressed inside the class whenever they have done something wrong or false. it means when students perform an activity untrue thus, they feel unhappy and have a tension toward their activities. this finding is in agreement with the findings of carter & garber (2011) who showed that low self-confidence and low self-worth are associated negatively with stress and depression. the researchers added that both of them are risky factors for self-confidence, as people cannot manage and cope with the stressful life events, and feel displeased and unhappy each time. furthermore, the research finding also showed that students fear of making a mistake which others might notice their mistakes they have done. it specifies that students are fearful of committing an error which their classmates might notice and make fun of them. the students further mentioned that they think that others in the class are much focused towards them when they say or perform something. it indicates that the students have anxiety in front of other classmates inside the class when they say something or perform an activity so they think if they say or do something others will laugh at them. these findings are similar with juvonen, graham & schuster (2003) who asserted that students have anxiety in front of their classmates and worried about that what the classmates consider about their performances. in addition, the current study also illustrated that there are some solutions that enhance and increase high school students’ self-confidence and self-belief. the findings demonstrated that the students could be more self-confident whenever their teacher has humor during the teaching. it means that the students feel comfortable and believe on themselves if their teacher is humorous and a happy man. this finding is further supported by the idea of stieger, formann, & burger (2011) who revealed that humor has a good outlook on life which is utilized to maintain selfconfidence and cope with stress and pressure. the self-moral humor style is one of particular interest because it was found to have a strong and positive correlations with self-belief, and the researchers suggested that humor style tends to be used by individuals to avoid the challenges which has effect on self-belief. moreover, finding of this study also indicated that students will be over confident when they feel a sense of pride about their activities they have performed in the class. it shows if students are proud of their activities and performances they did, it can increase and develop their self-confidence against their other class fellows and teacher inside the class. the students also stated that encouragement and support from the teacher side can also increase their confidence. it indicates that encouragement and assistance of the teacher can improve and enhance students’ self-beliefs. if a teacher helps the students and encourages them, they will feel independent and will have a high level self-confidence. these findings are in line with bitterlin (2011) who asserted that it is the support and encouragement that individuals receive from the people around them and helps shape their inner feelings about themselves. hence, there is a need of environment support and encouragement in order to enhance students’ self-confidence. 5.1 recommendations and suggestion the current study suggests the education department to hire teachers that are psychological experienced and be qualified for increasing students’ self-confidence. in addition, the current study recommends the arabu qala high school administration to play an important role for developing students’ self-confidence by performing useful activities, and insist teachers to perform some activities to increase self-belief in students. finally, the study strongly copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 43 recommends the teachers to develop the activities in the class, having humor during teaching in the class, give a sense of pride to students when they do an activity and continually encourage and support the students. after all, the researcher suggests that further research should be done to investigate the other various aspects of students’ selfconfidence obstacles and challenges which students are faced with, and to find out other factors that increase students’ self-confidence. 6. conclusion the present study was designed to determine the contributing factors that affect high school students’ selfconfidence and to find out the solutions for enhancement. in accordance with the previous literature, scholars mentioned that there were some factors that affect students’ self-confidence. such as, stress, learning disability, depression, anxiety, fear, and lack of encouragement and support. on the other hand, researchers found some factors that enhance students’ self-confidence. for instance, giving sense of bravery, reward, motivation, students’ feeling of pride, and teachers’ humor during the teaching. moreover, the study was conducted quantitatively by providing questionnaire through random sampling. despite, the data was analyzed through spss software (24) version based on mean and standard deviation. as a result, the present study revealed that there were three major factors that affected high school students’ self-confidence. like, students’ feeling depressed in the class when they have done something wrong, fear of making a mistake which others might notice in the class. and others’ much focus toward them about what they say or do. in addition, the current study found that there are three contributing factors that could enhance high school students’ self-confidence. such as, teachers’ humor during the teaching, students’ feeling a sense of pride about their activities in class. and students’ encouragement and support from teachers’ side. acknowledgement first, i am grateful and happy from the support of my dear respectable advisor teaching assistant mr. hashmatullah 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(2000). conditions for self-confidence among boys and girls achieving highly in chemistry. journal of secondary gifted education, 11(3), 144-151. about author  name and last name: abdullah rahimi  f/name: abdul rahim  date of birth: 1995  place of birth: kandahar  country: afghanistan  province: kandahar  district: gach khanay  level of education: graduated student of b.a. degree  university: kandahar university  faculty and department: education faculty, english language and literature department  occupation: teacher in arabu qala high school and asrec-ec english academy  phone: +93700365615  e-mail: abdullahhaidari365615@gmail.com copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 12 analytical approach on women education in india n. sreedhar 1 & b. ravi kumar 2 1 dept. of economics, rayalaseema university, kurnool, a.p. india 2 dept. of mba, amrita sai institute of science and technology – india correspondence: b. ravi kumar, dept. of mba, amrita sai institute of science and technology-india. e-mail:ravi9949418650@yahoo.com received: may 22, 2018 accepted: may 30, 2018 online published: august 1, 2018 abstract the importance of education had been recognized since the dawn of civilization as the most crucial element of becoming a human being. women are a very important key factor in the development of human society. in india half of the population consists of women. the 11th five year plan (2007-2012) gave importance to women empowerment in all social, economic and political areas along with continuation of priority keeping over the issues like education, health, and income generating activities. the education and stated that there cannot be educated people without education of women. in india women have a much lower literacy rate than men. literate women are better decision makers and they contributed more to the life of the community. an african proverb says “if a man is university education commission of india (1948-49), just after independence, felt the need of women’s e educated, an individual is educated. if a women is educated the entire family is educated”. many states have large rural urban differential in female literacy rate. women power is crucial to the economic growth of any country. in recent times, people are realizing the value of women education. even the low income families are willing to educate their children. women are very important segment in development at local to global levels. economic independence and education of women will go a long way in attaining self-reliance for women. the united nations development programme constituted eight millennium development goals (mdg) for ensuring equity and peace across the world. the third millennium development goal is directly related to the empowerment of women in india. what indian women need therefore is not just empowerment, but a complete “identity revolution”. keywords: literacy rate, india, education, women. 1. introduction the importance of education had been recognized since the dawn of civilization as the most crucial element of becoming a human being. women are a very important key factor in the development of human society. in india half of the population consist of women resources. they have been identified as key agents of sustainable development and women’s equality is regarded as central to a more holistic approach towards establishing new patterns and processes of development. the contribution of women and their role in the family as well as in the economic development and social transformation are important. their work participation is less when compared to men. women empowerment has emerged as an important issue in india of late. the importance of women development has been noticed by the government of india from the day of the implementation of first five year plan (1951-56). the second five year plan (1956-61) continued to reflect the welfare concept besides giving importance and priority to women’s education. the 11th five year plan (2007-2012) gave importance to women empowerment in all social, economic and political areas along with continuation of priority keeping over the issues like education, health, and income generating activities. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 13 education is the most powerful and effective instrument for men and women. education not only helps in acquisition of knowledge and the required skills but also enlightens one about different occupational opportunities and mobility. generally, a high and increasing education level gives exposure to the outer world. it empowers women and gives them the opportunity to earn their livelihood and make them independent economically, politically, and socially. the importance of education for women, therefore, is even more crucial since they have to battle discrimination from birth to death and are in a constant struggle to realize their human rights. women are the most vulnerable human beings on earth and in order to redeem their humanity it is necessary to create possibilities by which they can access the agency of education and literacy. the movement for improving women’s status all over the world has always emphasized education as the most significant instrument for changing women’s subjugated position in the society. the university education commission of india (1948-49, just after independence, felt the need of women’s education and stated that there cannot be educated people without getting women educated. while discussing the importance of education to uplift the status of women, chatterji (1993) points out that “education helps in raising the status of women in four ways. education helps women to (1) earn an income in later life, (2) participate actively in public life, (3) determine her own fertility and (4) achieve personal autonomy. all these four facets can be understood easily by juxtaposing the merits of an educated woman against the demerits of uneducated one.” 2. theoretical analysis of women education in india women have a much lower literacy rate than men. a long string of educational programmes have been started by the government and they have produced some results so that indian women today have a literacy rate of more than 65 percent as per the census of 2011, and it was 8.9 percent in 1951. but our women are still far behind men who have a literacy rate of 82 percent in 2011, and it was 27 percent in 1951. the latest census has recorded that the increase in female literacy has been sharper than the increase in male literacy in the past decade. this is very heartening news because it reflects that the government is showing results as far as educational programmes for women are concerned. table 1. literacy rate in india year persons males females 1951 18.3 27.2 8.09 1961 28.03 40.04 15.03 1971 34.05 46.00 22.00 1981 41.04 53.04 28.05 1991 52.02 64.01 39.03 2001 65.04 75.08 52.01 2011 74.04 82.14 65.46 source: census of india, 2001 & 2011. women’s education is linked to a significant improvement in the literacy and educational levels of their children and better health and nutrition standards in the family, literate women are better decision makers and they contribute more to the life of the community. educated women are less prone to be subjected to domestic violence and other forms of exploitation. crimes against women are reported more in urban areas and less in rural areas because illiterate women are less likely to speak out against violence and even less likely to approach a police station for help. in india there has been some catching up in literacy rates for both men and women between rural and urban areas, the gender gaps continue to be unacceptably large especially for females. as per 2001 census 46.70 percent women in rural areas were literate as opposed to nearly 73.20 percent women in urban areas, as per 2011 census 58.8 percent of women in rural areas were literate as opposed to nearly 79.9 percent women in urban areas. though there have been substantial increases in literacy rates in both urban and rural areas, the gap between the two sectors has not been narrowed appreciably. many states have large rural-urban differentials in female literacy. 3. education and empowerment an african proverb says “if a man is educated, an individual is educated; if a women is educated the entire family is educated”. education can be an effective tool for women’s empowerment. it is both an indicator and an instrument of development. the human capital theory stipulates that education is an investment that yields returns for the individual and society at large. to get the full benefit of education it should be provided equally to both men www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 14 and women. in india female literacy rate is as low as 65.46 percent as compared to 82.14 percent of men. education will work as a catalyst towards empowering women in india. mahila samakhya is a women’s movement, which has transformed the lives of women in 14000 villages in 60 districts of nine states of india viz. karnataka, gujarat, andhra pradesh, kerala, bihar, assam, jharkhand, u.p. and uttaranchal, started as an awareness programme by the ministry of hrd in pursuance of the national policy of education -1986 as updated in 1992, today it has entered the areas of education, health, human rights and governance with the objective of creating a gender-just society. education will be used as an agent of basic change in the status of women. in order to neutralize the accumulated distortions of the past, there will be a well-conceived edge in favour of women. the national system will play a positive interventionist role in the empowerment of women and it will develop new values through re-designed curricula, text-book, the training and orientation of teachers, decision-makers and administrators, the active involvement of educational institutions. women studies will be promoted as a part of various courses and educational institutions encouraged to take-up active programmes to further women’s development. literacy and education are the most essential inputs for empowerment of women. a critical analysis of the five year plans over the years starting from independence reflects that in the earlier phase of developmental planning, the concept of women development was mainly “welfare” oriented. during seventies there was a shift from welfare to development, which started recognizing women as participants of development. the eighties adopted a multidisciplinary approach with a special thrust on health, education and employment and number of programmes were launched to make women independent. 4. women empowerment and employment the present century has witnessed an emergence of educated and trained women in white collared jobs as teachers, engineers, lawyers, doctors, corporate executives, and the like in india’s growing economy. but the real problem is that of unskilled and illiterate women who have to seek whole time unskilled jobs. therefore there is a need for them to improve their skills and qualify themselves for semi skilled and skilled jobs. towards this end educational programmes have to be restructured aiming to equip them with necessary skills required in modern upcoming trades. the position and status of women also varies from urban to rural areas, the educated to the uneducated, the employed to unemployed, the upper strata to the lower economic strata and also from job to job. the educated women are more productive both at home and in the work place. 5. women empowerment in india the year 2001 was declared by the government of india as ”women’s empowerment year” to focus on a vision where women are equal partners like men, because the constitution of india grants equality to women in various fields of life. in the past, the position of women was miserable in the society and even women were not ready to undertake any assignment or job due to many reasons like fear, male dominance in the society and purda system but time has been changed now. women of today are not like the early days. now, they are always ready to come forward and want more economic independence, identity, achievements, equal status in the society and greater freedom. the government of india provides for selfhelp groups (shg) to them so that proper attention should be given to their economic independence through self employment, entrepreneurial development. the self-help groups have been emerged as a powerful instrument in order to alleviate poverty and for the empowerment of women in the rural economy. in this way, self-help groups are important not only to reduce rural poverty, to promote rural savings but also to increase gainful employment. empowerment of women in india has focused on three important aspects, viz. economic empowerment, integrated development, and consciousness rising. 6. new opportunities but in general the radical changes taking place in many countries open new opportunities for polices on women. on the one hand, this is because the extent of the disadvantaging and suppression of women is more visible. in some countries, women have been able to push through binding legal regulations (election laws, political party statutes women’s quota rules for local councils), in order to guarantee their stronger participation in parties and trade unions. with the programme slogans of “empowerment” and redistribution of power, women who are organized self-help organization, associations, networks and political parties are demanding participation in political decision processes and access to the political institutions. they are striving for social power in a bid to influence the factors which cause discrimination against them. the transitions from authoritarian to democratic forms of government in a great number of countries have placed women’s organizations in a changed environment. there are now countless such bodies and their combined clout is changing the status of women and helping to broaden their scope for social action. but in some countries women are still faced with considerable difficulties in organizing themselves with formal status. on account of progressive impoverishment, however, the women’s newly-won scope for action and shaping their lives is markedly cramped. current developments such as religious fundamentalism or economic recession have www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 15 inhibiting impacts on new approached to policies on women in part, one must speak of a “backlash”. even where the legal position of women have been improved they have not been able to assert their social, economic and political rights. in some countries, it’s feared that only elitist women’s organizations will have a chance to break into the political process. 7. conclusion women power is crucial to the economic growth of any country. in india this is yet to meet the goal despite reforms. little has been achieved in the area of women education, but for this to happen, this sector must introduce a chain of reforms. though india could become one of the largest economies in the world, it is being hindered due to a lack of women’s participation. education is universally accepted as a fundamental agent of socio-economic upliftment, but women have not been fairly treated as for the access to education is concerned. in recent times, people are realizing the value of women education. even the low income families are willing to educate their children. women are very important segment in development at all levels from local to global. economic independence and education of women will go a long way in attaining self-reliance for women. real change will come when women are treated on par with men and given equal opportunities. when that happens, india will be able to harness its women power and emerge as a respected nation. women in india now participate in all activities such as education, sports, politics, media, art and culture, service sector, science and technology, etc., indira gandhi who served as prime minister of india for an aggregate period of fifteen years is the world’s longest serving women prime minister. conferences and discussions about women issues are welcome step but what need to be tackled are the basic perceptions of the society that gives rise to the aberrations. today in all sectors of the economy women concerns have been flagged. but the change lies in converting these into reality, as rightly observed by nehru,“ the status of women reflects the character of the country”. so, we have to look into the gender issues with more sensitivity in the new millennium. the united nations development programme constituted eight millennium development goals (mdg) for ensuring equity and peace across the world. the third millennium development goal (mdg) is directly related to the empowerment of women in india. what indian women need therefore is not just empowerment, but a complete “identity revolution”. references rajesh pal. (2011).women empowerment through formative education. ‘social welfare’ 58(6), 11-12 anupam hazra, .(2011).women need an identity revolution” ‘social welfare’ 57(12),.8-10 v.govindappa &d.hanumantha rayadu,”economic empowerment of womena case study of garment factory workers in doddaballapur industrial area”.’southern economist’ 50(19),44-46 a. celine rita and d.rajasekhar.(2012). role of women in independent india. ’southern economist’ 51(11),7-,9 r.vidhya .(2012). status and empowerment of women in india.southern economist,50(20),8-10 n.s. sumathi .(2014).self help groups: an effective approach to women empowerment in india”. ‘international journal of applied management research,6,67 census of india 2001 shilpa tripathi .(2010).redressing illiteracy: quiet revolution for the empowerment of women” ‘social welfare’ 57(4) copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 24 assessment of college students’ preference on the usage of google drive as a learning platform: an empirical evidence mahmud tukur abubakar school of business education federal college of education (tech) gombe, nigeria e-mail: abubakarmahmudt542@gmail.com tel:+2348036939178 abstract this research assessed college students preference on the usage of google drive as a learning platform in north-east nigeria. the study had three objectives, three research questions and three null hypotheses. descriptive survey research design was used for the study. the population of the study was 263 three hundred level business education students in north-eastern nigeria. four rating scale structured questionnaire titled “college students’ preference of google drive (cgd”) was used for data collection. the instrument was validated by experts from the faculty of technology education, abubakar tafawa balewa university bauchi. the researcher personally administered the instrument assisted by 3 research assistants. data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation statistical tools to answer the research questions. the result of the study reveals that students used google drive for assignments, study and downloading of materials. based on the outcome of the study, it was concluded that google drive platform provide undergraduate business education students with opportunities to enhance and assess current educational information. it was recommended that lecturers and all stakeholders who handle business education courses should be encourage to adopt the use of google drive as a learning platform, the business education students should utilize and exploit maximally the opportunities provided by the use of google drive as a learning platform for learning activities with the help of their lecturers etc. in addition useful suggestions for further research are equally made. keywords: college students’, usage of, google drive, learning platform. nigeria. 1. background to the study social networks are becoming an integral part of our lives. students are spending much time on social network and are considered the largest category that uses such application (heyyam, 2014). the impact of the internet on education is an important issue that has caught educators’ attention in recent years. several recent studies confirmed that online interaction might provide learners flexibility, stimulate more innovative ideas, and facilitate learning. for example, dietz-uhler and bishipclark (2001) found that face-to-face discussions preceded by computer-network communications (cnc) were perceived to be more enjoyable and could include a greater diversity of perspectives than the face-to-face discussions not proceeded by cnc. hammond (2000) argued that there is a particular educational value in a communicative approach to online discussions. social network has exploded as a category of online communication where people create content, share it, bookmark it and network at impressive rate. due to network usage ease of use, speed and reach, social network is fast changing the public conversation in society and setting trends and agenda in topics that range from the environment and politics to technology and the entertainment industry. martn (2008) and lusk, (2010) share the same concept of social network. the scholars maintained that social network is the use of facebook, blogs, twitter, google drive, my space and linked-in etc. for the purpose of communication, sharing photos as well as videos. google drive is a file storage and synchronization service created by google (pichai, 2012). it allows users to store files in the cloud, synchronize files across devices, and share files. google drive encompasses google documents, sheets and slides, an office suite that permits collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, forms, and more. the google drive was made available for free to all google apps for education users have unlimited storage and support for individual files up to 5tb in size, with full encryption. users can search for images by describing or naming, what is in them. for example, a search for "mountain" returns all the photos of mountains, as well as any text documents about mountains google tools can be easily used even without having an exclusive google account. students can start participating in the collaborating (group work) activities designed using google tools with a google drive. it is also possible to use the full suite of google application from the google drive, where one can create presentations, spreadsheets, documents etc. sometimes similar to microsoft office applications (garnier 2013). google drive has the share function which allows for uploading and dawnloading of the documents to anyone around the globe with a simple share link. incidentally, the students can collaborate with the entire class or tutorial group, with the aid of email addresses in one master document at the start of the semester to ease future invitations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file_hosting_service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/google https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cloud_storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cloud_storage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file_sharing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/google_docs,_sheets_and_slides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/google_docs,_sheets_and_slides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/office_suite copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 25 google drive has a potential of improving the teaching and learning processes as they contain useful applications. learning through mobile devices can occur anywhere and anytime (brown, 2008). it is very easy to create a more useful learning environment if students either have a computer or some other types of communication devices. also, they are cheap when compared to other icts, and everyone can afford them (kizito 2012). hoppe (2009) states that students can read materials such as e-books and can watch lecture on mobile phones. according to kafyulilo (2012), downloading feature on google drive can be used to get various kinds of materials and video. 2. statement of the problem teaching and learning is all about communication between the teacher and the learner or between the learner and the learning materials which involves giving and receiving of information. research have shown that technologies enhance teaching and learning by providing opportunities through offering better access to relevant articles, teaching and learning materials(brown & adler, 2008). it enables the effectiveness of storing and sorting of information, and can offer new fast ways of communication; even with the obvious and enormous advantages that comes with the use of social media in teaching and learning which are the main functions of google drive as a platform. despite the availability and accessibility as a result of internet connectivity of google drive, student’s embracement to the technology is nothing to write home about. so many researches had been conducted on blogger (prensky 2004), youtube, (peter d. 2008) facebook (roreger, & schmidt, 2012), whatsapp (albergottiet al 2014), and other internet related field, but little or no study has been conducted on google drive in nigerian context. it is against this background that this study is set out to assess the undergraduate business education students’ preference toward the use of google drive as a learning platform in north east nigeria. the formulated the following objectives/questions in order to find answers to them at the end of the study. objectives of the study the main objective of this study is to assess college students’ preference on the usage of google drive as a learning platform in north east nigerian. specifically the study intends to achieve the following objectives:  to determine the college students’ preference in the use of google drive as an assignment/group work platform for learning in north-east nigeria.  to ascertain the college students’ preference in the use of google drive as a platform for study in north-east nigeria.  to assess college students’ preference in the use of google drive as a platform for upload/download of files in northeast nigeria. 3. research questions  in line with the objectives, the study was guided by the following research questions:  what is the college students’ preference on the use of google drive as an assignment/group work platform for learning in northeast nigeria?  to what extent is the college students’ preference on the use of google drive as a platform for study in north east nigeria?  what is college students’ preference on the use of google drive as a platform for upload/download of files in north east nigeria? 4. theoretical framework/literature review the study adapted technology acceptance model (tam) developed by davis in 1985, in this scheme; davis (1985) suggested that user’s motivation can be explained by three factors: perceived ease of use, perceive usefulness, and attitude towards us ing the system. he assumed that the attitude of a user towards a system remained a major determinant of whether the user will actually use or reject the system. the attitude of the user, in turn, was considered to be influenced by three major beliefs; perceive usefulness and perceived ease of use, with perceive ease of use having direct influence on perceived usefulness. finally, both these belief were assumed to be directly influenced by the system design characteristics. during future experimentation stages, davis (1985) improves his model to include other variable and modify the relationship that he initially formulated. similarly, other researchers apply, and propose several additions to the technology acceptance model (tam). actively, tam changes into a leading model in explaining and predicting system use. in fact, tam has become so popular that it has been cited in most of the researches that deals with user’s acceptance of technology (lee, kason, & larsen, 2003) nevertheless, some researchers’ assertion that tam may have elaborate more easy and speedy research, such that less consideration has been given to the real problem of technology acceptance (lee, kason & lasen 2003). today, researches on technology suitability is still ongoing, and thus an understanding of the expectations, powers, and borders of the technology acceptance model is crucial for anyone willing to study user acceptance of technology. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 26 tam has been broadly applied to a range of technologies and users. it provides evidence on how external variables influence intention to use, belief and attitude. consequently, in the present study tam is utilized as a framework to investigate what criteria determine usage of google drive in an educational context. this theory is chosen because it is widely applied in the research on technology usage in many different contexts. underpinned by the framework of the tam, this study will estimate the postulated tam in the context of google drive with a focus on the validation of the relationships involved specifically, perceived usefulness, ease of use, intention to use and actual use. the findings will reveal the students’ perceptions of the importance of google drive, their actual use of cloud computing and their intention to use cloud computing in the future within a school setting. tam has been widely used to test the acceptance of e-learning technologies. studies that use tam have addressed perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitude, behavioral intention, and system usage as the major determinants that predict the acceptance of a new technology. in this study, perceived ease of use is defined as the degree to which the user believes that using google drive would be free of effort, and perceived usefulness is defined as the degree to which the user believes that using google drive would enhance his/her learning performance (davis, 1989). according to davis (1989), perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are important factors that influence the attitude of individuals toward a particular technology. the tam posits that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have a direct effect on the attitude toward the use of a technology, and perceived ease of use has a positive effect on perceived usefulness. attitude is defined as the degree to which a user is interested in using the system, and attitude toward the system determines behavioral intentions, which, in turn, lead to actual system usage. a number of researchers have applied tam to explain user acceptance of collaborative systems. therefore, this research work examine the attitude of business education student in using google drive as a new technology to enhancing learning in which the technology acceptance theory is being used. the relationship between this theory and the research work is on the ease of use google drive application and perceived usefulness towards google drive which make them having common characteristic with the theory as proposed by davis (1985) and as relates to this research work is depicted below: figure1. original technology acceptance model adopted from davis (1970) 5. roles of google drive a greater reliance on technology alters the student-teacher interaction. instruction through computers can give students more control over their learning environments and access to a wider range of materials to use in the learning process (ransdall, 2002). additionally, for computer-assisted learning to be effective, the instructors need to put careful thought into their lesson plans. the level of student understanding must be taken into consideration. "instructional software makes the human teacher more important, rather than less" (ransdall, 2002). in order to fully understand how computers contribute to learning, there has to be an investigation into how the use of a computer controls the behavior of both students and teachers (karasavvidis et. al., 2003). among many technologies, google drive is a learning tool which helps to implement the learner-centered approach in a collaborative learning environment. according to oxnevad (2013), document sharing and comments provide students with opportunities to receive immediate feedback. google drive is easy and fast, the tool is well-suited for facilitating digital writing workshops that combine peer editing with cooperative grouping and small group fine-tuned writing instruction. sharp (2009) suggests that this collaborative editing tools allow a group of individuals to edit a document simultaneously while they can view the changes made by others in real time. this special feature makes google drive a powerful program that can facilitate collaborative writing in the language classroom. by sharing documents and keeping them online, students can access them anytime. chinnery (2008) states that google drive is a productive tool where learning activities can be designed differently and creatively. for instance, an instructor a t t i t u d e perceive usefulness perceive ease of use attitude toward use actual use copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 27 might post a text, intentionally replete with errors, for learners to correct. likewise, learners can easily peer-edit, as this program leaves an editing trail. another option is chain storytelling, where an instructor begins a story which each learner contributes to in turn. moreover, this tool is useful in group projects in general. google drive allows individuals to work on a common task without restrictions often imposed by traditional face-to-face contacts (conner, 2008;perron& sellers, 2011). the most useful delivery method provided by google drive is that instructors can make a copy for each student which automatically adds a copy of the assignment to the student’s google drive (amanda and katie, 2015). however, in 2015 the grading system provided by classroom was not as sophisticated as other learning management systems like blackboard or moodle (shiohara et al., 2014).moreover, there were no comprehensive grade book, test, or quiz features. additionally, there are some privacy concerns since the actual applications of drive, docs, or slides work the same way as those bundled with public accounts (amanda and katie, 2015). the students can access the teachers’ course materials through the use of google drive at any time with multiple devices like smartphone’s, computers, or tablets (google drive, 2016). teachers can get a drive that stores their course materials and choose to share with specific student email addresses generating from the student email list creating by the university. teachers can choose specific student email addresses to access the course materials as “can view” option or “can edit” option . with “can view” option, the students can only view the course materials. with “can edit” option, the students would be able to upload, submit, or share files in the drive. amanda and katie (2015) suggested that students generally responded favorably to the google drive. they are likely to have no worry about saving documents on the classroom computers due to the auto-save feature and the use of google drive have made collaborating on assignments easier due to the sharing capabilities. nevertheless, limited studies have investigated the learners’ learning competencies. google drive is offered by google as part of its ecosystem of web based services. it provides access to data storage, a suite of office applications, synchronous editing, permissions control, and instant communications. it allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. google drive does not require installation and works in any popular browser/device. that is why it simplifies the learning process of the students as well as the lecturers job, based on this some benefits are stated below. 6. advantages of google drive many new technologies and web-based activities are interactive, using the platform online coursework has the potential to create environments where students actively engage with material and learn by doing, refining their understanding as they build new knowledge (pallof& pratt, (2003). johnston, killion&omomen, 2005; driscoll (2005) observed that when students become active participants in the knowledge construction process, the focus of learning shifts from covering the curriculum to working with ideas". while students can work collaboratively in real-time, while it works across platforms (windows, mac, ios and android),and it is easy to upload and share files, group members can chat with other collaborators and editing, it allows for exciting and engaging online peer collaboration and editing, it saves automatically every 10 seconds, educators can monitor student work easily in real-time if required, it is easy to see which students have contributed through the revision history, it is easy to export documents in various formats (rtf, pdf, html, ms word and open office)., and it can be used with end note and ref works, etc.(alluri & balasubramanian, 2006) both students and instructors are regularly faced with a barrage of new innovative technological devices, social media tools, and educational applications. for this study, it may have appeared that google drive remained incorporated into the communication course merely to ensure that this cloud computing platform could be experienced by the students (richardson, 2009).it is important to clarify that the learning outcome for the web-based assignment was to have teacher candidates learn about effective instructional methods and co-produce and share their learning. due to its popularity, google drive is a suitable and free collaboration tool for students, and can serve as a good storage area for their systems development documentation. rowe, bozalek, and frantz (2013) argued that effective group work is an essential skill for students for becoming work-ready. this technology assists them with both the technical and social aspects of their learning journey. and using technology tools ‘to think with’ facilitates working with ideas and learning from that process” (scardamalia 20012). authentic situations and scenarios can provide a stimulus for learning, creating greater student motivation and excitement for learning , representing and simulating real-world problems and contexts, providing an important structure for student thinking (quitadamo& brown, 20011). rowe, bozalek, and frantz (2013) believed that the google drive platform, when used via a constructivist approach, has the ability to transform student learning, alter teacher-student power relationships, and facilitate critical dialogue and activities related to knowledge and authority. 7. roles of google drive on group work learning collaborative learning is defined as a coordinated effort among team members to accomplish a shared task or common goal, can also be collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetry roles (mitnik, et el2009).collaborative learning is a significant factor in students’ learning because it promotes active learning and student-reliance in classrooms (foote, 2009). learning is shifting from copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 28 passive reception to active creation. students tend to take more ownership of their material and to think critically about related issues when they work as a team. the collaboration process enhances students’ learning and develops their social skills like decision-making, conflict management, and communication (smith &macgregor, 2009). students are increasingly using collaborative learning, an aspect of google dive that form part of web 2.0 technology in their personal lives to enrich their knowledge and learning (greenhow et al. 2009). research into students participation patterns and usage of google drive is paramount to this technology becoming useful for higher education needs. currently educational institutions remain grounded in the traditional activities and formats such as lecturing (greenhow et al. 2009). instructors in both higher education and secondary education worlds must be at the forefront of research observing student engagement in formal and informal learning to facilitate the use of collaborative learning as part of google drive platforms for educational needs. 8. why google drive collaboration important for learning collaboration can be defined as a coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of an ongoing attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem (alluri&balasubramanian, 2006). it has also been identified as a necessary component of active learning. the benefits of collaboration include development of critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and discussion and consideration of ideas. additionally, collaboration can help to understand cultural diversity and improve working with others. social constructivist theory emphasizes the importance of collaboration in the learning process. learning is social and requires participation in a social process of knowledge construction (kieser& golden, 2009). the tools available to communicate or collaborate with others have changed over time. ten years ago, if a group of students needed to work outside the classroom, they would organize meetings at the library or someone’s house. today, technology offers alternative ways for students to work together in an online collaborative environment without the need to convert, saving time and money. one possible tool to support collaboration and freely available to university students is google drive. 9. google drive using collaborative learning mcmorran (2017) felt that it is an important issue to design and allocate time on collaboration opportunities both inside and outside the classroom and it is better to collect the students email address in one master piece for easy share and edit of document and class assignment. collaborative activities offer the following benefits:  encourage peer-instruction: (mansur 1997; cf. cain 2012): it is fairly clear that the person who learns the most is the content creator, and the one who teaches others. it is said, nothing clarifies ideas in one’s mind so much as explaining them to other people. therefore he tries to turn this to his students’ advantage by assigning them with opportunities to teach each other through the act of putting ideas into their own words, students make it their “own” and ultimately learn better than just being on the receiving end.  building a learning community: even if students are assigned to a arbitrary groups, by the end of the period they feel closeness to the group. the activities designed and the collaborative nature of the tools enables them to form a sense of belongings to the class as a whole.  give students a sense of their learning level: students are often not quite clear on where to they stand in reference to their classmates’ levels of understanding even after the mid-term. when students participate in such collaborative activities they tend to identify their strengths, their shortcomings, and what need to be improved. more importantly they are able to identify classmates to whom they can turn for help or offer their support to peers in need.  allow efficient time management: students have the flexibility to work at a time that best works for them without having to bother their fellow classmates, and also have convenience of working at their own pace. according to common wealth of learning (2008), teachers can share with students’ movies, audio files and other learning materials through their mobile phones. most of the mobile devices have features which can be used for recording and playing multimedia contents. students can greatly benefit from having a camera on the cell phones for documenting visual materials and collecting scientific data (common wealth of learning, 2008), cui and wang, (2008). despite the massive advantages that mobile devices do have in the teaching and learning process, there are some challenges of m-learning among tutors and students. some of the mobile devices do not have programs that have direct compatibility with the academic programs such as pdf, words, excel and powerpoint. screen size is another limiting factor for m-learning. 10. role of google drive on study google drive is cloud-based software and storage systems that offer an online learning environment for synchronous and asynchronous interaction between students and teachers. vecchiola, pandey, and buyya (2009). argued that cloud-based services can offer educational institutions cost savings and scalability although research on web-based, file-sharing platforms and their roles in university settings is sparse, the published, accessible research we found predominantly referred to the benefits and challenges of google drive. wood (2011) found that google drive was an ideal way for a group of undergraduate students.it http://www.fischlerschool.nova.edu/resources/uploads/app/43/files/itde/students_scholarship/dlarticles/keiser_golden.pdf copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 29 allows teachers and students to have dynamic and interactive learning experiences coupled with collaboration and communication (alabbadi, 2011). with regard to advantages, denton (2012) found that students enjoyed how, through google drive, they could share and simultaneously edit documents, while keeping a digital record of each member’s contributions. file synchronization and sharing services: cloud-based file syncing and sharing services implement automated file transfers by updating files from a dedicated sharing directory on each user’s networked devices. files placed in this folder also are typically accessible through a website and can be easily shared with other users for viewing. such services have become popular via consumer products such as dropbox and google drive. both students and instructors are constantly faced with a barrage of new and innovative technological gadgets, social media tools, and educational applications. for this study, it may have appeared that google drive was incorporated into the communication course merely to ensure that this cloud computing platform could be experienced by the students. it is important to clarify that the learning outcome for the web-based assignment was to have teacher candidates learn about effective instructional methods and co-produce and share their learning.students can access the educational resources they need from anywhere and at any time with any device that has internet access. any project or educational opportunity can be scaled-up through the payment for the use of these services (mircea & andreescu, 2011). teachers can experience benefits from the flexibility of cloud platforms, principally the ease of preparing presentations, classes, conferences, articles, etc. alharti, et al (2015) opined that there are many limitations such as hours of use, lack of equipment, complicated repair and maintenance, scattered locations of the laboratories, high costs of hardware and software, and contracting personnel for the it department. researchers can also benefit from the use of the latest technologies and hardware to perform their experiments (shakhabubakor, 2015). we live in a world where information is available anytime, anywhere. we not only have a computer at work and another at home, but we also likely have multiple devices like smartphones and tablets that we carry at all times (monoz-calle, et el 2016). with the integration of educational resources and the development of pedagogical systems, cloud computing offers opportunities to improve the quality of education, providing flexibility and accessibility through the internet (al-abri et el ,2016). significant advancements in cloud services allow individuals to connect through devices wherever, whenever. cloud services represent one of the driving forces behind modern computing. this fusion of intelligence and connectivity across a wide range of devices complements the scalable growth of internet services to create a new paradigm based on cloud computing. . the use of cloud computing services facilitates the implementation of social cloud ecosystems, which allows for sharing and collaboration of all varieties of resources and tools on demand with massive, ubiquitous, and open access (luna, castillo &nube, 2016). such a paradigm would allow educational institutions, often lacking resources, to extract the maximum use of information technology, increasing the quality and accessibility of training, especially in remote areas and rural communities that have internet access (encalada, luis, and seqara 2017). cloud computing provides on-demand resources and services over a network (usually the internet). these services are divided into three main types: infrastructure (i.e., virtual machines, servers, and storage devices), platforms (i.e., course builder, moodle, and edmodo), and software or applications (i.e., google applications and office 365).students can take advantage of different learning tools available on the cloud, services such as google docs, office365, and windows. some universities have difficulties in providing scalable, flexible, and accessible information technology (it) services to their students in traditional computer labs. cloud computing services are influencing face-to-face and online education through their adoption and use. these ecosystems make it easier for universities to recreate e-learning scenarios that are conducive to the teaching of hands-on it skills, with greater benefits than those provided by physical laboratories, thus allowing universities to concentrate more on teaching and research activities than on the implementation and configuration of complex it software systems. the market for e-learning. on a similar topic, the electronic privacy information center (a not-for-profit organization) filed a complaint with the american federal trade commission about the security and privacy standards of google’s cloud computing, arguing that google does not encrypt information held on itsservers (marshall, 2009). sultan (2010) summarized these concerns by stating that cloud computing is a rapidly developing paradigm, and many of the issues are likely to disappear as the technology matures. many scholars highlight the disconcerting aspects of private cloud storage systems within the realm of education and public sectors. predominantly, these issues focus on dependency, security, and privacy (archer et al., 2010; owens, 2010; rosenthal et al., 2010)mearian, 2012; sultan (2010) explained that some executives in the information technological sector view many web-based platforms as a trap aimed at forcing people to become dependent on proprietary, corporate systems and their services that will likely prove to be a financial burden in the future. security challenges associated with any off-hosting site of data and services (i.e., cloud-based services) revolve around questions about who can access customer data and what are the security policy perimeters with the host company? (willcocks, venters, whitley, 2014). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 30 11. role of google drive on upload/download of files anytime, anywhere, with any tool connected to the internet. in turn, web-based file-sharing tools have become an integral part of the modern, mobile lives of many students. these collaborative web-based technologies have triggered a wave of free online wikis, word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and discussion forum software (fullan, 2013; preston. in press; rienzo& han, 2009). consequently, using these applications as a communicative tool and collaborative learning platform is gaining popularity among university instructors. socially constructed knowledge is information that is co-produced and shared by and between its creators. rowe, bozalek, and frantz (2013) believed that the google drive platform, when used via a constructivist approach, has the ability to transform student learning, alter teacher-student power relationships, and facilitate critical dialogue and activities related to knowledge and authority. although research on web-based, file-sharing platforms and their roles in university settings is sparse, the published, accessible research we found predominantly referred to the benefits and challenges of google drive. with regard to advantages, wood (2011) found that google drive was an ideal way for a group of undergraduate physics students to complete lab reports, where each student in the lab group was responsible for writing parts of the introduction, procedure, analysis, results, theory, and conclusion. denton (2012) found that students enjoyed how, through google drive, they could share and simultaneously edit documents, while keeping a digital record of each member’s contributions.. likewise, spaeth sinex and chambers (2013) described how college-level science students successfully used google drive on group laboratory assignments, where each of the students input data to the shared spreadsheet and black (2012) and. with regard to b.ed. student experiences with google drive, donna and miller (2013) found that teacher candidates had reservations about the time needed to learn cloud computing technologies and that this online medium mitigated aspects of face-to-face collaboration. in this same study, teacher candidates expressed concerns about peers potentially making inappropriate comments within the shared documents,. 12. methodology of the study the targeted population of this study comprises all the 263 students in 300 level students in the three universities offering business education programme. the instrument for the data collection was self structured questionnaire. the questionnaire was structured in 4 points rating of highly preferred (hp), moderately preferred (mp), low preferred (lp) and not preferred (np). the breakdown of the questionnaire items base on research questions was as follows: questionnaire item 1 of 1-12 was used to address research question one. item 13 to 24 were used to answer research question two while item 25 to 36 were used to address research question three. reliability of an instrument is the measure of the extent to which a research instrument yields consistent results or data after repeated trials during the study (sambo 2008). reliability will measure the relevance and correctness of the instruments (mugenda and mugenda, 2003). the reliability of the instrument was determined using cronbach alpha where a reliability coefficient 0.08 was obtained indicating that the instrument was reliable. 13. presentation of results the result presented here is based on the research questions formed to guide the study. research question one what is the undergraduate business education students’ preference on the use of google drive as an assignment/group work platform for learning in northeast nigeria? the result of items used to answer research question one in table 1 range from 3.39 to 3.11 which were within the index score for agreed. the mean score of four of the items were found to be below the 2.50 mean score for agreed. the grand mean obtained was greater than the index mean score 2.94 > 2.50. the result therefore revealed that the reference on the usage of google drive platform for assessment among undergraduate business education students was positive. table 1: students’ preference on the use of google drive as an assignment/group work platform for learning s/no variable mean sd decision 1 using google drive for group work 3.39 0.843 agree 2 i like commenting on others’ contributions to group work in google drive 3.25 0.842 agree 3 i like editing others’ contributions to group work in google drive 2.39 0.98 disagree 4 i like that other students comment on my work in a group on google drive 3.21 0.925 agree 5 i like other students to edit my own work in the group on google drive 3.19 0.964 agree 6 the quality of collaboration in the group increases with the use of google drive 2.43 1.036 disagree 7 google drive motivated me to collaborate with fellow students in a group learning 2.40 1.037 disagree 8 i like google drive because it works as expected as a collaborative platform 2.26 1.048 disagree copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 31 9 i like how google drive usages in learning is gradually replacing use of human labour in a classroom 3.22 0.932 agree 10 students find it easy to use google drive 3.3 0.867 agree 11 google drive face serious challenges when there is inter connectivity problem. 3.11 0.989 agree 12 i like how a collaborative activity is gradually replacing interpersonal contacts. 3.17 0.94 agree grand mean 2.94 0.95 agree source: field survey (2018) research question two to what extent is the undergraduate business education students’ preference on the use of google drive as a platform for study in north east nigeria? the mean score of 12 questions was to answer research question two in table 2, range from 3.32 to 2.20 with standard deviation of 0.891 and 1.06 respectively. the grand mean obtained (2.97) was greater than the index mean score of 2.50 for agree. the result therefore shows that the reference of undergraduate business education students have on the google drive platform for learning was positive. table 2: responses on students’ preference on the use of google drive as a learning platform for study s/no questionnaire items mean `sd decision 13 i like the relatively large option storage allowing of google drive very useful for saving data (e.g. files, folders, etc.). 3.32 0.891 agree 14 it is easy to store data on google drive 3.11 0.947 agree 15 it is easy to retrieve data stored in google drive 3.05 1.003 agree 16 i find data storage on google drive very interesting 3.23 0.887 agree 17 google drive provides easy access between lecturer and student. 3.11 0.949 agree 18 i face serious challenges to store information when there is inter connectivity problem. 2.37 0.99 disagree 19 to store data becomes impossible where network is not available. 2.48 1.057 disagree 20 i find data storage on google drive very difficult 2.20 1.06 disagree 21 google drive give room for storing large volume of learning materials within a short period of time. 3.19 0.885 agree 22 i like the way google drive provides opportunities to store new knowledge for academic purpose. 3.12 1.017 agree 23 i find data storage on google drive very easy 3.26 0.906 agree 24 using google drive storage enhance my academic performance 3.17 0.94 agree grand mean 2.97 0.961 agree source: field survey (2018 research question three what is undergraduate business education students’ preference on the use of google drive as a platform for uploading and downloading files in north east nigeria? from table 3, the mean scores ranging from (3.05 to 3.26) which indicates that the responses were within the index score for agree. while the mean score that falls between 2.20 to 2.48 found to be below 2.50 mean score index for agree. the grand mean stood at 2.60 >2.50. the result thus indicates that the preference on the use of google drive platform for upload/download of files among undergraduate business education students was positive. table 3: responses on students’ preference on the use of google drive as a platform for upload/download of files s/no questionnaire item mean sd dec 1 i like using google drive platform for sharing student materials 3.26 0.906 agree 2 i like using google drive platform for sharing materials gotten from my lecturers 3.11 0.947 agree 3 i like the sharing folder option of google drive because it enables me to access my resources lecture notes 3.05 1.003 agree 4 i like the sharing folder option of google drive because it enables me to access my resources video 3.23 0.887 agree copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 32 5 i like preview of the files shared on google drive from the platform is useful to check before downloading 3.11 0.949 agree 6 i like the “filter by posts” search option sharing option of google drive 2.37 990 disagree 7 students find it easy to share file using google drive 2.48 1.057 disagree 8 students find it difficult to share file using google drive 2.20 1.06 disagree 9 i like google drive because of its ‘send links’ instead of file attachment feature 3.19 0.825 agree 10 i like google drive because of its quick formatting feature 3.12 1.017 agree 11 i like google drive because of its clear formatting feature 3.08 0.949 agree 12 i find it difficult to download materials from the google drive 2.27 1.145 disagree grand mean 2.60 0.978 agree source: field survey (2018) mean and standard deviation are computed on the data collected from the field; the result is presented in the table above. from table 3 the respondents for all the items have the mean scores ranging from (3. 36 to 3.00) which indicates that all the respondents have agreed. the table shows the responses for all the items and they are above the mean cut-off point for the study, thus, the decision agrees or disagrees on the table. this means that greater respondents agreed with all the items as they are opportunities for using google drive as learning platform. 14. discussion of the result the study examined the business education undergraduate student’s preference toward the usage of google drive for academic purpose. the study discovered that the students use google drive to advance their learning efforts in digital world, and recognize changes in technology, understand assignment/group work trends, to comprehend storage problems and nitty and gritty for loading and uploading information. the findings of research question one was in line with the view that assignment/group work is characterized by positive interdependence, where students perceive that better performance by individuals produces better performance by the entire group (johnson, et al., 2014). and also sharp (2009) argued that google drive is easy and fast tool that is well-suitable for facilitating digital writing workshops that combine peer editing with cooperative grouping and small group fine-tuned writing instruction. evans and mckee (2010) observed that the use of social media technologies provide insight and ideas on innovative ways to serve learners better. and also in respect of the benefits of using google drive by undergraduate business education students preference for assignment/group work. the responses gathered from the questionnaire revealed the benefits of using google drive for learning activities is one of the effective way of quick perception by business education students in showing their preference for learning purposes. the research questions two indicate benefit drive by business education student by using google drive for study to get more relevant materials for their learning. there are many opportunities in using google drive as student may gain more in the interactions for wider knowledge in their learning in the business education studies. the research questions three indicates that the business education preference in google drive explore the students by uploading/downloading of files to guide them in their learning. google drive help students to communicate so easy so that they can solve their academic challenges by contributing on the current matter to use different ideas from different students that are partaking in an interactive session that comprise many students with different level of intelligence. google drive also widens students’ maturity in term of modern/electronic learning that can combine people from different part of the world to have preference to common ground. the students submission of the same materials on the issue of group work making it so common for students to be more reluctant on the study as they relied on their colleagues to make all the necessary work, this type of group work is formally termed supportive learning, and is defined as the instructional use of small groups to promote students working together to maximize their own and each other’s learning (johnson, et al., 2008). it is also gradually replacing interpersonal contacts between teachers and students that make things difficult in the event of learning outcome. the findings revealed that one of the challenges of using google drive to include other sites that are not relevant to the studies such as bad videos and pictures sites that might divert the attention of students from the studies. baran (2012) also stated that technology is a double edge sword; it power for bad and good resides in the users. more so, communication becomes impossible where network is not available. there are serious challenges when there is interconnectivity problem. all gadgets used to access google drive like handset, laptop or ipad are required internet connection. thus, google drive may not be in reached to the poor students. conclusion the results obtained from this study show that a reasonable number of undergraduate business education students of north-eastern university’s use google drive as learning platform that enhance student’s performance. google drive functions i.e collaborating learning, file storage, file sharing and as platform for learning has tremendous benefits as far as enhancing learning activities for university students have been confirmed from the findings of this study. finally, from the results of this study, the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 33 researcher saw a reason why a famous scholar argued that technology can be used in ways beneficial or otherwise. 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(2011). collaborative lab reports with google docs. the physics teacher, 49(3), 158–159. dio:10.1119/1.3555501 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). http://www.irrodi.org/index.php/article/view/1065/2075 http://www.marcprensky.com/writting/prensky copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research ;vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 31 alarm to global hunger phenomenon and food squandering bijan bidabad 1 abstract a quarter to one-third of food materials are wasted every year and about one-sixth of the people of the world, which is about one billion people, are facing malnutrition and about one-third of them are hungry. a hunger tsunami is forecasted for 9 billion people of the world in 2050. therefore, in order to gain victory on this crisis in 2050, the rules and the socio-economic framework should be changed to prevent the imbalanced distribution of agricultural products. keywords: food, squandering, hunger 1. introduction damages and wastes are carried out by people into a variety of ways, and usually, no production, transaction, and consumption process can be found which has no damages. the damages of production and consumption processes can be classified in different ways according to the purpose of the study with different applications2. each of these classifications is subject to detailed discussions and regarding the importance of food and its high level of damages and wastes, and the malnutrition and hunger of people, all are subject to review. generally, damages occur in the process of production because of poor technology, management, warehousing and sale, lack of proper processing and preserving technology and proper transportation, delivery, packing and supplying to consumers and improper methods of food consumption by consumers as a fraction of household wastes, are the main sources of damages and wastes of food around the world3. the subject is very important from a humanities point of view because a quarter to one-third of food materials are wasted every year and about one-sixth of the people of the world which is about one billion people, are facing malnutrition and about one-third of them are hungry. due to poor nutrition during embryonic and childhood is the cause of death of one-third of the children of the world4. according to food and agriculture organization (fao), a 1 (b.a., m.sc., ph.d., post-doc.) research professor of economics, monetary and banking research academy, bijan@bidabad.com http://www.bidabad.com. 2 for example, damages can be classified according to the following groups: solid wastes, liquid wastes, gaseous wastes, animal by-products ,biodegradable waste, biomedical waste, bulky waste, business waste, chemical waste, clinical waste, coffee wastewater, commercial waste, construction and demolition waste (c&d waste), controlled waste, consumable waste, composite waste, demolition waste, domestic waste, electronic waste (e-waste), farm waste, food waste, green waste, grey water, hazardous waste, household waste (including household hazardous waste), human waste, sewage sludge, industrial waste (including: slag, fly ash and sludge), inert waste, kitchen waste, litter organic waste, liquid waste, medical waste, mixed waste, municipal solid waste, packaging waste, post-consumer waste, radioactive waste (nuclear low level and high level waste, spent nuclear fuel and mixed radioactive/hazardous waste), recyclable waste, residual waste, retail hazardous waste, sewage, sharps waste, slaughterhouse waste, special waste, toxic waste, uncontrolled waste, waste heat, wastewater, winery wastewater… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_waste_types 3 food wastes include any kind of raw or cooked nourishment which is thrown away. the united states environmental protection agency defines food damages and wastes as “uneaten food”. also refer to: "the definition of waste, summary of european court of justice judgments". defra. updated 2009. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/pdf/ecjcaselaw20090209.pdf. retrieved 2009-08-20. 4 announcement of information centre of united nations, international union against hunger about food. in this announcement the waste of food has been defined as a “criminal phenomenon” and has asked everybody to decrease waste to zero and do not buy or cook more than need and preserve food through proper methods so that food not to thrown away and before throwing away food, they should think if possible to prepare a tasty soup from the remained food? the announcement has also asked people to persuade governments to implement effective actions for alleviation of hunger and malnutrition. http://www.fao.org/unfao/bodies/cfs/cfs34/index_en.htm mailto:bijan@bidabad.com http://www.bidabad.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_waste_types http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/united_states_environmental_protection_agency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/united_states_environmental_protection_agency http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/pdf/ecjcaselaw20090209.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/department_for_environment,_food_and_rural_affairs http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/pdf/ecjcaselaw20090209.pdf http://www.fao.org/unfao/bodies/cfs/cfs34/index_en.htm copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 32 number of hungry people in the world had reached 105 million in 2009, and about 1.02 billion had malnutrition and hunger which has been the main cause of annual death of 30.5 million children of the world. families in developing countries on average spend 70% of their income for food, and this figure is about 15% to 18% in industrial countries. a study of hungry people of the world shows 70% of them are women and girls; while rural women produce 50% of the world’s food. the number of children suffering from low weight has increased between 2000 and 2005, according to un reports. micro-nutrition shortage is one of the most important factors for the excessive low weight of children. it is one of the main health problems in the world. that is to say, vitamin a shortage and therefore we see anemia symptom because of low usage of iron and zinc. these are causes which increased the early death of children and mothers, further decrease the iq of the children and decrease in quality of life and productivity as well as economic growth in developing countries. according to a report, about 70% of non-pregnant mothers in india and 50% of women in subsaharan africa are suffering from anemia because of the inadequacy of iron consumption. further, the inadequacy of vitamin a has affected the immunity system of 40% of children below the age of 5 in developing countries and has increased the average number of death among the children in developing countries. in some countries the figures are more desperate, one of which is related to india with 40% because of the lack of consummation of the adequacy of vitamin a before school age children. the un world food program agency projected to the new record number of world hungry people on the occasion of global food day, and emphasis that helps contribution has decreased to its lowest level of recent years, while the number of hungry people of the world has increased because of the combined effects of the increase in the food price, financial crisis, and climate change. in this regard, the executive director of the world bank5 says: the main concern of world policymakers today is concentrated on the miseries caused by the global crisis. but, the real crisis is hunger and malnutrition… 75% of the people of the world live in villages, and most of their lives are tied to agriculture which is the basic tool to fight hunger, malnutrition, and alleviation of poverty and sustainable development6. in the complaint to disregarding the vast hunger of the world, in a symbolic movement in may 2009, jack dief, director of food and agricultural organization of un, went on 24 hours strike in fao headquarter in rome. he went on a hunger strike to recall international organizations to fight against spreading world hunger. by expressing his worry about the increasing number of hungry people of the world, he asked all people of the world to join this strike. dief mentioned that we have every kind of natural resources and techniques to abolish world hungriness, and only political reasons prevent us from doing so. all most 30% of foodstuffs in america, which amounted to 48.2 billion dollars in 2008 are wasted. a large portion of this figure is food wasted from restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and schools, university cafeterias, and office restaurants7. all these food wastes are because of the squandering of foodstuff more than needed and are thrown away. generally, purchasing and keeping more food than needed, increases other costs such as transportation and preserving, which are usually forgotten. in this regard, it should be mentioned that according to the published data, about 18.7% of the world energy is used to preserve foodstuff in refrigerators8. the fao has predicted about a hunger tsunami in food production outlook for 9 billion people of the world in 2050. it has been mentioned in their report that in order to gain victory on this crisis in 2050, the rules and the socioeconomic framework should be changed to prevent the imbalanced distribution of agricultural products. however, within the first half of the 21 century, amount of food needs to be doubled, where world temperature will increase, also see: http://www.iaahp.net olivier de schutter, 2009, un special rapporteur on the right to food, accountability to combat hunger. http://www.iaahp.net/fileadmin/templates/iaah/wfd2009/contributions/iaaheditorial_deschutter_en.pdf 5 ngozi okonjo-iweala. 6 all-africa global media, feb., 19, 2008. 7 robin shreeves, the shocking statistics of food waste (and how to keep your contribution to the problem at a minimum) published on august 25th, 2008, home & garden 8 -http://www.refrigeratorsaver.com/ http://www.iaahp.net/ http://www.iaahp.net/fileadmin/templates/iaah/wfd2009/contributions/iaaheditorial_deschutter_en.pdf http://greenoptions.com/author/robinshreeves http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/25/the-shocking-statistics-of-food-waste/ http://sustainablog.org/category/home-garden/ http://www.refrigeratorsaver.com/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 33 agricultural production capacity will decrease, while demand for these products will also increase. hence, if we do not think essentially to solve this problem, the hunger crisis will be indispensable. a recent fao study shows that in order to feed 9 billion people in 2050, we need to increase agricultural production by 705, and most of this increase should be in vital strategic productions such as grains. one of the instances that fao proposes is an equal distribution of food and resources. according to the fao report, grain production, which is about 2.1 billion tons per year at the present time, should be increased by one billion ton. meat production should increase from 200 million tons to 470 million tons in 2050. out of these products, about 72% of this amount will be spent in developed countries, while, at the present time, the figure is 58% of total meat production. the report makes this clear that in order to eliminate hunger in 2050, it is necessary to increase investment in agriculture by 60% until 2050. it may be pointed out here that the human right declaration in 1948 considers not being hungry and removal of malnutrition as an integral part of human rights which has been again confirmed by children right convention in 1989, but un and the global community have not done any decisive action about this difficulty yet. on the other hand, religiously speaking, the holy quran has considered over-consumption and squandering (spending more than need) as a forbidden act. alquran commands: “it is him who has created gardens with or without scaffold and date roots and fields with various fruits and olive and similar and un-similar pomegranates. when they become fruitful, eat their fruit and give god’s share when you pick them and do not squander, because god does not like squanderers”9. the share of god here certainly means paying “zakut” (an islamic tax) to poor and helpless people. in surah of esra, god commands: “pay the rights of helpless people, and those tired up in roads and do not squander at all. squanderers are brothers of satan, and satan was not grateful to his god.”10 it is quite clear that human beings are families, and in the above verses of the quran, when it refers to human beings, it means to all the people around the world. this verse considered specific rights in the properties of people for family and helpless people, and there is no difference between asian, african, american, or european helpless people. wherever the helpless is located, they are needy, and we have to pay his right, which is contained in the properties of wealthy peoples. quran again commands: "eat and drink and do not exceed limits because he does not like squanderers"11. this subject, according to the commands of god, there is urgently needed for a global system to find a basic solution to the problem and put it at the top of the international policymaking agenda. ethically, it is not appropriate for human being dignity to see some people throw away 30% of their foodstuff while some others suffer and die because of hunger and malnutrition. the un world food program agency referred to a new record of the number of hungry people of the world on the occasion of international food day and made it clear that the agency had agreed to help by providing food for 108 million people in 74 countries this year. but some countries reduced the quota and pended the quota of some others because of the budget deficit. at last, it has managed to secure only 2.9 billion dollars of 6.7 billion dollars budget from donor countries in 2009. by a simple commensuration, one can find out that just america’s food squanders, which was about 48.2 billion dollars in last year, 775 million hungry people could have been fed. and if we add the amount of squandering by europe, japan, and wealthy oil-producing countries to this figure, we can see that their squandering amounts reached several times as much of the food needed for hungry and malnutrition people of the world. unfortunately, food is considered as other goods, and no difference is considered between essential needs and luxury goods. wealthy people can buy everything, while poor people usually can not afford to buy their basic needs. human being has biologic needs of food, which is quite different from their secondary needs for other things. that is to say; they need food just like air and water to survive while food is supplied like other goods in the market. in this 9 an'am surah, verses 142-143. " ْيتُو ْرعَ ُمْختَِلفًا أُكُلُهُ َوالزَّ ْعُروشَاٍت َوَغْيَر َمْعُروشَاٍت َوالنَّْخَل َوالزَّ اَن ُمتََشابًِها َوَغْيَر ُمتََشابٍِه ُكلُواْ ِمن ثََمِرِه َوُهَو الَِّذي أَنَشأَ َجنَّاٍت مَّ مَّ َن َوالرُّ ِرفُواْ إِنَّهُ الَ يُِحبُّ اْلُمْسِرفِينَ إِذَا أَثَْمَر َوآتُواْ َحقَّهُ يَْومَ َحَصاِدِه َوالَ تُسْ 10 an'am surah, verses 26-27. ْر تَْبِذيراً َو آِت ذَا اْلقُْربى ِريَن كانُوا إِْخواَن الشَّياِطيِن َو كاَن الشَّْيطاُن ِلَرب ِِه َكفُوراً . َحقَّهُ َو اْلِمْسِكيَن َو اْبَن السَّبِيِل َو ال تُبَذ ِ .إِنَّ اْلُمبَذ ِ 11 aaraf surah, verse no. 31. ََوكُلُوا َو اْشَربُوا َوالَ تُْسِرفُوا إنَّهُ الَ يُِحبُّ الُمسِرفِين copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 34 situation, in addition to people dying because of war and homelessness, some others die because of famine and starvation. many people die because of chronic malnutrition and diseases thereof; their life becomes shorter, and they suffer more. lack of food, the children, also suffered due to low mental and bodily growth, which threatens their future12. as a result, the human being is wasting a portion of human power and resources, which decreases the supply in the global economy. this concept can be deducted from the quranic verse which says 13 : "eat from clean things we have sustenance for you and do not squander them which makes my anger possible and if my anger descent upon anyone, he will die”. from an economic point of view, prevention of squandering will decrease food prices and thereof; poor people can afford to consume more food. this is very important from an economic point of view, and everybody and every family need to buy as much foodstuff as it is sufficient for him, and nothing should be left to be thrown away. therefore, people should be trained not to throw away foodstuff and instead, should give them to the poor and helpless people so that these people do not decrease their utility but reduces prices and increases their welfare as well. certainly, good nutrition of hungry people and malnutrition people will increase their efficiency, which leads to more production increase and welfare of all people of the earth planet. references http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_waste_types "the definition of waste, summary of european court of justice judgments". defra. updated 2009. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/pdf/ecjcaselaw20090209.pdf. retrieved 2009-08-20. http://www.fao.org/unfao/bodies/cfs/cfs34/index_en.htm http://www.iaahp.net olivier de schutter, 2009, un special rapporteur on the right to food, accountability to combat hunger. http://www.iaahp.net/fileadmin/templates/iaah/wfd2009/contributions/iaaheditorial_deschutter_en.pdf all-africa global media, feb. 19, 2008. robin shreeves, the shocking statistics of food waste (and how to keep your contribution to the problem at a minimum) published on august 25th, 2008, home & garden http://www.refrigeratorsaver.com/ copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) 12 aaraf surah, verse no. 31. ُْسِرفُوا إنَّهُ الَ يُِحبُّ الُمسِرفِينَ َوُكلُوا َو اْشَربُوا َوالَ ت 13 taha surah, verse no. 81. َقَْد هََوىُكلُوا ِمن َطي ِبَاِت َما َرَزْقنَاُكْم َواَل تَْطغَْوا فِيِه فَيَِحلَّ َعلَيُْكْم َغَضبِي َوَمن يَْحِلْل َعلَْيِه َغَضبِي ف. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_waste_types http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/pdf/ecjcaselaw20090209.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/department_for_environment,_food_and_rural_affairs http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/pdf/ecjcaselaw20090209.pdf.%20retrieved%202009-08-20 http://www.fao.org/unfao/bodies/cfs/cfs34/index_en.htm http://www.iaahp.net/ http://www.iaahp.net/fileadmin/templates/iaah/wfd2009/contributions/iaaheditorial_deschutter_en.pdf http://greenoptions.com/author/robinshreeves http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/25/the-shocking-statistics-of-food-waste/ http://sustainablog.org/2008/08/25/the-shocking-statistics-of-food-waste/ http://sustainablog.org/category/home-garden/ http://www.refrigeratorsaver.com/ american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 24 lion motif used in buddhist architecture of ancient bangladesh sk. zohirul islam 1, 2 1 research student, department of islamic history & culture, university of dhaka, bangladesh 2 researcher, the international centre for study of bengal art, banani, dhaka, bangladesh correspondence: sk. zohirul islam, department of islamic history & culture, university of dhaka, bangladesh. email: zohirdu84@gmail.com received: may 30, 2018 accepted: august 10, 2018 online published: august 13, 2018 abstract lion is the king of the animal world. they live in the plains and grassy hills. the male lion's job is to protect the clan from enemies. however, lions do not have any natural enemy. due to these characteristics, the lion has been considered through all ages in the world as a symbol of royalty and protection as well as of wisdom and pride. in buddhism, lions are symbolic of the bodhisattvas. in buddhist architecture, lion motifs or figure were used as protectors of dharma and therefore support the throne of the buddha’s and bodhisattvas. the lion motifs (symbol) were also used at the entrance of the monasteries and shrines possibly for the same reason. in ancient bangladesh, there are various types of lion motif used in terracotta plaques of ananda vihara, rupbhan mura and shalban vihara at mainamati in comilla district, vashu vihara, mankalir kundo at mahasthangarh in bogra district and somapura mahavihara at paharpur in naogaon district. this paper aims to address the cultural significance of the lion motif in buddhist architecture of ancient bangladesh and relates it to various types of representation to understand its origin and evaluation. keywords: lion, motif, terracotta, buddhist architecture, ancient bangladesh. 1. introduction lion is the king of the animal world. they live in the plains and grassy hills. the male lion's job is to protect the clan from enemies. the lion is the most ferocious beast among wild creatures. from primitive era, the lion is considered as the symbol of strength and power and through all ages in the world as a symbol of royalty and protection as well as of wisdom and pride. in buddhism, lions are symbolic of the bodhisattvas. 1 lion motifs were used as protectors of dharma and therefore support the throne of the buddha’s and bodhisattvas. 2 the lion motifs were also used at the entrance of the monasteries and shrines possibly for the same reason. in ancient bangladesh(present bangladesh and west bengal), there are various types of lion motif used in terracotta plaques of ananda vihara, rupbhan mura and shalban vihara at mainamati in comilla district; vashu vihara, mankalir kundo at mahasthangarh in bogra district; somapura mahavihara at paharpur in naogaon district; chandraketugarh, vikhramshila vihara in west bengal and shamsundar tila at pilak in tripura. here we address the cultural significance of the lion motif in buddhist architecture of ancient bangladesh (especially present bangladesh portion) from 8 th century to 12 th century and various types of representation to understand its origin and evaluation as well as to analyses a pattern of interrelated meanings generated by the formation of the lion terracotta art. this research identifies 83(eighty three) plaques with lion images. depending on three buddhist sites of bangladesh which are paharpur monastery, mainamati lalmai hills and mahasthangarh sites especially from 8 th to 12 th century. where we can classified into five (5) categories as follows: firstly, realistic (lion) figurine: ananda vihar; secondly, mythical (lion mixed with human head like naravyal, nrishimha, kirtimukha): mahasthangarh, rupban mura, ranir banglow; mailto:zohirdu84@gmail.com www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 25 thirdly, textual (lion with women, lion with well, lion with rabbit and lion in talking cave, cross legs, aged lion through story): somapura vihar, shalban vihar; fourthly, ferocious (lion attacked to elephant, man): shalban vihar and fifth is that, architectural (two body one head lion): shalban vihar, somapura vihar, vashu vihar. lions, particularly male lions have been an important symbol for thousands of years and appear as a theme in cultures across europe, asia, and africa. the most consistent depiction is in keeping with their image of "king of the jungle" or "king of the beasts". 3 they are also found at the entrance of the monasteries and shrines in the northern area of nepal, influenced by tibetan buddhism and art. the iconographic (anionic or sculpture) representation of the lion originated in persia. 4 a lion faced dakini, a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy appears in tibetan buddhism. the tibetan buddhist form is known as simhamukha in sanskrit and senge dongma in tibetan. 5 2. importance of lion in buddhist literature according to buddhist literature and text we found many name of buddha used in jataka among them lion of ten jataka has been represented to buddha as shimhacrostuc jataka, shimhacharma jataka, monaja jataka. 6 in according to dighanikaya, the lion disappears definitely connecting simhaladvipa i. e. present sri lanka with the lion of the sakyas, i. e. the buddha by the “moonstone of anuradhapura”. 7 “the lion plays a prominent part in the enumeration of the buddhissattva’s primary physical characteristics (mahapurusa laksana) 8 as listed in the mahapadanasuttanta of the dighanikaya. his upper body and his jaw are like a lion’s: “siha pubhaddha kayo, sihahanu.”[dighanikaya, xiv (mahapadanasuttanta)]. a.j. gail says, “probably the oldest figural representation of the buddha is a token from tillie tepe, north afghanistan (50 bc 50 ad) inscribed in kharosthi. the obverse side shows a herculean man pushing a wheel, called “dhrmachakkravarataka” (he who sets in motion the wheel law). the reverse side shows a striding lion, titled “siho vigatabhayo” (the lion who chased away fear; see fussman, 1987, 71f., fig. 2).” 9 the letter inscription possibly quotes the “lalitavistara”, a flamboyant biography of the buddha; “atha tasmin samaye bodhisattvah simha iva vigata bhaya bhairavo asamtrastah, 10 “english translated by r. l. mitra as “doubtless and fearless as a lion”. in similar words the idea of shakyamuni as a fearless lion is expressed in chapter. xv of the lalitavistara: “simhobaya prahinah”. 11 on the capital of the asokan pillar of saranath in india a set of four animals is depicted (plate 1): a lion, an elephant, a bull, a horse. this quartet is taken up not in india but in the buddhist art of bengal, sri lanka, nepal etc. individually, these animals provide various symbolical references to the career of the buddha himself. moreover, “shihe” word was in the charchyyapada at 33 no. pada and 9 no. line, “where said that shila (fox) war against shihe (lion) everyday”. 12 in according to buddha caritha, “i(buddha) am the last lion and my move like lion gait….” 13 2.1 lion figurine art in india we can see this lion iconography used architecture of various parts of south asia and south east asian region like asoka pillar of sarnath, sanchi stupa, harrappa, amaravati, mathura, bharhut, vikramshila, chandraketugarh, jagajjibanpur, angkor, borobudur of indonesia, anuradhapur of sri lanka, pagan of myanmar, nepal, tille tepe of north afghanistan, shama sundar tila of pilak in south tripura, tibet, china, thailand, cambodia and so on. the historical buddha lived around the sixth century bce, but no buddhist artifacts are known from before the third century bce. 14 in the scriptures, it is mentioned that the buddha did occasionally use images like the 'wheel of life' to illustrate the teachings. the emperor asoka (273 232 bce), who converted to buddhism and made it a popular religion in india and beyond. 15 the first actual buddha images appeared around the first century bce, so until then the artwork was largely symbolic in nature. to symbolize the buddha in the very early art, one used mainly the eight spoke wheel, the bodhi tree, buddha's footprints, an empty throne, a begging bowl and a lion are used to represent him. gautam sengupta 16 first drew attention to somewhat similar foliated tail end of the lion on terracotta plaques. found from the buddhist monastic establishment of jagajjivanpur in maldah district of west bengal. says “…there is an element of comicality in the rendering of lions, their tails swinging upwards and ending in a flower-shaped knot.” 17 in the state archaeological gallery of west bengal represents a naturalistically modeled lion (plate 20, sunga period, c.1 st century a.d.) in a roaring attitude with upraised tail at chandraketugarh in west bengal. 18 another one is damaged plaque shows a winged lion (plate 21: c. 1 st century ad. in ashutosh museum, india) sitting on a pillar base. the winged lion is distinct and is a forefront, though its head is lost. it is on its haunches while wings emerge from the joint its front legs. the tail rest on its back. 19 in recently excavation many terracotta’s as narashimha, corner bonding two body with one head plaque and single natural lion (plate 25) figure have been found buddhist remains in shaym sundar tila at pilak in south tripura similarly, which is very neighboring place of mainamati, comilla in bangladesh erstwhile known as tippera district is very adjacent to the locality. stylistically features of the images shows c. 9 th century a.d. of pala school of art. 20 2.2 lion motif uses in sri lanka the lion is symbolic for the sinhalese, sri lanka's ethnic majority; 21 the term derived from the indo-aryan sinhala, meaning the "lion people" or "people with lion blood", while a sword-wielding lion is the central figure on the modern national flag of sri lanka. the entrance to sigiriya, the lion-rock of sri lanka, was through the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/europe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/asia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/monarchy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sinhalese_people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sri_lanka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/flag_of_sri_lanka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sigiriya www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 26 lion gate, the mouth of a stone lion. the paws of the lion can still be seen today. it is one of the world heritage sites in sri lanka. 22 2.3 lion motif in buddhist architecture of ancient bangladesh this research paper depends on the bellow table of number of lion figurine used in buddhist architecture of ancient bangladesh: sl. no. name of the site plaques no. 1. somapur vihar, paharpur 57 2. shalban vihar, mainamati 13 3. ananda vihar, do 3 4. rupban mura, do 4 5. ranir banglo, do 1 6. vashu vihar, mahasthangarh 4 7. mankalir kundo, do 1 total = 83 2.4 paharpur alies somapura mahavihara, naogaon in central shrine of paharpur, identifies fifty seven (57) plaques of lion images. the lion is standing on its back legs almost in similar style (plates 2, 3). in two plaques the front legs are crosswise and in one (1) plaque the lion is lying. four (4) images of the lioness are similar to the standing images of the lion. 23 the plaque depicts the four part of an aged lion (plates 4, 6), which is conceived in an arched niche. the two four legs of the lion are placed one above the other and the eyes and the face of the animal have been treated in abstraction and with schematic arrangements. another terracotta plaque of lion (plate 7), the niche has the look of a stylized chaitya window. this panel reminds a story in panchatantra. the title of the story is lion a talking cave. 24 besides an angry lion (plate 5) plaque shows in the attitude of seeing something inside a well (water tank/kuya). the projection of the kuya (well) over the ground is comparatively small than the figure of lion. the lion has long mane and beards and has a long tail. this figure of lion is concerned it is not naturalistically rendered but the sheer anger of a lion and his forceful approach inside the well and its face and eyes have successfully captured the dramatic elements that is narrated in the story of panchatantra. 25 moreover, there have been found also women lioness is watching her own face in well. a story type terracotta plaque shows a lion is sleeping and a monkey is trying to wake it up by pricking into its ear. although k. n. dikshit said that so called monkey image is actually an image of a fox. it seems to us that of the head, tail, and expression of the animal indicate to a monkey. 26 2.5 mainamati, comilla there have been found many lion animal figurine based corner bonding terracotta plaque (plates 8, 10, 14, 17, & 26) in shalban vihara at comilla. there have one single head but two body’s lion plaque shown separately on both sides of the corner to suit the especial architectural requirement. the mane is shown with a series of falling curls, recalling the coiffure of gupta sculpture. 27 the short curling tail and squat from of the body recall the form of lions in both bronze and stone from this and subsequent centuries. from its middle, two sides of the plaque seem to be mirror images. similarly we have found this type terracotta plaque in paharpur central shrine, vashu vihar, vikramshila mahavihar at antichak (plate 11) also. recently excavation in shalban vihar have been found varieties type lion animal figurine decorated such lion attacked to elephant (plate 12), lion with a man (plate 13), corner bonding terracotta (plate 10), women worship to lion (plate 15) and lion attacked a man (plate 16). it is very interesting that there have been found many krittimukha terracotta plaques, krittimukha is a decorative motif showing the grinning face of a lion for example rupban mura (plate 27), 28 ananda vihar (plate 18) and so on. on the other hand, during the pala period, the plaque shows a stylized nara vyala( plate 9) in mainamati. 29 it has the body of a stylized lion with a long tail and female head. there is description of sixteen (16) types of vyalas in literature; nara vyala is being one of them. 30 2.6 mahasthangarh, bogra the plaque of vashu viahr (plate 19) displayed in mahasthangarh museum has an image of a lion and a rabbit. the background of the plaque is ornamented by half circled design to indicate a cave. most likely, this plaque is also a representation of the rabbit and lion story of panchatantra. the appearance of the image gives scenes that the rabbit is feeling guilty for being late to come the lion as his meal and the lion is listening to his excuse. recently excavation there has been found a corner bonding terracotta plaque which is a two lion body and one head type similarly shalban vihar. in mahasthangarh has been found another plaque is a detached head of nrisimha image, which is may be gupta period art. there is a human touch in the treatment of its eyes and a krittimukha figure has been found which is mutilated face of krittimukha has bulging eyes and open mouth. 31 3. discussion firstly, the actual reality of lion symbol has been experienced directly in meditation by those highly realized beings like “sakyamuni buddha”. 32 the real nature of the symbol through their pure vision and understanding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/world_heritage_site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/world_heritage_site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sri_lanka www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 27 even ordinary beings can recognize to some extent the real nature of symbol. in buddhist iconography, we found the lions in their role of dharma protectors supporting the throne of the buddha’s and bodhisattvas. the lions as guardians of the temple are represented in pairs at the entrance of shrines. as example, the forbidden kingdom of china recently destroyed in earthquake at katmondu nyatapola temple in bhaktapur and temple of patan’s durbar square of nepal influenced by tibetan buddhism and art. “the myth is not my own, i had it, from my mother.” --euripides 33 another important thing is that, the terracotta art of bengal, including that of paharpur definitely betrays some different traits, local color; at the same time it was part an all eastern india art traditions. hence some art motifs seen elsewhere are also present in bangladesh art comprising that of paharpur, mainamati and mahasthangarh lion motif is one of these common motif. all these plaques are religious in character and are valuable materials for the study symbolic religious life of buddhist traditional in ancient bangladesh. lion appear in various roles, are engaged in different activities, forming a fine gallery of anionic. 34 the clay artist of ancient bangladesh (bengal) have successfully utilized various art figurative creating lyrical and textual scenes, lion motif is a one of such alluring figure. lion as emblem of royalty, motif of muryan art, reference to sakya clan of sakyamuni buddha, roar of lion as metaphor for buddhist teachings. 35 the last habitation of lion animal in bengal was palamu upto 1814 a.d. in according to the story of asia’s lion(2005). though these plaques the artist made us aware that lions lived in this area at that time. though in indian mythology the lion is not much discussed except vishnu’s man lion form named narashimha avatara. lion is part of some jataka stories. the lion have much religious influence on the society, and famous for its beauty, strength and violent nature. in hinduism, hindu believes that lions protect humans from evil spirits, normally used in sculpture, decoration in traditional bengali architecture. lion used as bahan or vehicle of durga as uma/mahishmordini deities. 36 the pair lions as guardians of the temple are represented in pair at the entrance of compounds. we may look at the artistic tradition of lion sculptures those are widely found from different parts of west bengal and bangladesh. many buddhist symbols need to be considered within the culture of the people who follow it. therefore, many of the early symbols relate to ancient india and can be found in hinduism as well in temple architecture. the lion is one of the buddhism's most potent symbols. it is therefore an appropriate symbol for the buddha who tradition has it was a royal prince. the buddha's teachings are sometimes referred to as the 'lion's roar'/shimhogosh, again indicative of their strength and power like shimghanada avalokitesvara 37 sculpture of sultanganj of bihar (plate 23) manjubara (plate 22) of mainamati etc. there have many sculpture of buddha where lion depicted under pedestal of buddha sculpture like akhosvva buddha. 38 it is mentionable that mainamati museum displays a plaque found at shalban vihara which is the artist has presented a decorated lion (plate 24) which is in contrast with reality. in the plaque the mane of the lion is like petals around it’s face and it’s eyes and eye-brows are slightly engraved. though we would like to say that, there would have not to sure find out any lion motif decorated in any terracotta or any figure beside bull in the indus valley civilization, where we have found a certainly a lion stuck with inscription of buddha in afghanistan during 1 st century b.c. obviously, early ancient lion symbol used in mycenae at persia. now is the question is that how is it symbolized in ancient buddhist architecture through literal and textual context with general and rituals under buddhism. on the above mentioned discussion after, we can classify of those lion figurine typologically in five types as follow in the table: sl. no. type/style characteristics sites/places 1. realistic natural lion ananda vihar, comilla 2. mythical/ tantric naravyal, nrishimha, kirtimukha mahasthangarh, rupban mura, ranir banglow, 3. textual/literal (jataka) lion with women, lion with well, lion with rabbit, lion in talking cave, cross legs, aged lion/ older somapura vihar, naogaon 4. ferocious lion attacked to elephant, lion attacked to man shalban vihar, comilla 5. architectural component two body one head lion shalban vihar, somapura vihar, vashu vihar in conclusion, we could say possibly that lion motif or figure used in buddhist art and architecture under religious aspect like formation of buddha or vehicle of manjubara or mythical as well as gradually developed in influence by hindu deity durga’s vahan (chariot) lion. all these plaques are religious in character are valuable materials for the study symbolic religious life of buddhist traditional in ancient bangladesh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chinese_architecture www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 28 references 1. ven. jampa chisky, “symbolism of animals in buddhism,” buddhist himalaya, vol. 1, no.1, gokan co. ltd., 1988, p.37. 2. ibid.; see also, sen, asis, animal motifs in ancient indian art, firma k.l., calcutta, 1972; zimmer, h., myths and symbols in indian art and civilization, new york, 1962; zimmer, h., the art of indian asia, vol. 1, new york, usa, 1955, p. 181. 3. divyabhanusinh, the story of asia’s lion, marg publications, mumbai, 2005, p.118. 4. ven. jampa chisky, “symbolism of animals in buddhism,” buddhist himalaya, vol. 1, no.1, gokan co. ltd., 1988, p.37. 5. lion motif used as symbolism of shakaysimha or shakayamuni i. e. buddha and its developed through theraveda buddhism with anionic visualization. see also, susan l. huntington, the art of ancient india, weather hill, new york, 1985, pp. 31, 32. 6. eshan chandra gosh, jataka, (in bengali ), karuna publication, calcutta, vol. 2, india, 1391 b.s. (2 nd edition), pp.68, 69; “manoja jataka”, h. t. francis and e. j. thmas (trans.), jataka tales, jaico publishing house, bombay, 1957, p. 163. 7. a. j. gail, “the four buddhist animals lion, elephant, horse and bull and their symbolic meaning: a reconsideration of evidence,”panduras 07, charles university publication, parague, 2007, p. 62. 8. ibid. 9. ibid. (see also, divyabhanusinh, the story of asia’s lions, marg publications, mumbai, 2005). 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. haraprashad shastri (ed.), hajar bachorer bangla bhashar buddha gan o doha (in bengali), mahabodhi book agency, calcutta, 2000, p. 239, charchayapada, pada no.33, rag patomonjuri, line 9, (cha, 33: 9), see also, ahamed sharif, moddayjuger samaj o sanskriti (in bengali), dhaka. 13. buddha carita, book 1: p. 34. see also, bodhi, bhikkhu (edt.), the buddha’s words, an anthology of discourses from the pali canon, wisdom publications, boston, usa, 2005, p. 420. 421. 14. gupta, s. p., the roots of indian art (a detailed study of the formative period of indian art and architecture: third and second centuries b.c. mauryan and late mauryan), b. r. publication, delhi, 1980, pp. 121-122. (see also asokan pilar at sarnath plate 3a). 15. ibid. 16. sutapa sinha, “a new light on the significance of lion motif appeared on coins and on single inscription of the sultans of bengal”, journal of bengal art, vol. 16, 2011, p.139-155, dhaka,(plate 10.16a, b & c). 17. ibid. 18. saifuddin chowdhury, early terracotta figurines of bangladesh, bangle academy, dhaka, 2000, p. 186. 19. enamul haque, candraketugarh: a treasure house of bengal terracotta, icsba, dhaka, 2001, p.291, pl.c783; s. s. biswas, terracotta art of bengal, agam kala prokash, delhi, 1981, page 181, 20. s. jamal hasan, “buddhist remains in tripura”, journal of bengal art, vol. 7, 2002, p. 229. 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sri_lanka 22. ibid. 23. muhammad shohrab uddin and shaermin rezowana, “animal (mammal) representation in somapura mahabihara in situ terracotta plaques”, journal of bengal art, vol. 17, 2012, p.194, (pl. 15.10, 15.11, 15.13 and 15.16). explaining the terms “motif” the well known folklorist stith thompson writes, “while the term motif is used very closely to include any of the elements going into a traditional tale, it must be remembered that in order to become a real part of the tradition on element must have something about it that will make people remember and repeat it” a lion itself is not a motif but a flying lion becomes one, because it is a least thought to be unusual. 24. saifuddin chowdhury, early terracotta figurines of bangladesh, bangle academy, dhaka, 2000, p. 186. 25. ibid. 26. k. n. dikshit, the memoirs of excavation in paharpur: bengal, achaeological survey of india, 1938, p. . 27. rashid, m. harunur, the early history of south east bengal: in the light of archaeological materials, itihash academy, dhaka, 2008, pp.131, 132, 133. 28. sudipa bandyapadhyay, architectural motifs in early medieval art of eastern india (palasena period), kolkata, india , 2002, fig.73, pravha tarana, fig. 74, sketh: 2. 29. saifuddin chowdhury, 2000, early terracotta figurines of bangladesh, bangle academy, dhaka, p. 186; (see also, nagarju, s, buddhist architecture of western india, plates 129&187; nivvedita, sister, and ananda k. coomaraswamy,1994, hindus and buddhist: myths and legends, senate, london; prakash, pratibha, terracotta animals figurines in the ganga yamuna valley, agam kala publications, delhi, india, 1985, p. 106, 127; sarma, i. k., the development of early saiva art and architecture, sundeep prakashon, delhi, 1982.) 30. saifuddin chowdhury, 2000, early terracotta figurines of bangladesh, bangle academy, dhaka, p. 186. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sri_lanka www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 29 31. ibid. 32. susan l. huntington, the art of ancient india, weather hill, new york, 1985, pp. 47, 123. 33. rama p. coomaraswamy, the door in the sky: coomaraswamy on myth and meaning, princeton university, usa, 1997, p.28. 34. susan l. huntington, the art of ancient india, weather hill, new york, 1985, p. 395. 35. ibid. p. 151. 36. paresh chandra mandal, “shiva” in banglapedia: national encyclopedia of bangladesh, (chief editor sirajul islam), asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, vol. 9, 2003, p. 273). 37. jack tresidder, (ed.), the complete dictionary of symbols in myth, art and literature, duncan baird publishers, london, 2004, p. 291, 38. bhikkhu sunithananda, bangladesher buddha bhashkarjo (in bengali), (buddhist sculpture of bangladesh), asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 1999, pp. 121, 122. acknowledgement i wish to express my sincere gratitude to kelaniya university of colombo at srilanka for allowing me to present this paper in “6 th sseasr conference”2015 at colombo in 4-7 june 2015. i am special thankful to dr. anura manatunga, head of the center for asian studies, uok, as well as dr. shahnaj husne jahan and dr. nalini rao for them valued comments and suggestions. i would like to give thank dr. perween hasan and dr. enamul haque, chairman, icsba, for invaluable help. i want to give my special thank to sseasr organizer for giving this opportunity to me. map : last havitation map of lion in bengal,1814, courtesy: divyabhanusinh plate 1: capital of the lion, asokan pillar, sarnath, india, (from internet) plate 2: standing on two legs, lion terracotta plaque, paharpur, courtesy: abdul khalek(doa) plate 3: standing on two legs, lion terracotta plaque, paharpur, naogaon, bangladesh www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 30 plate 4: lion face with cross legs (symbol of aged), paharpur. plate 5: lion with well/kuya, paharpur, courtesy: department of archaeology of bangladesh. plate 6: lion face with cross legs, paharpur,(after k.n.dikshit). plate 7: lion in talking cave, paharpur, (after k.n.dikshit). plate 8: corner bond terracotta, shalban vihar, mainamati, comilla plate 9: naravyala, mainamati, (after saifuddin) www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 31 plate 10: corner bonding terracotta , shalban vihar, plate 11: lion, two body and one head, vikramshila, antichak, bhagalpur, india, (from internet) plate 12: lion attacked to elephant, shalban vihar, comilla plate 13: lion & man, shalban, mainamati, comilla. plate 14: corner bonding plaque, tail like petal, shalban vihar, mainamati plate 15: women worship to lion, shalban vihar, mainamoti, comilla, bangladesh. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 32 plate 16: lion attacked a man, shalban vihar plate 17: corner bonding terracotta, one head two body type lion, shalban vihar. courtesy: doa, gob. plate 18: kirtimukha, ananda vihar, comilla plate 19: rabbit & lion, vashu vihar mahasthangarh, bogra plate 20: chandraketugarh, natatrul lion, west bengal, india. plate 21: chandraketugarh, winged , west bengal, india , 1 st century b. c. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 33 plate 22: manjubar sculpture sitting on lion , mainamati plate 23: simhanada avalokitesvara, sultanganj, bihar, pala period, birmingham museum & art gallery plate 24: lion (mane decorated), shalban vihar, mainamati plate 25: lion, shyamsundar tila, pilak, south tripura, india plate 26: lion, fragmentary corner bonding terracotta plaque, shalban vihar, mainamati, comilla plate 27: kirtimukha, rupban mura,comilla copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 48 dreaming a better world through literature: positive psychology in the select short stories of humayun ahmed k. m. wazed kabir 1 & md. shamim mondol 2 1 associate professor and chairman, department of english, green university of bangladesh, bangladesh 2 assistant professor, department of english, green university of bangladesh, bangladesh correspondence: k. m. wazed kabir, department of english, green university of bangladesh, bangladesh, email: chairman@eng.green.edu.bd to cite this article: kabir, k. m. w., & mondol, m. s. (2018). dreaming a better world through literature: positive psychology in the select short stories of humayun ahmed. american international journal of social science research, 3(1), 48-52. retrieved from https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr/article/view/221 received: december 10, 2018 accepted: december 15, 2018 online published: december 20, 2018 abstract humayun ahmed has been instrumental in guiding readership in bangladesh with his profuse literary works for over forty years. he enjoyed in his life time and is still enjoying after death consistently unchallenged highest popularity. his acceptance among the readers specially the youth is due to his deeper understanding of the socio-cultural situations of post-independent bangladesh and psyche of the people in general specifically the town dwelling middle class. his major focus in his writings is to bring out the lighter and brighter part to make life worth of living in every situation irrespective of its gravity. both his novels and short stories stimulate a happier mood and purer mind through bringing out the positive aspects of life. this widely recognized area of humayun goes well with the youngest branch of psychological studies, positive psychology. this paper is an attempt to study humayun ahmed's select short stories from the view point of positive psychology. keywords: positive psychology, unchallenged, understanding, stimulate, brighter 1. introduction humayun ahmed (1948-2012) was man of versatile talent and epical success in his career as a writer, dramatist, film maker and professor. he made his appearance in bangla literature in 1972 with his debut novel nondito noroke (in blissful hell) written when he was a university student. with the first book, he got appreciation and acceptance from the critics and scholars. in his career over forty years, he penned over two hundred books with unmatched popularity and influence. “he is the most widely read writer in bangla literature.” (murshid, 2012, 95). he wrote over hundred short stories and touched the major trends and significant issues in them. “among them, there are the stories of the middle class, poor, the liberation war, love, mystery, supernatural, science fictions, farce, children’s story, ghost stories etc. whatever may be the genre or theme, humanitarian aspects are prominent in most of his stories.”(rahman, 2012, p. 217) some scholars, however, has considered his short stories as the most important of all his contributions and consider him one such a powerful story teller that can be unparalleled even in the world literature. syed shamsul haq (2012) thinks, “humayun ahmed will cement his position longest for his short stories. some of his short stories are unique in consideration of not only bangla literature but also the world literature. he has sketched life impeccably.” (cited in moom rahman, p. 217) 2. literature review humayun ahmed has been the maker of the dreams of the youth for decades in bangladesh and he has successfully brought happiness in the life of the people plunged in crisis. his writings have been assessed and discussed by the scholars and critics often with general commentaries. many of them find him a writer writing with a soul for human beings and their happiness. hoque (2012) puts thus, “for forty years, he has built dreams of all people starting from seven and half crore to sixteen crore. ...he filled our period of growth with pleasure. he has molded our mind and built out taste and influenced our prose.” (27-18) in his writings, he put to use diction unlike others in the history of bangla literature and his language not only holds the emotion of the people but also influences others in writing lucidly for the people. zaman focuses on the background in which www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 49 humayun wrote throughout his life. it was a trouble-torn society where problems creep up and boggle all in every step and the writer has succeeded in providing them a taste of life. he thinks, “the creations of humayun ahmed were done in the background of the all devouring despondency, unemployment, lack of democracy, depravation, emergence of autocrat and its oppressions, the urge of the youth to come out of this circle.” (zaman, 2012, p. 197) humayun’s contribution to add pleasure and happiness in the life of the people torn with problems and crisis is immense and the people can feel it quite easily. saha (2012) thinks, “he has quenched the thirst of the people who see so many cruelties around and want a bit of smile and pleasure.” (p. 177) some critics also find humanitarian values in his narratives. moom rahman (2012) sees the writer unparalleled in weaving human soul in his stories. to her, “humayun ahmed is truly unparalleled and powerful in his humanitarian values and diverse style of expressions.” (p. 233) while some writers have pinpointed the positive aspects in all the writings of the writer. syed shamsul haq (2012) summarizes, “i can see three lights in the depth of humayun ahmed’s writings: truth, purity and beauty. these three lights have enlightened his stories, novels, travelogues, memoirs, even the light hearted writings. but it is true that his readers remain busy with discovering entertainment through simplicity instead of that light.” (p. 382) mofidul hoque finds him more significant as a writer than readers and critics think him to be. to him, humayun ahmed is a revolutionary who left the traditional way to deal with socio-political and cultural issues of the country and presented them in so diverse manners that often the people get baffled and can’t realize his worth. he thinks, “the bngalee showed great deficiencies in understanding his worth despite his enormous emotionalism and exuberance, and boundless love.” (p. 170) he suggests deeper study of the writer for understanding more and more implications yet to be explored. this paper can contribute to add a new dimension to the study of the short stories of humayun ahmed and positive psychology can be the most fitting theoretical aspect for that exploration. 3. positive psychology: a theoretical perspective positive psychology as a new domain of psychology started its formal journey in 1998 when martin seligman as the president of the american psychological association chose this as the theme of his term and he along with csikszentmihalyi (2000) define positive psychology as a “science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless” (p. 5) the premises of this approach draw from humanistic psychology advanced by abraham maslow, carl rogers and others who came to prominence in mid-twentieth century and emphasized the realization and expression of every individual’s capabilities and creativities, a process of self-actualization. since the devastation of the world war ii, psychology concentrated more and more on repairing the damage in human functioning and healing them which downplay the fulfilled individual’s perspective and flourishing community. positive psychology fills in the gap by focusing more on building positive qualities for a life worth living. its main focus is on eudaimonia, the good life which aims at a life more worthy and fulfilling. it can be seen as a reaction against the practices and premises of psychoanalysis and behaviorism which deal mainly with the negative psychological aspects to cure. in these practices, positive qualities like creativity, spirituality and hope are dealt negatively while positive psychology attempts “to understand and build the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish”. (seligman, m. e., & csikszentmihalyi, m., 2014. p. 5) positive psychology relies heavily on the scientific method in understanding the complex human behavior and problems. it takes into account both issues of repairing the worst as well as building the best. in the study of positive psychology, seligman with his “authentic happiness theory,” and then “well-being theory”, mihaly asikszentmihalyi with his theory of flow and christopher peterson’s concept of character strengths and virtues contributed in founding the base of this field. the workings of this approach are summarized in the following manner: the field of positive psychology at the subjective level is about valued subjective experiences: well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); and flow and happiness (in the present). at the individual level, it is about positive individual traits: the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom. at the group level, it is about the civic virtues and the institutions that move individuals towards better citizenship: responsibility, nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance, and work ethic.” (seligman, m. e., & csikszentmihalyi, m., 2000, p. 5) 4. locating positive psychology in the select short stories of humayun ahmed “ekti neel botam” (“a blue button”) is a short story anthologized in premer golpo (love stories) by humayun ahmed. it is about a relationship of a young man named ronju working in an add farm with an aristocratic and wealthy family of dhaka. he is inferior in his social, cultural and finical positions to the family. he puts it like this, “who am i? nobody. a meager man. i work in an add farm. i count every paisa of the small amount earn. and these people? i think, the guard standing at their gate is paid more than i do.” (p. 75) he happens to come to this house with one of their relatives and is fascinated with the behavior of the pretty young girl of the house named esha towards him. she appreciates his tall figure and makes him do a fancy work of fitting a nail. but she does not tell him the use of it and keeps it at suspense by telling him to come again and see. he takes it as a www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 50 pretext to come here again, but he knows that is not necessary. when he comes again, he is afraid that they may not recognize him though he has a firm conviction because their house is always open. “any one can come at any time. there is no barrier.” (p. 75) however, he is recognized by esha’s father who interacts with him and wants to know from him of the news about the country in a tone as if he were known for a long time, as if he were a knowledgeable person, as if he were an important man. even esha who is in a hurry and is going out, stops seeing him, repents for not being able to give him time, but still adds value to him by showing him the use of the nail he has fixed on the first visit. he hesitates whether he should go inside or not, esha’s father insists him to go. he finds a beautiful show piece having flowing light if electric connection is given. thus he comes in contact with a positive old man, a pretty and positive young girl and a beautiful showpiece that he has never seen before. she tells him how they got it. she tells him of her father and his story telling pattern and informs him of their father-daughter relationship. she also gifts him a beautiful smile that brings a deep sigh and a thought, “i don’t know who the lucky fellow who will get this girl all his life.” (p. 76) the father too shares his views on life and the world which can be done with the intimate persons. this feeling of intimacy grows in ronju. positivity breeds positivity. everything looks beautiful to him. he gets spontaneous invitation from them, “come again.” (p. 79) a great change comes over him and he dreams a better life. he stops gossiping with the friends who use nasty words about the girls and enjoy. he can no longer tolerate this nonsense. he gets admitted in a college at night shift to do his ma. he buys a new window screen, a mosquito net and a bed sheet. he manages a painting from an artist friend and whitewashes the walls of his room himself. his friends insinuates to the physical pleasure in that new setting. he asks himself, “in what darkness are they groping? will they not come out of it?” (p.78) he has his own philosophy of life which is better and brighter and full of positivity than before. his life changes as he gets a space to nurture his strength by changing the attitudes to life. thus the writer shows a way where people of different classes can interact to bring a better change in the society through mutual respect. love affair is common among the youth and the break ups are also common which often makes one side embittered and frequently the incidents of acid throwing and physical tortures for refusal in affair are seen in our society. humayun ahmed deals with the issue delicately to change the view point of the youth. in the short story “ekjon kritodas” (“a slave”), the writer has narrated a very simple and familiar story of a young couple who is supposed to get married on the day the story starts. the unnamed hero is waiting for his beloved parul to go to his friend, harun's house where they are to get married. shocked hero gets back home and finds a slip left by parul to call a land phone number. being shattered, he spends the whole noon on bed and touches no food, and continues thinking that his relation with parul is over. at the evening, he gets out and calls parul. she talks in a very playful tone with the air of a child. she informs him of her getting a job in a kindergarten. when reminded of marriage, she in a very normal tone tells him to delay it. she adds in a spontaneous tone, “the state of your business is such these days that if we get married, we would have to eat a single meal a day.” (p. 92) he understands that she will never marry him though they both made shopping in the new market for arranging the room. he feels like killing himself but fails as he lacks the courage. he incurs consecutive loss in his business. he loses money as his friend who borrowed from him dies. he fails in all attempts and investment for business. he even takes pain in managing a decent life. he realizes, “girls can conjecture well. parul in the truest sense foresaw my future.” (p. 92) this gives him space to justify parul’s stand. communication slackens, and he never approaches her. but sometimes they meet, and every time parul comes forward and shows every sympathy and feels genuinely shocked for the degraded health and business and shows courtesy by offering him tea. she even seeks his help in buying gift for her friend's son's birthday. she never mentions even mistakenly about their marriage. he gets surprised to see confident and vain parul with her “post of a school master of three hundred taka.” (p. 93) he gets the news of her marriage in april and “almost forgives her for not showing cruelty by sending him invitation card.” (p. 93) he feels relieved, enjoys a film, gossips with friends, and has the air as if nothing happened and what happened is happening on regular basis. he feels relieved and says, that night the air in my room starts feeling warm and humid. i keep awake till mid night. lying on bed, i gradually delve down in the thought that with a bit progress in my business, i will marry a simple girl with sad look. and i will guffaw while sharing parul's story of heartlessness. (p. 93) thus he bounces back while he is supposed to be hard and harsh. the writer’s attempt to show how to deal with the tough situations in adversary is obvious. his situation deteriorates and comes to a point when he has to sell all the fancy items like a three band philips transistor, a record player and a table clock. still one day he has to pass a day eating a bit of bread. he even starts feeling that the marginal people eating street side food are much happier. he does some petty jobs and parul gets deleted from his memory. so the bitter days does not breed bitterness at all. life must be welcome whatever may be the situation. however, one day while passing by mohammadpur bazar, he sees a baby like a doll holding parul's part of saree. he tries to avoid any meeting. still “just for a moment, it seems to him, this doll like girl could be his daughter.” (p. 94) he gets back to reality thinking of his job in sobhan mia's indenting farm. he gets the job and attends office on foot, but he cannot enjoy at all. to him, “it is a boring, insipid life and while gets awake at www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 51 mid night, i feel like dying.” (94) he avoids the meeting with the familiar people. still he sees parul one day possibly with her husband and another day with another girl walking and laughing. he, however, has got transformed in look and body. so, even the most intimate people cannot recognize him. he is by then sure that parul too will not be able to recognize him, but he fails. “parul can recognize me in a moment. she stands confounded seeing me. she cannot speak for few moments.” (p. 95) he inquires of parul and tells her of his emergency to go away instantly. with surprise and sadness, she stares at him. when he takes steps forward, she only says, “you have reduced to such state!” (p.95) he tells her of his failure in business and seeks her permission to leave. “parul says nothing in reply. i see with surprise, her eyes fill with tears. turning her face to another direction, she stands for some time, and then leaves walking in an exhausted manner.” (p. 95) this tear does a lot for him. “i totally forgot parul. love affair is merely a trifle matter to the life which i am living. but parul gets herself established with the few drops of her worthless tears.” (p. 95) love returns to his life. there is no sense of revenge, only reward. humayun just reiterates rabindranath’s poem, “he who looks up to me with unfathomable forgiveness all my depths and deficiencies i’ll sacrifice myself for him.” (2013, 63) the writer knows that the people of bangladesh are happy not because they have desired affluence, rather because they have their own faith in something or somebody. with this faith and waiting, they have their own type of fulfillment. this mode of life with hope and dream has been explored by the writer. the short story “ochin brikkho” (“the unknown tree”) is all about waiting for golden days of human beings in general and elongating that with optimism. there is a tree in a remote rural area which carries fairy tales of its own that once a witch was passing over the village. she felt thirsty and was quenched here. feeling satisfied, she awarded them the tree asking them to take care of it. she said, “the tree will bear flower after a long time. you all will then be free of pangs and pains. the flowers of this tree are elixir. it will work if it is taken after a day’s fasting.” (121) it has earned great veneration for itself through a long nourished faith that once the tree yields flower, it will work as elixir, every ill one will be cured, poverty and suffering will disappear and all will be happy. but nobody knows when that time will come. but all people there in the village at least know it clearly, “the time to yield flowers have not come. flowers will bloom in the right time. this tree takes much time for bearing flower.” (p. 119) the area is a remote one and the people are poor. they have their fight of life. the most important man among them is a primary school teacher who, “seeing him at a glance, he looks like a man defeated in the struggle of life. he is alive because he has to.” (p. 120) his wife is in death bed suffering from serious illness and he can do nothing as he has already sold all his property for her treatment. still he is hopeful that she will be cured with the help of the tree. the people feel proud that the dignitaries come to the village for the tree. “the dignitaries come from the town to see the unknown tree, we feel very good. we get chance to meet the people of high esteem.” (p. 120) humayun ahmed has written over one hundred stories and all are with his magical touch of love and affection for human beings and the surroundings. his efforts are always with betterment of life and the society which instantly brings to mind the assumptions and aims of positive psychology. 5.conclusion the study shows how humayun ahmed has made use of his pen to portray the characters and themes in a positive light without any imposition of a humanitarian writer. he rather incites the potentials, makes them space to flourish, unenvelops the unexcavated parts of a personality and shows the way to make life worth living. his tasks go well with the positive psychologists who endeavor to make life better by throwing light on the positive psychological aspects and socio-cultural phenomenon. humayun ahmed's contribution is no less than a positive psychologist in reshaping the psyche of the people and boosting the best to advance in the better and pleasant track which shows his dreams of a better world through his literary works. references ahmed, h. (2000), premer golpo (love story), dhaka, ananya. haq, syed shamsul. (2012), humayun ahmed, his departure, in humayn ahmed: souvenir, dhaka: anyaprokash. hoque, anisul, (2012). the maker of our dreams, in humayn ahmed: souvenir, dhaka: anyaprokash. hoque, mofidul, (2012), the hero of transforming the form: humayun ahmed, in humayn ahmed: souvenir, dhaka: anyaprokash. rahman, moom, (2012), the humanitarian magician of adorable stories, in humayn ahmed: souvenir, dhaka: anyaprokash. saha, mahadev, (2012), tears and love for humayun, in humayn ahmed: souvenir, dhaka: anyaprokash. seligman, m. e., & csikszentmihalyi, m. (2000, january). positive psychology: an introduction. american psychologist. vol. 55, no. 1, 5-14, seligman, m. e., & csikszentmihalyi, m. (2014). positive psychology: an introduction. springer netherlands. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 52 tagore, r. (2013), shesher kobita (the last poem), dhaka, bishwo shahitto kendro. zaman, mahmud al, (2012), a few words about humayun ahmed, in humayn ahmed: souvenir, dhaka: anyaprokash. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research ;vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 research article published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 9 politics of godfatherism and its implication on socio-economic and political development of nigeria fatima ahmed department of political science university of maiduguri borno state. nigeria email: fahtimadalaram@gmail.com mustapha alhaji ali department of political science and administration yobe state university damaturu. nigeria email: mustaphaalhajiali2@gmail.com abstract in contemporary democracy politics of godfatherism has become a universal issue in the political development of many countries nigeria inclusive. the paper studied the implication of politics of godfatherism on the socioeconomic and political development of nigeria. certainly, the politics of godfatherism have entered every hook and crannies of the nation and have affected the political structure of the country. this paper is qualitative in nature; data were obtained from secondary sources where numerous articles, newspapers, magazines, books reports, and archives were systematically reviewed. in elucidating the topic under examination, the researcher used elite theory. this theory was advocated by vilfredo pareto in 1935, the postulation of the theory is that elites are replaced by another group of elites, meaning that the majority are unavoidably governed by the minority. the study found that the politics of godfatherism has a negative impact on the socio-economic and political development of the nation by confining power in the hands of the few elites at the expense of the masses (electorates). this has affected the socioeconomic and political development of the nation, and by extension led to inter-party and intra-party defections, decamping’s and conflicts among the party members. therefore, the study recommends the implementation of the direct primary election in the selecting candidate into elective positions. in addition to that, inec should make a law that will discourage money politics and should as well punish the culprit involved in such an illegal political act. keywords: development; god-fatherism; implication; impacts; nigeria; political; politics; socio-economic 1. introduction in africa and other developing countries like nigeria, godfatherism has become the central point of political vandalism this is as a result of the overconcentration of authority and capital of politicians explains the ascent for the control of the structures and organizations by the political class in the nation, this struggle, and the resulting values have obstructed significantly on society in a various ways (ohiole & ojo, 2016:1). politics of godfatherism and regionalism has featured prominently in the political history of independent nigeria. the problems arising from godfatherism are myriad and it is one of the greatest glitches facing the nigerian political system. the problem is such that the god-son oftentimes is a stooge of the godfather “and he that pays the piper dictates the tune (edigin, 2010:174)”. the failure of the god-son to meet the demands of the god-father is often punished with impeachments or denial of re-election. he also observed that with the return to democratic rule in 1999, the country witnessed a heightened tempo in the politics of godfatherism, which has affected the socioeconomic and political development of the country. a study by ohiole & ojo (2016:11), disclosed that democracy in nigeria has not been fully established and the phenomenon of godfatherism has endangered democratic process and the socio-economic lives of the citizenry. political godfathers is a condition in nigerian political process influencing against the democratic establishment in order to satisfy their selfish interest they are even ready to manipulate the democratic body and its mode of operations, by overpowering public office holders like the governor and council chairman to dance to their tone. the mailto:fahtimadalaram@gmail.com mailto:mustaphaalhajiali2@gmail.com copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 10 activities of these political fighters have deprived the people of voting for their ideal applicants as their leader. this has directly affected the political arrangement and the national economy of the nation. however, nigeria with a projected population of 196,651,048 and one of the largest nation in africa blessed with human and material resources, is by far the most populated nation in africa (ali, zakuan, and ahmad, 2018 & undesa, 2018). it has three tiers of government structure these include federal, state, and local government. with six geopolitical zones across the nation. nigeria comprises 36 states and abuja. it also has 774 local government, and federal capital territory (ahmed & shehu, 2014). with all these features yet nigeria is characterizing with politics of godfatherism since independence this is as a result of the majority and minority domination and poverty that was artificially created by the politicians among the citizens to subjugate them to lower class. political godfatherism in its simplest form can be generally seen as a practice which involves the sustenance of a kind of social and political relations in which the inferior looks onto the superior for the dissemination and self-actualization of firm roles, desires and connections which unite both together or in which both have equal pole but with the greater influence of what the inferior gets in the process (majekodunmi, 2013:71). nigeria has all the below types of godfathers: most especially those who serve others, those who expect the society to serve them, and even those who channel their resources into criminal activities. our interest in this paper is on the politics of godfatherism in the democratic government (albert, 2005:81). godfathers in some nations are inspired by their resolution to regulate public policies in favour of their concerns. for instance, in nigeria, the primary motive of political godfathers is to control the treasury of the state. the godfathers in nigerian politics are primarily concerned with appropriation of government contracts, political/public appointments and plundering the coffers of the state. they are in advantaged positions to decide the political confidence of candidates to political offices and as such those that are not only seen but confirmed to be “loyal” cannot be “given” ticket to be the flag bearer of the parties. this is to ensure that the godsons will be answerable to them when they were elected into power. because of these conditions, some contenders defect to other parties where they do not have such influential figures that would aggravate them from their political ambitions (okolie, 2006:171). from the above expression, it is understood that democracy is a competition among the elite for control and entree to state power. however, it is contended here that in nigeria the disaster of democracy can be traced to the failure of the political elite, as a class. since 1954, there has been a fusion of the elite such that political elite also institutes both the economic and social elite. to be sure, the emergent political elite since 1954 have dominated the political territory to the exclusion of new candidates. the old elite has to controlled the political passage such that where they are not opposing for political positions, they desire to constitute themselves as the power behind the curtain, thereby, leading to the phenomenon of 'godfatherism'(uadiale, 2012:94). looking at the above set-up it is understood that politics of godfatherism has eaten deep into nigerian politics this corresponds with the opinion of plato, aristotle, tacitus, and other classical philosophers who largely centered on the concentration of political power in the hands of a few in the early greek and roman society. thinkers such as pareto, mosca, michels, and marx too devoted their political analysis on how power is used and misused by the ruling class in diverse settings. the domination of power by the hegemonic class in many parts of the contemporary society can thus, be said to be nothing new but has a vigorous pedigree (albert, 2005:79). 1.1 brief history of the nigerian state and democracy the nigerian state was established because of the defeat and occupation of lagos by the british between 1861 and 1914. in the year 1861 and 1914, all areas around the niger river were progressively apprehended, some by power and others quietly give to british domination and rule. these areas which shaped the nigerian state were before the conquest and occupation of lagos, and the january 1914 unification were different nationalities, ethno-religious and geopolitical groups which were either separate or independent of one another or to a less extent inter-related to one another. with the 1914 unification, these areas from the northern and southern regions of the niger river were amalgamated together and made as one political entity called (nigeria). from 1914 to 1960 nigeria remained under the british colonial rule which in addition brought party politics and the western styled parliamentary democracy into nigeria over the years of colonial rule (ali & isah, 2018:116). in a related development a study by isah and ahmed (2018), disclosed that political activities in unified nigeria began around 1922/23 when elections and a political party nigerian national democratic party (nndp) was recognized and conducted. this political movement and parties in nigeria continued to develop up to 1960 when nigeria attains its independence. the post-independence era also witnessed an increased number of political events copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 11 as well as growing number of political parties and politically related groups and associations which had by january 1966 before the coup reached 81 (mohammed, aisha & saidu, 2018). 1.2 the advent of politics of godfatherism in nigeria politics of godfatherism became widespread in nigerian political movements in the 1960s, and early postindependence where leaders became political godfathers (mamah, 2004). the action of political godfathers was obvious with the coming of civilian rule in 1979. however, the military governments that branded the 1980’s jammed its achievement. similarly, a study by alabi & tunde (2013:6), pointed out that the political godfather phenomenon is not new in nigeria politics. this circumstance started during the first republic when the leading supporter of independence of nigeria (zik, awo, tafawa-balewa, etc.) intolerant and managed political activities in nigeria. however, there are lots of changes between the philosophical godfatherism of the first republic and the unpolished form citing (gambo, 2007). bernard drew the basis of godfatherism in electoral politics to the city of chicago in the united states of america in the pre-world war ii era, which he expressed that“when the heads of criminal gangs sponsored politicians in elections, manipulated the results to get them elected and, in turn, received protection and contracts from their political godsons (bernard, 2009)”. moreover, the 1999 civil rule attended another form of political godfatherism, which reached its ultimate during the unpleasant obliteration of lives and belongings that viewed the violent hostility between the political godfather (chris uba) and the then governor of anambra state (chris ngige). this act leads to a new dimension to the exercise of political godfatherism in the nigerian political movements where the godson dance the tone of the godfather in order to accomplish his or her political dream. this is contrary to the roles played by godfathers in nigeria’s democratic movements between 1958 and 1983 (mamah, 2004). 2. problem statement politics of godfatherism has become part and parcel of the political condition of actualizing the political dreams of many contestants in nigeria. politics of godfatherism has eaten deep into the political movements of many nations nigeria inclusive. politics of godfatherism has affected the political and economic development of nigeria. several issues were observed as a cause of politics of godfatherism. the central argument is that in the nigerian politics “godfatherism” has become the major problem to many candidates to win or fail in an election. godfatherism is extensively practicing in all parts of the country, it is observed that to contest for any political post it has become necessary to have strong political godfather before considering and run for any elective offices or even political appointment. this is because many contenders cannot win an election without the support and influence of the godfather. so also, many individuals cannot get appointed without the support and influence of the godfathers that decide the faith of the state. but with the support and influence of godfathers, many aspirants contest and win the election. because of the power of the godfathers and incumbency. the power, influence, and incumbency have created a serious problem between the contestants and the electorates, and by extension has affected the socio-economic development of the nation. this is because most of the candidates dance to the tone of their godfathers not the general populous. and it is the godfathers that are dictating the candidates what to do and not to do. this problem of the dictatorship of the political fathers has created a wide gap between the contestants and the electorates. it is understood that all the positions won or appointed because of the influence of godfathers cannot yield positive development. because the political godfathers asked contestants or appointee to sign a treaty to ensure that they agree with all the promises that they had entered with the godfathers. however, (gideons, 2010; ohiole & ojo, 2016:2) noted that the contestant makes sure that all the money spends on he/she during the election were paid fully with interests. this led to a political crisis between the aspirants and the godfathers, by extension between the citizens in the states. this political crisis has created a wide vacuum between the godsons and the godfather. based on this, the paper merit to examine the impacts of politics of godfatherism on the socio-economic and political development of nigeria. 3. objectives of the research  to examine the implication of political godfathers on the socio-economic development of nigeria.  to investigate the relationship between godfathers and godsons in political movements in nigeria.  to proffer solutions to identified problems 4. research methodology this paper is qualitative; here the researcher used a secondary source in obtaining appropriate and interrelated literature. here several documents such as books, articles, magazines, and newspapers were referred. all the relevant literature accessed were thoroughly studied and reviewed for the purpose of this study (creswell, 2009; zaleha, 2018). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 12 4.1 research design considering the nature of this study the researcher uses a case study approach in approaching the topic under examination. this is because the approach helps the researcher in understanding the phenomenon deeply. in addition to that, it also provides an in-depth understanding of a case or cases under inquiry. case study approach helps in developing an in-depth explanation and examination of a case (s) (creswell, 2009; zaleha, 2018). 5. theoretical framework in explaining this paper there are several theories that can support the study, but for the purpose of this research, the researcher adopted elite theory to explained and supports the topic under investigation. 5.1 elite theory the study used elite theory in explaining the topic under examination. this theory was offered by vilfredo pareto in 1935 the supposition of the theory is that power is rotated among the elites, this means the elites are substituted by another group of elites, meaning that the masses are unavoidably ruled by the few elites at the expense of the masses (the electorates). it is understood that this idea was begun by pareto and mosca in 1935 the law of elite rotation, in line with the above assumption and to support the argument elite theory sees ‘elites’ as players governing the state and national resources, and occupying key positions related to power networks (yamokoski and dubrow, 2008). thus, the perception of elites is more carefully connected to the weberian knowledge of power, understood as the competence of executing one’s will, even against the will of the general populous (weber, 1922:696). however, it is understood that power can be accomplished through material and/or figurative resources. subsequently, elites can simply be defined as those in control of capitals (reis, 2005). this theory resided on how power is rotating among the elites in society. more so, the theory believes that power can only be shared among the elites at the expense of the masses. 6. literature and conceptualization of godfatherism godfatherism is an impediment to nigerian democracy. it is adversative to the freedom and welfare of the peoples. therefore, the problem of godfatherism should then not be preserved as a party affair but should be treated with legal action by the government and the party stakeholders. to gain control over the state structure, politics of godfatherism need to be tackle and control, this is because, with the politics of godfatherism, godfathers often adopt different systems to outmaneuver their oppositions. therefore, it is observed that in nigeria, several approaches were used to win elections such as rigging, thuggery, violence, and manipulations of results in the interest of the godfathers (wenibowei, 2011:72). the term godfatherism have been defined by several scholars based on their perception and understanding. in a study by adeoye (2009:70-1), the term used to define the connection between a godfather and godson. a godfather is a kingmaker, boss, mentor, and principal, while godson is the beneficiary and recipient of the legacy of a godfather. a godfather is someone who has built unbelievable respect and follower (voters) in the community and possessed a well-organized political stand, and general acceptance from an electorate that could secure victory for candidates of his choice (adeoye, 2009:72). in a related view jibrin ibrahim defined the category of godfatherism, during an interview granted to the bbc on 10 november 2003 as “men who have the power personally to determine who gets nominated and who wins the election in a state’. for instance, governor chimaroke nnamani of enugu, who had a running battle with his godfather, senator jim nwobo, for over two years, defined godfather from his own personal experience as follows: the 'political godfathers' in nigeria build a collection of supporters around them and use their power, which is often tied to financial deliberations, to operate the rest of the society toward his or her interest. political godfathers use their power and influence to block the involvement of the masses from nigerian politics. the elite theory explained the above situation that power is rotating between the elites and subjugating the masses to subordinate positions. this signifies that the elites and the politicians are political porters: they decide who is to take part in the national politics and under what situations (albert, 2005:80). politics of godfatherism is one of the philosophies that open tinny doors when it comes to defining who gets what in the political division. though, in the framework of this study, the literary meaning and characteristics of godfather need to be emphasized. literarily, godfathers in the nigeria context refers to the men who have the power generally to regulate both who gets selected to the election race to wins the election (alabi & tunde, 2013:5). in another development, a study by edigin (2010:175), describes or sees godfather as a human being who plays god to his people. he provides their basic needs for them, protects them and assists them to secure and achieve their objectives. he further states that “his support could be seen as an investment, which he believes must yield some profits in the near future”. therefore, the demand for sustainable democracy in nigeria is to expand both the political and socio-economic situation of the country through massive people participation in the policy and decision-making process, but contrary to nigerian political system where those that reached political power in both arms of government copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 13 legislative and executive were elected to power through the influence and support of some political ‘godfathers’ in many states. nevertheless, the yearning of political godfathers is to hold political and socio-economic powers, both at the center and the local units as strategies to administratively influence the activities of political office holders. such as the governors and legislators in terms of employing people into numerous posts, such as ministers/commissioners, chairmen of the boards, secretaries to the various institutions, dpm and treasurers of local governments as well as allocation of some developmental projects into various local government of interest across the state (alabi & tunde, 2013:2-3). this is in line with the summation of elite theory which buttressed that political power is shared among the political elites at the expense of the masses (electorates). to explain the above assertions albert (2005:81), noted that an important issue raised by pareto and marx in their works is that political elites insulate and isolate themselves from their society and try as much as possible to reproduce themselves from within. they do all possible within their reach to ensure that non-elites do not join their membership. this is in line with the postulation of the elite theory, which believes that power is rotating among the elites by sidelining the masses to subordinate or to fallowers positions. to ensure this, the political elites maintain a safe, functional distance from the rest of society. they reproduce themselves on an individual and selective basis in a process which pareto specifically referred to as the 'circulation of elites'. in a related development, a study by alabi & tunde (2013), disclosed that most nigerian policies are usually determined by political godfathers to allow them to fix in their contenders to the corridor of power. in the recent time, politics of godfatherism has extended to upper, lower and state house of assembly, where all the contenders most have an influential godfather that would back him/her before winning an election. this signifies that political godfathers are the key to political success in nigeria polity. 7. politics of godfatherism in nigeria politics of godfatherism courses a lot of problems in the political movements of many states. these problems include intraparty and interparty conflict, party defection or party decamping. however, these conflicts arising from godfatherism has become one of the major problems affecting the political arrangement of many nations nigeria inclusive. for instance, politics of godfatherism become widespread in the nigerian political system from 1999 to date, when those in power became the political godfathers in states politics. the deed of godfathers was noticeable in the state in 2007 when late governor mamman b. ali of the blessing memory came out to vie for the post of the governorship in the state, only a few politicians were in support of his intention to contest for the post. most of the political leaders and the party stakeholders were not in his support. this is because he has no political godfather that will support him to vie for the post, but he keeps on struggling in actualizing his political dream to become the governor of the state in 2007. however, late senator m. b. ali scored a major victory at the supreme court. the victory was in respect of a case brought by late senator u. al-bashir disputing the replacement of his name with that of late ali as an aspirant of the all nigerian peoples party (anpp) for the 2007 governorship election (com, 2018). in a similar opinion a study by albert (2005:81), pointed out that: “men who have the power personally to determine who gets nominated who in the state”. governor chimaroke nnamani of enugu, who had a running battle with his godfather, senator jim nwobo, for over two years, defined godfather from his own personal experience as follows: an impervious guardian figure who provided the lifeline and direction to the godson, perceived to live a life of total submission, subservience, and protection of the oracular personality located in the large, material frame of opulence, affluence and decisiveness, that is, if not ruthless ... strictly, the godfather is simply a self-seeking individual out there to use the government for his own purposes. in line with the above assertion a study by ohiole & ojo (2016:6), unveiled that the battle line in oyo state was drawn between lamidi adedibu – the kingpin of ibadan politics (godfather) and the (godson) governor of the state, rashidi ladoja. adedibu demanded to have donated financially in “installing” ladoja as the state governor, with an arrangement that the governor will be faithful and obedient, taking orders from him and to subject public resources, to his private impulses and whims. nevertheless, ladoja defaulted and declined to play according to the rules of the game. this led to confusion in ibadan the state capital. after the 2003 general elections till january 2006. because of this confusion, many lives and properties were lost. the state house of assembly was also divided into two and this led to the suspension of fourteen (14) members out of thirty-two (32) – members state house of assembly. then, ladoja was arraigned in less than 30 minutes in january 2006, this gave the opportunity for the deputy governor, alao akala, another godfather who is willing to serve the godfather well. this position was sustained up to december 7th, 2006. it was https://wn.com/late https://wn.com/senator https://wn.com/mamman_ali https://wn.com/supreme_court https://wn.com/usman https://wn.com/all_nigerian_peoples_party https://wn.com/anpp https://wn.com/2007 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 14 after eleven-month supreme court ruled out the case in favour of the governor, that his removal was illegitimate, and he was returned after eleven (11) months out of his office. his coming back to the office was confronted with the grave fight from his former godfather’s (adedibu) camp, which led to break in law and order of the state capital for few days and living many blameless inhabitants with various kind of injuries (azeez, 2014; ohiole & ojo, 2016) in a similar view sale (2018), disclosed that same thing applies to yobe north senatorial district where the ruling party has fielded the longest-serving senator in the state, senator ahmed lawan, the current senate leader. political analysts in and around the state posited that adamu maina waziri has contributed immensely in making pdp in yobe state weak. they said since the inception of democratic rule in 1999, waziri has been the sole gubernatorial flag bearer of the party and has never for once won election or allow somebody to make any move to contest. he is being accused of pocketing the party and tilting it to where it will serve his personal interest. some party faithful in the state went to the extent of accusing him of working for the ruling apc. presently, there are serious political crises between the present senator and waziri. based on the political analysis if this internal party wrangling between a. waziri and m. hassan, if not amicably addressed before the coming general elections, it will no doubt lead to pdp losing the seat to apc, and if this happens, apc will be happy, because zone b is the only zone among the three senatorial zones that is being represented by pdp (sale, 2018). to minimized this problem of godfatherism the study suggested for the direct primary election in the country. 8. direct primary election in order to minimize the problems of godfatherism and uphold free fair and credible election in nigeria the paper suggested for the proper adoption of direct primary election. this is in line with the declaration of apc national chairman in 2018, and in preparation of 2019 general election. according to (oladesu, 2018; ojeifo, 2018) the apc national chairmen declare the implementation of direct primary elections in the apc across the 36 of the federation this is to overcome the problem of godson and godfather domination in the apc political movements. he believes this method of the direct primary election would help in electing the right aspirant for 2019 general elections. this idea arose in a leadership meeting with the party caucus in abuja. comrade adams oshiomhole-led national executive committee, he declared that all the contested would be elected through the direct primary election this is to ensure equality and justice to all contestants and to sustain free, fair and credible election. this decision was not in any way vague. in line with the opinion of apc chairman, the president supported the implementation of the direct primary election for all apc candidates across the federation (oladesu, 2018). the chairman clarified the acceptance of the direct primary election which would give all registered members of the party the chance to take part in the process of defining those to represent the right and interest of the party members at all level of governance. this basically describes the distinctive democratic style (ojeifo, 2018). the national chairman highlighted that: we note that direct primary election is free from the vices associated with the indirect primary. direct primary cannot be wrought. it is not disposed to corruption, we want to grow democracy. we want the party members to have ownership of the party. we want to give our members a sense of belonging (oladesu, 2018:1-2). the all progressives congress (apc) was requested to adopt the direct primary for the selection of its candidates for 2019 general elections to enhance inner democracy, the chairman emphasized. he explained that he suggested for the implementation of the direct primary election in order to ‘liberalize’ its shadow polls by making all registered apc members automatic delegates. he added that this option will lessen the corruption and manipulation related to the delegates mode of selecting the contestants, which always causes huge post-primary violence and crises in the nation (oladesu, 2018). to him, the implementation of a direct primary election helps in no small measure in minimizing the power of incumbency in the political movements of nigeria. this would encourage the general populaces who are willing and interesting to participate and contest for any political position of their choice. this assertion is measured by elites theory that power is rotating among the elites at the expense of the electorates. to curtail the problem of godfatherism all the political parties should adopt and implement these policies of the direct primary election, this would help in sanitizing the election process at all level of government. it would as well lead to free fair and credible election by electing credible candidates in electives positions. although, some states across the nation didn’t adopt the direct primary election. this is because of power incumbency and interest to manipulate the political power to a certain geopolitical zone that has been dominating the state politics for many years (sale, 2018). politics of godfatherism has become part and parcel of nigerian politics. looking at the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 15 structure of the national and state house of assembly it is noted that most of the members have dominated the position since 1999, some have inherited the post and sustain it for many years because of the influence and the power of godfatherism that has denied the masses from contesting for the posts. this is the true picture of the elite theory that believes in power circulation among the elite in society (yamokoski and dubrow, 2008). 9. the causes of politics of godfatherism in nigeria the study found that there are numerous factors that lead to the politics of godfatherism in nigeria. among which are: the power of incumbency, influence, money, political thugs, money politics, lack of political awareness, selfishness, greediness, lack of exposure, over-ambition, nepotism, and politics of regionalism among others. there is an emerging tendency in nigeria which labels that an anticipating contender must have and depend on the godfather with the necessary capital, influence, and power to get he/she voted and acquire power. the consequence is that participants are more depending on their acceptance from the electorates, but on their selected godfathers to support them secure elected positions (aderonke, awosika & olanrewaju, 2013:70). in the same way, it is understood that corruptive tendencies intensify the economic base of the godfathers by making a wide diversity of difficulties in the politics and rule because the godfathers use their influence, capital to place their godsons and wards in several positions of power. so also those in power use their position to decide the next to represent the interest of the citizens at all cost (oviasuyi, 2009:73) a study by (ohiole & ojo, 2016:4) noted that election sponsors are rich, powerful and influential individuals which come out freely to pay kindly towards the voting success of a party or sponsor candidates during an election. more so, ohiole & ojo (2016), added that the political godfather might be less concerned about the active politics or organization of régime but thinks of approachable policies from the administration. “nigeria’s godfathers in the 21st century sponsors election, but not all election sponsors are godfathers”. though, godfathers reign across all spheres of the society: academics, legal, and religious environment. to support the above statement, popoola, (2014:1-2), unveiled that political godfather and godson fight has been upsetting the nation socio-economic development. this fight rooted in the crash of interest, needs, values, and capitals, involved political office holders in the highest ladder of government.which invariably affects the socioeconomic and political development of the nation. 10. the implication of godfatherism politics of godfatherism affects the national economic and political development in no small measure this is because the influence of the political godfather and the loyalty of the godson in the political movements. the study found that politics of godfatherism had so much inclined the political life and socio-economic development of the country and particularly in this present regime. it had added enough care at the present regime because of its need approaches of expression. it has become almost unbelievable for an individual to hold political power either by election or appointment without patronizing his/her political godfather because of their power and influence (joe, 2010:1-2). in this case all the activities of the godson must be in line with the interest of the godfather, this is to sustain the political relationship of godfatherism. a study by chukwuma (2008:87), disclosed that the politics of godfatherism has a negative implication on the political arrangement of nigeria and the citizens. certainly, the right to select an aspirant of their choice to rule them is run-down given the conditions in which godfathers are the deciders of who is to contest or imposed candidates of their desire on the general individuals in the society. this is, to say the smallest and actual aggression to the faiths of democratic rule. politics of godfathers in the nigerian states are not simple sponsors of political campaigns, rather they are people whose influence stems not just from wealth but from their capacity to organize violence and corruption to manipulate central, state or local political schemes in support of the candidates they champion. a study by oluloyo (2014:3), observed that godfather request a considerable grade of control over the government not in order to support or form government policy, but to extract direct financial return in the form of government resources stolen by their politicians or gave to them as further opportunities for the implant. the over-concentration of influence, wealth and power of politicians describes the ascent for the regulating of the political structures and institutions by the ruling class in society. however, the struggle and the resulting standards have impacted significantly on society in various way. in the present emerging democratic practice, the power struggles among the members of the ruling class have given rise to violence in different forms and digress. in a related opinion study by ohiole & ojo (2016:10-11), revealed that nigeria politics has been characterized by godfatherism, religious and tribal politics, money-bag politics, regionalism, and party politics. ohiole & ojo (2016:11), added that political godfatherism is based on political substitution relating to financial and moral aid where the godfather is the main donor and the godson the primary receiver, as a result, the common people are being destabilized with no dividend of democracy. meanwhile, godfather has endangered the existence copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 16 of nigeria nascent democratic practice. for instance, the illegal removal of oyo state governor ladoja in 2006 lead to political uncertainty in the state. in a related development oviasuyi (2009:74), showcased that there has been a lot of calamities in nigerian politics and administrative crisis of self-assurance in the chosen legislatures, a loss of faith in the democratic rule and a rising deterrent at government, also, a rising frustration at the insignificance individual's vote in the political development. all these catastrophes are disasters prompted by the unholy association of godfatherism, that believe in the power of incumbency and influence in the nation. according to (aderonke, awosika, & olanrewaju, 2013:71) politics of godfatherism is not a new phenomenon in the political movements of nigeria. it has only assumed a new system, under the present republic of democratic governance.partly because the nigerian economy is at the primitive stage of wealth accumulation by the politicians and commissioned representatives with little or no productive capacities. in nigeria, it is thought that politics is the only way of achieving state resources. however, it is understood that politics of godfatherism and politics of godson has become the prevailing feature explaining the modern politics in nigeria. the role of a political miracle has impacted on the body politics of the state virtues which are now a possible menace to the state democracy and democratic development (aderonke, awosika, & olanrewaju, 2013:71). nigeria joined the comity of democratically governed countries, it has continued to experience an unmatched rise in political wildness ranging from an increases crime tendency, political killing, armed robbery, and religious riots because of the crisis that arose between godfather and godson (ohiole & ojo, 2016:2). this crisis has affected the socio-economic and political development of the country. for instance, a study by ukhun (2004:16) unveiled that most of the contestant work with the godfather's instructions, they cannot execute any important project without the opinion of the godfathers. this affects the socioeconomic development of the state. for example, if the godfathers sponsor a candidate into an elective position, such as governor, or president, then he has the power and right to recommend for the post of commissioners or ministers for a political position into the cabinet and to request for exaggerated contracts, and if he refuse to comply with the godfathers request than problem would emerge. the present trend of politics of godfatherism is not only a threat to nigerian political culture, orientation and socialization, but also to the nigerian legal system since there are glaring abuses, confusion, manipulation and widening gap in the constitutional interpretation and adherence with provisions of the political parties among nigerian politician, particularly the legislators at the federal and states levels, who have now established a political market for politics of godfatherism based on personal interests hinged on flimsy political excuses (ali & isah, 2018:129). the coming of godfatherism demonstrated a great peril not only to good governance but also to the socio-economic development and firmness democratic rules. feasibly, one of the most alarming and destructive effects of godfatherism in nigeria’s fourth republic is the area of making nonsense of a truly free, fair and credible electoral process in which the voters by right are anticipated to freely elect people of their choice into public office to represent their right and interests (nkwede, ibeogu, & nwankwo, 2014). 11. findings from the available literature reviewed, the study found that the truth is that most honest, accountable and dedicated political aspirants in nigeria are not financially buoyant they are not influential and did not possess the financial capacity to compete and win in the primary election and proceed in the general election. a study by adeoye (2009), noted that most of the party aspirants are hiding under the canopy of political godfathers in order to win the election. though the introduction of money-politics into nigeria political system gave birth to the politics of godfatherism, since then the politics of godfatherism became very strong and effective in influencing the political arrangement of the nation. because of this, the relationship between the godfather and the godson is based on political agreement (reciprocal relationship). because this mutual agreement and reciprocal relationship most of the political godfathers are ready and willing to sponsor a candidate that will dance to their tone by fulfilling all the agreement? this finding is in line with the statement of the elite theory which beliefs in power control within a certain group of people. in view of this, those contenders that are desperate for power had to pledge cooperation of the political godfather for a definite delightful ticket or else they would not have the ticket to contest for any political post (adeoye, 2009:270). according to (aderonke awosika, & olanrewaju, 2013:74). politics of godfatherism and political struggle have become the central attribute portraying nigerian politics these days. in line with the above finding, a study by olarinmoye (2008:69) revealed that: one thing with politics is that you must believe in godfatherism. if you did not believe in it, you would not be in daddy's place," reverend jolly nyame, the governor of the taraba state, told nigeria's the sun newspaper. he then added that "whether you like it or not, as copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 17 a godfather you will not be a governor, you will not be a president, but you can make a governor, you can make a president." “i am the greatest godfather in nigeria because this is the first time an individual single-handedly put in position every politician in the state. based on the above finding coker (2004), mourned that “godfathers of nigeria politics have always used their influence, power, positions, and resources for their personal gain to the disadvantage of the poor masses (electorates) to influence the political arrangement in the favour of their aspirants. the study further found that the politics of godfatherism leads to intra and inter-party defections among politicians. it is clear in all the intra-party conflicts and inter-party defections in nigeria are not limited a single politician has shown an express concern about the current security challenges and provision of social amenities in his or her constituency, local, state, and or the federation. this depicts the politicians’ primary concern and interest in electoral victory, continued political accommodation and relevance, and control over public resources (ali & isah, 2018). the study also found that the nature of establishing and operations and character of the nigerian political parties is generally not strong, disjointed, nonideological and twisted towards only winning the election at all cost and gain control of political and economic powers of the state. this is mostly accomplished through the influence of godfathers at the expense of the citizens. and, at the expense of other strategic functions of political parties in a stable and enduring democratic situation. the nigerian political parties are neither strong nor ideological in content and character. any political and party system without strong and ideological political parties can hardly achieve the objectives of democracy (okonkwo & unaji, 2016;ali & isah, 2018:128). 12. recommendations to minimize the effect of politics of godfatherism on nigerian socio-economic development. the study made the following recommendations as recognized by (bernard, 2009). he suggested that these factors must be considered to shorten these unlawful political acts (as cited in alabi & tunde, 2013:19):  all political godfatherism should be cast off and strengthened democratic institution to avoid politics of godfatherism of central government policies and programmes in order to inform the citizens on the significance of contributing in the election, and citizen consciousness should arise on demanding a good response from the ruling class.  the study recommended that all political parties should accept the principles of direct primary elections at all level of governance, this would give room for every interested inhabitant to contest and participate in politics.  there is a need for massive political enlightenment campaigns to educate the general populous on the negative effect of political godfatherism on the political development of the nation. this will help in minimizing the problems of political godfathers.  independent national electoral commission (inec) should accept the use of electronic voting for all elections in the nation to limit electoral cheat this will reduce the elections rigging and will as well encourages the interested candidates to vie for any position of his or her choice.  there is a need for increased confidence in the duly elected officials and increase faith in the democratization process.  the impression of paying a large amount as allowances and salaries to elected political leaders should be stopped, this is to discourage the godfathers and those politicians that are contesting for money sake. this will make all elective positions in the nigeria context unattractive.  to avoid confusion and misleading of the electorates or the voters, all political parties should positively stipulate time and venues for the primary election.  it is, therefore, suggested that godfatherism should not be treated as a party affair, but should be offered political, social and legal treatment by the government and the stakeholders in the state.  electorates should be allowed to vote for the preferred candidates during elections without pressure by political monsters who are part of the devices of godfatherism.  power of incumbency should be controlled by employing provisional government in place of incumbent president, governor and local government chairmen shortly before the beginning of the next elections campaign. this will limit the practice whereby the public office holders oversee over the elections in which they are contesting and collaborate with godfathers to rig the election outcomes.  all political party should make the price of nomination forms affordable, this would create an avenue for the masses to contest in their various constituencies, local government, state as well as the federal level.  the electoral law should lay stress on appropriate conduct of primary elections into various positions to improve the rights of the voters in the choice of their aspirants or representatives. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 18 13. conclusion this paper concluded that the politics of godfatherism has affected the socio-economic development of nigeria. however, it is obvious that the politics of godfatherism is not a new phenomenon in the history of nigerian democracy. the study noted that politics of godfatherism is affecting the socio-economic development of the nation negatively, by influencing the elections result in the favour of their contenders that would dance to their tune after the election by awarding them with contract and appointment to give to their friends and relatives at the expense of the masses (electorates). the effects of godfatherism are visible and featuring on the people face. this has changed into a hydra-headed monster as observed by aderonke, awosika, & olanrewaju (2013:74), which explained that if nothing is done on the politics of godfatherism in this nation can shorten the hard-gotten democracy. the study further expressed that nigerian politics characterize with these types of godfathers: most especially those who serve others, those who expect the society to serve them, and even those who channel their resources into criminal activities. the paper completed that politics of godfatherism has become a social phenomenon that has entered the hook and crannies of every state and has dominated the political settings of the nation. this paper concludes by knowing the inevitability of godfathers in politics but there is a need for appropriate supervision of godfather/godson relationship. references adamu s. 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(2018). important things about qualitative research. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 39 multimedia aided language teaching: an ideal pedagogy in the english language teaching of bangladesh md. kawser ahmed 1 1 assistant professor, department of english, z. h. sikder university of science & technology, bangladesh correspondence: department of english,z. h. sikder university of science & technology, madhupur, kartikpur, bhedergonj, shariatpur, bangladesh, email: kawser.zhsust@gmail.com, tel: +8801751539582 to cite this article: ahmed, m. k. (2018). multimedia aided language teaching: an ideal pedagogy in the english language teaching of bangladesh. american international journal of social science research, 3(1), 39-47. retrieved from https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr/article/view/220 received: december 2, 2018 accepted: december 10, 2018 online published: december 20, 2018 abstract teaching english language around the globe is not only concentrated on grammars, series of writings and face to face interviews through conventional style but also centralized on the modern equipment, information and technology. day to day updated accessories have made a tremendous progress in the pedagogy of english and ensured maximum benefits and acceptability among teachers and learners simultaneously. observing the global usability and frequency, english language has appeared as a technology-but not as a language only but also as a channel of communication and language teaching. application of multimedia in teaching-learning of english has earned best appreciation at any level of education and students have found english as an easy means of communication, conversation and interact with teachers with the blessing of multimedia and updated materials of language teaching. on the contrary, it is pitiful to observe that unavailability of modern accessories and elements in teaching english shows the namesake picture of multimedia used in third world countries especially in bangladesh. this paper will focus on the significant progresses in the application of multimedia; take up of class with the aid of modern equipment and practical scenario of the use of multimedia in schools, colleges and universities of bangladesh where multimedia based classroom is getting popular between teachers and students equally. keywords: accessories, multimedia, pedagogy, technology, scenario 1. introduction multimedia based teaching-learning at any layer of education like primary education, secondary education and tertiary education is a very frequent and familiar concept. especially the application of multimedia aided classroom can be found in university education, private schools at city environment and english medium schools of bangladesh. with the progress of modern technology, educational institutes are getting oriented to technology based teaching-learning system. “multimedia is the exciting combination of computer hardware and software that allows you to integrate video, animation, audio, graphics, and test resources to develop effective presentations on an affordable desktop computer” (susikaran, 2015). the term ‘multimedia’ refers to compute or laptop, overhead projector (ohp), speaker and other related tools and cables which are considered precondition to operate these electronic devices in a real life classroom. “several trends seem to be emerging. computers are becoming increasingly available in schools around the globe. governments, teachers and parents are advocating the networking of these computers, and making long-range plans for their use all levels of education. new demands are then being made on teachers to use the technology creatively, leading to a steep rise in the membership of relevant mailing lists and the number of available internet training courses for teachers” (teeler and gray, 2000). technology is a strong determiner in the way of implementing multimedia and its tools in a language classroom. the concept of multimedia is not impractical and far cry topic in the education system of bangladesh. rather it has a positive impact in the modernization of education, digitization www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 40 of learning system and facilitation of teaching methodology. “application of information and communication technology (icts) is an open field, carrying inherent traits similar to any other innovation in serving the needs of citizenry. the initiatives by undp and usaid supported access to information (a2i) programme aims to make teaching and learning more effective and enjoyable for both students and teachers using icts” (access to information (a2i), prime minister’s office of bangladesh, 2014). access to information (a2i) has made a tremendous revolution in the materialization of information and communication technology for the greater interest of teachers and students who have been accustomed to adapting to the use of technology and its tools for the purpose of education. “establishment of smart classrooms (multimedia classroom or mmc), which started with 7 schools and 23 teachers in 2010, sought to reform the teacher-centric system into more oriented towards motivating students to engage in classrooms. in the second phase, a private sector company came forward to establish these classrooms in a few hundred secondary schools. the most remarkable transformation was empowerment of teachers who were trained to create multimedia content independently, rather than depending on curriculum and multimedia experts” (access to information (a2i), prime minister’s office of bangladesh, 2014). now we need to make the realization of reality, conceptualization of the actual context of bangladesh and presentation of authentic picture of the application of multimedia in the arena of teaching-learning in bangladesh. bangladesh is one the low-mid income bracketed countries of the world where meeting up of basic needs for the mass people is still the major challenge. a large of number of people stay below the poverty line, get deprived of modern medical facilities and remain unemployed after the completion of graduation. the growing population within the small scaled land is experiencing the political instability, social vices and religious conflicts. this paper will concentrate on application of multimedia in language teaching of bangladesh, practicable impediments in the way of materialization of technology oriented classroom and informational analysis to have an overall glimpse of teaching-learning in bangladesh. 2. multimedia oriented language teaching: an overview in the context of bangladesh the present age is marked with massive development of information and communication technology (ict) and teaching of language to the learners in english as second language (esl) context is a vibrant and most rated topic. the initiation of multimedia to the language teaching in bangladesh is not very far distant. bangladesh is still in the beginning level to implement the concept of multimedia wholeheartedly and it is going through a series of upheavals in the fullest application of this newly fixed concept. teachers and students are very used to adapting with equipment of multimedia and they do not find multimedia as a good way of teaching english as a second language. like other languages, english comprises of four skills such as reading, writing, listening and speaking. in every single skill, there is a great scope for teachers and students to use electronic devices like computer, overhead projector (ohp) and speaker in classroom. students will have real life learning from visual presentation of topic, they will be able to listen to what video materials are played on and read out in chorus reading passages or reading articles presented by course teacher. technology can have a great role in the way english is taught and in the way a student learns. it can nurture interaction and motivation among students in various ways that a class taught without technology could not do it simply (boles, 2011). since bangladesh has to maintain criteria and conditions of global language teaching patterns and methods, it attempts certain measures to make classroom decorated with modern amenities like internet access inside and outside of campus of university, wi-fi facility for students working in language lab, preparing power point presentation through computer and word processing for submitting assignment. teachers and students are getting adjusted into web based education especially at university education where four skills are taught as mandatory for the incumbent graduates. evans (2009) found that forty-eight percent school kids who were between age group eleven and fourteen expressed that computer motivated them to do their schoolwork. this picture is significantly seen among the young learners who are very accustomed to using computer and they try out to complete their homework through computer. information and communication technology (icts) creates a great enthusiasm among learners not only they play games, listen to songs and watch movies, but also they are able to draw pictures, insert table for school works and write in word page for academic purposes. students can hear conversation by which they will be able to get the manner of pronunciation, teacher can show students a demonstration of pair discussion or dialog and students might be motivated for simulation where they will make it live discussion before other students. in fact most of the universities especially private universities of bangladesh are greatly using icts for english language teaching and they arrange audio and video materials for students. almost every private university of bangladesh has separate english language institute, lab or center for students can have more familiarization with english language and they can learn english with the aid of speaker, high definition video clip and projection on screen. the historical background of language gets broken down and teachers inspire students to prepare, practice and produce their presentation through projector. passey et al. (2004) investigate that information and communication technology positively makes an impact on the motivation of learning for both boys and girls. the study also showed that boys have made the study habit www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 41 from ‘burst’ to a more productive and time invested, ‘persistent’ approach. it is softly understood that the success rate of icts within the classroom depends greatly on how they are applied within the curriculum. language teaching and technology of bangladesh are in a simultaneous position. language teachers focus on the presentation of topic like linguistics and its various elements through power point presentation because it ensures credibility and acceptability among learners. teachers discuss the topic initially to students and they are invited to watch what has been discussed before students. since learners have the blend of conceptual knowledge and video performance based upon certain topic, their learning becomes authentic and solid because they find a good match between what thought is discussed in theory and how they need to be done in practice. it can be said that most of the bangladeshi language classrooms are modernized with multimedia accessories where students can have more participatory learning and they can have a wide scope of demonstrating power. in addition, government of bangladesh has political manifesto that by 2021 in every sector including education will be digitized. teaching especially pedagogy of teaching-learning will be made with curriculum of latest syllabus and multimedia oriented. how to learn a foreign language, literature, culture, history and society is a major concern of educationists especially language experts. they organize seminars, workshops and conferences thinking about the pedagogical strategies and outlining pragmatic steps in which english can be taught in an effective manner. the education system of bangladesh is branched into different segments where we find mainstream education like bengali medium, english medium and madrasah education (based in religious concepts) and sub stream education system like vocational and technical education. considering the total participation of students involved in education, majority belong to the mainstream education and a small scale of students is getting involved in sub stream education. private schools, colleges and universities are getting fast in comparison with public schools, colleges and universities regarding the application of multimedia in classroom because private educational institutes have self-finance where public educational institutes are subject to getting funds meeting up bureaucratic complexity. language teachers of private institutes have a great scope to conduct class with the aid of multimedia, demonstration of theoretical topic and relevancy of video materials which make teaching-learning easy for students. the scenario of language classroom of bangladesh is that teacher comes inside class with laptop and projector and teacher makes a power point presentation wherever it requires. in place of conventional method of teaching-learning, students are more inclined to receive knowledge on four skills with audio-visual system for it ensures compact style of teaching. in a word, it is meant that english language teaching has earned its effectiveness with the aid of multimedia. 3. review of literature researches and articles are abundantly found on the application of multimedia in the elt classroom. many linguists, elt practitioners and professionals have talked much on multimedia and they have chalked out for what reasons teachers should take up classes with the aid of multimedia. a number of literatures related to this topic have been reviewed in this article: kern and warschauer (2000:13) point out that: “if our is to help students enter into new authentic discourse communities, and if those discourse communities are increasingly located online, then it seems appropriate to incorporate online activities for their social utility as well as for their perceived particular pedagogical value”. the statement emphasizes on authentic teaching materials which can be taught via technology and this sort of educational technology complements social needs and teaching and learning activities. meskil (2005:33) outlines two aspects of technology highlighting two implications: “like other human tools, computers can be used to assemble, construct, attach, detach disassemble, connect and fashion products. like other tools their use influences the ways we think, behave and communicate”. computers are largely used in language classroom for many different purposes that are used for real life classroom and they can make a good influence in the same way what human brains perceive and interact with others. “the multimedia language labs and multimedia-based network system provide authentic and native english listening and speaking environment and enable students to have more opportunities of practicing their listening and speaking in class and out of class. the multimedia teaching software, which is well designed and featured as the various types of authentic english materials, is now commonly used as the major teaching tool during the process of listening and speaking teaching in china. the teachers act as the designer, organizer and coordinator for students’ listening and speaking activities in class and out of class. the students are no longer the “taperecorder”. instead, they become active listeners and interpreters who are supposed to conduct a series of listening and speaking activities” (xian tang, 2011). the statement sums up that multimedia ensures authenticity in english language teaching and learning and creates a native like environment where students feel comfortable in mutual interaction and listening to audio track. in multimedia based education, teachers facilitate students in utilizing technological aides like educational software for elt purposes. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 42 technology education includes four distinct but interrelated strands: technological literacy, technological awareness, technological capability, and information technology (ase, 1988).  technological literacy is defined as familiarity with the content and methodologies of a range of technologies.  technological awareness means awareness of the personal, moral, social, ethical, economic and environmental implications of technological developments.  technological capability means the ability to tackle a technological problem, both independently and in co-operation with others.  information technology means competence and confidence in the technological handling of information (layton, 1993). 4. multimedia aided language teaching in bangladesh: visible limitations it is beyond doubt that information and communication technology (ict) and multimedia have brought about radical developments in the english language teaching of bangladesh. teachers can show conjugation of verb and subject verb agreement through colorful slides, play audio file or video clip to make learners understand about exact pronunciation and show written documents or compositions like paragraph, essay and report writing with a detailed step out. despite having all of the blessings of multimedia based teaching-learning, bangladesh is suffering from a series of visible limitations in the proper implementation in this regard. following are a set of mostly found limitations in the way of implementing multimedia oriented class in english language teaching: 4.1 deficit of budget and limitation of resources since multimedia requires a set of devices like computer, laptop, overhead projector, interactive white board (iwb) and other essential tools, educational institutes cannot manage these products because of shortage of budget and other financial crises. the percentage of budget allocated for modern language classroom remains beyond reach. it is known to all that most of the educational institutes especially schools and colleges are set up in rural and suburb environment. students studying in these institutes come from poor family and thus they cannot maintain tuition fees and educational expenses which obstruct the flow of money to particular schools. as a result, authority of those schools cannot manage fund to purchase expensive multimedia devices for english language teaching. for conducting a standard language, school authority needs to manage fifty computers for conducting language class and training them up with basic skills. “critics of iwbs worry about the amount of money they cost. there is some concern, too, about the fact that currently most iwbs are at the front of the classroom and thus tend to promote teacher (and learner)-fronted behaviours, and are less favourable for groupwork” (harmer, 2001). it can be understood what harmer (2001) would like to talk about the price concern regarding these costly accessories. 4.2 shabbiness in infra-structural establishments: in the context of bangladesh, multimedia is still a fantasy scheme because a large number of educational institutes have poor infra-structural set ups. since these institutes are established in rural environment and marginal point of country, modern english language teaching methodology is an impossible concept. educational institutes do not have socket point, plug in point, white board, projector screen and sufficient length of cables. teachers are unable to keep laptops and projectors in suitable locations. in addition, there is a good scope of being stolen of these expensive accessories which result in a classroom without having multimedia classroom. 4.3 power crisis and lack of constant electricity supply: power crisis is one of the acute problems in the teaching of english language among bangladeshi learners through multimedia. if we make a statistical analysis that fifty percent of total population is within the reach of power facility (economic studies of bangladesh, 2017-1018). educational institutes having electric connection heavily suffer from frequent load shedding and low voltage which in turn brings about nothing to be displayed or monitored on projector screen. learners sitting in language classroom and lab feel bored when there is a disruption in smooth power operation and they feel ‘loss of interest’ in learning language. in the village environment, the rural electrification board of bangladesh (reb) cannot suffice huge needs of power for operating multimedia. 4.4 poor network and slow internet speed: internet is perhaps the easiest and most reliable source to collect information, aggregate concepts on different areas of language and assimilate for better presentation among learners. in fact internet unbounds huge scopes for facilitating teaching-learning in language classroom. one of the advantages of using computers and the internet is that students can access the material and practice a lesson repeatedly, which allows for learning from mistakes through continual, non-judgmental feedback. in addition, the internet and school-safe social networking websites enable students of different cultures and languages to connect (butler-pascoe and hufstedler, 2010). all of the step by step procedures are accomplished in power point presentation sheet and teachers work to draw students’ attention to study through preparing slides and showing animated clip. the internet is a key tool for accommodating all of the variations that confront the english language teacher. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 43 engaging students with multi-media websites that stir the imagination enables the teacher to present information in unique ways, shapes and forms, as well as in different languages (butler-pascoe and hufstedler, 2010). it is pitiful to see that bangladesh is suffering from poor networking of internet and subsequently slow speed of internet results in sloth in education especially gathering information regarding listening and speaking inside classroom. from a recent study done by the dhaka tribune one of the english dailies of bangladesh, bangladesh is ranked 120 th among 122 countries in terms of mobile internet speed on global mobile and fixed broadband internet speed. the broadband speed of bangladesh has shown a comparatively better performance; the country stands at 78 among 133 countries. furthermore, the average download speed offered by mobile internet services in bangladesh is 5.17 mbps, while it is 15.91 mbps in broadband connections. the picture of internet speed and performance is not in a steady state and for this reason language teachers cannot organize their lesson plan and course manual in an effective way because most of the books and materials of language teaching are expensive and beyond purchase capability. 4.5 unavailability of well-trained up teachers for smooth operation: bangladesh is one of the fewest countries where elt teachers can engage themselves in teaching position without having prior adequate training, classroom experience and follow up of effective policy regarding teaching language. basing upon only university education and theoretical knowledge, elt teachers get into the realm of teaching language which gradually brings about nothing positive in effective classroom. since these teachers do not have pre-service experience in language teaching, they do not know how to take class with full access of multimedia. a great number of fresh graduates feel nerving and diseasing when they find multimedia accessories like laptop, overhead projector (ohp) and speaker by which teachers are subject to conduct to class incessantly. inability to operate multimedia causes failure in language teaching-learning in english language in bangladesh. it can easily be understood that application of multimedia and english language teaching are closely tied to each other. jonasses (2000) defined multimedia as the use of different means which include text, movie clips, audio recording and graphics to communicate through the aid of computer systems. the focus of assimilating multimedia into the teaching-learning process refers to the dates back to the 1950s when few classrooms were equipped with phonograms and broadcasts recordings (mudge, 1999). in the context of language teaching, the use of multimedia has become one of the basic skills that an individual must possess today for effective operation of class. in fact, multimedia has changed the nature of education and language learning in all of the aspects (rubin, 1987). from the discussion mentioned above, we can come to a good term that an elt teacher needs to have a strong knowledge in fair conducting of multimedia. teaching-learning except having multimedia will show us fragility of language teaching and incompleteness in a wide variety linguistic elements like phonetics, sound patterns and sound features, intonation, stress marking and rhythm in speech. the application of multimedia in an efl setting has turned the classroom into a more ‘’dynamic’’ and interactive place in an article published by amine, benachaiba, and guemide (2012). they in fact concentrated on investigating the consensus of the positive impact of multimedia on language pedagogy. the paper also suggested the use of multimedia for the extraordinary benefits they carry into the classroom. it outlined that multimedia nurtures students’ interests in a given field. 5. methodology i have conducted a qualitative research to get an authentic picture whether multimedia based english language teaching will be effective and relevant in the perspective of bangladesh. my research attempt was a sample in which i tried to find out teachers’ impression towards multimedia oriented classroom, what they felt about the application of modern equipment in the realm of language teaching and how they overcame the situation when they faced any obstacle while conducting class through technology in the low mid income country like bangladesh. 6. participants to make my qualitative research, i met thirty teachers of which eight teachers were from primary and secondary education, seven teachers from intermediate or college level education and fifteen teachers from university education of bangladesh. one of the significant aspects of this research was that they taught english as a subject in schools and colleges and taught english as a language in two different public universities of bangladesh who had specialization on english language teaching (elt). it would be worthwhile to mention that university teachers were more adjusted to taking classes in multimedia environment than school and college teachers because english teaching in university received special attention and teachers were supposed to teach students different aspects of language like pronunciation, distinctive sound features and critical discussion and presentation of literary texts and theories. on the contrary, teachers of english at school and college of bangladesh taught students how to go through passage or reading comprehension, discussion of grammars and recitation of rhymes or poems through power point projection and electronic devices in a real life classroom. the background of teachers was relevant to mention because it would make us understand how much they coped up with the newly adopted language teaching pattern breaking the conventional methodology of english www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 44 language teaching in bangladesh. most of the school teachers were graduate or degree pass holders in different disciplines rather than in english and all of the college and university teachers of master degree or phd holders in specific field of education like english language and literature were from native university and foreign university. some university teachers had degree or special training in tesl (teaching english as a second language)/tefl (teaching english as a foreign language) where they were previously accommodated with modern technology like multimedia in classroom. 7. procedures as a part of this qualitative research, i presented my interest that i needed their impressions and reactions regarding the application of technology based language teaching in the context of bangladeshi english language scenario. initially, i showed a questionnaire furnished with five different questions which reflect how teachers work effectively with the aid of multimedia and where they face possible obstacles as the concept of multimedia based language teaching is not familiar to the language teachers of bangladesh. they were asked to give their judicious answer in line with setting question reflecting actually how they take classes and how their students are benefitted attending classes in such a multimedia decorated classroom. acceptance of multimedia based classroom varies because learners of different age groups are involved and they express their divided impressions regarding this newly adopted teaching concept. a set of questions set in questionnaire will be discussed in the section of result of this paper to have a realistic picture of multimedia based classroom. 8. results of the study 8.1 do language teachers use multimedia in the real life classroom environment? figure-1 shows that 46.67 percent elt teachers possess sufficient knowledge in conducting class with the aid of multimedia, 23.33 teachers have moderate capacity to conduct a class with multimedia equipped, 13.33 percent teachers think they do not have enough knowledge in multimedia furnished class, 10 percent teachers express that they have poor familiarization with the multimedia oriented class and 6.67 percent teachers express no sense of interest in using multimedia based class effectively. 8.2 do students face obstruction in learning english as second language (esl) through multimedia? www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 45 figure-2 explains 43.33 percent teachers say students have easiness in teaching-learning of english with the aid of multimedia, 13.33 percent teachers say students face few obstructions when they take class with multimedia technology, 26.67 percent teachers say that students do not face any kind of obstruction in learning english when they are in multimedia oriented classroom. on the contrary, 6.67 percent teachers think students support traditional pattern of classroom instead of multimedia classroom and 10 percent teachers say students have no any saying about multimedia oriented classroom. 8.3 do teachers think multimedia gives a sufficient breakthrough to the traditional language teaching-learning in bangladesh? figure-3 demonstrates 56.67 percent teachers say multimedia gives a strong breakthrough to the traditional language teaching-learning in bangladesh. on the other hand, 20 percent teachers say multimedia does not have any impact upon traditional language teaching. 13.33 percent teachers opine that multimedia gives a moderate breakthrough against traditional elt in bangladesh. against this scenario, 6.67 percent teachers say multimedia poses a little impact on conventional system of teaching and 3.33 percent teachers show sense of indifference in this regard. 8.4 are teachers comfortable with the application of multimedia in english language teaching? www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 46 figure-4 shows 40 percent teachers are comfortable and adjusted with multimedia system in elt. conversely, 26.67 percent teachers say that they are not entirely comfortable with multimedia system in elt, 16.67 percent teachers say they are only adjusted with conventional system in elt. 10 percent teachers say they do not have any kind of good impression regarding elt in bangladesh and 6.67 percent teachers tell they have no interest about multimedia system in the sphere of teaching-learning of bangladesh. 8.5 is multimedia as practicable and pragmatic concept in the english language teaching arena of bangladesh? figure-5 demonstrates that 53.33 percent teachers agree that multimedia is practicable and pragmatic in elt of bangladesh, 20 percent teachers say that multimedia is moderately or partially practicable and pragmatic in the context of bangladesh. on the other hand, 16.67 percent teachers say that the concept of multimedia is not entirely practicable and pragmatic for many reasons and that is why 6.67 percent teachers talk about drawbacks of multimedia, while 3.33 percent teachers remain neutral in making comments in this regard. 9. limitations of the study i faced a number of significant barriers when i conducted this qualitative research on getting what teachers feel about multimedia in elt classroom and they showed tone of indifference to my work. subsequently, i was able to manage them to support me to conduct my work for good output. it is relevant to confess that i made my research work upon 30 teachers only of which 7 from school level, 8 from college level and 15 from university or tertiary level education of bangladesh. i think it would be better, more effective and more acceptable if i found more participants in my research work because it would ensure more authenticity and relevancy. in my research work, there is one determiner that teachers showed a sense of indifference to my question. it would be more effective, if they gave their comments to my questionnaire and made my work qualitative. in addition, the number of questions set in questionnaire was sufficient and more questions needed to be set in this regard. 10. conclusion the concept of multimedia in english language teaching (elt) is a mile stoning and significant as teachers and students have positive impression and they look for such kind of teaching-learning which will go in terms of the needs and necessities of language teaching. it can be said that teaching-learning has become easier and more understandable with computer-based presentation technology because it has the combination of textual presentation in line with technological assistances. since the whole world becomes a global village and english language teaching-learning becomes flourished with modern technology, bangladesh is subject to move with the pace of present age marked as ‘information and communication technology’. from primary to university education, we can find a wide availability and utility of the application of multimedia, its accessories and essential scopes in elt of bangladesh. modernization with technological materials, decoration with electronic devices and furnish with necessary equipment of classroom are the indication that traditional method english language teaching in bangladesh is going through a number of significant changes. political anarchy, limitation of financial resources, constraints of assets and adaptation with change and suitability with time are major obstacles in the way of implementation of ideal pedagogy-multimedia aided language teaching in the context of bangladesh. references amin, b., benachaiba, c., & guemide, b. (2013). using multimedia to motivate students in efl classrooms: a case study of english master's students as jijel university, algeria. malaysian journal of distance education, 14(2), 63-81. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 47 baker, r., minh do, d. and mailand, s. (2015). the use of technology to enhance english language (esl) teaching. worcester polytechnic institute in cooperation with the caritas institute of higher education. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/project boles, s. r. (2011, summer). using technology in the classroom. science scope, 34(9): 39. educational technologies for english language learners, (2010). center for digital education. www.centerdigitaled.com evans, m. (2009). foreign-­‐language learning with digital technology. london: continuum. ferry, b. and brown, c. (1995). technology in teacher education: using multimedia to enhance the design and make processes. vol. 20, no. 2. university of wollongong harmer, j. (2001). the practice of english language teaching. essex: longman group uk ltd. mcdonough, j., shaw, c. and masuhara, h. (2013). materials and methods in elt: a teacher’s guide. willey blackwell. nunan, d. (1999). second language teaching and learning. boston, ma: heinle & heinle. nunan, d. (2003). the impact of english as a global language on educational policies and practices in the asia--‐pacific region. tesol quarterly, 37(2), 589-613. parveen, r. (2013). ict in education: issues in using computer and multimedia in the classroom context of model primary schools in bangladesh. bangladesh reading association (bra) journal for classroom teaching passey, d., rogers, c., machell, j., and mchugh, g. (2004). the motivational effects of ict on pupils. london, uk: dfes. prime minister’s office. (2010). a brief on strategic priorities of digital bangladesh. access to information. dhaka: government of bangladesh. www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd prime minister’s office. (2014). ict in education. access to information. dhaka: government of bangladesh. www.a2i.pmo.gov.bd proenglish. (2014). official english in the world. retrieved on december 13, 2014, from https://www.proenglish.org/official--‐english/official--‐english--‐around--‐the-‐world.html s. lin and x. huang (eds.): study on the application multimedia in english language teaching. csee 2011, part iv, ccis 217, pp. 293–297, 2011. © springer-verlag berlin heidelberg 2011 susikaran, r.s.a. (2015). the use of multimedia in english language teaching. journal of technology for elt. warschauer, m. and kern, r. (2000). network-based language teaching: concepts and practice. cambridge university press copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 66 poverty in nigeria: a social protection framework for the most vulnerable groups of internally displaced persons emmanuel okokondem okon 1 1 department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria correspondence: department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria, e-mail: tonydom57@yahoo.com. tel: +2348023275716 received: january 12, 2018 accepted: january 17, 2018 online published: january 28, 2018 abstract despite strong economic growth in nigeria, 54% of the population remains in poverty. of significant concern is the fact that the poverty rate has doubled in the past 20 years. internal displacement in nigeria is a recurring and largescale phenomenon and has affected most of the country’s 36 states. the country has seen many waves of displacement, both small and large scale, caused essentially by conflict, generalized violence, natural disasters and human rights violations all leading to loss of lives, properties and livelihood which in turn lead to deprivation, poverty and vulnerability. the operational definition of vulnerability in this paper as applied to the most vulnerable idps covers those categories of internally displaced persons who may never recover from the shocks of displacement and may become chronic poor as such worsening the poverty situation in nigeria. this paper attempts a social protection framework for the most vulnerable idps as well as exit strategies. protecting this vulnerable group is vital to poverty reduction especially as the country is presently suffering the adverse effects of dwindling revenue from crude oil and gas sectors, which today accounts for about 95 per cent of its revenue. keywords: poverty, social protection framework, vulnerable group, internally displaced persons, nigeria. 1. introduction despite strong economic growth in nigeria, 54% of the population remains in poverty. of significant concern is the fact that the poverty rate has doubled in the past 20 years. nigeria is also highly unequal: the gini coefficient was 43.8 as of 2005 (ortiz and cummins, 2011). approximately 20% of the population owns 65% of the national wealth (undp, 2009). income inequality is just one dimension of poverty in nigeria. poverty and vulnerability are also highly influenced by social and other factors, including geography, ethnicity, age and gender. for instance, a low gender equality ranking reflects the inequalities in human capital, political representation and economic participation between women and men. meanwhile, with over 60% of the population below 18, children are represented disproportionately in poor households. nigeria’s under‐five mortality and maternal mortality rates for the poorest are among the highest in the world, and poverty and deprivation exacerbate child protection issues, including trafficking, prostitution and abuse (hagen-zanker and holmes, 2012).patterns of poverty vary by geographic location and are also influenced by socio-cultural and religious norms and prevalence of conflict, disaster, insurgence, terrorism and instability, as much as by economic environment. internal displacement in nigeria is a recurring and large-scale phenomenon and has affected most of the country’s 36 states. africa’s largest populated country has seen many waves of displacement, both small and large scale, caused essentially by conflict, generalized violence, natural disasters and human rights violations leading all leading to loss of lives, properties and livelihood which in turn leads to poverty and deprivation. as at the end of 2014, of the global 38 million forcefully displaced by armed conflicts and generalized violence, nigeria accounted for at least one million (nigeriabar, 2015). between july and october 2012, national emergency management agency (nema) estimated in a published report that a total of 7.7 million people were affected by the flood disaster across the federation (nigeriabar, 2015). out of the affected population, 2.1 million people were internally displaced (idps); 363 persons died and 18,282 people were treated for injuries they sustained during the www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 67 flooding. as at january 2014, about 165,000 people were displaced by both floods and conflicts in idp camps in nigeria (nigeriabar, 2015). having recognized that in nigeria and elsewhere in the world, idps are amongst the most vulnerable populations, the federal government of nigeria signed and approved the ratification of the african union (kampala convention) for the protection and assistance of idps in africa. similarly, in recent years, the government of nigeria and its development partners have sought to develop social protection instruments as a mechanism to tackle high rates of poverty and vulnerability in the country and to support progress in both the economic and the social spheres (hagenzanker and holmes, 2012). it is against this background that this paper seeks to achieve a social protection framework for the most vulnerable groups of internally displaced persons in nigeria. unicef defines social protection as “the set of public and private policies and programmes aimed at preventing, reducing and eliminating economic and social vulnerabilities to poverty and deprivation” (unicef, n.d.). social protection is essential to the realization of the rights of children, women and families to an adequate standard of living and essential services. according to bank (1997), protecting vulnerable groups during episodes of macroeconomic contraction is vital to poverty reductions in developing countries. this is essential to nigeria as the country is presently suffering the adverse effects of dwindling revenue from crude oil and gas sectors, which today accounts for about 95 per cent of its revenue. the fallen price of crude at the world market has orchestrated the devaluation of the naira and increased inflation. poverty – and its common consequences such as malnutrition, homelessness, poor housing and destitution – is a major contributor to vulnerability. however, in this paper, the term vulnerability refers to the relationship between poverty, risk, and efforts to manage risk of falling into poverty. though internally displaced persons are generally vulnerable, the operational definition of vulnerability here as applied to the most vulnerable idps covers those categories of internally displaced persons who may never recover from the severe shocks of the displacement and may become chronic poor, thus worsening the poverty situation in the country. 2. conceptualizing social protection, vulnerability and poverty social protection emerged as a critical response to the “safety nets” discourse of the late 1980s and early 1990s. ‘safety nets’ are a form of social protection which help people meet immediate basic needs in times of crisis. typical short-term goals are to mitigate the immediate impact of shocks and to smooth consumption. the world bank has a slightly different definition, which defines ‘safety nets’ as social assistance programmes (gentilini et al., 2014).in the 1990 world development report, for instance, safety nets were very much the third prong of the world bank’s three-pronged approach to “attacking poverty” (world bank, 1990), and were conceptualized as minimalist social assistance in countries too poor and administratively weak to introduce comprehensive social welfare programmes. during the 1990s, as thinking on livelihoods, risk and vulnerability, and the multi-dimensional nature of poverty became more nuanced, safety nets were increasingly criticized as residualist and paternalistic, and more sophisticated alternatives began to be proposed. at the same time, the broader potential of social protection began to be recognized, and bigger claims are now being made for what social protection can and should strive to achieve. there are two interconnected strands in this response, both linked to a concern for long-term and sustainable poverty reduction. the first links risk management explicitly with economic growth, and argues that reducing risk or protecting the poor against income and consumption variability will allow them to invest and accumulate – a “trampoline” out of poverty (world bank, 2000). despite being vigorously promoted in international development publications, this link has not yet become a key component of anti-poverty programming in practice. in low-income countries, social protection continues to be perceived by governments and donors as comprising fiscally unsustainable “consumption” transfers to the economically inactive or unproductive poor, which diverts scarce public resources from “productive” investment for economic growth, and therefore deserves lower priority as a poverty reduction tool. at the same time, most advocates of social protection do not make the second connection which we argue is of fundamental importance to long-term poverty reduction, namely the positive relationship between livelihood security and enhanced autonomy or empowerment. social protection continues to be conceptualised by development agencies mainly in terms of public responses to livelihood shocks – the conventional, narrowly specified “safety net” function. but this is “economic protection”, not “social protection”, and it is hardly socially transformative. largely missing from the world bank’s social risk management framework, for instance, is a concern for equity and social rights. it is argued that an appreciation of this second linkage can help create the policy conditions for a virtuous cycle of pro-poor growth, governance systems that are accountable and responsive to poorer as well as wealthier citizens, and an approach to development that is grounded in concerns for social equity. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 68 2.1. definitions and types some see social protection narrowly, essentially as a new label for old-style social welfare provided to the “deserving poor” (e.g. widows and orphans, or people with disabilities). many policymakers continue to equate social protection with social safety nets, or interventions that cushion the poor against production and consumption shocks, such as food aid for drought-affected farmers in subsistence-oriented communities. others adopt a very broad approach, including education and health subsidies, job creation and microcredit programmes, as well as safety nets for groups that may be vulnerable to shocks, but are not usually regarded as among the poorest strata of society. a more “political” or “transformative” view extends social protection to arenas such as equity, empowerment and economic, social and cultural rights, rather than confining the scope of social protection to targeted income and consumption transfers. however, some current definitions of social protection from policy literature as given by some agencies are stated as follows: social protection refers to the public actions taken in response to levels of vulnerability, risk anddeprivation which are deemed socially unacceptable within a given polity or society(norton et al, 2000). social protection is a collection of measures to improve or protect human capital, ranging from labor market interventions, publicly mandated unemployment or old-age insurance to targeted income support. social protection interventions assist individuals, households, and communities to better manage the income risks that leave people vulnerable(world bank, 2003).social protection is the provision of benefits to households and individuals through public or collective arrangements to protect against low or declining living standards (van ginneken, 1999).social protection is defined as the set of policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labor markets, diminishing people’s exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards and interruption/loss of income(ortiz, 2001). 2.2. types of social protection i)social assistance social assistance is direct, regular and predictable cash or in-kind resources transfers to poor and vulnerable individuals or households (arnold et al., 2011). it is usually provided by the state and financed by national taxes (barrientos, 2010). support from donors is also important in lower income contexts. transfers are non-contributory, i.e. the full amount is paid by the provider. some are targeted based on categories of vulnerability, and some are targeted broadly to low-income groups. this is the primary form of social protection available in most developing countries (barrientos, 2010). cash transfers: are direct, regular and predictable transfers that raise and smooth incomes to reduce poverty and vulnerability (arnold et al., 2011:2). unconditional cash transfers (ucts) are for the beneficiary to decide how to spend. conditional cash transfers (ccts) are given with the requirement that the beneficiary meets certain conditions – often related to human capital development, such as visiting a health clinic or ensuring children go to school. social pensions: are state pensions, a form of cash transfer targeted by age. pensions are the most common social protection tool, with the widest global coverage and often highest national spend. in-kind transfers: are economic and livelihood asset transfers to households, facilitating income generation. they tend to be larger, one-off transfers but can also be smaller, regular transfers, such as food transfers. they tend to take an integrated approach, linking the transfer with skills training and other activities (gsdrc, n.d.). school feeding: is a free nutritious meal at school – usually lunch – and sometimes take-home rations for children most in need. this is a type of in-kind assistance. these are near-universal – most countries that can afford to provide food for their schoolchildren do so (bundy et al., 2009). they help encourage parents to keep children in school (norton et al., 2001). public works programmes (pwps; or public employment programmes): provide jobs on infrastructure projects for cash or food. they are sometimes classified as labour market interventions depending on whether their function is primarily poverty alleviation, job creation, or social protection. they are politically popular although arguably inefficient (norton et al., 2001). ii) social insurance these are contributory programmes where participants make regular payments to a scheme that will cover costs related to life-course events, for example, maternity, unemployment or illness (barrientos, 2010). sometimes costs are matched or subsidised by the scheme provider. social insurance includes contributory pensions; health, unemployment, or disaster insurance; and funeral assistance (norton et al., 2001). it can be provided formally through a bank or employer, or informally through a community-based pooled fund. social insurance is strongly linked to the formal labour market, meaning coverage is often limited to formal workers. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 69 iii) labor market interventions labor market interventions provide protection for poor people who are able to work, and aim to ensure basic standards and rights (barrientos, 2010). interventions can be active or passive: active labour market policies aim to help the unemployed and the most vulnerable find jobs, through interventions such as job centers, training, and policies to promote small and medium sized enterprises. passive interventions include maternity benefits, injury compensation, and sickness benefits for those already in work, financed by the employer. passive interventions also include changes to legislation, for example establishing a minimum wage or safe working conditions. many poor people work within the informal sector, and some people with disabilities, the chronically ill and old may not be able to work at all, so labour market interventions cannot always reach them (gsdrc, n.d.). iv) traditional or informal social protection formal social protection systems do not offer complete coverage and inevitably exclude parts of the population. traditional community-based forms of social protection distribute risk within a community and fill some of the gaps left by formal interventions (norton et al., 2001). they are often self-funded, for example funeral insurance savings groups, but can be externally funded by the state or donors. formal social protection should be carefully managed to enhance, rather than disrupt, existing informal systems (harvey et al., 2007). v) other types of social protection social care and support is highly complementary to social protection, and sometimes considered to be social protection, as a form of social assistance. unicef recognises that social support helps address the interaction between social and economic vulnerability, through services such as home-based care and family support services (unicef, 2012). government or private sector subsidies are sometimes classified as social protection if they enhance access for the poor or act as safety nets. subsidies can keep prices low for basic goods and services consumed by the poor (norton et al., 2001). however, subsidies are often regressive. the middle east and north africa spend four per cent of gdp on fuel subsidies, which represents a form of social assistance, but most of the benefit goes to upper-income groups (gentilini et al., 2014). price support is state intervention to protect market prices for the goods produced by the poor, which can smooth income. there is a tendency for these temporary measures to become permanent, which institutionalizes unprofitable production (norton et al., 2001). 2.3. vulnerability and poverty oxford dictionaries (n.d.) defines vulnerability as the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. in general terms, vulnerability expresses the propensity of an element or a set of elements (organized in a system) exposed to hazards to suffer damage. in other words, vulnerability allows the assessed level of hazard to be translated into an estimated level of risk (sterlacchini, 2011). according to devereux et al (2006), a common way of conceptualizing vulnerability is to view it as a product of two components: exposure to hazard (a shock or process) and resilience, or the ability to manage the hazard. hazards could include natural shocks such as drought, or economic shocks such as currency depreciation. resilience relates to ‘coping strategies’ at the individual, household, community and group levels. people can protect themselves against the risk that a hazard will undermine their livelihood by drawing on savings, diversifying their livelihoods to spread risk, building social networks that can provide informal social assistance in times of need, and so on. when all these risk-coping mechanisms fail, people become acutely vulnerable to even minor shocks. it is important to emphasize that vulnerability and poverty are not synonymous. specifically, vulnerability is a broader concept than poverty, in at least three ways: the non-poor are also vulnerable to future poverty (some definitions of vulnerability refer to people whose income is within, say, 20 per cent of the poverty line); vulnerability incorporates various non-income aspects of ill-being, such as insecurity, social exclusion and political marginalisation, while poverty measures focus on income and assets; vulnerability is a dynamic concept, which is both forward-looking and constantly changing, while poverty is a static concept that measures proxies for wellbeing at a point in time (devereux et al, 2006). business dictionary (n.d.) defined poverty as a condition where people's basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met. poverty is generally of two types: (1) absolute poverty is synonymous with destitution and occurs when people cannot obtain adequate resources (measured in terms of calories or nutrition) to support a minimum level of physical health. absolute poverty means about the same everywhere, and can be eradicated as demonstrated by some countries. (2) relative poverty occurs when people do not enjoy a certain minimum level of living standards as determined by a government (and enjoyed by the bulk of the population) that vary from country to country, sometimes within the same country. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 70 3. literature review: objectives and impacts of social protection programmes the primary aim for most social protection programmes is to reduce poverty and vulnerability. as noted above, different stakeholders have different conceptual approaches for achieving this. there is strong evidence that social protection can have significant impacts on both poverty and vulnerability. there is evidence of the positive effects of social transfers (in particular, social pensions and cash transfers) on poverty reduction and in reaching the chronically poor (barrientos and niño-zarazúa, 2011). there is also evidence from latin america that social transfers can reduce inequality (fiszbein and schady, 2009). there is some evidence that social protection also has negative effects on poverty indicators (hagen-zanker et al., 2011). many social transfers seek to improve children’s schooling, to invest in human capital and to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty (barrientos and niño-zarazúa, 2011). impacts of social protection on schooling have included, at both primary and secondary levels, increased enrolment, attendance, better grade progression, and decreased drop-out (barrientosand niño-zarazúa, 2011). a systematic review shows that both ccts and ucts have positive effects on schooling enrolment and attendance. the effect sizes are larger for ccts than ucts, but the difference is not significant (baird et al., 2013). social protection programmes which do not focus explicitly on schooling also have positive effects, for example, pensions are often used to pay grandchildren’s school fees (barrientos and niño-zarazúa, 2011). while these immediate impacts are well-documented, there is less evidence on whether increased schooling translates into improved knowledge and educational attainment, better labour market outcomes, or an escape from chronic poverty (barrientos and niño-zarazúa, 2011). the evidence on the effectiveness of ccts and ucts on improving test scores is small at best. more research is needed that looks at longer-term outcomes (baird et al., 2013). social protection programmes can aim to improve health directly, e.g. by conditioning programmes on attendance at health services, or indirectly, e.g. through supplemented income and therefore consumption (barrientos and niñozarazúa, 2011). there is strong evidence on the positive health impacts of cash transfers and health insurance programmes, particularly on children’s and maternal health outcomes. most of the evidence comes from ccts in latin america, since these are often conditioned on health investments. many cct programmes include a number of health components, including incentivising attendance for health education, measurements of height and weight, immunisations and nutritional supplementation. ccts in latin america have had strong impacts on improving health care check-ups for children, children’s morbidity rates and immunisation, among others (barrientos and niño-zarazúa, 2011). ccts have also improved maternal health (barrientos and niño-zarazúa, 2011). a systematic review concludes that ccts appear to be effective in increasing the uptake of preventative health services, and encourage some preventative behaviours (lagarde et al., 2009). the link between ccts and health outcomes is less clear. in some cases programmes have noted improvement in health outcomes, though it is unclear to which components these positive effects should be attributed (lagarde et al., 2009). there is some evidence to suggest that mics have been more successful at meeting health needs than lics, as lics often do not have the supply capacity to meet demand (barrientos and niñozarazúa, 2011). in theory, social protection has the potential to protect or improve the nutritional status of target groups in a number of ways. improved economic status could enable households to access more nutritious diets, healthcare, and education, and to make improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene. all of these could help people remain wellnourished and to grow and develop properly. however, the evidence for the impact of social protection on nutrition remains mixed. evaluations of conditional cash transfer programmes in latin america found that some, but not all, improved child growth (i.e. height). only one looked at impact on wasting, but found no impact (lagarde et al., 2009). these studies found that the age of the child and access to health care are more important for child growth than conditionalities (manley et al., 2012). it has been suggested that ‘nudging’ beneficiaries (i.e.,emphasizing the importance of good nutrition but not attaching conditions) might be as effective. the evidence for unconditional cash transfers is also unconvincing (ruel and alderman, 2013). for example, evaluations of the ethiopian productive safety net program have repeatedly found no discernible impacts on growth or risk for wasting among children in targeted households. cash transfers, conditional and unconditional, have a slightly more positive effect on girls’ nutrition than that of boys (manley et al., 2012). there have been relatively few evaluations of the impact of food transfers on nutrition outcomes. a recent set of studies comparing food with cash transfers found variation in effect in different countries (hoddinott et al., 2013). very generally, food transfers had more of an impact on energy intake whereas cash transfers had more of an impact on dietary diversity. whilst this effect has been seen in other studies, it is not consistent in all settings and has generally not been related to subsequent changes in growth or risk of wasting. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 71 recent reviews have shown that school feeding is not an effective way of improving nutrition outcomes, primarily because it fails to target children during the first 1000 days of their development (alderman and bundy, 2012). this is widely viewed as the critical window of opportunity for preventing malnutrition. there is emerging evidence that school feeding can have a positive impact on the nutrition of younger siblings. whether this represents the most cost-effective way of achieving this outcome is debatable. schools might provide a useful platform for promoting nutrition messages and for reaching adolescent girls (bhutta et al., 2013). however, the benefits and risks of schoolbased nutrition programmes have not been tested. 4. poverty situation and vulnerability in nigeria the majority of the nigerian population lives in poverty, despite the wealth in the country. although indications that poverty may be declining (afdb et al., 2009; npc, 2010), of significant concern is that, between 1980 and 2004, both rural and urban poverty more than doubled, from 28.3% to 63.3% in rural areas and from 17.2% to 43.2% in urban areas (undp, 2009). nigeria’s national poverty line states that 54% of the 140 million population lives in poverty (approximately 75 million people) (npc, 2010), of whom 22% were defined as ‘core poor’, i.e. extremely poor in 2004 (undp, 2009). inequality in income and asset distribution, unequal access to basic infrastructure and services and social-cultural norms are key drivers of poverty, vulnerability and inequality in the country (undp, 2009). indeed, nigeria has high rates of inequality6. according to the un development programme (undp, 2009), inequality increased between 1985 and 2004 (from 43 to 49), although others suggest it has been decreasing (from 49.1 in 1990 to 43.8)7 (ortiz and cummins, 2011): overall, however, it remains high. when adjusted to reflect inequality, nigeria’s human development index value drops significantly, from 0.423 to 0.246 (undp, 2010). poverty incidence is highly correlated with educational attainment in nigeria. households headed by individuals with little or no education experience the highest poverty incidence, depth and severity (npc, 2010; ojowu et al., 2007). nigeria has made improvements in net enrolment in primary school: 9 out of 10 eligible children are now in school as a result of universal basic education (ube) interventions and enrolment in private schools (npc, 2010). however, this figure masks the fact that disadvantaged groups are still excluded and education quality remains poor: the country still has more than 7 million children out of primary school, of whom girls constitute about 62% (ibid.). it also masks attendance: the 2008 demographic health survey (dhs) shows that net attendance at primary is 62.1% (npc and icf macro, 2009). approximately 15 million children under 14 are working to support their family and pay their school fees (unicef nigeria, 2006). although nigeria’s hiv prevalence appears to have stabilised in the past 10 years, the epidemic still remains a major public health challenge. the sheer size of the population means that nigeria is second only to south africa in terms of numbers of people affected by hiv and aids. indeed, with an estimated 3.3 million people living with hiv, nigeria bears nearly 10% of the global burden of hiv (unaids, 2009). gender inequality is pervasive in nigeria (ajani, 2008). women face consistent inequalities in terms of access to and control over land, credit facilities, technologies, education and health. poverty therefore often affects women more intensely than men (social watch, 2005). in rural communities, female-headed households tend be the poorest, given cultural norms which inhibit women from inheriting land – traditionally, on the death of her husband, a widow is dispossessed of all her husband’s property (rural poverty portal, 2010). incidence of food insecurity is also higher for femalethan for male-headed households –49% compared with 38% – although women improve household food and nutrition security by spending more of their income on food (ajani, 2008). as the median age in nigeria is only 17.1 years (undp, 2010), and over 17% of the population is under the age of six (npc and icf macro, 2009), poverty has tremendous impacts on children’s protection needs. it threatens the survival of many nigerian children, reflected in high rates of child and infant mortality; high prevalence of malnutrition; and often limited educational opportunities. nigerian children are highly vulnerable to income poverty but also to a wide variety of other economic and social factors. these include urbanisation and migration; health shocks; environmental degradation; domestic violence and family fragmentation; broader societal violence and conflict; social exclusion and discrimination; harmful traditional practices based on cultural values; and orphanhood and loss of family. 4.1. internal displacement and poverty in nigeria nigeria currently has over four million internally displaced persons (idps) who have been forced to leave their communities and homes due to violent conflicts. we have the dubious distinction of being the third worst country in the world ranking of idp numbers. worldwide, the number of internally displaced persons (idps) according to international displacement monitoring centre (idmc) in 2013 stood at 33.3 million people(ibrahim, 2014). their spatial distribution shows that 63 percent of idps are located in only five countries affected by conflict – syria (6.5 million), colombia (5.7 million), nigeria, (3.3 million), the democratic republic of congo (2.7 million) and sudan (2.4 million) (ibrahim, 2014). because these figures change in response to the conflict situation within countries, the http://blogs.premiumtimesng.com/author/jibrin/ http://blogs.premiumtimesng.com/author/jibrin/ www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 72 caseload and therefore the ranking of the countries also change over time. the number of idps in nigeria has grown considerably since the 2013 estimates and is today over four million. the boko haram insurgency, conflicts with militants in the niger-delta, inter-community conflicts and cattle rustling in the north central zone (plateau, nassarawa and benue states), rural banditry in the north west as well as election related violence (kaduna, zamfara, katsina and sokoto states) kidnapping in the south east and the 2013 flooding of river benue have all conspired to provoke the displacement of millions of people from their normal places of abode. the most serious cause generating the increase of idps in the country is of course the insurgency in the north east zone. the current figure of the number of idps emanating from boko haram terrorism in the north east, according to the united nations, is 1.5 million. there has been a spike in the numbers due to increased attacks and expansion of the zone of boko haram attacks and conquest of nigerian territory over the past months (ibrahim, 2014). unicef has identified six major drivers of population movements in nigeria leading to an increased need for humanitarian aid. they are insurgency, communal conflicts, natural disasters, environmental degradation, poverty and electoral violence. the key problem in nigeria is that nothing is ever done to resettle the idps. the idps that ran from the post election violence of 2011 have not been resettled. neither have the victims of the 2013 floods. the idps from the boko haram insurgency and inter-communal conflicts continue to grow partly because nothing is done to address their long-term needs. idps live a life of misery after being uprooted from their homes and livelihoods. there are a few camps but they do not have good facilities such as rooms and toilets. most idps have to seek out friends, relations and village mates to stay with. others are dependent on religious organisations. given the general poverty in the land however, taking care of idps is a real strain on hosts and host communities. internally displaced persons have now become a part of the poverty stricken populace. social protection is essential to the realization of the rights of internally displaced persons to an adequate standard of living and essential services. 5. existing social protection policy and programmes in nigeria 5.1. social protection policy there has been a concerted effort by governments and the international community in sub-saharan africa to foster commitment to social protection within national poverty reduction agendas. this resulted in the african union’s (au’s) conference of ministers of social development adopting a social policy framework that included a minimum package of social protection in october 2008, endorsed by au heads of state in early 2009, noting that ‘social protection has multiple beneficial impacts on national economies, and is essential to build human capital, break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, and reduce the growing inequalities that constrain africa’s social and economic development’ (regional experts meeting on social protection, 2008). on this basis, au member states were called on to develop plans of action for the design and rollout of a minimum package of social protection measures. despite nigeria being a key player in the au, the country has not yet achieved this(hagen-zanker and holmes, 2012). hover, social protection policy has been discussed nationally in nigeria since 2004, when the national planning commission (npc), supported by the international community, drafted a social protection strategy. more recently, in 2009, the national social insurance trust fund (nsitf) drafted a social security strategy. however, neither strategy has generated sufficient political traction to progress past draft, despite a chapter committed to social protection in the implementation plan of nigeria’s most recent national policy document – vision 20: 2020 (hagenzanker and holmes, 2012). the draft 2004 social protection policy approached social protection using a lifecycle and gender lens (recognizing both economic and social risks including job discrimination and harmful traditional practices) and presented a social protection response organized around four main themes: social assistance, social insurance, child protection and the labour market. however, only a few components of this are included in the national implementation plan of vision 20: 2020, most notably social insurance, in the form of extending national health insurance to the informal sector; labour market programmes, including the development of labor-intensive interventions; and other social programmes, such as the provision of vitamin a supplements for children. the vision 20: 2020 objective for social protection is to ‘increase productivity and income, reduce poverty and vulnerability by diminishing people’s exposure to risk and enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards and loss of income’. specifically, it calls on social protection to contribute to reducing the poverty rate from 65% to 50% by 2013. an estimated n186 billion of social protection expenditure was proposed over the plan period (2010-2013), although it is not clear how this will be allocated within social protection or how these resources will be generated. the plan suggests that process issues will be addressed (harmonising provision, improving coordination and data management, etc.) alongside expansion of social protection provision to the informal sector, particularly through the nhis and social transfers to the most vulnerable groups (hagen-zanker and holmes, 2012). http://blogs.premiumtimesng.com/author/jibrin/ www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 73 overall, limited federal-level leadership promoting the provision of a social protection package (beyond cash transfers and health financing mechanisms) and absence of an overarching federal social protection policy or strategy are key constraints to the development and implementation of appropriate social protection mechanisms at state level. moreover, in practice, programmes have to date been based on a narrow conceptualisation of social protection (ccts and health financing mechanisms) resulting in ad hoc, small-scale and state-led programmes, with little coordination between sectors and between the state and federal level. other social assistance programmes are implemented in an ad hoc manner by a range of government ministries, departments and agencies (mdas) at state level and/or funded by international donors. these include ccts for girls’ education (in bauchi, katsina and kano, through the uk department for international development (dfid), the un children’s fund (unicef) and the world bank), a child savings account in bayelsa and a disability grant in jigawa, plus various health waivers, education support (e.g. free uniforms) and nutrition support. hiv and aids programmes at state level also include social protection subcomponents, including nutrition, health and education support. labour market programmes include federaland state-level public works programmes, agricultural subsidies/inputs and youth skills and employment programmes – but these are not necessarily targeted at the poor(hagen-zanker and holmes, 2012). a certain amount of social equity legislation has been passed, which can be seen as part of the transformative social protection agenda: the civil and political rights covenant, the economic, social and cultural rights covenant, the convention on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and the convention on the rights of the child. however, not all states have passed these, and implementation is weak at best. there is limited, if any, conceptual link between the broader regulatory policies of equality and rights and social protection policies. 5.2. issues in the existing social protection programmes in nigeria the mapping of nigeria’s emerging social protection sector identified a number of key issues. one of the key concerns is the limited coverage and reach of existing programmes. this is reflected in the small scale of programmes run by government and development partners (international agencies and ngos) which cover between a few hundred households and a few thousand. while 140 million people live in poverty in the country, social protection programmes reach only a small fraction of the poor. this includes the federal-led mdgs-drg safety nets – cope and the mch (see table below). only the cbhis has the explicit vision to reach 100% of the poor (in the informal sector). this may be linked to the presidential mandate given to the nhis to achieve universal health insurance coverage and access to health care for all nigerians by 2015 (nhis, 2010). however, the executive secretary of the nhis has admitted there are enormous financial difficulties in extending such a scheme to the huge number of informal workers and those living in poverty, as well as challenges relating to the poor state of health infrastructure and human resource capacity within the health system, a lack of public awareness of the scheme and weak coordination and reluctance of state governments and lgas to engage with the scheme (gavrilovic et al., 2011). table 1: coverage of social protection programmes programme projected coverage: number of households/% of poor actual coverage: number of households/% of poor cope 22,000 households/less than 0.001% of poor households nationally (napep, npc and icf macro, 2009) cct girls’ education kano – scaling up to all eligible girls in lgas where cct is implemented 12,000 girls, kano/0.002% of poor people in kano (9.2 million population; poverty incidence approx. 60%) 7,000 girls, katsina / 0.001% of poor people in katsina (6 million population; poverty incidence approx. 70%) mch 851,198 women and girls june 2010 (phase 1: 615,101, phase 2: 236,097)/less than 0.01% of the poor (assumption 75 million poor; poverty rate 54%) cbhis 100% informal sector workers (when fully rolled out, expected to cover 112 million nigerians in informal sector (paths2, 2010) currently unavailable source: holmes et al (2012). 6. most vulnerable groups of idps internally displaced persons are "persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border."on the other hand, vulnerability is the forward-looking state of expected outcomes, which are in themselves determined by the correlation, frequency and timing of realized www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 74 risks and the risk responses. households are vulnerableif a shock is likely to push them below (or deeper below) a predefined welfare threshold (e.g., poverty)(heitzmann et al., 2002). although all persons affected by conflict and/or human rights violations suffer, displacement from one's place of residence may make the internally displaced particularly vulnerable. following are some of the factors that are likely to increase the need for protection (training on the protection of idps (n.d.): • internally displaced persons may be in transit from one place to another, may be in hiding, may be forced toward unhealthy or inhospitable environments, or face other circumstances that make them especially vulnerable. • the social organisation of displaced communities may have been destroyed or damaged by the act of physical displacement; family groups may be separated or disrupted; women may be forced to assume non-traditional roles or face particular vulnerabilities. • internally displaced populations, and especially groups like children, the elderly, or pregnant women, may experience profound psychosocial distress related to displacement. • removal from sources of income and livelihood may add to physical and psychosocial vulnerability for displaced people. • schooling for children and adolescents may be disrupted. • internal displacement to areas where local inhabitants are of different groups or inhospitable may increase risk to internally displaced communities; internally displaced persons may face language barriers during displacement. • the condition of internal displacement may raise the suspicions of or lead to abuse by armed combatants, or other parties to conflict. • internally displaced persons may lack identity documents essential to receiving benefits or legal recognition; in some cases, fearing persecution, displaced persons have sometimes got rid of such documents. the multiple socio-economic disadvantages mentioned above that internally displaced persons experience makes them vulnerable. however, the operational definition of vulnerability here as applied to the most vulnerable idps covers those categories of internally displaced persons who may never recover from the severe shocks of the displacement and may become chronic poor, as such worsening the poverty situation in nigeria. however, the task of identifying the most vulnerable groups is not an easy one. besides there are multiple and complex factors of vulnerability with different layers and more often than once it cannot be analyzed in isolation. based on the operational definition of vulnerability which covers those categories of internally displaced persons who may never recovered from a severe shock and are described as chronic poor, the following are identified as most vulnerable: -disabling illness -those that have lost all their assets -isolated elderly people -women malnourished people -children and frail -unaccompanied children children used in hostilities physically challenged destitute people -people living with aids -terminally ill widow -chronic mental conditions pregnant and nursing women -the visually impaired -women suffering from vvf -those struggling with substance abuse -homeless persons those maimed -those with low/no levels of education -the unemployed 6.1. social protection framework for the most vulnerable groups of idps in light of the challenges identified in the social protection programmes in nigeria, this paper attempts to design a social protection framework for the most vulnerable groups of internally displaced persons. drawing from devereux and sabates-wheeler’s (2004),the full range of social protection interventions can be categorized under protective, preventive, promotive and transformative measures: www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 75 protective (protecting households’ income and consumption, which includes social assistance programmes such as cash transfers, in-kind transfers, fee waivers to support access to basic and social services); vulnerability categories examples of affected groups leading indicators category of interventions types of programmes exit strategy for most vulnerable people social vulnerable  children and frail  blind children  unaccompanied children  children used in hostilities/child soldiers  abducted children  women/women suffering from vvf  pregnant and nursing women  widows  orphans  destitute people  physically challenged -poor nutritional status, low pre-school program coverage, child molestation -aggression, abusive, restless, stubborn, wild and harmful depression, recurrent infections, fatigue, vomiting sexual assault and abuse, discrimination, gender-based violence, human trafficking, rape, wipe beating and corporal punishment, early marriage, genital mutilation -slapping and kicking, no provision for antenatal care, poor oral hygiene -widow rites -neglect, harassment and abused maltreatment, abuse depression, recurrent infections, fatigue, vomiting -depression, neglect, violence, abuse social services -social services -social services social insurance social insurance -social insurance -transformative action -social assistance -crèches/pre-schools -guidance and counselling, taming, -guidance and counselling -empowerment, promotion of health right, skill acquisition -free antenatal care -single-parent allowances, cash transfer -maternal benefit -disability benefit -disability benefit -free education, access to nutrition, school feeding, school transporting, provision of braile for communication, reading,etc. full scholarship, translating education acquired to livelihoods -access to school and learning, food for school, access to nutrition, access to health facilities, book allowance, school transporting/after school training. -start-up funds, -health awareness and care start-up funds start-up funds, starter packs -start up funds, starter packs www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 76  older blind/visually impaired persons  those maimed  terminally ill  sex workers  isolated elderly people/aged  the homeless  those struggling with substance abuse  people living with aids  malnourished people  victims of domestic abuse  those with low/no level of education -maltreatment, deceived, misled, cheated, neglected, undermined, ignored, harassment, abuse -loss of employment, depression, neglect, frustration poor health care, no health insurance coverage -violence, rape, kidnapping, murder, trafficking, slapped or stabbed -neglect, physical abuse, financial fraud committed against them by relatives, strangers and caregiver -hate crimes, killings, discrimination, criminalization of homelessness, victim of violence, accommodation problem sudden change in behavior, mood change, withdrawal from family members, sniffy or runny nose, unusual excitement, aggressiveness, delusion, hallucinations, depression -stigmatization, discrimination, untold hardship weight loss, frequent infections, depression, tiredness, sluggish, poor vision at night or in dim light -visible physical injuries, depression, alcohol or drug abuse -cannot read and write, no skill -social assistance -social assistance -social assistance -social assistance social services -social services -transformative action transformative action -transformative action -transformative action -transformative action -allowance to help in their disability needs, counseling and guidance, vocational rehabilitation or trade -disability benefit, skill acquisition allowances -skill acquisitions, training and entrepreneurship programme -health insurance -refugee/idp camps prevention programme for drug abuse and violence, skill acquisition -anti-retrovirals (arvs), counselling services and financial support -community based therapeutic care programmes, health nutritional programmes -community based care, skill acquisition -access to adult education, skill acquisition, training and entrepreneurship programme -start up funds, starter packs -job placement, start-up funds, starter packs -start up funds, starter packs -free waivers for health care services -microfinance scheme -old people’s home, recreational centre, -low cost housing facilities, startup funds, starter packs -start-up funds, starter packs -low cost housing facilities, start up funds, starter packs -allowance for purchase of supplements -start-up funds, starter packs -start-up funds, starter packs www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 77 -preventative (preventing households from falling into or further into poverty, including, for instance, health insurance programmes, subsidized risk pooling mechanisms); -promotive (promoting household’s ability to engage in productive activities and increase incomes, for example through public works employment schemes, agricultural inputs transfers or subsidies); and -transformative (addressing social inequalities and discrimination, which includes, for example, core social protection programmes which tackle gender inequality and promote child rights and linkages to awareness-raising programmes or tackling discrimination). table 2: a framework for social protection programmes for the most vulnerable groups of idps in nigeria the framework above also shows how individuals or households can exit a social protection programme or graduate. the term graduation is used to mean graduating out of poverty. however, not all social protection programmes aim to graduate beneficiaries (e.g. pensions), and some households lack graduation potential (e.g. those with chronically sick members) (garcia and moore, 2012). 6.2. roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders key stakeholders and their identified roles in the social protection for programme are: a) federal government •provide necessary infrastructure and enabling logistics for effective implementation •provide financial and technical support at state and local government levels and as well monitor the performance of the programmes through its agencies b) state governments •mobilization for effective participation •provide necessary infrastructure and enabling logistics for effective implementation • assist financially c) local governments •mobilization for effective participation •provide necessary infrastructure and enabling logistics for effective implementation •financial support d)local communities •they should initiate, develop and implement specific social protection projects in their communities •they should render relevant infrastructural, human and material resources available •they should help in the identification of the most vulnerable groups e) voluntary agencies (civil society, cbos, fbos, etc). • they should assist in initiate, develop and execute specific social protection projects in their communities •they should provide relevant infrastructural, human and material resources •they should assist in the identification of the most vulnerable groups f) international community/donor agencies economic vulnerable  female-headed households -low income, low economic welfare low -social insurance -crèches/pre-schools, -microfinance scheme  unemployed  those that have lost all their assets -wages, inactivity (violence, substance abuse), financial problems -low income, low economic welfare -social assistance social assistance -unemployment benefits, skill acquisition, training and entrepreneurship programme -unemployment benefits, skill acquisition, training and entrepreneurship programme start-up funds, starter packs, job search and linkage -start-up capital, starter pack -microfinance scheme www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 78 •they should collaborate with the government in the implementation of some specific projects at the federal, state or local government levels. •they provide and support capacity building to enhance the success of these social protection programmes •they should also assist in monitoring and evaluating the social protection programmes as well as bringing in innovations 7. conclusion the many waves of displacement, both small and large scale, caused essentially by conflict, generalized violence, natural disasters and human rights have translated to an increase in the poverty levels in nigeria. the internally displaced persons have now become a part of the poverty stricken populace. a social protection programme will go a long way in 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(1999).social security for the excluded majority: case studies of developing countries, geneva: international labour office (ilo). world bank (1990).world development report 1990, washington, d.c.: world bank world bank (1997).poverty lines, policy research and poverty and social policy department world bank, no. 6.available athttp://www.worldbank.org/html/prdph/lsms/research/povline/pl_n06.pdf. world bank (2000).world development report 2000/2001, washington, d.c.: world bank world bank (2003).the world bank and social protection in latin america and the caribbean.http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00912b/web/other/665b9e2.htm?opendocument copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahukewjv_5nt1cxmahwfthqkhvr8cbkqfggamaa&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.unicef.org%2fsocialprotection%2fframework%2ffiles%2ffull_social_protection_strategic_framework_low_res(1).pdf&usg=afqjcnhqwj_33_d40k6advlsni20dhazta&bvm=bv.121421273,d.d24 https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahukewjv_5nt1cxmahwfthqkhvr8cbkqfggamaa&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.unicef.org%2fsocialprotection%2fframework%2ffiles%2ffull_social_protection_strategic_framework_low_res(1).pdf&usg=afqjcnhqwj_33_d40k6advlsni20dhazta&bvm=bv.121421273,d.d24 http://www.unicef.org/socialprotection/.../full_social_protection_strategic_fra http://www.worldbank.org/html/ http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00912b/web/other/665b9e-2.htm?opendocument http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00912b/web/other/665b9e-2.htm?opendocument american international journal of social science research; vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 22 a comparative study of pecola and gyanoda: sex, violence and beauty in the bluest eye and arakshaniya sajal sarkar, moshref jahan 1 assistant professor, department of english, the millennium university, bangladesh 2 ex-senior lecturer, department of english, victoria university of bangladesh, bangladesh correspondence: sajal sarkar, 74/a, shiddheswari circular road, dhaka, bangladesh. tel: +8801711458257.email: ssarkarbd@gmail.com to cite this article: sarkar, s., & jahan, m. (2018). a comparative study of pecola and gyanoda: sex, violence and beauty in the bluest eye and arakshaniya. american international journal of social science research, 3(1), 22-26. retrieved from http://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr/article/view/140 received: august 20, 2018 accepted: august 29, 2018 online published: september 13, 2018 abstract saratchandra chattopadhyay (1876-1938) in arakshaniya (1916) has pictured gyanoda, a socially abandoned and oppressed bengali hindu girl of 12/13 expected to be married off. unable to endure the sexual violence and cruelties thrown upon her, pecola in the bluest eye (1970) by toni morrison (b. 1931) looses her sanity. the colonialsociety-constructed idea of beauty, the hurling insults of her schoolmates and neighbors, the perverted assurance of achieving beauty from the pedophile soaphead church and above all the sexual violence that she receives from her father leaves her in a dark world. apart from her friends, she receives sympathy only from socially unaccepted ‘ruined’ women. unlike pecola, gyanoda was restored to the world of love and affection primarily by her mother, younger aunt and then by atul, her assumed love. gyanoda, though rejected and humiliated by the family and the society, was not a total rejection as pecola was. she managed to live on though not in a respected manner. this paper looks into pecola’s psychic procedural patterns to show how she becomes an object of perversion and violence, which along with the established idea of beauty takes her to the verge of insanity. a comparative study has been done between pecola and gyanoda, two characters from two entirely different ethnicities and cultures. however, surprisingly both the characters encounter social hostility for their common characteristic “ugliness.” the very presumption of beauty, violence, and sex lead these young girls to the different worlds of their own. black and female identities occupy very real political spaces of diaspora, dispossession and resistance. what is complicated is the simultaneity of suffering and power, marginalization and threat, submission and narcissism, which accre to black and women’s bodies and their representation in racist cultures.--from “feminism and the colonial body” by kadiatu kanneth. keywords: pecola, gyanoda, beauty, sex, violence, society, neglect saratchandra chattopadhyay (1876-1938) in his debut novel arakshaniya (1916) has pictured gyanoda, a socially abandoned and oppressed girl in undivided bengal. during the time between the late 19 th and the early 20 th century, a bengali hindu (a muslim was no exception) girl of 12/13 was expected to be married off, and an exception was socially neglected as well as subjugated. but chattopadhyay, belonging to the lower middle class, was sympathetic towards them in his writing. unlike pecola in the bluest eye (1970) by toni morrison, gyanoda was restored to the world of love and affection primarily by her mother, younger aunt and then by atul, her assumed love. gyanoda though rejected and humiliated by the family and the society was not a total www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 23 rejection as pecola was. her father with a limited income died at 36 and her mother was terrified at her husband’s death by approaching poverty, hostility and anxiety of having an orphan, ‘elderly’ daughter of 15 still unmarried. both her loving and caring parents supplied their only daughter with living strength. she managed to live on though not in a respected manner. unable to endure the sexual violence and cruelties thrown upon her, pecola loses her sanity and withdraws herself from the real world. she is the prettiest one in her fantasy world and the most loved one for having imaginary blue eyes. the colonialsociety-constructed idea of beauty, the hurling insults of her schoolmates and neighbors, the perverted assurance of achieving beauty from the pedophile soaphead church and above all the sexual violence that she receives from her father leaves her in a dark world. apart from her friends claudia and frieda, she receives kind of love and sympathy only from socially unaccepted ‘ruined’ women – marie, poland and china. her audio-visual hallucination acts as her repressed fear and the desperate desire seek an outlet into the conscious mind. i have tried to look into pecola’s psychic procedural patterns to show how she becomes an object of perversion and violence which along with the established idea of beauty takes her to the verge of insanity. a comparative study has been done between pecola and gyanoda, two characters from two entirely different ethnicities and cultures. however, surprisingly both the characters encounter social hostility for their common characteristic “ugliness.” the very presumption of beauty, violence, and sex lead these young girls to the different worlds of their own. pecola in the bluest eye (1970) by the end of the bluest eye (1970) pecola becomes insane. in the prologue morrison says “since why is difficult to handle one must take refuge in how” (morrison 4). described from an innocent point of view of a 13 year-old claudia, morrison shows how pecola becomes a total victim of the people and circumstances around her. the dick and jane primer in the novel symbolically presents the perfect image of a happy white family as we find in the fishers. but this primer family is an alien a complete stranger to pecola, a black and ugly girl. it is not only the people around her who thought pecola to be ugly, she herself did so…. “long hours she sat looking in the mirror, trying to discover the secret of the ugliness… she was the only member of her class who sat alone at a double class”(morrison 34). because pecola has dark skin and authentic afro-american features, black and white societies conditioned her to believe that she is ugly. therefore, pecola also believes that if she were beautiful her parents could have a peaceful relation. “may be they’d say, ‘why, look at pretty-eyed pecola. we mustn’t do bad things in front of those pretty eyes.’” the word “beauty” comes up with the words ‘blue-eye, yellow hair, pink-skin’. “each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes…she was not without hope." she firmly believed in the magical power of the blue eyes that would bring love and admiration of her classmates, teachers and neighbours and most importantly peace and harmony in their family, the harmony that dick and jane enjoyed. the small eyes, narrow foreheads, nearly met straight & heavy eyebrows, keen crooked noses with insolent nostrils, high cheekbones, shapely lips pronounced their peripheral existence in the world of beauty after the white standard. the pedophile soaphead church, the representative of religion in the afro-american life, makes a false promise to this child, and the girl returns with a firm belief of owning the long awaited blue eyes e.g. beauty. claudia, even though a bit younger than pecola revolts against the concept of blonde beauty. her strong aversion to the society’s definition of beauty is expressed when she “fingered the face,… picked at the pearly teeth,… traced the turned-up nose, …poked the glassy blue eyeballs,… twisted the yellow hair” (morrison 14) of the white baby dolls. to her, these dolls became an emblem of the manipulative order of the whites to be obeyed in order to belong in their society. the dismembering of the doll creates an anxiety among the adults of the audacity that claudia showed through this destructive act and thus introduces colourism into the society through their tenderhearted children. colourism as defined by alice walker is a “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people biased solely on their colour” (lobodziec 35). the natural home of the blacks cannot possibly be a white-nation state. race always had a notion of biological foundation. pocola’s physical features ensure her to be a victim of racism with the notion that “physical ugliness of blackness is a sign of a deeper ugliness and depravity” (taylor 16). the accusation of bullying pecola and other black girls continued to be regularly made. non-white minorities along with their colour, body-shape and culture were undoubtedly inferior. pecola was desperate to be in the mainstream of the white society. and for this reason she could ignore the “inexplicable shame ebb” that engulfed her while taking mary jane candies from the shopkeeper mr. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 24 yacobowski as “he scoots three mary janes toward her three yellow rectangles in each packet. she holds the money toward him. he hesitates not wanting to touch her hand” (morrison 37). to her “ to eat the candy is somehow to eat the eyes, eat mary jane”(morrison 38). she was marginalized by the icons of beauty that the white world approved of: mary jane candies and shirley temple cups. here morrison deals with the desire among oppressed people to comply with the hegemonic ideal of their “oppressors:” to become white. to make us understand this desire she brings out the oppressive situation that has been characterized by oliver as the “colonization of psychic space,” to indicate the way that oppression “operates through a debilitating alienation based on estrangement from the production of value in a hierarchical system of values through which some bodies are valued and others are devalued or abjected” (oliver 13). “a high yellow-dream child” like maureen peal enjoyed a preferential approach from the teachers, white boys as well as girls. she was also aware of her ability (both for her skin and money) to have an upper hand. she didn’t hesitate to hurl the words ‘i am cute! and you ugly! black and ugly e mos. i am cute” (morrison 56). like the stone-throwing boys these words of maureen pushed these three dark skinned girls into a cruel, darker world of self-hatred and contempt for their colour and race. geraldine another light-skinned black woman struggles hard to have the life of the whites. she keeps her son’s hair “close to his scalp as possible to avoid any suggestion of wool” (morrison 67). though the child sometimes recognised himself with his own peers, he was forced to keep himself away from the “dirty and loud niggers” and to play and laugh with the “neat and quiet coloured people.” his confusions turns into self-loathing that gave expression showing violent acts for the race where he basically belongs. the blacks were an embodiment of high unemployment, drug-taking, crime and unsafe neighborhoods. black children grew up in an environment that systematically undermines their aspirations. the result is that the black communities remain at the bottom of the american generations after generations. cholly breedlove (ugly also in behaviour that resulted from “despair dissipation and violence directed toward petty things”) represents a negative form of freedom. cholly was deserted by his father and was thrown on a “junk heap by the railroad” after four days of his birth by his mother. although great aunt jimmy brought him up with care and affection, cholly had difficulty connecting himself to her as a real parent, possibly for the cold reminder of his past. the novel explicitly expresses violence, exercise of power and freedom, a revolt against the oppressive culture towards the “black and poor.” when an individual (here cholly, junior) is unable to express his frustrations or aggressions against the too powerful real oppressors or exploiters, the aggression becomes displaced onto weaker or lower-status individuals or groups unable to defend themselves. we can for example say that cholly rapes darlene but he is also pictured as being ‘raped’ by the flashlight of the white men and gun and that by not allowing junior to associate with the people of his own race his mother causes much turmoil inside him. the target (in both cases pecola) is often ethnically distinct communities, especially if they are minorities, who are then attacked or discriminated against in some aggressive manner. at the individual level, the psychological mechanism involved is often referred to as “projection” for which there is research evidence, whereby cholly and junior displaces bad feelings about themselves onto pecola as an unconscious defense and survival strategy. gyanoda in arakshaniya (1916) in a feudal society during the british raj, it was impossible for women to have proper rights. the existing patriarchal society suppressed them socially and economically. the traditional custom of the society forced the girls to get married as soon as they reached puberty. gyanoda was a pet child of a low income father who had a premature death and left the family in a state of terrible financial crises leading them to utter despair. in the era when the novel arakshaniya (1916) was written, a society still did not accept a bride without beauty and dowry. moreover the girl was supposed to get married at 10 years…. “most of the girls at that time were married when they attained the age 10 or 12. in some cases, they were married much earlier, even when a few months old…. sometimes the childwife attained her puberty a few years after her marriage.” (murshid 127) the young gyanoda very soon became a burden to his only living paternal uncle. the mother being a complete dependant had to move to her brother’s place who was also not well off and more than that reluctant to keep relations with her sister even at this time of distress. he was horrified having seen “15 years old shomotto magi” (i. e. marriageable girl) still a spinster. very soon he managed a marriage proposal with his drunkard, addicted brother-in-law who was suspected of the murderer of his 8-month pregnant wife in hope of some cash and kind. be it the mercy of the omniscient writer or her sheer good luck that she was rescued by atul, the man whom she believed to be her would-be husband. when atul had been suffering from a deadly disease like beriberi, gyanoda nursed the bedridden atul and saved him from the clutches of death without caring for her getting www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 25 affected by beriberi. for this reason, her mother had an explicit claim over him, and gyanoda claimed him silently in her body and mind. but sharnomonjury, the elder widowed aunt had a good command over atul as they were relatives and could never think of getting him married with this black, ugly and poor girl. atul, a well-educated probable groom had a good demand in the marriage market. but his attitude clearly showed a keen sense of affection or to some extent love for this poor soul. being a reasonable fellow, he did not make any whimsical commitment at the deathbed of priyonath, her father. keeping god and durgamoni as the witnesses, atul assured him of gyanoda’s responsibility. it could be because of gyanoda’s loud cry and repeated pleas to relieve her dying father, even with a false hope. however, we see gyanoda and her mother having full faith in him. durgamoni was happy that she would not need to get her daughter married to a man of 60 as her neighbor, girish bhattacharya did. gyanoda, an archetype of repulsiveness, longed for the beauty she never had but this lack of beauty was frequently mentioned to her. durgamoni said: o god! if you sent this wretched girl onto my lap, why didn’t you make her fair-skinned? no one even wants to give her shelter as she is dark-skinned. everyone wants a fair girl. (chattapadhdhay 434) she thought of beauty as a dream-bridge that would bring her a worthy groom to ensure status and position in the society. the society was extremely unmindful of the desire and need of a woman. woman was considered the tool of producing children and rearing them up. saratchandra chattopadhyay set the character of gyanoda against a backdrop of ugliness and poverty. she belonged to the judgmental era when a girl was evaluated on her beauty and the tenderness of her age. like pecola, not only the society humiliated the girl but also her own mother durgamoni asked for her death fearing the caste and the religion that forbade the unmarried girl to do the funeral activities of a dead mother. atul came running from kolkata to stop them from going to haripal, gyanoda’s maternal uncle’s home at this beginning of ashwin in the bengali calendar – the proper time of spreading malaria. he did not think much even to reply to his hostile aunt sharnomanjuri “you will be angry hearing the truth, mashima, but none comes to have your food unless they are in dire need…. i do not mind taking them home, if they agree. i do not care whether the village folk will praise me or be ashamed of me ” ( chattopadhyay 439) it was a great blow both to gyanoda and her mother that at this same atul changed his opinion so easily and decided to settle with madhury, a relative of gyanoda’s younger aunt. atul did not take much time even to insult them in public. did i give them a word to marry her? she did not let go of my feet and started knocking her head on them, please promise my father that you would. (chattopadhyay 446) loosing the hope of atul, durgamoni was desperate to get her daughter married off even to a man of her father’s age. we hardly find her in any active role, she did what she was told to do. she was a girl without any desire, demand or anger. the only expression she had was tears. the smile that we have seen on her face at the first entry of atul with the bangles was never found. the only prompt self-initiated act was making untidy hair and putting on a rough make-up to please a “ghater mora” (i. e. an old man almost nearing death) old gopal bhattacharya. .the humiliation and disgrace that were showered on this poor girl were too much for her to go on with. she wanted to free her mother of the dishonor of having an elderly, black, ugly, unmarried daughter. the close reading of the histories, cultures and experiences of these two black girls confronts the problem of gender bias and analyses the ways in which they are presented as “other” to black women and non-black women. being colonised corresponds to being deemed racially inferior by the hegemonic powers within one’s society. the antagonistic ideals of the colonisers have been internalised by the colonised. the sufferings of pecola are not the sufferings of an individual. she becomes a representative of the poor and black community who are supposed to be feared and oppressed. pecola had no option left except being an insane, a patient of psychosis having audio-visual hallucinations. unlike gyanoda, no one had shown love and affection for this poor child. so, pecola made an imaginary mother figure to be loved and adored by her. she was happy with the knowledge that her capability to be a mother just after her menstruation would be possible with the love of some valiant hero. now when she was expecting her baby, it was an unwelcome one to the society. even her mother refused to console her own child; rather she beat her – an act which is no less cruel. because of being surrounded by multiple negative forces (her parents, peers, teachers and the whites) pecola failed to combat these horrifying forces and could no longer keep herself in the shell of self-love. eventually she was engulfed into the world of colourism and shuts herself down from the entire society. gyanoda, on the other www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 26 hand, also plunged into the world of colourism but had her mother consoling her even though the entire society (including her paternal and maternal uncles and aunts) was harsh towards her. primarily her assumed lover atul expressed his feelings that kept her psychologically safe and sound in the end. we cannot say what could have happened to her after her mother’s death if atul did not dare accept her. she could have the same fate that pecola had. the love and affection she received (though from a very few people) let her be sane in the world of “insane exploiters.” 5. references kanneth, kadiatu.(1995).feminism and the colonial body.the post-colonial studies reader. ed. bill ashcroft et al. london: routledge. lobodziec, agnieszka.(2010).theological models of black middle class performance in toni morrison’s novels.” black theology: an international journal.8(10),32-52. morrison, toni.(1999).the bluest eye. surrey: random house. murshid, ghulam. (1983). reluctante debutante: response of bengali women to modernization, 1849-1905. rajshahi: sahitya samsad. oliver, kelly. (2004). the colonization of psychic space: a psychoanalytical social theory of oppression. minneapolis: u of minesota p. chattopadhyay, saratchandra. (2010). arakshaniya. saratrachanashomogro. dhaka:amanda prakash,434-454. paul c. (2000). malcom’s conk and danto’s colors; or four logical petitions concerning.16-20. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) contents american international journal of social science research vol. 1, no. 1; 2017 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 52 the role of business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria suleiman lukman 1 , saidu mansur adam 1 , dahiru usman jibrin 1 & buba umar 1 1 department of vocational and technology education, faculty of technology education, abubakar tafawa balewa university, bauchi,bauchi state, nigeria. correspondence: suleiman lukman, department of vocational and technology education, faculty of technology education, abubakar tafawa balewa university, bauchi,bauchi state, nigeria, e-mail: luckmansuleimanwase@gmail.com received: september 13, 2017 accepted: september 15, 2017 online published: september 24, 2017 abstract over the years different researches have made emphasis on funding tvet, however this research is ambitious on finding the roles played by business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery, in doing that, the concept of business education was discuss by different school of thought, the current status of tvet in the nigerian context was also explain on how the acquisition of formal technical education is possible from secondary to tertiary levels of the country’s 9-3-4 education system.the legacy of under-funding from the past brought the need for providing the policy for restructuring the funding of tvet in the nigerian system of education. business education played an important roles in reframing the funding of tvet where ten (10) roles have been pointed out in the research means for restructuring the funding of tvet programme for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria. keywords: business education, funding, technology vocational education and training, economic recovery. introduction 1. introduction the major challenge facing nigeria today is slow economic development, prevalence of poverty, and ignorance on how to empower citizens with education that will help them to become self-reliant. the nation is also searching for how best to engage the teeming population of youths in technology vocational education and training (tvet) skills. onderi, ajowi&malala (2014) define tvet as an educational programme that involve the study of technologies and sciences in relation to general education, that are supported by acquiring awareness, knowledge, skills and attitudes relating to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life. tvet is one of the essential driving forces and a necessary condition for a country’s economic, social and cultural development (amkombe, 2009). tvet plays such a role as it strengthens and increases the productive and creative capacity of human beings (aliyu 2013). business education is the type of education will provide a tools for generating knowledge, raising living standards, and enrichment of educational goals as well as boosting the role of business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria lukman et al. 53 the nations’ economic activities. however, the funding of tvet in the nigerian institutions of learning is facing a serious problems, this is because the programme require the development of skills for the production of technocrats and handicrafts men and women that will serve as an engine for sustainable economic growth in nigeria. hence, the financing of the tvet programme is quite inadequate, despite the fact that business education plays a vital role intvet funding which is crucial for employability in every nation and serve as the hub for skills provision. 2. concept of business education business education is the education for acquisition and development of skills, competencies, attitude and attributes which are necessary for efficiency of the economic system (aliyu, 2013). it is an intellectual and vocational preparation of people for earning a living in a contemporary industrial and business environment. adeshina (2007) viewed business education as the training system that encourages the beneficiary to acquire the skills that fit into the world of work. business education is part of the field of education that deals with business expansion both for specialized occupation uses and for general use (ouala, 2000). according to magnus (2007)business education is the aspect of vocational education that provides institutions for the preparation of office occupation such as secretary, typist, book-keeper, data processor, word processorand computer analyst. in a nutshell the term business education has been regarded by many as a mere technology especially in nigeria. 3. current status of tvet in nigeria tvet varies from one country to another.technology vocational education(tve) students are trained at different levels in different types of institutions of learning such as polytechnics, enterprises and apprenticeship training centres. in nigeria, the acquisition of formal technical education is possible from secondary to tertiary levels of the country’s 9-3-4 education system. at post-secondary/ tertiary levels, technical and vocational institutions such as polytechnics, monotechnics and universities, have been designed meant to enhance nation’s tvet for sustaining and recovering the nation’s economy. the duration of school based tvet is between three to five years, depending on the nature of the institution and model. however, formal tvet in nigeria are currently operating in environment that is characterized by inadequate financing, andit must be recognized that tvet is expensive which as a result many students will not be able to afford the required training materials without support from government and or to find a way on how the programme will finance itself during the training process(adhiambo, 2015). even though subvention to training institutions particularly polytechnics has been increased and government support also increased due to the tireless effort of tertiary education trust fund (tetfund), educational trust fund (etf) and so forth. it is still grossly inadequate because unit costs are necessarily higher in tvet institutions due to the expensive training equipment and costly training materials that are wasted during practical lessons (amodu, 2011). 4. policy for restructuring the funding of tvet one of the common complaints from those working in tve system is lack of suitable equipment or poor facilities, and legacy of under-funding from the past. since then and even now there was no separately defined budgets for tvet, despite the substantial increase in the budget allocated to the education sector, tvet is still inadequate to meet the required demand. as a sequence many of the tvet are unable to purchase the necessary materials and equipment to deliver quality tvet programs. hence, improved facilities are more than just increase level of funding, attention has to be given tolacking issues such as how resources are allocated, managed and utilized, and more needs to be done to identify cost recovery strategies and what can be done to raise revenue level in a suitable manner. the role of business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria lukman et al. 54 tvet programme shouldbeflexible to the changing demand in the labour market by applying new training technologies and provide opportunities for employees to engage in continuous professional development, life-long learning and emerging new training programs such as business education. this will make tvet an important form of education which triggers a discussion on whether the current internal financing made by government is sustainable and other types of financing should be considered or not. the possibility of cost sharing with those who benefit from tvet (employers, trainees and their families or the society at large) will have to be considered by the government. under this tvet policy, funding mechanism are being examined either unilaterally oriented (financed by one stakeholder i.e state, trainee, employer) or are based on co-financing/cost sharing model (e.g apprenticeship programs, dual programs, employer training incentives scheme) this will lead to a funding mechanism of tvet that is both innovative and sustainable (okwelle, 2015). 5. roles of business education in funding tvet in nigeria according to okolocha (2012) the roles of business education in funding tvet in the nigerian institutions of learning are as follows:  business education helps to expand access in generating fund in the nigerian institution of learning in the area of tvet training and certification.  it provides flexible training for crafts-men and women that enables both full-time and part-time participation in which utilization of acquired skills could accumulated the revenue generated over time.  it upgrades the existing workforce by admitting more trainees that serves as a key tools for poverty eradication and national development.  it provides work-based learning experiences and strengthen career awareness which in turn mitigate the rate of unemployment in the country.  it helps schools in building success-oriented colleges and career cultures that empower students’ creativity and innovation.  it helps educators align curriculum and readiness standards with business needs that attract students to look for admission into the tvet programme.  it provides equipment and financial assistance to modernize classrooms, workspaces, and laboratories.  it provides financial guidance and advice that minimizes unaffordability of students as a barrier to tvet programme.  it trains and imparts the necessary skills that leads to the production of craftsmen, technicians and other skilled personnel that became enterprise and self-employed that enhanced the competitiveness of firms and to improve productivity  it enables our young men and women in obtaining the required technological skills and qualification needed in the work force. to restructure the role of business education tvet funding system will better address the students’ training needs which will serve as a driving force for improving skills acquired and enhanced employability (okolocha2012). continued emphasis on financing “soft skills” in training programs through a strategy ofintegration of employability concepts into the teaching and learning process will help in restructuring the tvet programme (afeti, 2015). it will be very important for all business education unit in the country to enact a policy by making it mandatory for all business education students to put into practice the skills they have acquire before graduation so that creativity and revenue generation will enhanced.afeti (2015)further said that, the role of business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria lukman et al. 55 the major challenge facing tvet in nigeria is the inadequate financing of the programme by government which as a result creates mismatch between skills, knowledge and attitudes acquired by the learners. sharing a similar view, tilak (2003) said that government need to increase funding to support the sector, while educational institutions need to utilize the resources that is been allocated to them to deliver flexible and demand driven training and employers need to contribute to the development of national skills standards. government should support development of national tvet policies and strategies, capacity building in tvet sector, identifying and disseminating best practices in tvet and encourage tvet advocacy initiatives by funding tvet research and advocacy (okolocha, 2012). however, it must be accentuated that acquisition of skills is not sufficient to bring economic development, it is a prerequisite, but a lot more needs to be executed by eradicating poor governance, poor economic policy, corruption, and adequate financial support and infrastructural facilities must have to be put in place before the much needed economic development can be achieved. this can actually reduce the efficiency of the job market in absorbing and producing quality graduates which consequently affect the nations’ economic recovery. there is urgent need to ensure the vision of tvet of inclusive and quality education for all that promote life-long learning needed for all women and men for inculcating affordable and quality technical and vocational training in the nigerian tertiary education.hence, adequate financial support is not accompanied with the training programme (kamau, 2013). moreover, the non-formal tvet in nigeria that is imparted to young boys and girls by self-employed artisans and technicians is pervasive. ajibola andjumoke, (2012) reiterated that, achieving sustainable economic development through technical and vocational education and training requires collective and serious efforts and strong commitments to financing and supporting the artisan and technicians on the part of parents/guardians, educational institutions/training providers, employers and government. parents should support their children to choose and finance their vocational training and reject the perception that tvet is for less academically endowed. tvet has fuelled the engine of economic growth and productivity in nigeria and other western industrialised nations. as markets become increasingly an avenue for global competitiveness, governments are intensifying pressure on national tvet systems to produce more highly skilled and employable workers, this can only be achieved through sustainability and visionary policiesthat gives more attention to funding of tvet programs (okolocha, 2012). therefore, nigeria as a nation will have to empower tvet and must make specific contribution to the implementation of new policy relating to funding of tvet programs and or research and development that willsupported the way on how to effectively finance the tvet programs. moreover,ambuke (2009) said that financing tvet could be the best weapons for fighting poverty and the numerous associated vices plaguing the nation’s productive and self-employment. this will give rise to the quality and needed skills that will help the teeming youths to become self-reliant and also mitigate the over dependence on government. according to gill and fluitman (2005) there is an urgent need to restructure tvet programmes which should be geared towards meeting the market demands.kamau (2013) said that the funding should primarily focus on the knowledge and skills required for industrial development. in a similar view. harrison and reddan (2010) said that tvet should therefore be in line with the needs and demands of the current industrial development needs. ladipo (2013) emphasized that governments should be one of the key element that have to intervene in the funding of tvet programs and also encourage and mobilize stakeholders to invest their resources in tvet for nation’s economic growth and development. he further stressed that there is need for cooperation between the role of business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria lukman et al. 56 government and various stakeholders to build strong technical and financial support towards reconstruction process and reforms of tvet. this can only be done through proper funding of the training programme that ensure quality delivery, employability of trainees, improve consistency and management of its training and should promote life-long learning so as to make it more attractive to the youths. adequate training tools and equipment such as textbooks and training manuals must have to be provided, qualified instructors with experience on training the trainees must have to be adequately remunerated, this will go a long way in enhancing the quality delivery in tvet (maliranta, nurmi& virtanen, 2010). wairimu (2009) said that, trainers should be assured of their compensation package before they start training the tve trainees, this will help in providing quality tvet which might ensures acquisition of skills that are related to the demands of the current labour market. harrison andreddan (2010) said that governments should establish monitoring agencies for tvet under the ministries of education or as autonomous bodies which should coordinate the training activities of tvet on how the funds are been utilized, these bodies should have representation from all pertinent stakeholders, including policy makers in education, public and private training providers, civil society organizations and development partners, in compensating their efforts allowances should be provided to them as a motivating factor.according to amodu (2011) the tvet levy has functioned to provide a stable and predictable basisto assure financing for the training and has enabled the development of astrong national training infrastructure for the nation’s economic growth, development and recovery. these targets encourage a vision of tvet that supports the transition towards inclusive and sustainable societies and economies. the vision also means that tvet systems will need to develop, transform and adapt to remain relevant, despite the priority displayed by the nation and the international community to skills development, tvet remains largely underfinanced (united nation, 2017) 6. conclusion tvet is one of the key element in nation’s economic development and growth, the role of business education in funding tvet will never be over emphasize, this is because business education has contributed a lot in restructuring the funding of tvet programs. it is very important for all business education units in the country to enact a policy by making it mandatory for all business education students to put into practice the skills they have acquired before graduation so that creativity and revenue generation will be enhanced.it must be accentuated however that,the acquisition of skills is not sufficient to bring economic development, it is a prerequisite, but a lot more needs to be executed in funding tvet by eradicating poor governance, poor economic policy, corruption, and adequate financial support. infrastructural facilities must have be to put in place before the much needed economic development can be achieved through revitalizing the tvet programme. this can actually reduce the efficiency of the job market in absorbing and producing quality graduates which consequently affect the nations’ economic recovery. parents should support their children to choose and finance their vocational training and reject the perception that tvet is for less academically endowed. therefore, nigeria as a nation will have to empower tvet and must make specific contribution to the implementation of new policy relating to funding of the programs and or research and development that willsupported the way on how to effectively financed the tvet programs have to be carried out and secured in a qualified manner. financing tvet will give rise to the quality and needed skills that will help the teeming youths to become self-reliant and also mitigate the over dependence on government. 7. recommendation the following recommendations were made: the role of business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria lukman et al. 57  government should increase its spending on education and training.  government should reduce tuition and other fees of the training programme to attract more trainees.  government should ensure that private enterprises pay for tvet programme  government should provide incentives to private tvet providers  attention should be given tolacking issues such as how resources are allocated, managed and utilized, and more needs to be done to identify cost recovery strategies on how to raise revenue in a suitable manner.  tvet programme shouldbe flexible to the changing demand in the labour market by applying new training technologies and provide opportunities for employees to engage in continuous professional development and life-long learning. references adeshina, t. j. (2007). understanding business education. esonaji publishers, micsons press zaria. adhiambo, o. m. (2015). institutional factors influencing participation of trainers in public technical vocational education and training institutes in kinango sub-ccountry, kwale, kenya. journal of education and learning,, research thiesis in press. afeti, g. (2015). technical and vocational education and training for industrialization. africa research and resource forum, african development bank group (2014) akhuemonkhan, i. a., &raimi, l. (2013). impact of quality assurance on technical vocational education and training (tvet). in nigeria. las vegas, nevada, united state, african development bank group (2014) aliyu, m. m. (2013). business education in nigeria, trends and issues, revised edition. amkombe. k (2009). technical, vocational education and training as a tool for sustainable development. a synthesis of case studies. dakar: unesco, 76-77. amodu, t. (2011). revamping our national economy through technical vocational education and training (tvet). available: http: //www.nigerianbestforum.com/blog (accessed:28 july, 2017). gill u, &fluitman j. (2005). vocational education and training reform. matching skills to markets and budgets, new york: oxford university press. kamau, s. m. (2013). challenges affecting the technical and vocational education training youths polytechnics in kiambu county. international journal of socialsciences and entrepreneurship,, 1(5), 679-687. ladipo, m. k. (2013). technical vocational education and training (tvet) as mechanism for sustainable development in nigeria (sd): banjul conference. magnus, u. (2007). the meaning and objectives of businesseducation, retrieved 24/04/2017 from world wide web. http://associate dcontent.com/article. maliranta, m., nurmi, s., & virtanen, h. (2010). resources in vocational education and post-schooling outcomes. international journal of manpower, 3(5), 520. okolocha, c. c. (2012). vocational technical education in nigeria: challenges and the way forward. business management dynamics,, 2(6), organization for economic & co-operation development [oecd]. (2006). policy framework for investment. a review of good practices. the role of business education in restructuring the funding of tvet for sustainable economic recovery in nigeria lukman et al. 58 okwelle, s., c. . (2015). towards quality technical, vocational, education and training programmes in nigeria. journal of education and learning,, 1(4), 21-34. onderi h, j, ajowi, a. p., &malala, g. (2014). restructuring technical and vocational education and training (tvet) for sustainable development in sub-saharan africa international journal of interdisciplinary research and innovations, 2(1), 40-45. ouala, e. c. (2000). a handbook on vocational technical education for nigeria. urowiluobasi, pacific publisher. tilak, j. (2003). vocational education and training in asia. journal of educational planning and administration,, 17(1), 1-16. unesco. (2017). financing technical and vocational education training un campus platz der vereinten nationen wairimu, g. (2009). significance of technical, vocational education and training in africa. (1), africa dakar conference, dakar: km africa .post basic education training copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 1 anti-corruption policy strategies for nigeria towards national development: evidence from least corrupt countries adeniran adetayo olaniyi department of transport management technology federal university of technology, akure (futa), ondo state, nigeria email: adeniranao@futa.edu.ng abstract anti-corruption policy strategies in finland and singapore were examined, and lessons were drawn for nigeria. finland and singapore were chosen because they are among the least fifth corrupt countries in the world from 2010 to 2017, and they have different norms. another reason is that the norm in finland is fairly similar to the norms of sweden, denmark, norway, new zealand, and australia which are also among the least corrupt countries in the world, while the norm of singapore is fairly similar to hong kong and japan which are also among the least corrupt countries in the world. it was revealed that the case of nigerian society is similar to that of singaporean society. in finland, it was observed that anti-corruption measures and institutions are weak as it does not have a separate unit dedicated to investigate or prosecute corruption-related offences, but there is a guiding principle such that anti-corruption measures are integrated into general good governance policy grounded on the rule of law. also in singapore, anti-corruption was achieved through anti-corruption policy that has been in existence since the year 1959, although there was a situation of deplorable condition and widespread corrupt practices, but the new government in the late 1950s set up a strategy which resulted that top political leaders set themselves as role models for civil servants and showing zero tolerance for corrupt behaviour. finally, recommendations were suggested. keywords: corruption, anti-corruption, development, nigeria. dedication: this paper is dedicated to the 9th national assembly (109 senators headed by ahmed lawan, and 360 house of reps headed by femi gbajabiamila) in a moment when crucial laws are meant to be made, most especially towards combating corruption, insecurity, and economic imbalances. 1. introduction corruption is widely recognized to be one of the most important obstacles to development in many countries. it is pertinent to note that every citizen in a country deserves quality life which can be achieved when there is a balanced development. according to akpakpan (1987) and wilson (2005), development is a process of improvement in the general welfare of the entire society which is usually manifested in the various aspects of the life of society such as a reduction in the level of unemployment; reduction in the extent of personal and regional inequalities; reduction in absolute poverty; rise in real output of goods and services and improvement in techniques of production; improvement in literacy, health services, housing and government services; improvement in the level of social and political consciousness of the people; greater ability to draw on local resources (both human and material) to meet local needs; and reduction in pollution and/or environmental degradation. hence, balanced development is expected to cut across all the above indicators for development in their correct proportion without deficiency of one or more indicator(s). the quest for democratic governance is not peculiar to nigeria as it is a global issue. it is quite saddened to know that good governance, sustainable human development, and democratic governance have not been practically achieved in nigeria. according to akinjide (2012), chief obafemi awolowo who was an aristocrat, statesman, yoruba political leader, nigerian and african nationalist mentioned that corruption and selfishness go side-by-side. he identified corruption and selfishness as the major factors that have drawl back or brought a decline to the living condition of many nigerians. akinjide stated that this condition has recently brought about political instability in the country. in view of this, the obligation for government representatives to provide the conditions that will enable the individuals in the country to receive safe, affordable, and assessable transport infrastructure; quality education; good health; employment, and enjoy dividends of democracy is being questioned. the citizens were disappointed in government administrations at all levels because the government elects have proven not to have risen above corruption and selfishness, and cannot control their instinctive urges to defeat what awolowo called the ‘tyranny of copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 2 the flesh’(adeniran, 2016). in the recent ranking by transparency international (2017), nigeria is ranked 136th in the world. this implies that nigeria is among the most corrupt countries in the world. the united nation convention against corruption states that corruption undermines democratic institutions, retards economic development and contributes to government instability. corruption attacks the foundation of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes, perverting the rule of law, and creating bureaucratic quagmires whose only reason for existence is the soliciting of bribes. apart from corruption among the government elects, corruption has eaten deep into the nukes of all parastatals most especially public institutions and seems difficult to flush out. in view of this, there is a need for anti-corruption policy strategy to combat corruption in the entire nigerian system. this study, therefore, examines the anti-corruption policy strategies in finland and singapore so that lessons can be drawn to strengthen anti-corruption policy strategy in nigeria and achieve overall national development. finland and singapore are chosen because they are among the least fifth corrupt countries in the world from 2010 to 2017, and they have different norms. another reason is that finland’s norm is fairly similar to the norms of sweden, denmark, norway, new zealand, and australia which are among the least corrupt countries in the world, while singapore’s norm is fairly similar to hong kong and japan which are also among the least corrupt countries in the world. 2. conceptual clarification 2.1 corruption it is quite obvious that the definition of corruption differs widely as what might be considered corruption in one country, might be considered as an acceptable practice in another country. the definition of corruption has been in existence earlier than 1967, and since then the definition has changed over time and have branched apart from each other having confusion and contentions. joseph (1967) defines corruption as the behavior, which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private considerations (personal, family, and clique) or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private regarding the influence. according to kofele (2006), corruption can be defined as an act of requesting, offering, giving or accepting directly or indirectly a bribe or any other undue advantage or the prospect thereof, which distorts the proper performance of any duty or behavior required of the recipient of the bribe, the undue advantage of the prospect thereof. according to anti-corruption policy in norway (2010), everybody would probably agree that bribes, extortion and the practice of demanding sexual favors in a change of services, are highly unethical acts that must be termed as corruption. according to transparency international, corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. corruption occurs in many forms such as bribery (when someone improperly provides goods or services against some form of improper compensation); kickback (a form of bribery, where someone involved in a purchasing process is getting a reward from the supplier for placing an order of goods or services); embezzlement (theft of resources for own use); evidence destruction (irregular destruction, removal or abuse of records); extortion (the act of obtaining something by force, threats or undue demands); favoritism (the unfair favoring of one person or a group at the expense of others including nepotism which is favoritism shown to relatives); knowingly omitting to report corrupt acts (deliberately omitting or refusing to report or act upon reports of any such irregular or dishonest conduct); maladministration (also referred to as financial misconduct in handling or reporting of money, financial transactions or other assets). the definition of corruption according to transparency international was adopted in this study as it seems to be elaborate. 2.2 impacts of corruption on national development: evidence from other countries many studies have identified that corruption is a global phenomenon. although statistics on corruption are often questionable, the data suggest that corruption accounts for a significant proportion of economic activity (ashok, 2012). examples are in kenya, public expenditures noted by the controller and auditor general in 1997 amounted to7.6 percent of gdp; in latvia a recent world bank survey found that more than 40 percent of households and enterprises agreed that corruption is a natural part of our lives and helps solve many problems; in tanzania, service delivery survey data suggest that bribes paid to officials in the police, courts, tax services, and land offices amounted to 62 percent of official public expenditures (ashok, 2012). according to tapales (2001), in the philippines, the commission on audit estimates that $4 billion is diverted annually because of public sector corruption. a 2004 world bank study of the ramifications of corruption for service delivery concludes that an improvement of one standard deviation in the corruption index leads to a 29 percent decrease in infant mortality rates, a 52 percent increase in satisfaction among recipients of public health care, and a 30–60 percent increase in public satisfaction stemming from improved road conditions. studies also show that corruption slows growth, impair capital accumulation, and reduce the effectiveness of development aid, and increases income inequality and poverty (tapales, 2001; ashok, 2012; adeniran, 2018). corruption slows gdp growth and adversely affects capital accumulation, public infrastructure, and health services. it lowers the quality of education and reduces the effectiveness of development aid and increases income inequality and poverty (gupta, hamid, and erwin, 2000). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 3 not surprisingly, there has been a growing global movement to condemn corrupt practices which is a movement that has resulted in the removal of some national leaders. in addition, many governments and development agencies have devoted substantial resources and energy to fighting corruption in recent years. despite these efforts, however, it is not clear that the incidence of corruption has declined perceptibly, especially in highly corrupt countries. bribery is often the most visible manifestation of public sector corruption; it harms the reputation of and erodes trust in many countries. the huge amount of money was earmarked in the national budget to combat terrorism in nigeria. in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, the total expenditures earmarked for security in approved budgets were about ₦920, ₦924, ₦923, ₦923, and ₦934 billion respectively (joshua, 2015; adeniran and owoeye, 2018). these huge funds for security have denied capital projects in education, health, agriculture, transportation and other significant sectors that needed more attention (adeniran and owoeye, 2018). despite the huge funds pumped into combating terrorism, the rate of terrorist acts in nigeria seems increasing since the year 2011. it is obvious that corruption is quite evident in the disbursement of security funds as not all the security funds allocated to combating terrorism are used, some were diverted for personal use. corruption in nigeria leads to promotion and not prison as it is very difficult to catch the so-called big sharks. corruption in nigeria has wings, not wheels. as the nation grows, the corrupt practices also grow to invent new methods of cheating the public, most especially the masses or citizens that fall in the low social strata. political, bureaucratic, corporate and individual corruptions in nigeria are great concerns. according to ashok, (2012), over the years, several reasons have been cited by various scholars regarding the sustained existence of corrupt practices leading among them is its nexus with political corruption, lack of accountability and low regulatory controls. others have suggested a rigid bureaucracy with an exclusivist process of decision making in an overly centralized government. in nigeria, corruption has a moral (ethical), legal, and social dilemmas. the moral or ethical dilemmas form the basis of frustrations and consternation amongst all people across societies. a scenario of moral and legal standpoint is an example of nigerian police officers that collect bribe from a driver of a stolen vehicle trying to drive the vehicle to a point of resale. the moral perspective this action would be justified, however, at the time, the law forbid vehicle theft. in this case, an illegal action was moral in most regards. the bribe created the breach for the moral act to occur, which likely would not have been the case. arguably, to reach this end without the bribe would be even more moral. the bribe acted as the tipping mechanism for global moral action that was illegal in the country. 2.3 dynamics of corruption according to ashok (2012), corruption is not manifested in one single form but it typically takes at least four broad forms:  petty, administrative, or bureaucratic corruption  many corrupt acts are isolated transactions by individual public officials who abuse their office by demanding bribes and kickbacks, diverting public funds, or awarding favors in return for personal considerations. such acts are often referred to as petty corruption, even though, in the aggregate, a substantial amount of public resources may be involved.  grand corruption  this is the form of corruption whereby theft or misuse of vast amounts of public resources by state officials, usually members or people associated with the political or administrative elite. this form of corruption is what majority of the citizen point at because of the huge amount involved.  state or regulatory capture and influence peddling  state capture is the collusion by private actors with public officials or politicians for their mutual, private benefit. in this form of corruption, the private sector captures the state legislative, executive, and judicial apparatus for its own purposes. state capture coexists with the conventional (and opposite) view of corruption, in which public officials extort or otherwise exploit the private sector for private ends.  patronage, paternalism, clientelism, and being a team player  this form of corruption occurs when officials use their official position to provide assistance to clients or colleagues with the same geographic, ethnic, or cultural origin so that they receive preferential treatment in their dealings with the public sector, including public sector employment.  it is important to note that all the listed dynamics of corruption persist in nigeria, that is why it is difficult to tackle corruption in the nigerian system. hence, there is a need for anti-corruption strategies. 2.4 overview of the anti-corruption strategy in nigeria there are indications that the nigerian government has been curbing corruption for a long time, which lead the federal government of nigeria to set up anti-corruption strategies. these strategies or mechanism has been employed to curb corrupt practices in nigeria. these strategies are classified into:  institutional model; copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 4  legislative model; and  dual system approach (nwobashi and anthony, 2017; gashinbaki, 2017; adeniran, 2018; adeniran, 2019).  institutional model started in 1977 with the object of a gage declaration by the then head of state, gen. olusegun obasanjo; then followed ethical revolution of president shagari in 1981; war against indiscipline by gen. buhari in 1984; national orientation movement by gen. babangida in 1986; mass mobilization for social justice by gen. babangida in 1987; war against indiscipline and corruption by abacha; the independent corrupt practices and other related offenses commission (icpc) in 2000; the economic and financial crime commission in 2002 by president obasanjo (nwobashi and anthony, 2017; adeniran, 2018; adeniran, 2019). for the legislative model, anti-corruption legislations have been codified in several relevant sections of the criminal code and the penal code ordinance. also, available is the miscellaneous offenses act of 1985. one surprising thing is that anticorruption legislations have not fundamentally and substantially changed except the old laws are always like old wine in a new container which attracts slight modifications and new agencies assigned to handle it (gashinbaki, 2017; adeniran, 2018). the following legislation is in place and geared towards the fight against corruption and asset recovery in nigeria.  relevant sections of the criminal code and penal code,  miscellaneous offenses act, 1985,  the national drug law enforcement agency act (ndlea) of 1988,  code of conduct bureau and tribunal act, 1990,  banks and other financial institutions act, 1991 (amended in 2002),  money laundering act of 1995 (amended in 2002 & 2004),  foreign exchange act of 1995,  failed bank (recover debts) and financial malpractices in banks act of 1994 (amended in 1999),  advance fee fraud (known as 419) and other related offenses act of 1995 (nwobashi and anthony, 2017; adeniran, 2018).the dual system approach of anti-corruption involves the interface of government institutions/agencies with civil societies/pressure groups and individuals. a coherent relationship between the systems is expected to contribute maximally towards curbing corruption practices in nigeria. even though there are no exact statistics on the number of civil society groups in nigeria, they play a pivotal role in the fight against corruption even though the synergy between the civil society and government agencies is lacking in nigeria (nwobashi and anthony, 2017; adeniran, 2019). recently, in a bid to bulk corruption trend as a result of the inefficiencies of civil society and government agencies, nigeria’s ministry of finance recently decided to try a new approach by empowering the citizens to report corruption-related offenses (whistle blowing policy). the hope was that whistle blowing policy would provide established agencies like the efcc with actionable tips to track and recover stolen government funds (yemi, 2017). yemi further state that the policy seems to be working as there were various recovering as stated by nigeria’s minister of information, lai mohammed. adeniran (2019) states that despite the plausible results recorded with whistle blowing policy, it is pathetic to note that the efficiency of policy as at present is not clear; also it seems as if the policy is not sustainable because it lacks proper monitoring. 3. methodology from the survey conducted by transparency international (2017), it was revealed that finland is rated third least corrupt country and singapore is rated sixth least corrupt country in the world; the anti-corruption strategies adopted in these two countries were examined and the lessons derived were recommended for nigeria. 3.1 anti-corruption strategy in finland finnish society is democratic and egalitarian. it was one of the first countries in the world to grant all men and women the right to vote and stand for office. in addition, the standard of living is high with fairly even income distribution. this means that the level of wages in both the public and the private sectors can be termed reasonable, leading to the emergence of a fairly large middle class. these background factors also include an effective and inclusive system of education. such factors suggest that the finnish public tend to have a relatively good capacity to understand, exercise and safeguard their rights (joutsen and keränen, 2009; ari-veikko, 2014). an important element of finnish public administration is the impartiality and integrity of civil servants. a special manifestation of such thinking is that an official may not participate in the taking of a decision which may benefit or, alternatively, harm his or her interests or those of another person with whom he or she has a dependent relationship. in such cases, the public official must withdraw from consideration of the matter. from a procedural point of view, the finnish system is based on what is known as the referendary system, which is actually an old pillar of public administration. referendary is an official responsible for preparing official matters for a decision-making body. it is also worth emphasizing that the system is copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 5 based on collective and collegiate decision-making, which tends to diminish the likelihood of corruption. an important dimension of all such administrative work is publicity and transparency (joutsen and keränen, 2009; ari-veikko, 2014). as finnish culture and the administrative system support a clean government in various ways, the law enforcement and court system are not the major instances in the big picture of combating corruption. yet, as in any society, they have their own critical role to play. finland is an interesting case of anti-corruption policy in the sense that by international standards its anticorruption measures and institutions are weak. it does not have a separate unit dedicated to the investigation or prosecution of corruption-related offenses. this reflects the fact that the guiding principle for anti-corruption work is that corruption is not perceived as an isolated phenomenon, and is therefore not deemed to require separate legal provisions or separate supervisory bodies, nor even a separate strategy or action plan. instead, anti-corruption measures are integrated into general good governance policy grounded on the rule of law (joutsen and keränen, 2009; ari-veikko, 2014). 3.2 anti-corruption strategy in singapore the fact that corruption is not a way of life in singapore is an indication of the effectiveness of the anti-corruption policy adopted by the people's action party (pap) government after it took office in 11 th june 1959. the situation was completely different in colonial times. in fact, corruption was a part of the everyday lives of singaporeans during the colonial period, especially after the second world war (quah, 1988). among the first decisive steps towards clean government was the establishment of the corrupt practices investigation bureau (cpib) in the early 1950s as the independent anti-corruption agency, which was actually the first of its kind in the world (quah, 2011). this turn was based on the initiative by the colonial government after a serious corruption case involving the police and the unsatisfactory situation urged special attention. in spite of this, corruption continued to be rife throughout the sectors of public service, law enforcement being the most corrupted one. such a deplorable condition was due to inadequate legislation, widespread corrupt practices, the inferior position of the poorly educated population in the eyes of the police and civil servants, low salaries of civil servants and problems in recruiting officers for the anti-corruption agency from the singapore policy force on short secondment (tan, 1999). the newly-elected pap government in the late 1950s was determined to eradicate corruption in singapore in general and in the civil service in particular. its strategy for dealing with the problem of corruption emphasized the necessity of reducing both the opportunities and the need for corruption. from the beginning, top political leaders set themselves as role models for civil servants, divesting themselves of commercial ties, demonstrating high work ethics, avoiding any behavior that could be construed as an abuse of their office, and showing zero tolerance for corrupt behavior. by personal example, they created a fruitful soil for the atmosphere of honesty and integrity (tan, 1999). the pap government relied heavily on the prevention of corruption act (poca) and the corrupt practices investigation bureau (cpib) to spearhead its anti-corruption strategy. the primary aim of the poca and cpib was to reduce the opportunities for corruption and to increase the price to be paid for corrupt behavior if detected (quah, 1988). in the late 1980s, the essential pillars of singapore's effective anti-corruption policy were in place and started to bear fruit. it was important that the cpib since its inception investigated and prosecuted many leading politicians and bureaucrats, which was a sign to the whole of society of the determination to eradicate corruption (quah, 2007). an important part of the pap strategy was to tackle the root cause of corruption in the civil service. more than anything, this meant the constant improvement of salaries and working conditions. the assumption was that corruption becomes a serious problem in social conditions where the civil servants are generally paid very low salaries and where there is an unequal distribution of wealth. accordingly, the salaries of singaporean civil servants are fairly high by asian standards (quah, 1988). the same policy was adopted with politicians too. top politicians have reiterated prime minister lee kuan yew’s mantra that political leaders should be paid the top salaries that they deserve in order to ensure clean and honest government (quah, 1988). 4. discussion of findings 4.1 discussion of findings from the finland and singapore in tackling corruption, finland and singapore have succeeded. these two countries have different kinds of success stories as they have different approaches. finland's approach is seemingly evolutionary by nature, whereas singapore is more of a revolutionary case. from a context-specific point of view, they provide models for two different policies, which may be useful when considering country-specific approaches to combating corruption. finland adopts the model of monitoring and incentives policy while singapore adopts the model of changing the rules of the game policy (hanna et al., 2011). these two models can be used to build an ideal anti-corruption policy for nigeria. finland's model is fairly similar to those found in sweden, denmark, and norway on the one hand, and to some extent also countries of the british commonwealth such as new zealand and australia which are among the least corrupt countries in the western world. singapore's model resembles hong kong and to a lesser extent japan which represents the asian developmental state model. ari-veikko (2014) designed the table 1 below which shows the detailed ethics management models derived from the two cases and contexts. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 6 table 1: two ethics management models: finnish versus the singaporean model. features the evolutionary culture-based ethics management model the revolutionary compliance-based ethics management model country finland singapore background agenda welfare and equality (social); welfare development and growth (economic); developmentalism democracy the democratic system, free press, civil liberties, multi-party system semi-authoritarian system (soft authoritarianism), limited freedoms, dominantparty system role of politics political pluralism; consensual institutional support for anti-corruption policy personalized leadership; leading politicians’ critical role in supporting anti-corruption policy role of administration and anti-corruption agency (aca) clean, transparent administration; no separate anti-corruption agency clean administration; special role of strong anticorruption agency major structural support for anticorruption policy cultural values and norms political leadership and institutional measures development of anticorruption policy evolutionary; piecemeal, integrated policy revolutionary; masterminded anti-corruption policy approach to anticorruption policy weak; holistic approach; no specific anticorruption policy or legislation strong; spearhead approach; anticorruption policy and anti-corruption law have an important role characteristic measures of anticorruption policy lenient measures: ethical and cultural codes and principles, instructing, internalization of norms and values. tough measures: investigation, compliance, control, punishment source: ari-veikko (2014) these two cases point to clear fundamental differences in anti-corruption policy: in a semi-authoritarian society like singapore, strong leadership and an efficient anti-corruption agency are necessary conditions for successful policy and related cultural change. in the finnish case, the relationship is the reverse: the cultural background facilitates non-corrupt procedures which rely on transparency and democratic values. the case of nigeria can be likened to singapore which is a semi-authoritarian society. hence, implementable anti-corruption policy should be formulated and strong leadership and an efficient anticorruption agency are needed for successful anti-corruption policy. 4.2 lessons from finland  in finland, the level of wages in both the public and the private sectors can be termed reasonable, leading to the emergence of a fairly large middle class.  finnish public tends to have a relatively good capacity to understand, exercise and safeguard their rights.  finland adopts referendary system of preparing official matters for a decision-making body as it tends to diminish the likelihood of corruption.  although anti-corruption measures and institutions in finland are weak as it does not have a separate unit dedicated to the investigation or prosecution of corruption-related offenses, there is a guiding principle for anti-corruption work. the principle is that corruption is not perceived as an isolated phenomenon, and is therefore not deemed to require separate legal provisions or separate supervisory bodies, nor even a separate strategy or action plan. instead, anticorruption measures are integrated into general good governance policy grounded on the rule of law.  finland adopts the model of monitoring and incentives policy. 4.3 lessons from singapore  singapore achieved effective anti-corruption through anti-corruption policy that has been in existence since the year 1959. despite the policy, there was a situation of deplorable condition due to inadequate legislation, widespread corrupt practices, the inferior position of the poorly educated population in the eyes of the police and civil servants, low salaries of civil servants. the new government in the late 1950s set up a strategy for dealing with the problem of corruption by emphasized the necessity of reducing both the opportunities and the need for corruption. it was copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 7 recorded that top political leaders set themselves as role models for civil servants, divesting themselves of commercial ties, demonstrating high work ethics, avoiding any behavior that could be construed as an abuse of their office, and showing zero tolerance for corrupt behavior.  in the year 1980, the policy of 1950 was modified such that new statements were introduced, this led to the investigation and prosecution of many leading politicians and bureaucrats, which was a huge sign to the singaporean society of the determination to eradicate corruption. this event shows that there was nothing like “immunity” in the policy context.  singapore adopts the model of changing the rules of the game policy. 5. conclusion and recommendation this study examines the anti-corruption strategies in finland and singapore. in finland, it was observed that anti-corruption measures and institutions are weak as it does not have a separate unit dedicated to investigate or prosecute corruption-related offenses, but there is a guiding principle for the anti-corruption framework. the principle is that corruption is not perceived as an isolated phenomenon, and is therefore not deemed to require separate legal provisions or separate supervisory bodies, nor even a separate strategy or action plan. instead, anti-corruption measures are integrated into general good governance policy grounded on the rule of law. in singapore, anti-corruption was achieved through anti-corruption policy that has been in existence since the year 1959. despite the policy, there was a situation of deplorable condition due to inadequate legislation, widespread corrupt practices, the inferior position of the poorly educated population in the eyes of the police and civil servants, low salaries of civil servants. the new government in the late 1950s set up a strategy for dealing with the problem of corruption by emphasized the necessity of reducing both the opportunities and the need for corruption. it was recorded that top political leaders set themselves as role models for civil servants, divesting themselves of commercial ties, demonstrating high work ethics, avoiding any behavior that could be construed as an abuse of their office, and showing zero tolerance for corrupt behavior. from the study, the following recommendations were derived for nigeria:  there is a need to establish a unified definition of corruption in the policy context, content, and consequence.  new laws should be created with severe punishment and efficient monitoring of implementing the new laws.  top political leaders in nigeria should set themselves as role models for civil servants, and deny themselves of commercial ties, demonstrate high work ethics, and avoid any behavior that could be construed as an abuse of their office.  the model of monitoring and incentives policy should be adopted; also the model of changing rules of game policy should be adopted if needed.  there is a need to have exact statistics on the number of registered civil society groups in nigeria so as to strengthen the synergy between civil society and government agencies towards fighting corruption.  the wages of the public and private sector in nigeria should be revisited and monitored to close or reduce the wide gap between the rich and the poor.  there is a need for public awareness of safeguarding human rights in nigeria.  nigeria should adopt a referendary system of preparing official matters for a decision-making body as it will diminish the likelihood of corruption.  in addition to the institutional model, legislative model, and dual system approach of curbing corruption in nigeria, anti-corruption measures should be integrated into general good governance policy grounded on the rule of law.  the immunity placed upon certain offices especially in executives that have handicapped anti-corruption agencies from prosecuting the offenders should be totally removed. the traces of immunity in the anti-corruption policy context should be removed. references adeniran, a. o. 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(eds.), curbing corruption: toward a model for building national integrity, edi development studies. world bank, washington, d.c., pp.59-66. tapales, p. (2001). an evaluation of anti-corruption programs in the philippines. world bank, operations evaluation department. washington, dc. transparency international corruption perceptions index 2017 quah, j. s. t. (1988). corruption in asia with special reference to singapore: patterns and consequences. asian journal of public administration, 10(1): 80–98. quah, j. s. t. (2007). combating corruption singapore-style: lessons for other asian countries. maryland series in contemporary asian studies, (2): 189. the university of maryland, school of law, baltimore, maryland. quah, j. s. t. (2011). innovation in public governance in singapore: solving the housing shortage and curbing corruption’, in a.-v. anttiroiko, s.j. bailey and pekka valkama (eds.), innovative trends in public governance in asia, ios press, amsterdam, pp.121-136. united nation development programme (undp) (2007). governance for sustainable human development. a undp policy paper. wilson, g. (2005). economic and social infrastructure: provision, distribution, and maintenance in chukuemeka, a. and nyekachi, a. (eds) applied economics in perspectives. port harcourt: rod printing and publishing company, chapter 5 (pp. 93-128). yemi, k. (2017). nigeria's new corruption whistleblowing policy is helping the government recover looted funds. retrieved on 23rd december 2017 from http://www.qz.com/909014 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 62 iran’s nuclear decision making and the issue of nuclear nonproliferation in the international system ibrahim suleiman 1 , hamza shehu mohammed 1 & haruna mohammed haruna 1 1 department of political science bauchi state university,gadau nigeria. correspondence: ibrahim suleiman, department of political science bauchi state university, gadau nigeria. e-mail: isuleiman@basug.edu.ng. tel: +2348060287718 received: january 12, 2018 accepted: january 18, 2018 online published: january 21, 2018 abstract this paper studies the reason for iran’s nuclear decisions making by using the realist approach in the international politics, also the issue of nuclear non-proliferation in the international system and why the international system is totally against the iran’s nuclear program? the study employs both primary and secondary sources as a method of data collection. the study reveals that that national interest should come first before any collective ones. the process which decisions are made is only determined by self-serving interests of those who possess power in the international system. the realist school of thought provides the critical opinions propounded by various political science scholars on power politics and national interest in the international system. according to hans morgenthau a classical realist scholar, society has to be governed generally by objective laws which are rooted in human nature. to him theory is necessary so that to bring order in the international politics, he rejected the idea of liberalism and idealism. theory has to reflect the objective laws like power, military, diplomacy and norms of the society. first of all we have to look at the human nature which is seen as a rational, we have to examine through individual, group, and societal level because naturally human nature is selfish. morgenthau defined the state as a collection of human beings who are self-interested, thus the state will have to deal with order interested states in the world politics. the aim of state in the international politics is pursuing national interest which is basically about power. he viewed international politics as a struggle for power.thus, the realist scholars maintained that in the international politics, states happened to be the key actors and that politics is a conflictual, a struggle for anarchical environment in which nation-states defend on their own capabilities to survive. keywords: iran’s nuclear, realist theory, non-proliferation & international system. 1. introduction international relations can be defined as the interaction between two or more countries in the international system. in the international system no country can exist in isolation hence, countries must interact with each other in order to satisfy their needs in terms of interest which include economic, political, military and diplomatic issues. international relations are the process whereby different sovereign nation-states will interact and transact with each other in many issues. thus, this paper is going to examine the reason for iran nuclear decisions making by using the realist approach in the international politics, also the effects of this weapon to international system and why the international system is totally against the iran’s nuclear program? morgenthau opines that national interest should come first before any collective ones. the process which decisions are made is only determined by self-serving interests of those who possess power in the international system. the realist school of thought provides the criticalopinions propounded by various political science scholars on power politics and national interest in the international system (art, and jervis, 2005). 2. objectives of the paper  to examine the reasons for developing nuclear weapon by iran.  to examine the issue of nuclear non-proliferationin the international system.  to examine the ways of deterring nuclear proliferation in the international system. 3. questions of investigation  what are the reasons for developing nuclear weapon by iran?  how does nuclear proliferation will affect the security of international system?  what are the possible ways of deterring nuclear proliferation in the international system? www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 63 4. research method this study used qualitative approach base on content analysis and data collected from various sources. the primary sources include data from media reports, which include radio, newspapers, and magazines. whereas, secondary sources include data collected from text books, journals, and scholars contribution. 5. theoretical perspectives realismis one of the dominant theories of international relations after the end of the second world war. hans morgenthau one of the classical realist scholar posit that society has to be governed generally by objective laws which is rooted in human nature. to him theory is necessary so that to bring order in the international politics, he rejected the idea of liberalism and idealism. he argued that theory has to reflect the objective laws like power, military, diplomacy and norms of the society. according to him first of all we have to look at the human nature which he sees as a rational, we have to examine through individual, group, and societal level because naturally human nature is selfish. morgenthau defined the state as a collection of human beings who are selfinterested, thus the state will have to deal with order interested states in the world politics.theaim of state in the international politics is pursuinga national interest which is basically about power. he viewed international politics as a struggle for power(morgenthau, 1954). the realist scholars maintained that in the international politics states happened to be the key actors and that politics is a conflictual, a struggle for anarchical environment in which nation-states defend on their own capabilities to survive. nation-states exist in a condition of legal sovereignty in which there are degrees of capabilities with greater or lesser states as actors; states can be seen as unitary actors in the international system and there is diversity between domestic policyand foreign policy. as rational actor state characterised by a decision-making process leading to choice based on national interest; and power is consider the most important concept in explaining state behaviour.the concept of balance of power can be seen by the realist scholars as the mechanism of regulating the behaviour of nation-states in the international system, also as a tool of mitigating the anarchical structure of the world politics. hans morgenthau observed that aspirations for power among several nations where by each state is trying to maximise its own power in order to maintain or to attain the hegemonic status leads to configuration which is called balance of power.balance of power is necessary for the existence of society in order to reduce the competition and brings harmony in the international system. without balance of power in international politics, one element or state may gain ascendency over the other nations encroach their interests and rights, and may ultimately destroy them. thus, it became necessary for the nation-states to have a kind of mechanism or tool that can stabilize the system without destroying the multiplicity of nation-states in the international arena (morgenthau, 1954). balance of power can be seen by reducing the capability of states who are trying to get more power by possessing nuclear weapon and military strength in order to compete with the hegemons in the international system. iran is an example, whereby she is trying to acquire nuclear weapon for self-defence and dominate the middle east region. balance of power can also be consider by increasing the military strength of nation-state in order to balance its power or to possess the same capability with its rival, during the period of cold war both the united states and russia possess nuclear capability, and the us strength is more than the soviet union but they agree to manage their rivalry not to engage themselves into war.there are different ways of applying balance of power such as divide and rule, compensations, disarmament and alliance. therefore, for the purpose of this paper, disarmament method can be use in order to analyse the issue of iran nuclear weapon, and to explain how the major powers are trying to stop iran especially the united states of america (ibid).armament is the process or mechanism used by the major powers in order to reduce the military capability of the nation-states under the leadership of united nation. the issue of armament became necessary as a result of fear, suspicious and insecurity in the international politics. the techniques of stabilizing balance of power through the means of reduction of armaments require a quantitative evaluation and influence of the other major powers which is mostly cannot be realised. the issue of iran can only be challenge by the united states and the other major powers. 6. reasons foriran’s nuclear programme the nuclear programme according to the iranian perspective was peaceful in order to generate energy for its domestic usage and not for building or enriching nuclear weapon. in many occasion, tehran government insist on that decision. since 1970 at that time the relationship between iran and united states was peaceful, the united states secretary of state henry kissinger alleged that the planning to acquire nuclear power would contribute to economyof iran also help the remaining oil reserves to petrochemicals.however, after the iranian revolution, the american perception on iran is totally changed. the us assert that there is no needfor a state that have oil and gas like iran to build or generate nuclear fuel cycle facilities, iran was accused of pursuing nuclear weapon program secretly since it has no need for nuclear energy because of its oil resources. in 1970s, government of iran under president shah reza regimes were allowed to pursue its nuclear programme peacefully under npt’s provisions. however, after the revolution and consequently in this millenniumduring www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 64 the radical regime of presidentahmadinejad,iran were notgiven the chance to pursue the nuclear program as greed in 1970s (wohlforth, 1999). the effects of nuclear proliferation in the international system the us strongly believed that the uranium enrichment program by iran is aimed at producing materials for nuclear weapons.hence, american government calls for international attention and hash policies of sanctions against iran in order to suspend its nuclear programme. since 2003 the iaea is investigating iran up to 2011, with the aim of verifying the iran’s nuclear programme and its intention. the united nations supervisory panel up to now can’t judge the intention of iran nuclear programme which the us sees as an intention of producing nuclear weapon and threatening the peaceful coexistence of middle east and international system. thecall for strikes against iran by the us became necessary due to the threat of iran’s actions in challenging american interests particularly in middle eastern region.the united states maintained that developing nuclear weapon by iran will threating the peace and tranquillity of the middle east and serve as a tools for fuelling the conflict within the region, also threatening the peace and harmony of the international system because iran has been accusedof sponsoring terrorist organizations like hezbollah and hamas. america being a friend to israel doesn’t want iran to become regional hegemons and threating the security of israel. they us always want to protect the interest of israelian states against the palestinian government especially in the united nations security council. 7. the possible ways of deterring nuclear proliferation the nuclear proliferationis premised upon the realist approach to the international system. realism evaluates the consequences of political actions in order to have benefit of politics. john mearsheimer provides an explanation about the behaviour of nation-state in the international system, he opined that the international politics is an anarchy; where by the great powers possess some offensive military strength; and states can never trust each other’s intentions. moreover, survival of the states in the international politics is one of the primary goals of any great power thus great powers consider themselves as rational actors by studying the external environment and think strategically in order to survive (mearsheimer,2001). kenneth waltz sees self-help as the only mechanism that will help the states to survive and fulfill its national interest and also provides for their own security in an anarchic order of the world politics. the only way that can achieve security is through defensive position or deterrence. the model calls for building defences in order to become strong enough with the view of preventing anyone from even trying to overcome your military capability. however, in this nuclear era it seems to be very difficult since no regulations can limit the influence of a nuclear offensive. therefore, the only solution to state is to build counterstrike retaliatory forces to any danger of attacks or threat to their own security especially from external environment. deterrence mechanism can only be achieved through two ways, the ability of state to defend also its ability to punish in the international system (waltz, 1979). therefore, based on the above notion, also in thisunequal balance of nuclear power, the state that doesn’t have nuclear capability lacks the defensive ability to prevent any nuclear attackwhereas; the state that owns nuclear capability has the ultimate preventive means against conventional threats. hence, with regard to the argument of realist scholars, the united states and other major powers they should play a role in tackling the iran nuclear decision and other nation-states like north korea and the like. the us being a hegemonic power has the capability to deter the actions of iran with the cooperation of the other major powers.the threats of nuclear weapon today are not from the major powers as like during the cold war rather from the emerging powers. furthermore, in this era of suicide bombing where by non-states actors are struggling to have nuclear weapon, they should be deterred from getting it and the us has the capacity to deter any states that provides weapons or financial support to terrorist groups. the u.s. means of tackling problemsof nuclear proliferation and terrorism focused on denial,such as securing moveableweapons, materials,and deny any access to it, also by making it very difficult for terrorist’s to succeedin their actions.stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, particularly to states such as iran willbrings peace, harmony and regional non-proliferation. as a result of increased in the number of nuclear powers, the potentiality for spreading the weapon to non-state actors as well as the danger of using it, is a threat to international harmony.the iran use of uranium in order to have nuclear energybrings about risk in the fuel cycles and nuclear weapons programs in the long-run. in one occasion, president barrack obama maintained that the us must retain a sound nuclear preventive major in order to curtail the intension of nation-state.iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is useful in gaining the support domestically for theirislamic regime. thoughthe government of iran are notresponsible to the people effectively, nevertheless, the government usecleric’s popularity and support in order to reduce the tensions against their regime. they use religion as a tool in order to overcome economic, political, and social problems, the islamic elites look for opportunities to changethe minds of iranian people. they successfully construct that nuclear issue in terms of nationalism, enlightens their citizen about any opposition against the iran nuclear weapons will be consider an attempt to undermine the sovereignty of iran by the west especially the united statesof america (cnn, 2014). www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 65 moreover, iran’s continue increasing its military capability and consider any international efforts to enforce the requirements of the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (npt) as western discrimination against them.therefore, the united states insisted that iran has the capability of producing nuclear weapon as a result of assessment conducted by the united intelligent council which concludes that tehran tried to develop nuclear weapon by using the tactic negotiations delay in order to reach its target. despite many negotiation talks with regard to the iran nuclear weapon, up to now agreement cannot be reached about its programme. sometimes the leaders of iran provoked the westerns countries with the statement about the calling for the elimination of israel, and in many occasion this will become a stumbling block to the negotiation talks. in the last sitting of the five major powers such as russia, china, britain, france, us, and germany with iran on 24 th november, in vienna they all agreed that the discussion will be extend for seven more months in order to give chance for comprehensive agreement that will end up a 12 years dispute on iran nuclear programme. they looked at the deal which they have signed in geneva last year november and it will remain in place during the course of negotiations until july 1, 2015 (bbc, 2014). 8. conclusion the issue of nuclear weapon became a debatable topic of discussion in the international world politics. even last week, negotiation talks took place in vienna which comprises the representatives of the five major powers plus germany together with iran representative. the major powers demanded iran to suspend its nuclear programme in order to give room for lifting its economic sanctions by the un. the iran representative argued that iran doesn’t have any intention to acquire nuclear weapon rather its programme is purely energy related. therefore, the issue of deterring country from acquiring nuclear weapon is verysignificant in order not toallow the proliferation of weapons not only tostate actors but to non-state actors such as terrorist organisation like isis, al qaeda and boko haram in nigeria. references art, j. r. & jervis, r. (2005) international politics: enduring concepts and contemporary issues, seven edition; new york. bbc iran nuclear talks: http//www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30149325 (accessed 25 th 11 2014). cnn iran nuclear deal limits ability to create nuclear weapons: http//www.cnn.com/2014/11/12/politics/irancongress, (accessed 20 th 11 2014). mearsheimer, j. (2001) world offensive realism and the struggle for security; a review essay: the tragedy of great power politics. new york. morgenthau, h.j. (1948) politics among nations: the struggle for power and peace, 2 nd eds, new york: alfred a. knopf. morgenthau, h.j. (2005) “six principles of political realism”: in art & jervis op. cit. p 7-13. international politics: enduring concepts and contemporary issues, seventh edition:new york. waltz, k.n. (1979) theory of international politics; reading mass: addison wesley. wohlforth, w. c.(1999) the stability of a unipolar world; international security: 21, 1:1. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 81 natural disasters in nigeria: an econometric model emmanuel okokondem okon 1 1 department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria correspondence: department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria, e-mail: tonydom57@yahoo.com. tel: +2348023275716 received: january 12, 2018 accepted: january 17, 2018 online published: february 8, 2018 abstract this paper models and estimates the occurrence of natural disaster in nigeria using the residual-based test for cointegration within an autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) framework and error correction specification between the period 1970 and 2016, the results from the estimated static model shows that dlog(tem), log(gdpc) and log(urb) are long-run determinants of natural disasters in nigeria. the short run error correction model results revealed that the coefficients of dlog(co2), dlog(wis), log(gdpc), log(urb), dlog(gdpc(-2)) and log(urb(-1))seem to be significant and helpful in explaining the occurrence of natural disaster (nad)in nigeria. the error correction term shows that speed of adjustment of disequilibrium in natural disaster (nad) in the previous year which is corrected in the current year is about 44.3 percent. therefore, nigerian government should among other recommendations embark on reducing urbanization growth by making sure that industries which forge linkages with rural occupations should be promoted to mitigate a high rural-urban migration. establishing of very effective early warning systems for meteorological, geophysical, biological, social and industrial hazards should be ensured. key words: natural disaster, autoregressive distributed lag model. 1. introduction economic growth, reflected in increases in national output per capita, makes possible an improved material standard of living. sustainable development, popularly and concisely defined as ‘meeting the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,' directly addresses the utilization of natural resources, the state of the environment, and intergenerational equity (hess, 2013). un organizations, various international institutions, and governments have placed importance on natural disasters and sustainable development (adrc, 2003). during the past four decades, natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, tsunamis, tropical cyclones and other severe storms, tornadoes and high winds, river floods and coastal flooding, wildfires and associated haze, drought, sand/dust storms, and insect infestations have caused major loss of human lives and livelihoods, the destruction of economic and social infrastructure, as well as environmental damage(isdr, 2003). economic losses have increased almost ten times during this period. in recent years, floods in algeria, bangladesh, ethiopia, guinea, india, mozambique, nigeria, sudan, thailand, venezuela and vietnam, volcanic eruptions in ecuador, democratic republic of congo, indonesia, montserrat, and the philippines, and earthquakes in afghanistan, el salvador, india, indonesia, japan, peru and turkey, have created widespread social, economic and environmental destruction. in some cases, natural disasters can amplify man-made emergencies or vice versa, as epitomized by the drought, earthquakes and unfolding events in afghanistan (isdr, 2003). the escalation of severe disaster event striggered by natural hazards and related technological and environmental disasters is increasingly threatening both sustainable development and poverty-reduction initiatives. the loss of human lives and the rise in the cost of reconstruction efforts and loss of development assets has forced the issue of disaster reduction and risk management higher on the policy agenda of affected governments as well as multilateral and bilateral agencies and ngos (isdr, 2003). this trend led to the adoption of the international strategy for disaster reduction (isdr) by governments to succeed and promote implementation of the recommendations www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 82 emanating from the international decade for natural disaster reduction (1990-1999). the aim of the isdr is to mobilize governments, un agencies, regional bodies, the private sector and civil society to unite efforts in building resilient societies by developing a culture of prevention and preparedness(isdr, 2003). in the light of this, the national emergency management agency (nema) was established via act 12 as amended by act 50 of 1999, to manage natural and man-disasters in nigeria. basically it formulates policy on all activities relating to disaster management and coordinates the plans and programmes for efficient and effective response to disasters at national level (shuaib, 2009). indeed, the fallout of the recent flooding in the year 2012 shows how far nigeria is from meeting the demands of managing natural disasters (tribune, 2012). hundreds of villages were destroyed and thousands of people were affected by the floods, which occurred after heavy rainfall caused the benue river to rise above its banks. the situation was further complicated by additional water that was released from a dam in neighboring cameroon. in some places, houses were totally submerged, their residents forced to flee (msf, 2012). out of nigeria's 36 states, 32 were affected by the floods (ocha, 15 nov 2012). nigeria is so blessed that the cases of natural disasters are few and far between; and even the few cases of natural disasters that the country has experience are mild compared to what some developed countries of the world have had to contend with (orhewere, 2012). the aim of this paper is to build an empirical model that will help to understand the mechanism of natural hazards of atmospherical, geological, hydrological, and biological origins and to analyze the transformation of these hazards into disasters. this paper is of importance because of the emphasis on disaster response and humanitarian assistance which have absorbed significant amounts of resources that could have been allocated for development efforts. if this trend were to persist, coping capacities of nigeria will likely be overwhelmed. as such the paper offers proactive measures to prevent occurrence of natural disaster instead of reactionary measures to such crises. the intention is to increase the resistance of the society to natural disasters. the rest of the paper is therefore organized as follows. following the introductory section, section 2 reviews the literature. after examining natural disaster and sustainable development in nigeria, section 3 also specification an estimation model. an econometric analysis of natural disaster in nigeria is presented in section 4 while section 5 presents the summary, conclusions and policy implications. 2. review of related literature sustainable development means encouraging economic growth while protecting the environment and improving our quality of life (gov.uk, 2013). for as long as historical records of extreme events in the natural environment have been kept, statistics indicate an increasing frequency of disasters (zenklusen, 2007). in the second half of the 20 th century the number of large natural catastrophes doubled and yearly damages in monetary terms increased by more than a factor of 6 (munich re, 2006). causes and effects of disasters appear to be closely related to economic development. in rich countries, natural catastrophes involve physical damage and few casualties, whereas in the developing world the human cost is far greater. globally, more than 90% of total lives lost to natural disasters are due to events in developing countries (kreimer and arnold, 2000; guhasapir et al., 2004). in absolute monetary terms, natural disasters entail greater damages in industrialized countries while in relation to gdp, impacts appear primarily significant in the developing world (mechler, 2003). a variety of explanations is put forward in the literature for both the increase in disaster impacts over time and their contrasting repercussions in developing and industrialized countries. firstly, global demographic dynamics and economic growth expose more people and their assets to risk. secondly, urbanization leads to a concentration of population, wealth and increasingly complex economic activities. a trend which may be accompanied by the growth of cities onto marginal lands. in combination, these processes can increase both the vulnerability of socio-economic systems and their exposure to natural hazards (zenklusen, 2007). thirdly, anthropogenic changes to the natural environment from local deforestation to global climate change are assumed in most of the literature to contribute to the rising frequency of extreme weather events and to their increasingly disastrous effects. finally, development appears to explain differences in the vulnerability of physical structures and socio-economic systems to extreme events in the natural environment. in other words: disaster risk is a ramification of poverty at the level of individuals, households, regions and countries (zenklusen, 2007). if the distribution of catastrophic risk is influenced by the level of development, what are, in reversed causality, the effects of natural disasters on development (zenklusen, 2007)? on this problem, there is considerable disagreement in catastrophe literature. contrasting statements on the macroeconomic repercussions of disasters and their effects on growth and development indicate an intense debate. dha (1994), for example, concludes that "disasters frequently wipe out years of development programming and set the slow course of improvement in the third world countries further behind, wasting precious resources." eclac (2003) finds natural catastrophes to "have a major impact on the living conditions, economic performance and environmental assets and services of affected countries or regions. consequences may be long term and may even irreversibly affect economic and social structures and the environment." such statements, however, are not undisputed as is illustrated by albala-bertrand (1993) objections, http://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/floods-situation-report-no-2-15-november-2012 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 83 which have become a classic in this debate: "... disasters are primarily a problem of development, they are not necessarily a problem for development." 3. natural disaster and sustainable development in nigeria the top 10 natural disasters in nigeria between 1980-2011 show that they are mainly made up of drought, flood and epidemic. while drought affected 3,000,000 people, flood inundated areas that led to the evacuation of 3,014,265 people and epidemic affected 80,000 people (see table 1 in appendix). in all, the ten top natural disasters affected 6,094,265. among the ten top natural disasters that affected nigeria, flood has highest frequency and affected more people. all the major floods that led to the displacement of people in nigeria occurred between 1980 and 2000 decades (odjugo, 2012).this period coincided with the period when rainfall becomes more erratic with higher intensity due to intensifying impacts of climate change (odjugo, 2005, 2012). in 2009 and 2010, nigeria ranked 12th and 11th amongst countries with the highest reported levels of displacement by sudden-onset disasters worldwide, according to idmc's global data. flooding and soil erosion in the states along the niger river and its tributaries, river katsinaala and river benue regularly cause internal displacement. about a million people living in the low-lying plains of the river niger are considered at risk (chinedu, 2008; u.s.dos, 2011). according to the national emergency management agency, floods and storms displaced thousands of people in 2011 and up to two million people in 2010, mainly in jigawa, sokoto and kebbi states (idmc, 2012a). the 2010 floods where notably triggered by the opening of floodgates on the challawa and tiga dams by the authorities, following heavy rains (bbc, 24 sept. 2010). floods displaced another 140,000 people in 2009 (dartmouth floods observatory) (idmc, 2012b). affected states included zamfara, kaduna, niger, benue, adamawa, nassarawa, sokoto, jigawa, and abuja. most recently, nigeria witnessed a spate of floods that ravaged different parts of country in 2012, with the bursting of the banks of the rivers niger and benue and their adjoining tributaries. from central nigeria down to the south into the niger delta, unprecedented floods destroyed lives and properties worth billions in states within the drainage basin of the two rivers. several hectares of farms, livestock, homes and infrastructures were destroyed. the red cross reports put the figure at 137 people killed (idmc, 2012). thousands of people were displaced from their homes due to the swelling floodwaters. the worst hit states were kogi, benue, taraba, anambra, delta and the niger delta communities (idmc, 2012). the 10 deadliest natural disasters in nigeria between 1980 and 2011 claimed 19,537 lives and they are epidemic in nature (see table 1 in appendix). the deadliest of the epidemic is the bacterial infectious disease (cholera) which started 6th of may, 1991. it affected 10,000 people and killed 7,289 people in bauchi and kaduna states of nigeria. the least among the 10 is also cholera that claimed 353 lives in july 2010. the 10 costliest disasters in nigeria destroyed property worth $189.5bn (n30.3trillion) (seetable1 in appendix). apart from the 1983 drought that destroyed property worth $71.7bn, all other destructions resulted from flood. it is therefore obvious that among the 10 natural disasters in nigeria, flood is the costliest and it affected more people while epidemic is the deadliest. nigeria is vulnerable to many hazards, including, but not limited to, fires, flooding, transportation and industrial accidents, and political conflicts (ibem, 2011). nigeria is vulnerable to these and other hazards and disaster impacts because of high population densities in urban areas (50% of nigerians live in urban areas) (nwaka, 2005), an inability to integrate risk reduction measures into national development plans and programs (abang, 2005), and poverty (ndmf 2010). in addition, scarcity of land, especially in urban centers like lagos, has led to inordinate construction of structures in hazardous areas (nema, 2010; ibem, 2011). furthermore, the low level of disaster education is another reason why nigeria is vulnerable to hazards (nema, 2010; ibem, 2011). variables of sustainable development, primarily the human development index and other economic factors, especially in a country like nigeria which is affected by natural disasters shows that nigeria’s hdi value for 2012 is 0.471—in the low human development category—positioning the country at 153 out of 187 countries and territories (undp, 2013). between 2005 and 2012, nigeria’s hdi value increased from0.434 to 0.471, an increase of 9 percent or average annual increase of about 1.2 percent (undp, 2013). the rank of nigeria’s hdi for 2011 based on data available in 2012 and methods used in 2012 was– 154out of 187 countries (undp, 2013). in the 2011 hdr, nigeria was ranked 156 out of 187 countries. however, it is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed (undp, 2013). table 2 reviews nigeria’s progress in each of the hdi indicators. between 1980 and 2012, nigeria’s life expectancy at birth increased by 6.8 years, mean years of schooling increased by 0.2 years and expected years of schooling increased by 2.4 years. nigeria’s gni per capita increased by about 34 percent between 1980 and 2012. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 84 table 2: nigeria’s hdi trends based on consistent time series data, new component indicators and new methodology year life expectancy at birth expected years of schooling mean years of schooling gni per capita (2005 ppp$) hdi value 1980 45.5 6.6 1,571 1985 45.9 8.4 1,202 1990 45.6 6.5 1,274 1995 45.1 6.5 1,303 2000 46.3 7.9 1,285 2005 49 9 5 1,540 0.434 2010 51.4 9 5.2 1,928 0.462 2011 51.9 9 5.2 2,017 0.467 2012 52.3 9.0 5.2 2,102 0.471 source: undp (2013) nigeria's economy is struggling to leverage the country's vast wealth in fossil fuels in order to displace the crushing poverty that affects about 57% of its population (wikipedia, 2012). economists refer to the coexistence of vast wealth in natural resources and extreme personal poverty in developing countries like nigeria as the "resource curse". although "resource curse" is more widely understood to mean an abundance of natural resources which fuels official corruption resulting in a violent competition for the resource by the citizens of the nation. nigeria's exports of oil and natural gas—at a time of peak prices—have enabled the country to post merchandise trade and current account surpluses in recent years. reportedly, 80% of nigeria's energy revenues flow to the government, 16% covers operational costs, and the remaining 4% go to investors (wikipedia, 2012). however, the world bank has estimated that as a result of corruption 80% of energy revenues benefit only 1% of the population (wikipedia, 2012). in 2005, nigeria achieved a milestone agreement with the paris club of lending nations to eliminate all of its bilateral external debt. under the agreement, the lenders will forgive most of the debt, and nigeria will pay off the remainder with a portion of its energy revenues. outside of the energy sector, nigeria's economy is highly inefficient. moreover, human capital is underdeveloped— as earlier stated, nigeria ranked 153 out of 187 countries in the united nations development index in 2012 (undp, 2013)—and non-energy-related infrastructure is inadequate. 4. specification of model natural disasters have their root causes in the normal activities of the earth. in recent generations however, man's increased knowledge and technology has served to trigger some natural disasters. a natural disaster is the consequence of a natural hazard which affects human activities. human vulnerability, exacerbated by the lack of planning or appropriate emergency management, leads to financial, environmental or human losses. the resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster, and their resilience (na, n.d.). this understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability". a natural hazard will hence never result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability. since natural disasters are naturally occurring events, let’s start by assuming that the occurrence of natural disaster depends on factors such as hydrometeorological, geophysical, biological and economic vulnerability: nad = ƒ(hyd, gph, bio, evu) …………………..(1) where nad is occurrence of natural disasters, hyd are hydrometeorological factors, i.e., natural processes or phenomena of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic nature that may cause loss of lives or injuries, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. these include floods and wave surges, storms, landslides, avalanches, and droughts and related disasters (extreme temperatures and forest/scrub fires) (odjugo, 2012).gph are geophysical factors, i.e., natural earth processes or phenomena that may cause loss of lives or injuries, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. these include earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. bio are biological factors, i.e., processes of organic origin or those conveyed by biological vectors, including exposure to pathogenic microorganisms, toxins and bioactive substances, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/resource_curse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/resource_curse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emergency_management www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 85 which may cause loss of lives or injuries, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation. these include epidemics and insect infestations (odjugo, 2012).evu is economic vulnerability. the three groups of natural disaster are associated with distinct patterns and forms of economic vulnerability (evu). this is in part because of differences in their frequency of occurrence and predictability. vulnerability is the potential to suffer harm or loss, expressed in terms of sensitivity and resilience or of the magnitude of the consequences of the potential event. lets further assume that the vulnerability of an economy to natural hazards is determined by a complex, dynamic set of influences relating to factors such as the type of natural hazard (tnh); the overall structure of an economy (ose), including natural resource endowments; the geographic size of a country (gsc); the country’s income level (gdp per capita)and stage of development (vulnerability is timedependent, the country’s stage of socioeconomic development matters, as does its state of technical and scientific advancement); prevailing socioeconomic conditions (psc), including the policy environment and the state of the economy (isdr, 2003, odi, 2005). it is presented as follows: evu = ƒ(tnh, gsc, ose, gdp, psc) ………….(2) in terms of the estimation techniques, the scale and underlying determinants of natural disasters in a country would be best understood using systems-of-equations approaches. this is because of the interdependence of various factors. however, systems-of-equations approaches are also subject to statistical limitations, such as unavailability of data, the inability to correct for autocorrelation, a significant barrier to accuracy for most time-series studies. as such single equation models would be appropriate. admittedly, they lack the ability to yield certain parameters, such as cross price elasticities that are calculable with a systems-of-equations approach. nevertheless, despite its limitations, the single equation approach will be utilized because it allows for easy inclusion of various independent variables and is more statistically accurate. the linearlog version of it allows the estimated coefficients to be interpreted as elasticities or other magnitudes. accordingly, a preliminary functional form for natural disaster in nigeria involves the following variables: nad = ƒ(raf, tem, wis, co2, gdpc, pgr, urb, poe) …………………..(3) where nad is a dummy variable used to capture the occurrence of natural disasters. the dummy variable takes the value of one if disaster occurs in a year and zero otherwise; raf is rainfall; temp is temperature; co2 is emission of carbon dioxide; wis is wind speed; gdpc is gross domestic product per capita; urb is urbanization rate; pgr is population growth rate and poe is institutional/political environment (proxy by corruption index) having defined the variables to include in the model, full specification of natural disaster function of nigeria is now presented in a form that is estimable: nadt= ɧ +ѧraft +ӄtemt +ѱwist + ӝco2t+ѯgdpct +ᾤpgrt + ₰urbt + ᴟpoet + ᾠt …………………..(4) where ɧis constant term, ѧ, ӄ, ѱ, ӝ, ѯ, ᾤ ₰ and ᴟ are coefficients that will be estimated empirically, t represents time index denoting annual observations(1970 – 2016);and ᾠ is the error term. since the occurrence of natural disaster is a result of build-up of many factors (or continuous process), a dynamic specification of the natural disaster function with an autoregressive term that incorporates lagged values of the dependent and explanatory variables will be included in the set of regressors in order to capture the effect of previous factors. equation 4 is now specified as a general dynamic equation called an autogressive distributed lag (adl) of order k as follows: kkkkkkk nadt= ɧ + jnadt-j + ѧjraft-j + ӄjtemt-j + ѱjwist-j + ӝjco2t-j + ѯjgdpct-j + ᾤjpgrt-j+ j=1 j=0 j=0 j=0 j=0 j=0 j=0 kk ₰urbt-j+ ᴟpoet-j + йt…………………..(5) j=0 j=0 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 86 all this does is to add lags 1 through k of the dependent variable and all independent variables to the original model. it can be seen that the lags of the dependent variable start at j=1, and lags of the independent variables start at j=0 because of the need to include the contemporaneous values as in equation 4. this equation can then be rewritten to obtain the error correction representation of the form: kkkkkkk ∆nadt= ɧ j nadt-j ѧj∆raft-j ӄj∆temt-j ѱj∆wist-j ӝj∆co2t-j ѯj∆gdpct-j ᾤj∆pgrt-j+ j=1 j=0 j=0 j=0 j=0 j=0 j=0 kk ₰∆urbt-j ᴟ∆poet-j-(nadt-j -1raft-j-2temt-j-3wist-j-4co2t-j-5gdpct-j-6pgrt-j j=0 j=0 7urbt-j-8poet-j) + йt……………………………………………………………………………………(6) the terms in parentheses in equation 6 represent the error correction term. the coefficients of this equation are functions of the coefficients of (5). 4.1 data source and description of variables it must at the outset be recognized that estimation of natural disasters in the case of nigeria (but also elsewhere) is beset with problems of data availability. the coverage for each of the variable spanned 1970 to 2016 (a period of 46 years). this is to ensure enough data points for the econometric analysis. also, the frequency and intensity of natural disasters have increased considerably in recent years, which informed the choice of this period. the nature of the data is economical and meteorological. the use of annual data is preferable in the literature in order to avoid seasonality problems. with the exception of the dummy variable for natural disaster that was constructed using binary based on the chronology of natural disasters in nigeria, other data were obtained from websites, journals, newspapers, various issues of central bank of nigeria (cbn) –annual reports, statistical bulletin and annual abstracts of statistics of national bureau of statistics (nbs) formerly federal office of statistics (fos). this paper does not try to quantify the economic and human loss of natural disasters, instead a dummy variable was used to capture the occurrence or infrequent of natural disasters that affect vulnerable communities or geographic areas of nigeria, causing substantial damage, disruption, and perhaps casualties and leaving the affected communities unable to function normally. the natural disasters that are prevalent in nigeria include, but are not limited to, flooding and droughts. the dummy variable (nad) takes the value of one if disaster occurs in a year and zero otherwise. the dummy variable was used as a dependent variable. in the dynamic estimation, the lagged values of the dummy variable was included in order to capture the quality of the institution and preparedness based on past experience of natural disasters in the country, which will also serve as an indicator of vulnerable. other independent variables include rainfall, temperature, co2 emission and vulnerability. the changes in temperature (tem) and related local rainfall (raf) variations affect the environment through accelerated desertification and land degradation. floods are imminent if dams are full and need to be emptied quickly. in addition, the increased levels of carbon dioxide (co2) emissions are regarded by many scientists as the main reason for the ongoing climate change problem. according to scientists climate change could reach catastrophic proportions in form of frequent flooding, drought, global sea level rise, etc(ep, 2011). wind is air that moves quickly as a result of natural forces. air has certain mass (kg) and mass density (kg/m). flow of air (wind) results in flow of mass (mass flow: kg/s).the velocity attained by a mass of air traveling horizontally through the atmosphere is called wind speed (wis). all these factors have a compound effect on the occurrence of natural disasters. on the one hand, they affect the intensity and frequency of extreme hydro meteorological events, and on the other hand, they increase the vulnerability of societies. the country is subject to high rate of population growth (pgr). poverty and social and economic pressures, such as, unemployment and illegal land tenure practices, make people more vulnerable by forcing them to live in dangerous locations, often on unsafe land, in unsafe shelters or low-cost dwellings and coastal areas, because there is no other land available at reasonable cost sufficiently close to employment opportunities. rapid urban growth (urb), particularly when it is accompanied by a large influx of people from rural areas, is one of the main factors contributing to increased vulnerability to natural disasters in many parts of nigeria. the accelerated, and often uncontrolled, growth of cities has contributed to the ecological transformation of their immediate surroundings (pressure on scarce land, deforestation, etc.). in addition, the lack of appropriate drainage systems makes some cities susceptible to flash floods. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 87 political and institutional vulnerability (poe)is understood as institutional weakness as a whole, and more specifically the weakness of the democratic system –with its negative effects on the efficiency of public policies, the legitimacy of government action, limited participation by citizens and the private sector in national efforts, linkage with local government actions and civil organizations, the handling and management of emergencies, processing of citizens’ demands and needs, and the capacity to meet them (vrsd, n.d.). this has often been seen to be one of the prime causes of vulnerability to natural phenomena and in turn even a cause underlying other form of vulnerability. economic development (gdpc) is widely understood as a process of increasing complexity that is reflected in the growing proportion of gdp accounted for by the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. the stage of development of an economy, measured in terms of the degree of sectoral, geographic, and financial integration, levels of economic specialization, and government revenue-raising capabilities, is likely to influence vulnerability to natural disasters (benson and clay, 1998). a developing country like nigeria is typically perceived as most vulnerable, even though its absolute losses as a consequence of a particular disaster may be small relative to the levels reported in developed countries. 4.2 the modeling process an important characteristic of the raw data being used for the regression is stationarity. when using time series modeling, various diagnostic tests and checks are employed as part of the estimation procedure. these tests are used to identify the most acceptable model and validate the data results (walsh, 1997). 4.2.1. stationarity tests 4.2.1.1. the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) test to check the stationarity of the data described above, the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) test is applied. the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) test for autoregressive unit root tests the null hypothesis h0: μ=0 against the one sided alternative h1: μ< 0 in the regression ∆yt = β0 + μyt-1 + δ1∆yt-1 + δ2∆yt-2 + …+ δp∆yt-p+ ut …………………………………….(7) under the null hypothesis μ=0, yt has a unit root; under the alternate hypothesis, yt is stationary. the adf statistic is the ols t-statistic testing μ=0 in the equation above. if instead the alternate hypothesis is that yt is stationary around a deterministic linear time trend, then this trend t (the period number), must be added as an additional regressor in which case the dickey-fuller regression becomes: ∆yt = β0 +αt+ μyt-1 + δ1∆yt-1 + δ2∆yt-2 + …+ δp∆yt-p+ ut ……………………………………(8) where α is an unknown coefficient and the adf statistic is the ols statistic testing μ=0 in the above equation. the lag length p can be chosen using the akaike’s information criteria (aic) because it known as the best information criteria to use. burnham and anderson (2004) argue that aic has theoretical as well as practical advantage because it is derived from principles of information criteria. yang (2005) also argues that the rate at which aic converges to the optimum is the best possible. the general form for calculating aic is: aic = …………………………………………………………………..………………………..(9) where l is likelihood value, p is the number of parameters and t is number of observation. given a set of candidate values for the data, the preferred value is the one with the minimum aic value. the adf test does not have a normal distribution under the null hypothesis, even in large samples (girma, 2012).critical values for the one sided adf test depends on equations 7 and 8 used above. the null hypothesis of non-stationarity is tested using the t-statistic with critical values calculated by mackinnon. the null hypothesis that yt is non-stationary time series is rejected if μ are less than zero and statistically significant for each. the adf test is unable to distinguish well between stationary and non stationary series with a high degree of autoregression. given the inherent weakness of this test to distinguish between the null and the alternative hypotheses, df-gls test is also used. essentially the test is an augmented dickey–fuller test except that the time series is transformed via a generalized least squares (gls) regression before performing the test. it has significantly greater power than the previous versions of the augmented dickey–fuller test (girma, 2012). 4.2.1.2 residual-based test for cointegration therefore, the detection of cointegration is very important in practice prior to estimation. one of most popular tests for (a single) cointegration has been suggested by engle and granger (1987). for instance, let’s consider the multiple regression: www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 88 yt =β ’ xt + ut, t = 1, …, t ……………………………………………………(10) wherext = (x1t; x2t, …, xkt;) ’ is the k-dimensional i(1) regressors. notice that for yt and xt to be cointegrated, ut must be i(0). otherwise it is spurious. thus, a basic idea behind is to test whether ut is i(0) or i(1). the engle and granger cointegration test is carried out in two steps: firstly, the ols regression of equation (10) is estimated and the residuals obtained by ^ ut = yt β ’ xt, t = 1, …, t …………………………………………..(11) where β are the ols estimate of β. in the case of this paper, the ols regression of equation (4) is run. ^ secondly, a unit root test is applied to ut by constructing an ar(1) regression for ut: ^ ^ ut = ut-1 + εt ……………………………………………………………………....(12) that is, the dickey-fuller (adf) test of h0 : = 1 against h1 : < 1 in (12) is conducted. this is called the residualbased egdf cointegration test. strictly, it is the test of no-cointegration, because the null of unit root in ^ut implies that there is no-cointegration between y and x. so if h0 : = 1 in (12) is rejected, the conclusion is that there is a cointegration and vice versa. 4.3. estimation technique and procedure currently modern economic analysis involves the use of econometric methods where appropriate statistical and econometric test can be conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the data and result, for accurate projection and prediction of the phenomenon in question (articles, 2013). the multiple equation models is presented in equation the empirical viability of the model will be tested using the ordinary least square (ols) analytical technique. the use of ols method according to koutsoyians (2001), yields parameter estimates with optimal properties such as unbiased minimum variance and efficient, thereby making the parameter estimates best linear and unbiased (blue). however, equation 4 is a static model and does not take into account the dynamics of natural disaster process. in order to capture the dynamics, the general specification of the adlm is used. the exact lag length of the general adlm is determined by the akaike information criterion (aic) and the schwarz criterion (sc). the general-tospecific modelling approach is applied to reduce the number of explanatory variables in the initial equation, keeping only the underlying influencing factors based on both statistical significance and the sensible economic interpretation of the estimated parameters associated with these factors. within the general-to-specific framework, the specification starts from a general autoregressive distributed lag model (adlm), which incorporates as many variables as possible supported by appropriate economic theory. the general adlm is first estimated and the sum of squared residuals of the general model is calculated. then the restricted (specific) model is estimated and the sum of the squared residuals of this model is calculated. the third step is to test the restrictions imposed by comparing the sums of squared residuals of the adlm and the restricted model using the f-statistic. since the restricted model is simple in structure and has more degrees of freedom than the general adlm when it is estimated, the specific model is preferred to the complicated adlm if the restrictions are accepted. 4.4. diagnostic tests there are a number of diagnostic tests/checks which must be implemented in order to evaluate the estimated model and to identify the most ‘satisfactory’ or ‘acceptable’ estimation. if any of the assumptions are violated, problems can arise with regard to the validity and reliability of the estimated parameters and models. in order to assess whether the coefficients estimated are theoretically meaningful, they must first be examined in terms of both sign and magnitude. economic theory imposes certain constraints on the signs of coefficients; parameters with ‘incorrect’ signs are rejected on thegrounds of being theoretically implausible. a priori expectations exist with regard to the signs of coefficients. in general, an unexpected parameter sign or size arises as a result of deficiencies in the model itself (walsh, 1997).for example, the presence of multicollinearity; the omission of a relevant variable; the inclusion of an unimportant variable. various statistical tests will be carried out so as to verify the acceptability, reliability, and robustness of the estimated regression result. for example, the student t-test will be used to test the statistical significance of the http://articlesng.com/author/articles/ www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 89 individual parameter estimates in the regression models. concerning, the standard error of the coefficients. the standard error test will give a general guide to the likely accuracy of a regression parameter. the f-test will be used to test for the overall significance of the model. it tests the simultaneous null hypothesis of all the parameter to be equal to zero in the regression model. the r 2 -coefficient of determination will beused to measure the goodness of fit of a regression line. it measures the proportion of the total variation in the dependent variable explain by the repressors in the model. the r-squared (r 2 )value ranging from ‘0’ to ‘1’ or the ‘corrected r-squared’ (r 2 ) which is adjusted for degrees of freedom indicates the explanatory power (goodness of fit) of the model. similarly, various econometric tests will be carried out in order to verify whether the estimated regression results conform to the classical (normal) linear regression model assumption. for example, the test of normality will be used to verify whether the error term is normally distributed. precisely, the jacque-beva (jb) test will be used to verify this assumption. in the same vein, the test of heteroscedasticity will be used to verify the assumption of equal spread of the error variance (homoscedastic) between members of the same series of observations. the white’s heteroscedasticity test (with no cross term) will be employed in the test. in addition, the test of autocorrelation will beused to verify the randomness of the error term between members of the same series of observations. as a result of the numerous assumptions and problems associated with the conventional durbin-watson (dw) test, the breusch-godfrey (lm) test will be employed to verify this hypothesis. to a follow up, the test of specification error will be used to verify whether the econometric regression model being estimated is correctly specified. the ramsey’s reset (regression specification error test) will be employed. to verify the reliability of the estimated regression model in forecasting future values, the henry theil’s inequality coefficient will be used. the econometric software packages used for the analysis of this work are the eviews 4.1 and spss 19 versions while the microsoft excel 2010 is used to enter the data. 5. presentation and analysis of empirical results 5.1 descriptive statistics and correlation results table 6a and 6b (see appendix) present the descriptive statistics and correlations matrix respectively for all the variables (dependent and independent variables). generally, the result shows a low correlation between the variables, with the exception of poe and co2, poe and urb, and poe and gdpc. some of the explanatory variables are positively correlated with natural disaster (tem, co2, wis, urb and poe) while some are negatively correlated (raf, gdpc and prg). the expectation is that raf and prg should be positively correlated with natural disaster (nad) instead they showed negative correlation even though the degree of negative correlation is low. however, the simple correlation coefficient between the variables and natural disaster (nad) show insignificance at the 0.01 and 0.05 levels in the 2-tailed test. 5.2 unit root test results using the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) test, the stationarity of the individual variables was tested. the null hypotheses of a random walk (h0: μ=0) against the alternate hypothesis of a stationary process (h1: μ<0) is tested by using dickey and fuller critical values. as depicted in table 6a, the results of the stationarity test indicate that carbon dioxide (co2) emissions, population growth rate (prg) and political/institutional vulnerability (poe) are non stationary at level in any of the conventional levels. on the other hand, at levels with intercept, economic development (gdpc) showed stationarityat 1% significant level but became insignificant with linear trend. rapid urban growth (urb) failed to show stationarity with intercept but was stationary with linear trend in level at 10% significant level. so also is natural disaster occurrence (nad) significant at 1% level with linear trend. however, average temperature (tem), rainfall (raf)and wind speed(wis) are stationary at level whether with intercept or linear trend.in order words, they were found to reject the null hypothesis “no stationary” at level. this indicates that these time series data are non-mean reverting, convergence toward their long-run equilibrium and variances are constant overtime. since some variable are non stationary in level, the next task is to check if the variables are stationary in difference. this is in line with granger (1969), granger and newbold (1974). as such, the same augmented dickey-fuller (adf) test is applied. table 6a: augmented dickey-fuller (adf) unit root test in level variables intercept linear trend order of integration tem -4.296893* (9)[-3.596616] -5.112504* (9) [-4.192337] 1(0) raf -6.091051* (9) [-3.596616] -6.073567* (9) [-4.192337 1(0) co2 -1.987759 (9) [-3.596616] -2.115374 (9) [-4.192337] www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 90 wis -5.294050* (9) [-3.600987] -5.343122* (9) [-4.198503] 1(0) gdpc -3.655511* (9) [-3.621023] -1.587990 (9) [-4.234972] 1(0) urb -1.419016 (9) [-3.596616] -3.199481***(9) [-3.191277] 1(0) prg -1.672438 (9) [-3.596616] -2.229717 (9) [-4.192337] poe -2.282445 (9) [-3.596616] -3.075318 (9) [-4.192337] nad -2.008288 (9) [-3.605593] -8.208143*(9) [-4.192337] 1(0) note: * significant at 1%; ** significant at 5%, *** significant at 10% .adf critical values are shown in parenthesis. the lag lengths shown in brackets are selected using the minimum schwarz and akaike information criteria. source: stationarity test results from analysis using eviews 4.0 as can be seen in table 6b, for all the variables, the augmented dickey-fuller test statistics were less than the critical values at 1%, 5% and10% levels of significance. the results of the stationarity test indicate that carbon dioxide (co2) emissions, population growth rate (prg) and political/institutional vulnerability (poe) are now stationary at first difference.that is, they are integrated of order one i (1). this means that in the short run, the variables are stable. to verify the result of the above test, the df-gls test is thereby applied. table 6b: augmented dickey-fuller unit root test in difference variables intercept linear trend order of integration tem -10.78070* (9) [-3.600987] -10.64100 * (9) [-4.198503] 1(1) raf -10.09870* (9) [-3.600987] -9.981021* (9) [-4.198503] 1(1) co2 -6.635362 * (9) [-3.600987] -6.568786* (9) [-4.198503] 1(1) wis -5.992423* (9) [-3.610453] -5.918662* (9) [-4.211868] 1(1) gdpc -3.542123** (9) [-2.945842] -3.390824*** (9) [-3.202445] 1(1) urb -7.181967* (9) [-3.600987] -7.225526* (9) [-4.198503] 1(1) prg -4.915900* (9) [-3.600987] -4.671687*(9) [-4.198503] 1(1) poe -7.695598* (9) [-3.600987] -7.597783* (9) [-4.198503] 1(1) nad -8.491946*(9) [-3.605593] -8.430518*(9) [-4.205004] 1(1) note: * significant at 1%; ** significant at 5%, *** significant at 10% . adf critical values are shown in parenthesis. the lag lengths shown in brackets are selected using the minimum schwarz and akaike information criteria. source: stationarity test results from analysis using eviews 4.0 table 6c shows that most of the variables were stationary at level, since each reported t-statistic is not smaller than the critical test values. however, the results of the tests shows the presence of unit roots in urbanization rate (urb) www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 91 and population growth rate (prg) variables. first difference operation is all that is required to bring these variables to stationarity as depicted in table 6c below. table 6c: df-gls test result on variables variables at level order of integration first difference order of integration tem -4.189232 1(0) -10.63576 1(1) raf -6.163155 1(0) -10.21979 1(1) co2 -1.654473 1(0) -6.637115 1(1) wis -5.043018 1(0) -7.070265 1(1) gdpc -2.410385 1(0) -6.098260 1(1) urb 0.121186 -7.029838 1(1) prg -1.636577 -3.443879 1(1) poe -2.096869 1(0) -7.783140 1(1) nad -8.324248 1(0) -8.611630 1(1) note: 1%, 5% and 10%df-gls critical test values at level are-2.621185, -1.948886 and -1.611932 respectively. while 1%, 5% and 10% df-gls critical test values at first difference are -2.622585,-1.949097 and -1.611824 respectively. source: stationarity test results from analysis using eviews 4.0 5.3. result of co-integration test since some of the variables are integrated at an order 1(0) and of the order 1(1). there is need to test for possible cointegration among these variables. the engle and granger two-step method is adopted. the long run relations among the variables is estimated by ols and stationarity of the residuals is tested. again, adf and df tests were employed to test for cointegrated variables. the results of cointegrationtests are reported in table 7a and 7b. table 7a: adf test result on residual variable adf statistic level critical values residual (μt) intercept lag order of integration -9.366773 (9) 1(0) 1% -3.600987 5% -2.935001 10% -2.605836 linear trend lag order of integration -9.293054 (9) 1(0) 1% -4.198503 5% -3.523623 10% -3.192902 none lag order of integration -9.486447 (9) 1(0) 1% -2.622585 5% -1.949097 10% -1.611824 source: stationarity test results from analysis using eviews 4.0 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 92 table 7b: df-gls test result on residual variable df-gls statistic level critical values residual (μt) intercept lag order of integration -2.387739 (9) 1(0) 1% -2.625606 5% -1.949609 10% -1.611593 linear trend lag order of integration -8.383332 (9) 1(0) 1% -3.770000 5% -3.190000 10% -2.890000 source: stationarity test results from analysis using eviews 4.0 given the adf and df 1%, 5% and 10% critical t-values, variables in the multivariate regression of equation 4 are said to be cointegrated. therefore, ho is rejected, i.e., there is a long run relationship among the variables of the model at the chosen critical level. the solved static long run equation is reported in tables 8a and 8b(see appendix).the results from the estimated static model shows that dlog(tem), log(gdpc) and log(urb) are long-run determinants of natural disasters in nigeria. the regression results show that dlog(tem) has significant impact on the occurrence of natural disaster in nigeria. it is estimated from the result that 1% increase in dlog(tem)will, on the average lead to decrease by 6.4% in the occurrence of natural disaster. the sign borne by the parameter estimates is not in conformity with the economic a priori expectation. changes in climate not only affect average temperatures in nigeria, but also extreme temperatures, increasing the likelihood of weather-related natural disasters. however, effort is been made at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases which increase overall temperatures. however, the sign borne by the parameter estimate of log(gdpc) does conform to the a priori expectation. the result shows a negative relationship between log(gdpc) and nad. that is, a 1% increase in log(gdpc) decreases the occurrence of natural disaster by 0.41%. this implies that economic development plays an important part in reducing the occurrence of natural disasters in nigeria. although nigerian economy has been growing, the economic growth is not accompanied by a structural change of the nigerian economy. the economy lacks diversification and agricultural production lacks modernisation. to address this, the government is encouraging the diversification of the nigerian economy away from the oil and gas sector. it is addressing the infrastructure deficit in the country and the development of the agricultural sector through modernisation and the establishment of staplecrop processing zones, with the value chain model to provide linkages to the manufacturing sector. the coefficient of log(urb) is about 2.25, meaning that holding other variables constant, 1percent increase in the log of urbanization rate (urb) leads to an increase in the occurrence of natural disaster by about 2.25 percent. in nigeria urban growth is informed by natural population increases in the urban areas, rural – urban migration, creation of administrative towns and population concentration in towns blessed with natural resources. this high concentration of people beyond the facilities necessary to sustain the growth creates unhealthy competition for the available facilities and opportunities, especially housing. poorly planned and managed houses increasingly occur in peripheral zones of marginal habitation, leaving hundreds of millions of people at the mercy of natural disasters. vulnerability is acute along coastal areas where any land remaining available for urban growth is generally riskprone. thus the rapid rate of urbanization in nigeria is characteristic of economic growth without development. the variable tem is important but it does not significantly affect the occurrence of natural disaster positively. also, the variable raf (rainfall) is necessary in the model but appear insignificant at any conventional levels. nigeria has a rainy season and suffers from seasonal flash floods. these flash foods are sometimes lethal, especially in the rural areas or overcrowded slums, where drainage is poor or does not exist at all. suffice to say that the ravaging global warming has massively contributed to the intensity of rainfall and the consequent flooding in parts of nigeria. nigeria suffered its worst floods in 40 years in 2012. hundreds of people were killed and millions more were displaced (murdock, 2012). table 8a (see appendix) shows that the variance inflation factors (vif's) for the explanatory variables in the regression model are less suggesting the absence of multicollinearity. this is also confirmed by the durbin-watson statistics of 2.654 implying absence of serial correlation (table 8b see appendix). the next move was to switch to a short run model with an error correction mechanism as shown in equation 6. the estimated form of equation 6 is shown in table 9 (see appendix). in the over-parameterized error correction model in table 9, all the variables were lagged. later, it was reduced to a parsimonious model through the elimination of insignificant variables. this led to the final estimation in table 10 which is then used for further analysis. moreover, the parsimonious model is preferred since it has lower schwartz criterion (sc) and standard deviation. file:///c:/users/ibennett/appdata/local/microsoft/windows/temporary%20internet%20files/content.outlook/appdata/local/microsoft/windows/temporary%20internet%20files/content.outlook/3ol8nmhe/world%20bank%20and%20the%20global%20facility%20for%20disaster%20risk%20reduction,%20cities%20and%20flooding%20--%20a%20guide%20to%20integrated%20urban%20flood%20risk%20management%20for%20the%2021st%20century www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 93 table 10 shows that the model gives a reasonable good fit. this is so because the explanatory variables accounted for 56 percent of the total variation in natural disasters (nad). the remaining 44 percent are due to factors exogenous to the model but being taken care of by the error term. the f-ratio of 4.92 confirms the overall significance of the explanatory variables taken together while the durbin–watson statistics of 1.98 only corroborates findings that the residual of the model contains insignificant serial correlation, i.e., it suggests lesser degree of autocorrelation. the coefficient of the error correction term is statistically significant and carries the expected negative sign at both 5% and 1% level of significant. it shows 44.3 percent speed of adjustment of disequilibrium in natural disaster (nad) in the previous year which is corrected in the current year. the results of the short run error correction model in table 10 reveal that the coefficients of dlog(co2), dlog(wis), log(gdpc), log(urb), dlog(gdpc(-2)) and log(urb(-1))seem to be significant and helpful in explaining the occurrence of natural disaster (nad)in nigeria. still from table 10, a unit change in dlog(co2) brings about 0.8 increase in the occurrence of natural disaster thereby suggesting that there are other relevant variables apart from dlog(co2) that can lead to natural disaster (nad). in nigeria, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels have increased significantly over the last century. the transport sector accounts for a major share of fossil fuel consumption, hence it is very likely that the sector has a strong influence in this upward trend. the release of greenhouse gases (ghgs) into the atmosphere each year—mostly in the form of carbon dioxide (co2)— contributing to climate change which in turn leads to the occurrence of natural disasters. log(urb(-1)) shows that given other variables, 1percent increase in previous urb leads to about 7.51 percent decrease in current nad. this is significant at 5 percent level of significance. also, a unit change in the second period lag of the first difference of log gdpc leads to about 0.49 percent decrease in current nad. it was also discovered that a unit increase in dlog(wis), other things being equal, will increase the occurrence of natural disaster (nad) by 1.23 and vice-versa. similarly, a unit increase in log(urb) will increase nad by 10.60 and vice-versa. the magnitude of the increase is higher than it was in the long run static estimate. finally, a unit increase in the value of log(gdpc), other variables held constant, will lead to 0.23 decrease in the occurrence of natural disaster (nad). the size of the coefficient is less than it was in the long run estimates. the log(wis) was shown to have a negative sign contrary to apriori expectation and it showed statistically insignificant coefficient but because of its importance a redundant variables test was carried out to know whether it should have been dropped from the parsimonious model. despite its wrong sign and statistical insignificant coefficient, the result in table 11(see appendix) shows that the variable should not be deleted from the short run error correction model the diagnostic tests results in table 12 – 15 (see appendix) show that the model for the occurrence of natural disaster (nad) qualifies all the diagnostic tests. the model is free from the problems of serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and that the error terms are normally distributed as shown by the jacque – bera (jb) test of normality in figure 1(see appendix). the ramsey regression specification error test (reset) with f-distribution of 0.281444 concludes that the estimated model is correctly specified; that is, there is no specification error. stability of the model is checked through the graphs of cusum and cusum squares tests in figures 2 and 3 (see appendix). the cusum and cusum squares tests confirm that the model is stable as the calculated line lies inside the critical bounds at 5 percent level of significance. if the lines cross the critical bounds then the proposed model is unstable. the results in figures 2 and 3 show that the lines are within the critical bounds, so model is statistically stable. both graphical and forecast evaluation output for the dependent variable nad is given in figure 4 (see appendix). the actual values of nad are within the forecast interval for most of the forecast period. to test whether the value of the dependent variable at t time might have come from the model fitted to all the data up to that point, a plot of the recursive residuals and standard errors was done using the one-step forecast test. the plot helps to spot the periods when the equation is least successful. for the test equation, there is evidence of instability early in the sample period especially around 1990 (see figure 5 in appendix). 6. summary of findings, conclusion and policy implications the empirical model is developed in the light of recent developments in the methodology of econometric modeling and the analysis of time series with stochastic non-stationary components. in modeling the natural disaster equation, the paper examined each series from 1970 -2015enteringthe model to ensure the stationary and the order of integration. the results of the augmented dickey-fuller(adf) unit root test show that most of the variables were stationary at level while the other variables were stationary at first difference(integrated of order one).using the residual-based test for cointegration within an autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) framework and error correction specification. the findings indicated that all the variables had significant existence in co integrated vector. this means that all the variables had long term equilibrium existence. the results from the estimated static long run model shows that dlog(tem), log(gdpc) and log(urb) are determinants of natural disasters in nigeria. the short run error correction model results revealed that the coefficients of dlog(co2), dlog(wis), www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 94 log(gdpc), log(urb), dlog(gdpc(-2)) and log(urb(-1)) have significant impact on the occurrence of natural disaster (nad) in nigeria. the error correction term (ecm) is of the expected negative sign and also significant. the result shows that the occurrence of natural disaster in nigeria has an automatic mechanism and that natural disaster in nigeria responds to deviation from equilibrium in a balancing manner. the absolute value of the coefficient of the error-correction term indicates that about 44.3 per cent of the disequilibrium in the occurrence of natural disasters is offset by short-run adjustment in each year. in order words, a value of -0.443047 for the ecm coefficient suggests a fast speed of adjustment strategy of 44.3per cent. in conclusion, even if it is not possible to prevent natural disasters, much can be done to build capacities to reduce the vulnerabilities that too often lead to a crisis situation. therefore, nigerian government must embark on reducing urbanization growth by making sure that industries which forge linkages with rural occupations should be promoted to mitigate a high rural-urban migration. in that light, the sitting of new industries and the location of infrastructure should not be very close to the sea in order for them to be free from sea level rise. the appropriate authority should prepare comprehensive hazard maps and vulnerability analysis for the country by compiling historical data of disaster occurrence; analyzing of meteorological, seismological and environmental records; and employing satellite imagery and the gis system to plot the hazard maps. in addition, establishing of very effective early warning systems for meteorological, geophysical, biological, social and industrial hazards is required. to achieve effective management of floods, compliance with planning and urban laws should be enforced; embankments and levies along rivers and coastline prone to flood should be build; establishing of rainstorm early warning system; establishing and monitor weather stations, river and tidal gauges; ensuring appropriate management of dams; ensuring proper maintenance of existing urban drainage channels; enforcing environmental sanitation laws in towns and cities. nigeria should focus more on economic activities that are tertiary in nature which generate little greenhouse gases. in that light, effort should be made to develop a technology that can capture at least 80% of carbon emitted by industries which are discharged into the atmosphere. better still, a cleaner source of energy should be developed, instead of over dependence on fossil fuel energy that generates greenhouse gases. to control the velocity and direction of wind speed, tree planting should be encouraged in nigeria. this is can be done by encouraging viable forestation and reforestation programmes using tested drought resistant and economic tree species. in the same vein, the development and adoption of efficient wood stoves and alternative sources of fuel wood should be encouraged. more effort should be made at translating nigeria’s economic growth into job creation and poverty alleviation. emphasis should be on improving the quality of public investment projects; enhancing budgeting, public financial management and procurement processes; prudent debt management practices and an enhanced domestic revenue base. references adrc (2003).natural disaster and sustainable development. natural disasters data book.http://desastres.usac.edu.gt/documentos/pdf/eng/doc16396/doc16396-2a.pdf. albala-bertrand, j.m.(1993). political economy of large natural disasters with special reference to developing countries. oxford: clarendon press. articles (2013).monetary policy in nigeria – the impact of monetary policy on nigeria’s economic growth.http://articlesng.com/monetary-policy-nigeria-impact-monetary-policy-nigerias-economic-g... bbc (31 aug. 2011). nigeria floods: death toll in ibadan rises. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14735726 bbc (24 sept. 2010). northern nigeria flooding 'displaces two million'. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa11409167 benson, c., and clay, e. j. 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(2001). theory of econometrics (new york: palgrave – houndmills, basingstoke, hampshire rg 21 6x 5 and 175 fifth avenue). medecins san frontieres (msf) (2012). msf responds to floods in nigeria. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=6381 mechler, r. (2003). natural disaster risk management and financing disaster losses in developing countries. karlsruhe: phd thesis, university fridericiana karlsruhe. munich, r.(2006). topics geo.annual review: natural catastrophes 2005. munich: munich re. murdock, h. 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(2012). valuing the cost of environmental degradation in the face of changing climate: emphasis on flood and erosion in benin city, nigeria.african journal of environmental science and technology, 6(1), 17-27. orhewere, m. (2012).nigeria’s brand of disaster management.daily times. http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/opinion/nigeria%e2%80%99s-brand-disaster-management. shuaib, y. a. (2009). nema and the challenge of managing disaster in nigeria sunday tribune (15 may 2011). nigerian tribune. http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/ tribune (2012).managing natural disasters.http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/editorial/50464-managing-naturaldisasters. undp (2013).the rise of the south: human progress in a diverse world. human development report 2013.http://hdrstats.undp.org/images/explanations/nga.pdf. u.s. dos (u.s. department of state) (2011). 2010 country reports on human rights practices: nigeria. vanguard (7 april 2012).travails of the displaced.http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/travails-of-the-displaced/ vrsd (n.d.).vulnerability reduction for sustainable development.http://www.osn.cz/soubory/dr-and-sd-english.pdf. walsh, m. (1997).demand analysis in irish tourism. journal of the statistical and social inquiry society of ireland, vol. xxvii, part iv, page1-35. wikipedia (2012).economy of nigeria. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/economy_of_nigeria zenklusen,o. (2007).natural disasters and economic development: a neoclassicalreview oftheoretical perspectives and empirical evidence. d i s s e r t a t i o n of the university of st. gallen, graduate school of http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415679497/ http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpenvelopes)/1114c2f1cf5dd072c1257a07004e8b98?opendocument http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpenvelopes)/1114c2f1cf5dd072c1257a07004e8b98?opendocument http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpenvelopes)/1114c2f1cf5dd072c1257a07004e8b98?opendocument http://www.osn.cz/soubory/dr-and-sd-english.pdf http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=6381 http://naturesattack.jimdo.com/natural-disasters/ http://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/floods-situation-report-no-2-15-november-2012 http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/editorial/50464-managing-natural-disasters http://hdrstats.undp.org/images/explanations/nga.pdf http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/index.htm http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/travails-of-the-displaced/ http://www.osn.cz/soubory/dr-and-sd-english.pdf www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 96 business administration, economics, law and social sciences (hsg). http://verdi.unisg.ch/www/edis.nsf/syslkpbyidentifier/3321/$file/dis3321.pdf. appendix table 5: top 10 natural disasters in nigeria for the period of 1980-2011 sorted by numbers of people affected, killed and economic damage cost number of people affected number of people killed economic damage cost disasters date total no affected disaster s date no killed disasters date damage (000 us$ ) drought jun-83 3,000,00 0 epidemic 6-may91 7,289 drought jun-83 71,103 flood 13-sep10 1,500,20 0 epidemic feb-96 4,346 flood 11-sep94 66,500 flood 11-sep94 580,000 epidemic oct-69 2,000 flood 13-sep10 30,000 flood aug-88 300,000 epidemic 1-jan09 1,701 flood 23-sep85 8,000 flood 5-sep-03 210,000 epidemic 19-feb96 1,193 flood 20-sep00 4,805 flood 10-sep09 150,000 epidemic nov-86 1,000 flood 27-aug01 3,000 flood 10-oct98 100,000 epidemic 27-jun11 694 flood 5-sep-03 2,570 flood 15-sep99 90,000 epidemic 28-feb05 561 flood 15-aug00 1,900 flood 27-aug01 84,065 epidemic apr-91 400 flood 28-aug11 1,500 epidemic oct-69 80,000 epidemic 23-jul10 353 flood 7-aug05 147 total 6,094,26 5 total 19,537 total 189.525 source: odjugo (2012). log(t em) log(r af) log( co2) log(w is) log(g dpc) log(u rb) log(p rg) poe nad mean 3.322620 5.289438 11.0227 1 1.382663 6.063567 1.185547 0.960060 0.4418 60 0.465116 median 3.317816 5.300315 11.0913 8 1.354546 5.909549 1.193922 0.996949 0.0000 00 0.000000 maximum 3.424263 5.587249 11.5525 7 1.621959 7.740664 1.335001 1.043804 1.0000 00 1.000000 minimum 3.295837 4.865995 10.4607 3 1.139434 5.115716 0.993252 0.662688 0.0000 00 0.000000 std. dev. 0.021910 0.137207 0.29312 3 0.130730 0.612226 0.092049 0.105636 0.5024 86 0.504685 skewness 2.401359 0.969375 0.03516 0.148466 1.159258 0.016772 -1.608022 0.2341 0.139876 http://verdi.unisg.ch/www/edis.nsf/syslkpbyidentifier/3321/$file/dis3321.pdf www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 97 table 6a: descriptive statistics source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. table 6b: pearson correlation matrix tem raf co2 wis gdpc urb prg poe nad tem 1 raf -0.222 (0.152) 1 co2 0.487 ** (0.001) -0.196 (0.209) 1 wis 0.047 (0.763) 0.058 (0.710) 0.095 (0.546) 1 gdpc 0.157 (0.313) 0.183 (0.241) 0.539 ** (0.000) -0.046 (0.767) 1 urb 0.427 ** (0.004) 0.107 (0.494) 0.612 ** (0.000) 0.135 (0.389) 0.496 ** (0.001) 1 prg -0.297 (0.053) -0.046 (0.771) 0.496 ** (0.001) 0.015 (0.926) 0.444 ** (0.003) 0.555 ** (0.000) 1 poe 0.398 ** (0.008) -0.150 (0.336) 0.711 ** (0.000) 0.119 (0.447) 0.465 ** (0.002) 0.636 ** (0.000) 0.505 ** (0.001) 1 nad 0.054 (0.733) -0.104 (0.507) 0.151 (0.333) 0.133 (0.395) -0.125 (0.423) 0.371 * (0.014) -0.245 (0.113) 0.203 (0.192) 1 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). source: author’s estimation using spss 19 table 8a: result of static long run estimationcoefficients model unstandardize d coefficients stan dardi zed coeff icient s t sig. 95.0% confidence interval for b correlations collinearity statistics b std. error beta lower bound upp er bou nd zero orde r parti al part tolera nce vi f 0 46 kurtosis 11.74144 5.166725 1.94432 8 1.949658 4.215383 2.333972 4.744990 1.0548 25 1.019565 jarque-bera 178.2331 15.14576 2.00557 2 2.134569 12.27771 0.796787 23.98671 7.1720 52 7.167353 probability 0.000000 0.000514 0.36685 6 0.343941 0.002157 0.671398 0.000006 0.0277 08 0.027773 sum 142.8727 227.4458 473.976 5 59.45452 260.7334 50.97852 41.28258 19.000 00 20.00000 sum sq. dev. 0.020161 0.790679 3.60868 0 0.717791 15.74245 0.355869 0.468679 10.604 65 10.69767 observations 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 98 1 (constan t) .955 1.709 .559 .580 -2.519 4.428 dlog(tem ) 6.254 2.795 -.302 -2.238 .032 -11.933 -.574 -.247 -.358 -.289 .915 1.09 3 dlog(raf) -.366 .354 -.139 -1.035 .308 -1.086 .353 -.042 -.175 -.134 .925 1.08 1 dlog(wis ) .601 .397 .201 1.513 .139 -.206 1.408 .137 .251 .195 .943 1.06 1 log(prg) 1.104 .779 -.231 -1.418 .165 -2.686 .478 -.247 -.236 -.183 .628 1.59 1 log(urb) 2.521 .993 .460 2.538 .016 .503 4.540 .372 .399 .328 .508 1.96 7 log(gdpc ) -.403 .133 -.489 -3.028 .005 -.674 -.133 -.134 -.461 -.391 .639 1.56 6 dlog(co2 ) .666 .410 .225 1.626 .113 -.167 1.499 .093 .269 .210 .871 1.14 8 poe .047 .191 .047 .248 .805 -.340 .435 .203 .043 .032 .463 2.16 0 source: author’s estimation using spss 19 table 9: over-parameterized error correction model variable coefficien t std. error t-statistic prob. c 14.54585 15.20703 0.956522 0.3492 log(tem) -3.160734 4.162950 -0.759253 0.4558 log(raf) -0.363992 0.627564 -0.580008 0.5678 dlog(co2) 0.968087 0.478086 2.024925 0.0552 dlog(wis) 1.311114 0.673748 1.946001 0.0645 log(gdpc) -0.373245 0.275818 -1.353230 0.1897 log(urb) 7.363983 4.344310 1.695087 0.1042 dlog(prg) 1.076444 1.594759 0.674989 0.5067 poe -0.087065 0.262085 -0.332199 0.7429 ecm(-1) -0.403471 0.626984 -0.643511 0.5265 dlog(tem(-1)) 3.426916 6.194118 0.553253 0.5857 dlog(raf (-1)) 0.375765 0.438020 0.857872 0.4002 dlog(co2(-1)) 0.032105 0.574586 0.055874 0.9559 log(wis) -0.890754 0.943498 -0.944096 0.3554 dlog(gdpc(-1)) 0.001699 0.295554 0.005749 0.9955 log(urb (-1)) -4.866011 3.976078 -1.223822 0.2340 log(prg) -1.241566 1.242472 -0.999272 0.3285 poe (-1) 0.177780 0.246100 0.722389 0.4777 ndis(-1) -0.004560 0.611617 -0.007456 0.9941 r 2 = 0.60; f-statistic = 1.89; d.w = 2.1 source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. table 8b: model summary ( static long run) mod el r r squar e adjust ed r squar e std. error of the estimat e change statistics durbinwatson r square change f change df1 df2 sig. f change 1 .658 a .433 .299 .42253 .433 3.240 8 34 .008 2.654 source: author’s estimation using spss 19 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 99 table 10: parsimonious model variable coefficien t std. error t-statistic prob. c -0.316394 1.281522 -0.246889 0.8066 dlog(co2) 0.785255 0.376684 2.084651 0.0454 dlog(wis) 1.233072 0.507744 2.428531 0.0212 log(gdpc) -0.229464 0.119147 -1.925898 0.0633 log(urb) 10.59663 3.628343 2.920516 0.0065 ecm(-1) -0.443047 0.160161 -2.766265 0.0095 dlog(gdpc(-2)) -0.487135 0.190127 -2.562154 0.0155 log(urb(-1)) -7.507716 3.591246 -2.090560 0.0449 log(wis) -1.114064 0.676738 -1.646228 0.1098 r 2 = 0.56; f-statistic = 4.92; d.w = 1.98 source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. table 11: redundant variables: log(wins) f-statistic 2.710066 probability 0.109819 log likelihood ratio 3.352371 probability 0.067108 source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. table 12: breusch-godfrey serial correlation lm test f-statistic 0.591069 probability 0.560268 obs*r-squared 1.566673 probability 0.456879 source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. table 13: white heteroskedasticity test f-statistic 0.996940 probability 0.491553 obs*r-squared 16.38060 probability 0.426728 source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. table 14: arch test f-statistic 0.504247 probability 0.482092 obs*r-squared 0.524358 probability 0.468989 source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. table 15: ramsey reset test f-statistic 0.281444 probability 0.599662 log likelihood ratio 0.373510 probability 0.541097 source: author’s estimation using eviews 4.0. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 -0.5 0.0 0.5 series: residuals sample 1973 2012 observations 40 mean -3.59e-15 median 0.011152 maximum 0.633268 minimum -0.865459 std. dev. 0.335722 skewness -0.454435 kurtosis 3.073417 jarque-bera 1.385725 probability 0.500142 figure 1: normality test result -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 cusum 5% significance figure 2: cusum test result -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 cusum of squares 5% significance figure 3: cusum of squares test result figure 4: forecast evaluation output for nad variable -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 75 80 85 90 95 00 05 10 n ad i f f o r e c a s t : n d i s f a c t u a l : n d i s f o r e c a s t s a m p l e : 1 9 7 0 2 0 1 2 a d j u s t e d s a m p l e : 1 9 7 3 2 0 1 2 i n c l u d e d o b s e r v a t i o n s : 4 0 root mean squared error 0.331499 mean absolute error 0.263066 mean abs. percent error 12.98143 theil inequality coefficient 0.256291 bias proportion 0.000000 variance proportion 0.144240 covariance proportion 0.855760 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 101 .00 .05 .10 .15 -.8 -.4 .0 .4 .8 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 one-step probability recursive residuals figure 5: one-step forecast test result variables excluded there are other factors hypothesized to affect tourism demand levels but which have been omitted from estimation in this study. the inclusion or exclusion of certain other variables from the study means that the subsequent results are subject to biases entailed in mis-specification and omitted variables, particularly, if the variable excluded is correlated with the dependent variable. essentially, it would prove impractical to attempt to include all possible variables in a regression model. nonetheless, certain variables are excluded purely on grounds of inadequate data. indeed, loss of degrees of freedom means that only the most important variables remain. some of the most obvious omissions in addition to reasons for their omission are as follows; access transport costs, marketing expenditure abroad and sociological factors. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) contents american international journal of social science research vol. 1, no. 1; 2017 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 1 ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud1 md. abul kalam azad2 1 occupational therapy department, bangladesh health professions institute, centre for the rehabilitation of the paralysed, chapain, savar, dhaka-1343, bangladesh 2 institutes of disaster management and vulnerability studies, university of dhaka, dhaka, bangladesh correspondence: occupational therapy department, bangladesh health professions institute, centre for the rehabilitation of the paralysed, chapain, savar, dhaka-1343, bangladesh, tel: +8801717-166240, +8801682-027963, e-mail: shakilcrp@yahoo.com received: june 21, 2017 accepted: july 05, 2017 online published: july 15, 2017 abstract the present study is on “quality of life” of person with disabilities living in flood prone areas of bangladesh. in this aspect the specific objectives have been designed to determine the effects of disaster on physical and psychological health and social relationship between disabilities and community. the study has also assessed the adaptive capacity of persons with disabilities during and post-disaster period and find out the challenges faced by the persons with disabilities during disaster and post disaster that undermining their quality of life.in the determination of quality of life of pwds in the selected flood prone area in bangladesh a mixed method incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research approaches was used to conduct this study by using the tools of observation, case study, and face to face semi structured interview, with pwds in northern district of gaibandha. the study shows that out of 110 respondent, nearly 63 per cent required assistance, while over 38 per cent respondent are required partial assistance, and 20 percent are required supervision. the study reveals that more than 9 per cent of the respondents maintains very poor quality of life while 20 per cent are maintaining poor quality of life, nearly 34 per cent respondents are identified their life neither poor or nor good in selected area. keywords: quality of life, person with disabilities, bangladesh. 1. introduction bangladesh is a country with 164.7 million people and is listed as the 7th most populated and one of the poorest countries in the region. in addition, a structural change is changes in rural bangladesh have encouraged rapid economic migration with the related complexities of rising urban poverty. the population is working in high risk urban areas for their livelihood (das, 2011). the frequency and magnitude of disasters in bangladesh have increased over the last decades. between 1991 and 2000 about 93 major disasters were recorded in bangladesh (world bank, 2010). geographical location, terrain, dense river networks, and monsoon climate ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 2 expose the country to a high level of physical disaster risk and socioeconomic conditions have created a high vulnerability of communities to natural disasters (mofdm, 2006). floods, river bank erosion, cyclones, tornadoes, cold waves, arsenic contamination in ground water, water logging, and salinity intrusion have frequently occurred. for these disasters, climate change has been identified as one of the main causes. but the nature, timing, severity, and extent of hazards are not the same in all cases (nasreen, 2010 &azad et al., 2013). because of frequent floods, bangladesh is projected as the sixth most flood-prone country in the world (undp, 2004). it is also evident from several studies (nasreen, 1998, dmb, 2008; kumbetoglu&user, 2010 &azad et al., 2013) that floods are the most significant natural hazard causing immense suffering to a large number of people and damage to properties in bangladesh. 2. background of the research bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world due to unique features such as seismic position, vast network of rivers and channels, an enormous discharge of water heavily laden with sediment, a large number of islands in between the channels, a shallow northern bay of bengal and funneling to the coastal area of bangladesh and strong tidal and wind action which make the country more vulnerable to natural disasters. in the recent decades, the county has already experienced with devastating hazards including flooding, earthquakes, river bank erosion, cold wave, tornados, tidal surges and cyclones (sod, 2010). like natural factors, human induced hazards has got a clear concentration in disaster studies due to increasing frequent caused by deforestation, environmental degradation, exploitation of natural resources, frequent out breaks of fires which have further affected the socio-economic conditions. these catastrophic events affect all aspects spectrum in our society and result in a societal crisis. the whole entity of the society like individuals, families, communities, and institutions become disabled. there are limited in their ability to perform normal daily activities, restricted by environmental barriers, prohibited from participating in usual social roles, threatened by personal and financial losses, and subject to a variety of psychological reactions, including fear, helplessness, and loss of confidence (scaffa, 2003). the diverse group of people like children, women, elderly and people with disabilities has suffered more rather than others. sullivan andhäkkinen (2006) mentioned that the special needs people are at more risk due to their physical conditions and they are more vulnerable to disasters. the convention on the right of the person with disabilities (2006)notes that persons with disabilities include those who have physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. disability affects physical health, social relationship of people, life in the realms of family, friends, and neighbors, psychological state, and level of independence. however, the people with disabilities require special attention due to their different limitations such as physical, cognition, social and environmental. according to world report on disability (2011) 15% of the world’s population have disabilities. persons with disabilities are more likely to be among the poorest of the poor (groce et al., 2011). disability and extreme poverty: recommendations from practitioners in bangladesh (2015) show that surveys from bangladesh range between 1 and 16% of the population having a disability. the household income and expenditure survey of 2010 shows that 9.1% of the population is disabled. poor people are more likely to have one or more disabilities and women are 37% more likely than men to have a disability (tareque et al., 2014). 3. research objectives  to find out the quality of life of person with disabilities (pwds) in the selected flood prone area in bangladesh. ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 3  to determine the effects of disaster on physical and psychological health of persons with disabilities.  to identify the effects of disaster on social relationship between disabilities and community.  to assess the adaptive capacity of persons with disabilities during and post-disaster period.  to find out the challenges faced by the persons with disabilities during disaster and post disaster that undermines their quality of life. 4. research methodology 4.1 research design a mixed method incorporation both qualitative and quantitative research design have been followed for conducting the study, as a combined method is a “legitimate inquiry approach” which provides the sound ideas and knowledge about the population, subject matter and research questions of a study. the triangular method also helps researchers explain how one variable affect another for studying the researcher problem (creswell, 2008). this methodology was chosen to fulfill the aim of the study as an effective way to collect data.according to jick (1979) argues that a mixed methods approach of research with the combination of semi structured interview and survey provide a rich and comprehensive result of a research. the purpose of the research is to find out the quality of life of person with disabilities in the selected flood prone area in bangladesh. 4.2 sample the study was conducted at gaibandha district in bangladesh. the researchers selected gaibandha district of saghatta, kanchipara, kachua and gazaria unions. for quantitative study 110 pwds were interviewed following sample survey tool while for qualitative study 5 case studies and 5 key informant interviews were carried out to explore the nature of vulnerabilities and living standard of the pwds by using purposive sampling. 4.3 data collection a developed structured and semi structure questionnaire was used after reviewing literature for asking to the respondents. observation for verifying person with disabilities report on disaster conditions was done by researchers using observation checklist and it was recorded elaborately. the observation notes were completed over long period of time according to the disaster complexity of challenges and presence of potential risk and vulnerabilities for person with disabilities in the selected area. semi-structured and key informant interview (kii) was used for this study. the researchers also used qualitative methodology and asked pre-set, open-ended questions addressing a variety of issues in relation to adjustment with disaster. it is useful because this technique ensures that the researcher obtained all information required, while at the same time gives the respondents freedom to respond and illustrate concepts. 5. data analysis data was analyzed case study descriptive, kii descriptive format and with the software named ibm statistical package for social science (spss) statistics version 20.0. the variables were labeled in a list and a researcher was establishing a computer based data record file. and after calculation; data was presented by using bar graph, pie chart and table by using microsoft office excel 2010. 5.1 socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents 5.1.1 age group the study shows that major numbers of pwds are young. disasters are not only effect on any specific groups all people are also victim to disasters. the pie chart 07 shows, out of 110 respondents a significant number of pwds 51 per cent were in the young adult group ranging from 19 to 35 years while 37 per cent respondents ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 4 were in the group of adult and their age range was 36 to 50 year.while 12 per cent of the respondents were more than 50 years old. this study points out that large number of adult are living with disabilities. young adult are more vulnerable for any types of disability. figure: age of the respondents 5.1.2 sex of the respondents the study has counted both males and females according to subject matter of study. the figure shows thatout of 110 respondents 63 per cent are males and 37 per cent are females. the numbers of males’ respondents are higher than females. it is observedthose females are getting less facilities and opportunity in our bangladeshi socio-cultural aspect. figure: sex of the respondents 5.1.3 level of education of the respondents education is an important component for improving the respondents the quality of life standard. education may have impacted on all aspect of human life. the table shows, higher rate of pwds (more than 36 per cent) have only primary education. but this study mention that significant number of respondent near 42 per cent were illiterate while small number of respondents (more than 5 per cent) have high school level of education. table: level of education of the respondents frequency per cent illiterate 46 41.8 primary school 40 36.4 high school 06 5.5 ssc 08 7.3 ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 5 hsc 08 7.3 graduation 02 1.8 5.1.4 types of disability of the respondents disability depends on physical, cognitive and social development of individual person. disability can affect all aspect human life. person with disability (pwds) vulnerability depends on the during disaster period. the table-4 indicates the peak number of respondents have only physical disability more than 47 per cent while more than 16 per cent have disability in hearing and speech. moreover, 12 per cent have mental disability, approximately 11 per cent with visual disability and more than 17 per cent have intellectual disability. multiple types of disability may affect the capacity of pwds. it is evident that different types of disability make then more vulnerable. table: types of disability of the respondents type of disability frequency (n=110) per cent (%) physical disability 52 47.3 mental disability 09 8.2 hearing and speech disability 18 16.4 visual disability 12 10.9 intellectual disability 19 17.3 5.1.5 seeking helps for transportation and changing position during disaster period transportation is an important issue for functional independence. pwds have different limitation due to their physical disability. the table indicates that the person with disabilities require necessities help for transportation and require assistance for changing the position during disaster period. the highest number of respondent nearly 63 per cent required assistance out of 110 respondents while over 37 per cent respondents don’t seek any assistance during disaster period. pwds are requiring different types of assistance during disaster and post disaster period. table: percentage of pwds seeking help for transportation and changing position assistance required frequency per cent yes 69 62.7 no 41 37.3 the figure shows that out of 110 over 38 per cent respondents are required partial assistance while around 11 per cent are not sure to require assistance, 20 percent require supervision and 13.6 per cent are fully dependent on the assistance of family, carer and community. beside this, more than 17 per cent people with disabilities are fully independent for transportation and changing the position during disaster period. ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 6 figure: nature assistances required by pwds 5.1.6 income of the respondents the table shows about monthly income of pwds. it is evident from this study that the male pwds have more income capacity rather than female pwds. it is found that pwds have difference range of financial capacity. fifty four (54) per cent female pwds can able to earn only bdt 3000 while 46 per cent male pwds has monthly income only bdt 3000. this table also shows that approximately 68 per cent male and more than 32 percent female pwds have monthly income from bdt 3001 to 6000, whereas approximately 79 per cent male and over 22 per cent of female pwds have monthly income bdt 6001 to 9000. the data indicate that out of 11 male respondent have bdt 9001-12000 beside this only 01 male respondent have bdt 12000-15000 monthly income. the female have less scope for involving income generating activities in rural area rather than urban area female. table: monthly income of pwds income (bdt) sex male (%) female (%) 0-3,000 46 (23) 54 (27) 3,001-6,000 67.6 (23) 32 (11) 6,001-9,000 78.6 (11) 21.4 (03) 9,001-12,000 100 (11) 0 (0) 12,000-15,000 100 (01) 0 (0) total 62.7 37.3 5.2 overall rate of quality of life (qol) qol depends on the different aspects of physical, psychological, social and environmental. pwds are living with different poor qol due to their physical and cognitive limitation. the following table identified that respondents indicate more than 9 per cent have very poor quality of life while the quality of life 20 per cent are poor. nearly 34 per cent respondents identified neither poor or nor good qol during in the selected flood prone area. table: overall qol of pwds frequency per cent very poor 10 9.1 ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 7 poor 22 20.0 neither poor nor good 37 33.6 good 38 34.5 very good 03 2.7 5.3 satisfaction about health satisfaction depends on the service getting opportunity and scope of health services. pwds have limited scope health due the different environment barrier, negative attitude and physical problem. the following table reveals that most of respondent out of 110 more than 37 per cent neither poor nor good satisfaction about health services. there are 20 per cent respondent have poor satisfaction about health. on the other hand, approximately 6 per cent have very poor satisfaction without health. there are significant number (approximately 35 per cent) have good satisfaction about their health. only approximately 3 per cent respondent are satisfied with their present health condition. it is seen that health wellbeing is very essential component for adjustment with the catastrophic situations. table: satisfaction rating about health of pwds frequency per cent very poor 06 5.5 poor 22 20 neither poor nor good 41 37.3 good 38 34.5 very good 03 2.7 5.3.1 access to community and health services the following table reveals that the access to community and health services is very important to ensure quality of life. it is evident from the study the large numbers of respondents (approximately 78 per cent) have access to health services and community while around 23 per cent of the respondents do not get any types of community and health services during disaster and post disaster situation. table: access of pwds to community and health services frequency percent yes 85 77.3 no 25 22.7 total 110 100 5.3.2 available services for pwds in the community the study shows that pwds have limited scope of health service in the community area. they are facing lots of challenges due to their physical problems and environmental barriers. the pwds were getting different services from their community. the graph indicates that 34 per cent of pwds are getting general health service. twenty seven (27) per cent of pwds are taking medical services while about 6 per cent are seeking cardiac service and 3 per cent are for rehabilitation. the nature is that person with disability also seek other services like maternity, community meetings and election opportunity. it is evident that there is major number of respondent did not have any opportunity from the community during disaster and post disaster situation. they are deprived from the health services due to negative attitudes of the community people and lack of opportunity of health services during catastrophic situation. ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 8 figure: service opportunity for pwds 5.4 seeking health supports during disaster and post disaster period the table shows that pwds have require health support approximately 75 per cent (n=82) during disaster and post disaster situation. there is significant number of respondent do not require nearly 26 per cent (n=28) any health support during disaster and post disaster situation. table: health support at working place frequency percent yes 82 74.5 no 28 25.5 5.5 extended of capabilities of health support during disaster and post disaster situation capabilities depend on different source of capacity and resources. health capacity is an essential issue to minimize the health hazard and vulnerabilities. the following table express that the pwds require extended of capabilities of health support. according to opinions poles out of 69 male respondents, the health support of over 17 per cent is neither poor nor good while in accordance with about 36 per cent of female’s health support situation is the same. female are also maintain poor health supporting situation conditions. accordance with over 27 per cent of male and more than more than 35 per cent of female, their health support capabilities are poor while nearly 8 per cent of male and approximately 10 per cent of females are facing very poor extend of capabilities to health supporting condition respectively. besides these natures, in terms of age the elderly people are living with very poor healthy supporting conditions. thus, it is evident that elderly pwds have not enough facilities and access to health capabilities to recover from the disaster situation. and they are suffering a lot compare to other age cohort and general people. table: capabilities of health support during disaster and post disaster situation very poor poor neither poor nor good good very good sex male 7.8% (04) 27.5%(14) 17.6% (09) 33.3%(17) 13.7% (07) female 9.7% (03) 35.5%(11) 35.5% (11) 16.1%(05) 3.2% (01) age range 19-35 4.7% (02) 34.9%(15) 20.9% (09) 27.9%(12) 11.6% (05) ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 9 36-50 9.7% (03) 22.6%(07) 35.5% (11) 25.8%(08) 6.5% (02) 51-80 25% (02) 37.5%(03) 0.0% (00) 25%(02) 12.5% (01) 5.5.1 impacts of disaster on social relation disaster has different impacts on all aspect of human life. there is no exception on human life. the table elucidates that according to about 80 per cent of the respondents out of 69, disasters have impacted their social life whereas out of 41 females’ respondents approximately 81 per cent notify that social life and relationship within community have been greatly affected by disasters over the decades. the rest of the respondents note that disaster had no impact upon them. table: impact of disaster on social relationship yes no total male 79.7% 20.3% 100% female 80.5% 19.5% 100% 5.5.2 interaction of pwds with community member interaction is essential part to know the disaster warning information. male respondent are more interaction with the community rather than female respondent during disaster. the table 27 shows that nearly 77 per cent (n=53) male pwds have interaction with community member. on the other hand, more than 23 per cent (n=16) have not any interaction with the community member. the table also identified that approximately 76 (n=31) per cent female have some interaction. beside this more than 24 per cent (n=10) female has not any interaction with the community member. female pwds are step behind in our society. table: interaction of pwds with community member yes no male 76.8% 23.2% female 75.6% 24.4% 5.5.3 methods followed to interact with each other pwds are using different types of methods during disaster and post disaster situation. the following table notes that pwds are using different types of interaction methods during disaster and post disaster situation. male respondent are using more than 62 per cent verbal communication, 17 per cent non-verbal communication, 13 per cent sign language and approximately 6 per cent others methods of communication. beside this female respondent are using more than 61 per cent verbal communication, more than 16 per cent non-verbal communication, more than 16 per cent sign language and nearly 7 per cent others methods of communication. table: methods of interaction verbal non-verbal sign language others male 64.2% (34) 17% (09) 13.2% (07) 5.7% (03) female 61.3% (19) 16.1% (05) 16.1% (05) 6.5% (02) 5.5.4 required supports from the community pwds have different shorts of limitations. they require essential services from the community area. the bar graph (figure-11) indicates that 92.8 per cent male pwds were requiring support and more than 7 per cent were not requiring support from the community. they are also mentioned that 97.6 per cent female respondent ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 10 require support from the community people and more than 2 per cent female did not required any support. the study identifies that female required more assistance rather than male pwds. figure: required support from community 5.5.5 types of assistances required by pwds during disaster the table-30 predicts that the person with disabilities are seeking different types of assistances which include social, transportation, vehicle, economic and mental support. it is observed that nearly 35 per cent of male pwds received social services while females are slightly high which is around 43 per cent out of 41. besides this, it is found that the pwds have more attention to economic supports. around 29 per cent of males out of 69 and 35 percent of females out of 41 seek more economic assistance respectively in comparison with transportation, mental and vehicle like, nearly 8 per cent of male respondents and 5 per cent females give less importance on mental support. thus, it is evident that social and economic needs are always essential to survive in the society and community supports are always being gotten more concern. table: types of assistances social transportation vehicle economic mental male 34.8% (23) 19.7% (13) 9.1% (06) 28.8% (19) 7.6% (05) female 42.5% (17) 7.5% (03) 10% (04) 35% (14) 5% (02) 5.6 friends/family members of pwds cooperating in case of emergencies human is a social being. human can’t live alone. friendly cooperation is vital for pwds during catastrophic situation. the table shows that approximately 96 per cent male pwds have cooperative relation with friends. on the other hand more than 4 per cent have not any cooperation with friends. the table also identified that nearly 81 per cent female have cooperation with friends and approximately 20 per cent female has not any cooperation with friends. if we can ensure the friendly helping hand for pwds that will increase the capacity of vulnerable group. table: friends/family members of pwds cooperating in case of emergencies yes no total male 95.7% 4.3% 100% female 80.5% 19.5% 100% 5.6.1 facing challenges to enjoy freedom in family people with disabilities are facing challenges due to mobility problem and inaccessible environment. they are fronting lot of challenges due to transportation problem. the following table points out that person with disabilities (pwds) are facing different dimensional challenges to enjoy freedom in their life. it is evident that female are facing lot of challenges rather than male respondents. female respondents point out which is nearly ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 11 5 per cent very poor to face challenges to enjoy freedom in family while over 10 per cent male respondents are facing same situation. on the other, it is evident that nearly 19 per cent males are poor where over 24 per cent are same situational condition. according to the age group, elderly respondents are living with better situation rather than other age group. 51 to 80 years old which is over 23 per cent very good while 36 to 50 years old which is approximately 10 per cent pwds have good situation to recovery from challenges to enjoy freedom in family. elderly pwds have better situation to enjoy freedom in family. we need to strengthen family support and assistance to minimize challenges to enjoy freedom to recovery from the catastrophic situation. table: facing challenges to enjoy freedom in family very poor poor neither poor nor good good very good sex male 10.1%(07) 18.8%(13) 40.6%(28) 15.9%(11) 14.5%(10) female 4.9%(02) 24.4%(10) 26.8%(11) 24.4%(10) 19.5%(08) age range 19-35 8.9%(05) 19.6%(11) 33.9%(19) 17.9%(10) 19.6%(11) 36-50 9.8%(04) 24.4%(10) 36.6%(15) 19.5%(08) 9.8%(04) 51-80 0 % (0) 15.4% (20) 38.5% (05) 23.1%(03) 23.1%(03) 5.6.2 association between different domains according to visual analog scale on their age the following table indicates that visual analog scale is identify [0= very poor, 1(1-3) = poor, 2 (4-6) =good and 3 (7-10) =very good]. table means scores were organized the items into facets representing domains covered by the questionnaire (physical health, psychological and emotional wellbeing, social relationship, independence, control over life and freedom, leisure and activities, and financial circumstances). this has presented that overall situation according to the age range. table shows that the association between different domain and vas scale presented in table. there is a significant association (p<0.093) between physical health qol and age range for person with disabilities and value is 7.95. in addition psychological and emotional wellbeing (p<0.124) ( =7.22) and social relationship (p<0.146) ( = 6.81) are not associated with the overall qol. this may be because; these domain factors have not a greater impact on the persons qol. table: association between overall visual analog scale and age range according to visual analog scale (0 – 10) domain 0 1 2 3 chi-square ( ) p-value physical health 19-35 00 05 40 11 7.95 0.093 36-50 00 03 30 08 51-80 00 04 09 00 total 00 12 79 19 ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 12 psychological and emotional wellbeing 19-35 00 09 40 07 7.22 0.124 36-50 00 08 30 03 51-80 00 06 07 00 total 00 23 77 10 social relationship 19-35 00 10 37 09 6.81 0.146 36-50 00 06 33 02 51-80 00 04 09 0 total 00 20 79 11 independence, control over life, freedom 19-35 00 11 38 07 0.77 0.942 36-50 00 09 29 03 51-80 00 02 09 02 total 00 22 76 12 leisure and activities 19-35 00 49 6 00 1.41 0.493 36-50 00 37 4 00 51-80 00 12 02 00 total 00 98 12 00 financial circumstances 19-35 00 23 31 2 1.37 0.848 36-50 00 18 21 2 51-80 00 6 7 0 total 00 47 59 4 note: score indicator explanation 0 very poor the respondents indicate that they have very poor qol in their daily life style during disaster and post disaster situation. 1-3 poor the respondents indicate that they have poor qol in their daily life style. they can improve their situation through some adaptation and capacity improvement. 4-6 good the respondents have better qol during disaster and post disaster situation. 7-10 very good the respondents indicate that they have more than better qol during disaster and post disaster situation. on the other hand, there is no association overall leisure and activities and age range (p<0.493) and value is 1.41. the study also shows that there have no any association between age range and financial circumstance (p<0.848 and value 1.37). ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 13 the association of qol with demographic factors such as age, sex, education level, types of disability and source of income the association between overall qol and demographic factors is presented in table-66. there is a significant association (p>0.000) between qol and education for person with disabilities and value is 99.884. in addition types of disability (p> 0.000, =41.561) and source of income (p>0.021, = 79.620) are highly associated with the overall qol. this may be because; these demographic factors have a greater impact on the persons qol. table: association between overall qol and demographic factor overall qol demographic variables very poor (%) poor (%) neither poor nor good (%) good (%) very good (%) chi-square ( ) p value age 19-35 6 12 18 18 2 8.253 0.409 36-50 2 5 15 18 1 51-80 2 5 4 2 0 total 10 22 37 38 3 gender male 9 15 18 24 3 8.384 0.078 female 1 7 19 14 0 total 10 22 37 38 3 education illiterate 6 10 18 12 0 99.884 0.000 primary school 4 10 16 10 0 high school 0 1 1 3 1 ssc 0 1 1 6 0 hsc 0 0 1 7 0 graduation 0 0 0 0 2 total 10 22 37 38 3 types of disability physical disability 2 2 17 28 3 41.561 0.000 mental disability 2 3 2 2 0 hearing and speech disability 0 8 7 3 0 visual disability 2 5 2 3 0 intellectual disability 4 4 9 2 0 total 10 22 37 38 3 source of income ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 14 agriculture 0 1 11 8 0 79.620 0.021 livelihood 0 2 0 3 1 begging 3 1 1 1 0 day labour 0 3 9 3 0 nothing 5 11 7 5 0 teaching 0 0 1 2 0 fishing 2 2 0 3 0 shop 0 0 1 2 0 wood work 0 1 1 2 0 business 0 1 0 6 1 rickshaw 0 0 1 0 0 cloth selling 0 0 1 0 0 swing 0 0 1 0 0 servant 0 0 1 0 0 service holder 0 0 2 3 1 total 10 22 37 38 3 on the other hand, there is nearly association overall qol and gender (p<0.078) and value is 8.384. but there have no any association between age range and qol (p<0.409) and value is 8.253 and services. 5.7 socio-demographic characteristics of pwds during disaster according to the the disaster risk reduction process: a gender perspective (2009) gender issues arise from a complex mix of forceful factors that include differentiated roles and responsibilities, skills and capabilities, vulnerabilities, power relations, institutional structures, and long-standing traditions and attitudes in society. the specificities of gender relations may vary depending on the socio-cultural values of a society. in the disaster situation the gender equality plays a vital role for the affected community. however, it is observed that the fundamental gender-based divisions of roles, responsibilities and identities largely remain same in the study area. in case of education, it is found that a significant numbers of respondents (41.8%) are illiterate while more than 36 per cent of the pwds have only primary education and 7.3 per cent respondent’s complete high school. the rest of the respondents have over ssc education. based on education the study finds a variation in occupation as well. however, educational qualifications have great impact to reduce vulnerability. it is evident that educational qualifications may improving capacity and reduce the risk of pwds. an imbalanced gender relationship prevents women from enjoying equal-rights and equal-partners status. the results further, shows unemployment is identified as a major problem. the present study is distinguished that disaster situation may affect all aspects of pwds life. this situation is increasing their vulnerability. pre-disaster, disaster and post-disaster situation is particularly critical to meeting the mental health needs of people with disabilities children, women, and survivors in developing countries. the family context is central to understanding and meeting those needs (fran et al., 2002). pwds are depriving from employment opportunity due to their physical capabilities, stigma, prejudice and discrimination. it is found that a large number of people have to migrate in other places in search of jobs. ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 15 however, they cannot earn adequately for their lack of skills and capacity. the community people and pwds are being suffered by the natural disasters and poverty on one side of their life. they are deprived from their basic social rights on the other side. this study point out that pwds have not significant role capacity building, poverty eradication, women empowerment, gender equality and human rights important for disaster risk reduction. community people need to work in integrated development approach and the most priority based activities in disaster situation. multiple types of disability may affect the capacity of pwds. it is evident that different types of disability make then more vulnerable. in this report, brady et al. (2006) noted that people with physical disabilitieswere listed as the most common disability, people with cognitive disabilities and people with sensory and behavioral/psychiatric disabilities of the respondents respectively identifying these issues as both a primary or secondary limitation and challenges facing during disaster period. we need to ensure integrated livelihood training and program for pwds in the disaster prone area. pwds are requiring different types of assistance during disaster and post disaster period. brady et al. (2006) identified that the respondents reported difficulty moving in their own homes after the disaster. this was due to a number of factors including home damage, loss of power needed to recharge wheelchair batteries, loss of home lighting. only few respondents in this survey reported that they were able to use stairs. in homes with damaged stairs, this created obvious in-home mobility restrictions. also, some of the sample required elevators to access their homes, although the proportion of homes with elevators varied widely across the participating counties. this study respondent is facing lot of challenges due to inaccessible environment, uneven surface, latest technology and poor socio-economic condition. in bangladeshi, pwds are facing lot barrier due to their lack of resources and accessible environment. gerber et al. (2010) get top six specific suggestions respondents made to other families of pwds were to bring medications or prescriptions, stockpile food and water, plan ahead, plan where to go and make sure the location will accommodate your needs, make sure that you arrange for help or assistance if it is needed, and finally keep money, or better cash, available in case of emergency. government of bangladesh and local government need to aware about the basic needs of pwds during disaster period. 5.8 association between age and quality of life the pwds age, there was not any association between age range and their overall qualities of life. the younger adult (19 to 35 years) pwds have a significant change. the finding can be interrelate to the view of tsai et al. (2007) mention that the survivors’ age and quality of life have significant association where the younger aged quality of life is poorer than older survivors. however, the study shows that the survivors’ age range represents in between 16-32 years, the association could be significant if the age range represents all aged survivors. either the survivors are too younger or older the quality of life does not vary with them. for example, there have no any association between age range and qol (p<0.409) and value is 8.253 and services. gerteis et al. (1993) suggested that high quality care and positive client outcomes result from the interaction of appropriate access to care, the delivery of appropriate clinical, social and vocational services, and the coordination. 5.9 association between gender and qol in association, it is found that there is no association overall qol and gender. it means that there were some variations in qol between male or female pwds during disaster and post disaster situation. ceyhan and aykut (2007) and nuhu et al. (2013) have identified that the male survivors have poor quality of life than females. in asian context the males are the main income personnel for family members. it may effects on their qol, ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 16 especially in physical domain. according to result, qol has not any association depend upon sex. bangladesh is male dominant country and male take responsibilities for family than female but finding say that qol could be better or poor for both male and female. adjacent to this study identify that the respondents, who have not enough enjoyment, identify it is very poor for males which is 29 per cent while nearly 15 per cent for females. it is evident that approximately 44 per cent female respondents have poor situation where 19 per cent of male for enjoying opportunity their life. for example, there is nearly association overall qol and gender (p<0.078) and value is 8.384. 5.10 association between education and qol the present study represented that there is significant association between education and qol for pwds. pwd qol depends upon their educational qualification. tsai et al. (2007) has revealed that there is a close association between level of mental health and educational qualification. the present study illustrations that higher rate of pwds (more than 36 per cent) have only primary education. however this study mention that significant number of respondent near 42 per cent were illiterate while small number of respondents (more than 5 per cent) have high school level education. for example, there is a significant association (p>0.000) between qol and education for person with disabilities and value is 99.884. 5.11 association between types of disability and qol there is a highly positive significant association between type of disabilities and their qol, which means the qol, is quiet better with temporally pwds where it is very poor with permanent type of disabilities. in this case the long term pwds survivors have very poor quality of life but three pwds have very good quality of life. centre for policy dialogue (2013) has argued that pwds survivor seem to have lost their earning ability by working in the industrial sector. a number of these survivors now face unemployment due to their disability. this is the only barrier they face leading a quality of life. this study indicates the peak number of respondents have only physical disability more than 47 per cent while more than 16 per cent have disability in hearing and speech. moreover, 12 per cent have mental disability, approximately 11 per cent with visual disability and more than 17 per cent have intellectual disability. multiple types of disability may affect the capacity of pwds. 5.12 association between source of income and qol there is also a significant association with source of income and their qol. tsai et al. (2007) stated that they did not get any association between earthquake survivors with building collapse and their occupations. if anyone might be good qol besides, any pwds who have not any job and source of income. they have a poor qol. as a result, it could not say that the employed pwds have better quality of life than unemployed pwds.the study shows, among all respondents’ 110 that significant numbers of respondents are unemployed. nearly 16 per cent of the respondents were unemployed. employment depends on the physical capabilities and level of education. the rest of respondents 10 per cent were farmer while nearly15 per cent were day labor. moreover, more than 18 per cent were housewife, approximately 6 per cent were carpenter, more than 6 per cent were fisherman, and 10 per cent were service holder. the association of the quality of life with physical health, psychological and emotional wellbeing, social relationship, independence, control over life and freedom, home and neighborhood, leisure and activities, and financial circumstances ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 17 the results of this study show that physical health (2.93+1.152), psychological and emotional wellbeing (2.62+1.142), social relationship (1.99 +0.761), independence, control over life and freedom (2.78+1.153),home and neighborhood (3.03+1.949), leisure and activities (2.87; sd +1.114),and financial circumstances (2.34+1.063). results on quality of life across the different domains (physical health, psychological and emotional wellbeing, social relationship, independence, control over life and freedom,home and neighborhood, leisure and activities and financial circumstances domain) among respondents in this study were much lower than those among people with other types of diseases and healthy controls. in a study conducted in the uk by skevington and mccrate (2012): physical (76.49 ± 16.19), psychological (67.82± 15.56), social relationship (70.52 ± 20.67), and environment (68.20 ± 13.8). nevertheless, findings in this study are quite similar to results of carers of elderly people in the skevington and mccrate (2012) study: physical (61.53 ± 20.87), psychological (65.78 ±14.56), social relationship (61.68 ± 20.34), and environment (68.95 ± 14.67). furthermore, results of this study are not different to findings from research conducted by cruz et al. (2011) on qol in a general population sample in brazil: physical (58.9 ± 10.5), psychological (65.9 ± 10.8), social relationship (76.2 ± 18.8), and environment (59.9 ± 14.9). qol of depends on all aspect of human domain. pwds are not exception from it. it is evident that all domain are playing vital role for maintain standard quality of life. 5.13 overall rate of qol in this study indicate that respondents indicate more than 9 per cent have very poor qol while the qol 20 per cent are poor. nearly 34 per cent respondents identified neither poor or nor good qol during in the selected flood prone area. nuhu et al. (2013) has said that one-third of the respondents had poor overall qol at palliative care survivors with cancer. the qol for the person of traumatized disability has improved day by day with reducing anxiety and depression. according to municipality officials, about significant number of the populations are poor, lacking the capacity to cope with the crisis without immediate postdisaster assistance (bangladesh bureau of statics, 2008).according to the ferrans (1996) conceptual statement that general health is reflecting the subjective aggregate grading of all health indicators. the final component is overall quality of health that is described by subjective wellbeing and happiness.qol is depending on the different aspect of human life domain. we need to ensure different essential issues of all domains in the daily life. 5.13.1 satisfaction about health the respondents identify nearly 6 per cent have very poor satisfaction on health, 20 per cent have poor satisfaction on health. there are also indicates more than 37 per cent have neither poor nor good satisfaction, nearly 35 per cent have good health satisfaction and nearly 3 per cent have very good satisfaction about their health. there is a significant positive association with the survivors’ type of support and their level of health satisfaction, those survivors, who have got money, maximum of them are satisfied with their health status but very few numbers of survivors are dissatisfied with their health status after receiving supports likemoney, shelter and others. therefore, the amount of money helped the survivors to expand their treatment cost for better quality of life. if has only ensured their health satisfaction, not the quality of life. after getting a huge amount of money, the survivors get mental satisfaction and they demand more money for fulfilling their family needs (monitoring the rana plaza follow-ups, 2013). pwds are not exception from this perspective. they have physical and cognitive limitation for surviving in the catastrophic situation. we have to ensure different health related services for changing pwds quality of life. ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 18 5.13.2 access situation of community and health services the result in this study shows that respondents were able to access some shorts of community and health services. the large number of respondent approximately 78 per cent can able to some access of health services and community. nearly 23 per cent number of respondents did not get any types of community and health services during disaster and post disaster situation. marks (2008) mentioned that bangladesh has a very strong network of strong facilities at national and sub-regional levels for stock piling food, clothing, and medicines, which is required for postrelief rehabilitation operations. although it was felt by the study respondents that government of bangladesh assistance compared to the extent of manage or the needs of the affected households. according to benjami (2013), physical access to health-care services is a vexing problem for many persons with physical disabilities because they must overcome numerous obstacles even before they can receive care in a physician's office, such as parking, entering the building, going to an examination room, and using the restroom. this led to almost one third of practices making changes related to parking areas, ramps, doors, restrooms, signage, equipment, and accessibility to the equipment. persons with disabilities can benefit from preventive and acute-care services in ways similar to persons without disabilities, yet they experience significant barriers to this care and health disparities when compared with persons who do not have disabilities. prevention of disabilities has been the focus of public health, and prevention remains its primary focus, but as disability is acknowledged as part of the normal human experience, a secondary focus of public health has become the promotion of the health of persons with disabilities by identifying and closing reducible gaps between the health of persons with and without disabilities. 5.13.3association between different domains according to visual analog scale on their age this study indicate that visual analog scale is identify [0= very poor, 1(1-3) = poor, 2 (4-6) =good and 3 (7-10) =very good]. the means scores were organised the items into facets representing the 06 domains covered by the questionnaire (physical health, psychological and emotional wellbeing, social relationship, independence, control over life and freedom, leisure and activities, and financial circumstances). this is showed that overall situation according to the age range. rana plaza disaster the exposure that means the survivors level of health satisfaction has analyzed, along all of survivors about 33.7 per cent of respondents are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their health satisfaction where 27.2 per cent are satisfied with their health status and about 23.9 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with their health status but only a few are very satisfied with their health status (alve, 2014).result of this study shows that the association between different domain and vas scale. there is a significant association between physical health qol and age range. in addition psychological and emotional wellbeing and social relationship are not associated with the overall qol. this may be because; these domain factors have not a greater impact on the persons qol. on the other hand, there is no association overall leisure and activities and age range. in this study researcher did not find any association between age range and financial circumstance.according to whoqol questionnaire, there are four domains of quality of life and those are physical, psychological, social relationship and environmental. in case of physical health, maximum respondents have ensured good quality of life where one third has poor and another one third has fair type of quality of life. in case of psychological aspect most of the respondents have led life with good quality, where only some has fair and one third has poor psychological quality of life. in case of social relationship, about half of the respondents have poor quality of life and in environmental aspect, two third of the respondents have fair quality of life where about 9 per cent has poor environmental quality of life. nuhu et al. (2013) revealed that about 21 percent had poor score on the physical domain while 19 per cent had poor psychological domain qol. ‘quality of life’ of persons with disability: an assessment in selected flood prone areas of bangladesh mir hasan shakil mahmud & md. abul kalam azad 19 in summary, the overall qol and the physical, psychological, social and environmental domain qol ware fair in palliative care centre. 6. conclusion the disaster is associated with extreme and widespread damage to property, ongoing financial problems for the stricken community, violence. it’s resulted from human intent and a high prevalence of trauma in the form of injuries, threat to life, and loss of life. people with disabilities are facing lots of suffering during disaster. individuals will react differently to stress from a disaster. qol depends on the different aspect domain. the domains are physical, psychosocial, social and environmental domain. the finding of the study identify that there is a significant association between qol and education. it is also indicate that types of disability and source of income are highly associated with the overall qol. it is recommended that we have to develop livelihood program, vocational training, social, health and educational services etc. for pwds. if we can ensuring those perspective for the betterment qol in the catastrophic situation. references alve, m. y. a. 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islamic banking & finance and business 22 access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam1 1 department of law, the millennium university, dhaka, bangladesh correspondence: 323/a, east rampura, dhaka.tel:+8801717227007, e-mail: robilaw08@gmail.com. received: august 1, 2017 accepted: august 4, 2017 online published: august 5, 2017 abstract equal access to justice for the rich and poor alike is prerequisite to the maintenance of the rule of law. but the justice system through judicial administration is very costly in bangladesh and that cost has been the most difficult factor for the poor and vulnerable sectors of people in case of getting justice. thus an adequate legal aid system is one of the effective ways to ensure access to justice as well as to establish rule of law. in this paper attempts have been made to examine the present condition of the legal aid services in bangladesh, the establishment and functions of the different legal aid committees but, importance is especially given to the local govt. level where legal aid services are provided by the district, upazila and union legal aid committees. the study compares the role of the govt. and nongovt. organizations in dissemination of legal aid services among the people who do not manage themselves to get proper remedy due to various limitations and discriminations. after reviewing the collected data and analysis of these, it has observed that the cases to which legal aid services are provided include both the civil and criminal matters and the cases relating to family affairs. finally conclusion is drawn after evaluating the activities of the aforesaid organizations and by making substantial recommendations to the concerned authority. keywords: access to justice, legal aid, bangladesh. 1. introduction in a democratic country like bangladesh every persons who are incapable of seeking justice due to financial insolvency, destitution, helplessness and for various socio economic conditions has the right to get legal aid services and justice. the people who are not conscious of their legal rights, court administration system and the causes leading to delay in disposal of cases, suffer a lot when they are engaged in a case or suit as a party. the government has passed the legal aid services act, 2000 with a view to providing legal aid services at free of cost to the poor and vulnerable sectors of people. later, the govt. under this act has formed the national legal aid services organization (establishment of upazilla & union committee, duties & functions etc) regulations 2011 and legal aid regulations 2014. under this act the govt. has established national legal aid committee and in subordinates to this committee the district committee with the chairmanship of the district & sessions judge. besides these, steps have been taken by forming the upazilla and union legal aid access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 23 committee to engage lawyers with the govt. cost for providing legal aid service to the poor and vulnerable people. in the constitution of the people’s republic of bangladesh right to protection of law, equality before law, equality of opportunities, protection of right to life and personal liberty etc have been inserted. the legal right or legal aid services of the people are mainly based on these constitutional rights. article 19(1) of the constitution of the people’s republic of bangladesh contains that the state shall endeavour to ensure equality of opportunity to all citizens. 19(2) the state shall adopt effective measures to remove social and economic inequality between man and man to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth among citizens, and of opportunities in order to attain a uniform level of economic development throughout the republic. 19(3) the state shall endeavour to ensure equality of opportunity and participation of women all spheres of national life. article 27 refers that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law. under article 31 to enjoy the protection of law and to be treated in accordance with law, and only in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within bangladesh, and in particular no action detriment to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law. article 32 contains that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty save in accordance with law. article 33 enunciates the rules relating to safeguards as to arrest and detention. article 42 elaborates the provision containing rights to property. not only in bangladesh but also in any democratic country every person has the right to get justice. but poor people cannot go to the court in order to seek proper remedy. national legal aid services organization has been formed to provide legal aid services to the poor and helpless people. through the organization the poor and helpless people of 64 districts have been benefitted. with the govt. many non-govt. organizations are providing legal aid services to the people of bangladesh. 2. objectives of the research efforts have been made to find out the present situation of legal aid services provided by the govt. and non-govt. organizations, barriers to the service, limitations and challenges for providing legal aid services and the people for whom the legal aid services have been introduced how much they have been benefited. the main objectives are  to discuss the present situation of legal aid services of bangladesh provided by the govt. and the ngo’s.  to evaluate the access of poor community to the legal aid services of bangladesh.  to explain the legal provisions relating to legal aid services in different laws in bangladesh  to describe the present condition of the committee of district, upazila & union legal aid services.  to make some recommendations to the concerned authority for the solution of the problems. 3. research methodology to conduct this research in accordance with the objectives information has been collected from various sources relating to legal aid services in bangladesh. this research paper is mainly based on secondary sources and data have been collected from books, reports of the govt. and non govt. legal aid organizations, articles, journals, statutes, case studies and internet browsing etc. 4. relevant terms and concepts legal aid: legal aid means the assistance in the legal matters both inside and outside the courts to the indigent litigants. section 2(a) of the legal aid services act, 2000 provides that legal aid means providing legal advice, paying lawyers fees and cost of litigation including providing any other assistance to those who suffer financial access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 24 insolvency, destitution, helpless or are unable to access justice due to various socio-economic conditions. access to justice: a means of approaching or entering a place. in this research the word access has been used as right of the people in case of getting legal aid. 5. limitations of the research this research has some limitations. time is an obstacle for developing this type of research paper. for time constraint it has not possible to include the opinions of the people seeking legal aid, district legal aid officers, beneficiaries of the legal aid and the ngo’s working at the district level to provide legal aid etc. this research is based on secondary sources and further research will be conducted for collecting data in order to make it complete. 6. the present situation of legal aid services in bangladesh under the legal aid services act, 2000 the people who cannot afford them to collect the fees of the case management system, they are provided legal assistance without any cost. the following legal services are provided to the people seeking justice along with the legal advice: providing free wokalatnama appointment of lawyers for conducting the case payment of lawyers fee payment of mediators or arbitrators fee providing certified copy of judgment, order etc. free of cost paying the cost of dna test providing the cost of advertisement in the newspapers of criminal cases alternative dispute resolution (adr) counseling any other assistance along with costs for the cases 6.1 persons entitled to legal aid services rule 2 of the legal aid services principles, 2014 provides that the following persons can apply for legal aid services: for instituting a case in the supreme court the person whose annual income is not more than 1,50,000/tk. for instituting a case in the district court the person whose annual income is not more than 1,00,000/tk. any freedom fighter who is unable to earn annually more than 1, 00,000/tk. any worker whose annual income is not more than 1, 00,000/tk. any children any woman or child victim of physical, mental and sexual harassment women and children victim of trafficking persons having no accommodation or vagabond any person of minor races, ethnic sects or community any victim or who is at risk of family violence (paribarik sohingsota) such an aggrieved person any person getting old age honorarium impoverished persons holding vgd card people holding land in the adarsha gram. women and children victim of acid throwing destitute and helpless widow the under trail prisoners who are unable to appoint lawyers due to financial destitution access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 25 any person considered by the court as helpless or destitute any person recommended by the jail authority as helpless or destitute the handicapped persons who are unable to income any other person identified by the legal aid committee as to the fulfillment of the purpose of the legal aid services act, 2000. 6.2 the cases in which both the govt. and ngo’s cooperation is applicable 6.2.1 criminal cases the criminal matters which include physical torture, dowry and harassment for dowry, acid throwing, trafficking, kidnapping, abduction, rape, sexual harassment, arrest and detention by the law enforcing agency etc. 6.2.2 civil cases the civil matters relating to marriage without the consent of existing wife, dower and maintenance, divorce, guardianship and custody of the minor, cancellation of instrument/deed, permanent injunction, property distribution/ partition, recovery of property, suit for contact, suit for declaration etc. 6.3 case study reports 6.3.1 dr. neelima ibrahim vs. bangladesh, 32 dlr, p 201 in this case it was held that the principle of audi alterem partem (to hear the other) unless expressly excluded by law or by the nature of the objects of any particular law is to be implied to have been proved in every statute. the constitution of the people’s republic of bangladesh, 1972 has expressly recognized the basic fundamental human rights that are equal before law and equal protection of law. the actual feature of this country is a large number of people are not financially solvent or they do not have any other logistic support to get the appropriate service from the judicial system. in this content, the protection of equality before law and equal access to law in the constitution of bangladesh becomes mere paper tiger when an indigent people finds himself helpless in the police custody or jail custody and he cannot afford a lawyer to defend himself. 6.3.2 abdur rashid vs. state, 27 dlr, (ad) 1 in this case justice ahsan uddin chowdhury stated that the provisions in legal remembrancer’s manual, 1960 chapter xii were made in the aid of section 340 of the code of criminal procedure with the manifest intention that the aid must be given in a manner so that the advocate appointed to defend the accused gets an adequate opportunity of preparing the case for the defend and if necessary in consultation with the accused. but a last moment appointment of an advocate for defending a prisoner, accused of capital sentence, results in a breach not only of the provisions of section 340 of the code of criminal procedure but also of 6th paragraph of chapter xii of the legal remembrancer’s manual, 1960 and this kind of appointment frustrates the object behind the elaborate provisions of that chapter (rahaman, 2016). 6.3.3 babu khan vs. state, 55 dlr (hc) 547 the right of an accused to be defended by a lawyer in a case charged under section 302 of the penal code being punishable with death is an inalienable right guaranteed in the law of our land and if any trail takes place refusing such fundamental right the trail is a misnomer and the judgment passed convicting an accused is no judgment in the eye of law. 6.4 role of the ngo’s in legal aid services there are a number of ngos in bangladesh that operate wide ranging legal aid program at different district, upazila and uniion levels. some ngos have a long-standing engagement with human rights. some leading ngos have great contribution in the legal aid activities in bangladesh. among these bangladesh rural access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 26 advancement committee (brac), ain o salish kendro (ask), bangladesh legal aid and services trust (blast), madaripur legal aid association (mlaa), bangladesh national woman lawyers’ association (bnwla), khan foundation, manusher jonno foundatiion, democracy watch, rupantor, light etc. there are other ngos that also operate legal aid program for the poor and marginalized on top of other regular programs. many ngos though claim themselves as legal aid providers but very few of them are seen to provide legal aid as of their regular program (hossain, 2015). 7. legal aid in existing laws of bangladesh the government of bangladesh has passed the legal aid services act, 2000 with a view to providing legal advice and aid to the litigants, remuneration for the lawyers or arbitrators, any other assistance, who are incapable of seeking remedies due to financial insolvency, destitution, helplessness and for various socio economic conditions. along with this act other procedural and special laws also contain provisions relating to legal aid. 7.1 legal aid in civil law in civil matters, order xxxiii of code of civil procedure, 1908 deals with the pauper suit. a person is a pauper when he is not possessed of sufficient means to enable him to pay the fee prescribed by law for the plaint in such suit, or, where no such fee is prescribed, when he is not entitled to property wroth five hundred taka other than his necessary wearing apparel and the subject matter of the suit (halim, 2009). every application for permission to sue as a pauper shall contain the particulars required to plaints in suits and a schedule of the movable and immovable property along with the estimated value thereof. the application should be presented by the applicant to the court in person unless exempted by the court. the court shall reject an application for permission to sue as a pauper person; if the application is not framed & presented in the prescribed manner, where the applicant is not a pauper, where the applicant has within two months before the presentation of the application disposed of any property fraudulently in order to get permission to sue as a pauper, where there is no cause of action and where the applicant has entered into an agreement with reference to the subject matter of the proposed suit. where the court grants an application in this regard then such application shall be treated as a plaint in the suit and the plaintiff not need to pay the fees connected with the suit except the process fees. but if the court refused an application for pauper then it creates a bar for the applicant to a subsequent similar application although he is free to institute a suit in the ordinary manner (jahan, 2015). 7.2 legal aid in criminal law the code of criminal procedure, 1898 contains provisions relating to the right to legal defense. according to section 340 (1) any person accused of an offence before a criminal court, or against whom proceedings are instituted under this code in any such court, may of right be defended by a pleader (sagar and rahman, 2015). moreover, the legal remembrancer's manual, 1960 provides that an indigent person accused of an offence punishable with death sentence is to be provided with the assistance of' a lawyer at the expense of the state. the above provisions may be seen as embedded in a ‘negative right’ to legal aid contained in the constitution of the peoples republic of bangladesh. article 33(1) of the constitution provides that no arrested person shall be detained in custody without being informed of the grounds for such arrest, nor shall he be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. the need for legal aid is felt more in criminal matters as to life; property and personal liberty of a person are inseparably connected there. as regards criminal matters, section 340 of the code of criminal procedure states that an accused should be defended by a lawyer and he must pay the fees and nothing more. commenting on section 340 (1) of the code of criminal procedure, the supreme court of india observed that the right conferred by section 340 (1) does not extend to a right in an access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 27 accused person to be provided with a lawyer by the state, or by the police or by the magistrate. that is a privilege given to him and it is his duty to ask for a lawyer if he wants to engage one and to engage one himself or get his relations to engage one for him. the only duty cast on the magistrate is to afford him the necessary opportunity (hossain, 2015). 7.3 legal aid in special laws 7.3.1 the acid control act, 2002 section 8 of the acid control act, 2002 contains provision relating to duties and responsibilities of the district acid control committee. section 8(c) provides that the district acid control committee shall implement and manage the procedures taken by the national acid control committee with regard to provide medical support, rehabilitation and legal aid services to the victims of acid throwing. 7.3.2 paribarik sohingsota (protirodh o surokkha) ain, 2010 section 4 contains provision relating to duties and responsibilities of police officer. under section 4(d) the police officer after getting information of family violence or being informed by staying thereto where family violence occurs, shall inform the victim of the legal aid and services provided at free of cost under the legal aid services act, 2000. under section 6(e) the enforcement officer shall help the aggrieved person of family violence so that she can get legal advice at free of cost under the legal aid services act, 2000. section 7 states that the service provider shall perform functions so as to provide legal aid, medical treatment, financial or other support for protection of human rights to women and children through the institutions recognized by the govt. in this behalf. 7.3.3 the prevention and suppression of human trafficking act, 2012 section 34 states providing information to the victims and to the public generally. 34(2) provides that the investigating officer or the person or organization identifying and rescuing the victim of human trafficking shall at once inform the affected person of his rights to compensation and legal aid and of other benefits available under this act. section 40 contains provision relating to financial assistance to the victim of human trafficking. without prejudice to the right or opportunity to receive legal aid from any non government institution or under the legal aid services act, 2000, the government may provide financial assistance to the victim of human trafficking or to the victim from the fund established under this act. 8. analysis and findings of the research 8.1 administration of legal aid in bangladesh the structure of administration of legal aid in bangladesh is as below: national legal aid services organization; national board of management; supreme court legal aid committee district legal aid committee upazila legal aid committee union legal aid committee special legal aid committee 8.1.1 national legal aid services organization (nlaso) in terms of the legal aid services act, 2000, national legal aid services organization (hereinafter nlaso) is established to implement the government legal aid program across the country. in the following cases legal aid access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 28 is provided by nlaso: (i) civil suits such as land related dispute. (ii) criminal cases such as theft/cheating/fraud. (iii) family suits such as dower, maintenance. (iv) jail appeals such as criminal cases. (v) any other case fit for legal aid. 8.1.2 national board of management management authority of nlaso where vested in a national board of management is consisted of twenty members where the minister, ministry for law, justice & parliamentary affairs will be the chairman. 8.1.3 supreme court legal aid committee (sclac) the sclac is consisted with ten members where a judge of the high court division nominated by the chief justice shall be its chairman. the supreme court legal aid committee provides legal aid to the people whose annual income is not more than one lac fifty thousand (1,50,000/-) tk. in the following cases: civil appeal and revision criminal appeal and revision jail appeal writ petition leave to appeal the said committee also providing the followings legal aids: legal advice filing and dealing with cases expert opinion on the cases bearing the cost of the cases 8.1.4 district legal aid committee (dlac) the (dlac) consist of twenty-five members where the district and sessions judge will be the chairman. the committee mainly provides legal aid accordance with the criteria determined and policies made by the organization. 8.1.5 upazila legal aid committee (uzlac) section 12 of the legal aid services act, 2000 recognizes to form upazila committee in every upazila headed by one chairman and fourteen other members. however, according to paragraph 3 of the national legal aid services organization (establishment of upazila and union committee, duties, functions, etc) regulations, 2011, upazila legal aid committee consists of fifteen members where upazila chairman shall be the chairman of the committee. the committee follows the principles as determined by the organization. 8.1.6 union legal aid committee (ulac) union legal aid committee (ulac) consists of fifteen members where the up chairman will be the chairman of the committee. the committee follows the principles as determined by the organization or dlac. 8.1.7 special legal aid committee (slac) section 12a of the legal aid services act, 2000 recognizes to establish slac consists of a chairman and fourteen other members and their nomination, qualification, etc will be determined by the regulations. access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 29 8.2 legal aid services provided by the govt. 8.2.1 people who accepted legal aid services through 64 district legal aid committees year number of people female male children total 2009 3175 5953 32 9160 2010 4986 6190 90 11266 2011 6479 6016 73 12568 2012 8078 7325 47 15450 2013 10448 9016 29 19493 2014 14467 10793 23 25283 2015 16650 13708 51 30409 2016 18083 15566 85 33734 total 82366 74567 430 157363 source: national legal aid services yearly activities statistics, collected from khan foundation. 8.2.2 legal aid services to prisoner through 64 district legal aid committees year no of prisoner 2012 6034 2013 6246 2014 6774 2015 8704 2016 9694 total 37452 source: national legal aid services yearly activities statistics, collected from khan foundation. 8.2.3 disposed of cases through legal aid services year civil criminal total 2009 1174 2350 3524 2010 1681 3825 5506 2011 1778 3322 5100 2012 1525 2609 4134 2013 2001 3630 5631 2014 4100 6574 10674 2015 4179 8237 12416 2016 4523 9254 13777 total 20961 39801 60762 source: national legal aid services yearly activities statistics, collected from khan foundation. access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 30 8.3 limitations and problems of the lawyers for conducting the legal aid cases  lawyers gradually become uninterested due to charge free cases.  the plaintiff/ complainant as to the nature of the case do not communicate with the lawyers and they forget case date due to procrastination.  police officers do not provide the police report (charge sheet/ final report) to the court properly.  summons does not reach to the person summoned properly due to distance from district area to remote area.  non production of evidence and witnesses in time.  fees of the lawyers are not paid up on time and though there is the system of advance payment but unwillingness to follow that the lawyers lose their interest for those cases.  discharged of the criminals by the influence of political power.  problems created by the peon, bench clerk and gro.  influence of touts in the court area.  procrastination in the criminal cases due to absence of witnesses. 9. recommendation  the environment of the court must be free from touts and excess fee should not be collected from the poor people.  the staffs and officers of the legal aid offices should be more cordial and cooperative to the people searching for legal aid.  the cases relating to legal aid services should be disposed of within a very short time.  the govt. should take more initiatives to make the people aware of the legal aid in the rural areas throughout the country.  both qualitative & quantitative reports relating to legal aid should be prepared and published quarterly.  union information center should be set up as legal aid information cell in order to extend legal aid services at the remote areas.  the lawyers should voluntarily take initiative to cooperate with the people for legal aid service.  the persons interested to get legal aid service should be given the scope to choose lawyers from the panel of lawyers.  the lawyers of the district legal aid committee should be more cordial and cooperative to the poor community for the legal aid services.  the non-govt. organizations should organize more awareness programs for smooth functioning of the legal aid programs.  both the govt. and non-govt. organizations should appoint monitoring members for inspiring quality assurance of legal aid service.  the warranted criminal should be arrested and the charge sheet should be sent to the court without an amount of delay.  the representatives of the local govt. should be encouraged to be engaged in legal aid services to resolve disputes.  short film and advertisement in the mass media of the legal aid can be introduced to make the people more aware of. access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 31 10. conclusion the govt. under the legal aid services act, 2000 in different ways and by forming different committees has been providing legal aid services to the poor and helpless people of bangladesh. notwithstanding a significant number of people of bangladesh are still deprived of their constitutional right of access to justice and fair judicial administration caused mainly by poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, oppression and exploitation. the role of the govt. along with the nongovt. organizations, in providing the legal aid services to help these people are noteworthy. different nongovt. organizations are playing effective role in the rural and remote areas where most of the people are not familiar with the legal aid services. the nongovt. organizations specially brac, blast, ain o shalish kendra, manusher jonno foundation, khan foundation, madaripur legal aid association, bangladesh national women lawyers association, democracy watch, rupantor, light house etc are playing effective functioning to make the people aware of legal aid services by providing free legal advices and becoming known with the ways of getting legal support from the union, upazila and district legal aid committee. both the govt. and non-govt. organizations in bangladesh at different levels of the national and social life are playing effective role in creating awareness among the people relating to the legal aid services. but due to various procedural complications and limitations it has not reached at the optimal level. for this purpose, all the concerned committees, members of the civil society and above all the learned judges should voluntarily come forward to delivering the legal aid services to the poor, vulnerable and underprivileged community and that should be done under special monitoring system. references das s.s. (2013). access to justice and legal aid in bangladesh, 5-7, retrieved from http://shyamsundardas.blogspot.com accessed on 20.06. 2017 at 3:20 pm. halim m.a. (2009). text book on civil procedure, ccb foundation, first edition, dhaka, 457458. hossain a.k.m (2015). a mapping of legal aid sector in bangladesh, justice sector facility project, undp, bangladesh, 1617. jahan e. (2015). legal aid in bangladesh: application and commitment, international journal of humanities and social science invention, 4(2), 2-3. mian m.n., rashid m.m. (2014). a critical analysis of legal aid in bangladesh, international journal of social science research, 2(1), 141-143. murad m. h. and hossain m.s. (2014). legal aid in bangladesh: an overview, journal of educational and social research, mcser publishing, 4(3), 289-280. nekokara m. a. (2016). access to justice and legal aid, published in dawn, 12 december, 1-5. retrieved from https://www.dawn.com/news/1301948, accessed on 17.09.2017 at3:40 pm. national legal aid services yearly activities statistics, collected from khan foundation, 2017 rahaman k. (2016). alternative dispute resolution and legal aid (principle and practice), law palace, first edition, dhaka, 472475. sagar s.i, rahman m.m (2015). fundamentals of the code of criminal procedure, shams publications, first edition, dhaka, 432433. sajal a.i. (2015). legal aid is a common people’s right not a charity, retrieved from http://bdlawdigest.org/legal-aid-is-common-peoples-right-not-a-charity.html accessed on 25. 06. 2017 at 2:50 pm. access to justice through legal aid: a study in bangladesh rabiul islam 32 the constitution of the people’s republic of bangladesh, 1972 the code of civil procedure, 1908 the code of criminal procedure, 1898 the acid control act, 2002 the paribarik sohingsota (protirodh o surokkha) ain, 2010 the prevention and suppression of human trafficking act, 2012 the prevention and suppression of human trafficking act, 2012 the legal aid services act, 2000 the national legal aid services organization ( establishment of upazilla & union committee, duties & functions etc) regulations, 2011 the legal aid principles, 2014 the legal remembrancer’s manual, 1960 the prevention and suppression of human trafficking act, 2012 udddin a. (2014). access to justice and legal aid system of bangladesh government, law journal bangladesh, retrieved from http://www.lawjournalbd.com/2014/07/access-to-justice-and-legal-aid-system-of-bangladesh-governm ent/ accessed on 25.06.2017 at 3:00 pm. . copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 53 the role of sports on the development of tribes unity: afghan society, kabul, afghanistan hizbullah bahir teaching assistant physical education department education faculty, kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: bahir.hizbullah@hotmail.com received: september 08, 2020 accepted: september 28, 2020 online published: october 09, 2020 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.794 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.794 abstract sports play a major role in the life of humans as well as it has social and physical benefits for the humans’ body. the purpose of this research was to investigate the role of sports, relationships between nation and afghan community, and its impacts on the development of afghan people life. this study employed mixed research approach, and the data were collected from seventynine respondents through questionnaire and interview. all participants were elected through random sampling method, and the data was analyzed through ibm 24 version of (spss). likewise, the findings of this research showed that sports play an essential role in afghan community as well as it is inseparable part in their life. moreover, men and women are very interested in participating sports. furthermore, the study revealed that participation in sports and physical activities play a unique role on the development of afghan community and tribes. keywords: sports, development, national unity, effects, afghan society. 1. introduction sports is any activity that implements physical effort or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics. as well as, sports serve as a vehicle for the psychological, physical, cognitive and social development for those who do it. in addition, it is an activity which commands a degree of primary or secondary involvement unmatched by other institutionalized settings. moreover, sports offer an opportunity for research on highly crystallized forms of social structure not found in other systems or situations (luschen, 1990). at the same time, it is a product of social reality (eitzen & frey, 1991). furthermore, sports serve as a catalyst and bring people together and influence social relations as teammates work toward a common goal. likewise, sports and physical activities reduce stress, improves the quality of sleep and prevents diseases. also, it is helpful for the therapy of several chronic diseases. in addition, sports refer to a conscious and organized social activity that uses physical exercises as the basic means to enhance people's body, promote the overall development of people, enrich social and cultural life and promote spiritual civilization. it is a part of every culture in a society, and the development of sports is restricted by the politics and economy of a certain community (bahir, 2017). additionally, all forms of physical activity through casual and organized participation which express or improve physical fitness and mental well-being, form social relationships or obtain results in competition at all levels is known as sports (europe & ministers, 2001). similarly, sports are also beginning to emerge as one of the powerful arms of globalization, and it is trying to alleviate tensions between wounded nations. also, it can make people around the world to get know each other and push the process of globalization into the path of peace. this case has two major dimensions; in the atmosphere of world sports competitions, you know the countries that you did not even noticed have existed, such as their people, culture, flag, languages and clothes. the second issue is in sports, wars and enmities become controlled and symbolic because it makes all people of the world as a part of the body. additionally, there are limited studies carried out regarding the role of sports on the development of tribes’ unity in kabul, afghanistan. as a result, this research tries to fill this gap in this existence context through conducting this study. lastly, this research would help with physical education directorate of kabul, afghanistan and other stakeholders. mailto:bahir.hizbullah@hotmail.com https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.794 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 54 1.2 research objectives ▪ to investigate the role of sports on the development of national unity, kabul, afghanistan. ▪ to assess the relationship of nation and sports development on afghan society, kabul, afghanistan. ▪ to explore the effects of sports on afghan people life at kabul, afghanistan. 1.3 research questions ▪ what is the role of sports on the development of national unity, kabul, afghanistan? ▪ what is the relationship of nation and sports development on afghan society, kabul, afghanistan? ▪ what are the effects of sports on afghan people life at kabul, afghanistan? 2. literature review sports teams are subject to consistency due to the large number of members and need for members to adapt. consistency is the result of changes in behavior or beliefs caused by group pressure (myers & twenge, 2018). moreover, a work team can build a common image of how to best solve existing challenges through collective mental imagery, thereby it potentially improves its performance (manz & neck, 1995). sports teams also have a high ability to create cohesion and it is a process that can achieve its goals through a united team (carron, bray & eys, 2002). there are two types of coordination in community job coordination and social unity that can be achieved when joined teams are made, and the members of teams work together in order to achieve common goals, and interacts with each other (richardson, 2013). in addition, social cohesion determines the degree to which each member of the team likes each other and interacts accordingly (richardson, 2013). each of these cohesive forces can work together to form sports teams and help them succeed. sports teams often aim to work together. however, most sports teams are likely to face integration in one aspect or another. consistency is usually looking for possible negative effects, but without consistency, there can be no team. on the other hand, cohesion is often seen as a more positive outlook for the teams to achieve because high cohesion within the team can make it difficult to maintain and may lead to collective thinking, thereby reducing innovation (wise, 2014). at community level, sports have been promoted as a mechanism that promotes social unity, encourages strong community connections, reduces crime rates, and provides active mentors (chamberlain, 2013; dacombe, 2013). these positive effects are important to community. sport may create relationships and social cohesion in religion, race and economics, but there is a little clear evidence to support this claim (beutler, 2008). recently, research on sports for development and peace advocates how to use sports as a tool to intervene in a complex and deeply divided society, and to promote mutual understanding and conflict resolution between different classes at the grassroots level (darnell, whitley & massey, 2016; sugden, 2015). sports-based interventions are increasingly becoming a tool for interacting with young people (lindsey, 2013; stride & fitzgerald, 2017), because they are a way to alleviate the distorted relationship between young people and agencies. they provide opportunities to socialize, interact and collaborate behavior, promote cultural learning, trust and build networks (haudenhuyse, theeboom & nols, 2013). if promoted in the right way, positive experiences will dominate and multiple inclusive social identity can be achieved (schulenkorf, 2010). moreover, sports can exclude individuals and groups and further divide communities. sports is certainly not a social remedy. according to perkins (2000) that ethnic minority youth, especially those living in non-rich communities, do not participate equally in organized sports. this means that they may become isolated from the wider network of countries and communities and lose support for access to social and economic resources. in addition, it cannot play a role to minimize inequality as well it cannot independently solve the disadvantages of society (spaaij, 2013). furthermore, sports form part of a broader set of process designed to address the causes of inequality. dealing with complex issues in a liberating manner has obvious value, but this must be supported by broader support from other organizations, policy makers and so on. the study of sports as a social phenomenon is rarely defined as an activity that provides spiritual benefits to those who do it. sports as a social event is given low priority, but in fact people who are professionals in spots and do it have a comfortable life than other people in a community (carrington & mcdonald, 2008; long, fletcher & watson, 2017). furthermore, sports promote unity, relations and progress among politicians in every society (bethell-bennett, 2014). there are many effects of football game on people and society, which can lead to a new way of thinking about the natural relationship of contrasts between structure and administration in society (dixon, 2011). however, the tolerance can represent a new way of thinking about the natural relationship of contradictions between structure and agency in society. in a structured theory, agency and structure are not mutually dominant. social systems are copied from social practices that existed in time and space because they are followed by most members of society (sadan 1997; dixon, 2011). http://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 55 3. research methodology this current study investigated the role of sports on the development of national unity, relationships of nation and sports and its impacts on afghan people life in kabul, afghanistan. likewise, this research used mixed method and the data were collected from participants through questionnaire and interview as well as they were selected through a random sampling approach. moreover, seventy-nine respondents were selected from national olympic committee and physical education directorate of kabul, afghanistan. in addition, the items of the questionnaire were analyzed by using ibm 24 version of statistical package for social science (spss). 4. discussion the findings of this study show that sports play an essential role among afghan community. moreover, sports in afghanistan also have economic, social, health and cultural effects on community, especially it has deep effects on the peace and mutual tolerance. according to dixan (2011) that there are many effects of football on people and society, which can lead them to a new way of thinking about the natural relationship of contrasts between structure and administration in society. the study further showed that sports brings positive changes in social relationship. similarly, the finding of this research reveals that sports is inseparable part in the life of afghans. the finding of this study can be supported by long, fletcher and watson (2017) that sports is a social phenomenon which has spiritual benefits to sportsmen. furthermore, sports as a social event which given low priority, but it has many advantages to health of humans. in addition, the findings of this study showed that men and women have zeal to participate in sports as well as play with the players of other countries on international matches. therefore, many afghan men and women are no busy on different sports and want to build strong and develop teams on the national and international levels. also, they try to find way in order to be played on the international level with other teams. this finding can be somehow supported by chamberlain (2013) & dacombe (2013) that at community level, sports have been promoted as a mechanism that promotes social cohesion, encourages strong community connections, reduces crime rates, and provides active mentors. moreover, participation of many women in the field of sports has attracted the attention of other countries than looking to the past years. additionally, the findings of this research show more that participation on sports and physical activities play unique role between afghans and in the development of afghan community and tribes. 5. conclusion the research studied the role of sports, relationships of nation and the progress of sports on afghan society, kabul, afghanistan. this study carried out in kabul province, afghanistan. majority respondents were young people both men and women and they were all select through random sampling method. additionally, sports play an essential role after war in afghanistan and most people spent their free time on various sports and physical activities. in addition, sports are inseparable part in the life afghans. this study further revealed that men and women in afghanistan have enthusiasm to participate as well play with other countries on international matches. furthermore, the findings disclosed that participation on sports and physical activities play a unique role among afghans and on the development of afghan community and tribes. references bahir, h. 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(2015). assessing the sociology of sport: on the capacities and limits of using sport to promote social change. international review for the sociology of sport, 50(4-5), 606-611. wise, s. (2014). can a team have too much cohesion? the dark side to network density. european management journal, 32(5), 703-711. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). http://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr http://www.idfpa.net/sports-psychology---group-cohesion http://www.idfpa.net/sports-psychology---group-cohesion contents american international journal of social science research vol. 1, no. 1; 2017 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 33 economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman1 1institute of disaster management and vulnerability studies, university of dhaka, dhaka, bangladesh correspondence: c/o. nazrul store, 122, west kafrul, taltala bazar, dhaka-1207,bangladesh. received: september 13, 2017 accepted: september 15, 2017 online published: september 20, 2017 abstract global environmental change and sustainability science increasingly recognize the need to address the consequences of changes taking place in the structure and function of the biosphere. these changes raise questions such as: who and what are vulnerable to the multiple environmental changes underway, and where? this recognition requires revisions and enlargements in the basic design of vulnerability assessments, including the capacity to treat coupled human–environment systems and those linkages within and without the systems that affect their vulnerability. a vulnerability framework for the assessment of coupled human–environment systems is presented. (turner. et.al).this study is related with economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity contextually jessore’s village. keywords: economic analysis, vulnerability, capacity, water logging, jessore. 1. introduction due to perpetual siltation in the rivers and as a consequence of unplanned development interventions on the river system, long-lasting water-logging in the human settlements is taking place in keshabpur resulting in considerable loss and damage to dwelling houses, standing crops, shrimp farms, roads, educational institutions. the floods and prolonged water-logging have caused significant displacement presenting humanitarian challenges in safe water supply, sanitation, and shelter and food security. water logging at bhobodah like bildakatia as a matter of concern since about 25 to 30 years has become a national problem. the expansion and intensity of that water logging has exceeded of all previous records this year. concerning on this matter if there would be taken any effective and permanent initiatives by the government it will be very difficult to live in the affected locality. a famine like condition is existing among the people. in addition with this starvation and unemployment problems create an unbearable condition. cultivation of boro, irri and other crops has been hindered. considering this condition, people of that locality raise their voice for declaration as a disaster prone area and to provide relief, taking proper steps for rehabilitation to the concerned authority. 1.1 water logging areas and losses catchments of the hari-mukteswary and aparbhaddraharihar rivers are generally considered as bhabodah area. in terms of administrative consideration water logging of keshabpur, monirampur, abhoynagar, sadarupazillas of economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 34 jessore district and dumuriaupazilla of khulna district are of seized areas. table-1: affected sector: water logging areas and losses no. of affected upazilla no. of affected union affected land area affected people migrant family affected sector 05 41 77346 hectares 708035 1003  households  health & sanitation  crops fields  fishing projects  roads & constructions  educational & religious institutions  socio-economic conditions 1.2 reasons of water logging in the decade of 60’s, by the prevalent government established polder system which is known as wapda to protect salinity and sudden up surge from the rivers for producing huge food in the coastal areas .the locality , livelihood households , bils and cannels are surrounded by the embankment in this process . and many sluice gates were built to turn out saline water of the bils and cannels . agricultural revaluation such as bumper production of agriculture , one time harvesting has found for instance . but the impact of this process water logging is followed within 10 to 15 years of its establishment because of silt deposition . before establishment of polder system , tide driven silt disseminated on the land area of bil and silt free water discharged by low laying wet lands of bil became up rise by siltation on the other hand navigation problem did not found in the rivers . but establishing polder silt oriented water did not disseminate on the field as a result silt depositions became started in the river . successively silt deposition made the river comparatively high from the inter related cannel or bil and oppressed to discharge rainfall water and found water logging. silt deposition ratio is high in the terminal point of the river. about 5 to 7 km of river is going into rise 1 miter becoming lost its navigation and unnatural death by siltation. mean while the rivers of hamkur , loarvadra, aprar salta, burivadra have become go into unnatural death and the condition of other rivers is crucial .as a result about 12-15 thousand acears of land submerged by water logging . 2. research methodology the methodology for our study involved the implementation of vulnerability and capacity analyse through while information from previous studies conducted in these villages was used to profile the characteristics of the area. community groups as well as people of different sectors participated in thisprocess. the problems and issues faced by each villager as a whole as well as those faced by villagers individually were discussed. scoring and ranking methods were usedto identifying the most severe problems. participants were asked to priorities the problems that affected their village as a whole rather than those faced at economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 35 an individual or family level. the strategy we adopted assumes working with households, communities and other local entities is an effective mechanism for identifying those factors that preventor enables responses to events that could cause disaster. without such consultations the problems faced by a small group of people or households within a community will be overlooked. in-depth discussions on the problems identified followed and social maps were used to analyse the causes and effects of each problem. this process is outlined in figure 1& 2. step-1: identifying potential threats: a). problem identification b). objective elaboration c). questionnaire and fgd d). secondary data accumulation step-2: identifying vulnerabilities: a). focus group discussion fgd b). key informant interview c). vulnerability assessment step-3: assessing people’s capacities to prevent or cope with threats: a). exposure, sensitivity, adaptation capacity b). key suggestion generation in line to adaptation & mitigation c). sharing and feedback collection d). secondary data accumulation e). data entry and analysis f). key suggestion generation in line to adaptation & mitigation g). draft reporting h). final reporting vulnerability • a set of conditions and processes resulting from physical, social, economic and environmental factors that increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards. • three dimensions: economic, social and ecological. regional vulnerability = damage potential + coping capacity vulnerability: economic dimension • economic damage potential, which can be understood as anything concrete that affects the economy of a region and can be damaged by a hazard. • represents the risk to production, distribution and consumption. economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 36 all of the steps are accomplished by 2 fgds, interviews and informant questioners. source: fgd-1: 15 persons fgd-2: 15 persons informal interview: 10 persons informant questioners: 10 persons total participants: 50 persons male: 30 female: 20 study location: bharat bhaina, dohury, kopalia upazilla: keshabpur district: jessor 3. data analysis table: 2: people’s perceptions on sensitivity of major sector/ activity associated with induced water stress and vulnerability by 2 fgds, interviews and informant questioners affected sector/activity due to water stress response in percentage (%) over study area fgd-1 (15 persons) fgd-2 (15 persons) interview (10 persons) questioners (10 persons) total average % impact on drinking water supply 90 85 87 90 88.00 impact on domestic water use 85 91 83 85 86.00 standard of living 75 85 80 85 81.25 cultivation 100 95 87 93 93.75 navigation 42 30 15 25 28 shrimp culture 85 95 90 85 88.75 fishing 75 85 80 85 81.25 women’s home stead vegetable gardening 80 83 78 75 79.00 rearing of livestock and poultry 82 87 85 84 84.50 impact on water quality 76 73 68 72 72.25 impact on water dependent ecosystem 65 64 71 68 67.00 impact on water related diseases 87 78 86 82 83.25 impact on communication 78 76 86 81 80.25 impact on hygienic condition 67 58 76 67 67.00 impact on health & sanitation 67 72 82 75 74.00 impact on education 75 78 76 77 76.50 economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 37 impact on social strength 67 63 60 65 63.75 impact on social economy 78 76 83 78 78.75 impact on households (clay made/hut) 87 90 85 88 87.50 impact on educational institutions 56 65 70 60 62.75 migration trend 45 52 47 45 47.25 salinity intrusion 95 87 93 90 91.25 3.1 impact of water logging induced disaster on livelihood capital the study didn’t use complex scientific data to access water logging variability and change. the study was more focused on to gain people’s valuable perception and tried to link that withexisting literature and scientific statements. table 1 shows the people’s perception on impact on water logging. it was quite interesting to see that the most noticeablechange is the salinity intrusion (91.25%) and response was higher in comparingto other two study areas. about 94% respondents identified that there was increased intensity of water logging and most of the cultivable lands are inundated which causing problems to cultivation. almost 93.4% respondents identified that water logging creates sever impact on natural resources and hamper income generating for along duration. even, women’s other gender differentiated roles like water and fuel woodcollection have become limited due to the onset of inundation events. they identified salinity intrusion as the second most hazardous incident. they further pointed out that salinity intrusion is not disaster event but it is an on setting gradual event due to long time water logging. table : 3. possible adaptive measures to reduce climate change impacts on water resources adaptive measure related to water logging response in percentage (%) over study area fgd-1 (15 persons) fgd-2 (15 persons) interview (10 persons) questioners (10 persons) total average % tidal river management (trm) establishment 100 95 98 100 98.25 utilization in domestic activity 89 96 98 88 92.75 digging of protected pond to preserve safety water 100 97 97 98 98.00 change in traditional irrigation practice 100 97 97 98 98.00 reduce shrimp cultivation 87 78 77 79 80.25 reduce embankment 100 98 90 96 96.00 improving drainage system installation to prevent water logging 78 87 78 76 79.75 plantation of saline tolerant tree/paddy species 98 96 94 95 95.75 plantation of water logging tolerant tree/paddy species 96 96 98 92 95.50 economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 38 reduce relief dependency 86 80 65 78 77.25 divert in other occupation 78 74 62 63 69.25 rebuilt households 78 86 86 87 84.25 table 3 shows possible adaptive measures to water logging impacts on waterresources. adaptive measures along with people’s coping strategy could work in parallel toenhance their resilience and adaptive capacity to the water resources with time andopportunity that might benefit the resource and resource dependent community as a whole.they added that river erosion further builds up sand deposition inthe river bed and floodplain. gradual salinityintrusion during summer season and abrupt salinity infestation due to storm surge and tidalsurge associated water logging is also critical phenomenon in the area. besides these,increasing trend in temperature together with erratic rainfall is substantially damaging waterresource in the study area. to fully understand the impacts of climate change on waterresource, the socio-economic dimension needs to be analyzed parallel with environmentaland physical scenario. 4. findings of the study table-4: shows vulnerable condition and coping capacity of the people of that area. vulnerabilities capacities physical/material about 87.50% of households mainly clay made affected by logging water around 77346 hectors of agricultural land is waterlogged about 76% educational cntres do not function for using as shelter home and causes of inundation about 90% people do not get pure drinking water hygiene and sanitation condition are severely affected about 84% of people affected by different diseases about 88.75% of shrimp cultivation projects damaged establishment of trm project by which about 99% people will be benefitted about 90% of cultivable land is possible to use by using trm govt. has taken initiatives to improve or repair roads and constructions govt. authority provide saline and flood tolerant trees and paddy seeds knowledge of building households increased diverting trend to other occupation social/organizational what are the relation and organization among people? 47% of households have members who migrate out, migration of youths is increasing social strength has been broken decentralised roles and responsibilities in group work youth group strengthening building physical and moral strength to face rising condition motivational/attitudinal how does the community views its ability to create change? -water logging makes our lives difficult but we cannot get enough external support we have got several assurance but have not executed yet we have to depend on government authority for relief. readiness to work together demand for new agriculture techniques participation in community meetings willingness to obtain new information readiness to contribute to resources economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 39 4.1 loss or damage assessment by applying the following measure we would able to understand the damage and loss per year for the required area. economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 40 4.2 loss assessment per year (sector wise) according to the above mentioned data (table: 5) in addition with the providing formula the following loss will be observed per year. table-5: loss assessment per year (sector wise) 90% 95% 100% house holds paddy (aman) per year educational center shrimp cultivation series 3 loss sector wise damage % fiqure-1: loss sector wise damage affected sectors total number total cost tk. (app.) estimated damage (%) estimated number estimated cost (tk.) lum sum damage cost total loss tk. households (clay made) 12,000 30,000 tk. * 12,000 =36,00,00,000 87.50 10,500 10,500* 30,000= 31,50,00,000 1,00,00,000 tk. 32,50,00,000 crop (paddy) arable land estimated only for (aman paddy) 85,000 ha 85,000* 14,000 = 119,00,00,000 93 77346 ha 108,28,44,000 tk. amount of production = 10,200 mt total price= 10,200*25,000 = 25,50,00,000 tk. 50,00,000 tk. 26.00,00,000 educational center 350 350*20,00,000 = 70,00,00,000tk. 76 266 266 * 20,00,000 = 53,20,00,000 tk. 80,00,00,000 tk. 54,00,00,000 tk. shrimp cultivation 15,000 accr. 15,000 * 1,00,000 = 150,00,00,000 88.75 1,330 1330* 100000 = 13,30,00,000 tk. 70,00,000tk. 14,00,000tk. total loss per year = 227,26,00,000 tk. economic analysis of vulnerability and capacity: a study of water logging, bhobodah, keshabpur, jessore md. mizanuzzaman 41 conclusion before establishment of polder system , tide driven silt disseminated on the land area of bil and silt free water discharged by low laying wet lands of bil became up rise by siltation on the other hand navigation problem did not found in the rivers . but establishing polder silt oriented water did not disseminate on the field as a result silt depositions became started in the river . successively silt deposition made the river comparatively high from the inter related cannel or bil and oppressed to discharge rainfall water and found water logging. silt deposition ratio is high in the terminal point of the river. about 5 to 7 km of river is going into rise 1 miter becoming lost its navigation and unnatural death by siltation. mean while the rivers of hamkur , loarvadra, aprar salta, burivadra have become go into unnatural death and the condition of other rivers is crucial .as a result about 12-15 thousand acears of land submerged by water logging and losses about 227,26,00,000 tk per year . references turner, b. l., kasperson, r. e., matson, p. a., mccarthy, j. j., corell, r. w., christensen, l., ... & polsky, c. (2003). a framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science. proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 100(14), 8074-8079 water logging in satkhira district an analysis of gaps between needs and response november 2011, early recovery facility, undp bangladesh impact of climate induced disaster on gender by: dr. sujit kumar bala, dr. g m tarekul islam sustainable livelihoods and vulnerability to disaster by: john twigg options for self-reliant resurgence cpd’s rapid assessment of flood 2004 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 28 internally displaced persons in nigeria: review of empirical studies emmanuel okokondem okon 1 1 department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria correspondence: department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria, e-mail: tonydom57@yahoo.com. tel: +2348023275716 received: january 9, 2018 accepted: january 12, 2018 online published: january 16, 2018 abstract the purpose of this paper is to review empirical studies on the issue of internally displaced persons in nigeria. the aim is to document the different ways and methods in which researchers have approached this phenomenon in the past and to identify gaps. thus lessons drawn will help in the effort ofcurbing the menace of this phenomenon.the paper started by giving a literature on the current global trend of displacement followed by the current situation of displacement in nigeria. thereafter, a general search was conducted in different online database sources such as google scholars, mamma.com, springer link, wiley, askme.com,science direct, jstor, emerald full text, scopus, and ebsco host, etc., to find out studies that have been carried on internally displaced persons in nigeria.the empirical literature review shows that studies conducted in nigeria on internally displacement covered among others issues such: causes and factors which induce internal displacement, internal intervention for idps, psychosocial challenges of idps, provision of education for idps,inclusive electoral process for idps in nigeria. however, no study has been conducted to analyze how the arrival of displaced individuals affects the provision of public goods of local residents. this unexplored impact may have important implications for the welfare of receiving locations given the large magnitude of displacement experienced in some parts of nigeria.studies have also not been conducted to examine how those displaced are affected in terms of employment and welfare losses. most importantly, research should be geared towards mitigating this phenomenon. keywords: internally displaced persons, nigeria, empirical studies 1. introduction according to the guiding principles on internal displacement, idps are “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border” (ocha, n.d.). there were 59.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide at the end of 2014, the highest level since world war ii: 19.5 million were refugees, 1.8 million asylum seekers and 38.2 million internally displaced persons, according to unhcr (2015). internal displacement in nigeria is a recurring and large-scale phenomenon and has affected most of the country’s 36 states. africa’s largest populated country has seen many waves of displacement, both small and large scale, caused essentially by conflict, generalized violence, natural disasters and human rights violations (nigeriabar, 2015). it is against this background that this paper seeks to review existing empirical research on the issues raised by the presence of internally displaced people (idps) in nigeria. the lessons drawn will help in overcoming the challenges of displacement in nigeria. the subsequent two sections correspond to literature pertaining to the global trend of displacement (section 2), and reports on internally displaced persons in nigeria (section 3). section presents the methodology of the study as well https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/refugees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/refugee#asylum_seekers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/internally_displaced_persons www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 29 as the empirical review result. section 4 highlights the limitations of the existing literature and suggest a range of areas for further research.section 5 concludes. 2. global trend war, violence and persecution left one in every 122 humans on the planet a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum at the end of 2014, according to a stark un report that warns the world is failing the victims of an “age of unprecedented mass displacement”. the annual global trends study by the un’s refugee agency, unhcr, finds that the level of worldwide displacement is higher than ever before, with a record 59.5 million people living exiled from their homes at the end of 2014 (theguardian, 2016). unhcr estimates that an average of 42,500 men, women and children became refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced people every day last in 2014 a four-fold increase in just four years. by the end of 2014, there were 19.5 million refugees – more than half of them children – 38.2 million internally displaced people and 1.8 million asylum-seekers (theguardian, 2016).were the 59.5 million to be counted as the population of a single country, it would be the 24th largest in the world and one with about the same number of people as italy. figure 1: 21 st century displacement source: unhcr the numbers are up 16% in 2013 – when the total stood at 51.2 million – and up 59% on a decade ago, when 37.5 million people were forced to flee their homes. unhcr says the four-year war in syria is the single largest driver of displacement: by the end of 2014, the conflict had forced 3.88 million syrians to live as refugees in the middle east and beyond, and left 7.6 million more internally displaced. in blunter terms, one in every five displaced persons worldwide last year was syrian. the report also notes that the wealthy countries are relying overwhelmingly on poorer states to take in those who have been forced to abandon their homelands: in 2014, 86% of refugees were in regions or countries deemed economically less developed.twenty years ago, developing regions hosted about 70% of the world’s refugees; last year, countries ranked least developed by the un were home to 3.6 million refugees – or 25% of the global total. at the end of 2014, 53% of all refugees under unhcr’s responsibility came from just three countries: syria (3.88 million), afghanistan (2.59 million), and somalia(1.11 million). a further 5.1 million refugees were registered by unrwa, the un agency for palestinian refugees. http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home http://www.theguardian.com/world/refugees http://www.theguardian.com/world/italy http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jun/18/59m-people-displaced-war-violence-persecution-says-un#img-2 http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jun/18/59m-people-displaced-war-violence-persecution-says-un#img-2 http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jun/18/59m-people-displaced-war-violence-persecution-says-un#img-2 http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jun/18/59m-people-displaced-war-violence-persecution-says-un#img-2 http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jun/18/59m-people-displaced-war-violence-persecution-says-un#img-2 http://www.theguardian.com/world/syria http://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan http://www.theguardian.com/world/somalia www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 30 figure 2: conflict displacement photograph: unhcr/guardian source: unhcr in iraq, the march of islamic state saw the number of internally displaced people jump from 1 million to in 2013 to 3.6 million by the end of last year. in libya, 309,000 people were newly displaced in 2014 (theguardian, 2016). over the past five years, at least 15 conflicts have broken out or reignited: eight in africa (ivory coast, central african republic, libya, mali, northeastern nigeria, democratic republic of the congo, south sudanand burundi); three in the middle east (syria, iraq, and yemen); one in europe (ukraine) and three in asia (kyrgyzstan, and in several areas ofburma and pakistan). there were 19.2 million new displacements associated with disasters in 113 countries across all regions of the world in 2015, brought on by events such as floods, storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, landslides and extreme temperatures (grid, 2016). disasters triggered by natural hazards caused twice as many new displacements in 2015 as conflict and violence. over the past eight years, there have been 203.4 million displacements by disasters, a figure comparable to the entire population of brazil (grid, 2016). the 2015 figure is lower than the average recorded since 2008 of 25.4 million displacements per year, but similar to the reported global totals for the previous year (see figure 3). the scale and frequency of large-scale disasters account for much of the variance in the total figures from year to year. such events are less predictable because they are brought on by the most extreme hazards. as in 2014 and 2009, there were no mega-events (defined here as more than three million displacements) in 2015. figure 3: new displacements associated with disasters by scale of events, 2008 to 2015 source: grid (2016) http://www.theguardian.com/world/iraq http://www.theguardian.com/world/isis http://www.theguardian.com/world/africa http://www.theguardian.com/world/ivory-coast http://www.theguardian.com/world/central-african-republic http://www.theguardian.com/world/central-african-republic http://www.theguardian.com/world/libya http://www.theguardian.com/world/mali http://www.theguardian.com/world/nigeria http://www.theguardian.com/world/congo http://www.theguardian.com/world/south-sudan http://www.theguardian.com/world/burundi http://www.theguardian.com/world/yemen http://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine http://www.theguardian.com/world/kyrgyzstan http://www.theguardian.com/world/burma http://www.theguardian.com/world/pakistan www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 31 3. nigeria nigeria has 3.3 million persons displaced by conflict – the highest number in africa. this information is contained in a report ‘global overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence’ released by the internal displaced monitoring centre (idmc) and the norwegian refugee council (nrc) (naij.com, n.d.). figure 4: there were 12.5 million idps in the 21 sub-saharan countries. credit: global overview 2014 source:naij.com (n.d.). according to the report, there are 3.3 million idps in nigeria and 470,500 individuals were displaced in 2013 alone (naij.com, n.d.). on a global scale, nigeria is only ranked behind syria with 6.5 million idps and colombia with 5.7 million idps (naij.com, n.d.).the report explains the unprecedented rise in idps in nigeria last year by the increased number of boko haram attacks, heavy-handed counter insurgency operations, and ongoing inter-communal violence. after boko haram insurgents were pushed out of major towns in the north-east following the declaration of a state of emergency in borno, yobe, and adamawa states in may 2013, they focused their attacks with increased brutality on towns and villages close to nigeria’s borders with cameroon, niger and chad. figure 5: smoke rises after a bomb blast at a bus terminal in jos, nigeria, tuesday, may 20, 2014. the blasts could be heard miles away and clouds of black smoke rose above the city as firefighters and rescue workers struggled to reach the area as thousands of people fled. source: nydailynews (2014) the increasing deadly attacks on border communities and the destruction of properties, businesses and farmlands forced many inhabitants to flee to nearby towns and villages as well as into neighbouring cameroon and niger. in 2014, the islamist sect killed about 2,000 people and more than half of those killed were civilians. according to the un office for the coordination of humanitarian assistance (unocha), 300,000 people in borno, adamawa and yobe – 70 percent of them women and children – fled their homes since early 2013(naij.com, n.d.). in march, residents of mafa village in borno fled their homes after receiving letters from boko haram warning them of www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 32 impending attacks. when the attack eventually happened there were only the aged and those too weak to flee. besides, reprisal attacks on communities accused of sheltering boko haram insurgents by the nigerian armed forces had also added to the number of displaced people in the northeast, the report notes. communal clash is another factor contributing to the high number of displaced persons in nigeria. clashes between farmers and herdsmen over grazing lands in states such as benue, taraba, zamfara and parts of kaduna left more than 1,000 people dead since december 2014, human rights watch (hrw) said. “the violence has been almost on a daily basis in some places like benue state and in a few other places you’ve had it almost on a weekly basis,” said mausisegun, hrw nigerian researcher. in april, nema set up 11 camps for over 100,000 people displaced in eight local governments in benue state. more than 300 people in the last 20 months were killed in attacks on villages in zamfara state, the local government reported(naij.com, n.d.). also, many of the victims of the 2012 flooding caused by heavy rainfall across nigeria are yet to be provided permanent place of residence. according to nema,the natural disaster in that year alone displaced over two million people. 4. methodology of the study this study adopted a content analysis of studies on internally displaced persons in nigeria from the flow of existing literature. a general search was conducted by the name ofinternally displaced persons in nigeria in different online database sources such as google scholars, springer link, wiley, science direct, jstor, emerald full text, scopus, and ebsco host etc. from this search, a number of journal articles, conference and other types of work were found and studied to determine which articles were empirically good enough to be included in the review of this paper. the empirical studies were broadly divided into two categories: internal studies on idps in nigeria; and comparison with neighbouring countries. after reading thoroughly, the relevant empirical articles were collected and presented in a chronological order on the basis of objectives, methods and findings. 4.1. results of the review according to ocheje (1997) in his work titled “legalizing displacement”, he opined that as developments in nigeria have demonstrated, law and the legal order can be manipulated in order to sustain the state and a section of the society at the expense of the general public. this process was imposed on the people of nigeria under the guise of promoting development. although development projects have been elaborately supported by the law, the effect on the welfare of the people has been largely negative. rather than promoting progress, projects have led to the displacement of vast numbers of nigerians from their familiar habitat. law and the legal order have been used by the state to sustain itself at the expense of the people and therefore have had the effect of perpetuating injustice. as this situation makes clear, law can be an agent of both progress and retrogression, depending on whether the state is oriented towards protecting the people in general or in promoting the interests of a particular class. the nigerian state has clearly had the latter objective in mind. ibeeanu (1998)examined the causes and other factors which induce internal population displacement in nigeria. it argues in opposition to traditional explanations that population displacement is a complex problem most often arising when the rights of a group are violated or denied; or when the physical security of members of the group is threatened. the nature of the state is a major causal factor inducing population displacement, especially where it is unable to ensure access for all its citizens or accord them adequate physical security.ibeanu (2001) in his paper argued that the problem of population displacement in countries like nigeria is not just to be understood as being of the state’s making, but, more fundamentally, as a problem of state-making. it questions the prevalent explanation of population displacement as a problem of state actions and wrong policy choices by state officials, arguing that such an explanation tends to be subjectivist, legalistic, and reifies the state. by so doing, this explanation pays inadequate attention to the determinant role of social forces in state-making and its consequences for population displacement. olagunju (2006) examined the management of idp’s (internally displaced persons) in nigeria based on the february/may 2000 communal conflict at kaduna, northern nigeria. he structured two sets of questionnaires. one was for idps. the other was for government agencies and ngos. they were based on the united nations guidelines on internal displacement.the challenges faced by the idp’s and by the various government agencies and ngos involved in responding to the needs of the idps were assessed, documented, compared and analyzed. recommendations for better responses to the management of idp needs were given for the use of relevant governmental and ngo agencies. in the paper “betting on displacement: oil, violence, and the switch to civilian rule in nigeria”,azam (2009) presented an analytic narrative of three decades of oil and violence innigeria, assuming rational choice by all the actors. it argues that, in the 1980s and 1990s, thegovernment had to choose between spending money on preventing pollution and terrorizingthe population away from the niger delta states, where oil extraction is concentrated. becauseof the uncertain outcome of out-migration, the latter solution seemed more efficient and wasimplemented by http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/search;jsessionid=eam40dgsj3h2l.x-brill-live-03?value1=&option1=all&value2=paul+d.+ocheje&option2=author www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 33 the military governments. however, xenophobic responses by the populationin destination cities, where a lot of ethnic violence took place, proved out-migration to bemuch less attractive than expected. niger delta states’ populations ended up being trapped intheir polluted environment where “oil bunkering” and racketeering oil firms turned out to bethe only viable sources of income for many people. the implied dynamics of violence shedssome light on the switch to civilian rule that occurred in 1999. in 2009, bamgbose examined separately two different incidents of accidental bomb blast at ikeja cantonment, and ethnic conflict between the yoruba and hausa at idi-araba, mushin in the suburb of lagos. these incidents which took place at two different locations at lagos in nigeria were fundamental and painful because of the magnitude of displacements caused by these two incidents by rendering thousands of people homeless, sent hundreds to the grave beyond, destroyed many properties including buildings and besides, they called for government attention to give succour to the plight of the affected people. the paper further points out that forced/involuntary migration can be responsible for human displacement without people necessarily crossing international boundary. also in 2009, enwereji attempted to assess interventions offered by governmental authorities and organizations to internally displaced persons and to identify gaps in services as well as to identify what needs to be strengthened. the author reviewed relevant published and unpublished documents and collected data by interviews with semi-structured questions. twenty-five organizations and government and police departments and 55 internally displaced persons were interviewed. the result showed that none of the organizations, including governmental institutions, provided social services or assistance in prevention of hiv/aids to internally displaced persons. the main services provided by 17 (68%) organizations to 43 (78.2%) of internally displaced persons were provision of food, clothing and money, but these were provided on an ad hoc basis. only 3 organizations (12%) included spiritual counseling and resolution of communal conflicts in their services. durosaro and ajiboye (2011) investigated the problems and coping strategies of internally displaced adolescents in jos metropolis. the snowball sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents. a self-designed instrument was used to collect required information. the results showed that educational and emotional problems are most prominent among internally displaced adolescents. the emotional problems are characterized by memory of fearful events and nightmare. the major coping strategy employed by respondents is repression because they often avoid thinking about their present condition. respondents were different in their problems and coping strategies on the basis of gender. on the other hand, they were similar in terms of their problems and coping strategies based on age and educational status. based on the findings, it was alternative educational activities should be provided for internally displaced adolescents. also, trauma counseling should be adequately and readily available for displaced adolescents. in 2013, ogwo carried out a study to determine the role played by sex differences in the manifestation of aggression among the internally displaced male and female children. participants (n=445) aged 10-15 years and drawn from two communities in nasarawa state, nigeria, namely, bassa and igbirray. aggression in children was measured by a 19-item questionnaire developed by the researchers to test the hypothesis that there will be no statistically significant difference in the manifestation of aggression between internally displaced male children and their female counterparts. a 3-way between groups anova was used to establish the differences. results indicate that nigerian children did not show significant difference in their manifestation of aggression based on gender. t=0.74, df=443, p=.46 the findings seem to suggest that armed conflict and its consequences, like internal displacement is a threat to children’s general well-being because of the disruption of the environment in which they are socialized. oduwole and fadeyi (2013) evaluated the state of internally displaced persons in nigeria. the study elicits its information gathering using an ethnographic approach, a semi-unstructured interview was purposefully conducted on some of the survivors of bomb attack on un building at abuja who are resident of lagos, victims of displaced persons that experienced devastating floods that destroyed their homes and properties, relations of some of slain youth corps members that equally reside in lagos were interviewed. the study heavily relies on authoritative and valid secondary sources of data – national dailies (nigeria tabloids), journals, articles etc. on the desk type of research. the major findings of the study revealed neglects on the part of the state apparatus (government) in ensuring better, effective and functional policies. its magnitude is capable of threatening national cohesion of the country and endangering high rate of internally displaced persons across the country. the study concludes that given the magnitude and complexity of crises of internal displacement, these are inimical toward the discourse “development”. this affects the country from achieving millennium development goals – goal number eight (8): rights to safety of lives and properties as equally enshrined in other international treaties – choices to healthy, creative life and to enjoy a decent standard of living, freedom, dignity and self-respect and the respect of others. olukolajo et al (2014) examined the effects of crisis induced internal displacement of persons in nigeria on real estate investment decision among the displaced. samples of the displaced persons were drawn from ekiti, ogun, https://sites.tufts.edu/jha/archives/category/j-adele-bamgbose www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 34 ondo, and oyo states in the south-western zone of the country through snowballing process and data collected were analysed descriptively and inferentially. findings indicate that 78.03% of respondents no longer consider it worthwhile, the investment/re-investment in the crisis zones for fear of losing their investment. the paper recommends among others that governments at all levels should intensify efforts towards curbing the menace of crisis in the country. this may be made possible through integration of local communities in providing security in their domains. in 2014, okoli and iortyer explored the humanitarian impact of terrorism in nigeria from the standpoint of boko haram insurgency. by way of scholarly exegesis and empirical evidence, predicated on secondary sources, the paper posits that the boko haram insurgency has resulted in dire humanitarian situation as evident in human casualties, human right abuses, population displacement and refugee debacle, livelihood crisis, and public insecurity. the paper submits that this scenario portends negatively for the sustenance of national security in nigeria. the paper recommends a strategic paradigm shift from anti-terrorism to counter-terrorism as a strategy for containing the crisis. mirth (2014) adopted a mixed method to source for data in the analysis of the experiences of internally displaced persons in bama and gwozadurumi, abuja, nigeria. primary data was collected through qualitative interviews that gave an indepth narrative on ground situation from the minds of interviewees. the secondary source of data was also used for this research that consisted of academic publications, research papers and policy documents. from the empirical fieldwork, it was concluded that the idps in abuja area one durunmi camps are not faced with the absence of the state policy, but rather, by the irresponsive state; the state that withholds its assistance deliberately because it wants the idps moved away to another place. that is, the idps are faced by “the politics of policy application.” the government pays little or no attention to this group of people and their plight. measures taken to address the deplorable conditions in which they live are very, very inadequate, if any. in his paper, isokon (2014) examined displacement status and welfare of bakassi settlers in cross river state against the backdrop of the 1980 un policy on resettlement programmes and its implications for resettlement planning as well as success of a resettlement scheme. the study is predicated on the apriori that the state of bakassi settlers is akin to status depreciation, impoverishment, loss of sources of livelihood, stigmatization, discrimination, inhuman treatment and infringement of fundamental human rights. in the light of these observations, it is suggested among others that vigorous education campaigns should be carried out among settlers and neigbouring communities around the resettlement area. the campaigns should emphasize attitudinal change, accommodation, cooperation, peace and unity amongst the settlers and the neigbouring communities. the study also suggests that government should take a strategic sustainable development approach to address the challenges confronting displaced persons, including economic empowerment, provision of employment opportunities, infrastructural development and ensure functional participation of settlers in the decision making framework, planning and operations of the resettlement. amadi and mac ogonor (2015) examined climate change, environmental security and displacement in nigera. it deployed a participatory methodology through focused group discussion (fgds), questionnaires and oral interview guide as primary data sources. the sampling technique was largely purposive due in part to the sensitivity of the issues investigated. two open-ended questionnaires were used to elicit two types of information on coastal flood, environmental security and displacement within the purposively selected areas of study namely: bayelsa, delta and rivers states. the findings suggested that the 2012 flooding negatively affected the region with evidence of displacement, out migration, impoverishment, food production decline, etc. the paper made some policy recommendations on mitigation of climate change vulnerability. ajiboye et al (2015) investigated the psychosocial challenges that confront disaster-induced internally displaced women in official camps in lagos state. the descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. the purposive sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents. a well-structured questionnaire titled, “psychosocial challenges of disaster-induced internally displaced women questionnaire” (pcdidwq) was used for gathering data for the study. the findings revealed that family disintegration is the major psychosocial challenge of disaster-induced internally displaced women. it was equally revealed that there were no significant differences in the psychosocial challenges of respondents based on marriage type and number of children. based on the findings of the study it was recommended that professional counselors be actively involved in the provision of services such as trauma counseling, career counseling, and family counseling to disaster-induced internally displaced women. in an exposition on the growing challenge of internal population displacement in nigeria sincethe birth of the fourth republic, adesote and peters (2015) interrogated the challenge of various cases of violence on internal population displacement during three successive administrations of chief olusegun obasanjo, late alhaji musa yar’adua and dr. goodluck jonathan. it argues that the major cause of this great human tragedy which has not only led to the disruption of human lives and property but also constituted a major threat to national peace and security is violence. the paper contends that the root causes of violence which could be ethno-religious, inter-ethnic, political and inter www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 35 communal are hinged on a decade of poor governance, underdevelopment of peripheral areas populated by ethnic minorities, mismanagement of identity conflicts, chronic abuse of power resulting in egregious violations of human rights, gross inequities in the shaping and sharing of power, national wealth and so on. it concludes that there is need for adequate management of various conflicts, ensuring equitable resource allocation, the practice of true federalism, the promotion of good governance, and national security. ibeanu (2015) in his work titled ‘between refuge and rights: internally displaced persons and inclusive electoral process in nigeria’ was of the view that some people expressed concerns about the introduction of idp voting. among their concerns was the possibility of abuse, if not in 2015, in the future. this is especially plausible if you do not have the right type of institutional checks. a second concern raised was whether what was introduced was really inclusive considering that it was limited to three states and hundreds of idps are scattered across the country. these are legitimate concerns, but we had to start somewhere. not starting at all would have been a terrible travesty considering for instance that the total number of idps, who potentially could have been disenfranchised in borno state, was 561,999. if you also consider that the total number of voters who were credited for the presidential and national assembly elections on 28th march in borno state was 544, 75912, then you see the magnitude of potential disenfranchisement. the challenge however remains to continue to expand the walls of inclusiveness by ensuring that other idps and indeed other excluded groups are given the opportunity to exercise their fundamental democratic rights. the main objective of isah’s study in 2015 was is to examine reproductive health challenges among internally displaced women in abuja, nigeria. the study utilized primary data which is design from questionnaires and focus on women aged (15-49). the study was conducted in newkuchigoro idps camp. primary data was used to collect via self-administered structured questionnaires to assess women reproductive health life in idps camp in abuja, nigeria. in the study, women married or not married aged (15-49) in the study area was considered as a source population and the required sample size was drawn from this population of 250 questionnaires. bradshaw (2004, p.31) mentions the psychological influence of natural disasters on women, the finding show majority of the sample population age groups of the respondents indicate that the majority are from age group 15-24 (35.3%) and 25-35 (27%), respectively. it was recommended that government should make available, the highest attainable standard of health care services, which includes, access to reproductive health care services within the camps or the area, antenatal care sheikh et al (2015) examined the correlates of depression among internally displaced persons after post-election violence in kaduna, north western nigeria. cross-sectional systematic random sampling was used to select 258 adults idps. we used the hopkins symptom checklist to diagnose probable depression, composite international diagnostic interview for diagnosis of definite depression and communal trauma event inventory to determine exposure to psycho-trauma. they assessed social adjustment using social provision scale and harvard trauma questionnaire to diagnose “symptomatic ptsd”. multiple logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors of depression. the conclusion was that idps living in hajj camp in kaduna, northern nigeria developed post-conflict probable depression and definite depression. female gender, experienced beating and comorbid diagnosis of ptsd were independent predictors of probable depression among the idps, while idps that were unemployed or retired had more of definitive depression. in february 2008 a unique community library and information centre was established in ikang a rural area designated as a camp for persons displaced by the ceding of bakassi, ntui (2015) summarized and analyzed sources and trends of funds ensued to the centre and provided suggestions on ways of sustaining the funds. there has been a decline in frequency of funds ensued to the centre over the years and government funding has been precarious. the centre is tapping into all areas of private funding sources ranging from endowment, ngos, donation, gifts to fund raising activities. the latter has have become a mainstay in the budget mix of the centre. through these integrated creative approach the centre has been able to provide superior services to its community of users emmanuelar (2015) set out to analyse the impact of boko haram insurgency on humanitarian crises in northern nigeria with borno, yobe and adamawa states in focus. it further establishes how the increase in the activities of boko haram, continues to generate dire humanitarian consequences to the north east region, the nigerian society and neighbouring nations at large. this paper adopted the state fragility theoretical framework as well as the survey method involving the use of questionnaires (the regression technique) and in-depth interview (index matrix and table technique) which focuses on three internally displaced camps in the region for analysis. the empirical findings indicate that, there is a significant relationship between boko haram insurgency and humanitarian crises, when variables such as impact on human casualties (ihc), food insecurity (fi) and internally displaced persons (idp’s) are held constant, while no significant relationship exists when the variables such as loss of livelihood (lol) and government response(gr) are held constant. by way of recommendation, the paper advocates the need for the javascript:void(0); www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 36 nigerian government to focus more on reducing human casualties, loss of livelihood, food insecurity and more focus on the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons back to the society, in order to nip the threats emanating from the humanitarian crises and boko haram insurgency in the bud in the region. in examining the inclusion, teachers, curriculum and education policy in managing multicultural education programmes for rehabilitating boko haram internally displaced persons in refugee camps of north eastern nigeria,badau and ndagana (2016) found among others that most of the children of boko haram internally displaced persons had no inclusion in multicultural education programmes, teachers were not provided for multicultural education programmes, curriculum was not supported and education policy was not coordinated by governments, non-governmental organizations (ngos),international and donor agencies for rehabilitating boko haram internally displaced persons in refugee camps of north eastern nigeria. recommendations of the study, among others included that federal, state and local governments, ngos, donor and international agencies should make multicultural education programmes inclusive for rehabilitating boko haram internally displaced persons in refugee camps of north eastern nigeria. adamu and rasheed (2016) examined the insecurity situation in the northern nigeria and its effects on the idps. it is evident from the beginning of the paper that insecurity situation in contemporary nigeria has forced large number of nigerians to be vulnerable and susceptible to all forms of exploitation, abuse, neglect and many rendered homeless in the northern part of the country. the current figure or number of the idps camps across the country shows that the federal, states, local governments and the host communities are all suffering from the effect of insecurity in the north. as recommended in the paper, there is need for intelligence gathering and surveillance so that law enforcement agents could be proactive and reasonably predict potential crime with near perfect accuracy rather than being reactive. eweka and olusegun (2016) comparatively interrogated the management of internal displacement in africa with focus on nigeria and neighbouring cameroon. the study adopted the quantitative research design, employs survey method for data collection, and simple percentage as well as content analyses techniques for data analysis. with much focus on (dis)similarities in managerial stakeholders and their number, challenges, and degree of success recorded by both countries, it is summed that no one country is more successful than the other in idps management, rather both countries have a lot to learn from each other, and there is an urgent need to improve on the management of idps in both countries. 5. limitations of the existing literature the empirical literature review shows that studies conducted in nigeria on internally displacement covered among others issues such: causes and factors which induce internal displacement, internal intervention for idps, psychosocial challenges of idps, provision of education for idps,inclusive electoral process for idps in nigeria. however, no study has been conducted to analyze how the arrival of displaced individuals affects the provisionof public goods of local residents. this unexplored impact may have important implications for the welfare of receiving locations given the large magnitude of displacement experienced in some parts of nigeria.studies have also not been conducted to examine how those displaced are affected in terms of employment and welfare losses. 5.1. suggested areas for further research -analyzing the impact that internal displacement has on host (destination) communities -development-induced displacement -challenges of rehabilitation of idps 6. concluding remark internally displaced persons have suddenly become a socio-economic problem which has thrown a lot of humanitarian challenge for our collective humanity. there is need for researchers to develop research problems that are grounded in the perspectives and experiences of people affected by displacement and whose findings remain relevant to policy. in other words, they must identify not only the right solutions but also the right questions that will put an end to internal displacement in nigeria and the rest of the world. references adamu, a., and rasheed, z. h. (2016).effects of insecurity on the internally displaced persons (idps) in northern nigeria: prognosis and diagnosis. global journal of human-social science: political science,16(1), 1021. adesote s. a., and peters, a. o. (2015).a historical analysis of violence and internal population displacement in nigeria’s fourth republic, 1999-2011.international journal of peace and conflict studies (ijpcs), 2(3),13-22. ajiboye, s. k., akinlabi, a. a, and ajokpaniovo, m. (2015).psychosocial challenges of disaster –induced internally displaced women in lagos state.ejournals,17(2),89-98. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 37 azam, j. (2008). betting on displacement: oil, violence, and the switch to civilian rule in nigeria.toulouse school of economics (ut1, arqade, idei) and institutuniversitaire de france. http://publications.utcapitole.fr/3245/1/wp_dev_34_2009.pdf amadi, l., and mac ogonor, c.u. (2015).climate change, environmental security and displacement in nigeria: experience from the niger delta flood disaster, 2012. african journal of environmental science and technology, 9(1), 53-64. badau, k. m., and ndagana, j. m. (2016). managing multicultural education programmes for rehabilitating boko haram internally displaced persons inrefugee camps of north eastern nigeria.british journal of education, 4(1) 51-63. bamgbose , a. (2009) . internally displaced persons: case studies of nigeria’s bomb blast and the yorubahausa ethnic conflict in lagos, nigeria.https://sites.tufts.edu/jha/archives/541 durosaro, i.a., and ajiboye, s.k. (2011). problems and coping strategies of internally displaced adolescents in jos metropolis,nigeria.international journal of humanities and social sciences, 1(20),256-262. emmanuelar, i. (2015).insurgency and humanitarian crises in northern nigeria: the case of boko haram. african journal of political science and international relations, vol. 9(7), 284-296. enwereji, e.e. (2009). assessing interventions available to internally displaced persons in abia state, nigeria.libyan journal of medicine,1(1), 23-26. eweka, o., andolusegun, t. o. (2016).management of internally displaced persons in africa: comparing nigeria and cameroon.african research review,10(1), 193-210 grid (2016).global report on internal displacement. idmc. may.www.internal-displacement.org/.../2016-globalreport-internal-displacement-idmc.pdf. ibeeanu, o. (1998). exiles in their own home: internal population displacement in nigeria. afr. j. polit. sci., 3(2), 80-97. ibeanu, o. (2001).state-making and internal population displacement: factoring the state into forced migration in nigeria during military rule. africa at crossroads: complex political emergencies in the 21st century, unesco / ena, 2001. http://www.unesco.org/most/crossroadsibea.htm. ibeanu, o. (2015).between refuge and rights: internally displaced persons and inclusive electoral process in nigeria. lecture delivered at the electoral institute (tei) independent national electoral commission (inec) abuja, nigeria, 15th december 2015 isah, b. s. (2015).reproductive health challenges among internally displaced persons in abuja, nigeria.a research project submitted to the department of sociology, faculty of humanities and social sciences, federal university, oye-ekiti, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of bachelor of science (b.sc) hons in demography and social statistics. repository.fuoye.edu.ng/bitstream/.../bello%20saidu%20yisa.pdf isokon, e. b. (2014).displacement status and welfare of settlers in population resettlements: the case of bakassi resettlement programme in cross river state, nigeria. covenant journal of business and social sciences, 5(2),131-143. mirth, a.o. (2014).experiences of internally dislaced persons a case study of bama and gwozadurumi, abuja, nigeria. a dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for obtaining the degree of master of arts in social development. the hague, the netherlands. studiesfile:///c:/users/okon/downloads/oadenitan_ma_2014_15_spd.pdf naij.com (n.d.). nigeria has africa's largest population of displaced persons – report. https://www.naij.com/66928.htmlhttps://www.naij.com/66928.html nigeriabar (2015).strategies for adopting national policy on idps .http://www.nigeriabar.com/2015/11/strategiesfor-adopting-national-policy-on-idps#.vx4y19qrjdg. ntui,, a. i. (2015).financing libraries and information centres for internallydisplaced persons in nigeria: the bakassi case.journal of economics and sustainable development, 6 (16),78-85. nydailynews (2014).at least 118 dead after twin car bombs explode in nigerian city of jos. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/46-dead-twin-car-bombs-explode-nigerian-city-jos-article1.1799476. ocha (n.d.).cha on message: internal displacement. https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/documents/oom_internaldisplacement_english.pdf https://sites.tufts.edu/jha/archives/category/j-adele-bamgbose www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 38 oduwole, t. a.,and f. a. o. (2013).issues of refugees and displaced persons in nigeria. journal of sociological research, 4, no 1 ogwo, a. (2013). sex differences in the manifestation of aggression on internally displaced nigerian children.gender &behaviour,11(2), 5586-5592. okoli, a. c., and iortyer, p. (2014).terrorism and humanitarian crisis in nigeria: insights from boko haram insurgency. global journal of human-social science: political science, 14(1),39-49. olagunju, o. (2006). management of internal displacement in nigeria.phd candidate in legal anthropology brandeis university.working paper #35. web.mit.edu/cis/www/migration/pubs/rrwp/35_displacement.pdf. olukolajo, m. a., ajayi, m. a., and ogungbenro, m. t. (2014).crisis induced internal displacement: the implication on real estate investment in nigeria. journal of economics and sustainable development, 5 (4), 3947. sheikh, t. l., abdulaziz, m., agunbiade,s.,joseph,i., ebiti, b.,adekeye, o. (2015).correlates of depression among internally displaced persons after post-election violence in kaduna, north western nigeria.journal of effective disorder,170(1), 46-51. theguardian (2016). one in every 122 people is displaced by war, violence and persecution, says un. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jun/18/59m-people-displaced-war-violencepersecution-says-un unhcr (2015)."unhcr – global trends –forced displacement in 2014". 18 june wikipedia(2016).displaced person.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/displaced_person. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) javascript:void(0); javascript:void(0); javascript:void(0); javascript:void(0); javascript:void(0); javascript:void(0); http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/displaced_person copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 29 contraceptive use among slum women in slums of dhaka city rafia akter lecturer department of science and humanities military institute of science and technology, bangladesh e-mail: rafiaakter93@gmail.com received: june 06, 2020 accepted: july 03, 2020 online published: july 20, 2020 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.667 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.667 abstract bangladesh has experienced a dramatic increase in contraceptive use and a sensational decline in fertility over 3 decades since its independence. the family planning program (fpp) in bangladesh has been considered a success story in a setting without much socio-economic development. with the concerted effort of the government of bangladesh (gob) and non-governmental organizations (ngos), women are becoming aware of physical health; (icddr,b). in this context, a study has conducted to unveil the scenario of using contraception in the slum area of dhaka city. in this research, 101 respondents were selected from two selected slums of dhaka city. this study examines the use of contraceptives among the slum women. findings revealed that respondents age 15-20) around 8.6% prefer an oral pill, 2.5% prefer iud, 6.2% prefer condom (husband’s method) and 4.9% prefer injectable. respondents aged within (21-25) around 19.8% prefer oral pill, 3.7% prefer iud, 6.2% prefer condom (husband’s method) and 7.4% prefer injectable. respondents age (above 25) around 21.0% prefer oral pill, 1.2% prefer iud, 1.2% prefer condom (husband’s method) and 17.3% prefer injectable. in total, around 49.4% prefer an oral pill, 7.4% prefer iud, 13.6% prefer condom and 29.6% prefer injectable. women’s education, exposure to mass media, current work status husband’s working status, age of marriage, decision-making rights, religious restriction are the important determinants of contraceptive use among slum women. keywords: contraceptive methods, preference, married women, urban slum. 1. introduction bangladesh is a developing nation. as bangladesh is a densely populated country, population growth constitutes a primary threat to continued economic growth, social insecurity and development in bangladesh. bangladesh is not an exception to its population burden. despite significant progress in family planning programs, the population of bangladesh is increasing at an alarming rate. one strategy that has been used to cease further increases infertility in bangladesh involves using family planning outreach workers who travel throughout rural and urban areas educating women regarding the use of modern contraceptives, and making these available at the doorstep. this family planning program has been operational for over 30 years of independence. the family planning program (fpp) in bangladesh has been considered a success story in a setting without much socioeconomic development. with the concerted effort of the government of bangladesh (gob) and non-governmental organizations (ngos), the contraceptive prevalence rate has increased from eight percent in 1975 to 54 percent in 1999-2000 (mitra & al-sabir, 1996). the process of population control in bangladesh has been well documented with testimony at home and abroad. although the consecutive demographic health surveys conducted in bangladesh continually showed that the contraceptive prevalence rate was higher in urban areas than the urban areas. however, little is known on the contraceptive use patterns among slum dwellers. the rapid growth of population in the informal settlements and urban squatters suggests the urgent need to examine the contraceptive use and method choice among women living in the urban slums. bangladesh has experienced dramatic increase of contraceptive use and a sensational decline in fertility over the three decades. the fertility has decreased from 6.3 births in the mid-1970s to 2000 and contraceptive use rate has increased more than seven folds during this period from 7.7% to 65.8% (niport, 2012). although the consecutive demographic health surveys conducted in bangladesh continually showed that the contraceptive prevalence rate (cpr) was higher in urban than rural areas, however, little https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.667 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 30 is known on contraceptive use pattern among slum dwellers. the rapid growth of population in the informal settlements suggests the urgent need to drive up understanding the contraceptive use and method choice among women living in the urban slums. 2. objectives of the research the main objectives of “contraceptive use among women in two selected slums of dhaka city” are given below  to examine the socio-demographic background of slum women regarding contraceptive use  to investigate the factors which are affecting contraceptive use and method choice among slum women  to explore the ways to remove those obstacles in using contraceptives among slum women. 3. literature review amin, li, and ahmed (1996) stated that participation in credit programs increases women’s economic status and empowers women through the experience of group solidarity, increased mobility, access to information about modern contraceptive methods and services, and support from program staff. due to empowerment, they can make a decision on the use of contraception. moreover, women’s involvement in credit programs increases their interaction outside of the home, as well as outside home, relieving social isolation and exposing them to new role models and behaviors, the adoption of which is reinforced through group membership. socioeconomic factors associated with contraceptive use and method choice in urban slums of bangladesh (kamal, 2009) explored contraceptive use patterns among slum dwellers in bangladesh. the studies conducted on fertility and contraceptive use are confined to micro level and dhs data and focused mainly on rural women or national level. little attention has been paid to contraceptive behavior among slum dwellers, where 35% of the urban people of bangladesh reside. the principal contribution of this study is to increase the understanding of contraceptive use and method choice among urban poor living in the slums using a nationally representative survey data conducted in 2006. this study shows the comparisons of contraception practices which reveal that the urban poor were more likely to use modern methods than their rural counterparts , where the vast majority of the people of bangladesh reside. the study also shows that access to mass media played an important role in contraceptive adoption and method choice. the influence was found somewhat stronger for the preference of traditional methods than modern methods among women who were exposed to tv. media can inform and motivate couples, even about complex subjects such as their reproductive means and goals. finally, the findings of the study suggest that efforts should be made better educating the slums dwellers, particularly women. opportunities should be created equally for men and women to provide them formal and informal jobs to reduce poverty in the slums and reduce the sex preference of children. mass media may play an important role to inspire couples to use modern contraceptive methods. effective measures should be taken to reduce child mortality in the slum areas, which may further increase the use rate of contraception among the urban poor. wahed, bhuyan, and rahman (2006) this study conducted on the role of women in decision making on family planning among the slum women in a selected area of dhaka city. the study revealed that on the aspect of contraceptive method choice women were the program maker. more than one-third of the total women had the self-confidence to take such decisions despite their husband’s disapproval. one of the important findings is that a large proportion of slum women (45%) would like to decide jointly about the number of children they should have. but they could not place birth. nearly half (48.4%) of their first childs was born accidentally. the study found a significant relationship between respondents’ age and in deciding family size. the duration of the marriage of the respondent also emerged as one of the important determinants of deciding family size. it can be told that programmatic efforts alone will not be enough to expedite the improvement of the position of urban slums women. the study findings finally recommended that efforts should be made to enough greater participation of women with their husbands in all family decisions. kabir, islam, and bapari (2017) the study conducted through quantitative sample survey, this research conducted on kamlapur, karwan bazar and kamrangirchor area in dhaka city, all the women of a slum area in dhaka city are the population of the study and each woman is the unit of analysis in this study. the purposive sampling technique used in the present study. firstly three slums of dhaka city were selected purposively. this study has conducted to unveil the scenario of using contraception in the slum area of dhaka city. the study has found that the slum women are using different types of contraceptives like as pill, iud, injection, condom etc. the studies have found that older women in bangladesh usually opt for traditional methods, and young women prefer modern contraceptive methods. study also shows that they suffered from different types of problems including weakness, increasing weights, vomiting, menstrual problems etc. this study using factors which influence the use of the modern contraceptives method of couples: educational qualification of couples, number of children in the family, positive attitude towards modern contraceptives, a higher level of knowledge on contraceptives and males consent regarding family planning. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 31 democracywatch (2014) the objective of this study is to know about the present status, powers and autonomy of women of slum dwellers regarding reproductive decision making. both the qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to conduct the study including literature review, sample survey and non-participant observation. the sample survey was carried out among the slum dwellers at different places in dhaka, namely moghbazar rail gate, vashantek mirpur, rajbari -shia masjid, baoniabadhmirpur. among the slum dwellers, 361 respondents were selected using random sampling method to collect data, of them 280 are female and 81 are male. this study will also help us to understand government health delivery system in slums, treatment-seeking behavior for various reproductive morbidities (gynecological, obstetric and contraceptive morbidity) and discuss various homemade remedies women use and treatmentseeking behavior is often influenced by a large number of factors apart from knowledge and awareness. 4. research methodology though the nature of study both quantitative and qualitative approaches are applicable in this research, only the quantitative research method was used in this study. the study was conducted on married women on urban slum to know about their knowledge regarding the factors associated with the use of contraceptives and creating awareness. the study was carried out in urban dhaka slum. among the slums of dhaka city, 101 representative samples of two slums were selected purposively according to access facilities. these are khatalbagan and kamlapur slum. a semi-structured interview schedule was formulated for data collection. a set of independent variables were included in the study, namely, the current age of the women, women’s education, women’s working status, religion current work status, husband’s income, husbands occupation, number of living children, age of first marriage, desire for children, preferable contraceptive methods etc. and a set of dependent variables were included in the study, namely, religion objections, type of place of residence, access to mass media, husband and wife’s righ ts on decision-making process. involvement with ngo program, location of ngos near house, number of visits by fp field worker, risk factors associated with contraceptive use, side effects of contraceptives, knowledge and fertility awareness among slum women, sampling framework also an important part of sample size. non-probability was used in this study. it is the list of all units in the population from which the sample will be selected. only one survey instrument was used in the study: the questionnaire. relevant data on health from secondary sources were also collected to supplement the primary data and relate secondary data sources to the contraceptive use among slum women in dhaka. 5. result and discussions there are few studies on contraceptive use patterns among slum dwellers in bangladesh. the principal contribution of this study is to drive up the understanding of contraceptive use and method choice among urban poor living in the slums using representative survey data conducted in 2017. most important data were found in the survey. this study focused on respondents preferred contraceptives for birth control and four major contraceptive methods: oral pills, idu, condom, injection. findings showed that majority respondents prefer oral pill as a preferable method of contraception. the study conducted to examine the use of contraceptives among the slum women but also examine the socio-demographic background of slum women in a micro level and focused mainly on poor urban slum women. a set of independent variables were included in the study, namely, the current age of the women, women’s education, women’s working status, religion current work status, husband’s income, husbands occupation, number of living children, age of first marriage, desire for children, preferable contraceptive methods, etc are the indicators socio-demographic background. figure 1. level of preference for contraceptive use copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 32 findings showed that in figure 1, from 101 respondents, 78.6% preferred to take contraceptive methods and have knowledgeable about it and outcomes. on the other hand, 21.4% of respondents did not prefer any type of contraceptive method for family planning. figure 2. respondents education education is one of the most crucial indicators of socio-demographic background. figure 2 showed from 101 respondent’s majority 42.6% received primary education, 30.6% are illiterate and 26.7% have received higher-secondary education. the findings of the study reveal that 35% respondent’s age of marriage was less than 15 years and 65% respondent’s age of marriage was less more than 15 in the two selected slums of dhaka. figure 3. respondents working status respondent’s working is many influential factors in contraceptive use. according to, figure 3, around 69.3% of respondents are unemployed and 30.6% of respondents are employed and have their own decision making rights. from them 78% have children and 22% do not conceive any child. from 101 respondents 24% of couples communicate with each other once or twice and 76% communicate with each other more often. from 58.02% consulted with doctor or health workers for contraceptive use, 41.98% did not prefer to consult with the doctors or health worker table 1. preferable contraceptives of slum women age preferable contraceptives of slum women total oral pill iud condom injection 15-20 8.6% 2.5% 6.2% 4.9% 22% 21-25 19.8% 3.7% 6.2% 7.4% 38% 25 above 21.0% 1.2% 1.2% 17.3% 40.% total 49.4% 7.4% 13.6% 29.6% 100.0% copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 33 table 1 findings also explore that respondents age with (15-20) around 8.6% prefer an oral pill, 2.5% prefer iud, 6.2% prefer condom (husband’s method) and 4.9% prefer inject tables. respondents aged among (21-25) around 19.8% prefer an oral pill, 3.7% prefer iud, 6.2% prefer condom (husband’s method) and 7.4% prefer inject tables. respondent’s age (above 25) around 21.0% prefer an oral pill, 1.2% prefers iud, 1.2% prefer condom (husband’s method) and 17.3% prefer inject tables. in total, around 49.4% prefer an oral pill, 7.4% prefer iud, 13.6% prefer condom (the husband’s method) and 29.6% prefer injectable. figure 4. effect of husband’s income according to (figure 4) 80% respondents stated that husband’s income hardly affects contraceptive method used as the majority respondents are unemployed they dependent on husband’s income. 20% respondents stated husbands income don’t effect on contraceptive use figure 5. decision-making rights on contraceptive use findings (figure 5) showed that from total respondents, 82.6% of respondents stated that they have right to taking own decision regarding contraceptive use. 17.1% of respondents replied that they don’t have the right to choose contraceptive methods without their husbands’ consent. figure 6. effect of islamic restrictions on contraceptive use copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 34 findings (figure 6) revealed that, majority 51.4% don’t belief, islamic restrictions regarding birth control effects on contraceptive use in slum women. but 48.6% belief that it effects on contractive use. findings explored that from, 101 respondents 71.4% stated that they are aware of the side effects of contraceptives. 28.5% stated they are not aware of its side effects. figure 7. access to free medicine this survey (figure 7) revealed that, majority 71.2% of respondents stated, they don’t have access to free medicines and contraception. 28.7% stated that they have access to free medicine. figure 8. contribution of health care center regarding contraceptive use figure 8 shows that 71.2% respondents stated that, health care center provide family planning services and contraceptives among slum women. and 28.7% replied that they don’t get any services from health care center. this survey also revealed that, majority 71.2% slum women, they don’t have access to free medicines and contraception. 28.7% stated that they have access to free medicine. this survey also explored that, majority 72% of respondents stated that radio and television can increase contraceptive use among slum women. 28% of respondents don’t think that. figure 9. government policies copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 35 figure 9 from 101 respondents, 99% respondents promote that government policies and educational opportunities can reduce fertility rate among slum women.1% don’t promoted that. this study tried to find out the awareness and the decision-making rights of slum women regarding contraceptives rights, ngos and health care center also have much contribution regarding contraceptive use among slum women. one of the most positive sides of this survey is that women has more decision-making power for preferring contraceptives but still they depend on husbands’ income. as majority of the respondents are unemployed still they have to depend on their husband’s income. 6. conclusion women are living in an urban slum, mostly victims of poor and unhealthy environment. due to lack of proper education, they don’t know selfhygiene and family planning. this study focused on the socio demographic background of slum women and influencing factors of contraceptives use. women’s education, exposure to mass media, current work status husband’s working status, age of marriage and role of health care center are the important determinants that demonstrate highly significant positive relationships with contraceptive use and method choice in the slumdwelling women of bangladesh. women are also experiencing the right to their own decision. this is a positive signs access to mass media played an important role in contraceptive adoption and method choice. media can both inform and motivate couples, even about such complex subjects as their reproductive means and goals. ngos should play important role to adopt modern methods among slum women. the government should take initiatives and distribute free contraceptives among slum women. references amin, r., li, y., & ahmed, a. u. (1996). women's credit programs and family planning in rural bangladesh. international family planning perspectives, 158-162. democracywatch. (2014). reproductive decision making role among slum dwellers of dhaka city. retrieved from https://www.dwatch-bd.org/ggtp/research%20reports/reproductiv.pdf kabir, m. a., islam, m., & bapari, m. y. (2017). a study on using contraception in dhaka city: a scenario from slum area. asian journal of humanity, art and literature, 4(2), 131-140. kamal, s. m. (2009). contraceptive use and method choice in urban slum of bangladesh. in international conference on family planning: research and best practices (vol. 15, p. 18). mitra, s. n., & al-sabir, a. (1996). contraceptive use dynamics in bangladesh. macro international inc. national institute of population research, training (bangladesh), mitra and associates (firm), & measure dhs (program). (2012). bangladesh demographic and health survey 2011: preliminary report. national institute of population research and training. wahed, t., bhuyan, m. s. a., rahman, m. z. (2006). the role of women in decision making on family planning among the slum women in a selected area of dhaka city. jopsom, 25(1), 33-41 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.dwatch-bd.org/ggtp/research%20reports/reproductiv.pdf copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 35 review of freud’s psychoanalysis approach to literary studies azadkhan niaz lecturer english language and literature department kabul university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: azadkhan.niaz@google.com sultn mohammad stanikzai lecturer english language and literature department kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: stanikzai.sultan@gmail.com javed sahibzada education faculty’s research center head english department, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: sahibzada.javed@gmail.com abstract the purpose of this review article is to identify theories of psychoanalysis by sigmund freud that play major roles in interpreting literary works. psychoanalysis is among one of the modern theories used in literary analysis. whether psychoanalysis has close connection with literature or not has been most controversial issues for many readers and least appreciated. in spite of being one of famous approach for interpreting literary text, it has become one of the mechanisms for interpreting hidden meaning of the text. the finding of this paper revealed psychoanalysis is not simply branch of medicine, it has helped and is used to understand various fields as philosophy, culture, religion and first and for most used in literature. it also revealed that there is similarities and controversial issues between carl jung and sigmund freud’s theories of psychoanalytical criticism. id, which is part of human personality playing a major role in forming literary work for its repressed behaviors, laid in unconscious mind. the human actions which are suppressed feelings because of superego and can be expressed with the help of ego which balance the conflict between id and superego in the right time in form of dreams, art, literary work and slip of tongue. psychoanalysis approach is used to analyze piece of art by investigating closely the author and his/her life and literary work for providing evidence in analyzing, one or more of the character’s behavior and inspiration, the audience’ appealing and motivation to which react more closely or less unconsciously and the text for examining the role of language and symbolism in the work. keywords: repression, personality, dream, unconscious, symbol 1. introduction literature is considered to be fiction, yet nothing is completely fiction even fiction has source of truth that aim to be interpreted in different ways either stated directly or indirectly through the actions of characters, symbols (associative meanings of the words). what makes literature different from ordinary work is beauty, experiences and moral. a literary work must have all or at least one of them to be considered literature. that is beauty of the text rely on the associative words or simply how a writer artistically crafted text to interpreted particular theme. it can be through use of familiar issues to the readers or through using remote topics. whatever form of literature, it should be oral or written with hidden meanings or obvious meaning a work of art have particular audience or generally written or crafted with other ways through plays or movies its needed to be understood by their audiences. in order to interpret work of art various literary criticism schools: historical criticism, have suggested different methods. taking into accounts the twentieth century’s literary criticism as formalisms leaded by victor shklovsky, boris eichenbaum, mikhail bakhtin, roman jakobson, john crowe ransom, william k. wimsatt, monroe c. beardsley, t. s. eliot. psychoanalytic criticism famous for freud and lacan contribution. structuralism ferdinand de saussure, roland barthes. deconstruction jacques derrida. feminist criticism virginia woolf, simone de beauvoir, elaine showalter, michèle barrett, julia kristeva, hélène cixous. reader-response and reception theory 708 edmund husserl, martin heidegger, hans robert jauss, wolfgang iser, stanley fish. postcolonial criticismfrantz fanon, edward said, gayatri chakravorty spivak, homi mailto:stanikzai.sultan@gmail.com copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 36 bhabha, henry louis gates, jr.. new historicism stephen greenblatt, michel foucault (habib, 2008 p.7). all of them have exposed various theories and principles for interpreting a piece of art. this paper attempts to explore psychoanalytical criticism for interpreting meaning. psychoanalysis is an american concept, with a politically intense and important gathering of people encouraging for reasonable and specialized change. therapists have declared new revelations in various discipline. a famous figure in field of psychoanalysis studies—sigmund freud—who began to spread his thoughts regarding the presence of unconscious mental procedure, he didn't meet by any methods generally with disavowal and incomprehension, as he himself needed his pursuers to have. freud have coined the term “psychoanalysis in 1896 and worked and explored it in the next forty years of his life to develop principles, method and techniques for it. in these forty years, he was able to details many theories of his thought on mental life. as the interpretation of dreams, structural model theory of mind, and the technique of psychoanalysis (beystehner, 1998). eventually psychoanalysis became famous and by 1925, it was established around the world as successful movement. though freud was considered radical by many in his profession, but he was soon accepted and well-known worldwide as leading expert in the field of psychoanalysis. psychoanalysis is not simply remained branch of medicine, it has been used and helped to understand various fields such as philosophy, culture, religion and first and for most used in literature. psychoanalysis as the modern theory is used in literature and has two basic meanings: firstly, it’s used as methods of treating mentally disordered people. secondly, it is used to explain human mind and its various complexities (hossain, 2017). dreams like books are fictions the creation of the mind. even though, with light of the variety by their definitions, they may not be really true. as novels, fantasies they also have some truth to distinguish. however, like a novel it may be interpreted before true statement to be covered on. psychoanalysis is considered as theory of the human personality that describes the personal identifications by which the genders are separated and controlled. psychoanalysis addresses itself issues of dialect taking internal motivation taking into consideration the freud’s concern who focused language articulation based on individual intrinsic motivation. he considered the impact of desire in language and it’s all types of typical relationship. such argument leads literary critic to compare abstract writings with dreams which express the mystery of unconscious desires and tensions of the writer and that an artistic work is a production of the writer's own particular mental events. the analysis draws out the unconscious part of articulation through its focus on the relationship in the middle of origin and social division. a critic may analyze by the use of psychoanalysis criticism a specific character in an abstract work, however, it is to be understood that every single of such character are projections of the creator's head. expert have emphasized specific elements of the hypothesis and factors that separate from other mental sciences, raising question on whether psychoanalysis is a science with any means, and also whither analysist think innovation for their applicable technique (beystehner,1998). psychoanalysis can be specifically divided into three types: a) individual psychic dynamic (a hypothesis of mental and development), b) social behavior (a method used in clinical treatment) and c collective social life (a universal method of observation regarding human phenomena) (stangor, & walinga, n.d.). as mental analysis theory and strategy is an investigation of unconscious mental procedure, which is basically considered psychoanalytic theory or it is a type of clinical treatment that is described by its particular clinical methodology and used specialized approach. for instance, the power of motivation in particular action and analysis of that for interpreting unconscious inspirations and behavior. the analysis draws out the unconscious part of writing through its language on the relationship in the middle of sexual and societal spirit. the most continuing of this theory the oedipus complex, a theory of the development of sexual personality. in other words, the oedipus complex is the desire where male baby up to the age five-year longing the desire to rub out the father and opposite into the sexual partner of the female parent. when a kid acknowledges he can't hold his momma as a sexual partner, he then tries for the social rights which will grant him his own sexual partner outside and from opposite sex. this theory has been intensely criticized for its reliance on heterosexuality and the patronage of a customary (freud, 1949). the oedipus complex is for freud the core of longing, restraint and sexual personality. its buildup is a deep rooted uncertainty towards the keeping and infringing upon of taboos and laws. psychoanalysis is among one of the modern theories used in literary analysis for whether it close connection with literature has been most controversial and for many. it is least appreciated in spite of being one of famous approach for interpreting literary text. according to hossain (2017) psychoanalysis is regarded one of the interesting and satisfying approach in the application of interpretive analysis. psychoanalysis became one of the mechanism for interpreting hidden meaning of the text. it helps one in understanding complex symbols, actions, metaphors, and settings in a literary work. however, many psychoanalysts believe that this approach applies to any literary work. yet, most critics opposed this notion that one approach cannot adequately explain everything about a complex work (davis, n.d.). psychoanalytical theories assume the existence of unconscious states of internal that motivate external behavior (sollod, monte, & wilson, 2008). freud was not the first who work in psychoanalytical criticism, yet when we are talking about psycho analytical criticism, he appears as an important figure in our discussion. the two main reasons which make sigmund freud prominent in psychoanalytical criticism studies are: firstly, freud's theories are either indirectly or directly copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 37 concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. before freud “sane” was supposedly considered as conscious and rational only. but freud went further, suggesting that the powers encouraging women and men are chiefly and mainly unconscious. secondly, the approach of psychoanalytic criticism to literature not only rests on the theories of freud; it may even be said to have begun with freud who was interested in writers; especially, those who depend greatly on symbols. thus, it would not be possible to understand psychoanalytical criticism without taking into account the freud’s contributions. through this paper we have tried out best to briefly touch some of his important works which are crucial in field of literary work and are vital for interpreting literary work with help of psychoanalysis. 2. objectives  to identify similarities and differences between carl jung and sigmund freud in theories of psychoanalysis.  to identify theories of psychoanalysis by sigmund freud which play major roles in interpreting literary works for hidden meanings.  to clarify how psychoanalysis theories of sigmund freud are used to analyze literary work. 3. research questions  how are carl jung and sigmund freud similar and different in their theories of psychoanalysis?  which theories of psychoanalysis by sigmund freud have major roles in interpreting literary works for hidden meanings?  how do psychoanalysis critics look at freud’s theories in analyzing the literary work? 4. methodology this literary review article is descriptive in nature where those theories of psychoanalysis by sigmund freud are interpreted which are plying significant role in analyzing literary works. the principles and elements from freud works has been taken as a model for literary criticism of hidden meanings and the way these principles and theories are used to interpret piece of literary works and identifying motive behind producing this piece of art. 5. how are carl jung and sigmund freud similar and different in their theories of psychoanalysis? jungian criticism has explored the connection between literature and what carl jung called the “collective unconscious” of the human race: "... racial memory” where whole human show itself. carl jung was one follower of freud since they had shared same interest in unconscious. he was an active member of the vienna psychoanalytic society (formerly known as the wednesday psychological society). with freud’s request, he was elected as a president of international psychoanalytical association in 1910. in the lecture tour in america jung has publicly criticized freud theory of “oedipus complex” in 912 for freud emphasis on infantile sexuality and it lead them to split in the following years and jung opened his own version of psychoanalytic theory (mcleod & bowlby, 2008). the disagreement between jung and freud can also be found in the “theory of the libido” jung disagreed in with freud according to jung libido is not just sexual energy, yet it is generalized psychic energy (mcleod, 2018) despite they both agreed on psyche part of personalities “id, ego and superego” and as well in the importance of “unconscious” in relation to personality, but their notion in “psyche part” is different. for instance, jung believed the two form of unconscious the first as freud version personal unconscious which contains temporary forgotten and repressed memories. he called them complex memories that include collections of attitudes, thoughts, feelings which emphasize on single concept. however, he believed the personal complexes are surface level which their effects are included from present and future, but on the other hand, freud believed these are only the personal memories of childhood and there are no future effects involved. the other disagreement is in the purpose and nature psychic energy. according to jung, the purpose of psychic individual’s psychic energy can be inspired from several factors, thus individual’s behavior is lead in that way. individual maybe motivated creatively, spiritually and intellectually and these individual’s motivation source consequently lead one to seek pleasure and avoid conflict. on the other hand, for freud individual motivation are inspired from personal source from past memories mostly from memories of childhood mainly relayed on sexual inspiration ( stangor, & walinga, (n.d.). however, the most controversial part between jung and freud is the collective unconscious in personality theory. according to jung, level of unconscious is the shared with other members of individual’s surrounding which contains latent memories from our ancestral and evolutionary past. he thinks individual born in the world where there are innate memories with hidden meaning from his/ her ancestors (shelburne, 1988, p.27). according to jung human mind has innate characteristics which imprinted such as fear of darkness insects etc. and universal and shared tendencies of ancestral. jung called these ancestral memories and images archetypes (shelburne, 1988, p.67). according to jung archetypes are thought and images that have universal meanings across cultures and they are show up in dreams art, religion and literature. he also believes symbols are very similar in different cultures, for they have appeared from archetypes shared by all human being and they are part of collective unconscious. there is another archetype for jung “anima/animus” which he called it mirror image of human being which individual find it in her/ his opposite sex. for example, copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 38 male find his unconscious tendencies in female and vice versa. each sex displays attitudes and behavior of other by quality of his/ her (anima, animus) as they have lived together for centuries. “oftentimes, males describe anima as appearing as if someone drew the picture of their perfect woman”. to put it in sample words each male has anima (feminine side of male) a dream girl which make that man complete and for a girl it would be animus (masculine side of female) a dream boy where she searches for perfect life partner. searching for perfect anima/ animus can create distraction in male and female relationships. as male projecting his anima onto a woman in his life and expects her to live up to that image he has it as his anima. it’s said that this tendency begins in early childhood and can continue throughout his life. and the same goes for female and such projection will case denial for the other who is currently with her in the relationship (radowl, 2018). likewise, there is another different between jung and freud and that is freud called the id animal side of human personality but on the other hand jung believed the id the source of creative energy and as well distractive of human personality. jung claimed that many of human problems are due to their unawareness of it. thus they can solve these problems if they alien their instinctual foundation a part of anima and animus which ply an important role in motivation. carl jung and sigmund freud both have worked in psychoanalytical criticism. the have shared similarities and differences in their theories and believes. the differences are for example, according to freud libido is source for psychic energy which is mainly function for sexual fulfillment on the other hand, jung generalize source of psychic energy which he thinks it is playing roles in motivating various parts of behaviors. likewise, jung believed unconscious is place where individual’s repressed memories are kept and these memories are belonging to individual’s past and future and they are belonging to individual’s ancestral and personal memories. on the other hand, according to freud these are repressed and unacceptable desires which are specific to that individual only. according to the freud individual’s behavior are caused by past experience mainly from childhood, but jung claims these behaviors are inspired by past and future experiences of individual. 6. “which theories of psychoanalysis by sigmund freud have major roles in interpreting literary works for hidden meanings?” 6.1 psychoanalysis criticism sigmund freud, in his “structural model theory of personality”, states that each individual’s personality is made of three parts: the ego, the superego and the id. these three together works to make complex human personality. thus psychoanalysis is the procedure of applying what humans know about these three parts of one’s personality and to discover the ways how a person behaves. literary critics often analyze the actions of literary characters in the work of literature by applying the three personality structures id, ego and superego which freud identified. as critics explore the ego, superego, and id of characters in a literary work, they stress on the ways how these parts based the behaviors of the characters and consequently affect the work as a whole. this process is called psychoanalytic criticism (wali (2011). 6.2 structural model of personality according to freud the id is the part of the personality that holds our basic desires. such as thirst, anger, hunger and the desire for instant fulfillment or release. freud, believes human being are innate with their id. the id is a vital part of our personality since as infants; it allows us to get our primitive needs met. freud believed that the id is based on our desire principle. the id wants whatever feels worthy at a time, with no concern for the other state of affairs of the situation. as id have the power to influence ego and can easily bring self –pleasure, it is sometimes described by a “devil sitting on somebody’s shoulder” a research guide. (2010). as this devil sits there, he tells the ego to base performance on how the action will affect the self, specifically how it will bring the self-pleasure. “superego” the superego is the part of the personality that embodies the conscience and the moral part of us. the superego grows due to the moral and ethical restraints located on us by our caregivers. it commands our belief of right and wrong. the superego is associated with an “angel sitting on one’s shoulder” a research guide. (2010). superego telling person to control the ego’s behaviors and to base behavior on in a way the action is influenced by moral part of human personality. “ego” the ego is the part of the personality that keeps a sense of balance between desires we have in (our id) and our conscience (our superego). the ego is based on the real belief. the ego knows that other people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or egoistic can hurt us in the end. in addition, it is the ego’s job to come across the needs of the id, but taking into consideration the reality of the situation. the ego, in other words, has duty to balance id and superego. the ego is represented by an individual, with a devil (the id) on one shoulder and an angel (the superego) on the other (freud, 1949). the “unconscious” and its origins: to understand the importance notions related to conscious and unconscious that have been set by freud in his theory of the human mind, it is vital to understand the division of it. freud has divided the human mind into three regions: a “conscious” region he refers to a place where individual’s current thoughts, feelings, and effort live. a “preconscious” which is also known as “subconscious” according to freud it is living place for things individual can recall or retrieve from her/ his memory. and “unconscious” is the deepest level exist which most of the time we are unaware of it. it is in origin of the procedures that motivate our behavior, including original and instinctual desires (encyclopædia britannica, 2017, december) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 39 the unconscious in personality theory of psychoanalytic by freud is stack of feelings of the unconscious mind, desires, thoughts and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness. most of the matters of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of anxiety, pain, or clash. according to freud, the unconsciousness continues to impact our behavior and capability; however, we are not aware of the following deep influences: “repression” is act to keep information and memories far from conscious awareness. individual keeping away memories from his/ her conscious awareness and these memories don't disappear just; but they remain to affect our actions. occasionally we fix this consciously by driving the unwelcome information out of our consciousness which is called suppression. in many cases, however, this exclusion of nervousness provoking memories from our consciousness is believed to occur unconsciously (tyson, 2014, p.15 2014). adam says, "freud found two mental marvels, "repression" and "the return of the repression." (adams, 2001, p. 60). “oedipal complex” sigmund freud used the term in his theory of psychosexual stages of growth and describe desire feelings of a boy for his mother, anger and jealously towards his father. basically, the feelings which a boy has toward his father is that he feels like he is rival with his father for possessiveness of his own mother. he thinks his own father as rival for her mother affections and attentions (freud, 1899). according to freud, the boy wishes to possess his mother and replace himself to his father, who he views as a rival for his mother's fondness. the oedipal complex happens in the “phallic stage” of psychosexual development between the ages of three and five. the phallic stage helps as significant point in the development of sexual identity. the similar stage for girls is known as the “electra complex” in which girls feel desire for their fathers and being jealous of their mothers. “defenses” is the processes through which the issues of our unconsciousness are retained in the unconscious. defenses include selective perceptions that is seeing and hearing only those we feel that we can handle. or selective memory is memory which is modifying our memories so that we don’t feel overwhelmed by them or painful. we are trying to forget those painful incidents entirely or rejection of believing that the difficulty doesn’t exist or the hostile incident never happened. avoidance of being away from people or circumstances that are accountable to make us worried by moving up into unconscious. for instance, repressed the experience or feeling “displacement”, taking it out on someone or something less threatening than the person who has really affected our fear, hurt, frustration, or anger projection, ascribing our fear, problem, or guilty desire on someone else and then accusing him or her for it. in order to reject what we have in ourselves in regression, the temporary coming back to a previous psychological state, which is not imagined but relived just. regression can include a reoccurrence either to a pleasant or a painful experience. it is a defense, since it takes our judgments away from some current trouble (wali, 2011). human being according to freud go through various stage of “defense mechanism”: repression he adds because of ego individual’s disturbing thoughts are kept away and became parts of unconscious . these thoughts maybe for example aggression or jealousy of parents such as oedipus complex which child may not fulfill it simply lead to unconscious. these thoughts may come in form of jokes, comedy and comic (holland,1999). the person may go to the stage of “denial” refusing to face the fact. individual do not want to experience the reality. lover refuse to admit that marrying that person is impossible with current condition. “projection” stage where individual attributing his/her blame or anger on the other person since superego trained person that to hate the other is not a good habit so the person could blame the other for he/she is hating him or her. these source of behavior can cause displacement in individual’s life for example, the cause of aggression may be satisfied by substituting the other person who is not real cause of anger, but individual taking out anger on him/her. such as satisfying anger on boss lead a person to fight at home. a person in stress from earlier stage or experience of unconscious may go to the stage of regression which consequently lead that person to the temporary or long-term return of the ego to an earlier stage of development of that particular experience, instead of handling unwanted desires in a more adaptive way. these unwanted desires can lead affected person to a more positive socially and ethically acceptable manners and this stage is known as “sublimation”. it causes person to satisfy his/her desire in substitution of the other object. for example, aggressive emotions which a person may put in more positive and constructive way (mcleod, 2017). critics have looked out in literary work for identifying associative themes of these defense mechanism and reader’s response to them. holland (1999) in his article the story of a psychoanalytic critic is referring to his earlier work of investigating reader response theory. he claimed individual associating various symbols in literary work beside wishes and jealousy related to oedipus experiences there were other symbols associated with literary text. he thinks the shakespeare’s play may have imagery and fantasy which may began with pre-oedipal with these characters but with different level of fantasy. according holland (1999) defense are the conflict different psychic agencies and reality which repress different sensory evidence. we repress many incidents, we project different thoughts to substitution with opposite in result different defense are causing different literary form, structure and techniques: “splitting, parallelism, repetition, contrast, omission and all the phonetic language which serve in psychoanalytic terms as a displacement”. he believes as there are different levels of defense from pre-oedipal stage there is different stage and level of mind processors are involved. these literary text also result in different level of fantasies with various form, text and structure which transform the work of art into unified theme which individual take meaning of text whatever individual reader is searching for. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 40 6.3 dreams and their symbols freud believes dreams have two content concealed and obvious. he believes concealed and obvious content of a dream is the secret psychological meaning of a dream. according to freud, the content of dream is related to wish fulfillment and he suggested that dreams have two types of content: manifest content and latent content. the manifest content is the real literal subject-matter of the dream; on the other hand, the latent content is the underlying meaning of these symbols. moreover, freud believes that the latent content of dreams is repressed and concealed by the subconscious mind in order to protect someone from thoughts and emotions that are hard to deal with. dreams became a way of expressing those repressed feelings which are unacceptable in real life situation, because of our social, ethical or any other (superego) restrictions (freud, 1899). freud claims that in order to understand the dreams and to recognize their symbols, primary revision of the dream is vital which in turn covers “displacement” and “condensation”. displacement which is an element of dream work that covers the emotional meaning of the latent content by confusing the vital and insignificant portions of the dreams (freud, & strachey, 1916). on the other hand, condensation which described as many different thoughts and concepts which are represented inside the length of a dream. beside displacement and condensation there is another procedure called “symbolization”. freud illustrates that symbolizations are procedure censors the suppressed thoughts contained in the dream by counting objects that are meant to symbolize the latent content of the dream the second interpretation is the secondary revision. during the last stage of the dreaming process, freud recommended that the bizarre elements of the dream are reorganized to make the dream comprehensible, thus producing the manifest content of the dream could have recognized by understanding the role psychic parts. according to holland (1999) “what we wish we also fear and what we fear we also wish” which this wish and fear can be understood when we have unity with literary text. we have conflict with desire and ethics. the latent symbols of literary text can be understanding when one knows what he she fears and wishes. 7. how do psychoanalysis critics look at freud’s theories in analyzing the literary work? psychoanalytical critics are looking at the psychic part and the meaning of sexuality. the psychic part of personality is divided further into three parts. these three features of personality are the id, the ego and the superego. they work together to generate complex human behaviors. the id is the only element of personality that is innate in human being. this feature of personality is completely unconscious and involved of the natural and primitive behaviors. based on freud’s analysis, the id is the foundation of all mental energy, making it the prime part of personality. the id is result of the desire principle, which struggles for immediate fulfillment of all pleasure desires, needs, and wants. if these needs are not fulfilled immediately, it leads to a state of anxiety or tension. however, straightaway fulfillments of these needs are not always accurate or even possible. according to freud, the id attempts to resolve the strain shaped by the pleasure principle by the primary process, which includes making a mental picture of the wanted object as a way of satisfying the need. the ego is the part of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality. in accordance with freud’s view, the ego grows from the id and confirms that the impulses of the id can be conveyed in a way suitable in the actual world. the ego functions based on the real principle, which strives to please the id's desires in accurate and socially appropriate ways. the reality principle balances the costs and benefits of an act before deciding to act upon or abandon desires. in many situations, the id's desires can be fulfilled through a process of late fulfillment. the ego will ultimately let the behavior, but only in the suitable time and place. the final part of personality to grow is the superego. the superego is the part of personality that holds all of our internal moral principles and models that we get from both parentages and society for our logic of right and wrong. the superego offers procedures for building decisions. according to freud, the superego arises to develop at around age five. the superego functions to expertise and educate our behavior. it acts to suppress all improper desires of the id and struggles to make the ego work upon principled standards rather that upon realistic principles. focus of psychoanalytical criticism and literature: it looks natural to reflect about literature in expressions of dreams. like dreams, literary works are fictions, creations of the mind that, though centered on reality, are by description not exactly true. similar a literary text, a dream can have specific reality to express, yet, similar to a literary work, it might need to be analyzed before that reality can be grasped. we can live through idealistic fictions, much as we can by daydreams. scary novels and nightmares shake us in greatly the similar way, sinking us into an atmosphere that continues to cling, even once the last section has been read or the alarm clock has called. the idea that dreams let such mental surveys, obviously, similar the comparison among literary works and dreams, has a great deal to the thinking of sigmund freud, the famous austrian psychoanalyst who in 1900 published a seminal essay “the interpretation of dreams”. psychoanalytic criticism has inspired our seniors or even teachers studied with, the works of scholarship and criticism which they read, and the critical and creative writers we read as well. what freud done was to develop a language that described, a model that clarified a theory that covered human psychology. most of the elements of psychology he tried to find to describe and explain are existent in the literary works of different time and cultures, from sophocles' oedipus rex to shakespeare's hamlet to the literary works being written in our own time (sparknotes. n.d.). when the great novel of the twenty-first century is written, most of these same elements of psychology will perhaps notify its dialogue as well. if by understanding human copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 41 psychology according to freud, we can appreciate literature on a new level, then we should familiarize ourselves with his perceptions. freud's theories are either indirectly or directly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. freud was not inventor for the notion of the unconscious; before him others had recommended that even the supposedly "sane" human mind was conscious and rational only at times, and even later at possibly only one level. but freud gone further, suggesting that the powers encouraging women and men are chiefly and mainly unconscious (jeneng, t.n.d.). then, freud strongly advanced an old idea that the human mind is essentially dual in nature. he called the predominantly passion, illogical, unidentified, and unconscious part of the psyche the id, or it. the ego, or "i," was his term for the predominantly rational, logical, orderly, conscious part. other aspect of the psyche, which he named the superego, is really a projection of the ego. the superego almost seems to be outside of the self, making moral judgments, telling us to make sacrif ices for good causes even though self-sacrifice may not be quite logical or rational. and, in a sense, the superego is outside, because much of what it states is to do or think we have learned from our parents, our schools, or our spiritual foundations. what the ego and superego tell us not to do or think is not to be repressed and forced into the unconscious mind. one of the most important contributions by freud in the study in the mind is the theory of repression. the repressed memories sustain in the unconscious mind and they have been placed there by consciousness, which acts as a censor, motivating underground unconscious or conscious feelings or instincts that it supposed to be unacceptable. censored memories are often comprised childhood sexual wishes. freud claimed these repressed memories which lied in unconscious mind, arise only in hidden forms in dreams, in language slip of the tongue that are so called (freudian slips), in creative work that may create art and including literature (bilcik, 2018). according to freud, all of us have repressed wishes and fears. we all have dreams in which there are repressed feelings and memories appear masked, and so we are all possible candidates for dream interpretation (swift, 1995). one of the unconscious desires most commonly repressed is the infantile desire to be replacing the parent of our own sex and take his or her place in the affections of the parent of the opposite sex. freud called it “oedipus complex.” freud referred to the whole complex of feelings by the word "oedi-pal," naming the complex after the greek tragic hero oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother (encyclopædia britannica, 2018). the desire actually includes a number of various but related wishes and fears. a boy and it should be observed in passing that freud concerns himself mainly with the male may have fear that his father will castrate him, and he may have wish that his mother would return to nursing him. according to freud the reason behind oedipal desires and repressed fears by the conscious side of the mind and effects to them after they have been censored, these wishes are less or more characteristic of typical human development. in dreams, mainly, freud found plenty marks that such desires persisted. therefore, he conceived that natural wishes, when recognized as "wrong," may be repressed but not destroyed. in the unconsciousness, these desires take on garb of symbolic, regarded as nonsense by the awakening mind that does not identify their meaning. for freud the importance of dreams was no different than his belief that there is an unconscious side to the mind. again, it was the amount to which he advanced a theory of how dreams function and the scope to which that theory helped him, by comparison, to recognize far more than just dreams, that made him rare, important, and prominent beyond the borders of medical schools and psychiatrists' areas. in order to interpret the text readers, associate the text with various experience or perception they have. holland n. n. which stated in holland (1999) with his colleagues have investigated reader response to the text, they have come out with concept that individual have various sensory of perception, which differ from individual to individual and these also different from culture to culture. readers interpret the text by acknowledging their own role and their perception in it. they further reveled one can only perceive the text through human perception shaped by human identity. thus the areas human being process noun are different from the areas they process verbs, also there is different between writing structures of different language. for example, english brain may process english articles differently from german speaking brain process german articles. meaning are not interpreted simply but for interpreting any noun assemble variety of information from different places in the brain depending on the experiences sensory perception and the context and history of a words. for psychoanalysis it is important to look for the word where its located, what information it has and what emotion accompany it. for freud these experiences are highly personal. human mind contents different memories yet for psychoanalyst long term memories are important where there is two kinds explicit memory containing general facts as well memories of personal events and second types contain implicit or non-declarative memories which are unconscious. the events which individual have experience from childhood many can be still remembered such how learned to ride a bicycle walk etc. but we don’t remember memory of early childhood or the age of 6 months (holland, 1999). . freud's interest in literary artists encouraged him to create some unfortunate generalities about creativity; for example, in the twenty-third lecture in introductory lectures on psycho-analysis (1922), he defined the artist as "one urged on by instinctive needs that are too clamorous" (314). but it also led him to write creative literary criticism of his own, including an influential essay on "the relation of a poet to daydreaming" (1908) and "the uncanny" (1919), copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 42 the use of metaphors or symbols in literature sometimes writer used the common metaphor to most speakers interpreting such associations are easy for readers of literary text, yet there are also highly personal one are used because individual’s brain process perception differently and they also have different experiences. text are always implicitly or even explicitly addressed to someone (brooks, 1987, p. 1987). 8. focus of psychoanalytic literary criticism the focus of psychoanalytic literary criticism may be on one or more of the succeeding features of literary works mentioned briefly below: the “author” the theory is used to analyze the author and his/her life and his literary work as convey evidence for this analysis. this is often called "psychobiography." the “characters” the theory is used to analyze one or more of the characters. the psychological theory becomes a device that describes the characters’ behavior and inspirations. the more closely the theory seems to relate to the characters the more accurate the work seems. the “audience” the theory is used to describe the appeal of the work for those who read it; the work is seen to personify common human psychological processes and motivations to which the readers react more or less unconsciously. the “text” the theory is used to examine the role of language and symbolism in the work. the id, ego and superego which are vital parts of human psychology and originate in the conscious and unconscious part of mind and contains morals value of society as well our various desires. these desires are sometimes not accepted in society we live; they are repressed; by the time they appear in our dreams or portrayed in literary text. these dreams according to freud are wish fulfillments that appear from different times the term “oedipus complex” he referred to affection of boys for their mothers and want to be the replace of their fathers’ desires are from childhood before age of five. dreams are similar to literary text based on real facts as fictions need interpretations. the psychoanalytical criticism deals with author’s background and psychological studies as well portrayed by characters; the various autobiographical aspect of text may have conveyed through various methods even appeals to audience trough texts, characters, or author intentions. holland who stated in holland (1999) that his investigation of text related to authors have found work as manifestation of their identities, where he also observed different readers have responded differently although dynamic reading was much the same for every reader yet meaning, content and structure were all in text firm. different readers add different interpretation to the text in poem different fantasies at moral ethic or artistic values. he claimed that the different level “exist in their different personal pattern expectation perception, fantasies, defense and transformation”. 8. conclusion the human personality according to freud is made of id, ego and superego which has made significance role in literary work and is affected through characters, reader, author and text which basses on freud’s psycho analytical criticism. the id is originated in our unconscious mind and produce the desire the anger, thirst, sexual desire and the superego is part of conscious mind as the opposite of id that give value to the moral part of the society. the two parts of personality are balanced by ego part of the personality which is aware of id as causing disorder as well the real aspect of life, thanks to the ego for not letting the clash between our morals and desire as a third party making peace between two person involved in conflict. jung has the similar belief with freud in many parts of personality theory yet for freud id is source motivation mostly related to sexual purpose but jung believe id can lead individual to many ways positive and creative work. according to freud, the unconscious part of mind has impact in our behavior because being host for feelings of anxiety, memory, pleasure, clashes pain and etc. yet we are not aware of them. these memories do not disappear because we repress them but these repressions affect our behaviors. we hide the feelings not necessarily mean we forget them. jung also believe in unconscious but they think differently about nature and purpose of unconscious for freud these memories which are placed in unconscious are mostly from the past specifically from childhood yet jung think these memories are not only are from the past but also have future and current effects. he also thinks these memories individual’s personal and also related to his/ her ancestral. what the freud use the term “oedipus complex” the feelings of affection of a boy to her mother which a boy is fond of her mother. these feelings happened according to freud before the age of five and boys want to be replacing of father and similar way girls to take her mother place. the wishes repress and later appears, but we are not aware of them. “defense” is the term freud used for these buried feelings of pleasure or anxiety yet they are appearing in our dreams. on the other hand, jung contrary with freud he believes there is anima which male searching his other part in the woman of his ideal and this could be in shape of mother, sister, friend etc. according to freud, dreams are the fulfillment of the wishes, which we have now, or we had long ago or are those wishes, we made during childhood. freud further give examples of “oedipus complex” a dream of the father’s death in his book the interpretation of dreams that the death of his father is the wish he had during the childhood to take the place of his father for the affection he had for his mother. we forgot those wishes which later fulfilled in our dreams. he also refers to the content of dreams as hidden and obvious meanings some are known for us due to their recent experience (wishes) some we don’t know due to time gap between those wishes, those forgotten feelings can be associate through symbols. on the other hand, jung believe there is archetypes shared pictures in many cultures and they are innate with individual shared with their ancestor. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 43 freud refers to the “id” as innate part of unconscious which is repressed because of “superego” our conscious awareness of the moral value of society, the “ego” which not let clash to happen at time we are going to take part in our dream life, with the help of “ego” part of our personality. there is no restriction of society in dreams “ego would help it to express feelings related to “id”. in many situations, the id's desires can be fulfilled through a process of late fulfillment. the ego will ultimately let the behavior, but only in the suitable time and place. the “superego” educate our behavior as a teacher which is grow after age five and the repressed feelings could appear in our dreams in right place and time along with feelings those make our content in dreams. we act as director, actor and interpreters of our own dreams. there is a relation of dreams and literature that’s why we call it psychoanalytical criticism; these feelings of conscious and unconscious are originating in our minds. as dreams, literary work, fictions are the creations of our minds, yet centers on reality by description not completely real, similarly as text dreams also has specific reality to express and that reality can be achieved. yet, similar to a literary work, it might need to be analyzed before that reality can be grasped. freud claimed of individual could appreciate literary text if he/ she knows about human psychology. psychobiography is term used for background of the author and his/ her relation to the text by which we can get great deal of information to analyze literary text. we can use psycho analytical as device to know and describe the characters in literary work more accurately. by the help of theory, we can describe “the audience” appeal to work as common psychological motivation and inspiration to work. by the help of theory, we can analyze the role of language and symbolism used in particular text. references a research guide. 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(2011) lecture series “literary and cultural theory“. psychoanalytic literary criticism,11420681 retrieved(2019,april)https://www.academia.edu/11420681/psychoanaytic_literary_criticim copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.sparknotes.com/drama/oedipus/a-plus-essay/ https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/2-2-psychodynamic-and-behavioural-psychology/ https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/2-2-psychodynamic-and-behavioural-psychology/ https://www.academia.edu/11420681/psychoanaytic_literary_criticim copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research ;vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 research article published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 20 teaching and practicing listening skill at the tertiary level in bangladesh: prospects and problems roksana akter lecturer department of english the millennium university, bangladesh email: roksanamunni8@gmail.com abstract this paper tries to study and investigate on the topic" teaching and practicing listening skill at the tertiary level in bangladesh: prospects and problems". the main objectives of the study is to find out to what extent teachers try to teach listening skill in bangladesh, to what extent the learners have the scope to practice listening skill in bangladesh. one hundred undergraduate students took part in this research. both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used to conduct the study. two sets of questionnaire have been developed for students as well as teachers to collect data. this paper describes the actual practice of listening skill by the teachers and the students, their behavior and attitudes and the problems they face in practicing listening skill in bangladesh. the methodology used for the study was a questionnaire. the results from an analysis of the questionnaire indicate that though most of the universities offer compulsory courses including listening, speaking, reading and writing, learners listening skill is not properly assessed at the tertiary level in bangladesh. the paper concludes with a few recommendations to enhance the practice of listening skill at the tertiary level in bangladesh. keywords: teaching and practicing, listening skill, tertiary level, bangladesh. 1. introduction 1.1 background of the research listening is a passive skill that means we have to listen to carefully in order to act in the different linguistics environment. listening determines the understanding of what we hear. the linguistics signals coming through the ears are analyzed by the brain that provides a meaning to the listener. listening is a prerequisite for speaking. without listening there cannot be any speaking at all. the more one listens, the more one learns to speak. infect, better listening ensures better speaking. listening materials prepare students; they will need to do when using the language outside the classroom. it is necessary to enhance the listening skills to be proficient in any language. the listening in a second and foreign language has to be acquired through conscious efforts. different types of materials are used in the listening classroom to enhance the listening skill. but there are several problems of adapting materials in a listening classroom of bangladesh in case of undergraduate level of bangladesh. marc hegelson(2003) writes that the emphasis on listening begins in the late1800swith the direct method in guin’s series and the berlitz school. this was continued by audio lingual method where language was presented orally before being presented in the written form. with the introduction of clt, listening was given further prominence because it was believed that learners learn through the act of communication. (hegelson:25).tricia hedge feels that there is an overall emphasis on listening since “contemporary society exhibits a shift away from printed media and towards sound, and its members therefore need to develop a high level of proficiency in listening”(2001:229). hedge (2001) has pointed out that training second language learners in listening to english is particularly important at the tertiary level because they need to comprehend the language of classroom and lecture halls. rahman (1999:26) points out that a student of bangladesh gets about 1600 contact hours in english before entering the university while 1000 hours instructional time is sufficient to attain proficiency in a language. but unfortunately the students cannot interact in this foreign language even after a vast period of time spent upon this subject (ibid). considering the grammar translation method (hereafter, gtm) inadequate to the demand for producing efficient english speakers and listeners, communicative language teaching (clt) has been introduced as a tool for communication (hamid and jr, 2008). 1.2 objectives of the research  to find out the real scenario of teaching and practicing listening.  to what extent teachers try to teach listening skill in bangladesh.  to what extent learners has the scope to practice listening skill in bangladesh. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 21 1.3 statement of the research problem as bangladeshi students are not taught listening skills at their secondary and higher secondary levels, using native contexts at the beginning of the tertiary level will create problems for them (alam and sinha, 2009:43) alam and sinha (2009:21) have mentioned that most of the teaching at tertiary level is done by lectures and classes in most of the universities in our country are conducted in english. besides, teachers having degrees from native speech countries may have different accents. as a result, they may deliver lectures in english with foreign accent. students especially from bangla medium sometimes face problems in understanding such lectures. only 14% students of tertiary level are from english medium background (jahan, 2008:162). most of the students are from bangla medium with weak english language competence (ibid). students facing problems in the classroom may also face difficulty in understanding the foreign programmes, but as learners of a foreign language they have to spend more time in receiving messages from radio, television announcements and of many other situations (littlewood, 1981). 1.4 significance of the research listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively message are easily misunderstood-communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated and irritated. alam and sinha (2009:32) have pointed out that tertiary level students have to listen to comprehend class lectures, to take notes, to carry out tasks and to interact with teachers and peers. listening also plays a life-long role in the process of productive communication (ibid). hedge (2001 in alam and sinha, 2009:20) says that to establish oneself in this sound system based society one must develop a high level of proficiency in listening. venkateswaran (1995:74) the purpose of teaching a language is to enable the learners to communicate in the target language. he proposes that every second of every language class must be used to equip students with the language skills according to their need. as listening is a prerequisite to communication it requires training (alam and sinha, 2009:22). venkateswaran (1995:76) says that students must be trained to perceive syntactic groupings and also to produce meaningful longer segments from what they hear. so, listening must be accompanied by some activities through which students can demonstrate their comprehension. it is also observed by sadat and alam (2007:65) that culture and contexts greatly influence learning. so, we need contextual listening as well as contextual learning. 1.5 research questions the study addresses the following central research questions:  what is the real scenario of teaching and practicing listening?  what extent teacher tries to teach listening skill in bangladesh?  what extent learner has the scope to practice listening skill in bangladesh? 2. literature review 2.1 listening “listening is a skill and any help we can give students in performing that skill will help them to be better listeners” (harmar, 1998:98). venkateswaran (1995:76) says that listening is an invisible mental process and also is an interactive process where the listeners work with their background knowledge and also with the current knowledge. thus listening does not mean hearing only, but it also involves comprehension and at the same time acts as a bridge in the learning process (abedin et al., 2009). 2.2 significance of listening skill richards (2008:3) says that “by providing aural input listening accelerates language learning”. language learning is dependent on listening and it can connect the learners directly to the target language (peterson, 2001:87). by listening to a regular academic program of this skill learner’s vocabulary and idioms can be enriched by developing their cultural appreciation which facilitates their interpretation of the new language (ibid). so, language teachers must help the students to become good listeners because listening is also the basis of cognitive development (saha, 2008:205). long (1987:921)) says that,” teachers are eager to develop students’ oral proficiency”. teaching speaking skill in elt has become a fashion than the teaching of listening skill (richards, 2008). but in general, speaking cannot be separated from listening. long (1987) has considered the listening skill as the other half of oral proficiency. for successful conversation we need to develop ‘conversational listening skill’ (nunan, 1989, 32). communication requires sender, message and also receiver (richards, platt and weber, 1985:48). to be communicatively competent we have to respond to various speech acts (ibid) which involve listening. venkateswaran (1995:76) says that for effective listening in communicative situation, understanding the main message is necessary. clt approach aims to make the learners communicatively competent (barman, sultana and basu, 2006:254) because “communicative ability is the goal of foreign language learning” (littlewood, 1981:2). “language is a system for the expression of meaning” and it is not only the combination of grammatical rules but also has functions and communicative meaning (richards and rodgers, 2001: 161). littlewood (1981) mentions that copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 22 the listener will have to extract the meaning with the existing noise distance and unclean sound and the receiver must understand the everyday speech which contains false starts, hesitations (ibid). 2.3 practice of listening skill in general long’s study (in long, 1987) shows that only 2% of total classroom time is spent for the development of listening skill. long (1987:921) mentions that though the awareness is growing the teachers are not giving full attention to the development of their students’ listening skill. wang (2008) points out that in teaching english in the efl contexts of japan, korea and china listening skill is ignored even in the modern efl teaching process. 2.4 bangladeshi context maniruzzaman (2002:134) identifies listening as a challenging skill for the foreign language learners because this skill requires substantial endeavors by the learners. in case of acquiring our mother tongue we listen and speak, and then learn reading and writing but it is totally opposite when we are learning english— reading and writing and then occasionally listening and speaking (ibid). the author claims that this is the reason why bangladeshi students face difficulty in case of listening english and they need to invest sufficient endeavors to acquire this skill. but the true fact is that students are never given that chance, because as saha (2008:193) explains that in the schools, colleges and even in the university education bangladeshi learners are never directed how to listen. as the students of bangladesh are never exposed to listening they fail to manage any kind of interaction (bhattacharjee, (2008:18). alam and sinha (2009:20) claim that the neglect of listening skill in our language classes makes the learners weak in the spoken language also. it has been found that in most of the language courses in our country listening is never taught (saha, 2008). 2.5 english language teaching policy in bangladesh das (2009:29) says that in the british india it was the english language which ensured high status and position in the society. since learning english was very lucrative the people were in a competitive mood to learn the “king’s english” (ibid). das points out that in pakistan english was taught and learned as a second language. english was the compulsory subject in secondary and higher secondary levels and it was the medium of instruction at the tertiary levels (rahman, 1999:14). ara (2009:10) says that after the emergence of bangladesh english learning suffered much. as english got the status of foreign language this had a consequence in all the fields especially in the education sector (rahman, 1999:13). curriculums of english from primary to degree levels always keep changing with the shift of the governments (das, 2009:49). rahman (1999:13) says that teaching of english got inadequate attention at lower levels and learners were going to the tertiary levels with weak command of english while textbooks and lectures were in english at this level. as a result students fail to read the books and express their views in english (ibid). under these circumstances rahman (1999:14) says that english has given ‘a new status’ in bangladesh. though the necessity of learning was felt, in the first official document of language teaching policy bangla was given the medium of instruction at all levels of education and only for the sake of reality english was made a compulsory subject from class six to twelve (das, 2009:39). but this policy ignored the teaching of english at tertiary levels (ibid). in 1976, to assess the elt situation in bangladesh an english language teaching task force was set up by the ministry of education (das, 2009:46). this task identified some reasons responsible for the poor teaching condition of bangladesh that are given below.  lack of helpful textbooks  acute shortage of qualified teachers of english at all levels of education  big size of the class  defective examination system das (2009) identified that this task force did not report anything about the growing number of english medium schools. in 1990, a survey report of national curriculum and textbook board (nctb) gave a frustrating picture of english proficiency among learners because it found that according to the syllabus and textbooks majority of the students are not achieving satisfactory levels of proficiency in learning the english language (in ara, 2009). until 1980 english was taught as a compulsory subject in ba honors and pass course but it was discontinued and in 1992 the bangladesh government passed an act to reintroduce english as a compulsory subject for all ba honors and pass course students (rahman, 1999:19). though this act was supposed to be implemented from 1994-1995 session, even the 1995-1996 session did not ensure it (ibid). the national committee on education policy 1997 (in das, 2009) proposed four year degree course and one year master’s course at the tertiary level. since the independence of bangladesh many policies keep changing regarding the teaching and learning of english (ara, 2009:10). since 1991 nctb has also been trying to improve the quality of english language teaching in copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 23 bangladesh but unfortunately none of the policies helped the students to develop their proficiency in the english language (ibid). jahan (2008:155) says that after learning english for 13 to 15 years the students of bangladesh cannot communicate in english. in this regard bhattacharjee (2008:19) blames the recurrent changes in the curriculum and over emphasis on bangla. 2.6 clt and listening skill in bangladesh since the rule of the british empire gtm had been practiced for a long time in the efl context of bangladesh (hasan and akand, 2009:45). but this method failed to enable the students to communicate both in oral and written english (hamid and jr, 2008). realizing the failure of gtm, in 1998, english language teaching improvement project (eltip) was established to improve the quality of elt by using the clt approach (ibid). hamid and jr (2008) informs that the books which eltip produced are supposed to follow the techniques and activities of clt approach and their basic principle is to help the learners to learn the english language in an interactive mood by using all the four skills— listening, speaking, reading and writing. in bangladesh, the change from gtm to the clt approach since 1990’s has been termed as ‘paradigm shift’ by alam and sinha (2009:19). though the teachers are supposed to teach following the clt, unfortunately it is not done (ibid). 2.7 teaching listening skill ur (1984) suggests encouraging the learners to decode from the information by using his common sense and native language for his understanding. because comprehension requires the simultaneous interaction of bottom up and top down processing (silberstein, 1994:7). in bottom up processing input is depicted against the reader’s previous knowledge and top down processing of occurs when prior knowledge is used to make predictions about the given input (ibid). silberstein (1994) suggests that activities that help the students in using background knowledge facilitate the comprehension. according to morely (2001) in the top down processing of listening the listener’s ability is involved to use prior information to understand the heard language. the bottom up process helps the listener to give close attention to every detail of the language input and bottom up mood assists to listen as well as grasp the sounds of words, grammatical relationships and lexical meaning (ibid). it is also suggested by ur (1984) that exercises that encourages a relaxed and holistic approach help the foreign learners to perceive meaning from the input that is heard. nunan (1999) suggests few characteristics for a listening course like explicit listening goals, use of authentic materials, schema building tasks, strategies for effective listening and opportunities for the learners to practice in the classroom. 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this research is quantitative and qualitative in nature. the purpose of the study is to reveal the ignorance towards listening skill and also to generate awareness for the implementation of this skill. the investigation was conducted through close ended to 100 students and 10 teachers at three different universities. the researcher has to collect data from comilla university, britannia university and victoria collage, comilla (under national university). 3.2 setting the study was conducted in the formal setting of the classroom. because of the formal setting it was necessary to make the students free to get the actual information. though the data was collected from the classroom, there was an effort to make the atmosphere relaxed for the students. teachers were interviewed in the university setting at their appointed time. 3.3 instrument for collecting data questionnaire was given to the students. the questionnaire (appendix-a) comprised ten close ended questions. questions 1, 2 and 3 were asked to collect general information about the teaching procedure of the class as well as of the university. the forth question was given to know about the student’s understanding level. the fifth question was used to understand whether the students are aware about listening skills or not. questions 6 and 9 were asked to know how much interactive the classes are. questions 7 and 8 were asked to collect the information about the context and material of the courses. the last question provided the students the chance to express their opinion. all these questions are directly related to the central research question 1 and to some extent these are also linked to the central research question 2. 3.4 data collection procedure it took 15 to 20 minutes to conduct the survey. as the teachers were requested earlier the survey was done in the absence of the teachers at the beginning or at the end of the classes. after entering into the classroom instruction was given in english. after the introductory part the questionnaire was distributed among all the present students with proper guidance. the students were assured that their identities would be kept hidden. here, dichotomous questions have been used for collecting data from the teachers and students by the researcher. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 24 4. data analysis 4.1 analysis of the student’s questionnaires 100 students have been selected from three classes to collect data. 10 questionnaires have been served to the students by the researcher for collecting correct information. table –1: students’ questionnaire analysis sl no questions results 1. what is the medium of instruction in your english class? english bangla mixure of english and bangla 48% 0% 52% 2. has the university offered any specific listening course to you? yes no 10% 90% 3. is there any mark allocated for listening skills in your english outlines? 30% 70% 4. do you understand english programmes? 49% 51% 5. do you need practice to develop your listening skill? 97% 3% 6. are there any activities/activity done in your english classes for listening skill? 31% 69% 7. do you think that the content of your classroom activities is from bangladeshi context? 38% 62% 8. have you found the material interesting? 51% 49% 9. are you motivated to take part in presentation/role play/group work/pair work in your english classroom? 25% 75% 10. do you prefer specific course for the development of your listening skill? 90% 10% in response to the question 1(tablea), it has been found that 52% students answered that the medium of instruction at their universities is a mixture of english and bangla while 48% students replied that the medium of instruction is solely english. in response to the question no 2, 90% students said that their universities do not offer any specific course on listening. only 10% students answered that a specific course named “listening and speaking” is offered positively. in answer to the question no 3, 70%students denied the allocation of marks in their course outlines. 30%students informed that since very few marks is allocated teachers give little attention and thus it is not helping to improve this (listening) skill. the result of the question 4 indicates that 49% students to some extent understand the spoken english used in english programmes. 51% students mentioned that they do not understand english programmes at all while some students said that they understand. from question 5, it has been found that 97% students feel the need to practice to develop their listening skills. the rest 3% students said no. it is evident from question 6 that specific listening activities are not being done in the universities because 69% students said that no activity was practiced in the class for this skill while 31%students said that it was. in response to the question 7,38% students replied that sometimes the materials of their lessons are taken from bangladeshi context and 62% students informed that the content of their lessons are always foreign. the result of the question 8 indicates that students are not motivated to learn the english language. 51%students informed that the materials used in the classroom are not always interesting. 49%students blame the teaching style which cannot make the lessons interesting. it is evident from question 9, 75% students are never involved in any kind of activities like presentation, pair work, role play and group work. only 25% students always participate in the classroom activities copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 25 in answer to the question 10, almost all the students (90%) want their universities to offer specific listening course. some students said that self-practice is enough to develop english listening skills while a few mentioned that marks allocation is needed. 4.2 analysis of the teacher’s questionnaires the researcher used questionnaire to find out data from participant teachers. the questionnaire was distributed to ten english teachers of two universities (britannia university and commila university) of comilla. the teacher’s questionnaires included 10 questions with fixed alternatives. table-2: teachers’ questionnaire analysis sl no questions results 1. do you use mixture of english and bangla medium of instruction in your english class? yes no 51% 49% 2. do you think that the universities offer any specific listening course to the students? 25% 75% 3. is there any mark allocated for listening skills in your english outlines? 30% 70% 4. do you think that students understand english programmes? 60% 40% 5. do you think that students need to practice to develop their listening skill? 99% 1% 6. are there any activities/activity done in your english classes for listening skill? 40% 60% 7. do you think that the content of your classroom activities is from bangladeshi context? 38% 62% 8. do you think that students find the material interesting? 49% 51% 9. do you motivate your students to take part in presentation/role play/group work/pair work in your english classroom? 51% 49% 10. do you prefer specific listening course for the development of your listening skill? 90% 10% in response to the question 1(tableb), it has been found that 51% teachers answered that the medium of instruction at their universities is a mixture of english and bangla while 49%teachers replied that the medium of instruction is solely english. in response to the question no 2, 75%teachers said that their universities do not offer any specific course on listening. 25%teachers of only one university answered yes. 70%teachers informed that since very few marks is allocated teachers give little attention and thus it is not helping to improve this (listening) skill. it has also been found that each and every student does not get the chance to practice listening. the result of the question 4 indicates that 60% teachers think that students to some extent understand the spoken english used in english programmes. 40% teachers said that students do not understand english programmes at all. from question 5, it has been found that 99%of the teachers feel that students need to practice to develop students listening skills. only 1% teachers said no. it is evident from question 6 that specific listening activities are not being done in the universities because 60% teachers said that no activity was practiced in the class for this skill while 40%teachers said that it was. in response to the question 7 38% teachers replied that sometimes the materials of their lessons are taken from bangladeshi context and 62% teachers informed that the content of their lessons are always foreign. the result of the question 8 indicates that 49% teachers said that they motivated students to learn the english language. the rest 51% teachers do not do that. it is evident from question 9 that 51% teachers said that some students are sometimes involved in some kind of activities like presentation, pair work, role play and group work. other 49% teachers said no to the answer. in answer to the question 10, almost all the students (90%) want their universities to offer specific listening course. some students said that self-practice is enough to develop english listening skills while a few mentioned that marks allocation is needed. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 26 5. discussion 5.1 discussion in terms of students’ perspective in response to the question 1(tablea), it has been found that most of the students answered that the medium of instruction at their universities is a mixture of english and bangla while other students replied that the medium of instruction is solely english. technically speaking the medium of instruction at universities is english but the teachers use bengali with english because the first year undergraduate students do not understand the english lecture since most of them have been shifted from bengali to english medium. the present result demonstrates that teachers use bangla with english to make the students understand specially the difficult english terms and vocabularies. few students also confessed that they are weak in understanding english and mixture of mother tongue and the foreign language makes it easy for them to understand. it was also informed by the students that bangla is used by the teachers to make the students easy and comfortable. the data also shows that a very few students support the solely english instruction. in response to the question no 2, most of the students said that their universities do not offer any specific course on listening. some students of only one university answered that a specific course named “listening and speaking” is offered positively in this regard. this finding suggests the negligence of listening skills by the private universities. according to the students’ information sometimes teachers give ideas to develop the students’ listening skills. it has also been found that though any particular listening course is hardly offered the students still get chance to practice it by using the sound system. but again the logistic support is not sufficient and modern; as a result, learners do not feel interested. students denied the allocation of marks in their course outlines. some students informed that since very few marks is allocated teachers give little attention and thus it is not helping to improve this (listening) skill. it has also been found that each and every student does not get the chance to practice listening. the result of the question 4 indicates that students to some extent understand the spoken english used in english programmes. a few students mentioned that they do not understand english programmes at all while some students said that they understand. the reasons for not understanding are intonation, stress, accent, dialect, the fast space of the native speakers and unfamiliar words. few students informed that their teachers motivate them to watch and listen to english programmes. some students mentioned that if they listen attentively and carefully then they can understand. from question 5, it has been found that majority of the students feel the need to practice to develop their listening skills. the finding shows that students are aware of the importance of developing their listening skills. the reasons for developing their listening skills are to understand the foreign accents and to communicate in english. one student mentioned that the schools and colleges do not give the opportunity to practice english listening skills so the university must give the chance. another student also said that if there is class for listening skills then there will be homework, which can create pressure to practice at home; he further mentioned that only selfmotivation is not enough to encourage oneself to practice. it is evident from question 6 that specific listening activities are not being done in the universities because most of the students said that no activity was practiced in the class for this skill while some students said that it was. in terms of the background information the students who have answered positively mentioned that they have to answer after hearing the cassette player and watching the piece of movies. mostly they work in groups. in this regard one has mentioned the name of an activity “planning a party”. the students who gave negative response wrote that their teachers advise them to watch and listen to the english programmes in radio and television. in response to the question 7 most of the students replied that sometimes the materials of their lessons are taken from bangladeshi context and equally the same number of students informed that the content of their lessons are always foreign. so it is evident that contextualized materials are not frequently used in the teaching of english listening skills. some students mentioned that their teachers talk about the bangladeshi incidents to make the students understand. one has mentioned that teachers think of usa and uk contexts as their idol. few students have the realization that bangladeshi context will help to know bangladesh as well as the english context. at the same time some students consider the use of bangladeshi context unnecessary in the english classroom. it is also found that a few students are familiar with the use of bangla magazines and indian books and their teachers also let them to relate the foreign topics with their culture. the result of the question 8 indicates that students are not motivated to learn the english language. most of the students informed that the materials used in the classroom are not always interesting. some students blame the teaching style which cannot make the lessons interesting. the students further mentioned that the lessons and texts which are easy and related to the bangladeshi context help them to feel comfortable. it has been found that the texts are interesting when the teachers help the students to understand the concepts in the texts. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 27 it is evident from question 9 some students are never involved in any kind of activities like presentation, pair work, role play and group work. though some other students always participate in the classroom activities, it is also clear that most of the students hardly get chance to take part in the classroom activities. reasons for not being involved in the classroom activities are time constraint, lack of interest/ motivation, shyness, hesitation, tension and fear of being ridiculed. the finding also suggests that the extroverts are the ones who are constantly participating in the classroom activities. students also mentioned that if they work in groups they can discuss freely. in answer to the question ten, almost all the students want their universities to offer specific listening course. some students said that self-practice is enough to develop english listening skills while a few mentioned that marks allocation is needed. 5.2 discussion in terms of teacher’s perspective in response to the question 1(tableb), it has been found that most of the teachers answered that the medium of instruction at their universities is a mixture of english and bangla while other teachers replied that the medium of instruction is solely english. technically speaking the medium of instruction at the private universities is english but the teachers use bengali with english because the first year undergraduate students do not understand the english lecture since most of them have been shifted from bengali to english medium. in response to the question no 2, most of the teachers said that their universities do not offer any specific course on listening. some teachers of only one university answered that a specific course named “listening and speaking” is offered positively in this regard. this finding suggests the negligence of listening skills by universities. sometimes teachers give ideas to develop the students’ listening skills. it has also been found that though any particular listening course is hardly offered the students still get chance to practice it by using the sound system. but again the logistic support is not sufficient and modern; as a result, learners do not feel interested. some teachers informed that since very few marks is allocated teachers give little attention and thus it is not helping to improve this (listening) skill. it has also been found that each and every student does not get the chance to practice listening. the result of the question 4 indicates that most of the teachers think that students to some extent understand the spoken english used in english programmes. a few students do not understand english programmes at all. the reasons for not understanding are intonation, stress, accent, dialect, the fast space of the native speakers and unfamiliar words. teachers mentioned that if they listen attentively and carefully then they can understand. from question 5, it has been found that majority of the teachers feel the need to practice to develop students listening skills. they also think that students are aware of the importance of developing their listening skills. the reasons for developing their listening skills are to understand the foreign accents and to communicate in english. it is evident from question 6 that specific listening activities are not being done in the universities because most of the teachers said that no activity was practiced in the class for this skill while some teachers said that it was. in response to the question 7 most of the teachers replied that sometimes the materials of their lessons are taken from bangladeshi context and equally the same number of teachers informed that the content of their lessons are always foreign. so it is evident that contextualized materials are not frequently used in the teaching of english listening skills. the result of the question 8 indicates that students are not motivated to learn the english language. most of the teachers informed that the materials used in the classroom are not always interesting to the students. it is evident from question 9 that most of the teachers said that some students are sometimes involved in some kind of activities like presentation, pair work, role play and group work. in answer to the question ten, (table2) almost all the students want their universities to offer specific listening course. some students said that self-practice is enough to develop english listening skills while a few mentioned that marks allocation is needed. 6. conclusion and recommendation 6.1conclusion in bangladesh listening skill is always not given so much importance throughout the whole academic life of a student (ibid). even at the tertiary level this skill is not taught. so, the present study aimed to focus on how much listening skills are taught by the teachers and practiced by the students at the universities and to determine the types of strategies that are needed to develop english listening skills. to reach the goal the study collected data from 100 students and 10teachers of 3 universities. based on the findings it seems that most of the universities are not well equipped to provide the chance of adequate practice of listening skills. inappropriate syllabus and insufficient logistic support do not permit teachers to practice the listening skills in the classrooms. so, language teachers hardly give attention towards this skill. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 28 limited resources and logistic support give the learners hardly any exposure to the listening skills. the few learners who are exposed to these activities are being taught with the foreign culture because teachers do not focus on the local materials. while contextual background is necessary for understanding, lack of schematic knowledge dispels the learners’ interest and participation and as a result language learning does not progress. the findings of the study seem to suggest that the basic english or fundamentals of english courses of universities are incomplete without practicing listening skill. without this skill student can be found inefficient in english language. at the same time the findings of the study suggests that the use of appropriate strategies can improve the learners’ listening skills as well as knowledge of english. based on the findings the strategies are— a language class should not exceed 15-20 students, marks should be allocated and listening activities need to be practiced by using argumentative and authentic topics. quader’s (1998) findings explain that in bangladesh students of all levels face difficulty mainly with listening skill which shows that their low proficiency make it difficult for them to understand the language. it is only because our students are never exposed to the formal listening (bhattacharjee, 2008). 6.2 recommendation based on the findings it may be mentioned that effective and ideal english language courses need to be introduced to help the learners to be better listeners. some recommendation for effective listening at the tertiary level of universities can be considered:  effective materials should be produced by the teachers to make the learning enjoyable and in this regard teachers need some expertise to prepare those;  teachers need to be trained to take the language classes;  syllabus should specify the listening skills and university authorities need to provide the necessary logistic support for the teaching of this skill  outlines should be prepared by allocating marks for the listening skills  teachers need to be mentally prepared to teach the listening activities with the existing constraints;  materials should be used according to the learners’ level and they should be given the scope to use their background knowledge to connect with the materials;  exposure to sufficient english speech is necessary and in this regard conversational clubs can be established;  curiosity and interest should be aroused among the learners to involve them in the listening activities; references abedin, m. m., majlish, s. h. k. and akter, s. (2009). listening skill at tertiary level: a reflection. the dhaka university journal of linguistic. vol. 2, no. 3, 69-90. alam, z. and sinha, b. s. (2009). developing listening skills for tertiary level learners. the dhaka university journal of linguistics. vol. 2, no. 3, 19-52. akter, z. (2006). redefining ‘communicative competence’ in teaching english as a foreign language in bangladesh.harvest: jahangirnagar studies in language and literature. vol. 21, 13-22. ara, s. (2009). the contribnution of the communicative language teaching approach to teaching writing in the english classroom. harvest: jahangirnagar studies in language and literature, vol. 24, 9-26. bhattacharjee, n. (2008). developing speaking skills at secondary and higher secondary levels: problems and few recommendations. stamford journal of english, vol. 4, 14-27. barman, d. b., sultana, z. and basu, b. l. (2006). elt theory and practice. bangladesh: friends book corner. chand, r. k (2007). same size doesn’t fit all: insights from research on listening skills at the university of the south pacific (usp).the international review of research in open and distance learning. vol. 8, no. 3. das, b. b. (2009). the reports of education commissions and english in bangladesh. harvest: jahangirnagar studies in language and literature, vol. 24, 2751. ellis, r. (1985). understanding second language acquisition. oxford: oxford university press. ellis, r. (1992). second language acquisition and language pedagogy. clevedon: multilingual matters. haque, m. s. (2009). offering world class higher education. the daily star. 5 and 16. hasan, k. and akhand, m. m. (2009). challenges and suitability of tesl at the college level in bangladeshi context. journal of nelta. vol. 2, no. 1-2, 45-54. hamid, m. o. and jr, r. b. b. (2008). will clt bail out the bogged down elt in bangladesh? english today. vol. 24, no. 3, 16-24 harmar, j. (1998). how to teach english. london: longman jahan, a. (2008). teaching speaking skills at tertiary level in bangladesh: an empirical investigation. daffodil international university journal of business and economics. vol. 3, no. 1, 55-171. kashen, s. (1985). the input hypothesis: issues and implications. cambridge university press. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 29 krashen, s. (1981). second language acquisition and learning.london: pergamon. khan, h. r. (2005). teaching english in primary schools: pros and cons. bangladesh education journal. vol. 4, no. 1, 25-31. littlewood, w. (1981). communicative language teaching. united kingdom: cambridge university press. long, r. d. 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(2001). skills and strategies for proficient listening. in m. c. murcia (ed), teaching english as a second or foreign language. (3rd ed. pp 87100). usa: heinle&heinle. quader, a. d. d. (1998). students’ perception of difficulty in courses of english for general purpose: a study across proficiency levels. journal of institute of modern languages. 55-80. quase, a. (2007). private university act and some records. the independent. 12. rahman, a. m. m. h. (1999). english language teaching in bangladesh: didactics on the pragmatics of a language teaching policy. collected papers of the international conference on national and regional issues in english language teaching: international perspective. dhaka: british council. 532. richards, j. c. and rodgers, t. s. (2001). approaches and methods in language teaching. cambridge: cambridge university press. richards, j. c. (2008). teaching listening and speaking from theory to practice. cambridge: cambridge university press. richards, j., platt, j. and weber, h. (1985). longman dictionary of applied linguistics. london: longman. ross, (1977). speech communication: fundamentals and practice. prentice-hall: englewood cliffs. silberstein, s. (1994). techniques and resources in teaching reading. oxford: oxford university press. saha, m. (2008). teaching ‘listening’ as an ‘english language skill’. crossings: ulab journal of english studies. vol. 2, no. 2, 193-206. sadat, m. m. m. and alam, m. m. (2006). making both ends meet in efl speaking classroom in bangladesh. the journal of social studies. vol.1, no. 10, 63-75. siddiqui, d. h. g. a. (2009, december 30). growth and contribution of private universities. the daily star. 3. ur, p. (1984). teaching listening comprehension.cambridge:cambridge university press. venkateswaran, s. (1995). principles of teaching english.new delhi: vikas publications. wahid, s. (2009). a paradigm shift worth reckoning. the daily star. 2 wang, h. (2008). probing efl students’ language skill development in tertiary classrooms.english language teaching.retrieved july 9, 2010 from <http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/436/456. appendix-1: questionnaire for the students (all this question are designed to get the linguistics data; this will be used for research purpose only) please answer the following questions name: mobile: date: educational institute: sex: roll no: registration no: semester: session: what is your level of education? : under –graduate/graduate 1. what is the medium of instruction in your english class? a. english b. bangla c. mixture of english and bangla 2. has the university offered any specific listening course to you? a. yes; b. no 3. is there any mark allocated for listening skills in your english course outlines? a. yes; b. no 4. do you understand english programmes (bbc, cnn, english movie, serials, reality shows)? a. yes; b. no copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 1; 2019 30 5. do you need practice to develop your listening skills? a. yes; b. no 6. are there any activity/activities done in your english classes for listening skills (listening to tv or radio news/ weather/ conversation/ songs etc)? a. yes; b. no 7. do you think that the content (text) of your classroom activities is from bangladeshi context? a. yes b. no 8. have you found the content/material interesting? a. yes b. no 9. are you motivated to take part in presentation/ role play/group work/pair work in your english classroom? a. yes b. no 10. do you prefer specific listening course for the development of your listening skill? a. yes b) no appendix-2questionnaire for the teachers (all this question are designed to get the linguistics data; this will be used for research purpose only) please answer the following questions: full name: ………………………………… educational institute………………………. teaching experience: ………….................. 1. do you use mixture of english and bangla medium of instruction in your english class? a. yes b. no 2. do you think that the universities offer any specific listening course to the students? a. yes b. no 3. is there any mark allocated for listening skills in your english outlines? a. yes b. no 4. do you think that students understand english programmes? a. yes b. no 5. do you think that students need to practice to develop their listening skill? a. yes b. no 6. are there any activities/activity done in your english classes for listening skill? a. yes b. no 7.do you think that the content of your classroom activities is from bangladeshi context? a. yes b. no 8. do you think that students find the material interesting? a. yes b. no 9. do you motivate your students to take part in presentation/role play/group work/pair work in your english classroom? a. yes b. no copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 94 comparative analysis of english language learners' errors across different linguistic backgrounds kehinde olufemi ogunyemi phd department of arts education adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko, ondo state, nigeria e-mail: luckykenny4u@yahoo.com tel: +2349031661167 abstract the focus of the study is the comparative analysis of english as a second language learners’ errors across different linguist ic backgrounds in nigeria. the study adopted the descriptive research design. the population for the study consisted of senior secondary school students in ondo state. a simple random sampling technique was employed to select four secondary schools and 26 students from four schools in akoko ondo state(12 male, 14 female). the sample consisted students from three linguistic backgrounds (igbo, yoruba, and hausa). the instrument used to gather data was a verbal ability test. the reliability of the instrument was determined through the testretest method (r = 0.83). four research questions were answered. the findings revealed that there was a significant difference in the scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds in their use of tenses, pronouns, spellings and pronunciation. on the basis of these findings it was recommended that students are to be given time to pay attention to their use of english tenses, pronoun, spelling and pronunciation so as to maximize their academic potentials and possibilities. there is need to give teachers chance to experience in-service training and seminars. this will make them conversant with current development in pedagogy and language itself. keywords: comparative analysis, english as a second language, errors, linguistic backgrounds. 1. background to the study language is essential to human existence, that is, the easy flow of human interaction will not be possible without language. it becomes necessary to see language as not only the instrument of communication among the members of the speech community who are members of the same culture but also a system of rules that the learners have to acquire. lado (1977) sees language as "a complex system of communication with various levels of complexity involving intricate selection and ordering of meaning, sounds and largest units and arrangement." precisely, language holds the key to knowledge acquisition. this makes its teachinglearning process central to any educational system. as english language is concerned, it has its speech community which could be traced down to england, greek, united states of america, etc. it was firstly introduced to africa through colonization while the european invasion led to the spread of english language in nigeria. for most nigerians, english serves as a second language: a language selected by a bilingual or multilingual country. it also serves as a common medium of communication among nigerians from different ethnic backgrounds speaking different languages. it is also the country's official language in which case it is used by government functionaries. the importance of english language in nigeria cannot be overstressed. the nature of nigeria being a multilingual society with complex linguistic situation led to the introduction of english language to ameliorate the language diversity. according to kachru (1981), english as a second language refers to the outer world circle which involves the spread of english and its institutionalization as a second language (l2) in non-native environment. historically, the regions where institutionalized varieties are used have at one time or the other gone through extended periods of colonization by the users of the inner circle. pariola (1988) suggests that english will be the only one of two or more codes in linguistic repertoire of such bilinguals or multilinguals. bamgbose (1982) postulates that english has acquired an important status in the language policies of most of such multilingual nations: we in english education need to find redundant ways to point out that english belongs to the world and every nation which uses its does so with different tone, color, and quality. english is an international auxiliary language. it is yours as much as it is mine… it is a language of the world (larry smith, 1976a). the importance of learners' errors in the process of learning english as a second language has been widely discussed in the field of language acquisition. according to robert and graffiths (2008), it is problematic to find a definition of errors since they can be seen from different views. lenon (1991) relates errors to native-speaker-utterances, although there are various copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 95 variations among people who consider themselves to be a native speaker which make it difficult to find standard english (robert & graffiths, 2008). corder (1981) views the errors learners make as the major element in the feedback system of the process of language teaching and learning. through the information derives by the teacher from the errors, he varies his teaching procedures and materials, the pace of the progress and the amount of practice which he plans at any moment. the errors committed by the learners also reveal to the teacher the level of progress the learner has attained and what remains to learn. a proper analysis of learners' errors enables teacher to find out and take series of pedagogical precautions toward them. corder (1981) also points out that the study of errors is also a fundamental part of applied linguistics because it provides a validation of finding of contrastive linguistic studies. edrogan (2003) points out that errors are means of feedback for the teacher reflecting how effective he is in his teaching style and what changes he has to make to get higher performance from his students. errors according to brown (1994), is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker reflecting the inter-language competence of the learners. however, james (1995) categorizes errors in terms of grammatical correctness and acceptance. he relates errors to ignorance, inferring that error correction is the study of linguistic ignorance, the investigation of what people do not know and how they attempt to cope with their ignorance. james continues his suggestion that the learners' ignorance of the target language (tl) can be expressed in terms of grammaticality, acceptability, correctness, and strangeness and infelicity. jibowo, iteogu & abayomi (2005) in their contribution point out that a proper analysis of learners' errors will lead to a radical change in teacher's attitude towards learners' performance. they stress the need for teachers to expect variability in measuring the learners' attempts in terms of l2 and l1 variation in given situation. the behaviourist view on second language learners' errors according to the proponent of the theory b.f skinner (1957) is that language learning should be seen as a process of habit formation: the acquisition of a series of responses to external stimuli developed through a process referred to as operant conditioning. this behaviourist theory could be traced to his verbal behaviour. the theory applied functional analysis approach to analyze language behaviour of a target language in terms of natural process as related environmental consequences and the effect they have on human interaction. skinner's theory (1957) relies on the component of classical conditioning of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli and operant conditioning. the behaviourist views language learning as the process of habit formation. language learning as a process of habit formation refers to learning a language as a result of behaving in language which involves the period of trials and errors where a child tries and fails until he is able to produce the pattern spontaneously. to behaviourists, imitation, association, reinforcement, punishment and repetition are the key words on learning a particular language. it also related with audio-lingual method of teaching which is based on the behaviourists belief that language learning is the acquisition of correct language habits. as this theory focuses on the trials and errors of learners until success, errors were considered to be counterproductive since they led to the formation of bad habits which if left uncorrected resulted in fossilisation. people could learn new languages through observing other individuals' behaviour and listening to their utterances which were treated as a model input reaction patterns and then imitating the received material repetitively to gain proficiency (medwell, wroy, moure & graffiths 2014). according to brown (1987), each error was seen as unwanted negative and detrimental for second language learners. the next aspect strictly connected with the behaviouristic understanding of errors which was the concept of contrastive analysis hypothesis (cah). lado states in the preface that errors were thought to be the side of the faulty transfer of l1 habits... as a reaction against the behaviourist view of learning as a process of habit formation, the major proponent of mentalist theory, noam chomsky in his work of 1959 opposed skinner's approach of operant conditioning. chomsky states that language learning was a product of rule formation, that is, it is a cognitive process (robert & graffiths, 2008). mentalists believe that when the child learns the rule governing the way a language functions, he will be able to use the rules to form further sentences in the language through hypothesis formation. consequently, it became clear that language learners form hypothesis which are not completely random but underlie certain rules. chomsky introduced a species-specific (human), domain-specific (language), biological endowment: a genetically encoded predisposition to learn languages which is called language acquisition device (lad). chomsky believes that human acquire or learn language because they possess the mental capacity through a mental process generalizing the rules through a process of mental reality which analyses actual behaviour. he related that the first language of a child is not learned but acquired because a child at birth possesses an innate capacity to acquire language naturally. while receiving language input, a learner is able to glean enough evidence to trigger the correct setting of the parameter for that particular language. the behaviourist and the mentalist theories focus on second language learners' errors. they view errors through different perspectives. while the behaviourists view the second language learners' errors as a result of first language interference that is the old habit of first language may be helpful in learning second language, as something negative, the mentalists view errors as something positive which serves as the evidence of the occurrence of learning in second language learning situation. in language studies, there have been two schools of thought in respect of learners' errors (maicusi & lopis, 2000). in contrastive analysis, the theoretical base of which was behaviourism, errors are seen as "bad habit" that has been formed. the response was based on the stimulus. it was assumed that interference of the mother tongue (l1) was responsible for errors made during the transition period of learning the target language. errors were considered to be a sign of inadequacy of the teaching copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 96 techniques and on the other hand it was seen as a natural result of the fact that since the nature we cannot avoid making errors. the idea of the error as an effect to be avoided has been especially supported by behaviourism being considered as an obstacle to language learning. according to contrastive analysis hypothesis (cah), errors occur as a result of interference when the learners transfer native language habits into the second language (l2). it was also believed that interference takes place whenever there is a difference between native mother tongue and the target language. the contrastive analysis hypothesis (cah) can be briefly defined as the assumption (based on behaviourism) that all language learning depends on the mother tongue or l1 and where there are similarities between both, no mistakes will occur in the l2, whereas on the other hand where there are differences between l1 and l2, errors are likely to occur (richards & rodgers, 2001,). this hypothesis is based on lado's suggestion in linguistic across culture where he states “in the comparison between native language and foreign language lies the key to ease all difficulties in foreign language learning” (lado, 1957). lado underlined the tight relation between contrastive analysis and language learning. contrastive analysis is just one more among a number of analyses. the most important contribution of this kind of analysis is the delimitation of second language structures which obstructs learning. base on this information, it is possible to make decisions concerning teaching. in fact, it is the knowledge of the difficulties which result from the difference between first language structures and target language ones that permits the development of efficient strategies to face errors. error analysis supplanted contrastive analysis owing to the work of corder (1967) who saw it from a different point of view: a learner's errors then provide evidence of the system of the language that he is using. error analysis is a branch of applied linguistics concerned with the compilation, study and analysis of errors made by second language learners and aims at investigating aspects of second language acquisition. corder (1985) describes error analysis as a means of using utterance of learners to assess whether they have or not learnt the particular linguistic points that the teacher has been trying to teach. the concept was developed based on the belief that errors indicate the learners’ stage of second language learning/acquisition (jibowo, iteogu and abayomi, (2005). error analysis is concerned with the same problem as contrastive analysis but from an opposing point of view. in error analysis, the error has been defined as a deviation from the norm of the target language and a distinction has been made between errors and mistakes. brown (1980) insists that "it is crucial to make a distinction between mistakes and errors" because they are technically two very different phenomena. if the learner is able to self-correct after using an incorrect expression or utterances, we are talking about a mistake. on the other hand, when the learner produces an unintentionally deviant utterance and is not able to self-correct it, he/she committed an error (james, 1998). the errors take place when the deviation arises as a result of lack of knowledge. crystal (1987) comments that "error analysis is a technique for identifying, classifying and systematically interpreting the unacceptable forms produced by someone learning a foreign, using any of the principles and procedures provided by linguistics. edrogan (2005) insists that error analysis emerged in sixties to demonstrate that the learners' errors were not only because of the learners' native language but also they reflected some universal learning strategies. it deals with learners' performance in terms of cognitive processes they make use of in recognizing or coding the input they receive from the target language. in language learning, there are errors which learners committed with varying degrees of consistency and error analysis contains that learners' errors are inherent within the language system and not necessarily native language induced. empirically, errors could be traced to the learners who as a result of their innate ability to learn language form hypotheses which are tested and manifest themselves in the formation of wrong analysis by overgeneralization after observing some paradigms. the mentalist theory supports claims that errors are inevitable because they reflect various stages in the language development of the learners. thus the learner process new language data in his mind and produces rules for its production, based on the evidence. there are instances of errors where the data are inadequate. contrastive analysis is of the opinion that second language learners with the same linguistic background encounter the same linguistic difficulties while those from different linguistic backgrounds encounter different linguistic difficulties. it focuses on l1 interference as the major source of learners' errors while there are different bases of errors that are not occurred as a result of l1 interference. there are some uniform or intra-lingual errors made by learners irrespective of their first languages. contrastive studies are undertaken in order to discover and describe the differences between l1 and l2 while error analysis confirms or disproves the predictions of the theory underlying bilingual comparison. error analysis as a result of that is an experimental technique for validating the theory of transfer and also the most wide-spread practice because it has proven to be the most effective approach to l2 learners' errors and its focus on the importance of errors in second language learning process. from the ongoing arguments between contrastive analysts and error analysts, contrastive analysts see mother tongue interference as the cause of second language learners' errors while error analysts support the fact that there are uniform errors committed by learners' regardless of their first languages. the focus of contrastive analysts is that, learners from the same linguistic background tend to commit the same linguistic errors while learners from different linguistic tend to commit different linguistic errors as a result of their first language interference (l1). the work under study ascertains the position of error analysis (ea) that l2 learners' errors are not only committed due to l1 interference but also there are other uniform errors committed by learners irrespective of their first languages. the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 97 study focuses on comparative analysis of esl learners' errors across different linguistic backgrounds in order to ascertain that second language learners from different linguistic backgrounds tend to commit the same errors in their learning of english language regardless of their first languages. 2. statement of the problem the purpose of second language learning is to generate or acquire the effectiveness and competence in using the target language. the effective use of this language is based on the theoretical acquisition of the accurate and appropriate rules and the structures of the target language as well as the literature of the target language to be useful in all ramification of life. errors are seen as a negative response or interference due to the stimuli-response approach and as a positive-response through the mental capacity that takes place during learning. errors as seen from different perspectives could be categorized according to the linguistic background of the learners. therefore, one could suggest that if there are errors from english as a second language learners of different linguistic backgrounds, there must be a proper comparison between the errors so as to provide the adequate solution to the errors and also to classify the errors if as a result of mother tongue interference or as a result of some other factors. this is in line with the view of contrastive analysis (ca). however, ea believes that learners' errors are not only products of l1 interference. according to them l2 errors are also traceable to other sources other than l1 interference. it is against this background that this study seeks to carry out a comparative analysis of english as a second language learner's errors across different linguistic backgrounds. 3. research questions the following questions have been generated to guide this study thus:  do esl learners from different linguistic backgrounds encounter the same difficulty with english pronouns?  do esl learners from different linguistic backgrounds encounter the same difficulty with english spelling?  do esl learners from different linguistic backgrounds encounter the same problem with english pronunciation? 4. hypotheses  there is no significant difference in english tense scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds.  there is no significant difference in english pronoun scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds.  there is no significant difference in english spelling scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds.  there is no significant difference in english pronunciation scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. 5. significance of the research the result of this study would help teachers to categorize the second language learners' errors from different linguistic background and formulate an appropriate educational curriculum towards the learning goals of the learners irrespective of their linguistic backgrounds. it would help the teacher to pinpoint those areas of english language where his/her students go wrong for various reasons and to devise remedial measures to make his/her teaching and learning more rapid and effective. the study would also help the syllabus designers to identify those items that are important to be included or recycled in the syllabus. it would also help esl learners to have insight into the errors committed irrespective of their linguistic backgrounds and how to overcome them. 6. methodology the researcher made use of descriptive design. the population of the study consisted of all students of government owned secondary schools in ondo state. a sample of twenty-six (26) students in senior secondary school three (ss iii) were selected from four (4) co-educational government owned secondary schools (a.u.d grammar school, oroke high school, community comprehensive high school and agboronkin comprehensive high school) in akoko region of the state. for each school, there are three (3) yoruba respondents to make of twelve (12), one hausa respondent to make a total of four (4), while the igbo respondents vary from one (1) in a.u.d grammar school, two (2) in oroke high school and community high school respectively and five (5) in agboronkin comprehensive high school, altogether making a total of ten (10). the instrument used for data collection is verbal ability test. the data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics counts and percentage based on their ethnic groups. 7. results question 1: do esl learners from different linguistic backgrounds commit the same errors in the use of pronouns? table vi: showing difficulty in the use of pronoun across different linguistic backgrounds. linguistic backgrounds and frequency of errors difficult pronoun types hausa freq. % igbo freq. % yoruba freq. % honorific pronoun 3 75% 4 40% 8 67% 1st person plural subject 3 75% 3 30% 6 50% 1st person plural object 3 75% 4 40% 8 67% 3rd person plural subject 4 100% 2 20% 5 42% copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 98 3rd person singular subject 1 25% 7 70% 7 58% 3rd person singular object 2 50% % 5 42% source: field, 2017 the table above shows that 75% of hausa respondents, 40% of igbo respondents and 66.7% of yoruba respondents encounter difficulty with the use of honorific pronoun, while 75% of hausa respondents, 30% of igbo respondents and 50% of yoruba respondents encounter difficulty with the use of 1st person plural pronoun in the subject position. 75% of hausa respondents, 40% of igbo respondents and 66.7% of yoruba respondents encounter difficulty with the use of 1st person plural pronoun in the object position. 100% of hausa respondents, 20% of igbo respondents and 41.7% of yoruba respondents encounter difficulty with the use of 3rd person plural pronoun in the subject position. 25% of hausa respondents of hausa respondents, 70% of igbo respondents and 58.3% of yoruba respondents encounter difficulty with the use of 3rd person singular pronoun in the subject position. 50% of hausa respondents, 0% of igbo respondents and 41.7% of yoruba respondents encounter difficulty with the use of 3rd person singular pronoun in the object position. question ii: do esl learners from different linguistic backgrounds encounter the same difficulty with english spelling? table vii: showing difficulty in english spelling across different linguistic backgrounds. linguistic backgrounds and frequency of errors words mis-spelt hausa freq. % igbo freq. % yoruba freq. % psychology 3 70% 7 70% 11 92% pneumonia 4 100% 10 100% 12 100% committee 4 100% 7 70% 10 83% receipt 2 50% 9 90% 8 67% physics 2 50% 4 40% 5 42% accommodation 3 75% 8 80% 11 92% necessary 2 50% 8 80% 8 67% rapport 4 100% 10 100% 12 100% pronunciation 4 100% 10 100% 12 100% success 1 25% 3 30% 6 50% source: field, 2017 the table above shows that 75% of hausa respondents, 70% of igbo respondents and 92% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with spelling of "psychology." 100% of hausa respondents, 100% of igbo respondents and 100% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "pneumonia." 100% of hausa respondents 70% of igbo respondents and 83% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of “committee”. 50% of hausa respondents, 90% of igbo respondents and 67% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "receipt." 50% of hausa respondents, 40% of igbo respondents and 42% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "physics." 75% of hausa respondents, 80% of igbo respondents and 92% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "accommodation." 50% of hausa respondent, 80% of igbo respondents and 67% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "necessary". 100% of hausa respondents, 100% of igbo respondents and 100% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "rapport". 100% of hausa respondents, 100% of igbo respondents and 100% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "pronunciation". 25% of hausa respondents, 30% of igbo respondents and 50% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the spelling of "success." question iii: do esl learners from different linguistic backgrounds encounter the same problem with english pronunciation. table ix: a table showing difficulty in english pronunciation across different linguistic backgrounds linguistic backgrounds and frequency errors wordsmis-pronounced hausa freq. % igbo freq. % yoruba freq. % village 1 (25%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) pottage 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) lobsters 2 (50%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) oil 0 (0%) 2 (50%) 0 (0%) crabs 0 (0%) 3 (30%) 0 (0%) source: field, 2017 the above table shows that 25% of hausa respondents, 0% of igbo respondents and 0% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with pronunciation of "village". 0% of hausa respondents, 0% of igbo respondents and 0% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the pronunciation of "pottage". 50% of hausa respondents, 0% of igbo respondents copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 99 and 0% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the pronunciation of "lobsters". 0% of hausa respondents, 50% of igbo respondents and 0% of yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the pronunciation of "oil". 0% of hausa respondents, 30% of respondents and 0% yoruba respondents encountered difficulty with the pronunciation of "crabs". 7.1 test of hypotheses hypothesis 1: there is no significant difference in english tense scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. table x: linguistic backgrounds linguistic backgrounds sum of squares df mean square f (cal) f (cri) between groups 1.799 6 0.300 0.464 2.66 within groups 11.641 18 0.647 total 13.440 24 source: field, 2017 from the above table x, it could be seen at 0.5 that f-critical value (2.66) is greater than f-calculated vale (0.464) which implies that the null hypothesis was rejected. hence, there was a significant difference in english tense scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. hypothesis ii: there is no significant difference in english pronoun scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. table xiv: linguistic backgrounds linguistic backgrounds sum of squares df mean square f (cal) f (cri) between groups 6.155 8 0.769 1.772 2.55 within groups 7.383 17 0.434 total 13.538 25 source: field, 2017 from the above table, it could be seen at 0.05 that f-critical value (2.55) is greater than f-calculated value (1.772) which implies that the null hypothesis was rejected. hence, there is a significant difference in english pronoun scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. hypothesis iii: there is no significant difference in english spelling scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. table xi: linguistic backgrounds linguistic backgrounds sum of squares df mean square f (cal) f (cri) between groups 2.574 7 0.368 0.607 2.58 within groups 10.964 18 0.609 total 13.538 25 source: field, 2017 from the above table xii, it could be seen at 0.05 that f-critical value (2.58) is greater than f-calculated value (0.604) which implies that the null hypothesis was rejected. hence, there is a significant difference in english spelling scores of s tudents from different linguistic backgrounds. hypothesis iv: there is no significant difference in english pronunciation scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. table xiii: linguistic backgrounds linguistic backgrounds sum of squares df mean square f (cal) f (cri) between groups 3.794 3 1.265 2.855 3.05 within groups 9.744 22 0.443 total 13.538 25 source: field, 2017 from the above table xiii, it could be seen at 0.05 that f-critical value (3.05) is greater than f-critical value (2.855) which implies that the null hypothesis was rejected. hence, there is a significant difference in english pronunciation scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. 8. discussion of findings the focus of the study is the comparative analysis of english as a second language learners' errors across different linguistic backgrounds.  hypothesis one attempts to find out if there is no significant difference in english tense scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. findings from this study reveal that there is a significant difference in english tense copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 100 scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds as a result of l1 interference in their use of english tense. this agrees with rahman & maskud. a (2015) that efl learners' native language (l1) influence can be claimed to be one of the reasons behind their failure.  hypothesis two and research question one attempt to find out if there is no significant difference in english pronoun scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. findings from this study reveal that there is a significant difference in english pronoun scores of student from different linguistic backgrounds due to the fact that linguistic background of esl learners interferes with their use of english pronoun. this relates with ojetunde c. f (2012) that english pronoun errors are traceable to the cultural background of their linguistic background.  hypothesis three and research question two attempt to find out if there is no significant difference in english spelling scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. findings from this study reveal that there is a significant difference in english spelling scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. this supports ringbom & harvis (2009) findings that spelling problems are often influenced by cross-lingual transfer because learners apply pattern from their native language.  hypothesis four and research question three attempt to find out if there is no significant difference in english pronunciation scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. findings from this study reveal that there is a significant difference in english pronunciation scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds. this relates with avery & ehrlich (1992) that learners transfer their l1 sound patterns into the second language and this transfer is likely to cause foreign accent. it is reflected by the mispronunciation of words by non-native speakers. sound system of the native language can influence the learners’ pronunciation of a target language. 10. conclusion the aim of the researcher has been to do the comparative analysis of english as a second language learners' errors across different linguistic backgrounds among ssii students of akoko, ondo state and also to find out: if students from different linguistic backgrounds such as yoruba, hausa and igbo encounter similar difficulty in their use of english tenses, pronouns, spellings and pronunciation. since the finding reveals that there was a significant difference in english tense scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds, there was a significant difference in english pronoun scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds, there was a significant difference in english spelling scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds, there was a significant difference in the english pronunciation scores of students from different linguistic backgrounds, research efforts should be focused on the influence of linguistic background on students’ use and achievement in english language. 11. recommendation in line with the findings, conclusion and educational implication of this study, the following recommendations are made.  students are to be given time to pay attention to their use of english tenses, pronouns, spellings and pronunciation of english words so as to maximize their academic potentials and possibilities.  there is need to give the teachers chance to experience in-service training and seminars. this will make them conversant with current developments in pedagogy and language itself.  conversant use of correct tenses, pronouns, spelling and pronunciation of english language should be encouraged among secondary school students.  textbooks for english language teaching should be those, among other things, that throw light on some of the discovered english language problems and the solution to the problems.  school administrators need to provide appropriate learning materials that take care of the problems identified. references adeniyi f. o & tunde-awe b.m (2015) a study of 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(2008). error correction and good language learners. in griffiths (ed). lessons from good language learner (pp. 282-293). cambridge university press. smith. l (1976) english as an international auxiliary language. relc journal. vol 2. skinner, b. f. (1957). verbal behavior. new york: appleton-century-crofts. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 1 balance scorecard implementation challenges in institution of higher learning: overview of prior studies peter u. anuforo 1 , hazeline ayoup 2 & nasiru saidu 3 1 department of accounting, university of maiduguri nigeria, nigeria 2 tunku puteri intan safinaz school of accountancy (tissa-uum), college of business, universiti utara malaysia, 06010 uum sintok, kedah, malaysia 3 department of business administration, bauchi state university gadau, nigeria correspondence: peter u. anuforo, department of accounting, university of maiduguri nigeria, e-mail: peteru.love@gmail.com received: may 22, 2018 accepted: may 30, 2018 online published: june 8, 2018 abstract the incessant decline in the performance of malaysian public institution of higher learning since 2007 to date has brought to fore the question of its performance management process. studies have shown that performance management is a general phenomenon in the institution of higher learning worldwide. the implementation issues of balance scorecard (bsc) is more pronounced in the non-profit outfit and governmental organizations (npgos) compared to the profit-oriented outfit. reasons being that the bsc was originally developed and (or) meant for the profit-oriented outfit and not exactly the other way round. the purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the issues of performance management in the institution of higher learning and specifically regarding the implementation issues of bsc encountered among malaysia public institution of higher learning. this study provides a review of previous literature on the bsc implementation issues. several implementation issues identified from the literatures are strategy misalignment, strategy communication issues, manager’s acceptance/employees buy-in, the issue of clarity of vision, mission, strategy, and outcome, and strategy map implementation issues. findings revealed that the implementation issues of the bsc among malaysia public institution actually helps to unravel the pitfalls of bsc project and provides a roadmap show that can improve and sustain effective performance management. the implication of this study is aimed at providing the means by which the malaysian public institution of higher learning can identify the issues inherent in bsc implementation or strategy implementation and the way forward. keywords: balance scorecard, malaysia public institution of higher learning, performance management, strategy alignment, strategy map. 1.introduction the incessant decline in the performance of malaysian public institution of higher learning since 2007 to date has brought to fore the question of its performance management process. studies have shown that performance management is a general phenomenon in the institution of higher learning worldwide. thus, the main key determinant for success is “effective management”(lee2006). in spite of the fact that the bsc has been developed for over 20 years now, it still suffers from several implementation issues coupled with its lack of standard rules for implementation especially in the non-profit outfit and governmental organizations (npgos). therefore, understanding the cause of bsc implementation failure is fundamental to implementing a successful one. a good number of studies have indicated that organization that have decided to embark on adopting the bsc have encountered series of bsc implementation system issues such as manager’s acceptance/employees buy-in, strategy misalignment etc.(evans, 2005; mac phail, &halbert, 2005; kaplan & norton, 2006a; ayoup, omar, & rahman, www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 2 2015a). studies on the challenges encountered in bsc implementation process is very scarce, as such, this study aims to fill the gap in the literature. moreover, the purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the issue of performance management in the institution of higher learning. this research is structured as follows; section one outlines the overview of bsc concept, section two briefly discusses the bsc as a performance management system, section three gave a recap on the performance management in malaysia institution of higher learning which serves as a basis for discussing bsc implementation in institution of higher learning; found in section four, and then section five research method, section six presents the core of the study which is bsc implementation issues, thereafter section seven conclusion and recommendations. lastly section eight acknowledgements. 2.overview of bsc concept according to kaplan and norton(1996), the four perspectives of bsc are basically the factor that affects the performance of the organization, as such the misalignment of these perspectives in the bsc implementation process will inevitably lead to failure of the organization’s strategy. each perspective of the bsc tries to answer vital performance question. the strategic alignment of bsc perspectives is regarded as fundamental because it serves as a building block of organizations performance, for example, lee (2006), described the four perspectives of bsc as performance determinants as mentioned in his findings “there exist significant cause-effect relationships between performance determinants and the overall performance of the schools”. thus, the cause and effect relationship of bsc is a very vital determinant of the successful bsc implementation process. although, studies such as ittner, larcker, and randall, (2003a) reported that 75% of financial service firms ignored the cause and effect relationship of bsc perspectives. 3.the bsc as a performance management system the bsc is regarded as one of the most influential contemporary performance management and measurement concept that aligns both short-term strategic actions and long-term strategic goals of institutions (marr &schiuma, 2003; anjomshoae, hassan, kunz, wong, & de leeuw, 2017). the bsc model functions as both a performance measurement and management have attracted the interest of researchers, management scholars and practitioners since its introduction. it is used to measure the performance of both public and private sectors aimed at improving performance and achieving organization’s key strategies and objectives (zhijun, zengbiao, & zhang, 2014; shukri&ramli 2015; gamal, &soemantri, 2017).the key vital element of bsc is that it provides a unique system for measuring and managing all the various aspects of an institution’s performance and also plays the role of providing the needed clarity and specificity that makes firm’s strategy, vision and mission statement meaningful, actionable and achievable. the implementation issues of bsc are more pronounced in npgos compared to the profit-oriented outfit. reasons being that the bsc was originally developed and (or) meant for the profit-oriented outfit and not exactly the other way round. the failure rate in strategy implementation, especially in terms of bsc implementation in the recent years, is becoming alarming and uncalled for (alexander 1985, sterling 2003; kaplan &norton, 2004;kaplan, norton, & barrows, 2008; mankins & steele, 2005; cândido& santos, 2015; hu, leopoldwildburger, &strohhecker, 2017).however, in spite of all the overwhelming impact of bsc on improving and sustaining firm’s performance, the bsc still suffers a great deal of implementation issues leading to failure of the bsc project. for example, atkinson (2006) reported that about 70% of bsc implementation initiative failed over the years. hence, the need to identify the causes of bsc implementation pitfall is very paramount, so as to eliminate or minimize the failure rate cases, which is the main motive of this study. moreover, there is limited available evidence on studies that identified bsc implementation issues especially in the npgos. 4.performance management in malaysia institution of higher learning in malaysia, virtually all the institutions of higher learning are facing the issue of performance management, coupled with the rising height of competition both within and international academy arena. in a government research conducted between august 2006 and july 2007 on the assessment of the quality of malaysian public universities, reports revealed that public institutions of higher education in malaysia have been subjected under serious public scrutiny for failing to improve or at least emerge in international rankings with regards to offering outstanding education (mohamed 2007; azizan 2007; ramachandran & foo 2007; yu, hamid,ijab, & soo, 2009). also, binden, mziu, andsuhaimi, (2014) reported that since the establishment of the ministry of higher education (mohe) in 2004 the higher education in malaysia has become an important trend. deliberate efforts have been made in several ways possible to support and develop higher education in malaysia from different sectors of the economy be it the media, people and the government. similarly, in order to ensure the existence of a conducive ecosystem, which will eventually catapult into knowledge and excellence. thus, the ministry has introduced various policies to reinforce the national higher education. specifically, before 2020 the government is strategizing an articulated effort towards making malaysia the regional hub for higher education, as well as the main choice for international students and www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 3 intellectuals. moreover, how to go about achieving these targets is tasking considering the complexity of implementing the bsc project. the performance system of the institution of higher learning is a multifaceted socialized system that requires a holistic approach. thus, selection of appropriate performance management nowadays is very vital to the institution of higher learning because at the end of the day the outcome of the performance of such institution will determine the ranking profile of the university among its competing counterparts. for example, recently, there was a policy that was issued by the gov’t of one of the african countries (i.e. nigeria) regarding its student’s enrolment in the malaysian university. five best malaysian public universities were selected in this policy; as such this new policy affected the number of student’s enrolment in any of the malaysian university that fails to meet this criterion of “five best malaysian universities”. consequently, the choice of appropriate performance management such as bsc and the strategic implementation process is fundamental to the success and improvement of the ranking profile of contemporary institutions of higher learning, especially among the public malaysian universities. significant studies have provided evidence showing that bsc methodology is good performance management system especially when it is implemented properly (davis & albright, 2003; maiga & jacobs, 2003; braam & nijssen, 2004; kaplan & norton, 2006b). studies also show that whether a bsc project is successful or not, heavily depends on how the bsc is being implemented, used and interpreted (braam & nijssen, 2004; madsen, & stenheim, 2014). similarly, danesh haeri, and jafari, (2017, p.1), reported that “the momentous issue, in the implementation of bsc, is the proper selection of measures”. 5. bsc implementation in institution of higher learning kaplan and norton introduced the concept of bsc in1990 and presented it as both a financial and non-financial performance measures (karpagam & suganthi, 2012; philbin, 2011; taylor & baines, 2012). articles on bsc have indicated the bsc model is particularly well-suited for the non-profit outfit and governmental organizations (npgos) (niven 2008; pietrzak, paliszkiewicz & klepacki 2015; praptapa, &yahya, 2016; gamal, & soemantri, 2017). north cottand taulapapa (2012) highlighted that the npgos adopted the private sector performance management model (i.e. the bsc) with the aim of improving and demonstrating their accountability and performance to the central government. additionally, dimitropoulos, kosmas, and douvis, (2017) stressed that the application of bsc model in public sector is due to its “ability to link financial performance measures with customer focus, the improvement of internal processes and the enhancement of innovation and learning”. moreover, northcott and taulapapa (2012) highlighted that bsc implementation in public organizations promotes and emphasizes performance excellence, enhances top management commitment, improves staff training and promotes clear organizational strategy and objectives. although, one of the difficulty of implementing the bsc model is the need to modify the concept to reflect the peculiarity of the organization in question especially in terms of the institution’s mission, vision, strategy, technology, and culture; otherwise the intended result or benefit may not be achieved (kim, suh, & hwang, 2003; khomba, vermaak, & hanif, 2012; chimtengo, et al., 2017).thus, to achieve a successful bsc implementation requires the proper articulation and implementation of the holistic framework of bsc as presented by kaplan and norton (ayoup, et al., 2015a). 6. bsc implementation issues bsc implementation issues basically stem from the causal linkage of organization vision and strategy that is embedded in the four perspectives of the bsc and how the strategies in each perspective are integrated. the bsc suffers from several implementation issues despite the claim that it is the most regarded contemporary strategic management accounting tools that helps in improving organization performance (kaplan and norton 1992, 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2006; modell, 2012; ayoup, et al., 2016). several studies have also reported the significant positive impact of bsc implementation on firm performance (hoque& james, 2000; malina & selto, 2001; maiga & jacobs, 2003; davis & albright, 2004; braam & nijssen, 2004; ayoup, et al., 2015). in general, significant numbers of studies have highlighted the challenges encountered in performance management system (pms) implementation process to include among others communication strategy, support from information systems and top management, as well as employees/manager’s involvement commitment, and coordination (neely,adams & crowe, 2001; keating & harrington, 2003; kwak & anbari, 2006; fernandes, raja & whalley, 2006; umashev & willett, 2008;martello, watson & fischer, 2016). although, several studies have attempted to focus on one or at most two issues of bsc implementation rather than focusing on the holistic view of the issues. to fill the gap in the literature, this paper aims to provide insight into the holistic cause of bsc implementation issues. hence, the key issues that are associated with bsc implementation can be categorized under the following headings;  strategy misalignment  strategy communication issues  the challenges of manager’s acceptance/employees buy-in  the issue of clarity of vision, mission, strategy, and outcome www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 4  strategy map implementation issues note that the above issues are so much inter-related such that the failure of one automatically affects the implementation process. for example, regarding communication of organization’s strategies between employees and management, findings by trahant (2008) indicate that there is “a strong correlation between effective employee communication and superior organizational performance”. 6.1strategy misalignment strategic alignment within the context of this study refers to the alignment of organization’s objectives, strategies, measures, targets and initiatives (ayoup et al., 2016). strategy alignment process involves the means (strategy map) by which the management communicates and streamline the organization’s broad objectives in line with its mission, vision, and strategy. it also entails the alignment of both financial and non-financial measures and the cause and effect relationship among the bsc perspective measures. in 2006, kaplan and norton introduced the concept of organizational alignment model which is aimed at curbing strategy misalignment in bsc implementation process (ayoup et al., 2016). according to skinner (1969), strategy misalignment is the missing link between “corporate level strategies and its different parts”. several studies have identified factors that affect strategic alignment (nadler &tushman 1997; melnyk, calantone, luft, stewart, & zsidisin, 2005; kathuria, joshi, &porth, 2007). moreover, one of the major issues of bsc implementation is strategy misalignment. for example, firms that implement bsc and is still experiencing low performance, in most cases the problem can be attributable to strategy misalignment among other issues (bergeron, raymond &rivard, 2004). bsc as a strategic tool that promotes strategy alignment has brought to fore so many mixed results, especially among the practitioner and researcher. contrary to the strategy misalignment that may be encountered during the course bsc implementation; the bsc facilitates the alignment of all facets of organization’s objective by linking the mission, vision, and strategy (kaplan & norton, 2006; ayoup et al., 2016). ayoup et al. (2016, p1) stressed that the organizational alignment model of kaplan and norton “is specially developed to complement the bsc implementation process in managing strategy misalignment”. in spite of the model developed by kaplan and norton, the issue of strategic alignment still persist perhaps is due to the point raised by schneiderman (2001) which suggest that “the key to linking strategic alignment is not the bsc itself, but the underlying processes that make it”. vaidyanathan (2005) supported this view by highlighting that understanding the links between organization’s activities, resources, and the desired outcome promotes the implementation of organizational strategies. the management of strategic alignment entails a change process (kaplan & norton, 2006; ayoup et al., 2015a). thus, managing strategy misalignment involves “managing all organizational hard (such as the system, policies, and procedures) and soft elements” (nadler & tushman, 1997; ayoup, et al., 2016). another cause of strategic misalignment is due to focusing on limited functional strategy and lack of utilizing the holistic strategic alignment framework of bsc during the implementation process (ayoup, et al., 2015a). according to ayoup, et al. (2015a) strategy misalignment may lead to “undesirable implications such as unaligned strategic objectives between the divisions; measures that may neither be fully understood nor implemented; targets could be compromised or unattainable; key initiatives and investments may not be prioritized, lack of optimal or inadequate funding which may require costly corrections”. more so, the results of the findings of ayoup et al. (2015b, p1) on factors affecting strategic alignment indicates that “top management commitment, effective communication, management intention, manager’s acceptance to the system and its measures and trust have implications on successful bsc implementation and strategic alignment process”. in addition, studies such as decoene and bruggerman (2006) also highlighted some negative impact of strategy misalignment on firm performance especially in terms of managers’ intrinsic motivation on improving firm performance. 6.2the issues of manager’s acceptance/employees buy-in to get the buy-in of employees is very vital because the employees are indispensable and integral part of every organizational function and are considered as the backbone of successful bsc implementation (kaplan & norton 1996a; kaplan & norton 2006b). in most cases, an organization that successfully implement bsc tend to be the ones in which their employees understand clearly the institution’s strategy and vision (slavica, et al., 2017). thus, this is mostly being achieved by aligning employee’s incentives and reward system with the institution’s strategies. for example, some articles on bsc have identified the impact of lack of developing a suitable link between employees reward system and organization’s kpis (ittner, larcker& meyer, 1997; roest 1997; kaplan & norton, 2001, 2004; chan 2004; ayoup, et al., 2012). also, in order to get the buy-in of employees/manager will involve achieving the objectives of the learning and growth perspective of bsc. thus, this involves communicating the institutions’ strategy to the employees, integrating the institution’s strategy with the on-going management process and integrating employee’s task and incentives to their reward system. employees buy-in entails their involvement, commitment and dedication in the bsc implementation process (ayoup, et al., 2016). the failure of the abovewww.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 5 mentioned points may warrant and constitutes the pitfalls of bsc implementation strategy. for example, the findings of malina and selto (2001) show that if the bsc is not properly designed and implemented, it can actually de-motivate employees. issues involving employees/manager’s buy-in can also arise as a result of poor management roles in the implementation process, lack of communication and commitment to the stipulated strategy (aaltonen & ikavalko, 2002). the findings of mayer and gavin (2005) shows that employees’ trust in managers and top management team enables them to focus more on value-producing activities. more so, strategic consensus between the manager and employees in bsc implementation process is very vital because according to schaap (2012) strategic consensus fosters shared values and attitudes as well as enhances “frequent top-down and bottom-up communication within the organizational structure”. according to ayoup et al (2015a), “the bsc provides a common frame of reference for all managers in making decisions and helps clarify the choices of performance measures that would strategically align the various components in a company”. also, the strategy map provides a clear presentation of organizational strategy to the manager but the issue encountered by the managers in most cases, is the difficulty of understanding the information provided and the usage (ayoup, et al., 2016). according to de waal and coevert (2007), successful bsc implementation suffers, when a manager fails to understand that his role in the implementation process has a way of exerting an impact on organization’s performance. essentially, kaplan and norton (2001) stressed that one of the main reasons that causes bsc implementation failure is due to lack of commitment on the part of the senior management team. thus, manager’s acceptance is vital because they are considered as the drivers and implementers of the bsc. similarly, articles on bsc have indicated that the employees also are the key pivotal mechanism for success, especially in the service sectors, since they play a significant role in. virtually all the perspectives of bsc (ittner,larcker & randall 2003; lau & sholihin 2005; dimitropoulos, et al., 2017). overall, kaplan and norton (2004) have identified that one of the critical success factor (csf) of bsc implementation is getting adequate support from both managers and employees at all levels of the organization, hence anything short of this criterion may produce undesirable performance result. although, the difficulty here, is how to cascade the strategies to the top-down individual managerial level. in general, according to dimitropouloset al. (2017, p17) “good preparation and training are very important for the proper implementation of bsc but the key element is dedication toward performance management starting from the top management to employees”. similarly, findings by ferreira, (2017) while employing the qualitative case study approach supported this view, in that “findings suggests that the involvement of top manager and/or executive management is one of the critical success factors of the bsc project”. moreover, according to kaplan and norton (2001), the lack of this key element of dedication or commitment on the part of the senior team management to a large extent heavily affects bsc implementation project. akin to this view is the study by othman, domil, senik, abdullah, and hamzah (2008) on malaysian organization which revealed some peculiar bsc implementation issues. one of the issues identified by othman et al., (2008) regarding bsc implementation system in malaysia organization is basically lack of support from managers. similarly, a good number of studies have identified that manager’s lack of knowledge and skills as well as the clear purpose of the organization’s bsc implementation constitutes the bulk of bsc implementation failure (moore 2003; chan 2004; mcphail, herington, & guilding, 2008; ayoup, et al., 2012). 6.3strategy communication issues strategy communication is described as “the process of communicating organizational strategic vision, mission, and corporate objectives to employees at all the levels of the organization management process (kaplan & norton, 2001, 2006b)”. according to kaplan and norton, (2001, p3), “nowadays, organizations need a language that serve as a medium of communicating strategy as well as information systems and processes that enable them to implement strategy and gain feedback about their strategy”. in performance management system (pms) implementation, communication has been regarded as one of the vital criteria for success (beer &eisenstat, 2000; ahn, 2001; kaplan & norton, 2001, 2006; atkinson, 2006; ayoup, et al., 2016). studies have indicated that during the course of strategy implementation process of bsc, strategy communication is heavily emphasized. kaplan and norton (2001) emphasized the critical role of bsc by highlighting that the bsc provides a framework of communication strategy that assist in aligning organizational strategy. the issue of communication strategy in bsc implementation process can be addressed through proper and suitable adoption/adaption of the bsc (atkinson, 2006). merchant (1987) pointed out that communication failure is one of the major cause of weak strategy implementation. according to malina and selto (2001) effective organizational communication strategy includes providing valid message, knowledge sharing and supporting the organizational culture. another issue encountered during the course of communicating organizational strategy in bsc implementation is the difficulty in documenting the detail processes and procedures of the bsc project (ayoup et www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 6 al., 2010). also, the issue of how to communicate the content and process of the strategy (ayoup, et al., 2016).another overwhelming issue of bsc implementation system is the level of support and link between organizational information and communication system (kaplan & norton’s 2001; richardson, 2004; pandey 2005; ayoup, et al., 2012). 6.4improper strategy map design and the causal model development the strategy map which functions as a causal relationship between the perspectives of bsc enables the managers to understand how outcome or lagging indicators or (i.e. financial and customer perspectives) are affected by performance drivers or leading indicators (process and learning and growth perspective) (kaplan & norton, 2004; park, et al., 2017). kaplan and norton (2004) also described the strategy map “as a pictorial diagram used by managers to explicitly describe their strategy and it cause-and-effect relationship among the four performance perspectives”. kaplan and norton (2004) stressed that strategy map is one of the critical success factors of bsc implementation. additionally, othman (2006) outlined that the strategy map helps in supporting effective bsc implementation. on the contrary, significant criticism has been leveled against strategy map by both practitioners and researchers especially on the basis of its application. strategy map illustrates the causal relationship that links the internal business process and learning and growth as the drivers of the desired outcomes in customer and financial perspectives measures. the strategy map is regarded as the core and heart of bsc medium of communication, in the sense that any mistake or failure in the development process could eventually lead to miscommunication of strategy. thus, the issues inherent in strategy map development includes; how to choose the best objectives from the list of strategy themes, measurability of the objectives, alignment of the selected objective with that of upper level division, cause and effect relationship linkage of the bsc perspectives, translation of the institutions’ mission, vision and strategy into measures and objectives, managers’ level of competency and commitment. the strength and central idea of bsc lie in developing a strategic causal model, which according to davis and albright (2004) about 77% of bsc implementers in the usa recorded failure simply because of improper development of the causal model strategy. although, othman, (2008) stressed that one of the fundamental problems of the causal model strategy of bsc is rooted in the limitations of the strategy map as a tool that represents the causal relationship of organization’s strategy. as a solution to the foregoing issue, othman, (2008), suggested that understanding the causal relationship between the performance drivers and the desired outcomes is a prerequisite to developing a good strategic causal model. the lack of standard rule in bsc implementation process constitutes a major challenge in developing a suitable strategy map because according to the originator of the concept, it has to be adopted and modified to reflect the peculiarity of the institution or organization concerned (roest, 1997 and kaplan & norton 2004). similarly, studies have indicated that the lack of a specific method to guide organizations in developing a causal model of their strategy contribute to bsc pitfalls (malmi, 2001; speckbacher, bischof, & pfeiffer, 2003; othman, 2008). although, kaplan and norton (1992, 2004, p5) outlined that in order to ensure successful implementation of strategy map “every organization” should implement their strategy map such that it will reflect the uniqueness and peculiarity of their organization’ mission, vision, and strategy. note that the failure of this stage of bsc implementation process will eventually lead to misalignment of organizational strategy, a breach in communication strategy, lack of clear vision, mission and strategy, and ultimately failure of employees/managers buy-in due to “missing link between strategy formulation and execution”. hence, the importance of the strategy map in bsc implementation cannot be overemphasized. more so, the improper implementation of the strategy map may render the strategic communication value of strategy map futile. because fundamentally, the strategy map functions as a communication tool by which organization communicates their strategic vision and mission to all the managerial levels (ayoup, et al., 2010). 6.5lack of clarity of vision, mission, strategy and outcome studies by ahn (2001) indicated that failure in strategy formulation constitutes poor implementation of the strategy. atkinson (2006) findings revealed that due to the issues encountered in bsc implementation, only as low as 30% bsc implementers derived its usefulness. consistent with the findings of atkinson is the survey result conducted by rigby (2007), which shows that the level of satisfaction derived from bsc implementers is less than average. beer and eisenstat (2000) also identified that lack of clear strategy, misplaced priorities, and poor communication constitutes the issues of strategy implementation failure. several studies have indicated that lack of adequate awareness on the part of the employees to know the need to align the organization’s strategy with objective constitutes bsc implementation issues (langfield-smith, 2008; chan, hons, chan &okumus 2012; mithas, tafti, & mitchell, 2013; ayoup, et al., 2015). also, using the case study qualitative approach, the findings of ayoup et al. (2015) revealed that three vital steps undertaken by the company to ensure strategic alignment in their bsc implementation process involves “creating awareness on the need for www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 7 alignment, setting a common understanding of the issue and developing a systematic and formal implementation procedure”, hence any deviation from this norm or strategy may constitute an unpleasant performance outcome. according to ayoup (2009), while employing the qualitative case study approach found out that the development of corporate mission and vision is essentially the starting point in bsc implementation process and also added that this is the stage that serves as “the basis for the top management of the company to develop its strategic company’s direction or objectives and goal”. hence, any error at this level of bsc implementation process will constitute a serious implementation issue. in as much as there is lack of understanding of the bsc concept, with regards to the best measures applicable to a specific objective, failure is bound to occur regardless of whether the organization in question has fully adopted the bsc tools or not (kaplan & norton 1992and moore 2003). 7. research methodology this paper aims to discuss previous research that is related to bsc implementation. thus, this study is replete with prior studies on bsc which mainly focuses on bsc implementation issues. moreover, this study provides an extensive literature review search, using the keywords “bsc implementation issues” to search for relevant extant articles and conference papers from different online database sources such as google scholar, research gate, emerald management plus etc. the articles used in this study are from reputable journal with high impact factor. also, articles on bsc ranging from the inception of the concept (i.e. 1992) to 2018 were used in this study. 8.conclusion and recommendation the purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the issue of performance management in the institution of higher learning and specifically regarding the implementation issues of bsc encountered among malaysia public institution of higher learning. also, the motivation of this study also gained weight since it is in response to the call for a future study by dimitropoulos, et al., 2017). findings indicate that the major reason for the poor performance of bsc implementers especially among the malaysian public institution of higher learning is due to the issues bordering the bsc implementation process. bsc implementation issues are so much inter-related such that the failure of one automatically affects the implementation process. and these issues include strategy misalignment, strategy communication issues, manager’s acceptance/employees buy-in, the issue of clarity of vision, mission, strategy, and outcome, and strategy map implementation issues. hence, this study serves as a basis to guide bsc adopters, especially among the malaysian educational institution. thus, identification of the issues bordering the bsc implementation process helps to provide an institution of higher learning with a more crystal clear view on how to successfully implement bsc devoid of any sort of flaws or at worst with minimal pitfalls. in other words, identifying the implementation issues of bsc is critical to successfully designing and developing a bsc system, particularly in the institution of higher learning. additionally, the findings of this study indicate that a successful implementation of bsc depends solely in the organization’s ability to identify the key issues inherent in the strategy implementation process, which invariably provides the organization with a better understanding of the bsc implementation project. moreover, findings show that the implementation issues of the bsc among malaysia public institution actually helps to unravel the implementation pitfalls of bsc which provides a roadmap showing how the institution of higher learning can improve and sustain effective performance management. essentially, this finding supports the findings of dimitropouloset al.,(2017) even though their study relates to bsc implementation in a “local government sports organization” the implication of this study lies in both theoretical and practical contribution. this study provides a valuable insight into the main key issues of bsc implementation, particularly in the public sector. in other words, this study basically provides the means by which the malaysian public institution of higher learning can identify the issues inherent in bsc implementation or strategy implementation and the way forward. thus, the study sets a roadmap to show the implementing a hitch-free bsc that is devoid of the issues bordering the implementation process, hence ensures the sustenance of effective performance management as a recommendation, understanding these key issues of bsc pitfall will assist in giving valuable insight to managers, especially those that are struggling with the bsc implementation process or other related management concepts. to achieve a successful bsc implementation requires the proper articulation and implementation of the holistic framework of bsc as presented by kaplan and norton. moreover, based on the outcome of this study, as a prerequisite to implementing a successful bsc, it is highly recommended that institution of higher learning needs to identify the issues bordering its bsc implementation process so as to be able to derive the benefit arising from implementing a successful bsc model thereby improving and sustaining its overall performance. the major limitation of this study stems from the conceptuality of the research. thus, future studies should consider conducting the empirical study so as to ensure more detail investigations into bsc implementation pitfalls and dysfunctions because different types of bsc implementation issues can arise at a different point during the course of bsc implementation process, particularly in the npgos. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 8 acknowledgements i want express my sincere heartfelt gratitude to dr. hazeline ayoup for her valuable input and contribution. this article would not have been possible without her resourceful supervision and guidance. references aaltonen, p., &ikävalko, h. 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(2009). the e-balanced scorecard (e-bsc) for measuring academic staff performance excellence.higher education, 57(6), 813-828. zhijun, l. i. n., y. u. zengbiao, and liqun zhang."performance outcomes of balanced scorecard application in hospital administration in china."china economic review 30 (2014): 1-15. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 1 the pair lion motif in shiva temple of medieval bengal: its source and evaluation sk. zohirul islam 1, 2 1 research student, department of islamic history & culture, university of dhaka, bangladesh 2 researcher, the international centre for study of bengal art, banani, dhaka, bangladesh correspondence: sk. zohirul islam, department of islamic history & culture, university of dhaka, bangladesh. email: zohirdu84@gmail.com to cite this article: islam, s. z. (2018). the pair lion motif in shiva temple of medieval bengal: its source and evaluation. american international journal of social science research, 3(1), 1-12. retrieved from http://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr/article/view/138 received: august 13, 2018 accepted: august 19, 2018 online published: september 1, 2018 abstract lions, particularly male lions, have been an important symbol for thousands of years and appear as a theme in cultures across europe, asia, and africa. the cultural significance of stucco pair lion motif in shiva temples of bengal and relates with various types of representation of the same motif found in others. the pair lion used as stucco (jora shiva temple, muroli, jessore district). shiva is the braver among the all god and goddesses in hindu religion during the early period and still. thus we have found many shiva temple build in bengal (present west bengal(paschimbango) and bangladesh). this article try to analyses about how the pair lion motif is depicting of the shiva temple and what is the relation between shiva and lion under mythology and purana. shiva is the second most important male deity of hindu. the usual shiva –lingam’s which were mainly worshipped in the temples and under trees or in an open space. we would have tried to decipher about pair lion motif decoration of 18th – 19th century shiva temple of bangladesh. those would have to help the history of evaluation of stylized art waves is coming out by its decoration motif with ritual, beliefs and faith of bengal society. we may look at the artistic tradition of lion sculptures those are widely found from different parts of west bengal and bangladesh. keywords: pair lion, motif, shiva temple, bangladesh. “the myth is not my own, i had it from my mother.” --euripides 1 mailto:zohirdu84@gmail.com www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 2 introduction lions, particularly male lions, have been an important symbol for thousands of years and appear as a theme in cultures across europe, asia, and africa. 2 the most consistent depiction is in keeping with their image of "king of the jungle" or "king of the beasts", lions are popular symbols of royalty, heraldry, stateliness and a symbol of bravery. the common motif of the "majestic and powerful" lion was introduced to china by buddhist missionaries from india, somewhere in the 1st century ad. 3 hindu believes that lions protect humans from evil spirits, and frequently used in sculpture, decoration in traditional bengali architecture. the lion motif 4 used in as terracotta and sculpture in architecture of bengal as like various animal. on the other hand, pair lion pattern depicted as decorative format. sometimes single lion appeared as horse shape 5 (plate 17), snake shape, man shape 6 (plate 15), kirttimukha 7 , shimhamukha 8 and narshimhna. basically, lion used as bahan or vehicle of durga as uma/mahishmordini deities (plate 4). the association of durga with lion is common ritual embrace, believed to bring a lion and is practiced in bengal. uma is wife of shiva. shiva is the braver among the all god. 9 this paper will attempt to reconstruct a setting , the milieu, how the pair lion motif is depicting in shiva temple during the 18 th to 19 th century and what is the relation between shiva and lion under mythology and purana? as per my preliminary study, there have found six shiva temple in bangladesh where used this pair lion motif. it’s used in the main facade and over the main entrance of the temple, as: jora shiva mondir (plate 1), muroli, jessore; shila roy mondir (plate 2), birampur, jessore; putiya shiva temple (plate 5) rajshahi; krishna temple at dinajpur rajbari; chandina shiva temple (plate 18), comilla and akhra para mondir (plate 3) muroli, jessore. jora shiva temple, jessore jora shiva temple towards northwest, at a distance of about 200 yeards, of the imambara and close to the muroli jessore metalled road are to be seen two east facing single chambered temples standing abrest in a north south line.they are similar in size and shape. there used the pair lion motif as stucco with pilaster in this temple (plate 1) facade at muroli under jessore district. this stucco made by usually white lime and grey red color. it is a real lion and its mane, tail, and paws are showing as a running position. it is rampant style lion. this temple contains an inscription which records the date of construction in 1189 bs equal 1784 ad. 10 this temple stands on a solid platform which is 2 feet 6 inch in height. the building proper is 16 feet square in plan externally and has an arched doorway on it’s east. akrapara temple, jessore akhrapara mondir (plate 3) content found same illustration. at present, it is very fragile. the temple's survival is threatened by the newly established school nearby and the lack of conservation efforts. this temple is situated on the north west of muroli bus stoppage at a distance about 300 feet, is lying a south facing building that goes by the name akhrapar mondir’s. it stands on a 4 feet high solid platform and occupies a rectangular space measuring 42 feet since from north to south and 25 feet 3 inch from east to west. on ground of its architecture, the date of late 19 th century ad. 11 shila ray temple, jessore plate 2, here, same pair lion motif/illustration depicted on the above of entrance façade with stucco decoration. local people have been colored with modern white color. it is not protected monument of department of archaeology of bangladesh. it is shila ray chowdhury bari temple and situated at birampur of jessore sadar upozila and closed by nayapara ray family zaminder house beside bhairab river passing away. puthia temple, rajshahi (plate 5) this temple erected between 1823 and 1895 ad, by one of the maharani’s (rani bhubon mohini) of the puthia estate. beside jagaddhatri or bara annik temple has also triangle terracotta plaque and used running lion position. it is late 18 th century ad temple. now it is protected monument of department of archaeology of bangladesh. 12 here lion figure depicted as terracotta pattern. krishna temple, dinajpur here same illustration depicting and cultured by terracotta plaques. this temple is adjacent of dinajpur rajbari complex, erected 1752, by maharaja pran nath of dinajpur. chandina shiva temple comilla candina shiva temple (plate 18), is aat chala type temple in 19 th century and contemporary of jessore jora shiva mondir chanchra shiva temple. here same pair lion illustration depicting above on the entrance. it is also stucco decoration. the chanchra shiva temple is aat chala shiva temple in jessore, which is built in 1696 ad in according to sanskrit inscription on a brick tablet and the 18 th century rameshwar temple at naldhanga closed by. 13 others architecture in west bengal temple architecture, have found depicted lion figure, not a real shape of lion, along with shiva temple. we find the shape of snake’s mouth of lion in hugly temple and madanmohon temple at bishnupur bankura.there are many temple, where we have found lion motif used as terracotta form and also, various example in buddhist vihara, as: paharpur mahavihara at naogaon, shalban vihar in mainamoti at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/europe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/asia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/monarchy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/buddhism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chinese_architecture www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 3 comilla(plate 8 and 9). same type corner bonding juxtaposed animals terracotta plaque (plate 7) at the top pair lion in jessore naldanga temple (now it preserved at gurusadoy museum). in british period, we got pair lion form used in the main gate of palace architecture as example is that balihati zaminder palace, pattishar kachari house(plate 23) of rabindranath tagor at sirajganj, which is people called lion gate(shinho daraja). friezes of walking lions are found between the horizontal moldings on the seventeenth century mathurapur deul. here lions have fantastic heads and long tails(michell, 1983: 160). sometimes lions appear in wall panels of eighteenth century temple (bahabpur); on letter temples seated lions fill triangular panels above the corners (many 19 th century midnapur examples). confronted lions raising themselves up on their paws are sometimes used as a parapet (alangiri raghunath temple), or as part of a neoclassical frame (chandrakana shiva temple in gazipur). 14 hindu myth and religion shiva is the second most important male deity of bengal. shiva -lingam which were mainly worshipped in the temples. durga is famous deity also and durga is wife of shiva and lion is as a bahan of goddesses uma/durga. 15 the mahisasurmardini motif (plate 4, 12 & 13) is common on many of the late medieval brick temple of bengal, where durga riding her vehicle lion as pratapeswar temple of ambika kalna at burdwan built in 1849; bisheshwar temple of sribati at burdwan; the radaha gobinda temple, aatpur (antpur, plate 14) was built in 1787, constructed by krishnaram mitra, the dewan of maharaja of burdwan; ramchandra temple, guptipara, hooghly; rajrajeswar temple, kotolpur (hooghly); and jagatdhattri, naldanga temple, jessore(plate 6). shiva is also the creative, fertile, generative principle and in this aspect he is represented by the phallic symbol of the lingam. several books in sanskrit and bangla have been written about shiva. among them shivapurana, rghuvamsa(2.35:410), lingapurana and bhagavadgita(3.37:411) (alain danielou, 1991:220) are more noted. in the bangla mangalkavya, the story of shiva is an essential component of the canto about gods. childless women of both muslim and hindu communities visit these temples, believing that shiva can make them fertile. 16 the pillars of the mauryan emperor ashoka have lion sculptures as a symbol of royal power (plate 11). though, lion is part of some jataka stories, panchtantra, kalila-wa-dimna, gilgamesh, samson, heraclea, sphinx etc. common people, the artists were also interested in lions. but mostly imagination was used to draw the images and this fact becomes clear from the figures where the edge of the mouth is like a horse. in another side, its eyes and eyebrows are slightly engraved, the presentation of lions – paws with sharps nails, mane, tail, neck and back of the body proved that the images were made lions. 17 as well as we have found clear scene about horse and lion in mirtulata terracotta plaque of antpur temple of hugly (plate 14). especially, horse’s mouth is long shape and thin, but lion face is round shape. on the other hand, in buddhism lions are symbolic of the bodhisattavas, 18 the sons of the buddha or buddha’s lion. bodhisattvas are being who have attained a high level of spiritual development. the lion in their role of dharma protectors supporting the throne of the buddha’s and bodhisattvas (jampa chosky, 1988: 28). they are also found at the entrance of the monasteries and shrines, in the northern area of nepal, influenced by tibetan buddhism and art. the iconographic representation of the lion originated in persia. 19 a lion faced dakini, a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy, appears in tibetan buddhism. the tibetan buddhist from in known as simhamukha in sanskrit and senge dongma. discussion it is also a matter of surprise and investigation that why in the 19 th century and the succeeding years when under the british patronization the composite european motif from europe was brought up efficiently in the bengalese temple architecture, a simultaneous used lion, sahib figures as well as in the mughal emperor jahangir’s painting, 20 where a lion sat under jahangir’s leg. however, this illustration depicting in shiva temple architecture on the facade and main entrance during 18th & 19th century in bengal, was three reasons as: firstly, though this pattern used at paharpur, mainamati buddhist vihara in ancient bangladesh i.e. lion is depicting in stone sculpture of shiva parvati, which is preserved at mainamati archaeological museum at comilla. another one is that two lion one head based terracotta plaque in corner bonding ornament in shalban vihara at mainamati in comilla(plate 8). those are 9 th to 11 th centuries art. next 17 th century when again hindu temple architecture flourishes then it’s used. may be, this pattern was come as attracting pleasure of british and where many british were painting on lion hunting more. though, lion is an asian animal. may be it’s came by local influence and ritual stylized. secondly, may be not come this influence from nepal or china, then it’s used generally in our house doorway easily, because lion is the most significant for china and also nepal; nepal’s people used in their house for removing them from saitan/devil. though chinese guardian lions are frequently used in sculpture in traditional chinese architecture. for instance, in the forbidden city in beijing, two lion statues are seen in almost every door entrance. actually, the common motif of the majestic and powerful lion was introduced to china by buddhist missionaries from india, sometimes in the 1 st century ad. thirdly, lion is not bahan of shiva, shiva’s bahan is garur, yet uma, who is called durga and in here we know by the myth and purana says that uma’s bahan is lion. thus they used lion in shiva temple. lion is a braver http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=mangalkavya www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 4 symbol and fertile also(plate 16). hindu women believe shiva lingam is a symbol of fertile and thus they go to shiva temple to worship it before of pregnancy for getting good position of fertile. 21 beside this, east india company defeated nawab in 1757 as well as after defeated tipu sultan, east india company published shield and medal where they used lion and next their emblem pattern was pair lion in 1777 (divyabhansinh, 2005:116). the “seringapatam medal” struck to commemorate the deafeat of tipu sultan in 1799 (plate 21) has the british lion conquering tipu’s tiger -engraving in medal. this is national museum of scotland collection. it is the arms of rajkumar college in 1870 ad at rajkot (plate 20). here two lion is showing their rajvokti, we see throne is on the head of lion. 22 it shows pair or two rampant lions regandant. the arms of the east india company in 1709 ad (plate 19). and also we have found book‘s title page of british period and government of bengal published from department of industries in 1903 ad (plate 22), where used coat of the arms of the british. now it is preserved at bangladesh national museum, dhaka. here used emblem of british empire in contemporary, they struck everywhere for showing their power. though the pair lion motif was the symbol of british from victorian age, which is a symbol of brave, strength courage. we have noticed that lion used asoka pillar (the coat of arms of uk, plate 10), 23 which used more than earlier of british. also, the coat of arms of india (plate 11) was taken from the sarnath lion capital that was built by an indian emperor named asoka. it's a pillar in the city named sarnath. asoka built it around 250 bc. usually, the pair lion symbol depicted like roman counterpart “janus” – “jana”, 24 like “yesterday” and “today” as well as weighing “life” and “laws” in her balance “protector” and “fertile” in according to british influence. which is the mentioned of british imperial power(jack tresidder, 2004: 291). conclusion motif stands for a constituent feature of a painting, sculpture or a architectural monument. in such a composition it appears as a symbolic or stylistic representation of the main theme to be elaborated on or developed. sometimes a repeated figure in design of art also creates a motif. it is used mainly for enhancing the decorative value of the concerned work (sudipa, 2002:1). gautam sengupta who first drew attention to somewhat similar foliated tail end of the lion on terracotta plaques. found from the buddhist monastic establishment of jagjivanpur in malda district of west bengal. says “…there is an element of comicality in the rendering of lions, their tails swinging upwards and ending in a flowershaped knot.” 25 the pair lions as guardians of the temple are represented in pair at the entrance of compounds. we may look at the artistic tradition of lion sculptures those are widely found from different parts of west bengal and bangladesh. though lion is believes of hindu religion, yet especially it has been spread with temple architecture during the late medieval period by british influence. notes and references 1. rama p. coomaraswamy,the door in the sky: coomaraswamy on myth and meaning, princeton university, usa, 1997, p.28. 2. the lion is the most ferocious beast among wild creatures. because of its large body, huge strength, mane and some other qualities, the lion is called the king of the animals. from primitive era the lion is considered as the symbol of strength and power. 3. gupta, s. p., the roots of indian art (a detailed study of the formative period of indian art and architecture: third and second centuries b.c. mauryan and late mauryan), b. r. publication, delhi, 1980, pp. 121-122. (see also asokan pilalar at sarnath plate 3a). 4. explaining the terms “motif” the well known folklorist stith thompson writes, “while the term motif is used very closely to include any of the elements going into a traditional tale, it must be remembered that in order to become a real part of the tradition on element must have something about it that will make people remember and repeat it” a lion itself is not a motif but a flying lion becomes one, because it is a least thought to be unusual. 5. horse shape lion in surul at birbhum; gaja singho in bishnupur at bunkura. 6. man shape,fig. 27, amiyo kumer bandyopadyay, “mandir bhaskarje protifolito samajchittra”, paschimbanger mondir terracotta, calcutta, 2008. 7. krittimukha is a decorative motif showing the grinning face of a lion. (fig.73, pravha tarana, fig. 74, sketh: 2, sudipa bandyapadhyay, 2002). 8. singhomuk (snake shape) in madanmohon temple of bishnupur at bankura; singhomanob(triangle sculpture) in baranagar at murshidabad. 9. banglapedia: national encyclopedia of bangladesh, (chief editor sirajul islam) asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, vol. 9,2003, p. 273,(“shiva” by paresh chandra mandal). 10. md. mosharraf hossain, greater jessore: archaeological survey report, department of archaeology of bangladesh, dhaka, 2005, p.14. 11. md. mosharraf hossain, greater jessore: archaeological survey report, department of archaeology of bangladesh, dhaka, 2005, p.15. 12. nazly chowdhuri and babu ahamed, selected hindu temples of bangladesh,(ed. dr. md. shafiqul alam) unesco, dhaka, 2005,p.37. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/coat_of_arms http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=sarnath_lion_capital&action=edit&redlink=1 http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/ashoka www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 5 13. nazimuddin ahmed, discover the monuments of bangladesh,(a guide to their history, location and developments), john sandy(ed.), the university press limited, dhaka,1984, pp.105-106 14. george michell, (ed.) brick temples of bengal, new jersey: princeton university press, 1983, p.160. 15. banglapedia: national encyclopedia of bangladesh, 2003, (chief editor sirajul islam) asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, vol. 9, p. 273,(“shiva” by paresh chandra mandal). 16. ibid. 17. see also, muhammad shohrab uddin and shaermin rezowana, “animal (mammal) representation in somapura mahabihara in situ terracotta plaques”, journal of bengal art, vol. 17, 2012, p.194, (pl. 15.10, 15.11, 15.13 and 15.16). 18. ven. jampa chisky, “symbolism of animals in buddhism,” buddhist himalaya, vol. 1, no.1, gokan co. ltd., 1988, p.37. 19. ibid. 20. asok kumar das, mughal painting during jahangir’s time, the asiatic society of kolkata, calcutta, india, 1978, plate 64; others related painting “the dauphin”, francois of valos, son of francis 1 of frence. later sixteenth century french engraving, tinted and inlaid into a surround of cherubs holding a cram and the lion lying down with the lamb , themes which frequently occur in portraits of himself ordered by jahangir. c. 1610-20 ad, 20.4 × 28.7 cm. ink and wash on paper. (see. mughal miniatures, by j. m. rogers, british museum press, 1993, london, fig. 73, p. 105); king of the world : the padshanama (an imperial mughal manuscript from the royal library, windsor castle), milo creveland beach and ebba koch with new translations by wheeler thackston, azimuth editions: sackler gallery, 1997, new delhi. 21. ibid., banglapedia. and also see b. n. mukhajee, “an early syncretistic icon”, in hakim habibur rahman khan commemoration volume, enamul haque (ed.), icsba, 2001, dhaka, p. 63, (article no. 3, plate. 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3). 22. divyabhanusinh, the story of asia’s lions, marg publications, mumbai, 2005.p.116. 23. divyabhanusinh, the story of asia’s lions, marg publications, mumbai, 2005.p.118. 24. jack tresidder, (ed.), the complete dictionary of symbols in myth, art and literature, duncan baird publishers, london, 2004, p. 291, see, the lions of yesterday and tomorrow from an illustration to an ancient egyptian “book of the dead”. 25. sutapa sinha, “a new light on the significance of lion motif appeared on coins and on single inscription of the sultans of bengal”, journal of bengal art, vol. 16, 2011, p.139-155, dhaka,(plate 10.16a, b & c). acknowledgement: i wish to express my sincere gratitude to asian university of bangladesh for allowing me to present this paper in two day international seminar on “history and heritage of bangladesh through the ages”2015 at dhaka. i am special thankful to dr. amirul islam, head, dept. of islamic history and civilization, aub, dhaka and dr. shahnaj husne jahan for her valued comments and suggestions. i would like to thank prof. dr. enamul haque, chairman, icsba, dhaka for his invaluable help. bibliography bandyapadhyay, sudipa, 2002, architectural motifs in early medieval art of eastern india (palasena period), kolkata, india. battacharchya, narendranath, 1996, dharma o sanskriti: prachin varotio prekhapat(in bengal), itihas granthamala-5, ananda publishers, calcutta. bhattacharya, hanshanarayan, 1984, hinduder devdevi: udbhav o chromobikash, 2 nd vol., pharma k. i. m. private ltd. calcutta (enlarged revision edition). benarjea, jitendra nath, 2002, the development of hindu iconography, delhi (fifth edition). bandyopadyay, amiyo kumer, 2008, “mandir bhaskarje protifolito samajchittra”, paschimbanger mondir terracotta, calcutta. danielou, alain, 1991, the myths and gods of india, (the classical work on hindu polythism from the princeton bollngen series), inner traditions international, rochester, vermont, new york. dowson, j., 1953, classical dictionary of hindu mythology. divyabhanusinh, 2005, the story of asia’s lions, marg publications, mumbai. dasgupta, kalyankumer, 2000, protima shilpe hindu devdevi (in bengal), paschimbongo bangla academy, calcutta. gill, sandrine, 2007, “kantanagar temple (north east bengal): a carefully planned iconographic universe?” proceedings of the 19th meeting of the european association of south asian archaeology,(ed.) pierfrancesco callieri and luca colliva. ravenna: archaeopress, oxford. 111-121. ganguly, kalyankumer,1963, designs and traditions arts of bengal, directorate of industries, government of west bengal, calcutta. haque, zulekha, 2014, terracottas of bengal: an analytical study (ed. enamul haque), icsba, dhaka. haque, zulekha, and s. s. biswash, 1995, terracotta temples of bengal, calcutta. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 6 haque, enamul, 2007, the art heritage of bangladesh, icsba, dhaka. handa, o. c., 1992, siva in art: a study of saiva iconography and miniatures, indus publishing company, new delhi. mccutchion j., david, 1972, late medieval temples of bengal, calcutta: the asiatic society. michell, george, (ed.) 1983, brick temples of bengal. new jersey: princeton university press. —. “the revival of hindu temple architecture in bengal in the late -sixteenth century,” journal of bengal art (1997): 195-210. nivvedita, sister, and ananda k. coomaraswamy,1994, hindus and buddhist: myths and legends, senate, london. sarma, i. k., 1982, the development of early saiva art and architecture (with special references to andharadesa), sundeep prakashon, delhi. subramuniyaswani, satguru saivaya, 1996, dancing with siva: hinduism contemporary catechism, munshiram monoharlal publishers, new delhi. zimmer, h., 1962, myths and symbols in indian art and civilization, new york. plate 1: pair lion motif, stucco, main entrance, jorbangla shiva temple, muroli, jessore, 1784 ad. plate 2: pair lion motif, stucco, white color, shila ray chowdhury bari temple at birampur in jessore sadar upozila, late nineteenth century. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 7 plate 3: fragile lion motif, stucco in akhrapara mondir, main facade, muroli, jessore. plate 4: mahismordini, terracotta plaque of bagha, rajshahi, varendra research museum collection. plate 5: pair lion, terracotta, puthia temple, rajshahi. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 8 plate 6: jagatdhattri ride on the lion, jessore, gurusadoy museum. plate 7: corner bonding juxtaposed animals terracotta plaque at the top pair lion, jessore, gurusadoy museum collection. plate 8: shalban vihar, mainamati, comilla plate 9: shalban vihar, mainamati, comilla www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 9 plate 10: coat of arms of uk. from internet. plate 11: coat of arms of india(symbol of the capital of the asoka pillar, sanchi, sarnath, india, 250 bc). plate 12: mahishasurmordini, durga with lion figure, terracotta plaque, burdhman. plate 13: mahishasurmordini, durga with lion figure, terracotta plaque, burdhman. plate 14: mirtulata, terracotta plaque, antpur, plate 15: singhomanob, terracotta plaque, http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:emblem_of_india.svg www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 10 hugly.(after kalyankumer ganguly) uchkoron, birbhum. plate 16: braver man with lion, terracotta plaque, krishnopur, hugly. plate 17: horse shape lion, terracotta plaque, surul, birbhum. plate 18: chandina shiva temple, 19 th century, comilla(after nazimuddin ahmed) www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 11 plate 19: the arms of the east india company,1709. courtesy: the story of asia’s lions plate 20: the arms of rajkumar college, rajkot,1870 plate 21: 1799, defeat tipu sultan, national museum of scotland www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 3, no. 1; 2018 12 plate 22: british emblem used in modern cottage tanning bulletin in british period, 1903 ad. plate 23: lion gate of patishar kachari bari at shirajganj. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 39 space-base disaster management and poverty reduction in nigeria emmanuel okokondem okon 1 1 department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria correspondence: department of economics, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria, e-mail: tonydom57@yahoo.com. tel: +2348023275716 received: january 12, 2018 accepted: january 12, 2018 online published: january 20, 2018 abstract poverty level in nigeria is at variance with the country’s immense wealth and natural disasters are on the increase and claiming lives as well as properties. this paper looks at the use of space base technology in disaster management and how disaster management can be integrated into poverty reduction to help reduce the vulnerability of poor and protect their livelihoods and development gains. it starts by conceptualizing poverty and vulnerability and proceeds to examine nigeria’s economy, poverty and natural disaster. thereafter, the paper looks at the introduction of space technology in disaster mitigation and management in nigeria and the challenges associated with it. suggestions are made for effective use of space technology for disaster management and poverty reduction in nigeria. keywords: natural disaster, space technology, disaster management, poverty reduction. 1. introduction nigeria is endowed with enormous human and natural resources which if efficiently harnessed and managed will ensure that nigeria's immense potentials are realized. current events in nigeria affirm the description of the country as a paradox by the world bank in 1996. the paradox is that the poverty level in nigeria is at variance with the country’s immense wealth. it is a general belief that if there is an increase in per capita income, simultaneously with a more even distribution of income, such would lead to poverty reduction. reduction in the level of unemployment is also perceived as a necessary condition for the realization of increased income per capita. development is not just a matter of growth in income per capita, as it is possible to record high growth rate in income per capita, while the people continue to live in abject poverty; lacking the basic necessities of life. this is a situation peculiar to nigeria today. the momentum of growth derivable from a sector has a little direct impact on bulk of the population. generally, the priorities and strategies enunciated in virtually all the development plans show that agricultural production is always accorded the highest priority (frn, 1990; frn, 1981; frn, 1970 as cited in obadan, n.d.). even in the structural adjustment programme document, agriculture was considered one of the critical sectors, whose rehabilitation was crucial to the success of the programme (frn, 1986 as cited in obadan, n.d.). an appendage of agricultural development is rural development. against the background that the poor are located in rural areas, and are mainly engaged in agriculture. unfortunately, in 2012 nigeria suffered its worst flood disaster in 40 years. more than 2 million people were displaced, homes and farmlands were destroyed (eu,2013), and the risk of a similar large-scale disaster is high. natural incidence like earthquakes, rainstorms, hurricanes, cyclones, flooding, drought and erosion can induce poverty too and poverty can lead to diseases, high mortality among infants, increase in school drop outs, high juvenile delinquency rates, higher levels of teenage pregnancy, and economic dependency on others, prostitution, homicides and other forms of violence (tiena, 2010). poverty greatly reduces populations. much wider recognition is needed of the fact that natural disasters, particularly storms and floods, are becoming endemic and that their increasing frequency and severity can slash economic growth and development in nigeria. in light of this, the paper examines nigeria’s use of space technology in its disaster management efforts with the view of reducing poverty. disasters triggered by natural events often raise poverty rates in the affected regions and destroy achieved development progress. furthermore, poorly-planned development and inappropriate poverty reduction measures can increase vulnerability to external natural shocks. “if development efforts are not appropriate to existing environmental factors, and their impacts on the environment have not been assessed properly, they can http://questionmarkmag.com/author/adeiza-atureta/ www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 40 increase vulnerability to disasters”(özerdem, 2003). consequently, vulnerability is strongly linked to poverty, as is disaster risk management to poverty reduction (eschborn, 2005). the second section of this paper attempts to conceptually show this relationship. the third second presents some stylized facts on nigeria. the fourth section examines some disaster risk management and application of space technology to disaster management. section five looks at nigeria’s space programme, challenges and way forward while section six concludes. 2. conceptual illustration a disaster is a swift, catastrophic event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources (ifrc, 2012). the combination of hazards, vulnerability and the inability to reduce the potential negative consequences of risk results in disaster. as a result, disasters influence the mental, socioeconomic, political as well as the cultural state of the affected area. hence, disasters are considered as the consequence of inappropriately managed risk (quarantelli, 1998). these risks are the product of a combination of both hazard/s and vulnerability. therefore, hazards that strike in areas with low vulnerability are less likely to become disasters, as is the case in uninhabited regions (james et al., 2013). disasters are generally grouped into two types, namely anthropogenic or human-made and natural. anthropogenic or human-made disasters are associated with human action or inaction. examples of such disasters include: technological failures, industrial accidents, oil spills, transportation accidents and nuclear explosions/radiation. a natural hazard is a geophysical, atmospheric, or hydrological event that has potential for causing harm or loss (benson and clay, 2004). usually, these events are both uncommon and extreme, in the perspective of the range of natural phenomena such as rainfall, tropical storms, flooding, and seismic tremor or earthquake. hence, there is a need to determine risk. this is understood to be “a combination of the probability, or frequency, of occurrence of a defined hazard and the magnitude of the consequences of the occurrence” (royal society, 1992). a natural disaster is the occurrence of an abnormal or infrequent hazard that affects vulnerable communities or geographic areas, causing substantial damage, disruption, and perhaps casualties and leaving the affected communities unable to function normally (benson and clay, 2004). from an economic perspective, a disaster implies some combination of losses, in human, physical, and financial capital, and a reduction in economic activity such as income generation, investment, consumption, production, and employment in the “real” economy. there may also be severe effects on financial flows such as the revenue and expenditure of public and private bodies (benson and clay, 1998). vulnerability is the potential to suffer harm or loss, expressed in terms of sensitivity and resilience or of the magnitude of the consequences of the potential event (benson and clay, 2004). the sensitivity of economic behavior to a disaster shock is reflected at a macroeconomic or sectoral level in the deviation of economic aggregates from the trends that were expected without taking the effects of the event into account. although this paper focuses on natural disaster, generally, disasters can have potentially significant implications for public finance, increasing expenditure and simultaneously reducing domestic revenue, in turn resulting in increased domestic or external borrowing, substantial alterations to existing investment, and recurrent expenditure plans or monetary expansion(benson and clay, 2004). figure 1below is a schematic evolution of disasters. hazard vulnerability disaster risk disaster source: adapted from (eschborn, 2005) figure 1: schematic evolution of disasters the relationship between the level of development of an economy and the impact of a disaster is particularly complex. influences include the physical infrastructure, the degree of sectoral and geographical integration, economic specialization, the coverage and robustness of the financial sector, government revenue raising capabilities and the openness of the economy. this complexity in part reflects the fact that development itself is a non-linear process and that there are many different paths of development (odi, 2005). least-developed economies are widely perceived as most vulnerable, experiencing the greatest direct losses relative to a country’s wealth. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 41 at higher levels of development, the financial costs of capital losses are massive (as illustrated by kobe and hurricane katrina), but the economic impacts of disasters are proportionately less. this partly reflects increased investment in mitigation and preparedness measures, improved environmental management, greater access to financial resources and lower associated opportunity costs and a reduction in the scale of absolute poverty and thus of household vulnerability(odi, 2005). a greater share of privatesector economic assets is also likely to be adequately insured against disaster and the burden diffused by global reinsurance. the combined effects of changes in sensitivity (direct and indirect impacts) and the time to recover (resilience) suggest, as illustrated in figure 2, a kuznets’ curve or inverted u relationship between economic development and disaster vulnerability. % of gdp ' less developed intermediate more developed source: (odi, 2005) figure 2: a kuznets’ curve or inverted u relationship between economic development and disaster vulnerability according to okuyama (n.d.), with the increasing complexity of society and interdependency within and across countries, recent studies found that this negative relationship between development level and disaster losses appears not so straightforward: total impact over gdp per capita has an inverted “u”curve relationship. least developed countries tend to have simple economic structures, such as agriculture, so that the impact may not spread to the entire system; higher-income level countries have sufficient financial and technological resources to better manage disaster risks through the implementation of countermeasures and to better manage the adverse impacts of disaster; and middle-income level countries with some diversifications seem more secure, but the higher order effects can be much greater and thus the total impacts from a disaster can be larger than in a simple agro-economy’s (see figure 3 below) impact on gdp (%) low middle high income income income countries countries countries gdp per capita source: (okuyama, n.d.) figure 3: inverted u curve relationship www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 42 vulnerability is not only a key concept in the discussion about disaster risk management, but it also is a central issue in the debate on poverty. here, attempt is made to look at the connection between poverty reduction and disaster risk management because their inter-linkage is seen as essential for sustainable development. it proceeds from a complex notion of poverty that is not confined to the economic component, but also encompasses participation, education and health. source: adapted from oecd (2001) figure 4 – dimensions of poverty as depicted in figure 4 above, each box represents an important dimension of poverty, which affects – and is affected by – all the others. household members may consume little and be vulnerable partly because they lack assets, often because of inadequate income, poor health and education, or because they lose their few productive assets as a result of shocks. lack of human rights and political freedom indicates a risk of violent conflict shocks. vulnerability and social exclusion hamper human and political capabilities, reducing incomes and assets, and so on. the fact that different dimensions of poverty are tightly interrelated, while still distinct and imperfectly correlated, is a major reason for a multidimensional concept” (oecd 2001). natural hazards disrupt poor people‘s livelihoods, and poor people are often more vulnerable to natural hazards. the negative and positive aspects of the relationship between vulnerability/disaster and poverty can be divided in four realms as show below in figure 5. poverty reduction realm short-sighted poverty poverty reduction can reduce reduction measures can increase vulnerability vulnerability negative realm positve realm disasters can set back disasters can provide poverty reduction efforts poverty reduction opportunities disaster realm source: adapted from: undp (1994) figure 5: the relationship between poverty and vulnerability to disasters 3. nigeria: economy, poverty and natural disaster nigeria is a west african economy with a long coastline along the atlantic ocean. the country shares international borders with benin, chad, cameroon and niger. nigeria ranks 32 in the world in terms of total area (see figure 6 in protective security vulnerability political rights influence freedom economic consumption income assets human health education nutrition socio-cultural status dignity gender environmen t www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 43 appendix). the terrain of the country consists of southern lowlands and plateaus in the central region. the south east region has a mountainous surface, while the north consists of plains. according to the 2009 estimates, the country has a total population in excess of 154 million, of which almost 70% live below the international poverty line (economic watch, 2010). nigeria’s economy is overly dependent on the petroleum sector. the economy is one of the most developed economies in africa. according to the un classification, nigeria is a middle-income nation with developed financial, communication and transport sectors. it has the second largest stock exchange in the continent. the petroleum industry is central to the nigerian economic profile. it is the 12 th largest producer of petroleum products in the world (economic watch, 2010). the industry accounts for almost 80% of the gdp share and above 90% of the total exports (economic watch, 2010). outside the petroleum sector, the nigerian economy is highly amorphous and lacks basic infrastructure. several failed efforts have been made after 1990 to develop other industrial sectors. owing to the surge in international oil prices during 2007-08, nigeria managed an annual gdp of us$352.3 billion. the nation ranks 33 in the world in terms of gdp. the gdp per capita is us $2,400(economic watch, 2010). see table 1 below for some indicators of economic growth in nigeria. table 1: selected macro-economic indicators of growth (percent) economic variables 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 real gdp growth rate 4.7 3.0 2.3 1.3 2.2 3.3 3.8 204 2.8 3.8 3.9 3.5 10.2 manufacturing capacity utilization 37.4 41.8 37.2 30.4 29.3 32.5 33.0 32.4 34.6 35.4 42.7 44.3 46.2 inflation rate 13.0 44.6 57.2 57.0 72.8 29.3 8.5 10 6.6 6.9 18.9 12.9 14.0 credit to private sector 23.7 34.7 16.6 28.3 51.8 18.4 39.3 27.4 29.2 30.9 43.5 11.8 27.1 credit to government 82.5 109.6 120.7 27.7 27.6 -16.6 -32.5 144.9 32 -170.1 79.7 6320. 6 47.9 domestic credit 46.3 73.0 75.9 29.2 36.0 12.0 16.9 46.8 30 -23.1 74.8 56.6 32.7 national unemployment rate 3.8 3.4 2.7 2.0 1.8 3.2 3.4 3.9 3.3 4.8 3.8 3.7 2.3 overall balance of payment as a % of gdp -4.9 -18.3 -5.1 -4.7 -3.1 -5.6 -0.8 -8.4 -9.8 6.3 0.4 -10.3 -2.2 source: oyeranti and olayiwola (2005) widespread poverty and lack of industrial resources are the biggest challenges for nigeria. as indicated in table 2, the incidence of poverty in nigeria increased from 28.1 percent in 1980 to 88.0 percent in the year 2002. this percentage rate represent in absolute term 86 million people out of an estimated population of about 116.4 million people(ijaiya, ijaiya, bello, and ajayi, 2011). the poverty situation in nigeria also depicts regional variation. for example, within these periods the poverty rate was higher in the northern agro-climatic zone at 40 percent compared with the middle and southern zones at 38 percent and 24 percent respectively (francis et. al., 1996; fos various issues). similarly, nigeria’s rank in the human development index in the year 2008 remained low (0.470), being the 158th among 182 countries (adb, 2010). the use of socio-economic indicators like per capita income, life expectancy at birth (years), access to health care services, access to safe water, access to education, access to sanitation facilities, and electricity also depicts the extent of poverty in nigeria. as indicated in table 3, the rate of poverty in nigeria has not shown any remarkable reduction when viewed from these indicators and when compared with some countries in africa. for instance, apart from the early 1980s when the nation’s per capita income witnessed an increase the situations in the 1990s and early 2000 were pathetic(ijaiya et al., 2011). the life expectancy at birth (years) does not provide a better level of well-being in the country (47 years in 2007), more so when compared with those of countries like mauritius and tunisia that had 73 and 74 years respectively in 2007 (adb, 2010). the 1980s to the 2000s had witness the introduction of new strategies/approaches to poverty reduction. key among them are the basic needs and capabilities/entitlements approaches, participatory development, social capital, community self help, good governance and human right approaches to poverty reduction ( boeniniger 1991; picciotto 1992; woolcock and narayan 2000; united nations, 2002; united nations 2004). in nigeria, various efforts were made by the government, non-governmental organizations and individuals to reduce poverty in the country. according to ogwumike (2001) poverty reduction measures implemented so far in nigeria focuses more attention on economic growth, basic needs and rural development strategies. the economic growth approach focuses attention on rapid economic growth as measured by the rate of growth in real per capita gdp or per capita national www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 44 income, price stability and declining unemployment among others, which are attained through proper harmonization of monetary and fiscal policies (ijaiya et al.,2011). the basic need approach focuses attention on the basic necessities of life such as food, health care, education, shelter, clothing, transport, water and sanitation, which could enable the poor live a decent life. the rural development approach focuses attention on the total emancipation and empowerment of the rural sector. ogwumike (2001) grouped the strategies for poverty reduction in nigeria into three eras – the pre–sap era, the sap era and the democratic era. in the pre-sap era, the measures that were predominant were the operation feed the nation, the river basin development authorities, the agricultural development programmes, the agricultural credit guarantee scheme, the rural electrification scheme and the green revolution. in the sap era the following poverty reduction measures were introduced; the directorate for food, roads and rural infrastructures, the national directorate of employment, the better life programme, the peoples’ bank, the community banks, the family support programme and the family economic advancement programme. the democratic era witnessed the introduction of the poverty alleviation programme (pap) designed to provide employment to 200,000 people all over the country(ijaiya et al., 2011). it was also aimed at inculcating and improving better attitudes towards a maintenance culture in highways, urban and rural roads and public buildings. by 2001 pap was phased out and fused into the newly created national poverty eradication programme (napep) which was an integral part of the national economic empowerment and development strategy (needs). globally, disasters have continued to cause severe catastrophic consequences in the loss of human lives as well as economic losses. for example, the magnitude 9.2 earthquake that occurred in the indian ocean on december 26, 2004, caused a large tsunami that flooded more than ten coastal countries and culminated in about 300,000 deaths with severe economic and environmental impacts(james et al., 2013). similarly, between august 23, and august 30, 2005, hurricane katrina in the gulf of mexico led to 1,400 deaths with severe economic losses(james et al., 2013). nevertheless, nigeria is not located in high-prone natural disaster (e.g. earthquake, hurricane) zones, but the country has experienced cases of floods, coastal erosion, sand storms, landslides, oil-spillage, and desertification disasters. these disasters have resulted in the loss of lives as well as properties. for example, the first flood hit ibadan, the headquarters of old western region, nigeria (now the capital of oyo state) was in 1948. subsequently, serious flood disasters have occurred in ibadan in 1963, 1978, april 30, 1980, 1985, 1987, and 1990 destroying many valuable things (adedeji et al, 2012). about 100 people died in ibadan due to flood in 2011 while 5,000 people were displaced with severe economic impacts (james et al., 2013). figure 7: images of flood disaster in nigeria source: onuah (2012) source: kanu (2012) lagos metropolis recorded the first flood in early 1970s and till date, floods (both river and coastal floods) have become perennial event in the state. most recently about 700 inhabitants of settlements along the river ogun in lagos state were evacuated to refugee/relief camp after a devastating flood that plagued the area around october 12, 2010 by the lagos state emergence management agency(adedeji et al, 2012). the devastating flood disaster that occurred on the 26th of august 2011 caused a lot of woes to people around the eleyele wetlands in ibadan,southwest, nigeria destroying lives and properties around apete, idi-ishin, apata, odo-onaelewe, oke-ayo, ologuneru and university of ibadan where the university library and zoological garden were badly affected. about 300,000 animals representing 13 per cent of the livestock population of north-eastern nigeriawere estimated to have died (disaster management, n.d.)during the drought of 1972-1973, agricultural yields dropped to between 12 per cent and 40 per cent of the annual averages (disaster management, n.d.). in the drought of year 1987, crop yields ranged between 56 per cent and 75 per cent of the 1986 totals (disaster management, n.d.). the consequences of environmental breakdown as a result of a prolonged drought led to massive economic losses, destruction of ecological resources food shortages and starvation for millions of people (disaster management, n.d.). in the early 80’s, nigerians were petrified when a mild tremor rocked ibadan, ijebu-ode and shagamu, three cities in the country’s south west. no casualties were recorded in the incident, neither were any buildings felled. but till date, the memory lingers (igomu, 2010). in 2009, researchers at the national space research and development agency (narsda) officially warned about the possibility of an earthquake disaster in nigeria’s south western www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 45 region. they made reference to a tremor that rocked the region in september 11, 2009, stressing that nigeria is no longer immune from earthquakes (igomu, 2010).see tables 4 and 5 below for an overview of natural disasters in nigeria for the period 1980 to 2010 and the average per year. table 4: overview: natural disasters in nigeria from 1980-2010 table 5: average disaster per year no of events 94 no of people killed 21,002 average killed per year 677 no of people affected 6,306,441 average affected per year 203,434 economic damage (us$ x 1,000) 188,025 economic damage per year (us$ x 1,000) 6,065 source: prevention web (2013 source: prevention web (2013) the vulnerability of a population is a determinant of a disaster, as this essentially decides whether ra hazard remains a hazard, or whether through contact with a vulnerable population this hazard turns into a disaster (prowse 2003). this implies on the one hand, that the poverty situation in which a person lives shapes his/her vulnerability and the degree of impact the disaster has on him/her. on the other hand, the impact of the disaster affects people's future vulnerability and thus influences their poverty situation. nigeria is vulnerable to many hazards, including, but not limited to, fires, flooding, transportation and industrial accidents, and political conflicts (ibem, 2011). nigeria is vulnerable to these and other hazards and disaster impacts because of high population densities in urban areas (50% of nigerians live in urban areas) (nwaka, 2005) (scarcity of land has led to inordinate construction of structures in hazardous areas), an inability to integrate risk reduction measures into national development plans and programs (abang, 2005), and poverty (ndmf, 2010). 4. international disaster management initiatives although natural disasters cannot be avoided, studies have shown that adequate disaster management plan can reduce its impacts on lives and properties. moreover, disasters often do not respect national or international boundaries. as a result, governments and international organizations are cooperating to promote global and regional initiatives to address the full/partial disaster management cycle consisting of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery (james et al., 2012). r figure 8: full disaster management cycle source: adapted from twigg (2004) drought 0.03 earthquake ... epidemic 1.58 extreme temp 0.06 flood 0.06 mass mov. dry ... mass mov. wet 0.10 volcano ... storm 0.06 wildfire ... recovery mitigation response preparedness disaster risk reduction disaster impact i s after disaster before disaster www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 46 some of these initiatives are: the international charter “space and major disasters” (icsmd), disaster monitoring constellation (dmc), the united nations platform for space based information for disaster management and emergency response (un-spider), and the united nations international strategy for disaster reduction (unisdr) (james et al., 2013). 4.1 introduction of space technology in disaster mitigation and management in nigeria recognizing the significant role of space technology in the attainment of rapid sustainable socio-economic development, the federal government of nigeria took a bold step by putting in place a space policy and space science and technology programme. subsequently, in 1999, an institutional framework, the national space research and development agency (nasrda), was established. the first nigerian earth observation satellite – nigeriasat-1 was successfully launched into low earth orbit (leo) from plesetsk, moscow, on 27 september 2003 on a kosmos rocket along with two other disaster monitoring constellation (dmc) micro-satellites – uk dmc, and bilsat (turkey satellite).the choice of a micro-satellite using current technology was influenced by its low cost, affordability, and the advantage of performance comparable with the expensive large satellites and the possibility of supporting capacity building(boroffice, 2008). nigeriasat-1 is a micro-satellite deployed in to a polar sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 686km. it is a 100kg spacecraft with push-broom scanning technology, and designed for a 5-year minimum lifespan. it has a swath width of 600km and the imaging payload is 3-band multi-spectral imager in the green, red and near-infrared bands 0.52– 0.62 (green), 0.63–0.69 (red), 0.76–0.9 (nir) and has a ground sampling distance (gsd)/spatial resolution of 32m(boroffice, 2008).the spacecraft has on-board data storage capacity of 2 × 0.5 gbyte ssdr to support imaging activities, with a store and forward communications system. it has a space-bourne gps for orbit determination, two on-board computers for data processing, and a butane propulsion system for orbit maintenance/station keeping(boroffice, 2008).nigeriasat-1 is one of the five satellites of the disaster monitoring constellation (dmc) built to address the need for daily revisit and global coverage to monitor natural disasters and other dynamic phenomena. taking into account the reality of direct access to affordable, real-time and reliable space-derived data, the nigeriasat-1 data has been used in many projects some of which are: flood hazards/risk mapping in the shiroro dam area; mapping of settlements and major roads and water bodies; gully erosion mapping in the south eastern part of nigeria; monitoring deforestation and implications for bio-diversity in nigeria; predictive model for desertification early warning; patio-temporal assessment of climate and humaninduced impact on ecosystem degradation and water resources management; and land use/land cover. to ensure continuity, nigeriasat-2 was introduced. it carries the 32-m multi-spectral payload in nigeriasat-1.it provides valuable geographically referenced high-resolution satellite imaging for applications in mapping, water resources management, agricultural land use, population estimation, health hazard monitoring and disaster mitigation and management. in summary, satellites monitoring earth’s resources and natural disasters have different repeat pass frequency and spatial resolution (unless it belongs to the same series of satellites for the purpose of continuation of data flow with same specifications). similarly, different satellites have different types of sensors on-board, such as, panchromatic, multispectral, infrared and thermal. all these sensors have applications in disaster mitigation, though depending on the electromagnetic characteristics of the objects on earth and the nature of disaster itself (nirupama and simonovic, 2002). prior to the use of space technology in nigeria, it was a major challenge to identify communities devastated by disasters (particularly natural disasters in the rural areas) using terrestrial approaches. this is particularly true since access to such remote areas is often made impossible by the disaster. however, access to earth observation satellite imagery provides a solution by enabling synoptic view of areas affected by disasters as well as the optimum access to such areas. the results from the use of space technology have enhanced the ability of nema to respond to disasters swiftly and efficiently in nigeria between 2010 and 2012 for floods in sokoto (charter call 324 and 326), ibadan (charter call 370), and adamawa (charter call 407), kogi (charter call 415), bayelsa (charter call 416), respectively (james et al., 2013). see appendix for satellite images ofrivers stateand bayelsa state flood disaster. 5. obstacles in disaster risk reduction in nigeria nigeria like any other african country has some major gaps in the practice of disaster risk reduction as pointed out in a baseline study undertaking inthe first phase of the development of the africa regional strategy on disaster risk reduction. disaster risk reduction is yet to be effectively institutionalized in nigeria. although the national emergency management agency (nema) has been established to oversee a more holistic approach to the management of disasters in all phases and all associated consequences, however, sub-regional disaster management programmes in the country are yet to be developed. technical institutions like the www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 47 nigerian meteorological agency are few and their services are limited due to resource, capacity and other constraints. government has a key responsibility to create the facilitating environment in which people can be empowered to prevent or reduce natural disaster risks. however, because of the failure or absence of development that can arise partly from an unfavorable environment, people are highly vulnerable to disaster risks in nigeria. for example, key sectoral policies, such as on food and agriculture, rural and urban development and enterprise development, do not sufficiently consider how they impact people’s vulnerability to hazards. furthermore, there is no tax or financial incentives to promote greater use of engineered and disaster-resistant construction. also, for so long most disaster management structures focus on one or two key natural hazards, mainly flood and drought. policy frameworks rarely cover small localized disasters. the practice of risk identification is limited in nigeria. early warning systems are only now being developed. the ability of people to take informed actions to secure their safety during disasters also depends on availability of timely and targeted information on disaster risk reduction. a major gap in disaster risk reduction in nigeria is weak knowledge management. there is inadequate attention to information management and communications, and training and research. consequently, there are gaps in knowledge about disaster risks. nigeria’s space exploration still requires more infrastructure. the cost of space infrastructure — launchers, in-space systems and supporting ground operations, human activity in space, and the knowledge and technology base that supports the infrastructure is so exorbitant. in practice, national disaster risk reduction structures in nigeria generally suffer from inadequate financial support. inadequate financing for disaster risk reduction is the result of many factors including the low priority accorded to disaster reduction in national budgeting; lack of dedicated disaster funding mechanisms, etc. 5.1 way forward prospective assessment of the risk of disasters to development and the effect of development interventions on disasters, effective early warning of impending risks, and systematic assessment of disaster losses are particularly important in helping communities and the country to determine and understand the actions which they may take in order to reduce the impact of potential and existing risks. to help enhance access to information and to expand information dissemination, there is the need to strengthen disaster risk reduction information services and public communications mechanisms, including space technology and geographical information systems. it is necessary to encourage and facilitate public-private partnerships that increase the availability of and accessibility to these means of disaster risk information and communications. for disaster risk reduction communications systems to empower communities threatened by impending disasters, risk reduction information must be provided in good time, precise, prompt, reliable and actionable. effective disaster risk reduction communications requires that the target population not only receives advance information on hazards and vulnerability changes but also that they understand the content of the message, accept it, believe it and know how to use it to guide their response actions. public education and awareness-strengthening processes about potential risks and the role of risk information in disaster risk reduction needs to be continuous to promote this process. public awareness needs to be undertaken through all means of communications interaction between disaster risk reduction authorities and the public and at all levels. facilitating participatory design and implementation of disaster risk reduction interventions can increase people’s participation in them. institutionalizing risk reduction at the local level involves modern management approaches that emphasize decentralized and coordinated partnerships between disaster management agencies and the people, based on the principle of self-consent. it is therefore important to encourage governments to accelerate the decentralization of disaster risk reduction mechanisms, particularly local-level risk management interventions. given the explicit cause-and-effect links between disasters and development interventions, development policy should aim at reducing basic societal risks while attaining sustainable development objectives. balancing these two goals requires incorporating disaster risk reduction in development policies, strategies and programmes at local and national. 6. conclusion orbiting in space, satellites can cover vast and remote areas of the earth over many years spanning national boundaries and detecting global patterns of environmental change not easily observed from the ground. data from satellites, collected digitally, can be processed with specialized computer software yielding accurate, timely and useful information products which inform decisionand policy-making. at global and regional scales, thanks to space technology, knowledge of the various components of the earth system is improving. investment towards making use of the space technology is worth because improvement in instrumentation and real time prediction will bring about reduction in disaster damages; 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(2000 ). social capital: implications for development theory, research and policy. world bank research observer, 15(2),225250. appendix table 2: estimated total population and rate of poverty in nigeria (1980-2002) year estimated total population (in million) absolute no. of poor people (in million) percentage (%) that are poor 1980 64.6 18.1 28.1 1981 66.7 21.3 32.0 1982 68.4 24.2 35.5 1983 70.6 27.5 39.0 1984 73.0 31.4 43.0 1985 75.4 34.9 46.3 http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2012/10/nigeria-flood-disaster-worst-since-1948.html http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2012/10/nigeria-flood-disaster-worst-since-1948.html http://questionmarkmag.com/author/adeiza-atureta/ www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 50 1986 77.9 35.8 46.0 1987 80.4 36.5 45.4 1988 83.1 37.4 45.0 1989 84.9 37.7 44.5 1990 86.6 38.0 44.0 1991 88.5 38.5 43.5 1992 91.3 39.0 42.7 1993 93.5 45.8 49.0 1994 96.2 52.6 54.7 1995 98.9 59.3 60.0 1996 102.3 67.1 65.6 1997 104.0 67.6 65.5 1998 106.3 68.0 69.5 1999 109.3 72.3 72.0 2000 111.3 77.0 74.0 2001 114.0 81.2 83.1 2002 116.4 86.0 88.0 source: (ijaiya et al., 2011) table 3: socio-economic indicators in nigeria1970-2001 year access to health care (%) access to water care (%) adult illiterac y (%) access to sanitat ion (%) life expectanc y at birth ( years) per capita income ($) infant mortalit y (per 1000) daily calorie intake ( per capital) 197074 89.7 43.2 350.0 1975-79 84.9 45.3 660.0 122.0 1962 1980-84 40.0 67.1 47.4 410.0 112.0 1903 1985-89 40.0 15.9 59.2 62.1 49.2 270.0 102.0 2291 1990-95 67.0 40.0 51.4 63.3 50.4 220.0 93.4 2656 1995 49.9 43.6 57.3 51.1 210.0 91.6 2802 1996 42.1 51.2 250.0 89.8 2772 1997 40.6 51.3 270.0 88.0 2779 1998 39.1 51.5 260.0 86.2 2828 1999 37.6 63.0 51.6 250.0 84.4 2833 2000 36.1 63.0 51.8 260.0 82.6 2001 2005 2006 2007 2008 47.0 34.7 29.2 28.1 26.9 30.0 51.9 46.8 46.8 49.9 290.0 620.0 830.0 970.0 1160.0 75.1 111.9 110.7 109.5 2654.7 source: (ijaiya et al., 2011). figure 6: map of nigeria source:ngex.com(n.d. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 51 satellite images of rivers state and bayelsa state flood disaster figure 9: flooded areas in parts of rivers state. figure 10: flooded areas in yenagoa and environs the map products generated from the image analysis of 2012 flooding in rivers and bayelsa states are presented in figures 9 and10.the incidence of floods in rivers state was notso severe, affecting only idia, omoku, obikwe and biseni communities, among others. on the other hand, it was very severe in bayelsa state. the total area impacted by the floods was 334 sq., affecting virtually all communities south of yenagoa (figure 8). source: james et al. (2013) copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 7 the effects of facebook on students’ social life: a case study at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul abdul nafi himat english language and literature department education faculty, kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: abdulnafi.himat2017@gmail.com received: may 05, 2020 accepted: may 25, 2020 online published: june 06, 2020 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.593 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.593 abstract in the world, facebook is one of the most well-known social networking sites, which is used a lot among students. the purpose of this research is to identify the devoted time students’ spend on the usage of facebook, and its impacts on learners’ socia l life at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul, afghanistan. in this study, the quantitative research method was used to collect data from one hundred and fifteen students, and they were selected through a random sample. likewise, the questionnaire was designed based on the literature review then the data was collected from the participants. similarly, the data was analyzed by using ibm 24 version of spss and found out the frequency and percentage of the demographic data as well as the items. also, the findings of this research illustrate that learners were devoted from half to one-hour time for using facebook. moreover, the results assert that learners want to maintain in connection with people, feel fine when they share their ideas on facebook and it had positive effects on students’ social life. keywords: facebook, devoted time, effects, social life, students 1. introduction in recent decades, many people who live in afghanistan have access to technology and get benefits from it, especially students who study in universities and higher education institutions. likewise, technology brought many changes in the life of humans in afghanistan; therefore, it has received a considerable attention of them. in general, technology has replaced the way people interact and allows the inhabitants of the earth to connect with each other, and make the world as a global village (boateng & amankwaa, 2016; chowdhury & saha, 2015). likewise, the rapid progress of information and communication technologies has brought modifications in several educational and technological applications and processes (lenhart & madden, 2007; selwyn, 2007). moreover, this century is known as a digital age, computer and internet have gained an absolutely central importance in the life of humans (kirik, arslan, cetinkaya & mehmet, 2015). furthermore, internet attract all people because it provides new ways for communication with other people (heiberger & harper, 2008). likewise, from the beginning of the 21st century, social media is in progress, and it plays a vital role in life because people belonging to different age groups use social media. in addition, social media websites have become common, and they give young people a new way to interact with each other, also an opportunity to communicate with the world (schneider, 2010). as well as, social media has a prominent role in the life of humans, and the development of communication network is one of the factors that lead individuals to use social media (kirik et al., 2015). furthermore, social media change quickly the communication setting of today’s social world as well as it helps individual to share connections, views, thoughts with unknown friends or enable to share their view points with visible well-known friends (paul, 2017; boateng et al., 2016; chowdhury et al., 2015). moreover, the use of social media is being quickly rising during the last few years. it is not only being used by the working people, but also there is a heavy increase in the use of social media by the students (sangwaan, 2019). therefore, it has become an indispensable part of the communication age (aygul, 2010). in addition, facebook is very common between college learners, even though they use it when they have classes, likewise; facebook is the most used social network sites by college students (wang, chen & liang, 2011). additionally, the term social media is a collection of applications, namely, facebook, twitter, mailto:abdulnafi.himat2017@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.593 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 8 whatsapp, youtube, instagram, flickr, youtube, linkedin and so on, and these social networking sites connect people to share details and alert individuals about any event in the community (ali, iqbal & iqbal, 2016). similarly, on social media facebook is one of the most heavily social networking sites in all over the world, and through the usage of this users can express their selves freely, establish new friendships, relationships, and follow their friends. moreover, they can engage in dialogues with people or groups they are interested in (aygul, 2010). in facebook users can register their selves in an account, and can post material about their life also they can create a profile to upload details about their selves and add other consumer s as friends. as well as, once registered, they can exchange messages with one others, post updates, share photos and videos as well they can also join with others to form groups (mason, 2017). therefore, facebook is the biggest social network sites in the world. in addition, in december 2012, it had one billion monthly active users, and the implementation of facebook between pupils increased over time; similarly, it was founded in 4th, february, 2004 by mark zuckerberg (gafni & deri, 2012; kirkpatrick, 2010; ellison, steinfield & lampe, 2007). likewise, at first, the usage of facebook was limited for students in harvard university, but afterwards, it became accessible to all over the world; similarly, it became the largest social network worldwide as well it is now the biggest social networking services based on total active users and its universal reach to everyone (kirkpatrick, 2010; ellison et al., 2007). 1.1 problem statement in recent years, students who have access to internet spend most of their time on social media, especially on facebook. in afghanistan, users of social media limited their usage to a few platforms, namely facebook and instant messaging platforms (altai consulting for interviews, 2017). therefore, students who study at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, education faculty devoted most of their time for using facebook as a social networking site. this problem was also existed in south africa and ghana as well as in botswana university (eke, omekwu & jennifer, 2014; diraditsile & gamakabadi, 2018). according to wang et al., (2011) many parents of learners are worried about their college students because they spend so much time on social media networking sites, especially on facebook and do not devote enough time for their study. moreover, this phenomenon is an international concern that about 99% of students in america use social networking sites and the time they spend is frightening (johnson, 2013). moreover, there are very limited studies conducted at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul, afghanistan. as facebook is the most famous social networking site. consequently, this study would assist with students who study in universities, higher education institutions and with the ministry of information and communications technology of afghanistan. 1.2 objectives of the research ▪ to identify the devoted time students’, spend on the usage of facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education. ▪ to investigate the impacts of facebook on learners' social life at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education. 1.3. research questions ▪ how much time students’ devoted for the usage to spend on facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education? ▪ what are the impacts of facebook on students' social life at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education? 2. literature review 2.1 devoted time students spend on facebook facebook is almost universally-used among higher education learners, and they consider facebook as their main social media choice, thus spend a great part of their time on its use on their normal day (ellefsen, 2016). moreover, nawafleh, harfoush, fakhouri, obiedat & rababah, (2012) wanted to find the negative effects of facebook on user social life in amman. the findings of this study asserted that 49% facebook users used it more than three hours a day, 72% used several hours a day, and they couldn’t reduce the using hours. additionally, students spend a considerable amount of time actively on facebook. in addition, the study of ellison et al., (2007) showed that college students use facebook on an average of 10 to 30 minutes daily. similarly, pempek, yermolayeva & calvert, (2009) study revealed that college students spend an average of 27.93 minutes per day during weekdays and an average of 28.44 minutes per day during weekends on facebook. also, social networks (facebook in particular) was a part of their daily life. moreover, alhazmi & rahman, (2013) reported that 78.9% of students spend more than one hour a day on facebook. 2.2 impacts of facebook on students’ social life a qualitative case study by akbiyik (2013) in turkey, to determine the effects of social networks on college undergraduate students’ social life. the findings of this study revealed that the use of facebook helps users to communicate with their friends, copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 9 and it assists with the consumers to know and learn about their friends. similarly, pictures or videos shared in the facebook environment by students aid them to start conversation, thus it makes communication easier. this way of communication is realized by liking or disliking the posts or by making comments on the shared objects. the findings also asserted that facebook also has negative impacts on students because most of them complain about maintaining reconnection with old friends does not make them contend in cases where lifestyles have differentiated. they stated more that they couldn’t feel the same old intimacy once lifestyles have changed. as well as, it was annoying for students when their relatives try to control their facebook behaviors. the findings showed that they get friendship requests from people whom they do not like to meet in their real life. also, students stated that some of their classmates do not talk them in a real life but add them as facebook friends. three learners stated that they could not trust relationships or conversations in the facebook environment because this environment is virtual. the findings more disclosed that pupils think even though they know the person in real life, they cannot be certain if he is telling the truth when they communicate with him in the virtual environment. furthermore, expressing political views on the facebook environment has a negative effect on learners’ social life and relatives were not desired as facebook friends by some of the participants. similarly, research by nawafleh et al., (2012) wanted to find the negative effects of facebook on user social life in amman. their findings asserted that facebook is a well-known website that connects people, socialize, make a connection with famous people, make new friends, and build up new relationships. furthermore, the findings of the study indicated that facebook has negative impacts on users’ social life. moreover, research conducted by tang-mui & teng, (2017) findings demonstrate that facebook is the main source of information from personal to global news without verifying its trustworthiness. facebook is used as a tool to communicate with friends and family. facebook has perceived as a good tool of communication that can bring closeness among the family members. the use of facebook brings positive impact towards family members, with the continuously increasing number of local facebook users, and it will help to build a better and harmonic society. through the use of facebook, the relationships between family members and communication will be improved and enhanced the level of a united community. likewise, a case study carried out by chowdhury et al., (2015) on the impact of facebook on youth generations in kolkata, india. the positive effects asserted that facebook allow all teenagers as well as facebook users to communicate with their friends. moreover, learners can build relations with known and unknown friends. also, users can maintain their past and new bonding of friendship and other relations. facebook connect students with different cultures, religions. in addition, findings revealed that facebook increases empathy for their existing and old friends, which gives more systematic communications. similarly, the negative impacts showed that most of the users only use facebook to check their profile or any new update posted on their wall. additionally, the results showed that chatting with friends reduces the importance of writing letters and face to face human contacts. the study further stated that several photos, videos or political shares divert their attention. mustafa & hamzah, (2011) study asserted that facebook is used for communication with other friends and as a way to reconnect them to their old friends . furthermore, facebook improves family communication as it provides a platform for malaysians to discuss issues that they never talk face-to-face. it also had effects on their relationships within the family and between generations. moreover, salvation & adzharuddin, (2014) findings revealed that social media had become the most active application which assists students not only to socialize with friends as well as to interact with lecturers. 3. research methodology 3.1 research design this study investigated the impacts of facebook on students’ social life at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, qalat, zabul, afghanistan. a quantitative research method was used for this study. according to aliaga & gunderson (2002) in a quantitative research approach, the researcher is describing a topic through getting data in a numerical form and analyzing it with the assist of the mathematical method. this study was based on the strategy of a case study because most scholars agree that it is a strategy, but not a particular method (yin, 1994). additionally, in a case study the researcher(s) tries/try to find responses for ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘which’ and it refers to research that investigate a few cases in considerable depth which is known a case study (yin, 1994; gomm, hammersley & foster, 2000). 3.2 population and sampling in this research, the participants were from mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics departments, education faculty. similarly, the sample size was (115) learners’, and they were from all the existed three educational levels freshmen, sophomore, and junior as well as they were selected through random sampling method. in a random sample the participants are the representative of a larger group. 3.3 research instrument in this study, the data was collected through a questionnaire, and it had three parts, the demographic data of the respondents, the devoted time students’ spend on the usage of facebook (5 items), and the impacts of facebook on students’ social life (7 items). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 10 3.4 validity and reliability of the questionnaire the questionnaire was checked several times, and after receiving comments, it had revised. according to madan & kensinger (2017) the reliability value among .75 and 1.00 is considered excellent. likewise, the reliability of the current study’s instrument was checked and it was .86 cronbach's alpha, which is considered excellent. 3.5 data analysis procedure the data was analyzed by using ibm 24 version of statistical package for the social sciences (spss), and found out the frequency and percentage as well as reported in tables. 4. findings the findings of the study asserted the demographic data, devoted time students’ spend on facebook, and its impacts on students’ social life. table 1. shows the demographic data of the participants demographic data of the respondents characteristics frequency percentage gender: male 112 97.4 female 3 2.6 level of education: freshmen 38 33.0 sophomore 30 26.1 junior 47 40.9 age: 18 years 20 17.4 between 19 & 25 87 75.7 upper 25 4 3.5 upper 27 4 3.5 departments of education faculty: biology 41 35.7 chemistry 28 24.3 mathematics 25 21.7 physics 21 18.3 table 1. shows the demographic data of the participants in categories of gender, level of education, age, and education faculty’s departments. in this study, 115 students participated which many learners were male (97.7%), and surprisingly (2.6%) were female. in addition, (33%) freshmen, (26.1%) sophomore, and (40.9) are junior. similarly, about to the age (17.4%) 18 years old, (75.7%) between 19 and 25, (3.5%) upper 25, and (3.5%) are upper 27 years old. moreover, (35.7%) from biology, (24.3%) chemistry, (21.7%) mathematics and (18.3) are from physics departments. research question 1. how much time students devoted for the usage to spend on facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education? table 2. show the time students devoted for the usage of facebook. table 2.1 more than three hours frequency percentage never 71 61.7 rarely 8 7.0 sometimes 15 13.0 often 13 11.3 always 8 7.0 total 115 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 11 table 2.1 asserts 61.7% never devote time more than three hours in a day, 7% rarely, 13% sometimes, 11.3 often while less amount 7% of learners devote more than three hours for using facebook. table 2.2 three hours frequency percentage never 58 50.4 rarely 18 15.7 sometimes 20 17.4 often 13 11,3 always 6 5.2 total 115 100.0 table 2.2 illustrates 50.4% of students never devote three hours for facebook, 15.7% rarely, 17.4 sometimes, 11.3% often. in addition, very less amount of learners 5.2%, devote three hours for facebook. table 2.3 two hours frequency percentage never 47 40.9 rarely 16 13.9 sometimes 20 17.4 often 24 20.9 always 8 7.0 total 115 100.0 table 2.3 reveals 40.9% never devote time two hours, 13.9% rarely, 17.4% sometimes, 20.9% often while less amount of learners 7% devote for facebook. table 2.4 one hour frequency percentage never 17 14.8 rarely 19 16.5 sometimes 24 20.9 often 34 29.6 always 21 18.3 total 115 100.0 table 2.4 highlights 14.8% devote time one hour, 16.5% rarely, 20.9% sometimes, less than half of the participants often use 29.6% while 18.3% always. table 2.5 less than one hour frequency percentage never 9 7.8 rarely 23 20.0 sometimes 31 27.0 often 28 24.0 always 24 20.9 total 115 100.0 table 2.5 asserts very a smaller number of students 7.8% never devote time less than one hour for facebook, 20% rarely, 27% sometimes, 24% often while 20.9% always devote their time. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 12 research question 2. what are the impacts of facebook on students' social life at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education? table 3. show the impacts of facebook on students’ social life table 3. i like to have friends from my relatives on facebook frequency percentage strongly disagree 9 7.8 disagree 5 4.3 somehow agree 19 16.5 agree 28 24.3 strongly agree 54 47.0 total 115 100.0 table 3.1 demonstrates that 7.8% of students are strongly disagree because they do not like to have friends on facebook from their relatives, very less 4.3% of learners disagree, 16.5% somehow agree, 24.3% agree, but a large number of students are 47% strongly agree. table. 3.2 facebook helps me to maintain in connections with people whom i cannot see them in real life frequency percentage strongly disagree 9 7.8 disagree 4 3.5 somehow agree 19 16.5 agree 34 29.6 strongly agree 49 42.6 total 115 100.0 table 3.2 indicates 7.8% are strongly disagree because the students reported that facebook does not assist them in maintaining connections with persons whom they cannot see them in their real life; fewer amount of students 3.5% are disagreed as well as 16.5% somehow agrees. in addition, 29.6% agrees with the mentioned item, and 42.6% are strongly agreed. table. 3.3 i feel good when sharing my opinions on facebook frequency percentage strongly disagree 10 8.8 disagree 4 3.5 somehow agree 23 20.2 agree 42 36.6 strongly agree 36 31.6 total 115 100.0 table 3.3 reveals 8.8% strongly agree because the students do not feel good when they share ideas, very less amount disagree 3.5, and 20.2% are somehow agrees. moreover, 36% agree, and 31% strongly agrees with. table. 3.4 facebook has effects on my social life frequency percentage strongly disagree 11 9.6 disagree 7 6.1 somehow agree 17 14.8 agree 40 34.8 strongly agree 40 34.8 total 115 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 13 table 3.4 shows 9.6% reported that facebook does not have any impacts on our social life. similarly, 6.1% are disagreed, and 14.8% are somehow agree. furthermore, 34.8% are agree and strongly agree. table. 3.5 when i share photos on facebook, it assists me to communicate with my friends especially when he/she likes/dislikes or share frequency percentage strongly disagree 12 10.4 disagree 13 11.3 somehow agree 25 21.7 agree 40 34.8 strongly agree 25 21.7 total 115 100.0 table 3.5 demonstrates 10.4% are strongly disagree, 11.3% disagrees. in contrast, 21.7% are somehow agree, 34.8% of the students are agree because they reported that it is good to communicate with friends when they like/dislike our posted images, and 21.7% strongly agrees. table. 3.6 i believe in the relationships of my friends on facebook frequency percentage strongly disagree 14 12.2 disagree 13 11.3 somehow agree 38 33.0 agree 33 28.7 strongly agree 17 14.8 total 115 100.0 table 3.6 asserts 12.2% of students do not believe on the relations of their friends in facebook, 11.3% disagrees. however, 33% somehow agrees. furthermore, 28.7% are agreed, and 14.8% strongly agrees. table. 3.7 through facebook i can connect with my friends frequency percentage strongly disagree 13 11.3 disagree 11 9.6 somehow agree 24 20.9 agree 30 26.1 strongly agree 37 32.2 total 115 100.0 table 3.7 highlights 11.3% of the students reported that we couldn’t join with our friends 0n facebook while 9.6% disagrees. likewise, 20.9% somehow agreed, 26.1% are agreed, and 32.2% of the participants are strongly agreed. 5. discussion 5.1 devoted time of students’ for facebook at miwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education the findings of this current research demonstrate that students do not use facebook more than three hours a day, but very less amount of them use it. furthermore, learners do not use facebook for three hours, but 5.2% always use three hours. it means that students do not want to waste their time on the use of facebook; therefore, they do not allocate much time for facebook. this finding is not in accordance with ellefsen (2016) that facebook is almost universally-used among higher education pupils, and they consider facebook as their main social media choices, thus spend a great part of their time on its use in their normal day as well as with nawafleh et al., (2012) wanted to find the negative effects of facebook on user social life. their findings asserted that 49% of facebook users used it more than three hours a day, 72% used facebook several hours a day and they couldn’t reduce the using hours. students, on the other hand, spend a considerable amount of time actively on facebook. this finding is only in copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 14 line with this study that college learners use facebook on an average from 10-30 minutes daily (ellison et al., 2007) because students who study at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education do not devote much time for the implementation of facebook. according to o’keeffe & clark-pearson (2011) that the american academy of pediatrics (aap) classified the time spend on social media into three categories as a high (more than 2 hours), average (30 minutes to 2 hours) and low use (less than 30 minutes). additionally, the finding of this study indicates that students of mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, education faculty, do not use facebook two hours, but fewer learners use it. through these findings, it can be said that students devoted time approximately from half-hour to an hour in a day, which is considered as an average use. this finding is in line with pempek et al., (2009) study revealed that college students spend an average of 27.93 minutes per day during weekdays and an average of 28.44 minutes per day during weekends on facebook. in addition, social networks, especially facebook, was a part of their daily life. moreover, these studies are in line with that students primarily spend between 10 and 60 minutes on facebook per day (orr, sisic, ross, simmering, arseneault, & orr, 2009; sheldon, 2008; stern & taylor, 2007; valenzuela, park, & kee, 2009). however, the finding of alhazmi et al., (2013) is against with that 78.9% of students spend more than one hour a day on facebook. 5.2 impacts of facebook on students’ social life at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education the result of this study reveals that students like friends from their relatives on facebook. from this finding, it can be said that students like to have relationship as well interaction among their folks because social media, especially facebook, is one the communication tool that makes communication easier between friends. this finding is in consistent with the researchers nawafleh et al., (2012) to find the negative effects of facebook on social life in amman, irbid, and jaresh cities. their study asserted, that facebook is a part of their everyday activity and can't leave it, 45% preferred to communicate with their friends and relatives through facebook rather than direct interaction because they valued indirect interaction, 27% facebook causes loss of direct communication or face-to-face meeting with relatives and friends. as well as, this finding is not in match with a qualitative study carried out in turkey to determine the effects of social networks on college undergraduate students’ social life that express ing political views on the facebook environment has negative effects on learners’ social life and relatives were not desired as facebook friends by some of the participants in the study (akbiyik, 2013). besides, another essential finding shows that students reported that facebook helps them to maintain connections with people whom they cannot see them in their real life. this finding is in accordance with a case study on the impact of facebook as a social networking site on youth generations carried out by chowdhury et al., (2015) their study positive impacts asserted that facebook allow teenagers as well as facebook seekers to communicate with their friends. in addition, scholars can build relations with familiar and unfamiliar friends. users can maintain their pervious and new bonding of friendship as well as other relations. also, the finding of this study reveals more that education faculty’s students feel fine when they share their opinions on facebook. through this, it can be inferred that students do not feel bad when they post or share their views on facebook. this finding is in line with nawafleh et al., (2012) that participants feel much more comfortable and free when share opinions and thoughts through facebook more than direct interaction, and give priority to communicate with friends on facebook over their social and career commitments. in addition, the findings illustrate that facebook has positive effects on students’ social life. this finding is in line with akbiyik (2013) who conducted a study on college undergraduate students’ social life, turkey. the findings revealed that facebook has impacts on learners’ social life. 6. conclusion and suggestions the findings of this study revealed that students spend nearly 30-60 minutes on the use of facebook. furthermore, students had the enthusiasm to have friends from their relatives in facebook, and it helped students to maintain in relation with people who were far from them in their real life as well felt good when they share their opinions on the wall of facebook. in addition, it had positive impacts on learners’ social life. likewise, as this study worked on the impacts of facebook on students’ social life at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul, afghanistan. as a result, the following suggestions are given for further studies to be conducted in this and other contexts: to investigate the current status of using facebook, the purposes of using facebook, the impacts of facebook on students’ academic life, learning, behavior, health, and on the academic performance of learners. acknowledgments the researcher strongly acknowledges from all students who participated in this study. references akbiyik, c. (2013). effects of social networks on social life of undergraduate students. middle eastern & african journal of educational research, 4(6), 4-10. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 15 alhazmi, a. k., & rahman, a. a. (2013). facebook in higher education: students' use and perceptions. advances in information sciences and service sciences, 5(15), 32. ali, a., iqbal, a., & iqbal, k. (2016). effects of social media on youth: a case study in the university of sargodha. international journal of advanced research, 4(11), 369-372. aliaga, m., & gunderson, b. (2002). interactive statistics. virginia. america: pearson education. altai consulting for interviews. (2017). social media in afghanistan, afghanistan. aygul, e. 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(2009). is there social capital in a social network site?: facebook use and college students' life satisfaction, trust, and participation. journal of computer-mediated communication, 14(4), 875-901. wang, q., chen, w., & liang, y. (2011). the effects of social media on college students. yin, r. k. (1994). case study research design and methods: applied social research and methods series. second ed. thousand oaks, ca: sage publications inc. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 102 impacts of formative assessment on efl students’ academic performance at kandahar university javed sahibzada education faculty’s research center head english department, kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: sahibzada.javed@gmail.com abdul nafi himat ba english literature english department, education faculty, kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: abdulnafi.himat2017@gmail.com abstract this study investigated the implementation of formative assessment and its impacts on efl students’ academic performance at kandahar university. the study is descriptive in nature; quantitative questionnaire was used to collect data from one hundred and fifty efl students at all four levels selected through random sampling method. the collected data was analyzed by using ibm 24 version of spss and results are reported in tables by showing means, standard deviation, percentage and frequency. the major findings revealed that teachers are using formative assessment as part of their plan, allocating time for peer feedback, methods and tools of assessment teachers are using are group work, assignment, homework, presentation, project work which had positive impacts on students’ academic performance and improved final exam grades. study also disclosed that teachers are valuing more summative assessment than formative, some important methods of assessment are ignored by teachers aversively affected their lower performance. keywords: formative assessment, efl, implementation, impacts 1. introduction in recent years, rapid development of technology and the growing unemployment rate around the world has led many universities to bring changes in various areas of their teaching and learning. these shifts of changes can be experienced in class structures, technology enabling learning, curriculum, teaching methodology from teacher-centered to student-centered to the new active learning methods students-centered learning, problem based learning and outcome based learning have taken place of traditional methods in order to produce graduates based on market demands of twenty-first century. assessment is also the part of these quick variations which has changed parallel with them from traditional end process summative assessment into formative assessment. as teaching assessment and learning is inseparable activities, it is the only promise of any quality institutions to surprise their students with enough assessment during their careers. these can be either in the form of summative taken at the end of the course, program, week, month and semester or formative taken during course, semester, program, instruction, study period or prior to course, program or instruction. the latter type is the prime focus of this paper. as it infers from its name, formative assessment’s main concern is improvement rather than consisting marks, which is very essential for students’ career development. it is often called on-going or assessment for learning. as the name suggests, it is used for learning process and change the learning process in order to achieve better results (wiesnerová, 2012). obviously, formative assessment can be done any time and is not time bound. as a chef can test his/her dish anytime and bring changes for making it more delicious. he/she sometimes wants to add or decrease some ingredients (salt, basil, oil, paper or water) before it is ready for guest or customer to test it. assessment can be done as diagnostic, formative and summative assessment; the diagnostic assessment can be done to recognize areas of the students’ needs, or gaps in their understanding (dandekar, 2015). therefore, the act of measuring the weight of child to find out the development in child’s growth or weight increase after specific amount of time, does not help child’s growth or development. what matters and helped the child growth and development was the food and other nutrition child has received before the act of measuring. in the same way taking into consideration summative assessment as end process does not help with students’ progress in their academic performance but what helps them is formative assessment. in this type of assessment students are receiving feedback from their teachers and it is used to assess course, instruction, program, individual during or prior; its beginning in order to bring changes or adopt them each accordingly. as well as, formative assessment is used as an instrument to declare whether the learning goals have been achieved by the learners or whether further intensive learning enhancement should be made (widiastuti & saukah, 2017). thus, on-going assessment helps in copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 103 accomplishing the intended outcomes by any levels at respected universities. consequently, it can be defined as assessment for learning and not as assessment of learning (ruiz-primo & furtak, 2007). garrison & ehringhaus (2007) argue that formative assessment happens during the instructional process, and its primary purpose is to provide the necessary details to modify teaching and learning. whereas, summative assessment or assessment of learning is used to make final judgment on what students know and do not know. assessment of learning is meant to make decisions on students’ academic performance including pass/fail. it determines whether the goals of education are being achieved or not. it is typically formal in nature and performed at the end of the course or learning module (das, alsalhanie, nauhria, joshi, khan & surender, 2017). as well as, the information that is obtained through formative assessment give teachers chance to change, improve, enhance, or accelerate the topic what he or she is currently teaching to better meet student needs (nicol & macfarlane-dick, 2006; herman, osmundson, ayala, schneider & timms, 2006). formative assessment is a process in which teachers and students provide feedback during instruction to organize the learning and teaching process in order to increase students’ achievement (mcmanus, 2008). despite, formative assessment playing major roles in pupils’ academic performance and learning process and the current policy of ministry of higher education (mohe) emphasizes and supports both formative and summative assessment to be applied in public and private universities. majority of the teachers at kandahar university specifically, efl educators are still focusing on summative assessment rather than ongoing assessment which is direct or indirectly effecting efl students’ academic performance. there are still teachers who are using traditional model of assessment as paper and pencil exam and with such model of assessment it’s difficult to accomplish the educational goal (garrison, et al., 2007). according to noori, shafie, mashwani & tareen (2017) large classes and the limitation of time are the factors that teachers cannot implement assessment for learning in their classrooms. likewise, quyen & khairani (2016) stated that teacher was not allowed to follow any other types of assessment approach that is why he/she only practiced summative assessment in learning process. taking into the consideration the importance of formative assessment with only summative format of assessment in universities will cause the students to be unskilled labors for many companies inside home country or the outside the country. from the beginning of the lesson, students are given the responsibility for their own learning, giving each one an opportunity to create their own knowledge of the subject (ritchhart, church & morrison, 2011). formative assessment assists in investing to eliminate joblessness growing rate which nowadays is serious problem not only in afghan context but around the world due to the universities are not providing market based demand graduates. it informs teachers about students whether the students have learned and they have an indicator qualification for how the teacher should plan their next lesson in future (wuest & fisette, 2012). moreover, supporters of formative assessment claim that it helps students to develop a deeper understanding of the issue they are studying. it helps create life-long learners and give students the power and skills to begin and analyze their own learning and find ways to improve in an independent environment. it does this by turning the student from a passive learner into an active learner, it gives them an occasion to set their own aims and often monitor their own success (clark, 2011). although formative assessment is playing a crucial role in students’ career development, surprisingly limited or no study have been conducted in afghan context specifically at kandahar university, to measure current statues of formative assessment or its impacts on academic performances of the students. therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate current status of formative assessment’s implementation and its effects on academic performance of efl students. this study would help with the (mohe) and it is respected universities in exploring the limitations for implementing formative assessment by teachers in their courses and as an effective data in highlighting impacts and importance of formative assessment. this would also benefit students in universities to understand its value and not to miss these ongoing assessments’ due dates. in addition, it would aid lecturers at public and private universities in using various types of assessment for ensuring themselves that the desired outcomes at different levels have been achieved. 2. objectives of the research  to investigate the current status of formative assessment’s implementation in efl students’ classes at kandahar university.  to investigate impacts of formative assessment on efl students’ academic performance at kandahar university. 3. research questions  what is the current status of formative assessment’s implementation in efl students’ classes at kandahar university?  what are the impacts of formative assessment on efl students’ academic performance at kandahar university? 4. literature review 4.1 implementation of formative assessment noori, et al., (2017) investigated the practices and perceptions of afghan efl teachers toward assessment and also to explore the challenges that instructors encounter in the usage of assessment for learning in their classes in afghan context. the findings showed that instructors preserved positive perceptions toward formative assessment and favored it over final exam. the study copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 104 further illustrated that instructors use summative assessments more than assessments for learning in their classrooms. in addition, a study was conducted by taylor (2017) to investigate formative assessment usage in english language acquisition in an upper secondary schools. its findings revealed from five teachers that have been observed only one teacher’s entire classroom pract ice was formative, three teachers conducted several separate activities, and one teacher did not use formative assessment at all. similarly, research conducted by jasparro & burns (2010) in johnsan and wales university in order to find out the implementation of formative assessment strategies perceived by high school students and teachers. the findings showed teachers plan their formative assessment ahead of time and repeatedly modify their instruction based on students’ feedback. furthermore, more than half of the teachers were often used rubrics and they scheduled class time for students to revise their work. there were low rates of implementation of providing students time for student peer assessment. similarly, 56% of teachers preferred summative assessments instead of assessment. the study further indicated that only one formative assessment strategies were implemented in high levels to use rubrics. less time was given to students during the class to revise their work and instructors changed their instructional approach when they did not do well on the quizzes. another study conducted by ruland (2011) to investigate the effects of using formative assessment attributes in daily instruction of student. the finding showed association with daily use of formative assessment attributes and increase in student achievement. the study further suggests the possible reason that learners who receive assessment for learning attributes perform better on summative assessments is due to belief that they can learn academic efficacy and the desire to continue to learn eagerness. another study conducted to compare the academic outcome of students randomly assigned to an experimental group (formative assessment), to a control group (only final summative examination). the finding of this study demonstrated that the students who participated in on-going assessment obtained better examination results in summative assessment than the ones who did not. this study also found some students who participated in formative assessment failed in formative assessment but still they were successful in the final exams (carrillo-de-la-pena, bailles, caseras, martínez, ortet & pérez, 2009). research conducted by huisman (2018) in lowa northwestern college, to examine the impact of formative assessment on students’ learning. the finding indicated that formative assessment methods that were used in the classroom had positive impact on students’ learning. also, espiritu, shahrill, perera & prahmana 2018) conducted a study to explore the formative assessment practices in science education in relation to the improvement of students’ learning. the findings revealed that formative assessment was used partially and it was also noted few student-led discussions which significantly strengthened current ongoing assessment practices. the study further suggested that assessment for learning in science education can be used successfully. similarly, the practice of formative assessment was studied by tolley (2016) in the northeastern united states, to examine the formative assessment practices of secondary english language arts teachers who were all teaching the same course within a concurrent enrollment program. the findings revealed that there were statistically significant changes in the practices that the teachers used formative assessment from week to week with their students. the study also demonstrated that teachers’ practices assessment for learning in the course. similarly, lord (2013) studied implications of formative assessment in a high school classroom. it was found that teachers were willing to implement new formative assessment techniques to prepare, implement and analyze. it also asserted that only one of the seven teachers provided an explanation of how they would change their instructional techniques. furthermore, there were teachers who felt formative assessment was something they did naturally in the classrooms which does not require proper planning. as well as, research carried out to discover whether the implementation of more comprehensive approach to formative assessment made a difference to students’ summative assessment outcomes or not. the study identified that the choosing of a more comprehensive model of formative assessment increased levels of students’ engagement and built a more positive changes in the classroom as well. it was also improved 12th grade final exam marks of students in the subject of mathematics (stockwell, 2017). the study conducted by widiastuti et al., (2017) in bali, to explore the challenges and opportunities of formative assessment in efl classes. three junior high school teachers and three students were involved in research samples. the findings showed that english instructors had different understanding of formative assessment and several strategies of follow up actions. the first teacher had some awareness about the principles and purpose of assessment for learning. the second teacher utilized result of assessment for learning to improve learning; however, she did not have comprehensive understanding about the criteria of it. she was still using daily assessment closed-ended, open-ended questions and question-answer in teaching. the third teacher did not clearly describe her purpose of ongoing assessment meant for learning. she was using closed-ended questions and openended questions, however her only purpose was to enable students successfully pass in final exam. they also found efl teachers need immediate attention for further intensive training on appropriate usage of ongoing assessment and how to follow up actions should be integrated into classroom practices. vingsle (2014) conducted a study to investigate activities, knowledge and skills that teachers of mathematics are using in their formative assessment practice during class lessons. his findings revealed that the formative assessment practice was very complex and difficult task for the teachers. he also found that teachers used minute-by-minute formative assessment in order to elicit students identifying their leaning needs. moreover, oz (2014) conducted a study to find out teachers’ practices of formative assessment in the english efl classroom. the findings that most of teachers were relied on the conventional methods copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 105 of assessment (fill in the blank, multiple choice, true-false, matching and short term exams) rather than formative assessment process. similarly, research carried out by gioka (2007), to explore the extent to which science teachers use assessment for learning when they teach biology subject in secondary classes. the finding showed that only a few of them implemented elements of assessment for learning in classrooms. 4.2 impacts of formative assessment the purpose of formative assessment is to provide feedback to teachers and students during the course of learning. it helps teachers to fill the gap of the students (heritage, 2007; filsecker & kerres, 2012). obviously, assessment for learning takes place during the teaching and learning activities and the primary purpose is to help teachers to conduct more appropriate teaching and learning activities in order to enhance the students’ learning performance. in this case, it can be summarized that there are two essential purposes of formative assessment: (a) determining and modifying learning activities, and (b) choosing the most appropriate strategies to improve the students’ learning performance (widiastuti et al., 2017). furthermore, a study conducted by yin, shavelson, ruiz-primo, brandon, furtak & young (2008) to find out the role of formative assessments in improving students’ achievement, motivation, and consequently conceptual change. their findings showed that formative assessment did not lead to a significant influence on students’ achievement, motivation and conceptual changes; however, this stemmed from the difficulty of effective implementation of formative assessment rather than its effectiveness. a research was conducted to find out the effects of formative assessment practices on students’ academic performance, attitudes toward lessons, and self-regulation skills in the fifth-grade social studies class of a secondary school. the findings showed that the experimental group in which the formative assessment practices were performed had a significantly higher academic accomplishment levels and better attitudes toward the class than the students did in the control group. with regard to the students’ self-regulation skills, although the formative assessment had a positive effect, no significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups. based on researchers’ observations and interviews conducted with the teacher and students, it was determined that the general view on the application of formative assessment was notably positive. it also found the academic attainments of the students in the experimental group where the formative assessment practices were applied had significantly higher than the ones in the control group where no formative assessment practices were applied (ozan & kincal, 2018). asking questions in ongoing assessment is essential to obtain details about students’ learning and understanding (mcmillan, 2014). teachers plan the implementation or process of formative assessment at the beginning, during or at the end of a unit (ruiz-primo et al., 2007). teachers can spend one-third of their teaching time asking questions from the students in classroom (moss & brookhart, 2009). additionally, formative assessment can be characterized as follows: (a) it is an assessment carried out by teachers on a daily basis during the teaching and learning process; (b) it provides feedback for the instructors to do immediate revision; and (c) it purposes to modify teaching and learning activities in order to improve students’ learning accomplishment. in line with the objectives of instructional processes, consequently, most of the classroom assessment is formative because it allows teachers to consider what improvement should be made immediately which will give significant learning impacts for the students in achieving the learning objectives completely (decristan, klieme, kunter, hochweber, buttner, fauath & hardy, 2015; dunn & mulvenon, 2009). a study conducted by mehmood, hussain, khalid & azam (2012) to identify effects of formative assessment on academic achievement of secondary school students. their findings demonstrated that formative assessment had positive effects on students’ achievements. the study further illustrated that the students who assessed by formative assessment had significantly high score than those who were not assessed. as well, cauley & mcmillan (2010) studied the formative assessment techniques that support student motivation and achievement. findings revealed that each of the techniques can improve student motivation as well as achievements. the study further indicated that assessment for learning have a powerful effect on student motivation and performance. moreover, research conducted by iqbal & anjum (2017) to find out the effects of assessment for learning on academic achievement of elementary school students in the subject of social studies. their findings revealed that formative assessment had positive effects on students’ accomplishment. similarly, eremina & reginald (2016) have investigated influence of assessment for learning on biology academic performance on senior secondary students. this study revealed that formative assessment strategies effectively improved biology accomplishment of students’ and their academic performance was enhanced by the following ongoing assessment strategies: use of questioning, comment only marking and self/peer assessment. they also found formative assessment has significant impact on academic performance of students. research carried out by kline (2013) to find the effects of assessment for learning on middle school students’ accomplishment. findings of this study revealed that formative assessment has positive impact on students’ performance in mathematics and reading. moreover, doffermyre (2016) conducted a research, to investigate the use of assessment for learning and the resulting data to drive instruction in the classroom. the findings showed that the use formative assessment increases the performance of students. moyosore (2015) carried out an experimental research to explore the effects of formative assessment on learners’ achievement in secondary mathematics students. his findings showed strong significant differences in mean achievement score of copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 106 mathematics students exposed to formative assessment strategies also there was no gender difference in achievement scores of mathematics students exposed to formative assessment. research conducted to find the impact of formative assessment on efl learners’ vocabulary enhancement. the findings revealed that formative assessment had positive influence on the learners’ vocabulary enhancement. it also indicated that formative assessment contributed to students’ vocabulary enhancement and helped them to become actively involved in their learning process (torosyan, 2014). in addition, chemeli (2019) studied the effects of five key assessments for learning strategies on students’ performance in mathematics instruction in secondary school. the findings asserted that there was positive impact on students’ accomplishment. the study further suggested educators’ workload, raised students’ attitudes, and interest. these also improved the students’ critical thinking, and educators and learners’ enjoyed from the using (fas). the study further indicated that the use (fas) improve acquisition of problem solving skills (increased students’ motivation, teamwork, participation, response to questions, and the capability to provide reason for something). a study conducted by kiplagat (2016) to determine the effects of formative assessment classroom teaching strategy (facts) on mathematics academic achievement among primary school learners. the findings demonstrated that there was significant impact of (facts) on pupils’ mathematics academic achievement. the study further concluded that formative assessment classroom teaching strategy improved achievement in primary school mathematics. finally, research conducted by peterson & siadat (2009) in chicago to examine the influence of the implementation of formative assessment on student achievement in elementary algebra classes. it was found that after approximately four months the students who were regularly assessed with weekly quizzes achieved significantly higher scores on the final examinations than the students whose instruction did not include formative assessment at all. 5. methodology this study is descriptive in nature which quantitative questionnaire is used to measure the current status of formative assessment’s implementation and its effects on efl students’ academic performance at kandahar university. the participants were 150 efl students mainly from two faculties, education and languages and literature, english departments. they were selected by the use of random sampling method. the adopted and adapted process was in selection of some questions for instrument from the study of asefa’s (2015). its reliability was checked for and had good result of 0.6 cornbach’s alpha. the data was analyzed by using ibm 24 version of spss and found out the frequency, percentage; mean and standard deviation which are presented in tables. 6. findings findings of the study revealed the current status of formative assessment’s implementation and its impacts on efl students’ academic performance. table 1. demographic data distribution of respondents by demographic data characteristics frequency percentage gender: male 135 90 female 15 10 level of education: freshmen 59 39.3 sophomore 30 20 junior 29 19.3 senior 32 21.3 age: under 20 55 36.7 between 20 & 25 81 54 upper 25 7 4.7 upper 28 7 4.7 faculty: education 77 51.3 languages and literature 73 48.7 table 1 shows the demographic information of the respondents in categories of gender, level of education, age, and faculty. there is still limitation in perusing higher education so there are very few students in efl departments, therefor 90% of the respondents are male and only 10% are female. depending to their level of education, freshmen are 39.3% sophomore 20%, junior 19.3% and senior 21.3%. with regard to age under 20 years old are 36.7%, between 20 and 25 are 54%, upper 25 are 4.7% and upper 28 were 4.7% students. regarding to faculty division 51.3% are students from education faculty, english department and 48.7% are from languages and literature faculty, english department. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 107 what is the current status of formative assessment’s implementation in efl students’ classes at kandahar university? table 2. current status of formative assessment’s implementation in classes no items mean std. deviation 1 some teachers use formative assessment as a part of their lesson plan. 3.25 1.00 2 teachers partially use formative assessment in their lesson. 2.95 .92 3 some teachers do not use formative assessment at all. 2.38 1.23 4 in our classes formative assessment is not implemented in teaching by teachers. 2.68 1.07 5 teachers use assessment as a feedback for adopting their methods accordingly. 2.95 1.26 6 teachers use questions and answer technique assessment at the end of lessons. 2.70 1.38 7 some teachers prefer summative assessment instead of formative assessment. 3.02 1.18 8 teachers assess my progress based on day to day activities beside final exam. 2.99 1.25 9 some teachers provide time to encourage peer assessment between students. 3.13 1.20 likert scale: 1. never 2. rarely 3. sometimes 4. often 5. always table 2. indicates the current status of formative assessment’s implementation in efl classes. (m is representing =mean and sd representing= standard deviation). the entire items had the mean scores between in the range of 2.38 to 3.25. three items which got the highest ratings: the first one is students responses on their teachers are using assessment for learning as a part of their lesson plan with (m=3.25, sd=1.00). similarly, the second item that got the high mean score is participants responses on their teachers are giving them time for peer assessment which (m=3.13, sd=1.20). the last item which got higher rating is participants’ responses that their teachers are valuing more final then continues assessment with (m=3.02, sd=1.18). respondents with mean score (m=2.99, and sd=1.25) reported that their teachers rarely use formative assessment. in addition to that (m=2.95, sd=1.26) students reported that their teachers use the assessment results for positive wash back effects of their teaching methods adoption accordingly. the finding also suggests with means score of (m=2.95, and sd=.92) that some teachers do not use ongoing assessment completely during the teaching. result indicate that with mean score (m=2.70, and sd=1.38) students responded that their teachers are using questions and answer method of assessment at the end of lessons. students with (m=2.68, sd=1.07) have reported that their teachers rarely use formative assessment in their teaching. finally, m=2.38, sd=1.23) of the respondents reported that their teachers are not implementing assessment for learning at all. table 3. types of formative assessment used in efl courses frequency percent group work 112 74.7 assignment 99 66.0 homework 89 59.3 presentation 75 50.0 project work 34 22.7 closed-ended questions 17 11.3 open-ended questions 14 9.3 weekly quizzes 11 7.3 portfolio 10 6.7 rubric 2 1.3 table 3. asserts types of assessment efl teachers are using in their courses. group work is the most common assessment method according to 74.7% of the respondents, for 66% of the respondents’ assignment, homework for 59.3%, presentation for 50%, project work for 22.7%, closed-ended questions for 11.3%, open-ended questions for 9.3%, weekly quizzes for 7.3%, portfolio for 6.7% for 1.3% of respondents as a common assessments method by their teachers in their courses. what are the effects of formative assessment on efl students’ academic performance at kandahar university? copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 108 table 4. the impacts of formative on students’ academic performance no items mean std. deviation 11 teachers’ assessing previous lessons have forced me to review previously learned materials. 2.89 .761 12 formative assessment has provided me opportunities to find my strength and weakness in order to work accordingly. 2.87 .816 13 teachers’ assignment in studying new lessons has made me to be active in the class. 2.95 .925 14 teachers’ positive reinforcement motivates me to do my best. 2.88 .819 15 teachers’ questions and answers method of assessment at beginning of the classes and at the end have leaded me to come prepared for the class. 2.95 .822 16 teachers’ assigning in activities during classes helps me to be more creative. 2.90 .841 17 teachers assessing at the end of lesson help me to take note effectively and summarize the lesson for the day. 2.77 .862 18 teachers’ questions at the end of the lesson assist me to be active in class discussion. 2.80 .905 19 teachers’ assigning me for writing reflection has leaded me to avoid misconception in learned points through teacher’s feedback. 2.73 .776 20 the formative assessment has affected my result in final exam. 3.03 .827 21 formative assessment has increased my academic performance. 3.14 .846 likert scale: 1. strongly disagree 2. disagree 3. agree 4. strongly agree table 4. illustrates the impacts of formative assessment on students’ academic performance. all the items had the mean scores between the ranges of two to three. two items which got the highest ranking. the first one students with mean score (m=3.14, sd=.84) have responded that formative assessment has increased their academic performance. the second item with higher mean is (m=3.03, sd=.82) which students have agreed that formative assessment had positive effect on their final exam result. the following items show the lower mean scores compared to the above items. the responses of (m=2.95, sd=.82) respondents indicates that the questions and answer techniques of teachers prior to the class beginning and at the end of the lesson does not help students to come prepared for their classes. in addition to that, students’ (m=2.90, sd=.92) indicates that students being assigned for reading new lessons do not affect their activeness in the classes. beside that (m=2.90, sd=.84) students responds that teachers’ assigning students in activities during the class did not help students to be active in the classes. participants’ responses of (m=2.89, sd=.76) shows that teachers’ assessment of previous lesson does not affect them to review their previously learned materials. additionally, the students’ responses toward item 14 (m=2.88, sd=.81) indicates that ‘teachers’ positive reinforcement did not motivated students do their best’ got the lowest mea. similarly, students’ responses toward item 12 (m=2.87, sd=.81) indicates that ‘teachers’ use of assessment for learning did not help students in discovering their strength and weakness in order to work accordingly’. students’ response to the item 18 (m=2.80, sd=.90) indicates ‘the questions at the end of lessons by teachers did not help students have active class discussion’. furthermore, students’ responses (m=2.77, sd=.86) toward item 17 indicates that ‘teachers’ assessing at the end of lesson did not help students in effective note taking and as well day to day lesson summarization’. finally, students’ (m=2.73, sd=.77) responses regarding item 19 indicates that ‘teachers’ assigning students to write reflection did not help them avoid misconception in learned points through teacher’s feedback. 7. discussion the findings of current study show that efl teachers have used formative assessment as a part of their lesson plans (m=3.25, sd=1.00). it means that lecturers are using on-going assessment as a part of their lesson plan. the similar findings also suggested by jasparro, et al., (2010) that teachers plan their formative assessment ahead of time and repeatedly modify their instruction based on students’ feedback and according to lord (2013) there were teachers who felt that formative assessment was something they did naturally in the classroom. as well as, noori, et al., (2017) that teachers had positive perception toward formative assessment. moreover, the finding of this study also indicated that some of the educators provide time and encourage learners for peer feedback (m=3.13, sd=1.20) which is opposite with the study conducted by jasparro, et al., (2010) whose study demonstrated that there is little time provided for peer assessment. on the other hand, the study also revealed that (m=3.02, sd=1.18) teachers are mostly favored summative assessment rather than formative assessment which is aligned with finding of jasparro, et al., (2010) who found that 56% of teachers preferred summative assessment such as common end course assessment. furthermore, this finding further supported by oz (2014) that most of teachers were relied on the conventional copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 109 methods of assessment (fill in the blank, multiple choice, true-false, matching and short term exams) rather than formative assessment process. similarly, the study also found that the use of formative assessment increased and effected academic performances of the students (m=3.14, sd=.84) and (m=3.03, sd=.82) the use of assessment for learning improve and effects students’ performance. this is in harmony with (ruland, 2011; doffermyre, 2016) that assessment for learning increases the academic performance of pupils. this finding further supported by stockwell (2017) that choosing a more comprehensive model of formative assessment increased levels of students’ engagement and built a more positive classroom (brought changes in the classroom as well). in addition, this finding is also in the line with the (ozan, et al., 2018; mehmmod, et al., 2012; peterson, et al., 2009) that experimental group in which the formative assessment practices were performed had a significantly higher academic performance levels (high score) and better attitudes toward the class than the students did in the control group. these findings can be more supported by carrillo-de-la-pena, et al., (2009) that students who participated in formative assessment obtained better examination results in summative assessment than the ones who did not. the findings of (iqbal, et al., 2017; eremina, et al., 2016; kiplagat, 2016; kline, 2013; cauley, 2010; mehmood et al., 2012) studies show that assessment for learning have powerful, significant and positive effects on students’ motivation and performance. although, this result is differed with result found by yin et al., (2008) that formative assessment did not lead to a significant influence on students’ performance. though, teachers are using various types of formative assessments in efl courses. such as: group work 74.7% assignment 66.0%, homework 59.3%, presentation 50.0%, project work 22.7% there are still some areas efl teachers should consider increasing various types of assessment which directly affect the academic performance of their students. as well as, stockwell (2017) have the same concern for choosing the more comprehensive model of assessment increase the level of students’ engagement and built more positive change in the classroom. furthermore, widiastuti, et al., (2017) also suggested that appropriate assessment for learning and ways to follow up actions should be integrated in the classroom practices. similar problem can be seen in this context as well. as result shows for the types of assessment their teachers are using only 9.3% respondents said they are using open-ended question and 11.3% said they are using closed-ended questions. results discovered with (m=2.95, and sd=.82) that questions and answers techniques used by teachers at end of lesson and prior to class begin did not help them to come prepared for their classes whereas many researchers emphasized on the importance of asking questions for its improving students’ understanding (mcmillan 2014; ruiz, et al., 2007; moss et al., 2009). only 7.3% of the respondents reported they have weekly quizzes that is how (m=2.90. sd=92) reported they are not active in classes and also they are not active in classroom activities in which they are assigned by the teachers. therefore, it can be inferred that teachers are not much focusing active learning in which required classroom activities. in addition, the result also indicates that teachers’ assessments of previous lesson did not assist them to review previously learned lessons which can be inferred from 9.3% weekly quizzes that instructors are not taking seriously review of previously learned materials which are considered very crucial for students to connect new lessons with their previous experiences. result displays that teachers’ positive reinforcement did not help students in doing their best. moreover, similar findings also revealed in the study by yin et al., (2008) where they found formative assessment did not lead to a significant influence on students’ performance, motivation or conceptual changes. obviously, as one of the purpose of assessment for learning is that students learned about their strength and weakness in order to work accordingly where teachers’ role is significant because in the studies of (heritage, 2007; filsecker et al., 2012) reported that the aim of formative assessment is to provide feedback to teachers, students during the course of learning in order to fill the gap of the pupils. thus, the study disclose that learners have trouble in these areas and it is very essential for efl teachers to work with students understand their strength and weakness so that they could work accordingly. additionally, result also specifies that students are not taking note, which effective note taking is very important during lecture, group or class discussion and that maybe because on-going assessment is not used accordingly at the end of the class. as well, choosing the most appropriate strategies, can improve the students learning performance (widiastuti, et al., 2017). the result also confirms this problem which only 9.3% respondents said their teacher used open-ended question as types of formative assessment. as the result indicated more that instructors used formative assessment as a part of their course plan yet students had misconception about learned lesson after the class. the result of this study more indicated (m=2.73, sd=77) that teachers assigning students to write did not avoid their misconception in learned points through teachers’ feedback. it’s either they are not given feedback or students are careless about this vital points. 8. conclusion the findings of this study asserted that teachers are using assessment as a part of their lesson plan and they also allocate time for students for peer assessment among themselves. however, the study also showed that teachers preferred more summative assessment than formative assessment. it also has been discovered that formative assessment had positive impacts on the academic performance of the students. thus, the teachers are using various tools of formative assessment, but there are many types of formative assessment instruments which have been either ignored or limited used such as students’ reflection, quizzes, asking questions and many more that’s how learners’ academic performance in active participation in classes, being prepared for new classes, effective note taking, summarizing results and avoiding misconceptions in their lessons did not improve. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 110 references asefa, e. n. 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(2012). foundations of physical education, exercise science, and sport (17th ed.). new york, ny: mcgraw-hill. yin, y., shavelson, r. j., ayala, c. c., ruiz-primo, m. a., brandon, p. r., furtak, e. m., ... young, d. b. (2008). on the impact of formative assessment on student motivation, performance, and conceptual change. applied measurement in education, 21, 35359. http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/08957340802347845 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 78 assessment of menstrual waste disposal and the environment: the role of adult education in nigeria adekunle olatumile ph.d department of adult education faculty of education adekunle ajasin university akungba-akoko ondo state, nigeria e-mail: adekunle.olatumile@aaua.edu.ng elizabeth aanuoluwapo ajayi department of adult education faculty of education adekunle ajasin university akungba-akoko ondo state, nigeria email: elizabeth.ajayi@aaua.edu.ng phone: +234 806 639 2094 abstract the phenomenon of menstruation portends great impact on the environment and its calls for concern. environmental effect of menstrual hygiene and related issues has been downplayed nigeria. this study was conducted to assess menstrual waste disposal practices and it’s implication on the environment. a self-constructed questionnaire was used to elicit information for the survey design research. while multistage sampling technique was used to select 194 participants of females within the age range of 20 and 59 in akungba-akoko, ondo state. the four research questions raised for the study were answered descriptively while the two hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance. finding revealed among others that though the female adults were aware of the environmental implication of indiscriminate menstrual waste disposal, they practices does not correlate with their awareness because menstrual waste disposal knowledge is not in public domain, while the knowledge gained is informal from older women who themselves lack adequate knowledge. it was therefore recommended among others, that adults deserves to be empowerment by adult education through menstrual waste education (mwe) to improve hygiene as well as the environment during menstrual cycle due to the precarious situation it places on women. keywords: menstrual hygiene; menstrual waste disposal; menstrual management education; environmental adult education 1.introduction mensuration is a natural and biological phenomenon among female population of reproductive age, majority of who menstruate between two and seven days each month. this has to do with the monthly periodic bleeding arising out of the menstrual cycle. houses, mahon, and cavill (2012) perused literature and posit that, globally, approximately 52% of the female population (26% of the total population) is of reproductive age. women menstruate on an average between 13 and 50 years of age in lowincome settings (but can start as early as from 8 years), amounting to a total of 1400 days of menstruation in a woman’s lifetime (sumpter and torondel 2013 cited in rheinlander and wachira 2015). this important phenomenon in the life human being that is linked to procreation has been a source of psychological trauma for women folk in the sense that it is strongly tied to culturally negative prejudices, stereotypes and attitudes. there are several perceptions and practices, which sometimes result in adverse health and environmental challenges (jogdand and yerpude 2011). superstitions, misinterpretations, illogical beliefs, stigmatization, taboos, myths, isolation, rejection, restriction, and marginalisation have greeted this natural phenomenon for women in nigeria. these are reflected in the little or lack of awareness about menstruation for young girls experiencing it for the first time; lack of appropriate and sufficient information regarding menstrual hygiene which may engender incorrect and unhealthy behaviour during their menstrual period; incorrect information and skills which older women communicate to the younger women about menstrual hygiene; beliefs and practices of menstrual management, thus leaving them at the mercy of false attitudes (runum and msuega, 2014; lawan, yusuf, musa, 2010; oche, umar, gana and ango, 2012; gultie, 2014). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 79 it has been stressed that historically, women and girls undergoing menstruation have used variety of materials to absorb menstrual fluid with implications for disposal and sanitation systems to both culture and the environment. these include sea sponges, leaves, corn cobs, wood ash, and pieces of cloth, cotton wool and tissue paper among others (finley 2004 cited in raina and balodi, 2014). the modern disposable menstrual pads were invented in the 19 th century and are being improved upon overtime that premium is placed on advocacy for the affordability and use of disposable pads. whereas, the use of reusable absorbent materials like clothes and reusable pad are not being emphasised. reinforcing this problem is the fact that menstrual health and hygiene concerns have not been mainstreamed into environmental health management. rumun and msuega (2014) observed that the last decade has seen an expansion in sanitarian issues to include the crucial environmental health in the areas of waste water and solid waste management, but there exist very little subtext on menstrual hygiene management. this gap has inflicted setback on the health and wellbeing of the environment because lack of disposal facilities for used sanitary pads or cloths result in blockage of latrines and quick fullness of pits and cause environmental pollution (rumun and msuega (2014). this means the indiscriminate disposal of used sanitary pads, cloths, toilet rolls and other sanitary menstrual absorbents repudiates the environment. raina and balodi (2014) noted that lack of relevant menstrual waste disposal knowledge; inadequate disposal system and practices such as burning, burying, throwing in the waste bin, pit latrine or flushing result in clogged toilets and pollution of water bodies. these used absorbents may also be disposed in gutters, drainages, dunghills and refuse sites causing flooding and pollution. various authors have carried out studies on the physiological health impact of menstrual waste on women and girls but the effect of menstrual waste on environmental health has been downplayed. therefore, this study was set to provide answers to the following questions.  does the government encourage positive attitude towards menstrual waste disposal?  what are the attitudes of females towards menstrual waste disposal strategies?  does menstrual waste disposal influence environmental sustainability?  what can be done to achieve better menstrual waste disposal attitude? some scholars have also noted a relationship between age and educational status in the practice of menstrual waste disposal, hence, this study was also conducted to test the following null hypotheses:  ho 1: age has no significant influence on attitude towards menstrual waste disposal.  ho 2: educational qualification has no significant influence on attitude towards menstrual waste disposal. 2. literature review 2.1 environmental consequences of menstrual waste kaur, kaur and kaur (2018) combed literature on environmental consequences of menstrual waste, and identified the following: sanitation systems were designed with urine and faeces in mind, they are unable to cope with the menstrual absorption materials. these absorption materials clog the sewer pipelines as they are unable to pass through and cause the system backflow. materia ls like tampons, cotton wool, toilet paper, and other organic materials used for menstrual management might be decomposed in pit latrines/landfills except the plastic inlay of the commercial sanitary pads. sanitary napkins might decompose over a period of about one year except its plastic lining in on-site sanitation. in rural areas, pit latrines once full they were covered with soil and new pit was dug but due to land space limitations this was not practiced in most urban areas it was reported that some women and girls wrap their used menstrual cloths and packs in polythene bags before disposing in pit latrines which prevents them from decomposition. nowadays, mostly women/girls prefer commercial sanitary pads and tampons which are made up of super absorptive materials like polyacrylate. these pads and tampons when flushed in the toilets they get saturated with liquid and swell up, thus resulting in sewage backflow, a serious health hazard. the adhesive wings and the perforated plastic layers in the commercial sanitary napkins are not easily biodegradable. the sewage blockages were mostly due to accumulation of excessive quantity of solid waste or sand which results in hardening of the sludge in the pits. blockage of sewage system is a global problem and major contributing factor is flushing of menstrual products in toilets. deodorized sanitary products used by women/girls contain chemicals used in bleaching such as organ chlorines which when buried in the soil disturb the soil micro flora and decomposition takes time. people living alongside river banks throw menstrual waste into water bodies which contaminate them. these materials soaked with blood were breeding places for germs and pathogenic microbes. sanitary products soaked with blood of an infected women/girl may contain hepatitis and hiv viruses which retain their infectivity in soil and live up to six months in soil. the clogged drainage with napkins has to be unblocked and cleaned manually by conservancy workers with their bare hands without proper protection and tools. this exposes the workers to harmful chemicals and pathogens. incineration is a better technique to dispose of menstrual waste but burning of pads releases harmful gasses that effects health and environment. burning of inorganic material at low temperature releases dioxins which are toxic and carcinogenic in nature. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 80 2.2 need for information and education on menstrual hygiene and management information is power, and knowledge is well known to influence attitude over time, hence, the need to provide education, accurate information and awareness creation is sine qua non to positive menstrual hygiene and waste behaviour. this has been canvassed by various authors and organizations. increased access to information can challenge the myths that prevent women from interacting with men or performing household tasks while on their menstrual periods (crofts 2012). lack of information on menstrual preparedness and management is common amongst adolescent girls, while the shyness and embarrassment with which discussions about menstruation are avoided have made the situation even worse. in several cultures, various restrictions are imposed on women and girls during their menstruation period, thus resulting in poor personal hygiene and unsafe sanitary conditions leading to gynecological problems. approximately half of the world’s population of women has known from their own experience, good menstrual hygiene helps to perform optimally during their menstruation period (raina and balodi 2014). onyegegbu (2008) reiterated this when he posited that lack of flow of accurate and sufficient information regarding menstruation led to superstitious perception and beliefs about it in most rural communities. the implications of all these has continue to place girls in a state of confusion over their body and health, and for some women and young girls, lack of knowledge in combination with shame has led them to contracting terminal diseases. 2.3 empirical studies on menstrual hygiene and environment various studies have been carried out on menstrual hygiene and materials used for menstrual flow absorption, raina and balodi (2014) in a study conducted in rural india reported that 59% of rural girls opined that sanitary pad should ideally be used during menstruation but 62% actually use old cloths during menstruation. in the same vein lawan, yusuf and musa (2010) in a study carried in nigeria found that 86.5% of the girls knew correctly that sanitary pad is the best sanitary absorbent recommended for adolescents. whereas rumun and msuega (2014) in a study carried out in nigeria found that 70.5% of girls use sanitary pad, oche, umar, gana and ango (2012) found that 87% of the respondents use sanitary pad. gultie (2014) in his study carried out in ethiopia reported that 97% of the respondents use sanitary pad. on the methods used for disposing menstrual absorbents, lawan, yusuf and musa (2010) reported that 71% dispose them with domestic wastes, gultie (2014) found that 51.4% throw used menstrual soaking materials in the toilet pan, 9.1% throw them in the open field. raina and balodi (2014) reported that 56% of the respondents burn them while 16% throw them in routine waste. on knowledge about menstruation, rumun and msuega (2014) reported that 93% of the respondents are knowledgeable, gultie (20014) in the same vein found that girls are knowledgeable. oche, umar, gana and ango (2012) found that 65% of the respondents had high knowledge. on the significance of age and education on knowledge of menstruation, oche, umar, gana and ango (2012) found that age and education of respondents were not statistically significant with respect to the knowledge of menstruation and its management. however lawan, yusuf and musa (2010) found that the respondent’s knowledge was significantly associated with the age group of the respondents. george and murcott (1992) related that the education of young women about menstruation and its waste disposal is lacking. 3. method and material this study employed a cross sectional survey with a population of females residing in akungba-akoko area of ondo state between the ages of 20 and 59. multistage sampling techniques was used for the study. the first stage was proportionate stratified random sampling based on quarters in akungba-akoko. the second stage was purposive sampling technique to select five quarters representative of the area. the third stage was accidental sampling technique used to select 194 participants from the communities as stated below: the instrument used was a self-constructed questionnaire consisting of closed ended 21 items with multi-choice responses covering issues around the attitude towards menstrual waste disposal and it’s implication on the environment. responses received were analysed using frequency count and simple percentage for the research questions and the hypotheses were tested using one way analysis of variance (anova) at 0.05 level of significance. quarters total akwa 39 araromi 45 ibaka 51 ilale 27 okusa 32 194 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 81 4. data analysis and interpretation bio-data analysis source: field work (2018) fig. 1: chart of participants age distribution figure. 1 revealed that majority of the participants is females within the age range of 20 and 29 years followed by those within the age range of 50 and 59. source: field work (2018) figure. 2: chart of participants educational qualification distribution fig. 2 reveals that majority of the participants have bachelor’s degree while minority have hnd. research question 1: does the government encourage positive attitude towards menstrual waste disposal? table 1: response on government’s attitude and menstrual waste disposal items responses frequency percentage government attitude towards curbing environmental issues is encouraging yes 66 34 no 128 66 there is effective policy or regulatory measures for managing menstrual waste disposal yes 75 38.7 no 119 61.3 lack of social amenities contributes to inadequate yes 171 88.1 54% 24% 16% 6% age distribution 20 29 years 30 39 years 40 49 years 50 59 years 48% 13% 7% 32% educational qualification distribution ssce nce/ond hnd b.sc. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 82 source: field work (2018) a negative grand percentage of 69.1 affirmed that government does not encourage positive attitude towards menstrual waste disposal especially with the lack of awareness creation, policy, amenities among others from the government. the reason for this result may be viewed from the perspective that government and organizations have not been visible in curbing environmental issues especially in rural and semi urban areas and even scholars have limited literature in these areas. unlike the government and organizations in developed countries such as women environmental network (wen) in uk who sensitizes on issues such as this. this finding showed, lack of awareness through the government and non-governmental organizations for majority of females. this is also accounted for in one of the statements for research question four, where participants enjoyed government to have and implement policies that will help curb the menace of seeing menstrual waste in dustbins, on the road or in water. research question 2: what are the attitude of females towards menstrual waste disposal strategies? table 2: response on environmental compliant menstrual waste disposal practice disposal of menstrual waste no 23 11.9 government attitude is effective in creating hygienic menstrual waste disposal effective 39 2.6 not effective 150 77.3 strongly effective 5 20.1 government awareness concerning menstrual waste disposal yes 104 1.46 no 90 grand average positive 60 30.9 negative 134 69.1 items responses f percentage type of sanitary protection used disposable sanitary napkins 180 92.8 tampon 6 3.1 cloth 8 4.1 reason why menstrual waste disposal is not discussed taboo 17 8.8 ritually unclean 39 20.1 embarrassing 93 47.9 attached myth 45 23.2 menstrual waste can be used for rituals if disposed indiscriminately yes 183 94.3 no 11 5.7 usual method for menstrual waste disposal flushing in toilet 65 33.5 burying 20 10.3 burning 86 44.3 disposing in stream/gutter 21 10.8 disposal on land 2 1.0 i am aware of the environmental concerns of menstrual waste disposal yes 147 75.8 no 47 24.2 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 83 source: field work (2018) a positive grand average percentage of 87.6 revealed that females have positive attitude towards menstrual waste disposal. this revealed that most females are aware of what to use; the need and how to dispose menstrual waste, even though it may not be environmentally compliant or discussed in public. this confirms that females have learnt to do these mostly through informal learning from older women and friends. montgomery, ryus, dolan, dopson and scott (2012) confirmed that what women use for menstrual fluid has changed from cloth to disposable sanitary napkin. also lawan, yusuf and musa (2010) supported that in a study carried in nigeria which found that 86.5% of the girls knew correctly that sanitary pad is the best sanitary absorbent recommended for adolescents. finding revealed a negative disposal practice such as flushing, burning and disposing in water ways among others which are not been ideal or environmentally compliant this is in line with dargan, selvaraj and pratap’s finding in 2015 that women sanitary napkins are thrown in toilets, rivers or burned, which are practices that are not environmental friendly. although in relation to research question one, it can be observed that the absence of facilities such as incinerator, laundry machine for reusable sanitary materials among others and lack of enlightenment, may account for the lack of good practice among females. whereas this present practices have impending danger for the earth. research question 3: does menstrual waste disposal influence environmental sustainability table 3: response on menstrual waste disposal and environmental sustainability source: field work (2018) a positive grand average of 82% revealed that participants agreed that menstrual waste disposal influence environmental sustainability. research question three gave a conflicting view in line with research question two, in that the participants know that indiscriminate disposal of menstrual waste poses danger for the survival and sustainability of the environment, yet they do not practice sustainability in its disposal. the findings here affirmed the statements of scholars such as dargan, et.al. (2015) that indiscriminate disposal of menstrual waste becomes barrier for agriculture because it reduces soil fertility; it kills aquatic animals and contaminate drinkable water; and its consistent flushing in toilet causes blockage which later constitute pollution and is unhealthy. this is why lumutenga, khaitsa, muwazi, wakoko-studstill, naigaga, hossfield and ralston (2018) among other scholars, are advocating for organic materials such as reusable cloth pad which will be made up of cotton, hemp, wool, bamboo, micro-fibre and the likes. this is believed to be potent for a sustainable environment and healthy female body. grand average positive 170 87.6 negative 24 12.4 items responses f percentage inadequate menstrual waste disposal have environmental implication yes 170 87.6 no 24 12.4 menstrual waste disposal on land serves as barrier for agriculture yes 124 63.9 no 70 36.1 menstrual waste disposal in streams/sea cause havoc to aquatic animal yes 158 81.4 no 70 18.6 flushing if sanitary napkins causes blockage in toilets yes 174 89.7 no 20 10.3 unhygienic menstrual waste disposal creates healthy and pollution free environment yes 25 12.9 no 169 87.1 grand average positive 159 82.0 negative 35 18.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 84 research question 4: what can be done to achieve better menstrual waste disposal attitude? table 4: response on achieving better menstrual waste disposal practice source: field work (2018) participants according to the findings from research question 4 acknowledged that there are ways to have a better practice of the use of this inorganic sanitary material. the positive grand of 77.3% revealed that majority of the respondents identified possible steps toward achieving a better menstrual waste disposal attitude. some of the ways are creating awareness, inculcating knowledge through education, provision of facilities and implementation of policies are more likely to enhance good practice of menstrual waste disposal. this correlates with dargan, et. al (2015) that proffered solutions for menstrual waste disposal as a multi approach involving the use of appropriate product options, educating on its disposal with an input of women in the sanitation and waste management system. ho 1: age has no significant influence on attitude towards menstrual waste disposal. table 5: anova of menstrual waste disposal attitude by age age sum of squares df mean square f sig. between groups within groups total 7.749 210.504 218.253 3 190 193 2.583 1.108 2.331 .058 α = .05 table 5 shows that an f value of 2.331 and a p value of .058 testing at an alpha level of .05. the p value is higher than the alpha level, so the null hypothesis which stated that ‘age has no significant influence on attitude towards menstrual waste disposal’ is accepted. this confirms the finding of oche, umar, gana and ango (2012) who found that age of females was not statistically significant with respect to the knowledge of menstruation and its’ management. the finding controverts that of lawan, yusuf and musa (2010) that the respondents’ knowledge was significantly associated with the age group of the respondents. this may be seen form the aspect of informal education, where the younger females have always learnt form the older, hence their practice rubs off on the younger. although most of the older women use cloths for their menstrual fluid, they items responses f mean there is need for awareness via media on menstrual waste disposal yes 180 92.8 no 14 7.2 knowledge on menstrual waste disposal unnecessary in schools yes 17 8.8 no 177 91.2 menstrual waste disposal has to do more with availability of facilities yes 94 51.5 no 100 48.5 which method is best for menstrual waste disposal recycling 37 19.1 burning in incinerator 128 66.0 burying 19 9.8 land filling 8 4.1 disposal in flowing water 2 1.0 government needs to implement a policy in relation to menstrual waste disposal yes 147 75.8 no 47 24.2 grand average positive 150 77.3 negative 44 22.7 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 85 still purchase sanitary pads for the younger ones and because they lack adequate knowledge on its disposal, they cannot inculcate a better knowledge in the young ones. ho 2: educational qualification has no significant influence on attitude towards menstrual waste disposal. table 6: anova of menstrual waste disposal attitude by educational qualification educational qualification sum of squares df mean square f sig. between groups within groups total 2.262 215.990 218.252 4 189 193 .566 1.143 .495 .039 α = .05 table 6 shows that an f value of .495 and a p value of .039 testing at an alpha level of .05. the p value is lesser than the alpha level, so the null hypothesis which stated that ‘educational qualification has no significant influence on attitude towards menstrual waste disposal’ is rejected. this implies that educational qualification has significant influence on attitude towards menstrual waste disposal. this is at variance with the findings of oche, umar, gana and ango (2012) who found that education of females was not statistically significant with respect to the knowledge of menstruation and its management. the reason for this may be seen from the perspective of woeller, miller, robertson-smith and bolhman (2015) that advertisement on sanitary pad portrays it has been convenient, desirable and without it menstrual periods can be bad for females. this reveals that though education via the media has made females aware of the benefit of sanitary pads, it has failed to make them functionally literate about the implication of its disposal on the planet earth. this supports george and murcott (1992) that education of young women about menstruation is adequate but its waste disposal is lacking. 5. conclusion menstruation is a natural process in women’s life but due to environmental illiteracy; inadequate waste disposal; negligence on part of the government on awareness and environmental policy issue; and poor health facilities such as menstrual cup, reusable sanitary napkins and incinerators especially in rural semi urban areas (among which is akungba-akoko) we have negative consequences of menstrual waste disposal. it is necessary for the professionals to acknowledge the place of education (formal, informal and non-formal) in ensuring a free environment requiring the support of the government, non-governmental organizations and media outfits. this will ensure having menstrual waste disposal in environmental policy and create awareness about it. in the light that adults are mostly involved, it behaves adult education as a profession to have programmes related women and environmental education to create a safe sanitary and hygienic environment. 6. recommendation: the role of adult education it is true that menstruation not a choice for all females because it is a sign of the ability to reproduce, but managing its waste is a choice. women thus deserve empowerment to better knowledge and skill on menstruation hygiene and management to their wellbeing and that of the environment during their menstrual cycle. this brings the need for adult education to provide menstrual waste education (mwe), which would be germane for addressing the precarious situation of waste disposal menstrual period placed on women. this type of adult education would have a content that exposes adults to the:  ability of selecting and using hygienic menstrual absorbents taking into consideration, it’s environmental friendliness and proper disposal;  advantages and disadvantages of reusable and disposable sanitary menstrual absorbents and its implication for the wellbeing of the environment;  different methods of disposing sanitary menstrual absorbents, its’ advantage and disadvantages as well as implication for the wellbeing of the environment;  implications of improper disposal of sanitary menstrual absorbents on the environment and environmental resources, like soil, underground water and rivers;  the need to make provision for menstrual waste disposal facilities such as incinerator in their homes, offices, schools and every public facility the content of mwe should also provide skills that ensure:  older women are aware and can communicate effectively issues that concern menstruation to the younger ones (male and females) in order to demystify and de-stigmatise menstruation; copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 86  young women are empowered to speak out on issues concerning menstruation;  there is for the males to understand menstrual hygiene so that they will know their responsibilities in giving support to their sisters, wives, mates, daughters, employees, subordinates among others during their menstrual periods;  changes of tight held superstitions attached to menstruation by the society;  all citizens both old and young, male and female support and advocate for the provision of appropriate infrastructure and facilities that will facilitate smooth menstrual hygiene and management to enhance environmental sustainability. mwe can be delivered through the following means:  educative programmes, talks, jingles, spots on menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal on radio and television;  menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal awareness on social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram and whatsapp;  messages on menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal should feature on billboards, posters, leaflets and fliers;  mementos like vests, caps, jotters, exercise books, pens, with menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal messages should be made available to the public;  special community programmes like day celebrations and festival should feature advocacy on menstrual hygiene and management campaign;  gender advocacies should mainstream education on menstrual issues in their programmes  train the trainer programmes on menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal should be organised for teachers, community leaders, religious leaders, community health extension workers and other groups that can reach women and girls  religious outlets like churches and mosques must mainstream menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal issues in their programmes  school curricula especially at primary and secondary levels must include education on menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal  laubach approach of each-one-teach-one should be aggressively applied in delivering mwe. a person that is knowledgeable on menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal issues can educate the other that is not knowledgeable. mwe should be a lifelong education as it revolves round every member of the society; male and female, young and old. therefore, the delivery system and content should be used together rather than in isolation to achieve total result of mutual reinforcement. references crofts, t. (2012). menstruation hygiene management for school girls in low-income countries. leistershire: water engineering and development centre, loughborough university. dargan, t. selvaraj, j. and singh, d. (june 5, 2015). world environment day 2015: menstrual waste disposal and the environment. retrieved on january 31, 2018 from www.india.com/news/india/world-environment-day-2015menstrual-waste-disposal-and-the-environment-409523 george, a. and murcott, a. (1992). monthly strategies for discretion: shopping for sanitary towels and tampons. the sociological review 40(1). retrieved on january 31, 2018 from https://doi.org/10.111/j1467-954x.1992.tb02949.x gultie, t. k. (2014). practice of menstrual hygiene and associated factors among female mehalmeda high school students in amhara regional state, ethiopia. science journal of public health. 2(3), 189-195. houses, s., mahon, t. and cavill, s. (2012). menstrual hygiene matters: a resource for improving menstrual hygiene around the world. ukaid. jogdand, k. and yerpude, p. (2011). a community based study on menstruation hygiene among adolescent girls. indian journal of maternal and child health. 13 (3) 1-6. kaur, r., kaur, k. and kaur, r. (2018). menstrual hygiene, management and waste disposal: practices and challenges faced by girls/women of developing countries. retrieved on january 31, 2018 from doi: 10.1155/2018/1730964 http://www.india.com/news/india/world-environment-day-2015-menstrual-waste-disposal-and-the-environment-409523/ http://www.india.com/news/india/world-environment-day-2015-menstrual-waste-disposal-and-the-environment-409523/ https://doi.org/10.111/j1467-954x.1992.tb02949.x copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 87 lawan, u m., yusuf, n w. and musa, a. b. 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(2008). menstruation and menstrual hygiene among women and young females on rural eastern nigeria. journal of science teachers association of nigeria (jstan) 28, 193-206. raina, d. and balodi, g. (2014). menstrual hygiene: knowledge, practices and restrictions amongst girls of dehradun, uttarakhand, india. global journal of interdisciplinary social sciences 3(4), 156-162. rheinlander, t. and wachira, m. (2015). menstrual hygiene. global health minders. retrieved on january 31, 2018 from http://ghm-menstrualhygiene-brief.pdf rumun, a. j. and msuega, a. p. (2014). menstrual knowledge and practices among adolescent females in makurdi metropolis. global journal of interdisciplinary social sciences 3(3), 113-121. woeller, k., miller, a., robertson-smith, a. and bohman, l. (2015). impact of advertising on tampon wear-time practices. clinical medicine insights women health 8, 29-31. retrieved on january 31, 2018 from doi: 10/4137/cmwh.s25123 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 1 ho chi minh’s thought on mass mobilization and the application of this view by the communist party of vietnam in current situation ngoc loi pham faculty of public relations and social work ho chi minh city cadre academy ho chi minh city, vietnam e-mail: huyenhong83@gmail.com abstract over half a century ago, president ho chi minh gave a basic thought about the mobilization work of a revolutionary party in a famous article published in the newspaper "the truth" (su that). that work is considered as the platform for the work of mass mobilization. his thoughts have led our party to implement the mobilization work to achieve great achievements, decisive to the victory of our revolution during the past 71 years. this study aims to analyze president ho chi minh’s thoughts on mass mobilization. the author used scientific research methods such as analysis and synthesis, interpretation and induction, abstraction and generalization, logic and history, and comparison to come to conclusions and general judgment. the study focused on clarifying the contents of ho chi minh's thoughts on mass mobilization and the application of the communist party of vietnam in current conditions. keywords: ho chi minh‟s thought, the communist party of vietnam, mass mobilization. introduction ho chi minh's ideology on mass mobilization is a component of his system of thoughts on the vietnamese revolution. this view is clearly expressed in ho chi minh's work "mass mobilization" written seven decades ago. but the contents of the work in which the central idea is “taking people as the root” still maintain theoretical and practical values, illuminating the innovation cause in vietnam. president ho chi minh was a genius and beloved leader of vietnam, a prominent communist soldier of the communist and international worker movement. his legacy and thoughts left to the whole party and our people are big and precious, including the work of “mass mobilization”. this work was written 71 years ago on october 15, 1949, and published in the newspaper “the truth”, vol. 120 by the penname x.y.z. in only 619 words, the work conveyed the contents and messages expressing the great ideology of the leader who devoted wholeheartedly to the country and people. the work of “mass mobilization” includes four main contents: i) our country is a democratic nation; ii) what is mass mobilization? iii) who is in charge of mass mobilization? iv) how is mass mobilization? especially, the idea of "taking the people as the root" is the focal point of the work. literature review traditionally, in the history of wars and revolutions of humans, the ruling classes, forces, and political parties have been concerned with the gathering of mass forces to support them. in the history of building and defending our country, the feudal class in many dynasties respected the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 2 idea of "taking the people as the root" and knew how to mobilize the people to gain domination and fight against foreign invaders to protect the country. tran quoc tuan, the national hero, the eminent representative of the tran dynasty mandarin, stated: “the will of the people is the strongest fortress to safeguard the country, and promoting the people‟s strength is the top policy of the country” (do, 2019). nguyen trai, the eminent strategist of the lam son insurgent army, also said: “it is the power of the people that carries the boats”. “it needs to be very harmonious in the relations with the people. the worries of the people are the worries of the century” (mai, 2018). however, due to the limited conditions of history and the class stance, the feudal groups did not form a basic, consistent, and complete policy for the mobilization work. ho chi minh absorbed the minds of the people in the history of the nation to evaluate the position, role, and strength of the people. for example, he inherited tran quoc tuan‟s point of view in the work van kiep esoteric book, “the benefits of the people are the top policy to defend the nation”. besides, he learned from phan boi chau who affirmed that the people were the masters of a country, not the king, and there was a close relationship between the people and nation. he wrote, “my people belong to my country. the people are the country‟s people and the country belongs to the people” (thanh, 2020). ho chi minh also absorbed the theory of marxism-leninism that “revolution is the cause of the masses”, and “the people are the creator of history”. based on absorbing the national tradition and the theory of marxism-leninism, ho chi minh highly valued the role of the people. he affirmed, “people are the root of the country”, and the people are the main force of the revolutions; “all forces lie in the people's place”, “the power of the people is strong” (city, 2011a). the thought of promoting the people for the benefit of the people is the ideal, the goal, the life motto, and the revolutionary operation method of president ho chi minh. that great thought is expressed by ho chi minh's work of mass mobilization (dan van). thus, absorbing and developing the progressive thought of humanity and the nation, from the lessons of success and failure of the world revolution and the vietnamese revolution, notably from the practical experience of leadership of vietnam revolution from 1930 to 1949, president ho chi minh, with his strategic vision, summarized and raised the critical issues of the mobilization work. ho chi minh’s thought on mass mobilization the power of the people is big, which is the decisive factor for all victories. it is a simple thing that everyone understands. but, what is the issue of mass mobilization? why is it so important? who is in charge of mass mobilization? all of the above questions have not been answered seriously. it is the first time in the history of our nation's thoughts, president ho chi minh's work on mass mobilization has basically and concretely answered those questions. the concept of mass mobilization given by president ho chi minh was highly generalized with authentic and rich content. the work of mass mobilization became the classics of marxism-leninism about mass mobilization. the work of mass mobilization is humanistic, in which all benefits deriving from the people. at the beginning of the work, president ho chi minh affirmed the main thesis, “our country is a democratic country” (city, 2011a). it can be seen that democracy is the theoretical basis and the key to the mass mobilization work. the people are the “root” of the country and the subject of all historical creative activities (van, 2020). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 3 the people are the masters of the country, so “all interests and powers belong to the people and for the people” (city, 2011a). the government must consider the interests of the people as a goal, and all powers, policies, and laws must be for the benefit of the people, serving the people (son, 2019). also, the party and government should not have any other interests. ho chi minh stated, “the people are the masters, so the government is a server. becoming officials today is not for promotion and fortune” (city, 2011b). the nature of our nation is a democratic state that is “the people are the masters of the country”. they are entitled to all democratic rights including the right to live, the right to have freedom, and the right to work according to their abilities to the extent permitted by law. the state must protect its people's ownership by building and perfecting democratic institutions so that they can be true masters in all economic, political, cultural, and social fields. ho chi minh emphasized the highest status of the people because they are masters of the country (phuc, 2020). all power belongs to the people, all benefits are for the people, and all work is done by the people. therefore, the people enjoy the rights of ownership, and at the same time, have the obligations and responsibilities of the owner. “renovation, construction are the responsibilities of the people. the cause of the resistance war and national construction is the work of the people” (city, 2011a). the people have the responsibility to build and manage their country, “the government from the commune to the central is elected by the people” (city, 2011a). mass organizations from central to local are organized by the people. each citizen must be obliged to fulfill its civic duty and to keep civic morality to exercise his democratic rights. president ho chi minh's affirmation that „all power and force belong to the people" stated in his work mass mobilization (dan van) is the starting point, as well as the guiding motto for all activities and work of our party and government. the party, state organizations, each official, and party member must grasp and deeply understand the role of the people, thereby training awareness and responsibility to well fulfill the tasks assigned by the people. they should have a close relationship with the people, learn from the people, and understand the people's feelings and aspirations to work for the prosperous and happy life of the people. in other words, it is necessary to well mobilize, gather, and promote the strength of the entire people to serve them well. stemming from explaining the nature of the state, in his work mass mobilization, president ho chi minh has gradually clarified many problems in the mobilization of the masses, both in content and implementation methods. all issues that "our country is a democratic country"; "what is mass mobilization?", "who is in charge of mass mobilization work?", "how should mass mobilization be?" has clearly shown the relationship between the objective, the task, and the solution. to bring a life of freedom, prosperity, and happiness to all people through the building of a democratic state, the real state of the people, by the people, for the people, in the work of dan van, president ho chi minh pointed out one of the basic tasks is to unite, gather forces, and build a great national unity bloc. he stated, “mobilizing all forces of each person, not leaving a single person behind, contributing to the entire population force” (city, 2011a). it is also the content of the mass mobilization work, which explains the concept of mass mobilization. to perform well the mobilization work, according to ho chi minh, it is necessary to synchronously implement many solutions, especially respecting the principle of “taking the people as the root.” https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 4 first of all, it is necessary to clarify: who is in charge of mass mobilization work? according to ho chi minh, mass mobilization is to mobilize all the people, so that is the responsibility of the whole political system: “the unions and all members of mass organizations (lien viet, viet minh, etc.) must be in charge of mass mobilization” (city, 2011a). regarding methods of implementation, according to ho chi minh, there must be a combination of propaganda, explanation, and actions. in which, propaganda and explanation are the first steps for “each citizen to understand clearly: it is for their benefits and their duties, so they must eagerly make the work possible (city, 2011a). at the same time, it is essential to discuss with the people, “consult with the people and make practical plans with the local circumstances, then encourage and organize the entire population to implement them” (city, 2011a). cadres in charge of mass mobilization must “follow, help, urge and encourage the people” (city, 2011a), “show the people how to do it”. there must be summaries, “to learn from experience, criticize, and reward” to promote the movement. in particular, president ho chi minh asked cadres in charge of mass mobilization to “talk along with actions”, to “honestly put their hands on things”, "do not speak plainly", “just sit and write orders” (city, 2011a); they must "be a model for the people” (city, 2011a). the idea of “taking the people as the root” is a typical feature of the whole work mass mobilization. therefore, president ho chi minh always asked each official and party member to “be close to the people” and to have a good relationship with the people (vna, 2020). for cadres in charge of mobilization, that requirement became even more necessary. mobilization officers must have the manner: "thinking, looking, hearing, walking, speaking, doing" (city, 2011a), only on that basis, can they be close to the people, and understand the people, thereby mobilizing them to participate in the revolutionary cause. it is a lesson that everything must come from the interests of the people, and cadres must be close to the people. in the work of “mass mobilization”, president ho chi minh outlined the content and implementation method for mobilization. at the same time, he also pointed out and criticized the limitations when many officials “look down on the work of mass mobilization” (city, 2011a), surrendered this work to others, irresponsibly, “considers themselves not to be responsible for mobilization.” it is not only a defect but also a grave mistake (city, 2011a). this instruction of president ho chi minh is of great significance, which is a valuable lesson for all cadres, party members, and political apparatus of the party and state since the power of the people is very strong. “mass mobilization is important. bad mass mobilization will lead to bad results; good mass mobilization will result in success” (city, 2011a). the communist party of vietnam’s application of ho chi minh’s thought on mass mobilization in the present time the cause of national renewal in vietnam (1986) was derived from the wishes, "aspirations and initiatives of the people" and responded by the people to achieve today's achievements. therefore, the national construction platform in the transition period to socialism (amended in 2011) affirms: “the cause of the revolution is of the people, by the people, and for the people. it is the people who make the historic victories. all activities of the party must come from the legitimate interests and aspirations of the people. the party's strength lies in its close relationship with the people. bureaucracy, corruption, and alienation from the people will lead to immeasurable losses to the destiny of the country, the socialist regime, and the party (the communist party of vietnam, 2011). summarizing 30 years of renovation, the communist party of vietnam continues to affirm the role of the people: "innovation must always grasp the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 5 viewpoint considering the people as the base, for the sake of the people, based on the people to promote the role of the people as the masters of the nation, their sense of responsibility, creativity, and all resources, and to promote the strength of national solidarity (the communist party of vietnam, 2015). relying on the people to build a clean and powerful party and state to serve the people better is always a consistent viewpoint in the party's undertakings and lines and the state's policies and laws. the communist party of vietnam has issued many directives and resolutions to consistently express the above point of view, typically resolution no. 08b-nq / tw (term vi), dated march 27, 1990 on reforming mass mobilization, strengthening the relationship between the party and people; directive no. 30-ct / tw, dated february 18, 1998 of the politburo (term viii) on the formulation and implementation of the democratic regulations at grassroots level; resolution no. 25-nq / tw, dated june 3, 2013 on strengthening and renewing the party's leadership towards mobilization work in the new situation (session xi); decision no. 217-qd / tw, decision no. 218-qd / tw of the politburo (session xi), dated 12/12/2013, on “promulgating regulations on social monitoring and criticism of the vietnam fatherland front and socio-political organizations ","promulgating regulations on the vietnam fatherland front, socio-political organizations and people participate in building the party, building the main permission"; conclusion no. 120-kl / tw, dated january 7, 2016 of the politburo (session xii) on “continuing to promote and improve the quality and effectiveness of the development and implementation of the grassroots democracy regulation. these are very specific and valuable regulations and instructions on the contents, subjects, methods of monitoring, social criticism, and contributing opinions of the vietnam fatherland front, socio-political organizations and the people towards the party and state. since then, the entire political system and each agency, unit, officer, and party member have the basis to promote to the highest level of the people‟s power in new historical conditions. relations with the people are also constituted in the constitution and laws of the state. the constitution, it affirms: "the communist party of vietnam is closely attached to the people, serves the people, is subject to the supervision of the people, and is accountable to the people for its decisions" (the 2013 constitution of the socialist republic of vietnam). in the current period, when the world and domestic situation are constantly changing, the hostile forces are seeking to destroy the revolutionary cause of the party and the people of vietnam. the party must gain people‟s trust because it is the biggest asset of the ruling communist party of vietnam. however, in reality, the people's trust in the party has declined in some places, which has a bad influence on the renovation of our country. conclusion in summary, ho chi minh‟s thought on mass mobilization is considered the platform which has led our party to implement the mobilization work to gain great achievements. the communist party of vietnam should apply the viewpoint “taking the people as the root” the precious value of ho chi minh's thought in the work mass mobilization into the new situation. all activities, undertakings, and policies of the party and the laws of the state must come from the aspirations and the will of the people, performed by the people, and aim to bring benefits to the people. gaining the people's trust should be one of the objectives of the leadership of the party. especially, the party must keep a close relationship with the people. the people are also the resource and strength to build a clean and strong party and state, so it is necessary to promote the strength of the people in the work of building the party and state. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 6 references city, h. c. m. (2011a). complete works, volume 6, hanoi: national political publishing house city, h. c. m. (2011b). complete works, volume 5, hanoi: national political publishing house do, t. k. (2019). some things about "reducing the contribution of the people". retrieved from https://nhandan.com.vn/chinh-tri-hangthang/doi-dieu-ve-khoan-thu-suc-dan-348778/ mai, h. h. (2018). the thought of the great national unity in the lam son uprising lasts forever. retrieved from: https://vanhoadoisong.vn/web/trang-chu/xa-hoi/sang-mai-tu-tuong-daidoan-ket-dan-toc-trong-cuoc-khoi-nghia-lam-son.html phuc, n. t. (2020). ho chi minh thought about the state of the people, by the people, and for the people. retrieved from https://tcnn.vn/news/detail/48155/tu-tuong-ho-chi-minh-venha-nuoc-cua-nhan-dan-do-nhan-dan-va-vi-nhan-dan.html son, d. (2019). all state power belongs to the people. retrieved from http://tuyengiao.vn/nghien-cuu/de-tat-ca-quyen-luc-nha-nuoc-thuoc-ve-nhan-dan-119076 thanh, p. d. (2020). discussing the constitution. retrieved from http://quochoi.vn/tulieuquochoi/anpham/pages/anpham.aspx?anphamitemid=29 the communist party of vietnam. (2011). the platform for country building in transition to socialism (revised in 2011). hanoi: national political publishing house. the communist party of vietnam. (2015). central executive committee, steering committee summarize: report summarizing some theoretical and practical issues over 30 years of reform (1986 -2016). hanoi: national political publishing house. the 2013 constitution of the socialist republic of vietnam. retrieved from https://vietnamlawmagazine.vn/the-2013-constitution-of-the-socialist-republic-ofvietnam-4847.html vna. (2020). building party committee in close relationship with the people. retrieved from http://tapchithongtindoingoai.vn/ly-luan-thuc-tien-kinh-nghiem/xay-dung-dang-bo-ganbo-mat-thiet-voi-nhan-dan-36057 van, b. (2020). a precious lesson, considering the people as the base. retrieved from http://noichinh.vn/nghien-cuu-trao-doi/202002/bai-hoc-quy-lay-dan-lam-goc-307515/ copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://tcnn.vn/news/detail/48155/tu-tuong-ho-chi-minh-ve-nha-nuoc-cua-nhan-dan-do-nhan-dan-va-vi-nhan-dan.html https://tcnn.vn/news/detail/48155/tu-tuong-ho-chi-minh-ve-nha-nuoc-cua-nhan-dan-do-nhan-dan-va-vi-nhan-dan.html http://tuyengiao.vn/nghien-cuu/de-tat-ca-quyen-luc-nha-nuoc-thuoc-ve-nhan-dan-119076 http://tapchithongtindoingoai.vn/ly-luan-thuc-tien-kinh-nghiem/xay-dung-dang-bo-gan-bo-mat-thiet-voi-nhan-dan-36057 http://tapchithongtindoingoai.vn/ly-luan-thuc-tien-kinh-nghiem/xay-dung-dang-bo-gan-bo-mat-thiet-voi-nhan-dan-36057 http://noichinh.vn/nghien-cuu-trao-doi/202002/bai-hoc-quy-lay-dan-lam-goc-307515/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 112 teacher’s attitudes towards the effects of lesson plan on classroom management: a case study of sufi sahab zakur high school mehdi moradi english language and literature department education faculty, kandahar university afghanistan e-mail: mehdi.moradi1198@gmail.com abstract the present study has been conducted to investigate the teacher’s attitudes towards the effects of lesson plan. furthermore, the second goal of the study is to investigate the effects of lesson plan on classroom management. similarly, the questionnaire had two parts the first part had 6 items and the second part had 6 items too and applied randomly. besides, the data analyzing was performed in spss (version, 21) and bring out the mean and standard division. finally, the findings reveled the importance and role of lesson planning on classroom management numbered as follow: (1) planning is the most appropriate skill that the teacher needs to create a successful one. (2) the effective teacher is the one who plan effective lessons. (3) preparation is the most important thing a teacher does. in addition, the following factors are related to the effects of lesson plan on classroom management. (1) planning is a necessary skill to develop an organized learning environment. (2) good planning minimizes class management problems. (3) a successful learning environment is the result of well lesson plan. keywords: lesson plan, classroom, effects, management, teachers, attitudes 1. introduction education is crucial to the social, political and economic development of any nation and consequently effective education is very important. effective teaching is important because it is based on helping children developments from one level to another in a friendlier interactive society and to help students to be independent. effectiveness does not mean being perfect or giving excellent performances, it is mean being able to plan effective lessons to catch the learner’s attention and to get them whol ly engaged within the learning process, and consequently no time is available to make noise or bad behaviors in the classroom. for that it has been said that good order is the foundation of all things (othmane, 2015). classroom management deals with how things are generally carried out in the classroom. according to rothstein (2008) classroom management is the relation between the teacher’s ability and student’s behavior to establish an appropriate classroom learning and teaching. also groves (2009) asserted that “classroom management is set of rules, words, and deeds that, the classroom teacher, use to keep classroom running smoothly so that you and your students can work, teach, and learn safely and efficiently”. in addition, teaching is the interaction between teacher and student who participate for getting their own objectives. the quality of the teacherstudent relationship is the reason for all other aspects of classroom management, therefore, we may say that the teachers play a major role in planning lesson. when they prepare it effectively, they will have a well-managed classroom since this helps them to avoid discipline problems and to facilitate student learning. classroom management involves all aspects of what is going on in the classroom while a lesson is being taught because it includes elements of classroom discipline but it focuses more on creating learning environment that is organized, engaged and respectful for both teachers and students. (hanane, 2016). teachers as well were concerned with the questions of how to teach effectively and how to plan lessons successfully in order to avoid any mistakes with classroom management. lesson plan as an effective tool of teaching was described by loads of researchers, below are some of them. 2. lesson plan hanane (2016) has defined lesson plan as guide for teacher’s classroom management that helps teachers to facilitate teaching learning process. the author also explored, lesson plan is an important thing that the teachers should prepare it appropriately before they go to their classes, planning helps teacher to know how to interact with students in easy way. besides, the author stated lesson plan is the primary technique in teaching, where teacher’s ability and knowledge occur in the classroom. accord ing to the writer, lesson planning is the teacher’s role in the class to represent his or her experience effectively . mahon (2011) refers to the lesson plan as, ―an organized outline for signal instructional periods, it tells the instructor which teaching method is to copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 113 be used for the lesson, what is to be taught, and in what sequence to present information. additionally, edge and garton (2009) clarify three questions that help the teacher to plan; what are the aims of the lesson? how the teacher is going to achieve these aims? and how will he or she knows if he or she had achieved his or her aims or not? moreover, mohan (2007) defined lesson plan as “an outline of the important points of a lesson arranged in the order in which they are to be presented to students by the teacher”. in order to facilitate learning for students, the best solution for the teacher is that he or she should prepare his or her lesson. similarly, lesson planning is the basic step of classroom management, in a way that a good lesson preparation is a base for a well-managed classroom, for that butt (2006) claimed that the key to good teaching, purposeful classroom management and the achievement of nonstop educational development occurs in effective lesson planning. thus, the most effectively the teacher plan his lessons, the classroom will be well managed (othmane, 2015). in addition, savage (2014) described lesson plan is a process of thinking and writing down a plan for teaching and learning within a lesson that i will be teaching to a clear number of students, in a specific place at a specific time. the lesson plan will change over years and also the place and the time may change. also, mishra (2008) reveled that lesson plan is a creative skill of teacher’s work which enable him or her to use his or her experience appropriately. moreover, lesson plan is the basic component that the teacher should focus on to describe the lesson because savage (2014) mentioned that lesson plan is a written document which should be the key of results of teaching and will result in your teaching and your students learning something. moreover, the author explored that experienced and novice teachers must prepare and plan their lessons before they go to school because it is important and it enables them to avoid many problems. although, planning a lesson is an important thing that the teachers should prepare it appropriately before they go to their classes according to woodward (2001) planning helps you to know how to interact with your students in easy way. besides that, neeraja (2003) stated that lesson plan is the primary technique in teaching, where teacher’s ability and knowledge occur in the classroom. and according to lakchmi and bhaskara (2016) lesson planning is the teacher’s role in the class to represent his or her experience effectively. some teachers may ask themselves why they must make lesson plan before they go to school. moreover, singh (2008) mentioned the need and the importance of lesson plan by many reasons, first, in the teacher’s outline, preparing the lesson is the organization of the lesson which facilitates teacher’s and student’s activities in teaching learning process. second, lesson plan enables the teachers that what are the goals of the lesson and they will have at less one idea about their subject because every teacher must present his or her practices for achieving the aim of teaching. third, in lesson planning, an activity should finish the series of the content. fourth, the ability of the student is focuses on the relation between the new knowledge and the previous knowledge. fifth, teaching approaches and methods are the most important principles in the content. sixth, teaching practices and managing the classroom are related with each other. seventh, lesson plan helps the teacher to respect the sequence of content and in the same time guide him to follow the structure and he or she will not forget his or her ideas and information. eighth, lesson plan represents an appropriate place for students in the teaching classroom. ninth, effective lesson plan based on the influence of teacher’s role in classroom. tenth, by creating effective lesson plan the lesson become reachable. furthermore, according to the butt (2006) lesson plan breaks down the activity into steps to decide on arrangement of steps; plan for practice activities, plan for evaluating learning during lesson, the able teachers who have already a clear knowledge about their students who have created a relationship between them and their students and who have clarity about their topics these will help them to understand that they are able to teach an effective lesson. woodward (2004) proposed that there are some reasons which make the teachers think of having a plan. first, it helps to decrease the feeling of uncertainty or self-doubt and enhancing the teachers sense of confidence and self-sureness, this may reflect on the learners. moreover, it assisted the teachers to have an idea about the kind of research he is going to conduct. also, it helps him to think about the materials to use beforehand. planning lessons and setting goals from the begging would help the students to gather their thoughts about the lesson before class. in addition to that, by planning the teacher would not be confused to answer the learner’s questions. furthermore, it helps the teacher to develop a personal style, and having a permanent record of his work are further advantages of having a plan beforehand. 3. statement of the problem lesson plan is one of the most frequent effective factors in the classroom management settings. it has a great influence to manage a good classroom because classes without teacher’s planning may lead to discipline problems, disruptive behavior, poor learning, disappointment and frustration. most of the researchers have the same idea that without lesson plan teachers cannot manage the classroom well which already mentioned in previous pages. also, a study was conducted by behzad (2013) reveled that afghanistan is a developing country which nowadays is experiencing quality education but still there are lots of problems that cause low quality education. lack of qualified teachers is one of the causes which the majority of school teachers (especially remote areas) are lack of pedagogical content knowledge which in the result they use poor teaching methods. do not planning a copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 114 lesson is another problem which cause low quality teaching. lesson plan helps teachers to teach effectively and achieve the goal. most of afghan teachers design lesson plan, but have problems in its implementing, in some remote areas the teachers are unaware of designing lesson plan, because most of them are 12 th grade graduates. to respond the above issues and problems this research conducted to explore the use of lesson plan for managing classrooms in afghanistan primary schools especially at sufi sahab zakur high school and find out the methods of applying lesson plan for managing classrooms better. 4. significance of the study the ultimate study has a great impact on the learning and teaching process. in order to create a good atmosphere in the classroom, teachers must plan a well-organized lesson. it clarifies the role of lesson planning in improving learners’ effective classroom. it will be beneficial for teachers, especially teachers of sofi sahab zakur high school will be able to benefit in their classes. 5. purpose of the study the present study aims at investigating teacher’s role in lesson planning and classroom management. also it aims at demonstrating the correlation between lesson plan and classroom management as well as to prove that we can eliminate disruptive behavior and to assist teachers to do in which to facilitate teaching learning process. the study emphasizes on planning lesson because it considered being the most necessary component for good classroom. thus, the role of planning lesson could be link to improve managed classroom style. 6. research objectives  to investigate teachers’ attitudes towards lesson plan at sufi sahab zakur high school.  to investigate the effects of lesson plan on classroom management at sufi sahab zakur high school. 7. research questions  what are teacher’s attitudes towards lesson plan at sufi sahab zakur high school?  what are the effects of lesson plan on classroom management at sufi sahab zakur high school? 8. literature review in this part of study, the author has collected other scholar’s findings and results of their studies about effects of lesson plan on classroom management over the world. historically, and still today researchers and educationalists have debated on the two complex issues of learning and teaching. they have experienced various results and have developed different theories and aspects about learning and teaching. there is no single opinion or definition of learning; every researcher and educationalist have their own views. learning is often said to be gaining of new knowledge, skills and attitudes (karlsson and mansory, 2003). according to oser and baeriswyl, (2001) have conducted a study, the authors revealed that lesson plan is the most important part of teaching, and of improving students learning. this is because it provides teachers with opportunities to plan instructional activities to more effectively meet student’s learning needs and to differentiate instruction to enable all students to benefit from instruction. in addition, through planning, the teacher organizes and structures instructional activities to stimulate the cognitive activation of students. the researchers also argued that through planning teachers are expected to create both the visible structure of a lesson and the deep structure of learning. however, the authors claimed that most teachers organize only the conditions for fixing activities of students over the internal activities of learners. the processes of lesson planning is a complex activity that wants the lesson plan from teachers. first, to design lessons for activating learning by taking into account both learners previous knowledge and learner’s motivation. second, to expect the kind of mental activities to take place when students learn the planned lesson. third, to plan different kinds and levels of supporting individual students in their learning, and fourth, to plan how to assess the outcomes of implemented instructional plans oser and baeriswyl, (2001). moreover, the authors proposed four level models of planning for teaching-learning. first, the teachers expect the desired learning outcome and make appropriate lesson plan to achieve the goal of learning. a teacher at this level creates a mental model for focusing on what content should teach and a step-by-step learning strategy. second, the teacher plans the sequences of teaching (the visible structure of teaching). third, the teacher plans for sequences of learning (internal learning process) focusing on mental processes of the learner. fourth, the teacher expects both the cognitive and emotional learning product, and the teacher plans to rate the results of learning products. in summary, the teacher plans for teaching activities, deep learning activities, and evaluation of learning products (oser and baeriswyl, 2001). jalongo, rieg, and helterbran, (2007) stated that lesson plan is an important part of teaching and learning where the teachers make their experience of students learning, and also a lesson plan helps the teacher to select goals, to develop learning activities, and to design appropriate assessments to evaluate and reflect on the outcomes of teaching and learning. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 115 a quantitative study which explored the use of lesson plans in afghan primary schools conducted by behzad (2013), the main objectives of the study were to find out the implementation method of lesson plans, reasons of applying lesson plans and teacher’s views on lesson plans. the study conducted in three districts (shekh ali, siah gerd and shinwari) and charikar city of parwan province and data collected by questionnaires filled in by 200 language and math teachers (100 males and 100 female). the main findings of the research showed that all teachers regardless of gender, education level and teaching experiences claimed that they used lesson plans in their teaching. a majority of teachers, regardless of gender, education background and years of teaching experience described lesson plans of their own and did not use the format instructed by teachers of teachers training collage. most teachers prepared their lesson plans one day before at home. to consider the importance of lesson plan stages, the findings showed that the majority of both male and female teachers responded to all stages. through a short look on reasons of applying lesson plans, the author saw that most of both male and female teachers used lesson plans to achieve the goal. more experienced teachers didn’t use lesson plans because of having enough experiences. important parts of lesson plans include motivation of students and student activities. moreover, courey, tappe, siker and lepage, (2012) conducted a research and the authors mentioned the results of their study. the research had several implications for teacher preparation programs. first, credential applicants can benefit from instruction in lesson planning that promotes the use of specific lesson plan techniques and principles to make the general curriculum more accessible to all students. second, the effect size findings suggest that the lesson planning training maintained over time from the second to third lesson plans and student’s use of principles increased as demonstrated by the increase in scores. however, the researchers stated that, in general education settings, the lesson plans can be written so as to provide increased curriculum access for struggling students and their more advanced peers. in this manner, all students in the class may benefit from the variety of instructional and assessment options used by the teachers. the richness of lesson plans with multiple options for representation, action, expression and engagement will probably appeal to students with less skill in class. hanane (2016) conducted a research and the researcher explored the relationship between lesson plan and classroom management at the department of english of mouhamed khieder university. the researcher tended to know if the teachers see planning as an important part for teaching while student’s questionnaire administered to second year students at the department of english in order to know whether the students benefit from teacher’s planning or not. additionally, the result showed that planning plays a major role to organize and to manage the teacher’s classroom. the different answers that the writer has gotten from the participants in questionnaire revealed about some aspects related to their attitude toward the effect of lesson plan on the teacher’s classroom management. in addition, their answers supported more the background information which created in this piece of research. furthermore, the researcher revealed that the importance of planning and preparation makes the teacher more confident for teaching and makes the students aware of learning. thus, if the researcher considers again the answers of the respondents, the researcher can say that all of the student’s attitudes agree w ith the significance of lesson plan on improving a well-managed classroom because it is a helpful and useful skill for them. moreover, as the hanane (2016) mentioned in section two in the research about lesson plan and its importance and how it can impact on the student’s behavior then the results showed that the majority of students are agree with the teacher’s planning and preparation. moreover, the researcher explored about improving an effective classroom management, as the result showed and the questions also dealt with how to make the student’s good discipline in the c lass and the respondents were also present. last but not least, the researcher stated that from the student’s questionnaire results we have found that lesson plan is indeed helpful in managing the teacher’s classroom. from the questionnaire results, the researcher has also found that the student’s discipline has totally a powerful effect in influencing in the classroom management. therefore, there is clearly enough evidence to state that if learners follow their teacher’s lesson plan, they will create a well-managed teacher’s classroom. however, the researcher also as conclusion mentioned that lesson plan is the most effective skill for both teachers as a detailed outline to teach and students as a detailed guide to learn. all the teachers either experienced or novice one should give more attention to develop an organized classroom environment. if teachers’ pay much attention on preparing and planning lessons, it will help the learners too much in increasing their positive discipline, and this lead to create an appropriate classroom management. in addition, the author stated throughout the analysis of the teachers and learner’s questionnaires, the following findings were elicited. first, the majority of teachers plan their lessons even if they are experienced. second, teachers of ahmed zeid middle school are aware of the importance of lesson planning for both teachers and learners. third, lesson planning may effect on classroom management positively or negatively depending on how well it is designed. fourth, disconnection in the classroom can be reduced by the preparation of lesson plan. fifth, there is a strong relationship between lesson planning and classroom management. sixth, students have a positive attitude toward their teacher’s lesson planning. seventh, teachers of ahmed zeid use a few strategies of classroom management in their classrooms. as well as, in conclusion the author mentioned that effective teaching is based on a good lesson planning because lesson plan is a significant step which allows the teachers to organize their classroom in good way and help the students to concentrate in systematic way since lack of planning lessons may lead to disruptive behavior, frustration, noisy, reduced learning. therefore, planning is the key or the solution to avoid and eliminate discipline problems in the class as a wellmanaged classroom copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 116 based on an effective lesson plan. according to mishra (2008) “a good lesson planning is an often invisible by absolutely essential part of all good teaching especially effective language teaching”. thus, effective classroom management is achieved through a well prepared lesson. moreover, othmane (2015) conducted a research, the researcher explored that, teaching is the foundation to provide students with much learning behaviors because improving a wellmanaged classroom is the responsibility of teachers and schools in which establishes and maintains a good student’s discipline in the classroom. additionally, it seems from the results that the majority of teachers said never face problems in their classrooms because they plan their lessons in good way, minority of them said rarely face with problems, and few of them said sometimes they face discipline problems. furthermore, the majority of students who chose yes that lesson plan is very important for them to create a good understanding while few of them said no it is not important, and some of them said do not know. we want to know whether the students can focus easily when their teachers plan well organized activities. moreover, křížová (2012) conducted a research and the aim of the research was to stress the importance of lesson planning and to prove that openings and endings create essential borders of each lesson. the author stated, in the theoretica l part, lesson planning together with openings and endings of lessons were described to create background to the practical part. for the practical part of the research, the main source of information was the observation sheets of colleagues and own observations. the observation showed interesting results. at nursery and primary schools, songs appeared three times at the beginning of the lesson, checking homework could be found in four observation sheets from nursery to upper secondary schools, only two out of twenty-one teachers used the advance organizer, for example announced the lesson plan at the beginning, this was observed with the learners of lower and upper secondary schools, a game appeared three times as an activity at the beginning with lower and secondary students, there was one case in which homework was set at the center of the lesson, discussion appeared four times with upper secondary and adult learners. however, one observation sheet showed that it was common to use a test at the beginning of the lesson with upper secondary learners. in ten cases, the ends of the lessons included setting homework. in three cases there was a game, the summary or plans for the following lesson. at nursery and lower secondary schools, a song was used in two observed lessons. one lesson ended with a test, one with a discussion and one with a competition (correcting mistakes). it was also discovered that in four cases there was no ending of the lesson and in four cases there was no beginning. the interviews with the teachers proved that most of them do not prepare their lessons in a written form but they know how the lesson should be taught and while teaching, they tried to attach to their previous ideas about the lesson procedure. to summaries, there are many activities which can be included in the beginnings and endings of lessons křížová (2012). moreover, the findings of this thesis confirmed that the activities mostly differ according to the age and level of the learners. thus, all the activities should be different and changed to fit the level of the learners. with young learners, games and songs are more likely to be successful than with more advanced learners. children learn better through physical activities, drawing and songs. with adults, young adults or teenagers, discussions and presentations seem to be very popular as well as advance organizers and summaries of what has been taught. the writer considered it very useful to investigate lesson planning during the research and to learn about the best practices used in openings and endings of lessons. 9. research methods research design this research design was descriptive quantitative conducted to investigate teacher’s attitudes towards the effects of lesson plan on classroom management. according to creswell (2012) quantitative research attempts to quantity, collect and analyze numerical data, and focus on the links among a smaller number of attribute across many cases. site of research sufi sahab zakur high school is selected as the data collection source because it is one of the important schools of kandahar city and also have a huge number of students. population and sampling size in this study, the participants of the study were sufi sahab zakur high school’s teachers. the total of participants in this study were 45 teachers. according to morgan (1970) table, 40 teachers were randomly selected from that school, among which 20 from morning, 20 from afternoon shift. they were all at the age of 25 to 45 years and with different degree. sampling method the method of the research was random sampling and used to develop the sample of the research to figure out the result out by questionnaire, which belongs to the teacher’s attitudes towards the effects of lesson plan on classroom management at sufi sahab copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 117 zakur high school in kandahar city, sample members are selected on the basis of their degree and experience. according to creswell (2012) in sample random sampling the researcher selects participants for the sample so any individual has an equal probability of being selected from the population. the sample members who were selected had special experience in teaching several subjects. hence, the researcher provided all 40 teachers of the selected school with the survey questionnaire. the rationale why the researcher has chosen the particular governmental school and the participant is due to their accessibility. instrument the main instrument used in this research was a questionnaire. the researcher adopted and adapted questionnaire from different studies, such as hanane (2016) in teacher’s questionnaire part, and othmane (2015) in the analysis of the results part. the questionnaire translated into pashto language and had three parts: part 1: personal information. part 2: there were 6 items belong to importance of lesson plan. part 3: there were 6 items belong to effects of lesson plan on classroom management. based on 5 likert scales. 1: strongly disagree, 2: disagree, 3: somehow agree, 4: agree, 5: strongly agree validity and reliability of the questionnaire validity refers to the issue of whether the indicator which is introduced to measure the concept, really measures that concept (denscombe, 2010). on the other hand, the consistency of the findings and conclusion of the research is the basic pillar of the validity (bryman, 2012). to insure the validity of this research method, before the questionnaire was piloted by the researcher, the author consulted with supervisor for creative feedback and comments. in order to examine the reliability of the questionnaire, the cronbach’s alpha method used to evaluate reliability and the researcher used statistical package for social sciences (spss 21). the reliability of the instrument was calculated .726 which is acceptable. data collection procedure prior to data collection the researcher sought consent from the head of the faculty. teachers were also informed of the nature of the study and they were assured that their participation is voluntary and their names would not be reveled in the publication of this research. after seeking the consent of the research participants, the questionnaire was distributed among them and they were directed to fill up the questionnaire in the presence of the researcher. all the research participants were assured that they would be given the access to this study once. all participants responded to the questionnaire and handed over to the researcher. data analysis procedure after collecting the data from participants the data was analyzed in order to know the result of the research that analysis process was held with the help of spss software (21) version in which researcher calculated means, standard deviation to determine the effects of lesson plan on classroom management among the participants. 10. findings the below table 1 shows the demographic information of participant in the categories of gender, age, qualification and work experience. table 1: demographic information. characteristics no of participations percentage gender male 40 100% age of participants qualification: work experience: 20-15 16 40.0% 26-30 7 17.5% 31-35 6 15.0% 36-40 7 17.5% graduate 5 12.5% post graduate 11 27.5% license 24 60.0% master 0 0% 1-5 12 30.0% 6-10 11 27.5% 11-15 5 12.5% 16-20 5 12.5% copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 118 the research questions aimed to finding out what teachers think of planning lessons before going to classroom as well as managing a well-organized classroom? table 2: teacher’s attitudes towards the effects of lesson plan. statement mean sd.div planning is the most appropriate skill that the teacher needs to create a successful one. 4.85 .361 the effective teacher is the one who plan effective lessons. 4.82 .384 preparation is the most important thing a teacher does. 4.82 .384 i face difficulties in preparing a lesson plan. 4.61 .633 i have lesson plan for arranging my classroom. 4.57 .635 it is important for the teacher to plan his/her lessons. 4.47 .933 likert scales: 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=somehow agree, 4=agree and 5=strongly agree the overall finding of the above table shows the effects of lesson plan, the factors with high and low mean are: planning is the most appropriate skill that the teacher needs to create a successful one. (m= 4.85, sd= .361), the effective teacher is the one who plan effective lessons. (m=4.82, sd=.384), preparation is the most important thing a teacher does. (m=4.82, sd=.384), i face difficulties in preparing a lesson plan. (m=4.61, sd=.633), i have lesson plan for arranging my classroom. (m=4.57, sd=.635). and it is important for the teacher to plan his/her lessons. (m=4.47, sd=.933). table 3: effects of lesson plan on teacher’s classroom management. statement mean sd.div planning is a necessary skill to develop an organized learning environment. 4.77 .422 good planning minimizes class management problems. 4.72 .452 a successful learning environment is the result of well lesson plan. 4.70 .516 planning lesson is an important part of teaching. 4.60 .594 planning is an easy task to prepare before going to classroom. 4.57 .94816 lesson planning and classroom management have relationship between each other. 3.13 1.436 the result of the above table 3 shows the effects of lesson plan on classroom management, the factors with high and low mean are: planning is a necessary skill to develop an organized learning environment, (m=,4.77, sd=.422), good planning minimizes class management problems, (m=4.72, sd=.452), a successful learning environment is the result of well lesson plan. (m=4.70, sd= .516), planning lesson is an important part of teaching, (m=4.60, sd=.594), planning is an easy task to prepare before going to classroom, (m=4.57, sd=.948), lesson planning and classroom management have relationship between each other. (m=3.13, sd=1.436). 11. discussion of the results in this part of the study, the results have discussed and compared with other studies. after analyzing of the data, the result revealed that the production of well-designed lessons does really influence on classroom management, the teacher’s answers show that, the majority of sufi sahab zakur high school teachers apply some strategies of lesson planning and classroom management, but not all of them. this demonstrates that teachers’ preparation may affect classroom management positively, the first highest result of the research question; around 90 % of the teachers, education level and teaching experiences responded that they apply lesson plan in their teaching and follow the plan completely or to a large extent. whether this is true or not, the researcher cannot say, since there was no possibility to follow up the answers by classroom observations. the ministry of education of afghanistan requires individual teachers to use lesson plan in their teaching. similarly, tanni (2012) stated that making a lesson plan is necessary and evens the responsibility of teachers in teaching. the second highest result is that, sufi sahab zakur school teachers are wholly alert of the importance of lesson planning in maintaining a healthy learning environment that is free from disruption and management problems but they use a few strategies of lesson planning and classroom management. the remedy to this, is that sufi sahab zakur school teachers have to rethink about designing of lesson plan that have more attractive af fects, so that they get their learners more engaged and consequently less disruptive. this is in line with othmane (2015). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 119 furthermore, hanane (2016) conducted a research, the author collected data from participants and the writer has found from the teacher’s questionnaire results that lesson plan is indeed helpful in managing the teacher’s classroom. from the questionnaire results, the writer has also found that the student’s discipline has exactly a powerful effect in influencing in the classroom management. therefore, there is clearly enough evidence to state that if learners follow their teacher’s lesson plan, they will create a well-managed teacher’s classroom. 12. conclusion lesson plan is the most effective skill for teachers as a detailed outline to teach. all the teachers either experienced or novice one should give more attention to develop an organized classroom environment. if teachers concentrate much more on preparing and planning lessons, it will help the learners too much in increasing their positive discipline, and this lead to create an appropriate classroom management. throughout this research, the researcher has argued that teacher’s lesson plan is one major aspect for creating a wellmanaged and organized classroom because this study has covered how to maintain discipline problems for powerful teaching and learning. the aim of recent research in the field is to find the solutions for learning and teaching problems in the class in order to motivate the teachers and to make teaching and learning process more enjoyable. the study starts by exploring the theoretical foundations in which effective teaching cannot occur unless the teachers prepare and plan their lessons in an appropriate way since this research has had an attempt to present how teacher’s planning can effect on the student’s behavior. moreover, the study reports the correlation between lesson plan and classroom management in order to establish a good student’s discipline. as the study investigates the relationship between teacher’s lesson plan and classroom management , a correlation analysis has been conducted. teachers questionnaire was correlated the two variables. the results of analysis confirmed the objectives and produced positive results. finally, teachers should prepare and plan their lessons to create good student’s discipline and pay more attention on how planning can help them to improve an effective classroom management. 13. limitation the use of quantitative method and questionnaire as data collection tool was a limitation of this study. use of observation would have been more appropriate or could at least have been used as a complementary method but because of time constraints the researcher could not do that. it is clear that collecting data only from one school with limited number of teachers may not be very representative to all schools in the country and the results cannot be generalizable. due to security problems, lack of transportation, long distance and time constraints only one school in the kandahar city of the province was selected for this study. the fact that the respondents were mainly from the selected school could also account as a limitation. cultural problems like difficulties of contacting with teachers were also the limitation of the current study. references behzad, a., (2013). method and system of lesson planning in classroom environment. u.s. patent no. 8,442,015. washington, dc: u.s. patent and trademark office. bryman, a, (2012) social research methods. oxford: oxford university press. butt,g.(2006). lesson planning. london and new york: continuim international publishing. courey, s. j., tappe, p., siker, j., & lepage, p. (2012). teacher education and special. teacher education and special education, 36(1), 7-27. creswell, j. w., (2012). planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. sage publication. denscombe, m. (2010). the good research guide for small-scale research projects. milton kenynes: open university press. groves,e.(2009). the everything classroom management book: a teacher’s guide to an organized, productive, and calm classroom. united state: adams media. hamilton, l., halverson, r., jackson, s., mandinach, e., supovitz, j., & wayman, j. (2009). using student achievement data to support instructional decision making (ncee 20094067). washington, dc: national center for education evaluation and regional assistance, institute of education sciences, u.s. department of education. hanane, t., (2016). the effects of lesson plan on teacher’s classroom management; case study: second year english students of lmd at biskra university. karlsson, p. &mansory, a. (2003), western learning, theories of learning, stockholm: stockholm university křížová, b. (2012). openings and closures of english lessons. mishra,l.(2008). teaching of mathematics. india: a p h publishing corporation. mohan,r.(2007). innovative science teaching: for physical science teachers.delhi: p h i learning private limited (3ed). neeraja,k.(2003). text book of nursing education. new delhi: jaypee brother’s medical publishers. oser, f., & baeriswyl, f. (2001). choreographies of teachings. bridging instruction to learning. in v.richardson (ed.), choreographies of teachings. bridging instruktion to learning (4th ed., pp. 1031-1085). washington: american educational research association. https://patents.google.com/patent/us8442015b2/en copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 120 othmane, m,.(2015). the role of lesson planning in improving effectiveclassroom management. the case of middle school teachers of english at ahmed zeid – biskra. rothstein, c. and trumbull, f. (2008). managing divers’ classrooms: how to build on student cultural strengths (p. 02). usa: association for supervision and curriculum development singh, y. (2008). teaching of english (p. 187). india: apa publishing corporation. tanni, m. (2012), teacher trainees’ information acquisition in lesson planning, ir information research, vol. 17: no.3 woodward, t. (2004). planning lessons and courses (pp. 1,16,233,234,235). united kingdom: cambridge university press. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 167 definition of natural languages using context-free grammer: in context of dari language mahmood asgharzada master of science, informatics, technical university of berlin herat university, afghanistan e-mail:asgharzada85@gmail.com abstract formal definition of a natural language lets computers understand it; the languages have challenging complexity to come under representation of any formal language. modeling assumptions, using formal languages, we can approximate the languages; and better approximation we do, more complexities of formal languages are resolved. objective is to study current researches and possibilities to model dari as a context-free language. researchers have worked for more than 6 decades on definition of syntax of natural languages using context-free grammer. it is crucial that computer scientists to be able to thoroughly understand about which category of formal languages the natural language exist in in. in overall, our skill to decide the grammar type of natural languages performs a significant role in our capability to parse it. this review article concludes that discussed issue of the context-freeness of a certain language is regularly reliant on upon the level of complexity of the language. the common of languages investigated in this regard are languages of european family and indo-aryan languages liker dari, arabic and pashto have not been adequately fortunate to be devoted thorough researches in this regard. keywords: context-free, grammer, formal language, modeling. 1. introduction a context-free grammar is a system to define languages. it is a formal grammar to produce all possible strings in a specified formal language; and in formal language theory, it is a specific form of formal grammar: a group of production instructions which describe all probable strings in a given formal language (klabunde, r. 2002). context-free grammer is a potent formalism to define syntactic structure of formal language; it lets individuals to stipulate rules which state how a component can be segmented into smaller and smaller components, up to level of individual words. context-free grammer can be used to provide a formal explanation of syntax. any language potential to be defined by some context-free grammer is context-free language. “natural language processing is mainly working with the understanding of nature (syntax) and the meaning (semantics and pragmatics) of natural languages” (klabunde, r. 2002). “to make a computer understand a natural language, it is first necessary to define a language formally, but natural languages are much too complex for representation by any formal language” (sundararajan, 2007).we can approximate natural languages by formal languages simplifying assumptions; better the approximation we need, less relaxed the assumptions we can make and more complex the formal language model becomes (klabunde, r. 2002). among different types of formal grammars, context-free grammar gives the best replacement between complexity and degree of approximation. along with multiple challenges which parsing natural languages have, dari requires further research to develop models to be analyzed. the language is a perso and arabic language and its morphological system has essential linguistic forms and terminology of arabic and urdu language (mukhtar, n., khan, m. a., & zuhra, f. t. 2011). 2. results and discussion context-free grammars have been widely used by computer scientists and linguist to describe the syntax of programming languages and natural languages. context-free grammars are used in the backus-naur form when they are used to describe the syntax of programming languages (earley, 1968). defining the syntax of natural languages using context-free grammars has been the object of interest of computer scientist and researchers for now more than 6 decades. from the very early days of computer programming, computer scientists had predicted the necessity of translating natural languages using computing power and parsing techniques. gazdar et. al argue that it is not only desirable but absolutely crucial for human-beings to bring the command of natural languages under their own control as the computers increase in their complexity and functionality (gazdar & pullum, 1985). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 168 for this purpose, computer scientists need to be able to parse a certain natural language to be able to enable computers to interact with that specific language. this is the exact point when the theory of parsing of natural languages come into our equation. for computer scientists to be able to parse a natural language, it is crucial that they pedantically understand about which class of formal languages that specific natural language resides in. it is why gazdar et.al argue that “there can be no parsing without a grammar.” (gazdar & pullum, 1985). for computer scientists to be able to come up with programs that can compile and interpret natural languages, it is necessary to have parsing algorithms and grammars. (earley, 1968). therefore, jay earley believes that the development of automatic parsing algorithms is highly significant. (earley, 1968). all in all, our ability to determine the grammar type of natural languages plays an important role in our ability to parse it as well. the chomsky hierarchy of languages (type 0 or recursively enumerable languages, type 1 or context-sensitive languages, type 2 or context-free languages, type 3 or finite state languages) is accepted as the standard linguistic division of languages and “the question of where the natural languages are located on the ‘chomsky hierarchy’ is an intrinsically interesting one” as pointed out by pullum et. al (pullum & gazdar, 1982). a large number of scientists and linguists have been searching for universal limitations on the class of natural languages and in this search; they have investigated some formal linguistic properties including context-freeness (sheiber, 1988). though the initial consensus among computer scientists has been the context-freeness of all natural languages, many later on have objected to the validity of this notion. some scientists find context-freeness to be a rather restrictive and weekly class to define natural languages as shieber (sheiber, 1988) puts it in this way: “soon after chomsky’s categorization of languages into his well-known hierarchy, the common conception of the context-free class of languages as a tool for describing natural languages was that it was too restrictive a class – interpreted strongly (as a way of characterizing structure sets) and even weekly (as a way of characterizing string sets).” some languages like english, swiss and german have been tested against the properties of context-free grammars to see if it is possible to conclude that natural languages are a set of context-free grammars or not. noam chomsky, james higginbotham and gerald gazdar have been the pioneering scientists in this regard. stuart m. shieber in his paper “evidence against the context-freeness of natural languages” (sheiber, 1988) attempts to prove that categorizing natural languages as a class of context-free grammars is completely problematic and he presents some data from swiss-german language to counter the idea and provide a proof of the “weak non-context-freeness of swiss german” (sheiber, 1988). therefore, sheiber believes that it not a hard task to prove that the set of natural languages is not included by the bigger set of context-free grammars and suggests that he proves it to be so by making “as few (and as uncontroversial) linguistic assumptions” and making no particular assumption about the structure or semantics of swiss german. throughout this paper, subordinate clauses have been his main object of interest to show non-context freeness of swiss german language. in the same paper, he tackles some counterarguments against his claim in order to make sure to convince the readers that his theory is sound enough to resist the counter claims. “english is not a context-free language” is the title of another paper by james higginbotham in the series of rebuttals of the idea of inclusion of the natural languages under the set of context-free grammars, though this time scrutinizing english language specifically. he began by accepting that the question of whether english is a context-free language “has for some time been regarded as an open one.” (higginbotham, 1984). later on in the same paper, he emphatically argues against this idea and goes on to prove his thesis using the properties of context-free grammars. traditionally, computer scientists against the idea of inclusion of natural languages under the set of context-free grammars have used two main properties to prove their notion: pumping lemma and closure properties of contextfree languages under intersection. higginbotham in this paper uses the idea that a regular set l (this is a set that can be generated using a finite automaton) under intersection with english language produces a non-context free grammar. therefore, given that “context-free languages are closed under intersection with regular sets, that l ∩ english is not a context-free language proves that english is not a context-free language either.” (higginbotham, 1984). his proof consists of empirical and mathematical parts and putting a lot of stress on “such that” construction and its use in english language to prove his point. another attempt in this regard to prove that english is not a context-free language is done by postal in which he uses sluicing to refute that english is a context-free language (postal, 1984). sluicing is a type of ellipsis where expected or predicted worlds are removed from the end of the clause. later in the same year, a famous paper named “on two recent attempts to show that english is not a cfl” is published by geoffrey k. pullum (pullum, 1984). he argues that proofs in this regard do not prove to have the required rigor by stating that “many of the purported demonstrations of the non-cf-ness of various languages that have appeared over past twenty-five years have been replete with both mathematical errors and empirical shortcomings.” (pullum, 1984). in this paper, he concentrates on the attempts to show that english is not a cfl and claims they have substantial logical flaws. he goes on to say that “they fail to make their case because closer attention reveals that their empirical claims about english are incorrect.” (pullum, 1984). throughout the paper, he discusses why sluicing clauses and such that clauses fail to prove that english is not a context-free language. he also argues that it is important for linguists to determine “at least whether english – the most studied language in the era of generative grammar and the primary focus for natural language copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 169 processing efforts – is context-free or not.” (pullum, 1984). the reason for importance and necessity of such a decision is, as he puts it, “the availability of a vast fund of information about efficient parsing of cfl that could in principle be put to work on parsing english”. (pullum, 1984). it is also important to say that pullum et. al always have defended the idea that the question whether natural languages come under class context-free grammars or not should be an open question. what pullum and gazdar often do (pullum & gazdar, 1982) is to demonstrate that the negative answers to the question above often lack some level of logical integrity. they propose that the question should be taken up again and again since they believe “all the arguments for the negative answer that have been provided in the literature are either empirically or formally incorrect.” (pullum & gazdar, 1982). 3. conclusion therefore, we can conclude that the debated issue of the context-freeness of a particular language is often dependent upon the level of complexity of the language. it looks like the majority of languages investigated in this regard are languages of european family and indo-aryan languages liker dari, arabic and pashto have not been lucky enough to be dedicated thorough researches in this regard. dari is the official language of iran, afghanistan and tajikistan with more than a hundred million speakers around the globe (shamsfard, 2011). the lack of researches in this regard have rendered dari a “less-resourced” language and more researches about the grammar classification and text-process-ability of dari language will convert this popular language to “a machine processible one with efficient resources and processing tools.” (shamsfard, 2011). for us to be able to come up with tools to parse the language, it is necessary to have a good grasp of distinctions of the language and challenges it might pose. some of the challenges that mehrnoush shamsfard counts that potentially proposes challenges for researches in the grammar classification and parsing of dari language might be summarized as following: · “dari is a pro-drop language with canonical sov word order. there are a lot of frequent exceptions in word order, which are caused by processes such as scrambling, verb preposing, postponing, dislocation, clefting, pseudoclefting and topicalization movement (mahootian, 1977). the frequent exceptions have turned dari to a free word order language.” (shamsfard, 2011) very frequently, we might have some of the words or even phrases omitted because of the semantic or syntactic properties of the language. it is also very popular to omit the subject as well due to the fact that the agreement (person and number) embedded in the world plays an important role in determining the subject. (shamsfard, 2011) “dari is a derivational and generative language in which many new words may be built by concatenating words and affixes. so the possibility of facing a new world that is not available in the system’s lexicon is high.” (shamsfard, 2011) references berstel, j. (2013). transductions and context-free languages. springer-verlag. chomsky, n., & schützenberger, m. p. (1963). the algebraic theory of context-free languages. in studies in logic and the foundations of mathematics (vol. 35, pp. 118-161). elsevier. ginsburg, s. (1966). the mathematical theory of context free languages.[mit fig.]. mcgraw-hill book company. ginsburg, s., & greibach, s. (1965, october). deterministic context free languages. in 6th annual symposium on switching circuit theory and logical design (swct 1965)(pp. 203-220). ieee. klabunde, r. (2002). daniel jurafsky/james h. martin, speech and language processing. zeitschrift für sprachwissenschaft, 21(1), 134-135. knuth, d. e. (1968). semantics of context-free languages. mathematical systems theory, 2(2), 127-145. mukhtar, n., khan, m. a., & zuhra, f. t. (2011). probabilistic context free grammar for urdu. linguistic and literature review, 1(1), 86-94. pullum, g. k., & gazdar, g. (1982). natural languages and context-free languages. linguistics and philosophy, 4(4), 471-504. pullum, g. k., & gazdar, g. (1987). natural languages and context-free languages. in the formal complexity of natural language (pp. 138-182). springer, dordrecht. shieber, s. m. (1985). evidence against the context-freeness of natural language. in philosophy, language, and artificial intelligence (pp. 79-89). springer, dordrecht. shamsfard, m. (2011). challenges and open problems in persian text processing. proceedings of ltc, 11. sundararajan, s. (2007). probabilistic context-free grammars in natural language processing. younger, d. h. (1967). recognition and parsing of context-free languages in time n3. information and control, 10(2), 189208. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 170 wang, y. y., mahajan, m., & huang, x. (2000, june). a unified context-free grammar and n-gram model for spoken language processing. in 2000 ieee international conference on acoustics, speech, and signal processing. proceedings (cat. no. 00ch37100) (vol. 3, pp. 1639-1642). ieee. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 121 transitions in postcoloniality as a revolutionary thought across the subject societies mudasir rahman najar research scholar sri satya sai university, sehore, bhopal, india email: mudasirmail92@gmail.com abstract there has to be the necessary change across the pages of history amongst the various fields of knowledge in our social structure. in this context, there has been emergence of a thought that went contrary to the established thought of colonial propaganda. this counters colonial discourse no doubt too many years to have its roots strong in the soil of social, cultural, and psychological phenomena of our society. though, literary theory, in general, is a way of understanding the nature and function of literary creation. it seeks the relation of a text to the author and to the society by presenting a thesis or the antithesis in literary field that in turn speaks for social forces. this means to evaluate, to elucidate and to interpret the literary processes for the social discourses have always been very effective for the social change. this directly or indirectly leads the effected society to get changed in terms of thinking process. hence, leads to the intellectually rich and psychologically mature civilization. keywords: postcoloniality; language; orientalism; colonizer; colonized; identity; hybridity 1. contribution of post-colonial thought in the english literary theory, many shifting patterns have occurred in different times. post-colonial theory, no doubt, has emerged from horrible activities of colonialism; but as a movement, it has come into being by adhering to theories of marxism and deconstruction. here, the paper will analyze the historical influences in terms of various theoretical turned social discourses given by various social scientists and literary critics. 2.1 frantz omar fanon as mentioned above, fanon was greatly influenced by the 'negritude movement.'. a, d. cesaire has written large body of anticolonial literature like a tempest, as a counter-text to shakespeare's the tempest. cesaire with other intellectuals in france started the 'negritude movement.' this movement promoted the self-assertion and reorganization of the black community in their cultural crisis. he laid stress on speaking native language and believed in a collective force as a tool against colonial invasion. he foregrounded national consciousness, racial determinism and nativity of culture in his works. frantz omar fanon born in martinique was a french psychiatrist. he was also influenced by freud. his main works are black skin, white masks (1952), the wretched of the earth (1961), with essays like "on national culture". the dialectics on racism and on nationalist culture runs throughout his works. he concentrated chiefly on the black communal consciousness and revival of cultural values. he is considered one of the extremist post-colonial critics. fanon in his black skin, white masks, has talked of different issues regarding racism and impositions of the west on the black people. he claims that the black community had to face great hardships at european hands. he boldly criticizes europeans for this inhuman violence; quotes francis jeanson in this context as: "day after day, that system elaborates its evil projects in your presence, day after day; its leaders betray you… your pride yourselves on keeping your distance from realities of a certain kind. . . (67-68). fanon said that the white man has biased approach to the colonized blacks to make them feel as parasites, and wholly dependent on them. this puts the black race at the colonizer's mercy. the whitman, according to fanon, manages a 'workshop' in different institutions where the black man's mentality is shaped to be submissive. that means the black man is made victim like 'scapegoat'. fanon writes: the collective guilt is borne by what is conventionally called the scapegoat. now the scapegoat for the white society--which is based on myths of progress, civilization, liberalism, education, enlightenment, refinement--will be precisely the force that opposes the expansion and the triumph of these myths. this brutal opposing force is supplied by the negro (fanon 1967 150). the idea conveyed in the fanon's works is categorical and committed. his works are expressed as radicalism of postcoloniality. he studied the colonial process of the europe and came out with suggestions that an active rebuttal, against the colonial attack, is needed. as a psychiatrist, he had studied how the colonized societies were ruthlessly suppressed and grew as neurotic. this makes them victim of colonial rules and victim of their own inferiority complex. because, the white man has copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 122 projected his image as a sign of power and development; and his values are made to be believed as universal and absolute. it makes the natives dependent on the colonizer. fanon with the dream of the black culture, suggested creation of the life-force in their minds for unanimous rejection and reversal of colonial governance. he rejected the assimilation and appreciation of european culture into the native one. fanon preached the slogan of liberating the self from the offerings of european life-style. he glorifies the biological features of the black to elevate their ego. wanting to introduce their politico-cultural set-up, the colonizers projected their own way of economic planning. fanon had a good impression of marxist philosophy in the context of proletariats and peasants under the industrial colonizers. influenced by marxist thinking, fanon thought of action as necessary tool to come out of the colonial situation. he believed in the collective efforts and suggested a national literature that would exert the national consciousness. he stressed that the emerging force of victims, who had thirst for recognition and humane treatment, can revolutionize the black community. contextualizing the statement, bill ashcroft et al in the empire writes back comment about fanon as: in essence, fanon's analysis revealed the racist stereotyping at the heart of colonial practice and asserted the need to recognize the economic and political realities which were underlay these assertions of racial 'difference' and which were material base for common psychological and cultural features of colonized peoples (123). fanon's immense interest was in the study of race, nationalism and politics. he believed that if african intellectuals would be reluctant to embrace the native culture, african dream of regaining their heritage would go in vain. the colonizer's partial body of knowledge about and for the colonized society is to reinforce their supremacy. fanon writes in his essay, "on national culture" about this self-centered production of knowledge: colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native's brain of all form and content. by a kind of perverted logic it turns to the past of oppressed people, and distorts, disfigures and destroys it. this work of devaluing precolonial history takes on a dialectical significance today (dennis walder 1990 265). it is well known that memory can be an effective way to understand and appreciate one's culture. historical roots give a feeling of long and deep attachment with it. this is why, fanon emphasized the importance of the past and one must preserve and relive it to support the present. as the word negro has already been projected in a positive connotation by the intellectuals of the 'negritude movement', fanon carried forward this appealing mission to the literary figures of africa to present their culture in all its glory and virtue; and efface the west's claim of it as abyss of savagery, fanaticism, and cannibalism. as mentioned earlier, fanon made national culture as chief means of resistance against colonial imperialism. he says that people cannot experience national culture just in myths, folktales and national politics. he defines national culture as, "a national culture is a whole body of efforts made by people in the sphere of thought to describe, justify and praise the actions through which that people have created themselves and keep themselves in existence" (fanon 'on national culture'). fanon was uncompromising in his ideology against colonial offerings of development and cultural civility. while doing the comparative study of m. k. gandhi and frantz fanon, leela ghandhi in postcolonial theory: a critical introduction, has written about the fanon's enterprise of total liberation as, ". . .fanon is optimistic and confident about the colonised's ability to valiantly resist the cultural viscosity of europe. . . (19). this means that fanon with anti-colonial feelings and self-disciplined sermons strongly opposed european invasion on african culture. suggesting collective violence, he gave a strong blow to so-called sacred mission of colonial empires to humanize african people whom they considered primitive and uncivilized. 2.2 fanon about language language as a means of communication has a greater role in constituting the values, ideals and above all realities of life. we can say that our mother tongue is the centre of our consciousness. fanon with other african critics like nigugi wa thiongo, took immediate interest in practising and preaching native language. as already mentioned, the colonizers have replaced the natives' history to demean their ancestry. later, fanon studied the practice of using language for empowerment of the subject communities. our language is the make-up of our personality; our identities, values, ethics, aesthetics and other ideals are comprehensible and communicative through native language. fanon in the conclusion of his essay, "on national culture" writes about different steps in post-colonialism for encountering with the colonizer. he discussed in this essay that native intellectuals first make sure to rewrite the history that has been 'distorted'; and reflect culture in their writings. they instantly retrieve their past and the experiences that they had with their own people. for this, they dip the consciousness in the reservoir of their memory. according to fanon, the final phase of postcoloniality is called fighting phase. he writes about this as, he (native intellectual) turns himself into an awakener of the people; hence comes a fighting literature, a revolutionary literature, and a national literature. during this phase a great many men and women, who up till then would never have thought of producing a literary work . . . feel the need to speak to their nation, to compose the sentences which expresses the heart of the people and to become the mouthpiece of a new reality in action (dennis walder 1990 271). by this, fanon exposes the areas, whether of psychology or sociology or politics, that largely helped african societies in particular and other colonized communities in general for their recognition in the world. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 123 2.3 edward w. said edward said (1935-2003) born in palestine, received education in the us and lived there until his death. he worked there as a professor of english and comparative literature. said is one of the great post-colonial critics. he studied the causative processes, i.e. the evolution of colonialism by studying culture, knowledge production and power relationships. he was basically influenced by foucault's discourse. bill ashcroft et al in their book, the empire writes back, have also discussed foucault in post-colonial context. discourse, in the view of foucault, is the simultaneous process of knowledge and power. it is a knowledge partially produced to sanction certain ideas, norms and behaviours for the subject society. the impositions of these cultural and political practices are legalized under discourse. these views have bearing on his most important works, i.e. orientalism (1978), and culture and imperialism (1993). said started his argument with palestinian cause. however, his intention was not to limit his discussion just to the political crisis in that region. he intended to open an impartial debate on knowledge production, pursuit of truth for human liberalism and denied any restraints by religion, politics or any other source. he transcended national and political purposes, provided a worldwide scope for encompassing many disciplines like art, literature, history, anthropology and academy. he viewed texts of orientalists as mere creative imagination to serve the selfish motives of their empires. his path-breaking theory and revolutionary project in his book orientalism (1978) is argumentative. he debated across european discourses of cultural and political invasion in the eastern countries. said took cudgels against unjust and unfair knowledge production by orientalists to assert their superiority. he was not writing against european thought but identified and unveiled the misrepresentation of the non-western world. this unjust and partial treatment to the orient just for the benefit of europe is termed as 'orientalism'. the making of certain generalizations about the eastern people is keenly scanned in orientalism. said argued that knowledge produced about the passive orient, was constructed and circulated by the colonial powers. he adopted the marxist notion about the modes of hegemonic oppression; and discovered the misuses of institutions like religion and law by the colonizers. he writes: so impressive have the descriptive and textual successes of orientalism been that entire periods of orient's cultural, political, and social history are considered mere responses to the west. the west is the actor, the orient, the passive reactor. the west is the spectator, the judge and the jury, of every facet of oriental behavior (a. h. tak 2004 444). with this knowledge, orientalists wanted to create such a social sphere where natives felt inferior and were willing to surrender their self before european thinking. said historically analyzed the literary exercises of european academies. he found huge number of literary texts of law aesthetics, history, literature, anthropology, sociology written by orientalists regularly for centuries. in these texts the orient was studied from the perspective of the western ideologies; by this, the orient was taught, administered, researched and defined by some foreigners. said studied these texts objectively and tried to evaluate them for cultural and political influences in them. he elucidated these works to unmask the plotting of the europe against the native's cultural, ethnic and political nationalities. orientalists proved themselves as true, civilized, advanced to lead the orient both materially and spiritually. they believed it their sacred right not only to control and conquer non-europeans but also describe and define them to prove superiority of european race. said writes in his essay, 'crisis in orientalism' as: everything they knew, more or less, about the orient came from books written in the tradition of orientalism, placed in its library of idees rescue; for them the orient like a fierce lion, was something to be encountered and dealt with to a certain extent because the text made the orient possible. such an orient was silent, available to europe for the realization of projects. . . (a.h. tak 2004 433). by this, the behaviors is suggested and consolidated by the colonial conspiracy. the essential binary like, self/other, civilized/uncivilized, intellectual/emotional, savior/ sinner is created. said studied these texts of orientalists for the objective inspection where he judged authors on the basis of their deliberately overlooking the margins. by this, they suppressed the colonized's voice. these methods can be explicitly found in new historicist readings. that means in the province of post-colonialism, the deep rooted colonialism is questioned to set the ways for decolonization. because, said believed that there are some social practices in every society that can hardly be effaced by colonial invasion. native folktales, ethnic histories and spiritual narratives are to be propounded as defense mechanism. further, said says that some of these orientalists are predetermined to have discriminating attitude towards the orient and consider them racially and intellectually backward. these orientalists, in said's view, have 'textual attitude' i.e., a mock reality that has been projecting about the east in the texts of orientalists. but the real confrontation of the east and the west surprised and shocked orientalists. they referred back to their imagination that they had from orientalist texts, and started to find faults in the project of orientalism. no doubt, the west had gained power over the orient, somehow proved itself to be master through textual illustrations. said discussed in “crisis in orientalism” that these expositions of the west's impartial production of knowledge would lead to liberation and regeneration of subject communities. he writes that “this side (orientalism) lives its own life, as books about fierce lions will do until lions can talk back." (a. h. tak 2004 434). this writing back means the awakening of the native from slumber and to hear the voice of postcoloniality. as said commented that by the end of world war first, both africa and asia started to react against the impositions that have been thrust on them by orientalists. by this, copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 124 orientalist dilemma surfaced and they could not go with their earliest claims and comments about the orient. hence, they started to transform these past ideas to the new perspectives by making alteration in them. this shift in their thought final ly directed to the contradictions within their own claims of defining and describing the orient. said writes: the present crisis dramatizes the disparity between texts and reality. yet in this study of orientalism i wish not only to expose the sources of orientalism's views but also to reflect on its importance, for the contemporary intellectual rightly feels that to ignore a part of the world now demonstrably encroaching upon him is to avoid reality. humanists have too often confined their attention to departmentalized topics of research (a. h. tak 2004 445). therefore, said's main purpose of study was to reform humanity that is to provide the consciousness and analysis of origin and manipulation of knowledge in social, political, and cultural fields. his goal was to search knowledge for justice, truth and liberation of mankind. 2.4 homi k. bhabha homi k. bhabha was born in mumbai, india in 1949. he is a twentieth century cultural critic and post-colonial theorist. he studies culture in literary practices. he is influenced by foucault, fanon, said and derrida. being an anne f. rutheberg professor of english and american literature and language, he is also the director of humanities centre at harvard university. he has used the terms like 'ambivalence' 'mimicry' 'hybridity' 'liminality' and 'third space' to construct a new version of postcolonial theory. by his philosophic competence, bhabha has appropriated the above terms in the context of post-colonial debate. this appropriation has opened a new perspective for the colonized society to have space in the contemporary world. using deconstructive strategies, he has revolutionized the movement of post-colonialism. under it, he has reinterpreted and replaced certain concepts that were the foundation of colonial and neo-colonial discourses. bhabha has written many essays, most of them are published in his famous work the location of culture (1994). besides, his other work, nation and narration (2000) contains essays from other post-colonial thinkers with an essay by bhabha himself. bhabha talks of culture, its formation and the validity of identity in relation to experiences from numerous perspectives. his main focus is on the identity formation at both individual and social levels, especially in the colonial confrontation. as he challenges the set standards that were established and continued by colonial masters, he differed from previous post-colonial writers. he does not agree with the acceptance of fixed identities of the colonizer and the colonized. in this context, bhabha opposes saidian unilateral attitude when he found only subject community is not affected by colonial masters. besides, bhabha investigates the reasons for the notion of the colonizer's identity that is taken as a yardstick for the recognition and validity of the subject community. bhabha exposes many processes and experiences in the colonizer's world that indicates to the reduction of power in the colonial practices. bhabha adapts the term 'liminality' (means threshold) in the post-colonial context. this term has been used by victor turnor, british cultural anthropologist, in the context of diasporic literature. bhabha uses it for the transformative process of identity in the colonizer-colonized relationship. he says identity is always on move through different positions. it gets challenged with the passage of time in different cultural environments. the 'liminality', in the post-colonial context, is a space, where there is negotiation of racial, cultural and identity differences between the colonizer and the colonized. hence, there is no such essentialist trait in class, caste or race of any individual. by this, bhabha provides a suitable ground to oppose the unjust colonial definition of identity of different peoples. the colonizers want to affirm the colonized’s identity as static brutal, lustful, savage and uncivilized and desires to consolidate this notion to justify their indispensable role in the subject community. rejecting this, bhabha says that identity is always in flux. there is both the effect of natural tendency of human beings and effects of confrontation with different cultural set-ups in the identity formation. in an introduction to his book the location of culture (1994), bhabha gives an indication of moving beyond the conventional thinking. the word 'beyond' is used as a metaphor for the continual formation of identity. he writes, the move away from singularities of 'class' or 'gender' as primary conceptual and organizational categories, has resulted in an awareness of the subject positions of race, gender, generation, institutional location, geopolitical locale, sexual orientation that inhabit any claim to identity in the modern world. what is theoretically innovative, and politically crucial, is the need to think beyond narratives of originary and initial subjectivities. . . (bhabha 1994). bhabha denies the fixed binaries that were main tools of colonialism. he used the word 'third space' where there is no existence of the colonizer and the colonized, but newly found identity called hybridized identity. this is an innovative construction of mindset where imaginary sphere is set for the colonized society to refresh their suppressed psyche. by this, new facet of reality, strictly fixed meaning and representation of identity, culture and race gets blurred. bhabha comments in this context, "it is that third space though unrepresentable in itself, which constitute the discursive conditions of enunciation that ensures that the meaning and symbols of culture have no primordial unity or fixity; that even the same signs can be appropriated, translated, rehistoricized and read anew" (bhabha 1994 37). moreover, bhabha has used some terms with literary and theoretical inclination to project his counter-discourse against the colonial discourse of power structures. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 125  ambivalence the word is used by bhabha for representing colonial trauma whether of the colonizer or the colonized. the term 'ambivalence' as noun means uncertainty of desire and its opposite i.e. the positive and negative feelings within an individual towards same thing or person. it has got its development in psychoanalysis to describe between wanting a thing and wanting its opposite. bhabha says that on the one hand the colonizeds are in dilemma whether to reject or accept the colonial offerings. they are never surely against the advancements and changes that are imposed by the colonial master. this inconsistent will of the colonized leads them to ambivalence. the colonizers on the other hand are also indecisive whether to refine the identity of the colonizeds by restructuring their religion, culture, and other institutions or to keep them unchanged. they are confused that the changes in the identity of the colonizeds can lead them (the colonized) to approximate the colonizers. this can efface the authority of colonial masters. they desire both the resemblance of the colonizeds with them, but fears of the extinction of their own dominance in the process. hence, this dual approach towards the subject community left the colonizers too in an ambivalent state. according to bhabha, this conflictual state of the colonial discourse grows as a source of its own destruction. this deconstructive argument proves the so-called centre itself as an object of study that is doubtful, indefinite and unbalanced.  mimicry the word 'mimicry' means an act of copying and imitating closely. bhabha uses the term to show the ambivalent nature of the colonizer-colonized relationship. he says that the colonizers intend for the natives to look to their masters as a role model. that means, they should start imitating their masters to acquire the foreign culture. but the native's imitation is never complete and remains in the halfway. because, it is hardly possible for the natives to come out of their own cultural set-up completely and practise the colonizer's culture accurately like them. this act of half mimicry is against the intention of the colonizers. hence, it disrupts the colonial discourse. experiences like these prove as a sort of mockery on the claims of the colonizer's supremacy. this act of natives against the will of the colonizers disturbs heavily the colonial project of consolidating their power. bhabha comments about it as, what they all share is discursive process by which the excess or slippage produced by the ambivalence of mimicry (almost the same but not the quite) does not merely 'rupture' discourse, but becomes transformed into an uncertainty which fixes the colonial subject as a 'partial' presence, by 'partial', i mean both 'incomplete' and 'virtual' (bhabha 1994 86). this way of native’s mimicry is, in one or the other way, a disobedience to the colonial authority. they tried to transform the natives but at the same time get into the phobia of the colonized's emerging as the rivals in colonial discourse.  hybridity in latin the term hybrida means something of mixed origin or composition. bhabha has suitably applied it to the post-colonial debate. rejecting the fixity of the colonizer's set identity; he projects his counterpoint in support of the colonized societies. he says whether it is identity or culture or ethnicity or race, somehow, all are contaminated by other ones. the idea of purity and distinctness, in the above mentioned concepts, is far from possibility. this notion of 'hybridity' that is explained and exposed by bhabha, reverses the political and cultural strategy of the colonialism. this strict and fixed concept of identity constructed by orientalists, gets deconstructed by the contemporary version of post-colonialism. under this view, a person who lives in different cultures and gets assimilated in them becomes a hybridized identity. in this case, one remains neither the colonizer nor the colonized but a hybrid free from any peculiarity. with these shifting patterns of identity, bhabha objects to the orientalist's essentialising the colonized's identity. the stage of identity formation, where meaning is undecided, denies the homogeneity of the previous identity binaries. bhabha writes in this context, the margin of hybridity, where cultural differences 'contingently' and conflictually touch, becomes the moment of panic which reveals the borderline experiences. it resists the binary opposition of racial and cultural groups, sipahis and sahibs, as homogenous polarized political consciousness (bhabha 1994 207). with these discoveries in the cultural studies, the concept of identity is said as multi-processed where all have tendency to grow and develop under the influences of different cultures. 3. conclusion to conclude the paper, it can be said that post-colonialism has evolved over decades through the discourses by many writers. these writers have explored the impact of politics, culture, nationalism and identity of both the colonizers and the colonizeds. post-colonial theory broadened its scope by taking into consideration the significant concepts of literary theory regarding different social issues. this has vehemently contributed for the development of human values in the suppressed society of africa and asia in particular and at global level in general. in the beginning, critics like cesaire, fanon took some hard steps to reject the colonizer's governance and asserted their status. later, others like edward said unveiled the biased and exploitative schemes of the west. homi k. bhabha gave another version of the colonizer-colonized relationship that destructuralized the fixed concepts of the colonial process. this provided a strong impetus to the subject communities for their development in the contemporary times. in the modern times, new researches are carried out to expose the neo-imperialist processes that are exercised under the garb of diplomacy, development and rehabilitation of the colonized societies. but the positive changes copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 126 beyond the biased and ideological discourses are always to be embraced and encouraged for the further developments of human civilizations. references achebe, chinua. things fall apart. heinenam, 1958. print. ashcroft, bill, gareth griffiths, and helen tiffin, eds. the empire writes back: theory and practice in postcolonial literatures. routledge, 2004. ed. 2nd. print. bhabha, homi k. ed. nation and narration. routledge, 2000. print. bhabha, homi k. the location of culture. routledge, 1994. print. cesaire, aime david. interviewed by thebia melson. "the liberating power of words: an interview with poet aime d. cesaire." unesco. n.d. web. 24 feb. 2011. <http://jpanafrican.com/docs/vol2no4.html>. “fanon on 'national culture'”. benjamin graves, 98, brown university. n.d. web. 15 mar. 2011. <http://postcolonialweb.org. /poldiscourse/fanon/fanon2.html.> fanon, frantz. black skin white masks. trans. charles lam markmann. london: pluto press, 1967. print. forter, greg, and paul allen miller, eds. desire of the analysts: psychoanalysis and cultural criticism. new york press, 2008. print. grant, cy. rev. of return to my native land, by aime david cesaire. the cy grant website. n.d. web. 5 feb. 2011. <http://nestene1.users.btopen.world.com/cygrant/ return2.html>. kaya, ayhan. "analysis and discussion of concept of creolization." istanbul bilgi university. istanbul. n.p. n.d. 1-15. seminar. web. 20 apr. 2011. <http://eu.bilgi.edu. tr/docsjm/analysisand...html>. mcewan, cheryl. postcolonialism and development . routledge, 2009. print. poulos, jennifer. "frantz fanon." spring 1996. n.d. emory.edu. web. 10 mar. 2011. <http://english.emory.edu/bahri/fanon.html>. rao, raja. preface. kanthapura. by rao. oriental paperbacks, 1938. 5-7. print. tak, a. h. ed. critical perspective. haqani press, 2004. print. walder, dennis. ed. literature in modern world: critical essays and documents. oxford university press, 1990. print. young, robert j. c. postcolonialism: an historical introduction. blackwell publishing, 2008. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). http://english.emory.edu/bahri/fanon.html copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 69 women’s rights in afghanistan: from muslims’ perspective omid afghan ph.d associated professor of sociology sociology department social sciences faculty kabul education university, kabul afghanistan e-mail: omidafghan_88@yahoo.com phone no: + 93 700 215 468 abstract considering the logic of evolution of societies, the calamitous situation of women can be both changed and controlled. with the emergence of islam, issue of women was more deeply raised in religious and intellectual discussions. at a time when having a daughter considered a shame on arab families, a religion emerged after which assigned key social, political and even economic rights for women. holy quran says there is no superiority of nations over nations, races over races and men over women unless by divine piety and good action. one of the emphatic rules of islam is that acquiring knowledge is an obligatory act for both men and women. on the issue of education secondary data shows that most people believe islam and shari'a not only emphasize that girls and women should acquire islamic education (98%), but they allow women and girls to study all levels of formal educational system. unfortunately said, in afghanistan, more women are scarified by men’s decisions. keywords: women, women rights, islam, human rights in islam 1. introduction issue of women, especially during recent times both around the world and especially during recent two decades in afghanistan, has become a very serious concern for scientists, governments and political circles. in the area of human rights and human development, major questions have been raised regarding women and their social status. although, the sociological studies on women conducted in afghanistan, show many bitter facts, despite some problems with the quoting of the research undertaken. afghan society has a strong religious tendency, deeprooted traditional belongings and a patriarchal character and on the other side, has a relationship with developed western societies. women in afghanistan have become an important area for research historical evidence and previously conducted research shows that in afghan society women have a lower legal and human status. it seems that there is a big difference between the religious values and beliefs, and what is really happening in afghanistan. women situation can be introduced as a social problem. generally, social problems relate to those phenomena which are threatening desirable changes and evolution being made toward achievement of a full and multi-dimensional development. we believe that women issue has a historical dimension and its roots must be studied within that context. on the other side, women situation can be examined as a multi-dimensional issue. the situation of women cannot only be examined from cultural dimension, but it should also be studied from political, economic and social aspects; all these dimensions are interrelated and influenced by each other. considering the logic of evolution of societies, the calamitous situation of women can be both changed and controlled. scientific and precise knowledge regarding the phenomena of a society is a precondition on any positive changes and evolution. people awareness of factors and consequences of women oppression can help different forces in society, especially the people, to solve this problem. in this paper i have tried to clarify islamic approach to women’s rights and then, concerning secondary data i have compared the religious values with the related social facts in afghanistan. conducting this study was important for a number of reasons: it is important to examine the religious perceptions of people regarding the major issues of the country, including women, using scientific methods such subjects have a poor research to study the legal and human status of women. from islamic viewpoint, observing copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 70 rights and performing the assigned duties, are important issues which must be considered in all areas of people’s lives including families and other groups. 2. women’s rights in islam with the emergence of islam, issue of women was more deeply raised in religious and intellectual discussions. at a time when having a daughter considered a shame on arab families, a religion emerged after which assigned key social, political and even economic rights for women. especially at the time of its emergence, islam faced a despotic patriarchal culture and history; a culture and history that had dominated the subjectivity of both men and women during a hundred years. therefore, dynamic religious and ethical values were institutionalized in people's characters and even became a tool for justifying much inhuman behaviors. some of these deviated beliefs which are entrenched among the muslims are religiously justified: a woman should obey her husband; men have the right to physically punish their wives; women should be homemaker and take care of their husband's properties; ghairat belongs to men; women lake wisdom; women's jihad is as a homemaker and childcare, and they should have their husband's permission to leave home. but with reference to quranic verses, example holy prophet (pbuh), and hajj rituals, we come up with other results. according to what holy quran says, men and women are from the same root and they are equal in degree of creation and competence. quran's basic messages address human or the public (alnas), and in which there is no difference between men and women. one of the inequalities mentioned by islam is inequality based on knowledge and piety of the human. holy quran says there is no superiority of nations over nations, races over races and men over women unless by divine piety and good action. in quranic verses, istizaf is one of the most sociological and anthropological concepts, which means weakening the human in any form. the meanings of isti'bad (changing the human being into slave), isti'mar (colonialization), istikbar (arrogance), istismar (exploitation), and istihmar (fooling people) are all summarized in this quranic concept. oppression of women by men is a form of weakening the human being, which contravene the monotheistic spirit of islam. in islam, monotheistic worldview should be revealed in human existence and the society. islam's ideology is the result of its monotheistic worldview and thus this monotheistic spirit should dominate the society in political, economic, cultural and legal dimensions. based on this, no forms of discrimination and inequitable distinction between men and women can be justified, and also women can make effort in playing different roles in the society and achieve different-level status. (there is nothing for a human being without endeavor). the equality of men and women based on creation and human rights in performing hajj is clearly deducible. hajj shows the holistic spirit of islam. in hajj, men and women, blacks and whites, arabs and non-arabs, and all of those who believe in the islam, pray toward a single qibla which demonstrates the monotheistic equality of humanity. both men and women are responsible for performing the obligatory acts by which humans can attain perfection. they both are addressed in performing social and political duties such as forbidding honor and forbidding dishonor, jihad (jihad against the commanding soul and disbelievers), leadership, etc. one of the great obligatory acts is to acquire knowledge, which is assigned to both men and women. the active participation of women in political circles (e.g. allegiance to holy prophet pbuh), war, and social activities in the earlier times is clear. it is obvious that if women remain at home they will not gain competence to actively participate in different areas of social life. society is the sphere for mental and practical development of women. based on a general perception we should say that from islam's viewpoint, men and women are equal and enjoy equal rights. women rights in marriage and choosing husband, polygamy, violence should be observed in line with the spirit of islam. 3. a comparative approach to islam values and social facts about women in afghanistan the results of this study show that there is a significant difference between the beliefs of people regarding women rights, and what is really happening in our society. it shows the important fact that religious values and beliefs have not been adequately institutionalized in our society. in practice, it is the despotic and patriarchal values that dominate the behavior and functions of different groups in our society. paying attention to kherad foundation and ministry of women’s affairs’ reports we can conclude if there is a gap between islam values and social facts in afghanistan. this comparison has been done concerning three issues: education, marriage and social activities. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 71 on the issue of education secondary data (kherad foundation’s report, 2009) shows that most people believe islam and shari'a not only emphasize that girls and women should acquire islamic education (98%), but they allow women and girls to study all levels of formal educational system. however, there are some differences between the ideas of urban and rural people, and men and women in different provinces of the country in this regard. in jalalabdad province, about 20% of the respondents believed that islam does not allow women or girls to acquire islamic education. there are also a significant proportion of respondents in some provinces who had negative ideas regarding women education. about 20% of the respondents in nangarhar, 45% in kandahar and nearly 40% in paktia believed that islam does not allow women to attain higher education. the existing traditional and mostly patriarchal context show that human values of islam has not been well institutionalized in people's character in afghanistan. it is important to say that afghanistan's social evolution flow is moving towards more desirable development, and its close and traditional social structure is gradually going to be restructured and change into more open structure. women, like men, are aware of islam's emphasis on education and acquiring knowledge and this is one of the most important achievements of this study. we conclude that there are differences between the dominant values in rural life and values which dominate the lives of urban people. for example, while 15% of rural people believed that islam does not allow women to be educated, only 3 percent of urban respondents thought so. it is clear that urban people, comparing rural people, are more involved in attaining knowledge, know about the media, and are somewhat freer from patriarchal customs and prejudices. from sociological viewpoint, urban communities seem to be more open and more civilized than rural communities. differences between the views of urban and rural people regarding all the questions are partly obvious. but, as traditional values continue to survive in our urban areas; these differences are not so great. responses given to the question "do the girls in your area go to school?" show that almost in all the areas of the country, girls go to school at a young age, but as they get older, they are not allowed to continue their education because of limitations and obstacles in afghanistan traditional society. one of the emphatic rules of islam is that acquiring knowledge is an obligatory act for both men and women. the collected data show that all the men and women in afghanistan, including rural and urban people, youth and the old, are aware of this religious rule, except than some of the respondents (10-20%) in nangarhar, dai kundi and bamiyan who believed that acquiring knowledge is not an obligatory act for men and women. other studies show that desirable development are not witnessed in these provinces of the country, and the traditional and interpretative patriarchal values are more strong compared to other areas of the country. developmental planning and facilities provided in these provinces do not help to adequately inform people about these islamic values. this was shown through the evidence in this research. according to the statistics issue by ministry of women affairs in 2007, more than 85% of women in afghanistan are illiterate, and of 15% of the literate women, very few received any education beyond elementary level. the number of students in 2006 was 5.4 million of which 1.9 million were girls. a careful look at the number and educational level of male and female staff in government agencies and ministries shows that not only is the number of female staff very lower than men, with the exception of the ministry of women’s affairs, but they have a lower educational background. based on these facts, it can be concluded that social and political forces working in afghanistan have not adequately provided the ground for active and fruitful participation of women in the area of education. although the absolute majority of our people believe that islam is for education and even consider it as an obligatory act, practically it is the restrictive traditional values that continue to marginalize women. a vital and sensitive point which education sociology considers is that development values, especially our religious values, should be institutionalized in the character of people in the course of sociability. in our society, patriarchal prejudices practically prevented the development and awareness of women and have violated their rights in this area. the fact is that people respect islam as a hallowed religion; they can't obviously contravene islamic rules in their comments and thoughts. due to this, most of the respondents in this study have emphasized the importance of education according to islam. but existing facts in the past and present time obviously show that women have not enjoyed the necessary educational opportunities and facilities both because of political regime's restrictions, and strong and entrenched traditional obstacles that exist in society. the first step in a society's development process is raising knowledge level of people. the second step is to institutionalize the informing elements and dynamic values in formal and informal areas people copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 72 lives, and the third step is precisely planning and allocation of necessary resources in order to pave the ground for desirable development. positions regarding the area of social activities of women are significantly different from education dimension. in the area of education, a high number of the respondents believed that islam allows women and girls to be educated and has introduced acquiring knowledge as an obligatory act both for men and women. in the area of social activities, although a much greater number of respondents believe that islam generally supports the social activities of women and girls, in some cases, respondents gave negative responses to this question. in response to the question "does islam allow women and girls to work outside of their homes?", although 90.4% of the respondents throughout the provinces answered "yes", there is a slight difference between the opinions of rural and urban respondents, as some differences are seen between the values and tendencies which dominate the related sphere. 84.4% of rural and 92% of urban respondents answered "yes" to this question. there is no tangible difference between the ideas of male and female respondents, but considering the gender variable, the data shows that percentage of "no" answers was higher among the old people, especially in over 54 years ages. the sociological studies have shown that the youth are more likely to seek success and knowledge than the old. they give more importance to improvement of their characters, society development, freedom and activities in different areas, and as society is transiting from traditional values to modern values, most of the young people have a tendency towards modern and democratic values. on the other hand, the older people have a much stronger sense of belonging to traditional and conservative values and are more against freedom and social activities of women. the reason that older people hold these negative ideas is that traditional values have been institutionalized in their characters. these interpretations can be used in describing the differences between the ideas of urban and rural respondents. data analysis shows that respondents in provinces in which there were fewer cultural and economic changes were more against the social activities of women. provinces which have traditional and tribal context are much more against women's social activities. as the islamic values are progressive, structure breaking and anti-dictatorial, it is clear that they are in conflict with values and tendencies of uncivilized, realistic and prejudicial societies. 28% of the respondents in samangan, 24% in kandahar and 20.4% in laghman believed that islam not allow girls and women to work outside their homes. 10-20% of the respondents in nangarhar, dai kundi, bamiyan, farah and badghis answered "no" to this question. the percentage of negative answers given to the question that "does islam allow women or girls to be community leaders", were much higher. it is obvious that acceptance of community leadership by women means that values related to equality of men and women, and developmental ideas of islam, have undermined and eradicated the patriarchal and colonialist values and obstacles of society. however, the fact is something else. regarding the community leadership by women, about 34% of rural respondents and 12% of urban respondents believed that islam does not allow women to be leaders in the community and as the values of traditional societies are much stronger among rural people, and especially among older people compared to the youth. therefore, older people gave more "no" answers than younger people. considering the variable of gender, the proportion of "yes" answers among the women are greater than men. this difference shows that women (82%) want to participate in political-social activities, while 74% of men were against active participation in community leadership. 78.4% of the respondents in laghman, 64.2% in nangarhar and 54.4% in bamiyan believed that islam is against community leadership by women. 2535% of the respondents in kandahar, farah, paktia and dai kundi disagreed with this issue. the data description in the previous chapter show that in most cases, difference in opinions between urban and rural, old and young, men and women (in all cases, a much greater number of female respondents mentioned that islam support social, economic and political activities of women) are clear. the proportion of respondents who gave negative responses in some specific provinces, include nangarhar, dai kundi, bamiyan, kandahar, paktia and farah, are more higher than those provinces. in cases where traditional values of the respondents are more in conflict with the related issue, the rate of disagreement increases. for example, among the groups with traditional values (rural communities, old people and men living in provinces with tribal traditional social and cultural context) the rate of disagreement regarding copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 73 community leadership by women, women speaking with strangers in public and business was higher. 42.7% of rural respondents vis-à-vis 21% of urban respondents believed that islam does not allow women and girls to talk to strangers in public. it is surprising that more than 50% of male respondents gave negative answers in this regard. comparing the ideas of age groups show that 44.4% of respondents in "above 56" age group answered "no" to this question, while respondents of other age groups believed that islam does not allow women or girls to talk to strangers in public. date analysis show that in bamiyan (63.3%), laghman (56.9%), kandahar (53.2%) and nangarhar (50.7%) which have a stronger traditional and tribal context, more than 50% of the respondents gave negative answers to this question. regarding business of women, 58.3% of rural respondents vis-à-vis 41.7% of urban respondents believed that islam does not allow girls or women to do business. 96.2% of the respondents in panjshir, which is a very high figure, 88.2% in logar and 70.7% in parwan, mentioned that islam is against business activities of women. this figure in nangarhar, kapisa, kandahar, bamiyan and laghman, changes between 45-50%. the high percent of negative answers in panjshir and logar can result from some factors particular to those provinces, but is beyong the scope of this research. one of the questions asked about women's participation in decision making and expressing ideas "are women in your area encouraged to express their ideas regarding the major problems faced by the people in the area?". in response to this question, a low percent of the respondents (10-10%) believed that women in their area are encouraged to express their ideas regarding the important issues. a higher percent of respondents believed that women are sometimes or never encouraged to express their ideas regarding the problems. there were differences between the ideas of old people and the youth, and urban and rural people but to a lower extent compared to other questions. a high proportion of positive answers was given regarding women’s attendance in school, working outside their homes, employment in small businesses, etc, but no data is available on the situation of women compared to that of men. the positive responses were provided by a small number of women. there are differences between the opinions of different groups in society and religious beliefs of people and the existing facts in society are significantly different from each other. 2003 statistical yearbook mentioned that: of the formal staff of governmental agencies in 2003, 75% were male and 25% were female. these statistics show that the number of male staff was three times higher than female staff. this figure is very high among service personnel; about 90% of the service personnel are male and 10% of them are female (the number of male workers was nine times more than female workers). the figures issued by ministry of women affairs in 2007 show very high differences between the number of men and women working in economic and political areas. according to this report, the number of women in high level decision making positions of different agencies, is much less than men, and in many governmental agencies, no woman is working in such positions. regarding the social and political activities of women progressive actions and pro-women movements as well as movements of muslim and revolutionary figures who have taken effective steps toward achievement of human values in the society, eliminating discrimination against women and combating against despotism and colonialism. bubujan's movement against britain colonialism, and efforts of malalai, ghazi adey, madad khan's mother (sister of amir dost mohammad khan) and progressive actions of maleka suraya toward strengthening women movements in 1922, etc are of the notable progressive efforts in the history of afghanistan. but so far we have not witnessed an extensive social movement indicating the rule of new legal values corresponding with islamic ideology. social and cultural evolutions are gradual. in the current context, legal status of women in afghanistan's constitution is respected and laws of the country have not established any limitations for women's social activities. but the facts show the deep roots of male-dominated and patriarchal culture are deeply entrenched. combating and eliminating these roots, requires extensive research on the issue and precise and extensive planning to promote public awareness of these issue in society. 4. some of the results gained regarding marriage issue are as follows: the studies and research conducted in developed and undeveloped countries show that in countries such as afghanistan, the ideal marriage age is expected to be below average marriage age in developed countries. the average copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 74 marriage age in european countries is between 30 to 35 for boys and 25 to 30 for girls. while in the traditional society of afghanistan, the highest percent of the respondents in this research, considered 21-25 age groups and about 57.3% considered 17-20 age group as ideal marriage age for girls. thus, it can be concluded that the average marriage age among boys and girls in our society is at a young age. of the factors emphasized by the sociologists low level of education and general knowledge, non-existence of focused professional activities in society and traditional tendencies and beliefs. it must be noted that people rely on religious emphasis including recommendations made by holy prophet (pbuh) on marriage. regarding the ideal marriage age for girls and boys, different opinions were provided by men and women, and among urban and rural people. women mentioned a young age for boys' marriage. 48% of female respondents mentioned that 21-25 age group is appropriate for boys to marry, while 17-20 age group was mentioned by 45.7% of male respondent (the highest percent). this research shows that ideal age of marriage from rural respondents' viewpoint is lower than urban respondents. in the provinces of the country, the highest percent of the respondents considered 17-20 and 21-25 ages groups as ideal marriage age for boys. the age group which was chosen by respondents as appropriate marriage age for girls, is lower than that chosen for boys. a higher percentage of respondents mentioned 17-20 age group as appropriate for girls' marriage. in afghanistan the ideal age in which girls expects to marry is 15-17, but in some provinces such as paktia (90%), kunduz (73%), takhar (48%), ghazni (10%), baghlan and (53%), above 17 years was mentioned by the respondents. in this regard, the values of rural and urban communities have resulted in differences in views and functions. from rural respondents' viewpoint, the ideal age in which girls expect to marry is 15-17, while urban respondents said that girls expect to marry above 17 years. in respect to this question "do girls' fathers or their oldest male relatives determine toyana (wedding money which groom should pay) for wedding?" in most cases, more than 90% of the respondents in different provinces, urban and rural areas and among men and women, answered "yes". this phenomenon (toyana) indicates the role of traditional values in our society. sarbadal marriage is considerably prevalent in most parts of the country, in some provinces such as paktia (97.6%), baghlan (72.5%) and nangarhar (79%), the respondents believed that this kind of marriage is very prevalent in their areas to a high extent. according to the results of the research, a considerable number of respondents believe that women and girls in their area are used as a commodity to repay debts or resolving a social problem (nearly 46% of the respondents). the existence of polygamy phenomenon is common in afghanistan; this phenomenon results from rule of patriarchal values, family and ethnic competitions, and partly from problems such as childless, disease and conflicts. compared to developed countries, this phenomenon is more prevalent in society here and based on islam's recommendations, muslim societies are expected to move toward the expansion of monogamy, but still tribal and traditional values make this practice difficult to eliminate. the difference between religious beliefs of the people and the current facts is considerable regarding the situation of widows. 77% believed that from islam's viewpoint, widows themselves should decide on what to do after the death of their husbands, while in practice a considerable number of widows are forced to marry a man from their dead husband's family. another considerable case is girls' lack of access to their mahr rights. 73% of respondents said that women do not have access to mahr. all the aforementioned phenomena (polygamy, marriage of widows with a man of their dead husbands' families, women's lack of access to their mahr and marriage of young years) emphasize the fact that religious values of women rights in islam, encourage people to monogamy, allows the widows to freely decide about the futures and grants women the righ to access their mahrs. in some recently conducted research, events including a series of major phenomena such as suicide of women, runaway from home, mental problems, etc which result from forced marriage and family violences. regarding issue of polygamy, some research shows that in about 80% cases of polygamy, men do not consult with women about their marriage and when remain unaware of this issue. kherad foundation research shows that although most women are allowed to participate in local councils, men do not pay attention to their ideas and views. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 75 another considerable result achieved during this study is that most of the local settlements for women are reached based on local custom not national law. local customs are based on respecting views of the elders (men) in which women enjoy no status and position. 4. conclusion and recommendation  education: most people believe that islam support acquiring knowledge by women and girls. religious values are respected among afghani people, but other studies and reports, including the summary reports prepared using interview with focus groups, and the recent publications of ministry of women affairs, show that a small number of women enjoy education at higher levels. our traditional and patriarchal society, have not so far provided educational opportunities for women. one of our major recommendations to government authorities, civil society organizations, ulama and the intellectuals is that while continuing the awareness raising activities, to encourage people to acquire knowledge and also provide the necessary facilities for public education. promoting the knowledge level of people through educational materials in schools and higher educational levels, various formal and informal publications, radio-tv programs, holding scientific conferences and seminars, religious propaganda through ulama, can motivate people acquiring knowledge. it is important to change the subjectivity of men and the old people as they are major obstacles towards acquiring knowledge.  one of the necessary measures of government and the donor community is to establish cultural-educational center, schools, high schools, and higher education centers in different areas of the country. the reports show that many areas of the country do not have adequate educational facilities, and in some areas, far distances and lack of transportation facilities were major obstacles preventing girls from going to school.  running the literacy projects is another key measure of government and other respected agencies. this measure shows that the respected authorities and people emphasize the issue of education and will gradually bring positive changes in society's cultural system. it will also provide educational opportunities for those women and girls who could not attain formal and informal education in the past.  it is essential to plan for training women and employing them in administrative and educational centers, especially in deprived areas of the country. unequal numbers of male and female staff in the ministries, departments and other centers, including elementary schools, high schools and universities show the restrictions faced by women in our society.  social problems are multi-dimensional and resulted from many factors. low literacy level, violence against women, forced marriages, exchanging girls, local settlements based on patriarchal customs, poor participation of women in social activities are all interrelated. although serious attention should be given to educational programs (both for men and women, girls and boys), some substantial measures should be adopted to implement the rule of national law, security provision and eliminating violence. failure in any area will possibly have negative effects on other areas. for example, young age of marriage is in relationship with promoting education level and educational system. insecurity and irresponsible armed people can result in many forms of violence against women and girls, including forced marriage, sexual oppression and this relates to illiteracy. inadequate presence of women on councils and their inability to make their voice heard in decision making is related to the patriarchal culture, lack of public awareness, therefore, the development planning should be multi-dimensional.  in addition to education, the results gained in the area of women's socio-political activities and marriage, show that a much more open views regarding the legal issues of women. this shows the possibility of character improvement and brings new changes among the young people of the country. minds and characters of old people are affected by traditional, conservative and patriarchal values, and are less likely to change. thus, it is necessary for all the authorities in formal and informal spheres to seriously develop awareness rising and capacity building programs for adolescents and youth. the aim here is forming a society in which women’s rights and provides the grounds for activities and improvement of all respected women and girls.  the cultural and political planners in our society should consider the differences between the opinions and views of urban and rural people. values and beliefs in the rural communities have contributed to more obstacles and restrictions being faced by women. comparing urban areas, in rural afghanistan, a greater copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 76 number of women are illiterate and a few of them have an active role in areas of social life, governmental agencies, political positions, business, other than in traditional jobs. participation of women in local councils, considering the poor religious support for this, puts many restrictions and obstacles in rural areas. rural people's perception of women is that a woman should not have relation with other groups and strangers, and a man who does not assume importance to this issue is a bum. we must accept that there is a difference between the opinions and conceptual acceptance of religious values and what is really institutionalized in afghan character. it must be noted that from people's viewpoint (both in rural and urban areas), islam is not against acquiring knowledge by women and their social activities. this means that awareness raising programs, especially in rural areas, should be developed emphasizing religious values. the historical evolution resulting from the emergence of islam shows that no ideology is as capable as islam to change and confront the restrictive customs of close societies. the deep roots of traditionalism continue to coexist among urban more strongly. urban areas of afghanistan are still at the level of transition from traditional to modern society and thus, the precise planning in the area of cultural development should be taken seriously in the urban areas.  cultural specifications of different provinces of the country are not similar. these differences should be considered in political, cultural and economic development planning. awareness raising programs in provinces such as nangarhar, laghma, bamiyan, dai kundi, should be developed with a high degree of emphasis on our religious values. one of the important suggestions to all the respected authorities, including governmental authorities, ministries, civil society organizations, ulama( religious leaders) and intellectuals is that they widely disseminate information and findings people during specific courses and within coordinated to deeply affect the minds of people. this can be achieved through radio/television, press, posters, conferences and seminars, revising educational materials, lectures, religious pulpits, etc. the next step is to allocate financial resources and appropriate planning in the area of women education. in fact, the first basic step is to change the tribal and patriarchal subjectivities dominating the society and the second basic step, is programming and allocating facilities, and human and financial resources in this area. developing such programs can result in positive changes being made in oral and written literature of our country. in our historical literature, although in the area of gnosis and hallowed contexts, including holy quran, women have a high and valuable status and human dignity, but the subordinate status of women is clearly seen in the general literature of the society, which reflects the dominant historical subjectivity in the country. the following verses denote the low status of women: 5. woman and dragon should both be buried because the world would be better without these two nasty things. women are imperfect in creation because they are selfish and notorious it is mentioned in one of qazalee's anecdotes: a hakim asked for a short wife. some asked him why you don't want a tall one. he answered that woman is a bad thing, and the less (from bad/ women) the better. in fact, all disasters faced by men are because of women. these interpretations are the result of the dominant subjectivity of patriarchal and despotic history of the east. they are based on this superstitious belief that women are imperfect in wisdom, ill natured and incendiary. the sexual attitude of women is also apparent in our historical literature, especially in recent times. the function of men in afghanistan is based on these beliefs; is kind of interpretations are prevalent in the oral literature of men. creation of critical literature against the historical patriarchal rule should be centrally considered by the activists of civil society, government and other forces of the society, in order to achieve the original human causes in line with the liberal ideology of islam. the eulogistic literature has mostly pointed to three major roles of women as mother, wife and lover. although these three roles are of high importance, they do not reflect the human rights of women in areas of culture, literature, politics, society and economy. there rights should be reflected in the oral and written literatures and functions of society. according to the scholars, there are three pillars for the faith: belief from the bottom of the herat, confession with the tongue and practice with the body. in afghanistan, the first and third pillars are not institutionalized and are only present in mind. with the hope that with realization of women rights, a move toward a firm belief in love and truth by everyone. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 77 references abott, pamela, an introduction to sociology (feminist perspectives), translated by najm araqi, tehran: nay, 2001. ritzer, george, contemporary sociological theory, translated by mohsen solasi, tehran: elmi, 2003. marriage age in islam, afghanistan rule of law project, program of woman’s right in islam, kabul, 2007. hassan, sadr, women’s rights in islam and europe, tehran: javidan, 1978. freedman, jane, feminism, translated by firoza mohajer, tehran: ashyan, 2004. the law on eliminating violence against women, ministry of women’s affairs, kabul, 2007. women groups in civil society in afghanistan, kabul ,counter part international institute,2006. qutb, mohammad, historical sociology of woman, translated by ali abedi, tehran,alborz,1971. research institution of women and children rights, polygamy in afghanistan, kabul, 2007 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 16 analysis of francis bacon’s prose writing style javed sahibzada senior assistant professor english language and literature department kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: sahibzada.javed@gmail.com saifullah maroofi assistant lecturer and head dari language and literature department education faculty, kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: safiullahmaroofi@gmail.com susan hussein laftah assistance lecturer department of english language and literature department dhi qar education directorate thi-qar, iraq e-mail: samesoul.jan143@gmail.com abstract the purpose of this expositional paper was to analyze the francis bacon prose style as literary genre with reference to his essays (“of studies” of revenge” and “of marriage and single life”) bacon’s essays have a certain unique characteristic which make us question the classification of essay. literary review through expositional form of writing for presenting opinions based on facts from his essays was considered as a method for analyzing literary essays. the finding of this paper through analyzing his three major essays (“of studies” of revenge” and “of marriage and single life) revealed, bacon has used various features which can be termed as: aphoristic, paradox, rhetorical device, imagery, analogy, and allusion for being impersonal trough saving his own personality. bacon’s works are classified as essays for having the artistic value of beauty and moral. francis bacon has distinctive features that fame his works through the ages. bacon’s style is compact yet polished and indeed some of its conciseness is due to the skillful adaptation of latin idiom and phrase. his sentences are pregnant and have the capability of expending into paragraph. he had a great and impressive mastery over the art of saying maximum into minimum words. keywords: bacon, compact, distinct, detached, francis, impersonality, pregnant. 1. introduction root of essay is derived from the french word assayer, which means “to attempt,” or “to try.” an essay is a short form of literary composition centered on a single subject matter, and most often gives the personal opinion of the author. a famous english essayist, aldous huxley defines essays as, “a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.” (“literary devices,” n.d.). the oxford dictionary describes it as “a short piece of writing on a particular subject.” we can define it as a scholarly work in writing that provides the author’s personal argument. essays are divided into two types: literary essays and none literary essays, which this expositional paper attempt to focus on second the types. literary essays are divided into four types (klarer, 2013). expository essay: in which the writer provides an explanation of theme, issue or idea, to the particular audience which may be various depending on the purpose of author through giving his personal opinions about it. these types of essays are presented through examples, definitions, comparisons, and contrast. descriptive essay: as it can be best interpreted from its name, which gives a description of a particular topic, or describes the qualities and characteristics of something or of a person in detail. it has artistic freedom, and creates images in the minds of readers through the use of imageries or use of the five senses. mailto:sahibzada.javed@gmail.com mailto:safiullahmaroofi@gmail.com mailto:samesoul.jan143@gmail.com https://literarydevices.net/subject/ https://literarydevices.net/argument/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 17 narrative essay: narrative essay is non-fiction, yet it describes a story with its physical descriptions, through which the writer not only tells a story, but also makes a point by providing reasons. persuasive essay: in persuasive essay, the writer tries to convince his/her readers to adopt his position or point of view about any particular issue that is trying attempt to persuade. in these types of essays, the writer provides their audience solid reasoning for a particular issue, where it requires a lot of research to claimed or defend an idea that is why it’s also called an argumentative essay. nonliterary essays are also having the same types, but they can be written in any format, though they have common similarities which are common to all sort of text: purpose and target audience, content, structure and their own use of language, (brindle, 2006). they are difference in their purpose and target audience, content, structure and their own use of language. the purpose of an essay depends upon the subject matter, whether the author aims is to inform, persuade, explain, or entertain. the essay develops the analytical and intellectual abilities of the writer as well as readers. it evaluates and tests the writing skills of a writer, and organizes his or her thinking to respond personally or critically to an issue. a writer presents his argument in a more sophisticated manner through his essay. in addition, it also encourages readers or students to develop their ability, concepts and skills, to compare and contrast clarity, exposition, conciseness, and persuasion. this paper is taking into consideration the common characteristics of an essay comparison and contrast, clarity, exposition, conciseness and persuasion with its artistic values of beauty, moral and entertain. to analyze prose style of frances bacon in reference to his essays: (“of studies”, “of marriage and single life”, and “of revenge”). francis bacon is often regarded as the ‘father of english essays’. bacon’s essays have a certain unique characteristic which make us question the classification of essay (harris, 1996). literary review through expositional form of writing for presenting facts from his essays: (“of studies” of revenge” and “of marriage and single life) and presenting personal opinion is considered as a method for analyzing of francis bacon’s prose writing style. 2. about francis bacon francis bacon (1561-1626) was one of the most well-known english philosophers in the age of transition from the renaissance to the early modern era. he has been credited as “father of english essays” as well as “father of empiricism” (croll, 2017). he was influenced by the most influential philosophers of the french renaissance michel de montaigne. essays are popularized as literary genre by montaigne. also unique form of was originated in 16th century by montaigne’s. bacon borrowed it from him but adopted for his own purpose. essay form of bacon are the same with montaigne, however there is difference in the subject matter where montaigne’s proses are biographical but variety of subjects matter one can find in bacon’s essays (ratté, 1940). one can find in bacon’s essays some qualities of renaissance as self-advancement, love for classical learning and natural beauty as he was also influenced of renaissance. his love of knowledge can be seen in his essay “i have taken all the knowledge to be my province”. his admiration of knowledge he says: “sentia potentia est” which means “knowledge is a power.” (russell, 1979). in his essay "of studies", he emphasizes on the advantages of reading stating: “studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.” bacon has write about men interested issues and man is the subject of his essays, which is one of the reasons for his essays being popular beside other qualities his work consists. since human beings are interested in themselves and in this regards his essays have universal appeal. his essays are revolved around three major ideologies: man in relating to his creator, man ’s relation to the world and society and man relating to him. all these work consist variety of style. the subject of his essays is varied and bears a wide range (dean, 1941). the universal concepts of life, love, friendship, fortune and death categorized the major subjects of his essays. bacon through impetrating these themes allude to various types of latin and other well-crafted phrases for expressing life, nature and nature’s mysteries and complexity with distinct style of essays of his era. 3. prose style of francis bacon bacon used various styles rather than depending on one style which he adopted it based on his purpose. as a man of renaissance, we find a characteristic of his age: the use of figurative language. similes and metaphors and striking comparisons are found in his essays. mostly he uses two figures of speeches simile and metaphor. his metaphor is mainly drawn from natural, scientific and physical aspects. for example, in the essay of studies he writes “natural abilities like natural plants that needs pruning by studies. the style that he used in thereof essays will go to be analyses each in details. bacon’s aphoristic style: cambridge advanced learner's dictionary defined aphorism “a short clever saying that is intended to express a general truth.” an aphorism is like a proverb which has a quotable quality. aphorism had been known for a long time and was much respected in his time, but not used as he did as a quality in prose writing. it was found in the bible in the book of proverbs are to be seen in some of the pronouncements of moses especially in the laws. the aphorism was also to be seen in the writings of the greek and latin writers of the classic times who used it with great effect. the precision of the aphorism for reasoning and persuasive power was accepted in his time. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 18 his style is most remarkable for its shortness. his talent for shortening sentences, which every sentence in his essays is expected with meaning and has the capability of being extended into several sentences or into paragraph. many of his sentences seem as proverbs sayings by virtue of their gems of thoughts expressed in a pithy manner. he has said much in fewest words (knowles, 1998). his essays combine knowledge in thought with great brevity. the short, pithy sayings in his essays have become popular mottoes and household expressions. bacon in his essays writes in an aphoristic style by making general statements. one can find aphoristic style by reading his essay “of studies “: as he explaining the importance of study that “study serves for delight, for ornament, and for ability.” bacon states that studies have three purposes it is to delight, for ornament and for ability. he further stated that there are different kinds of books some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested and so on… he has divided the book into various purpose “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments and the meaner sort of books, else distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things” . he further state on importance of reading book speaking about it and writing it have important role as: "reading marketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man." bacon provides in analytical approaches where he first makes an argument and analyzes it in following sentence. for instance, in “of studies " bacon states how studies serve a man and then he explains it: "their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. " most of the sentences which bacon uses in "of studies" are short but pregnant with meaning and contains general information as, “crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and viae men use them." then suggesting the importance of reading, speaking, and writing, bacon, in the shortest possible words, states: “reading marketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man." almost every sentence in his essays is pregnant with meaning. ideas are expressed in effective way with memorable qualities: as he states in his essays of marriage and single life called married man a fortunate “he that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune”. he also exemplified the prose and cans of married life and single life “unmarried men are best friends, best masters, best servants, but not always best subjects”. he is explaining the role of wives in various stages of lives as “wives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age and old men’s nurses.” in his other essay opposing of talking revenge and says that “this is certain that a man that studied of revenge keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise heal and do well. ("of revenge") he also against taking revenge even someone deserves it. he called it wild justice since man become violent in time of taking revenge he states that “revenge is a kind of wild justice.” (of revenge) a man takes the revenge on the person by whom he is oppressed. so if he takes revenge, it will be a justice. but at the time when a man takes revenge, he takes it more aggressively than he is oppressed. this is why; bacon calls the revenge a kind of wild justice. so he suggests us to be detached from taking revenge. impersonality: another significant different in bacon’s essays are that he presenting his argument without being involved himself. he did not reflect his personal opinion and in his writings. he presented his writing through aphoristic style instead his own view points but rather statement of truth where he hides his own identity and true personality. he exemplified his argument by bringing examples from history as using examples of julius caesar and brutus and use of allusion to latin or bible in his essays. he detached his personality from his essays by using examples which does not require his personal opinion. bacon only states these facts as if they are established truths. for example, in “of studies” he does not give his personal opinion or provide any examples for which books to be read lightly or which to be digested. through using aphoristic style in his writing, he leaves readers for their own understandings. bacon uses the aphoristic style to enable the readers as an active participant by allowing them to interpret and give the meanings of his statements. this is opposed to the magisterial style in which all the information is presented making the readers passive and lazy. paradox: bacon used paradox or antithesis (greek for "setting opposite", antithesis can be defined as "a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. parallelism of expression serves to emphasize opposition of ideas" ("literary devices paradox”,n.d). an antithesis not always contains two ideas within one statement. the ideas do not mean structurally contradictory, yet they serve to be functionally contradictory when comparing two ideas for emphasis. according to aristotle, the use of an antithesis makes the audience better understand the point the speaker is trying to make (eden, 2014). paradox is used to for the purpose of strengthening an argument trough using either simply contrasting ideas or exact opposites, and can also include both. they make a sentence more memorable for the reader or listener by balance and emphasis of the words. as a crafted man, bacon very skillfully uses literary device ‘paradox’ in his essays. as in essay of study he stated that “studies serve for delight, for ornament and for ability.” also “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” in other part he states that “reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” he is giving the importance of reading that “read not to contradict, nor to believe, but to weigh and consider.” “of studies” . in his essay of marriage talked about the benefit of being married; “he that hath wife and child hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises either of virtue or mischief. bacon has almost weighing the pros and cons of every question that he makes it. making https://literarydevices.net/essay/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 19 statement and immediately counter-balances it. he provides the readers with advantages and the disadvantages of a particular issue. bacon provide picture of both sides. bacon draws either a definite conclusion after balancing the issues, however most of the time he lifts it to the readers draw their own conclusion from them. for instance, in “of marriage and single life”, bacon presents the advantages of both the states: “thus, single men are good friends, good masters and good servants, but they are unreliable as good citizens. rhetorical device: regardless being paradoxical a well-known for terseness and epigrammatic writer bacon is rhetorical writer as well. his essays consists argument, the keenness of imagery, analogy and metaphor, which were common features of the time and also highly latinized. the rhetorical devices have been studied and used by the writers of classics especially, greek and roman prose writers and it was practiced at university level for most of examination of the time consist oral rather than written forms. these forms were famous on debates in presence of the teachers’ students had to present arguments. it was used for the purpose of persuading or convincing the listener of the correctness of his viewpoint. the same training was given in the inns of court where again even the teaching was in the form of debate and argument. it was also famous in legal studies where a set of law court set of laws was taken by individual and presented and commented upon by the reader and then argued out in its details by the other members of the bar for the benefit of the students. becon was a trained lawyer and had special skills of using this device. he has a great power of attracting and persuading his readers. his essays are the finest examples of his persuasion. the rhetorical devices as employed in his essays as well. his essay “of studies” similes and metaphors are used to simplify his ideas into detailed and analytical way. for the purpose of elaborating his view that natural abilities need to be used and bounded by study, bacon makes use of a simile, rightly emphasizes his point: “…………. for natural abilities are like natural plants that need proyning by study.” bacon's interest in science and scientific accuracy also had a great influence in the formation of his style. in science as in law, it is necessary to divide the material under various heads and to arrange them in due order of preference. his essays show a strong organic unity of structure like a tree with its various branches. with attractive simile taken for botany he compares human mind to a growing plant. as the growing plants needs to be pruned and watered and manured for prime development, the new growing conscience of us are to be tutored, mounded, oriented and devised by studies. our natural development which may lead to savagery need to be elaborated with study for the sound growth of personality. he also used metaphor through which learned men are compared to marshal because like a marshal’s management of his army in the battlefield, learned men plan and keep the general problems of life: “……… and to the plots and marshaling of affairs come best from those that are learned”. also in essay of revenge who persuade people to stopped taking revenge personally as he state that “a man that sudieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green.” “of revenge” he used extensively metaphors, images, similes and imagery and analogy as important devices for persuasion. he takes his imagery from nature and everyday life but his analogies are taken from classical mythology, bible, astronomy, philosophy, history and the ancient greek and roman writers and also from the collection of proverbs peltonen, m. (1992). imagery and analogy: “literary devices” (n.d.) described imagery is the use figurative language to represent ideas, actions, and object in a way that it appeals to one’s physical senses imagery are used in literary text to for the purpose of creating picture of particular words in our mind for its visual representation. the word “imagery” is associated with mental pictures. however, it sometimes it turns out to be more complex than just a picture. it assists the reader’s imagination it a ids the reader’s imagination to visualize the characters and scenes in the literary work clearly. apart from these mentioned function, images created by using figures of speech like metaphor, simile, personification, and onomatopoeia, serve the function of beautifying a piece of literature. an analogy is comparisons of unlike thigs are ideas, where an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. it is used in literary text for the purpose of explaining a particular idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar. metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy. therefore, analogy is more extensive and elaborate than either a simile or a metaphor. the purpose of these devices was to make the words signify actuality or to call up a picture before the eyes of the imagination of the reader. this has a more immediate effect than a purely intellectual approach. image, metaphor and analogy all perform this function well either in prose or in poetry. bacon's used extensively brilliant figures of speech taken from familiar objects of nature or from everyday life. his analogies are taken from classical mythology, bible, astronomy, philosophy, history and the ancient greek and roman writers and also from the collection of proverbs (peltonen, 1992). following are examples taken from his essay “of studies" "...... natural abilities are like natural plants, that need proyning by study. "...... distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things." allusion: allusion is a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature (“kidskonnect language allusion/”,(n.d). allusions are often used to indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events. they are used to summarize broad, complex ideas or emotions in one quick, powerful image. bacon essays are rich with allusion for illustrating. he draws his allusions, and quotations, from various sources, classical fables, the bible, history , the ancient greek and the roman writers. which represent and highlight him as learned man? bacon used them in order to explain his point. through using allusions, he gives his ideas greater weight and serves to make his point stronger and vivid. during the renaissance and for long after, these were the sources or terms of reference of the poets and prose writers of europe. since these copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 20 were commonly known to all educated people, the references had some meaning and carried with them some emotional and intellectual content or reverberation. bacon has alluded in his essay, “of marriage and single life”, to ulysses and a quotation from thales, an ancient greek philosopher. he elaborates that loving husband should be serious, conventional and loyal. so, he refers to ulysses for providing greater impact to his idea and to support his argument. he used allusion as a reference to penelope, who is the wife of ulysses, the king of ithaca and the greek hero in the trojan war. she must have grown middle aged by the time ulysses returned to her after 20 years, at the end of his wanderings and adventures. the allusion here is to the circumstances of ulysses refusing to marry and live with the goddess calypso, though she offered to make him immortal like. this allusion more clearly illustrates the topic to the reader that men of a serious bent of mind usually follow conventions and are steady in their love for their wives (hall, 2008). in the essay, of revenge, bacon uses the allusions of cosmus, prophet yousaf a.s) bacon is giving another reference of his contemporary shakespeare (kewes, 2002). he says that the duke says god orders us to forgive our enemies but never orders us to forgive our friends. if your friends hurt, you than you should definitely take revenge. through the given reference bacon emphasis on the importance of taking revenge. bacon uses allusions to make them fit the occasion. at times the allusions not only support the argument, but are themselves elucidated by the argument. bacon thus employs allusions and quotations in order to explain his point. they serve to make an impact more scholarly and enrich it while lending weight to his ideas. in the essay "of revenge," solomon is quoted saying that, "it is the glory of a man to pass by an offence". this extraordinary rich frame of reference makes his essays rich and varied and gives us some indication of the knowledge and interests of bacon. as it has already been suggested his knowledge was almost universal, embracing history and philosophy, geography and science, astronomy and mathematics. since his knowledge was universal and therefore we have to find some place to respect a man who brings such a weight of information and yet does not impose it upon us, except in stray allusions and references. 4. discussion and conclusion francis bacon’s essays are different in conventional definition of essay as a literary genre. the great contribution of francis bacon (1561-1626) to the development of english prose can hardly be overlooked or denied. bacon was first scientific philosopher to write english in a clear, lucid and terse style (“mouthshut”, n.d) bacon’s works are classified as essays, since they have artistic value for analyzing literary work beauty, moral. his essays distinct from the current essay as genera of literature (burtt, 1939). bacon’s sentence structures are craftily varied at various events which show skillful ability of the author. since his essays are not divided into paragraphs, which seems hard for the reader to get a rapid change from one idea to another. his points are supported by allusion, quotations and analogy of various familiar things. bacon’s style is compact yet polished and indeed some of its conciseness is due to the skillful adaptation of latin idiom and phrase. “scrubd document” (n.d). his essays distinct from other essays as they are usually shorter than what the conventional definition of essay suggests. he detached himself by providing his own perspective and prefers to be objective and select observational forms by using various literary devices (fish, 1971). his style is very formal (zeitlin, 1928). his opinion suggests being a statesman or a moralist, not like a street boy (geertz, 1968). bacon applied in essays (“of study”, “of revenge” and “of marriage and single life”) various style and techniques. he used aphoristic style in his essays as explaining general truth having moralistic qualities as proverb. he used paradox to summarized complex ideas. he used allusion to support his points and limit his own involvement by referring bible, roman writers. he used analogy by using imagery drawn from nature metaphor and simile using comparing unlike things by using familiar objects. he has adopted the prose style of french essayist de montagne for his own purpose. his essays distinct from the current essay as genera of literature. bacon’s essays are often lack coherence. since his essays are not divided into paragraphs, which seems hard for the reader to get a rapid change from one idea to another. he detached his own involvement and created objectivity by providing opinions and never speaks of himself. he elaborates his point by using analogy, allusion through other literary devices. his opinion suggests being a statesman or a moralist, not like a street boy. francis bacon, short and persuasive essay focused on the objective subject-matter of superstition. the lengths of his sentences vary throughout the essay according to the need of the subject. sentence structures are craftily varied at various events which shows his deft craftsmanship of the author. his points are supported by allusion, quotations and analogy of various familiar things. his sentences express sharp wisdom in the minimum possible words. though the different features of bacon’s essays make it difficult to place his writings under the genre of essay. but these features also do not suggest otherwise. so bacon’s works are classified as essays. francis bacon have distinctive features which served to his works through the ages. his essays are studied not only for content but for their style respectively. bacon’s style is compact yet polished and indeed some of its conciseness is due to the skillful adaptation of latin idiom and phrase. he had a great and impressive mastery over the art of saying maximum in minimum words. this achievement was in a great measure due to his formulation of a style to present imaginative eloquence. he was able to present abstract ideas endowed with a kind of life and actuality. https://www.mouthshut.com/blog/.../an-epigrammatic-and-aphoristic-style-of-bacon copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 21 references brindle, k. & gould, m.(2006). focus on comprehension 1 (p.1). singapore: learners publishing croll, m. w. (2017). attic prose: lipsius, montaigne, bacon. in landmark essays on rhetoric and literature (pp. 119-145). routledge. dean, l. f. (1941). sir francis bacon's theory of civil history-writing. elh, 8(3), 161-183. eden, k. (2014). poetic and legal fiction in the aristotelian tradition (vol. 480). princeton university press. fish, s. (1971). georgics of the mind: the experience of bacon's essays 1. critical quarterly, 13(1), 45-70. geertz, c. (1968). thinking as a moral act: ethical dimensions of anthropological fieldwork in the new states. the antioch review, 28(2), 139-158. hall, e. (2008). the return of ulysses: a cultural history of homer's odyssey. ib tauris. harris, w. v. (1996). reflections on the peculiar status of the personal essay. college english, 58(8), 934-953. kewes, p. (2002). julius caesar in jacobean england. the seventeenth century, 17(2), 155-186. klarer, m. (2013). an introduction to literary studies. routledge. retrieved from file:///c:/users/javepc/downloads/9780203068915_googlepreview.pdf knowles, j. (1998). ‘infinite riches in a little room’: marlowe and the aesthetics of the closet. in renaissance configurations (pp. 3-29). palgrave macmillan, london. mill. burtt, edwin a. (ed.) (1939). the english philosophers: from bacon to mill. the modern library, new york mouthshut(n.d).retrievedfrom https://www.mouthshut.com/search/prodsrch.aspx?type=blogs&data=bacon peltonen, m. (1992). politics and science: francis bacon and the true greatness of states. the historical journal, 35(2), 279305. ratté, e. h. (1940). a comparison of the essays of montaigne and bacon (doctoral dissertation, boston university). russell, j. (1979). francis bacon (p. 55). london: thames and hudson. “scrubd document” (n.d). retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/375988994/francis-bacon zeitlin, j. (1928). the development of bacon's essays: with special reference to the question of montaigne's influence upon them. the journal of english and germanic philology, 27(4), 496-519. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 1 workplace bullying and it’s impact and remedies in the 21st century issues negash geleta department of management, college of business and economics ambo university, ethiopia e-mail: kenu2002@gmail.com abstract this paper is prepared to see the concept of bullying and its impacts in the work place and suggest some remedies based on the empirical data. then the rationale of this paper document is to address why and how businesses organization should promote healthy work environments, to stimulate awareness of wpb and its negative impact on employee health, to explore current and prospective anti-wpb laws, and to present employer and employee responsive strategies to combat this business challenge. this activity was performed by using introducing the topic, reviewing the existing literature and drawing conclusion which can help different organization to update their current position. keywords: workplace, bullying, 21st century issues. 1. introduction bullying in organizations remain as an important consideration in the management of global organizations (einarsen and raknes, 1997), as it has harmful effects on productivity (keelan, 2000), financial outcome (field, 2003), and employee morale (olafsson and johannsdottir, 2004). yet, bullying is often a misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and a mismanaged behavior in work environments. many victims of bullying suffer from a form of social stress that is similar in nature to post-traumatic stress syndrome that can have a debilitating impact on the individual (leymann and gustafsson, 1996; wilson, 1991). thus, the bullied individual can have social, psychological, and psychosomatic dimensions, which can manifest itself in a negative impact on the individual’s self-efficacy, and ability to perform his/her job (einarsen, 1999; einarsen and raknes, 1997). the question arises, exactly what is bullying. bullying is repeated acts and practices that are directed at one or more workers, which are unwanted by the victim(s) which may be done deliberately or unconsciously, but clearly cause humiliation, offence, and distress, and may interfere with job performance and/ or cause unpleasant working environment (einarsen, 1999). as organizations evolve into global organizations, one could expect that there could be an increase in the frequency and severity of bullying behavior in the organization for a number of reasons (berkowitz, 1993; chen and st. eastman, 1997). first, there can be an increase in the diversity of employees in the organization (lin, 1999). it is anticipated that there can be an increase frequency (i.e., increasing number of foreign employees) as well as the degree of cultural novelty (i.e., cultural distance of employees from those of the home country) of foreign employees (harvey and novicevic, 2001). diversity in an organization stimulates the concept of in-groups/ out-groups as well as stigmatizing groups that are not central to the general population (giacalone and greenberg, 1997). stigmatization of foreign employees is generally focused on some recognizable differences in characteristics, such as race, weight, (dis)ability, gender, or nationality (link and phelan, 1999i). according to the wpb institute (u.s. wpb survey) 37% of all u.s. workers have been targets of workplace bullies. unfortunately, organizational leaders either do not recognize the negative effects of wpb, or they do not know how to productively intervene (salin, 2003). as a result, bullies continue their reign of terror, and targets worry about the bully, lose trust in the company, or leave their workplace. wpb has a negative impact on a company’s profitability; organizational leaders who proactively address this social issue will more effectively meet their organizational goals (keashly & jagatic, 2003). wpb has become a problem that is too costly to ignore (needham, 2003). although several studies (einarsen, hoel, zapf, & cooper, 2003; namie & namie,2003) have vividly illustrated the pain, mental distress, physical illness, emotional harm, and career damage suffered by victims (targets) of bullying, academic study is fairly recent. then aim of this paper is to a) present key concepts on the topic of workplace bullying, b) assess the issue and effects of wpb & cb in different organization, and c) provide some understanding of the contemporary issues on the wpb. the copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 2 outcome of this paper will able to increase the awareness of what actions will take at workplace to overcome wpb. then armed with a deeper awareness of wpb, organizational leaders will be better to provide a safe and healthy working environment for all employees. 2. empirical review 2.1 definition of bullying crawshaw (2009) identified different terms used in association with wpb such as abuse, aggression, counter-productive workplace behavior, harassment, hostile workplace behavior, mistreatment, mobbing, emotional abuse and psychological harassment. some definitions of wpb  according to salin(2003) wpb is a repeated and persistent negative acts including social isolation, silent treatment, rumors attacking victim’s private life or attitudes, excessive criticism or monitoring, withholding information, is depriving responsibility, verbal aggression.  wpb can be defined as repeated, unreasonable efforts to humiliate, offend, slander, exclude, show lack of support or threaten recipients (mccarthy et al., 2003).  wpb is unreasonable and inappropriate workplace behavior includes bullying, which comprises behavior that intimidates, offends, degrades, insults or humiliates a worker, possibly in front of co-workers, clients or customers, and which includes physical or psychological behavior (catanzariti, 2004).  bullying is repeated acts and practices that are directed at one or more workers, which are unwanted by the victim(s) which, may be done deliberately or unconsciously, but clearly cause humiliation, offence, distress, and may interfere with job performance and/ or cause unpleasant working environment (einarsen, 1999). 2.2 bullying behaviors bullying behaviors can take many different forms, from the obvious to the subtler:  repeated hurtful remarks or attacks including your family, sex, sexuality, gender identity, race or culture, education or economic background,  sexual harassment, particularly stuff like unwelcome touching and sexually explicit comments and requests that make you uncomfortable;  excluding you or stopping you from working with people or taking part in activities that relate to your work;  playing mind games, ganging up on you, or other types of psychological harassment ;  intimidation (making you feel less important and undervalued);  giving you pointless tasks that have nothing to do with your job;  giving you impossible jobs that can't be done in the given time or with the resources provided ;  deliberately changing your work hours or schedule to make it difficult for you ;  deliberately holding back information you need for getting your work done properly  pushing, shoving, tripping, grabbing you in the workplace ;  attacking or threatening with equipment, knives, guns, clubs or any other type of object that can be turned into a weapon; and  initiation or hazing where you are made to do humiliating or inappropriate things in order to be accepted as part of the team. 2.3 factors of bullying the four prominent contextual factors that stimulate and/or elicit bullying behavior in a work environment:  deficiencies in work design: lack or improper supervision or the conditions in which individuals are required to work (i.e., physical environments conducive to allow bullying to occur such as isolated areas) or the actual process of completing the work (i.e., lack of supervision),  deficiencies in leadership behavior: inadequate supervision or lack of training of supervisors/ managers on how to address bullying behavior observed in the workplace and, what constitutes appropriate/inappropriate behavior with peers and subordinates, and/ or the potential consequences of their bullying behavior,  a socially exposed position of the victim: weaknesses of a fellow employee or in management processes are known to the bully and are acted upon to take advantage of the social inequities in the work environment.  low morale standard in the department: the culture and climate within the organization has over time learned to accept substandard treatment and therefore, bullying is not only tolerated but expected (i.e., demoralization similar to prisoners of war) (einaresen, 1999; leymann, 1993; morrill, 1992). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 3 2.4 types of bullying  individual bullying: much of the literature on bullying, particularly that produced by support groups, has focused on individualized bullying involving a single bully bullying and one or more targets.  complex bullying: while there are complexities in understanding the origin and processes involved in the development of bullying between two people, the situation becomes much more complex in an organizational setting where there are a number of players, a range of motivations, hidden agendas and old scores to be settled.  good guy/bad guy bullying: there are occasions when two or more individuals become involved in the bullying process. the good guy will befriend and appear concerned about the target while passing on information to the bad guy who uses the information to refine their bullying behavior.  subordinate bullying: although the power of the role or position can protect the jobholder from bullying, around 12 per cent of bullying in the uk is by subordinates.  passive aggressive bullying: people use passive aggression as a way of undermining and manipulating others. instead of being open in disagreeing, they will resist undertaking any tasks allocated to them and covertly sabotage or undermine the efforts of their manager and others.  personality disordered bullying: personality disorders are long-standing disturbances in personality that commonly begin in late adolescence and continue throughout life.  organizational bullying: in recent years, it has been recognized that organizations can behave in a bullying manner (liefooghe & mackenzie davey, 2001). organizational bullying occurs in situations in which organizational practices and procedures are used to oppress, demeanor humiliate the workforce.  external pressure bullying: sometimes organizations are bullied by outside bodies including shareholders, customers and government agencies.  history and culture bullying: organizational cultures tend to develop over time and are made up of shared beliefs, assumptions and behaviors.  senior team tactics bullying: in some organizations, the chief executive may appoint a henchman or woman whose job it is to carry out harsh and uncaring actions, leaving the ceo with clean hands  process bullying: when oppressive organizational practices are employed frequently and consistently, employees feel victimized by them. major findings on workplace bullying  appelbaum et al. (2012): to date, limited solutions and interventions on wpb have been identified. study reports that transformational and ethical leadership practices have shown promise in abating offensive behaviors.  bentley et al. (2012): in line with prior estimates, about 10% of travel industry employees experienced bullying at work.  meloni & austin (2011): authors implemented a zero-tolerance bullying and harassment program in a hospital setting. after 3 years, employee satisfaction survey results had significantly improved.  wheeler et al. (2010): the study views ‘bullying’ from a personal resources perspective, i.e., bullies actively create resource gain cycles to their benefit. organizational strategies to combat wpb include the elimination of motives that fuel bullying types of behavior.  bond et al. (2010): the authors view wpb as chronic stressors that elicit “organizational crisis” which create significant disruption to constructive business processes and work flow.  saam (2010): the author, based on a review of the literature, acknowledges a dearth of intervention strategies in organizations’ response to workplace bullying.  rhodes et al. (2010): the authors examined the issue of organizational ethical responsibilities in responding to incidents of bullying, particularly maintaining and asserting constant vigilance.  martin & lavan (2010): this study examined 45 litigated cases in the u.s. and found that 20% of bullying incidents involved physical violence. surprisingly, only about one-third of the involved firms had an official policy banning workplace bullying.  pate & beaumont (2010): utilizing a case study, the authors found that although employees appreciate management practices that address workplace bullying, the level of trust of senior management remained rather low.  tuckey et al. (2009): in a sample of australian police officers, the study examined the role of psycho-social environmental factors on workplace bullying. high job demands and low levels of social support exacerbated bullying.  salin (2008): within the context of hrm, the authors studied measures used in ‘harm’ policies. results indicated that such policies targeted the role of managers and immediate supervisors.  heames & harvey (2006): the authors applied transactional coping theory to the study of wpb across 3 levels (individual, group, organization). managerial policy needs to address all 3 levels in tandem in order to be effective. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 4  djurkovic et al. (2004): these researchers examined the psychological impact that wpb has on the intention of ‘target’ employees to leave (job attrition) and their overall well-being. findings show that bullying leads to both physical health complaints and negative effect.  rayner & cooper (1997): during the 1990s, wpb was a largely ignored subject in organizational life. the authors concluded that bullying is the key factor identified in employment litigation connected to stress-at-work. 2.5 bullying in the 21st century (cyber bullying) what is cyber bullying?  cyber bullying is largely viewed as inappropriate, unwanted social exchange behaviors initiated by a perpetrator via online or wireless communication technology and devices (durkin & patterson, 2011; sheridan & grant, 2007).  cyber bullying occurs when we use technology deliberately and repeatedly to “bully, harass, hassle and threaten” their peers (goodno, 2011) this can be performed by using internet, e-mail or smart phones sending or retrieving data or voice messages (li, 2005).  according to bauman (2013) cyber bullying is possible because of the wide availability of digital technology and the proliferation of technological innovations will therefore always mean that research and, by implication, legislation, will lag behind.  cyber bullying most commonly occurs through social networking sites for example face book, twitter, youtube, google+, text/picture/instant messaging, chat rooms, gaming sites and email. 2.6 impacts of wpb  psychological effects of bullying on the individual: it include lower job and life dissatisfaction, lower normative and affective commitment, and conflict between work and family, and psychological distress, prolonged stress. the psychological symptoms include feeling of disempowerment (feeling of helplessness), generalized stress, anxiety (bordia and tang 2009), depression and difficulty concentrating, emotional exhaustion (tepper, 2000), low levels of self-esteem (hobman et al., 2009), impaired judgment, anger, memory loss and inability to concentrate, irritability and anxiety (appelbaum and roy-girard, 2007). health professionals indicate medical concern regarding work environments and employee health. dr. ingram (2005), in his book entitled “how to eat right and live longer”, discusses that a poor diet is a primary cause of heart disease, stroke, heart attack, hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis as well as other numerous diseases.  the physiological effects of bullying behavior on the individual: the physical symptoms include: sleep disruption, stomach disorders, headaches, body ache, exhaustion and rapid heart rate. other physiological effects known are changes in blood pressure, muscle tension, impaired judgment, irritability, anxiety, anger, an inability to concentrate and memory loss.  effects of bullying at the organizational level: some of these include: deviant behavior, aggression, revenge, (heames et al., 2006), work-alienation, low unit cohesiveness, low leader-endorsements and low levels of performance leading to a loss to the organization. for instance, in the usa alone, a record amount of $200 billion is lost each due to employee deviance (appelbaum and roy-girard, 2007).  financial impact of wpb: employers, as a result of wpb and related malfeasance, may suffer financially. first, employers may bear direct expenses in the defense of lawsuits as well as additional worker’s compensation and health related complaints filed by employees. second, indirect expenses may be expended in association with increased employee turnover, internal sabotage, and absenteeism because of conflict, a reduction in worker motivation, and health problems (yamada, 2008).  impact of cyber bullying: at an individual level, it has been shown that cyber bullying leads to “low self-esteem, academic problems, delinquent behavior” and, last but certainly not least, “suicidal thoughts” and “suicide” in learners (goodno, 2011). adolescents who contemplated suicide were “twice as likely” to have contemplated such behavior, due to having experienced cyber bullying (hinduja & patchin, 2010). 2.7 remedies for wpb 2.7.1 actions  obtain copies of harassing / bullying paper trails; hold onto copies of documents that contradict the bully’s accusations against you (e.g., time sheets, audit reports, etc.).  create a zero tolerance anti-bullying policy. this policy should be part of the wider commitment to a safe and healthful working environment and should have the full support of top management.  when witnessed or reported, the bullying behavior should be addressed immediately.  structure the work environment to incorporate a sense of autonomy/ decision-making processes. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 5  hold awareness campaigns for everyone on what bullying is. encourage reporting.  ensure management has an active part in the staff they supervise, rather than being far removed from them.  encourage open door policies.  investigate the extent and nature of the problem. conduct employee attitude surveys.  improve management’s ability and sensitivity towards dealing with and responding to conflicts.  establish an independent contact for employees (e.g., human resources contact). 2.7.2 organizational responses  business leadership and management set the cultural climate for actions fostering worker dignity, respect, and civility in the work environment.  to formulate such a cultural climate, organizations must design and create internal policies that promote these desired goals.  places of employment should aim to have annual training on wpb, its impact, and the potential consequences for bullies and their targets through the human resources and/or legal departments. 2.7.3 individual responses  according to wpb consultants, employees must be diligent in their responses to wpb. in total, targets of wpb are encouraged to be proactive in their own defense (white, 2014). 2.7.4 strategies to deal with cyber abuse/bullying  company policy must confirm, in the strongest terms, that any form of online or cyber-bullying will be classified within the domain of workplace bullying. thus, electronic offensive behavior will be designated under strict, ‘zero’ tolerance standards.  standards on workplace friendships and romantic relationships need to be explicit, with avenues for professional counseling when interpersonal conflicts arise;  counseling options for employees who may have difficulties with anger issues should be available;  company policy, including privacy issues, on the procedures in handling complaints by ‘targets’ need to be unambiguous;  managers need to remain vigilant on any signs of intimidation, threat, emotional outbursts, or suspicious messaging regarding potential abusers, and aware of signs and characteristics of ‘targeted’ employees;  all complaints must be handled confidentially, and interventions such as mediation or counseling may need to be consulted with legal advice;  upper-management and top management need to be cognizant of the legal liabilities to the company while preserving the rights of all employees involved;  maintaining safety in a positive work environment should be a top priority; and 3. conclusion this paper tries to show concepts of wpb, its impacts and some remedies to overcome problems the work environment. employee health is crucial towards high performance and increased productivity. many factors contribute to or hinder an employee’s well-being especially psychological well-being. this paper’s analysis indicates that bullying at the work place has tremendous negative effect on employees’ health. the prevalence of wpb in the nations should be further investigated and policies framed to ensure the psychological and physiological well-being of the nation’s knowledge workers and to secure the future of education in different countries. according to empirical research data assessed strongly suggests that stress, depression, feelings of injustice, and anger may be the result for not only the targets of wpb but also their co-workers and families. more far-reaching consequences are those in which the community is negatively affected by bullied employees who may engage in violent actions to deal with unfair workplace situations. then all organization must focus on the concept of wpb to make conducive their business environment. references appelbaum, s., semerjian, g., & mohan, k. 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(2014, march). bullying at work: how to make it stop. time, 183(9). retrieved fromhttp://time.com/17168/bullying-at-work-how-to-make-it-stop/ copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 22 present scenario of waste management in india pradip kumar das phd associate professor & head of the department commerce unit (morning), j.k. college, purulia affiliation under s.k.b. university, purulia, india e-mail: pradip57.prl@rediffmail.com abstract in india, approach towards waste management is unscientific. even today, large portion of solid waste is dumped indiscriminately on outskirts of places without any prior treatment leading to groundwater contamination and increase in air pollution. resource recovery from waste and safe disposal of residual in scientifically designed landfills are grossly neglected. the present system is focused on collection and transportation of largely mixed unsegregated waste for sustainable solid waste management, but the capacity to plan and manage the system and ensure the enforcement of rules is a major challenge. this study analyses current scenario of waste management in india. besides presenting few mitigation choices to respond to the growing challenge, it also suggests mechanisms for ensuring integrated waste management systems. keywords: landfills, waste generation, disposal, waste management. 1. introduction generation of waste is a natural phenomenon. despite social, economic and environmental development, there is a long way to implement an effective solid waste management (swm) practice. a substantial amount of municipal waste and industrial waste is extremely dangerous to the living organisms (misra & pandey, 2005). sw is expected to increase significantly in near future as india strives to attain an industrialized nation status (sharma & shah, 2005). therefore, there is an urgent need to move to more sustainable swm with new management systems and facilities. developed countries manage their wastes with advanced facilities, competent government institutions and bureaucracies. developing countries like india are still in the transition towards better waste management (wm). current swm systems having negative impact on public health, environment and economy need clear government policies and competent bureaucracies especially in countries having rapid population growth. this paper comprehensively reviews current status of wm in india and makes an attempt to track various issues concerning waste streams as on date. 2. objectives of the paper the prime objectives of the study are to ▪ present the current status of wm in india ▪ carry out analysis showing the reasons of improper wm ▪ offer suggestions to overcome the same. 3. data and research methodology the study basically depends on secondary data. the researcher, being an external analyst, has to depend mainly on current literature available on the issue in the form of books, journals, articles, research studies, websites, etc. for the examination of current status of wm. editing, classification and tabulation of data collected from these sources have been done as per requirement of the study. different statistical techniques and tools have also been applied for the purpose of the analysis. 4. literature survey sharholy et al., (2007) in their report over municipal solid waste management (mswm) in indian cities discussed about the different aspects of disposals and treatment of msw. they suggested to work towards further improvement of the present system. talyan et al., (2008) observed the policies and initiatives of the government and municipal corporation of delhi and suggested to improve the existing mswm system. kumar & goel, (2009) examined mswm practices with various parameters. they proposed integrated swm plan and augmentation in labor and vehicle inventory for better treatment and disposal facilities. narayan (2008) in his report on landfills, incineration and composting practices in india from mswm identified the most economical and best option possible to combat the waste disposal problem. unnikrishnan & singh (2010) focused on mailto:pradip57.prl@rediffmail.com copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 23 clean development mechanism (cdm) projects and the cdm opportunities in india and revealed in comparative study between brazil and india that india does not have well designed sanitary landfills. india should make conscious efforts towards developing more scientific landfills, capture methane and take carbon credits. vij (2012) in the report on swm assessed the current practices of sw and the problems associated with it and suggested measures to conduct this waste in healthy and environment friendly manner to prove resource instead of waste. 5.waste management (or wm) concept ‘waste management’ collectively means management of waste from its inception to its final disposal. thus, wm includes collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste along with its monitoring and regulation. all kinds of wastes, right from municipal waste to agricultural waste to hazardous residues and special wastes such as sludge, health care wastes come under one umbrella. industrialization along with rapid urbanization witnesses building up of waste. efficient wm implies full exploration for final disposal of waste. 6. indian scenario 6.1 magnitude of problem india is suffering from acute increase in waste generation. collection efficiency is not much developed. crude dumping is practiced everywhere. sound waste management can tackle waste production scientifically. types of sw depend on its source, composition, phase, treatment, etc. (table-1). table 1. type of sw source waste generators type of solid waste residential household activities food, paper, plastics, wood, metals, electronic items, etc. industrial manufacturing units, power plants, process industries, etc. housekeeping wastes, hazardous wastes, ashes, etc. commercial & institutional hotel, restaurant, market, office, school, hospital, prison, etc. biomedical, food, glass, metals, plastic, paper, etc. construction and demolition new construction, road repair, demolition of structures, etc. wood, steel, concrete, dust, etc. municipal services street cleaning, parks, water treatment plants, landscaping, water, recreational areas, etc. tree trimmings, usual wastes, sludge, etc. agriculture crops, orchards, farm, dairies, etc. agricultural & hazardous waste, etc. mining open-cast mining, underground mining, etc. basically, inert materials like ash, etc. source: author’s own elaboration 6.2 composition, characteristic, generation, etc. of sw composition, characteristic, generation, etc. of sw vary from place to place in india (figure 1 &table-2,3). figure 1. composition of municipal solid waste in india source: task force on waste to energy, planning commission 51% 10% 7% 32% biodegradble plastic paper others copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 24 table 2. physical characteristics of sw in indian cities city paper textile leather plastic metal glass ash, fine earth, others compostable matter ahmedabad 6 1 3 50 40 banglore 8 5 6 3 6 27 45 bhopal 10 5 2 2 1 35 45 mumbai 10 4 1 2 1 44 40 kolkata 10 3 1 8 3 35 40 coimbatore 5 9 1 50 35 delhi 7 4 1 2 3 1 52 32 hyderabad 7 2 1 50 40 indore 5 2 1 49 43 jaipur 6 2 1 2 47 42 kanpur 5 1 5 2 53 40 kochi 5 1 36 58 lucknow 4 2 4 1 49 40 ludhiana 3 5 3 30 40 madras 10 5 5 3 33 44 madurai 5 1 3 46 45 nagpur 5 7 2 1 1 1 53 30 patna 4 5 2 6 1 2 35 45 pune 5 5 10 15 55 surat 4 5 3 3 45 40 vadodara 4 7 49 40 varanasi 3 4 10 35 48 visakhapatnam 3 2 5 5 50 35 average 6 4 1 4 2 2 40 42 source: 1) municipal bodies of different cities; 2) central pollution control board (cpcb), 2012 india has rapid urbanization with physical, climatic, geographical, ecological, social, cultural and linguistic diversity (table 4). in fact, people still throw household waste without following proper wm channel; few industries dump its wastes illegally and lack of awareness is still there. besides, nuclear waste is important for its adverse environmental impact. table 3. estimates for sw generation year source annual generation (million tons) 2017 our estimate1 based on 450 gm per capita daily generation and urban population of 440 million* 72 2017 our estimate2 based on 400 gm per capita daily generation and urban population of 440 million* 64 2014-15 central pollution control board 52 2014-15 ministry of urban development 52 2013-14 task force on waste to energy, planning commission 62 source: cpcb, ministry of urban development and planning commission population growth increases waste much in india. mega cities have dynamic economic growth and high waste generation per capita (table 4). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 25 table 4. major cities in india and waste generation data city population(million) waste generated(tpd) waste generation (2011 cencus) waste generated(tpd) (tpd) waste generation (kg per capita per day) ahmadabad 6.3 2300 0.36 hyderabad 7.7 4200 0.54 bangalore 8.4 3700 0.44 chennai 8.6 4500 0.52 kolkata 14.1 3670 0.26 delhi 16.3 5800 0.41 mumbai 18.4 6500 0.35 source: cpcb report, 2012 6.3 statistics on waste generation and waste characterization estimating and forecasting of waste generation and its characteristics is fundamental to successful wm planning. india generates a large amount of sw per day; but collection and treatment is not enough. sw generation per capita in india ranges from about 0.17 kg per person per day in small towns to about 0.62 kg per person per day in cities (kumar & goel, 2009). waste generation depends on population density, economic status, commercial activity, culture and region. 6.4 waste characterization data waste composition has a significant impact on wm practices. biomedical waste (management and handling) rule governs msw which contains hazardous wastes, compostable organics waste, healthcare waste, etc. households and inert waste from construction, demolition and road sweeping generate organic waste. waste samples collected from different cities shows varied msw composition. average (%by weight) composition of msw in indian metro cities is found to be compostable (41), inert (40), paper (6), plastic (4), glass (2), metals (2), textile (4) and leather (1) respectively (sharholy et al., 2007). rag-pickers and recyclers of neighborhood in processing waste reduces waste headed to landfill and prevents rag-pickers from having to rummage through waste. onus lies with the citizens. the citizens have to follow few basic steps in disposing waste such as collection, segregation, dumping, composting, drainage, treatment of effluents before discharge, etc. 7. waste management in india less than 60% of waste is collected from households and only 15% of urban india’s waste is processed in the country (pib, 2016). collection vs. dumped position is exhibited in figure 2). figure 2. collection vs. dumped statistics in million mtp.a. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 26 7.1 prediction on future waste growth asia shares about one-third of expected world waste with major contributions from china and india by 2050. waste in urban areas increase due to population and lifestyle. in 2011, urban india generated 47.30 million tons of waste and by 2036, it is predicted to be 131.2 million tons, a fivefold increase (table 5). table 5. predicted population growth and impact on waste generation year population (million) waste generation (kg per capita per day) waste generation (million tons per year) 2011 260.1 0.498 47.30 2021 342.8 0.569 71.15 2031 451.8 0.649 107.01 2036 518.6 0.693 131.2 source: annepu, rk, 2012 7.2 scenario of waste collection and transportation of late, waste management rules under the environment protection act has changed the atmosphere. ministry of environment and forests (2015) and updated published draft rules have re-issued to ensure sound wm in india. municipal authorities implement these rules and develop infrastructure for collection and waste disposal methods. integration of the methods increases collection efficiency (talyan et al., 2008). many states like gujarat, maharashtra, andhra pradesh, delhi, tripura with local bodies and ngos have taken initiatives to increase collection efficiently while states like arunachal pradesh, nagaland are yet to comply with the msw rules and unscientific methods. table-8 exhibits waste collection of different states of india. table 6 shows state-wise waste collection of india. table 6. state-wise waste collection state quantity generation (tpd) collection (tpd) state quantity generation (tpd) collection (tpd) andaman& nicobar 50 43 lakshadweep 21 21 andhra pradesh 11500 10655 madhya pradesh 4500 2700 arunachal pradesh 94 na maharashtra 19204 19204 assam 1146 807 manipur 113 93 bihar 1670 1670 meghalaya 285 238 chandigarh 380 370 mizoram 4742 3122 chhattisgarh 1167 1069 nagaland 188 140 daman diu& dadra 28+13=41 na orissa 2239 1837 delhi 7384 6796 pondicherry 380 na goa 193 na punjab 2794 na gujarat 7379 6744 rajasthan 5037 na haryana 537 na sikkim 40(capital) 32 himachal pradesh 304 275 tamil nadu 12504 11626 jammu & kashmir 1792 1322 tripura 360 246 jharkhand 1710 869 uttar pradesh 11585 10563 karnataka 6500 2100 uttrakhand 752 na kerala 8338 1739 west bengal 12557 5054 34 states 127486 893 source: cpcb, 2012 7.3 role of informal sector informal sector is an integral part of wm system. waste pickers, in india, mostly depend on it for income. table-7 & 8 show collection efficiency, estimation of msw collection and segregation at source in selected indian cities. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 27 table7. collection efficiency of indian cities name of the city collection efficiency (%) name of the city collection efficiency (%) bombay 97 madurai 52 madras 90 pune 70 banglore 68 baroda 60 coimbatore 65 bhopal 94 ahmedabad 90 salem 19 kanpur 70 lucknow 83 indore 83 source: gupta et al., 1998; khan, 1994 table-8. msw collection and segregation at source in selected cities city state population (million) door-to-door collection from households(%) segregation at source(%) large cities mumbai maharashtra 20 80 delhi 19 39 bengaluru karnataka 10 71 50 chennai tamil nadu 10 80 hyderabad telangana 9 73 ahmedabad gujarat 8 95 surat gujarat 6 60 12 pune maharashtra 6 50 52 mid-size cities indore madhya pradesh 3 90 53 bhopal madhya pradesh 2 100 na ludhiana punjab 2 25 chandigarh 1 95 mysuru karnataka 1 95 55 small cities warangal telangana 1 90 na tirunelveli tamil nadu 1 100 100 alappuzha kerala 0.2 100 76 suryapet telangana 0.1 100 na gangtok sikkim 0.1 90 30 panaji goa 0.1 100 90 note: large cities-population greater than 5 million, mid-sized-1 million to 5 million and small cities-less than 1 million. data for kolkata are unavailable. source: municipal bodies of different cities 7.4 waste disposal options waste disposal is at critical stage in india. well-engineered waste disposal saves public health and preserves key environmental resources. important disposal options available are: i) non-engineered disposalin many indian cities, poorly managed and commonly practiced dumping give birth to acute environmental degradation and public health. above 90% of sw in cities and towns are directly disposed on land in an unsatisfactory manner (sharholy et al., 2008). ii) sanitary land fillingsanitary land filling option avoids harmful effects of uncontrolled dumping, minimizes surface water and gas escaping from waste. engineered landfill allows safe disposal of residual and reduces greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions and slope instability issues. however, land filling is the most widely adopted practice in india to ensure sanitary land filling (kansal, 2002). iii) composting: many largescale compost plants have been set up in major cities and towns. compost has very high agricultural value (tchobanoglous et al., copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 28 1977). iv) incineration: in india, incineration is usually limited to hospital and other biological wastes for high organic material, moisture contact and low calorific value (kansal, 2002; bhide & shekdar, 1998). v)vermicomposting municipal solid waste: in this method, earthworms feeding on organic matters in sw convert into casting rich in plant nutrients. vi) reuse and recycling of waste materials: reuse and recycling minimize waste by converting discarded materials into useful products. hierarchical process having 3r’s, namely, reduce, reuse and recycle is the cornerstone of wm strategies. the basic principle lying is that all the generated residues are utilized to maximum while only a minimal amount of waste is left for resourcefully reusing through other viable channels (table 9). table 9. land allocated for developing landfills city no. of landfills sites area (acre) city no. of landfills sites area (acre) chennai 2 1150.3 jaipur 3 77.6 coimbatore 2 721.5 kolkata 1 61.0 surat 1 494.2 chandigarh 1 44.5 mumbai 3 345.9 ranchi 1 37.1 hyderabad 1 300.2 dehradun 1 11.1 ahmedabad 1 207.6 jamshedpur 2 10.1 delhi 3 164.1 faridabad 3 5.9 jabalpur 1 150.7 asansol 1 4.9 indore 1 147.0 varanasi 1 4.9 madurai 1 120.1 agra 1 3.7 bengaluru 2 100.6 lucknow 1 3.5 vishakhapatnam 1 100.1 rajkot 2 3.0 ludhiana 1 99.8 shimla 1 1.5 nasik 1 85.0 source: cpcb,2011 8. government policy and legislation the ministry of environment and forests (moef) with the central and state pollution control board takes care of the wm issues. the technology advisory group under the direction of high court submits its report from time to time relating to the scope of improvement and implementation of new technologies. the government has also passed plastic waste (management and handling) rules, 2011 and e-waste (management and handling) rules, 2011 to solve the issue. article 48-a of the indian constitution advises each state to recycle and reuse its waste. final sw is disposed in landfills to minimize adverse environmental impact to reduce toxicity and its final volume (misra & pandey, 2005). the state governments have taken initiative to ban plastic carry bags and electronic goods for better disposal. unlike european countries, extended producer responsibility (epr) concept has not become successful in india. vehicle management has become a challenge to tackle the issue. cpcb (2012) has published ‘guidelines for environmentally sound management of ‘end-of-life vehicles’ (elv)” to solve adverse impact of vehicles on environment. table 10 shows benchmark set by the government. table 10. benchmark set by the government of india activity percentage (%) activity percentage (%) collection efficiency 100% cost recovery 100% segregation 100% redressal of complaints 80% recovery/recycling efficiency 80% collection of user charge 90% cost recovery 100% treatment of msw 100% source: ministry of urban development 9. current scenario india having vast population with growing economy cannot afford to effective wm. policy framework is available on paper; but ground reality is alarming. the government has taken initiatives; still there is a long journey to travel to achieve desired results. ‘swachchh bharat abhiyan’ also known as ‘clean india mission’ is a bold step to awaken citizens about the importance of wm copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 29 approach. the government has also opened its doors for private sector. public-private-partnership (ppp)model can help generating revenues and eventually competency level for effective swm. however, lacking finance, public support and institutional deficiency create obstacles. india has adopted the following legislations to strengthen her hands of administration about major waste streams (table-11). table 11. major waste streams legislation in india type of waste applicable legislation impact hazardous waste hazardous and other wastes (management and tran boundary movement) rules, 2016 pollution; fire hazard; food; climate; food; health; habitat loss; bio-magnification, soil fertility, etc. bio-medical waste bio-medical waste management rules, 2016 infection; pollution; climate; food; health; habitat loss; flora/fauna, etc. plastic waste plastic waste management rules, 2016 sewerage; drainage; digestion; food; health; flora, etc. lead acid battery waste the batteries (management and handling) rules, 2001 pollution; lead poisoning; habitat loss; health, food,; resource, etc. construction and demolition waste construction and demolition waste management rules, 2016 pollution; sewerage, drainage; health; habitat loss; biomagnification, soil fertility, etc. municipal solid waste solid waste management rules, 2016 pollution; sewerage; drainage; climate; fauna; food; material corrosion; bio-magnification; infection, etc. radioactive waste atomic energy (safe disposal of radioactive wastes) rules, 1987 health; pollution; resource depletion; flora/fauna, etc. fly ash fly ash notification , 1999 health; pollution; resource depletion, flora/fauna, etc. source: cpcb, 2012 9.1 rapid urbanization unplanned urbanization increases pollution level and environmental degradation. reverse flow of money encourages residents generating more trash and also making dumping a more popular option to recycling or composting. thus, all stakeholders need to be incentivized to maximize collection, minimize dumping and maximize composting and recycling operations. india needs a paradigm shift from dumping based approach to efficient utilization of construction and demolition (c & d) waste. c & d waste recycled to replace natural building material is beneficial for environment and also saves substantial costs and resources. about 30% of c & d waste in india contains bricks masonry while 35% constitutes soil, sand and gravel (giz, 2016). construction and demolition waste management rules, 2016 contain the functions of c & d waste generator. further, cpcb, (2012) has published guidelines on environmental management in the matter. 9.2. challenges in india collection, segregation, insufficient land, dumping, unawareness, etc. are key issues and challenges in india. simple dumping cannot mobilize financial resources for expensive technology. a closer look at the scenario reveals that waste needs to be treated holistically. urban migration and density of population can make wm a difficult issue in future. although there have been a variety of policy responses to the its problem, sustainable solutions to either organic or inorganic waste still remain unattended. recycling is the most economically viable option for employment opportunity to the urban poor. critical issues like industry responsibility, sustainable recycling and catalyzing waste reduction have not been touched upon sufficiently. every kind of material used for packaging cannot be recycled in the low-end technology. besides, safety provisions of the waste-pickers and workers are very poor. modern technology can deal with urban waste problem. developed countries are doing away with incinerators because of high costs. but developing countries have become potential markets for dumping such technologies. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 30 10. suggestions for future improvement table-12 outlines major waste stream, its block and offers recommendations for sound wm: table 12. interventions concerning major waste stream type of waste bottleneck recommendation hazardous waste shortage of staff; absence of treatment and disposal facilities, distance between generator and treatment/disposal sites, etc. increase number of staff; establish tsdf, etc. biomedical waste shortage of staff; undone tracking of plastic stream from bio-medical waste; no mechanism to cross check quantity of waste generated. increase number of staff; track the plastic stream; annual publication of consumption of medical consumables by concerned department plastic waste shortage of staff increase number of staff lead acid battery waste shortage of staff increase number of staff construction and demolition waste shortage of staff & recycling facility; unawareness among people; etc increase number of staff; create awareness through various mass communication media; encourage recycling facilities under ppp model at the outskirts of local bodies; encourage prefabricated building. municipal solid waste shortage of staff & processing facility; unawareness among stakeholders; difficulty in adopting ‘polluter pay’ principle, etc. increase number of staff; create awareness through various mass communication media; encourage recycling facilities under ppp model at the outskirts of each local bodies,; collect swm; high levy on hazardous/ infectious waste generators. e-waste shortage of staff; unawareness among people; entry of end-of-life mercury bearing lamps, etc. increase number of staff; create awareness through various mass communication media; phase out mercury bearing lamps radioactive waste cremation of people underwent radiotherapy might release residual radioactive substance into environment. shift the crematorium away from city limits; train people in crematorium about hazardous involved; monitor emissions and ash from crematoriums. fly ash lack of research with respect to utilization of ash in ash pond. encourage research with respect to utilization of bottom ash. end-of-life vehicle no exclusive legislation or provision in the existing legislation; mostly dismantled endof-life vehicles sent for recycling by informal sector; no formal tracking of end of vehicles and its status, etc. incorporate provisions with respect to disposal of end-of-life vehicles in existing rules; introduce epr, track end of life vehicles. food waste no exclusive legislation or provision in the existing legislation; no formal tracking of food waste, etc. incorporate provisions to reduce, reuse, recycle and disposal of food waste in existing rules; quantify and track food waste. slaughter house waste no exclusive legislation or provisions in the existing legislation; no formal tracking of slaughter house waste, etc. incorporate provision for proper disposal of slaughter house waste in existing rules; introduce epr, etc. bottom ash no exclusive legislation or provisions in the existing legislation; lack of research for utilization of bottom ash, etc. incorporate bottom ash in existing rules; encourage research regarding utilization of bottom ash copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 31 disaster waste no exclusive legislation or provision in the existing legislation; no estimation of waste envisaged in each local body at different possible calamity, etc. incorporate provisions for disaster waste in existing rules; estimate and publish waste envisaged in each local body for different possible calamity author’s own elaboration 10.1 further suggestions ▪ technical aspects should make strategy for planning and its implementation according to situation of the country. ▪ wastes need to be increasingly sorted at the source to separate recycled materials and to reduce the magnitude of wastes. ▪ changes in the habits of segregation, littering can alter the approach. a mechanism to generate revenue from the citizens should also be developed. ▪ separate parallel decentralized schemes by the government can facilitate right impetus for the development of wm method. ▪ integration of informal sector can help achieve sustainable swm on the one hand and improving their living standards on the other. ▪ scenario based on socio-economic, environmental and health considerations should fulfill the basic goal of recycling the maximum waste generated, creating maximum employment without reducing potential health hazards. ▪ self-employed women’s association improves the living standard of women paper-pickers by organizing them into cooperatives. ▪ a flawless flow sheet matching financial support, discipline and attitudinal change in all concerned is obviously the key to success of wm. ▪ in india, authorities practicing landfill do declare that they assiduously implement requirements for recommended landfill to assuage citizen concern. ▪ recycling and reuse of plastics with new techniques can minimize pollution level. ▪ the ministry of urban development and poverty alleviation, as well as agriculture, should develop market for compost and provide subsidies for compost manure-first. ▪ planning and its implementation should start from general public level followed by block level, district level and state level. ▪ india needs integrating waste policy with migration, industrialization, education, housing, tourism and transportation. ▪ the state governments with banning of plastic carry bags should also put an end to electronic goods to ensure better disposal of e-waste. ▪ awareness among the young generation can alter public apathy by building campaigns and educational measures. ▪ research efforts should concentrate on biological methods of waste treatment. in the modern hi-tech age, problem of uswm is to be addressed in broader dimension. ▪ a well-defined strategic sm plan and its strong implementation prevents epidemic and makes each city healthy. ▪ sensitization of the community helps achieve the objectives as every city in india is already a hotbed of many contagious diseases. ▪ working on a holistic approach by ngos and private sectors helps developing responsible citizens who will treat waste as resource opportunity. 11. conclusion time has come to encourage technology-based entrepreneurship for effective wm. authorities must protect fundamental rights of citizens and citizens also must perform their fundamental duties to their best practices. most of the populated areas show the picture of sadly managed and uncontrolled dumpsites. lackadaisical attitude of the common people has compounded the problem and have left the entire responsibility to the civic authorities. environmental degradation has led to unregulated use of environment and its wide spread. absence of complete market makes use of alternative method essential to find solution for the environmental issues. in fact, implementation of environment laws is yet to impact on ecosystem and, therefore, on the health and living conditions of the citizens. 12. concluding remarks waste generation basically depends on population, climate, urbanization, socio-economic criteria, etc. the government should simplify the rules and encourage all the citizens to practice the same in their households and may arrange for reward to the best wm practitioner. methods like vermicomposting, energy generation from solar cells and e-wastes using recycled water for household practices can be easily preached to the common people. this enhances the fertility of our soil, reduces environmental copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 32 pollution, increases ground water level ultimately making our environment a safe haven to live. this will be the real legacy we have to leave behind for the forthcoming generation. acknowledgement this paper is devoted to almighty god who shows his blessings in all walks of my life. references annepu, r. k. 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(1977). solid wastes; engineering principles and management issues. mcgrawhill. unnikrishnan, s., & singh, a. (2010). energy recovery in solid waste management through cdm in india and other countries. resources, conservation and recycling, 54(10), 630-640. vij, d. (2012). urbanization and solid waste management in india: present practices and future challenges. procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 37, 437-447. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 1 students’ self-confidence and its impacts on their learning process omidullah akbari english language and literature department kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: akbariomidullah@gmail.com javed sahibzada senior assistant professor english language and literature department kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: sahibzada.javed@gmail.com abstract the purpose of this study was to measure students’ self-confidence and finds its impacts on their learning process at kandahar university. the study is descriptive in nature where quantitative questionnaire is used to collect data through stratified sampling from 1375 male and female students. the findings revealed only some of the students were low self-confident and most students were highly self-confident. in addition, students’ self-confidence effected their learning in areas of students’ participation, in seeking goal, developing interest in lessons, in decreasing students’ anxiety, they are being comfortable with their instructors and classmates and also in sharing their opinions related to lessons in class. keywords: impacts, learning, measuring, process, self-confidence. 1. introduction competence knowledge and performance are interrelated concept and they are the key success for individual in their career. due to the lack of each one can face many challenges their lives. students with the lack of any of these may face various challenges in achieving intended outcomes which have been set out by their respected institutions or the goals they have for themselves. the lack of self-confidence in students may not only create problem for students but for institutions areas of thereof and in effective implementation of curriculum. most of the current crisis in the educational system is due to low self-confidence that leaded a number of students having lack of enough participation and unsatisfactory progress after much time spends in the class. as norman & hyland (2003) state confidence is a factor in learning which can have its effects on students’ participation and progress. self-confidence is very necessary for a student to take risks and engage in the learning activities and those who have self-confidence they are assured of their abilities and are setting goals for themselves and work hard to achieve their goals without worrying about the outcomes (kanza, 2016). mutluer (2006) & yavuzer (1998) (as cited in sara, avcu & isiklar 2010) assert that human is born with selfconfidence but it is changeable during the age students’ self-confidence can be lowered due to students’ anxiety, self-insecurity, fear and feeling of being apart from the society (rubio, 2007). according to benabou & tirole (2002), self-confidence is very effective in motivating humans and can lead to changing human’s behavior. the self-confidence should be considered as the quality of a student in which the student feels him/herself assured of successfully performing of different activities in the class and out of the class for the purpose of learning. however, the impact of self-confidence in learning process the researcher means that how students’ learning varies when students experience either high self-confidence or low self-confidence. functionally, learning is a set of changes which are brought to the behavior of a person resulting from the experiences done by a human (houwer, holmes & moors, 2013). taylor & mackenney (2008, p.263) defines learning as a permanent change in the behavior of an individual. they further define learning as the act of engaging students in activities and letting them get knowledge through their sharing experiences or getting information from the teacher. self-confidence is defined as the believe or trust that a student has in performing something successfully (kanza, 2016). according to perkins (2018) self-confidence is related to success, achievements in education, conciliation, and a persons’ well-being, among other things and self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-compassion are the three factors which can affect the level of self-confidence of any individual. mailto:akbariomidullah@gmail.com mailto:sahibzada.javed@gmail.com copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 2 2. statement of the problem although self-confidence enhances a student’s motivation in learning process and its impact is explained thereof. there are various challenges exists for students with lower self-confidence. for instance, benabou & tirole (2002) point out that there is still one big challenge that students are having as their vulnerability in learning is the lack of self-confidence which can adversely affect the learning of any students. according to rubio (2007) due to low self-confidence many psychological barriers such as feeling of in secureness, fearfulness, having anxiety, and feeling yourself apart from the society are possible barriers that may arise for a student during the class which can adversely affects the performance of individual. they can consequently be leading an individual being distracted from the learning process. based on personal experiences of the researchers, it has been observed that most of students at kandahar university having poor participation in classes. since the participation is closely related to selfconfidence, this is the major concern that students’ poor performance maybe due to the lack of self-confidence which can consequently affect their vulnerability in learning process. according to benabou & tirole (2002) self-confidence has its effect on motivation and can change humans’ behavior and is considered as a factor for students’ problem-solving skill at the university. in addition to that palavan (2017) states that students’ lack of self-confidence can cause for students’ lack of motivation which in result can cause education become compulsory and make student show negative attitude toward learning. these are the key causes and inspirations for conducting the research. because if students’ poor performance continues, the intended outcomes set out the respected departments and effective curriculum is not possible to be achieved. tunçel (2015) suggest language teachers to develop their students’ selfconfidence and avoid those behaviors which lower students’ self-confidence. 3. the significances of the study a large body of current literatures related to students’ self-confidence shows that in many counties many researchers, specially: sar, avcu & isiklar (2010) in turkey, verma & kumari (2016) in ludhiana (punjab), fatma (2015) in india, karimi & saadatmand (2014) in asfahan, al-hebaish (2012) in saudi and gardner, dukes & discenza (1993) in san francisco has considered self-confidence as an important factor for enhancing students’ learning and many efforts has been taken for developing students’ self-confidence in learning while less attention is paid to this issue in afghan context especially, kandahar university. there is need for measuring students’ self-confidence and its impact on their learning process to fill somehow the existed gap. this study will add to the existing literature of students’ self-confidence through conducting a study related to students’ self-confidence with a different population in different research cite. in addition to that, this study will benefit the ministry of higher education, department of educational psychology, department of pedagogy, university curriculum designers, university policy makers, university teachers, and university students in identifying the causes of their lower performance and possible solutions to exist in effective curriculum implementation. moreover, this study will also help school teachers and students and other related organizations who deal and care with students’ self-confidence. this study will give a clear picture of the kandahar university students’ self-confidence level and its effects in learning process to the thereof sectors. the purpose of this study is to measure students’ self-confidence on learning and find its impacts on learning process. 4. research objectives the current study aims to identify the level of students’ self-confidence in learning at kandahar university. besides that, finding out how the self-confidence had impacts on students’ learning at kandahar university is another key aims direct the study toward its findings. 5. research questions  what is the level of students’ self-confidence in learning at kandahar university?  what are the impacts of students’ selfconfidence on their learning process at kandahar university? 6. review of the literature this part of the study explores previous studies related to students’ self-confidence. it explores the level of students’ selfconfidence on learning and the impacts of students’ self-confidence on their learning and scholar’s opinion about self-confidence and its impact has been documented. 6.1 students’ self-confidence level a large body of literature is related to measuring students’ self-confidence in learning. tripathy & srivastava (2012) believe that self-confidence is an attitude and students with self-confident believe on their abilities, they are goal-directed, they believe that they will reach their goals and expectations. self-confidence is not the same in all areas of a person’s life. it is possible that an individual be very confident in one area of life and less confident in some other areas of life. mahyuddin et.al (2006) has investigated the relationship between students’ self-efficacy and their english language achievement on 1,146 students and has found out that more than a half of the students were highly self-confident and less than copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 3 the half number of students were low self-confident. on the other hand, atherton (2015) measured confidence of male and female students in open access enabling courses and found that male students were not having any significant lack of confidence in regard to the assessment tasks that involved the quizzes and the final exam. on the other hand, his study revealed a significant lack of confidence among female in regard to all areas, including course satisfaction, mid-semester test, their relation with their professors, taking pre-requisite textbooks and materials, quiz performances and their performances in final exam. similarly, sar, avcu, & isiklar (2010) studied undergraduate students’ level of self-confidence in and found some important differences at the level of students’ self-confidence based on students’ genders and departments. however, verma & kumari (2016) investigated the effects of self-confidence on academic achievement of elementary school students and did not find any significant difference in students’ self-confidence in term of gender. moreover, tripathy & srivastava (2012) studied the effects of academic achievements on the level of self-confidence also found no difference in students’ self-confidence in terms of students’ gender but the researchers found that there was a relationship between students’ academic achievements and se lfconfidence. the study further revealed that students with higher academic achievement had a higher level of self-confidence and students with lower academic achievements had a lower level of self-confidence. in addition to that, nurmi, hannula, maijala, & pehkonen (2003) have studied pupils' self-confidence in mathematics. they found that the weakest student had the lowest self-confidence and their study also revealed that students’ self-confidence was varying among male and female students. their study showed that boys had remarkably higher selfconfidence than girls and the study has also examined students’ self-confidence on most skillful students for the second time to see either the finding is the same or not and found that boys were noticeably more confident in compare to girls. moreover, fatma (2015) have investigated self-confidence of adolescents in relation to their gender, locality and academic achievement. she found that male had higher self-confidence in comparison to females. her study rejected her proposed hypothesis of the study that said both male and female are having the same level of self-confidence. on the other hand, her study also found that there was no significant difference between the learning outcome of both male and female students. the study further found that the level of self-confidence among the rural students was higher in comparison to urban students. however, she also found the academic achievements of the urban students were higher than the rural students’. some other researchers have explored the level of students’ self-confidence in learning in regard to some other factors. for instance, laird (2005) has studied diversity as the theoretical framework in their study and an influencing factor for students’ self-confidence and studying college students’ experiences with diversity and their effects on their self-confidence, social agency and disposition toward critical thinking. the study found that students with different experiences, different courses , having a positive relationship with their different partners were having a higher level of self-confidence. the study further found diversity as an important component for college students’ education. in addition to that clark (1994) has explored the adolescents in post-divorce and always-married students. he found that students who live away from their parents for short or long time, or who have parents who do not show much interest in them are lacking the self-confidence. the researcher further claimed that the family factor can be effective in the development of self-confidence among students. palvan (2017) explored the impact of drama education on the self-confidence and problem-solving skills of students at primary school education and his finding indicated that the level of students’ self-confidence and problem-solving skills were low before the drama education and after the drama education. the study further revealed that students’ self-confidence and problem-solving skills levels were improved through the use of drama education and the researcher suggest teachers to use drama education in their classes. on the other hand, colbeck, cabrera, & terenzini (2001) have studied learning professional confidence, linking teaching practices, students’ self-perceptions, and gender. they have found that teaching practices are an influencing factor for students’ self-confidence rather than students’ background characteristics. the study conducted by still, pulford & sohal (2006) to explore student’s self-confidence on academic abilities by measuring individual’s learning profile. their findings revealed that students’ carefulness, honesty, and the attitude of expecting everything to be perfect are the strongest factors influencing students’ academic confidence and had affected students’ confidence. 6.2 impacts of students’ self-confidence on their learning process a large body of literature is concerned to the impacts of students’ self-confidence in learning process. norman & hyland (2003) have studied the role of confidence in lifelong learning. they have found students’ confidence as a barrier to students’ learning which a factor is affecting students’ participation and progress. the study further shows that students’ level of self-confidence can be affected by any individual student and his or her teachers, partners, temporary adviser and workplace supervisors. similarly, rubio (2007) studied self-esteem and foreign language learning and found that anxiety, self-insecurity, fear and feeling yourself apart from the society are a number of psychological situations which are possible to be arisen in learning due to low self-confidence. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 4 tuncel (2015) have studied the relationship between self-confidence and learning turkish as a foreign language. the study found a relation between self-confidence and learning and the study showed that high self-confidence affected the learning positively and low self-confidence effected learning negatively. similarly, in cologne laboratory, fischer & sliwka (2018) through experimentally studying the causal effects of external factors based changes on the motivation for learning, found that confidence in someone’s ability to learn stimulates someone for learning. the finding of this study indicated that higher confidence in the level of prior knowledge causes students with low levels of knowledge to work and care more. in addition, verma et al. (2016) have studied the effects of self-confidence on academic achievement of elementary school students. they found out that self-confidence is affecting the academic achievement of students based on the low and high level of students’ self-confidence and their study showed significant differences in academic achievements of students’ either having low or high self-confidence. fatma (2015) has studied self-confidence of adolescents in relation to their gender, locality and academic achievement. her findings show that there is a correlation between the academic achievements and the self-confidence of the students. her finding suggests that there is relationship between students’ self-confidence and learning outcomes because her findings shows that with the increase of self-confidence the academic achievement also increased. karimi & saadatmand (2014) conducted a study to find out the relationship between self-confidence with academic achievement based on academic motivation. their study revealed that there was a relation between the academic achievement in both self-confidence and educational motivation. the researcher found that self-confident students gained success in learning. the researcher further states, the positive feedbacks, positive motivation, and school solving students’ problems raises students’ confidence. the link learning and motivation is also suggested by (afzal, ali, khan & hamid, 2010) who state the intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are having positive impacts on students’ learning. the study conducted by yashima, zenuk-nishide, & shimizu (2004) to explore the influence of attitudes and effect on willingness to communicate and second language communication. their findings revealed that self-confidence is a very important factor which can lead to students’ willingness to participate in oral activities in the classroom. moreover, al-hebaish (2012) studied the correlation between general self-confidence and academic achievement in the oral presentation course. he found that students’ academic achievement can be affected by the self-confidence. since, the study revealed that students with high level of self-confidence scored higher in oral test and students with low level of self-confidence scored lesser and showed lack of interest in having higher oral performance. a similar study, by tridinanti (2018) investigating the correlation between speaking anxiety, self-confidence, and speaking achievement of undergraduate efl students. the findings of this study show that self-confidence is playing the role of a significant predictor for students’ performance rather than anxiety. the study revealed that students having self-confidence had higher achievements and recommended students to improve self-confidence for having better performance. jones (2001) conducted a study on academic self-confidence. his finding shows a correlation between the academic self-confidence and achievement striving. his showed that academic self-confidence will have a high, positive correlational achievement striving. his findings furtherly showed that students who were confident at school were also confident in goal seeking and were very focused for achievements. similarly, verma & kumari (2016) studied the effect of self-confidence on academic achievement of children at elementary stage. their result indicated that there were some differences in the academic achievement of students in relation to their low and high level of self-confidence. a study of students’ self-confidence and learning through dialogues in a net-based environment by jakobsson (2006), revealed that a significant relationship exists between students’ self-confidence and succession in their studies. and the study further showed that students with good self-confidence experienced working through the internet full of inspiration and they felt they had worked harder than the others. sihotang, setiawan, & saragi (2017) investigated the effects of learning strategies and confidence on student’s learning outcomes. they have found that student’s learning outcomes were related to learning strategy and self-confidence. their study further revealed found that students who had high confidence had better learning outcomes in comparison to students who had low self-confidence. in the field of technology, a study conducted by gardner, dukes & discenza (1993) in studying computer use, selfconfidence, and attitudes with a causal analysis of computers in human behavior. they have found that that the use of computer can give an individual a high level of computer self-confidence. the researchers further found that the negative experiences of computer in early life can cause negative attitudes toward computer. however, puzziferro (2008) explored online technologies self-efficacy and self-regulated learning as predictors of final grade and satisfaction in college found that online technologies selfconfidence is not related to students’ performance. busch (1995) also studied gender differences in self-efficacy and attitudes toward computers. the study found gender differences in the level of self-confidence related to the completion of complex tasks in both word processing and spreadsheet software but there were no gender differences related to simple computer tasks. their study further showed that females had fewer computer experiences in-compare to males since males were encouraged more to the use of computer and had more experiences in computer games. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 5 pajares & johnson (1994) have investigated confidence and competence in writing and thy found the existence of a relationship between self-efficacy and performance and revealed that writing uneasiness was negatively affected by selfconfidence. arango (2015) studied students’ self-confidence as a way to improve english oral production. his findings suggested showed that there is a relation between students’ low self-confidence and oral production in classroom. and the researcher had a theoretical framework of three domains of learning: cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. in the study, the researcher used a strategy in the entire lesson plans and an oral project called, “building self-confidence”. through implementing this strategy tenth-grade students’ self-confidence increased. as a result of their study students become aware of their abilities and were less reluctant to speak in the class and they were motivated to participate in the class. bauman (2012) has investigated self-esteem as a part of self-confidence in performing any activity and explored the importance of self-esteem in learning and behavior of children. he has found that there was no negative effect of self-confidence on students’ learning and motivation. but oppositely the researcher found self-confidence as an important factor which influences students’ motivation, learning, and behavior. furthermore, mahyuddin et.al (2006) investigating the relationship between students’ self-efficacy and their english language achievement showed that students’ trust on their ability or selfconfidence is an effective factor on students’ learning. similarly, chemers, hu, & garcia (2001) studied the effects of academic self-efficacy and optimism on students' academic performance, stress, health, and commitment found that academic selfconfidence is related to students’ performance and self-adjustment. they have suggested that it can affect students’ performances directly and indirectly. wright (2009) has studied building self-confidence with encouraging words. their study indicated that that less confident student are experiencing fearfulness, being pessimist, having no vision of life and are feeling insecure and live to make others happy rather than themselves. whereas high self-confident students are ambitious and want more from life, are goal oriented, and have a real vision of life (seeing themselves in a better circumstance in life), and are attractive and open to others. 7. research methodology 7.1 research types and sampling method the study is descriptive in nature and quantitative questionnaire is used to measures self –confidence of the 1375 male and female in all level and different grade. they were selected through use of stratified random sampling method from those faculties at kandahar university whose self-confidence can be observed or engaged. 7.2 data collection procedures in the first phase of the study, students of different grades from six faculties namely, from education that had total 1900 students 320 students were selected as samples, literature faculty with total 600 from which 235 were sample, in law and political science had total 480 students from which selected samples were 214,in faculty journalism that had from total 380 selected samples were191, the faculty of sharia and law from total 500 selected samples were 218, and from total 400 population in public administration and policy197 samples were selected. they were randomly selected so that everyone has an equal chance to be selected as the participant of the study (creswell, 2012). in order to ensure the real sample size with the accuracy of 0.5, the survey table of krejcie and morgan is used in thereof sampling method. it is due to the number of students in all faculties were not equal so the researchers have used the thereof sample size. as the present study, was conducted at the end of the academic year so students of all grades including freshmen had gotten enough experience of their self-confidence in the university and were able to provide the necessary data for the present study. 7.3 research instrument the main instrument in this study is a questionnaire. the questionnaire is designed in three parts. the first part is about the demographic information of participants’, the second part is for measuring students’ self-confidence in learning process and consists fifteen items and each item has a choice of five scales such as: 1. not confident at all, 2. less confident, 3. confident, 4. more confident and 5. extremely confident so that any participants can show the level of his or her confidence in performing several task or activities inside the class and out of the class related to learning. items for the second part are adopted from paul sander and lalage sanders’ “academic confidence scale acs” “measuring confidence in academic study” (sander & sanders, 2003). the adopted acs was already tested for reliability through asking psychology students for two times to complete the questionnaire (sander & sanders, et.al). the third part of the questionnaire is considered with the impacts of self-confidence in students’ learning process and has twelve items each of who are having five choice of linkert scale 1. strongly disagree, 2. disagree, 3. undecided, 4. agree and 5. strongly agree. the items for this part are drawn from the review of previews literature and are adapted from the acs (sander & sanders, 2003). the designed instrument was taking around eight minutes to be answered. the collected data was analyzed with ibm spss statistics 20th version and frequency and percentage and percentage is presented in table and graphs. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 6 8. findings the data was collected to find out the students’ self-confidence and its impact of on leering process at kandahar and the collected data was analyzed through spss 24 version for frequency and percentage that presented in tables. table 1. demographics data characteristics frequency percent gender male 1259 91.6 female 116 8.4 total 1375 100.0 faculties education 320 23.3 literature 235 17.1 law and politics 214 15.6 journalism 191 13.9 sharia and law 218 15.9 public administration and policy 197 14.3 total 1375 100.0 classes or grades freshman 460 33.5 sophomore 380 27.6 junior 310 22.5 senior 225 16.4 total 1375 100.0 age 20-25 1319 95.9 26-30 35 2.5 31-35 10 .7 36 or above 11 .8 total 1375 100.0 table 1 above shows 1375 total participants for the current study. among them (91.6%) were male (8.4%) of them were female. based on their areas of study, (23.3%) were from education faculty, (17.1%) from language and literature faculty, (15.6%) of law and political science, (13.9%) of journalism, (15.9%) were studying in sharia and law faculty and from (14.3%) in the faculty of public administration. regarding the grades of students (33.5%) freshman, (27.6%) sophomore, (22.5%) junior and (16.4%) senior students made the total number 1375 of the participants. the age of participants (95.9%) of the respondents were between 29 – 25, (2.5%) of the participants were at the age of 26-30, (0.7%) of the participants were at age of 31-35, and (0.8%) of the participants were either 36 or above that. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 7 measuring students’ self-confidence in learning process. the findings of this parts contains the collected data regarding the students’ self-confidence level. table 2. students’ confidence of getting good grades in their assignments not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 16 1.2 114 8.3 386 28.1 509 37.0 350 25.5 1375 100.0 table 2 above indicates that 25.5% of students were extremely confident, 37% students were more confident and 28.1% students were confident, making up a total of 90.6% of students who were confident in attaining good grades in their assignments 8.3% students were less confident and 1.2% students were not confident at all. table 3. students’ confidence on performing well in exams not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 23 1.7 111 8.1 438 31.9 535 38.9 268 19.5 1375 100.0 table 3 above represent that a total of 90.3% students were feeling confident performing well in exam,19.5% students were extremely confident, 38.9% students were more confident and 31.9% students were confident and oppositely 8.1% students were less confident and 1.7% students were not confident at all. table 4. students’ confidence on being well prepared for their upcoming classes not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 21 1.5 133 9.7 372 27.1 478 34.8 371 27.0 1375 100.0 table 4 above indicates that 27.0% students were extremely confident, 34.8% students were more confident and 27.1% students were confident which makes a total of 88.9% confident students of being able to be prepared thoroughly for class while 9.7% students were less confident and 1.5% students were not confident at all in this regard. table 5. students’ confidence on having debate with their classmates not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 35 2.5 123 8.9 311 22.6 432 31.4 474 34.5 1375 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 8 table 5 represents that in regard to students being able to follow the debate with their classmates, majority of students were confident as 34.5% students were extremely confident, 31.4% students were more confident and 22.6% students were confident, making up a total of 88.5% confident students while only 8.9% students were less confident and 2.5% students were not confident at all in this regard. table 6 . students’ confidence of being able to understand the materials discussed by the lecturer not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 35 2.5 149 10.8 412 30.0 486 35.3 293 21.3 1375 100.0 table 6 above identity that 21.3% students were extremely confident, 35.3% students were more confident and 30% students were confident however 10.8% students were less confident and 2.5% students were not confident at all of being able to understand the materials presented by the lecturer and means that in this regard also most students were highly confident table 7. students’ confidence in academic debate with their peers not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 48 3.5 152 11.1 382 27.8 438 31.9 355 25.8 1375 100.0 table 7 above shows that 25.8% students were extremely confident, 31.9% students were more confident and 27.8% students were confident, making up the total of 85.5% confident students however 11.1% students were less confident and 3.5% students were not confident at all of being able to engage in academic debate with their peers and it shows that the majority of students were feeling confident and a small percent of students (in total 14.6%) were either lacking confidence or were not confident at all in this regard. table 8 above shows that 24.4% students were extremely confident, 33.0 % students were more confident and 28.1% students were confident, making up the total of 85.5% of confident students and means that majority of the students are highly confident to producing their university works at the required standards while 11.3% students were less confident and 3.1% students were not confident at all in this regard. table 9. students’ confidence in seeking help for unclear concepts. not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 55 4.0 150 10.9 351 25.5 435 31.6 384 27.9 1375 100.0 table 8. students’ confidence in completing the assignment based on required criteria not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 43 3.1 156 11.3 386 28.1 454 33.0 336 24.4 1375 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 9 table 9 shows that students’ confident in seeking help from their instructors when they don’t understand. among them 27.9% were extremely confident, 31.6 % were more confident and 25.5% were confident which makes up the total 85% of confident students while just 10.9% students were less confident and 4% were not confident in thereof. table 10. students’ confidence in giving a presentation to a small group of fellow students or friends. not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 45 3.3 163 11.9 390 28.4 400 29.1 377 27.4 1375 100.0 table 10 shows that majority (in total 84.9%) of the students were confident in giving presentations to a small group of fellow students or friends. for instance, 27.4% students were extremely confident, 29.1% students were more confident 28.4% students were confident but only 11.9% students were less confident and 3.3% students were not confident at all in performing this task. table 11. students’ confidence in seeking help from their lecturers not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 57 4.1 158 11.5 377 27.4 409 29.7 374 27.2 1375 100.0 table 11 above illustrates that 27.2% students were extremely confident, 29.7% students were more confident and 27.4% students were confident but 11.5% students were less confident and 4.1% students were not confident at all in seeking help from their lecturers solutions they have with total 84.3% of students. table 12. students’ confidence in planning appropriate revision schedules for their lessons not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 55 4.0 163 11.9 328 23.9 429 31.2 400 29.1 1375 100.0 table 12 above shows that 29.1% students were extremely confident, 31.2% students were more confident and 23.9% students were confident (in total 84.2% students were confident) to plan appropriate revision schedules for their lessons but just 11.9% students were less confident and 4% students were not confident at all to plan a revision schedule for their lessons. table 13. students’ confidence in solving exam questions` not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 65 4.7 173 12.6 401 29.2 444 32.3 292 21.2 1375 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 10 table 13 above indicates students’ confidence in solving exam questions. among 1375 students, 21.2% are extremely confident, 32.3% are more confident, 29.2% are confident, 12.6% are less confident and 4.7% are not confident at all. table 14 above shows that 17.7% students were extremely confident, 26.8% students were more confident and 36.9% were confident, confident, 15.5% were less, 3.0% not confident at all. table 15. students’ confidence of being able to manage their workload to meet coursework deadlines not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 71 5.2 319 23.2 474 34.5 325 23.6 186 13.5 1375 100.0 table 15 above represents that majority (in total 71.6%) of the students were confident in managing their workload to meet the course work deadlines as 13.5% students were extremely confident, 23.6% students were more confident and 34.5% students were confident but 23.2% students were less confident and 5.2% students were not confident at all. table 16. students’ confidence in studying effectively independently not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 54 3.9 235 17.1 462 33.6 404 29.4 220 16.0 1375 100.0 table 16 above represent students’ confidence in studying effectively independently. among 1375 respondents, 16% were extremely confident, 29.4% were more confident and 33.6% were 17.1% were less confident and 3.9% were not confident at. the effects of students’ self-confidence on their learning process the data was collected to find out the effect students’ self-confidence on their learning process. table 17. students’ confidence can make students more interested toward goal seeking strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 22 1.6 58 4.2 115 8.4 535 38.9 645 46.9 1375 100.0 table 14. students’ confidence in responding to questions asked by the lecturer not confident at all less confident confident more confident extremely confident total f % f % f % f % f % f % 41 3.0 213 15.5 508 36.9 369 26.8 244 17.7 1375 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 11 table 17 above illustrates that most (in total 85.8%) of the students agreed that confidence can make learners interested toward goal seeking since 46.9% students strongly agreed, 38.9% students agreed, 8.4% students were undecided, 4.2% students disagreed and 1.6 students strongly disagreed. table 18 above indicates that 41.3% students strongly agreed, 43.3% students agreed that confidence can cause them to make regular plan for reviewing their lessons however 8.4% students were undecided, 5.2% students disagreed and 1.9% students strongly disagreed. and the total percent of agree student is 84.6% which shows that most of the students agreed to this regard. table 19. student’s confidence can cause students to confidentially give their opinions in discussions strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 30 2.2 69 5.0 114 8.3 666 48.4 496 36.1 1375 100.0 table 19 above indicates s that majority of students (84.5%) students agreed that confidence cause them confidentially give their opinions regarding the lesson as: 36.1% students strongly agreed and 48.4% students agreed, 8.3% students were undecided, 5% students disagreed and 2.2% students strongly disagreed in this regard. table 20. student’s confidence can cause students being active in class participation strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 36 2.6 65 4.7 72 5.2 657 47.8 545 39.6 1375 100.0 table 20 above represents that majority of students (84.4% students) agreed that confidence can cause them to have more class participation since 39.6% students strongly agreed 47.8% students agreed, 5.2% students were undecided, 4.7% students disagreed and 2.6% students strongly disagreed to the statement “students' confidence can cause students have more class participation.” table 21. student’s confidence can cause students have good presentation strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 26 1.9 78 5.7 110 8.0 632 46.0 529 38.5 1375 100.0 table 21 above shows that 38.5% of the respondents agreed that self-confidence helps students give good presentation. in addition, 46.0% students agreed, 8.0% students were undecided, 5.7% students disagreed and 1.9% students strongly disagreed. table 18. student’s confidence can cause them to make a regular plan for reviewing their lessons strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 26 1.9 71 5.2 115 8.4 595 43.3 568 41.3 1375 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 12 table 22. student’s confidence can help them doing their assignments based on required strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 24 1.7 78 5.7 127 9.2 662 48.1 484 35.2 1375 100.0 table 22 above represents majority of students agreed that confidence helps them doing their assignments based on required standards as 35.2% students strongly agreed and 48.1% students agreed but 9.2% students were undecided, 5.7% students disagreed and 1.7% students strongly disagreed with this statement. table 23. student’s confidence can cause them in asking questions confidentially related to their lessons from their classmates strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 32 2.3 81 5.9 99 7.2 544 39.6 619 45.0 1375 100.0 table 23 above indicates that majority of the students agreed that confidence can cause students confidentially ask lesson related questions from their classmates. 45% students strongly agree 39.6% students agreed: the two combined made the 84.6% agreed students and just 7.2% students were undecided, 5.9% students disagreed and 2.3% students strongly disagreed. table 24. student’s confidence can make the lesson more enjoyable to the students strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 40 2.9 76 5.5 120 8.7 617 44.9 522 38.0 1375 100.0 table 24 below indicates that most of the students 82.9% agreed that self-confidence can make the lesson more enjoyable to them as 38% students strongly agreed 44.9% students agreed, 8.7% students were undecided, 5.5% students disagreed and 2.9% students strongly disagreed with the statement. table 25. student’s confidence can cause students to confidentially ask lesson related question from their lecturers. strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 33 2.4 115 8.4 79 5.7 630 45.8 518 37.7 1375 100.0 table 25 above illustrates that majority of the students (83.5% students) agreed that confidence can cause students confidentially ask lesson related questions from their lecturers as 37.7% students strongly agreed, 45.8% students agreed but 5.7% students were undecided, 8.4% students disagreed and 2.4% students strongly disagreed in this regard. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 13 table 26 above shows that in total 79.2 percent or more than a half of students agreed that confidence decreases students’ anxiety in exam and can cause students do better in exams, on the other hand, 34.3% of students strongly agreed, 44.9% students agreed, 9.9% students were undecided, 8% students disagreed and 3% students strongly disagreed. table 27. student’s confidence can cause students work and learn more independently strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 38 2.8 115 8.4 114 8.3 613 44.6 495 36.0 1375 100.0 table 27 above revealed that 36% students strongly agreed, 44.6% students agreed, 8.3% students were undecided, 8.4% students disagreed and 2.8% students strongly disagreed that confidence enhances students’ independent working and learning. the total percent of agreed students is 80.6% which shows that most of the students agreed in this regard. table 28. student’s confidence can make students to computer and internet easier for their academic purposes strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 73 5.3 101 7.3 149 10.8 499 36.3 553 40.2 1375 100.0 table 28 shows that most of the students (76.5%) agreed that confidence makes the use of computer and internet easier for students’ academic purposes as: 40.2% students strongly agreed, 36.3% students agreed and 10.8% students were undecided, 7.3% students disagreed and 5.3% students strongly disagreed in this regard. 9. discussion the findings of this study show that majority of students at kandahar university are highly self-confident in performing several tasks in the class or out of the class, but still there are less students who have low self-confidence in their performance. it is also revealed that students’ self-confidence is very effective in learning process and had positive impacts in their learning process. the finding of this study is similar to the findings of mahyuddin et.al (2006) where more than a half of students were confident in learning and less than a half of the students were low confident in learning. in regards of students’ confidence in being able to study independently, 16% of students were extremely confident, 29.4% of students were more confident, 33.6% of students were confident, 17.1% of students were less confident and 3.9% of students were not confident at all and self-confidence was an effective factor on students learning. the findings of this study in regards of selfconfidence can improve participation is in line with norman & hyland (2003);yashima, zenuk-nishide, & shimizu (2004) findings. the study revealed that 39.6% of the students strongly agreed and 47.8% of the students agreed in this regard. on the other hand, the finding of this study is in apposite with puzziferro (2008) findings who assert that confidence in online technology is not related to students’ performance while this study revealed that 76.5% of students either strongly agreed or agreed that confidence can cause students to use the computer and internet easier for academic purposes. the findings of this study confirmed the finding of jones (2001) that indicated 46.9% of the students strongly agreed and 38.9% of the students agreed for self-confidence have on students’ interest towards goal seeking. the main implication derived from the study in general refers to all university teachers and specially to kandahar university teachers to use present study’s findings showing that more than a half of students at kandahar university were highly self– table 26. student’s confidence can cause students have less anxiety about exam and do better in exams strongly disagree disagree undecided agree strongly agree total f % f % f % f % f % f % 41 3.0 110 8.0 136 9.9 617 44.9 471 34.3 1375 100.0 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 14 confident but still a small percentage of students at kandahar university were low self-confident. therefore, the researcher considers it necessary for academic staff of kandahar university to pay special attention to students who have low self confidence by helping them to develop self-confidence for the findings of current study showed that self-confidence has many positive impacts on students learning and performance inside and outside the class. 10. conclusion the findings of this study revealed that the level of students’ self-confidence in learning in various areas. it showed that students in some areas of learning have low self-confidence. on the other hands majority of them were highly self-confident. the study also 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(2004). the influence of attitudes and affect on willingness to communicate and second language communication. language learning, 54(1), 119-152. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 24 the global lakou world-system paul c. mocombe the mocombeian foundation, inc. west virginia state university, usa e-mail: pmocombe@mocombeian.com received: april 09, 2020 accepted: may 30, 2020 online published: june 20, 2020 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.629 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.629 abstract this work highlights the haitian sociopolitical economic organization, lakous, as a form of libertarian communism that must be vertically integrated at the nation-state level so that people can experience total freedom from capitalist relations of production. i conclude the work by extrapolating the lakou system to the world-system level in order to offer it as an alternative to the protestant capitalist world-system, which threatens all life on earth. keywords: haitian epistemology, haitian idealism, vilokan idealism, vodou ethic and the spirit of communism, religiosity, black diaspora, dialectical; anti-dialectical, phenomenological structuralism, lakouism, the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. 1. introduction two forms of system and social integration would structure the material resource framework of haiti after independence, the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism on the one hand; and the catholic/protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism on the other. the african majority, referred here, and elsewhere in my works, metaphorically as the children of sans souci, the african kongolese warrior of the haitian revolution assassinated by the affranchis, henri christophe, would be interpellated and subjectified by the enchantment of the world around the former; and their children (metaphorically the children of dessalines, (jean-jacques dessalines, the creole founder of the haitian nation-state), young africans, creole, and free blacks raised or born on the island, although interpellated and subjectified in the former world-view in childhood, many of them would, relationally, marginalize and discriminate against it for the enchantment of the world around the catholic/protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism of the whites and mulattoes (metaphorically speaking, the children of alexandre pétion, the mulatto first president of the haitian republic). i this work i extrapolate the lakou system of the africans to the world-system level, the global lakousystem, in order to offer it as an alternative to the protestant capitalist world-system, which threatens all life on earth, in the midst of the labor exploitation and climate change problematics caused by the latter. 1.1 background of the problem in keeping with the logic of structurationist sociology—phenomenological structuralism, developed by paul c. mocombe (2016) out of haitian epistemology, haitian/vilokan idealism—the understanding here is that haitian practical consciousness is a product of two opposing social structures. the majority, two-thirds, of the social actors who would come to constitute the haitian nation-state were african-born amongst a minority of mulattoes, gens de couleur, creole, and petit-bourgeois blacks (affranchis) on the island interpellated, embourgeoised, and differentiated by the language, communicative discourse, modes of production, ideology, and ideological apparatuses of the west (the catholic/protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism social class language game). as such, given their interpellation and embourgeoisement via the language (french), communicative discourse, modes of production (slavery, agribusiness, mercantilism, etc.), ideology (liberalism, individualism, personal wealth, capitalism, racialism, private property, protestant ethic, etc.), and ideological apparatuses (churches, schools, prisons, plantations, police force, army, etc.) of the west, the latter, affranchis, became “blacks,” dialectically, seeking to recursively (re) organize and reproduce the ideas mailto:pmocombe@mocombeian.com https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.629 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 25 and ideals, the catholic/protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism social class language game, of the european whites in a national position of their own amidst slavery, racism, and colonialism. this entailed attempting to constitute the nation-state within the mercantilist and free-trade ideals of the emerging protestant capitalist world-system under european hegemony via the corvée system, which sought to maintain haiti as an export-oriented agricultural periphery state within the emerging capitalist world-system (du bois, 2004, 2012). the african-born majority, were not blank slates, however, but brought with them from africa their african languages, communicative discourses, ideologies, ideological apparatuses, and modes of production (form of social and systems integration), the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism social class language game, to the island, which they recursively reorganized and reproduced on the plantations and as maroon communities via the lakou system in the provinces and mountains when they escaped (du bois, 2004; ramsey, 2014; mocombe, 2016, 2019). following the haitian revolution, the majority of the africans, given their refusal to labor on plantations or agribusinesses (corvée system), migrated to the provinces and the mountains, abodes of formerly established “maroon republics,” and established a “counter-plantation system” (jean casimir’s term), i.e., lakou system, based on husbandry, subsistence agriculture, and komes, i.e., the trade and sell of agricultural goods for income to purchase manufactured products and services, organized around the discursive practices of lakous (du bois, 2004, 2012; mocombe, 2016). unlike jean casimir, this lakou system, for me, was not a reaction to enslavement, or a product of race as suggested by the theory of noirisme. instead, it was grounded in the vodou religion and its epistemological transcendental idealism and realism, i.e., haitian/vilokan idealism. casimir’s “counterplantation system” is nothing but the africans’ lakou system, which is a discursive practice of the discourse stemming from the vodou religion and its epistemological idealism, i.e., haitian/vilokan idealism. as such, the lakou system is the product of the internalization of the ideas, ideals, and values of the vodou ethic as revealed in the material praxis, practical consciousness, and institutions of the africans of haiti and not a result of race or innate personalities as suggested by noirisme or afrocentric theories. 2. theory and method in this work, i utilize paul c. mocombe’s theory of phenomenological structuralism to highlight the relationship between the ideas, ideals, and values of vodou as they are internalized and recursively organized and reproduced to constitute the lakou system and the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism as the practical consciousness of the africans of haiti. i go on to demonstrate and conclude how the latter gave rise to a libertarian communism, which ought to be vertically integrated as the form of system and social integration of nation-states’ and their political economy, in order to form a global (federated) lakou (world-system) against the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism of the world-system under american hegemony amidst the latter’s labor exploitation and environmental destruction. 3. discussion following the haitian revolution, whereas the affranchis of haiti sought to integrate the haitian masses and the state into the dialectic of the emerging protestant capitalist world-system of the whites with its emphasis on labor exploitation, commodification, economic autarky/free trade, privatization, and individual liberties. among the africans of haiti, the arrangements of individual, social and familial obligations, relationships, and interactions moved outwards from the central cosmic, geometric, spiritual, and communal worldview or language game of vodou, also known as the mystery system, through its power elites, oungan yo (priests), manbo yo (priestesses), bokor yo (sorcerers), gangan yo/dokté fey (herbal healers), and granmoun yo (elders); the agricultural mode of production, husbandry, and commerce (komes), which provide food for sustenance and herbs for medicinal purposes; and their ideological apparatuses, lwa yo, lakous (lakou yo), peristyles, alters, secret societies, herbal medicines, vévés, vodou ceremonies, magic and rituals, songs, dances, musical instruments, proverbs, and zombification (beauvoir, 2006; mocombe, 2016). the latter system, what paul c. mocombe (2016) calls “the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism,” with its emphasis on communal sharing, equality, independence, subsistence living, and freedom, diametrically opposed the former. in vodou, the emphasis is on balance and harmony with the laws of creation, cosmic forces, nature, the community, and within the individual all of which are interconnected. as such, agricultural production, i.e., the tilling, cultivation, and protection of the earth by men and women for food and medicinal purposes; husbandry, for food, clothing, and the making of musical instruments; and the trade (commonly referred to as commerce, komes, usually performed by women) of agricultural and animal products for other goods are emphasized as the proper form for human environmental, communal, and individual interactions with nature and each other. hence initiates of vodou are environmentally conscientious as village religious, medicinal, and agricultural life is depended on the environment, which is deemed sacred, an extension of the primeval pan-psychic field of bondye, i.e., god. village life in the majority of the provinces is constituted around the lakou, family compound, and its peristyle where everything is shared. all provinces, cities, communes in haiti have lakous and peristyles. the three dominant lakous, souvenans, badjo, and soukri, are located in gonaives, haiti and maintain the rites and traditions of dahomey, nago, and the congo, respectively. the social class structure of the lakous (lakou yo) and the villages or regions they influence are not based on the copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 26 mode of production but on the spiritual relationship, which is tied to nature, i.e., the sun, earth, the cycle of birth, rebirth, and death in nature that the people seek to keep balance with. that is, religious leaders and elders of the community constitute the power elites of the society followed by the middle-aged, and the young. the elders are the intermediaries between the young and the religious leaders. the functions of the religious leaders, oungan yo, manbo yo, bokor yo, and gangan yo/dokté féy, are healing through herbal medicine, performing vodou ceremonies to call or pacify the spirits and bring about harmony to village life, initiating new oungan and manbo, prognosticating the future, reading dreams, casting spells, resolving village disputes, protecting the society, and creating protections. conversely, bokor yo are the sorcerers and police force of the society. they are responsible for black magic, patrolling village life, through sanpwels, bizangos, and lougawous, and meting out punishment through zombification. via the lakou system the africans recursively reorganize(d) and reproduce(d) the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism as a form of system and social integration for total liberty and equality, against the protestantism ethic and the spirit of capitalism of the affranchis and mulattoes seeking to integrate them into the inequality and global labor organization of nationstates (periphery, agricultural; semi-periphery, industrial; core, postindustrial) of the latter system. the lakou is a community of people and houses organized and gathered around a common yard under the directions of an oungan, manbo, or family elder that promoted and promotes an egalitarian existence rooted in the vodou religion and ancestor worship, land ownership arrangements, and working the soil (du bois, 2004; mocombe, 2016). within the lakou system, each individual or nuclear family owned/own their own land, through which they provided/provide for basic necessities by growing food and raising livestock for their own consumption and for sale in local markets. they also grew and grow export crops, such as coffee, in order to purchase imported consumer goods such as clothes and tools. the libertarian communism of the lakou thus divided power in a way that allowed rural residents to live and work as they wished (through land and garden ownership to provide for their own subsistence), while preventing the consolidation of wealth, and therefore control and inhibitor of equality, in the hands of any one person within the community through a set of customs and secret societies of the vodou religion that regulate(d) land ownership, land transfers, family relationships, and community affairs. communal assistance and exchange, via food sharing, harvesting, house building, religious life, and ancestral worship, under the leadership of women also characterized and characterizes lakou life (du bois, 2004; mocombe, 2016). in essence, the purpose of lakou life is to promote communal sharing, total liberty, and equality (libertarianism and egalitarianism), via land ownership and self-sufficiency, for all without distinctions and economic differentiation within a libertarian communist state. as such, the libertarian communism of the lakous is not anarchic, regardless of its forms, as we find in the west. power is both federated and consolidated around the power elites of the lakous whose sole purpose is to integrate, maintain, and balance both liberty and equality within and via the lakous and natural environment. in other words, at the base of the lakou system emanating from the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism are communal sharing or exchange and agricultural production at the family level for subsistence living, trade, and independence so that the individual can live free and equal to all. this must be balanced against the (over) accumulation of wealth by any one member of the lakous, which may cause inequality and curtail liberty, and the destruction of the natural environment. given the effectiveness of the lakou system in curtailing the spread of capitalist exploitation in the provinces of the nation-state of haiti, i suggest extrapolating it to the nation-state and global level to combat the deleterious effects (labor exploitation, inequality, climate change, and environmental devastations) of the protestant capitalist world-system under american hegemony, contemporarily. expanding the system from the familial and communal levels to the national-state and global levels, state and global libertarian communism, would mean organizing communities and states around lakous at the nation-state level in order to constitute a global (federated) world-system where all states are integrated and self-sufficient to maintain balance and harmony between the global environment and satisfying basic human needs through subsistence living. at the nation-state level integration would involve, 1) promoting agricultural production at the family level for subsistence living and trade; 2) light manufacturing, textile production, etc. on every lakou for lakou consumption; 3) tertiary industries for service and entertainment at the lakou communal level; 4) infrastructure, i.e., schools, roads, medical facilities on each lakou provided by the state as a result of taxation of each lakou, not the individual; 5) community policing provided by each lakou; military provided by the state via recruitment from the lakous. these five factors constituted by and as the state would ensure the balance between the libertarianism and egalitarianism, state libertarian communism, which forms the basis of communal lakou life. that is, individual liberties and equality would be maintained by constituting a state wherein its resources are used by the people for the effective redistribution of societal resources through the provision of an extensive safety net of public services like publicly supported education, health care, transportation, child care, housing; a progressive tax structure that reduces the wide disparities of income between rich and poor; and the guarantee of a living wage to all members of the community so that they can experience total liberty. political systems at the nation-state level do not matter as the emphasis is on maintaining a balance between liberty and equality, which can be done under any political system so long as the aforementioned economic organization of lakou life is maintained. at the global world-system level, this nation-state of lakous would be governed politically as the africans did prior to the advents of islam and christianity on the continent. traditional west african political structures were constituted around “a copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 27 hierarchical bureaucracy of kings who were regarded as being invested by divine right, ruling in accordance with the will of the ancestors and some omnipotent power. the kings had their own councils and advisers, or ministers of state, who supervised military affairs, external affairs, the treasury, justice, courts, etc. the various subordinate districts within the kingdoms had their rulers, and the villages had their headmen” (harris, 1998, p. 52). in the constitution of the contemporary nation-states, via the vertical integration of the lakou system as enframed by the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism, as a global lakou, in place of the king would be the president/council of elders, representing each nation-state, ruling in accordance with the will of the ancestors and the people in a global political system, such as the united nations, under one global currency and rules set in place to maintain balance between the liberty and equality of all the nation-states and the preservation of the natural environment against climate-change and ecological devastation. the president/council of elders would have their own councils and advisers, or ministers of states, who supervise military affairs, external affairs, the treasury, justice, courts, etc. of each nation-state of the united nations. he/she would be appointed for life by the representative body, parliament or political leader, of the various nationstates to constitute a global parliament or national assembly constituted by the councils and advisers, or ministers of state. this parliament would constitute a political body replaced every seven years by lot, like the american jury system, from their respective nation-states, which would be under the leadership of its headperson/president in the security council of the united nations. once again, the intent of this political structure, regardless of its form, would be to maintain the balance between individual/state liberties and egalitarianism, state libertarian communism, and the (global) natural environment, which is at the heart of the vodou ethic and the spirit of communism and lakou life. contemporarily, however, instead of vertically integrating the lakou system (expanding the agricultural capacities of each lakou; 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(1958 /1904-1905). the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (talcott parsons, trans.). new york: charles scribner’s sons. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 26 adversaries on covid-19 set forth an argument onward to educational endeavor: resulting to develop a modular concept in the learning process edilmar p. masuhay bachelor of agricultural technology (bat) department surigao state college of technology (ssct) – mainit campus magpayang, mainit, surigao del norte, philippines e-mail: yahusamedilmar@gmail.com abstract the study observed on how covid-19 disturbed the universe, its detrimental factors to detriment the constituents in particular to educational endeavor, the outcomes to teachers and to the learners. yet, on the contrary this is also an opportune to extend teaching stratification whom a concluding scenarios that sometimes attending classes in the classrooms were insignificant not unless for formative assessment, 21st pedagogues more probably applicable whereby lectures can be done thru social media (blogs, group chats, emails). the study conveyed also that research-output-based teaching methods are more desirable as if students would be taught on how to be a writer and a researcher. however, this covid-19 reciprocally demean traditional maneuvers hence attendance literally are not necessary, this is a resolution of vanishing the old methods of teaching but on the other hand modular concept has led to resolve the issue. this covid-19 definitely an uprising of a new beginning onward to educational teaching stratification but subsequently this is also threatening students of which their only avenue to attain the learning process is going to internet café where they are exposed, and prohibited for safety precautions. this disease skeptically made excuses for those who were non-focus, malingered individual either to their studies or duty, this even defying one’s authority for a reason of security, a banishment of those known with infected disease, and economically the local government unit (lgu) were suppressive. keywords: covid-19, ched covid-19 advisories, covid-19 preventive measures, modular learning-process, social media. 1. introduction in the midst of crisis one’s judgments sometime were greedily twisted, their principles, desires, commitment are uncertain. everyone has his/her reasons, opinions, and arguments to elucidate for his own satisfaction or for the common good, their indifferences showcase, other may incline or decline to believe and pathetically breaking one’s heart turning this simple misunderstanding to a debate but still at the end everyone are reunited, contributed their patriotic efforts, time, assistance for patriotism and nationalism. 2. statement of the problem duddu (2020) on his report emphasized that the philippines is one of among the high-risk countries from the wuhan coronavirus outbreak, a disease originated from china, of which there were over 80 percent of cases and deaths. this scenario has led the philippines government announced lock-down of metro manila and is mulling over more localized lock-downs. although, fumento (2020) on his statement expound that worldwide, there have been about 3,400 coronavirus deaths, out of about 100,000 identified cases. flu, by comparison, grimly reaps about 291,000 to 646,000 annually, but its cases peaked and began declining more than a month ago, according to data presented by the canadian epidemiologist who spearheaded the world health organization’s (who) coronavirus mission to china. this even forecast that out of 200 new cases reported daily, down from a peak of 4,000 this pattern subsequently same of some extent countries in what’s called farr’s law, first formulated in 1840 and ignored in every epidemic hysteria since, the law states that epidemics tend to rise and fall in a roughly symmetrical pattern or bell-shaped curve. aids, sars, ebola — they all followed that pattern. so does seasonal flu each year. clearly, flu is vastly more contagious than the new coronavirus, as the who has noted. apparently, from the journal of the american medical association it is reported that chinese government analyzed that corvid-19 death ratio, showcase that for age 40’s accumulated 0.2 percent death, 14.8 percent above 80’s, and found zero deaths worldwide among children with ages 9 and below. as it is also enlightened that philippines climatic nature is more impervious compared to other affected countries, copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 27 because it hot and humid, so far there were no confirmed cases of internal transmission yet, there are cases that patients with travel history abroad were confirmed affected with the said disease. however, the department of health (doh) has accumulated reports that there were five (5) confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) in the philippines (department of health website, n.d.): first, a 48-year-old male filipino with travel history to japan, who was confined on february 25 and experienced chills and fever beginning march 3, sought medical consultation for testing and with positive result on covid-19 on march 5, currently stable and admitted at the research institute for tropical medicine; second, a 62-year-old male filipino with known hypertension and diabetes mellitus, who experienced cough with phlegm last february 25, this patient sought medical consultation at a hospital in metro manila last march 1 and was admitted with severe pneumonia. specimen collected on march 4 tested positive for covid-19 on march 5, and has no known history of travel outside of the country, contact tracing is being done for the two cases and samples have already been collected from close contacts; third, a 38-year-old taiwanese male who visited the philippines from february 28 to march 3. he developed abdominal discomfort and diarrhea on march 2, and experienced sore throat, fever, and malaise on march 3. the patient consulted at an outpatient clinic in taiwan on march 4, and was confirmed positive for covid-19 on march 5. the onset of symptoms on march 2 points to possible infection before the patient traveled to the philippines; fourth, a 44-year-old japanese male who visited the philippines from february 21 to 28. prior to visiting the philippines, he traveled to cambodia, vietnam, thailand, and japan. he stayed at three different hotels during his visit to metro manila. the 44-year-old flew back to thailand last february 28 and experienced cough, shortness of breath, and fever which began on february 29. the patient consulted at a clinic in cambodia on march 3 and was referred to a hospital but no tests were done. he flew back to japan last march 4 and was tested positive for covid-19. the patient was admitted and is still in isolation at aichi prefecture hospital. the extensive travel history of the patient suggests possible contraction of the disease in another country; and fifth, a female living in sydney, australia. the patient attended a wedding in manila on february 13 and visited pangilinan. the patient left the country for sydney on march 2, and was confirmed with covid-19 by the new south wales government on march 3. as for this case, doh is still verifying information with the international health regulation national focal point australia. this cases of covid-19 has ruined the standard for philippines educational pedagogues and thereby administrators, educators, teachers, researchers, concerned parties wishes to stratifies the learning process. thus, the author came up this study to investigate how this covid-19 impacted the educational endeavor, and its intimacy to and for the constituents. 3. significances of the study this study tried to fixed arguments that help to clarify issues on covid-19 to resilient crisis against the educational endeavor as means to neutralize the panic situation of every teacher, parent, administrator, and student in particular to the surigao state college of technology (ssct) – mainit campus, magpayang, mainit, surigao del norte, philippines. 4. research objectives resemblance to crisis resiliency, this study explored, investigated, collated data relative on covd-19 and its effect to educational learning process. this particularly showed evident scenarios on how the diseases ruined the economy, the political will of the country, and the educators’ teaching stratification. 5. research questions  what are the arguments of educators about covid-19 in the learning process?  how surigao state college of technology managed this crisis on covid-19 in order to sustain the learning process? 6. review of the literature this part of the study explores, collected, documented previous studies related to adversaries on covid-19 and its specific impact towards the education learning process. it is also displays different point of views amongst the government officials’ concepts, policies and principles on issues therein. moreover, (duddu, 2020) has contemplated this scenario thru his report which can be found as explained literally on the following paragraphs’ below. when did coronavirus reach the philippines? the first case of novel coronavirus (2019-ncov, now covid-19) in the philippines was confirmed on 30 january 2020, in a 38-year old woman who arrived from wuhan. two days later, the philippines recorded the first death outside china on 01 february 2020. the philippines government declared a health emergency on 09 march, following a spike in new confirmed https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/coronavirus-ebola-latest-global-health-emergencies-who/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 28 cases and local transmission. the move will release funds to local governments and healthcare officials to handle any further surge in cases. the covid-19 code alert system was revised upwards to red sublevel 2 on 12 march. coronavirus: philippines covid-19 cases and deaths. as of 16 march, the total covid-19 cases in the philippines stand at 142. one of the coronavirus-confirmed on 06 march was confirmed to be a human-to-human transmission putting the nation on a high alert. the man attended prayer in late february, which increases the concerns of possible transmission to other devotees who attended the same. the 44-year old chinese national, who died, was the relative of the first patient diagnosed with covid-19. the patient developed severe pneumonia. coronavirus-affected filipinos on diamond princess cruise ship seven passengers onboard the diamond princess cruise ship and more than half of the crew are from the philippines, among who 80 have been confirmed to have contracted the virus. the philippines government repatriated 445 of its citizens onboard the ship including ten recovered cases on 25 february. the evacuees have been placed under a two-week quarantine at new clark city in capas. a total of 70 confirmed cases were not allowed to board the evacuation flight. how risky is coronavirus to the philippines? due to its proximity to china, the philippines is at a far greater risk of witnessing increased cases of the novel coronavirus infection compared to other countries. the philippines is also home to hundreds of workers from china working in the philippine offshore gambling operation (firms offering online gambling services). more than 230,000 migrant filippinos often referred to as overseas filipino workers (ofw) are also working in china particularly hong kong and macau as household workers. a temporary ban was imposed on the workers from travelling to china or its special administrative regions after the coronavirus outbreak on 2 february. the ban was lifted on 18th february allowing ofws to return to hong kong and macau. manila is among the top 30 global cities receiving airline passengers from 18 high-risk cities in china, according to worldpop which ranked philippines 14th among the 30 high-risk countries. chinese nationals account for the majority of the tourist population visiting the country as trade and cultural relations have increased between the two countries in the recent past. lock-down of affected areas the philippines government started announcing local lock-downs (home quarantine) following the increase in global coronavirus cases. the entire luzon island is locked-down affecting more than 50 million people. metro manila lock-down was announced on 12 march and will continue until 14 april, while similar quarantine measures are expected in bohol and cainta provinces. davao city has imposed travel restrictions. quarantining (lock-down) will be imposed in the philippines barangays, municipalities/cities and provinces if at least two covid-19 coronavirus cases are recorded in two different households in the respective locations. quezon city declared a state of calamity due to coronavirus on 13 march, which means that the city can access quick response fund to combat the outbreak. what metro manila lock-down means for residents and visitors. during the lock-down, domestic transportation of all modes including land, air, and sea are suspended. preventive measures by the philippines government the philippines government is taking several steps to control the spread of the virus, including travel restrictions, closure of schools and colleges, as well as training schools of the philippines national police. educational institutes in the country are announced to be closed from 09 march to 15 march, whereas in metro manila the classes will be suspended until 12 april. stringent social distancing measures will be in place in the national capital region (ncr) for 30 days from 15 march. the government announced earlier on 2 february 2020 that all persons except filipino citizens and permanent resident visa holders were temporarily barred from entering the country. a temporary ban on filipinos from travelling to china or its special administrative region was also imposed. mandatory 14-day quarantine for filipinos returning to from china or its special administrative region was announced. further, visa upon arrival for chinese nationals has been temporarily suspended. travel ban to south korea the philippines government issued a temporary ban on 26 february on all citizens from travelling to south korea, as the country reported a spike in the number of confirmed cases. further, people from the affected regions of south korea including gyeongbuk, daegu and cheongdo have been banned from entering into the country. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 29 coronavirus in the philippines: measures at airports the philippines government announced travel restrictions to and from china, hong kong, and macau to minimize the spread. it also banned the entry of passengers from the three countries. airlines cancelled flights from the philippines to china resulting in stranding. face masks shortage – importing from india and thailand. the philippines witnessed a surge in demand for face masks as fears over the coronavirus infection increased, despite assurance from the government that there is no need to wear face masks yet. the government reiterated that healthcare workers and patients with symptoms of the disease should be given priority for masks. the philippines international trading corporation (pitc), meanwhile, identified two face mask suppliers from india and thailand to meet the demand for face masks. the suppliers are expected to take more than 30 days to supply the masks. the india-based supplier is expected to supply one million units, while the exact number of face masks that the thailand-based supplier can supply is yet to be determined. the masks will be imported either by the doh or the pitc. coronavirus outbreak: impact on the philippines impact on the economy philippines witnessed a slower economic growth in the first half of 2019, compared to 2018. the country saw a sustained economic growth of 6.3% between 2010 and 2018, while the growth slowed down to 5.5% in h2 2019. the world bank estimates philippines to witness full-year 2019 economic growth of 5.8%. the ongoing coronavirus impact is expected to result in a subdued growth for the economy in 2020. china is philippines’ top trading partner accounting for 18.8% of total trade, according to the philippine statistics authority (psa). in november 2019, 22.9% of philippines’ exports were to china, the biggest importer for the country. philippines imports account for approximately 20% of goods from china followed by korea and japan at 10% each. the central bank of the philippines (bsp) noted that the coronavirus outbreak could have a major impact on philippine economy over the next few months. ruben carlo asuncion, chief economist for union bank of the philippines, noted that the coronavirus outbreak could cost the philippine economy $600m or 0.8% of economic growth if it lasts for six months, as quoted by cnn philippines. fiscal measures to contain the coronavirus impact the central bank also announced its decision to reduce interest rate on reverse repurchase (rrp) facility by 25 basis points to 3.75% on 06 february 2020. the interest rate on overnight lending and deposit facilities was also cut to 4.25% and 3.25%, respectively. the projected gross domestic growth rate of 6.5%-7.5% for 2020, however, has not been revised. impact on tourism tourism industry is a major contributor, accounting for 12.7% of the philippine economy in 2018, according to data from the philippines statistics authority. more than seven million foreign tourists visited the country during the first ten months of 2019. chinese tourists account for majority of philippines’ tourist population. during the first ten months of 2019, a total of 1.49 million chinese tourists visited the philippines, according to the department of tourism (dot). philippine tourism officials expected to attract four million chinese tourists by 2022, before the outbreak happened. the tourism industry, however, is expected to witness a major impact as the country closed its borders with china and other countries due to the coronavirus infection, philippine finance secretary carlos dominguez noted. dominguez added that the exact economic impact of the outbreak is too early to be estimated but remained optimistic that the country can sustain its economic growth. 6.1 adversaries on covid-19 in december 2019, an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) infection occurred in wuhan, hubei province, china and spread across china and beyond. on february 12, 2020, who officially named the disease caused by the novel coronavirus as coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). since most covid-19 infected patients were diagnosed with pneumonia and characteristic computed tomography (ct) imaging patterns, radiological examinations have become vital in early diagnosis and assessment of disease course. to date, ct findings have been recommended as major evidence for clinical diagnosis of covid-19 in hubei, china. this review focuses on the etiology, epidemiology, and clinical symptoms of covid-19, while highlighting the role of chest ct in prevention and disease control (zu, et.al, 2020); (chen, et.al, 2020); (fang, et.al, 2020) on the contrary a group public health professional scientists and medical professionals of china, in particular, have who have closely followed the emergence of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (covid-19) and are deeply concerned about its impact on global health and wellbeing, worked diligently and effectively to rapidly identify the pathogen behind this outbreak, https://www.airport-technology.com/news/chinese-stranded-philippines-airports/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 30 put in place significant measures to reduce its impact, who continue to save lives and protect global health during the challenge of the covid-19 outbreak with their counterparts in the forefront, against this new viral threat. they also emphasized that covd-19 threatened by rumors and misinformation around its origins, and they urged that everyone should stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that covid-19 does not have a natural origin but based on analytical theories scientists from multiple countries have published and analyzed genomes of the causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) and they overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife, as have so many other emerging pathogens. this is further supported by a letter from the presidents of the us national academies of science, engineering, and medicine and by the scientific communities they represent. conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumors, and prejudice that jeopardize our global collaboration in the fight against this virus (calisher, et.al, 2020); (heymann & shindo, 2020); (bernheim, 2020); (shi, 2020). in summary, this short review of papers indicates that students would be interested in studying topics around extreme natural events when taught via pedagogies involving inquiry-based practices (critical, practical and action oriented). both the natural and human processes need to be considered equally, with looting, community cooperation, and involvement being critical in the social education component of the human side of an extreme natural event. the covid-19 issue is not a purely epidemiological phenomenon. it is also a social phenomenon and education for crises such as this should include teaching about the need for empathy. the example of the person who suffered a heart attack where none of the bystanders offered any help is testament to the need for more empathy. attitudes and values show a distance-decay effect, which will impact teaching efforts. however, with an event like the covid-19 crossing borders in an increasingly mobile world, the efforts in education may be challenged in other ways. misconceptions can be linked to misinformation at times of extreme natural events, and reveal suppressed xenophobic beliefs. globalization is accelerating the need for both school and general public education around extreme natural events, and education needs to include aspects of social learning. we need to teach students and the general public that, in times of crisis, people’s abilities are compromised, and we say and do things we would not normally say or do . we need to be aware of this and be equipped to perform under these times of uncertainty and pressure. further study is needed to develop a new approach and to determine the effects of new pedagogical methods with respect to social learning around extreme natural events. international research in geographical and environmental education (irgee) looks forward to more research that will help us better understand the issues in curriculum and instruction for hazard and crisis education. it is a great challenge for geography and environmental education to develop and contribute to enhancing social media use awareness by taking into account the aforementioned aspects (kidman & chang, 2020). the disease has also been exported to other countries, including the philippines, but the level of spread is still under control (as of 08 february 2020). to describe and predict the dynamics of the disease, several preliminary mathematical models are formulated by various international study groups. here, the insights that can be drawn from these models are discussed, especially as inputs for designing strategies to control the epidemics. proposed model-based strategies on how to prevent the spread of the disease in local setting, such as during large social gatherings, are also presented. the model shows that the exposure time is a significant factor in spreading the disease. with a basic reproduction number equal to 2, and 14-day infectious period, an infected person staying more than 9 hours in the event could infect other people. assuming the exposure time is 18 hours, the model recommends that attendees of the social gathering should have a protection with more than 70 percent effectiveness (rabajante, 2020). 6.2 impact of covid-19 to teachers-students in the learning process this covid-19 has ruined the surigao state college of technology (ssct) educational schemes, by de jure the commission on higher education (ched) proclaimed to suspend classes for safety purposes the ched has release an advisory ordering all the presidents of higher education institutions (heis) that the state universities and colleges (sucs) must discuss measures to the undertaken with their respective boards of regents (bot) and inform the ched regional office of such activities (signed by) chairman j. prospero e. de vera, dpa. this is in lieu to his excellency president rodrigo roa duterte proclamation no. 922 series of 2020, consonant, the sucs president of ssct has progressively ordered that all faculty should prepared a module; created an skeletal team as work force; for humanitarian reasons allows job orders and guest lectures to continually in the service; nondesignated teachers were allowed to work at home and prepared logbook on their daily time records (dtr). 7. research methodology this research is anthropological and sociological in nature. (frank & langness, 1981); (leach, 2020); (sadati, lankarani, hossein & bagheri, n.d.); peckham, r. (2020); (harding & taylor, 2002). https://www.gisaid.org/epiflu-applications/next-betacov-app/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 31 7.1 research types and sampling method this is a phenomenal research looking for an avenue to hold proper citation and guidance against the conflicting interest of everyone’s desires, opinions, arguments and commitment onward to covid-19 implications, and resilience actions of government officials, educators and all parties concerns forward to education. study is more on observation, dependent on previous related data and studies, this is plain descriptive and logical. 7.2 data collection procedures gathering of data is simply done conveniently thru downloading of previous literatures from social media-reports (goggle websites), articles, decrees, memos, orders. logical interpretations were rested under discussion subsection at the author’s level of perspective if in case of doubts and critiques, this study profoundly restful. 7.3 research instrument observation has been employed on this study wherein the public has been observed keenly by the author on how the environment influenced to eradicate the norms or the system of public governance. in this study the researcher interacts with people in everyday life while collecting information, investigating the enormously rich, complex, conflictual, problematic, and diverse experiences, thoughts, feelings, and activities on covid-19. this method emerged with the professionalization of anthropology and sociology where it gradually was formalized and later spread to a full range of human studies fields. its practice nevertheless remains artful, requiring creative decision making about problems and questions to be studied, appropriate settings and situations for gathering information, the performance of membership roles, establishing and sustaining trusting relationships, ethics, values, and politics, as well as record making, data analysis and interpretation, and reporting results (jorgensen, 2015). structurally, there is no instrument used but the outcomes would reveals either to showcase the positive and negative results of the reigning verdict invoked by the administrator and the policy-makers. 8. findings and discussions this country is under authoritarian policy though, democratic in governance. everyone government role’s over the constitutional legitimacy wherein no one is allowed to do his own action without following mandates from the written constitution. but this study does not tended to showcase about the political issue therein of the country rather this study focus only to answers questions on: first, what are the arguments of educators about covid-19 in the learning process?; and second, how surigao state college of technology managed this crisis on covid-19 in order to sustain the learning process? below are the revelations, which serve to be the findings which serves to answers those questions enumerated above: arguments of educators about covid-19 in the learning process ched-covid-19 advisory no. 3 in response to the directive of president rodrigo roa duterte through proclamation no. 922 series of 2020, the commission has release an advisory ordering all the presidents of higher education institutions (heis) that the state universities and colleges (sucs) must discuss measures to the undertaken with their respective boards of regents (bot) and inform the ched regional office of such activities (signed by) chairman j. prospero e. de vera, dpa. this advisory aspired the author to create his own desired module as an output (see appendix a). 9. conclusion the philippines is under authoritarian policy though, democratic in governance, governance roles over the constitutional legitimacy wherein no one is allowed to do his own action without following mandates from the written constitution. but this study does not tended to showcase about the political issue therein of the country rather this study focus only to answers questions on: first, what are the arguments of educators about covid-19 in the learning process?; and second, how surigao state college of technology managed this crisis on covid-19 in order to sustain the learning process? based on findings raised questions (1 and 2) were absolutely satisfied, results has been displayed, and discussed yet ssct has contemplated their desire by preparing module to attain the tended learning process but this possibly negated because the reality condemn any activities therein that threatened the safety of the students such that social media and any related events. references bernheim, a., mei, x., huang, m., yang, y., fayad, z. a., zhang, n., & li, s. (2020). chest ct findings in coronavirus disease-19 (covid-19): relationship to duration of infection. radiology, 200463. calisher, c., carroll, d., colwell, r., corley, r. b., daszak, p., drosten, c.,& gorbalenya, a. (2020). statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of china combatting covid-19. the lancet. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 32 ched urges schools to prepare for possible coronavirus ‘community-level transmission.’ (n.d.). rappler. retrieved march 18, 2020, from http://www.rappler.com/nation/254214-ched-urges-schools-prepare-possible-community-leveltransmission-coronavirus. chen, h., guo, j., wang, c., luo, f., yu, x., zhang, w., & liao, j. (2020). clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertica l transmission potential of covid-19 infection in nine pregnant women: a retrospective review of medical records. the lancet. doh confirms two more cases of covid-19 in ph | department of health website. (n.d.). retrieved march 17, 2020, from https://www.doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/doh-confirms-two%20more-cases-of-covid-19-inph. duddu, p. (2020). coronavirus in philippines: how the covid-19 affects philippines. (n.d.). retrieved march 17, 2020, from https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/coronavirus-affected-countries-philippines-measuresimpact-tourism-economy/. fang, y., zhang, h., xie, j., lin, m., ying, l., pang, p., & ji, w. (2020). sensitivity of chest ct for covid-19: comparison to rt-pcr. radiology, 200432. frank, g., & langness, r. (1981). lives: an anthropological approach to biography. novato, calif.: chandler & sharp publishers. fumento, m. 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(2020). echoes of ebola: social and political warnings for the covid-19 response in african settings. echoes. malipot, m.h. (2020). deped: use of social media for learning still ‘discouraged’ despite covid-19 threat » manila bulletin news. (n.d.). retrieved march 17, 2020, from https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/03/13/deped-use-of-social-mediafor-learning-still-discouraged-despite-covid-19-threat/. news, a.-c. (n.d.). ched tells affected schools to move graduation dates amid covid-19 scare. abs-cbn news. retrieved march 18, 2020, from https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/15/20/ched-tells-affected-schools-to-movegraduation-dates-amid-covid-19-scare. peckham, r. (2020). covid-19 and the anti-lessons of history. the lancet. rabajante, j. f. (2020). insights from early mathematical models of 2019-ncov acute respiratory disease (covid-19) dynamics. arxiv preprint arxiv:2002.05296. sadati, a. k., lankarani, b., hossein, m., & bagheri lankarani, k. 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(2020). coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19): a perspective from china. radiology, 200490. http://www.rappler.com/nation/254214-ched-urges-schools-prepare-possible-community-level-transmission-coronavirus http://www.rappler.com/nation/254214-ched-urges-schools-prepare-possible-community-level-transmission-coronavirus https://www.doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/doh-confirms-two%20more-cases-of-covid-19-in-ph https://www.doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/doh-confirms-two%20more-cases-of-covid-19-in-ph https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/coronavirus-affected-countries-philippines-measures-impact-tourism-economy/ https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/coronavirus-affected-countries-philippines-measures-impact-tourism-economy/ https://nypost.com/2020/03/08/coronavirus-going-to-hit-its-peak-and-start-falling-sooner-than-you-think/ https://www.unicef.org/philippines/press-releases/unicef-philippines-statement-covid-19 https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/03/13/deped-use-of-social-media-for-learning-still-discouraged-despite-covid-19-threat/ https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/03/13/deped-use-of-social-media-for-learning-still-discouraged-despite-covid-19-threat/ https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/15/20/ched-tells-affected-schools-to-move-graduation-dates-amid-covid-19-scare https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/15/20/ched-tells-affected-schools-to-move-graduation-dates-amid-covid-19-scare https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1096457 https://www.up.edu.ph/index.php/tag/up-diliman/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 33 appendix -a ge rizal learning module (final coverage) edilmar p. masuhay assistant professor i ssct –mainit campus introduction statement: the commission on higher education (ched) released advisory relative to covid-19 of which the state universities and colleges (sucs) has been mandated to undertake measures ensuring the safety of the students, faculty, staff and administration. thus, surigao state college of technology (sssct) has responded and reciprocally demean traditional maneuvers hence attendance literally are not necessary, this is a resolution of vanishing the old methods of teaching, on the other hand modular concept has led to resolve the issue. this covid-19 definitely an uprising of a new beginning onward to educational teaching stratification but subsequently this is also threatening students of which their venue to attain the learning process is thru social media of which majority of the students avenues is going to public places where internet café is available where they are exposed, and prohibited for safety precautions (signed by j. prospero e. de vera iii, dpa). however, in compliance to the institutional order, thereby modules are hereby formulated, below: module 1. creating reflection on jose rizal life learning objectives student learning objectives for this module upon completion of this module, you will be able to:  recognize jose rizal’s contribution towards the country’s development and progress;  acknowledge jose rizal’s moral and intellectual legacies, philosophical and religious ideas. assessment rubrics score (numerical rating) items 1 2 3 objective shows worthy questions and intention. unclear questions and unclear intention. question and intention is not match. data gathering sufficient and accurate data collected. data is accurate, needs improvement. limited data, making interpretation difficult. analysis logical conclusion connect on the scientific principles being studied. data is connect the studies but not accurate. data does not lead to conclusion. presentation science concepts are expressed well and with full citations support. science concepts are presented but non citations support. non science concept and unorganized manner. references/citations completed and properly complete citations and incomplete or poorly cited. learning activities students learning activities for this module  read previous studies on jose rizal’s contribution towards the country’s development and progress; related article, notes, magazine.  observe the environment, surroundings and their influences to national development. learning outcomes standards  create and submit reflection; insights, overview relative to life and works of jose rizal on how it impacted the community. learning resources required resources  jose rizal books, magazine, notes, fact sheets.  jose rizal related blogs. additional resources  assessment rubrics copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 34 cited. references, needs to be enhance module 2. creating article relative to jose rizal life, works and literatures learning objectives student learning objectives for this module upon completion of this module, you will be able to:  acknowledge the significance of jose rizal’s life, works, writings and his execution. learning outcomes standards  create and submit descriptive historical research paper/article relative to the life, works, writings of jose rizal execution, and religious ideas. assessment rubrics score (numerical rating) items 1 2 3 title connected to jose rizal’s patriotism, nationalism and heroism relative to jose rizal’s life but not to patriotism, nationalism and heroism not match abstract accurately presented the objective, problems, significance, methods, findings, conclusions. presented the objective, problems, significance, methods, findings, conclusions but not accurate. limited data introduction shows the problems, data gathering methods, and purpose of the study. uncertain problems, method of gathering data, purpose of the study. limited data. findings (related studies) and discussions showcase scientific and factual findings and interpretation. showcase findings and interpretation but not scientific and logical. findings and discussions is not match. conclusions completely answered the questions and problems stated on the introduction subsection. conclusion presentation answers questions and problems but need to be enhance. unrelated to the question and problems statement. references/citations completed and properly cited. complete citations and references, needs to be enhance incomplete or poorly cited. learning resources required resources  jose rizal books, magazine, notes, fact sheets.  jose rizal related blogs. additional resources  assessment rubrics deped: use of social media for learning still ‘discouraged’ despite covid-19 threat the department of education (deped) remains firm on its stand to highly discourage the use of social media platforms for learning while classes are suspended due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). “while social media are the easiest mediums to deliver information in this digital age using the latest on-hand technologies, the use of the platform also opens one’s identity to the world wide web, making young learners exposed to different cyber threats,” he said. even though social media may be considered the “brightest innovation of this era,” pascua urged educators to “look at the bigger picture, where the reality is that social media in itself is not the proper medium for schools to use, especially in connection [with] the delivery of lessons especially since there are many options specifically designed for educational use.” given this, deped noted that there are ex isting open-source learning management systems (lms) that schools can use to support the e-learning requirements of an institution. deped also introduced the use of open educational resources (oer) to promote “equitable and quality education” to all copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 35 filipino learners. oers refer to free and/or available educational materials that come with the permission for anyone to use, modify or share (merlina hernando-malipot, 2020). by facts, it is adherence to its reality that social media would possibly making young learners exposed to different cyber threats besides this actions may directly contradicting for the safety against the disease hence, its natural phenomena foretells that majority of the students could didn’t have their own access and possibly their avenues is going to the public places where internet is available. unicef philippines statement on covid-19 manila, 13 march 2020 – following president rodrigo duterte’s declaration placing metro manila under lockdown from 15 march 2020 to 14 april 2020, unicef philippines remains steadfast in working with the philippine government and partners to stop the transmission of the virus and to keep children and their families safe. unicef philippines has been fully supporting the government’s emergency response as early as the first few cases of covid-19 were identified in the country. just recently, we provided tents to the department of health (doh) to support the management of covid-19 cases requiring hospital care. doh is further strengthening its capacity in hospital preparedness, rapid response, risk communication, and information dissemination with full support from unicef philippines. unicef is working with doh to take appropriate measures for the continuous delivery of other essential public health services including access to water, sanitation and hygiene, mental health and psychosocial support, and nutrition. “we are intent on staying on the ground working to mitigate impact on children and their families including pushing back against stigma associated with vulnerable groups,” said wigdan madani, unicef’s chief of health & nutrition, “and we remain concerned by related control measures including school closures, the burden on local health systems for the delivery of primary care, protection risks, and economic pressures felt by families.” with the suspension of classes in all levels within metro manila and in selected lgus until 12 april 2020, unicef philippines encourages schools to plan continuity for learning. we urge communities, caregivers, and parents to stay informed about covid-19 through trusted sources like the doh, local government units, who, and unicef to recognize symptoms, coordinate with schools to support safety efforts, and help children cope with the stress caused by the current situation. characterizing covid-19 as a pandemic is not an indication that the virus has become deadlier. rather, it is an acknowledgement of the disease’s geographical spread. let’s continue to prepare and respond to the epidemic to protect children and families in the philippines (gimeno, 2020). this scenario has made the country panic, and even lockdown, controlling the economic activities some geographical places just to ensure the populace free from covid-19 infection, factual evidence demonstrated below: copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 36 ched tells affected schools to move graduation dates amid covid-19 scare manila—the commission on higher education on saturday released a set of guidelines for social distancing and hygiene, as the philippines braced for the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). in an advisory issued saturday, march 14, the ched said educational institutions in metro manila, where a region-wide quarantine is now in effect, shall "abide by the directives of the department of health (doh) and the department of interior and local government (dilg) in the imposition of general and enhanced community quarantine in their respective jurisdictions." one directive is the suspension of classes on all levels. metro manila schools using the old academic calendar, or schools ending their academic years in march or april, are required to move or cancel their graduation ceremonies, citing the restriction on mass gatherings mandated by the inter-agency task force on emerging infectious diseases. schools, which have shifted their academic calendar to june or july, do not need to postpone graduation ceremonies. however, their semesters "may need to adjust as needed" to compensate for the month-long class suspensions. employees of educational institutions are also advised to practice social distancing. students who can't go to school for 30 days due to the quarantine should not be evicted from class, the ched added. local government units could suspend classes as long as "measures and arrangements are in place to allow the students to continue fulfilling their requirements." the ched also urged schools outside metro manila to develop contingency plans, sanitize their facilities, and discourage mass gatherings. it also suggested that plans to go to overseas internship programs, along with participation in contests outside, should be suspended. it likewise urged school administrators to practice "preventive measures such as proper hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and social distancing" (news, n.d.). this situation is merely applicable to all sucs not only in metro manila, see order of suspensions in diliman university philippines and city mayor ordinance, for exhibited purposes, below:  classes, both residential and online and alternative learning activities in the up system (except the up open university) are suspended until 14 april 2020 while the university assesses the situation and decides on how best to facilitate learning and manage academic requirements in the time of covid-19 (up diliman – university of the philippines, n.d.);  bacolod city – mayor evelio leonardia has issued an executive order (eo) suspending the graduation and moving-up ceremonies in all levels of public and private schools here until further notice due to the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). ched urges schools to prepare for possible coronavirus ‘community-level transmission’ manila, philippines – the commission on higher education (ched) called on state universities and colleges to prepare for possible community-level transmission of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. in a memorandum order released on wednesday, march 10, ched chairman prospero de vera iii reiterated that schools should have protocols in place to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus within the campus in coordination with the department of health. these include creating screening procedures for symptomatic students, faculty, staff and administrators; preparing health clinics to accommodate and isolate patients potentially infected with the novel coronavirus; and performing decontamination and disinfection of buildings in schools. (read: deped says proceeding with graduation ceremony 'up to school's discretion'). president rodrigo duterte suspended classes in all levels in metro manila from march 10 to 14 following the spike of confirmed cases in the philippines. schools are advised to coordinate with their affiliated training establishments for any adjustment on training hours; and consider alternative modes for on-the-job training, practicum and internships. (read: how metro schools continue lessons amid coronavirus threat). but based on the assessment in their areas, all schools should be flexible in adjusting the academic calendar, foregoing other curricular activities for the semester and exercising discretion to possibly postpone graduation ceremonies (ched urges schools to prepare for possible coronavirus ‘community-level transmission,’ n.d.). this argumentation has been confusing for teacher, students and even by the policy-makers hence crafted statement below were simplified that this covid-19 had impacted either ruined the judgment of our educators and the learners: https://www.rappler.com/nation/254115-deped-proceeding-graduation-ceremony-school-discretion https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/254114-how-metro-manila-schools-continue-lessons-coronavirus-threat https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/254114-how-metro-manila-schools-continue-lessons-coronavirus-threat copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 37 this letter or statement has clearly stated that students has been complaining about social media activities as part of the learning process and the ched were advising that students adversaries should be given consideration, submissively the sucs president of ssct has progressively ordered that all faculty should prepared a module, this by then expected that initiative will be within the scope of the teacher to maneuver the learning process as well. however, this concepts has been thoroughly demean by some instances, see some students’ social media-communication bellows: students’ were explaining their side to be understood that this phenomenal crisis has put them on the line of distress, their parents were already complaining and there is no internet access for them to comply the requirements and to follow the learning process. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 33 effects of storytelling on improving efl students’ critical thinking and reading comprehension javed sahibzada senior teaching assistant english language and literature department kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: sahibzada.javed@gmail.com yar mohammad bahrami ahmadzai associate professor english language and literature department kabul university kabul, afghanistan e-mail: yarm.bahrami@gmail.com azadkhan niaz teaching assistant english language and literature department kabul university kabul, afghanistan e-mail: azadkhan.niaz@gmail.com susan hussein laftah assistance lecturer department of english language and literature department dhi qar education directorate thi-qar, iraq e-mail: samesoul.jan@gmail.com abstract the purpose of this study is to find the effects of storytelling (st) on improving critical thinking and reading comprehension of efl students at kandahar university. the design of the study was quasi-experimental with critical thinking and reading comprehension pre and posttests. total 27 afghan efl students were selected based on their performance on placement test. the participants of experimental group listened to their teacher telling the story. in order to find the improvement and different between these variables is significant the paired sample t-test was administrated and the result indicates that there is significant improvement in post-tests in areas of reading comprehension and critical thinking in group of storytelling. however, improvement is higher in reading comprehension section than critical thinking. keywords: critical thinking, efl, reading comprehension, storytelling. 1. introduction as human being we all have somehow experiences of listening to other people telling or narrating us their own or other stories. stories have been an attractive and interesting way of getting attentions. the long-life effects of our parents’ stories still existed as unforgettable memories of our childhood. they were telling us different types of stories for various purposes such as; fairy tells to entertain us, bed time tales to make us sleep or in forms fables and parables to motivate us for positivity and avoid us from negative deeds. stories are playing significant role in personality development of individual or groups and their impact shouldn’t be ignored. the constructive parents’ advices in the form stories, have always brought the aptitude and attitudinal change into the lives of children. attempting to take advantage of the undeniable fun and enjoyment in stories, teachers try to include stories in different classroom activities. mailto:sahibzada.javed@gmail.com mailto:yarm.bahrami@gmail.com mailto:azadkhan.niaz@gmail.com mailto:samesoul.jan@gmail.com copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 34 storytelling is one of the effective ways of presenting a story and reading aloud is the second way. for different reasons, teacher may prefer one over the other. abrahmsen (1998) has found that storytelling is a very important foundation of the teaching profession and it can be beneficial in improving students’ speaking as well as listening skills. sharing experiences through the device of storytelling enable individuals to build understanding between one another. al-mansour & al-shorman (2011) have found that listening to stories, read aloud helped the students developed sound listening habits and at the same time paved the way to promote comprehension through consistent exposure to the interesting and meaningful content of the stories. he found that reading story aloud has positive impact on language skills. storytelling may increase students’ language comprehension in quite remarkable ways. it can also provide moralistic lessons, long life learning and push the learners to be in touched with past experiences. 1.1 definition of terms storytelling: storytelling specifically refers to the presentation of a story without the presence of a picture book. movements, sound effects, and the use of props often accompany the oral elements of the story presentation gallets (2005). critical thinking is defined as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action saadati, tarmizi & bayat (2010). reading comprehension: meaning arrives because we are purposefully engaged in thinking while we read. it does not arrive because we have highlighted text or used sticky note or answered the comprehension worksheet tovani (2000). 1.3 statement of problem most of the students enrolled in english language learning classes of afghan context have difficulty in reading. research conducted by sahibzada, saeedi & hussaini (2018) to find out the causes of poor language skills. their findings indicated that 83% of the teachers are not happy about their students’ language skills improvement. they have found that students had problems in language skills while entering efl classes and after they have been taught for years, they still had problem in their foul language skills. however, they have more problem in their reading and listening comparing to speaking and writing. there is a misconception among efl teachers that telling the stories and reading aloud are only habits confined to the early stages, but they are in fact vital tools used to improve literacy and improve learning skills. reading comprehension is not only problem in afghan context but it also be found in different countries and various areas. for instance, those who are taking tofel or ielts are complaining about their week performance in reading section. since reading required much practice and extensive reading habits. haycock & huang (2001) findings suggest that the half of all white seventeen-year old students, and about less than one-quarter of latin seventeen years and less than one-fifth of african-american seventeen years old students can read at the level assessed by national assessment of educational progress. as the important element of effective reading is linked to the positive interdependence of students on comprehension, improving critical thinking skills that are developed through storytelling and story reading. through storytelling, one can improve speaking ability, listening skills and reading strategies because storytelling relies on both the listener and the teller. this strategy utilizes the social element of language. researchers have found that literacy instruction is most effective when developed through social interaction and collaboration with others dugan’s (1997). through storytelling teachers engage learners actively in class participation. they also make learners to construct their own understanding, by building upon their previous knowledge. promoting students’ social instruction on meaningful tasks enhances learning. finally, storytelling offers unlimited opportunities for developing students’ authentic awareness and respect for children with diverse language and cultural backgrounds. on the other hand, impacts of storytelling on critical thinking and comprehension on adult learning needed to be comparatively studied with the intermediate learners is a gap exists to be tasted on students with different level, age and different context. it should be highlighted whether storytelling increase the students’ comprehension and critical thinking. according to eisner, as citied in miller & pennycuff (2008) “the enduring outcomes of education are found in…the joy of the ride, not merely arriving at the destination.” miller & pennycuff (2008) further suggested that eisner’s vision will be embraced as teachers find ways to implement storytelling in the classroom and researchers continue to study the benefits of this pedagogical strategy on reading and writing achievement. beside this, one cannot be a successful teacher using the same method in every context or every course. in order to cause learning, a teacher needs to adopt eclecticism (efficient principles from different method). 1.4 objectives of the study this study aims to compare the effectiveness of storytelling in improving reading comprehension and critical thinking on adult efl learners. however, if there is difference existed in the effect of storytelling on reading comprehension and critical thinking such difference is significant or insignificant will be another main objective of this research. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 35 1.5 research question ▪ what is the effect of storytelling on improving reading comprehension and critical thinking on efl students? ▪ is there any significant difference between in storytelling with regards of improving critical thinking and reading comprehension among efl students? 1.6 importance of the study institutions around the world are working to change their traditional classes which are more passive and teachers-centered where only teachers are carrying responsibilities on their shoulders. consequently, it leads their graduates having poor performance in markets and lack of job ready skills. they are now shifting into modern approaches which are more active where students are responsible to carry work done by them and term teacher is no more in use and has been replaced to the term facilitator. one of the main responsibilities of a facilitator is to create a stress-free environment where students are enthusiastic for active engagement in the learning process and internalize it through constructivism. thus, the facilitators in institutions should adopt the new teaching methodologies and adopt the new approaches used around the world to help their students bring changes into their lives. using traditional methods and concepts cannot grantee the accomplishment of desired outcomes or to walk in clearly defined world of achievements. the study will open a passage for storytelling to be consider as an important tool in language teaching. it will create positive attitudes in students towards extensive reading and developing dispositions like curiosity, playfulness, perseverance, confidence, resourcefulness, and risk-taking. although it is famous around the world, but unlike the general awareness on the importance of reading books, the importance of verbal storytelling is not almost emphasized in afghan culture. yet, the stories make a great contribution to teaching techniques. stories have been used as an effective tool for developing competence in language learning both in acquiring native language and learning foreign languages. the educational value of story reading is widely accepted, especially compared to the acceptance accorded to storytelling. there is need for investigating the effect of storytelling. the reason adults read to children for the hope that reading exciting stories to children might help them in turning children in getting excited in learning in order to read books for themselves. students are searching their memories for details of events they are orally presenting them and it will be easy for them to produce it as written form later national council of teachers of english (1992). they further suggest to develop cooperative class and instructive way, teacher and students should use storytelling to improve learning. the study will provide teachers with effective teaching methods based on students’ needs, interests, levels and desires. storytelling is the only tool which can able us transcending into other people’s lives and evokes feelings of empathy in a way that a story can become alive and mind changing experience for us. it will give chance to students to express their feelings and acquire the second language as their first language into natural process, because storytelling and reading is a kind of natural process. we are usually busy in storytelling as every day routine. we are telling our busy day’s story at home and our commuting story to our colleagues and classmates. the study will encourage teachers to use storytelling as part of curriculum activities because of it has great effects on students learning outcome. so, the analysis of it will pave a way to the curriculum designers and instructors to include it into their curriculums and specially the language instructors for enhancing the language ability. the current study will pave the way for adding storytelling as an important tool of learning for improvement of critical thinking and reading compression which are not only helpful for reading but also for all language skills. 2. literature review the story storytelling, as important tools for the development of students’ language ability, is widely accepted in the field of education and much of the study has been conducted in the effects of it on children and adult learning. the researchers have attempted in section of literature review to summarize the conducted studies on the effect of storytelling on learning of students in various geographical locations, scholars’ different view regarding storytelling and comparative researches that investigate the effects of storytelling and story reading on learnings and literacy development. 2.1 impacts of storytelling many researchers have investigated effects of storytelling on improvement literacy development through storytelling and also find it as tools for teaching and improving literary skills on various areas. mello’ (2001) has found through meta-analysis eight aspect regarding the use of storytelling as a pedagogical strategy through students’ retellings, measures of fluency, and writing samples from the students. he has found with the use of pre and posttest interview that the literacy improves through storytelling in academic areas including vocabulary acquisition, fluency, recalling information writing skills, self-awareness cultural knowledge and imagery. in addition to that, eisner as citied in miller & pennycuff (2008) stated that with use of oral descriptive language, students’ experience of literature is developed. as it provides opportunities to develop students’ ability to increase in value and know the qualities conveyed in learning which in turn it develops their literacy skills in the classroom. according to remenyi copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 36 (2005) using storytelling as the medium of the performing arts is a key way of sharing knowledge among people as it makes participants to go to another setting and time place. haven & ducey (2007) also have found that storytelling is an effective tool for developing early literacy and it helps reading comprehension skills of the students. besides that, storytelling is an effective means of developing students’ literacy and reading comprehension researchers have found them as tools to improve various language skills. the studies by the studies by millo (2001); phillips (1999) suggested that storytelling is an effective way of developing reading comprehension and literacy skills of the students. storytelling is a great way which bridge “cultural divides” providing different interpretations of the main story that teacher is telling. it assists children connect their previous experiences with larger world provided in the text and it promote reading comprehension in proper way of developing capacity of all children academically. ta'amneh (2018) has also investigated effects of storytelling in development of reading comprehension skills of efl students. he has found storytelling as an effective method for developing students' different language skills. he further discussed storytelling as a teaching activity, can attract the students in the teaching process and facilitates the learning process. he also acknowledged that students should be given stories for reading or telling those which are particularly close to their real-life contexts. he found out that storytelling by the efl teachers should be promoted as it helps as an effective teaching technique in developing the students' reading comprehension. storytelling can be used as an effective strategy for students’ comprehension, especially for the students having reading comprehension problem. to boost up comprehension, teachers can help students monitor their own understanding as they read. one common strategy teacher often use in a whole-class format is to think-aloud (goudvis & harvey 2000). traditional method of using text for stories which is not helpful in all contexts and every level of learners. method of storytelling and story reading is effective for the children in many ways and its various impacts had been researched. stories have enormous potential to help students overcome barriers that may be interfering with their learning processes. it is necessary not to consider them only as a fun teaching device that helps the students to feel relax but they can be used as a means to improve the quality of learning in the classroom. stories are highly motivating and can help develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language and language learning. they can create a desire to continue learning, raise the imagination, link fantasy and the imagination with the child’s real-world ellis & brewster (2014, p1). apart from storytelling improved literacy, reading comprehension and its used as a tool for teaching various areas, researchers have also investigated how storytelling have contributed to the critical thinking, vocabulary development as soleimani & akbari (2013) investigated the effect of storytelling on children's learning english vocabulary. as a result, they have recommended that storytelling is a method that is suitable to increase english vocabulary learning among children. their study showed that student’ vocabulary mastery increased accordingly. listening and speaking was the interested issue for the researchers. miller & pennycuff (2008) concluded that storytelling is an effective method that combines the aesthetic ways of understanding instruction and developing the academic performance of learner in the areas of reading and writing. it also has the ability to promote the arts in education and motivate children to connect with their learning for pursuing lifelong literacy. abrahmson (1998) has explained that storytelling is a very foundation of the teaching profession which can be beneficial in improving students’ speaking as well as listening skills. sharing of experiences through the device of storytelling enable individuals to build understanding between one another. in addition, furlong (2013) stated that storytelling is universal characteristic and it is important for everyone for their daily lives that helps in fostering commination. he further indicated that storytelling is effective tool for developing and creating communication in group of students which can elect classroom participation of reluctant reader/writers and disenchanted english students who have only see english class as a place of large novels with little discussion of stories are meaningful to them. moreover, straková, (2011) wrote that storytelling belongs to language classroom as a valuable form of education and learning resource that enable and improve students’ speaking skills. according to gallets (2005), storytelling enables learners’ speaking skills and it can be used as an intensive story reading to motivate adult students for reading in english in their spare time. storytelling and story reading are the oldest form of education. students are searching their memories for details of events they are orally presenting them and it will be easy for them to produce it as written form later national council of teachers of english (1992). they further indicated that to develop cooperative class and instructive way, teacher and students should use storytelling to improve learning. on the other hand, listening comprehension was also investigated by al-mansour & al-shorman (2011) who asserted that listening to stories, read aloud helped the students developed sound listening habits and at the same time paved the way to promote comprehension through consistent exposure to the interesting and meaningful content of the stories. he further found that reading story aloud has positive impact on language skills. storytelling improve writing and play major role in development of writing in different ways. since writing requires thinking and can be crossed through cognitive processes. craig, hull, haggart, & crowder (2001); eisner as citied in miller & pennycuff (2008). since writing requires thinking and can be crossed through cognitive processes. it is considered, the most complex skill because it goes through different stages i.e., prewriting writing and editing to reach its final product. as writing is an individual process which requires thinking strategies that allows individuals to express themselves competently in the other copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 37 language. it is also a complex activity that requires a certain level of linguistic knowledge, writing conventions, vocabulary and grammar. writing is a continuous process of thinking and organizing, rethinking, and reorganizing. alkaaf & al-bulushi (2017) found out that storytelling as effective strategy that benefit teachers when they want to advance students’ writing skills. they further stated that learners often find it difficult to process and organize written information and when writing stories, they cannot always retrieve the information required for the development of the story. besides that, they proposed generating relevant ideas for their stories is another dimension which they may regard as challenging. they suggest and emphasized on this strategy for it works efficiently in language learning. as children grow and their language develops, they use storytelling in their plays to imagine events and create world. even when students become more engaged in reading and writing processes, teachers can continue to use storytelling as a powerful classroom instrument. children can try out their ideas, and orally rehearse before they commit their ideas to paper, thus improving “the flow, fluency and feel of their writing” cremin, mottram, collins, powell & safford (2009). a study by nicolini as citied in miller & pennycuff (2008) report a high correlation between good readers and good writers, as well as poor readers and poor writers. they stated that even when students become more engaged in reading and writing processes, teachers can continue to use storytelling and story reading as a powerful classroom instrument. some researchers investigated the effects of storytelling on critical thinking. for instance, belet & dala (2010) have conducted qualitative research on 53 the primary education pre-service teachers’ opinions about the use of storytelling to develop the primary school students’ critical reading skills. their result indicated that 52 of the participants had positive opinions about the use of storytelling can develop critical reading skill. they also had positive opinions about the contribution of this method was well-suited with the skills explained in literature within the context of critical reading. the study further suggested that this method can develop the primary school students’ prediction skill. besides that, chan (2019) acknowledges that storytelling enhances students’ critical thinking and it allows them to explore their imaginations, practice their listening skills and experience new vocabulary as well as giving them the opportunity to spend quality time together. his study explained that storytelling is also useful for children to develop the ability to think critically; being able to interpret and reflect on information. he described that critical thinking skills are required in later school life, and also help with problem solving and forming opinions about various topics. another study by palmer, harshbarger & koch (2001) who have investigated the effect of storytelling through observational method and have find out that storytelling is as a vehicle for expanding children's existing oral language and developing their literacy abilities. they further asserted that storytelling is rich in interaction process that facilitates imagination, creative thinking, language abilities, and cooperative learning. through storytelling teachers engage learners actively in class participation. they also make learners construct their own understanding, by building upon their previous knowledge. promoting students’ social instruction on meaningful tasks enhances learning. finally, storytelling offers unlimited opportunities for developing students’ authentic awareness and respect for children with diverse language and cultural backgrounds. 2.2 research on effects of storytelling and story reading in this part of literature, researchers have documented comparative studies which indicate effects of storytelling and story reaching in academic achievements of students in various areas. sanaeifar (2018) investigated the effect of word exposure frequency through story reading and storytelling on learning collocations. he has found that the word exposure frequency through story reading and storytelling have statistically significant effect on collocation learning and also the story reading group performed better than the story telling group in learning collocations. in addition to that, the study by gallets (2005) supports the notion that both story reading and storytelling can be used as part of an effective program for emerging readers. his finding suggests that storytellers are engaging in an activity that is enjoyable for students, and at the same time it can contribute to the educational process. his finding asserted that story reading and storytelling can both help children learn differently. children who hear through story telling tend to remember more of the information than they hear from story reading. on the other hand, students who hear through telling stories appear to be more likely to show an understanding of formal elements of story structure. in both groups story reading and storytelling of students displayed a similar shift towards more slight types of understanding story meaning. his study shows the students in the story reading group improved more than the students in the storytelling group on three of five measures. in addition to that, isbell, sobol, lindauer & lowrance (2004) studied the impact of storytelling and reading stories on development of language and comprehension of three and five years old children through the experiential group of storytelling and story reading group. their findings indicated improvement in both groups. however, the storytelling group have better comprehension which showed through their retelling of heard stories. they also suggest that storytelling need a greater use of the visual imagination than in story reading. they further indicated storytelling as an effective tool for engaging students in listening skills development. another study by rivera (2016) who found storytelling and story reading the tools to enhance reading comprehension. he suggests that english learning and category of storytelling and story reading help most of the students to write their own productions. her finding indicates that the use of storytelling for interaction and through listening to classmates the improvement of students’ own work productivity. she adds, that by using storytelling students may demonstrate and show progress in comprehension, recalling information, and arrangement of events in the correct order. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 38 on the other hand, al-mansour & al-shorman (2011) found that there is no significant difference exist in students’ achievement in terms of storytelling and story reading. comparative study on the effect of reading story aloud and storytelling on intermediate efl learners’ listening comprehension was conducted by hemmati, gholamrezapour & hessamy (2015) their findings indicate that that both storytelling and story reading aloud groups had positive effects on the students’ listening comprehension. however, the exact comparison of these two groups shows storytelling group better performed than story reading group in posttests. they further suggest that story telling without aid of the printed page helps the storyteller and listener to have more connection. they have found evidence for storytelling as being more effective than reading aloud. the study also found that students who listen to a story they in fact learn ways of listening ability. furthermore, the study also found out improvement of storytelling on oral skills strategies. beside this storytelling promote language development and span listening skills. thus, the story reading and storytelling have been studied and tested its various effects and much of the studies are conducted on children. the literature above is generally summarized the comparative study done on story reading and storytelling, its effects on students learning and developing aptitude. there was need to study on the effects of storytelling on adult intermediate efl learners mainly to investigate critical thinking and comprehension effects. 3. methodology ▪ participants a total number of 27 intermediate junior afghan efl undergraduate students from the english departments of languages and literature faculty and education faculty of kandahar university have taken part in this study. they shared the same first language pashtu and dari and were selected through performance in placement test. ▪ research design and materials: the study is a quasi-experimental research with one experimental group. an objective test that contained 23 questions for measuring reading comprehension and critical thinking aspects was used as a placement test for selecting samples from the papulation. it was developed from reading book by mikulecky & jeffries (2003). the second instrument was used for pre and posttests to test reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. it had two parts and contained 38 multiple choice questions, 19 for critical thinking and 20 for reading comprehension. the first part aim to test critical thinking skills through 19 multiple choice questions among which 9 were by watson (1980) for making inference from the given text and 10 were for critical thinking to select best ending taken from free practice critical thinking test (n.d). the second part was to test reading comprehension skills which contained passages followed with comprehensions multiple choice questions taken from test prep review (2019). the reliability of instruments were tested before use through test-retest method of reliability and scores result showed stability over time used. the part of validity was checked for content and construct validity of all questions required for testing critical thinking and reading comprehension dimensions. besides these instruments, a story collection, a world of fiction by marcus (2005) was used to present stories in group of storytelling. ▪ procedures: in the first phase of the study, the volunteer junior students of both english departments including preservice, in-service and night-shift took part in a placement test inside university campus. then the qualified subjects who got higher marks were shifted to experimental group that contains 30 students. they took the pretest in stress free environment and attend 10-week sessions of treatment in which the storytelling group listened to stories told by their teacher without providing them stories in hand. there was concern for ethical dimension and also to reduce possible confounding variables that may affected the study outcome, participants were assured about their identity to be kept confidential. since the participant were given the choice of withdrawing their participation at any time and during tenweek session some of the students withdraw their participations and some did not attend posttests and 27 remained took parts in posttest. after ten-week treatment 90 minutes for week the students who answered the questions of the posttest in equal time provided to each individual in group. ▪ data analyzing procedure: both pre and post test score were administrated in microsoft excel, spss 24 version and graph pad prism. the result was analyzed for showing percentage, mean and standard deviation. paired sample t-test was used to show the significant improvement and difference. the result for all presented in tables and graphs. 4. findings as mentioned before, the experiential study was conducted in a treatment group of storytelling to find out comparative results on the improvement of critical thinking and reading comprehension. the findings presented based on each research questions and for the questions “what is the effect of storytelling on reading comprehension and critical thinking of efl students?” the data was collected in order to find the effect of storytelling on improving critical thinking and reading comprehension. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 39 table 1. storytelling preand post-test result number name f/name critical thinking reading comprehension pre test post test pre-test posttest 1 shamsullah gulam muhidin 25 20 0 6 2 naeemullah m.farooq 35 65 16 37 3 muhibullah mayeengul 25 45 27 27 4 khudad awaz 30 65 27 37 5 shabmum abdul ghani 50 70 32 37 6 m. zia m. nazeem 30 50 27 37 7 m deen khuridin 30 35 6 32 8 nooria m. aqbaal 45 55 27 32 9 sayedullah jan gulam jailani 35 80 27 74 10 sumia qurban ali 65 75 27 58 11 khushal abdul salam 25 30 0 26 12 hamidullah nida mohammad 35 35 43 53 13 wali mohammad gul mohammad 30 55 16 26 14 shamudin gulam muhidin 0 10 27 16 15 subhanullah anargul 10 15 32 42 16 mujeburahman gulamudin 40 45 27 32 17 khan mohammad ali jan 25 35 16 37 18 hayatullah m. esaa 30 25 11 42 19 zahir shah sayeed hakim 25 30 11 26.3 20 ahmadullah naqeebullah 55 30 32 21 21 farid ahmad mukhtar ahmad 25 30 16 26 22 sheer zamaan m.zaman 45 25 6 21 23 naseer ahmad shan gul 30 35 16 21 24 ezatullah abdul baqi 20 35 27 42 25 habiudin nasrudin 35 40 11 26 26 najeeullah akhatar mohammad 15 30 32 47 27 shafiqullah malang 30 25 27 26 table1 above indicates pre and post results of the participants in storytelling group for reading comprehension and critical thinking aspect and the mean scores of them. the group of storytelling contains 27 students who attended 10 weeks’ course designed to find out wither story reading help in improving critical thinking and reading comprehension. their result in pre and posttest indicates majority of the students who participated in storytelling course their test scores have increased in critical thinking and reading comprehension. among them only few students’ marks have either decreased or did not improve. for instance, student one who got 25% marks in critical thinking pre-test but his marks in posttest are 20% on the other hand his score in posttest has increased in reading comprehension from 0% to 6% also student three who got 27% marks in pre-test of reading comprehension section but his posttest contains 26%on the other hand his post test in critical thinking section increased from 25% into 45%. in addition to that student 18 who got 30% marks in pre-test of critical thinking section his posttest decreased copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 40 to 25% marks yet his marks have improved in reading comprehension section from 11% into 42%. similarly, student 20 who got 55% in critical thinking pre-test his marks deceased into 30% in posttest. his marks also decreased in reading comprehension into 21% from 32%. likewise, student 22 who got 45% marks in critical thinking pre-test has decreased into 25% in post but on the other hand his marks improved in reading comprehension section from 6% into 21% in reading comprehension section. in addition to that student 27 who got 30% marks in pre-test of critical thinking his posttest result decreased into 25% and there is also decrease in his reading comprehension section from 27% into 26%. figure 1. pre-test and post-test result of critical thinking section in storytelling group figure 1 above shows pre and post test result of critical thinking section in storytelling group. orange color shows pretest result while yellow color represents post test result. among 27 students who participated in ten-week program of storytelling course have improved in posttest of critical only five students’ marks decreased rather than increased in posttest which have been highlighted with yellow color in table 1.1. comparing overall majority of students’ performance have been improved in posttest of critical thinking section. figure 2. pre and post test result of reading comprehension section in storytelling group 25 35 25 30 50 30 30 45 35 65 25 35 30 0 10 40 25 30 25 55 25 45 30 20 35 15 30 20 65 45 65 70 50 35 55 80 75 30 35 55 10 15 45 35 25 30 30 30 25 35 35 40 30 25 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 critical thinking pre and post test result critical thinking pre test critical thinking post test 0 16 26 32 27 5 26 26 26 0 43 16 26 32 37 16 11 11 32 16 6 16 26 11 32 26 6 37 27 37 37 37 32 32 74 58 26 53 26 16 42 37 37 42 26 21 26 22 21 42 26 48 26 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 reading comprehenstion pre and post test result comprehension prestest comprehension post test copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 41 figure 2 above shows pre and post test result of reading comprehension section in storytelling group. green line represents pretest result while the maroon color represents post test result. among 27 students, only three students got lowered marks in post than pretest. overall majority of students’ marks have been increased in posttest from the marks they got in pre-test. figure 3. comparison of post test results of critical thinking and reading comprehension in storytelling group: figure 3 above represents posttests result of reading comprehension and critical thinking sections of storytelling group. yellow color indicates critical thinking posttest while maroon colors shows reading comprehension post test result. students who participated in story telling group, their result shows they have improved in reading comprehension as well in critical thinking section while their results also indicate they have got higher scores in critical thinking section than reading comprehension section. figure 4. mean scores of reading comprehension and critical thinking pre and post test in storytelling group figure 4. above indicates mean scores of reading comprehension and critical thinking pre and posttest of storytelling group. result shows students who participated in story telling group their mean score in pretest of critical thinking section is 31mean score while their mean score has improved to 40 mean score. on the other hand, they have got the mean score 20 mean score in pretest of reading comprehension section which have been increased into 34 mean score in posttest. the means scores result shows there is improvement in posttests from pre-tests in both areas of critical thinking and reading comprehension. 31.30 40.37 20.47 33.53 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 pretest post test pretest pst test critical thinking comprehension mean scores of reading comprehension and critical thinking pre and post test of storytelling course 20 65 45 65 70 50 35 55 80 75 30 35 55 10 15 45 35 25 30 30 30 25 35 35 40 30 25 26 37 27 37 37 37 32 32 74 58 26 53 26 16 42 32 37 42 26 21 26 21 21 42 26 48 26 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 comparing critical thinking and reading comprehension post test result of story telling course critical thinking post test comprehension post test copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 42 however, the result also indicates there is more improvement in reading comprehension aspects of students who participated in story telling course than reading comprehension. table 2. mean and standard deviation of story telling group for pre and post result in critical thinking and reading comprehension statistics critical thinking in storytelling pre-test critical thinking in storytelling post-test reading comprehension in storytelling pre-test reading comprehension in storytelling post-test n valid 27 27 27 27 missing 0 0 0 0 mean 31.2963 40.3704 20.4700 33.5244 std. deviation 13.34401 18.39345 10.76121 13.856 table 2 above indicates mean and standard deviation of storytelling group for pre and post result of critical thinking and reading comprehension. m represent the mean score while sd shows standard deviation. result indicates students in storytelling group in pre-test of critical thinking section, they got m score 31.3 and sd 13.3 and its increased into m score 40.4 and sd 18.4 in post-test. however, in reading comprehension pre-test students got m score 20.5 and sd 10.8 which have been increased into m score 33.6 and sd13.9. means and s.d s.t.c . p rt s. t .c . p ot s.t. r .c . p rt s. t . r . c . p ot 0 10 20 30 40 50 pre and post test sc or e figure 5. mean and standard deviation of pre and post test result of story telling course for its critical thinking and reading comprehension section figure 5 above represents standard deviation of pre and post test result of storytelling course for its critical chinking and reading comprehension section. the abbreviation s.t. stand for storytelling, c for critical thinking prt stand for pre-test, pot for posttest, rc for reading comprehension. the blue color on the lift indicates mean score and sd of pretest result of critical thinking section in storytelling course while blue on the right represent m and sd of post-test result. on the green on the lift represent pre-test result of reading comprehension and storytelling group while green on the right represent m and sd for the post-test of reading comprehension. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 43 table 3. t-test mean comparison of reading comprehension pre and post test result in storytelling course: paired samples statistics mean n std. deviation std. error mean pair 1 reading comprehension pre-test 20.4700 27 10.76121 2.07100 reading comprehension post-test 33.5244 27 13.85573 2.66654 paired samples correlations n correlation sig. pair 1 reading comprehension pre-test & reading comprehension post-test in 27 .494 .009 paired samples test paired differences t d f sig. (2tailed) mean std. devia tion std. error mea n 95% confidence interval of the difference lower upper p ai r 1 reading comprehension pre-test reading comprehension post-test 13.054 44 12.67 051 2.43 844 18.066 73 8.042 16 5.3 54 2 6 .000 table 3. above indicates t-test mean comparison of reading comprehension pre and post test result in storytelling group. students at pretest of reading comprehension got the mean score of 20.5 and they got the mean score 33.6 in posttest which shows the difference -13.0 mean score between pre and posttest and p value .000 shows the significant improvement in students’ posttest. table 4. paired t-test mean compression for critical thinking paired samples statistics mean n std. deviation std. error mean pair 1 critical thinking pre-test 31.296 3 27 13.34401 2.56806 critical thinking post-test 40.370 4 27 18.39345 3.53982 paired samples correlations n correlation sig. pair 1 critical thinking pre-test & critical thinking post-test 27 .590 .001 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 44 table 4 above indicates paired t-test mean compression of storytelling for critical thinking. students in storytelling group in pretest of critical thinking got the mean score 31.3, however they got in posttest 33.6 and the difference between pre and posttest mean is -9.0 the pvalue is .004 a significant improvement in posttest of storytelling group. table 5. paired t-test mean compression of posttests of critical thinking and reading comprehension paired samples correlations n correlation sig. pair 1 critical thinking posttest & reading comprehension post-test 27 .564 .002 paired samples test paired differences t df sig. (2tailed) mean std. deviation std. error mean 95% confidence interval of the difference low er upper p ai r 1 critical thinking post-test reading comprehension post-test 6.845 93 15.57 574 2.99755 .68 437 13.00748 2.28 4 26 .031 table 5 paired t-test mean comparison of posttests of critical thinking and reading comprehension. students in story telling group in critical thinking posttest got the mean score 40.4 while they got 33.5 mean score and there is 6.9 mean difference that indicated by pvalue.031 less different between posttests of reading comprehension and critical thinking in storytelling course. 4. discussion result of the current study shows that there is improvement in reading comprehension and critical thinking of the students in storytelling. however, participants’ in reading comprehension improved from 20 mean score into 34. these findings are supported by phillips (1999); ta'amneh (2018); goudvis & harvey (2000) who wrote that storytelling improve reading comprehension. the critical thinking aspect of students is also improved from 31 mean score into 40 mean score. this finding is supported by belet, & dala (2010); chan (2019); palmer, harshbarger & koch (2001) who assert that storytelling improves critical thinking. this study is also aligned with rivera pinzón (2016) who found out that storytelling and story reading as the tools to enhance reading comprehension. though there is improvement in the areas of critical thinking and reading comprehension, there is over all mean improvement of 13 from pretest in critical thinking section in. have improved 13.0. result of descriptive means shows improvement is higher in reading comprehension. paired samples test paired differences t df sig. (2tailed) mean std. devia tion std. error mean 95% confidence interval of the difference lower upper pair 1 critical thinking pretest critical thinking posttest 9.07 407 15.06 633 2.8995 2 15.034 12 3.1140 3 3.1 30 26 .004 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 45 thus, the result further needed to be tested through paired sample-test for mean comparison in order to find out the existed difference and improvement is significant or not. it was found out there was significant improvements which indicated with p value .000 in the area of reading comprehension among pre and posttest and also in critical thinking areas with p value .004 in pre and posttest respectively. paired samples t-test was used to find out with in the group difference in term of reading comprehension and critical thinking posttest comparison and the result indicated that, there was p value.031 that indicated less significant difference existed in critical thinking post-test and reading comprehension post-test. it is also supporting the findings by gallets (2005) who find that children who hear through story telling tend to remember more of the information. the similar findings reveled by (isbell, et at., 2004) as improvement in comprehension aspect in both groups yet the storytelling group have better comprehension which showed through their retelling of heard stories. 5. conclusion and recommendation storytelling is playing a significant role in literacy development and its role in language development is vital. it empowers reading comprehension and critical thinking which is important for students in any major and especially for efl students. it is important for individual who want to learn english he or she should think in english and thinking is improved through storytelling techniques. stories contains elements as (inferences, suspense, exploring themes, genera, symbols thinking and literary terms) lead learners to think for the meaning and comprehension. thus, thinking for these elements increase critical thinking. it’s through critical thinking one can improve language and presentation skills. thinking clearly and systematically can advance the way we express our ideas. it helps us in learning how to scrutinize the rational structure of texts and through critical thinking one can develop his/her comprehension aptitudes. a critical thinker has the self-awareness of logic to recognize the difference between rational views and careful expression. the findings of this study show that there is significant improvement in areas of critical thinking and reading comprehension through storytelling. however, the students’ achievements vary in terms of critical thinking and reading comprehension. that is, improvement is higher in reading comprehension which indicates 9% improvement. efl departments should include storytelling in their curriculum which helps students in literacy development for it is plying important role in language skills development in various areas. the critical thinking and reading comprehension aspect have been proved through the current study and its impacts on development of writing, listening comprehension vocabulary building can be acknowledged from previous studies discussed in literature review. references abrahamson, c. e. 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(2018, september) the effect of using storytelling on developing saudi efl university students' reading comprehension. journal of education and practice, 9, 80-87. tovani, c. (2000). i read it, but i don't get it: comprehension strategies for adolescent readers. portland: stenhouse publishers. watson, g. (1980). watson-glaser critical thinking appraisal. san antonio, tx: psychological corporation. retrieved october 10, 2018, from https://www.assessmentday.co.uk/free/watson glaser/freetest1/inferences/index.php?extratime=999999999999999999999 http://www2.ncte.org/statement/teachingstorytelling/ https://www.testprepreview.com/modules/reading1.htm https://www.assessmentday.co.uk/free/watson%20glaser/freetest1/inferences/index.php?extratime=999999999999999999999 https://www.assessmentday.co.uk/free/watson%20glaser/freetest1/inferences/index.php?extratime=999999999999999999999 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 47 acknowledgement this article involves many peoples’ efforts and assistance, so it would be time take this chance to express our deep gratitude to them. we would give our gratitude to all participants who actively contributed through their involvement in teen week session and provide data for findings of this research. to the advisor yarmommad bahrami ahmad zai for his efforts and supervising the writing of this project with great love and patience which enabled us to complete this research. we feel that his enlightening suggestions, incisive comments and constructive criticism have contributed greatly to the completion of this research work. to have worked with him, proved to be a highly rewarding experience for us. we owe him special thanks for the time and trouble he had to go over the drafts. a vote of thanks to assistant professor khadim hussien saedi for his patient guidance of scholarly touch, associates professor dr. najeebullah rafiqi and associates professor dr. zargoon tareen for their helps in data analysis. this article could never have reached its present form without their guidance. in short, the completion of the project should be attributed to joint efforts of thereof. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 136 the validity of okun’s law: an empirical evidence for nigeria divine ndubuisi obodoechi department of economics faculty of the social sciences university of nigeria, nsukka, nigeria e-mail: divine.obodoechi@unn.edu.ng charles uchenna onuoha department of economics faculty of the social sciences university of nigeria, nsukka, nigeria e-mail: uchennaonuohac@gmail.com abstract this paper empirically investigates the relationship between economic growth and unemployment in nigeria under the okun’s law framework. the auto regressive distributed lag model approach, the ardl bounds test and cointegration test were employed in this paper. economic growth was also regressed on unemployment, log of industrial output, log of net foreign assets, log of foreign direct investment and population growth so as to know the impact of these variables on output. the research findings indicated that high the okun’s specification does not hold in the nigeria, the impact of economic growth on unemployment is negative and insignificant. we did however find that there is a positive impact of unemployment on economic growth, meaning that the phenomena of jobless growth may be in play in the economy. the johansen co-integration test failed to establish evidence of long run relationship between gdp, industrial output, unemployment, foreign direct investment net foreign assets and population growth. the ecm could not be employed because the variables were integrated of different orders. it was however found there exist a significant positive relationship between the aforementioned variables and gdp except for population growth. the government should consider the industrial sector as a priority sector in a bid for better economic growth and development. population control measures should also be put in play to ensure that the population does not exceed the economic carrying capacity. the government should also play an important role in abating unemployment in the economy using direct and indirect schemes and strategies. keywords: ardl, okun’s law, foreign direct investment, industrial output, population growth. 1. introduction one of the ironies of our time is that although the nigerian economy is potentially and currently rich, the unemployment situation in the country is still very critical. records of available data on the unemployment situation reveal that unemployment (particularly urban) is growing in seriousness (ilo, 1981). there is also evidence of the socio-economic consequences of unemployment;  there is a rising wave of crime particularly fraud and armed robbery.  migration to the urban centers has been on the increase.  increased occurrence of industrial disputes. the problem of mass unemployment is not new any longer as it has been with us in varying degrees for some decades. in fact, population explosion of participants in formal education and the economic recession of the early 1980’s have raised the situation to a critical level, which can no longer be ignored without disastrous consequences. the commission on the review of higher education popularly called "longe commission" (1992) reported that by 1984, the phenomenon of graduate unemployment had begun to emerge and was generally believed to be due to the lopsided production of high level manpower from the universities in specific disciplines, with an acute shortage of high level manpower in a number of other areas. according to the unicef/fos (1997) report, the main engine of the nigerian economy is petroleum, but agriculture is the biggest employer utilizing about 75% of the workforce. there are, according to the report, 9 dependents to 10 economically active people. the gnp per capita of nigeria declined from us $ 6037 in 2015 to us $ 5867 in 2016 (world bank development indicators, 2017). the nigerian economy is a developing economy and has its mainstay of economic performance in the energy sector. crude oil exploration, development and exportation account for over 80% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. unemployment has been ever-present with poverty indices increasing over the years. from 1981-2007, the real gdp of nigeria copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 137 has grown at an average rate of 3.92% (central bank of nigeria, 2012). gdp growth peaked in the 1970’s and early 2000’s. unemployment reached an all-time low in 1996 at about 4% of the total labor force. from the huge increases in economic growth, one would expect unemployment to be almost nonexistent in nigeria. aganga (2010) and ogunmade (2013) in their independent appraisal of the nigerian economy note that there was a decade of strong real gdp of 6.5% economic growth between 2000 and 2010, and in the same period, unemployment rate continued to rise annually from 11.9% in 2005 to 19.7% in 2009, and over 37% in 2013%. the evidenced economic growth has howevernot lead to economic development. the level and rate of poverty is still very high, the industrial sector is yet to takeoff, technological development is still at a rudimental stage, income inequality is high, mortality rate and child mortality rate is ever increasing, and in summary, nigeria’s development index is still very low. despite the social and economic consequences related with high unemployment rates, some additional issues remain unresolved. for instance;  which factors are responsible for the existence of unemployment?  does the size of unemployment follow an autonomous route independent from other macroeconomic variables? the relation between unemployment and growth has been a central issue for economists and policymakers over the past 50 years. on the basis of empirical evidence, in the early 1960’s, the economist arthur okun developed a theory later known as okun’s law. the classical school of thought holds the view that the relationship between employment and output is a one-way relationship that goes from the input of labor to output. the classical growth theory, as reflected in the aggregate production function (mostly a variant of cobb-douglas function) derived essentially from the technical relations that make the level of output a function of production inputs such as labor, capital, land, technology, etc. the premise of the classical model therefore is that the growth rate of employment (unemployment) is exogenous to the growth rate of output. this, however, does not preclude the classical economists' belief in the attainment of full employment equilibrium. in this perspective, the supply of labor is positively related to the level of real wage, while the demand exhibits a negative relationship with real wage, but a positive relationship with productivity (falokun, 1999). the keynesian theory explains the determination of output or productivity and employment/ unemployment in terms of aggregate demand. this approach sees demand for labor as a derived demand. productivity (output) growth (a la verdoorn's law), should increase the demand for labor thereby reducing unemployment. the keynesian framework, as examined by hussain and nadol (1997), postulates that increases in employment (decreasing unemployment), capital stock and technological change are largely endogenous. thus, the growth of employment (reduction of unemployment) is demand determined and that the fundamental determinants of long run growth of output also influence the growth of employment. this is in line with the okun postulation. thus the keynesian school and okun were getting at the same conclusion albeit through different viewpoints, keynes from the aspect of aggregate demand and endogenous changes, okun’s from the aspect of labor force participation rate, changes in the number of hours worked per person, changes in labor productivity and the ability of monetary policy to effect changes in exchange and output. the keynesian prescription for reducing unemployment is for a sustained increase in aggregate total demand through direct increases in government expenditure or for adoption of policies that encourage more private investment. the keynesians argued that, as long as there is unemployment and excess capacity in the economy, the supply of goods and services will respond automatically to this higher demand. they postulate that a new equilibrium will consistently be established with higher income levels and lower levels of unemployment. okun answers the questions about the nature of unemployment by referring to the empirical investigation of the relationship between output and unemployment. given that both variables, that is, economic growth and unemployment rate are affected to a greater or lesser extent by business cycle, we would expect a long-run relationship between these variables to exist. within the context of this assertion, high rates of output growth will lead to a reduction of unemployment. specifically, okun’s law or rule of thumb states that a 1 percentage point fall in unemployment is linked to a 3 percentage increase in the output of the nation. okun’s law suggests that an increase in transitory output is accompanied by a decrease in transitory unemployment. okun’s law suggests the existence of a specific empirical relationship between economic growth and the change in the rate of unemployment. several studies in different countries on the convergence of the okun’s law coefficient (olc) have gone underway since the okun postulations came to light. the okun’s law relationship has important implications for macro policy as the size of the olc is an important indicator of the degree of interdependence of output and labor movements around their long-run oscillation paths and is regarded as a benchmark for policy-makers to measure the cost of higher unemployment and how to reduce increased trends in unemployment. thinking of the nigerian economy in this manner implicitly assumes that the components of output and unemployment are uncorrelated except for a negative correlation between the two transitory components. this law if it proves to hold true in nigeria with regards to the relationship between output and unemployment will give policy makers an insight into how unemployment can be managed in the economy by controlling the growth rates of the gdp. this knowledge will help nigerian policy makers manage the business cycle more effectively. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 138 this paper seeks to test the validity of the okun’s law in nigeria. the specific objectives are:  to ascertain whether the okun’s law or rule of thumb holds in nigeria.  to ascertain the impact of unemployment on output growth in nigeria.  to determine if there exists a long run and (or) short run relationship between output growth and unemployment in nigeria.  to determine direction of causality between unemployment rate and output growth. 2. review of relevant literature arthur melvin okun was the first economist who developed an economic model where he postulated a connected between the variations in the unemployment rate to the changes in the output of an economy estimated by changes in the gnp by running an econometric analysis using quarterly data from 1947: ii to 1960: iv in the united states of america. the correlation between these two important economic variables is famously known as okun’s law. it has since then been used as a benchmark by policy makers to measure the cost of higher unemployment and benefits of lower unemployment in an economy given the inverse relationship with the output of the nation in question. discuss these two approaches in addition to newer additions to the body of his law. in 1962 arthur okun documented that u.s. unemployment tended to fall by 1 percentage point for every 3percentage point rise in gross national product (i.e., output); observers subsequently dubbed this empirical regularity “okun’s law”. okun originally stated that the economy experienced a 1 percentage point increase in unemployment for every 3 percentage point decrease gdp. in order to understand why the relationship between changes in output and changes in unemployment is not one-to-one, it's important to keep in mind that changes in output are also associated with changes in the labor force participation rate, changes in the number of hours worked per person, and changes in labor productivity. the percentage increase by which gnp changes when unemployment falls by 1% is the okun coefficient. okun's law reinforces the notion that a country's output depends on labor. it is also a way to measure the effectiveness of monetary policy. although the law only applies in the united states, the concept applies in all economies (that is, when more people have jobs, the economy is stimulated). accordingly, a 1% change in employment may result in a different degree of increased output in other countries. it is important for us to enlighten our reader that since okun's time, the relationship between changes in output and changes in unemployment has been estimated to be about 2 to 1 rather than the 3 to 1 that okun originally proposed. (nb. this ratio is also sensitive to both geography and time period.) in addition, it has been noted that the relationship between changes in output and changes in unemployment is not perfect, and okun's law should generally be taken as a rule of thumb as opposed to as an absolute governing principle since it is mainly a result found in the data rather than a conclusion derived from a theoretical prediction. notable economists have criticized this law on the basis that the majority of the change in output is actually due to changes in factors other than unemployment, such as capacity utilization and hours worked, holding these other factors constant reduces the association between unemployment and gdp to around 0.7% for every 1% change in the unemployment rate. it is however our view in this work that we will follow the okun assumptions and postulation with a view to testing for truths associated with the law instead of criticizing the foundations of the law. departing from this will make us fail the occam razor approach of using the most simplistic version of any theory of model. for example, an increase in labor is required for an increase in production, however labor can come in a variety of forms, such as increased hours worked or through technological advances. capturing these variables in a model would risk making a simple relationship complicated and because of that arthur okun focused on unemployment, as he believed that unemployment covers hours worked and technological advances indirectly. some authors have tested the okun assertion before in nigeria. (udude & nnachi, 2017) using an autoregressive distributed lag model investigated the existence of the assertion of okun’s law in nigeria from 1980 -2013. they found out that okun’s law does not hold in nigeria. the coefficient does not even conform to apriori expectation. conversely, (oluyomi, stephen, & adeyemi, 2016) found in their work that the okun’s law holds in nigeria. there exists long run and an inverse relationship between gdp and unemployment. the okun coefficient in their work is 1.75 signifying that unemployment changes really do impact negatively on output, although not to the tune specified by okun. the law has also been tested by other authors in their countries with varying degrees of olc, some countries conform to limits of the law while others do not. (hek & dare, 2015) tested the validity of okun’s law in curacao. they used the hodrick prescott filter and cubic/quartic equations to calculate potential output and natural unemployment in curaçao. they used okun’s difference method and obtained that okun’s coefficient in the long run is ‐2.3%, while okun’s coefficient is ‐1.9% in the short run. statistically significant short‐ and long‐run relationships were found between output and unemployment in curaçao. (dritsaki & dritsakis, 2009) tested the okun proposed relationship for four mediterranean countries and obtained the following relationship; -0.024 for italy, -0.017 for spain, 0.016 for portugal and -0.007 for greece. they believe that the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 139 coefficient for italy is higher than that of greece because italy is more industrialized than greece. summarily, all three countries have the postulated negative relationship. (mercer-blackman & salazni, 2014) applied the okun’s law to trinidad and tobago and found that the relationship exists, but it is a very weak one. they agreed with previous authors that the okun’s relationship is seen more during the business cycle of recessions than expansions in absolute terms. they however note that unemployment figures have been underestimated in the country and might be a possible influence on their results. (rubcova, 2010) in his work in the baltic states in testing the okun type relationship found that little evidence of the relationship was detected. his results were not robust to estimation but a slightly negative relationship was observed in some of the states. he posits that “it is obvious that okun’s law is not a law, but rather a statistical regularity which has exceptions”. the work goes further to explain the likely cause of the nonexistence of the relationship by saying that “rigid labor market structure and inelastic unemployment rate response to the shifts in the output could possibly result in little evidence in favor of the ol proposition”. (lal, sulaiman, jalil, & hussain, 2010) using an integration approach to test for evidence of okun type relationship in asian countries. the work employed fully modified ordinary least square (fmols) to run its test. the results did not satisfy okun’s law assertion. even though the coefficients were negative for the countries, they were also largely insignificant. they conclude that their results do not support the implications of okun’s law in some developing countries because of asymmetric problems. (anderton, aranki, bonthuis, & jarvis, 2014) in their analysis went a step further by disaggregating gdp into its different components of consumption, investment, government expenditure, import and exports so as to understand differing reactions of unemployment to movements of the various expenditure components in the euro area. the data set was from (1996q1-2013q4). they argued that allowing the output component elasticities to vary adds considerably to the predictive capability of the okun relationship. their results have it that it seems that unemployment is most affected by changes in the consumption component of gdp, while movements in foreign trade (export and import) expenditure have a significantly lower impact on movements in unemployment. (white & chu, 2013) tested the okun assertion in usa, japan, and france. in france and japan, the results show that the variables gdp and unemployment have no effect on each other. however, okun’s law of positive gdp change having a negative impact on unemployment holds for usa. (petkov, 2008) checked the uk data for the okun postulations from 1973q3 to 2003q4. the results indicate that okun's law is a valid empirical approximation. their method exploits the auto regressive distributed lag (ardl) approach, which is capable of dealing with fractionally integrated variables. they conclude that while there are some differences in the okun's coefficient over time and in-between alternative specifications it seems clear that the okun's law continues to be a reasonably robust relationship in the united kingdom and with their estimation method. (cevik, dibooglu, & barisik, 2013) examined the presence of asymmetry in okun’s law for nine transition economies by means of a markov regime-switching model with a nonlinear estimation means of a markov regime-switching model. their empirical results showed a statistically significant okun’s law for transition economies and imply the markov regime-switching model is more appropriate than a linear model in characterizing okun’s law. the unemployment rate displays statistically different behavior over the business cycle in transition economies. in general, job losses in downswing regimes exceed job gains in upswing regimes suggesting relatively poor job growth in recoveries and the results are robust across different specifications of okun’s law. (ayaz & alkraidees, 2014) in their results show a long-run association between the unemployment rate and the gdp growth rate in both periods i.e. 2001: q1-2007: q4 and 2008: q1-2013q4, but no contemporaneous impact on the unemployment rate by the gdp growth rate. (bryson, 2016) in his study examines the appropriateness of okun’s law for the jamaican economy. using the difference, output gap and autoregressive distributive lags (ardl) specifications, the study finds, at the aggregate level, a statistically significant relation between the unemployment rate and the output gap. the hp filter gap and production function gap specification supports okun’s rule of thumb in his work. more specifically, the hp filter specification shows that the unemployment rate will decline by 0.16 percentage points and 0.36 percentage points in response to a one percent increase in hp filter gap and production function gap, respectively. 3. data and methodology the data consists of annual time series observations for the period 1981-2016. the variables of interest are: unemployment, gross domestic product (gdp), foreign direct investment (inward flows), industrial output value added (measured in constant usd), net foreign assets, population growth rate. the data were collected from the world bank development indicators and the national bureau of statistics (nbs). to achieve robust estimates, reduce the effect of noise and ensure that the estimated parameters can be interpreted economically, except unemployment rate, was logged prior to estimation. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 140 in this paper we intend to investigate the validity of the okun’s law in nigeria. we will adopt the auto distributed lag model which is the closest form of the dynamic version approach of the okun’s law. our first model, an ardl model, will be used to determine our first and third objectives of; the validity of the law, and the existence of a long run and/ short run relationship between output and unemployment rate in nigeria. our second model, an ordinary least squares (ols) model, will capture the impact of unemployment as well as other relevant variables on the output of the economy, as well as check existence of a long run relationship amongst the variables. an error correcting model will be estimated on the second model to check for short run stability in the relationship of the variables involved. finally, a granger causality test will be used to check the direction of causation amongst unemployment and output in other to give meaning to our third objective. our models are as follows; model 1:  functional form of the model unemp = f (gdp) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------(1a)  the deterministic/ mathematical form of the model unempt = β0 + β1gdpt + λigdpt-k + ϕiunempt-k -------------------------------------------(1b)  the econometric form of the model unempt = β0 + β1gdpt + λigdpt-k + ϕigdpt-k + µt -------------------------------------------(1c) where: β0 = intercept; λi = coefficients of the lag variables of gdpt; ϕi = coefficients of the lag variables of unempt; k = 1, 2, 3, … (successive lags); i = 1, 2, 3 …. (successive lag parameters); µt = stochastic error term model 2:  functional form of the model gdp = f (unemp, io, nfa, fdi, pop_gr) -----------------------------------------(2a)  the deterministic/ mathematical form of the model gdpt = α0 + α1unempt + α2io + α3nfa + α4fdi + α5pop_gr---------------------------(2b)  the econometric form of the model gdpt = α0 + α1unempt + α2io + α3nfa + α4fdi + α5pop_gr + µt -------------------(2c)  the error correction model δgdpt-1 = α0 + α1 δ∑unempt-1 + α2δ∑iot-1 + α3δ∑nfat-1 + α4δ∑fdit-1 + α5δ∑pop_grt-1 + α6µt-1 + εt ---------------------------------------------------------------------------(2d) where: α0 = intercept; α1, 2, 3, 4, 5 = coefficient of independent variables; δ = first difference operator; μt-1 = error correction term; εt= error term to check for the long run relationship among unemployment and output, the bounds test is employed for the ardl model specification and the johansen cointegration test for the ols specification of the second model. the error correction model will only be employed if there exists a long run relationship amongst the variables in question else testing the speed of short run equilibrium to long run equilibrium will be a moot action. a granger causality test is undertaken to check direction of causation among the two variables. 4. empirical findings and discussion this empirical analysis started off with tests of stationarity on all the variables, using both the adf unit root test and the phillips perron unit root test procedures. with the lag length selected automatically by schwarz information criteria and including trend and intercept, the results of these tests are shown in table 1. the results indicate that foreign direct investment, industrial output and population growth rate are integrated of order i (0) while unemployment, gdp and net foreign asset are integrated of order i (1). these results suggest that there may not be a long run stable relationship between these variables given their different orders of integration. table 1: unit root test results variable adf phillips-perron result gdp i (1) i (1) i (1) unemp i (1) i (1) i (1) fdi i (0) i (0) i (0) io i (0) i (0) i (0) pop_gr i (0) i (1) i (1) nfa i (1) i (1) i (1) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 141 since all the variables are integrated of order i (0) and i (1), the unit root needs of an ardl models are satisfied, we can go ahead and estimate model 1. we estimated our model 1 using the ardl specification. we included the linear trend in our estimation because the dependent variable unemployment had a graphical positive trend. from this estimation result, we ran the bounds test to check for long run relationship between output and unemployment. our results are shown below. table 2. regression results from the results above, we can see both the regression results and the residual diagnostics which helps us to ensure that we fit the best model. for model 1, there is only one lagged variable of unemp as recommended by the model selection criteria of akaike and schwarz info criterions. all the coefficients in the first model are statistical insignificant except for the first lagged variable of unemployment. this shows that the previous year’s unemployment rate causes the current year unemployment rate to increase at a decreasing rate. the okun coefficient is very much above the okun’s postulation, moreover, it is insignificant. there is an increasing trend in unemployment over the years, but this too is statistically insignificant. the model is blue and the residual diagnostics all conform to the appropriate levels. in the second model, all the coefficients are statistically significant, we have a very good fit as can be interpreted from the r-squared value. the impact of unemployment on output is both positive and statistically significant. a percentage point increase in the unemployment rate in nigeria will lead to a 0.02 percentage change in the output of the economy. this does not conform to apriori expectations; however, the emerging concept of jobless growth can be used to explain this result. from the second model, there is a significant relationship between output in the economy and industrial output, foreign direct investment, net foreign assets and population growth. we can see that as the population of the country increases, there is a decrease in the output of the economy, this suggests pressure on resources and the carrying capacity of the infrastructure of the country. on the other hand, increases in fdi and nfa increases the output of the economy at a decreasing rate. the major variable with increases output in the economy is the output of the industrial sector. model 1 ardl results model 2 ols results table 2: variable coefficient constant 24.3626** lgdp -2.3728*** unemp(-1) 0.9537** @trend 0.3685*** r-squared 0.9616 48 adjusted r-squared 0.9579 37 akaike info criterion 4.1198 72 durbin-watson stat 2.1656 59 prob(f-statistic) 0.0000 00 residual diagnostics jarque-bera normality test 3.2440 breusch pagan-godfrey heteroscedasticity test 0.0222 breusch godfrey autocorrelation test 0.4446 ramsey reset stability test 1.5135 table 2: variable coefficient constant -19.29636 unemp 0.028548 fdi 0.539531 io 2.296646 nfa 0.311557 pop_gr -2.712616 r-squared 0.9878 28 adjusted r-squared 0.9858 00 akaike info criterion 1.0472 76 durbin-watson stat 1.5867 82 prob(f-statistic) 0.0000 00 residual diagnostics jarque-bera normality test 0.1127 breusch pagan-godfrey heteroscedasticity test 0.7936 breusch godfrey autocorrelation test 1.0892 ramsey reset stability test 1.0381 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 142 all the residual diagnostics also conform to the expected statistical levels of a regression model. both model’s f-statistics is significant. we will now show the result of the long run relationship tests of model 1 and model 2 using the ardl bounds test and the johansen cointegration test respectively. table 3. long run relationship results as we can see from the table above, there is no long run relationship in both the first and second models.this means that there is no long run relationship between output and unemployment in nigeria. according to christian dreger (2015), “if one variable is i (1) and the other is i(0), cointegration cannot exist, and consequently, you could not proceed with an ecm, according to the granger representation theorem”. thus we cannot estimate the error correction model as a result of the different orders of integration in the second model. thus, there is no long run relationship between unemployment and output in nigeria and the short run relationship is indeterminate. we will now estimate the granger causality test to check direction of the causation between output and unemployment in nigeria. table 4. granger causality test null hypothesis: obs f-statistic prob. gdp does not granger cause unemp 34 1.19538 0.3171 unemp does not granger cause lgdp 0.63113 0.5391 on the direction of causality between output and unemployment in nigeria, we estimated the granger causality model at lag 2. the results are as shown in table 4. we find that there is no causality running between agricultural credit and agricultural productivity in nigeria. 5. conclusion and recommendation the findings of this study negate the existence of the okun’s law assertions in nigerian economy. the ardl approach was disproved. in nigeria, increasing economic growth rates does mean decreasing unemployment rates, however, the magnitude of the change is not as postulated by the okun’s law. the relationship statistically is insignificant. this could be as a result of capital-intensive led growth strategies. the phenomena of jobless growth have been seen to manifest in many developing countries and this could be the case here in nigeria. this means that government has to be actively involved in unemployment reduction strategies and efforts as economic growth here has not been able to absorb the labour force up to the capacity utilization rate necessary for the growth. since there is no long run relationship between economic growth (output) and ardl bounds test johansen cointegration test ardl bounds test date: 12/31/18 time: 15:31 sample: 1982 2016 included observations: 35 null hypothesis: no long-run relationships exist test statistic value k f-statistic 0.052775 1 critical value bounds significance i0 bound i1 bound 10% 5.59 6.26 5% 6.56 7.3 2.5% 7.46 8.27 1% 8.74 9.63 date: 12/31/18 time: 15:35 sample (adjusted): 1983 2016 included observations: 34 after adjustments trend assumption: linear deterministic trend (restricted) series: lgdp unemp lfdi lnfa pop_gr lio_con lags interval (in first differences): 1 to 1 unrestricted cointegration rank test (trace) hypothesized trace 0.05 no. of ce(s) eigenvalue statistic critical value prob.** none * 0.863724 144.4621 117.7082 0.0004 at most 1 0.510446 76.69771 88.80380 0.2703 at most 2 0.492563 52.41288 63.87610 0.3131 at most 3 0.343824 29.34784 42.91525 0.5411 at most 4 0.296722 15.02276 25.87211 0.5727 at most 5 0.085925 3.054665 12.51798 0.8700 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 143 unemployment, unemployment policies need to be sustained even in the face of massive surges in the growth rates of the economy. it should be noted that changes in unemployment significantly impacts on the output in nigeria, albeit minutely. we found out that population growth has a negative relationship with output or gdp in the economy. this has very grave economic implications because if not controlled appropriately could lead to a massive downward spiral in the output of the country. the implication of this is that there is a massive pressure on the resources of the economy; the population is growing faster than the means of sustenance is growing. the reverend malthus theory may be in play here. the industrial output plays a massive role in the output of the nigerian economy; it is a critical sector in the quest for sustained growth. net foreign assets and foreign direct investment also contributed the growth of gdp (output) over the years . a unit increase in the industrial output leads to about adouble fold increase in the output of the economy. this means that the economy has unimaginable growth potentials in its industrial sector, if only it were to be properly harnessed. foreign direct investment and investments abroad should also be encouraged as a means of growth as well. on the basis of the results of this paper, we recommend that;  the government is actively involved in unemployment reduction strategies.  there should be a proper population control measures in play.  there should be a massive investment in the industrial sector of the economy.  further studies are carried out to determine the relevant variables that cause and affect unemployment in the country. in conclusion, we have seen that the okun’s rule of thumb does not hold in nigeria, as a result of the findings of this work. there has been tremendous economic growth without a significant decrease in unemployment in nigeria. the government therefore is advised to implement more viable and long lasting social programs and strategies, so as to control the unemployment situation in the economy. acknowledgements this paper received no specific financial support and the authors declare that there are no competing interests whatsoever. my acknowledgement goes to uchenna charles for his immense support for his contributions towards the success of this paper. references aganga, o. (2010). rising unemployment rate is unacceptable– goodluck jonathan. business facts and figures magazine september, 2010, p. 15 anderton, r., aranki, t., bonthuis, b., & jarvis, v. (2014). disaggregating okun’s law decomposing the impact of the expenditure components of gdp on euro area unemployment (no. 1747). frankfurt, germany. https://doi.org/10.2866/36377 ayaz, a., &alkraidees, a. (2014). okun’s law: can it still be a best rule of thumb? (a time-series analysis). california state polytechnic university, pomona. bryson, t. (2016). okun’s law – evidence from jamaica. retrieved march 19. central bank of nigeria .(2012). central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin 2002. cbn publication, pp 252 – 260. cevik, e. i., dibooglu, s., & barisik, s. (2013). asymmetry in the unemployment – output relationship over the business cycle: evidence from transition economies. comparative economic studies, online, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1057/ces.2013.7 dreger, c. (2015). how to construct an error-correction model when one variable is i(0) while the other is i(1)? german institute for economic research.https://www.researchgate.net/post/how_to_construct_an_error correction_model_when_one_variable_is_i0_while_the_other_is_i1 dritsaki, c., & dritsakis, n. (2009). okun’s coefficient for four mediterranean member countries of eu: an empirical study. thessaloniki greece. falokun, g. o. (1999). inter-sectoral indicators of employment potential in nigeria, niser federal office of statistics publications for 1989, 1992. lagos. hek, a., & dare, s. (2015). the validity of okun’s law in curacao, (2), 9–30. review of the federal reserve bank of ranses city, fourth quarter, pp 23-44. hussain, m. n. and c. nadol .(1997). employment, growth and the demand side: the case of some african countries, african development bank's economic research papers, no. 28, the african development bank. international labour organisation (1981). year book of labour statistics. geneva. lal, i., sulaiman, jalil, a., & hussain, a. (2010). test of okun’s law in some asian countries co-integration approach. european journal of scientific research, 40(1), 73–80. retrieved from http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm mercer-blackman, v., &salazni, m. (2014). unemployment and growth does okun’s law apply to trinidad and tobago? (vol. no. idb-pb). https://www.researchgate.net/post/how_to_construct_an_error%20correction_model_when_one_variable_is_i0_while_the_other_is_i1 https://www.researchgate.net/post/how_to_construct_an_error%20correction_model_when_one_variable_is_i0_while_the_other_is_i1 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 144 ogunmade, o. (2013) $600bn stolen by nigerian elite since independence. this day live. retrieved on 19/6/18www.thisdaylive.com/article/$600bn-stolen-by-nigerian-elite oluyomi, o., stephen, o., &adeyemi, o. (2016). output and unemployment relationship: how applicable is the okun ’s law to nigeria? the social sciences, 11(8), 1422–1427. https://doi.org/10.3923/sscience.2016.1422.1427 petkov, b. (2008). the labour market and output in the uk – does okun’s law still stand? (s. stattev, t. manchev, n. nenovsky, m. nenova, & p. anachkova, eds.) (1st ed.). sofia: bulgarian national bank printing center. rubcova, a. (2010). okun’s law: evidence from the baltic states (vol. 9). riga. udude, c. c., &nnachi, d. n. (2017). testing the validity of okun’s law in nigeria: an autoregressive distributed lag approach (1980-2013), 35(5), 754–766. https://doi.org/10.5829/idosi.wasj.2017.754.766 white, m. j., & chu, l. y. (2013). does okun’s law still hold today?lingnan journal of banking, finance and economics, 4(january). world bank (2017) world bank: nigeria statistics. retrieved from www.data.worldbank.org/nigeria the 5th of november 2018. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). http://www.data.worldbank.org/nigeria american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 impact factor: 4.6 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 34 an investigation of entrepreneurship awareness and skills among library information science students at bauchi metropolitan universities asabe pera awurdi1 rabiu nurudeen mohammed2 1department of library and information, faculty of social and management science library bauchi, campus bauchi state university gadau, bauchi, nigeria, e-mail: asabepera@gmail.com,tel: +234 7015321266 2department of library and information, faculty of law library, misau, campus.bauchi state university gadau, bauchi, nigeria, email: nurudeenr4@gmail.com,tel:+234 8035370447 correspondence: asabe pera awurdi, department of library and information, faculty of social and management science library bauchi, campus,bauchi state university gadau, bauchi, nigeria,e-mail: asabepera@gmail.com,tel: +234 7015321266 received: may 12, 2018 accepted: august 11, 2018 online published: august 28, 2018 abstract this study investigates entrepreneurship skills and awareness among library and information science students at bauchi metropolitan universities. nigerian government and relevant stakeholders emphasized on the development of entrepreneurship skills and awareness among undergraduate students at universities, polytechnic and colleges of education. this led to setting up agencies like small and medium scale enterprises (smedan), industrial training fund (itf) and entrepreneurship centers and clubs in most nigerian colleges and universities. hence, it becomes necessary to equip library and information science students with skills required to achieve self-reliance. bauchi state is one of the 36 states in nigeria located in the north east region of the country with only two public universities, atbu and basug. in these universities, library and information science is offered as a degree course. this study uses primary data where questionnaire was employ as the tool of data collection. frequencies and percentages was used to analyzed the respondents questions asked while the chi-square x2 analysis was employ to test the stated hypothesis. the result of the study shows that library and information science students are equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness at bauchi metropolitan universities. this study therefore conclude that library and information science students are equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness in the nigerian universities as it is seen in bauchi metropolitan universities. the study recommends that relevant stakeholders including government and corporate world should continue to support and promote entrepreneurship skills and awareness among all students of universities in order to brace them up with the challenges in the labour market after graduation. priorities should also be given to students to undertake practical trainings courses in entrepreneurship areas and students should be encourage carrying out practical assignments and projects based on real life problems pertaining entrepreneurship skills. keywords: entrepreneurship, library information science, universities, skills, awareness 1. introduction inability of government at different levels in developing economy to provide employment opportunities for citizenry have necessitated the need to equip graduates with entrepreneurship skills and awareness in order for them to be self-reliance after graduation. entrepreneurship skills is paramount as it helps entrepreneurs better fulfill their personal need and contribute to the economic development of the nation (ugwu & ezeani, 2012) as www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 35 we notice today, government and relevant stakeholders emphasized on the development of entrepreneurship skills and awareness among undergraduate students at higher institutions of leaning. for instance, in nigeria, government initiatives involve setting up agencies like small and medium scale enterprises (smedan), industrial training fund (itf) and entrepreneurship centers and clubs in most nigerian colleges and universities. in the light of this, therefore, igbeka, (2008) contends that nigeria is gradually awakening to the importance of entrepreneurship development in the tertiary institutions. as we notice the concrete role of entrepreneurship awareness and skills in supporting the economic development, nigerian universities students nowadays regardless of their course of study need to acquaint themselves with an entrepreneurship skills and knowledge especially those in the fields of library information sciences, general sciences, social sciences and languages. numerous scholars define entrepreneurship in different ways. the concept has enjoyed attention of scholars due to its importance, as perspectives on the concept are myriad. this study observed that entrepreneurship is all about doing something new, innovation and creativity, competency, risk taking, self-reliance and so on. however, idiaghe, (2011) viewed entrepreneurship as the ability of an individual to rely on his/her abilities and efforts; that is, the person is independent. she went further to emphasized that education in relation to selfreliance and entrepreneurship is the type of education that trains a person to be self-reliance, functional, realistic, productive, pragmatic and reliable. however, in their own opinion, lucky & ugheh, (2014) described entrepreneurship as a concept concerned with the development and survival of both individual and the society. they also went further to explain that it is a tool through which social, economic and political development could be achieved. the concept of entrepreneurship is increasingly central phenomenon in contemporary society, there is need to stimulate the entrepreneurial mindsets of young people for them to be self-reliance and contribute to the economy without necessarily working for the government. moreover, on their own part, francis & oghenevwogaga, (2015) focused on the entrepreneurship in library and information science, they posited that entrepreneurship in library and information science is about developing attitudes, behavior of library and information science students, graduates and practitioners at the individual level in pursuit of profit oriented goal. entrepreneurship is also seen as a program that inculcates creative, innovative, productive and managerial skills needed in business enterprises for self-reliance and national development (eke, igwesi & orji, 2011). in nigeria, observations shows that high rate of unemployment is related to social vices such as youth restiveness, armed robbery, armed banditry, prostitution, kidnapping to mention few. this study believe that these social vices to some extend is as a results of not equipping the youth and the graduates with necessary entrepreneurship skills for them to be self-employ and self-reliance after graduation even if the labour market unable to accommodate them. in support of this view, ehirheme & ekpeyong (2012) posits that larger part of nigerian graduates that completed the mandatory national youth service scheme (nysc) in the last five (5) years remain unemployed. corroborating this, ekere & ekere (2012) assert that this situation portrays failure of the nation’s entire education system and underlines an inherent mismatch between the types of education received by nigerian graduates and the needs of government agencies, private industrial establishments and other employers of labour. on it is part, government have necessitated the introduction of entrepreneurial education in the curricular of all higher institutions in nigeria by national universities commission (nuc) and national board for technical education (nbte). therefore, there is urgent need to prepare the library information science students and graduates of nigeria’s universities with entrepreneurship skills and awareness so as to be self-employment. it is worthy to know that if library information science students are equipped with the relevant entrepreneurial skills and awareness, at the end of the day they will definitely start up small business opportunity after graduation if there is no job available in the labor market. for instance, small scale business such as information brokerage, consultancy services, selective dissemination of information, selling of books, information packaging, sales of library materials, sales and repairs of ict components, design of websites can be done by library information science students and graduates. moreover, in nigeria the era of getting white collar job is over in the labour market, hence, the need for concerted efforts by all stakeholders including government to ensure youth and students are equip with entrepreneurship skill and awareness even before graduation so as not to rely on government to provide jobs for them. this study, therefore, notice a high level of unemployment which degenerates to social vices due to the poor entrepreneurship skills and awareness among citizenry including students of universities. therefore, it has become imperative to conduct a study to investigate entrepreneurship skills and awareness among university students so as to assess how far schools have gone in preparing the minds of students, especially library and information science students before graduations to be self-reliance. the problem here is to investigate the level entrepreneurship skills and awareness among library information science students in in bauchi state metropolitan universities. 2. objective of the research the objective of this study is to examine the level of entrepreneurship skills and awareness by library information science students among bauchi state metropolitan universities. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 36 3. research questions the following research questions have been formulated.  does library and information science students equip with entrepreneurship skills in bauchi metropolitan universities?  does library and information science students have awareness on entrepreneurship education in bauchi metropolitan universities?  what are the problems library and information science students faced with acquisition of entrepreneurship skills at bauchi metropolitan universities? in this paper we seek to shed more light on the issue of investigating entrepreneurship skills and awareness among library and information science students at bauchi metropolitan universities. to achieve this null and alternate hypothesis are developed.  h0: library and information science students’ are not equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness at bauchi metropolitan universities.  h1: library and information science students’ are equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness at bauchi metropolitan universities. 4. literature review 4.1 conceptual framework library is an important institution where people make research. the importance of library to human development cannot be overemphasized as it is an institution where knowledge is reserve and waiting to be tapped by researchers. the discipline of library and information science as such should be given priority. notwithstanding, economic challenges such as unemployment has affected the capacity of library and information science students and graduates to be self-reliance which necessitated the government and universities to accord priority to entrepreneurship education, skills and awareness among students. the concept of entrepreneurship is define as the process through which entrepreneurs create, nurture and grow enterprises using a reasonable degree of initiative, skills and competencies necessary to transform change into opportunities thereby deriving personal satisfaction, monetary rewards and independence. on the other hand, the concept of library information science is seen as an institution that support the university community by delivering services to meet the teaching, research and learning needs of staff and students (olufunke, 2017). library plays a key role in the educational system of their parent institutions by providing a variety of services to a wide range of users in the academic environment. university libraries acquire process, manage and disseminate information resources through which their parent institutions conduct research and produce high-level manpower. libraries provide access to information resources in diverse formats to users. they provide timely and relevant information in support of teaching and research needs of their parent institutions. the university library is a repository of information resources. these resources are the traditional information resources which include books, journals, maps, encyclopedia, dictionaries, newspapers and periodicals. some of the services provided are reference services, technical services, selective dissemination of information, lending services, bibliographic services, reprographic services, inter-library loan services, indexing and abstracting services. meanwhile, there is need for the library and information science students to utilize the opportunity offers by entrepreneurial ventures. adomi, (2009) opined that career opportunities for librarians are endless. the tasks for a librarian who wants to work in a setting other than a traditional library is to identity an area and then convince somebody that he is capable of undertaking business ventures. anyanwu, oduagwu, ossai-onah, and amaechi, (2013) also stress that entrepreneurial opportunity exists where there is a need, want, problem or challenges in librarianship that can be addressed, solved and or satisfied in an innovative way it is about recognition or discovery of new ways of provision of library and information services and allied or information related services. the researchers also offers a comprehensive list of entrepreneurial opportunities available for library and information science students and graduates which includes library equipment business, publishing and printing business, information brokerage business, courier services business, library consultancy business, rural information provision business, stationary business, reprographic business, art gallery business, vendor business freelance information business. other entrepreneurial opportunities for library and information science as offer by lucky & ugheh, (2014) include; internet search service to co-workers especially in academic environment, computer programmer, cyber cafe operator/manager, working in telecom companies such as glo, airtel, mtn, documentary services, abstracting and indexing services to publishers, advert agency, marketing of library and information science products, writing articles, conference papers, organizing workshops in areas of library and information science and digitalization of library materials as well as book reviewing. therefore, each of the entrepreneurial opportunities required library and information science graduates to develop professional knowledge and skills to provide the above services to people effectively and efficiently in the society. but however, other areas that can be engage includes tutorial classes and coaching centers, establishment of nursery schools for children, laundry and dry cleaning services, operating stores and supermarkets or fast food joint, indoor and outdoor catering services, cake baking, wedding designer and water factories for packing and repackaging (commonly called purewater in nigeria). another business opportunity www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 37 for library information science are spell out clearly by previous studies also identify the opportunities available to library and information science graduate as publishing development of computer software, production and sale of library equipment, information brokerage and consultancy services, bookselling business, operation of business centre and computer maintenance. hence library and information students must be prepared to take advantage of these golden opportunities as the white collar job era has gone in the country. 4.2 skills to be acquired by library and information science students and graduates to engage in entrepreneurship ugwu & ezeani (2012) identified the following skills that must be acquired by library and information science students and graduates towards successful entrepreneurship venture.  information technology skills: these include networking, library automation and digitization, web based services, reprography, micrographs, facsimile, video text, teletext, database creation and management systems including cds,isis,libsys, content development, desktop publishing, internet, presentation, hardware/software skills and relational databases including the ability to create data structures which facilitate the indexing and retrieval of information and thesaurus development.  information literacy skills: these have to do with the ability to locate information efficiently and effectively, evaluate information critically and competently and using information accurately and creatively. also included here is the economics and marketing of information products and services, information resource management, information processing and organizing, e-mail, multimedia perspectives and video conferencing.  managerial skills: these are the business management skills such as marketing, financing, accounting, control, planning and goal setting, decision making, human relations and managing growth. these are essential in launching and growing a new venture.  personal entrepreneurial skills: these include inner control/discipline, risk taking, innovativeness, change orientation and ability to manage change, persistence, and visionary leadership.  technical skills: written and oral communication, interpersonal, monitoring environment, the ability to organize, and network building. these skills are necessary for successful venture and they should be given attention by students to enable them succeeding in venturing. 4.3 ways libraries can advance entrepreneurship libraries help build entrepreneurial infrastructures by providing the following:  access to business databases: this include creating databases to assist with primary research  maker spaces: these are free-to-use spaces with 3d printers, green screens, laser cutting and computers with video and graphic editing software  education: libraries often hold classes and host mentoring opportunities dedicated to topics covering all things entrepreneurship from the basics of starting a business to the details of selling a business  intellectual property guidance: librarians help guide inventors and entrepreneurs through copyright, patent and trademark resources  youth entrepreneurship: libraries engage youth in coding and science, technology, engineering and math activities (stem)  networking: libraries provide access through partnerships and collaborations with government programs like score. 4.4 challenges of implementing entrepreneurship skills and awareness in nigeria there are great challenges in both academia and business world in trying to equip citizens with appropriate and relevant entrepreneurship skills and awareness which need to be properly tacked in order to create needed innovative minds that will drive the nation economy to self-reliance. these challenges are numerous but notably among them are: difficulty and in accessibility for the entrepreneurs to interface with all necessary supporting entities such as banks, suppliers, customers, venture capitalists, distributors and advertising agencies, lack of entrepreneurial spirit and culture, confidence and determination and fear of competition and failure and lack of adequate support, motivation and financial assistance from parents and guardians. these challenges are still militating against the full potential of developing entrepreneurship skills and awareness for both the practitioners and the library information science students kristiansson & jochumsen, (2015). though it is fact that most universities in nigeria have developed a centre for entrepreneurship research and development for their institutions, but most library and information science departments have yet to develop an entrepreneurship curriculum that aligns with the demands of the profession. on this note, this study however, calls on the students to commit themselves to the practical work and make an entrepreneurial skills and education their priority. students should acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge in terms of entrepreneurship skills, this is necessary because life after school is challenging, hence, students should strive to gain knowledge about entrepreneurship theory and methods. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 38 4.5 brief information on the bauchi metropolitan universities bauchi state is a one of the state in nigeria situated in the north east region of the country with vast and arable land area of about 54,926 sq. km and a population of about 9,000,000 million people approximately. the state is blessed with natural resources especially non-minerals deposit and recently a mineral deposit was discovered in the state. bauchi state has been blessed with two universities namely abubakar tafawa balewa univeristy [atbu] and bauchi state university gadau [basug]. the atbu is located in the bauchi metropoly an approxiamately has a xxx of students while the basug is operating multiple campus with its main campus located in gadau town, itas gadau local government area of bauchi state and a law faculty in misau and management and social sciences faculty located in the capital city of bauchi state. however, the two universities offered introductory computer course irrespective of student course of study in their first year entry students to acquaints the students with the reality of the modern teaching and learning and to prepare the to be competitive after graduation. therefore, this research considered it necessary because of the importance of computer knowledge to society to investigate the undergraduate students’ attitudes towards learning this introductory computer course at the two universities. 5. methodology 5.1 research design and instrument this study used survey research design; primary data were obtained from the respondents by using survey questionnaire. the researcher with the help of the students administered the questionnaire and it was designed in two sections, the first section is demographic section and the second one on investigation of entrepreneurship skills and awareness among library and information science students. the questionnaire were designed with a 5point likert scale (5 = strongly agree; 4 = agree; 3 =undecided; 2 = disagree; 1 = strongly disagree) to determine students agreement with each statement on the questionnaire. however, data obtained from the respondents were analyzed using the chi-square method and percentage analysis was done. 5.2 population and sample of the research the target populations for this study include all the undergraduate students at bauchi metropolitan universities that are undergoing library information science as degree course. convenience sampling technique was adopted were 50 students were selected (25 students from bauchi state university gadau and 25 students from abubakar tafawa balewa university bauchi. 5.3 presentation and analysis of data from research questionnaire responses from the questionnaire indicating strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree and strongly disagree were analyze and presented. table 1. frequencies and percentages of questions computer knowledge & attitude questions strongly agree agree undecided disagree strongly disagree f % f % f % f % f % do you think entrepreneurship skills awareness is needed in universities 198 66 100 34 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 do you thing all lis students need to learn entrepreneurship 150 50 148 49.6 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 do you love attending an enpreneurship class 124 41.6 125 42 49 16 0 0.00 0 0.00 students have enough skills in university 50 17 100 34 25 8 123 41 0 0.00 students are interested to engage themselves with entrepreneurship 74 25 100 34 75 25 49 16 0 0.00 do you think students apply entrepreneurship skills after school 75 25 223 75 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 entrepreneurship skills increase students chances of findings good job 75 25 150 50 50 17 23 8 0 0.00 do you think students 73 24 150 50 25 9 50 17 0 0.00 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 39 become successful if equip with e/skills do you think students like to read entrepreneurship related books 23 8 100 33 125 42 50 17 0 0.00 do you think students get good in entrepreneurship related course 50 17 100 33 25 9 100 33 23 8 do you take a long time to understand entrepreneurship course 25 9 100 33 50 17 123 41 0 0.00 it is difficult for students to learn entrepreneurship skills 23 8 50 17 100 33 75 25 50 17 every student should learn entrepreneurship skills 125 42 98 33 25 8 0 0.00 50 17 students were engage in practical entrepreneurship class 75 25 125 42 23 8 50 17 25 9 entrepreneurship course lecturers teach effectively and efficiently 75 25 198 66 25 9 0 0.00 0 0.00 entrepreneurship is reliable and effective course in thought 198 66 50 16 25 9 25 9 0 0.00 proper and enough time have been allocated to entrepreneurship class 123 41 50 17 25 9 100 33 0 0.00 i love doing research in entrepreneurship area 148 50 125 42 25 8 0 0.00 0 0.00 computer lecturers regularly ask students to practice one form of business in holiday 123 41 150 50 0 0.00 25 9 0 0.00 i can learn one or two business with the help of entrepreneurship skills 173 58 100 33 0 0.00 25 9 0 0.00 source: (questionnaire survey 2018) 5.3.1 chi-square (x2) analysis table 2. chi-square contingency table of ef (of-ef) (of-ef) 2 38 37 1 1 0.027 50 50 0 0 0.000 37 37.5 0.5 0.25 0.007 25 24.5 0.5 0.25 0.010 35 33 2 4 0.121 46 45 1 1 0.022 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 2; 2018 40 43 42 1 1 0.023 24 23 1 1 0.043 0 0 0 0 x =0.253 source: (questionnaire survey 2018) x2= x 0.253 x 3.841 @ (level of significance) =0.05 degree of freedom =1 3.841> 0.253 decision from the abovecalculated chi-square (x is 0.253 which is less than the tabulated chi-square (x i.e. x < x since the calculated chi-square is less than the tabulated chi-square we reject the null hypothesis which says library and information science students’ are not equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness at bauchi metropolitan universities and library and information science students’ are equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness at bauchi metropolitan universities. 6. conclusion and recommendations 6.1 discussion of findings entrepreneurship skills and awareness among library and information science students is important so as to get them ready for the real world after graduation. even though, attention is now given to the inculcating the general public including students to quint themselves to entrepreneurship skills and education while in school, much is still needed to be done in terms of practical session and provision of adequate items for the practical. the findings of this study shows that library and information science students are equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness while at universities as it is the case with bauchi metropolitan universities. in essence, this implies that students at abubakar tafawa balewa university, bauchi and bauchi state university, gadau do actually acquire the relevant entrepreneurship skills that can make them ready and accessible to the variety of entrepreneurship opportunities after graduation. based on the findings of this study we therefore, conclude that library and information science students at bauchi metropolitan universities are equip with entrepreneurship skills and awareness. this result agrees with the findings of raymond, (2017) but contravene the result of igbeka, (2008) and ugwu & ezeani (2012). in line with the findings, the study recommends that universities, corporate world, government agencies and wealthy individuals should continue to support and promote entrepreneurship skills and awareness among all students of universities in order to brace them up with the challenges in the labour market after graduation. library and information science students should also begin to undertake practical trainings courses in entrepreneurship area and finally students should be given opportunity to attend workshop to carry out practical assignments and projects based on real life problems. references adomi, e.e (2009). library and information resources. benin city: ethiopian publishing corporation. anyanwu, e. u., oduagwu, e. a., ossai-onah,o. v. and amaechi, n.m.(2013). repositioning library and information science graduates in nigeria for 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(2017). becoming the entrepreneur librarian: building skills, networks and experiences abroad. published by the creative commons attribution 4.0 international license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.new york university, shanghai, china ugwu, f. and ezeani, cn. (2012). evaluation of entrepreneurship awareness and skills among lis students in universities in south east nigeria.(2012). library philosophy and practice (e-journal). 836, 15220222 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 145 ecolinguistics in a multilingual society: a case study of adekunle ajasin university, nigeria kehinde olufemi ogunyemi department of arts education adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko, ondo state, nigeria e-mail: luckykenny4u@yahoo.com abiodun emmanuel bada department of arts education adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko, ondo state, nigeria e-mail: badaemmy@gmail.com abstract language, biology, and culture have been intimately related throughout human history. we cannot dispute the fact that we live in an ecolinguistic world, where human beings relate with at least one language. language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity in human society. in dealing with linguistic aspect of acculturation in a multilingual society, it is pertinent to trace the ecology of language from an individual point of view. this study examined ecolinguistics in a multilingual society using adekunle ajasin university as a case study.the research design adopted was descriptive research of survey type. the sample consists of 180 students drawn randomly from the six faculties in the school. data was collected through a self-constructed questionnaire(r=0.79) distributed to the students. data collected was analysed using the descriptive statistics of frequency count and simple percentage for the demographic information of the respondents and analysis of research questions. findings from the data collected unveil the rate at which nigeria’s native languages are endangered and derogated by foreign languages. specifically, it was revealed that language is used as the agent of cultural and bio-diversity. findings of this study also disclosed that english language is predominantly infused into the linguistic culture of the students of adekunle ajasin university akungba-akoko as it is used as the students’ instrument and expression of thoughts. conclusions are made by looking critically into the making of individuals’ bio-cultural diversity. it is then concluded that nigerian’s native languages are considered informal and have a way of limiting ones thought thereby leading to the robustness of foreign language(s) and endangerment of these native languages. this study recommended and advocated for the enrichment and robustness of nigerian native languages by making sure that our culture is promoted via these native languages. keywords: ecolinguistics, language endangerment, bio-diversity, cultural diversity, multilingual society, 1. background to the study to envisage that language is inexhaustible, linguists across ages have studied it from different perspectives. sociolinguists see language in relation to the society, thereby relating language with the sociocultural aspect of human being. psycholinguists study the psychological and neurological factors responsible for language acquisition, comprehension and processing. haugen (1972) came up with the term ecolinguistics (ecology of language) to study the interaction of languages and to bridge the dichotomy between the socio and bio-cultural diversity of human being. ecolinguistics, in other words ecology of language, is a relatively recent linguistic concept when compared with other classical disciplines and areas of studies in linguistics. in spite of its familiar nature, however, ecolinguistics is not a concept that has a universally acclaimed or accepted definition. it is the study of languages in relation to one another and to various social factors. it has to do with the study of functional interrelationship among languages of the environment. ecolinguists have an important role to play in eliciting the relationship of individual with the langnuages of the environment. language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity in human society. most human societies happen to be multilingual societies. the question of how to define multilingual society has engaged scholars for quite a long while. multilingualism is the use of more than one mailto:luckykenny4u@yahoo.com mailto:badaemmy@gmail.com https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-language-1691218 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 146 language, either by an individual speaker or by a community. the term has not only individual and social, but also an institutional aspect. we talk of “institutional multilingualism” when institution or organizations offer their services with more than one language, as we have it in adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko. in primordial time, people “ecolinguistically” relate with only one language. god, however, decided to punish them for their presumptuousness in erecting the tower by making them speak different languages (genesis 11:1-11). thus, multilingualism became an obstacle for further cooperation and thereby led to diversity of culture. people could then only trace their identity not by race nor by religion but by the language do they speak. there, we have the first case of ecolinguistics where necessity was laid upon an individual to relate with the linguistic environment with a given language. so, when two languages meet, then two cultures have met and there is likely to be a lot of changes in that society. the changes will affect the culture and the language of the recipient society or speech community, and the effect will have an impact on the entire recipients’ society which in this instance is nigeria and its citizenry. we approach the cultural complexities of the human existence by adopting as our object, the even more complex phenomenon of intercultural interaction and linguistic heritage. our rationale behind adopting intercultural and linguistic heritage as our object in an ecological context is that it requires human beings to interrelate via different cultural and linguistic constraints. with edgar (1987:28), we can say that the intercultural interaction has its particular dialogic, i.e. it creates a sense of unity, not through merging or assimilation, but through the interplay of complementary, competitive, and antagonistic cultural logics. interest in language is a long-standing one, though when it comes to an ecolinguistic one, is a harder question. linguists tend to view language in terms of forms and their uses in any linguistic world. we cannot dispute the fact we live in an ecolinguistic world where human beings relate with at least one language. an essential theme in our investigation of the linguistic heritage and intercultural interaction above has been the dynamics of identity. the topic of language, discourse and identity has been one of the most widely treated in the newer applied linguistics (bucholtz and hall, 2005; de fina, 2006). the background of this work has taught us that personal identity is not determined by an essential core in the single individual, but rather negotiated in the course of the dialog: identity is an interactional phenomenon, not a discourse-external one. this is also at the core of an ecological understanding of language and identity. instead of seeing one’s multiple social (language) identities as given by one’s position in the social world, an ecological paradigm would see them as many subject positions emerging in the interplay between the social world, biodiversity world, and the discursive situation at hand (kramsch & steffensen, 2008:26). language, biology, and culture have been intimately related throughout human history. this relationship is still apparent especially in indigenous, minority, and local societies that maintain close material and spiritual and genetic ties with their society. traditionally, ecolinguistic knowledge and practices often make indigenous people, minorities, and local communities highly skilled and respectful stewards of language diversity. local, minority, and indigenous languages are repositories and means of transmission of this knowledge and the related social behaviors, practices, and innovations. language is the way children are socialized by adults and the way children learn to guide their inner voice. the central role of language is the way humans communicate with other people and with themselves (berk & winsler, 1995; tabors, 1997). this is very crucial because a properly educated person, no matter his field of learning must be able to communicate ideas, principle and information about himself and his environment to the outside world using language. if he has properly grasped the language of instruction, there is no doubting the fact that he will appropriately apply the acquired knowledge as the need arises. there may be problems in making effective use of language in a situation where there is more than one language, a multilingual society. multilingualism is a sociolinguistic phenomenon that arises as a result of language contact. it is a situation in which two (i.e. bilingualism, specifically) or more languages operate within the same context. factors such as political annexation, marital relation, economic transaction, cultural association, educational acquisition and religious affiliation brought about multilingualism. all these factors underpin the socio and bio-cultural landscape of nigeria today even though the combination of political annexation and economic transaction or exploitation originally brought the people referred to as nigerians today in contact with the english people. through overt and covert means such as trade and commerce, educational policies and ordinances, missionary activities, schools, literature, constitutions, job opportunities and political might, english was successfully entrenched in nigerians’ ecolinguistic world. with the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914 came the need , in a more crucial dimension, for national life, including nationalist activities, arose the competition of about 450 nigerian languages, copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 147 the major ones of which include hausa, yoruba, fulani, kanuri, ibiobio, tiv, ijo, edo, urhobo, nupe, idoma, just to mention a few. in nigeria, like many other african nations, multilingualism is a rule, rather than an exemption. among the competing languages that scramble for national recognition or official status, whether indigenous or foreign, one must emerge as the official language (the language of administration and education at some levels), language of relevance, from the competitors for the purpose of uniting the nation. fortunately or unfortunately, english has emerged as that privileged language without which the unity of nigeria as a nation is mostly improbable, if not outrightly impossible. this work pictures adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko, ondo state as a multilingual society where we have hundreds of linguistic representatives. language is seen as a living entity which has the ability to develop and robust overtime with the help of its users. this paper explores the value of identity through interaction and discourse. this work regards discursive value of identity as part of ecolinguistics, that is, measures that influence language use. in ecolinguistics, language and identity are often regarded as intrinsically linked (coupland & jaworski 2009). 2. statement of the problem in general, there is a big problem since the university (especially adekunle ajasin university) departments specialize separately in ecology, linguistics, sociology, psychology or biology, while the issues we face today have intertwined biological, social, linguistic and ecological dimension. ecolinguistics needs to study different areas of life and use its multidisciplinary perspective to introduce more integrative ways of analyzing the world. in dealing with linguistic aspect of acculturation in a multilingual society, it is pertinent to trace the ecology of language from an individual point of view. few speech communities are wholly linguistically homogenous. in other words most societies of the world today are multilingual. homo sapiens (human being) are thoroughly cultured species. from birth, even from conception, culture constrains and conditions our human forms of life. as culture shapes our bodies and our relationship, it immerses us and our generation into specific linguistic habit of being in “languaging” with one and another. language is a product of linguistic habit conditioned by social-cultural and ideological world or environment. from an ecolinguistic point of view, therefore, it becomes an urgent research question to ask how culture and language condition our ecologoical existence: what does linguistic culture do to us, to our relationships, and to the world that we inhabit? what happens to us, as we are unconsciously thrown into this ‘tower of babel’ where language simultaneously connects with our biological being? how best have we been able to relate with our indigenous language? what is our relationship with foreign languages (especially english)? 3. research questions upon understanding the thrust of ecolinguistics and multilingualism, the following questions are asked to pilot this study:  what is english linguistic culture vis-a-vis nigerian linguistic habit in adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko?  what is the attitude of adekunle ajasin university students’ towards native languages?  has language been able to function as the agent of cultural and bio-diversity?  does the ecology of languages present in adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko have any effect in the endangerment of our native languages?  what is the state of language robustness in the linguistic situation of adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko?  what situational factors influence language decision in adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko?  how in turn has the decisions influenced english language robustness?  the above questions place the study at the intersection of the ecolinguistic and sociolinguistic situation of adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko. this intersection is the area of interest for this study. 4. significance of the study recently there has been a great interest in the study of ecolinguistic issues in the world, and scholars have approached the field from different perspectives; including the ecology of language, ecology analysis of discourse, and eco-translation studies. the contribution of this study will be of interest to sociolinguistic in discourse analyst. “ecolinguistically”, the work will try to keep a balance so that it could be engaging for both language ecologist and linguist without either group feeling patronized. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 148 this work will examine relationships not only among groups of human but also between humans and the more-than-human world i.e. linguistic world. it is not a mere recapitulation to assert that bio and cultural diversity are distinct features of a multilingual society. it will then be pertinent to trace our relationships with languages in our ecological environment as this work will change our “perspectives” towards our native or natural languages. 5. methodology the research design used for the collecting and gathering data for this research was descriptive research of survey type. the sample consists of 180 students drawn randomly from the six faculties in adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko, ondo state, nigeria. data was collected through a self-constructed questionnaire(r=0.79) distributed to the students. data collected was analyzed using the descriptive statistics of frequency count and simple percentage for the demographic information of the respondents and analysis of research questions. 6. results upon adopting the above methodology, below are the results of the research presented by answering the stated research questions. research question 1: what is english linguistic culture vis-a-viz nigerian linguistic habit in adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko? data presented on table 1 would enable answering of this question. table 1: responses on english linguistic culture in relation to nigerian linguistic habit items sa a d sd f % f % f % f % english is used as my instrument of thought 67 37.2% 90 50% 16 8.9% 7 3.9% there is less stress in expressing thoughts with english language 46 25.6% 92 51.1% 34 18.9% 9 5% english is the language of the contemporary world 72 40% 85 47.2% 23 12.8% i acquire english from my indigenous society 39 21.7% 58 32.2% 57 31.7% 26 14.4% english is my first and only language 13 7.2% 34 18.9% 72 40% 61 33.9% average total 47 26.3 72 39.9 40 22.5 21 11.4 sources: field work, 2017 research question 2: what is the attitude of adekunle ajasin university students’ towards native languages? data presented on table 2 would enable answering of this question table 2: responses on attitude of users towards native language items sa a d sd f % f % f % f % native languages limits the expression of ones thought 27 15% 56 31.1% 50 27.8% 47 26.1% there is a sense of barbarism in the use of pure native language 20 11.1% 73 40.6% 50 27.8% 37 20.6% speakers of english are considered to more civilized 63 35% 78 43.3% 27 15% 12 6.7% native languages are informal 37 20.6% 85 47.2% 41 22.8% 17 9.4% education should be more of my indigenous language 39 21.7% 71 39.4% 59 32.8% 11 6.1% average total 37 20.7 73 40.3 45 25.2 25 13.8 research question 3: has language been able to function as the agent of cultural and bio-diversity? data presented on table 3 would enable answering of this question copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 149 table 3: responses on language as the agent of cultural and bio-diversity items sa a d sd f % f % f % f % language is a form of social and biological identity 92 51.1% 72 40% 12 6.7% 4 2.2% our culture is reflected most in our native language 91 50.6% 70 38.9% 16 8.9% 3 1.7% i have a unique way of using language(s) 41 22.8% 101 56.1% 31 17.2% 7 3.9% my language preference enriches our native languages 56 31.1% 86 47.8% 34 18.9% 4 2.2% i know at least a friend who is uniquely known for his/her pure native language usage 73 40.6% 74 41.1% 29 16.1% 4 2.2% total average 71 39.2 81 44.8 24 13.6 4 2.4 research question 4: does the ecology of languages present in adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko have any effect in the endangerment of our native languages? data presented on table 4 would enable answering of this question table 3: responses on ecology of language in adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko and the endangerment of native languages items sa a d sd f % f % f % f % i am conscious of the decrease in number of speakers of my native language 56 31.1% 92 51.1% 28 15.6% 4 2.2% our kinsmen or relatives, anywhere, communicate with english language 17 9.4% 73 40.6% 62 34.4% 28 15.6% i perform my daily activities with english language 47 26.1% 69 38.3% 40 22.2% 24 13.3% i perform my activities with more than one language 61 33.9% 101 56.1% 14 7.8% 4 2.2% i hailed from a multilingual society 50 27.8% 89 49.4% 33 18.3% 8 4.4% language gains proficiency as its users increases 75 41.1% 80 44.4% 20 11.1% 5 2.8% it’s unnecessary to speak my native language since my relatives understand english language 39 21.7% 29 16.1% 57 31.7% 45 25% i recognize at least a lecturer in my faculty who code mix while lecturing 60 33.3% 94 52.2% 18 10% 8 4.4% i hardly read and write my native language 45 25% 68 37.8 33 18.3 34 18.9 total average 50 27.7 77 42.9 34 18.8 17.8 9.9 research question 5: what is the state of language robustness in the linguistic situation of adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko? data presented on table 5 would enable answering of this question table 5: responses on situational factors influencing language decision items sa a d sd f % f % f % f % english language is used in our religious settings 81 45% 77 42.8% 16 8.9% 6 3.5% we use only english language for official purposes 63 35% 79 43.9% 32 17.8% 6 3.3% english language enriches our knowledge in education 77 39.4% 79 43.9% 19 10.6% 5 2.8% english is the language of administration 71 39.4% 92 51.1% 14 7.8% 3 1.7% i speak my native language regardless of the situation at hand 35 19.4% 75 41.7% 46 25.6% 24 13.3% total average 65 35.6 80 44.7 25 14.1 9 4.9 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 150 research question 6: what situational factors influence language decision in adekunle ajasin akungba akoko? how in turn the decisions influence english language robustness? data presented on table 6 would enable answering of this question table 10: responses on how the situational factors influence language items sa a d sd f % f % f % f % without english language there won’t be uniformity of idea(s) in our native society 59 32.8% 57 31.7% 41 22.8% 23 12.8% i have been to places where people do not understand my native language 67 37.2% 74 41.1% 23 12.8% 16 8.9% i belong to an organization where my native language is not needed 45 25% 61 33.9% 50 27.8% 24 13.3% there is a sense of inferiority in speaking my native language where my friends are communicating with english language 39 21.7% 62 34.4% 53 29.4% 26 14.4% total average 53 29.2 64 35 42 23.2 22 12.4 7. discussion of findings the study was carried out on ecolinguistics in a multilingual society in adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko ondo state. findings from research question one has revealed the english linguistic culture vis-a-vis nigerian linguistic habit in adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko; table 1 shows the english culture in relation to nigerian linguistic habit in the university. with the number of respondents that agreed, it was revealed that english is used as students’ instrument of thought, there is less stress in expressing thoughts with english language and english is the language of the contemporary world. the result from the findings also indicated that students’ acquire english from their indigenous society. this means that the students have been able to relate with their environment through language. it is then cleared that western linguistic culture has a great influence on the linguistic habit of adekunle ajasin university students. findings from research question two revealed the attitude of users towards native language. as shown in table 2, it was indicated that native languages limits the expression of ones thought, there is a sense of barbarism in the use of pure native language and speakers of english are considered to be more civilized. also, the result shows that native languages are informal. this means that the use native language in their environment has a way of derogating their personality. findings from research question three revealed language as the agent of cultural and bio-diversity. as shown in table 3 it was indicated that language is a form of social and biological identity, culture is reflected most in native language and students have a unique way of using language(s). also the result shows that students’ language preference enriches their native languages and they know at least a friend who is uniquely known for his/her pure native language usage. findings from research question four revealed the ecology of language in adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko and the endangerment of native languages. as shown in table 4 it was revealed that students are conscious of the decrease in number of speakers of their native language. kinsmen or relatives, anywhere, communicate with english language. students carry out their daily activities with more than one language and they hailed from a multilingual society. the findings also shows that language gains proficiency as its users increases, many students opine that it is unnecessary to speak native language since their relatives understand english language and students recognize at least a lecturer in their faculty who code mix while lecturing and they hardly read and write their native language. findings from research question five revealed the situational factors influencing language decision. as shown in table 5, it was revealed that english language is used in religious settings; students use only english language for official purposes and english language enriches students’ knowledge in education. the findings also show that english is the language of administration and students speak native language regardless of the situation at hand. finally, findings from research question six as indicated in table 6 revealed the situational factors influencing language. with the number of respondents that agreed with these items it was revealed that without english language there will not be uniformity of idea(s) in native society. students have been to places where people do not understand their native language and they belong to an organization where their native language is not needed. it was also indicated that there is a sense of inferiority copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 151 in speaking native language where friends are communicating with english language. 8. conclusion masking differences, advocating leveling (striking a balance in the use of l1 and l2), defending monolingualism, and stigmatizing the scourge of multilingualism on the one hand, but also speaking in praise of difference and celebrating diversity on the other are all approaches that have been employed ever since people in society have attempted to solve the problems raised by the ambient situation with regard to ecolinguistics. some scholars, just like this researcher, even go back to the story of the tower of babel where, according to the bible, men experienced “confusion of language’ for the first time for having wanted to raise them to heaven. this work has pictured adekunle ajasin university as reflection of tower of babel where necessity is laid upon each and every individual to “ecolinguistically” relate with the environment using one or more language(s). based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the linguistic culture of english is reflected in the linguistic habit of students of adekunle ajasin university thereby leading to the robustness of english language. it is also concluded that the ecology of language present in adekunle ajasin university has a way of endangering the native languages. 9. recommendation based on the findings of this research, and considering the “ecolinguistic” situations of this part of the world, the following recommendations are made as a panacea to unsatisfactory situation of multilingualism;  the management of this school should be seen and heard to be more committed in the implementation of a more vibrant and articulate language policy which is expected to usher the school into the twenty-first century sociosensibilities. in tune with ajulo (1990:18), a usual practice of multilingual countries, whose areas of specialization should cover political, scientific, cultural, literature, technical, literary and philosophical fields is necessarily saddled with the responsibility of creating schools of regional or national interpretation of linguistic codes. in reference to the above assertion, there is need for creation of a language faculty where there would be national and some important regional language departments.  government should work on standardization of nigerian regional or national language such that the need to develop a positive attitude would increase and thereby masking the differences between foreign and native languages. the standardization process in tandem with status planning, actually transforms a minority language into different kind of its users, reconfigures relations of dependence and independence.  the school management should make provision for promotion of nigerian cultures by engaging not only the students but members of staff in events and duties that would be culture oriented. culture, should not only be seen by the school management as only a societal entity but as also, a biological phenomenon that is hereditary.  another panacea for national ecolinguistic problem and the associated problem of multilingualism lies in the introduction a bilingual education in foreign languages (especially english) and in a peculiar indigenous language to run, if not throughout the nigerian educational system, at least to the first year in tertiary institutions. the bilingual education proposed by this study has a great advantage of bolstering the attitudes of all nigerians to achieve results in their linguistic endeavors and a way of removing the yolk of inferiority complex which is the bane of our society.  the school management should work with the government for provision of competent native language lecturers, to bring about reawakening of nigerian cultural values so that our students can grow up feeling proud of their native languages and culture. the teaching of nigerian native language must not be restricted to the three nigerian major languages. government should train professionals to learn and teach other nigerian minority languages effectively so as to ensure the robustness of our native languages. references ajulo, s. 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(1997) one child, two languages: a guide for preschool educators of children learning english as a second language. baltimore: paul brookes publishing copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.macmillanihe.com/page/detail/the-new-sociolinguistics-reader-nikolas%20coupland/?sf1=barcode&st1=9781403944146 https://www.macmillanihe.com/page/detail/the-new-sociolinguistics-reader-nikolas%20coupland/?sf1=barcode&st1=9781403944146 contents american international journal of social science research; vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business 7 the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology: a case study of al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities sanusi abu darma 1 , farida aliyu 1 & shafi’u abubakar kurfi 2 1 department of computer science, al-qalam university, katsina, nigeria 2 department of accounting, umaru musa yar’adua university, katsina, nigeria correspondence: shafi’u abubakar kurfi, department of accounting, umaru musa yar’adua university, katsina, nigeria, e-mail: abubakarkurfishafiu@gmail.com received: november 20, 2017 accepted: november 25, 2017 online published: january 13, 2018 abstract the under-representation of the women in the field of information technology (it) in nigeria has been closely observed over the last decade. one of the facts is that social media have been widely and intensively used in nigeria, which is an effective way to empower women in the it sector. this study aimed to investigate the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology. in order to achieve the objectives of this study the current study conducted a survey amongst the female students of al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities and tried to find out how the use of social media is contributing to the growth of women involvement in the it sector. for this purpose, a sample of 200 female students was taken from these universities via convenience sampling techniques. the quantitative method was used to collect data for this study. the findings in this study revealed that there was a significant relationship between women’s awareness and the encouragement of women in the it sector through the use of the social media. besides, there was a significant relationship between the empowerment of women and the encouragement of women in the it sector through the use of the social media. hence, women’s awareness and empowerment of women through the social media encouraged the involvement of women in the it sector. in addition, this study recommends that there is need to examine the relationship between women and social media in various sectors such as government, healthcare, aerospace and security in order to trace the real role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology in nigeria. keywords: social media, it, women empowerment, women encouragement. 1. introduction information technologies (it) refers to the integration of telecommunication networks, computers, and audio-visual systems used to create access, store, transmit, and manipulate information (bolanle, zhang, oluwadare & akintola, 2013). with such integration, it supports various applications in various fields like business, education, healthcare, and entertainment. currently, it integrates also digital social media networks such as facebook, twitter, and youtube (ajjan, beninger & crittenden, 2014). there are literally hundreds of different social media platforms (e.g bogging, micro-blogging, social networking, and text messaging, and shared photos), in which they have fundamentally changed the way individuals, communities, and organizations communicate and collaborate (correa, bachmann, hinsley & de zúñiga, 2013). www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 8 currently, social media is referred to as a web-based service that allows individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system (borrero, yousafzai, javed & page, 2014). having been incorporated with various utilities, social media has infiltrated people’s daily life with amazing rapidity to become an important social platform for computer-mediated communication (lin & lu, 2011). this is because they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks (poonia, scholar & bhurani, 2014) by providing a variety of new behaviors that were not previously possible, such as online collaborative authoring, online collaborative reviewing, online collaborative editing, online collaborative associating, and online collaborative experimenting. the use of social media with its various tools has the potential to impact the lives of people in the developing world nigeria inclusive (wagner, vollmar & wagner, 2014). in short, it with the internet in particular, has created a new era for social interaction. the internet as a social space has provided various utilities for social interaction. notably, there is a tremendous potential for using social media tool for the empowerment of women worldwide (ajjan et al., 2014). in education sector, females are seen less preferred to venture into the famously referred to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) fields. they also have less interest in business sector (moreno, gonzález & segura, 2014). as a result, the trend shows gender imbalance in the participation of women in the it industry (adya & kaiser, 2005). in fact, according to crump, logan and mcilroy (2007), most women do not actively seek to be employed in it. this should be overcome because the it field should be ventured by the entire population in order to fulfill the need for skilled personnel (wentling, 2009). the phenomenon is just similar in nigeria, in which the it field is dominated by male personnel. despite the lack of participation of women in the field of it, they tend to use social media for social interaction and relationship maintenance in the internet. in contrast, males are more likely to spend their time online engaging in more task-focused activities such as reading news and retrieving financial information (kimbrough, guadagno, muscanell & dill, 2013). that makes women use social media more actively than men (chen, 2013). in addition, social media can provide ways for women empowerment not limited to these following but including improve their income, improve their own and their families‟ well-being, advance their children‟s education, and improve their status in their homes and communities (hafkin, 2015). nevertheless, social media can be a platform for women to have discussion, sharing information and ideas on various matters. social media also enabling them to educate themselves, let them gain awareness, exchanging opinions and participate effectively (karolak & guta, 2015). although the use of the internet and social media in nigeria is relatively low, it is gradually increasing since the last ten years (abedalla, escobar & al-quraishi, 2014; hashim, 2015). the users use them for various purposes. although it is the fact that women in nigeria using social media more frequent than the men in high institution of learning, but the involvement of women in nigeria in it is less than the men. therefore, the main aim of this study is to determine the impact of social media in empowering the involvement of nigerian women in it. other objectives of this study are:  to determine the women awareness for using social media in influencing them into the it sector in nigeria.  to identify the role of social media in empowering nigerians’ women to influence them into the it sector. 2. literature review the concept of information communication technologies (icts) is an emerging field in the world of communication, which is wielding an unimaginable influence on global activities. it restructures www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 9 politics/governance, economy, culture, health etc. in many countries and regions around the world (sanda and kurfi 2013). the ict provides a great development opportunity by contributing to information dissemination, providing an array of communication capabilities, increasing access to technology and knowledge among others. individuals and groups have accepted it globally as a tool for enhancing their varied interest. tiamiyu (2003) opined that the icts are the electronic technologies for creating, acquiring, storing, processing, communication and using information. this involves the process whereby computers and other related machines are used in the dissemination and retrieval of information. while cummings and o’nell (2015) described that ict is an umbrella term for the many devices that can be used to communicate information. these include older technologies, such as radio, television and video, and newer ones, such as computers, mobile phones (a type of computer) and the internet. the newer ones are new technologies from what is originally known in the traditional mass media of the print and broadcast. wilson and lawal (2015) pointed out that in contemporary nigeria, the ict has become a household name, used in offices and at home to access, receive and retrieve information. emphasis is being placed in the use of the icts to access the world at large. similarly, many innovations in the world today are as a result o f the exposure and access to the world of the icts, and people all over the world can access any part of the world to receive information about whatever that borders their interests in life. from the aforementioned explanations of prior studies, current study concludes that the concepts of information and communication technology is a compendium of interrelated applications, products and services that helps humanity in its entirety. it has successfully transformed education, businesses, healthcare, entertainment, politics and good governance within the global; providing equitable access to developmental framework driven by icts. in the nigerian context, information and communication technologies (icts) comprise a jcomplex, heterogeneous and interrelated set of goods, applications and services used to process, produce, distribute and transform information. deferment 2.1 information technology and women in nigeria icts have created new economic and social opportunities all over the world, and women have been able to use icts to support new forms of information exchange, organization and empowerment nowadays. in nigeria, gender differences in ict use is linked to patterns of discrimination in the society at large as well as with patterns of power relations within the home (sanda and kurfi 2013). according to jensen (1997) only 10 percent of the people riding the information superhighway via the internet are women. in the same line of thought, okunna (2000) opined that this is the twenty-first century, but yet tradition, culture, religion and other factors have continued to widen the disparity between nigerian men and women at the expense of women. furthermore, in many parts of the world, high female illiteracy rates mean that women have little access to the print media. as for television and radio, women may not always be able to watch or listen to their preferred programmes due to so many obstacles, including spending most of their times caring for children (wilson and lawan 2015). in an entrenched patriarchal society like nigeria, women were much less likely to use media especially computer based media. this is partly because women lack the necessary skills to make use of the icts and had many negative attitudes about these media. notwithstanding, in recent years there are some changes in women’s use of the icts whereby they are now developing skills needed to operate this new technology effectively. the potential of the icts for the advancement of women is considerable. networking, study, training, sharing of ideas and information– all these could be infinitely easier through relatively affordable computer-mediated communications such as e-mail, internet hypertext and hypermedia (sanda and kurfi, 2015). 2.2 challenges of icts use for women in nigeria as a result of africa’s numerous problems such as poverty, high level of illiteracy among others, it is the worst www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 10 hit. just as in many areas of development (e.g. agriculture, health, and education), women face enormous challenges in ict for their own development. ikyembe, (2012), eze (2014), george and barnabas (2015), sanda and kurfi, (2015) and danjuma, onimode and onche, (2016) spelt out the following points as the major bottlenecks of icts use for women most particularly in nigeria: 2.2.1 infrastructure the success for the utilization of any ict rests in the availability of the infrastructure that is set up in the environment. ict infrastructure in most developing countries and costs are exceedingly high. the little infrastructure available is even concentrated in the urban areas, and the bulk of women live in the rural areas. this tends to pose a huge gender gap in access to communication. it affects the majority of women, who in most african countries including nigeria are poor and are living in rural areas. they lack access to these infrastructures in terms of access to computers, electricity, phone lines, computer hard and software, servers etc. the infrastructure deficit of the rural areas coincides with gender demographics –more women live in rural areas than men. therefore, majority of the population in rural areas, women have a smaller chance than men to access new technologies. therefore, nigerian women need to have an enough and adequate infrastructures for them to have a chance and proper use and utilization of ict. these infrastructures also need to be relatively cheap for women more especially this time of recession in nigeria. 2.2.2 socio-cultural and economic problems the african gender institute (2003) stated that in some societies there is disapproval of women’s request to overnight browsing in a public cyber café especially married women. although, there is recently a transformation in the access to internet through cell phones, it nevertheless has its own limitations including the lack of resources to constantly buy recharge cards and data for the phones; the power failure to charge the phones; and more role conflict with the women’s expectations as wives, as mothers, and as workers or full-time housewives. in other words, women have problems of time given their multiple roles and heavy domestic responsibilities. their leisure hours are few and the centres may not be open when women can visit them. to yield positive results therefore, every meaningful policy should therefore reflect women’s moral, spiritual, and cultural values. traditional cultural attitudes in most societies discriminate against women, depriving them access to education and technology. girls are encouraged to take any job or encouraged to get married rather than seek higher education. there is also the issue of gender bias in attitudes towards women studying or using information technology. many people hold outmoded views that girls cannot think or work scientifically and that science is too mechanical and technical for girls, thus discouraging female students. phobia is also another obstacle in that most women have developed it for ict especially considering the negative perception of the ict tool as a tool for domination and oppression of ngos to disabuse the minds of women on ict as a negative tool. lack of financial resources can hinder women to participate fully in ict community. this is because almost all communication facilities cost money and majority of women are afflicted by poverty. poverty is rooted in gender imbalances, which are in turn rooted in gender inequality dynamics that stem from issues which cut across race, religion, status, culture and geographical location among others. thus in comparison to men, women are worst hit as a result of their very limited involvement in economic activities in relation to their male counterparts. okunna (2000) stressing on this maintains that the major cause of poverty among women especially in nigeria is their low access to credit and income-earning opportunities, as well as marginalization from major economic activities. www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 11 2.2.3 education and skills gender imbalances in education access still persist in most developing countries, despite the fact that education of women has been shown repeatedly to effect improvements in health and economic welfare. education involves literacy, language, computer skills and information literacy. in each case, women in developing countries are less likely than men to have the requisite education and knowledge. according to the united nations report (2000), two-thirds of the world’s 876 million illiterates are women who reside mostly in developing countries. similarly, women are also less likely to know the international languages that dominate the web. therefore, given their limited access to schooling, women especially those living in the rural areas, are also much less likely than men to have computer skills. this results to limited exposure and isolation of many women in developing countries particularly those in rural areas to have access to education and other skills, which will enhance the utilization of these infrastructures. 2.3 empirical literature generally, social media supports the creation and exchange of user-generated contents (tufekci & county, 2008). it has also been proven as a potential tool for mobilising attention and accountability to women’s rights, and challenging discrimination and stereotypes (nowacka & estelle, 2015). in fact, chen (2013) found that women use social media especially blog more than men. however, in terms of variations, previous studies discovered that men use more tools than women, based on their needs. this includes searching for job and searching for dates, reading policies, accessing information about sports, playing games, reading news, and searching for financial information (kimbrough et al., 2013). besides, both men and women make use of social media tools to learn from others, and to strengthen social relations (kimbrough et al., 2013). nevertheless, there are tremendous potentials for using social media platforms as a means for empowering women around world. as an example, social media tools like twitter, facebook, and instagram play significant roles in their engagement in the arab spring, which supports political empowerment. this further strengthens their psychological empowerment (newsom & lara, 2012). in addition, lehtonen (2014) found that the social media worked well as a general tool during the arab uprising it also empowered the women activists at personal level, which functioned as an encouragement system among the women. women were eager to participate in the uprising and in the politics of their country when social media offered a place for freedom of expression, increased awareness, and encouragement among women. with such awareness, zaidan et al. (2015) discovered that women in palestine, nigeria and other middle east countries use social media tools to educate underserved women. they give a free health counselling using those tools besides organizing health education programs. such initiatives are highly potential because adaptation into the tools is flexible and easy. with that, they could be used in approaching the society efficiently and effectively. furthermore, abisola, oyesomi, nelson and omole in nigeria (2014) found out that social media empowers and encourages women in diverse ways, one of which is that the social media encourages women to engage in economic activities that build-up networks with colleagues, business partners, workers, and clients. croasdell, mcleod & simkin (2011) have identified a number of reasons managers should attract females in the it industry. the main one is that experienced and qualified it professionals are scarce, causing many organizations to pay high salaries and offer sign-on bonuses, in order to attract top employees through change their ages. however, croasdell et al. (2011) discovered that women do not choose to major in it fields because they tend to focus on their family. the influence of family impacts the decision to choose an it profession. these very same factors are important to the retention and recruitment of women in the it profession. heinze & hu (2009) studied the factors that affected college undergraduates’ choice to pursue a major in it. the study found that attitudes toward it affected the students toward it majors. the study implied that negative www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 12 stereotypes have a tendency to affect a student’s attitude. as such, a socially withdrawn male does not encourage females to participate in the it industry. the underrepresentation of 28 women in it shows there may be truth in this perception. according to the studyer, the social aspect of the it industry should be addressed with efforts to attract a broad range of it professional. according to trauth et al. (2008), the collaboration of the less participation of women in the field of it workforce and boost cultural variety is a result of the globalization of the it field and is a problem in study and practice. thus, there is a need for an investigation of the factors affecting in gender. in order to maximize the possible solutions focused to enhance social inclusion of women in the field of it, the study of information technology needs to account for cultural contexts. in turn, analysed cultural factors that influenced women career choices in the it profession. blum, frieze, hazzan & dias (2007) argued that women need a female friendly environment to share and be successful in it. according to the authors, women can fit in any computing environment under certain environmental and cultural conditions. culture is defined as a set of behaviours, values, relationships, attitudes and which are connected a specific community consciously and unconsciously. environmental and cultural conditions attributed to the way women and men related to it and are being moulded by those occupying it. blum et al. (2007) conducted three case studies. one particular case study studied undergraduates at carnegie mellon university in the computer science (cs) department. before 1999, the cs department was imbalanced in the areas of gender, professional support for women students and student personalities. this department was geared toward male students. the women had an extremely low sense of self and felt they do not tend to get along well with the computing environment. in 1990 the new admission criteria allowed diversity in a balanced environment. the study found 29 that diversity and balance in the carnegie mellon university cs department produced an environment where male and female students had similar attitudes toward it. some male and female students loved programming and some did not. the shift in the environment produced a change in the female students’ confidence levels, perspective of programming and a sense of belonging. upon all of the above mentioned importance of social media in this contemporary world non from the aforementioned studies concentrates on the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology in nigeria. thus, in nigeria too, there is dire need to carry out an empirical study to assess the impact of social media in the involvement of nigerian women in it. 2. 4 study framework the theoretical framework of this study focus on the use of communication technology, especially social media tools, in bringing awareness and empowerment to women more than ever before. although not without its limits, electronic communication puts the women in touch with one another for sharing ideas and concerns (heuwagen, 2014). accordingly, based on the conceptual model by ajjan et al. (2014) (figure 1), the theoretical framework for this study enables the exploration of the roles of social media in empowering and increasing the awareness for women in it as illustrated below: independent variables dependent variables figure: 1 empowerment encourage women in it awareness www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 13 2.4.1 women’s awareness and it awareness is defined as an introduction to informed action, while awareness focuses on the knowledge on certain thing and how to positively impact the concern. this concept extends to public awareness, which helps individuals understand and drive other individuals to participate effectively in activities (zita, burger & scholtz, 2014). on the other hand, online communities have recognized the social media as a highly effective tool for boosting the awareness and organizing movements on a wide range of issues. the views of women, whether on an individual or collective basis, have been observed to significantly influence the promotion of women’s rights internationally. in their endeavour to achieve improved accountability and action in the context of gender equality, women’s rights movements have greatly benefitted from developments in the social media. now, the participation of women in social media outlets such as twitter, facebook, instagram and google+ for the purpose of elevating awareness, deliberating strategies or organizing campaigns related to gender equality, is on the rise. at the grassroots level, actions initiated by female-associated networks have led to alterations in regulations and customary practices in various countries including india, kenya, and nigeria. however, gender equality movements cannot afford to rest on their laurels just yet. there is still a long way to go in terms of elevating the involvement of civil society towards enhancing the participation of women in decision-making procedures (shirky, 2011). now, modern technology and innovative developments in the social media significantly alters the lives of women especially those living in male-dominated societies. a case in point concerns the realities faced by arabian women, who, without the internet, would be deprived of the opportunity to put across their opinions on a global stage. the internet is also a means for them to acquire information that might otherwise be blocked by social and political impediments. as the social media offers an avenue for an individual to express himself/herself, it is especially attractive to the fairer sex who appears to be more inclined towards self-expression (karolak & guta, 2015). in fact, the ability for the creator to share, concerns, and emotions with others, results in an improved psychological well-being (ajjan et al., 2014). 2.4.2 women’s empowerment and it empowerment in the circumstance of women’s rights refers to their capacity to make tactical life choices in an environment where they were previously deprived of this opportunity (kabeer, 1999). stavrositu and sundar (2012) argued that the very act of making their self-expression in public can instill a sense of empowerment in the bloggers. empowerment influences the option for women to (a) decide on issues affecting them directly, (b) gain from resources and opportunities, (c) have power over the management of their own lives and bodies and (d) have a say in communal decisions which can potentially lead to a raised level of independence and improved well-being (schuler & rottach, 2010). they are meaningful, based on the definition by keller and mbewe (1991), that the empowerment of women is a procedure that facilitates their systemized endeavour to enhance their independence, exercise their autonomous right to make decisions, and manage resources that will help them to confront and do away with their own subordination. kabeer (2001) cites the importance of empowering women through fostering their ability to challenge their contexts and make strategic choices in an environment where such choices were previously denied. thus, increased access to information through social media can improve a woman‟s capacity to envision alternative options to make meaningful choices (alsop & heinsohn, 2005). 3. methodology the current study aimed to study ‘the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology: (a case study of al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities)’. the survey was also used because it is a means of obtaining data which can be used to quantifying attitude, opinion, behaviours www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 14 and other defined variables; as well as generalize result from a large sample population (coleman, haffer and kilgore, 1987). a questionnaire survey was used in this study as a measurement tool or data collection method to investigate the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology. the survey takes the form of hand delivery and it was administered by the studyers at al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities. in this survey, the studyers had distributed the questionnaires to the targeted respondents who were willing to complete the questionnaires and return it to the studyer. this system was used because it gives the benefit of a degree of personal contact between the studyer and the respondents (oppenhein, 1992). this encourages the respondents to complete the questionnaires and return them back to the studyer. additionally, the technique was used because it is cost-effective and quicker to administer (bryman&bell, 2003). 3.1 sampling frame population refers to the group of individuals, entities or anything that has one or more characteristics in common that are of interest (creswell, 2008). they are 2106 female students in al-qalam and 2779 female students in umaru musa yar’adua university respectively making 4885 as total population of this study. table 3.1 consist the list of the population of the study. table1.population of the study university sub-total al-qalam university 2106 umaru musa yar’adua university 2779 total population 4885 sources: mis units of the universities as at 3 rd july, 2017 the population for this study was a sample population selected from al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities. the universities was chosen because of familiarity, close proximity and accessibility. this is in line with the study of bryman and bell (2003). al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities are the only two universities in katsina metropolis and in terms of women students’ population the total was 4885 as at 3rd july, 2017. 3.1.1 sample size in any study availability of data is important as such, this study tends to reduce the population size in order to have authentic and accurate results that can be generalize. the total number of female undergraduate students from the two universities are 4696, then 176 for masters students and finally 13 students doing phd programme from umaru musa yar’adua university while none from alqalam university as shown in table 3.1. having identified the population, they were sampled, as suggested by stoker (1981) and chasib (2014), so that this study could limit the process systematically. the stuy gained access to the sample population at the two universities by issuing a structured questionnaire to the targeted respondent. 3.1.2 sampling method the sampling method used was non-probability sampling (convenience sampling). this sampling method involves respondents who were accessible, willing to take part in the study (cress well, 2009). non-probability sampling is a sampling that has not been selected using a random selection method (brynman, & bell, 2003). however, this type of sampling was acceptable and was used in this stuy because it was cost effective, and easier to access the targeted population (moon, 2011). thus, the sample size of this study is 200, and therefore 200 www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 15 questionnaires were issued while only 150 questionnaires were successfully returned. the questionnaire comprised of 24 questions. the respondents were asked to complete closed-ended questions and the questionnaire was organized into four parts. parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 as presented below: part1. demographic information: this section deals with respondents personal information and profiles via structured questionnaire, the information was used to establish the potential credibility of data. in this section nominal & ratio scales were used as measuring scales. the nominal data is a set of information organized by category or name. they are often used to describe respondents’ personal information (robson, 2011). some of the nominal data used were age, level of education, social media usage and social media login. part2.the core items on women’s awareness of using social media: in this section five-point likert scale was used to quantify women’s awareness of using social media. five-point likert scale is one of the most useful psychometric scaling for establishing attitudinal and behavioural measures (carmine & irvine, 1988). consequently, five-point likert scale was used as the evidence suggests that more complex scoring system possess no substantial advantage (oppenheim, 1992). the five-point likert scale used are strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree. these are ordinal scale. the ordinal scale was used to describe the students’ characteristic, attitudes and behaviours toward their usage of social network sites. part3. women’s empowerment through social media: the information obtained in this section was gathered through ordinal and nominal scale of measurement (qualitative measurement scales) (kumar, 2005). using five point likert scales (attitudinal scale) as stated above in section b. this scale was used based on the assumption that each item on the scale has equal value (kumar, 2005). part4. encouraging the involvement of women in it the information obtained in this section was gathered through ordinal and nominal scale of measurement (qualitative measurement scales) (kumar, 2005). using five point likert scales (attitudinal scale) as stated above in section b. this scale was used based on the assumption that each item on the scale has equal value (kumar, 2005). 3.1.3 methods of data analysis descriptive analysis describes all variables in the study. in order to provide an in-depth understanding of the relationship among the independent and the dependent variables of the study, a descriptive statistical analysis was conducted. according to bryman & cramer (2011), a descriptive statistical analysis is used to explain the construct of the items in the questionnaire, where it is used to portray, show and clarify the information provided by specific respondents. statistics such as mean, standard deviation will be used in this study. these scales highlight the respondents' answer obtained from the data collected. these scales were then arranged to the classifications to show their level from answers towards all variables: 1.00 to 2.33 that is low level of mean, the moderate level of mean between 2.34 to 3.66 and the level from 3.67 to 5.00 is high (mawaddah, 2013). they provide simple summaries about the sample and measurement (trachim, 2009). cronbach’ alpha was also used to test the internal consistency of the study data (gliem and gliem, 2003). according to murply and briens et al, (2001) measuring the internal consistency of the data allows the study to generalized the result over the entire population. the data collected in this study include interval data for the ages, nominal data for gender, residence, nature of study, and year of study, and the ordinal data for core items on social network sites and mobile technologies usage among the students (allen, 2008). the ordinal data were in form of five points linkert scal (kumar, 2005). the five points likert scales includes (1) strongly disagree (2) www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 16 disagree (3) neutral (4) agree and (5) strongly agree. after collecting the required data, the current study will used statistical software stata version 14 in order to process and develop evidence patterns related to the framework of this study. the study used this software due to its simplicity and user friendly criteria and it is suitable to analyse the type of data collected for this study. this is in line with the study of chasib, (2014) and charles. et al. (2014). 4. result and analysis 4.1 demographic analysis table 1 background of the respondent variables obs. mean std. dev. min max age 131 2.5267 1.0328 1.0000 5.0000 edu.qual. 131 1.4503 0.7360 1.0000 3.0000 smu 131 2.7939 1.2448 1.0000 6.0000 sml 131 1.6031 0.9741 1.0000 5.0000 source: computation using stata 14.0 table1 present the background of the respondent, age has an average score of 2.5267 and minimum score of 1.000, and this implies that the average age of the respondents is within the age bracket of 23 to 25 years and below 18 years as the minimum age of our respondent. the maximum age is 45 years. standard deviation of 1.0328 signified insignificant variation among the respondent in terms of age. the average educational qualification of the respondent is the first degree, with phd as the maximum educational qualification. standard deviation of 0.7360 signified significant variation among the respondent in terms of educational qualification social media usage among respondent has a mean score of 2.7939 which suggest that, on average the respondents used whatsup to access social media while few of them used facebooks. the standard deviation of 1.2448 implied insignificant differences in the usage of social media applications among the respondents. the social media login has a minimum score of 1.6031 and a minimum value of 1.000 with maximum of 5, this suggests that on average the respondent login their social media application once a day, only few number of them loge several times a day. the standard deviation of 0.9741 shows minimum variation among respondent in terms login to their social media account. 4.2 reliability and validity test table 2 reliability and validity test questions percentage cronbach’s alpha women’s awareness of using social media 38% 0.55 women’s empowerment through social media 46% 0.67 encouraging the involvement of women in it 16% 0.61 source: computation using stata 14.0 table 2 present reliability and validity of our instruments which is necessary in any survey study so as to obtained robust results. cronbach’s alpha score is used using stata to test the validity and reliability of our instruments. the criteria are to accepts an alpha with minimum score of 0.50 and above while any question with alpha less than 0.50 is to be rejected (garko, 2016). the instrument related to women awareness on using social media which accounts 38% of total questions has an average alpha of 0.55 which fall within the acceptance region. similarly, the role of social media in women empowerment shows a mean alpha of 0.67 which suggest that our instruments to test women empowerment through social media are valid and reliable. finally, www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 17 encouraging the involvement of women in it has an alpha score of 0.61 which indicates its validity and reliability. 4.3 ordered logit regression table 3 ordered logit regression results (dependent variableit) variables coefficient z p/z/ women awareness 0.7815 2.83 0.005 women empowerment 0.1980 1.79 0.073 lr 12.06 pro> chi2 0.0024 pseudo r 2 0.0370 source: computation using stata 14.0 in order to examine the influence of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology, ordered logit regression were employed regarding the nature of questionnaire which is five liket scales. the pseudo r 2 0.0370 shows the extent to which women awareness and empowerment explains involvement of women in information technology, lr 12.06 and p-value of 0.0024 shows the fitness of the model at 5% level of significance the influence of women’s awareness of using social media on women involvement in information technology is positive and likely significant at 5% level of significant, this suggest that social media influence women awareness through information technology. women’s empowerment through social media has positive and likely to be significant at 10% level of significant this suggest that women get empowered using social media. 5. summary, conclusion and recommendations 5.1 summary the study examines the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology: (a case study of al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities). the study used the survey method for acquiring the required data via distributing a questionnaire to targeted respondents. stata version 14 has being used to find out the answers of the study. in order to examine the influence of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology, ordered logit regression were employed regarding the nature of questionnaire which is five liket scales. 5.2 objective 1: to determine the women awareness for using social media in influencing them into the it sector in nigeria for the first objective of this study, the respondents were provided with information related to their awareness of using social media that influences them into the it sector in nigeria. from the data analysis, it was found that majority of the respondents agree that they have the necessary awareness in using social media such as; facebook, whatsup twitter, and youtube as a contributing element that influences them into the involvement of women in it in nigeria. thus, the result reveals that there is positive and significant impact of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology at 5% level of significant, this suggest that social media influence women awareness through information technology. also, the results of analysis reveal that majority of the women are logging into and using social media, this suggests that on average the respondent login their social media application once a day only few number of them loged several times a day, which indicates that the awareness among women in nigeria on the importance of the social media in their daily activities is relatively high. besides that, this study examines on how nigerian women use social media that influence them in the involvement of in it including desire to share knowledge with others through the social media, downloading and uploading files, online discussion, share photos, videos and opinions, www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 18 contact friends who are away, create and participate in group discussions, send messages, see comments and enhance awareness and sense of achievement. social media often provide topics of conversation for discussion and thus help to lubricate social life also it provide the possibility of keeping in touch with people nearby as well as women use the social media for entertainment and communication. these activities generate self-expression. hence, women express themselves as well as gaining knowledge which influences in increase participation in it workforce. this means that the social media is a platform for the women to discuss and share information and ideas on various matters, thereby educate themselves, exchanging opinions and importance of the effective participation. in addition, the findings also show that the social media provides a strategy for sharing their opinions, raising awareness, and promoting participation in the field of it sector in nigeria. participations in this study confirmed that they are aware of the benefits of social media that encourage women in the involvement of it. based on the discussions in this paragraph and the previous, the study objective one has been achieved. these findings of this study are in consistence with the findings of lehtonen (2014) that showed that social media provides a strategy for sharing their opinions, raising awareness, and promoting participation. besides that, women are effectively using social media as a tool for raising awareness among their social networks. also, social media functions as a platform for opinion expression and enables sustaining interest among networks. nevertheless, the importance of sharing information and raising awareness in the community results from efficiency, and those women strategically share thoughts everywhere they want; thus, this shows the utilization of both strong and weak ties in their networks. 5.3 objective 2: to identify the role of social media in empowering nigerians’ women to influence them into the it sector. for the second objective, the respondents were provided with information related to social media empowerment and its roles on encouraging women to join the it sector in nigeria. from the data analysis, the results show that there are significant relationship between empowerment and it sector. the respondents believe that social media helps women to understand the challenges such as social and structural factors as illustrated in the literatures and enable them on it. from the analysis, women’s empowerment through social media has positive and likely to be significant at 10% level of significant this suggest that women get empowered using social media. it was found that majority of the respondents agree that the social media provides them a platform to speak out about their lives, needs, and issues that they face as well as social media provides them with opportunities to bring information on every issues to them at their doorstep, and reach everyone in new ways. many also agree that social media allows them to do things that many of them could otherwise never do, and it encourages them to improve the standard of living as well as develop their ideas and creativity. in association with self-confidence and social interactions, the results indicate that women in nigeria have moved forward towards a higher level of self-confidence and have increased their social interactions due to the use of social media. many respondents indicate that the use of social media helps them in maintaining good relationships among each other through online interactions. the advancement of social media in nigeria has also helped the women feel that they are significant in the society, increased self-reliance, more independent, and increased their participation in decision-making on domestic issues besides making them feel confident to be able to work along with their male colleagues. social media also serves as a gateway to benefits around empowerment denoting a variety of ideas, including self-confidence, autonomy, and the capacity to alter the structures that govern one's situation. empowerment benefits flow from the fact that the social media permits information, ideas and perspectives to travel with greater ease. with that, it allows women to enlarge and develop their communities. nevertheless, social media www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 2, no. 1; 2018 19 helps the nigerians’ women to understand the barriers they face in participating in the field of it, such as structural and social factors. the discussions in this paragraph and the previous show that the participations agree that social media is a tool for empowering the women to involve in it sector in nigeria. thus, the study objective two has been achieved. these findings of this study are in line with the findings of beena and vidyapith (2012); khan and moin (2013) that vividly revealed that the it especially social media empowers a women in various areas like social, educational, personal, psychological, political, and economical. in addition, abisola, oyesomi, nelson and omole (2014) found out that social media empowers and encourages women in diverse ways, one of which is that the social media encourages women to engage in economic activities that build-up networks with colleagues, business partners, workers, and clients. this study concludes that women make use of the social media as a veritable source of empowerment in different spheres of life. 5.4 conclusion this study was conducted with the aim of identifying the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology: (study of al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities). the study also designed a framework to shows how the social media empower the involvement of women in it a. this study uses quantitative data analysis techniques based on the questionnaire distributed to female students' al-qalam and umaru musa yar’adua universities. the descriptive analysis provides reliable evidences that support the respondents’ high level of agreements towards the use of social media and its influences, where the independent variables; awareness and empowerment; are found to be correlated with the dependent variable; encouragement. thus, according to the data analysis conducted and described in chapter 4, it can be concluded that there is a high level of awareness and empowerment among women in nigeria regarding the role of social media and its influences in encouraging them to involve in the it sector. as a conclusion, it is found that although social media is presumably new in nigeria because it is not more than one decade now, it has started contributing towards the indication of success and advancement amongst the nigerians’ women. this is perhaps due to the fact that as a developing country, nigeria is ready to accept any new innovation that will help them to compete with other countries of the world. additionally, the emergence of the technology era has taken its effect and has been accepted into the general norm of live and into the general aspect of lives of women. 5.5 recommendation for future studies in the light of the analysis and findings and conclusions the following recommendations are made which would improve the involvement of women in it sector in nigeria by using social media: i. more study in the area of awareness of the use of social media within the general aspect in it is required, in order to enhance the understanding on the influence of social media towards employment in general, and towards employment of women into specific sectors like entrepreneur etc. ii. studies have shown that women participate less in the it profession (neuhauser, 2007; 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(2014). the use of social media as an enabler to create environmental awareness of staff in higher education. in proceedings of the 28th enviroinfo 2014 conference (pp. 25–32). copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 48 globalization and culture: a sociolinguistics study md zahidul islam assistant professor department of english bangladesh islami university, dhaka-1214, bangladesh e-mail: zahid_iuk@yahoo.com abstract a significance feature of globalization is the transaction of ideas as indicated by internet. the concern engages the clash of cultures and the spread of acquisitive values. this has enormous influence on hoe people think, act or behave. the values that this entertainment industry reflects often promote materialism, violence and immorality. hence, this paper examines the concept of globalization and culture as well as the study of sociolinguistics. it also scans the impact of globalization on culture. since the turn of the millennium, globalization has become a major focus in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, investigating themes such as: learning and teaching in diverse urban classrooms (spotti, 2011; karrebæk, 2012) complementary education (blackledge & creese, 2010); internationalisation in higher education (piller & cho, 2013) mass media and the internet (androutsopoulos, 2007; varis & wang, 2011) popular culture and advertising (jacquemet, 2005; kasanga, 2010) hip-hop and graffiti (pennycook, 2007) language vitality (vigouroux & mufwene, 2008) travel and tourism (jaworski & thurlow, 2010) migration and asylum seekers (vigouroux, 2008; dong, 2011; maryns, 2006) the new globalised economy (block, 2012; heller, 2003) and long-distance financial fraud (blommaert & omoniyi, 2006). papers in coupland (2003, 2010) and such monographs as (fairclough, 2006; blommaert, 2010; heller, 2011) among others, have attempted general statements outlining a sociolinguistics of globalization. keywords: critical thinking, efl, reading comprehension, storytelling. 1. introduction science and technology now has created the possibility and even the likelihood of global culture. the fax machine, satellite and cable tv have swept away the national cultural boundaries. duru-ford (2002) opines that global entertainment companies shape understanding and dreams of ordinaries citizens wherever they live. the local culture are inevitably falling victim to global ‘’consumer’’ culture. for instance, english language, as observe by (tukus-dubrow, 2002) is gradually but steadily eradicating the local dialect while consumer values according to (duru-ford, 2002) are overwhelming people’s sense of community and social solidarity. for instance, globalization has increasingly knitted together the world created unity out of great diversity. jeans (2002) noted that coca cola, disney and mcdonald symbolize the process along with sony. shell oil and ibm to influence global consumer’s taste. there are known and consumed all over the world. in addition, they are powerful companies that drive globalization forward, creating new laws, new business process, new ways to eat and drink new hopes and dreams. fridah (2002) observes that there are optimists and pessimists, who have contradicting views. she states that optimists look forward to global village linked altogether by internet, and benefiting from over-increasing material well-being. on the other hand are pessimists seeing a frightful corporate tyranny destroying the environment and culture, and sweeping away all that is healthy and meaningful for human existence? probably this is why (willien, 2002) predicts deterritorialization which he describes or calls the end of geography and the end of sovereignty. this paper therefore examines the concept of globalization and culture as well as the impact of globalization on the culture. 2. literature review wardhaugh and thanasoulas each define language in a somewhat different way, with the former explaining it for what it does, and the latter viewing it as it relates to culture. wardhaugh (2002, p. 2) defines language to be: a knowledge of rules and principles and of the ways of saying and doing things with sounds, words, and sentences rather than just knowledge of specific sounds, words, and sentences. while wardhaugh does not mention culture per se, the speech acts we perform are inevitably connected with the environment they are performed in, and therefore he appears to define language with consideration for context, something (thanasoulas, 2001) more directly compiled in the following: (language does not exist apart from culture, that is, from the copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 49 socially inherited assemblage of practices and beliefs that determines the texture of our lives (sapir, 1970, p. 207). in a sense, it is ‘a key to the cultural past of a society’ (salzmann, 1998, p. 41) a guide to ‘social reality’ (sapir, 1929, p. 209, cited in salzmann, 1998, p. 41). and if we are to discuss an association between globalization and culture, we must also have some understanding of what culture refers to. good enough (1957, p. 167) taken from (wardhaugh, 2002, p. 219) explains culture in terms of the participatory responsibilities of its members. he states that a global culture is made up of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members, and to do so in any role that they accept for any one of themselves. malinowski (stern, 2009) views culture through a somewhat more interactive design, stating that it is a response to need, and believes that what constitutes a culture is its response to three sets of needs: the basic needs of the individual, the instrumental needs of the society, and the symbolic and integrative needs of both the individual and the society. 3. objectives of the research the main objectives of the study are as follow:  to explore the global-culture relationship in the context of sociolinguistics  to recognize human’s cognitive processes  to cram society and man's position in global-culture  to reflect the necessity for sociolinguistics and cultural proficiency  to show the gender-related language variation 4. research methodology the research is based on secondary sources of data. the information has been collected from library, facts, textbooks, journals, reports and other internet sources to depict the results. all the data are studied sincerely to achieve the objectives of the study. 5. data analysis 5.1 concept of globalization globalization has become one of the most popular buzzwords of our time frequently used by people. globalization is the increasing interaction of national economy with that of the first world, which ultimately aims at creating a state of frictionless capitalism. according to (orunmoluyi, 2002) it is a process of creating a global market in which increasingly all nations are forced to participate. the process of globalization entails that there is interconnection of sovereign nations through trade and capital flows; harmonization of economy rules that govern relationship among these sovereign nation; creating structures to support and facilitate interdependent and creating a global market place. from the culture point of view, (david, 2002) state that globalization is the process of harmonizing different culture and beliefs. castells (1997) state that globalization is the process that eroding differences in culture and producing a seamless global system of culture and economic values. the harmonization, according to (awake, 2002) his achieved too due to advancement in communication and countries are increasingly being forced to participate. therefore, globalization can be viewed as a process of shifting autonomous economies into a global market. in other words, it is the systematic integration of autonomous economies into a global system of production and distribution. the consequent is that the word of separate nation-states is said to be ending if the process of globalization is allowed to run its logical course. the new technology, based on the computer and satellite communication have indeed revolutionized our traditional conception of the media, both print and electronic. books, newspapers, radio, television and video program are now being transposed into the multimedia world of the cyber space and available to all people of the world wherever they may live. 5.2 concept of culture culture is a set of norms that set standards for a society of what is acceptable behavior. in every culture there are basic standards for social interaction such as personal space distance, eye contact, amount of body language displayed in public, negotiating style, etc. culture has also been defined differently by people. the different definitions attach to culture is based on the differences in the orientation of the people. according (ekeh, 1989) culture is constructing used in an attempt to analyze and integrate events and ideas in broad spectrum of areas of society. jekayinfa (2002) states that from wider perspective, culture includes the total repertoire of human action which are socially transmitted from generation to generation. tyler (1871) in (jekayinfa, 2002) views culture as configuration of institutions and modes of life. furthermore, he states that culture is the complex while which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of the society. among the feature that characterize culture is that has its own personality and identity. the fact that we are human does not mean we are the same. however, it is noted that every moment, we are being transformed, always growing like the cell in our copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 50 bodies. culture changes exactly the same way as the human being change. in other words, culture is dynamic. according to (odiora, 2002) the transformation of culture is gradual and not sudden. obiora (2002) contends that culture is a continuous process of change. in spite of the change culture continues to give a community a sense of dignity, continuity, security and binds society together. another attribute of culture is that it is learned, acquired, transmitted or diffused through contact or other means of communication flow from one generation to another. for instance, in the old days a young nigerian girl from yoruba culture would knee down to greet their elders. for the britain a girl may stretch hand shake. in the modern day third world countries, absolute kneeing down may be fading as noted by (tardif, 2002) opines that culture is not genetically transmitted rather it takes place by process of absorption from the social environment or through deliberate instruction. this is to say that culture is learned. such learning does not occur through natural inheritance. probably that is why jekayinfa (2002) maintains that the man learns culture through the process of socialization, enumeration, personal experience and through deliberate induction nation or teaching. it should be noted that learning of culture is a lifelong process. that is, learning of culture is from birth of death. jekayinfa (2002) further observes that what is learnt differ from society to society and from one stage to another. however, all that is learnt is geared towards the realization of the goal of the society. 5.3 impact of globalization on culture the continuing world-wide growth of access to internet is being mirrored by an equally discernible rise in its use by ethnic ideological and national groups anxious to assert their culture identity (obiora, 2002). this is most apparent in the information obtain some of which reflect interest and goals.with trade agreement and liberalization of telecommunications, (corbit, 199) notes that corporate culture is said to rule the nation (jean, 2002) observes that globalization has made it possible for the whole world to be wired and plugged into t.v program, movies, news, music, life style and entertainment of the advance countries. satellite, cables, phones, walkmans, v.c.ds, d.v.ds and retails grants as well as wonders of entertainment technology are creating the mass marketing of culture. the impact of globalization on the culture is immense and diverse. it has affected the cultural aspect of people in different ways. for instance, the loud echoing advertisement rhythms of the famous coca-cola drinks can be heard across the boundaries in towns, cities and even in remote rural areas where drinking water is hard to get. this is why (duru-ford, 2002) observes that people had to change their living ways due to influence of globalization. since globalization involves the opening up the economics and knowledge freely and widely to the global market and its forces, (friday, 2002) contends that it is required that whatever the nature of their economics, knowledge their level of the development and whatever their location in the global economy, all countries must pursue a common set of economic policies. of particular importance, they must permit free and discriminate operation of transnational corporation in their economies, open their economies freely and indiscriminately to import and concentrate on exporting what they are supposed to be good at; reduce the role of government in the economy to that of supporting the market and private enterprises; and leave the determination of prices of goods, currencies labor, as well as the allocation of the resources to the operation of the market (awake, 2002). tuhus-dubrow (2002) has observe that a language is considered endangered when it is no longer spoken by children, moribund by only handful of elderly speaker and left to extinct when it is no longer spoken. the number of language endangered varies but the average estimates from studies, according to (whalen, 2002) are alarming with half of the world language struggling to survive. it is opinion of (walleh, 2002) that a language should be preserved. this is because language recognizes people’s right to determination of their own fate. any culture can be expressed in any language in some ways, but the nature language is most effective. for huge advancement of globalization, language is also influenced and it plays role to change the total shape of language. suppose, in nigeria, the indigenous languages are rendered impotent because, english language is the official language of the country. globalization has made english language a predator language. this informs (james, 1997) to state that english language is a “killer” language. english language has run rampant all over nigeria. people want to speak english language because it is the language of advertising, block buster, movies and pop music, as well as vital tool of success. english language has become certainly the most successful lingua franca we have ever seen. wade (1997) maintains that we will continue to use languages of our but we all know that these languages are giving way to english language. global communication according to (oni, 2001) is observed to the flattening the cultural terrain in the direction of the dominance of the modes and material practices of the global economic leaders, most particularly in the united states of america (usa). the ownership of the strategic components of the global communication technology’s i.e. microsoft, is seen as determining element in this flattening of terrain. today, the world is moving towards the extinction of a rich and varied cultural and symbolic life and emerging in the global language. cyrstal (1997) notes that english language that is emerging as global language is no longer under the control of its original owners. on the other hand, the nigerian indigenous languages are facing serious danger of extinction. the effect of globalization, the worldly people are also affected devastatingly. the same country which is earlier mentioned has become the field of aids, orphas, land mines, war and drought and music has been neutralized copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 51 with the western beats of michael jackson, lionel richie, craig-david etc. many youths here now prefer western hair style, shoes and dressing. yakubu (1999) discovers that young people of the third world countries are the largest consumers of global culture. with mtv, euro star global entertainment is signalling absolute dominance of the music of western culture. probably that is why jean 2002 maintains that tv does not offer only entertainment it embodies the sheer power and influence of the global corporate culture. television has become the agent of the new global corporate vision. all over the world, people of all ages are exposed to the same music, the same sporting events, the same news, soapopera and the same glamorous life style. `it is observed that the culture of u.s. is available everywhere (pipa, 1999). satellite t.v. has made t.v. program to be available for 24 hours. yakubu (1999) notes that about 75% of the world population has access to daily t.v. reception. most of the t.v. screens are dominated by u.s. films, music and life style. children no longer sit in the evening for tales by moonlight that promote the values of respect, integrity, peace, love and unity. even, it has been neglected in the rural areas where this sort of environment would fit best. the struggle now is for survival; how to get a bond of meal to fill family. children now involve themselves in crime such as robbery, violence and female prostitution. fridah (2002) notes that in the olden days, most communities in africa had a strong policy of food security. distant family compound. today, all these have vanished and people have been forced into a situation where they are living from hand to mouth. globalization has made the working class run into the habit of borrowing teir salaries even before they receive them. according to (oni, 2001) bribery and corruption are encouraged so as to make ends meet. awareness of globalization is on the increase that no one wants to be left behind. women, in nigeria have realized this probably, that is why (obwra, 2002) maintains that women economic activities have been highly affected y globalization. women are now forced to enter into those economic exclusively preserved for men. globalization has exposed the women into crime and other illegal economic activities. globalization has resulted in the introduction of policies aimed at eliminating all obstacles of the “free” exercise of economic activity across boundaries including trade liberalization, tederegulation of production, the labor market and the market of goods and services and the implementation of regional and international agreements. nigeria, for instance, has opened her border to goods and services of ecowas nations. furthermore, nigeria’s border is opened to any information or data coming from any country of the world. there is data here, before globalization; nigeria’s economy like other developing economies was heavily regulated by the state. under the regulated economy restrictive business practices on import and export where in place. these include use of import license, imposition of tariffs quota, and control of foreign exchange and sometimes outright bar on importation. during this period, self-reliance was the slogan. however, this has now been replaced by deregulation, economic liberalization and privatization of the national economic activities. the hope is that this new approach will accelerate rapid economic growth and development. nigeria has now become a big importer of rice to the detriment of locally produced rice. crystal (1997) most nigerian prefer american rice. this has forced the production of local rice to be reduced. however, nigeria has become a big import of food. with reduction of subsidies on food in the developed countries, there will be price increase in their food export. this may justify (raghavan, 1999) view that poor countries that rely on food import may face rising import bills, especially when many of the third world countries suffer from lack of foreign exchange problems. as a consequence the food security of farmers of the third world countries is threatened. the situation according to (raghavan, 1997) is made worse by the fact that food decline. according to him between 1987 and 1997 food and shipmatts were halved from 12.7 million tons to 5.43 million tons. the impact of increased reliance on food imports undermines a nation’s food security and poverty hunger and starvation can only worsen for majority of small farmers. after many years of globalization indicate will destroy farmers livelihoods displace communities and create rural unemployment otherwise because global trade is also to do with people’s livelihood and their most basic social and economic rights. trade is part of daily life of millions of nigeria’s poor people.trade is a crucial determinant of the welfare of african and in turn affect their culture. corbitt (2002) observes that when people social and economic patterns are affected, the culture is over all affected too. globalization that is built on the unacceptable levels of inequities to vulnerable communities ad groups, or courses global environmental damage and disregards our obligations to future generations is not conclusive to even and sustainable development. hitherto, the nigerian culture expects man to provide for the family but this has changed. it is men and women both leave home in search of the available labour it has become a common practice, especially where there are massive retrenchment one will find men at home while the woman goes to work. hence, it has effect on the household responsibilities, where one finds change of roles when a man has towash, cook and even look after the children. many children have dropped out of schools because their families cannot afford to pay their school fees (obiora , 2002). this situation is reducing the little opportunities they have. there is a limit to one’s capacity to enjoy one’s right, if one has not gone to school. this means that one may not get a job and therefore one’s rights are affected. irele (2001) notes that there is need to promote, protect, preserve and modernize black and african culture in general, in order to empower them to copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 52 complete favorably in the emerging global world dominated by western cultural values and standards. one way of doing that is the need to aggressively collect african oral traditions especially poetry, and preserve them with audio-visual facilities in order to conceptualize. ajayi (2001) remarks that globalization is about competition and struggle for dominance which encourages more than anything else, the continuation and expansion of western imperialism in the new millennium. to make globalization meaningful to nigerian culture. this is because the cultural order of the day world wise to days is the issue of who you are in terms of knowledge. 5.4 sociolinguistics while anthropological linguistics and ethno linguistics focus on the relationship between language and some particular aspects of social life and social roles, sociolinguistics is supposed to investigate all aspects of this relationship in the society as a whole. with the starting assumptions that all language events consist of a piece of language in a social context and that every different social context determines a particular form of language (stockwell, 2002:5) the potential scope of sociolinguistics is enormous. it studies how language is used in a living and complex speech community, from micro sociolinguistic issues dealing with correlations between language variation and use and social groups and situations, to macro sociolinguistic issues such as social attitudes to language, the patterns and needs of national language use, etc. the latter approach, which focuses more on the role of language in society and suggests a greater concern with sociological rather than linguistic explanations, is also known as the sociology of language. one of the key issues here concerns multilingualism and bilingualism, in a social group as well as in an individual speaker, as the most obvious cases of language variation. to the already discussed relation between language and ethnic identity, language rights of minorities, and political factors accompanying these issues, we should add the notions of pidgins and creoles, standard and vernacular languages, language loyalty, diglossia, code switching and code mixing, and language accommodation. they basically refer to various social situations and language behaviors where the speakers are exposed to or forced or willing to use more than one language, or a variety of language or speech. some further manifestations of language variation are sometimes less obvious to identify distinctly. they include regional dialects and social dialects, reflecting that in many communities it is possible to tell from a person's speech not only where (s) he comes from but also what class (s)he belongs to, although there seems to be a general tendency that the speech of the higher classes demonstrates less regional variation (cf. trudgill, 1990; labov, 1966, 1972, 2001). also important is the gender-related language variation, the field of study which has especially flourished in the past couple of decades. there are various ways in which the linguistic behavior of men and women from the same speech community differs – pronunciation, vocabulary, conversational practices, etc. for example, several studies have found that women tend to be more polite, and use more of the standard forms of language, which is frequently explained by their social class awareness, their role in society, or their status in general as a subordinate group (coates, 1986, 1998; holmes, 1995; tannen, 1996). while these aspects of the socially relevant language variations focus mostly on language users, their ethnicity, gender, social background, etc., there are some aspects which primarily focus on language use, reflecting particular contexts. the way people talk in court, in school, at business meetings, for instance, is more formal than the relaxed language they use at home or with people they know well. similar differences are noticeable when we speak to people of a different age or social group. such language variations are generally known as style, or stylistic differences, although the term register is also used. however, it is better to restrict the latter term to distinctive styles shaped by functional demands of specific situations or occupations – a sports announcer talk, for instance, or a group of specialists, e.g. cardiologists, computer programmers, carpenters, etc., talking about their specialty. 6. recommendations the major recommendations of the study are as follows:  globalization and culture relationship should be institutionalized.  the constructive cultural actives for the development of human’s morality should be spread everywhere basis on the globalization.  sociolinguistics fields should be clear and transparent.  using of sociolinguistics phenomenon should be regularized in the global cultural activities.  creative global-culture relationship with other societal elements should be closer. 7. conclusion globalization is firstly determining the cultural practices among the people. those who are slow are left behind and from indications, everyone seems to be in big rush not to be left behind. culture of the developed economy has taken over the local culture. many people of the globe prefer the cultural practices of the developed countries. from the foregoing, it is observed that globalization is characterized by keen competition and an aggressive quest for supremacy by various contending people and interest groups of the world. ajayi (2001) note that globalization is a continuation and expansion of western imperialism. this copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 53 is because to him, it is a fresh phase n re-colonization of some parties of the world which attempts to continue the promotion of western linguistic heritage and literacy esthetic canons at different languages and literature. for example, the recolonization has imposed on all cultural values on african society and nigerian culture thereby distorting the african value system and identity. this is achieved by fostering increasing disturbance of the art and culture of nigerians. nigerian culture is portrayed as less functional and perhaps inferior to the culture of other people of the world. this is why the people are losing their touch of the natural environment, including the indigenous landscapes, settlement patterns and mode of architecture. according to (oni, 2001) the performance of african in the emerging scenario would be a function of the ability and commitment of african leaders to mobilize the productive forces of the continent for development. this is because african and its people have through its music made positive impact on the manual sensibilities of the world. he states further that he who controls knowledge dominate the world, since the advance countries controls knowledge that flows to other countries of the world, they benefit more from globalization. however, it must be realized that economic growth without social and cultural justice cannot be the idea of sustainable world development. development brought by globalization which is arm to eliminating certain culture is not a good conception of development. globalization should restore peoples dignity, sense of identify continuity and security. in the world of (marle, 1981) until the philosophy which hold one race superior, and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, there will be no peace anywhere in the world. if as is currently happening globalization according to (yakubu, 1999) means the ability to one culture to break down other people’s competitive capacities or worse, the corrosion of their critical capacities to the point where they lose confidence in themselves. therefore globalization should not be coded positively and wholesomely. references campbell, l. (1997). the sapir-whorf hypothesis. retrieved october 4, 2005 duru ford l. (2002). the macdonization of hongkong global policy forum. radio northerland. david f. (2002). why national pride still has a home in the global village. global policy forum. new york. the scotsman may 18. friday, m. (2002). the effect of globalization on culture in africa in the eye of african woman. echo. world council of churches. fagbemi, o. (2002). educational and nigeria’s cultural values. leading issues in general studies; humanities and social sciences. gumperz,j.j. (1996). on teaching language in its sociocultural context. in d.i. slobin, j. gerhardt, a. kyratzis, & j.guo (eds.), social interaction, social context, and language (pp. 469-480). mahay, new jersey: lawrence erlbaum associates. jean t. (2002). the hidden dimension of globalization: what is at stake geoculturally? global policy forum, new york, attac may 29. nishida, h. (1999). a cognitive approach to intercultural communication based on schema theory. international journal of intercultural relations, 23(5), 753-777. obiora, a. l. (1996). feminism, globalization and culture after beijing paper presented at a symposium organized by indiana journal of global legal studies. onwioduokit, e. a. & ashinze, j.o. (1996). economic growth and foreign debt; a case study of nigeria. economic and financial review, 34(1),501 – 523. oputa, n. c. (1996). chotac-hyon: foreign investment in korea: recent trends and changes to improve the investment environment, economic and financial review, 24(1),541 – 542. orunmoluyi, t. p. (2000). globalization: a millenium challenge for nigerian banks: the economist 4 p. 31 – 32. o’neil, d. (1998-2005). language and culture: an introduction to human communication, retrieved october 15, 2005 from http://anthro.palomar.edu/ language/ language_6.htm peterson, e. & coltrane, b. (2003). culture in second language teaching. retrieved october 11, 2005 from center for applied linguistics sapir-whorf hypothesis. (2001-2005). retrieved october 8, 2005 from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia sapir-whorf hypothesis: politics and etiquette. (2001-2005). retrieved october 10, 2005 saville-troike, m. (1997). the ethnographic analysis of communicative events. chapter 11 in n. coupland & a. jaworski (eds.), sociolinguistics: a reader and a coursebook (pp. 126-144). new york: st. martin’s press. skoto, b. (1997). relationship between language and thought from a cross-cultural perspective. retrieved october 11, 2005 from http://www.duke.edu/~pk10/ language/ca.htm stern,h. h.(2009). fundamental concepts of language teaching. oxford: oxford university press. thanasoulas, d. (2001). radical pedagogy: the importance of teaching culture in the foreign language classroom. retrieved october 3, 2005 from the international consortium for the advancement of academic publication. retrieved from http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/content/ issue3_3/7-thanasoulas.html copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 1; 2020 54 tuhus-dubrow r. (2002). world languages are fast disappearing global policy forum, new york independent april 25. wardhaugh, r. (2002). an introduction to sociolinguistics (fourth ed.). oxford: blackwell publishers. wade, a. (1997). globalization and itslimits: wasington d.c.: brooking institution press. yakubu, n. (1999). millenium and globalization: what is in it for us? crystal international news magazine 1 o. 6 abuja heritage pp. 35. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 88 the practice of school-based management in ondo state public secondary schools: implication of school location olaseni vivian morenike department of educational management faculty of education adekunle ajasin university akungba akoko, ondo state, nigeria e-mail: olomosayev@gmail.com tel: +2348068513127 abstract the practice of school-based management (sbm) has been widely liked to variety of wide positives in schools and increasingly acceptable in major developed and developing nations, however, the disposition and acceptance of the smb policy remained unclear in ondo state, nigeria. in nigeria, there is paucity of literature addressing the role of school location in the practice of sbm policy. this study, therefore examined the practicality of sbm in public secondary schools in ondo state and the implication of school location. descriptive survey design was adopted by the study. key players from sixty (60) public secondary schools in ondo state participated in the current study using purposive sampling techniques. in determine the efficiencies and effectiveness of school-based management committees, participant were opened to effective school-based management index (e-sbm-index). the instrument reported a strong overall cronbach alpha of 0.97, while the subscales factors entails, power decentralization (α =.92); facilities obligation (α =.73); monitoring and evaluation (α =.65); recruitment and retrenchment (α =.85); and financial obligation (α =.71). information on socio-demographic factors and geographical location of schools were also obtained from the participants. descriptive analysis and t-test of independent sample were used to analyze data and accepted at p < 0.05. respondents’ mean age was 49.5±11.5 years. it was revealed that 35% of the public schools engaged practice effective sbm in ondo state, while 65% of public schools engaged were practicing ineffective sbm. furthermore, it was revealed that there was significant difference in the practice of sbm in rural and urban public secondary schools in ondo state (t (58) = 26.60; p < 0.01), such that, public secondary schools located in the rural area ( x = 75.20, sd = 1.80) practice effective sbm’s policy than counterparts located in the urban area ( x = 34.97, sd = 02.67). majorly the practice of sbm in public secondary school remained ineffective in ondo state. the practice of sbm in rural and urban public secondary schools in ondo state is significantly different. public secondary schools located in the rural area of ondo state practice effectively sbm’s policy than public secondary schools located in the urban area of ondo state. it is recommended that the government should be pro-active in creating an enabling environment in terms of policy upon which sbm can be practice effectively and efficiently. keywords: decentralization, school administration, school-based management, school location, ondo state. (5) 1. introduction school-based management (sbm) is the decentralization of authorities and power from solely the government to governmentbased agents, community-based agents, and school-based agents. the key players or agents in the sbm model are often time copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 89 addressed as the school-based management committees (smbc). the sbmcs entails that the government representatives of government or agents often regarded as education officers representatives of the ministry of education, and teaching service commission (tescom); school agents of sbmcs entails principals, head of subject teachers, current and old student representatives, representatives of pta, representatives of national union of teachers; and community agents of sbmcs which entails local traditional leaders, religious leaders, representatives of residents associations, representatives of youth, communitybased philanthropists and councilors. sbm has been identified in the past to foster school development and ensures that schools provide quality, social and economic benefits that best reflect the core values and priorities of the local communities (lewis, 2006). sbm allows schools more autonomy in the use of their human, material and financial resources. member nations of the education reforms in organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd) often share essential common characteristics, including greater responsiveness to local needs, increased school autonomy, and objective of improving students' academic performances (oecd, 2004; olaseni & ibukun, 2016). the world bank education portfolio for 2000 to 2006 fiscal years out rightly supported the active practice of sbm, such that 23 percent of the bank’s total education finance was allocated (heylighen & joslyn, 2008). for over a decade, the trend of smb has become so popular such that numerous countries with diverse cultures (hong kong, the united kingdom, el salvador, guatemala, mexico, new zealand, thailand, united states, nicaragua, spain, the netherlands, israel others) have instituted sbm program in their respective countries (gray, 2004; taylor & bogotch, 2004; petty & green, 2007; caldwell, 2005). the place of school location in the implementation of sbm remained unclear. one of the objectives of sbm policy has been to bridge the gap between the quality of education that is obtainable in rural and urban communities. however, community agent of sbmcs has been reported very active in school management than other arms of sbmcs in the rural communities and better when compared to urban communities. it is widely assumed that parental participation may work effectively in the rural districts than urban communities because of limited educational resources, both human and financial. schools in rural or remote areas are often facing more severe situations like a small-size classroom and lack experienced teachers than the urban located schools. 2. theoretical and conceptual framework: system management theory (smt) in an attempt to situate this research work within theoretical frameworks, and understand the concept school based management, this study was guided using smt theory. smt constituted the study theoretical framework because it considers significantly and respect every formation members of any system and describe the way each component functions together and impacted one another to achieve a wholesome vision and mission. this theory looks at chain reaction in organization and how the reactions impact other parts of a system. according to ibukun (2008) a system is a set of identified elements which interact among themselves and with its environment to perform a specific function. school as a system enables the stakeholders to view the school as a social organization that has many components that inter-relate and inter-depend on one another for the purpose of achieving the educational goals. mc qurrey (2012) sees a system as a whole made up of parts. each part can affect the way other part works and the way all part works together will determine how well the system works. that is, the school should not be separated from the community. the input of the commitment-holders in education could be better harnessed through the school based management. find below the conceptual framework of the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 90 source: olaseni (2016) the diagram above explains how school based management committees interact together to pass information and how feedback are delivered. the school principal receives information directly from the government and as well gives the feedback agreed on by the sbmc to the government. he as well passes information to both the head teachers, students representatives, parents and the community of the school while the head teachers also passes the information to the subjects teachers in which thereafter, these whole committees give their feedback to the principal who then take the information to the government. the committee members also go to the principal to obtain or to deliver information. 3. literature review the model of sbm has been well popular and considered as an adopted improving tool in providing excellent quality education to students and improving school management, transparency, accountability, and responsibilities. most countries whose students perform well in international students' achievement tests were reported to give local authorities and schools substantial autonomy to decide the content of their curriculum and management of their resources. smb has been very laudable in improving the significantly academic performance of students as established by numerous scholars (e.g., borman et al. 2003), increases students' interest and participation in science subjects (e.g., gropello & marshall, 2005); efficient school performance (mckinsey & company, 2010) among others. the study conducted by sun (2007) revealed that rapid changes in schools that have adopted the practice of sbm. increasing number of developing and developed nations are adopting the sbm system as interventions for enhancing quality conceptual framework of sbm government school principals community rep. council (crc) authority and decision-making decentralized head of subject teachers (h.o.d’s.) parents students’ rep. council (src) teachers copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 91 education. sbm empowers school agents (principals, teachers, students & parents) by strengthening their motivation and increases their sense of ownership of the school. chaudhury & parajuli, (2010) revealed that sbm engaged and increased parental involvement in the school other than the parent teacher association, whereby parents without wards are not permitted to participate in the school's affairs, in regardless of how much interest or capacity they have to influence the development of the school in terms of facilities, supervision and the likes the study of shatkin and gershberg (2007) conducted using a case study method to study the effects parents and community members’ (agent of sbmc) participation in school leadership in texas, chicago, hawaii, and kentucky. it was concluded particularly that community agents (parents and community) participation in educational leadership enhances governance and accountability which impacted students’ academic outcome. a similar finding was reported in the study of joseph (2011) who revealed that family and community environment determine academic success. a qualitative study conducted by ayeni (2012) examining the role of school agents (principals & teachers) in enhancing quality assurance in the secondary school in ondo state, nigeria concluded that school agents play a significant role in improving quality of secondary school education in ondo state, nigeria. the study of reimers and cardenas (2007) purposed to examine educational governance at local level, vis-a-vis the benefits of school-based management. it was revealed that schools located in the urban region of mexico practiced school-based management significantly much better (29%) than schools located in the rural part of mexico. it was also revealed that indigent students benefitted better from the sbm policy than students with average or good economic status. the study of ai shoraku (2009) purposed to examine educational movement toward school-based management in east asia revealed that over 90% of the rural community agents of sbmcs interviewed during data gathering mentioned participating in activities to the school activities, particularly financial commitment than those in the urban communities. the percentage of financial commitment was quite large, compared to the other responsibilities such as; attending an opening or closing ceremony, attending a meeting at school or engaged in policy and decision making. some of the money contributed was for new buildings, preparation of opening and/or other ritual school activities, and school lunches. there is a paucity of literature addressing the efficiencies of sbm policy in ondo state, nigeria. though sbm remained focus on ensuring quality and adequate education in rural and urban communities but the practice in the rural and urban communities in ondo state remained unclear and undebated. hence, this study examines the practicality of sbm in secondary schools in ondo state and the implication of school location. 4. research objectives  to examine the effectiveness of sbm practice in the public secondary schools in ondo state, nigeria  to explore the non-significant difference in the practice of sbm between schools in rural and urban communities of ondo state. 5. hypothesis h01 there is no significant difference in the practice of sbm between schools in rural and urban communities of ondo state. 6. methodology design/sampling: descriptive survey design was used with survey methods. the study settings were selected from the three senatorial districts of ondo state. thus a purposive random sampling method was adopted to select and engage principals from twenty (20) public secondary schools in each district (ten urban and ten rural) of the state into the research. instrument: the data for the study was collected through the effective school-based management index (e-sbm-index). esbm-index is a-27 item inventory that was developed by olaseni (2016) to determine the efficiencies and effectiveness of constituted school-based management committees. the subscales factors entails, power decentralization (α =.92); facilities obligation (α =.73); monitoring and evaluation (α =.65); recruitment and retrenchment (α =.85); and financial obligation (α =.71). the e-sbm-index has a significant cronbach alpha of 0.97, indicating an acceptable level of reliability. the validity of e-sbm-index has established through the construct (discriminant and convergent) validity. 7. results research objective 1 the research objective one which was set to examine the effectiveness of sbm practice in the public secondary schools in ondo state, nigeria is presented table 1 using descriptive analysis. table 1: showing the norm and percentage of effective sbm adoption in the urban and rural public secondary schools of ondo state. class of interval frequencies f(n) f (%) sbm 90 – 120 21 35% effective practice 61 – 90 31 – 60 39 65% ineffective practice 00 – 30 source: field survey, 2018 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 92 table 1 presents the numbers of schools sampled to participate in this study, 60 schools were sampled and the total score for sbm effectiveness is 120 in which the researcher considered those who scored above the norm (> 61%) to be effective in the practice of sbm and schools below the norm (< 60) below to be less-effective in the practice of sbm. this implies that 35% (21 out of the 60 sampled) schools practice effective sbm in ondo state while 65% (that is 39 out of the total 60 schools used in the research) do not practice an effective sbm. figure 1: pie chart showing the level of effective sbm adoption in urban and rural public secondary schools in ondo state source: derived from table 1 research objective 2 the research objective two which was set to explore no significant difference in the practice of sbm between schools in rural and urban communities of ondo state was presented table 2 using t-test of independent sample. table 2 showing the significant difference in the sbm practice between schools in rural and urban communities of ondo state location n x sd df t p rural 18 75.20 01.80 sbm 58 26.60 < .01 urban 42 34.97 02.67 table 2 presented the result showing the significant difference in the practice of sbm in the public secondary schools located in the rural and urban communities of ondo state. it was revealed that there was significant difference in the practice of sbm in rural and urban public secondary schools in ondo state (t (58) = 26.60; p < 0.01). it was further revealed that public secondary schools located in the rural area ( x = 75.20, sd = 1.80) of ondo state practice effectively sbm’s policy than public secondary schools located in the urban area ( x = 34.97, sd = 02.67) of ondo state. the outcome negates the stated objective two which proposed that no significant difference in the practice of sbm between schools in rural and urban communities of ondo state. the null hypothesis was therefore rejected, while the alternate hypothesis is therefore accepted. 8. discussion and conclusion from the findings, aside from low acceptance of school-based management in ondo state, it was revealed that there is low acceptance of sbm in ondo state public secondary schools. the level of adoption and acceptance of sbm in ondo state secondary schools for the effective schools is 35% while for the less effective schools is 65%. this corroborates the findings by the federal ministry of education (2011) that a significant proportion of 60% of schools is without functional sbmc. this situation could be partly attributed to problems such as inadequate sensitization and advocacy for the government, school leadership and communities to understand the enormous benefits to be derived from their genuine participation in school governance, particularly in raising teaching and learning standards, and quality of outputs in schools. furthermore, it was revealed that most schools located in the rural area of ondo state practice more effectively the policy of sbm when compared to public secondary schools situated in the urban region of ondo state. however, the findings revealed that the difference observed in the practice of sbm in the schools located in rural and urban communities was very significant. the result implied that the exposed the location of the school, the less effective the practice of school-based management, or the less exposed the position of the school, the effective the practice of school-based management. the possible reason for the copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 93 outcome could be that occupants in the rural area have more time to be the focus and devoted to the activities of education and other things while those in the urban seems to be too busy to participate in the school activities. moreso, public secondary schools in the rural communities of ondo state attract much or better commitment to sbmcs than public secondary schools in the urban communities because schools in the rural areas have limited educational resources, such as; ill-equipped laboratory, lack of books or updated books in the library, lack experienced teachers, among others. the outcome was in agreement with the findings of reimers and cardenas (2007) and ai shoraku (2009) that reported better practice and benefits of sbm policy in the rural region than the urban region. 9. recommendation  this study discovered low effectiveness in the practice of sbm in nigeria. government to put in place the right school administrative management or policy which will improve the acceptance of sbm in ondo state public secondary schools by increasing parental and community involvement in school administration, whereby, parents and the community members monitor/supervise the acquisition and utilization of teaching and learning materials in the school and staffs are motivated to be more committed to their duties.  effective delivery of sbm should be ensured by the authorities concerned in the rural and more importantly, the urban communities. the education policymakers should also make decision making more open to the school community members who are the immediate beneficiaries of the school rather than generalizing a rule which might not apply to all communities.  the results of the research could assist the policy makers in education to formulate a result-oriented policy that will incorporate the concept of school-based management in the running of the school system. this will no doubt enhance parents and community participation in the system and improve quality service delivery and better learning outcome in nigerian secondary schools. references ai shoraku (2009). strategic change management on education: the future is ours to build. india: pune press publisher. alimi, o.s. (2012), community based school management: a seminar paper on effective management of secondary schools in ondo state. ikare amure printing press. ayeni, a. j. (2010). teachers’ instructional task performance and principals’ supervisory roles as correlates of quality assurance in secondary schools in ondo state. (unpublished doctoral dissertation)obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria. caldwell, b.j. (2005a). school based management paris: international academy of education and international institute for educational planning. chaudhury, f & parajuli, n. (2010). educational development; the future of school effectiveness and improvement in school,9(2), pp 125-134. gray, j. (2004). school effectiveness and the ‘other outcomes’ of secondary schooling: a reassessment of curriculum delivery. improving schools, 7(2), 185-198. lewis, b. (2006). home influence on school learning: direct and indirect effect of parental involvement on high school grades. journal of educational research, 80(5), 330-336. mc’querry, a. (2012). managing the education system: a review of the schools’ general operational system in britain. journal of educational leadership style. 4(2) 19-25. reimers and cardenas (2007). educational restoration: leading the self-managing school. london: falmer press. shatkin, h. & gershberg (2007). developing a relationship between the school and the community. school improvement and accountability 8(2), 13-22. sullaiman.a. (2009).education sector support programme: memorandum on need to hold on and strengthen the education system in nigeria. ibadan sabork publisher. sun, h. (2007); petty, n.w & green. t. (2007), school effectiveness and learners outcome 16(3),249-279. ibukun.w.o. (2013).the role of school based management committees in the administration of secondary schools in nigeria. a journal of global education services, 2(1). ibukun.w. o. (2008). principles of educational management. akure: pub:stebak books. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 17 dynamics of gender self and other in sharon doubiago's south america mi hija abdullah h. kurraz al-azhar university-gaza, palestine e-mail: abdhk99@yahoo.com received: may 09, 2020 accepted: may 30, 2020 online published: june 09, 2020 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.602 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.602 abstract this paper explores the poetic feminist discourse of the south american poet sharon doubiago's epic south america mi hija and how she engenders and maintains her gender's visions and beliefs in masculine societies that still engulf the whole human world. she poetically defends herself and her gender refusing to submit to the standing patriarchal paradigm. she portrays herself as a modern spokesperson of her gender and its vulnerability to victimization. doubiago also tries to cast her challenge against the dominant patriarchal power. further, this paper sheds light on the poet’s optimism in winning the battle in the light of modern feminist analysis, providing relevant representations of her poetic discourse. it elucidates how the poet publicizes her feminist and gender thoughts despite the domination of the masculine power. as a result, as an intimate feminist poet, doubiago succeeds in identification with her psyche and other similar selves that can assimilate with her soul and vision. in a broader sense, the focal hypothesis of this paper revolves around conceptualizing feminist poetics and gender in an appreciative receptionist way. keywords: feminism, victimization, masculinity, feminist discourse, otherness. sharon doubiago engenders a powerful exploration of the mother-daughter relationship, deriving from the demeter and persephone myth. also, she engages in a related feminist discourse exploring man-woman relationships relying on her own understanding of female/feminine, as the self, and male/masculine, as the other. there are three main tracks that feminism works on: the critique of the established views of the self, the reclamation" of women's selfhood, and the "reconceptualization" of the self to incorporate women's experiences (meyers, 2000). doubiago masters such feminine knowledge and manifests it in south america mi hija (1992). julie ellison (1990) regards the gendered self as the "locus of conversation among the many languages" of the mind and of the society, such as divination, desire, family, friendship, politics, and economy (p. 223). alicia ostriker (2001) describes doubiago's south america mi hija as "global in reach, formally experimental," for it foregrounds for a sincere experimental travel feminist discourse suitable to be a guide to every woman everywhere in our globe (p. 257). besides, irving howe (1992) emphasizes the importance of the self in studying literature, since the self implies "an acceptance of the sufficiency of the human condition so that divinities, myths, and miracles slip into obsolescence" (p. 252). it is a universal discourse that enables the poetess to go deep into the momentum of female-male exchange and mutual feelings and perspectives towards each other. doubiago is aware of the two basic human types, male and female, thus, the way the relationship between women and men is structured is a "basic model for human relations" (eisler, 1987, p.168). moreover, jeanne hong zhang (2004) comments on women's poetry in the light of the twentieth century new critical schools saying that any feminist-based poetry is constituted by “female-authored poems that deal with gender-based themes, experience and psychology in a distinctive language usage” (p. 16). in south america mi hija, doubiago travels with her daughter to colombia, peru, and ecuador so that she can address herself, the other, and her daughter. we read the poet’s sufferings during such a journey where she and her daughter encounter thieves, beggars, and deviated people. both of them visit different places and ruins where there are manifestations of a long history of human sacrifice, conquest, and revolution. the poet aspires to deeply and freely communicate with the self and the other and debate about "gender war." it is traditional to blame "hormones" for the inability to communicate with the same gender in any https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/palestine_(region) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.602 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 18 society. in this sense, m. lewis and j. brooks-gunn (1989) define gender as the "single most salient individual variable in the socialization process" that affects how people think of themselves and how others respond to them. in addition, both writers emphasize the role of language in the construction of the self, viewing language as a "discursive action" (p. 162). furthermore, doubiago experiences a lot of historical places and different people where she is influenced by what she sees and then delivers this lengthy poem, all of which sustains her self-knowledge and self-discovery. in this sense, doubiago's poetic discourse is the "medium for the commonality of thought" that allows the readers to understand the "feminine knowledge" in social and textual affairs (ellison, 1990, p. 88). the poet mentions a lot of goddesses' names and mythical figures, such as isis, ishtar, europa, demeter, and persephone. these mythical names are masterfully employed by the poet to signify a variety of themes and issues such as gender relations and tensions, familial and social ties, seduction, betrayal, birth, death, nature, and femininity. her landscape seems to be cosmopolitan without time to serve as a "point of departure" for most of her poems in this volume (ullman, 1993, p. 189). this collection of poems is enriched with names, facts places, quotes, and symbols, all of which serve as a powerful source for doubiago's knowledge and to sustain her vision as a female figure. in addition, doubiago testifies in a plain language that man carries "both/the male and the female/ in his genital sacks" (1992, p. 271). whereas woman, our other first, carries ova, then a fetus in the uterus, then a child at her breasts. this testament allows the poetess to reflect her interior identity, as female, derived from women's "biological nature," which is manifest in the "genitalia" (meyers, 2000). catherine r stimpson (1993) points to the poet’s poetics in privileging heterosexuality that is changed with "archaism and nostalgia," to redeem the sexualities of the "grubby, steely, killing" women in the process of regenerating life cycle (p. 264). in this sense, doubiago mythologizes sexuality, as it is a wide appeal across a modem spectrum of today's ideologies. accordingly, the poet seems conscious of the differences among women, too. her consciousness is shown clearly, when she travels through "third world" countries, where women cannot escape the gaps among woman that class, race, and culture have established. throughout this personal travel biography, doubiago expresses her feelings towards the conflicting positions between the male and female, extending this discourse to include the conflicting relationships between mother and daughter, nation and nation, man and nature, man and woman, and the self and the other. doubiago's feminist discourse emphasizes crucial features of selfhood such as "inter-subjectivity, heterogeneity, and social construction" (meyers, 2000). besides, she adopts a powerful didactic discourse in an attempt to convey a clear message to her audience about such issues. in this sense, doris lynch (2000) implies that doubiago has the strong intention to present "a vital, feminist, and extremely sensitive self," which south america mi hija keeps showing in an aesthetic and influential way (p. 277). zhang maintains that such feminist writings are similar to a "web of interrelated metaphors from graveyards to snow, scissors to paradoxical images of motherhood and life itself," and this technique is employed by doubiago in most of her poems in south america mi hija (2004, p. 162). doubiago is fully aware of the tenderness and vulnerability of her daughter and her innocence as well. accordingly, she tries to answer her daughter's question "what is a virgin?" in a careful and responsible way: but here at culture's altar where she is buried alive here where she is forever veiled from the world that dies for need of her here, where all the past uses of that word virgin fall on her as stone though i defined it without judgment or anger my daughter, o virgin undone understands are there any good men, mom? (1992, p. 189) here, this stanza reminds me of an ancient habit, where the fathers, before the dawn of our religions, used to bury their female infants alive. they claimed that females were the source of shame to their fathers. yet, who is responsible for these cultural and social habits? is it the imperfect familial raising? i think it is something behind the poet’s control that she cannot tell or decide. then the word "virgin" falls like a stone on the poetess's daughter's head because she does not know what a "virgin" is or what the society's attitude towards virgins is in such a modem world. the last three lines of the previous quote work as a didactic discourse to tell us readers that mothers are the advocate of their virgin daughters, and they should defend their innocence, chastity, femininity, and virginity as well. the last question resonates with the main question that the daughter raises and opens into subquestions regarding cultural, religious, social, and political perspectives towards female position in society. women and men feel in the same way "they need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts," argues virginia woolf (1989), she adds that women are victims of religious, cultural and social rigid restraints and maltreatments (p. 101). doubiago maintains and practices her creative faculties despite such constraints. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 19 doubiago's poetic journey allows us to explore her strong feelings such as her grief and compassion for the man whom she lost. this event is a tragic one in the poet’s life and intensifies her worry and grief. ullman regards such an event as an opening into another major themes such as the yearning men and women have for one another and the impossibility of "satisfying that yearning" (1993, p. 191). the theme is manifested in the poet’s response to her daughter: nothing will appease her fury and her three day-and-night orgy of crying, her grief for being born (1992, p. 125) this situation reflects the daughter's identification with her mother's psyche in lamenting the loss of her man. this signifies the common gender quality they share with each other, the gender identity that the poet frequently invokes in her poems. in this sense, doubiago seems to universalize the theme of her gender identity when she addresses her daughter in a didactic way, using phrases such as "universal culture of sexism," "reactionary psychology," "core relationship," and "masculine imbalance." this tone of didactic discourse draws ullman's attention, noticing that the resulting "diffusion of consciousness" of the poet is obvious in most of her poems, allowing her to diversify and interweave her gender motifs and themes (1993, p. 195). we see the mythical and the personal references fused into one multi-layered ballad of south america mi hija. in another place, doubiago searches for suitable words to frame her gender identity and subjectivity as the self against the male gender identity as the other. her words represent a means of explaining and preventing the tragedies of her gender identity in an influential mythopoetic way. -for her, this process is the mechanism in which men "deny their mothers... to find/themselves/ to develop/ technology/ to make/ war" (1992, p. 95). meanwhile, ostriker views different stances where doubiago celebrates "a marriage of opposites” (2001, p. 258). it is the continuous gender conflict, as we will see. in addition, the poet notices that women deny "the feminine" in themselves to keep their fathers. the poet directs her quest in mythic terms linking her journey with persephone's abduction "into the abyss" after being raped by pluto. doubiago portrays south america like persephone, who represents her daughter suffering under patriarchy, "the third world/ screams, it drops/ it pisses, it hisses, it/ sinks" (1992, p. 100) doubiago embraces the whole landscape of south america and identifies it with her "self' and her daughter embodying the promise of the future in which the "gender balance/ of nature" will be resorted. in this regard, doubiago's mastery of universal mythologies allows her to find universal significance and objective correlative for her personal stress. such mythopoetics makes our understanding of the poet’s psychosexual equations easier, she admits that "all patriarchies/long for the father" who are the females' source of pleasure and prosperity. however, doubiago, armed with numerous mythical images and signifiers of aphrodite and demeter, keeps questing for the self, creating a kind of "revolution of the human beyond gender identity." doubiago plainly intensifies the moment of being identified in gender where "each woman is a new goddess/ from which each man launched a new war/ the war of gender" (ibid 230). in this poetic context, the self is hidden in the psyche of the individuals, and it appears only in their inner world. the quest for the self-engages doubiago's mind to locate the meaning of her gender identity and publicize it. in this sense, howe gives another definition of the self, "a construct of mind, a hypothesis of being, so socially formed" (1992, p. 249). south america mi hija is characterized by the use of a set of binary oppositions and differences, such as the conflict between stasis and dynamic mobility, isolation and engagement, where the poetess touches her daughter's "powerful flesh" and realizes that all civilizations have fallen down because of the terror of "flesh, women, nature, death, eros, soul, the unknown, the unnamed, the unsaved inconsequential self." it is the tensest moment of the whole collection when the poet refers to things that stand in the way of the possibility of rebirth for the self. while in the early poems the self is imaged in terms of its own possibilities of transformation, where "men are unable to love in the universal culture of sexism! deeper, more ingrained than racism" (doubiago, 1992, p. 14), in the later poems like "psyche," the self is more often seen as trapped within a closed cycle where the "psyche will hide from even the self... in her cocoon/on her butterfly wings" (ibid, p. 261). the poet moves in a circular space back and forth, but she seems to move more often towards the starting point where her identity can be more sustained and recognized and her psyche "travels/ life after life my life, station! after station to be tried" (ibid, p. 38). doubiago's poems record the self in the world where this self -as a female figurecan change, develop, transform, and be reborn. these possibilities of the self are intimately and inextricably bound up with those possibilities of the world where the "feminine part of earth" is motivated by feelings of distinguished identity and belonging. these mature, distinguished qualities enable the poet to stand on the opposite space of the male as the other. besides, the poetic discourse that the poet follows shows us that the other should be understood according to the "spiritual discipline," which, i think, privileges the male authority as the only dominant power in the society. for doubiago, this discipline engenders "self-betrayal" and "self-hatred" on the part of the females, where women know "complicity/at the core of the self/ with the patriarchy" (ibid, p. 266). in these words, there is a confession that women take roles in engendering such equation of malefemale relationship and submit peacefully-or by intimidation-to the other gender. this notion of submission of the self to the other is clear when the poet touches the stone and sees "isis/still searching for the phallus/through patriarchies of all times all places" (ibid, p. 11). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 20 doubiago's metaphoric signs of fragmentation and reification-the abstraction of the self as an individual--are based on social, political, cultural, and historical facts. such signs and allusions include the myths of demeter and persephone, third world countries, buddhism, confucianism, the sidewinder, adam and eve, and masochism. other images that denote such metaphors include "culture's altar," "marx," "earth," and "nature." it is doubiago's consciousness of the other, the man, in terms of gender conflict and identity. according to the poet, the man in the poem is finally defined by carrying both "the male and the female/ in his genital sacks." but the definition of the women shows her even more alienated, objectified, and dehumanized. while the man/male is the masculine figure who longs for woman to "find the answer/ the riddle of the sphinx," the woman is the "feminine part of the earth" who should revolt and be motivated by feelings of love. thus, women do not exist in the gender space unless men need and will them to. this notion of masculinity and femininity reflects the poet’s awareness of gender imbalance and the pains it causes to her gender in a dominant masculine milieu. she addresses her daughter, "o girl/we are the lost feminine/the world searches for/the feminine/the world dies for" (ibid, p. 94). here, there is a hint to social and cultural injustices that deny women's right to be reborn, empowered, and recognized as an inextricable half in society. so, the poet declares a revolution against such injustices telling us that her question is "to be / or not to be," because her culture hates women and the feminine, and this is unfair and "stupid." these significances reflect the poet’s dual consciousness of the self as both subject and object. as a result, doubiago shows the characteristics of the literature of the oppressed classes in society. south america mi hija, as a feminist epic lengthy poem, is vivid and dynamic; it moves from one space into another in a persuasive way so that we can understand that the poetess means to raise questions about her freedom of action, opinion as long as "poetry depends on intellectual freedom" (woolf, 1989, p. 17). in this sense, ellison says that such dual consciousness is characteristic of "revolutionary" literature, since it shows the "dialectical perception" of self as both subject and object (1990, p. 132). yet, does this dialectical consciousness of the self as object and subject reflect the poet’s particular social context? i think the poet seems unable to develop a consciousness of herself in relation to other women. there is no collective identity and discourse; instead, it is a subjective feminine discourse despite the many personas and objective correlatives she creates. this poetic device raises the question of how one woman can account objectively for herself and other women in terms of gender war and the injustices they encounter in society. in this regard, can the poet also be objective and factual in her perception, free from myths and personas? i think she does not show much of her objectivity in this poem, rather it is the dominant subjectivity that directs her discourse. in a poem like "mamapacha the loving mother of men," there is a suppressed hysteria where the poet mixes surrealism, objectivity, and subjectivity. the images of the poem are predominating images of civil war, betrayal, earthquakes, race, and bleeding: the earth quakes and the people float […] watch out, the indian warned me, for those men with knives the people cry, parade in the square of weeping their black jesus, lord of the earthquakes. (doubiago, 1992, p. 196) then she shifts her poetic discourse to a new scene of her own images of hemorrhage where her blood was "pouring out of my vaginala hemorrhage can't stop/ the blood of a lost civilization, a flood," the blood that comes from inside woman, any woman (ibid, p. 197). these images suggest the poet’s emotional dissociation from the horrific images of killing and dying to the terrible detail of the hemorrhage image. these images also signify the poet’s sense of depersonalization, the splitting of herself on one hand, and the separation of society from itself. i think such dissociation reflects her worries about her gender identity and the ingratitude of her patriarchal society for women. throughout the poem and being trapped inside her subjective vision, the poet sees herself caught between nature and society, biology and intellect, demeter and persephone, isis and osiris, self-definition and the expectations of others, as between two mirrors. this image of mirror occupies a relevant space in the poet’s discourse where she looks at herself, and she becomes blind exposing her inability to live her gender's problems and troubles. seemingly, the closer the women come to macchu picchu, the deeper doubiago focuses on herself, presenting her personal memories and other cultural motifs. she tells us that macchu picchu is a woman's city and "american city of sapplo ... a nation! of female warriors" (ibid, p. 208). so, it is her self-awareness of womanhood that gives her the impetus to present herself and other women as vital partners in the game of "gender war." she is fully conscious of this war, where she plays her feminine roles that vary from "the rough banality of the divine" (stimpson, 1993, p. 262). hence, doubiago witnesses and reports the pains, woes, helplessness, and sufferings of her gender. in this lengthy poem, the poet shows a large sense of self that enables her to remember and witness the tiny detail of feminine microcosm in the sphere of the large universe, "i'm broken so badly, i'm every creature/ever trapped in matter and thought, civilization/calcified as rock" (1992, p. 283). the self here is the poet’s "lens of scrutiny" with which she investigates the psychological states of her gender, and it is helpful for the study of anxiety, the condition that grows in "acuteness" as awareness of self-increases (howe, 1992, p. 251). also, lynch pinpoints that doubiago masters the feminine discourse where she holds in a hand her gender identity copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 21 and in the other her national identity; both are fused in her lengthy epic in south america mi hija, where she offers her readers imaginative poems full of metaphor, poems that "thrum with a pulsing feminine sensibility" (2000, p. 281). moreover, gender is the central dominant theme of this poem, and it is sustained by the many allusions and references doubiago mentions ranging from myths, heroes, heroines, nature, herself, and her daughter. this theme is the focus of the feminist discourse in literature nowadays. this discourse attempts to "integrate social and political determinations with an analysis of the psychic ordering of gender" (ellison, 1990, p. 222). the poet's poetic moral revolves around the words "gender," "hegemony," and patriarchy that she inserts in her lengthy poem. her feminist discourse is centered on her "womb" and "vaginal space" where she bears the microcosm of her gender: i wait for the words to rise out of my rising flesh i can near the words babbling in the creek of my womb calling through vaginal space. (doubiago, 1992, p. 31) here, doubiago creates her own theory about the nature of the relations between sexes, which distinguishes females from males; and gender, which distinguishes the feminine from the masculine according to social and cultural roles (tyson, 1999, p.84). doubiago is aware of the profound relation between sex and gender, and she knows that the bodies and sexualities of women and men are different. her poetry in south america mi hija belongs to a feminist school that "universalizes, stabilizes, and carnalizes" the interplay between the two words: men and women. for the poet, sexuality means erotic desire, seduction, and gratification; besides, it is a means of procreation and generation. she mentions that men, our fathers, carry sperm that determine the sex of the infant. to the best of my knowledge, there are two kinds of sperm: the male that has short life span, twenty-four hours, and the female that has longer life span, up to seventy-two hours. this suggests that the poet is aware of this fact and sustains that females are capable of surviving hardships and troubles. therefore, doubiago is aware of her feminist role in society, and this awareness is reflected in her thematic and rhetorical ways of her discourse. on the level of gender subjectivity and identity, femaleness unites women, while maleness unites men in the domain of heterosexuality. mother, as the self in the gender war, occupies the main space of doubiago's discourse. also, she expresses her erotic feelings as a mother to her daughter passionately and didactically in "earth lagos present:" .. . entered a strange stream, a sexual stream, the ecstasy of time and place like mountain, like seas at the risen continents i could hear time, a mechanic sound i could feel creation, myself in place for the first time (doubiago, 1992, p. 127-28) in this context, ostriker views strong feminist discourse and consciousness about the common feminist issues in every society, implying that doubiago's lengthy poem is characterized by "its amplitude and tempo," offering clear feminist views of the beauty and poverty, squalor, cruelty and mystery "out the window," all of which alternate with "inside" meditations on motherdaughter, mother-son, male-female love and betrayal--biological, psychic, mythic (2001, p. 260). zhang views a wide and courageous step into "an aesthetic stream," whether "semantic" or "syntactic" (2004, p. 16). moreover, for doubiago, the personal is the political, the religious, the cultural, and the universal. this is why south america mi hija seems to lament in detail the "interlocking of patriarchal psychology," when family structure, state, and faith are examined. obviously, doubiago uses the pronoun "i" numerously expressing a striking feature for her own self and subjectivity throughout the poem. in this regard, meyers (2000) views the self as a subject of "enunciation," when the speaker uses the pronoun 1. for howe, the self "attains the dignity of a noun" to register an "enhancement of authority" (1992, p. 250). it is doubiago's own way in referring to herself and her gender revealing her "sexed/gendered identity" freely and consciously. no doubt, doubiago's "historiography" tells us that women have neither accepted nor celebrated their bodies and sexuality, but they have imprisoned them in social, cultural, and psychological "cells" (stimpson, 1993, p. 266). doubiago's feelings of misogyny are mentioned in different poems in her collection. she tells us that because some women have power, men have fought them, seduced them to objects and nothingness. in her poem "mother," the poet touches the stone and knows the male, knowing his identity, "must see his mother/female/must objectify her/woman" (doubiago, 1992:265). then she touches the stone and knows "the hatred of woman/is the hatred of nature" (ibid 267(. also, she addresses her daughter in "gender," telling her that male rejects "women/his mother and will identify himself... objectifying you/his first act of self' (ibid, p. 271). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 22 commenting on this issue, ostriker tells us that doubiago employs a convention that "the male-female conspiracy to keep history mad has become impossible to sustain" which is a recurrent and agonizing motif throughout south america mi hija (2001, p. 260). for doubiago, the war against women is civilization's war since women connect us to nature: the flesh and blood from which we come mama first virgin unknown. unconquerable female body, maker of our death as well as our life, why her, why we hate nature. (1992, p. 281) such hatred of both women and nature and the destruction of civilization are man-made a pocalypse" (stimpson, 1992:266). doubiago’s sight and insight see men write and act out patriarchal scripts, and rule women. they, men, also reduce female creativity to the figure of isis, the goddess who must find and bind the fragments of a dismembered male body together: earth will explode consciousness is a created creative event a bucket full of water as we are creating it we are not separate but psyche will hide from even the self (1992, p. 261). this is why she chose to travel with her daughter, not with her son. the mother-daughter relationship is crucial to the identity of each one of them because". .. the daughter is the core of the mother." this relationship is based on giving birth to a daughter, mothers give rebirth to themselves. it is, i think, universal fact and tradition. thematically, doubiago also searches for the core of being, of framing her self, of defining her gender in the hegemonic patriarchal ideologies. she is aware of this system where all natural, human, and sacred activities are "organically' connected, establishing relations that "puns and words with double/treble meanings convey" (stimpson, 1993, p. 268). woolf stresses that women and men are different in a variety of ways; their nerves that feed their brains are different. it is right whenever it comes to writing poetry or fiction for they have different genes, mentalities, capabilities, attitudes, social norms, habits, desires, hopes, expectations and dreams (1989, p. 99). yet, woolf cries to "lock up your libraries … [and] to set upon the freedom of … mind," so she defies the patriarchal powers that enable men to be the superiors in any human society and calls women to decide upon their own paths (ibid, p. 111). later, doubiago hopes to revolt with other women to change the dominant structures of gender within the self, family, and society. this gender revolution will end with the collapse of all other structures of domination and submission. the poet also aspires to subvert the "male monopoly of positions of economic, political, and social power" (tyson, 1999, p. 84). this is ostensible in the poem "amazon" where the poet admits hysterically the dominance of the male 'masculinity" over women femininity through the sufferings, hate, heartbreak, labor, and birth on the part of women. doubiago, however, does not surrender to such a system; she calls for reclaiming the female powers that the "patriarchs have removed from the public life" (stimpson, 1993, p. 70). she continues mentioning myths, legends, and feminine-nature images sustaining her popular consciousness in the arena of gender war. replacing the refrain "out the window' with another one "i touch the stone," doubiago emphasizes her gender unity against the patriarchal dominant society: the son as time, evolutionary savior, the sun the male bounded to the mother to the sister to daughter 104 to woman to earth (1992, p. 284) this replacement asserts doubiago's feminist vision of female's originality and capability of always being the center of the creation in the world. in brief, doubiago presents her self-discovery as a woman and a mother emphasizing her perspectives of the gendered self and other. she also shows self-awareness and consciousness of her gender war in the dominant patriarchal societies. her gender themes about the self and the other are conveyed plainly and extensively. yet, woolf states that masculinehegemonic beliefs and practices challenged women creativeness and voices: since her pin money, which depended on the goodwill of her father, was only enough to keep her clothed, she was debarred from such alleviations as came even to keats or tennyson or carlyle, all poor men, from a walking tour, a little journey to france, from the separate lodging which, even if it were miserable enough, sheltered them from the claims and tyrannies of their families. such material difficulties were formidable; but much worse were the immaterial. the indifference of the world which keats and flaubert and other men of genius have found so hard to bear was in her case not indifference but hostility. (1989, p. 52) this means that women have to challenge the rooted power of men in order to set up a place for their own creativity and voices. women also have to decentralize the male authority to construct a unity for gender coherent self and authorial discourse. woolf offers a cry to engender and strengthen feminist consciousness against the dominant masculine identity and authority. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 23 references doubiago, s. (1992). south america mi hija. pittsburgh: university of pittsburgh press. eisler, r. (1987). the chalice and the blade. our history, our future. london (harper/collins) 1987. ellison, j. (1990). delicate subjects: romanticism, gender, and the ethics of understanding. ithaca: cornell up. howe, i. (1992). the self in literature. the construction of the self. ed. george levine. rutgers up, 249-66. lewis, m. & brooks-gunn, j. (1989). social cognition and the acquisition of self. new york: plenum. lynch, d. (2000). body and soul. library journal. 125, 276-283. meyers, d. (2000). self-understanding and theory of mind. stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. retrieved august 30, 2019 from http://plato.standford.edu/entries/feminism-self/#a. ostriker, a. (2001). beyond confession: the poetics of postmodern witness. the american poetry review, 30(2), 35-39. stimpson, c. r. (1993). demeter in south america. parnassus: poetry in review. 17/18, 258-71. tyson, l. (1999). critical theory today: a user-friendly guide. new york: garland publishing, inc. ullman, l. (1993). betrayal and boundaries: a question of balance. kenyon review. 15, 182-96. woolf, v. (1989). a room of one's own. new york: harcourt brace. zhang, j. h. (2004). the invention of a discourse: women's poetry. leiden: cnws publications. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 127 in-service teachers’ perception of continuing education programmes in two african universities francis o. olaniyi phd department of adult education faculty of education adekunle ajasin university, akungbaakoko, nigeria e-mail: francisolaniyi@yahoo.com dumisani r. nzima professor department of educational psychology and special education faculty of education university of zululand kwa dlangezwa, republic of south africa abstract the study compared the in-service teachers’ perception of continuing education programmes from two universities in africa; university of zululand, south africa (uz), and adekunle ajasin university, akungba-akoko, nigeria, (aau). the study covers the impact, effectiveness and efficiency of uz and aau on in-service teachers’ of continuing education programmes. the target population and sample for the study were the current teachers of continuing education programmes of these universities . the instrument tagged ‘questionnaire for perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers’ (qpcepit) was designed and used for data collection. the descriptive survey research design of ex-post facto was adopted for the study. 150 questionnaires were randomly used for pilot study, carried out at ekiti state university, ado ekiti, nigeria, whilst 500 questionnaires each were administered at both uz and aau of which 365 and 321 responses were valid and analysed respectively. four research questions were carefully formulated to ascertain the perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers in the selected universities. inferential statistics was used to draw conclusions and test the research questions for the study. the results of the comparative study revealed that the conclusiveness of the learning environment, the nature and quality of student support services provided, the quality and learners’ perception of course modules or materials, accommodation problems and venue of the programme were the major predictors for motivation of in-service teachers of the programme. based on the findings of the study recommendations were made on how the programme will have impact on the in-service teachers and how the universities that are running the programme will be effectively and efficiently manage the programme for the acceleration and advancement of socio-economic growth in south africa, nigeria, and the world at large. keywords: postcoloniality; language; orientalism; colonizer; colonized; identity; hybridity. 1. introduction this chapter looks at the perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers from two universities in africa: universities of zululand (south africa) and adekunle ajasin (nigeria) as a correlate of motivating adult learners to acquire additional qualifications when it is not possible for them to combine full time employment with regular academic programme. in past days, when there were employment opportunities, workers in nigeria enjoyed study leave with-pay and after acquiring additional qualification they return to their work place to resume duties. similarly in south africa, workers prefer to proceed on academic programme on part time basis because of the fear of losing their jobs. there was a lot of employment in the past readily available for university graduates but because of economic crunch in nigeria in the early 1980s, many workers prefer to combine world of work with part-time programmes to attain additional qualifications and at the same time maintain their work. continuing education as a branch of adult education sets out to increase access to a wider section of adult population, to enable participants combine world of work with study without losing their jobs. these sets of adult learners are of diversified experiences. this view is shared by aderinoye (1997; ojo (2010); egunyomi & aderinoye (2001); hayes (2006); christie (2008); mestry, and hendricks & bisschoff (2009) in the world of today, knowledge has been considered as the most important factor of production and its growth is essential to propel an individual into self-sustained growth (drucker, 1994). thus, a knowledge individual will inevitably become far more competitive than any individual, we have yet known, for the simple reason that with knowledge being copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 128 universally accessible, there are no excuses for non-performance. hence, there will be no poor individual; there will only be ignorant individuals (drucker, 1994). it is with these views that the contemporary economy and society have been aptly tagged “knowledge driven economy” or “knowledge society”. knowledge driven economy is often defined as an economy that’s most important elements are the possession, control, production, and utility of knowledge and intellectual resources (unesco, 1996). knowledge society, in a similar perception, is seen as a society where the value of knowledge is the primary source of economic growth and corporate profits. hence, a knowledge society produces commodities of high knowledge value. there is over-reliance on dated sources. as way of helping teachers to achieve additional qualifications without leaving their job, the nigerian government, in line with the education policy documents including the education for all (efa), millennium development goals, national policy on education (npe), national teacher education policy (ntep), vision 20-20-20, and transformation agenda, has acknowledged the important role of continuing professional development programmes for teachers. the national teachers institute was established, as a government parastatal, to accomplish government’s vision of upgrading the quality of her teachers. specifically, the vision of the institute is to produce quality, highly skilled, knowledgeable and creative teachers based on explicit performance standards through pre-service and in-service programmes, which are able to raise a generation of students who can compete globally. the institute, since its establishment, has pushed with vigour various strategies and programmes for improving the quality of teachers through continuing professional development of teachers (aderinoye, 2007). besides, the national policy on education (npe), the vision 20-20-20, the roadmap for the education sector and the national teacher education policy (ntep) all these recognize the role of the teachers in improving the quality of learning outcomes in nigerian schools. according to the national policy on education (2007), “in recognition of the pivotal role of quality teachers in the provision of quality education at all levels, teacher education shall continue to be emphasized in all educational planning and resource development”. thus, the teacher factor is critical to any improvement in the educational system. this is the basis for the often quoted cliché that “no system of education can be above the quality of its teachers” . thus, the teacher is a critical factor in any effort that is aimed at improving the quality of education. as torres (2000) put it “competent and dynamic teaching workforce would ultimately produce efficient and effective human resources for individual and national progress”. aderounmu(2007) also reported that research had shown that “high-quality teachers, using proven teaching methodologies, produced high achieving students…” besides government’s parastatals set up to improve teachers’ quality, tertiary institutions in nigeria have also instituted different continuing education programmes aimed at improving teachers’ quality. one of such institutions is adekunle ajasin university in ondo state of nigeria. the institution’s continuing education programme is one which in-service teachers, especially in the south-west region of the country hold in high esteem through patronage. higher institutions in other regions in africa have equally established various continuing education programmes meant to upgrade the knowledge and skills of inservice teachers in terms of acquiring additional qualification. one of such institution is university of zululand in kwa dlangezwa, republic of south africa. the university has a high enrolment rate of in-service teachers in its part time programme in the faculty of education. perhaps, the reason why these teachers have embraced a part time education programme is simply due to the fact that continuing education, as a branch of adult education, sets out to increase access to a wider section of adult population, to enable participants combine world of work with study without losing their job. according to abdullahi (1997:74) “continuing education programmes have created more successes to university education and contributed immensely to teachers’ professional development”? furthermore, hayes (2006) submitted that recent university graduates who have been recently employed may want to make a career change and need to gain knowledge of a different profession or industry, or may be seeking a promotion for which they need a different set of skills; there is no other means than to engage in continuing education programme.this study is, therefore, designed to find out how the in-service teachers enrolled in the continuing education programmes of these institutions (adekunle ajasin university (aau), located in akungba-akoko, ondo state, nigeria, university of ado-ekiti (unad), ekiti state, nigeria and university of zululand (uz), kwadlangezwa, kzn, south africa) perceived the programme. the choices of these institutions become justifiable due to the fact that the universities exist in an environment where the value for university education is already appreciated by the members of the community and the entire countries at large. in addition, the institutions are public universities that are pursuing continuing education programmes right from the period of their establishment for the professional development of teachers at large. 2. objectives of the study the specific aim of the study is to investigate the perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers from two universities in africa: universities of zululand (south africa) and adekunle ajasin (nigeria). the specific objectives of the study are:  to examine the perceptions, role and impact of continuing education programmes on how in-service teachers will professionally develop themselves; and copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 129  to examine if continuing education programmes is the only source or means by which universities could assist inservice teachers to be professionally developed. 3. scope of the study the scope of the study is limited to three institutions, namely; adekunle ajasin university (aau), located in akungba-akoko, ondo state, nigeria, university of ado-ekiti (unad) now ekiti state university, ekiti state, nigeria, and university of zululand (uz), kwa dlangezwa, south africa). participants included in-service teachers who have enrolled and pursuing b. ed/b.a (ed.)/b. sc. (ed) degree programmes in each institution’s faculty of education through continuing education programme. 4. research questions  what are the perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers in professional development in south africa and nigeria?  do learning modalities of continuing education programmes of university of zululand and adekunle ajasin university have desirable effects on learners’ knowledge utilisations?  what are the problems confronting continuing education programmes of uz and aau? 5. literature review 5.1 concept of continuing education omolewa (2000) posits that continuing education is re-education, training and retraining opportunities that are made available to out-of-school youth and adults, employed and unemployed, to enable them cope with new challenges of life. from his idea, one can say that continuing education provides learning opportunities that can be taken up after the cessation of full-time compulsory schooling. it is a kind of programme that is available to persons of any age and could be provided on part time basis. egunyomi, (1999) and jegede (2010) further stressed that the quality of a person’s life would be affected by his/her ability to acquire new knowledge throughout life and to use this knowledge to solve problems and make decisions. the federal government of nigeria upholds the existence of continuing education. the national policy on education (npe) (2004) lists continuing education among the components of adult and non-formal education. section 7 of the document states that adult and non-formal education consists of functional literacy, remedial, continuing, vocational, aesthetic, cultural and civic education for youths and adults outside the formal school system. in the same policy document, the objectives of adult and continuing education should be:  to provide functional literacy education for adults who have never had the advantage of any formal education.  to provide functional and remedial education for those young people who prematurely dropped out of the formal school system.  to provide education for different categories of completers of the formal education system in order to improve their basic knowledge and skills.  to provide in-service on-the-job, vocational and professional training for different categories of workers and professionals, in order to improve their skills.  to give the adult citizens of the country necessary aesthetic, cultural and civic education for public enlightenment. it is observed from this policy that continuing education should be an agent of national development and establishment of continuing education centres which must call for effective planning and execution. teachers could update and acquire new skills and knowledge of subjects to disseminate the contents to the learners through effective professional development programmes, and thereby enhance student learning. the whole idea is that when adults continue their education, they are more likely to discover a job which matches their passion and talents. these golden opportunities allow someone to “test the water” before jumping into a new career. the benefit of adult education is learning about perspective career fields which may lead to a dream job. however, several important assumptions about adult learners are worth emphasizing. these assumptions are paramount and could guide many aspects of adult learning situations since learning itself is a process of acquisition of knowledge; and knowledge could not be acquired without curriculum which should be reformed to seek improvement in quality by increasing the ability of teachers to deliver the curriculum, reducing diversity or derivation from standards of excellence (mcginn, 1998). 5.2 south african education before 1994 history has it that the south africa education system was initially divided into 15 departments of education. these were the department of national education (dne); the departments for education and culture (dec) for the whites, indians and coloureds; the department of education and training (det) responsible for african education in urban areas, six department of education and culture for independent state. consequent upon this division, the department of national education (dne) copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 130 was inaugurated due to the national policy for general education affairs act 76 of 1984. this policy was responsible essentially for the formation of education policy for all education departments. coupled with this is the fact that the dne developed national policies and standards for certification and remuneration (behr, 1984). these policies on education matters were judiciously expressed in the south african national education policy (sanep) publications which were released to the various departments of education. these publications equally expressed the general policy regarding the evaluation of teachers in south african schools. this criterion was used for the evaluation on probation and for promotion and for merit awards (sanep-nated, 1987; department of education and training; (jarvis, 1983). the dne was responsible for “general affairs” as stated in the republic of south africa constitution act 110 of 1983. it is worthy of note to mention that each of the other 14 departments of education regulated their own affairs specific to each population group in the republic of south africa. the house of assembly regulated education for whites within the parliament. their education was further divided into four provincial departments, that is, cape, natal, orange free state and transvaal. meanwhile, the house of delegates (hod) was responsible for indian education and the house of representative (hor) was in charge of education for coloureds. both houses were represented in the south african parliament. however, the det which was in charge of african education, in urban areas was not represented by a house in parliament. it was an accident of history that those africans who were not under the jurisdiction of the det were placed under six major departments of education in their self-governing territories of kwazulu, kangwane, gazankulu, kwandebele, qwaqwa and lebowa. the aforementioned departments were responsible for their own education system and had ‘autonomy’ from the south african government. the independent states of bophuthatswana, transkei, ciskei and venda were also responsible for their own education. these departments were spread rapidly over the four provinces of south africa. these are: cape town, natal, orange free state and transval. in natal alone, there were five departments of education, namely: det, hod, hor, kdec and ned. since the 1994 elections, all 15 departments of education have merged into one national department of education which was further divided into nine provincial departments of education. these provincial departments are eastern cape, guateng, kwa zulu natal, mpumalanga, northern cape, northern province, north west, orange free state and western cape. it should be noted that a new kwa zulu natal department of education was established after the 1994 elections. nevertheless, the formerly segregated departments of education continued to operate while integration was in progress. these various departments operate and applied different evaluation procedures. 5.3 concept of adult education generally, the concept of adult education in academic circles throughout the world today varies from one school of thought to another. the term adult education is perhaps one of the most difficult to define. adult education, according to omolewa (1981) and ahmed (1999), is sometimes defined as the education provided for all men and women who are aged 21 and above. this is a biological definition based on the assumption that an adult is one who is aged 21 and above. this definition forgets that in some countries, men aged 18 are considered as adults for purposes of election and other responsibilities. besides, it fails to recognise that men aged 16 could be as physically and mentally mature as men aged 35 and even 40. this shows that adult education cannot be limited to a particular age since people recognized as adult vary from one society to another. unesco also adopts the age criterion but reduces the age limit when it states that the term adult education covers all organised educational activities provided for people who are not in the regular school and university system and who are generally fifteen or older (omolewa, 1981). therefore from the view of unesco definition on age criterion, any education given to adult outside the formal school system after 15 years of age is adult education. the federal government of nigeria (fgn) was aware of the age limitation when it adopted the programme-based definition. the federal government of nigeria in 2000 stated that adult and non-formal education may be aimed at young people who legally have not attained adult’s status, but for whom there is no further provision within the school system (ezimah, 2004). the global concept of adult education has introduced major changes to educational practice. the concept is revolutionary in nature and it represents a switch of emphasis from teaching to learning and denying the validity or the assertion of the notion that learning is confined to a certain age that takes place only in schools. adult education may be viewed from a functional perspective, for example, it may be conceived as vocational or agricultural or industrial education, the education which encourages the use of 3hs (the head, hand and heart) (okediran, 2001). to some, therefore, adult education is often seen as the training of adults in science and technology, crafts and sometimes in humanities. the idea is that adult education would assist adults in the lack of the application of knowledge and skills to existing resources and in the promotion of civic awareness through political discussions. the consensus on the ultimate aim of adult education is to help all and sundry to make the best of life by providing a means of:  remedying earlier education defects through its widening access strategy,  acquiring new skills,  upgrading oneself vocationally,  increasing one’s understanding of the world, and copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 131  personality development. the above contextual and conceptual analyses, therefore, show that adult education is a comprehensive form of education for adults covering all aspects and categories of adults, all categories of education and using a variety of methods. 5.3.1 in-service education in-service education is regarded as a kind of programme of instruction or training provided by an agency or institution for its employees. the programme is held in the institution or agency and it is intended to increase the skills and competence of the employees in a specific area. inservice education may be a part of any programme of staff development and usually organised on a part-time basis (week end) or on a specific period, long vacations that is convenient for the learners. in the same vein, staff development is paramount for every organisation or establishment to improve work morale and efficiency of a worker. if people working in a particular profession are given in-service training, they attend special courses to improve their skills or to learn about new developments in their field. however, it is obvious that every staff member must be adequately developed by the employer or personally by the worker him/herself. 5.3.2 professional development many people make a decision about jobs and careers after leaving high school or college, some based on clear goals and others on need. however, there are many varied and often uncontrollable reasons why these initial occupations do not last. this may lead to several reasons why continuing education must be considered as a positive investment for achieving success in a chosen occupation. job instability is one of many reasons why everyone needs to pursue continuing education irrespective of one’s academic attainment or vocation in any field. additional education helps remain current within a carrier field. no doubt, changing jobs several times in one’s life is quite inevitable in human endeavour. more importantly, career investment may prompt an individual to enroll in continuing education programme. a job is the most suitable asset anybody could have in his or her life time. this implies that many will not hesitate to invest in a career that will enable them realise this goal (oladipupo & adetoro, 2008). it is obvious from this definition that professional development is a “process” which is ongoing and not an end in itself. it is a clear assumption that a number of steps needs to be followed for its cause to be recognized and perform what it is expected to yield in term of execution, performance, and result. the outcome of professional development is improvement of performance and meeting performance expectations. 6. research methodology 6.1 research design the descriptive survey research design of ex-post facto was adopted for this study (hesse-biber, 2010). 6.2 population for the study the population for the study was the current students of the continuing education programmes of these universities. tables 1 and 2 below show the distribution and administration of questionnaires at both universities. table 1: administration of questionnaires at university of zululand, south africa type of programme number of questionnaires administered number of valid questionnaires b. ed. (hons.) 20 16 pgce 20 14 npde 460 322 total 500 365 source: researcher’s field survey, 2012 table 2: administration of questionnaires at adekunleajasin university, nigeria year/level of study number of questionnaires administered number of valid questionnaires 100 level/1st year 100 67 200 level/2nd year 100 61 300 level/3rd year 100 59 400 level/4th year 100 65 500 level/5th year 100 69 total 500 321 source: researcher’s field survey, 2012. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 132 6.3 sample samples of 1000 questionnaires were administered at both aau and uz. there were only few students offering b ed hons and pgce programmes at uz but there were more than enough students for the national professional diploma in education programme. the selection of students at aau spanned all the levels of b.ed hons. instrument a self-prepared questionnaire was a key tool used for this study.likert-type attitudinal rating scale was adopted. five (5) answers were given out of which the respondents were expected to pick one, i.e. sa = strongly agree (5 points), a = agree (4 points), ud = undecided (3 points), d = disagree (2 points) and sd = strongly disagree (1 point). 7. data analysis the research questions were tested with the use of descriptive statistics. result and discussion research questions research question 1: what are the perceptions of continuing education programmes by in-service teachers in professional development in south africa and nigeria? table 3: the lecture mode you enjoy most from the table above it could be seen that the lecture mode enjoyed most by the respondents at uz is discussion method and it accounts for 34.1% while in aau, the lecture mode they enjoyed most is lecture method and it accounts for 40.9%. it is evident that there are differences in the way and manner the two students from the sampled universities perceived lecture deliveries. uz students preferred discussion method whilst aau students preferred lecture method. there were the lecture mode you enjoy most uz aau total discussion method count 121 86 207 % within institution 34.1% 28.6% 31.6% lecture method count 90 123 213 % within institution 25.4% 40.9% 32.5% group method count 55 17 72 % within institution 15.5% 5.6% 11.0% face-to-face lecture method count 88 73 161 % within institution 24.8% 24.3% 24.5% other count 1 2 3 % within institution .3% .7% .5% total count 355 301 656 % within institution 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% the lecture mode you enjoy most uz aau total discussion method count 121 86 207 % within institution 34.1% 28.6% 31.6% lecture method count 90 123 213 % within institution 25.4% 40.9% 32.5% group method count 55 17 72 % within institution 15.5% 5.6% 11.0% face-to-face lecture method count 88 73 161 % within institution 24.8% 24.3% 24.5% other count 1 2 3 % within institution .3% .7% .5% total count 355 301 656 % within institution 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 133 similarities in the face-to-face lecture method from the two universities because there was no significance difference in the perception of the respondents in this regard. research question 2: do learning modalities of continuing education programmes of university of zululand and adekunle ajasin university have desirable effects on learners’ knowledge utilisations? table 4: do you enjoy the mode of delivery being used? uz aau yes 89.0% 78.7% no 11.0% 21.3% total 100.0% 100.0% from the table above 89% of the respondents in uz enjoyed the mode of delivery being used as a continuing education learner, while 11% did not enjoy the mode of delivery being used. on the other hand, 78.7% enjoyed the mode of delivery in aau while 21.3% did not. it is also evident from table 4 that all the methods of teaching were acceptable to the students except others which were not clearly defined. it could be concluded that all the methods used for the delivery of al l lectures were acceptable to the students as shown in table 50 above. research question 3: what are the problems confronting continuing education programmes of uz and aau? 44.4% of the respondents agree or strongly agree that hostel accommodation facilities are adequate, while the remaining 55.8% said otherwise. this shows that hostel accommodation is not adequate; therefore, it is one of the problems confronting continuing education programmes of aau in nigeria. 61.9% of the respondents agree or strongly agree that permanent hostel for continuing education students recommended. 8. conclusion no doubt, the study has revealed the perceptions and important role(s) that continuing education could play in assisting inservice teachers in particular to develop themselves and acquire more knowledge, skills and obtain additional qualification to upgrade their academic attainment. the analyses of the data testing the research questions revealed that the modes of lecture deliveries in the two universities are not the same. on effectiveness of the programme, hypothesis two revealed that effectiveness of continuing education or sandwich programme could be affected by the university or institution attended by the learners, this shows that institution has a significant effect on the effectiveness of the programme. the efficiency of the programme has to do with the organisers and coordinators of the programme at various levels. this is revealed in hypothesis three that efficiency of the programme could also be attributed to the university or institution attended by the learners. tables 39 and 40 showed that there is a difference in the effectiveness and efficiency of continuing education or sandwich programme in uz and aau. results of the study further showed that learners generally hold a positive perception and attitudes to continuing education programme, compared to full time programme because of their being in full time employment. studies have also determined that students taking continuing education programme, sandwich programme, distance learning courses perform as well as students taking courses via traditional methods (gagne & shepherd, 2001). in the present society, all over the world, teachers are primarily concerned with things that will give them either immediate result or practical value (siaciwena, 2011). examples of such things that are real in their lives are: promotion in work place, to level up with peer group, development and self-actualisation, able to contribute their quota to social, economic and political matters in their community at large (anyanwu, omole & akintayo, 1988). if there is going to be satisfactory learning experience for learners of continuing education programme in the university, pragmatic management strategies that are focused on adults or mature learners’ needs are desirable, and should be able to pay honorarium as at when due. the payments of honorarium to lecturers at uz are paid promptly without stress. the lecturers of aau, revealed that the lecturers were not paid when due, and the honorarium paid to them is not commensurate with what other universities pay to their lecturers. looking at sandwich programmes at aau, there is still a lot to be done for the programme, if it is to be compared with what is obtainable in advanced countries of the world, for example, usa, canada, britain, and also with what obtains at uz, and at the same time to be regarded as a complement to the efforts of the conventional universities in the provision of manpower supply and educational development in nigeria. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 134 9. recommendation in the light of the findings from this study, the following recommendations are made, viz:  the study revealed that continuing education is important for the professional development of teachers irrespective of their gender, status, religion and level of academic attainment. it is highly recommended that teachers should be encouraged by sponsoring them for professional development from time to time;  teachers are expected to play vital roles in economic, social and political developments of a nation hence there must be dare need for professional development;  apart from the experience of learners of aau sandwich programme, the management of this university should set up a committee to look into the problems or request of sandwich students, and make necessary recommendations for the improvement of the programme. also, effort should be put in place for the learners to have their lectures at the main campus of the university. accommodation facilities during contact session should be looked into, for the convenience of the learners. other things are the students support services, recruitment of qualified lecturers for the institute of education, the infrastructures of the study centres and the quality of the course materials;  there is also a need for commensurable reward in term of honorarium for the lecturers. this will enable them to be more committed to teaching and research during contact session for the learners. increase in the teaching practice allowance for the lecturers is also recommended because practicing schools for the learners are spread all over long distances outside the university community.  the students’ affairs department (sad) of the universities should look into the welfare of the continuing education learners in line with what operates with the regular students;  to organise a continuing education programme, the organisers, that is, the university, need the support of the community for the use of facilities and sponsorship of indigent workers who should be given the opportunity of higher education in order to merge gown and town relationship. hence organisers should always seek the assistance of the community and also make their services available to the community when they are needed;  information and communication technology have changed the trend of non-formal education and the delivery of higher education all over the world; from virtually classroom to cyber campus, information technologies should continue to assist teaching and learning especially in sandwich or continuing education programmes;  for the acceleration and advancement of socio-economic growth in south africa and nigeria, there should be greater and increased access to university education to acquire b.ed degree qualification and thereafter professional development to build their capacity;  in south africa, the department of education (doe) need to reinforce the supervision of continuing education programme to ensure quality and adequate turn out of graduates in adult basic education and training (abet). from the nigeria perspective, sandwich or part time programmes need to be supervised by ministries of education and the national universities commission (nuc) so that abuses to such programmes would be minimised; and  government and non-governmental agencies should invest in the professional development of teachers in order to boost their morale. government and research institutions are enjoined to promote operational researches on continuing education programmes and workers education in general. references abdullahi, j. (1997). strategic manpower development in nigeria: new challenges and directions. education and society, 17(3), 17–23. aderinoye, r. (2007). nigeria non-formal education-education for all global monitoring report. paris. aderinoye, r. a. (1997). literacy education in nigeria. ibadan: university press ltd. aderounmu, w. (2007). impact of sandwich programme on educational development of nigeria. in an address delivered ar lanrad continuing education center. ahmed, m. (1999). literacy and non-formal education: overlap and divergence. in d. a. wagner, r. l. venezky, & b. v. street (eds.), literacy: an international handbook. new york: westview press. anyanwu, c., omole, m., lanre, & akintayo, m. (1988). concept and practice of continuing education. in akinpelu, okedara &omolewa (eds.) language and adult education. ibadan: university press ltd. behr, a. (1984). new perspective in south afrian education (2nd ed.). pretoria. christie, p. (2008). opening the door of learning: changing schools in south africa. johannesburg: heinemann. drucker, p. (1994). knowledge, work and society: the social transformation of this country. retrieved from http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ifactory/ksgpress/www/ksgnew/transcripts/drucklec.html egunyomi, d. a., & aderinoye, r. a. (2001). open-learning system for development:the nigerian experience. in j. t. okedara, c. n. anyanwu, & m. a. lanre omole (eds.), rethinking adult and non-formal education. ibadan: stirling-horden (nig) ltd. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 135 egunyomi, d. (1999). principles and practice of continuing education in nigeria. ibadan: gabesther educational publisher. ezimah, m. o. (2004). knowing adult education: its nature, scope and processes. owerri: springfield publishers ltd. gagne, m., & shepherd, m. (2001). a comparism between a distance and a traditional graduate accounting class. t.h.e journal international review of research in open and distance learning, 28(9), 4. retrieved from http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/a3433.cfm hayes, a. (2006). teaching adults. london: ashford colour press ltd. henderson, e. s. (1981). the evaluation of in-service teacher training. london: croom helm. jarvis, p. (1983). adult and continuing education: theory and practice (ist editio.). london: routledge. jegede, o. (2010). taking the distance out of higher education in 21st century nigeria. in convocation ceremony and 10th anniversary of the federal polytechnic, oko, anambra state held on friday, 28th. oko: unpublished. ojo, r. (2010). concepts in adult education. in s. jegede (ed.), adult ducation series, vol 1. lagos: editext publisher ltd. omolewa, m. (2000). the language of literacy. adult education and development, (55), 221–228. omolewa, m. (1981). adult education practice in nigeria. ibadan: evans brothers publishers limited. okediran, a. (2001). philisophical issues in language for adult and non-formal education in philosophical foundation of adult and non-formal education. essays in honour of professor emeritus jones adelayo akanbi akinpelu. ono, y., & ferreira, j. (2010). acase study of continuing teacher professional development through lesson study in south africa. south african journal of education, 30, 59–61. siaciwena, r. (2011). open and distance learning in southern african development community (sadc). in regional open and distance learning awareness workshop. johannesburg, south africa. torres, r.-m. (2000). lifelong learning in the north, education for all in the south. in m.-a. carolyn (ed.), lifelong learning perpective (pp. 3–12). hamburg: unesco institute for education. unesco (1996). learning: the treasure within. paris: unesco. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 53 comparative effectiveness of self-instructional print media and conventional teaching method on secondary school students achievement in physics in osun state oluseyi abraham olaniyi department of educational technology faculty of education, national open university of nigeria pmb 80067, victoria island, lagos, nigeria tel: 234-803-929-9377 e-mail: emperorseyi@gmail.com moshood ayinde hassan professor department of adult education, faculty of education adekunle ajasin university pmb 001, akungba-akoko, ondo state, nigeria tel: 234-803-422-9218 e-mail: ayindeayindeayinde@hotmail.com abstract the current decline in the performance of secondary school students in physics in the senior school certificate examination (ssce) has become a major concern for the stakeholders in the field of education. this may perhaps, be partly due to the strict adherence of physics teachers to the use of conventional teaching method in teaching physics. this study was therefore carried out with the aim of evaluating the comparative effectiveness of self-instructional print media and the conventional teaching method on secondary school students’ achievement in physics in osun state. a non-randomised control group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. self-instructional printed material in physics (sipmp), lesson plan in physics (lpp), entry behaviour test in physics (ebtp) and achievement test in physics (atp) were the research instruments used in this study. one hundred and seventy three (173) sss ii students from six intact classes of six purposively selected secondary schools in osun state constituted the sample of the study. these students were randomly assigned into the three quasi-experimental groups, namely: self-instructional print media alone (sipm alone), self-instructional print media with the conventional teaching method (sipm with ctm) and the conventional teaching method alone (ctm alone). the three groups were tested prior to and after their exposure to the experimental treatment. the data collected were analysed to answer the five research questions and test the four hypotheses raised for the study using mean scores, t-test, anova and ancova at 0.05 level of significance. the findings of this study indicated that the three groups were equivalent or homogeneous prior to the application of the experimental treatment. the three groups also recorded significant improvement in their achievement in physics after being exposed to the experimental treatments. however, the students that were exposed to the self-instructional print media (whether independently or conjointly with the conventional teaching method) significantly outshone their counterparts that were taken through the conventional teaching method alone. based on these findings, secondary school physics teachers were admonished to embrace the use of self-instructional print media to promote effective and efficient teaching and learning of physics. they were also encouraged not to completely abandon the use of the conventional teaching method. keywords: selfinstructional print media (sim), conventional teaching method (ctm), achievement, effectiveness, programmed instruction, reinforcement, operant conditioning. 1. introduction 1.1 background to the study science is any system of knowledge that is concerned with the physical world and its phenomena and that entails unbiased observation and systematic experimentation (encyclopedia britannica, 2014). besides, ogunniyi, (1998) defines science as an attempt by human beings to organize their experience about nature into meaningful system of explanation. emovon, (1995) sees science as a body of knowledge which is acquired through observation and systematic experimentation. combining these definitions, one can define science as a field of study in which human beings seek to understand and explain materials and forces of nature through systematic and objective observation and experimentation. it is systematic because copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 54 it consists of various stages that are mutually independent and functionally integrated in such a way that a mistake or fault noticed at any of the stages will affect the overall outcome of the process. it is also objective because the outcome is determined by the empirical evidence gathered through the collection and analysis of data and not by the emotion of the observer or experimenter. contemporary science is typically divided into the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology and earth science) which study the material world and social sciences which study people and the societies. (wikipedia, 2016). there are several methods of teaching sciences within the conventional teaching method, these includes: expository or teacher talk and chalk method, problemsolving method, project method, group work method, discussion method etc. these methods are collectively referred to as conventional teaching methods because, they require the physical presence of a teacher before they can be used. effective teaching of science does not only depends on the teacher’s knowledge of the methods but also on his/her ability to use the appropriate method or combination of methods. asoko, (2000) opines that in all countries, teachers are the key to realizing the curriculum aims and the quality of science education which students receive rests ultimately on them. physics is a core subject in the field of natural science. the teaching and learning of physics is important to the students because, physics forms the nucleus of many courses in the field of science and technology, these include: electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, material science and engineering, computer science and engineering, civil engineering etc. without a credit pass in physics in senior secondary certificate examination (ssce), a student cannot be admitted into any higher institution to study any of the listed courses. one of the broad goals of secondary education in nigeria is to prepare the individual for higher education (national policy on education, 2004) and to actualize this goal; teaching and learning of physics must be given adequate focus and attention. this is because teaching and learning of physics is a complex process that requires more than the singular effort of the teacher through the conventional classroom teaching. learners are also expected to complement the effort of their teachers by exhibiting conscious and deliberate individual effort and commitment towards the learning of physics. according to jadav, (2004), subjects like physics and mathematics require a lot of imagination, self-thinking and practicing problem solving. gaining conceptual understanding of physics is difficult for many students. there are limit to what can be done in the class to help students learn physics in such a manner. doing more require individualized instruction and productive out-of-class effort on the part of the students? in view of the importance of science to human development and the role physics is playing in preparing students for higher education, one is justified to investigate the means by which the subject can be improved upon. consequently this study focusses on how selfinstructional print media can be used to improve secondary school students’ performance in physics in osun state. the study is entitled: comparative effectiveness of self-instructional print media and conventional teaching method on secondary school students’ achievement in physics in osun state. 2. statement of the problem the current decline in the performance of students in physics in the senior school certificate examination (ssce) has become a major concern for the stakeholders in the field of education. this may perhaps, be partly due to the strict adherence of physics teachers to the use of conventional teaching method in teaching physics. the use of self-instructional media to facilitate learning of physics has not be given adequate consideration by the physics teachers. consequently, this study entitled: comparative effectiveness of self-instructional print media and conventional teaching method on secondary school students’ achievement in physics in osun state is embarked upon. 3. purpose of the study  find out the effectiveness of selfinstructional print media on students’ achievement in physics;  ascertain the effectiveness of conventional teaching method on students’ achievement in physics;  find out the effectiveness of selfinstructional print media conjointly used with the conventional teaching method on students’ achievement in physics;  determine which of the selfinstructional print media and conventional teaching method contributes more to the students’ achievement in physics; and  verify which among the selfinstructional print media used alone, selfinstructional print media used with the conventional teaching method and conventional teaching method alone contributes most to the students’ achievement in physics. 4. theoretical framework this study is built on behaviourism theory specifically skinner’s operant or instrumental conditioning theory and thorndike theory of connectionism. self-instructional media are grounded on skinner’s operant conditioning theory (sharma, n.d.). this theory believes that learning is a product of outcome or consequence of response given to a stimulus. that is, an individual is likely to repeat an action or behaviour if the outcome or consequence of the action or behaviour is rewarding, pleasant or copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 55 reinforcing. b. f. skinner coined the term operant conditioning; it means roughly changing of behaviour by the use of reinforcement which is given after the desired response (mcleod, 2005). according to skinner (1938), behavioural responses become connected to environmental stimuli largely as a result of what happens after the response occurs. a learner will possibly repeat an action that led to the solution to a problem when confronted with a similar problem in the future (noun, 2009). operant conditioning is a method of learning that takes place through rewarding a certain behaviour or withholding reward for an undesirable behaviour. thus an association is made between the behaviour and its consequence (christopher, 2016). for instance, a student who is given an applause on the assembly ground for being punctual in the school is likely to continue to be punctual while the one given a public jeering for coming late to school perpetually is likely to change for better. skinner identifies three types of responses:  neutral operants: responses that do not alter the probability of a behaviour being repeated.  reinforcers: responses that increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated.  punishers: responses that decrease the probability of a behaviour being repeated (mcleod, 2015, christopher, 2016). there are two main components of operant conditioning; reinforcement and punishment (peggy, 2013). these components are summarized in the figure below. figure 1: operant conditioning theory. source: curtis n. (2016). wikipedia. htpps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/operant-conditioning reinforcement is used to strengthen behaviour. a reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response (richard, 2015). according to schultz (2006), reinforcement is responsible for response strengthening increasing the rate of responding or making responses more likely to occur. a reinforcer (reinforcing stimulus) is any stimulus or event following a response that lead to the response strengthening. punishment on the other hand is used to weaken behaviour. skinner (1953) opines that punishment often brings about responses that are incompatible with punished behaviour and that are strong enough to suppress it. punishment decreases the future likelihood of responding to a stimulus (dale, 2012). positive punishment is the application of aversive stimulus to weaken an incorrect or unacceptable behaviour (reed and lovett, 2008). it is the addition of something which causes the decrease in the behaviour that was displayed (sincero, 2011). for instance, a student may be caned for coming late to the school or for lack of concentration during the lesson. negative reinforcement is the withdrawal of desired stimulus/event after a copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 56 particular undesired behaviour is exhibited, resulting in the behaviour happening less in the future (sadowski, 2012). it is the removal of something which is favourable in order to decrease the likelihood of the behaviour to reoccur (sincero, 2011). a good example of this is when a student is temporarily suspended from his/her post for exhibiting bad manners. the reinforcement and punishment processes is summarized in the figure below. figure 2: reinforcement and punishment process source: adopted from dale h.s. (2012), learning theories, an educational perspective,boston; allyn and bacon. page 91. in self-instructional media, the instructional content (subject matter) is the stimulus while educational media are the vehicles carrying the stimulus, (rowntree, 1974). these media can be in printed or electronic form. they are information carriers employed in instruction (agun and imogie, 1988). in a self-instructional print media, this instructional content is usually broken into smaller chunks or units that are sequentially and logically arranged from known, familiar and simple facts to new and more complex facts and principles using frames with each frame containing a bit (nti, 2007). a learner is expected to understand a unit completely before moving to the next. this is in accordance with the information processing theory formulated by piaget in 1926 and developed by anderson in 1977 which established the point that when what is learnt is clearly categorized, organized into units and sequenced, then, it is easy to store it and retrieve it from the long term memory, (adanu, eskey and onu, 2012). the response is the expected learning outcomes stated in behavioural terms, such as: the ability to write, list, explain, solve a problem etc. the extent to which these expected responses has been actualized by a learner is usually tested through the administration of criterion-referenced test at the end of each unit, thus helping the learner to participate actively in the learning process. the learners with correct responses are reinforced with the use of complementary comments such as excellent, bravo, while hints to correct responses are provided for those with incorrect responses. the programmed instruction (self-instructional media) used for this study is designed based on this theory. thorndike theory of connectionism is the major theory upon which conventional teaching method is based. according to thorndike (1901), the fundamental of learning is the association between sense impression (stimulus) and impulses to action (response). these association or connection becomes strengthened or weakened by the nature and frequency of the stimulusresponse pairing (richard, 2015). he postulated that learning in an organism involves the act of selecting the most appropriate responses and associating them with the specific problems or stimuli (noun, 2009). learning is the connection of a certain act copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 57 with a certain situation and a resultant pleasure (thorndike, 1898). this simply means for learning to occur a learner must see the connection or association between the instructional content (stimulus) and the expected learning outcomes (responses). the basic unit used for describing behaviour is stimulus-response (sr) connection and all learning involves the formation of new stimulusresponse connections (obi, 2001). an educated adult possesses millions of stimulus-response connections (shunk, 2012). thorndike emphasised motivation and reinforcement as two factors that are necessary for learning to occur. the cat must be hungry (motivation) in order to see the reason to open the box so as to get the food and it must also satisfy his hunger with the food (reinforcement) after opening the box. (obi, 2001). this is revealed in the three laws of learning developed by thorndike: law of readiness, law of exercise and law of effect. law of readiness was intended to account for the motivational aspect of learning (weibell, 2011). it suggests that a teacher can only instruct a student if that student is willing to be educated, when a student does not show any sign of readiness, a teacher should provide instruction that will help the student develop (christopher, 2016). law of exercise states that connections become strenghtened with practice and weakened when practice is discontinued (richard, 2015). connections grow stronger when used and grow weaker when not used (weibell, 2011). law of effect states that if an event was followed by a reinforcing stimulus, then the connection was strenghtened. if, however, an effect was followed by a punishing stimulus, then, the connection was weakened (david, 1998). this theory is germane to this study because it empowers the teacher to appreciate the reason why he/she should employ an incorporated use of various conventional teaching methods and educational media such as: chalkboard, poster, chart, graphics, models,specimens, dioramas, instructional radio and television, etc to present instructional content (subject matter) in a way that learners will be sufficiently motivated to see the connection between the instructional content (stimulus) and the expected learning outcomes (responses). it will also guide the teacher to see the needs to reward the students who give correct responses to the exercise given at the evaluation stage of the lesson with complementary remarks such as: excellent, bravo, very good, etc and good grades which may be included in the continuous assessment that will eventually form a significant part of their final scores in the subject, while correction and guidance should be provided for the students with incorrect responses. the key assumptions of the two behaviouristic theories reviewed in this study that are important to both selfinstructional media and conventional classroom teaching are: learning occurs by accumulating atomized bits of knowledge, learning is sequential and hierarchical, transfer is limited to situations with a high degree of similarity, test should be used frequently to ensure mastery before proceeding to the next objective. test are the direct instantiation of learning goals and motivation is externally determined and should be as positive as possible (lorrie, 2000, greeno, collins and resnick, 1996, shepart, 1991, shulman and quinlan, 1996). 5. literature review sushmita (2005) defines self-instructional media (sim) as written elaboration of a set of learning opportunity organised around a well-defined theme/topic in such a way that, it (is): a self contained instruction unit to be used in a self-learning situation, guarantees self-sufficiency (and) structured in such a way that it helps the learner to find their way into the text and to find their way through the text. it is a learner-oriented instruction in which learning takes place without requiring the physical presence of a teacher. it is based on the principles of programmed learning which in turn are founded on the concept of operant conditioning given by skinnner (sharma, 2011). these materials enable students to learn at their own convenience in terms of pace, rate of assimilation as well as place and time of use. they also cater for the individual differences in learners (noun, 2009). a self-instructional material therefore performs the function of a live teacher. according to rowntree (1986), the selfinstructional material must carry out all functions a teacher would carry out in the conventional situation, guiding, motivating, intriguing, expounding, explaining, provoking, reminding, asking questions, discussing alternative answers, appraising each learner’s progress, giving appropriate remedial or enrichment help and so on. jadav (2014) opines that all underlying assumption in this method of instruction (sim) is that human-beings learn many things through their own effort. every individual has a natural desire to learn on his/her own. another assumption is that, every individual is unique; he/she learn according to his or her ability. sansanwal (1978) identifies some of the characteristics of self-instructional media to include: self-paced, flexible, auto-instructional, economical in time and effort, more interesting and exciting and may be developed within the available resources. lockwood (1997) also lists attributes of sim to include: individual learning, self-paced learning, private learning, available at any time, available at any place, available at any number, standardised content, expert content, updatable content, structured teaching, active learning, frequent feedback, explicit objectives and individualised tutoring. the cycle of a self-instructional material are usually arranged hierarchically as shown in the figure below. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 58 figure 3: cycle of a self-instructinal material. source: the authors the two common types of self-instructional media are: programmed instruction (pi) and computer assisted instruction (cai) (nti, 2007) 5.1. role of teacher in the use of self-instructional media the development of self-instructional media has enabled the teachers’ job to evolve from then usual conventional dissemination of information in the classroom to that of an organiser, manager, designer, producer and facilitator of instruction (labopopoola, 2005). according to charp (1965) the teachers’ time will be used in leading group discussions, in working with students individually and in small groups using laboratory work where applicable. the teacher should do away with the baseless fear that the use of self-learning material will relegate their position to that of a passive actor and consequently eliminate them from teaching service. kersh (1965) opines that it is frequently said that the classroom teacher will never be replaced by programmes of sel-instruction. rather, he will be freed to guide the learning of his students in a way that only human being can. relieved from pure informative tasks, he (the teacher) could dedicate himself to the processing of this information: he would guide the students in the multitude of diversified documents, would help him to make relevant choices and to make the most of them through efficient working, would not hesitate, if necessary to send him back to the resources from cultural, economic or social field, because, he should not fear to lose his power, convinced that he would barter the distribution role for the mediator one, to become guarantor of assimilation and no more spectator of incomprehension (meirieu, 1989). teachers should therefore embrace the opportunity provided by self-instructional media in changing their role to that of a facilitator who helps and guides the learner in dealing with the difficulties and misconceptions encountered in the use of selfinstructional media. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 59 5.2 conventional teaching method suman and neelam (2013) define conventional teaching as the most common method of teaching used by the teachers for carrying out the teaching learning process in the classroom situation. in this method, the teacher talks more or less continuously to deliver the facts and ideas worth remembering. it is conceived as the transmission of ‘knowledge’ or ‘information’ from the teacher to the students. the teacher in this instance prepare for the active role in the classroom (provide and guide) and students are able to demonstrate their knowledge by filling in the blank or choosing the appropriate alternatives on the test. (marting and engeno,1992). the distinctive feature of conventional teaching method is that, the teacher is solely responsible for making sure that the learners understand what they are being taught. abida and muhammad (2012) orate that the traditional classroom often looks like a one person show with a largely uninvolved learner. this implies that, it is one of the autocratic teaching strategies (suman and neelam, 2013). a teacher dominated strategy of teaching where the teacher dishes out learning content and the learners merely struggle to learn them (deborah, 1997). conventional classroom learning is acquired passively rather than actively, it is the product of observation than exploration, (bertrand, 1946). students are expected to blindly accept the information they are given without questioning the instructor (stofflett, 1998). conventional teaching method does not cater for the individual differences in learners. according to lord (1999), this teacher-centered method of teaching assumes that all students have the same level of background knowledge in the subject matter and are able to absorb the material at the same pace. soyemi, ogunyinka and soyemi (n.d.) state that conventional learning typically takes place in an identifiable classroom space, usually in a school or in an institution dedicated to learning. soyemi et al. (n.d.) identify the specific features of a conventional classroom to include: a set of chairs and desks arranged in rows and columns, an instructor/teacher who delivers information to students, a number of students/ learners who are all physically present in the classroom and regularly meet at a specific time, and students participation in lecture and discussion. 5.3 the nature of physics omosewo (1999) defines physics as the branch of science that deals with energy and matter, and their interactions. nelkon (1997) defines physics as a science concerned with the behaviour of matter. more broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understannd how the universe behaves luarie (2016). nelkon (1997) identifies some of the branches of physics as electricity, optics, heat,sound, properties of matter and atomic theory. laurie (2016) reveals further that physics deals with the structure of matter and the interraction between fundamental constituents of the observable universe. in the broadest sense, physics (from greek word physikos) is concerned with all aspect of nature on both the macroscopic and submicroscopic levels. its laws are typically expressed with economy and precision in the language of mathematics. physics is of the oldest academic discipline, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. physics intercepts with many inter-discipline areas of research such as: biopysics, quantum chemistry, etc and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined (encyclopedia britannica). laurie (2016) confirms this when he writes: ‘physics plays an important role in all natural sciences, . . . and all such fields have branches in which physical laws and measurement receive special emphasis, bearing such names as, astrophysics, geophysics, biophysics and even psychophysics’. physics also makes significant contribution through advances in new technologies that arise from theoretical breakthrough. many useful inventions and machines have been produced (through researches in physics). radar control at london and other large airport; computers in banks; colour television transmission by british and other national radio corporations; high-power microscope for use in laboratories; and anti-skid tyres for cars, have all developed from researches in physics (nelkon, 1977). 5.4 physics in the curriculum in nigeria the establishment of cms grammar school, lagos, (the first grammar school in nigeria) in 1859 pioneered the introduction of science subjects like arithemetics, algebra, geometry and physiology into the school curriculum in nigeria (omolewa, 1977; adeyemo, 2010). a number of secondary and teacher trianing institutions were founded between 1859 and 1929 and their curriculum were science friendly. these science subjects include: astronomy, chemistry, physiology, geology and botany, (adeyemo, 2010). however, science teaching and learning suffered in the hands of teachers and students, entry performance at the external examinations were very poor (omolewa, 1997). the visit of phelph-stroke funded education commision to west africa in 1920 led to the discovery of deficient state of science education and a strong recommendation was made for the inclusion of science subjects into the curruculum of all secondary schools in west africa (adeyemo, 2010). curriculum development conferences and workshop were held in nigeria between 1969 and 1975 resulting in the production of science curriculum materials for both primary and secondary levels (ivowi, 1982, adeyemo, 2003). physics was one of the science subjects introduced into the science curriculum. the general objectives of physics curriculum as contained in the curriculum document of 1985 by federal ministry of education (fme) and revised in 1998 are to:  provide basic literacy in physics for functional living in the society;  stimulate and enhance creativity; copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 60  acquire essential skills and attitudes as a preparation for technological application of physics; and  acquire basic concepts and principles of physics as preparation for further studies. 5.5 reasons for studying physics the important of physics is recognized through out the educational system. physics is compulsory for all science students in secondary school and for those who want to study engineering and technological related courses in higher institution. according to (ajayi, 2013), the type of science taught in schools and the dept covered in physics curriculum in secondary school most often determines the kind of scientists, technologists, engineers and doctors produced in a society.the importance of physics cannot be over stressed as it forms the basis for technological advancement of any nation. its study can lead to several scientific fields and profession such as engineering, manufacturing, mining and construction industries (omosewo, 1999). 5.6 problem associated with the teaching of physics the experience of the author of this study in teaching physics both in private and public schools over a period of five years made him realised that the main problem of students in learning physics is not in their inability to understand the concepts, laws and principles being taught. rather, the problem, perhaps, lies in their inability to use the concepts, laws and principles to solve the basic problems associated with them. the problem, therefore, has to do with application, rather than understanding. however, this major problem is a manifestation of several challenges that are associated with the teaching of physics. jegede and adedayo (2013) identify some of the problems of physics education in nigeria as curriculum content, teaching method, teachers’ quality, negative attitude of students towards physics, students’ ignorance of the relationship between physics and the environment and teaching materials. adeyemo (2010) lists problem of implementation of physics curriculum as: interface between physics and mathematics (that is, physics cannot exits without mathematics), lack of modern and adequate laboratory equipment, unavailability of competent teacher, time limitation (that is, teaching of virtually all the topics in physics requires more time than that allocated on the time table) and inadequate curriculum. according to boyo (as cited by omosewo, 2012) the problems associated with the studying of physics in lagos, nigeria are: non-availability of facilities for teaching, lack of classroom, textbooks, journals and overpopulation. two problems that featured prominently in all the problems identified by the cited schorlars are: the problems of paucity of competent teachers and good textbook. the focus of this study is to find out how self-instructional material (print) can be used to solve these problems. 6. methodology the design employed in this study is a non-randomized control group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design for the main purpose of comparing the effectiveness of self-instructional print media (sipm) used alone, self-instructional print media conjointly used with the conventional teaching method (sipm with ctm) and conventional teaching method (ctm) used alone, on the senior secondary school year two (sss ii) students’ achievements in physics in osun state. it is nonrandomized because, intact classes were used and the researcher has no control over the selection of students (subjects) into their respective classes (groups). this was done with the aim of ensuring that the study is conducted smoothly without jeopardizing the normal school activities. the three experimental groups used in this study are represented thus: group 1 (sipm alone) e: x0 : x1 : x4 group 2 (sipm with ctm) e: x0 : x2 : x4 group 3 (ctm alone) e: x0 : x3 : x4 where: e = experimental group, x0 = pre-test, x1 = treatment 1, x2 = treatment 2 x3 = treatment 3, and x4 = post-test. 6.1 population this study is targeted at all senior secondary school year two (sss ii) students of osun state, nigeria. 6.2 sample and sampling procedure the sample for this study is made up of 173 sss ii students in six intact classes from six schools that were purposively selected based on the following predetermined conditions: availability of all the students for the three contact sessions, that is, pre-test, treatment and post-test sessions, readiness of the schools’ management to allow the researcher to conduct the study in their schools, readiness of their physics teacher to help the researcher during the contact sessions, especially during the experimental treatment and ability of the students to properly and maturely handle the self-instructional material in order to prevent loss and defacement. the six purposively selected schools were randomly assigned into the groups as shown in the table below. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 61 table 1: distribution of participants based on schools selected for the study source: research data, september, 2016. 6.3 instrument for data collection four research instruments were deployed to collect data for this study. these are: entry behaviour test in physics (etbp); achievement test in physics (atp); self-instructional printed material in physics (sipmp); and a lesson plan in physics (lpp). these instruments were developed by the researcher. the entry behaviour test in physics is a 20-item multiple choice objective test with four options developed to measure the input competencies of the subjects in the topic planned to be taught. it contains criterion-referenced test items developed in reference to the learning outcomes that the researcher is expecting the subjects to be able to demonstrate after the treatments. the mean scores of the participants in the three groups used for this study was compared to ascertain the equivalence of the groups prior to the commencement of the treatment the achievement test in physics (atp) is also a 20-item multiple choice objective test with four options which contains the same items as the ebtp but arranged differently. this is done to prevent the students from transferring their responses in ebtp directly to the atp. the students were measured on four of the six levels in the bloom’s cognitive domain , namely: knowledge, comprehension, application and analysis. the self-instructional printed material in physics (sipmp) is a unit of instruction on the topic ‘equations of uniformly accelerated linear motion’ chosen from the osun state unified scheme of work for senior secondary schools. the topic is slated for the second week of the first term the senior secondary school year two academic season. the material is designed to ‘teach’ the students on its own without any assistance from their teachers. the lesson plan in physics (lpp) is a sequential and logical outline of the activities that the teacher is expected to carry out during the lesson in order to ensure effective and efficient attainment of instructional goals. the lesson plan was written for the same topic treated in the selfinstructional printed material using the same examples. this is to ensure that the subjects in the three experimental groups were exposed to the same content with the only difference being the teaching and learning methods. 6.4 validity of the instrument face validity and content validity were the forms of validation conducted for the instruments. 6.4.1 face validity the entry behaviour test in physics was given to four randomly selected physics teacher in osun state secondary school to check the structure, language and the relevance of each item to the lesson topic. their suggestions, guidance and constructive criticisms were adapted to effect necessary corrections, rejections and acceptance of the items. 6.4.2 content validity the psychometric analysis of the items that made up the ebtp and atp was carried out to ascertain the difficulty indices and discriminative indices of each item that made up the test. a 30-item test was administered to a group of 28 sss ii students of a school within the area of the study but which is not selected for the experimental treatments. the scores of the students were arranged hierarchically from the highest to the least and the upper and lower one-third (33%) were selected for difficulty and discrimination indices analyses. the items with the difficulty indices between +0.3 and +0.85 and discrimination indices from +4.0 and above were eventually selected, resulting into the dropping of 10 non-viable items. this confirms the content validity of the instrument. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 62 6.4.3 reliability of the instrument fifty two students in an intact class were used to conduct the reliability test for entry behaviour test in physics (ebtp) while forty five students in another intact class were used to conduct the same test for achievement test in physics (atp). the tests were first administered to the students and their scores were recorded. after four weeks the same tests were administered to the same set of students and their scores were also recorded. the correlation coefficients of the two set of scores for each group of the students were calculated using spearman-brown rank-order correlation coefficient technique. the values of was obtained for ebtp while r = 0.85 was obtained for atp. this confirmed that the test instruments were reliable. 6.4.4 variables of the study the variable used in this study was grouped into three as follows:  one categorical independent variable: this refers to the three treatment conditions, namely: the self-instructional print media (sipm), self-instructional print media with conventional teaching method (sipm with ctm) and the conventional teaching method (ctm).  one dependent variable: this refers to the students’ achievement in physics.  intervening/confounding variables: these include: students’ intellectual abilities, rates of assimilation, preferred learning styles, bias due to non-randomized allocation of subjects into the three experimental groups, etc. 7. data and result hypotheses testing three hypotheses were raised and tested for this study and the outcome of the test is presented below. hypothesis one h01: there is no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance among the means of the entry behaviour scores of the students that were exposed to selfinstructional print media alone (ex1), self-instructional print media conjointly used with the conventional teaching method (ex2) and those that were taught through the conventional teaching method alone (ex3). h01: there is no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance among the means of the entry behaviour scores of the students that were exposed to selfinstructional print media alone (ex1), self-instructional print media conjointly used with the conventional teaching method (ex2) and those that were taught through the conventional teaching method alone (ex3). table 2: anova of entry behaviour test in physics sum of squares df mean square f sig. between groups 11.839 2 5.920 1.156 .317 within groups 870.392 170 5.120 total 882.231 172 source: research data, september, 2016. according to table 2, p = 0.317 and this value is greater than 0.05 level of significance. this means that there was no significant difference in the entry behaviour of the students in the three groups. the null hypothesis was therefore accepted. this implies that the three groups were equivalent prior to the commencement of the experimental treatment. hypothesis two h02: there is no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance between the means of the achievement scores of the students that were exposed to selfinstructional print media (ex1) and those that were taught through the conventional teaching method (ex3). h12: there is a significant difference at 0.05 level of significance between the means of the achievement scores of the students that were exposed to selfinstructional print media (ex1) and those that were taught through the conventional teaching method (ex3). copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 63 table 3: t-test of sipm and ctm on their atp source: research data, september, 2016. the result of the t-test presented in the table 3 indicates that the sig (2-tailed) value is 0.000 and this value is less than the 0.05 level of significance, hence, there was a statistically significant difference between the means of the achievement scores of the students’ that were exposed to the self-instructional print media (sipm) and those that were taught through the conventional teaching method. the null hypothesis (h01) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis (h11) was accepted instead. hypothesis three h04: there is no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance among the means of the achievement scores of the students that were exposed to the selfinstructional print media alone (ex1), self-instructional print media conjointly used with the conventional teaching method (ex2) and those that were taught through conventional teaching method alone(ex3). h14: there is significant difference at 0.05 level of significance among the means of the achievement scores of the students that were exposed to the selfinstructional print media alone (ex1), self-instructional print media conjointly used with the conventional teaching method (ex2) and those that were taught through conventional teaching method alone(ex3). table 4: ancova of the three experimental groups source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. partial eta squared corrected model 568.039a 3 189.346 20.661 .000 .268 intercept 788.620 1 788.620 86.053 .000 .337 ebtp 358.876 1 358.876 39.160 .000 .188 independent variable 172.039 2 86.020 9.386 .000 .100 error 1548.782 169 9.164 total 33095.000 173 corrected total 2116.821 172 a. r squared = .268 (adjusted r squared = .255) source: research data, september, 2016. the outcome of the ancova in table 4 indicates f (2, 169) = 9.386, p = 0.000 < 0.05, therefore, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the students in the three quasi experimental groups. the null hypothesis was therefore rejected and the alternative hypothesis was consequently accepted. since the ancova result revealed a significant difference in the achievement of the students in the three groups, a post hoc analysis was conducted to see the exact places where the differences lie among the three groups. the result of which is contained in the table below. table 5: post hoc analysis of the mean scores of sipm, sipm with ctm and ctm only (i) independent variable (j) independent variable mean difference (i-j) std. error sig.b 1.00 sipm 2.00 sipm with ctm .778 .582 .183 3.00 ctm 2.423* .582 .000 2.00 sipm with ctm 1.00 sipm -.778 .582 .183 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 64 3.00 ctm 1.645* .545 .003 3.00 ctm 1.00 sipm -2.423* .582 .000 2.00 sipm with ctm -1.645* .545 .003 based on estimated marginal means *. the mean difference is significant at the .05 level. b. adjustment for multiple comparisons: least significant difference (equivalent to no adjustments). source: research data, september, 2016. the table 5 showed that no significant difference exists between the mean scores of students in the sipm and those in the sipm with ctm because p (0.183) is greater than 0.05 level of significance. however, there is a significant difference between the mean scores of sipm and ctm groups because the p value (0.000) is less than 0.05 level of significance. this confirmed the outcome of the hypothesis test one (h01). the mean scores of sipm with ctm group and that of the ctm alone are also statistically significantly different because the p value of the relationship between them is 0.003 and this is also less than 0.05 level of significance. 8. discussion of findings the first hypothesis test examines whether a significant difference exits in the mean scores of the three groups in their entry behaviour test (table 2). a p value of 0.317 which is greater than the 0.05 level of significance means that the three groups were equivalent or homogenous prior to the commencement of the experimental treatments. this condition is necessary in order to establish that any difference noticed between the three quasi-experimental groups after their exposure to the experimental treatments is attributed to the effectiveness of the experimental treatments and not a product of any pre-existing difference between the members of the three groups. ferguson (2010) reported that the pretest score provided a baseline for the experimental groups so that their post test scores can be generalized for individual improvement as well as the overall class room improvement. the second hypothesis was raised to find out whether a significant difference exists between the means of the achievement scores of the students that were exposed to the self-instructional print media and their counterparts in the conventional teaching method. the result of the t-test showed a sig. (2-tailed) value of 0.000 which is less than the 0.005 level of significance (table 3), this implies that a significance difference exits between the achievements in physics of the two groups. the meaning of this is that, the students that were exposed to the self-instructional print media outperformed those that were taught through the conventional teaching method. this is contrary to the outcome of the work of suman and neelam (2013) which revealed that no significant difference existed in the achievements of the students that were exposed to the computer assisted instruction and those that were taken through the conventional teaching method in method of teaching english language. the last hypothesis sought to establish whether a significant difference exits among the means of the achievement scores of the three groups (table 4). the outcome of the ancova test revealed a p value of 0.000 which is less than the 0.05 level of significance. this means that, though, conventional teaching method may still be useful in the teaching and learning of physics, self-instructional print media (whether used independently or collectively with the conventional teacher method) might guarantee greater improvement on students’ achievement in physics. this perhaps, may be due to the fact that the students in the self-instructional print media were more actively and deeply involved in the learning process than their counterparts in the remaining two groups as observed during the field work. a likely cause of this may be as a result of the fact that selfinstructional print media presented individual student with the opportunity to make conscious and deliberate attempt at learning. on the contrary, jadav (2014) reported that there was no significant difference in the performance of students that were taken through the self-instructional material and their colleagues that were taught in the conventional way in higher education physics. 9. recommendations the following recommendations are made based on the findings of this study.  secondary school physics teachers are admonished to embrace the use of self-instructional print media for effective teaching and learning in physics; this self-instructional print media can be used autonomously or conjointly with the conventional teaching method.  despite that the outcome of the study favours the use of self-instructional print media, physics teachers are still encouraged not to totally abandon the conventional teaching method. 10. implications for the stakeholders. the outcome of this study reveals that self-instructional print media is very effective in the teaching and learning of physics whether used independently or conjointly with the conventional teaching method. this poses a serious challenge to all copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 65 educational stakeholders (especially the school administrators and physics teachers) on the need to modernise the teaching methodology in physics by embracing the use of self-instructional print media in teaching and learning of physics with a view to ensuring greater improvement on the academic performance of the students in physics. 11. limitations of the study the following are the factors that may constitute limitations to the outcome of this study.  the financial expenses associated with this study constituted serious limitation to this study. a lot of money was required for the production of the self-instructional print media, transportation and logistics, payment of stipends to the research assistants, etc. consequently, the researcher was forced to limit the number of school selected for the study to six schools (two from each district) instead of using more schools which would have improved the quality of the outcome of this study.  another identified limitation is the use of intact classes (non-randomized quasi-experimental groups) which make it difficult for the researcher to completely cater for the diversity among the students in each of the groups due to the confounding variables such as: intellectual ability, rate of assimilation, pace of learning, preferred learning styles etc. which may limit the generalizability of the outcome of this study.  the study was carried out within the secondary schools in osun state. if it had been extended to other schools across the nation, the extent to which its outcome can be generalized would have been increased. 12. conclusion self-instructional print media aided secondary school students’ achievement in physics whether used autonomously or collectively with the conventional teaching method. the conventional teaching method also has positive influence on secondary school students’ achievement in physics. however, self-instructional print media contributes more to the secondary school students’ achievement in physics than the conventional teaching method. references abida, k. and muhammad, a. 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(2010). effect of computer assisted instruction (cai) on secondary school students’ performance in biology. turkish online journal of educational technology,9(1),62-69. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.britannica.com/topic/science http://www.ajol.info/index.php/afrrev/article/view/69279 https://principlesoflearning.wordpress.com/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 38 people in northern bangladesh: corona pandemic 2020 aftermath action al-amin sarker lecturer in economics open school, bangladesh open university, bangladesh e-mail: al_aminsarker@yahoo.com abstract this paper is to explore northern bangladeshi people’s standard of living scenario and how the standard of living could be developed in rangpur particularly. the most vulnerable groups in northern bangladesh are agricultural wage based marginal farmers; female-headed households and aged people. their standard of living is very low with a low wage level. as the coronavirus has become a pandemic in bangladesh, the northern area is also included in lockdown condition. the study has been conducted with a structured questionnaire and related statistical tools. the study suggests having more agro-based industrialization in that particular area after lockdown condition and so on. it also suggests that to promote the standard of living of a particular area they need higher production with higher wage levels that will create higher income and a better standard of living. keywords: standard of living, pandemic, industrialization, development, northern bangladesh. 1. introduction in the midst of crisis, one’s judgments sometime were greedily twisted, their principles, desires, commitment are uncertain. in the midst of crisis, one’s judgments sometime were greedily twisted, their principles, desires, commitment are uncertain. everyone has his/her reasons, opinions, and arguments to elucidate for his own satisfaction or for the common good, their indifferences showcase, other may incline or decline to believe and pathetically breaking one’s heart turning this simple misunderstanding to a debate but still at the end everyone are reunited, contributed their patriotic efforts, time, assistance for patriotism and nationalism (masuhay, 2020). the root causes of backwardness in the development of rangpur are the agriculture-based economy, extreme poverty, high landless people, vast unemployment, etc. the northern region of bangladesh is vulnerable to various natural calamities such as droughts, floods, monga, etc that occur frequently and intensely than other parts of the country. corona has added a new threat to bangladesh and northern bangladesh is not out of its attack. the landless and poor people survive here on agricultural wages. the seasonal poverty is the near-famine situation of acute scarcity of employment during the bangla month of bhadrakartik (septembernovember): it is commonly known as “monga” or “abhab" (care,2005, hasan 2006). lack of employment opportunities is also greatly responsible for their low standard of living. if we can explore their potential productivity by providing higher wages to the local labor force establishing agro-based local industries, their total production may be increased. thus, their local demand may be increased. further, their income and expenditure may be increased. finally, their standard of living will be promoted. 2. objectives of the research the objectives of the study are as follows ▪ to identify the unemployed people in northern bangladesh ▪ to know the wage level of the local labor force ▪ to suggest for a better standard of living for them 3. research questions based on the objectives the study formulated some research questions as below ▪ what is the employment status of northern bangladeshi people? ▪ what are the current wage level and productivity of that particular labor force? ▪ how standard of living may be increased? mailto:al_aminsarker@yahoo.com copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 39 4. research methodology two villages named kashimpur, boirati of kaliganj upazila from lalmonirhat district, and two villages named baushmari, pathardubi of bhurungamari upazila from kurigram district have been purposively selected for primary data collection through household questionnaire survey and observations. large-scale sample size was used to collect data. a total of 84 households were selected as samples from 820 households from the described four villages of the concerned region assuming a 90 percent confidence level by simple random sampling, average; percentage, etc statistical tools have been used to analyze the collected data. 5. discussion and findings the study emphasized on higher wage level of the people and if it can be implemented, a higher standard of living can be achieved with higher productivity and production not only just after corona pandemic but also for permanent development. to focus on the existing chart of northern bangladesh (rangpur), at first, the study emphasized on the collected secondary data by the following discussions table 1. the daily average wage rate of agriculture labor without and with food (in tk) region 2006 2011 with food without food total with food without food total rangpur 156 163 309 298 340 638 rajshahi 192 210 402 305 369 674 dhaka 224 261 435 422 487 909 source: islam & noman (2015) table 2. regional disparity based on industry, transport and communication sector division industry mean rank c.v rank rangpur 724 3 271 3 rajshahi 835 2 260 2 dhaka 2382 1 153 1 source: islam & noman (2015) in the above table 1 and 2, it can be understood that rangpur is very different and poor in terms of wage rate and industry disparity. the present study identities are the standard of living, poverty eradication in the post-corona situation in northern bangladesh. table 3. present scenario of the low standard of living of north bengal people based on some important variables. causes conditions lack of distribution of resources income discrimination among the people lack of social structures social distance and domination lack of education and training unemployment lack of small and medium enterprises misuse of agricultural products lack of industrialization low income of the labor force lack of awareness increasing population and opportunities shortage lack of rules and regulations social instability the above table shows the present scenario of the low standard of living of north bengal people based on some important variables. lack of industrialization is a great factor for the low wage and standard of living in north bengal historically. as the coronavirus attacked almost every district of that region, people are completely unemployed in that zone as the rest of copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 40 bangladesh. though rangpur is also a corona hot spot, the temporary unemployment problem is a general consequence. but, concerning fact is that rangpur is very far away from development and other social and economic opportunities. under the circumstances, it is high time to establish mills and factories based on agricultural goods. honorable prime minister sheik hasina has already declared to establish a leather industry (tenary) in north bengal. it is good news. but, agro-based other industries should be established at the same time to eradicate poverty in the long run permanently. then all types of economic activities will mobilize the northern economy. the study emphasized on income for the better lives of the northern people. as the area is agro-based, so who are landless, sick, disabled, aged people, marginal women are the most sufferers. blaikie et al. (2003) said that individuals and groups who are marginalized and powerless economically, politically, and socially are exposed to a double source of vulnerability. the study showed the double vulnerability in kurigram and lalmonirhat is in an extreme situation. most of the agro laborers are leading their life with a very low standard of living. marginal women are deprived of proper wages and rights. they are less likely to have secure access to quality livelihoods and resources. a majority of the respondents (76%) in the study area get lower wages than other parts of the country. the level of unemployment is 66% of the able-bodied persons who are willing to do work but cannot get a job in that region. different ngos and govt. organizations came forward to enrich the situation, but these are very limited in action and most of the policy implementation scheme is inactive what ought to be. the study wanted to describe the industry's establishment of discrimination in the country. the northern region of bangladesh is much more backward from this variable. finally, the capital city dhaka has become over and densely populated and pressured. gazipur is also like that where a large number of populations came from northern bangladesh for job purposes. so, govt. should take necessary steps like decentralization of industries and other establishments to have balanced job opportunities in the country and balanced development of the country emphasizing the northern region of the country. that could be the first initiative from north bengal particularly. after the successful implementation of the idea, govt. can start it in the rest of the country further. the study further emphasized the truth of three variables positive relationship that is industrialization generates more income and income generates a better standard of living. 6. conclusion corona pandemic attacked bangladesh on 08th march 2020. though it has become a severe problem for the lives of human beings, the study thinks that it is a temporary problem. time will solve the problem. the study gives importance to permanent stability in the northern region. northern bangladeshi people are deprived of the british period. still, now the region has not been industrialized. they are mostly depending on agriculture and as a result, they get low wages and so they deserve a low standard of living. just agro-based industries can be a solution to their unlimited unhappiness. the conducted study considered the corona pandemic as a temporary problem. after the corona situation, the main focus should be agro-based industrialization in rangpur to have more job opportunities and a better standard of living for northern bangladeshi people. references blaikie, p., cannon, t., davis, i., & wisner, b. 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(2020). adversaries on covid-19 set forth an argument onward to educational endeavor: resulting to develop a modular concept in the learning process. american international journal of social science research, 5(2), 26-37. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i2.520 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i2.520 copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 158 design of inventory management system for herat university using component-based methodology somaia zabihi master of science, informatics, technical university of berlin herat university, afghanistan e-mail:zabihisomayeh@yahoo.com abstract the focus of cbsd is to assemble the previously-existing software components and to develop new and large software systems with new characteristics. it emphasizes on the use of off the shelf (ots) components instead of building a system from the scratch. the first objective of this thesis is to discuss about the component-based software development (cbsd) as one of the advanced methodologies with the example of an inventory management system for herat university, in afghanistan. the second objective examines more closely whether cbsd can be a proper approach in afghanistan, particularly in context of herat university inventory management system (hu-ims).this paper only focuses on selected phases such as requirement analysis and system design of hu-ims life cycle. javabeans component model and user requirement analysis formulate to design the two separate components of hu-ims (user management and resource management).both components are designed in a general way as they either can join as a part of a pre-functional system such as higher education management information system (hemis) or to be used for the purpose to develop new software systems. the results of the thesis confirm that considering cbsd when designing hu-ims can be a proper approach in the afghanistan scenario. however, the cbsd, particularly in afghanistan context, has its own challenges and risks as all other approaches have. since there are not many localized libraries and repositories available, the first challenge is to find and select the proper component which can be difficult and timeconsuming; and the second is the adaptation and localization of the found component insomuch as most of the software developers are unfamiliar with the emerging concept. keywords: component-based software development, herat university, javabeans component model. 1. introduction assembling the previously-existing software components and develop a new and large software with new characteristics is the focus of cbsd (tang et al., 2011, cechich et al., 2003). cbsd embodies the “buy, do not build” philosophy espoused by fred brooks (brooks, 1987). this approach emphasize on the use of commercial off the shelf (cots) components or any kind of open source component instead of building a system from the scratch. on the one hand when developers use from existing components, development cost and time to market are be reduced and on the other hand maintainability, reliability of software are be improved (cai et al., 2000). productivity optimization, time to market reduction, quality and usability improvements and complexity management are some advantages of the component based software development approach. however, as other software engineering concepts, it has its own risks and challenges which imperil the success of cbsd projects. component-based software engineering (cbse) as systematic approach to component-based development is needed to avoid all these risks and to master those challenges (crnkovic & larsson, 2002, crnkovic, 2001). 2. methods & materials the objective of this paper is to find out the answer of research questions: whether cbsd can be a proper approach in afghanistan and in particular in herat university inventory management system (hu-ims); and to find out if cbsd is cost and time-effective in all aspects. in order to answer these questions the disciplines of cbse is applied. software development process is comprised of five stages namely as; requirements specification, analysis & design, implementation, test, release and maintenance. in the following subsections, requirement and design phases of hu-ims will be discussed. these phases are selected for the simple reason that the design of a reusable component can be described best through these phases. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 159 3. requirements analysis and specification of hu-ims 3.1 requirements analysis in a component-based approach, it is necessary to analyze whether the available components are appropriate for these requirements. if the appropriate components could not be found, the new components have to be implemented. whenever requirement engineers are aware of the components that can possibly be used, they could take this risk and negotiate the requirements and recover them in order to use the existing components (crnkovic et al., 2006). the case study’s target is the inventory office of herat university where all necessary requirements for developing hu-ims have been gathered. in order to extract the requirements, several meetings with stakeholders have taken place. the inventory office seeks an effective and efficient system to aid with managing the numerous devices, stationery, equipment and articles inside the stock. the objective of hu-ims is to record all the activities related to send and receive of all articles in the stock and report these activities in a certain time (zabihi, 2013). during requirements elicitation, scenario is used as a technique to express the particular instances of each important function and behavior of hu-ims. therefore in this case, a scenario is brief description of some anticipated or desired use of this system: scenario 1. each user has an account for authentication and permission purposes to login to the system. 2. the account enables the user to login to system, registers new item and do some manipulations (admin user also can create or edit the user). 3. new inventory item can be added by the user and admin user. 4. if necessary, an item can be searched and then can be deleted, edited or deliver. 5. detailed reports can be provided by the user and admin user: • at the end of each season and year, user has to report the asset of the warehouse and the status of inventory item (report no.f.s.10). • report the surplus items (report no.f.s.8). • report all the items that have been aided by the organizations (report no.m.7). 6. faculties request their inventory item needs through the f.s.9 form. 7. all system activities shall be saved on log files. 3.2 requirements specification requirements specification is a general definition of properties which covers the global functional and non-functional aspects which is performed by the developed software system (madigan, 2006). 3.2.1 functional requirements of hu-ims according to the scenario and requirement analysis, the system must include these functional requirements: 1. search in order to delete, edit and record the process of delivering an inventory item to relevant faculty, the item must be searchable. 2. manage the inventory item this functional requirement covers register, edit, delete an item and record the process of delivering an inventory item to related faculty. 3. provide log file 4. provide report 5. faculty requirements response 6. create or delete user the main functionality of hu-ims and the interaction between users and system are described by the uml use case diagram in figure 1 whereas figure 2 depicts the wider functionality of this system. in figure 4 the use cases inside the circle are the focus of this master thesis. these two diagrams provide a specific and complete functional as well as technical view of the hu-ims. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 160 figure 1. use case diagram of hu-ims with main functional requirements figure 2. use case diagram of hu-ims in more functional requirements copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 161 figure 3 depicts domain model of hu-ims which defines real world entities in the form of classes and presents the result of problem domain. figure 3 further identifies manager ui as boundary; user controller and resource controller as controller; user, inv. item and faculty as entity and order as association class where based on them system is divided into two components; namely as: user management (user mgt) and resource management (resource mgt). accordingly, user mgt component includes user controller, user and faculty classes; recourse mgt component includes resource controller, inv. item, faculty and order classes. the interface of these components, their conceptual implementation and possible connection between them will be discussed with more details in the next section. figure 3. domain class diagram of hu-ims 4. result 4.1 component design of hu-ims the goal of system and software design is to establish a technical solution according to the outcomes of previous phases, in order to answer functional requirements of a respective system. at this point, analyzed user’s requirements must be translated into technical specifications which depict the design of the system in order to use it as an input for next phases (pataki et al., 2003). a reusable component in contrast to a specific proposed component must be designed in a more general way in order to adapt with a variety of requirements of different software. this property leads components to complexity and size increments. in addition, the components must be able to serve particular requirements in an effective way. the combination of these two properties need more design and development efforts, since three to four times more resources are required to develop a reusable component in contrast with the development of a specific purposed component (crnkovic et al., 2006). a component model must be chosen to impose the standards and conventions on the task of software architects as well as software development. these models define component types, interaction schemes between components and processes of resource binding. accordingly, the javabeans component model is selected for this case study for the reasons that; firstly, because of its simplicity in contrast to other component models; secondly, its appropriateness for small scale software like hu-ims and thirdly because of the existence of a well documentation (estublier & favre, 2002). based on the uml class diagram of hu-ims (figure 3) and regarding the javabeans component model; there are two components namely as: user management, resource management. in the following parts, the interfaces, implementation and assembly of respective components with regard to javabeans component model will be discussed. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 162 4.2 interface of a component a set of ports provide an external view of a bean component (figure 4). it is to be noted that, components can communicate with each other through a specific port while these communications are described by the interfaces that the port is supporting. four types of ports defined in javabeans: properties, methods, event sources, and event sinks. figure 4. meta model of the javabeans component, (favre, 2002). properties of a bean (javabeans component) are basically its associated attributes which can be read or written by calling proper related methods. the notion of the method interface is the same as the concept of normal java method and it can be called from another component (estublier & favre, 2002). event-based features are a way for component communications. an event is generated in multicast and unicast forms by event sources and is received by event sinks (estublier & favre, 2002, microsystems, 1997). figure 4 depicts a meta model of javabeans component with its four types features (favre, 2002). based on the javabeans component and interface description mentioned above and with regard to (figure 3) domain model of hu-ims; user mgt and resource mgt components are designed according to figure 5 and figure 6. in this design, user management component (figure 5) contains three property interfaces to set and get values to attributes, six method interfaces and three event source ports. consequently resource management component (figure 6) includes three properties, two methods, two event sources and two event sinks interfaces. figure 5. external view of the user management component with the property copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 163 figure 6. external view of the resource management component with the property, method, event source and event sink ports 4.3 implementation of a component the implementation of the component in this section is raised from the conceptual point of view. the implementation of most of bean components begin with the instantiation of a simple java object and its encapsulation in the components is called single object implementation. in a multiple object implementation more than one object are encapsulated and collaborated in order to realize a component. according to the java bean internal design, user mgt (figure 7) contains two objects; user and organization and several methods associate to each of them. as mentioned before, user mgt formed of user controller, user and faculty classes; since reusability is the main goal of cbsd and in order to have general design, instead of faculty, organization is named as object. as depicted in the figure 7, each port or interface maps to the methods of these two objects and there are several scenarios. for instance, three source event interfaces could be considered as user added-event, user removed-event and create order-event; three method interfaces as add organization, remove organization and order inv. item method interfaces and property interfaces are used to get and set attributes to user and organization objects. figure 7. internal view of the user management component with multiple object implementations consequently, resource mgt (figure 8) contains two objects; item and order and several methods are attached to each of them. for example, two source event interfaces could be considered as order generate-event, order cancel-event and two events sink ports as response order and cancel order. also the method interfaces could present resource controller class’s methods and order class’s method like add, edit, delete, show inv. item and show order detail. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 164 figure 8. internal view of the resource management component with multiple 4.4 component assembly javabeans component model does not specify a solution for component assembly, but it supports different ways to assemble beans (microsystems, 1997): 1. programming (component-programming) 2. scripting language (e.g. bean shell) 3. interactive assembly tool (e.g. symantec, visual age, net beans, etc.) figure 9 depicts available connections between two components; user and resource management. there are several scenarios for each case, for example there are two connections between create order source event of user mgt and response order and cancel order of resource mgt. another available connection could be assembly between order inv. item method port of usr mgt and get-item (item object) and get-order (order object) property interfaces of resource mgt. figure 9. available connections between two components of uh-ims and user. 5. discussion the target of case study was the inventory office of herat university where all necessary requirements to develop hu-ims have been gathered. during requirements elicitation, scenario was used as a technique to describe some anticipated or desired use of hu-ims. scenario and requirement analysis were used to find out the functional requirement. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 165 the main functionality of hu-ims and the interaction between users and system are described by the uml use case diagram which provides a specific and complete functional as well as technical view of the hu-ims; and the work flow – series of actions – of each use case of hu-ims’s uml use case diagram is described by a uml activity diagram. the domain model of hu-ims defines real world entities in the form of classes and presents the result of the problem domain. this domain model or class diagram of hu-ims is the result of problem domain that divides the system into two components; user management and resource management. the next step was to work on solution domain which formed the result of this paper. javabeans component model was selected for the simple reason that there exist a well documentation and simplicity in this model and it is very relevant to the small scale software like hu-ims. now, the most important point is that this component should be reusable. in the context of the inventory management system for herat university, two components namely user management and resource management are designed in a very general way where they can be reusable for any other inventory management system at the national and international levels. the designed components not only can be used for other inventory management system, they can be used for other software system development as well. for instance, user management component can be used while development of software system for library management. the other characteristic of this design is that a system is formed as a result of interaction between the user mgt and resource mgt components. this designed system can become part of the other software systems; for example presently there is heims in the ministry of higher education which is comprised of all the information related to the university at the national level and the ministry of higher education itself. hence, the system can belong to the inventory management part and integrate into heims. above mentioned stages confirm, further researches are required firstly in case of the implementation of the resourse mgt and adaptation of user mgt; secondly, the assembly or integration of the resource mgt and user mgt components; and thirdly to test of the system in real world environment which will be university of herat province in afghanistan. 6. conclusion the research questions for this thesis were set to find out about whether cbsd can be a proper approach in afghanistan specifically in hu-ims? and also to further find out if cbsd is cost and time effective in all aspects: the facts that these components are designed in most possible general way where they can be used as part of the system like hemis or can be used for a new software development purpose proves an increase in the productivity. this in itself can prove to be cost and time effective; because currently afghanistan is moving ahead towards the computerization, in which case we are in urgent need for various software in different fields like health, education, industry and etc., meanwhile time there are very limited number of software developers. hence, it would be most beneficial to reuse software for to develop other new software. from this aspect it is obvious that cbsd can be a proper approach in the context of afghanistan specifically in university of herat in afghanistan. however, generally cbsd has its own risks and challenges like other approaches and in the context of afghanistan in particular. since there are no localized libraries and repositories existing, finding and selecting the proper component is difficult and timeconsuming in one hand; and selected component needs more effort in order to get adapted and localized in contrast developing the software from the scratch. meanwhile most of the software developers in afghanistan are not familiar with this emerging concept. references fp jr, b. 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(2002). component models and technology. building reliable component-based software systems, 1, 57-86. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 166 favre.j. (2002). javabeans. retrieved from http://www.megaplanet.org/jean-marie-favre/enseignement/dea-0304/ac/javabeans-1-scr.pdf. visited july 2013. madigan, m. (2006). requirements analysis & requirements specification. retrieved from http://ecee.colorado.edu/ swengctf/standalone/presentations/reqsanalysiswk3.ppt. visited july 2013. microsystems. (1997). javabeans. retrieved from http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/jcp/7224-javabeans-1.01-fr-specoth-jspec/beans.101.pdf. visited july 2013. pataki, g.e. dillon ,j.t & michael, m. (2003). the new york state project management guidebook, release 2. new york state office for technology. tang, j. f., mu, l. f., kwong, c. k., & luo, x. g. (2011). an optimization model for software component selection under multiple applications development. european journal of operational research, 212(2), 301-311. zabihi, s. (2013). component-based software development exemplified by an inventory management system for herat university, afghanistan. 3659578665, lap lambert academic publishing. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/jcp/7224-javabeans-1.01-fr-spec-oth-jspec/beans.101.pdf http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/jcp/7224-javabeans-1.01-fr-spec-oth-jspec/beans.101.pdf copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 153 awareness and readiness of librarians towards the use of social media for information service delivery in higher institutions of learning in bauchi state asma’u muhammad yusuf bauchi state university gadau, library, nigeria e-mail: asmaumuhammadyusuf2017@gmail.com tel: +234 07015321266 abstract this paper examines the librarians’ awareness of social media, types of social media used by librarians, perception and readiness of librarians towards the use of social media, the level of use of social media and factors facilitating the use of social media in higher institutions library in bauchi state. the rationale behind the subject matter (social media) was to expose librarians to the potentials of the use of social media in the library, particularly with regards to effective and efficient information service delivery to meet the ever growing demands and needs of sophisticated users. in doing this, quantitative research methodology using crosssectional survey design was used which helped the researcher gather large amount of data that can be easily organised and manipulated into reports for analysis. a well developed and structured questionnaire was used to generate data from the respondents. keywords: awareness and readiness, librarians, social media, information service, higher institutions, bauchi state. 1. introduction the concept of a library as a physical place where one can visit to get information is rapidly changing to a social cyberspace where users access information, communicate and contribute to existing knowledge. the social media has gradually crept into the library profession which has become a growing tool that is being used to communicate with more potential library users; extending and offering better services to users. in view of this, tise (2009) stated that the social media is a new model of online services that encourages an increased flow of information from the library to users and from users back to the library. libraries by their orientation are service providers; the satisfaction of the clientele has always been their objectives and goals. thus, the library provides various types of resources and services in order to meet up with the needs of its users. nevertheless, these resources are selected, acquired, organized and stored for the purpose of meeting up with its user’s information needs. academic libraries are one of those numerous types of libraries that exist in the information world. in view of this, edoka (2000) defined academic libraries as “libraries that are found in most institutions of higher learning such as polytechnics, colleges of education and universities”. he maintained that librarians are in charge of higher learning institutions’ libraries; they perform and render different kinds of services to its users still in the old traditional way. with advancement in technology, librarians are now turning to social media for information service delivery of their clientele and also to meet up their professional needs and demands. therefore, social media offers boundless opportunities that are highly valued for their ability to connect libraries with users who may be unaware of their existence. thus, providing specialized information service delivery. mathews (2006, 2008) suggested that librarians can create services that are more responsive and attuned to the changing needs of users. in the same vein sadeh (2007) argued that making social media presence remains pertinent and fundamental to meet users’ expectations particularly the younger ones. therefore, to effectively deploy these social media for information service delivery, librarians must be versatile and knowledgeable in different subject fields to be able to match patrons with desired information. on this note, social media tools have become a veritable means of communication in the world today, and there is need for librarians to equip themselves with skills needed to meet up with the demands of their sophisticated users. in addition, the social and communication needs of our society have changed by the influx of the social media, and the users of the library facilities have seen social media as indispensible tool for them because of its versatility in accessing the required information which is made very much easier for them. there is therefore, a foremost challenge before the librarians to face the needs of the user in current ict environment and to provide access to all relevant information and integrate it on networks across the world. as such, librarians need to acquire new modern knowledge for competencies, as information professionals, more is expected of them from their users in order to maintain competitive edge, efficiency and work effectively in the rapid changing environment they found themselves (onuoha, 2013). mailto:asmaumuhammadyusuf2017@gmail.com copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 154 2. literature review social media, social networking, online communication are words used interchangeably. according to kaplan and haenlein (2010) social media refers to a group of internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0. they maintained that such applications allow users to interact freely, share and discuss information using multimedia mix of words, pictures, videos, and audio. in other words, social media denote an interaction among people in which they create, share and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. zakaria, watson and edward (2010) cited in parveen (2011) stated that social media applications have already been accepted by young generations as a platform to socialize, collaborate and learn in an informal and flexible manner although their level of involvement and contribution varies significantly. al-daihani’s study (2010) explores that the majority of library and information science (lis) students are aware of social media applications and are making moderate use of blogs, communication tools and social networking sites. 2.1 importance and awareness of social media social media has become a level playing ground for academics and students to interact on issues pertaining to course work. students also use this platform to share information amongst themselves on any subject and topic. bell (2007) found that “academic libraries do not only use social media for communication purposes, but had adapted their research strategies to this environment”. in the same view, ayiah and kumah (2011) stated the importance of social media to librarians and clients is tha t “social media will facilitate the collaborations and promote effective communication between librarians and their patrons. it will generate a flow of information excluded from search engines and library catalogue”. this statement conforms to what is obtainable especially in libraries of developed societies who have already incorporated and harness social media into their library services for effective information service delivery, but quite a gap in nigerian context, as librarians are still yet to tap the full potentials of social media for information service delivery. this is evident in the preliminary study conducted by the researcher, where most of the libraries visited have not made their libraries visible on social media. scales (2008) shared the same view where he found out that social media will lead to a future service delivery of information to meet search queriesthe crucial aim of library and librarian is to make library resources available to patrons, so if social media tools will help achieve this goal then it should be pursued vigorously. in this sense, social media wall linked to a library’s web page has the potential of reaping great results by attracting and serving distant users. also watts, dodds and newman (2002) stated that it is through social media tools that the librarian is capable of communicating and disseminating information to a broad audience. it will help african librarians and libraries to keep pace with technologies and compete with developed world. the significance of social media cannot be over emphasized. it is a platform through which the library and or the librarian can know about its image to see the possibilities for improvement (nicholas, watkinson, rowlands & jubb, 2011). this argument is supported by barwise and meehan (2010) where they stated the significance of social media such as building reputation and credibility, monitoring what users are saying and building of user relations through interaction. social media can also facilitate communication and engagement. social media is a robust communication tool and information resource that has literally transformed our society and the way we discuss. one of the purposes of using the social media is in its efficiency in communication where one communicates to millions of users at a point in time. for example, romero (2011) stated that due to the concise format and informal tone, social media such as blogs can stir up interactions between users and librarians. scholars concluded that social media can advance communication in quantity and may improve in quality (stuart, 2010). from the discussion above, it is evident that while some librarians have low awareness of social media, others have significant awareness though they do not implement the media for information service delivery. in the context of nigeria, the study conducted by ezeani and igwesi (2012) has confirmed that due to inadequate infrastructures, facilities, skills and negative attitude of librarians towards technology, librarians’ level of social media awareness as a tool for information service delivery is significantly low. even though most of the libraries have internet connections, all of the librarians do not use any of the social media for the purpose of information service delivery. further survey conducted by marshall (2009) to assess the awareness of social media tools (wikis, blogs) among library and information science professionals found that lis professionals of colleges are well aware of the modern concept and also make use of them. but they implement it very less as far as rendering or library services are concerned (thanuskodi, 2011). however, the literatures have stated that librarians are well aware of social media even though they hardly use or implement them. while other librarians are aware of some social media tools, but don’t have knowledge of others. 3. methodology as far as this study is concerned, survey research design, using crosssectional survey design, was employed, the target population of the study comprises all 10 higher institutions of learning in bauchi state, having stated the target population, the accessible copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 155 population therefore comprised of sixty nine (69) librarians in the academic libraries of the higher institutions in the state. due to the number of population in the study which was sixty nine (69) librarians, the researcher used all the librarians because the population was not much and was conveniently managed. 4. findings and discussion a total of sixty nine (69) questionnaires were distributed to academic librarians in higher institution under study. only sixty three (63) were completed and returned. the respondent stated as follows: 1 response rate table1. response rate questionnaire frequency percentage (%) number of questionnaire administered 69 100 number of questionnaire returned 63 91.3 number of questionnaire not returned 06 8.7 table-1 shows that 69 copies of questionnaire were administered to the respondents, out of which 63 (91.3%) were filled, returned and found useful. while 12 (8.7%) were not returned. the high rate of returned copies of the questionnaire was attributed to the fact that the respondents are within the reach of the researcher. awareness of the social media table 2. social media awareness social media awareness frequency percentage (%) yes 63 100 no 0 0 total 63 100.0 level of awareness not sure 9 14.3 high 40 63.5 very high 14 22.2 total 63 100.0 source of awareness colleagues 26 41.3 library 10 15.9 friends/ family 15 23.9 workshop/ conference 10 15.9 others 2 3.0 total 63 100.0 table 2 shows that all (91.3%) respondents indicated that they have awareness of the social media. on the level of awareness the table also shows that majority, 40(63.5%) of the respondents rate their level of awareness with the social media to be high. the findings on awareness of social media and level of awareness cannot be detached from the popularity of social media among users. further justification is the primary features of the social media; easy to use and convenient. table 2 further presents the librarian’s source of awareness of the social media; majority, 26(41.3%) of the respondents indicated that they got their awareness from colleagues followed by family and friends with 15(23.9%), library had 10(15.9%), while workshop and conferences had also 10(15.9%). the finding on the sources of awareness of social media reveals that social media is widely discussed at various and different levels among family and friends, colleagues, at workshops/conferences, and the library. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 156 table 3. awareness of the types of social media social media frequency/percentage (%) total yes i am aware no i’m not aware twitter 50(79.4%) 13(20.6%) 63 (100%) linkedin 43(68.3%) 20(%31.7) 63 (100%) youtube 61 (97%) 2 (3%) 63 (100%) facebook 52 (89%) 12 (19%) 63 (100%) myspace 44 (70%) 19 (30%) 63 (100%) ning 18(28.6%) 45(71.4) 63 (100%) wikis 10(16%) 53(84%) 63 (100%) blogs 27(43%) 36 (57%0 63 (100%) flickr 08(12.7%) 55(87.3) 63 (100%) social gaming 05(8%) 58(92%) 63 (100%) others 07(11.1%) 56(88.9&) 63 (100%) respondents were asked to indicate the types of social media they were aware of. the findings from table 3 show that the following percentages: 52(89%), 50(79.4%), 45(68.3%), 61(97%) represent that majority have indicated their awareness of facebook, twitter linkedin and youtube respectively. the finding implies that the librarians under study are more aware of certain social media applications than others. this could be attributed to the lack of knowledge of the different types of social media available, coupled with the fact that other types are just emerging; therefore awareness of such social media tools is very low. this corroborates with adaja and ayodele (2013) who asserted that facebook and twitter are the most popular of social media, although new social media tools are emerging they are however not commonly used. table 4. source of access source frequency percentage (%) phone 35 55.6 computer 20 31.7 ipad 08 12.7 total 63 100 table 4 shows that majority 35(64.2%) of the respondents accessed the social media through their phones. the finding of the phone being the major source of access among librarians is related to the fact that phones are portable, affordable, easier to use and have features that access the internet (kim and sin, 2007). ipad with 08(12.7%) respondents selecting it was the least used source of accessing the social media. this could be as a result of the fact that ipad is not affordable to all when compared with phone and computer. 5. conclusion the librarians in higher institutions of learning in bauchi state are aware of social media and they use different types of social media particularly facebook, youtube, and twitter. the social media is an important and useful tool for communication and collaboration with users, dissemination of information, marketing and reference services, bibliographic services etc. therefore the librarians have a positive perception and are ready and prepared to use the new technology for service delivery. however, the findings have indicated that librarians are well aware of social media even though they hardly use or implement them. while other librarians are aware of some social media tools, but don’t have knowledge of others. references adaja, t. a., & ayodele, f. a. (2013). nigerian youths and social media: harnessing the potentials for academic excellence. singaporean journal of business, economics and management studies, 51(1108), 1-11. al-daihani, s. (2010). exploring the use of social software by master of library and information science students. library review, 59(2), 117-131. barwise, p., & meehan, s. (2010). the one thing you must get right when building a brand. harvard business review, 88(12). bell, s. j. (2007). building better academic libraries with web 2.0 technology tools. library issues, 28(2), 1-4. edoka, b. e. (2000). introduction to library science. onitsha. palma publishing, j. acad. lib, 20, 517-532. copyright © cc-by-nc 2019, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 4, no. 2; 2019 157 ezeani, c. n., & igwesi, u. (2012). using social media for dynamic library service delivery: the nigeria experience. library philosophy and practice, 1. hafiz zakaria, m., watson, j., & edwards, s. l. (2010). investigating the use of web 2.0 technology by malaysian students. multicultural education & technology journal, 4(1), 17-29. kaplan, a. m., & haenlein, m. (2010). users of the world, unite! the challenges and opportunities of social media. business horizons, 53(1), 59-68. marshall, b. (2009).social networking strategies for professionals, computers in libraries, 29 (9). mathews, b. (2008). twitter and the library: thoughts on the syndicated lifestyle. journal of web librarianship, 2(4). mathews, b.(2006). do you facebook? networking with student’s online.college and research libraries, 67(5). nicholas, d., watkinson, a. rowlands, i. &jubb, m. (2011). social media, academic research and the roleof university libraries.the journal of academic librarianship, 37(5). onuoha, u. d. (2013). librarians’ use of `social media for professional development in nigeria. information management and information business review, 5(3). parveen, n. (2011).use of social networking site (facebook) in making awareness among the library and information science professional of university of u.p: a case study’’. international journal of digital library services.1(1). romero, n.l. (2011). roi. measuring the social media return on investment in a library. the bottom line: managing library finances, 24(2). sadeh, t. (2007) time for a change: new approaches for a new generation of library users. new library world, 108(7/8). scale, m. s. (2008). facebook as a social search engine and the implications for libraries in the twenty-first century. library hi tech, 26(4), 540-556. stuart, d. (2010). what are libraries doing on twitter?. online, 34(1), 45-47. thanuskodi, s. (2010). web 2.0 awareness among library and information science professionals of the engineering colleges in chennai city: a survey. journal of communication, 1(2), 69-75. tise, e. r. (2009). acceptance speech delivered at the 75th ifla congress in milan, 2009. watts, d. j., dodds, p. s., & newman, m. e. (2002). identity and search in social networks. science, 296(5571), 1302-1305. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 1 how students choose careers: understanding the career choices, motivations and problems of agricultural students in anambra state, nigeria d. o. enibe department of agricultural economics and extension chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university (coou) igbariam campus, anambra state, nigeria e-mail enibedav@yahoo.com u. f. ndubisi department of agricultural economics and extension, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university (coou) igbariam campus, anambra state, nigeria f. n. egbe department of agricultural economics and extension, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university (coou) igbariam campus, anambra state, nigeria received: march 31, 2020 accepted: may 13, 2020 online published: may 27, 2020 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.583 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.583 abstract the study accessed agricultural undergraduate students’ reasons for choosing agriculture as a career, sources of their motivation, and problems encountered in their study. data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered on 100 respondents selected through simple random sampling process from two faculties of agriculture of two universities: chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university (coou) and nnamdi azikiwe university (nau) both in the anambra state of nigeria. some of the information provided by the respondents was verified through 4 in-depth interviews. descriptive statistics such as percentage, frequency distributions, and tables were used in analyzing the data. the result show that the majority of the students of coou (48%) and nau (44%) study agriculture through a constriction (admission offer outside their original career choice) and that the students’ parents were their major source of motivation (64%). the result further reveals that financial constraints (48%), unfavorable government policy (24%), and poor teaching aids were the major problems of agricultural undergraduate students in the state. the study concludes that sustainable involvement of youths in agricultural development is a felt need which requires diversified motivation attention. the study recommends proactive measures such as intermittent rewards and scholarship awards to agricultural students, early stimulation of student’s interest in agriculture, formulation of suitable agricultural policy and provision of adequate teaching facilities and aids to agricultural students by the universities management and their visitors, nongovernmental organizations in agriculture and philanthropists. keywords: agriculture, career choice, motivation, policy, agricultural development. 1. introduction there are many professional areas in life from which the youths can choose to learn for their livelihoods and they include agriculture, teaching, medicine, building, law, engineering, piloting, marketing, banking, and entertainment. among all career choices, agriculture is unique for three major reasons. first, it appears to be the first profession. this is because there is evidence that the maker of the universe (god) is an agriculturist (bible society of nigeria (bsn, 2012a, p. 4) and that farming was done in the early time of man (bsn, 2012b, p.14). second, activities that constitute agriculture are according to colman (1987) intertwined with corporate conglomerates and those of different government tiers such as the nations, states, and local governments. mailto:enibedav@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.583 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 2 finally, it is nature friendly and all human beings in all professional areas benefit from it through different ways which include food consumption, employments, and raw materials utilization. in consideration of the reasons, agriculture ought to be given priority attention in policy decisions in all countries’ government tiers. in agriculture, as in other professions, there are different areas of specialization and they include fishery and aquaculture, agronomy, agricultural economics, agricultural extension and rural development, agricultural ecology, horticulture, and forestry. regretfully, so many students lack knowledge of these agricultural areas of specialization (gardner, 1991). on students’ low enrolment in agriculture, forestry and wildlife, umeh et al. (2020) opined that it is due to their lack of knowledge or mental picture of the job opportunities in agriculture careers. this suggests that the youths need to be adequately informed earlier enough on different agricultural areas to help them in their career choices. this is very important because the agriculture sector provides very large and unlimited opportunities for the youths particularly in this time of increasing unemployment umeh et al. (2020). agriculture according to (colman, 1987) is the science and art of farming. it is the mainstay of the nigerian economy and employs over 70% of the country’s population (nwosu, 2015). the youths are part of the country’s working population. development of agriculture through the involvement of the youths was found to boost agricultural production, create employment opportunities, and increase food security (nwosu, 2015). this is important especially in this unprecedented time of climate change problems and now that the population of the country is reported to be increasing while its food supply is decreasing (nwosu, 2015). unfortunately, the youths expected to be actively involved in agricultural development are reported to recently show poor attitudes to agriculture (anyanwu and agwu, 2015; nwosu, 2015). the reasons noted for the youth’s poor attitude or apathy to agriculture inter alia include the use of no mechanized farm tools (kanu and nwachukwu, 2015), lack of rewards, and encouragement (nwosu, 2015). the poor attitude of the youths to agriculture is reported to be a source of concern and challenge to the development of the agricultural sector (nwosu, 2015). it is predicted in nwosu (2015) that if the problem is not tackled, agriculture will be left in the hands of the aged population in future with the attendant consequences which include poverty and food security problems, suggesting the need for policy measures to ensure that the prediction does not become a reality. the finding of nwosu (2015) suggests that one of the best ways to reverse the situation and attract youths to agriculture is through motivation and carefully selected kinds of intermittent (regular intervals) rewards. this is because (deci et al., 1999) in a meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation made it clear that rewards can be used as a technique of control. the youths referred above are people who are between the age of 15 and 35 years. within this age range are undergraduate students of agriculture. in support, schunk (1991) reported that research to identify suitable indexes of academic motivation is justified and or warranted. he added that not much has been written on how to help students develop interest. this appears to be more glaring in the study of agriculture in the current nigerian and global glut in the oil sector. in this, umeh et al. (2020) were of the view that such issues and incentives that influence agricultural career choice and preferences among the youths need investigation. the problem is that the major reasons why students choose agriculture as their career have not been adequately documented and the ways by which they are currently being motivated or rewarded as a technique to direct the youths to agriculture in the study area require investigation from different perspectives. this study is designed to contribute to filling the existing research gap on agricultural students’ motivation and rewards. 2. materials and methods the study was carried out in the anambra state of nigeria. anambra state is one of the states of southeast nigeria. the state situates between latitude 5o 38 1n to 6o 47 1n and longitude 6o 36 1e to 7o 211. the state is at the northern side bounded by kogi state, in the south by imo state, in the east by enugu state and at the west by river niger and delta state. the state has twentyone local government areas (lga), four agricultural zones, and assembly markets in its cities, village and town communities, a state university named chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university (coou) and a federal university called nnamdi azikiwe university (nau). the main campus of nau is located in awka agricultural zone of the state while coou is a multi-campus university with campuses located at igbariam in anambra agricultural zone, uli in onitsha agricultural zone and awka in awka agricultural zone. while the nau teaching hospital (nauth) is located at nnewi which is in aguata agricultural zone, the coou teaching hospital (coouth) is located at awka in awka agricultural zone. the coou faculty of agriculture is located at some sections of igbariam farm settlement (ifs) which is in the anambra agricultural zone (aaz). the aaz shares a common boundary with delta state on the west, uzo uwani lga of enugu state on the north, ezeagu lga of enugu state, and igbola lga of benue state on the south (enibe, 2019). the zone has a population of about 469,959 distributed in four local government areas (lgas) named oyi, anambra east, anambra west, and ayamelum (enibe, 2019). the zone has four extension blocks and 45 circles. anambra river (omambala) is in aaz and it flows into the river niger. the climate of this zone is suitable for the production of many crops which include yam, rice, cassava, maize, cocoyam, and potatoes (enibe, 2019). productions of these crops are the major farming activities of the inhabitants of the zone. hence, the zone is commonly seen as the food basket of anambra state. this may be why the defunct eastern copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 3 nigeria regional government of michael okpala located a farm settlement in the zone (at igbariam). the off-farm income sources of the inhabitants of the zone include general services, teaching, and petty trading. data were collected from primary and secondary sources. secondary data were sourced from books, proceedings, and journal articles. primary data were purposively collected in 2018 from first, second, third, fourth, and final year undergraduate students of agriculture in the aforementioned two universities. the universities were purposively selected because they are the only two currently functional public universities in the state. from each of the two universities, 10 students were selected from each of their 5 levels through a simple random sampling process and interviewed using questionnaires. this gave a subtotal of 50 students from each of the universities and a total of 100 respondents from the two universities. some of the information accessed was verified through four (4) in-depth interviews. respondents were asked to reveal the reasons why they chose to study agriculture. the options offered the respondents in the questionnaire include parents’ professional background/advice, their interest in agriculture, work experience in agriculture before admission offer, peer group influence, aim for self-employment in agriculture after graduation, scholarship opportunity to study agriculture, offered admission to study agriculture outside their original career choice (constriction) and government policy/incentives. on motivation, the students were requested to reveal their agricultural study motivation sources. the motivation source options offered include: parent influence/motivation, motivation/gifts from relatives and friends, government policy/incentive or rewards, scholarship offer, non-governmental organization sponsorship/offer, ministry of agriculture, the offer of the agricultural book by philanthropists or other private individuals. they were further requested to reveal their problems in their agricultural study. the problems examined were: financial constraints, unfavorable government policy, insufficient farming skills, poor industrial experience, maltreatment of lecturers, and sexual harassment by lecturers, poor agricultural teaching aids, and psychology of being called a farmer after graduation. 3. results and discussion 3.1 reasons why students choose to study agriculture table 1 shows that the major reason why students of coou choose to study agriculture was because they: were conscripted to study agriculture (48%), an interest in agriculture (32%) and because they aim to be self-employed in agriculture (20%). similarly, result from nau, showed that 44% of the respondents took to study agriculture through admission constriction, 24% had an interest in agriculture, 16% applied to study agriculture because they saw it as a professional course and had the aim to be self-employed in the sector in the future while 16% were advised to study agriculture by their parents. the implication of the result is that majority of the agricultural students in the study area were constricted to study agriculture. this suggests that personal factors or intrinsic motivation might not have influenced the agricultural careers the students were constricted to pursue. the result also indicates that the students might not have considered agriculture as an essential discipline and may wish to abandon such studies for other career options if given the opportunity. the result further reveals that, the agricultural students were not encouraged to study agriculture through the offer of scholarship, incentives, or policy decisions. a considerable proportion of the respondents (24%) indicate that they were not aware of the career opportunities that exist in agricultural sector. the result of encouragement agrees with nwosu (2015) who noted that one of the reasons for poor attitudinal orientation of youths in agriculture is lack of encouragement to uptake it as an occupational career. the result further agrees with gardner (1991) who reported that students are not aware of the wide number of technical and professional opportunities that exist in agriculture. the result also agrees with umeh et al. (2020) who is an aforementioned orientation speech opined that students lack knowledge or mental picture of the job opportunities in agriculture careers. the result suggests the need to design an outreach program to expose current and potential agricultural students to career opportunities in the agricultural sector. this is needful because, kanu and nwachukwu (2015) reported that investment in youths is a simple, graceful, stylish, and pleasingly solution to overcome human problems that need urgent attention. they further explained that it helps to reduce hunger, ruralurban migration problems, increase farmer population in their active age, and facilitate sustainable agricultural production. table 1. distribution of respondent according to their reasons for choosing to study agriculture reasons frequency percentage coou interest in agriculture 16 32 aim to be self-employed 10 20 offered admission to study agriculture 24 48 total 50 100 nau parent background/advice 8 16 interest in agriculture 12 24 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 4 aim to be self-employed 8 16 offered admission to study agriculture 22 44 total 50 100 source: field survey, 2018. 3.2 ways students of agriculture were motivated table 2 showed that the major ways through which coou and nau agricultural students were respectively motivated were through their parents (70% and 64%) and relatives. the result further reveals that a greater proportion of the coou agricultural students receive motivation from parents than in nau. the result is understandable because coou is a state -owned university with higher tuition fees and where many of their parents are likely to be geographically closer to the students with more frequent visits and motivation opportunities. nau on the contrary is a federal government university with a lower tuition fees were parents were likely to be more geographically further away from the students with lower number of visits to the students in each of the semesters. the result shows that the agricultural students had little or no motivation/rewards and support of the government, industries, non-governmental organizations, and philanthropists. this suggests that the government and other aforementioned stakeholders are yet to appropriately invest in agricultural human resources development that will help to condition agriculture for sustainable development. in consideration of the later, oduehie and okoro (2015) reported that attracting and retaining youths in agriculture is critical for agricultural production. retaining youths in agriculture is a felt need because they have strong apathy toward the profession which requires various additional human development efforts to reverse. regarding youth apathy toward agriculture, anyanwu and agwu (2015) argued that the majority of the youths have strong apathy toward it irrespective of their desirable qualities that can promote the sector. in reiteration, such agricultural human development efforts to reverse youth’s apathy toward agriculture may be in the form of intermittent rewards and incentives. this is because a large body of developmental data shows that intermittently rewarded behavior persists even after their removal (deci, 1971). the information suggests that intermittent rewards are one of the good ways to sustain the youths in agriculture and prevent its abandonment to the older population in the future as revealed by nwosu (2015). table 2. distribution of respondent according to their motivation sources motivation ways frequency percentage coou parent influence/motivation 35 70 relatives motivation/gifts total 15 50 30 100 unizik parent influence/motivation 32 64 relatives motivation/gifts total 18 50 36 100 source: field survey, 2018. 4. problems of agricultural students table 3 shows that the major problems of the students of agriculture in coou were financial constraints (48%), unfavorable government policy (24%), insufficient farming skills (16%), and shame of being called a farmer after graduation (12%). in nau, results showed that unfavorable government policy (24%), poor teaching aids in agriculture (24%), insufficient farming skills (20%), financial constraints (16%) and shame of being called a farmer after graduation (16%) were identified to be the major problems. the result in table 3 reveals that students of the coou had more financial constraints than those of nau. one of the possible reasons could be because school fees paid by coou agricultural students per session were higher (n126, 000.00) than that of nau. the differences in the tuition fees paid by agricultural students of the two institutions may be due to the differences in the monthly subventions they receive from their respective visitors. this suggests that a significant increase in the monthly subvention given to coou by anambra state government and having a considerable annual budget for the institution may help reduce school fee charges, reduce the students’ financial constraints and get them motivated. in evidence, umeh et al. (union communication letter, february 27, 2020) revealed that “many of the excruciating problems and contentious issues faced by the academic staff, and indeed every staff of coou revolve around poor funding of the university”. the results indicate that agricultural students can be highly motivated through favorable government policy decisions that will encourage different kinds of rewards and motivations. this indicates that agricultural students in the study area need the copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 5 money and can be motivated with it as well as with verbal and non-verbal reinforcements for more future positive returns to the economy through the sector. this will boost their morale and erase the perception of the uninformed public that the study of agriculture is not honorable, glamorous, and important. one of the respondents in an in-depth interview reveals that one of the reasons for aforesaid uninformed public perceptions is because they do observe agricultural students learn agricultural practices with rudimentary farm implements such as the hoes and machetes just like their ancestors. he suggested that the university managements or visitors should equip undergraduate agricultural students to practice agriculture with modern farm inputs such as modern farm machinery and hybrid inputs because they are being trained for contribution to agricultural development. in agreement, kanu and nwachukwu (2015) argued that the use of simple tools is one of the major constraints to agricultural production in nigeria. the result on policy reveals that the respondents faulted existing agricultural policy and that agriculture still needs reoriented government attention and policies as ajayi (2006) stated (p. 17). the result on-farm tools specifically agree with, kanu and nwachukwu (2015) who reported that the use of non-mechanized tools is discouraging factors that block youth preparedness and willingness to get involved in farming because of drudgeries, tedious and frustrating low income connected with rudimentary farming methods. the result on motivation disagrees with deci (1971) who found that when money is used as an external reward, intrinsic motivation tended to decrease. one of the reasons for the disagreement may be because hazards involved in different professions differ and some of them require external motivation. another reason may be because what a person learns tends to affect his needs, mind, and its functions. in this study, agricultural students were the respondents who study the science and practice of farming which is naturally hazardous because it involves farm practices in natural and artificial environments, dealing with climatic conditions and or perishable plants and animals or their products and services. this is unlike deci (1971) whose subjects were psychology students who with limited hazards study human minds, its functions, and mental characteristics or attitude of a person. in support, ezekwe (1973) in his x-ray of the inner life of men and god’s white paper revealed that “what a man learns is what he knows, and that he is, and that he lives and that is his personal world” (p.1). table 3. distribution of the respondent according to problems problems frequency percentage coou financial constraints 24 48 unfavorable government policy 12 24 insufficient farming skills 8 16 psychology of being called a farmer after graduation 6 12 total 50 100 unizik financial constraints 8 16 unfavorable government policy 12 24 insufficient farming skills 10 20 poor teaching aids in agriculture 12 24 psychology of being called a farmer after graduation 8 16 total 50 100 source: field survey, 2018 5. conclusion and recommendations the study showed that: the majority of agricultural students of coou (48%) and nau (44%) study agriculture via constriction, parents (64%) and relatives (36%) were their major source of motivation and that their major problems were finance (48%), poor teaching aids (24%) and unfavorable government policies (24%). the study concludes that sustainable involvement of youths in agricultural development is a felt need that requires diversified motivation attention. the university visitors and management, ngos, and philanthropists should provide agricultural students intermittent rewards; modern teaching aids such as well-equipped and functional audio-visual laboratories; tractors and other important equipment, for farm practices; suitable experimental farms and hybrid farm inputs. these will attract students to admirably learn and practice agriculture with interests and differentiate them from traditional farmers who experience drudgeries while producing with rudimentary farm tools. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 3; 2020 6 references ajayi, a. r. 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(2020). socio-economic determinants of agripreneurship choice among youths in ebonyi state, nigeria. journal of agricultural extension, 24(1), 24-33. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://doi.org/10.9734/ajaees/2019/v29i430094 american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 39 child laborers access to education in kandahar city salman ali nabavi lecturer & chairman geography dep. faculty of education kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: nabavi.edu.kdh@gmail.com alinaqi mohammadi lecturer pedagogy & psychology dep. faculty of education kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: alinaqimohammadi2000@gmail.com jailani achak lecturer & chairman chemistry dep. faculty of education kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: jailaniachak11@gmail.com ezatullah sail professor & chairman geography dep. faculty of education nangarhar university, nangarhar, afghanistan e-mail: sailezatullah0@gmail.com abstract this study describes the child laborers’ access to education in kandahar city. we present the methodology followed in the study, study area and type of data collected to estimate to dimensions of child laborers access to education in the city. data collected contains information about sociodemographic characteristics, child laborer access to education, negative impacts of working on children’s education and head of household education. it is hoped that this study would intensify a debate on main barriers to education that could tie in with analysis and commentary on providing education and related facilities to marginalized groups like child laborers and girls in society. readers are encouraged to consider how to understand the landscape that child laborers are confronting, while also asking critical questions about the socio-political circumstances and inefficiency of educational system in which we all participate as we fight to eliminate marginalization and illiteracy in the society. finally, it is recommended that there is a need to re-vision of the schooling system in order to evolve ways and means of offering education that is inclusive and relevant for working children in kandahar city and other similar context. keywords: child labor, education, kandahar city, afghanistan. mailto:nabavi.edu.kdh@gmail.com mailto:alinaqimohammadi2000@gmail.com mailto:jailaniachak11@gmail.com mailto:sailezatullah0@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 40 introduction education have a dominant impact in addressing socio-economic problems in society and is fundamental in building human capacity and empowering people. therefore, ilo stated that education is a right, not a privilege, and should be available to everyone (ilo, 2018b). for this purpose, various agencies such as unicef, world bank, ipec-ilo and unesco are fighting against child labour through providing access to education to all children (osment, 2014). currently numerous countries have already reached the goal of universal primary education. however, the progress in low income countries are still very slow (osment, 2014). in this context study shows that about 94% of out-of-school children of primary school age are in developing countries, mainly in sub-saharan africa and south asia (education for all, 2007). similarly, understanding children’s work (ucw, 2012) noted that about one-quarter of the world’s out-of-school primary age population (15 million in total) is engaged in child labor. for example, in sub-saharan africa, about 10 million out-of-school children are engaged in different types of work. household chores is not included in these estimates (brown, 2012), and in south asia a vast majority of 16 million out of school are engaged in child labour (pappu & vasanta, 2020) in afghanistan, study estimates that 29% of total children aged 5-17 years are engaged in child labor, where children below the age of 15 made up above 47% of the entire population (ilo, 2018a). moreover, when it comes to hazardous child labour, this country has been identified as one of the most difficult countries for children (ilo, 2018a), this phenomenon is highly prevalent in its western and southwestern parts (lutf & yasini, 2018). furthermore, based on the alcs survey 2016-17 afghanistan is the seventh-lowest country in the world in primary education (mosadiq & kaandorp, 2018). painfully, more than 3.5 million children or one third of afghan children were out of school at the start of the school year in march 2017 (world bank, 2018). more specifically, provincial analysis shows that the proportion of children out of school exceeds 50% in 15 provinces including kandahar. in kandahar 76% of school aged children (89% female and 63% male) are out of school (world bank, 2018). in addition, the number of children enrolled in schools is much higher than the number graduated because the number of student decreases as they reach at the working age in afghanistan. in this context, save the keeley and little (2017) estimates that every day about 1000 students are dropping out of school in afghanistan (mosadiq & kaandorp, 2018). kandahar city as a regional hub in southern afghanistan, is a second large city, located in the southeastern area of the country, with about 523,259 populations (nsia, 2021). besides to urbanization and someway industrialization developed throughout the city, followed by ever increasing population growth mainly because of immigration of many people from various districts of kandahar province, urozgan, helmand, farah, zabul and as well from other parts of the country (saeedi, 2019). all of these, along with unemployment, poverty, and population structure, have resulted in poor socio-economic conditions and fueled the expansion and prevalence of many vulnerable groups (such as children) throughout the city. though, previous findings indicate that child labor has been increasing across the country over the past years, specifically in south western parts of afghanistan and it further increased the number of out of school children but, there is no empirical study carried out in this context. this research attempts to empirically study child laborers access to education in kandahar city, the negative impacts of working on children’s education and head of household education. thus, by exploring and analyzing of the status of child laborers access to education in kandahar city and its other related aspects, this problem shall be addressed by development of a proper strategy and programs. this will lead to improve the access of child laborers to education in kandahar city as well as the entire country in general. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 41 review of literature lack of education and also poor quality education is regarded as one of the main factor that cause the high occurrence of child labour (osment, 2014). relevant studies indicate that children who work for a significant number of hours and days are likely to drop out of school, get lower marks/grades and have irregular attendance (aihrc, 2006; heady, 2000; ilo 2009; ilo, 2018; ilo, 2017 & osment, 2014). evidence further shows that most child laborers in school face elevated risks of dropping out before completion, grade repetition, and failure to make the transition to secondary education and the risks increase over time as children reach the higher grades (brown, 2012). study also illustrate that countless children combing work with school and most of them dropping out of school. for example, there are large drop outs in bangladesh, india and pakistan with 13 million children drop out-of-school and rising (brown, 2012 & osment, 2014). in addition, there is also evidence that learning outcomes of school children are adversely effected by child labor. for instance, studies in pakistan and nicaragua observed that “an additional hour per day worked by children attending school has a non-trivial influence on grade repetition and learning outcomes” (brown, 2012). data from eleven countries in latin america also shows around 16% disadvantage of test score for child laborers in language skills in third and fourth grades and also similar lose was found for math (brown, 2012). similarly, emerson et al. (2017) on a study in brazil followed the same children over time, observing the child’s performance in school and labor status. they considered two children with equivalent educational backgrounds, both were in the same year and have identical performance measures. the child who starts working while still attending school does not test as well; the working child’s lower test scores are equivalent to one quarter to three fifths of a year less knowledge accumulation than the child who did not start working (edmonds, 2015). moreover, the household survey data shows that “there is a strong inverse relationship between household wealth and parental education on the one hand and child labor on the other the wealthier and better educated the parents, the lower the incidence of child labor” (brown, 2012). likewise, in nigeria, child laborers from families where the household head has no education are almost ten times more likely to be out of school as those from families in which the household head has a secondary education (brown, 2012). in the same way, data shows that the future prospects for child laborers are also limited. for example, ilahi et al. (2000) witnessed that “adults aged 18 and older who started fulltime work before age 13 have adult wages that are 13-17% lower than adults who entered the workforce later” (edmonds, 2008). alike, khan (2007) stated that children who lack education or drop out of their school, generally lack knowledge and are more vulnerable to exploitation. as a result, they become uneducated or unskilled labour. though, there are different reasons in addition to child labour which affects primary school enrollment like, high cost of education, parental unemployment and poor quality of teachers in low income countries affected the enrollment rates (osment, (2014). in this regard, akarro & mtweve (2011) found that “the number of primary and secondary school remains low in developing countries because millions of children are being forced to work instead of going to school”. considering the above evidences, the dropout rate is a challenging problem for all levels of afghan education. students drop out of schools for different reasons like, to pursue work, avoid attack, get married, or merely become too old to attend school (adkins, 2016). on a similar study, mansory (2007) interviewed afghan students and educators and surveyed 72 schools. he observed that fifty percent of male students and 26% of female students dropped out for the reason that they were needed for work at home (adkins, 2016). more embarrassingly, afghan students are situated in the middle of a violent war, social casualties and political unrests. as a result, they are facing with a wide variety of challenges https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 42 such as providing universal access, preventing drop outs, increasing enrollment for women, and attacks on schools (adkins, 2016). in addition, a large number of school-aged children living in rural areas of the country do not have access to any organized educational programs and related facilities and also many of the existing schools do not have suitable buildings, safe drinking water, or sanitation facilities and for individuals with disabilities there no facilities at all (trani et al., 2012). research methodology the methodology of this study uses quantitative research tools to provide experimental evidence on child laborers access to education in kandahar city. though, previous findings indicate that child labor has been increasing across the country over the past year, specifically in south western parts of afghanistan, mainly due to rising unemployment and poverty but there is no empirical study carried out in this context. meanwhile the related studies in afghanistan have faced serious validity and reliability shortcomings, mostly because of using secondary/official data which may lacks transparency. however, to examine the status of child laborers access to education in the city; the data was collected through surveys (face-to-face) to child laborers from all the 15 districts of kandahar city, kandahar-afghanistan during 2020. in absence of general census data in the country particularly in kandahar city, we have carried out our study, considering population on the basis of simple random sampling designs. the process of data collection involved visiting potential respondents in their districts/children in their places of work and schools. the respondent for this study were selected based on their child laboring status, and the focal child’s age (7-18) years old. children that: (i) work full time and (ii) combine work and schooling. within the districts, respondents were identified to participate in the survey based on our study objectives and the children were traced in their work places, on streets, workshops, shops, factories, schools and etc. in total, the questionnaires randomly administered to a sample of 212 respondents, equaling to roughly 14 in each district. for obtaining the desired information, a well-structured research instrument (questionnaire) was developed from the review of the literature, through which a sample size of 212 households has been surveyed. quantitative data was managed using a statistical software package. statistical package for the social sciences (spss) ibm24 version was used for data entry and analysis of the data. and then through descriptive statistical analyses the frequency and percentage of the data developed and presented by the related tables. findings and discussion in this section, the different proposed research questions will be addressed. child laborer access to education in kandahar city child laborers in kandahar city face with multidimensional deprivation including deprivation from right to education, play and enjoying from their childhood. the first objective of the study is to find out the educational background of child laborers in kandahar city. the findings are presented as in table 1. table 1. shows the educational background of child laborers in kandahar city. education level frequency percent illiterate 70 33 primary 52 24.5 secondary 53 25.0 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 43 table 1 show that 33% of child laborers have never enrolled and are illiterate in kandahar city. while 17.5% of them are in high school and the rest of them are in primary and secondary school. recent study also points out that in kandahar 76% of school-aged children are out of school (world bank, 2018). in general, data shows that about 3.7 million children aged 7–17 years are out of school in afghanistan, of whom, 2.2 million are girls and others yet are at risk of dropping out (unicef, 2018b; unicef, 2020; world bank, 2018). furthermore, evidence indicates that lack of education as well as poor quality education in afghanistan is considered as one of the main causes of child labour, that along with family income have negative effects on children's education, as a result, children are compelled to work rather to go to school (osment, 2014). in this context aihrc (2006) stated that “the average annual expenditure of a student is estimated usd 150-200 (10 to 15 thousand afs), while the annual income of a state employee (most of the working children have no parents, or their parents are jobless) is not more than usd 600-700”. the report further points out that “an average family has 3 to 5 children at the school age and their education expenditure is beyond the financial capacity of parents, even if they are state employees. additionally, in most of the families, father is the only bread earner. in cases of his death or incapability to earn expenditure, the children are automatically forced to work” (aihrc, 2006) moreover, increasing insecurity and school attacks puts afghan children progress at risk. as unicef (2018a) reported that “181 schools were attacked between january and september 2018, more than double the 82 schools attacked during the same period in 2017”. furthermore, over 1,200 schools are closed due to insecurity, and about 600,000 students have been deprived of their rights to education (unicef, 2018a). recent reports also pointed out that nearly 1000 schools were destroyed in last 20 years (ahmadi, 2021). negative impacts of working on children’s education the second objective of the study examined the negative impacts of working on children’s education in the city. the findings are presented as in table 2. table 2. negative impacts of working on children’s education in kandahar city table 2 show that 59.4% of the respondents expressed that child laboring has negative impacts on children’s education, while only 12.7% of them said that working has no negative impacts on children’s education. meanwhile, a considerable number of child laborers (27.8%) had no idea in this case. previous studies have also found that children who work for a large number of hours and days are likely to drop out of school, get lower marks/grades and have irregular attendance (aihrc, 2006; brown, 2012; heady, 2000; ilo 2009; ilo, 2017; ilo, 2018 & osment, 2014). high school 37 17.5 total 212 100.0 does working have negative impacts on your education? frequency percent yes 126 59.4 no 27 12.7 no idea 59 27.8 total 212 100.0 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 44 specifically, evidence shows that only 43% of children and youth under the age of 24 actively attend schools in afghanistan (world bank, 2018). there are a large number of children who attempt to combine work and school, however, these children face many problems in attendance and performance. in these regards, respondents in a study in herat and kabul said that “employers did not allow children to attend school or spend time on homework, while teachers punished children who missed school or failed to complete homework due to their workload. child respondents also reported feeling exhausted by the demands of work and school and shamed by teasing from their non-working classmates” (macdonald, 2008). in addition, another challenge is the dropout rate for all levels of afghan education due to variety of reasons. some students want to pursue work, avoid attack, get married, or become too old to go to school (adkins, 2016). as save the children in march 2017 estimated that every day about 1000 students are dropping out of school in afghanistan (mosadiq & kaandorp, 2018). all these are the contributing factors that have negative impacts on working children’s education and related performance. although children are increasingly entering school, but there is very few progress in reducing drop-out rates. because “in a 2009 survey of 44 national education plans, only eight plans identified child laborers as a marginalized group and of these, only four plans offered specific strategies to reach them” (unicef, 2014). thus, education strategies must be properly developed and applied to progressively ensure the enrolment and retention of excluded and vulnerable groups of children. head of household education the third objective of the study considered the education characteristics of household head of child laborers in kandahar city. the findings are presented as in table 3. table 3. education characteristics of household head of child laborers in kandahar city is the head of your family educated? frequency percent yes 49 23.1 no 163 76.9 total 212 100.0 table 3 show that 76.9% of child laborers household head in kandahar city are illiterate; while on 23.1% of them have literacy. earlier studies in afghanistan also showed that parental education and location play an important role in school enrolment and attendance decisions. for example, children of literate parents are three times more likely to attend school than children of illiterate parents (57 percent v. 19 percent) (world bank, 2018 & unicef, 2018b). in this regard the united nations educational, scientific, and cultural organization institute for statistics (2014) reported that in afghanistan 45% of adult men and 18% of adult women can read and write (adkins, 2016). in fact, several studies evidenced that child laborers are more likely to be parents of child laborers themselves. in egypt, wahba (2006) shows that “the children of child laborers are 10 percent more likely to be child laborers themselves, holding everything else equal” (edmonds, 2015). additionally, the household survey data shows that “there is a strong inverse relationship between household wealth and parental education on the one hand and child labor on the other the wealthier and better educated the parents, the lower the incidence of child labor” (brown, 2012). likewise, in nigeria, child laborers from families where the household head has no education are almost ten times more likely to be out of school as those from families in which the household head has a secondary education (brown, 2012). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 45 conclusion and recommendations child laborers access to education, negative impacts of working on children’s education and head of household education of child laborers in kandahar city were investigated in this study. similarly, earlier studies found that children whose households are in the lower three wealth quintiles, children whose head of household has no formal education and children in insecure areas are less likely to attend school. the findings of this study show that 33% of child laborers have never enrolled and are illiterate in kandahar city. furthermore, we found that, 59.4% of the child laborers feel that child laboring has negative impacts on children’s education, in addition, 76.9% of child laborers household head in kandahar city are unsurprisingly illiterate. we recommend that there is a need to revise the schooling system in order to evolve ways and means of offering education that is inclusive and relevant for working children in kandahar city and other similar context. it should also be noted that the elimination of child labour, however, is not too simplistic and is unachievable in the short term specifically in kandahar city. while there is poverty, children must work to help with their own and their families’ subsistence. there has to be a multidimensional approach. one that in one hand reduces the child laboring phenomena by addressing its root causes while, on the other hand, providing a flexible education system planned to meet the child laborers needs. some specific options to cope this problem may be listed as the following:  enhancing the capacity of families and communities; creating employment opportunities and social programs to support families in need and help them find alternative income to replace their child’s employment will help prevent child labor, access to education and good educational achievements.  the government should pay meaningful attention to enhance education quality to increase family’s interest in education of their children.  the government should provide compulsory basic education for those child laborers who have not completed elementary education, through organizing special programs.  the ministry of education should identify child laborers as a marginalized group and design and implement effective strategies to ensure the access child laborers to elementary education. references adkins, m. j. 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(2006). the influence of market wages and parental history on child labour and schooling in egypt. journal of population economics, 19(4), 823-852. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 36 a research on humanism in the zoroastrian gathas sayed asghar hashimi education faculty’s lecturer pashto language and literature department sayed jamaldin university, afghanistan e-mail: hashimi.saidasghar1@gmail.com sayed ghani ghani education faculty’s lecturer pashto language and literature department nangarhar university, afghanistan e-mail: ghanisayedghani@gmail.com shafiqullah rahmani education faculty’s lecturer pashto language and literature department nangarhar university, afghanistan e-mail: shafiqullahrahmani88@gmail.com abstract in this article, human thoughts and the idea of human sympathy with human in zoroaster’s gathas have been presented which forms a fundamental part of the theory of humanism. quotes of zoroaster have been taken from the gathas and after analysis; their humanistic thinking has been clarified. the research has introduction to gathas, what humanism is, and also contains information about zoroaster. the material has been taken from books and has been clearly explained and elaborated. the purpose of the article is to shed light on human originality in zoroastrian quotes. this is a library research and its method is explanatory and descriptive. the findings of this article is that in the gathas (collection of quotes) of zoroaster, human thoughts and guidelines, like other religions, are evident and he has been manifested as a good human being. the value of this writing lies in the fact that human guidance has been offered to human beings and zoroaster provides ideas as a humanist and his human advice form the basis and foundation for the human beings of the society. keywords: zoroaster, gathas, humanism, human, humanistic originality. introduction zoroaster, a great thinker in the avesta language, talks about human guidance in his speeches (gathas) and his views are similar to those of other heavenly and earthly religions and great scholars. the commonalities of humanism in many religions indicate that the struggle for human welfare has a long background and zoroaster preached to his followers to do well and not to do mailto:hashimi.saidasghar1@gmail.com mailto:ghanisayedghani@gmail.com mailto:shafiqullahrahmani88@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 37 evil, and his quotes have mentioned in various places in his gathas. everywhere in the article where examples of gathas have been given, the translation reveals that zoroaster was a great, sympathetic and humanist man. he tells his followers to think well of other people and themselves, to speak well at all times and to do good deeds. this article cites examples from zoroaster and reveals his universal human thinking. research objective this research revealed humanistic views in zoroastrian thoughts and this achievement can help the people of the society to do well and not to do badly. research question are there ideas about humanitarianism in zoroastrian gathas? are there commonalities of humanism between zoroastrianism and other heavenly and earthly religions or not? review of the literature not much research has been done on zoroastrianism in pashto literature, nor has it been expressed in humanistic terms. yet i mention the works which gives an idea of zoroaster's. gathas and speaks of his human thoughts. azmun (2020) talks about humanitarianism of zoroaster. he mentions his good thoughts, good speech and good deeds in his quotes and these three points a direct relationship with humanistic thoughts. zoroaster as a good humanist, preachers to his followers and encourages them to the right path. (the study of humanism in second period poetry) is his doctoral thesis. part of the thesis is devoted to theory, part of which deals with humanitarianism in religions. a large part of the book on humanism in zoroastrian thoughts. in his gathas, there is a mutual relationship between human and god, human and human and human and other things. wazeer (2012) wrote m. phil thesis. his thesis discusses zoroastrian philanthropic ideas and makes it clear that zoroastrian ideas are related to the heavenly and earthly religions and that zoroaster being a leading leader is a great thinker and role model for his followers as. his human thoughts are related to universal human thoughts. azmun (2020) in his book (philosophy of literature) talks about zoroaster and considers him as a great scholar and thinker who gives human guidance to his followers as a leader. he values human so much that his religion has no much difference with heavenly religions. there are no words in zoroastrian views which are contradictory to human or humanity. method of the research library research has been used in writing this article, which includes the author's main reference books, as well as various works that deal with the subject matter. the method of this research is descriptive and explanatory and in some places analysis and interpretation have been used. in this method, quotations have been made from various works related to the subject and a conclusion has been taken after explanation and clarification. findings to conclude, it can be said that zoroaster led a large tribe and people and, like the leaders of other heavenly and earthly religions, had a high human thought. his words are good examples for https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 38 those who advise their followers (human beings) to refrain from any kind of evil deeds and remind them of good thoughts, words and deeds. all of his instructions are humane, and his gathas are worth mentioning, which have been brought as examples in this article, and they can prove his humanistic worldview. each of his instructions is for the goodness of human. he emphasizes the good and instructs not to do the bad. he comes as a great preacher and leader and guides and advises others to be good human beings by having the characteristics of a good human being. the purpose of this article is to show that the time of human birth and the ascension of humanity are related to human development and human good deeds. the decline of human begins when human rights are violated and ignored in a society and zoroaster’s gathas are a good example of human guidance that illuminates his humanistic thinking. discussion among the world religions, zoroastrianism is the religion that has given very good humanistic guidance to its followers. they consider the three most important sayings of their religion in persian-dari literature (kardar-e-nek, guftar-e-nek and andisha-e-nek) meaning good deeds, good speech and good thinking. based on humanism, if these three words are analyzed and interpreted, books can be written on them and all aspects of humanism can be found in them. they are in favor of improvement in all things, emphasize good words in daily life and seek good thoughts for good speech and good deeds. humanism is the part of human origin that is used to achieve human rights and the movement has an ancient background of defending human rights and made great progress during the renaissance. zoroastrian human thought is mentioned in gathas and the purpose of this work is to study and research humanistic ideas in the gathas. it says bout the name of zoroaster: “zoroaster name in avesta is (zara thoshtra), “zart” means yellow, golden or one who has lord and (ashtra) means (shutar) in persian-dari and (oukh) in pashto language and sometimes it means star. zoroaster received spiritual education and training in his childhood and in gathas, he calls himself (zotar) which means a person who is a follower of religion, a perfect spiritual figure” (wikipedia, n.d.(. “researchers do not have the same consensus about his living place and place of birth, the famous historian tabari thinks zoroaster and his followers were from palestine and adds that they came to ariana from there, but the correct and strong consensus is that he was from azerbaijan. there are different consensuses about the time and his place of living, some of which show his life as early as 6000 bc, but the popular consensus is that he was born 660 years before christian era. he died 583 years before christian era at the age of 77 in balkh, afghanistan.” (tawfiqi, 2006) many scholars and researchers do not agree on zoroaster, some deny his existence and some accept it. zarathushtra’s gathas which is a part of his book talks about (zardasht, zartasht, zaradasht, zaratasht, zardhasht and so on), where (zard ashter) means a yellow camel. his father’s name was pourušaspa meaning “old horse”, his mother’s name was “dughdow” meaning a cow that gives milk. his family name was spitama, which means white race. humanism historically evolved from the latin word (homo) in the eighteenth century as a common gender name of human. it originally termed terrestrial beings (humans and animals) and the word is considered to have come from the old latin language root (homo) (mangal, 2011). the word "humanism" has derived from the latin word "humanus". in the general sense, it means https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 39 humanism, humanitarianism and altruism, but the most beautiful meaning of humanism, in respect to human virtue, is a set of ideas that determine the destiny of human beings and human happiness, virtue and freedom. therefore, it can be said that humanism is a progressive tendency in the thinking of humanity, which manifests a great love for human, opposes cruelty, oppression, prejudice, hatred and narrow-mindedness, and is manifested by having the human-friendly nature in the higher stages of evolution (mandozai, 1988). as zoroaster, humanism, and gathas have been mentioned in the title, therefore i spoke briefly about zoroaster and humanism. gathas is zoroaster's quotes that represents his thoughts and scholarship and clarifies his human thoughts. also, in terms of the content, his speeches other than other topics include humanism, humanitarianism and altruism. in zoroastrianism, the followers are recommended to think, talk and to do good deeds. based on these three characteristics, humans come closer to (sifat, n.d.). in their religion, ahura seeks good and ahirman seeks evil. the war of good and evil is going on and each side wants to defeat the other. in their religion there are these contradictory sides and one seems to be antagonistic to the other but in fact, every antagonistic phenomenon is not to the detriment of the other, but to the benefit of one another. the fact is that there is a law of contradictions in the universe, so life is moving in the right direction toward development, and new situations arise from the collision of contradictions, and things are slowly approaching their true existential individuality and perfection (shinwari, 2004). from the above, it is clear that zoroaster had a great hand in the implementation of human thought and had many human associations with other religions, scholars and thinkers. many of the teachings in zoroastrianism and its constitution are related to islam, the torah, the psalms, the gospel, buddhism, hinduism, and so on, largely because of the common human characteristics. zoroaster and human guidelines in zoroaster’s quotes, there are many social issues in terms of contents which are so important for humans and human guidance. his religion is a human religion and values human highly. many of his guidelines represent him and he is a great role model to his followers. he says: (brothers, i swear to you to be loyal to your homeland (abdullahi, 2012). zoroastrianism, like other religions and practices, emphasizes human teachings, and the basis of this approach to human, laid down by zoroaster, is very practical. many of his thoughts, ideas and sayings are about human and human teachings, and have a lot in common with other religions. zoroastrianism originated approximately a century before the christian era and was known as mazdistan. in their religion, the subject of ahura mazda is related to this mazdist and the subject of ahura mazda is directly related to humanism. (according to zoroaster, there is no good or evil in the laws of nature, but cruelty and brutality, good and evil, goodness and evilness, are related to human thought, and man chooses them. he calls on truth seekers and scholars to pay attention to this fact. good and evil coincide in human thought and are reflected in human action, speech and thought. the above discussion shows that thought and rationality are important topics for human beings. a lot of things and actions have to do a lot with thought. guidance to external senses also comes from thought. from the point of view of their religion, there is no such thing as good or evil in the world because there are no distinct gods for good and evil. it is a human being who does good and evil in his thoughts and actions. man is free in his actions. here man is given the right to do good deeds, but it is important to note that there are some forced deeds that are imposed on human. zoroastrianism in terms of monotheism, the creation of the universe, the belief in angels, https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 40 the afterlife, the day of judgment, heaven, hell, and the ethical teachings seems very similar with basic principles and ethics of islam. zoroastrianism emphasizes the purity of thought or intentions, because actions are based on thoughts or intentions (wazir, 2012). in the zoroastrian religion, belief in another life after death paves the way for discussions of humanism and humanitarianism. rewarding good people with heaven and punishing bad people with hell for doing evil deeds, ethical preaching, holy thoughts, and other such instructions are for human beings to do well and not to do evil. zoroaster emphasizes (kardar-e-nek, pandar-e-nek, and guftar-e-nek) meaning good deeds, good speech and good thinking and almost all religions have the same opinion in this regard. (pandar) means thought, guessing, and imagination (farhang, 2002). zoroaster says about human (materialistic and spiritual) improvement: “zoroaster mentions the dual structure of human. in the avesta, these two aspects are called urvan (the soul) and tanu (the body). these two dimensions are divided into material and spiritual. this is an aspect that is immortal and there are a lot of points about it in the avesta. the urvan in the avesta language, without referring to the immaterial side of human, is one of the five forces of man (shieda, 2014). this discussion requires research based on the human body and soul. (tanu) is the body of human and (urvan) is the spiritual side, essence and psychological side of human. in zoroaster’s opinion, a good person is one who is cooperative and friendly to other human beings, is kind-hearted, generous and truthful, fights against human oppression, and seeks peace in society. human can acquire ahurai attributes based on his/her inner characteristics; these attributes represent goodness and can reach the level of self-knowledge. in this position of knowledge the human soul is connected to the ahura mazda and becomes eternal. to identify ahura mazda, it leads to the creation of a relationship between the universe and human beings. some of the avesta examples show that ahriman is an old concept like ahuramazda and is by no means a descendant of ahuramazda. ahuramazda discovered but did not create, but in some of the avesta prestigious books, it is said that ahuramazda created two things: (spant mainu) which means sacred knowledge and good and (ingra mainu) which means badness and evil. ingram mainu means ahuramazda and spant mainu. you can be called ahriman. some believe that ahriman was created by ahuramazda, but others believe that if ahura is the creator of ahrimani forces, then the meaning of ahura is proved wrong. ahrimani forces have their own independent and unique identity. according to zoroaster, the creator of all things, ahuramazda, is invalid, and there is another creator who has created the whole universe. in zoroastrian culture, without self-knowledge, human must know nature and beings and their surroundings as much as he/she can and seek to appreciate ahura. they consider human to be an extraordinary being and creature.) his thought, morals, and rationality are qualities that are not found in other beings (nia, n.d.). zoroaster speaks of self-knowledge. good communication with other people, good behavior with people and other universes in daily life, the main place of action and character which is thought, having (good thinking), is important in human self-knowledge. they tell humans not to know nature and beings without knowing themselves. knowing the universe knows the creator. their (ahurayee) is good deeds and goodness. they value human very much. giving human beings a good position differs in their religion from renaissance and modern humanism. they consider human a created being that has a creator behind them, but atheist humanism has different opinions about human creation. he mentions the individual characteristics of human, appreciates his rationality. the fact is that no creature in the world can perform the same mental and intellectual functions as a human being. their well-being and moral actions are not the work of other beings. zoroastrianism is not https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 41 limited to philosophical and spiritual teachings. he seeks luckiness and prosperity for all human beings and hates isolation. (according to zoroastrianism, adam is the representative of god on earth. an important feature of zoroastrianism is the freedom and choice of the human being. human has the right to choose his/her own path and is free and can choose the right path based on choice (nia, n.d.). in the religion of zoroastrianism, free will is given a high preference; even many people call it (free will religion). zoroastrian gathas and philanthropy. zoroastrian gathas and philanthropy zoroastrianism has a lot to say about human authenticity. he instructs, forbids evil, preaches well, and speaks much of his religion for the good of mankind. throughout history, nearly four thousand years ago, an eager seeker of truth and light emerged who guided man to the worship of the one god. what he had found about self-knowledge and god-knowledge, through self-research and world-research, he conveyed it to the people in the manuvi hymns, for training them. he said that allah is one and that human has the duty to preserve and cultivate the earth on the path of truth. his life was a guide to good deeds, his message was a guide to optimism, and his thoughts were a guide to good deeds) the gathas: د پاک زردشت فکر، وینا او عمل، د اهورا یانش دی، ومنئ ای پاکو تلپاتو، ګاتونه. درود پر تاسو ای پاکو سرودونو. دا دی، ای نېکي زیاتوونکی مینویي مزدا، په پیل کې، په لوړو کړیو او نیکمرغي غوښتونکو السونو تا ته لمونځ کوم. ګوندې سره،له ټولو پاکو او رېښتینو کړنو چې په عقل او نېک فکر سر ته رسوی شي، د هستونې روح خوشاله کړم. (layeq, 2009)ورکړه، لطف، مهرباني. the meaning of this zoroastrian quote is: pure thought, speech and action in the above examples indicate that there is good and bad in everything, pure and impure. he talks about good thought, speech and action. the worship of one god and the supplication to him prove the relationship between human and god and these relationships were for a specific purpose. in the previous discussion, i mentioned that the rights of worshipers are the rights of god and if a person does the rights of god, he does not do wrong to human. they present good and pure deeds in these three words. good deeds must be proven in speech, shown in action and is the result of good thinking that makes a person good. he asks for kindness, sympathy and generosity to human beings. ای رېښتیا او نېکه فکره، او ای مزدا اهورا، زه تاسو ته سرود وایم، داسې سرود چې تر دې وړاندې چا نه دی ویلی، https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 42 ترڅو مېنویي توان او سپیڅللتیا، په موږ کې زیات شي. نئ،زموږ اسره وم .(layeq, 2009)او موږ ته خوشالتیا او نیکمرغي راکړئ in the gathas, it is said: zoroaster seeks spiritual purity, it is found in pure inner and internal construction. internal cleansing is essential for this cleansing. they want human beings to have the spiritual power of physical ability over themselves, in this power human does good to human, the meaning of human's name can be found in human. he sees happiness in spiritual power shows the place of happiness in the inner world and shows the place of happiness in the world of (andurn). زه به خپله روح له نېک فکر سره، تر ټولو په لوړ سرای کې کېنوم، او له هغه مکافات څخه په خبرتیا چې اهورا مزدا د کارونو لپاره جال کړی دی، ترڅو وس او توان لرم، خلکو ته تعلیم ورکوم چې (layeq, 2009) د رېښتیا په الره کې زیار وباسي. the translation of zoroastrian's quote is: zoroaster gives people education which is for a successful life. he shows the domination of the soul over thought. strengthening the soul is possible through good thinking. he also preaches the truth. the status of man's greatness is not based on his material side, but on the attitude of the divine spirit in which the extraordinary talents lie and can be the light of god's manifestation. the only way to evolve is to strengthen one's soul, and materialistic things have been created for the soul to reach its goal, and materials are its tools. the outer structure of human is made of soil; the soul is cast into it. all human organs are the means by which the soul reaches its goal. ای رېښتیا، کله به تا ووینم؟ ای نېکه فکره، کله به تا په پوهه پیدا کړم؟ او ای پیاوړی اهورا، کله به تا ته الر پیدا کړم؟ او کله به مزدایي اندروني ښکالو واورم؟ ګوندې په ژبه د تر ټولو ستر فکر هڅوونکي پیغام په وجه (layeq, 2009) الر ورکو ته الر ښیم. zoroaster says: zoroaster advises to tell the truth. he wants it in people and society. he seeks good thinking in knowledge, that is, through knowledge good thinking is created, produced, and through it humans can serve themselves and all human beings. all of the above examples of gathas are preaching zoroastrianism in the form of human advice. he speaks for the guidance of the people, calls them to good and forbids them from evil. he worships, believes in death and life and talks about goodness (haq, 2012). when zoroaster reached a town near the forest! there, he saw a large crowd gathered in a large field. because people had heard that a rope-player would be walking on a rope in the air. zoroaster turned to the people and said, "i teach you the lesson of the higher human. human is something that requires going up. what have you done to ascend? all beings have created a thing so far which is higher than them and you want to be a part of this big wave and instead of rising above human, you https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 43 descend towards the beast. what does a human being think of a monkey? a thing of laughing and a thing of painful shame and a great human will look at the human as a mockery and a painful shame (azmun, 2020). zoroastrianism and other religions have talked a lot about human values. some ideologies have many common points. each religion has its own approach and its own ideas. the heavenly religions have all been abolished, only islam is the complete religion for humanity and islam (boise, 2019). as for other religions, i would say that most of their teachings are for the benefit of human beings and some of them contradict islam. islam is the only religion and law that contains all the ancient human ideas, except the erroneous ones. suggestion and conclusion if we further research the zoroastrian gathas and study their contents, we will learn many new things. zoroaster should be read and his guidelines should implement in practical life. also, the guidelines that he presents to human beings should be practiced because they are important. according to his guidelines people should avoid doing thing which are bad. zoroaster as a great human and scholar preaches to his people and gives them a thought of humanitarianism. therefore, every human being is supposed to implement his thoughts and refrain from doing bad things. i ask other researchers to research on other sides of zoroaster as well. the conclusion of this research is there are appreciable human related views in zoroastrian gathas which has a lot about humanitarianism. he as a great leader guides people, leads them to the right path and forbids them from doing bad things. his thoughts have relationship with many religions as well as directly or indirectly with the views of the world's great scholars and philosophers. acknowledgments authors would like to thank the anonymous participants for their cooperation and time in providing the researcher all the needed information. references azmun, l. p. 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(n.d.) p3. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 8 the socio-cultural history, the economic and political development of the minority society: the case of benishangul gumuz (1991-2018) wondim tiruneh zeleke instructor department of social science injibara college of teachers’ education, ethiopia e-mail: wondimzeleke@gmail.com abstract the study focuses on the socio-cultural history and the econopolitical development of the minority society: the case of benishangul gumuz(1991-2018).the gumuz of matakal are renowned for their traditional socio-cultural history, economic and political developments since their arrival to matakal. they have developed wonderful conflict management strategies and institutions that play important role in harmonizing their relations with the neighboring “ethnic” group, such as the shinasha, amhara, agaw and oromo. the conflicts differ in their causes, nature, intensity, frequency; yet the peculiarities are often glossed over and depicted as typical inter-ethnic conflicts between the highlanders or “settlers” on one side and the “indigenous “people on the other. nonetheless, this approach not only risks a presupposition of ethnic groups as cohesive and binding entities but fails to explore the role of gumuz initiation rituals, rite of passage, discourses of violence and other major socio-cultural events in inspiring and articulating them. so far, there exists no single comprehensive study, in its own right, that tries to map out the nexus between gumuz perceptions, symbolism, representation and discourses of violence and outbreak of intermittent conflict in the region in time and space (1991-2018). the related literature will be systematically reviewed and relevant information gathered. furthermore, in-depth interviews will be conducted, with elders from the highlanders, particularly from amhara, agaw, shinasha, oromo ethnic groups and the gumuz. the data collected through these methods will be carefully examined, crosschecked, interpreted and analyzed to determine whether there will be any correlation or connection between the gumuz, discourses of violence and outbreak of conflicts in the study area. keywords: gunza,ganza, mussa ceremony, kanca plots, mangima traditions. 1. introduction 1.1 geographical setting the mätäkäl region of western ethiopia is a vast territory located in the north western ethiopia, bordering the republic of sudan to the north of blue nile. it is bounded in the north by gondar, in the south by wälläga and asossa, in the east by the former province of gojjam, and the sudan along the west( berihun mebratie ,1999;73). before the federal state structure, the region was also bounded by begi-meder and semen, in the north, qolla dägä damot in the north east, sudan in the west, and wälläga in the south/ bogala aligaz,2013;1/. topographically, mätäkäl zone is extensively dominated by the low lying areas, with 74 % flat plains, 16% hilly and plateaus, 6% valleys and the rest 4% mountains area/ mätäkäl zonal agricultural department office report (asossa, 2014,p.8). agro-ecologically, the region (mätäkäl zone) is divided into three major climatic zones in which qolla alone covers about 75% (low lands below 1,500masl), whereas woina däga accounts 24 %( mid land between 1,500-2,500 masl) and däga accounts only a small amount, i.e, 1% highlands beyond 2,500 masl. here, the temperature reaches about a daily maximum of 200 c to 250 c during the rainy season and rises to 350 c to 400 c in the dry season whereas the annual rain fall varies from 800 to 2000mm. accordingly; the hottest period is from february to april. therefore, the minimum daily temperature, depending on season and altitude, ranges from 120 c to 200 c(beniŝangul-gumuz region food security strategy,2004;5-6). 1.2 ethnographic setting, socio-cultural linkage and economic activity 1.2.1 early history in this sub topic, the myth and the origin of the gumuz people, social organization, economic activity, settlement pattern and other related historical events to be discussed in brief and narrative evidences to be given in detail. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 9 as the myth of the origin of the gumuz people is concerned, wolde-sellassie asserted that the gumuz people, like other ethnic groups have their own traditional ways inorder to trace about their origin and development (wolde-sellassie abbute,1984.). furthermore, he also had forwarded the following illustrations by comparing the origin of the gumuz with the genealogical line of other semetic language families: “once up on a time, twin sons were said to have born from a mother. one of the twin sons was black skinned (gumuz) `and the other was fair colored (non-gumuz high lander). they both grew up and matured, and then contested for power in the absence of a local assembly. at first; they both were given a horse for galloping. but the gumuz fell down, while the highlander galloped well. then they were offered to choose from bow and arrow on the one hand and spear and shield on the other. then the gumuz took the former and the non-gumuz took the latter. gradually, they were also made to choose from inga (the gumuz term for porridge) and injera, where the gumuz favored the former while the highlander favored the latter. later they were asked to settle either to the right (in the central highlands of ethiopia) or to the left (towards the low lands of the periphery). from these two alternatives, the non-gumuz chooses to settle to the right in the central highlands and the gumuz choose to settle to the left towards the periphery/ wolde-sellassie ,ibid/. therefore, the gumuz claimed genealogically to have the inherited from the common descendant (ancestor) who was born as a twin from the same mother as their neighboring the non-black skinned highlanders. in the current ethiopian regional administrative context, the gumuz are a relatively populous however, powerless minority group inhabiting mätäkäl zone to the north as far as the shores of lake tana and kamaśi zone to the south of the blue nile river .originally, their preferred settlement is in most case known to be a bush savanna low land environment. depending on their traditions, in the earlier times, they dwelled in the western part of the districts of gojjam, where in the later times they were forced to have left the area by their strongest neighbors’, both amhara and awi/ wolde-sellassie 2004,p.55/. mätäkäl region of western ethiopia may be regarded as the home of different minority ethnic identities and the site for cultural integration and interaction. evidently, gumuz, ŝinaŝa, awi, oromo, and amhara were/are still the most important population group who have continually been intermarried and being intermingling among themselves /tsega endalew,2006;p.15 /. depending on the accounts of travelers and local traditions, tsega also states that the mätäkäl region of western ethiopia was originally occupied first by the gumuz and later by the awi, ŝinaŝa and the oromo, who all began to live together around it. hence, the gumuz were/are the wide-spread and most numerous koman branch in ethiopia, who inhabited the area extends from near metema on the border of sudan south ward through begemedir and gojjam, and across the blue nile into the deddesa valley as far as the leqemt gimbi road/ tsega endalew,2006;ibid/. they are believed to be the original inhabitants of mätäkäl, north west of gojjam. in the meantime, different settlers have arrived and settled in the region. for instance, the ŝinaŝa, the oromo, the awi, the amhara and other highland settlers. the distribution and uniformity of the language indicates a recent and an alarming expansion of the people in to their present large but less inhabited area /tsega,ibid /. the gumuz are also known as gumis or ganza, said to mean “elders” in gumuz language where as gunza stands for ‘’man”. as quoted in taddesse, although the name “gumuz” seems to be un known to the clans of diddesa valley, the language is clearly the same as that of begemedir and gojjam , and as a cover name, ”gumuz” seems a reasonable choice/. lionel bender,1975;pp.61-62/. for instance ,as stated above, the name gumuz was not known to the clans of didessa valley; so that they were nick named by the gumuz of mätäkäl as begga, meaning ‘’people”. likewise ,the gumuz of quara and mätäkäl were selectively called the tribe of’’ shankilla1’’ where as those in matama were also known as “baria’’, in which both terms stands to mean the black. this generic and derogatory name is given for those dark skinned lowlanders by the non-gumuz speaking people of the nilo-saharans/ bogale aligaz,2013;p.9/. the population distribution of mätäkäl is determined by the three major climatic zones in which däga accounts about34%, woina däga, 28%, and qolla, 38% respectively. in line with this, the land use category in the region is also estimated as forest land (79%), cultivated land (7%), cultivable land (7%), and non-utilizable land (7%)/ / wolde-sellassie abbute,2002;p.3/. 1.2.2 socio-cultural linkage the total population of the benishangul-gumuz national regional state based on the 2007 population and housing census of ethiopia, is estimated to be 784,345, out of which members of the gumuz ethnic group in the region numbered about 20.88%. from this total, about 398,655 were males where as the rest 385,690 were females /central statistical agency,2007 /. from the grand total stated above, at about 105,926 were urban inhabitants while the rest number has been covered by the rural inhabitants/ibid/. depending on the present day administrative context, in most case, the gumuz occupy mätäkäl zone to the north and kamaśi zone to south of the blue nile. as justification, wolda-sellassie stated that the total population of mätäkäl zone is 1 shankilla/baria, a derogatory name given for the black people by the highlander contendars. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 10 estimated to be 201,521, in which male being 101,134 and female 100, 387, of which 181,914 are rural dwellers and 19,607are urban inhabitants(wolde-sellassie ,2002;p.3). furthermore, he also described that the actual number of major ethnic groups in the regionisexpressedasgumuz(66,965),amhara(47,900),ŝinaŝa(32,037),oromo(27,050),awi(17,155),kambata(2,875),hadiyya(2 ,179),tigre(725),and in turn these all also composed of others/ central statistical agency,2007 /. in relation to population composition, the region has diverse ethnic groups in which five of them are believed to be early settlers to the area .accordingly, these indigenous ethnic groups in their order of population number in the region are; berta (26.7%),gumuz (23.4%), ŝinaŝa (7.0%), mao (0.6%), and komo (0.2%). in addition to the natives, tsegaye also indicated the significant numbers of other ethnic highlanders living in and around the region. for instance, awi, amhara, oromo and others /tsegaye morada, 2013;p.4/. 1.2.2.1 traditional religion regarding religion, the population of the beniŝangul gumuz region is muslim (44.1%), orthodox christian (34.8%), traditional religions (13.1%), protestant christian (5.8%), catholic (0.5%), and other religions also account (1.5%)/tsegaye morada, ibid/. to the contrary, based on the 2007 population census conducted by the central statistics agency, there are variations in the number of ethnic groups who follow its own religion. for instance, the muslim (44.98%), orthodox christians (33.3%), protestant (13.53%), and the rest 7.09% were said to have practiced traditional beliefs/ central statistics agency, 2007/. accordingly, spirit possession among the gumuz women is said to be ‘zar’ where as ‘gafea’ stands for ritual specialists, animal sacrifice to ‘mussa’ and ‘kemisa’ stands for blessings as a part of death. however, those who are closest to awi and amhara neighbors topographically can exercise /follow the christian faith where as those who are bordering the muslim neighbor can attend the islamic faith. funeral ceremony is also done by females than males because of their suspect that when males look the dead, they may come to be cowards/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol and balata lakaw/. besides, most gumuz tribes are still holding on to their traditional religion that is animism. accordingly, they hold the belief that there is a higher god’’rebba”, but what they mostly sacrifice is what we call “mussa2’’. here, mussa is being the spirit, which they believe, dwells in almost everything. the gumuz also believe that ‘’mussa”is aggressive and can attack immediately if someone does wrong accordingly, what they believe is wrong .furthermore, the gumuz are animistic, which means they worship the’spirits’of certain rocks, trees, and animals for good health, good crops, good luck, and protection. but rebba is their ‘supreme god who known as all’ /taressa, 2011; p.11/. 1.2.2.2 style of marriage in gumuz society, a family is the most crucial and basic social institution, where the husband, wife/wives, and children can form a family. the head of the family is the husband. infants and small children are taken care closely by the mothers whereas grandparents and grandchildren form parts of the extended family. at any early stage, after the marriage of a junior wife, cowives usually share the same house. “the polygamy of the gumuz is not the result of just on the part of the man, but of the women, who wish their husbands to have large families for the sake of the protection which many children give.”/ alemayehu,2012;p.23/. as stated by jira, the gumuz clans have lacked clearly marked/defined territories .they have been living in a dispersed manner because of the absence of defined territorial grouping. looking the same clan or sub-clans who inhabited different territorial areas in the gumuz history is common. for instance, there will be clans or sub-clans who are living within periodic environment from the same clan members/ jira, 2008;p.48/. he also strongly argues that the social organization among the gumuz is more evident at a village level where the origin of clan members traced their descent back to where their common lineage lived. in addition to the afro-mentioned information, the gumuz of mätäkäl has been re-arranged based on clan and territory/. wolde-selassie ,2002;p.247/.in terms of kinship, the gumuz are organized in varies clans and sub-clans that comprise people who claim patrilineal descent relations. in line with marriage and its style, berihun states that the type of marriage exercised by the gumuz is exogamous and polygamous exchange marriage where as the dwelling site for the newly married couples is patrilocal. he also generalizes that an intra-clan relations in the gumuz land involve a limited area based on claims and co-operations /berihun mebratie ,2004;p.350/. the practical restrictions and obligations in which a clan member has to his fellow men are mainly related to marriage tie. in gumuz socio-cultural history, a person is not allowed to marry an individual who has a claim with in the same clan ancestor as one’s own/ berihun ,2004/. according to the baseline study commissioned by unfpa on the prevention and management of genderbased violence in ethiopia(2014), the following type of gender –based violence were prevalent in beniŝangul gumuz. these are forced marriage, 2 mussa, traditional religion, having the highest power of killing and curing. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 11 trafficking for sex, trafficking for labor, female genital mutilation, denying girls for the right to education, under eighteen sex work, and under fifteen sex abuse are the major violations for maternal and child health among the gumuz girls /unfpa,2014;p.5/.similarly, wolda-selassie also categorizes the gumuz marriage styles in to four major groups by supporting the oral informants where my focus group is evidently available in jigda sellassie3, a gumuz village found in mandura district. these are sister exchange, abduction, elopement, and marriage in the form of bride-wealth payment/ woldesellassie,2004;p.67/. committing exogamous marriage from the same clan is impossible and hated throughout the gumuz culture. sister exchange marriage, which is ‘manzikuma’/’angiya’ in gumuz language is the most important marriage type where the gumuz people is practically implementing within their socio-cultural history. in this type of marriage, the bride groom offers his sister or daughter in the form of exchange to whom he is going to get marry /wolde-sellassie ,p.67/, by contradicting the exchange marriage among the gumuz of mätäkäl , wubat justifies that bride payment marriage is the most dominant and accepted marriage type than sister exchange marriage in gumuz. for instance, in the gumuz culture, a gumuz girl can be exchanged for the sake of her brothers, fathers, uncles, or cousin’ marriage /wubat engidayehu,2012;p.76 /. what makes different this type of marriage from the neighbor awi is that in the latter case an awi girl can be exchanged only for fulfilling the interest of her brother than her father, uncles or cousins’. this type of marriage among the awi girls is practiced occasionally when one’s parents do not have enough wealth to pay dowry/gift and a cluster of livestock that should be given for the newly engaged couples. unlike the neighbors, for instance, awi, the re-marriage of a widow with in the husband’s kinship is the cultural evidence of the gumuz/ wubat ,2012,ibid/. anybody having illicit relationships with some one’s wife in the gumuz culture leads to violence. if committed is a potential cause of conflicts unless the husband died. in this case, the wife of the deceased gumuz is again assigned to be the wife of his brother or if no to be his relatives based on the male line tradition. however, as my informants narrated me in mäntawuhä, sexual mating among the gumuz women will be possible in hidden form but they may expose the event to their husbands deliberately/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol/. motivated by various actions, for instance, extra drink or whatever else, however, committing of adultery is one of the common causes of conflicts in the region. to make worse, it may advance to clan conflicts other than individual conflicts, as the husband of the abducted woman is poised to take revenge against he who committed adultery/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol/. the assumption behind the inheritance marriage is probably preventing the destitution of widows, maintain women’s status in the society, care and look after the born children and protect the wealth from non-relatives. in gumuz culture, women commonly do not have the right to inherit properties in any case, whether from her family or from the death of her husbands or in case of divorce / informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol/. in addition to this, all the properties brought during the time of marriage remains the personal/exclusive property of men. this is reasonably because of the belief of the society that the girls may be belonging to somebody else whenever possible. so that a gumuz widow is supposed to be taken care of either by the husband’s brother or a new relative who must be within the line of descendants of the male. in gumuz culture, weeding/engagement took place in market and virginity among the gumuz girls have the highest social status/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol/. concerning the grown up children who lost their fathers, my informants described me that the property of the deceased individual will be inherited by his children while the widow will still marry her deceased husband’s younger brother or one of his younger closest relatives as stated in the preceding pages. what should be understood here is that the gumuz exercise the periodical transfer of rights of sexual access to a wife due to temporary absence of the husband for various reasons, for instance, long term imprisonment// informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol/. in the gumuz socio-cultural history, there is no any pressure that forced the gumuz girls to get marriage earlier. when come to see the surrounding awi girls comparing with the gumuz, the former were forced to marry at the age of 9 to12 years old while the latter never marry before the age of fifteen years/ / informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol/. unlike the neighbor awi, the sign /stage of maturing for marriage among the gumuz is the girl’s first menstrual experience. surprisingly, the first menstruation of a young girl is celebrated with a joyful feast, chanting and singing. this event is believed that the first menstruation is the indication of maturity to become a woman// informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol/. the practice of giving birth in the forest is a cultural belief to prevent family from curses. the gumuz community believed that the curses are connected with women blood that occurs during menstruation and delivery. therefore, during these two natural events, the women are expected to go to the forest, have their babies by themselves and leave the curse there/unfpap;;pp.6-7/. women stayed isolated for forty days even after delivery .it is believed that any blood seen in the house will lead to the anger of the house sprit, known as ‘musa misa’. if it happens, they ruin and change their houses and build some meters far away 3 jigda sellassie, is a place name where, both a large number of gumuz and some non-gumuz people are living together. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 12 from the former .this is because their god’ musa’ does not like to see any blood drop in the family. hence, the woman will not have anything to do with family members until she is clean. at night, their husbands guard them from the danger of wild animals by camping some distances away from them/unfpa,ibid/. the oral informants also generalize that tolerating the pain of delivery alone is said to be a mark of socially accepted value of the village women. for instance, those who fail to bear the pains before and during giving birth are ignored/ridiculed and shamed. furthermore, touching the newly born baby except for the mother till the baby is one month old is forbidden in gumuz culture. this is reasonably because, in gumuz tradition, the newly born baby is still considered as sprinkled/contaminated by blood so that touching the baby may lead to death/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol and balata lakaw/. before the recent ten years, the gumuz females unlike their male counterparts wear /cover their genital organs with skin of sheep or goat which is called ‘chicha’ locally whereas the rest of their body is adorned /decorated with different sacrifice. they sometimes tie another cloth under their armpits for covering their breasts. their cloth is named as ‘ticha’, used as the only form of home -made cloth, especially used by women in order to cover their body near to the breast/bosoms. they also never like lying /denying whatever they committed wrong acts that violates the law of the country or traditional customary law/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol and balata lakaw. 1.2.3 settlement pattern and economic activity as regards to the settlement pattern of the people under study, the works of many researchers and the oral accounts of the informants encouraged me to cross check about the type and the nature of settlement pattern how and where the gumuz and other highlanders are living by neighboring one over another. therefore, these and other related views have been indicated and detail narrations have been given below. before the arrival of re-settlers to mätäkäl , the area was inhabited by an estimated indigenous gumuz population of 18,312,who as the result of the re-settlers’ arrival were replaced and forced to leave the area to the peripheries, being taken over of their native land resources that had served them as an extricable livelihood source/wolde sellassie,2002;p.5/. the multi-ethnic composition in mätäkäl comprised four subcategories just to facilitate meaningful definition, where the first sub-group includes the indigenous gumuz, who claim to be the first and original dwellers of mätäkäl, western ethiopia. whereas the second ethnic group, namely: ŝinaŝa, amhara (gojjam/begi medir), awi, and oromo were lived neighboring each other for centuries/wolde sellassie,p.7/. the third ethnic group includes those spontaneous immigrant resettlers of the 1950s, who immigrated from north of ethiopia resulted from food shortage following climatic changes, for instance, amhara from wollo. in the fourth place, those government sponsored re-settlers of the 1980s are further re-divided in to diverse ethnic groups who evidently, inhabited pawe special wäräda of the present day, mätäkäl zone/ibid/. as the ritual aspect of gumuz agriculture is concerned, the informants conducted at mäntawuhä and mandura describe that the agricultural practice among the gumuz people is of socio-cultural life and understood “far beyond immediate physical involvement and is inseparably interwoven with the beliefs in” “fahsa’’, which is an ancestral spirit and “not merely an undertaking of the family or the group who are directly participating in the farming process by means of labor”/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol and balata lakaw/. their farm used to be far from their villages which may take more than half an hour walk. due to its distance, they do store the crops after harvest by building granary there. the task of women is bringing the crops from there every time to cook food for the family. to the contrary, the gumuz men are only to be seen from the top (above all) as protectors looking for farm fields and preparing it for planting. hunting of wild animals is also the day to day activity of the gumuz men. in addition to the afro-mentioned duties, the gumuz women start with the planting of crops and continue the work until the crop is ready for food or carrying to the market for cash/taressa,2011;pp.13-14/. within the cultural history of the gumuz people, the ancestral and godly participation of agricultural activities take the form of blessings, and applying “medicines’’ in order to increase the fertility of the plot land and to protect crops from any types of disaster/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol and balata lakaw/. oral informants ,who are living together with the gumuz also illustrates that the blessing rituals of crops have two dissimilar meanings, namely, kemisa, meaning blessings as part of death where as the second blessing type is crop blessing ritual/ informants: yeshiwas mamo, zawdu chakol and balata lakaw/. these blessing rituals are most significant to begin the farming season. kemisa, a blessing ceremony practiced when a person has just passed away and its body is get ready for burial. amusingly, varieties of crops are collected from all members of the residents and then put together for the blessing. whereas the other form of blessing type that facilitates booming of productivity is related with the application of medicinal plants to the crop field and the seeds/ibid /.in line with this, dessalegn narrates that hunting of wild animals in the gumuz land is connected with the use of different ‘biya’for each animal to hunt. biya has also different applications based on the type of crops and its undertaking activity/dessalegn rahamato,1988;p.127/. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 13 agriculture is the main means of subsistence in the gumuz society. the gumuz people, who are believed to be the original inhabitants of western part of ethiopia, mätäkäl, depend on a customary land tenure system of communal ownership. they are traditionally shifting cultivators who practice slashes and burn agriculture/tsegaye,2013;p.5/. the practice of shifting cultivation by the gumuz has often contradicted with pastoralism .however, the gumuz are not actually pastoralists. instead, they depend on shifting cultivation for their livelihood, which is supplemented with other subsidiary economic activities, for instance, hunting, gathering, fishing, honey production, collection and the extraction of minerals, like gold from the beach of the rivers. this makes the land as the most important resource of the economy and an integral part of the cultural life of the gumuz/tsegaye,2013/. dessalegn has also similar views with that of the gumuz system of land holding system, which is owned communally. he also argues that “land’’, the most significant means of production is not private property but it is communal, and labor is carried based on association than individually. this communal labor association among the gumuz is literally known as”däbbo’’ or literally in amharic as “wabara” or literally in awgni as “wonfel”/dessalegn rahamato,1988/. in his view, the gumuz people exercise different owner ship rights over various types of natural resources in which “all belong to the collective, with in the boundary of the clan”. based on this, he safely categorized the different resources of this clan model of collective ownership. then, he indicates the two major divisions of gumuz land in which each clan member has a right to use for cultivation or settlement purpose .therefore, the property of a clan is at least three or four times greater than from those who are cultivating or ready to cultivate whenever possible/dassalegn,p;125/. the most important economic activity in gumuz is shifting cultivation, in which locally known as “malaya”, meaning “work” in the local language. the term is being applied in order to show where both work and agriculture in the gumuz context are synonymous. agricultural activities are mainly based on human labor, the use of the hoe (berihun makonnen,2009;pp.350351). in the process of hoe cultivation, the gumuz periodically shift (exchange) the agricultural plots. unlike the high landers, the gumuz people do not cultivate their fields intensively. evidently, plots which are cultivated for about three to four years will be left fallow for about six to ten years. after having done this, the gumuz farmers clear and use new plots in every year and then leave fallow old one’s for a certain period of time which in turn has adverse effect over the nature (berihun makonnen,p.351). in line with plotting lands in the gumuz area, the oral accounts of the informants and the written works of berihun together stated about the two major types of plots, also called kanca and bakuna land, where kanca plots are newly and freshly cleared forest lands served to grow cereal crops, like millet as the main crop type in the intercropping farming practice (berihun, ,2004;p.350). in the next year, kanca plots are called ‘jitank’ and are sown with sorghum as the main crop. generally, the gumuz can be considered to be a good ethnographic justification for how people understood about shifting cultivation and how little evidence is significant on the socio-cultural history of the gumuz people(berihun,2004;pp.350-351). 2. source of conflict and strategies how to handle its challenges 2.1 agitating factors for gumuz conflict in the gumuz socio-cultural tradition, the males must give respect for the order of their wives. because, in their tradition, the wives have had super power comparing with their husbands. then, the husbands must full fill the responsibilities given by their wives. for instance, when the latters’ordered the formers’ in order to kill the non-black shoa men or a gumuz enemy out of their clan, they must kill what they were told to do so(informants : qänaw gobbäna, wändäyä bukrus,and näni wäzet). killing has given special value with in the gumuz community in particular. they considered it as heroism. the black (gumuz) who killed the red (non-gumuz highlander) was considered as hero. for example, when the killer from the gumuz side is died either through age or incidentally, special attention was given during mourning and his funeral was celebrated in special ceremonies and memorial figures were erected on their graves (informants: näni wäzet, wämpo wägad, zeguäfi warb, and megi zelkaw). even worse, the killers must show their wives whom they killed by taking some parts of the body from the dead. for instance, the killers must show them by mutilating penis, the part of the genital organ. the killer has even given special admiration and prestige by the wife in particular and by the society in general. the killer also displaced the head of the deceased individual in the form of hat and also cutoff the arms and dried either by the scorching sun heat or smoke and finally served it to beat their drums during the memorial holidays (ibid). however, the one who he killed the female in their tradition never get respect from the society. it’s even hated within their sociocultural history. instead; the killer has given a nick name known as coward (ibid). 2.1.1 intra-ethnic conflict one of the causes that led to the intra-ethnic conflict among the gumuz was adultery. this might happened when the young gumuz has no sister for the exchange marriage or could not get wife or aimed at getting more than one wife. both adultery and incest were the most hated traditions that became the first causing factors for the intra-clan conflicts within the gumuz copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 14 community. for instance, the husband whose wife was abducted either by the individuals within the same clan or out of the member caused to take retaliation against who committed adultery (informants: zewdu chekol, yeshiwas mamo). when come to see the incest, it is strictly different from adultery in the case that the former stands for inter-breeding within the same line among the closest relatives where as in the case of the latter, the gumuz individuals can commit it’s sexual mating mostly with non-relatives. however, it does not mean that making adultery with the relatives is totally free. for example, as my oral informants discussed, the gumuz young man who tried to obligate the young girl from his lineage for the purpose of sex may agitate killings by another relatives (ibid). incidentally, when the conflict was suspended among the relatives due to adultery and incest, then the local people called this type of conflict as manje guşa4, in the local language meaning fire of sex, in order to indicate that the conflict was triggered by such events. besides, adultery and incest, both belief in an evil-eye and the gafia were also contributory factors for the intra-clan (ethnic) conflicts among the gumuz community (wolde-sellassie,2004;p.240). 2.1.2 inter-ethnic conflict the inter-ethnic conflict is the type of conflict where one group of clan is fricted against another clan out of the lineage. the most frequently occurred and dynamic causes of inter-ethnic conflicts between the gumuz (bega) and ŝuwa (highland settler or amhara) are the legacies of slave raids in the past(wolde-sellassie,p.244). in his turn, aysheshim also summed that the ceaseless encroachment on the land resources of the gumuz and the slave raiding campaign that victimized them has left (imprinted) bad legacies in their minds and created a deeprooted enmity towards their neighboring highlanders (aysheshim madifu, 1987;p.61). unlike the intra-ethnic conflict, the inter –ethnic conflict in the recent times is also caused by the following factors. such as exchange marriage, bride price marriage, abducting girls, elopement, deliberate killings, resource use, insults, failure to pay back debts, and others(informants: yäŝéwas mamo, abdel deboč, and wändäyä bukrus). 2.2 strategies how to handle its challenges as conflict mitigation mechanism is concerned, many researchers and scholars were used the terms like prevention, reconciliation, management and resolution in inter-changing manner. for instance, tsega described conflict management as the part of theory and practice functionally facilitated for developing peaceful resolution for a given conflict which may result either from individuals or group based moves (tsega endalew, 2002; p.14). it has ground rules based on the norms of a given society including reconciliation and arbitration where the strategy is above all led by the elders (by representing the society). these elders could use the systematic approach how to handle the two offending groups by allowing them to discuss in the round table and then find the solution after having understood their problems turn by turn(informants: adämu endaläw, mäkonnänagajie,and assäfa abäjéhu). it was also said that miḉu and harma hodha,the traditional institutions for peace building strategies have played a per amount role in the case of solving conflicts not only in between the śinaśa and the oromo but also among the different ethnic groups in the region namely; awi, amhara, gumuz and others( bogale aligaz,2013;p.62). the coming of oromos in to mätäkäl marked the development of both peace building strategies among the different ethnic groups in the region. both institutions promoted smooth relationships among the members and then developed cultural tolerance and the commercial links when necessary. these institutions had multi modal services in the case that on the one hand it facilitated the relation and integration of the śinaśa with other ethnicities such as in dibaţé, dängur, bullän, and wänbära areas and on the other hand, it played as the system of conflict mitigation strategy(informants: hänna filäte, tuji erässo, and qänaw gobbäna). the term miḉu is the oromo term where the gumuz also called mangima, meaning friendly tie where they used for solving any problems occured in their community. therefore, both communities used miḉu as a peace seeking strategy for conflict resolution to the disputes, enemity and conflicts that broke out among the different ethnic groups of the mätäkäl region and its surroundings(informants: hänna filäte, tuji erässo, and qänaw gobbäna). miḉu (friendly tie) also known as “wudaj” by theawi natives refers to the most important strategy inorder to handle ethnic conflicts and establish an environment of tolerance and mutual coexistence among the ethnic groups in mätäkäl(informants: mäkonnän agajie, mäkonnän wolde giorgis). during the miḉu institution, a ceremony is held in the institutional station where the contending groups slaughtered an animal and both groups were ordered to mix their blood to show complete friendship. besides this, they break a bone to indicate, as they have broken their old quarrels. finally, they swear an oath in order not deny each other, if either of them denies let his/her descendants be broken up to the last seven generations(ibid). following the landing of oromo population in wänbära and dibaţé since the eighteenth century, the oromos also developed the traditional conflict management institution called luba basa, literally meaning to make problems free. it was crucial in the case of solving the problems between the gumuz and oromo communities including the śinaśa, particularly those who adopted the language of oromiffa(ibid). 4 maje gusa, in the gumuz language meaning fire of sex. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 15 in mätäkäl, the awi had traditional conflict resolution mechanism equally important with miḉu institution where the former can handle problems with the gumuz, oromo, śinaśa and the amhara. this traditional reconciling strategy among awi is said to have called wudaj,in awgni language meaning, friend. in the case of amhara, this institution is literally called wadaj, similarly meaning friend. this wadaj 5system institution is the most important strategy in solving the problems created between awi and the gumuz in particular (ibid). like other neighboring ethnic groups, the gumuz have its own conflict management strategies above all lead by the elders. these gumuz elders summon a meeting of their communities to negotiate the conflicting groups. they are skillful enough to resolve the problems where the rival bodies have presented the issues to them by seeking the solution accordingly. at the end, the elders set out compensation to be paid by the offender. no questions for the final decisions approved by the elders. their decisions are accepted, and are seriously practiced (fekadu wamber ,1998;p.4) similarly, dessalegn also conceptualized that the gumuz elders and leaders had the power of exercising their authority as the reconciliation effort is concerned .for instance, they have the power to punish those who stood against the traditional laws and customs of the gumuz community(dessalegn rahamato,1988;p.19). in addition to the elders, the gumuz have also another traditional conflict reconciliation system known as gafia. it is magico – religious authority exercised by the wizard where his or her action shows as if he/she would be a doctor and the protector of their community(informants: täddäsa läma, hänna filäte, and tuji erässo). apart from this, it played to resolve the intra-ethnic conflict among the gumuz with the coalition of the elders (ibid). equally with other institutions stated above, siyaha system was also said to have applied in the gumuz community where the elders were elected by the villagers where their mangima6 assembly center was known as tamba(informants: wändäyä bukrus, and aŝeber woldu). generally, mangima (the gumuz term for assembly), has been the most important traditional conflictresolution institution, particularly in solving the intra-clan (ethnic) conflicts and lineage level enemies among the gumuz community in mätäkäl(informants: abdel deboč, and qänaw gobbäna). 3. methodology this article has developed based on both primary and secondary sources, where the primary sources are collected from the elderly individuals through interview. here, focus group discussion was also vitally available with the gumuz, shinasha , oromo, awi and amhara informants, who are living either together with the gumuz or by neighboring them. the data for this study to be collected through interviews with elderly people based on their age nearest to the event in change and continuity, involving in both primary and secondary documents and from archives and publications focusing on the issue. the data collected through these methods would be carefully examined, cross-checked, interpreted and analyzed, to give meaningful justifications for the study. furthermore, the secondary sources are collected from periodicals, document analysis, thesis dissertations, internet sources and other reports. 4. results and discussions 4.1changes and continuities the declaration of the equality of peoples, nations and nationalities in 1994/5, paved the way for the birth of minority society in ethiopia in general and the gumuz people in particular. before the advent of the ethiopian federal democratic revolution, the minority society was ignored from social, economic and political aspects. for instance, there was no that much room for those who are black in skin color. because, in some areas of matakal, the gumuz were not only socio-culturally hated but also they were deprived off any political fields (informants: ashebir woldu,yeshiwas mamo). for instance, the need for mutual economic integration and social ties between the gumuz and the highlanders widely expanded after the ratification of the ethiopian new constitution. following the event, the exgovernment appointees were politically ignored and the new federal government succeeded and re-distributed the land by taking extra and massive lands to the landless gumuz peasants(informants: qanaw gobbana, dabasu guk). when the re-distribution of rural land program came in to the reality, the highlanders, who are living by neighboring the gumuz began to move towards the gumuz land and tried to develop the degree of friendly relationship with the gumuz, who owned the virgin land in the region of matakal. since then, many highlanders who either are agricultural investors who seasonally began to move in to the gumuz lands searching for land lease or for the benefit of mutual crop sharing(informants: maku baqala,qanaw gobbana). the gumuz came as the potential allies for the highlander land searchers, especially for the neighboring agaws, who lost their hereditary land rights. whereas the gumuz, who emerged as the owner of the virgin land were not affected by land re-distribution following the state structure of the region. when the demand for land from the agaws increased, the gumuz 5 wadaj, has an equivalent meaning with friend particularly for the males. 6 mangima, is an assembly center where both rival groups are reconciling for actual peace rearranged by the elders both sides. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 16 virgin lands became the focal sights of the new agricultural lands(informants: lukundi hatse.maku baqala).although the situation is worse the gumuz people are welcoming the seasonal and periodic advance of the highlanders, particularly agaws and said to have created the socio-cultural links with them believing that they will be the beneficiaries during mutual crop sharing and also can draw the day to day working habits(dessalegn amsalu,2010;pp.42-6). above all, farming alliance among the gumuz and the neighboring highlanders became the bench mark for the beginning of experience sharing and transfer of working habits from the latter’s to the former. therefore, the gumuz, who were the owners of the virgin lands but poor in both technical knowledge and farming by using the oxen drawn plough, could be able to imitate the knowledge of oxen drawn farming from the newly arrived people, particularly from the agaws(informants: lukundi hatse, asheber woldu; dessalegn, ibid). since then, the gumuz people tried to change digging tools by oxen drawn plough and also tried to replace living through hunting and gathering by domestication of plants and animals, in which also known as the beginning of agriculture(informants: lukundi hatse, asheber woldu;dessalegn ibid). according to dessalegn, there are two types of animal rearing alliances in and around the gumuz lands of matakal in between the gumuz and the neighboring agaws in particular, where it was called “cross border seasonal” cattle migration and permanent residence rearing. however, as their interaction is sometimes smooth and another times also hostile, there is killing, hating and plundering of one’s property around the gumuz lands. in spite of their hostile and smooth relationships, there are high socio-cultural, economic, ecological and political interactions among themselves (dessalegn, 2010; informants: qanaw gobbana.lukundi hatse). 4.2 local strategies for peace building process the gumuz have maintained distinct types of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms with each ethnic group who inhabited in the region. for instance, michu and luba bassa with the oromo, mangima within gumuz communities, harma hodha with the shinasha, wudaj with the awi and wadaj strategy with the amhara. in spite of this spiral, of conflicts have been affecting the region’s peace and stability. hence, the issue of conflict resolution needs immediate attention as a precondition for any sustainable development and food security in the region( informants: qanaw gobbana.lukundi hatse). the relationship in between awi and gumuz is likewise characterized by both hostile and friendly. the latter were indirectly ruled by the local chiefs appointed by the state from the former. thus, the former was said to have raided the latter continuously for the slaves. besides, the awi pushed them away to the peripheries and exploited them and looted their property by using the land tax as the pretext. however, they both have tried to develop the socio-cultural, economic and political interactions beginning from the eve of the 1991 democratic revolution in the country (informants: admas yismaw, asheber woldu, qanaw gobbana). through time, the gumuz and other ethnic communities in mätäkäl were said to have solved their periodic skirmishes by using the traditional peace building mechanism, locally known as michu. it is the traditional basis for conflict resolution among the ethnic groups living in and around mätäkäl either together with the gumuz or by neighboring them. thus, michu played a per-amount role in mitigating ethnic conflicts arose either individually or in a group form. therefore, this traditional peacemaking institution has laid the foundation for cultural tolerance among ethnic diversity in countries like ethiopia with multi-national state (ibid). besides, the traditional institution also brought about extra mutual benefits among different ethnic communities in mätäkäl. gradually, this conflict resolution strategy was transformed from conflict solving to cultural assimilation and interethnic interaction. immediately following the post 1991 revolution in ethiopia, the government allowed a chance of self determination to the nations and nationalities throughout the country(informants: maku, yeshiwas,assefa) . by using the opportunity, multi-ethnic communities throughout the country started to discuss freely, to participate genuinely, and to advance their equality, to appreciate good governance, to fight against poverty, disease, terrorism, corruptions and then, stand for advancing peace and order in the region in particular(ibid). 5. conclusion the gumuz are one of the koman branches of the ethiopian nilo-saharan language speaking people located along the blue nile river valley and its tributaries .originally, they used to live in the region of mätäkäl up to the shores of lake tana, as far as the low land areas of awi zone, in the amhara national regional state. these people are apparently pressurized to move further west wards by the highland inhabitants. their peripheral survival demonstrated a long process of competition from competing overlords in the sudan and ethiopia. wherever threats increased from the nearby inhabitants and other settling and re-settling highlanders, they retreated into the open lowlands and malaria infested areas of the remotest far west. the gumuz inhabited areas of matakal is endowed with very crucial natural resources such as the most valuable minerals, endemic and non-endemic wild animals and bird species. the region has hosted by diverse ethnic groups who came to the region in different times for the sake of fulfilling their daily needs. among the ethnic groups, the following are worth copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 17 mentioned. the gumuz, awi,śinaśa, oromo, amhara and other settler communities who flocked from different areas of the country in to the region. in the case of the socio-cultural ,religion, economic and political interactions, the gumuz are animistic, who worship in the “spirits” of certain rocks, trees, and animals for good health, good crops, good luck, and protection. rebba is their “supreme god to mean all.”however, in the current situation, there are certain gumuz community who accepted catholicism and protestantism. the gumuz firmly believe that if a woman drinks milk, she will go bald, and if a man eats cabbage, he will be lazy. if a woman eats porridge while she is making it, they believe she or her husband will become ill. as the marriage style is concerned, polygamous marriage system among gumuz and marriage arrangement by parents without the consents of the woman is one of the main causes of women subordination. among the marriage systems exercised by the gumuz community, exchange marriage system is one of the dominant marriage type that denies the right of the girl and done without the interest and willingness of both women (the bride and exchange one). inheritance marriage is also another subordinating factor in which the household properties and investment kept only in the male line. in such marriage arrangements a widowed is not in a position to refuse the wish and interest of her husband's family. thus, any form of refusal on the female side may lead to loss of any property including her children and put her in risk of unaccepted by the society. due to landlessness because of the land tenure system and the inability of the muslims to own rist7 lands in these provinces, they were forced to move and settle in mätäkäl. population pressure and environmental degradation were equally pushing factors. thus, because of the presence of abundant natural resources in the region, mätäkäl attracted a huge number of the amhara communities who flocked continuously and settled with the incorporation of the region since in the last decades of the nineteenth century. since then, they took control of the western part of the region, today’s benishangul gumuz national regional state, in the form of settlers, tax assessing committee (supervisors), administrators, securing members, religious preachers and by using other simulations. since then, they started devastations, raids, slavery, and whatever they like. then reasonably, the gumuz were the prime victims and the losers. although, there is generally a relative peace and stability in the region, local conflict in the form of either individual or group has continued for several years. the major causes of conflicts between the gumuz and other ethnic communities include encroachment, alleged evil eye, abduction, adultery, murder, thieving, the question of land and other minor causes. the gumuz have maintained distinct types of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms with each ethnic group who inhabited in the region. for instance, micu and luba bassa with the oromo, mangima within gumuz communities, harma hodha with the śinaśa, wudaj with the awi and wadaj strategy with the amhara. in spite of this spiral, of conflicts have been affecting the region’s peace and stability. hence, the issue of conflict resolution needs immediate attention as a precondition for any sustainable development and food security in the region. the relationship between the highlanders and the gumuz has been likewise characterized by both hostile and friendly. the latter were indirectly ruled by the local chiefs appointed by the state from the former. thus, the former was said to have raided the latter continuously for the slaves. besides, the highlanders pushed them away to the peripheries and exploited them and looted their property by using the land tax as the pretext. however, they both have tried to develop the socio-cultural, economic and political interactions beginning from the eve of the 1991 democratic revolution in the country. through time, the gumuz and other ethnic communities in mätäkäl were said to have solved their periodic skirmishes by using the traditional peace building mechanism, locally known as michu. it is the traditional basis for conflict resolution among the ethnic groups living in and around mätäkäl either together with the gumuz or by neighboring them. thus, michu played a per-amount role in mitigating ethnic conflicts arose either individually or in a group form. therefore, this traditional peacemaking institution has laid the foundation for cultural tolerance among ethnic diversity in countries like ethiopia with multi-national state. 6. conflict of interests the author has not declared any forms of conflict of interests. references periodicals, documentary electronic sources and reports unfpa. bush birthing cuts corners: the case of beniŝangul gumuz.asossa,2014. fekadu wamber, “yé gumuz béhéréséb aḉir yé bahil zägäbä” (a brief cultural report of the gumuz people, 1998 mätäkäl zonal agricultural department office report. asossa,2014 beniŝangul gumuz region food security strategy report, beureau of finance and economic development, asossa, 2004. 7 rist, is a part of land which is hereditary in nature, which will be pass among the same blood line from generation to generation. copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 18 unpublished sources thesis, dessertations and other papers jira mekuria. “ahistory of the gumuz people of metekel (1941-1991).”m.a.thesis in history, addis ababa: addis ababa university, 2008. dessalegn rahamato. “resettlement and indigenous population of metekel.”paper presented for the institute of development research on famine experience and resettlement in ethiopia, addis ababa: addis ababa university,1988. bogale aligaz. “conflict resolution among the gumuz communities: mangima institution in the twentieth century.” m.a.thesis in history.bahir dar : bahir dar university,2013. berihun mebratie. “spontaneous settlement and interethnic relations in metekel, north western ethiopia.”m.a.thesis in sociology and social anthropology, addis ababa: addis ababa university, 1999. __________.”the past in the present: the dynamics of identity and otherness among the gumuz of ethiopia.”doctoral thesis in social anthropology, norwegian university of science and technology, trondheim,2004. alemayehu erkihun. “state and ethnic interaction in agäw meder and mätäkäl: the case of awi and gumuz in the twentieth century.” m.a.thesis in history, bahir dar: bahir dar university, 2012. aysheshim madfu. “crime and custom: with reference to the śanquilla nationality.”senior essay in law. addis ababa: addis ababa university, 1987. dessalegn rahamato. “resettlement and indigenous population of metekel.”paper presented for the institute of development research on famine experience and resettlement in ethiopia, addis ababa: addis ababa university,1988. tsegaye morada. “listening to their silence? the reaction of the gumuz people against large-scale land acquisitions in beniŝangul gumuz region.”ethiopia: asossa, 2013. wubat engidayehu. “ahistory of gojjam-awi and their relations to neighboring gumuz people (1855-1991).” m.a.thesis in history, mekelle: mekelle university, 2012. published sources article berihun mebratie. “the gumuz: are they shifting cultivators? proceedings of the sixteen international conferences of the ethiopian studies, vol.2. norway: trondheim, 2009. tsega endalew. “conflict resolution through cultural tolerance: analysis of the miḉu institution in mätäkäl region, ethiopia.” social science report series no.25, addis ababa: ossrea,2002. wolde-sellassie abbute. “nature, culture and encroachment: indigenous resource management of gumuz under stress in metekel, north western ethiopia.” proceedings of the xivth international conference of the ethiopian studies, institute of ethiopian studies: addis ababa university, 2002. books bender, lionel. the ethiopian nilo-saharans. addis ababa: addis ababa university press, 1975. central statistics agency.population and census .addis ababa: statistics agency, 2007. dessalegn amsalu. the nature of awi-gumuz relations: the dynamics of ethncity in ethiopia. usa: vdm verlag , 2010. tsega endalew. inter-ethnic relations on frontier: metekel (ethiopia), 1898-1991. germany: wiesbaden, 2006. wolde sellassie abbute. gumuz and highland resettlers: differing strategies of livelihood and ethnic relations in metekel, north western ethiopia (usa: die deutche biblio thek, 1984 __________. indigenous livelihood strategies and resource management systems in beniŝangul gumuz. addis ababa: oxfam canada,2004. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 7 afghan students’ purposes of using facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul, afghanistan abdul nafi himat general teaching manager of agriculture faculty mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education zabul, afghanistan e-mail: abdulnafi.himat2017@gmail.com habib rahman nazari english language and literature department education faculty, kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: habibrahman.nazari97@gmail.com abstract the aim of this study is to investigate the students’ purposes of using facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, qalat, zabul province, afghanistan. in this research, the quantitative research method was employed, and the data was collected from 115 students through a designed questionnaire. in addition, the respondents were selected through random sample. additionally, the data was analyzed by implementing ibm 24 version of statistical package for the social sciences (spss), and found out the frequency and percentage of the items as well reported in a table. moreover, the findings of this research reveal that learners use facebook for several goals such as for socializing in order to be socialized in a society, getting social information, read news and for educational purposes, but they did not practice facebook for the aims to pass their time, and share photos with their friends on the facebook. keywords: social networking sites, facebook, purposes, afghan learners. jel classification codes: a19, b10, b25, c10, c53 introduction social networking sites are a set of information technologies that simplify social communication. these information technologies are media (audio, picture, video, text), social media (facebook, twitter, whatsapp, instagram, flicker), and blogs (bryer & zavatarro, 2011; kapoor, tamilmani, rana, patil, dwivedi & nerur, 2018). moreover, social media users usually access the services of social networking sites through the internet or other web-based technology on their laptops, desktop computers or smartphones (shepherd & freiwald, 2018). furthermore, social media have many facilities of communication, text, sharing pictures, audio and video, direct or indirect connection, and linking users with each other as well as the use of social networking sits increase day by day with a high rate in all over the world. majority of youth shift mailto:abdulnafi.himat2017@gmail.com mailto:habibrahman.nazari97@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 8 quickly from electronic media like as television audiences and radio listeners to the social media (shabir, hameed, safdar & gilani, 2014). similarly, social networking sites are electronic services which allow people to make a public or semi-public profile within a limited system, articulate with a list of other consumers with whom they share their opinions (abdulahi, samadi & gharleghi, 2014). through the assist of social media, users communicate with each other, even though if they are in several continents, listen to music, read e-books, and look at images as well as social networking sites have greatly simplified the life of users (shensa, sidani, lin, bowman & primack, 2016). likewise, social networking sites have become a very significant part in the life of students (lenhart, madden & hitlin, 2005). moreover, academic institutions use increasingly social networking sites, such as facebook and linkedin, in order to connect with learners and to deliver instructional contents to them (paul, baker & cochran, 2012). similarly, social media websites have become common; give youths a new way to interact with each other (falah, al-shammari & al-ashour, 2017). also, the most popular social media include facebook, twitter, whatsapp, instagram, skype, viber, and wechat (al-rahmi & othman, 2013). in 2004, facebook was founded by mark zuckerberg, and it is one of the most well-known kind of social networking sites used among students. in addition, people who desire to use facebook need to register their selves online and create a profile by using a valid e-mail address or phone number (cain, 2008). additionally, once an individual has joined facebook, then the user can search for anyone, and view the profiles of others. facebook users can also send messages to any other individual to ask if he/she agrees to be facebook friends (kolek & saunders, 2008). moreover, there are numerous methods for users to communicate on facebook, and can send personal messages to one another (pempek, yermolayeva, & calvert, 2009). facebook consumers can like and share posts as well as they can comment on the posts of their friends joined on facebook (ross, orr, sisic, arseneault, simmering & orr, 2009). besides, the consumers of facebook can also set time that they spend during a day, even they can set a time for their selves. for instance, users can set one-hour time that he/she will use per day. when he/she spend an hour on it, then he/she receives a reminder that you have spent one-hour time during the day. in addition, facebook is one of online social network sites in which people can share photos or videos, personal details, and join groups of friends with one another as well as they can upload and change their profile pictures and cover photos (buckman, 2005; lewis, kaufman & christakis, 2008). problem statement as in this twenty-first century, technology has attracted the attention of all people, especially students who are learning at universities, institutes of higher educations as well schools. therefore, many afghan students use social media at the academic contexts, particularly facebook and whatsapp. in addition, facebook, has over 500 million members, and it is still growing and around 85% of undergraduate students are facebook consumers (schneider, 2010). according to shabir et al., (2014) the use of social media is very essential for all ages of people, thus facebook has received the attention of all afghan students because facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites that is implemented by undergraduate learners; therefore, who have access to internet use social networking sites (himat, 2020). as well as, afghan students who are at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education use facebook. however, their purposes of using facebook as a social networking platforms are not completely clear. whereas kaya & bicen (2016) conducted study in turkey, and their study showed that students implement facebook for communication, entertainment, sharing news, pictures, and https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 9 songs. additionally, myspace and friendster are designed to join people, but facebook is commonly considered the primary social networking site used by college students (golder, wilkinson & huberman, 2007). moreover, there are very limited studies conducted at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, qalat, zabul province; therefore, it is important to conduct a study in order to fill this gap. furthermore, this research would assist with ministry of higher education of afghanistan as well with ministry of information and communication technology. research objective  to investigate the purposes of afghan students who use facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul, afghanistan. research question  what are the purposes of afghan students who use facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul, afghanistan? literature review the usage of internet in afghanistan has grown looking to the past decade, and approximately 9% afghans use social networking sites for different purposes (altai consulting for interviews, 2017). in addition, according to lenhart et al., (2007) & selwyn, (2007) social networks are being implemented by millions of users which most of them are learners with a great number of purposes. moreover, boateng et al., (2016) reported that social media such as facebook, twitter, google plus, and flickr, are being used in learning process for the purposes of convenient communication with other learners, and outside the classroom when they have the same topic and subject. moreover, research conducted by moghavvemi, sulaiman, aziz & wai (2017) examined the time students spend on facebook, and its effects on their academic achievement as well behavioral factors that effects on learners who utilize facebook. the results of this study indicated that students practice facebook for entertainment, relaxing and passing time but not for socializing and seeking social details. similarly, kaya et al., (2016) examined the effects of social media on students in turkey. the findings of this study asserted that facebook is employed for entertainment, communication, sharing pictures, songs, and news. moreover, a research conducted to find out the effects of facebook use on health science students in a medical college of nepal. the main causes for using facebook of students were to remain in connection with their family members and friends 32%, while its usage for the academic purpose was only 5%. however, 80.8% of students acknowledged ease in obtaining academic materials from each other through facebook. furthermore, gray, annabell & kennedy (2010) carried out a research at melbourne university, parkville, australia. the results asserted that one in four (1/4) students 25.5% used facebook for educational reasons, and 50% were open to doing so. the findings of this study showed more that students used facebook as part of learning and teaching. moreover, research conducted on final year health sciences students of dow university, karachi, pakistan. the findings of this study asserted that facebook is common among medical students with 66.9% having an account out of a total 535 students. in addition, some public profiles showed that potentially unprofessional material mostly related to violence and politics were posted by medical students (jawaid, khan & bhutto, 2015). likewise, study carried out by pathan, pathan & memon (2018) on sindh university students. the results of this research showed that youth especially the students are very actively involved on the usage of facebook. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 10 even their purposes for which they used facebook were not very productive; most of their time they made friendships, chats, comments and posts various things on the social media. wesseling (2012) carried out research on the usage of facebook at amsterdam university on the students of applied sciences. the findings revealed that students use social networking sites (facebook) for a number of purposes such as 70.1% students use these sites for social purposes, and 70.2% students use in order to exchange information. the study also disclosed that 49.7% students use facebook for educational purposes. additionally, diraditsile et al., (2018) explored the effects of social media on collaboration and engagement among students in the botswana university particularly on the use of facebook. the results revealed that all participants were using social networking sites for interacting with their friends, connecting with their classmates for online studies, and for discussions on issues of national interest. researchers nawafleh, harfoush, fakhouri, obiedat & rababah, (2012) wanted to find the negative impacts of facebook on social life in amman, irbid and jaresh cites. the finding of this study asserted that facebook is a part of their everyday activity and cannot leave it, 45% favored to communicate with their friends and relatives rather than direct interaction, whereas 27% loss their face-to-face meeting with relatives and friends. about 60% participants feel much more comfortable and free when share opinions or thoughts through facebook more than direct interaction. also, 33% students give priority to communicate with friends over their social and career commitments. in addition, 39% thought that they have a decline in their academic or career performance since they used facebook. the research further asserted that 37% participants replied that they cannot learn new skills or knowledge due to spending long time on facebook. research methdology this research examined afghan students’ purposes of using facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education. likewise, the quantitative research approach was employed for this research, and the participants were from four existing (mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry departments) of education faculty. also, they were selected through random sample. in addition, students who participated in this study were from all three levels freshmen (38), sophomore (30) and junior (47) and they aged from 18-27 years old. likewise, the questionnaire was designed by the researcher and then distributed to 115 learners. majority students were male, but less amount were female. similarly, the items of the questionnaire were 12 statements and the data was analyzed by 24 version of spss. moreover, the reliability of the study was 0.8 cronbach’s alpha which is considered excellent. findings table 1. illustrates the students’ purposes of using facebook at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education. no i use facebook… never rarely sometimes often always 1 to pass my own time. 78 (67.8%) 14 (12.2%) 11 (9.6%) 8 (7.0%) 4 (3.5%) 2 to be socialized in a community. 10 (8.7%) 7 (6.1%) 12 (10.4%) 16 (13.9%) 70 (60.9%) 3 to share photos with others. 64 (55.0%) 19 (16.5%) 18 (15.7%) 10 (8.7%) 4 4 to get social details. 5 8 17 (14.8%) 24 61 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 11 (4.3%) (7.0%) (20.9%) (53.0%) 5 to read news. 9 (7.8%) 17 (14.8%) 17 (14.8%) 20 (17.4%) 52 (45.2%) 6 for educational purposes. 5 (4.3%) 11 (9.6%) 21 (18.3%) 29 (25.2%) 49 (42.6%) 7 to remain in connection with my friends. 8 (7.0%) 7 (6.1%) 23 (20.0%) 30 (26.1%) 47 (40.9%) 8 for entertainment. 34 (29.6%) 27 (23.5%) 21 (18.3%) 16 (13.9%) 17 (14.8%) 9 to post professional materials related to my field. 13 (11.3%) 21 (18.3%) 23 (20.0%) 32 (27.8%) 26 (22.6%) 10 to find new friends. 32 (27.8%) 26 (22.6%) 24 (20.9%) 17 (14.8%) 16 (13.9%) 11 because it makes a part of my everyday life. 16 (13.9%) 25 (21.7%) 22 (19.1%) 23 (20.0%) 29 (25.2%) 12 to give comments on the posts of my friends. 27 (23.5%) 28 (24.3%) 19 (16.5%) 23 (20.0%) 18 (15.7%) table 1 shows the students purposes of using facebook. the findings are reported from low to high. the 1th item show that 67.8% students never use facebook to pass their own time, but 12.2% rarely use. in addition, 9.6% of students sometimes use to pass time, 7.0% often use, but 3.5% of the students always use to pass their time on facebook. similarly, the 2nd item reveals that some students 8.7% never use for the purpose to be socialized, 6.1% rarely, 10.4% sometimes, 13.9% often, but many students 60.9% always use for the purpose to be socialize in a community. the third statement demonstrates that 55% learner never share photos, 16.5% rarely, 15.7% sometimes, 8.7% often, but less percent of students which is 3.5% always use for the purpose to share images with their friends on the facebook. in addition, the 4th item asserts that very less amount 4.3% of learner never use facebook for the purpose to seek social information, 7% rarely, but 14.8% of the students sometimes use. moreover, 20.9% often, but more than half of the participants always use to get social details through facebook. additionally, the 5th item indicates that 7.8% learner never use to read news while 14.8% rarely and sometimes. furthermore, 17.4% often use, and near to half of the students always use facebook to read news. table 1.6 illustrates that very few amount 4.3% of students never use facebook for educational purposes, 9.6% rarely, 18.3% sometimes, 25.2% often, but 42.6% of the learners always use. likewise, the 7th item highlights that 7% students never use facebook to remain in connection with their friends, 6.1% rarely, 20% sometimes, 26.1% of the participants often use while a large amount 40.9% of the learners always use to remain in connection. the 8th item demonstrates that 29.6% of the students never use for entertainment, 23.5% rarely, 18.3% sometimes, 13.9% of often use while 14.8% always use facebook for entertainment. also, the 9th item reveals that only 11.3% students never use to upload related information to their departments, 18.3% rarely, 20% sometimes, 27.8% often use while 22.6% learners always use for the mentioned purpose. moreover, the 10th item shows that many students never use for the purpose to find news friends on the facebook, 22.6% rarely, 20.9% sometimes, 14.8% often, but very less amount 13.9% of students always use to find new friends. the 11th indicates that 13.9% never use facebook because students reported that it does not make a part of our everyday https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 12 life, 21.7% rarely use, 19.1% sometimes, 20% often while less than half of the students reported that we always use for the stated purpose. the last item of the table illustrates that 23.5% of students never give comments on their friends’ posts, 24.3 rarely, 16.5 sometimes, 20% often while 15.7 always use to give opinions on the facebook’s posts. discussion the findings of this study demonstrate that a large number of afghan students never use facebook for the purpose to pass their own time. however, very less amount of learners 3.5% always use it to pass their time. the finding of this study is against with a research conducted by moghavvemi et al. (2017), their study indicated that students use facebook for entertainment, relaxing, and passing time, but not for socializing and seeking social information. in addition, this current study reveals that many afghan learners 60.9% use facebook to be socialized in a community, but somehow students 8.7% never use it to be socialized. through this it can inferred that they have zeal to be socialized in all. furthermore, this finding is not in line with moghavvemi et al., (2017), they found that students are not using facebook for socializing and seeking social material. likewise, the current research findings reveal that 55% of afghan students do not want to use facebook as a social network sites for the aim to share images with their friends, but only 3.5% always use it because they demand to have their own pictures with others for having comments and likes. this finding is not in line with kaya et al., (2016), facebook is used for communication, entertainment, sharing news, pictures, and songs. in addition, the next important finding shows that 53% of afghan learners use facebook to get social details, but only 4.3% students never use to get social information. this finding is in agreement with moghavvemi et al., (2017), their study indicated that students practice facebook for entertainment, relaxing, and passing time, but not for socializing and seeking social information. similarly, the result of this study indicates that afghan learners implement facebook for the purpose to read news, but 7.8% never use to read news on it. the finding of this research is against with kaya et al. (2016) that facebook is used for communication, entertainment, sharing news, pictures, and songs. moreover, the finding of this research show more that afghan students use facebook for educational purposes, but only 4.3% never use it. through this finding it can be inferred that students use it in order to read and share related information to education especially related to their fields on facebook. the finding of this study is in line with the studies of (wesseling, 2012); gray et al. (2010) who carried out researches at amsterdam and melbourne universities on students. the findings revealed that students use social networking sites (facebook) for a number of aims such as 70.1% students use these sites for social purposes, and 70.2% use in order to exchange material. their study also presented that 49.7% of learners use facebook for educational purposes. in addition, one in four students 25.5% used facebook for educational reasons and another 50.0% students were open to doing so as well findings more indicated that they use facebook as part of learning and teaching process in their daily life. conclusion and suggestions this study investigated afghan students’ purposes of implementing facebook as social networking sites at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul, afghanistan. similarly, this research used a quantitative method, and the data was collected from 115 students. all respondents were elected through a random sampling method which is one of the most wellknown sampling approaches in selecting participants in a quantitative research. the findings of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 13 this study revealed that students use facebook for different aims, for socializing in a society, seeking social details, reading news and for educational purposes. however, the learners did not use for the purposes to pass their time, and sharing photos with their friends on facebook. in addition, as this study only identified the purposes of using facebook of education faculty students; therefore, the following suggestions are given for further studies to investigate the barriers and perceptions of students toward using facebook. as well as, on the advantages and disadvantages of implementing facebook for learners, its impacts on students’ behavior and mentality. also, to explore the attitude of learners toward using facebook on the educational contexts. references abdulahi, a., samadi, b., & gharleghi, b. 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(2007). screw blackboard... do it on facebook!’: an investigation of students’ educational use of facebook. ponencia. en: poke. selwyn, n. (2012). social media in higher education. the europa world of learning, 1, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346397.n272 shabir, g., hameed, y. m. y., safdar, g., & gilani, s. m. f. s. (2014). the impact of social media on youth: a case study of bahawalpur city. asian journal of social sciences & humanities, 3(4), 132-151. shensa, a., sidani, j. e., yi lin, l., bowman, n. d., & primack, b. a. (2016). social media use and perceived emotional support among us young adults. journal of community health, 41(3), 541-549. shepherd, s. v., & freiwald, w. a. (2018). functional networks for social communication in the macaque monkey. neuron, 99(2), 413-420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.06.027 wesseling, n. (2012, september). how students use facebook. in wei international academic conference proceedings (pp. 20-25). copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.06.016 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.010 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2008.12.024 https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346397.n272 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.06.027 american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 16 afghan students’ satisfaction from online learning during covid-19 at kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan abdul nafi himat general teaching manager of agriculture faculty, mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education zabul, afghanistan e-mail: abdulnafi.himat2017@gmail.com mohammad hanif takal nominated teaching assistant mathematics department, education faculty mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education zabul, afghanistan e-mail: mohammadhaniftakal@gmail.com mohammad farooq hakimi senior teaching assistant head of mathematics department education faculty, kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: farooq123hakimi@gmail.com abstract this purpose of this study was to examine the satisfaction of afghan students from online learning during covid-19 at kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan. this research used a quantitative approach, and the learners were from several departments of education faculty as well as they were selected through random sample. similarly, the questionnaire was the main instrument of this study. as well as, three hundred and forty students took participation. after collecting the data, it was analyzed by implementing ibm 24 version of (spss). moreover, the findings of this research indicated that majority students were not satisfied from distance education because learners could not learn from online education compare to traditional classroom setting, learners did not have access to internet-based learning through computer or smartphone, students did not prefer web-based learning, and learners did not seek the same descriptions of lessons on online learning process compare to traditional method of classroom. also, online learning did not able students to learn independently. however, they were somehow satisfied from the role of teachers who played their role as a facilitator during e-learning process. keywords: icts, technology, online learning, students’ satisfaction. jel classification codes: a19, b10, b25, c10, c53 mailto:abdulnafi.himat2017@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 17 introduction information and communication technologies (icts) has created new opportunities for education (askar & halici, 2004). thus, learning can occur anywhere and anytime, even there is a geographical separation between learners and lecturer. in distance education, (icts) can make a bridge among students and teachers as well as through (icts) they can easily interact with each other (moore & kearsley, 1996). similarly, (icts) are digital tools or sources which control, spread, and create information as well they include both traditional such as radio, television, and fax as well as new devices or new technologies are internet, teleconferencing, interactive cds, dvds, email, the world wide web, virtual realities, hypertext, hardware, and software (apena, 2012; olusola & alaba, 2011; wang & woo, 2007). these all tools control and process information and also facilitate communication (apena, 2012; koustourakis, panagiotakopoulos & vergidis, 2008). also, the development of technology makes distance education all possible and encourages more people to become engaged in learning, specifically adults hence, e-learning has received much attention of the educational contexts (askar et al., 2004; allen, elaine & seaman, 2015). moreover, technology has clearly made the life of humans easier as well as it enhances the process of learning and teaching (ala-mutka, punie & redecker, 2008). in the same way, e-learning is a system of learning based on technology which use electronic technologies in order to access educational curriculum or materials outside the traditional classrooms or educational campus (jama, mapesela & beylefeld, 2008). likewise, online education is a method of instruction which allow learners and teachers to interact with each other through using internet as a method of communication (al-asfour, 2012). distance education provides an independent student-centered and lecturer facilitated engagement that facilitate interaction with teachers and students which may not always be possible within the traditional classroom settings (michailidou & economides, 2003). besides, e-learning refers to a course, program or degree that is completed through online as well as it is the practice of electronic education systems such as computer, internet and multimedia disks (salamat, ahmad, bakht & saifi, 2018; wantling, weight, gallaher, fleur, wang & confer, 2000). additionally, internet-based learning refers to a situation where the interaction between learners and teacher is performed through online system (ajadi, salawu & adeoye, 2008). in computer-assisted learning, students are far away from the campus, and they are educated through a mixture of media (mahmood, mahmood & malik, 2012). according to franklin & nahari (2018) e-learning is also known as online learning, internet learning, computer-assisted instruction, web-based learning, distributed learning, distance education, computerized electronic learning, or internetbased learning. the use of web-based learning is not a new phenomenon in some parts of all over the world. as well as, the use of online learning attracted the attention of all educational contexts, particularly when the government of all countries closed schools and universities due to covid19. therefore, it diverts the attention of all educational contexts, especially of those contexts that did not have distributed learning programs. in afghanistan, when all educational campuses closed, schools and universities tried to perform the process of teaching through internet-based learning because they did not have other ways. therefore, in afghanistan the ministry of higher education (mohe) tried to provide the process of teaching by lecturers to students through webbased learning process. after, the (mohe) get benefited from the higher education learning management system (helms) in order to provide teaching materials to students. furthermore, the problem of this study was that most of the learners claimed during covid-19 that they do not have zeal with distance learning, and even many students do not want to participate on the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 18 process of online learning as well many students claimed that they do not have access to internet even laptops and smartphones in order to access online learning. similarly, a study carried out at kabul polytechnic university, afghanistan by sokout & usagawa (2018) the researchers stated that afghanistan is still having troubles with reliability of internet connection, electricity, icts centers and quality of service. in addition, the researchers further stated on their study that having proper infrastructure is one of the major necessities for the implementation of e-learning programs in afghanistan. furthermore, there are limited studies conducted regarding e-learning; specifically, regarding students’ satisfaction from online learning at kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan. consequently, this study tries to fill the gap through conducting this research. lastly, this study would help not only with (helms) of afghanistan as well as with kandahar university in order to bring modification in this part. objective of the research  to investigate the satisfaction of students from online learning during covid-19 at kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan. literature review kuo, walker, belland & schroder (2013) investigated the satisfaction of students from online education programs at college of education, western university. the findings showed that learner-instructor interaction, learner-content interaction, and internet self-efficacy were good predictors of students’ satisfaction while interactions between learners and self-regulated learning did not contribute to student satisfaction. the study further stated that learner-content interaction is the largest unique variance of student satisfaction. likewise, as e-learning has taken the place of traditional or face-to-face educational environments (mahmood et al., 2012). therefore, according to studies carried out by lao & gonzales (2005); northrup (2009); swan, shea, fredericksen, pickett, pelz & maher (2000) that the following parts are important for the satisfaction of students from online teaching, interaction among students, quality and timely interaction between learner and lecturer, consistent course design across courses, technical support availability, and flexibility of online courses compared to face-to-face. likewise, factors that affect students’ satisfaction include interaction with teachers, active discussion between students and clarity of program design (swan, 2001). also, support of stuff and high quality instructional services also result in higher students’ satisfaction with the educational environment (yukselturk & yildirim, 2008). moreover, harsasi, & sutawijaya (2018) conducted a study at terbuka university, indonesia. the researchers wanted to investigate the factors that effect on learners’ satisfaction from internet-based learning. the findings of this study asserted that the structure of course, flexibility of online tutorials and technology quality were the factors which had impacts on learners’ satisfaction. a study conducted by zaheer, babar, gondal & qadri (2015) in pakistan to measure the satisfaction of students from e-learning. the findings showed that majority students are highly satisfied from distance learning provided by the university. similarly, simpson (2012) examined students’ perceptions of quality and satisfaction in regionally accredited online courses on ten different institutions. the findings revealed that students are highly satisfied because the students reported that they were comfortable when they received their lesson through online mode. moreover, a research conducted at anatolian university on nine hundred and seventeen undergraduate learners in turkey by sahin (2007) the researcher analyzed the characteristics of online learning environment as well the relationship among satisfaction of students from distance education and learning environments. the findings indicated that students had a higher level of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 19 satisfaction from distance learning. the study further stated that personal relevance, instructor support, active learning and authentic learning were the factors which significantly and positively increased students’ satisfaction. the findings reveled more that personal relevance was the strongest predictor of students’ satisfaction. in addition, students who linked their course content with their personal experiences were satisfied from online learning. the findings of this study added more that computer-assisted learning is student-centered method because lecturer support such as, timely assist, useful feedback, and easy communication were the key factor for students’ satisfaction on distance education. likewise, a comparative study conducted in pakistan to compare the level of students’ satisfaction at allama iqbal open university’s (aiou) distance learning and international islamic university’s traditional classroom programs of educational psychology course taught by the same instructor. the findings asserted that internet-based learning and traditional classroom students experienced a high level of satisfaction. moreover, it was determined that there was very slightly difference in the levels of students’ satisfaction on the distance learning and traditional classroom students (mahmood, et al., 2012). similarly, a study carried out at (aiou), islamabad, pakistan which investigated the relationship between students’ satisfaction on distance learning. the results of this study indicated that majority of the students had high level of satisfaction regarding students-instructor interaction, instructor performance and course evaluation (ali, ramay & shahzad, 2011). in addition, arif, ameen & rafiq (2017) investigated students’ satisfaction from the use of web-based services at (aiou), pakistan. the study used pilot tested questionnaire-based survey to collect data from 388 students, and they were from eleven different academic departments of the faculty of social science and humanities. the findings of this study discovered that majority of the students (82%) were satisfied from the use of web-based services at (aiou). the study further showed that t-test analysis showed that no difference was found in the opinion of male and female respondents in terms of their satisfaction with the use of web services. moreover, anova results indicated that there was no significant difference illustrated in satisfaction with the use of the web services among the respondents enrolled in different disciplines of the faculty. additionally, a study carried out by al-asfour (2012) at a private university and determined students’ satisfaction of statistics online courses. the results of this research asserted that majority students were satisfied from online learning. similarly, a qualitative study conducted in order to determine the satisfaction levels of undergraduate students at a private university in courses delivered through distance education. the findings displayed that students have satisfaction from distance education courses (caliskan, suzek & ozcan, 2017). likewise, a study carried out on students from a modular course of the school of humanities, hellenic open university, greece. the researchers investigated distance learning factors in a blended distance education environment, namely the student-tutor interaction, the performance of the teacher and the course evaluation by the students. majority students were satisfied from their studies. moreover, learners were satisfied from the instructor’s performance and communication and interaction with their lecturer (anagnostopoulou, mavroidis, giossos & koutsouba, 2015). likewise, a study conducted on online distance universities of japan to investigate the undergraduate students’ ideas and learning preferences in regard to five aspects of distance learning such as, student-teacher interaction, learner content interaction, student-student interaction, learner-interface interaction and learner interaction. the results declared that students were generally satisfied from their learning. the study further showed that learning satisfaction https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 20 was higher for those students who had persevere with online learning challenges, students who found it easy to use computers were more satisfied than those who did not (bray, aoki & dlugosh, 2008). in addition, kutluk & gulmez (2012) carried out a study to find out distance education learners’ satisfaction level and efficiency in education quality at accounting distance education program in two universities of turkey. the findings asserted that students were satisfied. likewise, nadia & iqbal (2011) conducted a research to measure the satisfaction level of students towards e-learning in higher education, pakistan. the findings revealed that students were satisfied from e-learning programs. also, agbanu, sonyo, region & ahiase (2018) conducted a research at university of education, winneba in the volta region campuses, ghana. as well as, the researchers wanted to identify factors that influence students’ satisfaction on distance education programs. the results showed that administrative support services that focus on students, course evaluation by students, the instructor’s performance, and the student instructor interactions influence students’ satisfaction. moreover, roach & lemasters (2006) carried out a research in the united states to find the satisfaction of learners from online learning. the findings indicated that students on the online program were satisfied from the courses. in addition, irungu (2016) investigated the factors that influence on learners’ satisfaction from online learning. the results asserted that large extent of students were satisfied from online learning which offered through the school of continuing and distance studies at university of nairobi, kenya. as well, majority respondents showed their satisfaction by stating that they would still enroll through distance education. similarly, the study indicated more that students’ preferred distance learning as opposed to regular classroom-based learning. likewise, many learners disclosed that their expectations were met through the program and participants stated that they would encourage friends and relatives to enroll distance learning. the study further disclosed that personal characteristics, learning content and leaner support services were the factors which influenced students’ satisfaction. furthermore, researcher investigated online tutoring system in computer science multimedia at university college shahputra. the findings showed that online tutoring system is interesting, and pleasant to be used. the students agreed that online learning gave them flexibility on their learning compared to traditional learning. the study indicated more that students were satisfied from the content, structure, and had a motivation on using online tutoring system (arif, & khalifa, 2012). whereas, sunkara & kurra (2017) conducted a research in india to analyze the tendencies of learners about the use of online learning systems in teaching and learning process. the findings of the study disclosed that students were not fully satisfied from distance learning whereas 77.49% of them were comfortable with using internet and web-based services for learning while 51.93% always able to use technology and internet for learning process. research methodology research design this study tried to identify the satisfaction of learners from e-learning during covid-19 at kandahar university. a quantitative approach was employed for this study. population and sampling the population of this study was 340 students and they were selected through a random sample from mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, english, pashto, dari, physical education and computer learning departments of education faculty, kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan. additionally, the learners were from all four levels freshmen, sophomore, junior https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 21 and senior as well as out of three hundred and forty (340), two hundred and ninety-one (291) were males and forty-nine (49) were females. instrument and data collection procedure the instrument of this research was questionnaire and it had two parts. the first part was the demographic data of the participants, and the second part was related to students’ satisfaction from online learning. the questionnaire had sixteen items, and they were asked from the participants through using the likert scale beginning from “strongly disagree to strongly agree”. similarly, the questionnaire was translated into native language (pashto) of the respondents, and then the data was collected from the respondents. validity and reliability of the questionnaire the questionnaire was checked for several times before collecting the data from the participants of the study. moreover, somehow changes brought in the items, especially in the order of the statements. furthermore, the reliability the questionnaire was excellent (0.9). data analysis procedure the data was analyzed through the use of 24 versions of spss. the frequency and percentage of the participants’ responses are reported with items in a table. findings table 1. shows the satisfaction of students from online leaning at kandahar university no item strongly disagree disagree somehow agree agree strongly agree 1 i could learn more in a distance education environment than in a traditional classroom. 182 (53.5%) 103 (30.3%) 31 (9.1%) 16 (4.7%) 8 (2.4) 2 i had access online learning through computer. 173 (50.9%) 94 (27.6%) 34 (10.0%) 29 (8.5%) 10 (2.9%) 3 i preferred distance learning than face-to-face (traditional method). 169 (49.7%) 92 (27.1%) 41 (12.1%) 32 (9.4%) 6 (1.8%) 4 i got the same explanations on online learning as i received in the traditional method. 151 (44.4%) 98 (28.8%) 56 (16.5%) 27 (7.9%) 8 (2.4%) 5 i was satisfied from online learning. 149 (43.8%) 89 (26.2%) 72 (21.2%) 16 (4.7%) 14 (4.1%) 6 i had zeal with online learning. 126 (37.1%) 93 (27.4%) 67 (19.7%) 38 (11.2%) 16 (4.7%) 7 on online learning, i could interact with the instructor of the course through e-mail and chat. 118 (34.7%) 94 (27.6%) 55 (16.2%) 59 (17.4%) 14 (4.1%) 8 the assignments on the online 115 90 66 58 11 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 22 learning course facilitated my learning. (33.8%) (26.5%) (19.4%) (17.1%) (3.2%) 9 the instructor was accessible to answer my questions. 111 (32.6%) 82 (24.1%) 80 (23.5%) 50 (14.7%) 17 (5.0%) 10 the presentation of the internetbased learning course was clear. 110 (32.4%) 83 (24.4%) 87 (25.6%) 47 (13.8%) 13 (3.8%) 11 the activities were used based on the objectives of the course. 109 (32.1%) 92 (27.1%) 85 (25.0%) 45 (13.2%) 9 (2.6%) 12 i had access e-learning through smartphone. 109 (32.1%) 62 (18.2%) 55 (16.2%) 68 (20.0%) 46 (13.5%) 13 the course lessons used on distance education facilitated my learning. 107 (31.5%) 93 (27.4%) 88 (25.9%) 41 (12.1%) 11 (3.2%) 14 online learning abled me to learn independently. 99 (29.12%) 80 (23.5%) 66 (19.4%) 73 (21.5%) 22 (6.5%) 15 i was satisfied from the teaching skills of teachers on online learning course. 90 (26.5%) 99 (29.1%) 81 (23.8%) 54 (15.9%) 16 (4.7%) 16 on online learning, the teacher functioned as a facilitator of the course. 75 (22.1%) 70 (20.6%) 93 (27.4%) 82 (24.1%) 20 (5.9%) table 1. the satisfaction of learners from internet-based learning, kandahar university. the first item asserts that students cannot learn from online learning compare to traditional teaching process 53.5% because they strongly disagree. in addition, 30.3% disagree, only 9.1% were somehow agree, 4.7% agree and only 2.4% learners strongly agree since students can learn on the e-learning process. as well as the 2nd item illustrates that 50.9% students do not have access online learning to follow their lessons through computers. 27.6% disagree, 10% learners somehow agree because they have access web-based education. furthermore, 8.5% agree and 2.9% strongly disagree. likewise, the 3rd statement reveals that 49.7% students strongly disagree because they do not value to internet-based learning. therefore, it can be said that students prefer traditional classrooms. similarly, 27.1% disagree but 12.1% somehow agree, 9.4% agree, and 1.8% strongly agree. moreover, the 4th item highlights that 44.4% students strongly disagree as well 28.8% learners disagree because they do not get the same descriptions on e-learning as they receive on a traditional classroom. however, 16.5% students somehow agree, 7.9% agree, and few learners 2.4% strongly agree. additionally, the 5th statement demonstrates that respondents strongly disagree because they do not satisfy from distance education 43.8% as well as 26.2% disagree. however, 21.2% somehow agree, agree 4.7% and only 4.1% students strongly disagree. the 6th item indicates that 37.1% students strongly disagree because they do not have zeal with online learning and 27.4% disagree. whereas, 19.7% somehow agree, 11.2% agree and 4.7% strongly agree. in addition, the 7th line shows that 34.7% strongly disagree, 27.6% disagree. however, 16.2% students can interact with teachers of online learning classroom through chats, 17.4% agree and less present 4.1% of learners cannot interact with their teachers. as well, the 8th statement reveals that the assignments do not help students learning 33.8%, also 26.5% disagree. additionally, 19.4% learners agree. likewise, 17.1% agree and 3.2% strongly https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 23 agree. furthermore, the 9th item of the table illustrates that 32.6% students report that teachers do not have access to their questions, and more 24.1% learners also disagree. moreover, 23.5% somehow agree that teachers have access to students’ questions, 14.7% agree and the rest part of the students strongly agree 5%. additionally, the 10th item asserts that students strongly disagree 32.4% because the presentation was not clear on e-learning process and 24.4% also disagree. furthermore, 25.6% of the learners somehow agree, 13.8% agree and 3.8% strongly agree. similarly, the 11th item indicates that all activities implemented on internet-based learning course were not based on the goals of course 32.1% and 27.1% disagreed. additionally, 25% somehow agreed, 13.2% agreed and few percent 2.6% strongly agreed. likewise, the 12th line of the table demonstrates that 32.1% learners strongly disagree and 18.2% disagree. moreover, 16.2% students somehow agree because they have access web-based learning through smartphones, 20% agree and 13.5% strongly agree. moreover, the 13th item highlights that 31.5% strongly disagree, and 27.4% disagree. in addition, 25.9% somehow agree, 12.1% agree and 3.2% students strongly agree that lessons provided on the online learning process helped their learning. furthermore, shows that 29.1% students strongly disagree, and 23.5% disagree that online learning do not able students to learn independently. in addition, 19.4% somehow agree, 21.5% agree and 6.5% students strongly agree. also, the 15th item asserts that 26.7% learners were not satisfy from teaching skills of their teachers as well 29.1% disagree. moreover, 23.8% somehow agree, 15.9% agree and 4.7% strongly agree. the last item indicates that 22.1% leaners strongly disagree and 20.6% disagree. as well, 27.4% students somehow agree that teachers only instruct them during online learning. likewise, 24.1% agree, and 5.9% strongly agree. discussion the findings of this study showed that majority students of education faculty at kandahar university cannot learn from online learning compare to traditional classroom environment. through this it can be said that students can learn better on a traditional way because they were not satisfied from online learning. the finding of this study is not line with a study conducted by zaheer et al., (2015) in pakistan that majority students were highly satisfied from distance learning provided by the university. in addition, whereas the finding of this study is supported more that this finding is not in line with a comparative study conducted in pakistan to compare the level of students’ satisfaction at (aiou) distance learning and international islamic university’s traditional classroom programs of educational psychology course taught by the same instructor. the findings asserted that distance learning and traditional classroom students experienced a high level of satisfaction. moreover, it was determined that there was very slightly variance in the levels of learners’ satisfaction in the e-learning and traditional classroom students (mahmood, et al., 2012). the finding of this study asserted that students do not have access to internet-based learning through computer (desktops or laptops). it can be inferred that students do not have electronic devices in order to access e-learning teaching process because they were not satisfied. as well as, it can be imagined that students do not have access to technology. therefore, it can be said that learners cannot learn through e-learning process because they do not have access to online learning. this finding can be somehow supported by sunkara et al., (2017) because the findings of their study disclosed that students are not fully satisfied from distance learning https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 24 whereas 77.49% of them were comfortable in using internet and web services for learning while 51.93% always able to use technology and internet for learning process. the finding of this study is also not in accordance with a study conducted by himat, (2020) at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, education faculty, zabul, afghanistan. he stated in his research that the citizens of afghanistan, especially students who are studying at institutions and universities have access to technology. likewise, the next finding indicated that students do not prefer web-based learning. it means that they value traditional environment of learning. this finding is against with irungu (2016) because the results asserted that large extent of students were satisfied from online learning which offered through the school of continuing and distance studies at university of nairobi, kenya. as well, majority respondents showed their satisfaction by stating that they would still enroll through distance education. similarly, the research indicated more that students’ preferred distance learning as opposed to regular classroom-based learning. similarly, many learners asserted that their expectations were met through the programme and respondents stated more that they will encourage their friends and relatives to enroll distance learning. additionally, the finding of this study asserted more that students do not seek the same descriptions of lessons on online learning compare to traditional method of classroom. it can be inferred that learners did not receive the explanations of teaching materials through web-based learning as they received in the face to face classrooms. the finding of this study is not in match with simpson (2012) who carried out a study to examine students’ perceptions of quality and satisfaction in regionally accredited online courses on ten different institutions. the findings revealed that students are highly satisfied because the students were comfortable when they received lessons through online mode. furthermore, the findings revealed that online learning did not able majority students to learn independently. it can be said that students were belonged on teachers, and they were not left alone to work and learn from their own selves this finding of this research is not in line with sahin (2007) that distance education is student-centered method because lecturer only support such as, timely assist, useful feedback, and easy communication is still a key factor for students’ satisfaction on distance education. similarly, the finding indicated that students of education faculty at kandahar university were not satisfied from teaching skills of teachers in web-based learning courses. through this it can said that teachers may not have good plan in order to teach students as well they may not work based on the stated objectives in the course syllabus. the finding of roach et al., (2006) is not in accordance with this current study finding because their findings indicated that students on online program were satisfied with the courses. besides, the findings of this study showed more that students were somehow satisfied because teachers played their role on the internet based learning courses as a facilitator. through this it can be said that teachers were only instruct students in order to learn teaching materials. this finding can be supported by a research conducted at anatolian university on 917 learners in turkey by sahin (2007) that distance education is student-centered method because teachers only assist students and show ways what to do. in all, the findings showed that more than half https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 25 (50+%) of the respondents were not satisfied from online learning. this finding is somehow in line with arif et al., (2017) carried out a research on students’ satisfaction with the use of webbased services at (aiou), pakistan. the findings of this study revealed that majority of the students (82%) were satisfied from the use of web-based services. conclusion this research used a quantitative method in order to find the satisfaction of education faculty’s learners from online learning during coronavirus at kandahar university. the participants were 340, and they were elected by applying random sampling method. also, many participants of the study were male than female learners. in addition, the findings of this study revealed that majority leaners were dissatisfied from internet-based learning for several causes because they could not learn from online learning compare to traditional classroom setting, learners did not have access to internet-based learning through computer, students did not favor web-based learning, students did not seek the same descriptions of lessons on online learning than traditional method of classroom, online learning did not able students to learn independently, but approximately 27.4% students were somehow satisfied from the role of lecturers who played their role as a facilitator on the distributed learning courses. suggestions this current study investigated the satisfaction of students from internet-based learning of education faculty at kandahar university during covid-19 pandemic. therefore, the following suggestions are important based on the findings of this research to be noted in future. first, as students did not have access to online learning; consequently, if the ministry of higher education (mohe) of afghanistan attract the attention of the ministry of information and communications technology (mict) to develop a policy in order to make the price of internet cheap for the students, it will help with students to get higher education through online learning without lots of barriers. as well, as it is clear that afghanistan is one of those countries which have many poor people and have low income because this issue is essential to be cleared. secondly, if the (mict) work for the quality of internet, it will assist not only with learners, it will also help with the rest residents of country because the quality of internet has relation with students’ satisfaction from online learning. third, if the (mohe) of afghanistan extend the access of internet from cities to districts or far away villages of cities, students will be able to access online learning from their homes. moreover, the following suggestions are given for further studies to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of online learning, perceptions of teachers and students about online learning, impacts of e-learning on learners’ academic performance and the challenges of internet-based learning from the perspective of lecturers and students. references agbanu, p. g., sonyo, e., region, v., & ahiase, g. g. (2018). examining factors influencing student satisfaction in distance education in ghana: a study of the institute for educational development and extension, university of education, winneba. the online journal of distance education and e-learning, 6(1), 32. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 26 ajadi, t. o., salawu, i. o., & adeoye, f. a. (2008). e-learning and distance education in nigeria. online submission, 7(4). ala-mutka, k., punie, y., & redecker, c. (2008). digital competence for lifelong learning. institute for prospective technological studies (ipts), european commission, joint research centre. technical note: jrc, 48708, 271-282. al-asfour, a. (2012). examining student satisfaction of online statistics courses. journal of college teaching & learning (tlc), 9(1), 33-38. https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v9i1.6764 ali, a., ramay, m. i., & shahzad, m. 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(2017). determining student satisfaction in distance education courses. procedia computer science, 120, 529-538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.11.275 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 27 franklin, u. e., & nahari, a. a. (2018). the impact of e-learning on academic performance: preliminary examination of king khalid university. development, 7(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/ijarped/v7-i1/3903 harsasi, m., & sutawijaya, a. (2018). determinants of student satisfaction in online tutorial: a study of a distance education institution. turkish online journal of distance education, 19(1), 89-99. himat, a. (2020). the effects of facebook on students’ social life: a case study at mirwais khan nika zabul institute of higher education, zabul. american international journal of social science research, 5(3); 7-16. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i3.593 irungu, m. b. 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(2015). e-learning and student satisfaction. in proceedings of the 29th annual conference of the asian association of open universities: new frontiers in odl (pp. 275-285). copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 29-34 29 social science research aijssr vol 11 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa alcohol-related problems in portugal: searching for connections mª inês pinto lagarto (a)1 (a) professor, school of education and social sciences (esecs), polytechnic institute of leiria, portugal; e-mail: maria.pinto@ipleiria.pt a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 1st march 2022 accepted: 14th april 2022 online publication: 15th april 2022 keywords: alcohol-related problems, alcohol consumption, alcoholism, social representations jel classification codes: i, i19, i39 a b s t r a c t based on a doctoral thesis, the study investigates the relationship between alcohol consumption and social problems. the main goals were to recognize the social problems most associated with alcohol, find interconnections and understand how society looks at the problem, especially in what concerns this particular relationship. this study employs document analysis and interviews as qualitative data collection methods, using a non-probability sampling. were analyzed public records, namely national annual reports from 6 different official organisms, regarding 2015?. were also interviewed 62 alcoholic patients, from 5 distinct support services? the interview data were analyzed from a biographical perspective, which allowed the analysis of the parallel evolution of social problems within the history of consumption. the results of this research confirm a dynamic systemic and multidimensional relationship between alcoholism and social factors/problems, especially family, legal, and work issues. the results also reveal that society devalues and neglects this association, by not analyzing or recording alcohol consumption. the findings of this study suggest that the lack of recognition of the problem interferes in the early detection and difficult alcoholism intervention. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction portugal continues to be one of the countries with the highest alcohol consumption “per capita”, and therefore with hundreds of thousands of cases of alcoholism and with a huge impact on the consequences of alcohol-related problems (arp) (world health organization [who], 2016). furthermore, behind the usual high use of wine (portugal is a mediterranean country and one of the most important producers of this traditional beverage), there has been a significant increase in the consumption of beer, distilled and new drinks, especially by young people and women (sicad, 2014; slade et al., 2016) which can bring towards the escalation of new and more serious organic and social problems. according to who (2016), alcohol abuse is no longer considered a direct or indirect cause of only 60 diseases or conditions (as it was stated in 2006), but of 200, revealing itself as the third risk factor for general mortality and morbidity and as a common and persistent cause of various social problems. who (2016) also warns that health problems and socioeconomic consequences are not only determined by the levels of consumption, but also by the patterns of drinking and the quality of drinks. despite this scenario, alcoholic beverages continue to be an element of socialization and a part of our tradition and history, very early linked to the culture of vineyards and wine. the general portuguese population considers alcohol the least dangerous psychoactive substance of all (balsa & urbano, 2017). however, according to paille and martini (2014), there is a very small number (8%) of alcoholic patients undergoing treatment, which can reveal difficulties in early diagnosis and motivation for treatment. the national mental health report (almeida & xavier, 2013) also confirms this fact in portugal, mentioning that we delay around 29 years to diagnose excessive alcohol use. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0002-3721-5262 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1689 to cite this article: lagarto, m. i. p. (2022). alcohol-related problems in portugal: searching for connections. american international journal of social science research, 11 (1), 29-34. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1689 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1689 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3721-5262 lagarto, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 29-34 30 this study, resulting from doctoral research, intends to trace the potential interrelationship between alcohol consumption and other social problems in portugal, analyzing the social problems in the natural history of the disease, and exploring the perception that institutions/services have about alcohol problems and their associated social problems. scientific evidence remains very limited and limiting so far, despite a high prevalence of arp. portuguese studies on alcohol have been very scarce, particularly at the academic level (fonte, 2013). this research responds to the weak expansion in this domain, seeking to reinforce and disseminate this area of knowledge and intervention. the concept of alcohol related-problems was introduced by who, in the eighties, to include the proven multidimensionality of alcohol abuse, going beyond disease and clinical care. it concerns the harmful use of alcohol, and the consequences of the excessive, inappropriate, or prolonged consumption of alcohol, which can affect not only the individual who drinks (including problems related to alcohol dependence) but also his family and society itself, causing physical, mental and social issues. many studies and guides have been demonstrating the direct and indirect relationship between the consumption of alcoholic beverages and several problems, whether in the field of road driving, work, family, or in the community, morbidity and mortality (weisner & schmidt, 1993; adès & lejoyeux, 1997; edwards & cook, 1999; mercês de mello et al., 2001; who, 2004; castaño-perez & calderon-vallejo, 2014; who, 2014; serviço de intervenção nos comportamentos aditivos e nas dependências [sicad], 2014; who, 2016). in this way, family, work and society end up being involved in an environment of insecurity, uncertainty, and anxiety. affecting most of the human capabilities and organs, the person that consumes is more vulnerable to a large variety of diseases, even threatening his life and neglecting the exercise of his different performances, causing huge personal, family, work and social instability. within the family, alcohol can not only interfere with the emotional and psychological stability of the relatives of the individual who consumes, but it can also negatively affect the growth and development of children, in addition to more specific aspects related to domestic violence, abuse and care neglect (weisner & schmidt, 1993; adès & lejoyeux, 1997; edwards & cook, 1999; mercês de mello et al., 2001; who, 2004; castaño-perez & calderon-vallejo, 2014; who, 2014; sicad, 2014; who, 2016). in the workplace, alcohol contributes to an increase in absenteeism, work-related accidents, unemployment, prolonged work inactivity and early retirement, associated with reduced economic income, which, in turn, can bring even more pressure to drink (weisner & schmidt, 1993; adès & lejoyeux, 1997; edwards & cook, 1999; mercês de mello et al., 2001; who, 2004; castaño-perez & calderon-vallejo, 2014; who, 2014; sicad, 2014; who, 2016). in the legal context, it leads to the occurrence of different types of crimes such as theft, arson, violent or sexual crimes and drunk driving, being a threat not only to the individual but also to those around him (weisner & schmidt, 1993; adès & lejoyeux, 1997; edwards & cook, 1999; mercês de mello et al., 2001; who, 2004; castaño-perez & calderonvallejo, 2014; who, 2014; sicad, 2014; who, 2016). besides that, and according to who (2014), there are quite significant socio-economic costs related to alcohol consumption such as expenses in the health sector (treatment and assistance) and justice sector (accidents, crimes, etc.), costs resulting from lost productivity or intangible costs related to the decrease in the quality of life of all those involved (consumers, family members and close people). the losses are significantly greater than profits (who, 2014). however, the portuguese population considers that there are no important negative experiences related to alcohol consumption by other people, mainly reporting “less serious” damages such as being bothered by vomit, urine, garbage or noise and also insecurity in public places (sicad, 2016). alcohol is increasingly understood as a drug, related to degradation, dependence and negative connotations (pires, 1998; carvalho, 2003; pereira & pires, 2006; carvalho & leal, 2006; calado & lavado, 2014). although, alcohol is only associated with problems in terms of illness, addiction and road driving (calado & lavado, 2014). many young people believe that alcohol is effectively a tradition and have alcohol positive beliefs (morais, 1998; lopes, 1999; barroso, 2000; breda, 1997; carvalho, 2003; carvalho & leal, 2006; cabral & duarte, 2007; calado & lavado, 2014). a recent study shows that almost half of the participants believe or have doubts about contesting alcohol-related false concepts (rodrigues, 2015). furthermore, portugal belongs to the group of countries with limited alcohol control policies, with a predominance of favorable attitudes to policies based on laissez-faire (sicad, 2019). marketing strategies that encourage consumers to predominate and the political weight of lobbies (of production, commercialization and sale) stands out. these are some of the reasons why in portugal, alcohol continues to be the most consumed substance and to be considered the least harmful of all (calado & lavado, 2014; balsa & urbano, 2017), has greater social acceptance and minor stigmatization (pires, 1998; cunha e sousa, 2017). perception of alcoholism, reactions around alcohol consumption and evaluations and feelings associated depend on social representations. thus, it is clear that these representations are organized according to social context, and environment, where culture, media and the belonging group have a particular influence (jodelet, 2001; moscovici, 2012). in this way, alcohol consumption and its repercussions do not involve only individuals, but also society as a whole, assuming a very high burden not only in terms of health but also at social and economic levels. given this scenario, if consumption increases, these consequences could be increasingly catastrophic. method a document analysis was carried out to have access to macro-social data, which are usually collected by official organisms. despite the difficulties of access, it was possible to analyze national reports of the year 2015, from entities directly involved lagarto, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 29-34 31 with arp, in particular: the national commission of children and youth protection and promotion; portuguese association of victim support; general direction for reinsertion and prison services; national authority for road safety; and ministry of internal administration. it was also analyzed the annual report of the social insertion income, of the social security, but only concerning 2008, the latest available date. these reports are an analytical and assessment tool for the different issues and respective approaches, allowing an integrated overview of national reality. with the aim of tracking the arp incidences and knowing the several entity's perceptions, we search for alcohol consumption/alcoholism references. the structured interview technique was used to collect autobiographical data. the interview guide focused on the choices and behaviors of the alcohol consumer, in a temporal and longitudinal line, including the history of consumption and its effects on personal, family and social life. there were practical difficulties, such as the notorious cognitive deterioration of some of the interviewees and the usual omission and denial of certain situations, negatively interfering in obtaining the required data. however, it was possible to adopt the non-scheduled standardized interview, seeking to adapt the questions to each interviewee, namely in terms of words, sequence and interview moment. content analysis was used as a support for data interpretation, allowing the construction of biograms. these were registered, chronologically, as relevant episodes in the lives of individuals concerning consumption, and family and community context, taking into account the relationship between individual/family characteristics and structural constraints. portuguese heavy drinkers or alcohol dependents constituted the target population of this study. as part of the non-probabilistic method, convenience sampling was used, based on personal and professional contacts and geographical proximity to the researcher. a sample of 62 alcoholic patients was obtained from 2 self-help groups, 2 therapeutic communities, and 1 temporary shelter center. most of the participants were male, belonging to the age group between 51 and 65 years, and with basic education. half were unemployed and only about a third were still working. results contrary to expectations, it was found in the reports analyzed, that references to alcohol consumption are almost nil, except for major direct problems such as drunk driving and evidence of heavy drinking. general direction for reinsertion and prison services highlights drunk driving as the main crime committed in the criminal area, followed by driving without a legal license and domestic violence. portuguese association of victim support also identifies the crime of drunk driving, although without any significant expression, which can be justified by entity profile, specifically associated with victim support, but in practical terms naturally related to domestic violence. on the other hand, the national commission of children and youth protection and promotion point the alcohol consumption as a subcategory of reported danger situations, concerning the exposure of children to risk behaviors, as well as the own children´s alcohol consumption behavior. however (just like in the portuguese association of victim support report), these references to alcohol consumption also appear without great significance, contrary to negligence, being reported and diagnosed as the most dangerous situations, as well as domestic violence (while subcategory), problems that are commonly known to be related to alcohol consumption. even the annual road accident report has no references to alcohol, not even drunk driving. the reports from the portuguese association of victim support and social security present only demographic variables to characterize the perpetrator or beneficiary profile, respectively. of the reports analyzed, the only one that characterizes the aggressors in great depth is domestic violence monitoring, from the ministry of internal administration. it registered 42% of the aggressors with problems related to alcohol consumption (in contrast to 13% with problems related to narcotics consumption). this report also refers to individual plans for social readaptation, which may include attendance at an alcoholism/drug addiction treatment program. family conflicts and ruptures, domestic violence and divorces are the most reported family problems by the interviewees, mentioned separately and often in association. drunk driving is the most legal problem mentioned. it should be noted that most of these participants refer that having been tested on several occasions with high blood alcohol concentration (bac). despite several cases of domestic violence identified (as mentioned above), only 2 cases were reported to the competent authorities, leading to criminal proceedings. in other words, only a tiny portion of the negative repercussions of alcohol consumption in situations of domestic violence are legally signaled and sanctioned. a similar scenario is observed in questions related to road driving, where high bac cases represent only the results of drivers tested for alcohol and not of all those who may have driven under excessive levels. the labor problems that stood out in the interviews are mostly related to the conditions of the subjects themselves, such as difficulties, incapacities, negligence and absenteeism. references to instability/labor precariousness, threats of dismissal or effective dismissal and even unemployment are also highlighted. labor problems and spending on drinks are frequently related to economic problems, such as debts. regarding various labor problems, there is a marked frequency, growing side by side with the years of consumption and often cumulatively. this finding is furthermore visible among participants who worsen consumption in a time interval between 21 and 30 years. health problems directly related to alcohol consumption appear especially in periods of longer consumption, with a high incidence above 20 years of consumption. the interviewees point out various organic and mental health situations, more precisely pancreatitis, hepatitis, “liver problems”, cancer, depression, in addition to epileptic seizures, drunkenness, alcoholic coma and work/travel accidents. in the present study, the type of causal relationship between alcohol consumption and problems is not perceptible. even so, data demonstrate the joint presence of both variables (consumption and problems). it can be stated, lagarto, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 29-34 32 objectively, that as consumption increases, problems intensify, in a spiral, often promoting either a progressive increase in consumption or the decision to change, whether because of internal factors or external pressure. on the other hand, it is also visible that when consumption decreases, problems tend to decrease. data also shows that organic problems more directly related to alcohol consumption, such as cirrhosis, malnutrition, or cancer, have a late-onset. more immediately social problems occur, like abuse, violence, road accidents, or unemployment, among others. discussion taking the majority of the reports analyzed into account, we would say that there are no links between alcohol and social problems, that alcohol is not present in situations of domestic violence or neglect, or that there are no subsidy beneficiaries or perpetrators of crimes with consumption problems. there was only one evidence of the indirect association of alcohol consumption with social problems, more specifically with domestic violence. therefore, alcohol consumption was not analyzed in the majority of the reports focused on the same problem, which reveals the portuguese lack of awareness and/or devaluation of arp. it becomes more and more essential to be attentive to different aspects of arp, but this isn’t really happening. in fact, according to pascual pastor (2012, p. 306), “there are few countries that systematically qualify the implication of alcohol in violent acts”. in reality, if one is permissive, if one is a consumer, one will hardly recognize the problem. in this way, for good professional performance, it is essential to get the perception and understand the magnitude of the problem. on the other hand, this problem is so particular that implies specialized training and forsaking prejudices and stereotypes to be possible to identify/recognize and respond to alcoholism cases and arp. because, effectively, individual, family, legal, work, economic and health problems are evident not only in the existing studies but also in the overwhelming majority of the alcoholic patients interviewed, especially when consumption increases. most of the family issues mentioned by the interviewees are in line with the latest studies by eurocare (2011 cit in pascual pastor, 2012) and who (2006 cit in pascual pastor, 2012), which prove a harmful association between alcohol abuse and couple's relationship quality. it is important to emphasize that some of the interviewees, despite being in situations of unemployment, early retirement, and family breakdown, among other problems, often did not automatically relate alcohol consumption to their condition, or even deny any association between the mentioned problems and consumption. gitlow and peyser (1991) reinforce this finding when they expressly mention that alcoholic patients naturally deny both problems and consumption, devaluing or trying to find other explanations for the fact of drinking excessively and having several associated problems. although pascual pastor (2012) mentions the scarcity of studies in the labor field, he uses data from morales and rubio (2000 cite in pascual pastor, 2012) to detail these issues, mentioning that the percentage of workers with alcohol abusive consumption varies from 40 to 70%. these workers have two to three times higher absenteeism than other workers and suffer two to four times more accidents at work. the national study by almeida and pinto (2006) also points out the low performance and high absenteeism of the analyzed patients. all these evidence are in agreement with the results of this study. contrary to the present time (as evidenced by this study), other research dated from 20/30 years ago (pinto et al., 1992; almeida & pinto, 2006) shows that patients were earlier sought or referred for treatment, at earlier ages, still preserving family, health and jobs. the life paths of the interviewees also illustrate the advanced delay of first treatments, an indicator of a late diagnosis and a concern that has been manifested by some technical reference organisms (such as who). gitlow and peyser (1991) draw attention to the fact that it is not easy to recognize the prior causality of alcohol consumption in the reported life events. although, in some of the interviewee’s life paths, contact with alcohol emerges even before problems. therefore, if alcoholism is multifactorial and is related to numerous and diverse social problems, social services can not exclude it from their analysis, and there should be particularly aware, attentive and informed. conclusion the problems in the consumption history of the interviewees are quite evident, revealing the effective repercussions of alcohol consumption, namely at family, justice, work, economy, and health levels. therefore, arp are prevalent, diversified, intense, and persistent, having a severe and strong negative impact on the subjects' lives, regardless of their profile. however, there are many official organisms, diverse institutions and respective actors, with a relevant role in fighting this problem, such as doctors, policemen, social workers, and politicians, among others, who often devalue alcohol consumption and its relation to several problems. furthermore, there is still great difficulty in truly accepting alcohol as a “drug” and alcoholic beverages as a danger to health and society. being consumers themselves and therefore permissive, can interfere with their positioning as individuals and professionals, difficulting the recognition of this problem. therefore, it is not surprising that institutions have a late and ineffective intervention, as we can easily see throughout participants´ life paths. this threatening reality reinforces the need for awareness and training of society in general and professionals in particular, looking ahead knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, actions, and practices improving. lagarto, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 29-34 33 author contributions: conceptualization, m.i.p.l.; data curation, m.i.p.l.; methodology, m.i.p.l.; validation, m.i.p.l.; visualization, m.i.p.l.; formal analysis, m.i.p.l.; investigation, m.i.p.l.; resources, m.i.p.l.; writing – original draft, m.i.p.l.; writing – review & editing, m.i.p.l.; supervision, m.i.p.l., software, m.i.p.l.; project administration, m.i.p.l.; funding acquisition, m.i.p.l. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references adès, j. & lejoyeux, m. 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2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 1 role of tahir poshanji on building an independent islamic state in afghanistan (823 – 874 a.d.) enayatullah dadman junior teaching assistant department of history education faculty kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: dadmanenayat@gmail.com wafiullah aminzai junior teaching assistant history department, education faculty kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: wafiullah.aminzai2019@gmail.com mohibullah dainsh junior teaching assistant department of history, education faculty sayed jamaludin afghani university kunar, afghanistan e-mail: mohibdanish30@gmail.com abstract this review paper is descriptive in nature and as a time series it investigates role of tahir poshanji on building independent islamic state in afghanistan. the findings suggest that tahir poshanji like other afghan leaders had a sense of freedom and people of afghanistan have always made sacrifices for freedom. this caused failure of many great colonial states in their goals. the martyrdom of abu muslim caused movements and uprising in afghanistan which put end to the power of arab muslims in afghanistan. it was in progress until independent islamic state was built by tahirid. the war between mamoon and his brother ameen over caliphate provided opportunity to poshanji and his wish of changing capital of caliphate from baghdad into afghanistan. tahir wanted afghans to be ruled by people of the islamic state. the conflicts between afghans and arabs were increasing every day. poshanji started preparation for his map right after his appointment as governor in afghanistan g to separate afghanistan from abbasid empire. he dropped the caliph’s name from khutba (islamic sermon) and proclaimed an independent islamic state in afghanistan and raised flag of freedom. his relation with baghdad caliphate was only based on respect and not on domination. keywords: conflict, tahir poshanji, mamoon-urrasheed, independent state, efforts. mailto:dadmanenayat@gmail.com mailto:wafiullah.aminzai2019@gmail.com mailto:mohibdanish30@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 2 introduction under the leadership of tahir poshanji, afghans established the independent islamic state for the first time. after tahir poshanji, rulers from his family played active roles in the spread of the holy religion of islam and established afghanistan’s first independent state in the history of new centuries. after tahirid, the safarid, sassanid, ghzanavid and ghorid spread islam throughout afghanistan. after the death of haroon-ur-rasheed, his two sons, amin and mamoon had conflict over the caliphate. soon after the death of haroon-ur-rasheed, amin proclaimed his caliphate in baghdad that his father had bequeathed to him. after he was stimulated by his minister fazal bin rabi, he declared his little son as his crown prince. when mamoon saw himself deprived of caliphate in the future, he started enmity with him. amin wanted mamoon to obey him as other local rulers of the islamic empire, but mamoon disobeyed him and proclaimed himself as the caliph of islam in marwa. consequently, tahir took immense benefit of their conflict and started considering the establishment of tahirid sequence. he managed to strengthen his influence in the durbar of mamoon and finally, he dropped his name from khutba (islamic sermon) and proclaimed himself as an independent king. findings and discussion the findings of this review paper show the comparatively analyzing tahir poshanji’s government system to all previous contemporary governmental systems. besides that, this paper shows how his bravery and honesty leaded him to change caliphate and established an independent contemporary islamic state in afghanistan. how he ruled and why he changed caliphate in modern islamic state in afghanistan are mean findings that have been discussed in this paper as follow. tahirid state the people of afghanistan have always made sacrifices for freedom which have caused the failure of many great colonial states in their goals. after the spread of islam in afghanistan and under the guidance of abu muslim khorasani, the people of afghanistan had a considerable role in the downfall of amavid and empowerment of abbasid during their conflicts. however, the caliph of the abbasid, abu jafar mansoor martyred abu muslim khorasani very cruelly and violently, ignoring his service to the caliphate and he did not value the sacrifices made by afghans. after the death of haroon-ur-rasheed when amin proclaimed his caliphate in baghdad and declared his little son as his crown prince, mamoon-ur-rasheed disobeyed him and proclaimed himself as the caliph in marwa. amin sent his soldiers against them, mamoon also sent his army to fight against them. tahir poshanji managed to defeat amin’s soldiers. mamoon took the power, but when he changed the capital of caliphate from afghanistan to baghdad, he appointed tahir as the governor of khorasan. however, tahir poshanji like other afghan leaders had a sense of freedom in his mind. after two years, he proclaimed an independent islamic state in afghanistan and dropped mamoon’s name from khutba (islamic sermon). therefore, tahir became an unbearable person for the caliph of baghdad, mamoon-ur-raheed. with the help of his employees who were working with tahir, he poisoned tahir and martyred him. tahir had founded an independent state during one day. after that his son, talha took the power and mamoon recognized his sovereignty officially because he was compelled. thus, the way for sovereign islamic state in the future was paved (niazai, 1397). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 3 building khorasani state in afghanistan tahir poshanji son of hussain poshanji, the founder of tahirid state, came to afghanistan from baghdad in 820 ad. in 822 ad, he established a sovereign islamic state in afghanistan and removed the name of abbasid claiph from khutba (islamic sermon). he made a center in the converted muslims provinces of afghanistan. after tahir poshanji, his brother abdullah, and after abdullah, second talha and the last king of this family mohammad the son of second tahir took the throne consecutively. the last king unlike his ancestors was an irresponsible and luxurious person who paved the way for the collapse tahiri’s. he was imprisoned by yaqub lais safari and thus the ruling period of tahirid finished. the ruling period of tahirid is considered to be a period of literature and people trusted them. social and cultural condition of afghanistan (from 9th – 13th century) during the (9-13 a.d. centuries), social affairs faced various problems and improvements and during the mid-centuries, they almost reached the perfect and final stage. in this period, agriculture and irrigation system improved. art and skills were at their peak. a number of literary works were done and tall buildings were built during the mentioned period. afghanistan’s large cities such as, kabul, herat, balkh, marv and nesahpore were large business centers of middle asia. only balkh had a population of 200,000 people. silky way which crossed the regions of ghaznavid state, had always great caravans. these caravans transported the products to afghanistan, iran, china, india, turkistan, iraq, and syria. the products included cloth, perfume, animals, medicines, metal products, weapons, precious stones, copper pots, paper, skin, leather, rice and ghee. in their daily life, people used wind mill, water mill, water wheel. barely, wheat, rice, cotton, grapes, agricultural products, vinegar and alcoholic drinks were also produced. in addition to agriculture, knitting rugs, cloth production, metal work, weapon production, making soaps, pots industry and painting were very common. music had developed a lot as well. in large gatherings, singers sang with drums. states had disciplined civil and military structures. religious subjects were taught in mosques. many scholars and poets lived in this period (ghubar, 1393). the establishment of tahirid state after the start and strength of anti-amavid movement by abu muslim khorasani in khorasan, afghans were able to help abbasid to seize power. these events brought a great change in the history of islam. the martyrdom of abu muslim caused movements and uprising in afghanistan which put an end to the power of arab muslims in afghanistan. the said movement were in progress until an independent islamic state was built by tahirid in the country. these movements started earlier than tahirid rule in sistan and herat, but they became stronger during the conflict between amin and mamoon over caliphate after the death of haroon-ur-rasheed and it paved the way for an islamic state of khorasan under the leadership of tahir poshanji (naeemi, 1391). tahir son of hussain was the founder of this ruling period. he was born in poshanj (now called zandahjan), herat in a strong family. his grandfather was ruler of poshanj during the rule of abbasid. after that, his son hussain was appointed as the ruler of poshanj. hussain’s son, tahir was a brave, independent and freedom loving personality. in fact, he was the main person who established the first independent islamic state (bahar & sayed, 1388). tahir poshanji’s rule tahirid laid the foundation of an islamic state in afghanistan. the founder of tahirid family was tahir poshanji. therefore this family is known as tahirid. tahir poshanji, who was entitled “zul https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 4 yamin” by mamoon, was born in 158 hijri. he got education from his father. tahir was son of hussain and grandson of mas’ab. his father was the governor of poshanj during mamoon-urrasheed rule. he died in 158 hijri (hashemi, 1354). poshanj is located in the west of herat city and it was the capital of ghorid. in the south of harirod river, there was a small town called zandahjan which was located between poshanj and herat. this city is near herat city and is in a distance of two farsakh from herat city and nearby mountains. poshanj town was very beautiful, surrounded by green trees. it had strong fortifications. they city also had walls and craters around it. the poshanj town was a well-built town till 178 hijri. behqi has mentioned its name as foshanj, poshanj or poshang. the shrines of great scholars of muslim world, sheikh abul laith poshanji and sheikh abul hussain poshanji still exist there. both of them were famous personalities of the town (naeemi, 1391). in his book “historical geography of islamic territories”, lustrunj has written about poshanj: (it is one day away and this important town of poshang, foshang or poshanj is located in herat. it is almost the place which is now the city of ghorid, located in the the south of harirod river). in his book “geographical notes”, alama academician abdushakoor rashad has said about poshanj: “most people consider current zendahjan to be the ancient foshanj. zendahjan is located in the west of herat almost 40 kilo meters away and if you go 26 kilo meter further away from zendahjan, you will arrive in ghorid. poshanj son of hateeb sadrudeen rabi who was in the durbar of kort kings, attributed poshnaj town to hoshang.” (rashad, 1389 ). according to astakhari, “poshanj castle is a very strong castle surrounded by moats and has two gates) which were named its eastern gate is called ali. first its western gate opens toward neshapore and the second its southern gate opens toward qahqistan. tahir poshanji was a resident of this town and the following villages were in his territories before the lame timor: ard, khadez, sadia, arsho, sangwan, auah, qourman, ghanchad, turkabad, shakeban, shadah, muezak, ouj, kosan, roshnan, badah, feshan, astonan, and rozan were part of this town (rashad, 1389). the reputation of tahir poshanji increased when haroon-ur-rasheed’s sons amin and mamoon had a conflict over caliphate. before his death in 193 hijri, haroon-ur-rasheed divided his great islamic empire by giving equal share to both of his sons, amin who was the son of zubaida daughter of abu jafar mansoor and mamoon who was the son of marjeela daughter of ustad sis sistani. the control of western parts of the empire was submitted to amin-ur-rasheed who was the grandson of abu jafar and belonged to the abbasid. the eastern parts of the empire such as persia, kerman, mazendran and khorasan was submitted to mamoon-ur-rasheed whose mother was from afghanistan. after the death of haroon-ur-rasheed, amin got the chance and proclaimed himself as the caliph. due to the stimulation by his minister fazal bin rabi, he declared his little son musa bin amin as his crown prince. when mamoon saw himself deprived of caliphate in the future, he started enmity with him. amin wanted mamoon to obey him as other local rulers of the islamic empire, but mamoon disobeyed him and proclaimed himself as the caliph of islam in marwa. in 196 hijri, he made coins having his name, declared his sovereignty and showed his opposition with baghdad (niazai, 1397). amin-ur-rasheed issued an order to remove mamoon-ur-rasheed from the government of khorasan and sent troops for arresting mamoon under the leadership of ali bin musa. to fight the troops of amin, mamoon also sent soldiers under the leadership of tahir poshanji son of hussain. both armies had a clash in the (rie) area. in this battle, 60000 soldier army of baghdad was defeated and ali bin musa including a number of commanders were killed. tahir was entitled “zulyamin” by mamoon. tahir moved forward toward baghdad and defeated other forces in the area of hamdan sent by baghdad. he continued moving forward toward baghdad and besieged https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 5 baghdad city. the besiege lasted a year and half. in this period amin was killed by tahir. in 198 hijri, baghdad was conquered by tahir poshanji which paved the way for the caliphate of mamoon. mamoon controlled all the areas of the caliphate from marwa and appointed tahir as the governor of syria and bain-un-nahrain (iraq). tahir poshangji wished to change the capital of caliphate from baghdad into afghanistan so all the areas of caliphate could be governed from afghanistan. tahir wanted afghans to be ruling people of the islamic state. similarly, mamoon selected marwa as the capital of his caliphate and chose green flag instead of abbasid flag. however this plan could not be implemented till the end and could not last longer because some arabs started revolting against him and appointed mamoon’s paternal uncle as their caliph (hashemi, 1354). appointment of ibrahim as the caliph, death of mamoon’s son-in-law ali raza and the muder of his minister fazal bin sohail and a number of other problems made the caliph to change his policies. he transferred the capital from afghanistan back into baghdad. after that, tahir poshanji strongly believed that his wish “transfer of capital to afghanistan” cannot be achieved. he starting working to separate afghanistan from the abbasid empire in order to make an independent islamic state in afghanistan. as the results and of his efforts and insistence, the caliph appointed him as the governor of afghanistan. mamoon knew that tahir wanted to separate afghanistan from the abbasid empire. the caliph could no longer tolerate the nearness of afghans with the arabs and the presence of tahir poshanji in damascus because his problems were increasing day by day due to his presence. also, the conflicts between afghans and arabs were increasing day by day. on the other hand, tahir poshanji started preparation for his map right after his appointment as governor in afghanistan. on jamad-ul-akher, 24, 207 hijri on friday, he dropped the caliph’s name from khutba (islamic sermon) and proclaimed an independent islamic state in afghanistan. he raised afghanistan flag of freedom in the mountains. after that, the sequence of building independent islamic states in afghanistan started. their relation with baghdad caliphate was only based on respect and not on domination. the kings of the islamic states of afghanistan were independent in all their affairs, but had a respect for abbasid rulers for maintaining spiritually friendly relationship with them. during his rule, there were non-islamic states in other parts of afghanistan such as kabul, gandahara, bluchistan, and so on (hashemi, 1354). tahir could not live longer. he died on the night of independence proclamation. many believed he was poisoned by the arabs working with him on the order of mamoon. famous historian, bartold has stated about his assassination, “before taking control of poshanj, tahir poshanji, the grandson of mas’ab was the commander of mamoom’s army against the soldiers of amin. after he conquered baghdad, he was appointed as the governor of iraq by mamoon and in the meantime he was given financial responsibilities of baghdad. it was done so mamoon could frighten the friend and companion of tahir poshanji, ahmad bin abu talib from the attack of the governor of khorasan, ghussan bin ibad. in the series of such conspiracies, the caliph appointed tahir as the governor of khorasan and tahir proclaimed his independence from baghdad empire. soon after the proclamation, he died who was probably poisoned on the order of the caliph.” (bartold, 1344). relying on historical evidences, tahir poshanji was poisoned by mamoon. when he could kill his own brother for his rule, killing tahir was much easier for him. after the caliph signed his appointment as the governor of khorasan, he also appointed a close and trust-worthy person kalsum bin sabit as the director of khorasan post office in order to inform the caliph of his acts. also, he employed khalid’s father ahamd who was the minister of mamoon for giving https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 6 information about tahir to the caliph. he sent one of his close and trust-worthy people to tahir apparently to serve him and secretly he was given the job to revolt and kill him if he proclaimed independence. when he dropped the caliph’s name from khutba (islamic sermon) and returned home after the proclamation of the independence of khorasan, he felt weak and sick and it was thought the he had been poisoned. tahir poshanji passed away on the same night of proclamation day. the director of khorasan post office and the agent of the caliph sent the written messages of proclamation of independence of khorasan and the death of tahir to the caliph consecutively (naeemi, 1391). conclusion the state of tahirid was founded by tahir poshanji. he was living his life in the best cultural development period of islam. there are several reasons for success in establishing a state of enlightenment and independence in afghanistan. he took mawra-un-naher under his control. the rulers of tahirid family were highly educated. tahir poshanji was also a writer and poet of arabic language. this ruling period was appropriate for construction and cultural activities. rules for irrigation and getting advantages from water were made. his efforts for the spread of islamic education were highly remarkable. tahir poshanji very bravely sacrificed his life for the sake of building and stabilizing an independent islamic state. therefore, his efforts caused the latest rulers of tahirid state to run their ruling affairs and serve the people of afghanistan under the shade of independence and freedom in their territories. although we have mentioned many times that tahir poshanji worked tirelessly in order to create his independent state, the last ruler of this family, mohammad unlike his ancestors chose a different way and was engaged in debauching acts. he was unaware of the affairs of the government which caused the downfall of the independent islamic state founded by tahir poshanji. tahir poshanji, who was a bold and brave personality, never allowed anyone to interfere in governmental affairs. however, during mohammad’s rule due to his pleasure seeking acts, establishment and strength of ayaran movement, control of power by mohammad yaqub lais, victory of yaqub lais over mohammad, imprisonment of mohammad by yaqub lais and baghdad empire’s agreement were all the factors which led the independent islamic state and the power efforts to downfall that tahir poshanji had made for establishing an independent state. references bahar, k., & sayed, m. k. (1388). mid-century history of afghanistan. translated by: zakukhel, mohammad firdous. kabul: reprohindia. bartold. (1344). political and social history of middle asia in 12th century. translated by: ali mohammad zahma, kabul. education press. ghubar, m. g. m.. (1393). afghanistan in the perspectives of history (first and second part). translated by: dodial mohammad basheer. kabul: maiwand publishing organization. hashemi, s. (1354). history of afghanistan in islamic period from the establishment of national islamic government to the time of his majesty, ahmad shah abdali. kabul: kabul university naeemi, a. a. (1391). history of afghanistan before islam till mohammadzis. second edition. translated by: irshad, orangzeb. kabul. maiwand publishing organization. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 7 naizai, m. (1397). mid-century history of afghanistan and establishment of sovereign states. jalalabad: hashemi publishing organization. rashad, a. (1389). geographical notes. (first and second part). kandahar: alama rashad academy. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 8 the role of information and communication technology (ict) to alleviate poverty in bangladesh md. shahnur azad chowdhury associate professor department of business administration international islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: tipu_iiuc@yahoo.com mustafa manir chowdhury associate professor department of business administration international islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: mmanir7@yahoo.com mrs. nazneen jahan chowdhury associate professor department of business administration international islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: nazneenchy@yahoo.com mohammad emdad hossain associate professor department of business administration international islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: mehapstat@gmail.com sayed md. hashib ahsan assistant professor department of business administration international islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: hasib27.ahsan@gmail.com abstract poverty is one of the problems in third-world countries like bangladesh. there has been an ongoing battle against challenging living conditions-overcrowding, floods, deforestation, erosion, soil depletion, and natural calamities. quite a lot of programs have been tried since the independence of bangladesh in 1971, and to tell the truth, most have failed. each time an antipoverty program fails, it gives more fuel to the richer class to argue that there's no point in trying to help the poor. however, this is an age of information technology. almost all of the spheres of human life are contributed by information technology. information technology can change the fate of the poor by helping them to be with the current time and happenings by ensuring their https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 9 capabilities to access information. the government of bangladesh also realizes the importance of the issue, and recently they concentrated on transforming the government services to digitize. as one of the initiatives to empower the poor with information, gob has launched union information and service centre (uisc) in all of the union councils of the country. the private sector started digitization of operations earlier than the government. now, as the government has also initiated the process, the journey will get a smooth and parallel speed to develop the socio-economic condition of the poor of the country. this paper attempts to explore the capabilities of ict to reduce poverty in bangladesh. the study will also try to suggest how ict can be better used to eradicate poverty. ict is a rapidly growing field in bangladesh in recent times. the contribution of ict in every sector of the country is trying to be addressed to improve the situation. this study is conducted by reviewing the studies in this line to suggest better policies to be formulated. the results show that ict has excellent capabilities to alleviate poverty despite many challenges to be faced. keywords: ict, poverty, alleviation, uisc. introduction bangladesh is a developing country with a population of about 180 million (bangladesh bureau of statistics). natural calamity is a common phenomenon in bangladesh. moreover, the level of education of its population is not up to the standard. so the standard of the life of the inhabitants is also not at a high level. agriculture is the main source of income for most of the country's men. readymade garments are the main source of foreign currency, followed by the manpower exporting sector. yet, poverty is a great problem in this country still now. the people of bangladesh are to fight against a lot of issues. notably, 30% of the country's men live below the poverty line (bangladesh bureau of statistics). poverty is being reduced at a slow pace. every government tried to reduce poverty by taking several programs after the independence of the country. most of the programs taken for poverty alleviation failed due to proper planning and applicability. additionally, corruption is another great reason for making the programs unsuccessful. however, this is an age of information and communication technology. ict applications avail almost all spheres of human life. developed countries are using ict in various sectors to get benefits at an advanced level. ict has multidimensional applications. information technology can play roles from the root to the advanced level to develop the economy and a nation. in bangladesh, there are many scopes for ict to contribute both at the root level and the advanced level. ict has vast potential in this fast-developing economy of bangladesh. there are many sectors to be addressed by ict in the context of bangladesh. objectives of the study  to find out the current situation of poverty in the country  to study about the capability of ict in case of alleviating poverty  to suggest how ict can be better used in reducing poverty literature review several studies have been conducted regarding the roles of ict in poverty alleviation. but it is still at the primary level. bayes et al. (1999) showed how to promote the poor's economic development through village pay phones (vpps). dymond and oestmann (2002) offer a basic concept and real https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 10 base for discussing the role of icts in developing poor communities. kenny et al. (2000) argue that recent econometric studies have found increasing evidence of a causal link between telecommunications development and economic development. in a study, heeks (1999) suggests that icts play a role mainly in communications technologies rather than information-processing or production technologies. bello and aderbigbe (2014) highlighted some of the benefits the developing countries can derive from the use and adoption of ict and some problems they encounter, and what the government of these developing countries can do to assist in the implementation of ict. anita vitanen (2005) concluded that the role of ict is catalytic in the complex task of poverty reduction by leveraging the effects on earnings opportunities, on educational and health services, on good governance, and on promoting democracy. okello et al. (2014) discussed two objectives regarding the roles of ict in poverty alleviation-the; the first objective was to study the application of ict in economic growth, and the second was to investigate the role of ict as a poverty reduction strategy. the paper clarified the debate on the role of ict, and gave a framework for extending the discussion so that ict may find its rightful place in development cooperation. abiodun and sunday (2013) suggested appropriate policies for the efficient use of ict in reducing poverty and bridging the gap between the poor and the rich in nigeria. chowdhury et al. (2013) conducted a study on the role of ict as an anti-corruption tool to prevent corruption from complying with shariah rules. ict capacity to reduce poverty ict capacity to reduce poverty has been discussed below through creating opportunities for the poor a) creating market for their products and providing market information: bangladesh is an agricultural country. most of the people of this country are involved in agriculture, varying from production to market. farmers are the poor not because of their fate only. they are, in one sense, exploited due to the lacking of proper information about the demand of their product, price, market trends, information regarding good seeds, etc. electronic commerce has created the opportunity for everybody to be with current business trends. farmers or producers are also empowered with relevant information nowadays. they are no more bound to act according to the so-called intermediaries. even though their products are not of that standard to be transacted online, their bargaining power is increased, which helps them to be saved from exploitation and get the proper prices with more alternatives. b) developing the agro-based industry by getting relevant information: innovation and research are common phenomena in the developed countries. new ideas regarding the development of hybrid crops and other agro-based products like poultry, dairy, fisheries are going home and abroad. in addition to this, there is information related to the modern way of cultivation and maintenance of every sector of agriculture. the village farmers can log into these creative ideas through the internet and have knowledge about this innovation to apply in their own farms. through empowering the poor a) communication and collaboration: communication is the most powerful requirement for success in every sector nowadays. ict has facilitated communication in such a way that the whole https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 11 globe has become a village. people of every level poor to reach have equal opportunities to be with the world with necessary information. b) union information service centre: the government of bangladesh has initiated the union information service centers, which help the remote people be empowered by basic information. c) education opportunity for the offspring of the poor of the village: education is the precondition for alleviation of poverty and the development of a nation as well. once, it was a dream and, in some cases, impossible for the poor to get their offspring educated. now, it is not a problem to get their offspring educated in the country's highest institution as they can access all necessary information regarding their requirements of admission and study. d) creating opportunities to find out various financial and other resources as (competitive ones) to invest in potential fields to gain benefits: financing any small or medium project is a challenge for the poor as they suffer from the proper source of finance at a lower cost. most of the poor are bound in the hands of a limited number of ngos for getting loans at high cost and consequently being exploited. the financial market and institution have expanded in such a volume that it has made the chance for the poor to choose to lend money competitively for investing. moreover, ict had empowered the borrower to find the financial market online, get information, and compare borrowing money. e) health affairs of women and children: poor people suffer a lot from the unconsciousness of health affairs. most of the women and children among poor p are unhealthy. the sick population cannot contribute to the nation with a total capacity which is one of the causes for their worst condition and of the nation as well. nevertheless, the internet availability and huge information regarding the development of consciousness among mass people has enabled the poor to maintain a healthy life. it has contributed to building up an energetic nation for building the whole nation. f) getting online helps reduce cost and save time: one of the benefits of telecommunication is getting online service in most cases. online service saves people from physical movement and thus saves money and energy to get the service. g) automatic land registration saves the poor from being deceived and losing their lands: this was a common problem that poor people were deceived by fraudulence in registering their lands. often their land registration is not done transparently. there were kept some loops and holes to exploit them in the future. in some cases, the poor would have to lose their lands even. it has been checked and stopped by introducing automatic land registration. h) forecasting natural calamity helps to take necessary action in advance: natural calamities are very frequent and common in most of the coastal countries of asia. bangladesh is also not an exception. natural calamities hamper the production of crops, damaged houses, and cause diseases. ct is deployed now to predict calamities, which will help the coastal people get the information of such type of disaster in advance and take precautions to minimize the harm. i) ensuring their right by checking corruption: corruption is one of the roots of poverty in underdeveloped countries. the mass people are bound in a sense in the hand of the public servant https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 12 to get their legitimate rights. besides, it has become easier to exploit poor people in various public sectors because of the unavailability of automation. here are some sectors mentioned where ict can be used to control corruption in developing countries: a) procurements: all sorts of public procurement must be completed electronically. it will help to minimize the chance of the public servant to transact speed money or bribe. consequently, it will help to save the money of the poor public. this saved money can contribute to the national economy being healthy and reinvested for growth. b) electronic voting system: election is a way to change the power of ruling the country. the poor can get the least scope to take part in making changes of government. sometimes they are deprived of making their choice in a manual voting system as the system is politicized and controlled by the ruling party. the electronic voting system can eradicate this malpractice by ensuring the rights of the poor. consequently, they can choose a government that will favor their development and takes the program to eradicate poverty in a true sense. c) preparing automatic billing: all sorts of billing like electricity and others may be prepared by computer so that no man hand can manipulate the reading which minimizes the corruption. thus the consumer can be saved from paying fraud bills. d) e-ticketing system: e-ticketing system can reduce the chance of selling transportation tickets like train in the black market. it will help the poor get the ticket at a real price, which will help them frequently search for jobs or other services. e) empowerments in manpower exporting: preparing passport, checking the job status in case of going abroad and thus checking the fraudulence, going abroad under g2g arrangement by themselves without the help of a broker can save the poor from being deceived. f) ensuring accountability in public services: ct can also assist people in monitoring and accountability of development programs in their locality. through training and development a) exporting manpower: ready made garment sector is the largest of all foreign currency earning sectors of the country. bangladesh owns a significant number of populations as a resource gifted by the almighty besides other natural resources. the second one is exporting human resources abroad. most of the people exported are unskilled laborers, which does not help to yield good returns. this resource can be trained up in ict as other trades in the demand of developed countries to have a handsome foreign exchange from this human resource. b) outsourcing: providing third-party service through outsourcing in data entry: information technology itself has become a source of earning foreign currency by outsourcing which is considered one of the alternatives of rmg. in rmg, the unskilled labor is deployed with a lower payment, whereas outsourcing needs skilled manpower and gives better returns. the paradigm is being shifted from labor-intensive and lower payment to that of skilled and higher payment. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 13 c) innovating new ideas in production and service sectors: the country moves towards automation in all of its sectors. the manpower of the country is brilliant enough to innovate new ideas in developing new it-based products and improving the quality of services by using it, which helps them make more profit and reinvest in the farms, which creates more employment for the poor in all sectors. we can try to figure out some problems regarding the full-fledged implementation of ict in bangladesh:  ict infrastructure: as bangladesh is a developing country with a large population, it is quite challenging to establish the infrastructure in information and communication technology at massive scales to facilitate digitization as declared by the government.  power: power is a precondition for ict to run. if even the infrastructure is ready, the country lacks the generation of power, and thus it is of no use. so the government and the private sector should come forward with the power plant to generate sufficient power to keep the nation online.  level of education: the technical skill of the inhabitants of the country is not favorable for taking the benefits of ict. so although there are opportunities for them to take advantage, they are still being exploited by the clever intermediaries.  to practice e-commerce in a country, government offices, including tax, revenue, utilities, etc., have to be computerized and online accessible first. but, most offices are not interested in computerizing their system because the computerized system is an obstacle to corruption or they don't like the machine. conclusion despite a lot of problems, bangladesh is making continuous development in every sector. the asset of the country is its hard-working human resource. the major problem is the lack of good governance to utilize the resource gifted by the almighty. information and communication system in bangladesh has been launched but still a long way to get full speed. if the government takes initiatives to make their declaration of digitization a reality, it will help the percentage of poverty decrease by a considerable amount. references abiodun, o. o., & sunday, a. i. (2013). poverty alleviation through information and communications technology: a case study of nigeria. international journal of multidisciplinary sciences and engineering, 4(7), 20-24. bello, o. a., & aderbigbe, f. m. (2014). the role of ict in national development and poverty alleviation. impact: international journal of research in engineering & technology, 2(5), 275-284. bayes, a., von braun, j., & akhter, r. (1999). village pay phones and poverty reduction: insights from a grameen bank initiative in bangladesh (no. 8). zef discussion papers on development policy. chowdhury, m.s. a., khan, m. m., & akter, s. (2013). corruption in islamic perspective and the roles of information and communication technology (ict) to control it. european journal of business and management, 5(11), 36-43. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 14 dymond, a., & oestmann, s. (2002). rural telecommunications development in a liberalising environment: an update on universal access. vancouver, bc: intelecon research & consultancy heeks, r. (1999). information and communication technologies, poverty and development. development informatics working paper, (5). kenny, c. j. (2000). expanding internet access to the rural poor in africa. information technology for development, 9(1), 25-31. vitanen, a. k. (2005). the role of ict in governing rural development, paper presentation in the ifad workshop on the what are the innovation challenges for rural development, hold in rome on 15 to 17, 11-14 okello, g., ouma, e., maritim, k., & adhiambo, m. (2014). the role of ict in economic growth and poverty reduction. international journal of arts and commerce, 3(3), 35-48 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 15 conceptual review on religiosity, work-life balance (wlb) and employee performance in the higher education institutions (heis) dr. mokana a/p muthu kumarasamy faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor (unisel), shah alam, malaysia e-mail: mokana@unisel.edu.my farhana hasbolah faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor (unisel), shah alam, malaysia hanissah hamzah faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor (unisel), shah alam, malaysia khairun natasha mohd fazmi faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor (unisel), shah alam, malaysia siti aisyah omar faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor (unisel), shah alam, malaysia dr. abul bashar bhuiyan faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor (unisel), shah alam, malaysia received: august 28, 2021 accepted: september 29, 2021 online published: november 29, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1469 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1469 abstract working from home (wfh) is now becoming a new normal, and today it brings a big change in the way people think and act. however, some people find that working from home is a big challenge, especially for those with families and young children. this is not easy and it leads to stress and burdens because the employees were not able to share a good time with their family and work demands. this study aims to identify the influencing factors of work-life balance (wlb) on employee performance and moderating effect of religiosity towards wlb and employee performance of heis. the study will be used to accumulate empirical literature by the name of religiosity towards wlb and employee performance in different online database mailto:mokana@unisel.edu.my https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1469 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 16 sources. the review findings show that there is a significant effect of wlb especially, technological, institutional, and individual factors are considered the most influential effects on employee performance. this study also identified that there is a moderating effect of religiosity towards wlb and employee performance of heis. the findings will be used to develop a reach framework and will be conducted a rigorous depth study and will be drawn policy guidelines for further improvement of wlb and employee performance in heis. keywords: work-life balance (wlb), employee performance, religiosity. introduction work-life balance (wlb), which concerns the quality of life, has become an important issue to employees and employers in the era of globalization (hilbrecht, shaw, johnson & andrey, 2008). the wlb of employees can improve organizational performance and individual performance. following the covid-19 pandemic that has hit the world now, the malaysian government has implemented the movement control order (mco) period which affected various sectors and industries. besides, it has changed the way people and lifestyles, such as the work culture in the office where many employees are instructed to work from home to curb the epidemic transmission of the virus. with help from technological advances, allowed individuals to work anytime, anywhere, and non-stop. the recent and future work trends that have shifted to automation technology have resulted in longer working hours. this idea is an idea that arose in line with the development of the industrial revolution 4.0 where technology is used as best as possible in communication. working from home or wfh is now becomes a new normal bring a major change in human thought and action today. this situation demands efficient remote tasks, availability of appropriate facilities and equipment, time management, and the integrity of each individual. in general, working from home has various advantages such as flexible time, a quiet workspace environment, a better balance between home and office, more effective implementation, and no need to get involved in traffic congestion. however, some individuals feel that working from home is very challenging, especially for individuals with families and having small children. the challenge is certainly greater than it can create stress due to the need to fulfil various responsibilities simultaneously such as taking care of the household and children and at the same time also need to perform tasks from the employer. this is not easy and it leads to stress and burdened as employees were not able to divide good time with their families and job demands (mat yusof, rizuan, azidin, abdul latif & ismail, 2014). when they are unable to spend more time together with family then all dissatisfaction will be released at work and will give an impact on the quality of work. a study done by yadav and rani (2015) found that employees who were satisfied and happy with a good work environment as well as being able to spend time with family tend to perform better and give the best against institutions (yadav & rani 2015). balancing work and family demands is the hardest thing to do in life. the ability of an individual to enjoy the four aspects of his life namely career, family, friends, and self is subjective. each individual has different needs and it is the individual himself who knows how to place priorities in life so that balance can be achieved. according to greenhaus, collins and shaw (2003), work and life balance are defined as the state of an individual who is tied to a balance between his role and responsibility towards work and life and is satisfied with it. a study by hyoung (2014) suggested that a well-found career-family balance among employees is a https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 17 major pillar in achieving job satisfaction and improve the performance of an organization. in other words, career-family balance is also possible to increase self-motivation and so on contributes to the high performance of employees. achieving work and family balance occurs when individuals allocate mental, physical, and emotional resources in ways that can meet personal and professional goals. it has to do with the capacity among employees to manage their job tasks, coordinate these tasks with co-workers, and take responsibility for the success or failure of these tasks (hjort, hoyer, bramming & pedersen, 2011). this is important to avoid the emergence of guilt in oneself as well as to create conflict. in the context of covid-19, the organization may have difficulty in supervising and monitoring its employees but the only available option is wfh. a study by susilo (2020) in indonesia revealed that wfh increased the employees’ enjoyment and job satisfaction but it will depend on the industry. hence, this study will select different industry for instance higher education institutions in malaysia (heis). there are a lot of factors that influencing wlb such as individual and institutional factors. therefore, this study will focus on technology factors, individual factors, institutional factors, and religiosity that will contribute to the balance between work and life in heis. empirical review findings work-life balance wlb, which concerns the quality of life, has become an important issue to employees and employers in the era of globalization (hilbrecht, shaw, johnson & andrey, 2008). in the past year, employees dedicated and devoted most of their time at work leaving them feels overwhelmed in balancing their role between family and social life in this competitive work setting. the ability of an individual to balance these three factors can be defined as work-life balance (wlb). initially, the wlb concept was to study women who wear multiple hats as well as family conflict (kahn, wolfe, quinn, snoek & rosenthal, 1964) although it is now expanded to both genders. wlb has a broad concept as the definition and dimension of wlb are different based on each researcher. wlb is described as the tendency for a person to become fully engaged in the performance of every role in one’s overall system, with the approach to each role and role partner with attentive and care (marks & mac dermid,1996). it is defined as an achievement in all life aspects as all resources such as energy, time, and commitment are well distributed across all aspects (kirchmeyer, 2000). it is supported by hill, hawkins, ferris, and weitzman (2001) definition that wfh is the ability to which a person can concurrently balance demands from paid work, personal, and family in response to behavioural, emotional, and time aspects. many past studies discover that a person can be involved in multiple domains and is not only based on work and home domains alone. warren (2004) identified over 170 different life domains based on the previous studies. among domains that individuals can be participated in are domains of work, leisure, neighbourhood, family, friendships, social involvement, and health. these domains have been observed and are intertwined or rather closely related to gives an imbalance impact towards a person life shall not control effectively. higher education institutions (heis) education plays a significant role in the development of any country, including malaysia. thus, the education system was designed through the establishment of schools, colleges, and universities. higher education institutions (heis) in malaysia begins in 1959 with the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 18 establishment of the university malaya (um). as of 2021, the number of public universities in malaysia is 20, and more than 437 private higher education was established in malaysia (mohe, 2021). all programs offered by heis must receive accreditation from malaysia qualifications agency (mqa). the academic staff is the key resource both in public and private heis. below are the total academic staffs for both institutions as of 2019. table 1. total academic staff for both institutions as at 2019 number of academic staff according by positions public private professors 1,945 601 associate professors 4,753 1,006 lecturers 22,502 19,278 language teachers 1,206 0 other academic staffs including research fellow, industrial fellow, vocational officer, assistant lecturer, teacher, assistant teacher, post-doctoral and other academic staffs 1,220 5,076 source: mohe, 2019. the number of academic staff above represents the number of university lecturers in malaysia. the position of academic staff can be recognized based on higher education levels such as phd, masters, and degree. it is further supported by the research activities through their publication in reputable journals. meanwhile, the responsibilities of lecturers today are continuously challenging as not only focus on teaching but writing, supervising, monitoring the students, and some clerical works. technology factors and employee performance appropriate identification of research participants is critical to the science and practice of psychology, particularly for generalizing the findings, making comparisons across replications, and using the evidence in research syntheses and secondary data analyses. if humans participated in the study, report the eligibility and exclusion criteria, including any restrictions based on demographic characteristics. technology advancement has been defined in different ways. for instance, makinson, hundley, feldhaus, and fernandez (2012) defined that a technology advancement is a tool that has transformed work from a place you go to a function you perform, whenever and wherever you happen to be when a call, email, or social networking device reveals the next urgent assignment. according to stawarz, cox, bird, and benedyk (2013), advances in technology, in particular, the widespread use of mobile devices, have changed work practices and transformed our everyday lives. information technology has vital importance and providing maximum services to every field. there is the momentous influence of technology in every field such as from educational institutions to the automobile industry, banking to civil aviation, telecom to textile (abbas, muzaffar, mahmood, ramzan & rizvi, 2014). to sustain and meet customer needs, organizations have to adopt new practices and new technologies by modifying the traditional way of doing work. therefore, organizations motivate the employees to adopt the new technology to the employee for better performance (dauda & akingabede, 2011) as well as less the employee working effort and task completion time. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 19 the development of technology has an impact on firm performance (mumford, 2000). according to huang, lee, chiu, and yen (2015) technology advancement also plays a key role in setting up the performance of employees. another author also found that technological advancement has an enormous influence on employee performance in the banking sector (imran, maqbool & shafidue, 2014). most studies have repeatedly shown a positive relationship between a firm’s technological advancement and performance and concluded that technological advancement is important for employee performance (abbas et al, 2014). individual factors and employee performance infectious disease risks such as covid-19 must be understood as part of the workplace as people now live and work in internationally interdependent populations (narayanan, anseel, antonakis, ashford, bakker, & vugt, 2021). employees are not only faced with a high job demand during the covid-19 pandemic, but they must also organize their personal lives. these factors have contributed to the deterioration of their wlb, which has harmed their mental health. a report by international labour organization (2020) suggested that increased flexibility in working-time arrangements, it will allow the employee to meet their duties and responsibilities. the importance of wlb is how the employee’s performance in fulfilling their responsibilities and commitment at the home, workplace, and in other aspects of life. the effective relationship between employee and organization was determined by the working employee’s performance at the workplace. the equilibrium in wlb is where the participation from employees and organization are equal. employees’ performance at work and in their personal lives is therefore influenced by a lack of wlb, while the employee who has a stronger wlb will contribute more significantly to the organization's growth and success (alhazemi & ali, 2016). a study by bjarntoft, hallman, mathiassen, larsson and jahnke (2020) classified the individual factors into over-commitment, overtime work, and boundary management. they have found that all these factors were associated with wlb among office workers subject to flexible work arrangements. vyas and shrivastava (2017) develop a conceptual model of the factors affecting wlb. in this study, the authors found that social support, organizational factors, stress factors, information technology factors are the vital factors that affect the wlb of an individual. meanwhile, rafikah (2020) found that emotional intelligence has no significant effects on the wlb of an individual but it has a positive effect on the job performance of an employee. institutional factors and employee performance the institutional factor is considered as one of the biggest influences for the worker to achieve a wlb. there is an increasing amount of research has been done relating to many aspects of organizational support in terms of work support, flexible work arrangement, job stress, and wlb policies and programs. many studies have been done on work support concerning wlb. previous studies show that supervisors can exert considerable influence and impact over employees’ wlb and worklife practices (mccarthy, darcy, & grady, 2010; fiksenbaum, 2013; au & ahmed, 2016). research on supervisor support and wlb shows that a supportive supervisor displays a positive significant impact on employee emotional support and helps in maintaining a wlb of employees in the australian financial sector (talukder, vickers & khan, 2018). organizational supports offered in a workplace can be varied in terms of empathy, accommodating, and the ability to listen to employees. it is reported that through support, employees’ psychological and https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 20 environmental conditions can make employees feel safer and more capable to invest in activities that promote greater wlb. the flexibility of work is synonym with the flexible working arrangement (fwa) (shagvaliyeva & yazdanifard 2014). work flexibility is defined as the ability of workers to control the duration of their good work from any location based on the schedule that has been given by the organization (atkinson & hall, 2011). past studies discover and highlighted that flexible work arrangements would help the employees to be able to adjust and arrange between work and non-work activities thus motivate their employees (russo, shteigman, & carmeli, 2016) it is supported by the research done by capnary, rachmawati, and agung, (2018) discovers that through the flexibility of work arrangement, it can influence wlb of employee and positively affected employee’s loyalty to the indonesian start-up companies. wlb through offering a flexible work schedule enables employees to accomplish work and non-work commitments and responsibilities. religiosity and employee performance ferm (1963) contended that an acceptable definition of religion refers to “a set of behaviours or meanings which are connected to the action of a religious person”. according to al-goaib (2003), in islam, religiosity is the commitment to the fundamentals of islamic religion empirically and theoretically through the fulfilment of allah's rights, the protection of others' rights, following allah‟s orders, avoiding bad acts, and performing worship. individuals characterized as religious are not only those who hold particular religious beliefs but also practice them in day-to-day life (morgan & lawton, 1996). it is suggested that people who hold and follow certain religious dogmas will exhibit particular sets of behaviours that are reflected in their personal and social lives. it is thus likely that employees' work behaviour will also be affected by their religious preferences to the extent to which they identify themselves with and are active followers of a certain religion (ntalianis & darr, 2005). vasconcelos (2010) indicated that religion is a pervasive subject that influences somewhat employees’ behaviours, perceptions, and decisions of individuals. mccarty (2007) also remarked that the participants had reported very interesting results from these prayer meetings, such as increased employee morale and productivity, and decreased employee turnover. highly religious employees were unlikely to cheat whether or not they had taken a business ethics course, employees who were not highly religious demonstrated less cheating if they had taken a business ethics course. in other words, highly intelligent individuals displayed significantly less cheating if they were highly religious. employee religious values can serve as personal resources are very important to maintain or protect themselves from the emergence of a sense of anxiety-related jobs. when the level of the employee’s religious values is high, then a sense of anxiety-related job be reduced, which has positive consequences for the performance of their duties (de cieri, holmes, abbott, & pettit, 2005). religious values are capable of providing guidance, encouragement, and support to employees in completing their best performance. furthermore, religious individuals tend to have pro-social beliefs and engage in totality in the conduct of social pro-than individuals who do not have religious values (mcgraw, putnam, & campbell, 2012). it is also supported by some research (darto, setyadi, riadi, & hariyadi, 2015; zahrah, hamid, rani, & kamil, 2016), which also found that having a significant influence on the performance of employees. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 21 however, the results of the above research findings with contradictory osman-gani, hashim, and ismail (2013), found that religious values are not significant effect on the performance of employees. this is caused by the lack of realization of religious values (such as the activities of prayer) and employee morale so that they are not capable of showing the best performance. ozbilgin, beauregard, tatli, and bell (2011), and boyce (2006) argued, ‘religion does not feature as the major influence in the way the work-life interface is organized in contemporary societies’. apart from this, some of the research conducted religiosity as a moderator. religiosity can moderate the relationships between job demands and work-to-life conflict, and work hours and work-to-life conflict, but not between work flexibility and work/life facilitation, and family demands and life-to-work conflict (sav, 2019). given the existence of inconsistent findings from some researchers, this study elaborates on the relationship between religiosity and the performance of employees. wlb, covid-19, and higher education institutions (heis) the world health crisis has affected many countries including malaysia to implement mco to curb the spread of the virus. the impacts caused by the pandemic crisis are very huge, bringing about major changes in the field of education. based on data obtained from united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco), 990,324,537 students were affected by this pandemic. for the past year, many of the employees, including academic staff have worked from home, provide online learning to students, made countless work and social calls, and have struggled to maintain composure in to face of uncertainty of the endless pandemic. academic staff struggle to balance their time for family and complete office work such as lecture planning, research preparation, checking and assessing students' work, attending staff meetings, supervising students, writing research proposals, papers, and other publications. all these responsibilities that burden the academic staff will cause stress and tension to the psychology, physiology, and behaviour. at the same time, the pandemic crisis has urged them to change their views on how they can carry out their respective jobs in the new norms. wfh itself is one of the solutions for coping with work stress (sullivan & lewis, 2001). the concept of working from home is not a new phenomenon. it is a form of flexible work arrangement that can reduce the operating costs of the organization and increase job satisfaction especially among working women with families. employees who are working from home tend to have higher motivation as compared to employees who are working from the office (rupietta & beckmann, 2018). sullivan (2000) stated that working from home increase boundary flexibility between the work domain and the family domain. basu, karmakar, bidhan, kumar, brar, pandit, and n.latha (2020) explained that the company's support in providing flexible working hours especially during the covid-19 situation can protect the employees’ mental health. employers should take the initiative in providing a wlb and ensure the employees’ productivity. wlb is one of the factors that can help employees to improve the quality of mental health and reduce stress (laker, 2020) while increasing individual self-resistance so that they can make decisions more efficiently and effectively. conclusion wlb is even less achievable, as working from home eliminated the boundaries between the time that should be dedicated to working and the time that should be reserved for oneself. gadecki, jewdokimow, and żadkowska (2018) in their writing mentioned that working from home often causes conflict in the wlb because there will be conflicts of interest that which one should come https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 22 first. while employees have good quality times gatherings with family members, they need to complete the office works at the same time. today's technology and industrial revolution 4.0 has introduced various online applications which allow employees to complete their jobs within stipulated times, easily, quickly, and efficiently. a stable internet network, laptop, or mobile phone are the most important gadgets for employees to perform tasks anywhere and anytime when they are working from home. dependence on this technology has become a further burden on the employees, which leads to technostress, namely feelings of anxiety, fatigue, scepticism, and hopeless beliefs related to the use of technology (salanova, llorens, & cifre, 2013). the era of the industrial revolution 4.0 is an absolute and unavoidable phenomenon. this technology has been widely applied by various employment sectors such as private and public organizations, including the education sector. meeting activities, discussions, consultations, division of tasks, teaching, and learning can be conducted just by being at home. the implementation of mco and the uncertainty of the world health crisis has posed a great challenge to higher education institutions in ensuring the continuity of the learning process. the management is obliged to strategize and take practical steps that can ensure the sustainability of the institutions. among the strategies that are crucial to pay attention to is readiness for change in each organization, especially in global-oriented educational organizations (fayzhall, purwanto, asbari, basuki, mustofa, hutagalung, maesaroh, winanti, chidir, goestjahjanti, & andriyani, 2020; jumiran, novitasari, nugroho, sutardi, sasono & asbari, 2020; kamar, novitasari, asbari, winanti & goestjahjanti, 2019). simarmata (2020) in his study shows there is a relationship between working from home and the work productivity of academic staff. there are various favourable situations and conditions when teaching and learning activities are conducted online or at home such as a flexible working environment, being closer to family members, no stress disorder, and saving travelling time between the office and home. they feel healthier and can achieve wlb, being able to divide between home affairs and office activities. every individual must show high integrity in performing duties and responsibilities. they need to find the best working method to complete their respective tasks. this is where they need to be creative and innovative. for example, online learning and teaching activities can be conducted using a variety of online platforms, while alternative assessment methods continue to be explored. certainly, the covid-19 challenges will open up new research possibilities that can benefit the students and institutions. besides, the transformation of the academic and research activities in the university should be planned to face the new norms of the post-covid19. in the meantime, good integration between work assignments and daily responsibilities will produce the best outcomes for the academic staff. with full of the uncertainty of covid-19, it is not an exaggeration that the role of academic staff in universities is no exception but more challenging. references abbas, j., muzaffar, a., mahmood, h. k., ramzan, m. a., & rizvi, s. s. u. h. 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(2016). enhancing job performance through islamic religiosity and islamic work ethics. international review of management and marketing, 6(7s), 195-198. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 30 understanding the feelings and motivation of afghan students’ regarding studying at chinese universities hizbullah bahir master degree student beijing sport university, beijing, china teaching assistant physical education department education faculty, kandahar university kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: bahir.hizbullah@hotmail.com huanghe associate professor competitive education department competitive sport faculty, beijing sport university beijing, china e-mail: huanghexx@126.com abstract making a decision to study in foreign countries is considered one of the most difficult tasks. however, it is one of the most essential and valuable attempts for the students because in foreign countries the quality of lessons are high and they can make huge social relations with learners. also, china accepts students from all over the world. this study examined the feelings, and motivations of afghan students; the data was collected through google form and constructed interview which 99 students were the participants. a mixed approach was used for this study. moreover, the interview was done with those learners who have been completed their higher education in the country of china and the data was analyzed through spss 26 version. the findings asserted that learning of students in china is very beneficial as well with the relations of other foreign countries who study in china. furthermore, the findings indicated more that learners have noticeable achievements in the parts of the culture of china, new technology; learning of chinese language. additionally, in china living allowance, medical services, wellequipped dormitories and the services of seeing historical places are free of charge for the better life of students. keywords: motivation, feelings, studying abroad, afghan students. jel classification codes: a19, b10, b25, c10, c53. introduction many students choose to study in foreign countries because of the possible advantages. study in abroad will meet the expectations of your university degree and traveling around the world while at the same time exploring new cultures. afghan students try to pursue higher education in https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 31 abroad but many students do not know which problems they will face, and how the new the culture, religion, language and so on will affect them. a choice to study in abroad is not just a difficult decision-making process for students (mazzarol, 1998). at the same time, a student undertakes one of the most critical and costly projects, take into account all the difficulties of studying in abroad and have a specific plan for it. (sirowy & inkeles, 1984; mcmahon, 1992; mazzarol & soutar, 2002). in these years, the ministry of higher education of afghanistan tries to find an opportunity for students in foreign countries which one of these countries is a friendly country of china. every year hundreds of afghan students go for higher education to china. in 2008, thirty-six afghan learners were busy on their studies in china. right now, hundreds of learners choose chines universities only from afghanistan. this current research expands on studying in abroad motives and benefits and attempts to explore the particular motivations that could affect afghan students’ decision to study in china country. understanding what motivates and honors the students to study in china gives institutions of higher education knowledge to help prospective students and inspire them to study. problem statement in recent years, many afghan students want to study in foreign countries; however, there are very limited studies conducted in afghanistan regarding the feelings and motivation. the international education institution states that the aim is to enhance substantially the number of foreign students studying in china but little research conducted into what the foreign students do to exchange experiences in china (belyavina, 2013).in addition, there are not reputable sources for students in order to get benefit from them as sources. moreover, students who want to study higher education in china have many questions because of not having suitable sources. whereas china is one of those countries that accept afghan students in different fields, but the problem is that they do not have information about the culture, language and universities of china. this available source would assist them to answer their queries. research objectives  to identify the main factors that makes afghan students to choose china for higher education.  to clarify the benefits that afghan students get in china in terms of culture and language.  to investigate the evidence that has still proved to be very useful for afghan students. research questions  what are the factors that make afghan students to choose china for higher education?  what are the benefits that afghan students get in china in terms of culture and language?  what are the evidence that has still proved to be very useful for afghan students? literature review the literature refers to a variety of motivating forces responsible for drawing students to the host country. economic relations between the domestic country and the host country, the scale of the economy of the home country relative to that of the host country, the involvement of the host country in the home country through foreign assistance or cultural links and scholarships and other forms of assistance, international acceptance of qualifications from western institutions of higher education (mcmahon, 1992). in encouraging research on board programs to prospective candidates, educational priorities, such as being fluent in a foreign language, observing a new teaching process, improving job prospects and competition, and learning about a subject not https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 32 offered at a homeland university, play a significant role (teichler & steube, 1991; himat, 2020). the value of study in abroad has been known for a long time. educators, policymakers, and business leaders have all realized the need for young people to have been global experienced (mcgiffert, 2011). study programs in abroad offer university students greater global expertise, expanded horizons, and the ability to learn foreign cultures and languages. unfortunately, minority afghan students study in abroad (smith & mitry, 2008). in fact, it is a priority for many states to provide opportunities for students to study in abroad. (mc giffert, 2011). the government of afghanistan provides many opportunities for students to study inside the country. as well as trying to send students into foreign countries for higher education, to stay competitive in today's world, students must study internationally, learn the languages of other countries try to reduce distances in order to increase international relations promote formal education abroad and improve their potential job view to do (smith & mitry, 2008; sahibzada & himat, 2019; bahir, 2020). china is a friend country of afghanistan committed to cooperation and provides higher education for afghan students. the higher education system established in china, (excluding hong kong, macao, and taiwan) provides scholarships for foreign universities and scholarships for international students which attract thousands of students internationally every year (hennock, 2012; goodman, 2011). at present, china accepts hundreds of afghan students every year for higher education (belyavina, 2013). universities leaders and political figures are committed to creating exchanges between peoples and countries. under this program, the governments of afghanistan and china are committed to increasing the number of afghan students in china. the motivation was described for this study as factors that influence a decision of students to study in abroad (jolibert & baumgartner, 1997). research on reasons for studying in abroad deals whether the students want to study in abroad or not. the choice to study in abroad involves both the positive and the negative aspects and their feelings about studying in abroad push and pull factors (doyle, 2009; goel, de jong, & schnusenberg, 2010; himat & nazari, 2019; nazari & himat, 2020). it was decided in the study (sánchez, fornerino & zhang 2006) that certain factors were used in the option to study in abroad to obtain a new experience, improve the condition of working, improve the social situation, seek freedom/pleasure, learn new languages.however, the following barriers could be family barriers, finance barriers, psychological barrier and social barriers. these factors discourage students to studying in abroad (himat & nazari, 2021). study in china can bring various benefits to the students in the areas of ranging from language development to growing their cross-cultural experience. these advantages are different for any student and can vary based on the specific study venue. analysis indicates the possible advantages of study in abroad act as incentives (doyle, 2009). the returning students bring with them the experience of cultural understanding, personal development possible opportunities for higher education, achievements of second language skill, close friendship with local people socialization and globalization because in foreign then get will acquaintance with technology as well (smith & mitry, 2008; himat, takal & hakimi, 2021). research methdology this study used a quantitative research method. in addition, 99 afghan students have been taking part among these 68 were male and one female student who have answered the questionnaires, and with 30students have interviewed those who had already graduated from chinese universities. the present study used survey methods in order to explore and evaluate afghan https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 33 students who have studied or currently studying in china. convenient and snowball sampling was used to recruit subjects. an online survey was the main source for collecting the data of this research. the data was collected from those students who were graduated from several programs of chines universities such as phd, master and bachelor degrees. the data was analyzed with spss version 26. findings table 1. shows the demographic data of the participants demographic data of the respondents characteristics frequency percentage gender: male 68 98.6% female 1 1.4% level of education: bachelor 4 5.4% master 50 72.5% ph.d. 15 21.7% teaching language chinese 18 26.1% english 51 73.9% age: between 21&26 8 11.6% between 27&32 41 59.4% 33upper 20 29.0% table 1, the characteristics of the respondents in this study are as below, 68(98.6%) male, 1(1.4%) female, the categories of their education are 4(5.4 %%) bachelor, 50(72.5%) master, 15(21.7%) ph.d., this means that a large number of bachelor degree physical education professionals participated in the study, the ages of the respondents are between the following years, 8(11.6%) between 21&26 years, 41(59.4%) between 27&32years, 20(29.0%) 33upper, the age categories show that most of the respondents were between 27&32years old. table 2. shows the views of afghan students in china items disagree agree frequency percent valid have you studied at higher education institution before coming to china 9 (13.0%) 60 (87.0%) 69 100.0% https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 34 if other afghans require advice from you regarding choosing china for getting higher education, what will be your response to them 3 (4.3%) 66 (95.7%) 69 100.0% table 2 shows the views of afghan students in china, the first question was: have did you study at a higher educational institution before coming to china, the respondents 60(87.0%) persons are agree and 9(13.0%) persons are disagree, as a conclusion the survey showed that most of them were agreed. if others afghans need your advice regarding to choose china for higher education, what will be your responsibility to the respondent 66(95.7%) persons were agree and 3(4.3%) persons were disagree, the answers showed that most of them agreed. table 3. shows the percentage of learning the chinese language frequency percent 37 (53.6%) 13 (18.8%) 9 (13.0%) 8 (11.6%) 2 (2.9%) table 3 shows the percentage of learning the chinese language from 69 respondents 37 students (53.6 %) were agree, 13 students (18.8 %) were agree, 9 persons (13.0 % ) were agree, 8 students (11.6 %) were agree, 2(2.9%) were agree, respondents answers also showed that they were at least familiar with the chines language. table 3.shows the teaching and learning no items agree disagree neutral strongly agree strongly disagree 1 at the university where you are a student, do they support you 31 (44.9%) 1 (1.4%) 7 (10.1) 28 (40.6%) 2 (2.9%) 2 how is the culture of the chinese to you 35 (50.7%) 0 14 (20.3%) 20 (29.0%) 0 3 teachers use different technique for encouraging us. 32 (46.4) 2 (2.9%) 14 (20.3) 20 (29.0) 1 1.4%) 4 in all, i am satisfied from the teaching process. 32 (46.4%) 3 (4.3%) 10 (14.5%) 22 (31.9%) 2 (2.9%) table 3. shows the teaching and learning, at the university where you are student, do they support you? from 69 respondents 31 (44.9 %) were agree, 1 (1.4 %) were disagree, 7(10.1 %) were neutral, 28 (40.6 %) were strongly agree, 2(2.9%) were strongly disagree, most students were strongly agree. how the culture of the chinese to you is 35 (50.7 %) were agree, 14(20.3 %) were neutral, 20 (29.0 %) were strongly agreed, as a result most of the students were agreed. teachers use different techniques for encouraging us.32 (46.4 %) were agree, 2 (2.9 %) were disagree, 14(20.3 %) were neutral, 20 (29.0 %) were strongly agree, 1(1.4%) were strongly disagree, most students agree. in all, i am satisfied with the teaching process.32 (46.4 %) were https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 35 agree, 3 (4.3 %) were disagree, 10(14.5 %) were neutral, 22 (31.9 %) were strongly agree, 2(2.9%) were strongly disagree, most students were agree. table 4. shows the workload and assessment no items agree disagree neutral strongly agree strongly disagree 1 at the beginning of each semester, we get awareness about each subject. 34 (49.3%) 4 (5.8%) 8 (11.6%) 23 (33.3%) 0 2 the workload of teaching is fair to me. 37 (53.6%) 3 (4.3%) 12 (17.4%) 15 (21.7%) 2 (2.9%) 3 do you study much 32 (46.4%) 1 (1.4%) 5 (7.2%) 31 (44.9%) 0 4 teachers always give us teaching materials for the improvement of our educational field. 25 (36.2%) 2 (2.9%) 13 (18.8%) 28 (40.6%) 1 (1.4%) table 4. shows the workload and assessment, at the beginning of each semester, we get awareness about each subject. from 69 respondents 34 (49.3 %) were agree, 4 (5.8 %) were disagree, 8(11.6 %) were neutral, 23 (33.3 %) were strongly agree, most of the students were agree. the workload of teaching is fair for me.37 (53.6 %) were agree, 3 (4.3 %) were disagree, 12(17.4 %) were neutral, 15 (21.7 %) were strongly agree, 2(2.9%) were strongly disagree most students were agree. do you study too much 32 (46.4 %) were agree, 1 (1.4 %) were disagree, 5(7.2 %) were neutral, 31 (44.9 %) were strongly agree, disagree most students agree. teachers always give us teaching materials for the improvement of our educational purposes 25(36.2 %) were agree, 2 (2.9 %) were disagree, 13(18.8 %) were neutral, 28 (40.6 %) were strongly agree, 1(1.4%) were strongly disagree most students were agree. table 5. shows the support and services no items always never often rarely sometimes 1 china provides the best services for foreign students. 36 (52.2%) 2 (2.9%) 21 (30.4%) 2 (2.9%) 8 (11.6%) 2 do you get to benefit from the health center of the university? 12 (17.4%) 15 (21.7%) 19 (27.5%) 8 (11.6%) 15 (21.7%) 3 do you get to benefit from the library of the university? 33 (47.8%) 5 (7.5%) 17 (24.6%) 5 (7.2%) 9 (13.0%) table 5. shows support and services, china provides the best services for foreign students. from 69 respondents36 (52.2 %) were always, 2 (2.9 %) were never, 21(30.4 %) were often, 2 (2.9 %) were rarely agree, 8(11.6%) were sometimes, most student the respondents always. do you get https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 36 to benefit from the health center of the university? 12 (17.4 %) were always, 15 (21.7 %) were never, 19(27.5 %) were often, 8 (11.6 %) were rarely agree, 15(21.7%) were sometimes, most student the respondents never. do you get to benefit from the library of the university? 33 (47.8 %) were always, 5 (7.5 %) were never, 17(24.6 %) were often, 5 (7.5 %) were rarely agree, 9(13.0%) were sometimes, most student the respondents always. table 6. shows the achievements of students besides learning items frequency percent valid acquaintance with chines and their culture 22 31.9 get information about the friendship in programs 5 7.2 make relations with international students 34 49.3 we give information to international students about culture as well as cultural values 8 11.6 table 6. shows extra achievements besides learning, acquaintance with chines and their culture, from 69 respondents22 (31.9%), got information about the friendship in programs5 (7.5%), we gave information to international students about culture as well as cultural values (8(11.6%). majority respondents choose china for its international relations and the minority of them for its culture. table 7. shows the chinese research decision factors items frequency percent valid financial values 14 20.3 in the interest of family a friends 6 8.7 past or old information about china 23 33.3 physical environment 3 4.3 social environment 5 7.2 social values 14 20.3 the readiness of a physical environment 4 5.8 table 7. shows the chinese research decision factors, from 69 respondents, financial values14 (20.3%), in the interest of family friend’s 6(8.7%), pastor old information about china(23(33.3%), physical environment(3(4.3%) social environment (5(7.2%), social values (14(20.3%), the readiness of a physical environment4 (5.8%), most respondents past or old information about china were agree. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 37 table 8. shows the advantages of studying in china items frequency percent valid cultural benefits 6 8.7 friendly relationships of chines and their delicious food 2 2.9 getting economic opportunities 2 2.9 good management of chines authorities 3 4.3 learning of chines language 14 20.3 opportunities for bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in professional departments 25 36.2 readiness for future life to live on an international level. 17 24.6 table 8. shows the advantages of studying in china, cultural benefits, from 69 respondents 6(8.7%), friendly relationships of chines and their delicious food 2(2.9%), getting economical opportunities2 (2.9%), good management of chines authorities3 (4.3%), learning of chinese language14 (20.3%), opportunities for bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in professional departments, 25(36.2%), readiness for future life to live on an international level17 (24.6%). most students opportunities for bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in professional departments choose. table 9. shows the familiarity of students with new technology frequency 5 11 27 20 6 total percentage (7.2%) (15.9%) (39.1%) (29.0%) (8.7%) 69(100.0%) table 9 shows the familiarity of afghan learners with new technology, from 69 respondents, 5(7.2%) were agree, 11(15.9%) were agree, 27 (39.1%) were agree, 20(29.0%) were agree , 6 (8.7%) were agree, it clear from the respondents that they are only 80% familiar with bringing about significant positive change in the field of technology for afghanistan. discussion the responses to afghan student’s feelings and motivations for studying at chines universities revealed that many afghan students are going to china to complete their higher education. there are no master’s and phd programs in some academic fields such as journalism, physical education, and social sciences. the other reason is low quality education at afghan universities, while the chinese universities have high quality. because of high quality afghan students choose china for higher education. the results of the survey show me that chines scholarships have proved to be very useful for afghan students not only in the field of excellence in education but also in relations with international students chinese culture new technologies and chines language learning. afghan students have significant achievements so through this experience https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 38 afghan students can better benefit from living a better life in the world and becoming acquainted with the cultures of different countries, as well as having these skills afghan students can, establish economic social and scientific ties between afghanistan and china. the sentiments of afghan students show that china is a country that respects the beliefs of all ethnic groups. all foreign students are treated the same as chines at in chines universities, and every chinese university has dining rooms for halal food. the survey found that 95% of afghan students feel good about china. as noted in the study that studying abroad help students to live and work abroad in the future (smith & friends, 2008). the student responses present that afghan students are also pursuing related goals so that they can live and work in abroad in the future. as doyle, in her 9-year study found that learning in china is very useful in terms of the chinese language and culture that afghan students have achieved the same goals. his lessons were in chines, he has learned chines and is well familiar with chines culture. recommendations for further studies it will be great importance to draw on studies to consider student improvements overtime when adjusting to china (both psychological and socio-cultural). besides, it would be important to see what factors could affect students' decisions to return home early. the study also needs to investigate the academic adaptation of afghan students to study in china. some of the best perspectives can be obtained by conducting a longitudinal analysis that can assess the academic performance of international students relative to local chines students. what sorts of stress or problems do students face in the same way? further research can also benefit from researching individuals who want to incorporate or assimilate relative to individuals who choose to spend time with other international students only. for example, a fascinating analysis could compare two groups of students studying where one group has a chines roommate and one group has an afghan roommate. this style of study design will help researchers decide if this living aspect has any effects on a student's ability to learn chines mandarin and to change or develop their sociocultural adaptation. in conclusion, more qualitative and quantitative analysis needs to be carried out to consider the experience of international students and how to inspire more students to study in the people's republic of china. references bahir, h. 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(2019). impacts of formative assessment on efl students’ academic performance at kandahar university. american international journal of social science research, 4(2), 102-111.https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v4i2.368 sánchez, c. m., fornerino, m., & zhang, m. (2006). motivations and the intent to study abroad among us, french, and chinese students. journal of teaching in international business, 18(1), 27-52. https://doi.org/10.1300/j066v18n01_03 sirowy, l., & inkeles, a. (1985). 2. university-level student exchanges: the us role in global perspective. hoover institution on war, revolution, and peace. smith, d. e., & mitry, d. j. (2008). benefits of study abroad and creating opportunities: the case for short-term programs. journal of research in innovative teaching, 1(1), 236246. teichler, u., & steube, w. (1991). the logics of study abroad programmes and their impacts. higher education, 21(3), 325-349. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00132724 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 33 research on (dream) in ustad shpoon (refugee dream) poem sayed asghar hashimi education faculty’s teacher pashto language and literature department sayed jamaldin university, afghanistan e-mail: hashimi.saidasghar1@gmail.com sayed ghani ghani education faculty’s teacher pashto language and literature department nangarhar university, afghanistan e-mail: ghanisayedghani@gmail.com shafiqullah rahmani education faculty’s teacher pashto language and literature department nangarhar university, afghanistan e-mail: shafiqullahrahmani88@gmail.com abstract this article is a research on the word “dream” in a poem by ustad shpoon, but in addition to the research on dream, it also talks about black color. for instance, the night is black (dark), you have a dream in the black (dark) night. the “black color” has been mentioned in this research as well. good and bad dreams have been mentioned in the research on dreams and it has been clarified whether the “refugee dream” poem takes the side of goodness or badness. another important thing about dreams is symbolic and simple dream. the poem that we are discussing here talks about simple and clear dream. this article researches dream in a poem of saadudin shpoon based on a theory. verses of the same poem have been mentioned here and research on dream has been implemented in it psychologically. the goal of this research is writing an academic article and studying a poem according to psychology which will pave the way for other authors to research from two-dimensional perspectives. this is a library research which has used descriptive and explanatory methods. materials have been collected from books and after analysis and interpretation, we have reached a conclusion. the achievements of this article are it recounts past memories of shpoon through his poem. he notices black color while dreaming at night which is related to his past and manifests his problems. the value of this article is it contains new points about shpoon which have never been studied before. keywords: dream, black, color, yung, symbol. introduction ustad shpoon is a good researcher and creator of literary works. his language skills and fiction literature in pashto literature is valuable. in addition to it, his poems are also worth mentioning. his poetic articles have balance and steadiness between his words of speech and meanings. mailto:hashimi.saidasghar1@gmail.com mailto:ghanisayedghani@gmail.com mailto:shafiqullahrahmani88@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 34 there are several authors who ignore the said balance between meanings and words, but his poems are enriched with the mentioned balance between words and the meanings. besides, his poems have so many social aspects. researchers can research his creativities from new aspects. this article, that i have written, researches a poem of ustad shpoon in point of view of carl gustavo yung’s theory. (shpoon is a well-known figure, author, critic and researcher.) (only one shpoon, 2020) saadudin shpoon is a poet who has lived far away from his homeland. there are many issues in the consciousness and consciousness of a human which sometimes take people to past life and these memories are felt while dreaming. the novelty of the subject: few articles have been written on mr. shpoon and the study of dream in his poems will probably be the first article. literature has relationship with psychology and this article is its good example. as it is clear, the methods of a research needs new issues and to prove a hypothesis, understanding other knowledge is also important in addition to specialization which, in fact, can prove novelty. objectives of the subject :clarification of the need for researching on the word “dream” in the poem (the refugee dream) from psychological point of view and as we know dreams come at night and the night is dark and has black color. therefore, research on dreams and the mention of black color are the also the objectives of this research. questions about the subject :is “refugee dream” related to the research on dream from the point of view of yong or not? is the relation between the dreams and black color an important point in researching dreams? methods of the subject this research is a library research and descriptive and analytical methods have been used in it. various works have been studied for the completion of the chosen research work. subject related materials have been organized and arranged which have been mentioned in different parts of this article considering the reference rules and regulations. after explanation and clarification, we reached the conclusion. the opinion of every one was taken and along with the opinions of the author, the research ended. discussion spoon is a powerful pashto poet, researcher, creator and translator. his poems have many facets, one of which is to be studied in terms of psychological theory. says: ن کې یمشپږ کاله په خوب کې او په ویښه په وط ورځ بیا ګذران وشي، بېچاره شمه چې شپه راشي شپه توره بال ده، شپه خپسه توره دوړه ده غم راشي، کړاو راشي، سودا راشي، غوسه راشي شپه د بې دردیو، نامرادیو، اسوېلیو مور (shpoon, 2019)کټ راته تنور شي له بړستنې سره لمبه راشي the concept of the poem: the poet dreams, during the dream he has been at home, village and country for six years. he is satisfied of the day, but when the night comes, his feeling of sadness increases. he can tolerate it during the day, but the poet becomes poor and loses everything at night. he calls night the black monster, considers it a symbol of fright and is angry with night. he compares night with sadness and when he falls asleep, the bed turns into a hot oven for him. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 35 he has bad dreams at night, which has a relationship with his past. he is in stranger’s country, away from his homeland and misses his country and spends his day and night in immense sadness. one of the reasons is he has bad dreams about his country. due to revolution and different other problems, ustad saadudeen shpoon like other scholars and poets emigrated and had to face a lot of problems. he grew old and week and got into the trouble of missing the past times. in his poetry, memories of home, village, friends, mother and childhood are seen. therefore, he developed his nostalgic wishes based on internal aspirations which bothered him both while he was awake or in bed in his poetry, the mention of black color is very common. my article is about researching on dreams in one of his poems. dreams mostly come at black (dark) night therefore the three-sided relation of dream, night and black color is worth researching. the verses above also make a mention of dreams. when night comes, everything gets black which does not let the author sleep and bad dreams come to him due to various problems. in the research on colors, psychology of colors discusses various colors and shows the effects of each color on humans and their souls. (since ancient times, the use of color has been common in egypt, india and other places. egyptians used colors in their ancient egyptian temples which benefited the ego and soul of people. they also took the sick people to these places for treatment. the mullahs of egypt believed that colors save lives and that lives have no meaning without colors and they are the colors which have healing power and magic. in china and india (chromo therapy) was very common. even some scholars still believe that each external and internal human organ has an association with a certain type of color which activates that particular organ and unless the color is not seen or felt, the organ’s activity decreases) (zadran, 2010). he says about the color black: زه د شپې له تاریکۍ سره اشنا یم (shpoon, 2019)زه د تورې تروږمۍ سکنی ورور یم *** موږ به د دښتې خاټول بیا سور کړو (shpoon, 2019) خو په زړګي کې بې تور داغ نه وي the concept of the quatrain: the poet says that he is familiar with dark (black) nights. the poet uses ‘black night’ to mean problems and troubles in his life. he adds that he is the full brother of black nights and darkness. the night dreams cause problems for him and he is made of these problems. the poet makes a mention of black color, night is black, dreams come at night and he therefore complains about the mentioned color. reading the poems and poetry of mr. shpoon, we get to know that he is very sad, he misses his country, sometimes he goes to his mother's lap and his mother moves her hands into his hair. he complains about revolution and killings, walks in the gardens of his village, on the fields and on the banks of the streams and misses his childhood. (black is the color of depression. a pashto proverb also proves this, “my heart is black for him.” meaning that i hate him. black color causes depression which is mainly due to the loss of psychological energy. colors are used as symbols in poetry. black color is also a symbol of death. for example, red and green are the colors of happiness, while yellow, gray and black are boring and lifeless colors, which evoke sadness and depression) (kargar, 2016). studies have shown that norway is close to the north pole, and northern norway has long nights in winter, where the depression percentage is higher from southern norway because north norway has longer nights than the nights south norway has. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 36 the mention of black color in shpoon’s poetry shows that he is very disappointed and sad. in addition, black means “no” and “white” means “yes”. black color belongs to negative intention and negativity while white belongs to positive intention and positivity. ustad shpoon does not like night. he therefore does not like black color because bad dreams also come to him in black (dark) night. in his poem namely “refugee dream”, he dreams about going to his house and village. he says: م عالمه که یې څوک راکړي معناخوب وین پروت یم سر مې ایښی د خپل یار په زنګانه سر په بالښت ایښی تش کالبوت په واشنګټن کې و (shpoon, 2019)روح مې په مزو مزو روان په خپل وطن کې و the concept of the above couplets. i dream and can i find someone to interpret it for me. i felt sleepy and put my head on the knee of my friend. in reality, it is night and my head is on the pillow and i am in washington. i am away from my country and i am like a body which has no soul in it and is like an empty body. my soul was enjoying walking because i was in my homeland. the poet dreams about his country and his dreams are the incidents and times lying in unconsciousness and social unconsciousness which bother him and take him to his past in this dreams. in the above verses there is a mention of soul and body. the body is the frame which stops working at the time of sleeping. it is alive, but unable to work. sometimes it performs unconscious things while sleeping. it performs unconscious things during the sleeping time and sometimes, the stored things of social unconsciousness are seen in the dream. sometimes a human has an intention to do something when he or she is awake, but cannot do it due to certain problems. every human has wishes which cannot be fulfilled in the real life. there are also many issues and incidents that humans have experienced in their life and are seen in the dreams. the language of dream is a language of unconsciousness and appears in the form of symbols and colors. ډنډ د شمالي ته شوم انګور میزان وهلي ړچکی شو تاالن پرخو پرېولليتاک شینکي زې کوز تګاو ته الړم د اغوزو لویې ونې پاس وختم غره ته د څېړیو پاڼې پلنې خلک وو، بازار و، شور ماشور و، تله راتله وو نه د ویر وه نښه، نه د غم وه نښانه (shpoon, 2019)خوب وینم عالمه که یې څوک راکړي معنا the concept of the poem: the poet says, i go my home and village, walk under the trees, visit people, and climb up the mountain. there are trees in the mountains which have beautiful weather. there is no fear, no sadness, only happiness everywhere. oh, people, i dream! is there anyone who can interpret my dream it for me? the poet’s dream shows that he goes to his past life in his dreams and his past is present in his inner world which sometimes shows it in his dreams due to external reactions. there is an aspiration for the past in the poem above. nostalgic problems can be noticed in the author. therefore, he mentions his past time memories and aspires to have them, but cannot achieve them. he is away from his homeland and dreams about things which he does not have in reality when he is awake. these situations exist in the inner world of ustad shpoon which is sometimes shown by the certain problems, situations and external senses. he dreams about it when he falls asleep. (dreams are divided into two kinds: positive (good) dreams and negative (bad) dreams. personality of every human can be identified in his dreams. people who have bad https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 37 characters and have committed evil things rather than good things, have bad dreams because their unconsciousness is full of such bad incidents. to prove the points i mentioned above, zoroastrian’s guide, which is considered important in the religion, states that every human should have nice words, deeds and thoughts. it means the thoughts of every human are associated with their deeds and activities and their words are associated with their thoughts and deeds. the thought, deed, character of every human being has an effect on each other) (herawi, 2014). the unconsciousness of every human being has a relation with his/her thinking. when a human has a certain thinking, it is felt in his actions and words and stored in his unconsciousness. furthermore, all his activities are associated with his thinking and his thinking manages his actions. his words also come to existence by his thought which becomes visible in his actions. the dreams of human beings have a strong relationship with their thoughts, words, and actions. what one dreams is a result of his / her thoughts, actions and vision. shpoon has good dreams which show that his past stored conditions were very good and represents his personality. in the end of the poem, he says: خوب مې په وطن کې دی، خوردن مې په وطن کې دی خوب کې چې هم مرمه، ځنکندن مې په وطن کې دی کې دهقبر په وطن کې، جنازه مې په وطن تن مې په وطن کې دی، کپن مې په وطن کې دی ماته تابوت مه جوړوئ، ما ته ګالن مه راوړئ روح مې په وطن کې دی او تن مې په وطن کې دی ګوندې یو شپونکی وطن قبول کړي نذرانه shpoon, 2019))خوب وینم عالمه که یې څوک راکړي معنا the poet says, when i go to bed, i sleep in my country, eat in my country. sometimes i die and my funeral ceremony also starts in my homeland. after my death, i also see my grave in my dream which is also in my country. my shroud is also in my country. my body and soul are both in my country. may my country accept my (shpoonki’s) dead body and my grave! oh people, can you interpret this dream for me! the poet once again goes to his homeland in his dreams and wishes to see his country. he sees his death and life in his country and is not relaxed abroad and in his dreams, he has a dream to see his country. shpoon loves his country and frequently has dreams about his country whose great factor is travelling and being away from his country. he misses his country a lot and has the memories of his past. that is why he sees country in his dreams. it is said that some dreams are called symbolic dreams which cannot be interpreted by everyone. even the dreamer cannot understand it. kings of ancient time used to have dream interpreters for explaining dreams. the second type of dreams is called simple and easy dreams which do not need an interpretation. shpoon’s dreams are vivid and clear. he aspires for his country and misses his home and village. conclusion literature has a connection with psychology. researching about dreams is a new section of pashto literature. many scholars have presented their opinions about dreams, but in a written article, a research has been conducted based on yong’s opinion and dreams of goodness and badness have been mentioned in it. now it is clear that what type of dream ustad shpoon’s selected poem has a connection with. this poem of ustad shpoon is an association with dream and it is proven why people have dreams. what is the reason? where does the dream come from? and what type of dream is that? https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 38 references herawi, s. r. (2014). glimpses at anthropology of zoroastrian and its outcomes of training implications fifth year, the second number, p .2 kargar, m. a. (2016). ghani in the sand palace and give me a river of light, nangarhar: hashimi publishing society, p.241 shpoon, s. (2019). prose collection of saadudeen shpoon, published by kanduz university, p.36. shpoon, s. (2020). only one shpoon. jalalabad: momand publishing organization. p44. shpoon, s. (2019). poetic collection. balkh university, advisor to the president in academic and social affairs, p. 39, 26, 46, 90, 91, 92. shpoon, s. (2019). gems in stones. (ustad shpoon poetic collection). by the efforts of lal pacha, azmon. balkh university, advisor to the president in academic and social affairs, p. 39. zadran, h. (2010). the world of colors. kabul: danish publishing association. p. 20 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 1 the effect of locus of control, cultural intelligence and academic self-efficacy on the academic adjustment among yemeni students in turkey ahmed gamal ahmed gawas phd student department of psychology ankara yildirim beyazit university, turkey e-mail: ahmed.gawas1@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0273-170x received: january 01, 2022 accepted: february 04, 2022 online published: march 01, 2022 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1443 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1443 abstract the current study aims to examine the correlations between both of locus of control, academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. it also seeks to predict academic adjustment from locus of control, academic self-efficacy and cultural intelligence. in addition, the present study aims to examine whether cultural intelligence mediates the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. in this study 262 yemeni students studying in turkish universities participated. a list taken from the rotter's scale was developed to measure the locus of control. college academic self-efficacy scale (cases), cultural intelligence scale (cis) and the student adaptation to college questionnaire (sacq) were used to collect data of study. the results show that there are statistically significant correlations among all the variables of study. results also indicated that academic adjustment was be predicted from academic selfefficacy and locus of control. furthermore, results show that the cultural intelligence did not mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. there are statistically significant differences in academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment due to educational level. there are also differences in academic adjustment due to gender. keywords: locus of control, cultural intelligence, academic self-efficacy, academic adjustment, yemeni students in turkey. jel classification codes: h75. introduction human behavior is determined by a number of factors that guide and explain it (alyas, 2017). sometimes these factors determining human behavior stem from within and depth of the human being, and other times these factors are external and related to the environment and situations mailto:ahmed.gawas1@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 2 rather than they are related to the human being (miller et al., 2003). locus of control and academic self-efficacy are one of the factors affecting an individual's behavior. in addition to cultural intelligence, which has a major role in adaptive behavior of students. locus of control locus of control is one of the basic concepts in personality psychology. it is important to understand human behavior in different life situations, whether they are psychological or social situations (sarhan, 1996). the term of locus of control is one of the most important concepts in social learning theory (rotter, 1966). it refers to an individual's perception of the root causes underlying successes and failures in his or her life (weiner, 2003). an individual can see these causes as internal or external causes responsible for the events in his life (miller et al., 2003). when the individual believes, in most cases, that the reasons responsible for his success and failure are due to his/her own capabilities and result from factors under his control, his/her locus of control is internal (bani-khaled, 2009; miller et al., 2003). but if an individual believes that his/her success and failure is due to something outside his control then his/her locus of control is external (rinn et al., 2014). in other words, the individual who realizes that his success or failure is due to the effort he or she has put in or has not put forth is called a person with an internal locus of control (bani-khaled, 2009). but if the individual always perceives that his success and failures are due to luck or chance, then this individual is called as an individual with an external locus of control. locus of control determines the likelihood that an individual will behave for a particular pattern of behaviors in some situations, as well as his excessive involvement in this or that behavior (april et al., 2012). people with an internal locus of control tend to engage in adaptive behaviors more than people with an external locus of control (naik, 2015). for example, in school exams, if the student explains failure as a result of exerting little effort (internal locus of control), may he or she realize that the increase in effort will cause a positive change in his future results. on the contrary, if the student interprets failure as the result of a difficult test or an unfair teacher (external locus of control), the individual may believe that his failure is due to factors outside his control and may not see any chance of success in the future (choudhury & borooah, 2017). in addition to the locus of control, there is an important role of mental abilities and personality traits as determinants of human behavior. a number of studies have indicated that there is a set of personality traits that are distinguished by individuals over others that make them more effective in communicating and adapting in different cultural milieus. these capabilities and traits are called cultural intelligence (thomas, 2008). cultural intelligence earley and ang (2003) defined cultural intelligence as the ability of a person to adapt and perform his/her tasks effectively in a different cultural context. it includes understanding different cultures and developing a method for interacting with those cultures and acquiring the skills to perform tasks in environments that are culturally different from one's own (dehmeche, 2015). it can be said that cultural intelligence is an integrated process of cultural knowledge and skills related to metacognition, which allows individuals to adapt and shape their culture based on the cultural environment in which they live ((thomas, 2008). some studies indicate that there are four dimensions of cultural intelligence. these dimensions are metacognition, cognition, motivation and behavior (ang & van dyne, 2009; dehmeche, 2015; earley & ang, 2003; shannon & begley, 2008). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 3 metacognition it refers to the mental process that enables the individual to perceive what is going on around him when he is exposed to situations and experiences in different cultures. the source of this ability comes from the individual's understanding of cultural knowledge and his grasp of the skills required to live in that culture (ang & van dyne, 2009; dehmeche, 2015). cognition cognition implies a person's understanding of the similarities and differences between different cultures. this includes general knowledge about social, legal, religious and historical systems about the culture in which an individual lives (dehmeche, 2015; earley & ang, 2003). motivations motivations refer to the reasons that drive an individual to interact with another culture. it greatly influences interaction, learning, and living in a culturally different environment, as well as the individual's feeling of self-assurance that drives him to positive interaction with that culture (shannon & begley, 2008). behavior it refers to the behavioral response and reaction of an individual. this requires an individual to modify some verbal and non-verbal behaviors while communicating with a different cultural environment (earley & ang, 2003; shannon & begley, 2008). the importance of cultural intelligence lies in reducing the use of stereotypes during communication and cultural interaction. cultural intelligence also enhances the adaptation of the individual in multiple cultural contexts (dehmeche, 2015). moreover, cultural intelligence plays a major role in the decision-making process and behavior during the interaction of the individual with people from multiple cultures (shehrani, 2012). the cultural and educational environment contributes to the individual's adaptation to his academic environment. an individual's perceptions of himself and his abilities play a major role in his cultural and academic adjustment (hartini et al., 2017). the individual's perception of his self-efficacy is one of the main determinants of his behavior in various life situations. this prompted a number of researchers to study the impact of cultural and environmental variables on these perceptions (alersan, 2017; harter, 1982). it was found that positive academic self-efficacy is such an important requirement for a student who lives in an environment culturally different from his society (hartini et al., 2017). academic self-efficacy the term of self-efficacy refers to an individual's beliefs about his capabilities and abilities to succeed in performing certain tasks (betz, 2004). sharf (2000) holds that academic self-efficacy refers to an individual's expectation that he is capable of performing educational tasks that achieve desirable results in a given situation. students with high academic self-efficacy believe that they can undertake a learning behavior at a specific time. but students who are characterized by having low academic self-efficacy see themselves as incapable of performing educational tasks that have positive effects and results on their academic achievement (sharf, 2000). academic self-efficacy means beliefs that a student forms about himself and his ability to organize and implement the actions necessary to succeed in the academic tasks (cort, 2007). assaid (2001) adds that academic self-efficacy is one of the most important components of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 4 character strength. it occupies an important position in a student's motivation to undertake an academic work or activity. in addition to its ability to increase the student's ability to challenge and face difficulties in academic work (alersan, 2017). there are several studies that have found a correlation between academic self-efficacy and students' academic adjustment (baddareen & ghaith, 2013; elias & loomis, 2000; hirose et al., 1999; thomas et al., 2009). it was found that high academic self-efficacy has effect positively on academic adjustment of students. academic adjustment academic adjustment is one of the most important indicators of students' mental health (tinto, 1996). the adjustment process involves a set of behavioral reactions or responses which the individual modifies by them his psychological structure or behavior to match surrounding circumstances or with new experiences (redwan, 2012). academic adjustment refers to the degree which a student is successful in dealing with various educational requirements, such as motivation, performance and satisfaction with the academic environment (baker & siryk, 1999). it is a process that involves psychological and behavioral change as individuals strive to organize themselves to achieve balance in a new academic environment. they make continuous efforts to achieve the learning requirements and fulfill academic tasks (quan et al., 2014). many international students experience a culture shock when moving to a new country and culture, whether this shock is in the level or quality of the new cultural environment. they may also face difficulties adapting and integrating into the new academic environment. these difficulties, if not overcome, may lead to the emergence of some psychological and educational disturbances among students (valka, 2015). academic adaptation requires student to try to interact and communicate with elements of the academic environment (teachers, curriculum, colleagues, etc.) in a positive way. this calls for the student to develop his abilities and skills in learning techniques, tests and the language of communication with teachers (rienties et al., 2012). the student is also expected to be more flexible in dealing with the new environment. in addition to developing a number of new behaviors and skills through which he can adapt to the new academic environment (mclean & ransom, 2005). significance of study in recent years, turkey has attracted a large number of yemeni students to study in turkish universities. statistical reports issued by the council of higher education in turkey for 2020 indicated an increase in the number of yemeni students studying in turkish universities to 450% during the period 2016-2020. this increase in the number of students was accompanied by emergence some problems of adaptation and adjustment to the new environment. especially the problems of academic adjustment and its impact on personal and social traits. for this reason, this study attempts to study the relationship between the locus of control, academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adaptation among yemeni students in turkey. the importance of the current study stems from the importance of its variables. moreover, it is the first study according to the researcher's knowledge that deals with the locus of control, academic self-efficiency, cultural intelligence and their relationship to academic adjustment. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 5 aims of current study the current study aims to examine the correlations between both of locus of control, academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. the current study also seeks to predict academic adjustment from the locus of control, academic self-efficiency and cultural intelligence. in addition, the present study aims to examine whether cultural intelligence mediates the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. it also seeks to test the differences in the variables of study by gender, educational level and number of living years in turkey. questions of current study  is there a correlation between variables of the study (locus of control, cultural intelligence, academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment)?  can academic adjustment be predicted by locus of control, cultural intelligence and academic self-efficacy?  does cultural intelligence mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment?  is there an effect of demographic variables on variables of study (locus of control, cultural intelligence, academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment)? method participants in current study, 262 yemeni students studying in various turkish universities participated. male participants are 199 (76%), and 63 are female (24%). the mean age of participants is 24.71. there are 180 of the participants are studying at the undergraduate level (68.7%), 54 participants are studying at the master’s level (20.6%) and 28 participants at the ph.d level (10.7%). instruments in order to collect the data of the current research, the following measures were used. list of locus of control to measure the locus of control (internal-external), a list taken from the rotter's locus of control scale was developed. this list contains 29 general situations and behaviors and each situation has two ways to deal with it. one indicates an internal locus of control and the other indicates an external locus of control. there are 6 items in the scale that do not indicate the locus of control; they are stranger items to prevent the modularity of the response. the response is made on the scale by giving one score if the student chooses the situation that indicates the external locus of control. but, if the situation that indicates the internal locus of control was chosen the response is not given any score. a high score on the scale refers to an external locus of control, while a low score indicates an internal locus of control. this scale was translated to arabic by aylas (2017). the reliability of the scale was 0.66 by using test-retest method, and the value of cornbrash's alpha was 0.67. cultural intelligence scale this scale was developed by van dyne et al. (2009). it contains 20 items that measure four factors of cultural intelligence (metacognition, cognition, motivations and behavior). the response on the scale was by 7 points according to likert-type. this scale was adapted to arabic by shehrani https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 6 (2012). the reliability of the scale was 0.76 by using split-half method, and the value of cronbach's alpha was 0.75. a high score on the scale indicates a high level of cultural intelligence. college academic self-efficacy scale (cases) this scale was developed by owen and fromen (1988). it contains 33 items that measure the academic adjustment of students. the response on the scale is by five points according to likerttype. the scale includes positive and negative items and the rating points are reversed in negative items. this scale was adapted to arabic by baddareen and ghaith (2013). the reliability of the scale was 0.84 by using test-retest method, and the value of cronbach's alpha was 0.89. a high score on the scale indicates a high score of academic self-efficacy. the student adaptation to college questionnaire (sacq) sacq was used to measure the academic adjustment of students. this scale was developed by baker and sirke (1999). it contains 20 items that measure the academic adjustment of students. the response on the scale is by 6 points according to likert-type. the scale includes positive and negative items, the rating points are reversed in negative items. this scale was translated to arabic by baddareen and ghaith (2013). the reliability of the scale was 0.81 by using test-retest method, and the value of cronbach's alpha was 0.85. a high score on the scale indicates a high score of academic adjustment. demographic information form some demographic information were collected using the demographic information form. it contains information regarding the participants like gender, age, years of living in turkey and how many languages the student knows. procedures initially, an application for ethical approval was submitted to ethical committee at ankara yıldırım beyazıt university. after obtaining the approval, the yemeni students union in turkey was contacted in order to reach the participants in an easy way. the study scales were sent to the participants online due to the quarantine conditions of the corona pandemic. finally, the data were prepared for analysis. data analysis the research data were analyzed by the statistical package for social sciences 26th version and jamovi 1.6.12 version. descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and frequencies were used. in addition to analysis of variance, t-tests, pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis were calculated to find the research results. in all results, the 0.05 significant level was used as a statistical criterion for interpretation the results. results correlation between variables of study in order to test the correlation between variables of study pearson correlation coefficient was calculated. results in table (1) show that there are statistically significant correlations between all variables of study (locus of control, cultural intelligence, academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment). positive correlations were found between academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. moreover, there are negative correlations between locus of control and https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 7 other variables (academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment). that means that students with external locus of control have low scores in academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. however, students with internal locus of control have high scores in academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. table 1. correlation coefficients between variables of study variables (1) (2) (3) (4) 1. locus of control 1 2. academic self-efficacy -.207-** 1 3. cultural intelligence -.130-* .462** 1 4. academic adjustment -.210-** .600** .233** 1 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level. *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level. predicting academic adjustment in order to predict academic adjustment from locus of control, cultural intelligence and academic self-efficacy, multiple linear regression using enter method was conducted. the result of regression in table 2 indicated that the overall model was a statistically significant predictor of academic adjustment, f(3,258) = 52.623, p > 0.05, r2 = 0.380. results show that there is a significant positive relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment, β = 0.602, t(262) = 10.724, p < 0.05. on the other hand, there is a significant negative relationship between locus of control and academic adjustment, β = –.131, t(262) = –2.621, p < 0.05. however, the cultural intelligence was not significantly related to academic adjustment, β = –.062, t(262) = –1.118, p < 0.05. that means that both locus of control and academic self-efficacy were significant predictors of academic adjustment. table 2. the relationship between academic adjustment and predictor variables predictor variables β t sig. (constant) 6.176 .000 locus of control -.131-2.621.009 cultural intelligence -.062-1.118.265 academic self-efficacy .602 10.724 .000 the mediating effect of cultural intelligence to determine whether cultural intelligence mediates the relationship between academic selfefficacy and academic adjustment, the mediation estimates were tested. the mediation estimates and percent of mediation for indirect, direct and total of the effect were showed in table 3. results showed that direct effect of academic self-efficacy on academic adjustment was significant effect, p < 0.05. but, the indirect effect academic self-efficacy on academic adjustment with cultural intelligence was not significant effect, p> 0.05. that means that cultural intelligence does not mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 8 table 3. mediation estimates effect label estimate se z p % mediation indirect a × b -0.0338 0.0334 -1.01 0.311 4.02 direct c 0.8089 0.0718 11.27 < .001 95.98 total c + a × b 0.7751 0.0638 12.15 < .001 100.00 effect of demographic variables differences on locus of control to test differences on locus of control by demographic variables, factorial anova was used. results show that there are not differences on locus of control due to gender, education level or living years in turkey (see table 4). table 4. factorial anova result of locus of control variables sum of squares df mean square f p η² gender 36.4 1 36.44 2.536 0.113 0.009 education level 46.9 2 23.47 1.633 0.198 0.012 living years in turkey 19.3 4 4.82 0.335 0.854 0.005 gender ✻ edu. level 107.0 2 53.49 3.722 0.026 0.028 gender ✻ living years 76.2 4 19.05 1.326 0.261 0.020 edu. level ✻ living years 110.2 7 15.75 1.096 0.367 0.029 gender ✻ edu. ✻ living years 60.8 5 12.17 0.846 0.518 0.016 residuals 3392.1 236 14.37 differences on academic self-efficacy to test differences on academic self-efficacy by demographic variables, factorial anova was used. result in table 5 shows that there are differences on academic self-efficacy due to education level, f(2,236) = 4.865, p > 0.05, η² = 0.037. post hoc comparisons using the tukey hsd test indicated that the mean score for the ph.d students (m= 3.88, sd = 0.45) was significantly higher than bachelor's students (m= 3.47, sd= 0.59). however, the mean score of master's students (m= 3.60, sd= 0.56) did not significantly differ from mean score of bachelor and ph.d students. table 5. factorial anova result of academic self-efficacy variables sum of squares df mean square f p η² gender 0.791 1 0.7905 2.400 0.123 0.009 education level 3.205 2 1.6027 4.865 0.009 0.037 living years in turkey 1.658 4 0.4144 1.258 0.287 0.019 gender ✻ edu. level 0.109 2 0.0543 0.165 0.848 0.001 gender ✻ living years 0.445 4 0.1113 0.338 0.852 0.005 edu. level ✻ living years 2.219 7 0.3170 0.962 0.460 0.025 gender ✻ edu. ✻ living years 1.287 5 0.2573 0.781 0.564 0.015 residuals 77.744 236 0.3294 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 9 differences on cultural intelligence to test differences on cultural intelligence by demographic variables, factorial anova was used. result shows that there are not differences on cultural intelligence by gender, education level or living years in turkey (see table 6). table 6. factorial anova result of cultural intelligence variables sum of squares df mean square f p η² gender 0.0762 1 0.0762 0.0877 0.767 0.000 education level 1.6804 2 0.8402 0.9673 0.382 0.007 living years in turkey 7.6149 4 1.9037 2.1916 0.071 0.033 gender ✻ edu. level 0.5068 2 0.2534 0.2917 0.747 0.002 gender ✻ living years 4.5769 4 1.1442 1.3172 0.264 0.020 edu. level ✻ living years 6.3017 7 0.9002 1.0364 0.406 0.027 gender ✻ edu. ✻ living years 8.1107 5 1.6221 1.8674 0.101 0.035 residuals 205.01 236 0.8687 differences on academic adjustment to test differences on academic adjustment by demographic variables, factorial anova was used. result in table 7 shows that there are differences on academic adjustment due to education level, f(2,236) = 11.269, p > 0.05, η² = 0.047. also, there are significant differences between female students (m= 4.36, sd= 0.69) and male students (m= 3.95, sd= 0.74). post hoc comparisons using the tukey hsd test indicated that the mean score for the ph.d students (m= 4.76, sd = 0.64) was significantly higher than mean score of bachelor's students (m= 3.95, sd= 0.77) and mean score of master's students (m= 4.06, sd= 0.58). however, the mean score of master's students did not significantly differ from mean score of bachelor's students. table 7. factorial anova result of academic adjustment variables sum of squares df mean square f p η² gender 8.059 1 8.059 16.620 < .001 0.055 education level 10.930 2 5.465 11.269 < .001 0.074 living years in turkey 0.606 4 0.152 0.313 0.869 0.004 gender ✻ edu. level 1.916 2 0.958 1.976 0.141 0.013 gender ✻ living years 2.544 4 0.636 1.312 0.266 0.017 edu. level ✻ living years 5.496 7 0.785 1.619 0.131 0.037 gender ✻ edu. ✻ living years 3.543 5 0.709 1.461 0.203 0.024 residuals 114.44 236 0.485 discussions the results of the current study found that there is a significant correlation among the locus of control, academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment. this result is consistent with the results of sagone and de caroli (2014), thompson et al. (2020) and drago et al. (2018), which found a significant correlation between the locus of control and self-efficacy. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 10 the current results are similar to the results of the studies of nguyen et al. (2018) and hu et al. (2018) that found a correlation between academic self-efficacy and cultural intelligence. in addition, results are similar to the results of the study of cazan (2012), poyrazli et al. (2002) and thomas et al. (2009) that found a relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. the results of the current study can be interpreted in the way that the students who have an internal control center have a higher level of self-efficacy because they see themselves as being able to overcome the difficulties they face. individuals' perceptions of themselves help them identify the underlying causes of many successes and failures in their lives, thus their adaptation to the environment which they live in. in addition, cultural intelligence helps individuals to integrate and adapt in their academic life, especially when students move to another country to study. the role of cultural intelligence is not limited to increasing the individual's knowledge about the new cultural, but also it goes to the individual's response to adaptive behaviors and positive interaction with the new culture. therefore, the cultural intelligence may help international students adjust to the new environment. in addition, individuals' positive perceptions of their academic abilities play an important role in their academic adjustment, not only through adaptive behaviors, but also it helps students face academic difficulties and challenges. results show that academic adjustment was predicted from locus of control and academic self-efficacy. this result is similar to the results of the studies of drago et al. (2018) and ogunmakin and akomolafe (2013). the present results support the results of the study of ward et al. (2011) which concluded that culture intelligence is not a predictor of academic adjustment. however, this result contradicts the result of shu et al. (2017), which concluded that cultural intelligence is a predictor of academic adjustment. current results indicate that academic self-efficacy is more predictive of academic adjustment. this finding can be explained by the fact that adjustment in general is related to a person's perceptions of the environment in which they live. this reinforces the importance of an individual's perception of the reasons leading to his academic adjustment. the individual's perception of the causes affecting his adaptation contributes to the way he deals with the elements of the new environment. this means that the degree of an individual's adaptation to his environment can be increased by enhancing his self-efficacy, in addition to supporting the individual in focusing on the subjective causes that help him increase his internal locus of control. the current result did not support the mediation effect of cultural intelligence on the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. that means that academic self-efficacy directly affects academic adjustment. cultural intelligence plays an auxiliary role, not a mediator between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. this can be explained by the fact that cultural intelligence is concerned with the capabilities of the individual and his employment in cultural communication more than the individual's perceptions about himself. thus cultural intelligence contributes to academic adaptation differently from academic self-efficacy. this explains why there is a correlation between them. in addition, academic self-efficacy is related to individual's perceptions of himself more than with the cultural environment. the current results showed that there are statistically significant differences on academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment attributable to educational level. these results are consistent with the results of study of altunsoy et al. (2010), johnson (2011) and satici and can (2016), which concluded that there are differences in academic self-efficacy attributable to educational level. however, the current results are not similar with results of study of kyalo and chumba (2011), which concluded that there are no differences in academic adjustment attributable https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 11 to educational level. this result can be explained by the fact that when student advances in educational levels his experiences become more and he acquires the skills that enhance his selfconfidence and his view toward himself. this is consistent with schunk's (2003) finding that the academic self-efficacy was influenced by the experiences of the individual more than other psychological concepts such as self-concept. the present results indicated that there are statistically significant differences on academic adjustment attributable to gender. female students were more adjusted than male students. these results are consistent with the results of study of kiang et al. (2012) and sanchez et al. (2005), which concluded that there are differences in academic adjustment due to gender. this can be explained by the fact that most of yemeni female students in turkey represent the elite of female students. the culture of yemeni society does not allow a girl to travel outside her city to study, let alone outside the country. this means that the female participates in current study have overcome many difficulties to continue their education. this, in turn, helped them cope better. in addition, some male students are working to cover study expenses, while most study expenses of female students are covered by the family or have scholarship. conclusion in this study, the correlations between both of locus of control, academic self-efficacy, cultural intelligence and academic adjustment among yemeni students in turkey were examined. the current results found that there are statistically significant correlations between all variables of study. academic self-efficacy and locus of control were predictors of academic adjustment, while cultural intelligence was not a good predictor of academic adjustment. cultural intelligence did not mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment. it was found that there are differences in academic self-efficacy and academic adjustment attributable to educational level. also, there are differences in academic adjustment due to gender. however, there were no differences in the study variables attributed to the number of living years in turkey. limitations in this study, there are some limitations. it is not easy to generalize the current results as the number of participants in the current study represents only 7% of the total number of yemeni students in turkey. academic adjustment was measured as one factor in the current study. it will be good in future studies to deal with more than one dimension in academic adaptation (e.g. adjustment to specialization, adjustment to the academic environment). in addition, there are some factors related to academic adjustment that were not addressed in the current study, such as satisfaction with specialization. suggestions for future studies, it is suggested to study the causal relationship between the variables covered in the current study. it is suggested to conduct a cross-cultural study in the academic adjustment of international students in turkey, in addition to studying the influence of some cultural factors on academic self-efficacy, such as foreign language proficiency and cultural intelligence. it will be a good idea to develop a new scale of academic self-efficacy that includes transcultural factors that contribute to an individual's perceptions of their academic abilities. author contributions conceptualization: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas data curation: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 11, no. 1; 2022 12 formal analysis: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas funding acquisition: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas investigation: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas methodology: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas project administration: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas resources: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas software: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas supervision: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas validation: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas visualization: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas writing – original draft: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas writing – review & editing: ahmed gamal ahmed gawas conflict of interest statement the author declares that he has no competing interests. references alersan, s. r. 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(2013). human motivation. psychology press. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.4135/9781452274942.n18 american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 17-22 17 social science research aijssr vol 11 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa the tasks of vietnam women’s union at the grassroots level dinh van chi (a)1 (a) faculty of party building, ho chi minh city cadre academy, ho chi minh city, vietnam; e-mail: dinhvanchi84@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 01 january 2022 accepted: 20 february 2022 online publication: 12 march 2022 keywords: task, women’s union, women grassroots level jel classification codes: h8 a b s t r a c t vietnam women’s union (vwu) was an organization founded in 1930. its history is closely attached to our country’s history for national independence and development. the objective of this study is to find out about the tasks of vietnam women's union at the grassroots level in the new situation, based on the hypothesis: the vietnam women's union at the grassroots level carrying out women's work must be compatible with each object and region, promoting the spirit of mastery, potential, creativity and the highest contribution ability of women from all walks of life, contributing to the great strength of national unity to develop the country development. with this objective, the study focuses on clarifying the following issues: 1/ the propaganda, education, and mobilization of women; 2/ the union participate in the formulation, social criticism, and supervision of the implementation of laws, policies, and policies on gender equality; 3/ the union mobilizes and organizes women to participate in economic development, sustainable poverty reduction, and environmental protection; 4/ mobilizing and supporting women to build happy and sustainable families; 5/ building and developing a good association organization; 6/ participating in building the party, government, front and mass organizations. the author has used scientific research methods such as analysis and synthesis, deductive and inductive, abstraction and generalization, history, and comparison to come to general conclusions of the study. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction in modern society, women are highly valued. that is reflected not only in official documents of our party and state but also in social life. currently, women have many favorable conditions for study, training, work, and promotion equal to men. women have a crucial role in the progress of society, as k. marx generalized: those who know history realize that it is impossible to fix society without the help of women. seeing the thoughts and actions of women, they know how progressive society is (engels, 1972) speaking of soviet power and the status of women, v.i. lenin affirmed: there cannot be complete "freedom" unless women are liberated from the privileges afforded specifically for "men" according to the law. “as long as women have not been given the right to freely participate in political life in general and entitled to take over an office, it will be impossible to talk about socialism and a sustainable democracy (lenin, 1981) president ho chi minh also pointed out: “to mention women is to mention half of society, if women are not free, nearly half of humanity will not be free" and "if women are not liberated, socialism is only built half” (ho chi minh, 2000) in nation-building and defense, vietnamese women hold an important role and position. women's liberation and comprehensive development are central goals of the vietnamese revolution, which has a direct and lasting influence on developing the country. nurturing women's forces, promoting their strength, and taking care of all aspects of women's development is a regular and key task in every revolutionary period. in particular, in the current period, strengthening the party's work of mobilizing women is a requirement of the cause of national renewal and the comprehensive development of women. women's mobilization is an integral part of mass mobilization to mobilize all women in the country, contributing to a powerful force, effectively implementing guidelines, policies, and laws of the party and state, tasks of organizations, 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0002-1354-6999 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1651 to cite this article: chi, d. v. (2022). the tasks of vietnam women’s union at the grassroots level. american international journal of social science research, 11(1), 17-22. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1651 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1651 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1354-6999 chi, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 17-22 18 and mass organizations in the political system. women's mobilization is associated with the role of women in society, with class liberation, national liberation, and the construction of socialism. therefore, mobilizing women is an important political task of the communist party of vietnam. through the revolutionary period, our party has attached great importance to mobilizing women, taking care of, educating, and encouraging women of all strata to struggle, making great victories of the nation. in vietnam, women account for more than 50% of the total population. vietnamese women have a tradition of being "heroic, indomitable, loyal, and courageous." women participate in almost all areas of social life, especially in the health and education sectors. vietnamese women have many good and noble qualities such as patriotism, intelligence, diligence, patience, and kindness. nowadays, more and more women are of reproductive age. besides, there is still a part of vietnamese women who carry heavy psychological inferiority, resignation, lack of confidence, so they suffer a lot of disadvantages in work and family life. (communist party of vietnam, 2013) the market mechanism and the industrialization process, on the one hand, have a positive impact. on the other hand, many social problems have arisen directly related to women. women face up with many difficulties and challenges when they perform the role of mother, the first teacher of people in the changing social and family conditions in vietnam. moral qualities and some good traditional values are somewhat lost, and a pragmatic lifestyle tends to develop in some women. the rate of abortion among adolescent girls and hiv/aids infection among women and girls is increasing. domestic violence, prostitution, trafficking in women and children, and marrying a foreign husband for personal gain are complicated. discrimination against women and girls still exists in many forms. the percentage of women participating in leadership and management is low, not commensurate with the capacity and development of the female workforce. the source of female cadres is short in some areas, the percentage of female cadres has decreased. women's work has weaknesses. leadership orientations, policies, and methods of women's mobilization are still lacking in specificity, not suitable for each object, region, and have not met new requirements promptly. from theory and practice, it shows that the research on "works of the vietnam women's union at grassroots level" is of great importance to the party, which based on the position and leading role of women in society, class liberation, national liberation, and the construction of socialism today in vietnam. literature review vietnam women's union the vietnam women's union is a socio-political organization in the political system with legal status, representing the legitimate rights and interests of all classes of vietnamese women. it strives for the development of women and gender equality. the union is a member of the vietnam fatherland front, a member of the international federation of democratic women, and the asean confederation of women's organizations (the secretariat of communist party of vietnam, 2018) in clause 2, article 9, the 2013 constitution: “vietnam trade union, vietnam farmers’ union, ho chi minh communist youth union, vietnam women’s union, and vietnam veterans’ association are socio-political organizations established voluntarily representing and protecting the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of their members; together with other member organizations of the front to coordinate and unify actions in the vietnam fatherland front.” (socialist republic of vietnam, the constitution 2013) under feudalism and imperialism, women were oppressed, exploited, and many injustices who wanted to be free and ready to follow the revolution. in the period 1930-1936: the liberation women's organization gradually formed, attracting many women to participate in the climax of the revolutionary struggle (typically the nghe tinh soviets). the organization propagated and mobilized women to join in the struggle for economic rights, improve living standards, and fight against the oppression of the feudal empire. in the period 1936-1938, at the request of the revolution, the resolution of the conference of the central committee of the communist party of indochina in august 1937 on the work of mobilizing women set the task of anti-fascism and anti-war in a public and lawful manner (ho chi minh national academy of politics, 2018). therefore, the women's revolutionary organization was changed to the democratic women's union. the union propagated the party's line and viewpoint on women's liberation, equality between men and women, and organized activities associated with women's professions to fight for freedom and democracy, and women's rights, such as the friendship association, the national language propagation association. in the period 1939-1941, world war ii broke out. the party advocates: "mobilizing women to organize anti-war women's associations, relief, and security associations, to help each other fight imperialist wars and claim peace". in keeping up with the situation, the society took the name anti-imperial women's association. the association has mobilized women to participate in demonstrations, set up relief and security associations, participate in the fight against the capture of soldiers with the slogans against the imperialist war, for peace, and war compensation. in the 1941-1945 period, the women's union for national salvation was established. under the leadership of the party, the women's union for national salvation mobilized all classes of women to join the viet minh front, and national salvation organizations to fight the french, expel the japanese, build and protect revolutionary bases. women are a powerful force, making contributions to the victory of the august revolution in 1945. on october 20, 1946, the vietnam women's union was officially established, including many women's organizations, of which the women's union for national salvation is the major organization, leading the women's movement throughout the country, contributing to the great victory of the resistance war against the french (1946 1954) (central committee for mass mobilization, 2006). on march 8, 1961, the women's union for the liberation of south vietnaman independent branch organization of the vietnam women's union was established. ms. nguyen thi dinh was elected as the president of the union. in 1976, the women's union for the liberation of south vietnam and the vietnam women's union merged into a unified chi, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 17-22 19 organizationthe vietnam women's union. up to now, the vietnam women's union has grown steadily. it has become the core socio-political organization, contributing to the victory of the vietnamese revolution, and progress in the process to create an equal status for vietnamese women. after nearly 90 years of growth and development, the vietnam women's union has organized 12 national congresses of women's delegates. each congress is a historical milestone, marking the continuous development of the vietnamese women's movement. the women's union has a crucial role in encouraging women to be self-reliant and improve their understanding of gender, laws, and knowledge. it also has the function of inspection and supervision of implementing the constitution, laws, and state policies related to the rights and lives of women and girls to create conditions for women to entitle equality and development. it has guided and helped women to understand child-rearing, preserve the moral values and good traditions of vietnamese women, and organize prosperous, equal, and progressive family living. it has built and consolidated strong associations at all levels, training and fostering union cadres, introducing virtuous and talented women to join the party's leadership agencies at all levels, etc. it has united with women from other countries, progressive organizations, and individuals in the region and around the world for equality, development, and peace. resolution no.11-nq/tw on women's work in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country affirms that "promoting the great role and potential of women in the cause of industrialization and modernization, building and defending the fatherland, raising the status of women, realizing gender equality in all fields of politics, economy, culture, and society are among the important tasks and goals of the vietnamese revolution in the new period”. the purpose of the union is to work for gender equality and women development, protect the legitimate rights and interests of women; actively contribute to the cause of building and defending the socialist republic of vietnam for rich people, strong country, democracy, justice, and civilization (vietnam women's union, 2017) the union operates on the principles of voluntariness, democracy, union, and unity of action. voluntariness is shown in the willingness, self-discipline, and actively participating in the activities of the union. democracy means that each member has the right to participate in discussing the general affairs of the union, and they may stand for election, nominate, elect, and participate in voting according to the law and the union's charter. it is a group of women from all walks of life, regardless of class, age, region, ethnicity, or religion, joining the union to strive for a common goal. the principle of democratic centralism in the activities of the leading bodies of the union at all levels: the leadership bodies of the women's unions at all levels are established by-election, implementing the principle of collective leadership and individual responsibility; the minority subordinates to the majority, the juniors subordinates to superiors, individuals subordinates to the organization. women's mobilization work at the grassroots level in the new situation resolution no. 11-nq/tw of the 10th politburo on women's work in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country stated that it is necessary to promote the role and great potential of women in the cause of industrialization, modernization, national building, and defense. raising the status of women, realizing gender equality in all fields of politics, economy, culture, and society is one of the tasks and goals of the vietnamese revolution in the new period. at the same time, it is necessary to take care of women in all aspects, to pay full attention to their legitimate rights and interests so that women have conditions to perform well their roles as citizens, workers, mothers, and first teachers. building and firmly developing a contingent of female cadres commensurate with the crucial role of women is an objective requirement and content in the party's cadre work strategy. women's work is the responsibility of the whole political system, society, and family. in which the core of leadership is the party committees at all levels, the direct responsibility belongs to the state management agencies at all levels with the role of the vietnam women's union at all levels (communist party of vietnam, 2007) in terms of goals, by 2020, women will improve their qualifications in all aspects. women have educational and professional qualifications to meet the requirements of industrialization, modernization, and international economic integration. striving for our country becomes one of the most progressive countries with gender equality achievements in the region. the document of the 12th part national congress determined: raising the level of all aspects and the material and spiritual life of women; well implement gender equality, create conditions for women to develop talents. it is necessary to research, supplement, and perfect laws and policies for female employees, create conditions and opportunities for women to perform well their roles and responsibilities in the family and society. resolutely fight against social evils and strictly punish acts of violence, trafficking, and infringing upon women's dignity (communist party of vietnam, 2011). directive no. 21-ct/tw of the secretariat (january 20, 2018) on promoting women's work in the new situation requires party committees, party organizations, fatherland front, and other socio-political organizations to focus on performing well the task (the secretariat of communist party of vietnam, 2018). it is necessary to raise awareness about women's work and gender equality. building, perfecting, and well implementing the legal system and policies on gender equality, creating conditions for the development of women. it is critical to build a prosperous, equal, progressive, and happy family. it is essential to develop the image of vietnamese women with health, knowledge, professional skills, dynamism, creativity, cultural lifestyle, and benevolence. it needs to build a team of highly qualified female scientists, leaders, and managers to meet the requirements of accelerating the cause of industrialization and modernization. building and consolidating the really strong vietnam women's union gave full play to its pivotal role in women's mobilization. chi, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 17-22 20 results and discussion propaganda, education and mobilization of women propagating and raising awareness about the role of women, the importance of women's work, law on gender equality, law on prevention and control of household violence. through branches of associations, women's groups are gathered in the form and model "happy family" clubs, "no third child", "family without children with impaired nutrition", "families without violence" at all levels, the association regularly communicates, educates and mobilizes women, families and communities to raise awareness about gender equality and domestic violence prevention, implementation of population/family planning, practice of reproductive health care, child rearing, prevention of social evils. propaganda and awareness raising about the role of the family, the responsibility of the family women, men and family members in building a prosperous, equal, progressive and happy family; popularize and mobilize women and family members to implement the law and policies on marriage and family; preserve and promote the good qualities of vietnamese families. through all levels of party committees, authorities, socio-political organizations, cadres, party members, people of all classes, mass media agencies, political schools and schools of the national system carry out propaganda, education and mobilization of women to actively participate in activities at agencies, units and localities. participating in the formulation, social criticism and supervision of the implementation of laws, and policies on gender equality the social criticism of the vietnam women's union towards laws and policies on gender equality in the making of scientific and practical observations and assessments that clarify the nature from a gender perspective directly related to the decision of a party's undertakings and policies and the formulation of legal documents to ensure gender equality. resolution no. 11nq/tw dated april 27, 2007, on women's work in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country identifies the vietnam women's union as a representative socio-political organization that represents and protect the legitimate rights and interests of women, proactively to advise and propose to the party and state on guidelines and policies related to women, well-performing the function of supervision and social criticism. through social criticism activities, the vietnam women's union provides more scientific and objective grounds and arguments to help the agency draft policies and laws under natural and social characteristics of women and men. the content of social criticism should focus on issues such as policies for mothers and fathers; rights and responsibilities for achieving gender equality goals of agencies and organizations; rights and responsibilities of the vietnam women's union. in the process of social criticism, it is necessary to ensure the leadership of the party, close coordination with relevant agencies and organizations; comply with the provisions of the constitution and laws, international commitments, and social ethics, especially promoting the participation and contributions of women from all walks of life. at the same time, it must be done in an open, transparent, objective, and honest manner. social criticism and supervision of the implementation of laws, and policies on gender equality are important tasks of the vietnam women's union. mobilizing and organizing the women's union to participate in economic development, sustainable poverty reduction, and environmental protection according to the traditional concept, the husband is the "pillar" in the family, taking the main responsibility for making income for the family. the wife mainly takes care of house cleaning, child-rearing, housework, health care, and meals for her husband and children. today, that traditional concept has changed. the role of women is not only limited to cooking but the second "pillar" in the family, along with men sharing economic responsibilities and well-organized material life for the family. in modern society, the role of women is assessed as equal to that of men, that is: “both men and women build houses and homes”. the pivotal role of women in the family economy is reflected in two aspects: direct labor and production to generate income and management of the family's resources. the income-generating activities that women participate in to share with their husbands in the family's economic burden are diverse and abundant, including working as a wage earner; cultivation, animal husbandry, trading, service, handicraft production. not only working on the spot, but tens of thousands of rural women have also had to move away from their homeland, husband and children, migrate to more developed economic areas, both at home and abroad, endure material and spiritual difficulties to work to earn a living to improve family life. facing complicated developments in the market economy, weather, epidemics, etc., women are still active and proactive in income-generating activities, contributing to the family economy, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, increasing family income, and getting rich legitimately (thuan & hương, 2008) the movements "women help each other to develop the family economy", "women help each other to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty", "women start a business"... are held every year and have helped hundreds of thousands of women's families to get out of poverty. with these practical activities, the union has supported and created conditions for poor women and families to get out of poverty and develop a sustainable family economy. women's unions at all levels coordinate with bank for social policies, bank for agriculture and rural development, microfinance programs, and women's savings groups. they collaborated with the agriculture and rural development sector to provide credit to support capital and guide production knowledge for millions of women, to help them increase their incomes, reduce hunger and poverty (vietnam women's union, 2017) mobilizing and supporting women to build happy and sustainable families in addition to directly participating in productive labor to generate income, women also organize, encourage, and create conditions for family members to participate in economic activities, increase income for the family and ensure the role of the person holding money for the family. especially women show the role of the person taking care of the health of family members. health care, housework, meeting nutritional needs, reproducing labor power are activities aimed at ensuring the chi, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 17-22 21 elderly, children, the sick, and all members of the family are in good health. without care and nurturing, children will not be able to develop their capacities. elderly people will not live long and have healthy lives. without care, including physical and mental care, adults will not be healthy enough to study and work well. many researchers and social managers especially emphasize the meaning of the function of reproduction of labor power, considering it a very essential factor for sustainable development. although many women participate in social work and are as successful as men, in general, housework and family management are still mainly women's jobs. as the organizer of the family's material life, the woman must first well manage the family's regular and irregular sources of income. women need to plan and implement plans for collection, spending, and saving of those income sources; make full use of family resources; distribute labor to members in a reasonable way, while promoting their potential and creativity, ensuring the health of members, and ensuring gender equality in the division of labor; at the same time knowing how to coordinate resources to meet the needs of family members. building and developing a strong union it is determined that building a strong union is the central task, the mode of operation with the motto "strong direction to the grassroots", "where there are women, there are union activities". the improvement of the quality and operational efficiency of a union at all levels has contributed to maintaining security and building a strong grassroots political system. improving the quality of grassroots unions; strengthening innovation in content and mode of operation, diversifying forms of gathering, and attracting members. it is necessary to propaganda for members and women to understand the meaning and role of the union; their rights and obligations when participating in union activities; disseminating directives, resolutions of the party, policies, and laws of the state; propagating the good qualities "confidence self-respect loyalty courage" of vietnamese women in the period of industrialization and modernization of the country. regularly organize sessions to share experiences and solutions to attract women aged 18 and over to join the union; social mobilization and organize activities to take care of the material and spiritual life of members and women; promptly resolve the members' grievances, organize appropriate and practical movements and promote the internal resources of members in the movement implementation. participating in building the party, government, front and mass organizations contributing to building the party and government is one of the important functions of the union. decision 218-qd/tw dated 12/12/2013 of the politburo on the participation of the vietnam fatherland front, socio-political organizations, and people in building the party and the government. the union has performed this decision quite well. it has been creative and flexible in advising and directing; selecting and focusing on monitoring and social criticism contents, directly linked to key and urgent tasks and towards issues of concern to the majority of women. the union has detected and prevented many violations in time; corruption and wastefulness, contributing to building a clean and strong contingent of cadres and party members; promptly adjusting inappropriate regulations, ensuring conformity with the realities of social life, protecting the people's legitimate rights and interests, and improving the leadership capacity and combat strength of the party organization, effectiveness, and efficiency of state management. conclusion in conclusion, from the predecessor organizations to the present day, under the leadership of the communist party of vietnam, vietnam women’s union has united, mobilized, and gathered women from all walks of life, upholding the patriotic, heroic and loyal, courageous tradition, actively contributing to the cause of building and defending the socialist vietnamese fatherland, for rich people, strong country, democracy, justice, and civilization. theoretically, the author has clarified the concepts of women and the concepts, positions, roles, functions as well as operating principles of the vietnam women's union at the grassroots level. research shows that the implementation of women's mobilization work at the grassroots level of the union is quite suitable for each audience and promotes the spirit of mastery, potential, creativity, and the highest ability to contribute from all classes of women, contributing to the great strength of national unity for the development of vietnam. author contributions: conceptualization, d.v.c.; data curation: d.v.c.; methodology: d.v.c.; validation: d.v.c.; visualization: d.v.c.; formal analysis: d.v.c.; investigation: d.v.c.; resources: d.v.c.; writing – original draft: d.v.c.; writing – review & editing: d.v.c.; supervision: d.v.c.; project administration: d.v.c.; funding acquisition: d.v.c. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references communist party of vietnam. (2013). conclusion no. 80/kl-tw of the politburo (2013) on accelerating the implementation of resolution no. 25-nq/tw of the xth central committee on strengthening the party's leadership in youth work during the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization. communist party of vietnam: resolution no. 25-nq/tw, seventh conference of the central committee of the 10th term chi, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 17-22 22 on strengthening the leadership of the party in youth work in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization. central committee for mass mobilization. (2006). lectures on mass mobilization. hanoi: national political publishing house. communist party of vietnam. (2007). resolution no. 11-nq/tw of the 10th politburo on women's work in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country. communist party of vietnam. (2011). document of the 11th national congress. hanoi: national political publishing house. engels, ph. (1972). origins of the family, private property and the state, hanoi: truth publishing house. ho chi minh. (2000). complete volume. hanoi: truth publishing house, vol.9, p. 532 ho chi minh national academy of politics. (2018). textbook on the work of the fatherland front and people's unions at grassroots level. hanoi: political theory publishing house. lenin, v. i. (1981). complete volume. moscow: progressive publishing, vol.31, p.201. socialist republic of vietnam. (2013). people's constitution 2013. hanoi: labor publishing house. the secretariat of communist party of vietnam. (2018). directive no. 21-ct/tw on continuing to promote women's work in the new situation. thuan, n.t., & huong, n. m. (2008). methods of gender mainstreaming in hunger eradication and poverty reduction in viet nam. hanoi: labor publishing house vietnam women's union. (2017). document of the 12th national women's congress (2017 2022). publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 24 the ruling communist party of vietnam in the current situation nguyen thi tram academy of politics region ii 99 man thien, hiep phu ward, thu duc city, ho chi minh city, vietnam e-mail: tramnguyenhvct@gmail.com abstract the aim of this study is to learn about the ruling communist party of vietnam in the current situation. the study shows that in terms of leading, the communist party of vietnam has affirmed to be the decisive factor in all victories of the vietnamese revolutions. this paper seeks to address the following questions: 1/ prove the achievements of vietnam obtained since the communist party of vietnam is in power; 2/ generalize the views and theories on the ruling party, the ruling communist party, and the ruling communist party of vietnam; 3/ present the results and discussion on the ruling communist party of vietnam in the current situation. for these purposes, a variety of methods are used including analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, abstraction and generalization, logic, history, and comparison to come to the findings and recommendations of the study. keywords: ruling party, the ruling communist party, the ruling communist party of vietnam, current situation. introduction one of the most significant current discussions in politics is “ruling party”. the ruling party in vietnam is the communist party of vietnam which is the product of the inevitable combination of marxism leninism with the workers’ movement and the patriotic movement of vietnam. with a history of more than 90 years since its establishment and 76 years of ruling, the communist party of vietnam has affirmed to be the decisive factor in all victories of the vietnamese revolution. in each revolutionary period, the method of governance and the requirement to improve the party's ruling capacity are always issues posed by specific conditions which always need to change, develop and improve. establishing the ruling method of the party in the current situation is an objective requirement of the cause of renewal, and accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country and international integration is an important solution to strengthen the ruling position of the party and the vigorous vitality of socialism. in terms of ruling, the communist party of vietnam has completed many tasks of national construction and development. a social opinion survey on "the results of 5 years of implementing the resolution of the 12th national party congress" conducted by the institute for research on public opinion central propaganda department showed that the communist party of vietnam has focused on building and rectifying the party, improving the party’s capacity and fighting strength; prevent and reverse the deterioration of political ideology, morality, lifestyle, internal "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" manifestations (86%); disease prevention (85%); https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 25 maintaining security, politics, social order and safety (81%); expressing the legitimate will and aspirations of the people in the guidelines and policies of the party and state (80%); consolidate and strengthen national defense and security, firmly protect the independence and sovereignty of the fatherland (79%); promote the people's mastery, strengthen great national unity (79%); implement the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, initiative and active international integration, enhancing vietnam's position and prestige in the region and in the world (76%) ); well implement guidelines and policies towards ethnic and religious people (73%); restructuring agriculture, formulating new rural policies (72%); ensure social security, improve social welfare, well implement policies towards people with meritorious services (72%); anti-corruption (71%) (communist party of vietnam, 2021). the contents and methods of ruling of the party are major issues that the party has determined and implemented to maintain and affirm the party’s ruling position and role. in the current situation, the world and regional situation is evolving very quickly, which is complicated to predict. the country is facing many opportunities and advantages as well as many difficulties and challenges, many new problems have to be solved, especially new challenges due to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic and the global economic crisis. cadres, party members, and people place their trust and expectation in the correct and strong decisions of the party so that our country can develop faster and more sustainably. for the above reasons, the issue of "the ruling communist party of vietnam in the current context" attracts the author's concern about this research topic. literature review in recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on “ruling party”. the ruling party is the concept referring to the political party in the period of gaining the right to establish and use the government apparatus to accomplish the goals and tasks of the ruling party under the constitution and law. the term "ruling party" is a term used in both capitalist and socialist countries. in capitalist countries, this term refers to the party that wins the election through competitive elections, obtaining a majority of seats in the parliament, and having the right to form a government. before having a ruling party, there had been a state, a constitution, a legal system, and the ruling party had to comply with the constitution and laws of these countries. in the book, "some issues about the ruling party and the opposition party in american political life", nguyen thi hanh gave an overview of the history of the formation and development of the party in american political life. the book also mentions the operating methods of the ruling party and the opposition party. the author has also analyzed assessed the ruling party and the opposition party. the author argues that to become the ruling party and maintain its ruling position, the party must conduct and win the election to become the majority party and the ruling party (hanh, 2012). the ruling communist party is the party that has gained its ruling status through the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat or the people's democratic national revolution, overthrowing the government apparatus of the exploiting class, establishing a state a new model the state of the working class and the working people to realize the party's noble purpose of building the country towards socialism and communism. regarding the ruling communist party of vietnam, since the victory of the august revolution in 1945, establishing the democratic republic of vietnam, our party has become the ruling party and the only party in power to lead the state and socio-political organizations to carry out two strategic tasks: to successfully build socialism and liberate the country, and to defend the socialist vietnamese fatherland. president ho chi minh was the first to use the term "ruling party", https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 26 he stated: “our party is the ruling party. every cadre and party member must be imbued with revolutionary morality, truly thrift, integrity, impartiality, and justice.” (minh, 1995, p.510). the charter of the communist party of vietnam affirms: “the communist party of vietnam is the ruling party, leading the state and society. the party regularly improves its ruling capacity and leadership effectiveness, while strongly promoting the role, initiative, creativity, and responsibility of other organizations in the political system.” (communist party of vietnam, 2011, pp.88-89). a recent study on “building a ruling party, some practical experiences of renovation in vietnam”, at the theoretical seminar between the communist party of vietnam and the communist party of china on building the ruling party (trong, 2004), general secretary nguyen phu trong stated that the ruling party means the party leading the government, making all activities of the government express and implement the ideology and lines of that party in line with the stance and serving the interests of the class and class that the party represents. the textbook of the ho chi minh national academy of politics also confirmed the characteristics of the ruling communist party of vietnam (ho chi minh national academy of politics, 2018). first of all, the communist party of vietnam became the ruling party after the party led the people to fight for national liberation and class liberation. since its establishment, the communist party of vietnam has been the revolutionary leading force in the struggle to regain the independence of the fatherland and overthrow the feudal colonial regime to take power into the hands of the working people. during that long and arduous struggle, the working people have always acknowledged that the revolutionary line set forth by the party is correct and that cadres and party members have always been at the forefront of the revolutionary struggle, fighting and sacrificing for national independence and the interests of the working classes and people. secondly, the political mission of the communist party of vietnam has changed basically. from no government to having a government is a fundamental turning point of the revolution, a qualitatively new development in the historical mission of the working class. when the government has not yet been won, the party's main task is to lead the people in the struggle to overthrow the old regime the state apparatus of the exploiting class; when taking power, the party's first task is to establish the people's revolutionary state and build a new society, including the task of protecting the revolutionary achievements. thirdly, the communist party of vietnam has a socialist rule of law state of the people, by the people, for the people. the socialist rule of law state is a main, sharp tool through which the party exercises its leadership over society. fourthly, the party’s leadership method has changed radically: having a government, the central task of the party for the whole society is to lead socio-economic development and other fields of the country. fifthly, our party is the only party to lead the state and society towards socialism, which is a prominent feature that governs all activities of the party. sixthly, the party has led the country to develop a socialist-oriented market economy in the condition that the socialist rule of law state is in the process of building and perfecting. the socialist-oriented market economy under the leadership of the party in both theory and practice is a new, difficult and complex issue. that requires our party to explore and experiment to form and lead the state and society to properly operate the socialist-oriented market economy. a study “perceiving the concepts of the ruling party and the leading party in our country today” by dong and duc (2011), the authors showed an approach to the concept of the ruling party. since then, these authors have analyzed quite deeply and comprehensively, and they stated that the ruling party and the leading party are two concepts that are not identical with each other (dong, 2013). in another study by nguyen huu dong, “the party incarnates into the state in the renewal of our party's ruling method”, the author has clarified the concept of “the party incarnates into the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 27 state” in the condition that there is only one party in power in our country. the author found that "the party incarnates into the state" is a concept that refers to the "hiding" of the power of the ruling party into the "shell" of the power of the state, exercising domination and orientation towards the state, mainly through the role of individual elite party members of the party to realize the goals and program set forth by the party (dong, 2013). in his research with the topic “the only party in power an inevitable product of socio-political reality in vietnam", pham ngoc quang, bang argues quite convincingly, proving that the communist party of vietnam has become the only ruling party since the august revolution in 1945 thanks to the successes that the communist party of vietnam has led the people during more than 80 years of existence and development both in times of war and in peacetime. in particular, the author has proved that the element of “national independence associated with socialism” that our party pursues is the value system that carries throughout the vietnamese revolution, both in the past, present, and the future (quang, 2010) also discussing the renewal of the party's leadership method, with the topic “innovating the party's leadership method in the current ruling party conditions the problem is posed”, ho ba tham confirmed that, in the current situation, our party is facing quite basic problems such as power corruption, system errors related to the party's leadership-ruling method. this is the cause leading to political, ideological, moral, and lifestyle corruption of a large number of cadres and party members, reducing the prestige of the party among the people (tham, 2012). sharing the same opinion, in the article "on the party's ruling method", vu van hien discussed the concept of the party’s ruling method. according to the author, the ruling communist party of vietnam is the party in power, building the government apparatus to adopt the system of government to lead the country towards socialism (hien, 2015). in another study "the ruling communist party of vietnam and the party's current method of ruling", from the scientific approach and convincing presentation, ngo huy tiep introduced the concept of the ruling communist party of vietnam. at the same time, the author gave in-depth analysis and clarification of the concept of the ruling communist party of vietnam; in which the author has introduced 4 contents affirming the role and ruling position of the party: (1) the party is the decisive factor for all victories of the revolutionary cause by the people; (2) the party is responsible to the people and nation for the development of all aspects of the country; (3) the party representing the nation establishes peaceful and friendly relations with other nations and peoples in the international community; (4) the party is the subject of the close relationship between the party and the people (tiep, 2017). in another study "some issues about the ruling communist party of vietnam in new conditions" by thang, the author has explained and clarified many issues about the ruling communist party of vietnam in the new context. firstly, it is the party's rule that is established by the people's mandate. secondly, the party must raise its intellectual level, be more steadfast and creative in marxism-leninism and ho chi minh’s thought. thirdly, the party must be clean and strong. fourthly, it is necessary to continue to renew the leadership method of the communist party of vietnam. regarding the leadership method of the ruling communist party of vietnam, according to the author, there is a very flexible "dynamic" nature even at each level (thang, 2011). specifying the method of implementing democracy, with the study "practicing democracy in the condition of one ruling party", nguyen van huyen stated that the problem of democracy in the condition of one ruling party is extremely important since taking advantage of western political theory, hostile forces believe that the democratic condition in a political system is an opposing multi-party system (at least two parties). therefore, to practice true democracy in the condition of a ruling party, the party must first promote the implementation of democracy. democracy is not only the life of the party but also the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 28 life of society, without democracy, there would be no socialism, industrialization, modernization, and sustainable development (huyen, 2014). results and discussion results the preparation and issuance of the party's resolutions and the assignment of organizations and officials in charge of implementing the resolutions the results of the study point out that the quality of program development, full-term working plan of the party committees, and directing the advisory agencies to prepare necessary conditions for the formulation of resolutions, such as documents, materials, and means have been focused and enhanced. a possible explanation for this might be that it is necessary to renovate the formulation of draft resolutions, consult agencies, mass organizations, and party organizations. currently, this activity is quite well-prepared: the secretariat has issued many documents with up to 184 resolutions, directives, conclusions, regulations, plans, and guidelines. at the provincial party committee, 7818 documents have been issued including 150 resolutions, 401 directives, 815 regulations, 553 programs, 1104 decisions, 144 regulations, 165 conclusions, 2493 plans, 201 projects, 1793 other documents (communist party of vietnam, 2021, pp. 166-167). it is also essential to renovate the study, exchange, and decision on the topic of the resolution and the consideration and decision assigned to the agencies and organizations in charge of the draft resolution formulation project and the coordinating agencies. it needs to improve the quality of the conference to discuss and pass resolutions. it is necessary to renovate the assignment of officers in charge of each job to organize the implementation of the issued resolutions based on strictly implementing the regime of collective leadership and individuals in charge. organize the implementation of the party's resolutions another finding was that the grasping of resolutions in party organizations, the political system, and the people, is renewed following the current situation. mass media agencies have been directed to promptly propagate the party's resolutions on the mass media. the party has focused on directing the state to concretize and institutionalize resolutions, develop schemes, programs, and plans. the party has implemented many pilot models on organizational structure, arrangement of administrative units at district and commune levels in terms of controlling power in cadre work and fighting against running for power; on the national defense strategy in cyberspace and the national cybersecurity strategy; strengthen the protection of the party's ideological foundation, and fight against hostile wrong views in the new situation (communist party of vietnam, 2021, p.166). this result may be explained by the fact that the implementation of the party's resolutions plays a vital role in economic, cultural, and social development. working style and manners the current study found that working style and manners have been carried out in the direction of expanding democracy, maintaining the discipline of the party and strictly implementing the working regulations, building and well implementing the daily work program monthly, quarterly, annually in the direction of respecting the opinions of the people. currently, the government is presiding over and coordinating with relevant agencies to receive 20233 turns of citizens. the localities have received 400097 turns of citizens. the party committee has coordinated with the fatherland front and socio-political organizations to organize more than 90,000 dialogue conferences between the party committees and authorities and the people (communist party of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 29 vietnam, 2021, p. 204). the party always clearly identifies the focus needs to be led. the regime of reporting and consulting on activities of the state, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations in all fields of social life has been strictly maintained. the party has practiced the style of connecting to reality, promptly solving problems that arise, talking in parallel with action, attaching importance to directing, checking, and summarizing practice. organization and staff work on the question of organization and staff work, the study found that the organization and staff have been renewed and valued and identified as an important stage of their organization. the party has reviewed and concretized the functions and tasks of organizations as a basis for arranging and consolidating the organization, apparatus, and officials of state agencies, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations. currently, through the review, there are still 29 contents that are not consistent between the state's law and the party's regulations on organization and cadres. the percentage of young leaders and members has not yet reached the set target (communist party of vietnam, 2021, p.196). the party has strongly renovated the stages of personnel work: assessment, planning, appointment, election, the nomination of candidates, management, implementation of personnel policies, ensuring the correct selection and use of cadres, especially the heads of state agencies, the fatherland front and socio-political organizations. the party has strongly renovated and strengthened the rational decentralization of cadre management in state agencies, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations. strongly promote the role of party organizations and the vanguard and exemplary role of party members working in state agencies, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations another important finding was that party organizations have been built strong to constantly improve leadership capacity and combat strength, uphold the spirit of struggle, self-criticism, and serious criticism against the negatives in party organizations and cadres, party members in state agencies, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations in all fields of social life. the party has focused on renovating educational contents and forms, raising awareness and responsibility of party members for the renewal of the party's leadership method. party members must pioneer and model implementation of the party's resolutions, the state's policies and laws, and the tasks of localities, agencies, and units. the party has attached importance to creating favorable conditions for party members to perform their assigned tasks well. at the same time, each party member must attract a large number of cadres, civil servants, public employees, and people to perform well the tasks of agencies, mass organizations, and localities (ho chi minh national academy of politics, 2018) bring into full play the role of the state, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations participating in the renewal of the party's leadership method an interesting finding was that the party has had a mechanism to bring into play the role of the state, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations to participate in the formulation of the party's resolutions, the cadre work of the state, the fatherland front, and other political organizations. the party has promoted the role of supervision and social criticism of the fatherland front and socio-political organizations in the activities of party organizations, government agencies, cadres, party members, and civil servants. with the promotion of the role of the state, the fatherland front and socio-political organizations participating in the renewal of the party's https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 30 leadership method have helped to improve the implementation of democracy. according to report no. 515-bc/bdvtw on the results of the implementation of the year of mass mobilization, in 2019, up to 478237 citizens came to state agencies to complain, denounce, petition, and report related to the rights and obligations of citizens (communist party of vietnam, 2021, p. 204). inspection and supervision of party organizations and party members working in state agencies, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations and fields of social life it is interesting to note that the inspection and supervision of organizations have been renewed and improved. currently, party committees at all levels have inspected 2,64920 party organizations and 1124146 party members. party committees at all levels have supervised 193993 party organizations and 528652 party members; inspection committees at all levels have supervised 124469 party organizations and 185731 party members (communist party of vietnam, 2021, p. 200). in general, this activity has focused on inspecting and supervising the awareness-raising and responsibilities of key leaders, officials, and party members regarding the position, role, and effects of the inspection, supervision, especially supervision over the leadership of the party, state management, activities of state agencies; of cadres and civil servants in the party, government, mass organizations and in other fields of social life. the party has renovated the content and form of inspection and supervision work. discussion the study has pointed out that from theory to practice, the ruling communist party of vietnam in the condition of developing a socialist-oriented market economy, building a socialist rule of law state, and international integration has proved its decisive role in leading vietnam from one victory to another. at this point, the research author would like to offer 4 topics of exchange and discussion: firstly, the reality of the socialist-oriented renovation cause has posed the problem of having to insist on a single party in power, along with the expansion of democracy in the party and society. secondly, implement the institution of a single party in power, build a socialist rule of law state, but do not implement the separation of powers and civil society which pose problems with the establishment and implementation of the party's ruling content and methods. thirdly, the contingent of cadres and party members of the party to exercise power from the central to the grassroots level must be built clean, with integrity, posing the problem of establishing and implementing the contents and methods of the party’s leadership methods. fourthly, the practice requires improving the party's ruling capacity. however, the theory of the ruling party in the context of developing a socialist-oriented market economy and a socialist rule of law state and international integration is not clear enough about the content, model, and mode of governance. conclusion in conclusion, becoming the ruling party, the communist party of vietnam has shown great achievements in leadership and building the state, the vietnam fatherland front, and sociopolitical organizations in the political system. specifically: in vietnam, the ruling communist party of vietnam since its birth has always won the right to lead the revolution, and it has become the decisive factor in all the victory of the vietnamese revolution. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 31 becoming the ruling party, the communist party of vietnam has had experienced many difficulties and challenges. during more than 76 years of ruling and 35 years of implementing the renovation (doi moi), its great achievements have affirmed its ruling positionthe only ruling party. the communist party of vietnam has always actively led and directed theoretical research and practical summaries of the renovation process, especially the fundamental values of the party, i.e. ideology, scientific and revolutionary values of marxist-leninist theory, and ho chi minh's thought. the formulation and planning of strategic directions in socio-economic development and caring for the material and spiritual life of the people have been valued. staff organization has been implemented synchronously. the party has attached great attention to consolidating the organizational apparatus of the party and state agencies, which are consolidated and arranged in the direction of streamlined, effective, and efficient operation. the party's cadres have been trained to meet the requirements of their tasks. in the new situation, to build a socialist rule of law state of the people, by the people, for the people, it is necessary to institutionalize and concretize the ruling role of the party into a legal system. on the other hand, it is essential to prevent abuse of power in the apparatus of the party and state. to do this well, it is necessary to build a power control mechanism. the objective of power control is to prevent abuse of position and power to contravene the law, corruption, group interests, and manipulation in cadre work powers and duties to exercise power supervision. references communist party of vietnam. (2021). document of the 13th national party congress. hanoi: national political publishing house. dong, n. h. (2013). the party incarnates into the state" in the reform of our party's ruling method, legislative research journal, 17(249), 3-8. dong, n. h. & duc, n. h. (2011). perceiving the concepts of ruling party and leading party in our country, journal of political theory, (6), 35-39. hanh, n. t. (2012). some issues about the ruling party and the opposition party in american political life, publishing house, hanoi: social sciences publisher hien, v. v. (2015). on the party's governing method. scientific conference: “enhancing the ruling position, role and responsibility of the communist party of vietnam in the current situation” organized by the editorial department of journal of communist and the quang ninh provincial party committee, ha long, january. ho chi minh national academy of politics. (2018). textbook of political theory on building the communist party of vietnam. hanoi: political theory publishing house. huyen, n. v. (2014), practicing democracy in the condition of one ruling party, journal of party history, 6, 22-31. minh, h. c. (1995). complete work, hanoi: national political publishing house, vol.12, p.510. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 32 quang, p. n. (2010). a single ruling party an inevitable product of socio-political reality in vietnam. journal of communist. tham, h. b. (2012), renovating the party's leadership method in the current ruling party conditions the problems raised, journal of theoretical activities, 3(112). thang, m. q. (2011). some issues about ruling communist party of vietnam in new situation, journal of philosophy. tiep, n. h. (2017). the ruling communist party of vietnam and the party's current method of ruling, journal of communist. trong, n. p. (2004). building the ruling party, some practical experiences of innovation in vietnam, theoretical workshop between the communist party of vietnam and the communist party of china on building the ruling party, hanoi: national political publishing house. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr american international journal of social science research; vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by centre for research on islamic banking & finance and business, usa 19 the unsung heroines of india's freedom struggle zahied rehman ganie lecturer history government degree college bijbehara, anantnag, kashmir, india e-mail: bazmazahied@gmail.com shanti dev sisodia phd associate professor department of ancient indian history culture and archaeology jiwaji university gwalior m.p., india e-mail: jusisodia@gmail.com “when woman, whom we call abala becomes sabala, all those who are helpless will become powerful.” ~mahatma gandhi abstract the history of indian freedom struggle would be incomplete without mentioning the contribution of women. the sacrifice made by the women of india will occupy the foremost place. they fought with true spirit and undaunted courage and faced various tortures, exploitations and hardships to earn us freedom. when most of the men freedom fighters were in prison the women came forward and took charge of the struggle. the list of great women whose names have gone down in history for their dedication and undying devotion to the service of india is a long one. woman's participation in india's freedom struggle began as early as in1817. bhima bai holkar fought bravely against the british colonel malcolm and defeated him in guerilla warfare. many women including rani channama of kittur, rani begum hazrat mahal of avadh fought against british east india company in the 19th century; 30 years before the “first war of independence 1857” the role played by women in the war of independence (the great revolt) of 1857 was creditable and invited the admiration even leaders of the revolt. rani of ramgarh, rani jindan kaur, rani tace bai, baiza bai, chauhan rani, tapasvini maharani daringly led their troops into the battlefield. rani lakshmi bai of jhansi whose heroism and superb leadership laid an outstanding example of real patriotism .indian women who joined the national movement belonged to educated and liberal families, as well as those from the rural areas and from all walk of life, all castes, religions and communities. sarojini naidu, kasturba gandhi, vijayalakmi pundit and annie besant in the 20th century are the names which are remembered even today for their singular contribution both in battlefield and in political field. keywords: women, freedom struggle, sacrifice, heroism, rani laxmi bai, bhima bai holkar, keladi chennamma, avanti bai, beza bai, begum hazrat mahal. 1. introduction woman’s participation in india’s freedom struggle started as ahead of schedule as in 1817. bhima bai holkar battled intrepidly against the british colonel malcolm and vanquished him in guerrilla warfare. rani lakshmi bai of jhansi whose bravery and brilliant leadership laid on remarkable case of genuine patriotism. sarojini naidu, kasturba gandhi , vijay lakshmi savant, annie besant and so on in the twentieth century are the names which are recalled even today for their particular contribution in the freedom struggle of india. 2. data analysis let us elucidate the role of indian women who participated in the freedom struggle against british east india company and british empire and made great and rich contributions in various ways. bhima bai holkar : (17 sep.1795-28 nov.1858) bhima bai holkar, born on 17 september 1795 was the daughter of yashwant rao holkar, the maharaja of indore. in 1817, bhima bai fought bravely against the british colonel malcolm and defeated him in guerilla warfare. at the battle of mahidpur, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/yashwant_rao_holkar https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/maharaja https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indore https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/battle_of_mahidpur copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 20 she led a brigade of 2,500 cavalry, sword and lance in hand, into the battle against the british at mahidpur. it is believed that her act of taking on the east india company as a soldier inspired rani lakshmi bai of jhansi in 1858 during the indian rebellion of 1857. she died at indore, 28 november 1858 (basu, 1976). keladi chennamma: (23 oct.1778-2 feb. 1829) chennamma was an indian revolutionary, freedom fighter and rani of the kittur, a former princely state in karnataka. she led an armed force against the british east india company in 1824 in defiance of the doctrine of lapse in an attempt to maintain indian control over the region, but was defeated in the third war and died imprisoned. she was one of the first female rulers to rebel against british rule (thilagavathi & thilagavathi ,2009). rani chennamma was born on 23 october 1778, in kakati, a small village in the present belagavi district of karnataka. she married raja mallasarja of the desai family at the age of 15. chennamma’s husband died in 1824, leaving her with a son and a state full of volatility. this was followed by her son’s death in 1824. rani chennamma was left with the state of kittur and an uphill task to save it from the british. following the death of her husband and son, rani chennamma adopted shivalingappa in the year 1824 and made him the heir to the throne. this irked the east india company, who ordered shivalingappa’s expulsion, on the pretext of the doctrine of lapse. rani chennamma sent a letter to mount stuart elphinstone, lieutenant-governor of the bombay presidency pleading her cause, but the request was turned down, and war broke out. in the first round of war, during october 1824, british forces lost heavily and st john thackeray, collector and political agent, was killed in the war. amateur balappa, a lieutenant of chennamma, was mainly responsible for his killing and losses to british forces. two british officers, sir walter elliot and mr. stevenson were also taken as hostages. rani chennamma released them with an understanding with chaplin that the war would be terminated but chaplin continued the war with more forces. during the second assault, sub collector of solapur, mr. munro, nephew of thomas munro was killed. rani chennamma fought fiercely with the aid of her lieutenant, sangolli rayanna, but was ultimately captured and imprisoned at bailhongal fort, where she died on 2 february 1829 (bhat, 1998). avanti bai: (16 aug. 183120 mar. 1858) avanti bai was a freedom fighter and queen of what is now dindori in madhya pradesh, which in her time was called ramgarh. avanti bai was the queen of vikramaditya singh of ramgarh estate, which now lies in dindori district, madhya pradesh. upon the death of her husband in 1851, avanti bai attempted to act as regent for her son, amar singh, who was a minor. the british authorities did not accept this and the court of wards appointed an administrator to oversee his affairs. she threw the administrator out and declared war against the british. when the revolt of 1857 broke out, avanti bai raised and led an army of 4000. her first battle with the british took place in the village of kheri near mandla, where she and her army were able to defeat the british forces. however, stung by the defeat the british came back with vengeance and launched an attack on ramgarh. avanti bai moved to the hills of devharigarh for safety. the british army set fire to ramgarh, and turned to devharigarh to attack the queen (gupta, 2015). avanti bai resorted to guerilla warfare to fend of the british army but committed suicide with her sword on 20 march 1858 when facing almost certain defeat in battle. baiza bai: (1784-1863) baiza bai was born in kagal, kolhapur, maharashtra in 1784. in february 1798 in poona, at the age of 14, she was married to daulat rao scindia, the ruler of gwalior. she was known as a superb horsewoman, and had been trained to fight with a sword and spear. she accompanied her husband during the maratha wars with the british, and she fought against arthur wellesley, the future duke of wellington, at the battle of assaye (farooqui, 2000). baiza bai appears to have adopted her father's anti-british stance in her younger days. during the british campaign against the pindaris, she had urged her husband to support the peshwa baji rao ii against them. when daulat rao submitted to british demands, she even left him briefly, accusing him of cowardice. she was also fiercely opposed to the scindia surrender of ajmer to the british. baiza bai died in gwalior in 1863 (farooqui, 2011). kanaklata barua: ( 22 dec. 19241942) barua was born in the borangabari village of the darrang district of assam as the daughter of krishna kanta and karneshwari barua. kanaklata barua was also called birbala and shaheed (martyr). during quit india movement (1942) she joined the mrityu bahini (death squad) which was formed by the youth of gohpur sub-division of assam. on 20 september 1942, the bahini decided it would hoist the national flag at the local police station. a procession of unarmed villagers were led by barua to do so. the police under rebati mahan som the officer in-charge of the police station warned the procession of dire https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/united_kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/mahidpur https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/rani_lakshmibai https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_rebellion_of_1857 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_rebellion_of_1857 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/rani https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kittur https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/karnataka https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/british_east_india_company https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/doctrine_of_lapse https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/belagavi_district https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/mountstuart_elphinstone https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/bombay_presidency https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/thomas_munro https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/sangolli_rayanna https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/bailhongal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/dindori,_madhya_pradesh https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/madhya_pradesh https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/dindori_district https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/court_of_wards_(india) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_rebellion_of_1857 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/mandla_district https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kagal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kolhapur_district https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/poona https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/arthur_wellesley,_1st_duke_of_wellington https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/battle_of_assaye https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/third_anglo-maratha_war https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/third_anglo-maratha_war https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/baji_rao_ii https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/darrang_district copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 21 consequences if they proceeded with their plan. undeterred by the police, the procession continued marching ahead when the police fired upon the procession. barua was shot and the flag she was carrying with her was taken up by mukunda kakoti who too was shot at. both barua and kakoti were killed in the police action. barua was only 17 years of age at the time of her martyrdom (pathak, 2008). rani abbaka chowta: (1525-1570). rani abbakka from chowta dynasty ruled a small coastal town called ullal, 8 km away from mangalore. during her reign, the portuguese wanted to conquer the coastal town and use it as a port. they made their first attempt in 1525. but rani abbakka resisted and fought fiercely against the portuguese, gaining the name rani abhaya (fearless queen) (shintri & rao, 1983). bina das: (24 aug. 1911–26 dec.1986) bina was an indian revolutionary and nationalist from west bengal. she was the daughter of a well-known brahmo teacher, beni madhab das and a social worker, sarala devi. her elder sister kalyani das (bhattacharyee) was also a freedom fighter. bina das was a member of chhatri sangha, a semi-revolutionary organisation for women in kolkata. on 6 february 1932, she attempted to assassinate the bengal governor stanley jackson, in the convocation hall of the university of calcutta. the revolver was supplied by another freedom fighter kamala das gupta. she fired five shots but failed and was sentenced to nine years of rigorous imprisonment. after her early release in 1939, das joined the congress party. in 1942, she participated in the quit india movement and was imprisoned again from 1942–45. from 1946–47, she was a member of the bengal provincial legislative assembly and, from 1947–51, of the west bengal legislative assembly. after the death of her husband, she led a lonely life in rishikesh and died in anonymity. her dead body was recovered from the roadside in 26 december 1986 in a partially decomposed state (radha, 1997). pritilata waddedar: (05 may 191123 sep. 1932) pritilata was born in a middle-class vaidya (baidya) family on 5 may 1911 in dhalghat village in patiya upazila of chittagong (now in bangladesh).she decided to join the indian independence movement. surya sen had heard about her and wanted her to join their revolutionary group. on 13 june 1932, pritilata met surya sen and nirmal sen in their dhalghat camp. a contemporary revolutionary, binod bihari chowdhury, objected that they did not allow women to join their group. however, pritalata was allowed to join the group because the revolutionaries reasoned that women transporting weapons would not attract as much suspicion as men. pritilata joined a revolutionary group headed by surya sen. she is known for leading fifteen revolutionaries in the 1932 armed attack on the pahartali european club, during which one person was killed and eleven injured. the revolutionaries torched the club and were later caught by the british police. to avoid arrest, pritilata consumed cyanide and died (forbes, 1999). rani gaidinliu: (26 jan.1915-17 feb.1993) gaidinliu was born on 26 january 1915 at nungkao (or longkao) village in the present-day tousem sub-division of tamenglong district, manipur. she was from the rongmei naga tribe (also known as kabui. at the age of 13, she joined the heraka religious movement of her cousin haipou jadonang. the movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the british from manipur and the surrounding naga areas (nag, 1976). gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the british rulers. jawaharlal nehru met her at shillong jail in 1937, and promised to pursue her release. nehru gave her the title of "rani" ("queen"), and she gained local popularity as rani gaidinliu. after the interim government of india was set up in 1946, rani gaidinliu was released on prime minister nehru's orders from tura jail, having spent 14 years in various prisons. she continued to work for the upliftment of her people. an advocate of the ancestral naga religious practices, she staunchly resisted the conversion of nagas to christianity. she was honoured as a freedom fighter and was awarded a padma bhushan by the government of india in 1982. in 1991, gaidinliu returned to her birthplace longkao, where she died on 17 february 1993 at the age of 78 (nayya, 2002). kalpana datta: (27 july 1913-08 feb.1995) kalpana datta (later kalpana joshi) was born at sripur, a village in the chittagong district in the bengal province of british india on 27 july 1913. after passing her matriculation examination in 1929 from chittagong, she went to calcutta and joined https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_independence_movement https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/west_bengal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/brahmo_samaj https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/beni_madhab_das https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/beni_madhab_das https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kalyani_das https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kolkata https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/stanley_jackson https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/university_of_calcutta https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kamala_das_gupta https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_national_congress https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/quit_india_movement https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/quit_india_movement https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/west_bengal_legislative_assembly https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/rishikesh https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/baidya https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/chittagong https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/binod_bihari_chowdhury https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/surya_sen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/tamenglong_district https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/rongmei_naga https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/heraka https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/haipou_jadonang https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/manipur https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/naga_people https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/jawaharlal_nehru https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/interim_government_of_india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/prime_minister_of_india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/padma_bhushan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/chittagong_district https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/bengal_presidency https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/british_india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/british_india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kolkata copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 22 the bethune college for graduation in science. soon, she joined the chhatri sangha (women students association), a semirevolutionary organisation in which bina das and pritilata waddedar were also active member's. the chittagong armoury raid was carried out on 18 april 1930. kalpana joined the "indian republican army, chattagram branch", the armed resistance group led by surya sen in may 1931 (chandra & bipin, 1998). in september, 1931 surya sen entrusted her along with pritilata waddedar to attack the european club in chittagong. but a week before the attack, she was arrested while carrying out reconnaissance of the area. she went underground after her release on bail. on 17 february 1933 the police encircled their hiding place in gairila village, and that raid surya sen was arrested but kalpana was able to escape from there. she was finally arrested on 19 may 1933. in the second supplementary trial of the chittagong armoury raid case, kalpana was sentenced to transportation for life. she was released in 1939. kalpana datta graduated from the calcutta university in 1940 and joined the communist party of india. she served as a relief worker during the 1943 bengal famine and during the partition of bengal. in 1946, she contested in the elections for the bengal legislative assembly as a communist party of india candidate from chittagong but could not win. later, she joined the indian statistical institute where she worked until her retirement. she died in calcutta on 8 february 1995 (simmi, 2003). rani lakshmi bai: (19 november 1828 – 18 june 1858) ब ुंदेले हरबोलोुं के म ुँह हमने स नी कहानी थी, खूब लडी मदाानी वह तो झाुँसी वाली रानी थी। bundeley harbolon ke mooh humney suni kahani thi, khoob ladi mardani wo to jhansi wali rani thi. (from the bards of bundela we have heard this story, she fought valiantly like a man, she was the queen of jhansi) (subhadra kumari, 1930) ~ subhadra kumari chauhan “she was the bravest and best military leader of the rebels. a man among mutineers," ~ hugh rose. rani lakshmi bai was born on 19 november 1828 in the town of varanasi into a marathi karhade brahmin family. she was named manikarnika tambe and was nicknamed manu. her father was moropant tambe and her mother bhagirathi sapre (bhagirathi bai). her parents came from maharashtra. manikarnika was married to the maharaja of jhansi, gangadhar rao newalkar, in may 1842 and was afterwards called lakshmi bai (or laxmibai) in honour of the hindu goddess lakshmi and according to the traditions. she gave birth to a boy, later named damodar rao, in 1851, who died after four months. the maharaja adopted a child called anand rao, the son of gangadhar rao's cousin, who was renamed damodar rao, on the day before the maharaja died. the adoption was in the presence of the british political officer who was given a letter from the maharaja instructing that the child be treated with respect and that the government of jhansi should be given to his widow for her lifetime (thomas, 1860). after the death of the maharaja in november 1853, because damodar rao (born anand rao) was an adopted son, the british east india company, under governor-general lord dalhousie, applied the doctrine of lapse, rejecting damodar rao's claim to the throne and annexing the state to its territories. when she was informed of this she cried out "i shall not surrender my jhansi" (main apni jhansi nahi doongi). in march 1854, rani lakshmi bai was given an annual pension of rs. 60,000 and ordered to leave the palace and the fort. but she refused to surrender jhansi and fought valiantly against the british general hugh rose in the first war of independence. after unsuccessfully defending jhansi she fled to gwalior and died in the course of the battle on 18 june 1858 near kotah-ki-serai (nigel, 2009). twenty years after her death colonel malleson wrote in the “history of the indian mutiny; vol. 3; london, 1878”, 'whatever her faults in british eyes may have been, her countrymen will ever remember that she was driven by ill-treatment into rebellion, and that she died for her country, we cannot forget her contribution for india (john & malleson, 2010). begam hazrat mahal: (1820-7 apr. 1879) begum hazrat mahal also called as begum of awadh, was the second wife of nawab wajid ali shah the nawab of awadh. the british annexed awadh in 1856 on the pretext of maladministration and wajid ali shah was exiled to calcutta. during https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/bethune_college https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/bina_das https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/pritilata_waddedar https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/pritilata_waddedar https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/penal_transportation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/calcutta_university https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/communist_party_of_india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_bengal_famine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/partition_of_bengal_(1947) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_statistical_institute https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/kolkata https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/subhadra_kumari_chauhan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/varanasi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/maratha_people https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/karhade_brahmin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/maharashtra https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/maharaja https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/gangadhar_rao_newalkar https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/lakshmi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/damodar_rao_of_jhansi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/british_east_india_company https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/james_broun-ramsay,_1st_marquess_of_dalhousie https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/doctrine_of_lapse https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/george_bruce_malleson https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/begum https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/awadh https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/nawab_of_awadh https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/wajid_ali_shah copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 23 the indian mutiny, from 1857 to 1858, begum hazrat mahal's band of supporters, led by raja jailal singh, rebelled against the forces of the british; later, they seized control of lucknow and she declared her son, birjis qadar, as the ruler (wali) of oudh (dalrymple, 2006). one of the principal complaints of begum hazrat mahal was that the east india company had casually demolished temples and mosques just to make way for roads. when the forces under the command of the british re-captured lucknow and most of awadh, she was forced to retreat. hazrat mahal worked in association with nana sahib, but later joined the maulavi of faizabad in the attack on shahjahanpur. ultimately, she had to retreat to nepal, where she was initially refused asylum by jang bahadur, but was later allowed to stay. she died there in 1879 and was buried in a nameless grave in the grounds of kathmandu's jama masjid. after her death, on the occasion of the jubilee of queen victoria (1887), the british government pardoned birjis qadar and he was allowed to return home (hibbert, 1980). to recognize her unlimited endeavours in battling for the freedom of nation, the government of india issued a stamp on tenth may 1984. the ministry of minority affairs, government of india has started the begum hazrat mahal national scholarship for meritorious girls belonging to minority communities in india. this scholarship is implemented through the maulana azad education foundation (david, 2002). annie besant: (1 oct. 1887-20 sep.1933) annie besant born on 1 october 1847 clapham, london, uk was a british socialist, theosophist, activist, writer, orator, educationist, and philanthropist. regarded as a champion of human freedom, she was an ardent supporter of both irish and indian self-rule. as an educationist, her contributions included the founding of the banaras hindu university (aparna., b, 1990). in 1893, soon after becoming a member of the theosophical society she went to india for the first time. as early as 1902 besant had written that "india is not ruled for the prospering of the people, but rather for the profit of her conquerors, and her sons are being treated as a conquered race.". she encouraged indian national consciousness, attacked caste and child marriage, and worked effectively for indian education. along with her theosophical activities, besant continued to actively participate in political matters. in 1907 she became president of the theosophical society, (the theosophical society was an organization formed in the united states in 1875 by helena blavatsky to advance theosophy.) whose international headquarters were, by then, located in adyar, madras, (chennai) (maitrayee, 2011). in 1916 besant launched the all india home rule league along with lokmanya tilak, once again modelling demands for india on irish nationalist practices. this was the first political party in india to have regime change as its main goal. in june 1917 besant was arrested and interned at a hill station, where she defiantly flew a red and green flag. the congress and the muslim league together threatened to launch protests if she were not set free; besant's arrest had created a focus for protest. besant was freed in september 1917, and in december 1917, she took over as president of the indian national congress for a year (bala, 1986). besant edited two newspapers: a) the commonweal (a weekly dealing on indian national issues), and b) new india (a daily newspaper which was a powerful mouthpiece for 15 years advocating home rule and revolutionizing indian journalism). besant died on 20 september 1933, at age 85, in adyar, madras. usha mehta: (25 mar.1920-11 aug. 2000). usha was born in saras village near surat, gujarat on 25 march 1920. when she was just five years old, she first saw mahatma gandhi while on a visit to his ashram at ahmedabad. shortly afterwards, gandhi arranged a camp near her village in which little usha participated, attending sessions and doing a little spinning. in 1928, eight-year-old usha participated in a protest march against the simon commission and shouted her first words of protest against the british raj: "simon go back." in 1932, when usha was 12, her family moved to bombay, making it possible for her to participate more actively in the freedom movement. she and other children distributed clandestine bulletins and publications, visited relatives in the prisons, and carried messages to these prisoners (kaur, 2013). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/india%27s_first_war_of_independence_(term) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/lucknow https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/east_india_company https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/capture_of_lucknow https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/nana_sahib https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/faizabad https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/nepal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/jang_bahadur https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ministry_of_minority_affairs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/government_of_india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/maulana_azad https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/clapham https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/london https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/socialist https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/theosophy_(blavatskian) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/orator https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/educationist https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/philanthropy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/freedom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/banaras_hindu_university https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/caste_system_in_india https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/theosophical_society https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/helena_blavatsky https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/theosophy_(blavatskian) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/adyar_(chennai) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/madras https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/chennai https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/all_india_home_rule_league https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/lokmanya_tilak https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/hill_station https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/all-india_muslim_league https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=saras,_gujarat&action=edit&redlink=1 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/surat https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/gujarat https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/mohandas_karamchand_gandhi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ashram https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ahmedabad https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/mohandas_karamchand_gandhi https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/campsite https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/protest https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/simon_commission https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/british_raj https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/simon_commission https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/bombay copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 24 usha grew up highly influenced by gandhi and became one of his followers. she made an early decision to remain celibate for life and took up a spartan, gandhian lifestyle, wearing only khadi clothes and keeping away from luxuries of all types. over time, she emerged as a prominent proponent of gandhian thought and philosophy. she ended her studies in 1942 to join the quit india movement. thereafter, beginning at age 22, she participated in the freedom movement full-time. gandhi and the congress had announced that the quit india movement would commence on 9 august 1942 with a rally at gowalia tank grounds in mumbai. nearly all leaders including gandhi were arrested before that date. however, a vast crowd of indians gathered at gowalia tank ground on the appointed day. it was left to a group of junior leaders and workers to address them and hoist the national flag. usha was one of those who hoisted the tricolour on 9 august 1942 at gowalia tank ground, which was later renamed "august kranti maidan" (raju, 2004). on 14 august 1942, usha and some of her close associates began the secret congress radio, a clandestine radio station. it went air on 27 august. the first words broadcast in her voice were: "this is the congress radio calling on 42.34 meters from somewhere in india." her associates included vithalbhai jhaveri, chandrakant jhaveri, babubhai thakkar and nanka motwani, owner of chicago radio, who supplied equipment and provided technicians. many other leaders, including dr. ram manohar lohia, achyut patwardhan and purushottam trikamdas, also assisted the secret congress radio. the radio broadcast recorded messages from gandhi and other prominent leaders across india. to elude the authorities, the organizers moved the station's location almost daily. ultimately, however, the police found them on 12 november 1942 and arrested the organizers, including usha mehta. all were later imprisoned. the criminal investigation department (cid), a wing of the indian police, interrogated her for six months. after the trial, she was sentenced to four years imprisonment (1942 to 1946). two of her associates were also convicted. usha was imprisoned at yeravada jail in pune. in march 1946, she was released, the first political prisoner to be released in bombay, at the orders of morarji desai, who was at that time the home minister in the interim government. although the secret congress radio functioned only for three months, it greatly assisted the movement by disseminating uncensored news and other information banned by the british-controlled government of india. secret congress radio also kept the leaders of the freedom movement in touch with the public. in august 2000, although she was suffering from fever, usha participated like she did every year in the anniversary celebrations related to the quit india movement in august kranti maidan. she returned home weak and exhausted. two days later, she died peacefully on 11 august 2000 at the age of 80 (padhy & rani, 2013). 3. conclusion thus, from the above discussion it is clear that the history of freedom struggle is replete with the saga of sacrifice, bravery, selflessness and political sagacity of women. the history of indian freedom struggle would be incomplete without mentioning the contribution made by these brave women. many women assumed a gallant job in indian freedom movement but unfortunately some of them are lost in the pages of history. therefore, the need of the hour is to highlight the contribution made by these brave daughters of the soil in the freedom struggle of their motherland. references aparna., b. (1990). the role of women in the struggle for freedom in b.r. nanda, (eds.) indian women: from purdah to modernity, radiant publication, new delhi, p.19. bala., u. (1986). indian women freedom fighters 1857-1947, manmohan publishers, new delhi, p. 99. basu, a. (1976). role of women in indian struggle for freedom , vikas publications, new delhi. pp. 240-42 bhat, n. s. (1998). south kanara, 1799-1860: a study in colonial administration and regional response. mittal publications. chandrababu, b. s., & thilagavathi, l. (2009). woman, her history and her struggle for emancipation. bharathi puthakalayam. chandra & bipin. (1998). india's struggle for independence, new delhi: penguin books, p.253 dalrymple., w. (2006). the last mughal; the fall of a dynasty: delhi, 1857, viking penguin, p.69 david., s. (2002). the indian mutiny, viking; p. 185 farooqui, a. (2000). from baiza bai to lakshmi bai: the scindia state in the early nineteenth century and the roots of 1857'. issues in modern indian history: for sumit sarkar, popular prakashan, mumbai. farooqui, a. (2011). sindias and the raj: princely gwalior c. 1800-1850. primus books. forbes g. (1999). women in modern india. the new cambridge history of india. iv.2. cambridge university press. pp. 140-141. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/gowalia_tank_maidan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ram_manohar_lohia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/incarceration https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/indian_police_service https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/pune https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/political_prisoner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/morarji_desai https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/geraldine_forbes https://books.google.com/books?id=hjilirvt9huc&pg=pa140 copyright © cc-by-nc 2020, cribfb | aijssr www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 5, no. 2; 2020 25 gupta, a. k. (2015). nineteenth-century colonialism and the great indian revolt. routledge. hibbert., c. (1980). the great mutiny, harmondsworth: penguin; p. 371 john., kaye & malleson., g. b. (2010). history of the indian mutiny-1857-8. cambridge university press, vol. 3; london, pp. 324-26. kaur., s. (2013). role of women in india’s struggle for freedom. international journal of management and social science research review, 2(4), 112. pathak, g. (2008). assamese women in indian independence movement: with a special emphasis on kanaklata barua. mittal publications. padhy., s. c & rani., a. s. (2013)., participation of women in the freedom struggle during the gandhian era: a comparative study between odisha and andhra pradesh. odisha review, 16-18. radha, k. (1997). the history of doing: an illustrated account of movements for women's rights and feminism in india 1800-1990. zubaan raju, v. r. (2004). role of women in indian freedom struggle, delhi. shintri, s., & rao, k. r. (1983). women freedom fighters in karnataka. prasaranga, karnatak university. simmi., jain. (2003). encyclopaedia of indian women through the ages. vol.3. delhi: kalpaz publications. p. 106. subhadra kumari.,c. (1930). jhansi ki rani. retrieved from https://www.poemhunter.com/subhadra-kumari-chauhan. poem hunter. thomas., l. (1860). central india during the rebellion, cited in edwardes, michael (1975) red year. london: sphere books, p. 117 maitrayee., c. (2011). the indian women’s movement: reform and revival. new delhi: palm leaf publications, print. nag., a. k. (1976). rani gaidinliu: a study of the jadonang movement of the nagas. tribal mirror publications. p. 18. nayya., k. (2002). rani gaidinliu. ocean books. nigel., a. (2009). queen of jhansi, mumbai: hollywood publishing; p.5 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://books.google.com/books?id=68xtbt1-h4ic&pg=pa87&lpg=pa87&dq=kamala+das+gupta&source=web&ots=ovncqwx1f9&sig=vsv0pmldtttjpfaprmh73g2dknm&hl=en&sa=x&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=kamala%20das%20gupta&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=68xtbt1-h4ic&pg=pa87&lpg=pa87&dq=kamala+das+gupta&source=web&ots=ovncqwx1f9&sig=vsv0pmldtttjpfaprmh73g2dknm&hl=en&sa=x&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=kamala%20das%20gupta&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=-vdiqxmuqmic&pg=pa106 https://books.google.com/books?id=xngzaaaamaaj https://books.google.com/books?id=6mm6puvrqgac american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 19 medication error overview and prevention strategies ahmad khan md, ms a t still health sciences university, usa e-mail: sa205310@atsu.edu, ahmadkhan_noorzai@yahoo.com abstract this literature review aims to highlight the overview of medication errors and strategies to avoid and decrease medication errors. availability of various types of over-the-counter and prescribed medication has added to the risk of medication. also, the medication chain has different steps, and different people are involved in each step, such as prescribing medication, dispensing, and administering medication. every phase in the medication chain is prone to risks that can lead to medication errors. medication safety is the responsibility of every healthcare professional involved in the medication chain to deliver effective and safe care to patients with an optimal outcome. a medication error can happen in every health care setting to decrease and prevent medication errors. it is critically important to have complete knowledge of the medication use chain and integrate evidence-based strategies, such as medication reconciliation, analysis of medication error, double-check, and avoiding interruption and distraction into practice. medication errors can lead to patient harm, prevent on-time discharges, and increase care costs. medication safety culture can shine in a setting of effectively applying strategy into practice, and everyone's collaboration and commitment to adhere to medication safety strategy can improve patient safety. keywords: reconciliation, analysis, medication error, strategy. introduction medication error overview and prevention strategies healthcare expenses in the united states are approximately $3.5 trillion annually. the united states of america consumes more money per person in healthcare than other developed countries (cdc, 2021). a significant portion of healthcare costs is related to medication prices. in 2016, almost $450 billion was spent on therapeutic medication. over time, the medication costs are presumed to increase (aitken & kleinrock, 2017). one of the primary missions of a healthcare professional is to deliver safe and effective care to the patient to reach optimal outcomes. fostering evidence-based practices and safe use of medication is vital to high-quality and effective care (carayon et al., 2020; musharyanti et al., 2019). medication errors happen in every health facility globally, and they can cause severe consequences for patients. error in medicine is not one hundred percent avoidable, and it constitutes a significant threat to patient safety (bonney, 2013). one of the most prevalent medical errors that healthcare professionals and patients can encounter is medication error. it constitutes 10 to 18 percent of overall medical errors in healthcare settings (sarhadi et al., 2015). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 20 a medication error can occur at any phase of the medication chain. for example, a medication error can happen during writing a prescription, dispensing, or administering the medication. studies indicate most medication errors (87%) happen when the medication is administered to the patient. the majority of medication errors at this step medication process are nursing related (yousefi et al., 2014). the financial and non-financial implications of medication error on the health system are critical. a medication error can prolong hospital stays and increase the cost of healthcare services. the financial burden of avoidable medication errors is approximately $2 billion annually in the united states of america (eslami, 2007). expansion in the variety of medications has increased the complexity of medication administration and the prescription process. there are over 10,000 types of prescription medication in 300,000 types of products available over the counter in the united states (anderson & aspeden, 2007). approximately 5% of patients experience an adverse event from a medication side effect or an error during their stay in the hospital (pelletier & beaudin, 2018). definition medication error does not have a universal definition. the concept of medication error might vary from country to country based on differing local laws. in the u.s., the national coordinating council for medication error reporting and prevention has defined medication error as: "any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing, order communication, product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature, compounding, dispensing, distribution, administration, education, monitoring, and use." (nccmerp, 2021). medication error strategies it is essential to develop strategies to decrease the risk of medication errors in the medication delivery chains. healthcare personnel has applied evidence-based strategies into practice to reduce and prevent the possibility of medication errors in healthcare settings. analysis of medication error events reporting a medication error is a critically important asset to limit medication error instances and create strategies to prevent further medication errors (kohn, 1999). notwithstanding the thorough impact these errors have on the healthcare system, they extensively go under-reported, mainly due to the fear of backlash (zhan et al., 2008). when medication error happens, it has to be considered as a learning opportunity to improve care and reduce the chance of the same medication error in the future. when the hospital takes punitive actions against staff who make the medication error, it can lead to the demoralization of other staff to report medication errors (pelletier & beaudin, 2018). it is critically important to report medication errors to develop countermeasures in order to radically remove the occurrence of the same medication or reduce their impact. significant causes of medication error are system-related rather than human-related factors (rex et al., 2000). some healthcare facilities have noticed success in enhancing the process and decreasing the medication errors via lean six sigma methodology (de koning et al., 2006). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 21 double check nuclear power, aviation, and other high-risk industries have a history of using double checks and triple checks to ensure that crucial processes are carried out correctly. thankfully, most healthcare facilities now have incorporated chemotherapy and other high-risk medication (neuss et al., 2016). moreover, in healthcare facilities where a double check is a requirement, it is also crucial to apply it into practice. otherwise, it is straightforward for the second check to become lackadaisical, contributing to false reassurance in a state of genuinely increasing patient safety (pelletier & beaudin, 2018). avoiding distractions and interruption factors every step, in medication administration, processing, prescribing, and preparation is prone to medication errors. even though most healthcare facilities have applied automated systems for the medication delivery steps, humans are still involved in every step of medication delivery. for example, there is a computerized system for the dosage of the medication. still, a doctor needs to add the medication dose into the system. recent studies indicate that disruption and interruptions can increase the possibility of medication error in the medication delivery steps (hayes et al., 2015). at the same time, studies indicate that reducing or removing distractions and interruption can increase medication safety (prakash et al., 2014). on the other hand, some argue that specific interruptions are critical to delivering highquality, effective, and safe care to the patient (rivera-rodriguez & karsh, 2010). a systematic review in 2014 showed that decreasing interruption during medication administration did not show strong evidence to support the prevention interruption and distraction strategy (raban & westbrook, 2014). medication reconciliation the chance of medication error is significantly high when the patient is transitioning from one service to another service, for example, when a patient is transferred from icu to a regular ward or a patient is transferred from a primary doctor to a specialist. studies indicate that unintended medication inconsistency is common, happening in 30% of patients when the patient is admitted to the hospital or transferred from one service to another. moreover, it causes moderate to severe harm in 40% of patients (bishop et al., 2015). medication reconciliation is a practice to review a patient medication list on both sides of care transition in an attempt to prevent unplanned discrepancies (rose et al., 2017). while studies are commencing to indicate some preeminent practices in medication reconciliation, uncertainty regarding what functions still floats over, and successful studies indicate beneficial impacts on adverse drug events compared to actual patient harm (kwan et al., 2013). conclusion the growth of available medication has increased drug side effects and errors that threaten patient safety. medication errors can happen at any stage of the medication chain, especially during prescription and administration steps. it is essential to assure the staff to report medication errors without punitive consequences. reporting medication errors is the correct key to find the causes and solutions to prevent future errors. several healthcare facilities are equipped with a computerized system that can be helpful to prevent medication errors. in addition to technology, we need to apply medication safety policies into the practice and encourage staff to stay compliant https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 22 with the practices. moreover, we need more research to illustrate strategies and solutions to medication errors to safely provide practical, high-quality care to the patient. acknowledgement i want to thank my parents for encouraging me to pursue my education at the doctorate level. i want to thank my friends for supporting me in writing this literature review to help a healthcare professional. finally, i would like to thank my wife who supported me and took care of the kids while i was working on this paper. competing interests “there are no financial or professional competing or conflicts of interest for any of the author”. ethnical approval information: “ethical approval not required as this was an academic paper completed during coursework.” data sharing statement: no data was collected during writing the article. references aitken, m., & kleinrock, m. (2017). medicines use and spending in the us. iqvia institute for human data science. anderson, p., & aspden, p. (2007). preventing medication errors (pp. 409-46). national acad. press. bishop, m. a., cohen, b. a., billings, l. k., & thomas, e. v. (2015). reducing errors through discharge medication reconciliation by pharmacy services. american journal of healthsystem pharmacy, 72(17_supplement_2), s120-s126. bonney, w. (2013). medical errors: moral and ethical considerations. j hosp adm, 32(32), 80-88. carayon, p., wetterneck, t. b., cartmill, r., blosky, m. a., brown, r., hoonakker, p., kim, r., kukreja, s., johnson, m., paris, b., wood, k., & walker, j. m. (2021). medication safety in two intensive care units of a community teaching hospital after electronic health record implementation: sociotechnical and human factors engineering considerations. journal of patient safety. centers for disease control and prevention. (2021). health expenditure. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/health-expenditures.htm de koning, h., verver, j. p., van den heuvel, j., bisgaard, s., & does, r. j. (2006). lean six sigma in healthcare. journal for healthcare quality, 28(2), 4-11. eslami, s., abu-hanna, a., & de keizer, n. f. (2007). evaluation of outpatient computerized physician medication order entry systems: a systematic review. journal of the american medical informatics association, 14(4), 400-406. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 23 hayes, c., jackson, d., davidson, p. m., & power, t. (2015). medication errors in hospitals: a literature review of disruptions to nursing practice during medication administration. journal of clinical nursing, 24(21-22), 3063-3076. kwan, j. l., lo, l., sampson, m., & shojania, k. g. (2013). medication reconciliation during transitions of care as a patient safety strategy: a systematic review. annals of internal medicine, 158(5_part_2), 397-403. kohn, l. t. (1999). errors in health care: a leading cause of death and injury in: kohn lt, corrigan jm, donaldson ms. musharyanti, l., claramita, m., haryanti, f., & dwiprahasto, i. (2019). why do nursing students make medication errors? a qualitative study in indonesia. journal of taibah university medical sciences, 14(3), 282-288. national coordination council for medication error reporting and prevention. (2021). about medication errors: what is a medication error? retrieved from https://www.nccmerp.org/about-medication-errors. neuss, m. n., gilmore, t. r., belderson, k. m., billett, a. l., conti-kalchik, t., harvey, b. e., lefebvre, k. b., mangu, p. b., mcniff, k., oslen, m., schulmeister, l., gehr, a., & polovich, m. (2016). 2016 updated american society of clinical oncology/oncology nursing society chemotherapy administration safety standards, including standards for pediatric oncology. journal of oncology practice, 12(12), 1262-1271. pelletier, l. & beaudin, c. (eds.). (2018). health quality solutions. national association for health care quality. prakash, v., koczmara, c., savage, p., trip, k., stewart, j., mccurdie, t., cafazzo, j. a., & trbovich, p. (2014). mitigating errors caused by interruptions during medication verification and administration: interventions in a simulated ambulatory chemotherapy setting. bmj quality & safety, 23(11), 884-892. raban, m. z., & westbrook, j. i. (2014). are interventions to reduce interruptions and errors during medication administration effective?: a systematic review. bmj quality & safety, 23(5), 414-421. rex, j. h., turnbull, j. e., allen, s. j., voorde, k. v., & luther, k. (2000). systematic root cause analysis of adverse drug events in a tertiary referral hospital. the joint commission journal on quality improvement, 26(10), 563-575. rivera-rodriguez, a. j., & karsh, b. t. (2010). interruptions and distractions in healthcare: review and reappraisal. bmj quality & safety, 19(4), 304-312. rose, a. j., fischer, s. h., & paasche-orlow, m. k. (2017). beyond medication reconciliation: the correct medication list. jama, 317(20), 2057-2058. https://www.nccmerp.org/about-medication-errors https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 24 sarhadi, m., abdollhyar, a., navidian, a., sheikh bardsiri, h., & sarhadi, t. (2015). the investment of effective factors on medical errors and non-reporting from nurse’s perspective. journal of sabzevar university of medical sciences, 22(1), 132-142. yousefi, m. s., abed saeedi, z., maleki, m., & sarbakhsh, p. (2014). frequency and causes of medication errors of nurses in different shift works in educational hospitals affiliated to shahid beheshti university of medical sciences. j shahid beheshti sch nurs midwifery, 24(24), 27-34. zhan, c., smith, s. r., keyes, m. a., hicks, r. w., cousins, d. d., & clancy, c. m. (2008). how useful are voluntary medication error reports? the case of warfarin-related medication errors. the joint commission journal on quality and patient safety, 34(1), 36-45. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 56 green bonds: world’s experiences, current status and proposal for improving vietnamese law dr. luu quoc thai lecturer faculty of commercial law hochiminh city university of law, vietnam e-mail: lqthai@hcmulaw.edu.vn received: october 14, 2021 accepted: october 28, 2021 online published: november 14, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1437 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1437 abstract vietnam is a developing country, often adversely affected by environmental pollution and climate change. one of the main reasons leading to this situation is outdated production technologies, which is not environmentally friendly. this situation has been causing serious impacts on the economy and society of this country. according to the experience of developed countries and to fulfill national commitments on the environment, investment projects in production and business are encouraged to be implemented in an environmentally friendly manner. to do this, investors, especially businesses, need to mobilize a certain financial source to equip facilities and production technologies that cause less pollution. among financial instruments, green bonds are an emerging factor applied by many countries around the world and vietnam is also ready to test it. however, up to now, the issuance of green bonds in vietnam has not been possible because of the lack of a complete legal mechanism. so, this article will analyze vietnamese law on this issue on the basis of learning experiences from other countries to come up with a complete solution for vietnam. keywords: green bonds, climate changes, vietnam, law. introduction environmental pollution and climate change are serious global problems. in particular, developing countries like vietnam have been experiencing great adverse impacts from these factors. according to research by international organizations and authorities, vietnam is a country that can lose about 15 billion usd/year due to climate change, approximately 5% of the country's gdp (unu, 2013). vietnam has also joined the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc) on november 16, 1994 and is making efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. according to the international energy organization (iea), to halve global emissions by 2050, the world will need 46 trillion usd, equivalent to 1 trillion usd per year (snrd, 2012). in that context, green bonds are seen as a new capital attraction channel and an effective solution that mailto:lqthai@hcmulaw.edu.vn https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 57 can help mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars per year for the development of a green and sustainable economy (mai, tap chi tai chinh, 2019). according to a survey by the global green growth institute (gggi), it is estimated that to fully realize the country's self-determined contributions and green growth strategy, vietnam will need 30 billion usd in 2030 (gggi, 2018). therefore, green bonds are being considered as a new and effective channel to attract capital for solutions to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change in vietnam (p.v, 2018). however, until now, specific regulations on green bonds in vietnam have not been fully issued. this makes fundraising activities for environmental protection through green bonds still facing many obstacles and difficulties and cannot be implemented in practice, although the ministry of finance has intended to allow this type of bond to be issued in 2021 (dung, bringing green bonds to the market soon in 2021, 2021). literature review domestic research in vietnam, the issue of green bonds has had a number of studies such as, the article: "green bonds: vietnam in an effort to catch up with the global green finance era" (2020) published in the banking journal of vietnam by quan thu trang (trang, 2020). this article analyzes the potential development of green bonds in vietnam a popular green financial instrument in the world today. based on a theoretical approach to the concept, characteristics and standards of green bonds as well as the practice of the global green bond market, the article analyzes some challenges in green bond development and recommends some solutions to promote green bond development in vietnam. article: "green bonds: advantages and disadvantages for development in vietnam's stock market" (2020) by the author group minh chau dang dong ngoc phat le nam published in the money financial market journal. this article is based on an analysis of the interest and needs of investors in the market to assess the advantages and disadvantages of developing green bonds in the vietnamese stock market (minh chau, dang dong, ngoc phat, le nam, 2020). article: "development trend of green bond market in the world and experience for vietnam" by nguyen thi tuyet mai published in vietnamese financial review journal. this article describes the practice of developing green bonds in some countries around the world and suggests lessons learned in policy making to develop the green bond market in vietnam (mai, development trend of green bond market in the world and experience for vietnam, 2019). international research internationally, there are some studies, such as article: "eu green bond standard: reasonable implementation can define a new asset class" of alexander lehmann (2021). this article discusses the european union's green bond standard and its implementation mechanism for eu countries, aiming to perfect it as a capital asset market (lehmann, 2021). article: "financing green: reforming green bond regulation in the united states" by echo kaixi wang (2018) published in the brooklyn journal of corporate, finance and commercial law. the article assesses the current situation of green bond issuance in the world and the situation in the united states, points out the inadequacies of the us law on green bonds and offers complete solutions (wang, 2018). article: “green bonds as a tool to combat climate change?” by serena fatica and robert panzica published in business strategy and the environment journal on march 19, 2021. in this paper, the authors investigate the relationship between the issuance of green bonds and the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 58 environmental performance of enterprises and aims to show the real effect of green bonds in protecting the environment and preventing climate change. research results show that the majority of green bonds of enterprises are issued to finance projects with the aim of mitigating climate change (serena fatica & robert panzica , 2021). article: “what future for the green bond market? how can policymakers, companies, and investors unlock the potential of the green bond market?” by pauline dyschryver and frederic de mariz (2020) published in journal of risk and financial management. this paper is based on a unique methodology that combines an extensive literature review, analysis of market data, and interviews with multiple green bond market participants. the authors identify current barriers that explain the lack of scalability of the green bond market: the lack of globally harmonized standards; the risk of “green washing”; higher cost awareness for issuers; lack of supply of green bonds for investors; and the early stages of the market. this paper makes some recommendations to overcome these obstacles and exploit the full potential of green bonds to finance sustainability goals (mariz, pauline dyschryver & frederic de, 2020). in general, the researches on green bonds that have been published mainly focus on economic and environmental aspects. the author has not found any works that go into the analysis of the legal aspects of this issue in vietnam. methodology this article is based on the “sustainable development” theory outlined in the 1972 stockholm declaration (at the conference on human environment held in the swedish capital in 1972): “it is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the satisfaction of the needs of future generations”. the article is also based on the united nations framework convention on climate change (which came into force on march 21, 1994), with the main content being: "the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system could be prevented. that level must be reached within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable growth sustainable economic development”. based on this, the author uses the desk-based research method through the processing of indirectly collected information. methods of analysis, evaluation, comparison and synthesis of information will be used in the discussion to find out the research results. discussion and results theoretical and practical basis of green bonds a. theoretical basis of green bonds green bonds were born in 2008 by the world bank for the purpose of financing environmental projects (world bank, 2018). although investors were not interested at first, when environmental problems became more and more serious, green bonds became one of the new capital raising tools that were widely developed in many countries around the world with many issuers such as the european investment bank (eib), asian development bank (adb), development bank in japan, germany and in some local governments in european countries, america, europe (minh chau, dang dong, ngoc phat, le nam, 2020),… in fact, in the world today, there are two international regulatory systems that bond issuers can refer to when issuing green securities. the first is the green bond principles (gbp), published in 2014 by the international capital market association (icma) and several major investment banks. the second is the climate bond standard (cbs), which establishes recommendations of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 59 industry-specific standards that climate bonds need to meet before they can be certified. both guidelines are voluntary and there is no supervisory mechanism to enforce them (icma, 2021). according to icma's 2014 green bond principles (gbp), a green bond is any type of bond in which the proceeds from the bond issue are used for financing or refinancing part or all of projects related to the environment, also known as green projects such as clean energy, clean water projects... different countries, organizations and regions will have their own ways and regulations on the issuance of these bonds, but all are based on an international standard “gbp”. in particular, green bonds need to comply with four principles specified in gbp: using proceeds, evaluating and selecting projects, managing proceeds and reporting on capital use. in the research paper: “developing the green bond market in china: reducing costs and increasing the capacity of green investments while promoting greater transparency and stability in financial markets” by kidney & oliver (2014) posted on the website of the international sustainable development organization, green bonds, just like regular bonds but issued with the purpose of supporting green investments – investments that aim to reduce environmental impact such as reducing climate change or increasing efficiency energy (oliver, 2014). it can be said that green bonds are distinguished from ordinary bonds through commitments to use mobilized capital to finance or refinance green projects or businesses. green bonds can be issued by public entities such as the government, local authorities or the private sector such as banks and businesses to raise capital for projects associated with the environment. according to icma's 2018 edition of the code of conduct for green bonds issue and use (gbp), the qualifying green project categories are listed below in no particular order, including, but are not limited to: renewable energy (including production, transmission, appliances and products); energy efficiency (such as in new and refurbished buildings, energy storage, district heating, smart grids, appliances and products); pollution prevention and control (including reduction of air emissions, greenhouse gas control, soil remediation, waste prevention, waste reduction, waste recycling and energy/emission-efficient waste to energy); environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use (including environmentally sustainable agriculture; environmentally sustainable animal husbandry; climate smart farm inputs such as biological crop protection or drip-irrigation; environmentally sustainable fishery and aquaculture; environmentally-sustainable forestry, including afforestation or reforestation, and preservation or restoration of natural landscapes); terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity conservation (including the protection of coastal, marine and watershed environments); clean transportation (such as electric, hybrid, public, rail, non-motorised, multi-modal transportation, infrastructure for clean energy vehicles and reduction of harmful emissions); sustainable water and wastewater management (including sustainable infrastructure for clean and/or drinking water, wastewater treatment, sustainable urban drainage systems and river training and other forms of flooding mitigation); climate change adaptation (including information support systems, such as climate observation and early warning systems); eco-efficient and/or circular economy adapted products, production technologies and processes (such as development and introduction of environmentally sustainable products, https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 60 with an eco-label or environmental certification, resource-efficient packaging and distribution); green buildings which meet regional, national or internationally recognised standards or certifications. thus, green bonds are also a debt instrument to raise capital like all bonds, but green bonds have specific characteristics associated with the purpose of using the mobilized capital. it is the proceeds from the issuance of green bonds that must be used to finance or refinance green projects. in order to manage the money collected from green bonds and use it for the right purposes, a reputable third party must perform the monitoring and management to ensure transparency and accuracy. if green projects do not bring revenue to the issuer, other revenue sources of the issuer can be used to ensure debt repayment, such as local government budget revenues, state budget revenue. theoretically, the use of green bonds benefits bond issuers, investors and society. issuing green bonds on the market will help attract a variety of investors, especially those who are interested in environmental factors. in terms of society, green bonds will contribute to raising the awareness of investors about environmental issues, and at the same time, create conditions to attract large capital from the society to realize green growth, economic sustainable development. b. practical application of green bonds in some countries around the world green bonds in singapore in 2017, the monetary authority of singapore (mas) launched the green bond program. this is a remarkable move by policy makers in promoting the development of green finance in the financial system. mas offers a 3-year support program from june 1, 2017 to may 31, 2020 for issuers (enterprises and credit institutions) that must meet the following conditions (gbs vietnam, 2021): issued in singapore dong (sgd) and listed on the singapore stock exchange. the issuer does not have to be a singapore company; issuing value is at least 200 million sgd and has a term of at least 3 years, which cannot be recovered in those 3 years; enterprises must prepare and submit an independent assessment report or credit rating report according to internationally recognized green bond issuance standards. (the international capital market association’s green bond principles gbp), climate bond standards or asean green bond standards (asean green bond standards). in addition, the singapore government's move to issue green bonds for s$19 billion worth of infrastructure projects has positioned the country as a trusted hub for green finance. these green bonds are significant as the total number of green bonds issued by asean from 2016 to 2019 is only approximately us$8.1 billion (s$10.8 billion), of which 55% contributed by singapore (lin, 2021). green bonds in china china is the world's leading greenhouse gas producer (phong, 2021). in order to have financial resources to deal with environmental pollution and climate change, china has officially mobilized capital with green bonds since 2015. agricultural bank of china issued nearly 1 billion usd of green bonds in the london market to raise capital for environmentally friendly projects in october 2015 (chau, 2018). china's domestic green bond market was established in december 2015 with the first amount of green bonds issued on the interbank market, in order to help credit institutions, https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 61 raise more capital to finance their investments green project, and at the same time establish a market to create a basis for the development of the green bond market in the following years. china's green bond issuance value increased to 36.2 billion usd, accounting for one-third of the global green bond issuance value, making china the leading country in this market. in the first months of 2021, china took the lead in green bond issuance (huang, 2021). to achieve the above results, china has built a specific legal corridor. on december 22, 2015, the people's bank of china (pboc) issued the directive on green financial bonds, which stipulates the following contents: (1) the concept of green bond, (2) the list of industries that green bonds finance, (3) entities that are allowed to issue green bonds, (4) procedures to apply for green bonds, (5) issuance as well as principles in the process of using and managing revenue from green bond issuance, (6) regulations to encourage relevant agencies and sectors to take measures to support the development of green bonds. in addition, the pboc also issued a list of projects financed by green bonds – setting standards for projects, industries and sectors to consider financing with funds from green bond issuance. these standards are developed based on reference to international standards combined with china's environmental policy. this is the first specific guide on green bonds in china. after that, a series of directional documents and guidelines for the development of green bonds were issued. in mid-november 2016, china's national development and reconstruction commission (ndrc) issued guidelines for green bond issuance mainly aimed at the state-owned enterprise sector, specifying which projects are considered as green green projects, and outlines the requirements for the issuance of green bonds and related policies. around the end of march 2016, the shanghai securities center and the shenzhen securities center issued the notice of green bond pilot program, facilitating the listing of green bonds on the external financial market next to the interbank bond market. by the end of august 2016, china continued to issue the guidelines for building a green financial system, which concretize guidelines to promote the role of the stock market in green investment and unify domestic green bond standards (hong, 2017). in addition, china has also issued preferential policies to encourage the development of the green bond market. in particular, the pboc has approved for financial institutions to use green bonds as collateral to enjoy low-interest loans from the central bank. this regulation has created a driving force for banks to issue green bonds in the process of raising capital. this is one of the reasons why commercial banks account for the largest share, up to 82%, in the issuance of green bonds in china. guidelines issued by the ndrc have provided incentives for businesses to issue green bonds, such as simplifying the issuance and approval process for companies. this is specifically through allowing companies to be issued individually and collectively for certain types of projects and under certain circumstances, adjusting some conditions for issuing green bonds for businesses, for example allowing the bond issue value to account for 80% of the total investment of the project. at the same time, china allows issuers to use green bonds to improve capital structure, i.e., the issuer is approved to use less than 50% of the proceeds from the bond to pay off bank liabilities and invest in working capital (anh, 2020). being allowed to trade on international stock markets as well as domestic financial markets has created a large market for chinese green bonds to develop. in 2016, 27% of china's green bonds were issued overseas with 3 currencies: usd, rmb and eur. among the issued green bonds, 17% of green bonds meet international green bond standards and are traded in the london and singapore markets. however, it is the domestic green bond market that shows the strong development of china's green bonds when the domestic issuance rate is up to 72% of the total amount of green bonds. of which, 74% of green bonds are issued on the interbank market and https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 62 17% traded on the shanghai stock market (chau, 2018). thus, the development of the domestic green bond market, mainly in the interbank market, has facilitated the trading of green bonds, promoting the development of green bonds. in short, careful legal and technical preparation as well as systematic and synchronous steps have contributed to helping china's green bonds achieve positive results and in the coming years will still be one of the important capital attraction channels to help china achieve its plan of greening the economy (climate bonds, 2021). green bonds in europe europe is a region with a very large amount of green bonds has been issued. previously, the issuance of green bonds in europe was based on the icma’ gbp on a voluntary basis. let's do the statistics of bonds issued in the world to compare. in 2014, green bonds were issued worldwide worth $36.8 billion (€31.1 billion). six years later, in 2020, the market reaches 290.1 billion usd (245 billion euros). according to the climate bonds initiative, an international organization that mobilizes green capital, 2021 will end with more than $450 billion (€380 billion) raised for climate projects. for 2023, forecast is 1 trillion usd. although the us is the leading country in issuing green bonds, it is the eu countries that are ahead: germany, france, the netherlands, sweden and spain are among the top 10 green bond issuers. in 2020, these five countries together issued $120 billion in green bonds, accounting for more than 40% of the total global bond. meanwhile, the us and china issued 52.1 billion usd and 22.4 billion usd respectively. italy, finland, portugal, denmark, hungary, austria, luxembourg, belgium, ireland, greece and lithuania have raised money for their national projects with green bonds, although to a much lesser extent than the top 5 eu countries. in 2021 latvia, poland and slovakia begin to enter this market. outside the eu, norway, the united kingdom, switzerland, russia and iceland are also having certain calculations. it is predicted that in the next 5 years, the ec can issue up to 250 billion euros of green bonds to help member states implement environmentally friendly initiatives (dung, eu "dominates" the green bond market, 2021). for an honest, sustainable green bond market, the european commission has proposed a green bond standard for europe (eugbs). on 6 july 2021, the european commission published a legislative proposal on european green bonds (the eugb regulation). the eugb regulation will lay the foundation for a common framework of rules regarding the use of the “european green bond” (eugb) designation for bonds that pursue environmentally sustainable objectives as defined by the taxonomy regulation. it also sets up a system for registering and supervising companies that act as external reviewers for green bonds aligned with the eugb framework (nortonrosefulbright, 2021). this is an important premise so that in october 2021, the eu issued a record high green bond, serving its needs and taking its first step to potentially become the biggest issuer of environmentally-friendly debt with a record-sized deal (bahceli, 2021). green bonds in the united states the united states (us) is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, after china (chiang, 2017). therefore, the direction of green industry is always interested by the government and businesses in the us. apple, inc. had the largest green bond issuance because with the goal of financing green buildings, renewable energy projects and “robot technology to popularize used iphones and preserve high quality components” (eck, 2017). besides, other large banks and corporations, such as bank of america, morgan stanley and some energy companies have started to issue green bonds to finance initiatives for green production, such as: build wind farms to https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 63 generate electricity, and develop residential solar power systems. this has made the amount of green bonds in the us always top in the world. comparison with other countries shows that, in the five years leading up to 2021, us issuers accounted for the largest share of issuance by volume (17% or $37.6 billion) and number of transactions (495). germany came in second with 13%, or $28.5 billion, and 102 deals, while france and china came in third and fourth, with similar volumes ($22.8 billion and 22.0 billion usd, each deal accounts for 10% of the issuance) but the number of transactions varies (20 and 92 respectively). singapore comes in at 13th place, between norway and the uk (dung, global green bond market to reach record $1 trillion by the end of 2022, 2021). just like the european green bond market, the us green bond market governance system and practices remain entirely voluntary and the regulatory systems are largely self-regulating through gbp guidelines. the us green bond market is mainly operated through sustainable investment funds. this leads to debates about the standard of green bonds, green projects and the transparency required in the issuance and use of green bonds. therefore, in order for the green bond market to be stable and correct, experts have recommended that the us government consider issuing its own regulation on green bonds like china and eu had done, so that investors who are considering investing in green bonds will have more confidence in the reliability and safety of their investments. a new information related to international standards on green bonds worth noting is that, in 2021, icma also issued the 2021 version of gbp. this edition of gbp benefits from the feedback of the 2020 consultations by the members and observers of the principles, the advisory council, as well as from the input of working groups led by the executive committee coordinated with the support of the secretariat. this is an important basis for green bonds to develop sustainably in the world. current status of vietnamese law on green bonds in order to fulfill international environmental commitments, over the past time, vietnam has issued many oriented mechanisms and policies on developing the green bond market such as: national strategy on green growth according to decision no. 1393/qd-ttg dated september 25, 2012 of the prime minister; national action plan on green growth (decision no. 403/qd-ttg dated september 20, 2014 of the prime minister); decision no. 1191/qd-ttg dated august 14, 2017 of the prime minister approving the roadmap for the development of the bond market for the period 2017-2020, with a vision to 2030. this is considered an important legal basis for the development of the green bond market in vietnam. in addition, the communist party of vietnam, the government and the ministry of finance have issued legal documents to create a favorable legal corridor for green development in vietnam. the first is resolution no. 24-nq/tw dated june 3, 2013 of the xi central executive committee on proactively responding to climate change, strengthening financial management and protecting the environment by 2020 towards a green and environmentally friendly economy, by 2050 achieving environmental targets equivalent to those of industrialized countries in the region. on this basis, the prime minister issued the following documents: decision no. 403/qd-ttg approving the national green growth action plan for the period 2014 – 2020; action plan to implement the paris agreement on climate change (decision no. 2053/qd-ttg dated october 28, 2016). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 64 after that, the ministry of finance issued decision no. 2183/qd-btc dated october 20, 2015 promulgating the action plan of the finance sector to implement the national strategy on green growth until 2020, including the following objectives and specific duties are as follows: completing financial policies related to promoting the implementation of the green growth strategy; develop and complete a financial policy framework to develop green capital markets and green financial products; review and complete the credit policy framework and support of the state. recently, decree 95/2018/nd-cp dated june 30, 2018 stipulates the issuance, registration, custody, listing and trading of government debt instruments on the stock market and decree 153/2020/nd-cp dated december 31, 2020 stipulating the private offering and trading of corporate bonds in the domestic market and the offering of corporate bonds to the international market has officially regulated on green bonds. the law on environmental protection 2020 (effective from january 1, 2022) is the first law on environmental protection of vietnam that officially regulates green bonds as a tool to support environmental protection activities. article 150 of the law on environmental protection 2020 provides for green bonds as follows: “1. green bonds are bonds issued by the government, local authorities and enterprises in accordance with the law on bonds to raise capital for environmental protection activities and investment projects that bring environmental benefits. 2. financial source from issuing green bonds must be accounted and monitored according to the provisions of the law on bonds and used for investment projects in the field of environmental protection, investment projects that bring about environmental benefits, including: a) renovating and upgrading environmental protection works; b) changing technology towards applying the best available technology; c) applying circular economy, green economy, low carbon emission; d) prevent and reduce environmental pollution; đ) improve and restore the environment after an environmental incident; e) effectively use natural resources, land resources, save energy, develop renewable energy sources; g) building multi-purpose, environment-friendly infrastructure; h) efficient management of water resources and wastewater treatment; i) adapting to climate change, investing in development of natural capital; k) other investment projects as prescribed. 3. the issuer of green bonds must provide information about the environmental impact assessment, the environmental permit of the investment project, and the use of capital raised from the issuance of green votes to investors. 4. issuers and investors buying green bonds are entitled to incentives in accordance with this law and other relevant laws. 5. the government shall detail this article.” in fact, as mentioned above, before the law on environmental protection 2020, the concept of green bonds was officially explained in the legal document on securities. accordingly, "green corporate bonds" are corporate bonds issued to invest in projects in the field of environmental protection, projects that bring environmental benefits in accordance with the provisions of the law on environmental protection” (clause 1, article 21 of decree 98/2015/nd-cp, clause 2, article 4 of decree 153/2020/nd-cp). regarding the issue, according to clause 3, article 21 of decree 95/2018/nd-cp, the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 65 terms, conditions, and arrangements for the issue, registration, depository, listing and trading of green government bonds shall be implemented accordingly to the provisions of article 14, article 15, article 16, article 17, article 18, and article 19 of this decree, i.e., like ordinary bonds. however, important issues have been assigned to the ministry of finance, the ministry of planning and investment, and the ministry of natural resources and environment to develop a green bond issuance scheme to report to the prime minister for approval before implementation currently not available yet. specifically include the following issues: a) purpose of issuing bonds; b) volume of bonds issued; c) terms and conditions of the bond; d) green bond buyers; đ) method of issuing bonds; e) registration, custody, listing and trading; g) list of projects using capital from bond issuance. in addition, according to clause 3, article 5 of decree 153/2020/nd-cp, capital from bond issuance must be separately accounted, managed, monitored and disbursed for projects in the field of environmental protection, projects with environmental benefits according to the approved release plan. thus, vietnam only has the most basic and prerequisite regulations for the issuance of green bonds, but specific regulations for implementation have not been issued yet. although on august 7, 2018, the state bank of vietnam issued decision 1604/qd-nhnn approving the green bank development project, aims to gradually increase the proportion of credit capital for green sectors and fields that need priority support in the list of green projects promulgated by the state bank, but this project also sets only "striving" goals, not mandatory targets. therefore, the issue of green credit in general and green bonds in particular in vietnam still exists only on paper but has not been implemented in practice. in fact, no local government has yet issued a report on the implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of projects using capital from green bonds (tan, 2019). in addition to the problems mentioned above, important issues need to be urgently clarified, such as: “green standards”; management and control of the use of green bonds for the right purposes. in fact, in the world, there has been a situation of taking advantage of green bond and green credit policies to serve other economic purposes. that's called "green washing" behavior. (greenwashing). “green washing” is understood as when a company spends time and money advertising and marketing that its goods or services are environmentally friendly when in fact it is not. in other words, green washing is the act of making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or technology, (cfi, 2021) v.v. they issue green bonds by advertising green initiatives, but instead operate in a way that harms the environment. it can also happen when issuers make misleading statements about how beneficial the project is to environmental causes or when they fail to establish supporting evidence for the green claims they make. conclusion and recomendation green bonds are being considered as a new and effective channel to attract capital for solutions to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change in many countries around the world. for the state, the issuance of green bonds can be a solution to mobilize capital for urgent national projects in the field of environment, combating climate change.… for businesses, green bonds will be a https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 66 good tool for them to implement renewable energy projects such as wind power, solar energy or invest in waste treatment systems, minimizing adverse impacts on the environment. however, as mentioned above, legally, vietnam still lacks many specific regulations on the issuance of green bonds, such as: criteria for green project selection, environmental performance assessment... that green projects bring to society. because of these inadequacies, the issue of green bond issuance in vietnam is still at the stage of research and survey. of course, vietnam can also voluntarily apply icma's gbp principles to issue green bonds, but it may encounter unwanted negative effects. therefore, in order to quickly and effectively take advantage of this financial instrument, the vietnamese government should soon have the following specific regulations: list of projects eligible for funding incentives from green bonds; specific criteria to evaluate the "green" level that a project brings; specific incentives for issuers and users of green bonds; mechanism to control the release use of capital from green bonds; handling of violations related to the improper use of preferential policies on green bonds, especially the issue of "green washing". references anh, t. t. 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(2018). world bank marks 10-year green bond anniversary with landmark issuance us$1.3 billion issuances bring world bank green bond program to us$12.6 billion. retrieved from world bank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pressrelease/2018/11/13/world-bank-marks-10-year copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 35 social science research aijssr vol 11 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa aden university students's reaction towards the turkish drama mohammed arfan salem ba yashot (a)1 (a) department of radio, television and film, istanbul university, turkey; e-mail: mmaabb2015@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 21st march 2022 accepted: 24th april 2022 online publication: 28th april 2022 keywords: yemen, turkish dramas, audience research jel classification codes: z13 a b s t r a c t the main purpose of this study is to investigate the general reaction of the students in yemen, aden university, faculty of mass communication, the turkish drama and the effects of it on the research sample. the results of the research are based on the use of the descriptive approach. online interviews were conducted with eight students. among the research sample, there were many reasons to watch turkish tv series since 2007. the most important of which were raising the importance of social issues, reinforcing national values and increasing the national belongings. it resulted out that the most watched turkish tv series in yemen are those series which belong to war and conflict, while women prefer romantic or drama tv series that deal with family and social issues. turkish tv series have created a good image about turkey and turkish people, and there are great similarities between yemen and turkey in the culture in some traditions and customs and there are also some differences. turkish tv series also contributed to the promotion of turkey in general. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction media plays an important role in the society and drama was one of the most important forms of media that has recently contributed in shaping trends and ideas among the people in the world. this is because of the diversity and multitude of ideas inspired by drama which has positive and negative cross-border effects between countries. it has a high impact power in the action and tension components. after turkish drama has become widespread in the world especially in the middle east in a broader sense, and in arab countries. in the last decade, the turkish minister of culture and tourism, mehmet nuri eros, in an interview with anadolu agency in 8th march, 2019 stated that his country is the second in the world in terms of films and tv/ cinema series exports. he said he was competing with the global movie industry empire "hollywood". arson announced that the value of his country's film and tv series exports is 350 million dollars (mutaf, 2021). the people of yemen are one of the people who love and follow the turkish drama, and yemen has become one of the arab countries affected by the turkish drama. turkish drama the main source for the majority of yemenis to learn about the natural beauty of turkey besides learning about the customs and traditions of the turkish people. yemenis formed an opinion about the turkish people and turkey in general through turkish serials (şentürk & eken, 2017). with the increasing speed of turkish drama production, the variety of topics discussed in recent years, it has managed to attract most viewers in yemeni society, after foreign dramas, especially mexican and brazilian dramas, dominated the audience for a long time. the importance of this study is that the studies examine the effects of turkish drama in yemen on the youth are very few and limited to only reviewing turkish serials as well. therefore, the importance of this study is that it was carried out on young people. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0003-2550-446x © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1701 to cite this article: ba yashot, m. a. s. (2022). aden university students’s reaction towards the turkish drama. american international journal of social science research, 11 (1), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1701 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1701 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2550-446x ba yashot, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 36 yemeni society and turkish drama turkish tv series attracted the attention of researchers, journalists and clerics in the arab world in general and yemen in particular, as they reached a large number of viewers with all their details. in august 2008, approximately 85 million arabs watched the last episode of the turkish series "silver" on mbc. serials are still in prime time in the programs of arab channels, arab channels have started to compete fiercely to attract more followers by broadcasting more turkish series. perhaps, in the first place, the cultural and social effects of turkish tv series attracted the attention of researchers. however, the political and economic effects of this phenomenon cannot be ignored (tala, 2021). turkish tv series started broadcasting in the arab world and yemen in 2007. the first tv series was "çembermde gül oya". it was broadcasted and followed by the "ihlamurlar altında" series in february 2008. then the nour and muhannad series, which were voiced in the syrian dialect, and viewed in the arab world and yemen. it was also screened on mbc4, one of the most watched and most famous old turkish tv series (tala, 2021). in this context, yemeni journalist bushra al-faili interviewed families in the yemeni society who gave names to their children after the characters in the turkish tv series. nusseibeh al-qubati, whose views were included in the interview “with the emergence of turkish tv series and the intense interest of women following them, the heroine of the series, which was broadcasted at the time of the birth of the child, became the name of the baby. but this can be embarrassing for newborns, many of these names are meaningless or inappropriate. choosing a newborn baby's name is very difficult and there are factors to be considered. perhaps the main reason why the child's name was named after turkish tv series is that parents name their children with modern and strange names” criticizes it (hasaida, 2009). turkish series especially affect young viewers in many ways. in a study conducted with lebanese university students. it was revealed that young people emotionally imitate the words used and the movements of the actors, and this affects the dressing styles of the young people (hasaida, 2009). nabila sabounji, a social psychologist, deals with the disadvantages of young people's being influenced by tv serials on the axis of moral panic and the argues that these serials should be avoided, as this situation will cause inconveniences for the society: “constantly watching turkish serials makes a person addicted to it and cannot stop watching it. he also performs the same behaviors and actions as the actors in the series whether negative or positive. sometimes people become obsessed with these serials or the characters in them and randomly imitate them. this tradition is often negative and lacks rationality or thought and affects the personality. he may lose his character and be similar to the actor in the series character. if he can't imitate her/ him, he will feel frustrated and anxious. there are some people who have a crazy way of admiration that makes them unable to live without this character and avoid watching it affecting their psyche and putting them under psychological pressure. our traditions and customs are different from other societies. the community should not trust this serial. actors in turkish soap operas have become popular with young people, influencing various segments of society. the tradition of many young actors in turkish tv series is a wrong behavior. because not all actions of actors are correct. they may fall for misbehavior and imitate. therefore, this trend should be blocked, because its negative aspects are much more than its positive aspects” (rim, 2012). turkish series are popular in the arab world. this interest also manifests itself in celebration and entertainment organizations. while the scenes witnessed in the tv series were added to the wedding organizations, turkish names began to be given to the restaurants. an article titled "diriliş ertuğrul' at yemen weddings" was published in watan news newspaper on 29.11.2018 in yemen. the tv series diriliş ertuğrul, which attracts attention around the world and especially in the arab world, has a large audience in the yemeni society. it was influenced by the wedding scene in the tv series "diriliş ertuğrul. yemenis made an animation of this scene at their wedding. the groom, who came to the wedding area accompanied by dombra music, almost reproduced the series scene by passing on a horse between the guests lined up in two rows. when the wedding images, which were shown on horseback, were shared on social media, they received great attention and appreciation from the followers. these images are one of the positive interactions of turkish tv series in yemeni society. there are many news about the diriliş ertuğrul series in the yemeni press. with the release of the 115th episode in which the character of "sadeddin dog" was killed in the series, yemenis went out into the streets, detonated fireworks and celebrated enthusiastically. some stores even celebrated this event by going on sale for three days (bayashot, 2018). uses and satisfaction approach and audience with the reaction studies, it is aimed to transform the unknown and passive audience into an active audience to determine the meanings conveyed by the mass media and to determine the relationship between the audience and the text code. reception the studies have undoubtedly provided new openings for the mass and communication sciences discipline. the uses and gratifications approach is first described in a 1959 article by elihu katz. katz said that communication research has always been about persuasion, what the media does to people. people are looking for an answer to the question of what they are doing with the media. he claimed to have a question (tekinalp & uzun, 2004). the definition and scope of the uses and gratifications approach has been expressed by katz et al. as follows: "expectations created by social and psychologically based on needs which lead to different media usage patterns or other activities in mass media and other sources which in turn lead to needs satisfaction and other unintended consequences" (katz & gurevitch, 1973). after the 70s, uses and gratification studies became regular. meanwhile, katz, blumler, and gurevitch have noted that the theoretical foundations of the uses and gratifications perspective are based on the following elements: ba yashot, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 37 the social and psychological origins of needs from the media and other sources of the mass produced by its need’s expectations. distinctive patterns in the media driven by these expectations. these media activities direct the needs to their satisfaction and other (perhaps unintentional) consequences (katz & gurevitch, 1973). the uses and gratifications approach was originally created to help assess the attractiveness of different mass media and to explain and predict differences in mass media. however, the main contribution of the model has been better to define the types or examples of different media and different media contents in terms of audience, audience behavior and audience appeal. the uses and gratifications approach considers the use of media as a process of meeting needs and tension, and defines mass media as active and logical individuals who think, question, and make choices in line with their needs and desires and not passive in many views. according to the uses and gratifications approach, the individual has personal, social, and even psychological needs. these needs can only be met with different attitudes and new thoughts (akova, 2014). when we look at the researches on the audience from a historical perspective, we can talk about two basic sets of values: dominant and critical values. the "uses and gratifications approach", which has a positivist character based on the view that the audience is active, does not see the audience as individuals who only receive the messages presented. the approach seeks an answer to the question of why media contents are used. in addition to the purpose of using the media, the audience's satisfaction with the media content, that is, meeting the expectations, is the main problem of the approach. the "reception analysis model" studies that emerged within the critical approach also argued that the audience is in an active position against the media content. according to the reception method originating from the coding and decoding model developed by stuart hall, the audience reads the media contents differently (serbes, 2016). the uses and gratifications approach on the other hand, is based on audience research. this interest in audience research is based on efforts to demonstrate the media's ability to influence audiences' perceptions of any cultural, political, or consumer product. media studies are concerned with the presumed influence and persuasion power on audiences about options and products to sell. method and purpose research purpose the present research aims to reveal the general reaction of turkish drama by the students of the faculty of mass communication at aden university in yemen and what the effects of turkish drama are on the research sample. the study aims to explore the following aspects:  what are the main motivations for preferring to watch turkish tv series over other foreign tv series in the research sample?  how does turkish drama contribute in conveying the real image of turkey and turkish people (family love stories daily life style turkish violence against women ... etc.) in the research sample?  what are the most important positive and negative effects of turkish drama on the research sample?  how does turkish drama contribute to the promotion of turkey and attract tourists, as well as promoting turkish products? method in this study, semi-structured in-depth interview technique, which is a qualitative research method, was used. during the study, turkish drama receptions will be determined for the student’s odd faculty of mass communication, aden university in yemen. then, those who are working in the field of turkish drama were reached with the purposeful sampling method. semi-structured interview questions students of aden university; faculty of mass communication in yemen will be researched and analyzed how they interpret their reactions and points of view of turkish drama messages. participants the boundaries of this research are limited to the studies of undergraduate or graduate students at the faculty of mass communication of aden university in yemen. the reason for choosing this sample is that the researcher is a graduate of the faculty of mass communication of aden university and has full information about the research sample. the study will be carried out with 8 participants. in selecting the research sample, in addition to the academic level, the focus will be on the diversity of the sample between men and women. sampling: sampling of research. the study was carried out with 8 participants. participants were coded as p1, p2, p3, p4, p5, p6, p7, p8. table 1. the demographic characters of the participants participants no. gender age education status p1 male 27 master's degree p2 male 23 bachelor degree p3 female 21 bachelor degree p4 female 22 bachelor degree p5 female 23 bachelor degree p6 female 21 bachelor degree p7 female 24 bachelor degree p8 male 28 master's degree ba yashot, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 38 results what are the main motivations for choosing to watch turkish tv series? there were several reasons for watching tv series in the research sample, the most important of which are the stories of wonderful tv series that cover turkish tv series, raise important social issues, reinforce national values and increase national belonging. also, turkish drama chooses actors in high beauty and beautiful shooting locations, in addition, turkish drama steals people's love as it simulates human desires and inclinations like courage. p4" the reason i followed turkish tv series was because yemeni society talked about diriliş ertuğrul, then i watched many tv series". p1" the reason i watch turkish tv series is because they bring up important social issues, establish national values and strengthen national belonging". p8" the reason why i follow turkish serials is the state of passion. turkish drama steals people's love as it imitates human desires and tendencies such as courage and valor". p2" the reason for watching turkish tv series is that turkish tv series are closer to reality, not fiction, as in indian tv series and movies." p6" the reason i watch turkish tv series is because they are successful and have strong stories". p7" the reason i watch turkish tv series is the dramatic plots as well as the beauty of the actors". p3" the reason i watch turkish tv series is because they are great stories and series that satisfy my needs as a viewer" p5" the reason i watch turkish tv series is because i watch all family tv series, and i enjoy watching turkish tv series" p3" what encourages me to watch turkish tv series is the ease of their content and the attractive and smart production of them" p5" i loved turkish language very much by watching turkish serials and learned many phrases and words" p6" the most important thing that encourages me to watch turkish tv series is having a good time watching a turkish tv series i love" p8" yemenis have different motives to watch turkish serials. men's motives and women's motives are not the same, etc. as a young man, i prefer dramas with war and courage". what are the most watched turkish tv series in yemen and why according to the research sample, the most watched turkish tv series in yemen are the ones with conflicts, fights and wars, while the women prefer the romantic tv series that deal with family issues. i agree not to watch. p8"as a young man, i follow historical and crime dramas more because they give enthusiasm and encouragement, unlike women who follow romantic tv series more. the last tv series i followed was a.rıza and i watched diriliş ertuğrul and payitaht abdülhamid knees." p8"turkish tv series are preferred more by the yemeni society than other foreign tv series such as indian, mexican and korean because turkish culture is close to us and it is a muslim country. the stories in korean tv series repeat themselves, on the contrary, turkish tv series that make you wait for the next episode. it's coming will be eagerly awaited." p8"i prefer to watch all kinds of turkish drama, love, historical and detective series" p5"i prefer romantic dramas like saying goodbye and lost years, but i don't like murder and mafia dramas." p1"the turkish drama i enjoy watching the most is the one that depicts turkey as a regional power active in helping people, like the tv series kurtlar vadisi." p1"i'm currently watching the organization and i really liked it because it increases belonging and defending the homeland." p1"i don't like dramas that go against some of our traditions and customs, like romantic dramas." p1"there are some scenes that don't fit with our culture, like extramarital affairs and having children before marriage, as well as some acts of absolute freedom." p2 " i prefer historical tv series to "diriliş ertuğrul and kuruluş osman " series, but i don't like watching tv series that have too much openness and freedom for women, including marital infidelities between the same family" p2"i prefer historical drama more than others because it explains to me the real history of the ottoman empire, the history we learned at university was written by the british, and it describes the ottoman empire as an occupied country, not a muslim one." p3"i prefer the tv series that are closest to my thinking, culture and general taste" p3"i don't prefer to watch turkish serials that are about love stories with a foreign character without borders" p3"i like to watch turkish serials that have a social character, because they embody the reality of society and address people's suffering and struggles, so they are closer to the audience." p4"i prefer to watch comedies and historical tv series while i follow turkish tv series." p4"there are some scenes that do not fit our yemeni culture, such as love and kissing scenes in turkish tv series." p6"i love all kinds of turkish drama because turkish dramas are successful in arab countries and internationally." p6"the turkish tv series i always watch tv series which are about a family, neighbors in the neighborhood and cooperation between them. these series give me great optimism and make me feel that there is no difference between arabs." p7"i don't like bold scenes in turkish tv series, apart from our conservative societies" p7"i prefer to watch romantic dramas more than others" ba yashot, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 39 p5"i love dramas that show beautiful natural places" thinking about turkey and turkish people the research sample through turkish tv series has created a good image about turkey and turkish people that besides turkey is a country of love and peace, as well as a cultural and social country with a deep-rooted history that the real history of the seljuk and ottoman states has been determined was done. p8"turkish soap operas have changed the way yemeni society thinks about turkey so much that it is considered a paradise on earth." p1"for me, the image of turkey in the series is a positive image that shows turkey's strength as a regional country that plays a cultural role and enjoys democracy and cultural pluralism" p1"i developed a historically positive image of turkey through turkish drama, especially the establishment osman and awakening: great seljuk tv series." p2"i created the image of turkey as a country of love and peace, as well as a cultural and social country with a deep-rooted history." p2"i prefer historical drama more than others because it explains the real history of the ottoman empire to me, the history we learned at the university was written by the british and it describes the ottoman empire as an occupied country, not a muslim country." p3"after watching turkish tv series, a good image has been formed about turkey and turkey has natural beauties and beautiful touristic places." p3"after watching turkish serials, i started to like turkish people and started to see them as creative people." p4"after watching turkish tv series, i created an image of a beautiful country, turkey, and the turkish language is beautiful, so i memorized many turkish words." p4"after watching turkish serials, i fell in love with turkey's people and land" p5"the image of turkey is that it is a beautiful country and turks are good people." p5"i saw that turkish people behave politely and kindly by watching turkish tv series." p6"i created a beautiful image of turkey with turkish tv series" p6"after watching turkish tv series for years, i really liked turks and turkish people." p7"i had the image that turkey is a beautiful country and has a similar tradition with us, there are bad things like mafia gangs and drinking wine." p8"the image turkey creates from turkish tv series is that turkey is a great country and tries to send its culture to the world through tv series." p8"i think turkish tv series do not reflect the reality of turkey. most of the tv series are shot in luxury hotels and they choose the most beautiful places in turkey for their shooting." cultural, religious and historical rapprochement between turkey and yemen turkey and yemen are our muslim countries. according to the research example, there are great similarities in some customs and cultures as well as differences. p1"the real turkey is a muslim country that is culturally closer to us as muslim and arab peoples, and closer to all muslim and christian peoples and other sects as humanity." p1"there are many similarities in turkish and arab culture in general, as turkish drama reflects the preservation of values, morality and social harmony, cultivates patriotism, and embodies sacrifices in the path of truth and values." p2"the desert or village life and simple social life that are suitable for my culture in the turkish tv series, and the abundance of openness, kissing scenes and extramarital affairs in the turkish tv series, which are contrary to my culture." p2"from my point of view, i see that family life is not appropriate in the turkish drama because the son does not have the authority of the father and the daughter is more free, but in reality in turkey i do not know, is it really like that?" p3"i can't say that turkey is 100% muslim by watching turkish tv series because my country has a great openness compared to yemen. culturally, i can say that it is an ancient country with a great history." p3“in my opinion, what is against my culture in turkish drama is women's freedom, travel and other things that against the traditions of my society.” p4"while watching turkish tv series, i see that the lifestyle of the family in the village is more similar to our customs and traditions, and the lifestyle of the families in turkish cities is closer to the west than to the arabs." p4"i believe that turkey is a muslim country and there are many common cultures and traditions between turkey, arabs and muslims" p5"there are some tv series in which the family is connected and collaborative, and some shows hatred and jealousy among family members." p5"it is close to my culture that it strengthens family ties in turkish tv series." p5"what goes against my culture in turkish serials is that they encourage confusion, openness, and sometimes suicide." p5"i see turkey as a muslim country and there are many common points between our culture and the culture of the turkish people" p6"family life and daily life in turkish drama is a simple, beautiful and collaborative family life" p6"what is against my culture in turkish tv series is excessive liberation, kissing in some scenes.” p6"turkey is a muslim country and the culture of the turkish people is close to the culture of the arab peoples" ba yashot, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 40 p7"my opinion about family life and daily life in turkey through turkish drama is that their life is complex and full of problems" p7 "what is suitable for my culture in turkish tv series are the relationships of family members with each other and the way they behave towards them" p7 "it's against my culture in turkish tv series, murders, exaggerated dramas from time to time, alcohol, marijuana, drugs and premarital affairs." p8"there is something befitting turkish culture that when i see some actors who pray to allah and love to do good and help and they say a kind word to others." p8"we have arab islamic culture and there are traditions and customs from which we grew up. like some romantic scenes, such as the scenes where the hero kisses the heroine and gets dressed half naked. in yemen, a woman does not go out without wearing a black abaya". p8"turkey is a muslim country and its culture is also muslim and ruled the islamic world earlier under the name of the ottoman empire." about promoting turkey turkish tv series have made a great contribution to the promotion of tourism in turkey. all research samples want to visit turkey after watching turkish tv series. also, turkish tv series are promoting turkish products. p8"i was studying at an english language institute in aden. the teacher asked the students where would you like to go? everyone said, "we want to go to turkey." the teacher said to them, "why especially turkey?" the students said, "turkey, its land and its people are pink we love it in the serials” replied. p8 "once upon a time, there was a proverb in paris, when a person talked about going abroad, it was said, 'you want to go to paris,' but today istanbul has become the place of paris, it is said that i want to go to istanbul." p1"i hope to go to turkey through turkish serials and i applied to study there, but the conditions did not allow it." p2"by watching turkish serials, i wonder if the circumstances will allow me to visit turkey one day and enjoy its beautiful scenery." p3 "as i watch turkish tv series, i think a lot about going to turkey and vacationing there." p4"my longing and love for turkey is increasing day by day and i hope to travel there one day." p5"i want to visit turkey and i want to visit the beautiful places shown in the tv series" p6"i loved turkey by watching turkish series and if i had the opportunity, i would like to visit and live in it." p8"there is a great demand for turkish products, especially clothing, in yemen, and it has a name and place in the market, so that when a seller comes to a customer and says it's turkish, she buys it directly." how long have turkish tv series been watched in yemen, what are the most important tv series you watch, and how these are tv series watched i started watching turkish tv series in yemen since 2007 and there are many turkish tv series being watched. while turkish tv series were watched as dubbed over some arabic channels in the past, tv series with arabic subtitles are watched online today. p3"i started watching tv series through yaprak dökümü, ihlamurlar altında and tek turkey since 2007." p3"these turkish series were shown by some arab channels and i was watching turkish series through these channels." p1"i started watching tv series with kurtlar vadisi from 2010 and now i watch tv series that are very popular here, as well as the foundation osman series, miracle doctor and çukur series." p1"i got to know turkish dramas through social networks, i like them after watching some small scenes, so i download and watch them." p2"i started watching tv series with lost years series in 2009 and these are one of the oldest tv series, as well as kurtlar vadisi and aşk sözlerinunderstanding." p2"at first i got to these dramas through television, but recently i like some scenes through social media sites, and then i watch them on mobile over the internet." p4"i started watching tv series about five years ago and watched these series (diriliş ertuğrul series, ramo series, savasci series, establishment osman series, çukur series, miracle doctor series, kirgın flowers series, my name is angel series, heartbeat series, kuzgun series), mehmetçik kutulamare series". p4"i watch turkish serials on youtube or download episodes to my flash drive and watch them on my computer in my spare time". p5"i started watching tv series about ten years ago and watched these series (ihlamurlar altında, gümüş, lost years, broken flowers, little bride, saying goodbye, sefirin kız and many others). p5"i got to know turkish tv series through my family, who used to watch turkish tv series every day, and i heard some of them from my friends." p5"i prefer to watch turkish series on tv with my family" p6"i started watching tv series since 2007. i followed many turkish tv series, the last of which is the black sea, early bird tv series, hercai tv series, alev alev tv series." p6"i got to know turkish tv series through the chats of my friends as well as watching some clips of tv series online." ba yashot, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 41 p6"i prefer watching turkish tv series on youtube because there are not many commercials like tv and i can watch episodes in my spare time" p7 “i started watching tv series when i was a kid and i started watching tv series aşka exile, vatanım sensin tv series, silver tv series, güneşin kızları, rebel tv series, aşk-ı memnu series, kurtlar vadisi, ezel series, lost years series, cherry season...etc. i followed many turkish tv series like tv series" p8 "i started watching tv series in 2007. i watched many tv series such as acı hayat tv series, ayrılık tv series, tek turkey tv series, kurtlar vadisi tv series" p8 "i used to watch turkish series on abu dhabi tv, and the channel mostly aired tv series about kurdish issues, terrorism and borders." p8"currently, turkish series are watched on youtube or internet cafes, and internet cafes are competing to download turkish series to win the most cafe visitors." discussions i started watching turkish tv series in yemen since 2007 and there are many turkish tv series were being watched. while turkish tv series were watched as dubbed over some arabic channels in the past, tv series with arabic subtitles are watched online today. there were several reasons for watching tv series in the research sample. the most important of which are the stories of wonderful tv series that cover turkish tv series, raise important social issues, reinforce national values and increase national belonging. moreover, turkish drama chooses actors who are in high beauty and beautiful shooting locations, in addition, turkish drama steals people's love as it simulates human desires and inclinations like courage. according to the research sample, the most watched turkish tv series in yemen are the ones with conflicts, fights and wars while the women prefer the romantic tv series that deal with family issues, which i recommend not to watch. the research sample through turkish tv series has created a good image about turkey and turkish people that besides turkey is a country of love and peace, as well as a cultural and social country with a deep-rooted history. the real history of the seljuk and ottoman states has been determined was done. turkey and yemen are our muslim countries. according to the research example, there are great similarities in some customs and cultures as well as differences. turkish tv series have made a great contribution to the promotion of tourism in turkey. all research samples want to visit turkey after watching turkish tv series. also, turkish tv series are promoting turkish products. author contributions: conceptualization, m.a.s.b.y.; data curation, m.a.s.b.y.; methodology, m.a.s.b.y.; validation, m.a.s.b.y.; visualization, m.a.s.b.y.; formal analysis, m.a.s.b.y.; investigation, m.a.s.b.y.; resources, m.a.s.b.y.; writing – original draft, m.a.s.b.y.; writing – review & editing, m.a.s.b.y.; supervision, m.a.s.b.y.; project administration, m.a.s.b.y.; funding acquisition, m.a.s.b.y. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references al-faili, b. (2019, december 3). turkish series name our children .la media newspaper. retrieved from https://laamedia.net/news.aspx?newsnum=4968 akova, s. (2014). the effects of turkish tv series in the balkans "sample of serbia, montenegro and bosnia and herzegovina", unpublished doctoral dissertation. maltepe university, istanbul. bayashot, m. (2018, february 20). ertugrul in yemeni weddings. watan news. retrieved from https://wtnnews.com/news/58852/?fbclid=iwar3bboqtx2rfaz2w4zhdl8xawzvr1izokdugqh4017dekt7arfuplytn yrm. hasaida, a. (2009, october 15). israel summons the turkish ambassador to protest against a tv series that harms israel. all arab newspaper. retrieved from https://www.alarab.com/article/195113 katz, e., & gurevitch, m. (1973). uses and gratifications research. the public opinion quarterly. mutaf, m. (2019, march 3). turkey became a rival to hollywood in the export of tv series. anadolu agency. retrieved from https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/kultur-sanat/turkiye-dizi-film-ihracatinda-hollywooda-rakip-oldu/1408437 rim, m. (2012, february 20). guys and girls derive fashion looks from turkish series. peace today. retrieved from https://www.djazairess.com/essalam/8361 tala, h. (2013, june 26). turkish series and influence in the arab world. jadaliyya net. https://www.jadaliyya.com/details/28842 serbes, e. (2016). last excavation: behzat ç. an ankara crime. communication publications. selcuk universit, turkey. https://laamedia.net/news.aspx?newsnum=4968 https://wtn-news.com/news/58852/?fbclid=iwar3bboqtx2rfaz2w4zhdl8xawzvr1izokdugqh4017dekt7arfuplytnyrm https://wtn-news.com/news/58852/?fbclid=iwar3bboqtx2rfaz2w4zhdl8xawzvr1izokdugqh4017dekt7arfuplytnyrm https://wtn-news.com/news/58852/?fbclid=iwar3bboqtx2rfaz2w4zhdl8xawzvr1izokdugqh4017dekt7arfuplytnyrm https://www.alarab.com/article/195113 https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/kultur-sanat/turkiye-dizi-film-ihracatinda-hollywooda-rakip-oldu/1408437 https://www.djazairess.com/essalam/8361 https://www.jadaliyya.com/details/28842 ba yashot, american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 35-42 42 şentürk, r., & eken, i̇. (2017). film industry in turkey. istanbul: i̇to publications. tekinalp s. & uzun, r. (2004). communication studies and theories. istanbul: derin publications. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 1 students satisfaction in major public university: a pre-pandemic study in bangladesh md. ali imran lecturer department of business administration ccn university of science & technology, bangladesh ikbal ahmed lecturer department of cse ccn university of science & technology, bangladesh md. mazharul islam bhuiyan lecturer department of business administration ccn university of science & technology, bangladesh abu obida rahid lecturer department of business administration ccn university of science & technology, bangladesh noorjahan begum lecturer department of business administration ccn university of science & technology, bangladesh received: august 08, 2021 accepted: august 29, 2021 online published: september 26, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1355 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1355 abstract student satisfaction is entitled to the standard facilities enjoyed by the students according to the cherished and standardised criteria. in bangladesh, public universities are furnishing education to a myriad of students. but in terms of catering privileged prerequisites compare to top-class universities over the globe, we are far behind. to investigate the level of student gratification, we constructed some benchmark questions and collected feedback from five top-rated university students. we focused on various conglomerate issues faced by public university students, aiming to scrutinise the substantive outline. advance statistical tools are used to analyse the data. we https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1355 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 2 revealed some malaise from the student response. quite a few strategies and reciprocity from the jurisdiction can quench the environment, which will augment the student satisfaction level. keywords: students satisfaction, public university, bangladesh, standard facilities. introduction as the proportion of educated workers increases, a country's economy becomes more efficient, as educated workers may perform tasks that require literacy and critical thinking more effectively. higher education institutions are heavily affected by market globalization. increased competition has been created to attract students, educational services and improve competition in the international market, thus isolating themselves from their competitors. many students have been compelled to follow. heis also recognised that the industry is in a market meeting or exceeding the needs of its students and concentrating on the representation of the service industry (gruber et al., 2010). therefore, much study has been undertaken to define the important things that influence the happiness of students. bangladesh is a developing country in which the education sector, an important higher education system, will play a key role in raising the population's standard of living and improving the economy. to this end, the bangladesh government has taken numerous steps over the past few decades to improve its infrastructure for higher education. a 20-year comprehensive plan (20062026) for the higher education sector has been drawn up by the government of bangladesh, taking into account the united nations sustainable development goals (sdgs), the 2010 national education strategy and the 2021 vision. consequently, at the same time, undergraduate enrollment in these universities has sharply increased. as a continuation of its objective, the government is trying to create a public university in every district of the country. the government is trying to boost overall industries in bangladesh by developing more and higher educational institutions. 46 public universities are currently operational in the region, with 284,322 students enrolled at those universities. besides, the bangladesh government and other players in higher education have stressed the happiness of students. public colleges provide their students with numerous facilities for quality education. however, in evaluating students' satisfaction with the facilities offered by public universities in bangladesh, there is a study discrepancy. therefore, this analysis aims to analyse the level of student satisfaction with the services offered by public universities in the region. the research also seeks to define the key service variables influencing students' satisfaction at public universities in bangladesh. objectives this study is conducted to ascertain the student's satisfaction in major public universities in bangladesh. to the epilogue, the main objectives of the study are  to examine and analyse the student satisfaction level in major public universities in bangladesh.  to focus the measurements of student satisfaction practices in public universities.  to propose the test of features in terms of students' satisfaction.  to determine the handicaps in student satisfaction in our major public universities.  to proffer some suggestion to enhance the facilities to draw student satisfaction. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 3 literature review the researchers found that increased quality of service results in greater customer loyalty, which then leads to attracting new consumers and maintaining existing ones. it is possible to accept students as clients of educational institutions. the essential duty of higher education institutions is to provide students with all facets of their facilities and services, so the loyalty of students will be accomplished by developing the perceived standard of service. marilyn (2005) reported that delivering perceived service quality to their students is the primary priority for higher educational institutions. providing students with enhanced educational facilities will contribute to the desire for increased revenue for the institutions highly. services can be described as actions, performances, and processes that one entity or person provides or co-produce for and with another entity or person (zeithaml et al., 2010). both core service and physical goods are included in turn according to this definition. the unique characteristics of the education sector make it fall under the category of service (nadiri et al., 2009). any student of higher education institutions expects their institution to have better quality facilities (douglas, 2011). it is a challenging and crucial concept to provide quality educational facilities in higher education, and it is impossible to guarantee quality services in higher education (rodney & john, 2009; harvey & green, 2012). monitoring and evaluation, technical assistance, benchmarking, and the sharing of best practices may all help to create an education management information system (emis) that reflects the school's performance over time. as a consequence, increasing emis implementation across the board may lead to higher-quality education and performance in the long run (helal et al., 2021). the effectiveness of an institution of higher education relies on the standard of the education and education services offered by the institution (clewes, 2011; islam & salma, 2016). there is no single opinion, however, of the level of operation of higher educational institutions. in other words, various public education organisations and partners have different opinions on high-quality higher education facilities. universities around the world offer, in addition to tuition, various forms of facilities to ensure quality education (such as housing, travel, athletics, the internet, medical quality, etc.). as a motivational factor, educational facilities offered by university work play an important role in the life of a student (henning, langer, & hansen, 2001). in these situations, many variables, such as faculty/teaching personnel, counselling staff, and classroom teaching practices, have a significant and constructive effect on the satisfaction of students. the study also stated that these crucial issues should be concentrated on by a higher education institution to increase its students' happiness and motivation. traditional learning techniques have evolved into a more contemporary form as a result of technological advances that were previously unimaginable. online teaching and learning is one such revolution in which educational institutions use information technology (it) to guarantee access to materials, improve instructional quality, and decrease the cost of conventional courses (ahmed et al., 2020). government support for higher education and research is not adequate at all, and, where possible, the ugc does not supply public universities with funds (mobassern & muhammed, 2010). there is a long-term relationship between sustainable growth and higher education (chaudhary, iqbal, & gillani, 2009). theoretically, various education commissions in bangladesh have emphasised the unlocking of talent at all levels of society and creating a pool of highly educated people who can contribute to nation-building. however, in reality, the academic level of bangladeshi universities is inferior, and they have not been able to make any positive progress. during east pakistan, education policy stressed a human being's legal, ethical and religious growth. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 4 nevertheless, after bangladesh's liberation, the 2010 national education policy stressed acquiring advanced expertise and skills. training leads to every nation's economic growth. enhancing higher education facilities will draw international students to our country as well as local outgoing students who can raise more government revenue. the standard of education that private universities offer is extremely divisive. student satisfaction model in the satisfactory student model, we discussed three major elements: exceeding expectations and building loyalty, satisfaction, developing confidence, and preventing complaints. these are the levels. if the authority endeavours these types of activities, they can satisfy the students. in our public universities, most of the students agonising some common problems. these can be satisfied through the humble willingness of the concerning authorities. figure 1. student satisfaction model students are the building blocks of a nation. if we can satisfy unstated needs, achieve delights and meet basic requirements in every sector of their academic, learning, research, and practical aspects, they will provide us with an advanced nation. excellent and satisfactory facilities can change the overall higher education concept in our country. in public universities, students face accommodation problems. the classroom environment is not quite good in some cases. there are not well-structured lab facilities, library and research convenience. some other university faces transportation problems and so on. if the satisfaction level is secured, we can expect tremendous feedback from our students. research methodology & data collection strategy in this research, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in five major universities in bangladesh. for that reason, an open-ended questionnaire has been set in five points likert scale to get a more accurate and reliable opinion from the respondents to evaluate the satisfaction level. the scale are below “extremely satisfied=5, satisfied=4, neutral=3, dissatisfied=2, extremely dissatisfied=1”. there are 46 public universities in bangladesh. we select five major universities to collect our primary data. primary & secondary data are analysed to complete this research. student satisfaction is the dependent variable here. independent variables are used to develop the hypothesis and transforming the variable data. cronbach's alpha value is used for the reliability test, kolmogorov-smirnov and shapiro-wilk model is used for the normality test. multiple regression analysis and correlation coefficient value are used for data analysis. student satisfaction model https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 5 table 1. independent variables and their measurement independent variables measurement notation institutional objectives & procedures the institution's vision, mission & priorities are explicitly stated. with justice & openness, scholarly decisions are made. the expected result of learning (ilos) follows the stated mission & goals. the organisation has ample infrastructure to accommodate its missions. the university observes the academic calendar. the results are published timely. the universities are looking forward to their policy for further betterment. code of conducts for both employee and students are maintained properly. disciplinary rules are clearly stated by the authority. university websites are updated timely. various methods are followed for achieving learning objectives. op. academic learning quality the university authority ensures a favourable learning environment. students' opinion for curricular & extra-curricular activities has cared. teaching strategies are exposed properly in the curriculum. the assessment process is mentioned in the curriculum clearly. curriculum loads are bearable. the admission procedures are fair to enrol quality students. student progress is monitored regularly. teachers share the student progress feedback with their students. classroom facilities are favourable for learning. laboratory facilities are well-established. the library is updated with its materials to meet the student needs. lq. organisational and students development facilities both indoor & outdoor are adequate. there are commendable sports facilities (indoor and outdoor). gymnasium facilities are sufficient. internet facilities are appreciatable. interactive learning is practised using modern devices. class size is good enough for the learning activities. the university authority provides practical knowledge to apply in a real-life situation. financial grants are available for poor students. the university provides extra-curricular facilities to the students. there is a well-structured and supportive alumni association. the university possesses good research facilities. the mechanism encourages students to research activities. sd. assessment methods & student feedback evaluation processes are correctly shared with the pupils. assessment systems achieve the course's aims. it follows both formative (quizzes, tasks, term papers, continuous evaluations, interviews, etc.) and summative evaluation (final examination) methods. immediately after the test, the students are given input. the agency has an obligation to offer learning advice and counselling. i'm pleased with this university. af. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 6 data analysis the respondent's survey result is coded in the spss software to analyse the data. numerous analytical tools are used to conduct this research. reliability analysis is performed to test the data. cronbach's alpha value is used for this test. table 2. reliability statistics cronbach's alpha value number of items observed 0.844 47 cronbach's alpha greater than or equal to 0.70 means the data are reliable. here the cronbach's alpha value is 0.844, so; we can say that the data are standard. we test the normality of the variables using the kolmogorov-smirnov and shapiro-wilk model of normality statistics. in both the model the p-value is greater than 0.05 apart from organisational and student development facilities. we can say all the data are not statistically significant, so the null hypothesis is accepted & the data are normally distributed. but the organisational and student development facilities data are not normally distributed. table 3. tests of normality variable title kolmogorov-smirnova shapiro-wilk statistic df sig. statistic df sig. institutional objectives & procedures .077 87 .200* .991 87 .788 academic learning quality .079 87 .200* .978 87 .138 organizational and students development facilities .147 87 .000 .956 87 .005 assessment methods & student feedback .103 87 .024 .982 87 .280 h1: institutional objectives and procedures are maintained properly to procure students' satisfaction. from the table 3 for institutional objectives & procedures the significance (p-value) is 0.356; this value is higher than to α level 0.05 for this test. an equal variances t-test failed to reveal a statistically reliable difference between the mean number of female (m = 3.39, sd = .60) and male (m =3.18, s = .51), t(85) = -1.61, p = .109, α = .05.if p ≤ α, then reject h0.in institutional objectives & procedures, p= (0 .109) is greater than 0.05, so we accepted h0 and reject h1. so we can say, institutional objectives and procedures are not maintained properly to procure students' satisfaction. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 7 table 4. independent samples test levene's test for equality of variances t-test for equality of means f sig. t df s ig . (2 -t ai le d ) m ea n d if fe re n ce s td . e rr o r d if fe re n ce 95% confidence interval of the difference lower upper institutional objectives & procedures equal variances assumed .861 .356 1.61 8 85 .109 .20509 .126 78 .4571 5 .0469 8 equal variances not assumed 1.50 0 36.22 6 .142 .20509 .136 76 .4823 8 .0722 1 academic learning quality equal variances assumed 1.49 6 .225 1.30 2 85 .196 .15360 .117 93 .3880 9 .0808 8 equal variances not assumed 1.18 5 35.13 2 .244 .15360 .129 60 .4166 8 .1094 7 organizational and students development facilities equal variances assumed .301 .585 -.950 85 .345 .13905 .146 44 .4302 1 .1521 0 equal variances not assumed -.922 39.34 3 .362 .13905 .150 79 .4439 6 .1658 5 assessment methods & student feedback equal variances assumed .039 .844 -.835 85 .406 .11872 .142 24 .4015 2 .1640 9 equal variances not assumed -.823 40.53 5 .415 .11872 .144 17 .4099 8 .1725 5 h2: academic learning qualities are gratifying to persuade students' satisfaction. from the table 4 for academic learning qualities the significance (p-value) is 0.225; this value is higher than to α level 0.05 for this test. an equal variances t-test failed to reveal a statistically reliable difference between the mean number of female (m = 3.27, sd = .57) and male (m =3.12, sd= .46), t(85) = -1.30, p = .196, α = .05.if p ≤ α, then reject h0. in academic learning quality, p= (0 .196) is greater than 0.05, so we accepted h0 and reject h1. so we can say, academic learning qualities are not gratifying to persuade students' satisfaction. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 8 h3: organisational and student development facilities are commendable to secure students' satisfaction. from the table 4 for organizational and student development facilities the significance (pvalue) is 0.585; this value is higher than to α level 0.05 for this test. an equal variances t-test failed to reveal a statistically reliable difference between the mean number of female (m = 3.11, sd = .64) and male (m =2.97, sd= .60), t(85) = -.950, p = .345, α = .05. if p ≤ α, then reject h0. in organizational and student development facilities, p= (0 .345) is greater than 0.05, so we accepted h0 and reject h1. so we can say, organizational and student development facilities are not commendable to secure students' satisfaction. h4: assessment methods and student feedbacks are favourable to promote students' satisfaction. from the table 4 for assessment methods and student feedbacks the significance (p-value) is 0.844; this value is higher than to α level 0.05 for this test. an equal variances t-test failed to reveal a statistically reliable difference between the mean number of female (m = 3.41, sd = .61) and male (m =3.30, sd= .59), t(85) = -0.835, p = .406, α = .05. if p ≤ α, then reject h0. in assessment methods & student feedback, p= (0 .406) is greater than 0.05, so we accepted h0 and reject h1. so we can say assessment methods and student feedbacks are not favorable to promote students' satisfaction. result and discussion demographic characteristics of the respondents table 5. demographic characteristics of the respondents characteristics frequency percent (%) gender male 63 72.4 female 24 27.6 age below 20 11 12.6 20 – below 30 76 87.4 name of program bba/hons 22 25.3 mba/emba/msc 26 29.9 others 39 44.8 obtained degree hsc 51 58.6 diploma 2 2.3 graduate 34 39.1 no. of years studying less than 1 year 3 3.4 1 to 2 years 6 6.9 3 to 4 years 38 43.7 5 to 6 years 36 41.4 more than 6 years 4 4.6 table 5 shows the demographic profile of the participants. it shows that approximately two-thirds of the respondents (72.4%) are male, and 27.6 % are female. we categorised the age group into two groups, where 12.6% are from less than 20 years of age, and 87.4% are from 20 to https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 9 below 30. the program they involve in the current university is categorised into three groups. 25.3% are from b.b.a./hon's, where 29.9% are from mba/emba/msc, and 44.8% are from the grouping of the other. the latest degree obtained from the hsc category is 58.6%, and from the diploma and graduate category are 2.3% and 39.1%, respectably. the number of years studying in this current university is categorised as less than one year, 1 to 2 years, 3 to 4 years, 5 to 6 years, more than six years where the percentage is 3.4%, 6.9%, 43.7%, 41.4%, and 4.6% respectably. correlation analysis table 6. correlation matrix of dependent variable and independent variables s tu d en ts sa ti sf ac ti o n in st it u ti o n al o b je ct iv es & p ro ce d u re s a ca d em ic le ar n in g q u al it y o rg an iz at io n al & st u d en ts d ev el o p m en t fa ci li ti es a ss es sm en t m et h o d s & fe ed b ac k pearson correlation students satisfaction 1.000 .239 .306 .232 .499 institutional objectives & procedures .239 1.000 .597 .563 .409 academic learning quality .306 .597 1.000 .568 .430 organizational & students development facilities .232 .563 .568 1.000 .475 assessment methods & feedback .499 .409 .430 .475 1.000 sig. (1tailed) students satisfaction . .013 .002 .015 .000 institutional objectives & procedures .013 . .000 .000 .000 academic learning quality .002 .000 . .000 .000 organizational & students development facilities .015 .000 .000 . .000 assessment methods & feedback .000 .000 .000 .000 . n students satisfaction 87 87 87 87 87 institutional objectives & procedures 87 87 87 87 87 academic learning quality 87 87 87 87 87 organizational & students development facilities 87 87 87 87 87 assessment methods & feedback 87 87 87 87 87 the association between the control variable and the independent variables can be seen in table 6. the analysis showed a poor positive linear association between institutional goals & procedures and students' satisfaction, where the pearson coefficient of correlation is (0.239). on the other hand, a positive correlation coefficient (0.306) occurs between the efficiency of institutional student instruction and the happiness of learners. it means that there's a good https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 10 connection over a week. similarly, the correlation coefficient between facilities for organisational & student development and students' satisfaction (0.232) demonstrates a positive and weak linear relationship between facilities for organisational & student development and students' satisfaction. the correlation coefficient between evaluation methods & feedback and the satisfaction of students (0.500) indicates that a positive and intermediate linear relationship occurs between evaluation methods & feedback and the satisfaction of students. the p-value is less than 0.05 in both aspects, so we should dismiss the null hypothesis at a 5 per cent significance level and infer an essential correlation between student satisfaction and other independent variables. multiple regression analysis this study also escorted multiple regression analysis to determine the impact of independent variables institutional objectives & procedures, academic learning quality, organisational & student's development facilities, assessment methods & feedback on student satisfaction. the contemplated model is presented below. y= α+ β1*op + β2*lq +β3*sd +β4*af +ε where, y= dependent variable (student satisfaction) op= independent variable (institutional objectives & procedures) lq= independent variable (academic learning quality) sd= independent variable (students development facilities) af= independent variable (assessment methods & feedback) α= constant term β1, β2, β3, β4 = coefficient of independent variables ε= the error/disturbance term table 7. summary of analysis of variance (anovaa) anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 33.484 4 8.371 7.284 .000b residual 94.240 82 1.149 total 127.724 86 a. dependent variable: students satisfaction b. predictors: (constant), institutional objectives & procedures, academic learning quality, organizational & students development facilities, assessment methods & feedback table 7 provides a description of the effects of the variance analysis (anova). the value of statistics f (anova) can be shown to be 7.284 with a degree of significance (anova sig.) of 0.000 (i.e., sig. = 0.000 < 0.05). it shows that for this research, the linear regression model is statistically substantially relevant. figure-9 shows a description of the multiple regression analysis results. the research showed that the value of r is 0.512> 0.50. this suggests that this model is ideal for determining the relationship between dependent and independent variables. moreover, the value of r2 of 0.262 indicates that 26.2% of students' satisfaction is explained by the multiple linear regression models. in addition, the durbinwatson test statistics is 1.523 (i.e. d = 1.523). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 11 the range is (1.5< d < 2.5). it indicates that there is no auto-correlation in our multiple regression data. table 8. the results of regression analysis coefficientsa model unstandardised coefficients standardised coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) -.399 .870 -.458 .648 institutional objectives & procedures .006 .289 .003 .021 .983 academic learning quality .355 .316 .144 1.126 .264 students development facilities -.150 .253 -.075 -.592 .555 assessment methods & feedback .970 .229 .471 4.234 .000 r: 0.512a r2: 0.262 adjusted r2: 0.226 durbin-watson statistics: 1.523 a. dependent variable: student satisfaction b. predictors: (constant), institutional objectives & procedures, academic learning quality, organizational & students development facilities, assessment methods & feedback finally, based on the findings of coefficients shown in table 8, the multiple linear regression equation is as below: y= -0.399+ 0.003*op + 0.144*lq -0.075*sd +0.471*af from the standardised beta column, we can see assessment methods & feedback (beta 0.471) are the most influential among the independent variables. in other words, assessment methods & feedback have the strongest impact on student satisfaction. academic learning quality with beta 0.144 has the second most influential factor in student satisfaction. institutional objectives & procedures contain the beta value of 0.003, which means it positively impacts student satisfaction. the students' development facilities with beta -0.075 have a negative impact on student satisfaction. conclusions and recommendation the study is conducted to explore the level of student satisfaction in major public universities in bangladesh. we all know that our government allots a cosmic amount of funds in our public universities. our incumbent government is emboldened for quality education in every stratum of our higher education sector. but in the true sense, public university students are not come by worldclass facilities in terms of research, academic and co-curricular activities. we focused on revealing the actual picture in our public university to inferences the students' facilities provided there. we distributed a questionnaire to major public university students to know the real scenario of student's satisfaction. we used statistical measures to find out the results. four major public university students were selected as respondents. among the respondents, male respondents were 72.4% of the total population, whereas female respondents were 27.4% of the total population. the majority https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 12 of the student population was between 18 to 26 years of age group. the study results suggest that the facilities students get from the university institutional objectives & procedures, academic learning quality, organisational & student development facilities, assessment methods & feedback have a significant effect on student satisfaction. the study recommends that universities take adequate steps to satisfy students, such as corroborate politics-free campus facilities, academic objectives and procedures are to be maintained, organisational & students development facilities must be ensured, academic learning quality needs to be satisfactory, and the assessment must be assessed procedure should be stupendous. the concerning authorities of our public universities should make proper efforts to ensure quality education to our students and motivating students for research activities. the study's findings will help government authorities and higher educational institutions authorities implement the recommendation to satisfy the students of our public university. references ahmed, i., bhuiyan, m. e. m., helal, m. s. a., & banik, n. (2020). hybrid instruction: post covid-19 solution for higher education in bangladesh. international journal for modern trends in science and technology, 6(10), 20-25. clewes, d. (2011). a student-centred conceptual model of service quality in higher education. quality in higher education, 9(1), 69-85. chaudhary, a.r., iqbal a., & gillani, s.y.m. (2009). the nexus between higher education and economic growth: an empirical investigation for pakistan. pakistan journal of commerce and social sciences. 3, 01-09. douglas, j. (2011). evaluating teaching quality. quality in higher education, 12(1), 3-12. gruber, t., fub, s., voss, r., & gläser-zikuda, m. (2010). examining student satisfaction with higher education services using a new measurement tool. international journal of public sector management, 23(2), 105-123. harvey, l., & green, d. (2012). defining quality, assessment & evaluation in higher education. the new review of academic librarianship, 18(1), 9-34. henning, t., langer, m., & hansen, u. (2001). modelling and managing student loyalty review of the literature on higher education marketing. international journal of public sector management, 19(2), 316-38. helal, m. s. a., ahmed, i., & bhuiyan, m. e. m. (2021). impact of education management information system (emis) on teaching-learning development. international journal of academic research in progressive education and development, 10(2), 948–956. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarped/v10-i2/10443 islam, k. m., & salma, u. (2016). the role of private universities in higher education of bangladesh: an empirical investigation. international journal of finance and banking research, 2(4), 121-128. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 13 marilyn, r. 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(2010). services marketing strategy, wiley international encyclopedia of marketing. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 1 students’ perception and attitude towards entrepreneurship in ho chi minh city: a case study at ho chi minh city cadre academy trinh yen vy ho chi minh city cadre academy, ho chi minh city, vietnam e-mail: vytrinhyen2021@gmail.com pham ngoc van anh ho chi minh city cadre academy, ho chi minh city, vietnam e-mail: ngocvananhpham2002@gmail.com phan thi hue anh ho chi minh city cadre academy, ho chi minh city, vietnam e-mail: hueanhphan2002@gmail.com abstract in the context of the 4th industrial revolution, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore entrepreneurship. starting a business is expected to create economic growth, make positive contributions to socio-economic development. it is gradually emerging and becoming a topic of much interest from researchers and businesses. so far, however, there has been little discussion about student entrepreneurship. the present research examines the perception and attitude of ho chi minh city students towards entrepreneurial activity through a case study at ho chi minh city cadre academy. specifically, the study addresses the following questions: 1/attitude towards entrepreneurship 2/ reasons for students to be confident to start a business 3/ reasons for students to be not self-confident to start a business. this study employed questionnaires and in-depth interviews as methods to come to the results of the research. the authors selected a nonprobability sampling of 240 students in classes of 5 majors at ho chi minh city cadre academy for the questionnaire. the findings of this study suggest that the percentage of students who are not confident in starting a business is higher than that of those who are self-confident. the study also finds out the social factors affecting students’ confidence in starting a business and why they are not confident of entrepreneurship. keywords: attitude, entrepreneurship, perception, students. introduction in the context of our country's strong integration with the world economy, especially with the development of industrial achievements in the 4.0 era, it requires a young workforce fully equipped with knowledge and skills. in that situation, student entrepreneurship is also gradually emerging and becoming a topic of much interest from large and small businesses. starting a business is expected to create economic growth, make positive contributions to socio-economic development, meet the increasing and diverse needs of society, and create many jobs for the community and https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 2 society. however, most vietnamese students have difficulty in entrepreneurship. they do not distinguish clearly between starting a business and setting up a business. 66.6% of vietnamese students currently do not know about entrepreneurial activities, the proportions of students who know about entrepreneurial programs only account for 33.4%, and the actual rate of students participating in the entrepreneurial programs only reaches 0.016%. the education system has not focused on arousing entrepreneurial spirit. students graduating from high school are not equipped with the basic principles of economics and have a practical approach to business. most students graduating from high school, even many after graduating from university still do not have a full perception of entrepreneurial activities. they are not active in setting up a business, creating opportunities for themselves. moreover, education and training programs only focus on equipping knowledge and skills for students to become an employee rather than an owner. every year about 400,000 students’ graduate, but up to 225,000 students cannot find employment. according to the survey data at 1,500 start-ups by the national start-up association, most of the new graduates in the country have not met the expectations of start-up activities (decision no. 1665/qd-ttg of the prime minister, 2017) stemming from the above situation, the authors have chosen the topic: entrepreneurial perception and attitude of students in ho chi minh city (through a case study at ho chi minh city cadre academy), with the hope of providing a scientific understanding, thereby contributing to solving the problems posed in practice about entrepreneurship of students today. deepening a relatively comprehensive and systematic understanding of the perception of entrepreneurship of students at ho chi minh city cadre academy, thereby contributing to clarifying more about this social phenomenon in both theoretical and practical aspects. theoretically, the study aims to systematize the factors forming a concept “perception of an entrepreneurial attitude of students in ho chi minh city (through a case study at ho chi minh city cadre academy). with this research results, the student's perception of entrepreneurial attitude becomes complete and systematic. practically, the study aims to identify the components for the perception of entrepreneurship attitude of students in hcmc ho chi minh city, students at ho chi minh city cadre academy, as well as provide scientific arguments for the research, and solve problems raised at the ho chi minh cadre academy. literature review perspectives on entrepreneurial attitude of students when it comes to the entrepreneurial attitude, most people will think a lot about capital, status, role, and importance of entrepreneurship. that has partly influenced the view of most students who want to start a business. the government's project "supporting entrepreneurship for university students by 2025" defines the goal as a strong shift in the educational process from mainly providing knowledge to developing comprehensively students’ competencies and qualifications. students' learning will, therefore "go hand in hand with practice"; closely linking theory with practice. supporting students in innovative entrepreneurship is one of the important and practical solutions to effectively implement the central guiding point of view. carrying out the tasks assigned by the party and the government, over the past time, the ministry of education and training, in collaboration with central and local ministries, has actively implemented many activities and solutions to support students in entrepreneurship. it is also necessary to affirm that entrepreneurship is the result of a process of educational innovation from high school to college, not just the name of a project or movement. only in this way can this activity keep its significance https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 3 (decision no. 1665/qd-ttg of prime minister, 2017). the study "the reality of some factors affecting the entrepreneurial spirit of students in hanoi" by luong ngoc minh has shown that the status of students’ entrepreneurial spirit is at a low level and pointed out the factors affecting the process of students' entrepreneurship in hanoi (minh, 2019). duong ngoc hong's study on "the reality of innovative start-ups in vietnam difficulties and solutions", also outlined four factors that can be considered more favorable for start-ups in vietnam. they are four indicators in which vietnam has the highest-ranking: the dynamism of the domestic market, culture and social norms, infrastructure, and openness of the domestic market. this study also showed the relationship between students’ perception and thinking associated with entrepreneurial intention. the study highlighted the difficulties and challenges in the current situation that students and startups have been facing. it offered advice and solutions to help those who want to start a business or those who have started a business to be well prepared and avoid making mistakes in starting their own business. the study “examining the relationship between entrepreneurial perception, intention, and behavior of vietnamese students" by nguyen quang thu and tran the hoang ho chi minh city university of economics and ha kien tan binh duong university of economics and technology affirmed that the perceived feasibility factor (entrepreneur’s competence) and action intention have a great impact on entrepreneurial behaviors. this factor suggests that students need to experience and persevere in investing in their startup ideas through training activities at university to strengthen their entrepreneurial competencies. the study also found out that to be able to start a business, students need to be equipped with a lot of relevant entrepreneurial knowledge such as knowledge of product/service markets, sales, and marketing, competitors, technology, human resources, laws, especially finance, etc. if students have ideas, and consistently find a market for their products/services, but they are lack capital, their ideas are just ideas until they can make them happen. therefore, if there is no or little capital to start a business, students can mobilize external capital if they want to start a business. this study also showed that besides teaching finance, economics, and management, students must be taught psychology to be able to deal with failures and take risks (thu, hoang, & tan, 2018). the research article "the role of the relationship between students' entrepreneurial intentions and behavior" by nguyen quang thu, tran the hoang, and ha kien tan shared the same point of view. this study examined the relationship between intention and entrepreneurial behaviors of final year students in southern vietnam, including ho chi minh city, binh duong province, and dong nai province through the mediator element that is entrepreneurial commitment. these relationships are determined by a sample of 248 students who have been starting their businesses. the study results revealed that entrepreneurial intention has a direct positive, impact on entrepreneurial behaviors, but its positive impact is weaker than entrepreneurial commitment. the entrepreneurial commitment has a positive impact on entrepreneurial intention. furthermore, it is conceivable that entrepreneurial commitment plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between intention and entrepreneurial behavior (thu, hoang, & tan, 2020). in the study "factors affecting young people's entrepreneurial intention in vietnam" by nguyen anh tuan, it mentioned and generalized the factors affecting the thoughts and attitude of young people about entrepreneurship. a multiple linear regression method was applied to determine the relationship between entrepreneurial intentions and potential conditions. this study has shown what needs to be done to promote the desire to succeed and challenge, entrepreneurial attitude and perception control behavior, and creativity have many benefits in increasing the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 4 intention to start a business of vietnamese youth (tuan, 2018). report "vietnam good land for startups: why not?" of the vietnam chamber of commerce and industry, the us agency for international development has given specific arguments that to have a good attitude about entrepreneurship, it is first necessary to understand the concept of entrepreneurship correctly, which is a prerequisite for determining the right audience and goals, a premise to ensure the effectiveness of support policies and programs to promote the entrepreneurial spirit. on the contrary, incorrect or incomplete understanding of this concept will lead to misleading support policies and programs, wasting resources, and being unable to promote internal resources. this report also makes the argument that social attitudes have a direct influence on the entrepreneurial spirit and decision to start a business of people, especially young people. the policies and laws of a country will directly affect the creation of a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation. in reality, countries with a positive attitude and support for entrepreneurship will have a higher level of entrepreneurship and innovation (vietnam chamber of commerce and industry, us agency for international development (2018). regarding the research paper "some factors affecting students' intention to start a business" by truong duc thao and nguyen trung thuy linh, these authors have analyzed the attitude towards entrepreneurship. they believed that those who have a positive attitude and a passion for the business will have a positive impact on starting a business and making it easier to achieve success. the study has provided information and perspective on how the attitude will affect entrepreneurship and promoted the spirit and movement of entrepreneurship for vietnamese students (thao & linh, 2019) school is considered as a second home, containing a lot of valuable knowledge and foundation, bringing a new space for students and also a place to help students make their dreams and ambitions come true. school is one of the factors that have a great influence on the students' perception of entrepreneurship. this is clearly shown through the study “the role of entrepreneurship education for students' intention to start a business”, quang (2017). similarly, the study “strengthening propaganda to raise awareness about entrepreneurship for students" was carried out by dong nai start-up group. in addition, the study "the role of education in the perception and intention of starting a business of students at binh duong university of economics and technology" conducted by ha kien tan, nguyen ngoc diem & nguyen trong minh (tan, diem, & minh, 2019). hang and tung (2019) conducted a study “the influence of entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurial intention a case study at the university of danang”. in the proceedings of the national scientific conference chaired by the national economics university, there was a discussion "creative start-ups in vietnam, opportunities for sustainable development" by dang thi kim thoa and nguyen ngoc diep. the study “discussion on entrepreneurship activities in vietnam” was carried out by nguyen thi thu ha. luong thu ha had a study on “the topic of financial management in starting a business”. these authors have shown that start-up activities are very rich and diverse in types, helping us to have activities suitable for each type in a specific context. the studies also show students’ attitudes to the difficult problems and obstacles that entrepreneurs face in building their business models, business forms, and start-up in the digital era. the above are summaries of the achievements and views of previous researchers, about the forms and contents of entrepreneurship and the role of schools and universities in entrepreneurship. reviewing previous studies and documents partly helps the authors find out the missing gaps that need to be filled in and this is also a premise to help inherit the achievements of those studies. our point of view on students' entrepreneurial attitude will be presented in figure 1. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 5 the entrepreneurial attitude of students according to the author of this study, students' attitude about entrepreneurship is the specific behavior that students engage in entrepreneurship. it plays a critical role in deciding to start a business of students today. the expression of entrepreneurial attitude is being confident of starting a business, or not being confident of starting a business. figure 1. students’ attitude about entrepreneurship regarding confidence in starting a business, the indicators are these: 1/ having cultivated and learned more professional knowledge and participation; 2/ training soft skills classes; 3/ because the academy creates conditions for students to have creative ideas, this indicator tells us whether students participate in startup activities organized by the academy; 4/ have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion; 5/ the learning program has plenty of time for practice and practical experience; 6/ organize many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship among students. on the contrary, some students are not confident in starting a business. it includes the following indicators: 1/ there is no optimism, always afraid of failing in debt; 2/ waste of time and effort; 3/ lack of professional knowledge; 4/ do not have the necessary skills in starting a business; 5/ lack of practical experience, no leader is what hinders students in the process of starting a business. methods document research the authors have analyzed and synthesized the concepts, theoretical approaches, contents, and methods of related works and published statistical data sources. these include: i) books, printed newspapers, online newspapers, scientific journals and research works at national conferences, ...; https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 6 ii) decrees, schemes of the government, ministries, branches, and legal documents related to the research object. questionnaire a questionnaire is a method of collecting information through the use of a prepared questionnaire by the researcher to give instructions on how to answer the questions, and the respondents will write their answers. the surveyors will record the answers and process the information, specifically as follows: (1) the sampling process: both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. in the current study, the authors selected a non-probability sampling of 240 students in classes of 5 majors at ho chi minh city cadre academy. (2) in terms of design, the questionnaire includes two parts: (i) information on respondents' characteristics; (ii) information on students’ entrepreneurial attitude. these contents are arranged according to the detailed structure of the topic, from general to detailed level, paying attention to the psychological factor of the students who answered the questionnaire. (3) regarding respondents to the questionnaire: to ensure the accuracy of the information, the respondents must be students of 5 majors at ho chi minh cadre academy, including social work, political science, party construction and state government, law, state management. (4) how to conduct the survey: first, the author contacted the training department to ask for permission to interview students in classes of the five mentioned majors. then, the authors met the monitors of these classes to ask for permission to survey the perception and attitude of students about entrepreneurship. the information collection process is always under the supervision of the authors to minimize errors. (5) regarding processing survey results: after the data collection process, the data were checked, coded, entered, and processed according to the requirements of the study. the data analysis for this study was conducted through spss 20.0 software. (6) regarding the characteristics of the respondents, they are classified according to the following five social groups: table 1. social groups social groups quantity (n) rate (%) 1. gender female 159 66.3 male 81 33.8 total 240 100.0 2. region coming from the north 28 11.7 coming from the central region 39 16.3 coming from the south 173 72.1 3. major social work 48 20.0 political science 48 20.0 party construction and state government 48 20.0 law 48 20.0 state management 48 20.0 4. student year freshman 60 25.0 sophomore 60 25.0 junior 60 25.0 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 7 senior 60 25.0 5. age group from 19 to 20 years old 119 49.6 from 21 to 27 years old 121 50.4 in-depth interview in-depth interviews are a qualitative data collection method that allows direct interaction between interviewers and interviewees. interviewing is a method widely used in surveys and scientific research to collect and explore information from interviewees. during the research, we used the in-depth interview method with 10 students representing each major. to find out and collect in-depth information on students' perception and attitude of entrepreneurship, the advantages and disadvantages as well as the factors affecting the perception of students in entrepreneurial activities, which takes into account the factors such as gender, age, major, student year of students at the academy. on that basis, some recommendations are proposed to improve students' perception of starting a business at the ho chi minh city cadre academy. other methods in addition to the above initial data collection methods, for the purpose of the study, the authors also use a series of general methods in scientific research such as: analysis and synthesis, deductive and inductive, logical and compare methods. results a correct perception of entrepreneurship will help students have more positive attitudes in their entrepreneurial activities. therefore, in this study, it is necessary to focus on clarifying the students' attitudes about starting a business, as well as the reasons for performing these activities in the current context at the academy of cadres. how to start a successful business and why? being ready to start a business in the current context, students' entrepreneurial attitude is an important activity in expressing their entrepreneurial behaviors. the author's survey shows two indicators of students' attitudes when starting a business, including 1/ confident in starting a business, 2/ not confident in starting a business. this attitude is an important factor for them to join their entrepreneurial activities successfully or not. the research team's survey revealed: table 2. students’ attitude to be ready to start a business, by majors being ready to start a business majors social work politics party construction and state government law state management total n % n % n % n % n % n % 1. being confident in starting a business 19 39.6 15 31.3 30 62.5 20 41.7 26 54.2 110 45.8 2. being not confident in starting a business 29 60.4 33 68.8 18 37.5 28 58.3 22 45.8 130 54.2 total 48 100.0 48 100.0 48 100.0 48 100.0 48 100.0 240 100.0 source: primary source https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 8 as the above comment shows, there is a gap from perception to attitude. the perception is an orientation, the attitude is the behavior that performs the entrepreneurial activities. students' perceptions of the entrepreneurial activities at the academy are generally very good. however, table 2 shows the attitude of students' readiness to start a business, in indicator no. 1/ being confident of starting a business accounted for 45.8%, lower than indicator 2/ being not confident of starting a business represented 54.2%. the number of students of ho chi minh cadre academy who are not ready for entrepreneurship is less than half of that is ready. and the authors continued to analyze the correlations between social groups. when looking at social groups, specialized groups, also in table 2 with significant equals to 0.018, it shows that these groups have differences in their readiness to start a business. in indicator 1/ being confident of starting a business, the party construction & state government accounted for 62.5% higher than the state management at 54.2%, law group accounted for 41.7%, and social work group accounted for 39.6%. the lowest is the political science group, accounting for 31.3%. in indicator 2/ being not confident of starting a business, the political science group accounted for a higher proportion at 68.8%, the social work group accounted for 60.4%, the law group accounted for 58.3%, the state management group accounted for 45.8%, the lowest rate is the group of party construction and state management with the proportion of 37.55%. regarding the gender group, with significant equals to 0.03, it reveals that there is a difference between this groups in an attitude of starting a business. in indicator no. 1/ being confident of starting a business, the proportion of men accounted for 55.6%, higher than that of women at 40.9%. indicator 2/ being not confident of starting a business, the proportion of women is 59.1%, the proportion of men is 44.4. why is there this difference? to find out about this disparity, the authors interviewed a female student. she said: “i majored in political science, so i am more politically inclined and i have no financial resources and intention to start a business.” (female student, majoring in politics, 20 years old). another male student stated: “in the process of going to university, i experienced many jobs as well as worked in many different fields. each profession has given me the knowledge to accumulate for my future. let me show you a little: i'm the owner of a fruit tea truck. please buy and support me” (male student, major of party construction and state government, 21 years old). however, in the group of regions, significant equals 0.191, in age group, significant equals 0.239, in the group of student year significant equals 0.503, showing that there is no difference between groups in attitude to start a business. that is, the perception of entrepreneurial behavior is relatively similar for these groups. the authors would like to take two indicators to carry out the evaluation and analysis process. in indicator 1/ being confident of starting a business, fourth-year students accounted for 51.7%, higher than the third year at 48.3%, the first year accounted for 45.0%, the lowest was the second year at 38.3%. or in indicator 2/ being not confident of starting a business, second-year students accounted for 61.7%, higher than that of the first year at 55.0%, the third year accounted for 51.7% and the fourth year represented 48.3%. studying deeper into this issue, the authors interviewed a female student, saying: "whether you are ready to do a certain job or not depends on each individual. even if you love doing it but you are afraid of taking risks and challenges, you still cannot confidently do that job” (female student, state administration major, 20 years old). thus, through the above analysis, we can see that more than half of the students are not ready to start a business. this is due to some factors, which the authors will present in the next section. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 9 reasons for being confident of starting a business starting a business always requires the entrepreneur to be confident in the connection of resources, or the application of knowledge with the surrounding practical activities. this confidence will lead them to success and as above shows that up to 45.8% of students think that they are confident enough to start a business (see table 2 above). what is the reason to motivate their behavior? the survey of the authors showed that there are 6 indicators showing the reason for this confidence: 1/ students have cultivated and learned more professional knowledge; 2/ students have been trained and participated in soft skills classes; 3/ the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship; 4/ students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion; 5/ the learning programs have a lot of time for practice and practical experience; 6/ the academy has organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of skills in students. this will make students more confident in the process of entrepreneurship. it can be shown as follows: table 3. reasons for students’ confidence in starting a business, by majors reasons for being confident to start a business major social work politics party construction and state government law state management total n % n % n % n % n % n % 1 students have cultivated and learned more professional knowledge 13 68.4 5 35.7 22 73.3 17 85.0 16 61.5 73 67.0 2 students have been trained and participated in soft skills courses 9 47.4 7 50.0 24 80.0 11 55.0 12 46.2 63 57.8 3 the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship 4 21.1 3 21.4 21 70.0 10 50.0 14 53.8 52 47.7 4 students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion 13 68.4 12 85.7 22 73.3 17 85.0 22 84.6 86 78.9 5 the learning programs have a lot of time for practice and real experience 12 63.2 7 50.0 6 20.0 11 55.0 14 53.8 50 45.9 6 the academy has organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship among students 5 26.3 6 42.9 4 13.3 8 40.0 16 61.5 39 35.8 total 19 100.0 14 100.0 30 100.0 20 100.0 26 100.0 109 100.0 significant = 0.000 source: primary source table 3 shows that in indicator 4/ students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm and passion accounted for the highest rate at 78.9%, compared to indicator 1/ students have cultivated and learned more professional knowledge rate at 67.0%. in indicator 3/ the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship, the proportion is 47.7%; in indicator 5/ the learning programs have a lot of time for practice and real experience accounted for 45.9% and the lowest is indicator 6/ the academy has organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship accounted for 35.8%. indeed, the above description shows that to be successful in your career, you need to have an attitude of confidence and optimism, full of enthusiasm with passion about your chosen job. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 10 studying more about social groups revealed more differences, as well as the consensus of groups with reasons for confidence when starting a business. considering the social groups, the specialized groups are also in table 3 with significant equals to 0.000, showing that there is a huge difference between majors in terms of reasons for confidence in starting a business. the authors would like to take two indicators for illustrative analysis: in indicator 4/ students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion, major of political science accounted for 85.7% higher than the rate of law at 85.0%, the state management accounted for 84.6%, the party construction and state government accounted for 73.3%, the lowest in the social work major at 68.4%. or in indicator 6/ the academy has organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship of students, the state management major accounted for 61.5%, which is higher than that of the political science at 42.9%, the rate of the law major is 40.0%, the social work rate is 26.3%, the lowest rate is the party construction and the state government with the rate of 13.3% (see appendix a). conducting an in-depth interview on this issue, a male student said: "honestly, in the process of starting a business, there are many difficulties and challenges, but when you have confidence in them as well as in yourself, you will start a business successfully” (male student, major of social work, 22 years old). the author's in-depth interview with a female student showed that: “the knowledge and skills equipped help me grasp the basics to choose a right career” (female student, state management major, 20 years old). it can be seen that, in addition to the difference in the rate between the indicators on the perception of reasons for confidence, there is also a correlation difference between the specialized groups, that is, this reason depends on each student's perception. particularly in the group of the student year, age, gender, and region, students have relatively similar choices about reasons for confidently starting a business. reasons for not being confident of starting a business table 2 above also shows that 52.5% of students at ho chi minh cadre academy suppose that they are not confident enough to start a business. therefore, what is the reason for this? research shows that there are up to 5 reasons that govern and influence not daring to start a business, such as lack of optimism, fear of failure, debt. figure 2. reasons for not being confident in starting a business source: primary source https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 11 figure 2 shows that the biggest worry of students in starting a business today is the lack of experience. in indicator 5, the reason why students are not confident in starting a business is that they are lack of practical experience and have no leader, and this reason accounted for 73.6%. in indicator 3/ lack of professional knowledge, the proportion is 71.2%. in indicator 4/ not having the necessary background skills in starting a business accounted for 64%. in indicator 1/ no optimism, always afraid of failure and debt accounted for 32% and the lowest rate is in indicator 2/ waste of time and effort accounted for 29.6%. thereby, the above reasons are quite reasonable and affect the attitude of students participating in entrepreneurship, especially the lack of practical experience and no leader. and to study and analyze more carefully before coming to a conclusion about this, the author has performed chi-square tests between groups to find out the nature of the issue. table 3. reasons for not being confident in starting a business, by majors reasons for not being confident to start a business major social work political science party construction and state government law state management total n % n % n % n % n % n % 1 no optimism, always being afraid of failure and debt 4 14.3 10 31.3 7 38.9 13 52.0 6 27.3 40 32.0 2 waste of time and effort 3 10.7 8 25.0 14 77.8 9 36.0 3 13.6 37 29.6 3 lack of professional knowledge 19 67.9 23 71.9 12 66.7 19 76.0 16 72.7 89 71.2 4 did not acquire foundational skills 20 71.4 19 59.4 9 50.0 16 64.0 16 72.7 80 64.0 5 lack of practical experience, no leader 23 82.1 24 75.0 5 27.8 21 84.0 19 86.4 92 73.6 total 28 100.0 32 100.0 18 100.0 25 100.0 22 100.0 125 100.0 significant = 0.000 source: primary source considering the social group, the major group is also in table 3 with significant equals 0.000, showing that there is a difference between the majors. the authors would like to take an indicator for analysis. in indicator 5/ lack of practical experience and no leader, state management group accounted for 86.4%, law group represented 84.9%, social work group accounted for 82.1%, political science group at 75.0 % and the lowest in the party construction and the state government accounting for 27.8% (see appendix f). it seems that in index 5, only the party construction group and the state government have a much lower rate compared to the other groups. the question raised here is why do students think that the lack of a leader and lack of practical experience is a decisive factor? when we interviewed a female student, she said: “starting a business has many failures. if no one shares or advises you what to do, it's easy to get lost. you don't know what to do and where to start. there is no joy but suffering” (a female student, major of party construction and state government, 20 years old). regarding the significance of age group equals 0.217, it shows that there is no difference between the reasons for not being confident to start a business. the authors would like to take some indicators to analyze and clarify the similarity in perception between groups. meanwhile, in indicator 5/ lack of practical experience, there is no leader in the age group (21-27) accounting for 75.9%, higher than the age group (19-20) at 71.6%. as for indicator 2/ waste of time and effort, https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 12 the age group from (21-27 years old) accounted for 31.0%, higher than the age group (19-20 years old) at 28.4% (see appendix g). finding out about this issue, a male student said: “starting a business takes a long time, it takes years to recover capital. if you're lucky, you can get it back, but if you lose it all, it's like playing! what i want is to be safe in entrepreneurship?” (male student, party construction and state government, 20 years old). the significant of gender group is 0.896, the significant of region group is 0.147 and finally the significance of the student year group is 0.426, showing that there is no difference between men and women in the reasons why students are not confident to start a business (see appendix h, i, j). why is there a perception of the same reasons? to find out about this issue, the authors interviewed a male student: "i'm very poor in knowledge and social issues, so i don't think i'll start a business. (male student, political science major, 19 years old), or a female student: “i want to start a business, but i don't have the experience or skills to handle problems when starting a business” (female student, party construction and state government major, 20 years old). conclusion research on students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship up to now, has always played an important role in the country's development programs for the cause of education. to find out the entrepreneurial perception and attitude of students at ho chi minh cadre academy, the current research has deeply clarified each aspect and different reasons for the entrepreneurial perception of students. with the lessons from previous studies of many authors as well as the views and theories in section 3.1, and the authors’ conception of the entrepreneurial attitude in section 3.2 is very thorough, it is a premise for the authors to survey entrepreneurial attitudes in section 4 of the study. through the above description, analysis, and explanation, the research has discovered an important feature in students' perception of entrepreneurship that is, the restructuring of the economic model to a market economy and international integration there is a combination between old types and new types of start-ups. for example, the study also pointed out the social factors affecting the students' entrepreneurial perception. the students’ perception is still hesitant facing the options, their attitude is not drastic. in addition, the perception of students is struggling between the trend of starting a business or not. the perception of the students is very good, but they have an attitude of not daring to start a business. if we put this restructuring in the context of the country in transition from an agricultural civilization to an industrial and modern civilization, from a subsidy mechanism to a market and integration mechanism, we will see that's inevitable. this is also considered the reason why many students are still afraid and do not have much confidence in starting a business, and some students have never thought of starting their own business. references hang, l. t. m., & tung, n. s. (2019). influence of entrepreneurship training on entrepreneurship intention – a case study at the university of danang, journal of economic science, 7. retrieved from https:// tailieumienphi.vn/doc/anh-huong-cua-dao-tao-khoi-nghiep-den-ydinh-khoi-nghiep-tinh-huong-nghien-cuu-t-x9qeuq.html minh, l. n. (2019). the reality of some factors affecting the entrepreneurial spirit of students in hanoi, journal of industry and trade, 2, 177-182. retrieved from https://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/vnu_123/88956 https://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/vnu_123/88956 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 13 prime minister. (2017). decision no. 1665/qd-ttg approving the project "supporting students to start a business by 2025". quang, p. h. 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2021 14 appendices appendix a: reasons for students’ confidence in starting a business, by majors reasons for being confident to start a business major social work political science party construction and state government law state management total n % n % n % n % n % n % 1 students have cultivated, learned more professional knowledge 13 68.4 5 35.7 22 73.3 17 85.0 16 61.5 73 67.0 2 students were trained and participated in soft skills courses 9 47.4 7 50.0 24 80.0 11 55.0 12 46.2 63 57.8 3 the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship 4 21.1 3 21.4 21 70.0 10 50.0 14 53.8 52 47.7 4 students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion 13 68.4 12 85.7 22 73.3 17 85.0 22 84.6 86 78.9 5 the learning programs have a lot of time for practice and real experience 12 63.2 7 50.0 6 20.0 11 55.0 14 53.8 50 45.9 6 the academy has organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship among students 5 26.3 6 42.9 4 13.3 8 40.0 16 61.5 39 35.8 total 19 100.0 14 100.0 30 100.0 20 100.0 26 100.0 109 100.0 pearson chi-square tests major reasons for being confident to start a business chi-square 64.755 df 24 sig. .000* results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. *. the chi-square statistic is significant at the 0.05 level. appendix b: reasons for students’ confidence in starting a business, by age group reasons for being confident to start a business age group from 19 to 20 years old from 21 to 27 years old total n % n % n % 1. students have cultivated, learned more professional knowledge 32 65.3 41 68.3 73 67.0 2. students were trained and participated in soft skills courses 29 59.2 34 56.7 63 57.8 3. the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship 24 49.0 28 46.7 52 47.7 4. students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion 39 79.6 47 78.3 86 78.9 5. the learning program has a lot of time for practice and real experience 25 51.0 25 41.7 50 45.9 6. the academy organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship among students 19 38.8 20 33.3 39 35.8 total 49 100.0 60 100.0 109 100.0 pearson chi-square tests age group reasons for being confident to start a business chi-square 1.563 df 6 sig. .955 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 15 appendix c: reasons for students’ confidence in starting a business, by gender reasons for being confident to start a business gender female male total n % n % n % 1. students have cultivated, learned more professional knowledge 42 64.6 31 70.5 73 67.0 2. students were trained and participated in soft skills courses 38 58.5 25 56.8 63 57.8 3. the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship 35 53.8 17 38.6 52 47.7 4. students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion 54 83.1 32 72.7 86 78.9 5. the learning program has a lot of time for practice and real experience 31 47.7 19 43.2 50 45.9 6. the academy organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship among students 28 43.1 11 25.0 39 35.8 total 65 100.0 44 100.0 109 100.0 pearson chi-square tests gender reasons for being confident to start a business chi-square 8.501 df 6 sig. .204 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. appendix d: reasons for students’ confidence in starting a business, by region reasons for being confident to start a business region the north the central the south total n % n % n % n % 1. students have cultivated, learned more professional knowledge 8 66.7 9 69.2 56 66.7 73 67.0 2. students were trained and participated in soft skills courses 8 66.7 7 53.8 48 57.1 63 57.8 3. the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship 6 50.0 5 38.5 41 48.8 52 47.7 4. students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion 10 83.3 11 84.6 65 77.4 86 78.9 5. the learning program has a lot of time for practice and real experience 6 50.0 6 46.2 38 45.2 50 45.9 6. the academy organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship among students 1 8.3 6 46.2 32 38.1 39 35.8 total 12 100.0 13 100.0 84 100.0 109 100.0 pearson chi-square tests region reasons for being confident to start a business chi-square 6.379 df 12 sig. .896 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable appendix e: reasons for students’ confidence in starting a business, by student year reasons for being confident to start a business student year freshman sophomore junior senior total n % n % n % n % n % 1. students have cultivated, learned more professional knowledge 16 59.3 16 72.7 20 69.0 21 67.7 73 67.0 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 16 2. students were trained and participated in soft skills courses 14 51.9 15 68.2 17 58.6 17 54.8 63 57.8 3. the academy has created conditions for students to participate in creating ideas of entrepreneurship 10 37.0 14 63.6 14 48.3 14 45.2 52 47.7 4. students have an optimistic spirit, full of enthusiasm with passion 22 81.5 17 77.3 24 82.8 23 74.2 86 78.9 5. the learning program has a lot of time for practice and real experience 11 40.7 14 63.6 13 44.8 12 38.7 50 45.9 6. the academy organized many seminars and workshops on the topic of entrepreneurship among students 12 44.4 7 31.8 12 41.4 8 25.8 39 35.8 total 27 100.0 22 100.0 29 100.0 31 100.0 109 100.0 pearson chi-square tests student year reasons for being confident to start a business chi-square 13.474 df 18 sig. .763 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. appendix f: reasons for being not confident to start a business, by major reasons for being not confident to start a business major social work political science party construction and state government law state management total n % n % n % n % n % n % 1 no optimism, always being afraid of failure and debt 4 14.3 10 31.3 7 38.9 13 52.0 6 27.3 40 32.0 2 waste of time and effort 3 10.7 8 25.0 14 77.8 9 36.0 3 13.6 37 29.6 3 lack of professional knowledge 19 67.9 23 71.9 12 66.7 19 76.0 16 72.7 89 71.2 4 did not acquire foundational skills 20 71.4 19 59.4 9 50.0 16 64.0 16 72.7 80 64.0 5 lack of practical experience, no leader 23 82.1 24 75.0 5 27.8 21 84.0 19 86.4 92 73.6 total 28 100.0 32 100.0 18 100.0 25 100.0 22 100.0 125 100.0 pearson chi-square tests major reasons for not being confident to start a business chi-square 65.252 df 20 sig. .000* results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. *. the chi-square statistic is significant at the 0.05 level. appendix g: reasons for not being confident to start a business, by age group reasons for being not confident to start a business age group from 19 to 20 years old from 21 to 27 years old total n % n % n % 1 no optimism, always being afraid of failure and debt 26 38.8 14 24.1 40 32.0 2 waste of time and effort 19 28.4 18 31.0 37 29.6 3 lack of professional knowledge 49 73.1 40 69.0 89 71.2 4 did not acquire foundational skills 38 56.7 42 72.4 80 64.0 5 lack of practical experience, no leader 48 71.6 44 75.9 92 73.6 total 67 100.0 58 100.0 125 100.0 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 17 pearson chi-square tests age group reasons for being not confident to start a business chi-square 7.054 df 5 sig. .217 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. appendix h: reasons for being not confident to start a business, by gender reasons for being not confident to start a business gender female male total n % n % n % 1 no optimism, always being afraid of failure and debt 29 32.2 11 31.4 40 32.0 2 waste of time and effort 29 32.2 8 22.9 37 29.6 3 lack of professional knowledge 63 70.0 26 74.3 89 71.2 4 did not acquire foundational skills 59 65.6 21 60.0 80 64.0 5 lack of practical experience, no leader 66 73.3 26 74.3 92 73.6 total 90 100.0 35 100.0 125 100.0 appendix i: reasons for being not confident starting a business, by region reasons for being not confident to start a business region north central south total n % n % n % n % 1 no optimism, always being afraid of failure and debt 4 25.0 10 40.0 26 31.0 40 32.0 2 waste of time and effort 2 12.5 13 52.0 22 26.2 37 29.6 3 lack of professional knowledge 9 56.3 17 68.0 63 75.0 89 71.2 4 did not acquire foundational skills 10 62.5 15 60.0 55 65.5 80 64.0 5 lack of practical experience, no leader 11 68.8 16 64.0 65 77.4 92 73.6 total 16 100.0 25 100.0 84 100.0 125 100.0 pearson chi-square tests region reasons for being not confident to start a business chi-square 14.598 df 10 sig. .147 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. appendix j: reasons for being not confident to start a business, by student year reasons for being not confident to start a business student year freshman sophomore junior senior total n % n % n % n % n % 1 no optimism, always being afraid of failure and debt 12 37.5 14 38.9 6 19.4 8 30.8 40 32.0 2 waste of time and effort 8 25.0 11 30.6 9 29.0 9 34.6 37 29.6 pearson chi-square tests gender reasons for being not confident to start a business chi-square 1.643 df 5 sig. .896 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 18 3 lack of professional knowledge 23 71.9 26 72.2 20 64.5 20 76.9 89 71.2 4 did not acquire foundational skills 23 71.9 16 44.4 21 67.7 20 76.9 80 64.0 5 lack of practical experience, no leader 24 75.0 25 69.4 22 71.0 21 80.8 92 73.6 total 32 100.0 36 100.0 31 100.0 26 100.0 125 100.0 pearson chi-square tests student year reasons for being not confident to start a business chi-square 15.362 df 15 sig. .426 results are based on nonempty rows and columns in each innermost subtable. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 1 challenges in distance learning during the pandemic situation of coronavirus (covid-19): a perspective from bangladesh md. shahidul islam divisional officer service engineering division bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: engr.shahidul.islam@gmail.com md. shahnur azad chowdhury associate professor department of business administration int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: tipu_iiuc@yahoo.com sultana akter assistant professor department of business administration int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: sa_maya@rocketmail.com a. b. m. yasir arafat lecturer department of computer science and engineering int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: abmya89@yahoo.com md. kazi golam azam assistant professor department of business administration int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: mdkgazam@iiuc.ac.bd abstract the purpose of the study is to identify the socio-psychological challenges that influence the distance learning education performance to be recognized and evaluated in the covid-19 pandemic situation to develop the planning and utilization strategy for smooth and high-quality online uninterrupted teaching and learning environment in the future. a systematic random sampling survey method is used to collect information from 100 respondents on a ten-point likert scale (1 = least significant and 10 = most significant to the factor of online learning). the survey https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 2 response data were collected from online class experienced teachers and students (masters and graduate) from business school and science and engineering school of int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh (longitude 91.720902539062 and latitude 22.495181427788) in the march-april 2021. descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation model are used from the collected survey data by using ibm spss statistics 20 and ibm spss amos 22 software to identify factors that have a significant influence on performance. the study result shows that personal factor, task assignment factor, and course factor have significant positive contribution and technical factor has a significant negative contribution to the performance in the online education. but perceive factor and social factor have no significant contribution to the performance in online education. keywords: internet in education, online class, policymaker, socio-psychological challenge. jel classification codes: i21, c38, c12. introduction the effect of the covid 19 crisis has affected the educational practices of approximately 150 million students around the world. all of these students are on the verge of joining the job market after completing their studies in a short period of time. the abrupt halt in all of these students' educational progress has put a strain on their emotional, economical, social, personal, and physical well-being. furthermore, the entire educational system has come to a halt, posing the most significant danger to the nation's future. the simplest and most common solution to this issue is to move to an online education system. our country's leadership, as well as the ministry of education, have taken sufficient positive steps in this regard. in the midst of this crisis, the online education system has provided students hope and has become a viable educational option. despite the fact that many have questioned its quality and compared it to the physical structure, it has provided an opportunity to consider the topic more deeply. however, today's learners all over the world are searching for a versatile education format that can be accessed at any time and from any place. online learning opportunities are in high demand, particularly among a group of learners who face specific challenges, and education providers are responding positively (schrum & hong, 2002). in all countries and institutions, the standard and popularity of online education vary. learning and teaching styles, as well as personal encouragement and infrastructure, are all important factors in ensuring a smooth online teaching experience. some colleges and universities have been able to show effective online teaching delivery (fredericksen et al., 2000). despite some challenges, online teaching and learning provide a solution to an inevitable issue. after the outbreak of the coronavirus, educational institutions at all levels around the world have had to shut down their usual face-to-face distribution systems on campus. some colleges and universities perform research programs online, while others do not. many that are actively performing research activities online are confronted with a number of issues. especially in developing countries, where information technology is not yet widely available and the internet is not easily accessible from anywhere and by anyone. both students and instructors may have disadvantages, and both may face difficulties in continuing online classes. the usage and acceptance of the internet are rising by the day, suggesting a brighter future for online teaching and learning (muilenburg & berge, 2005). as a result, the obstacles that students face must be recognized and evaluated in order to establish a plan for smooth and high-quality online teaching and learning. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 3 objectives of the study education is a major sector for every nation. learning can’t be interrupted for maintaining continuous development. digitization has been initiated in every sector of the country. so, education should also deserve attention for being digitized. it has become emergent to run online education in the current situation of covid-19 as there are no other alternatives. as this is a new experience so there are a lot of limitations to the online education system. to make it fruitful a long way to travel in his line with necessary modifications by identifying the challenges. this study attempts to explore the possible challenges in online education. to conduct the study successfully, the following objectives has been identified:  to give an overview of the current situation of online education in bangladesh  to explore the challenges in the field of online education in bangladesh literature review continuation of disasters creates the necessity of using technologies that helps to cope up with the change (meyer & jones, 2011) particularly communication technologies such as e-learning tools (tull, 2017). the coronavirus disease (covid-19), a disaster for human living systems in the whole world mostly affected the economic system, health care system, and education system. the following review of literature states the changing pattern, tools for the digital education system, challenges, and finally some suggestions for the improvement of the online education system. to control the transmission of covid-19, staying home and strong lockdown strategies have been adopted (sintema, 2020) and these strategies were implemented nationally from 1 august 2020 (palden, 2020). almost all governments of countries around the world have introduced similar goals like imposing strict lockdown, restricting immigration, social/physical distancing, and avoidance of on-campus face-to-face learning (gonzalez et al., 2020). moreover, globalization, privatization, and liberalization of education have significantly worsened because of the confined program relating to academic activities and restricted mobility among the countries during this pandemic (mishra et al., 2020). during the lockdown, teachers are instructed to teach through online learning platforms (abidah et al., 2020). the immediate shift of physical classrooms into e-classrooms has changed the pedagogical approach of educators in order to cope with changed situations and new market conditions. institutional adaptability with online education at a massive level becomes more concern irrespective of quality education during this hurdle time period (carey, 2020). to satisfy the unprecedented demand, faculty members made a change in their courses in short order with negligible formal training, and on the other hand, students have affected through various ways like problems in learning new technology, loss of internship, locational disadvantage, etc. (govindarajan & srivastava, 2020). furthermore, the forced shift of the education system requires capacity improvement of information technology due to the introduction of automation, machine learning, and the development of artificial intelligence (krishnamurthy, 2020). online learning may be defined as gaining learning experience in a variant environment by using mobile phone and laptop devices connecting with the instructor through the internet from anywhere in the world (singh & thurman, 2019). again, online learning is known as open learning, web-based learning, m-learning, blended learning, etc. which assures common efficiency of learning through computer devices that connect teacher and students from any place by internet (cojocariu et al., 2014). before the pandemic, most of the institutions use face to face learning approach within campus area but the eruption of covid-19 divert conventional method into the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 4 digital method in our education system which incorporates online lecture, online examination, teleconferencing, digital open books, and almost all interaction at virtual environments (strielkowski, 2020; kumar, 2020). moreover, the education environment experienced the use of online platforms like zoom, google classroom, and other virtual learning platforms along with various social media such as messenger, whatsapp, we-chat, telegram, etc. for the first time (pokhrel & chhetri, 2021). there are some benefits of the online education system, (means et al., 2013) claim that online learning might be more fruitful than the traditional approach of learning. again, students from distant locations can easily connect with minimal cost and time. however, online education becomes challenging for the economically disadvantaged group as socioeconomic conditions are not the same for all learners in society (pokhrel & chhetri, 2021). most of the students rely on android mobile facing tremendous problems from remote access due to poor internet connectivity, depression anxiety, and lack of proper learning environment (kapasia et al., 2020), and learners with hearing-impaired face challenges while using e-learning (manzoor, 2020). moreover, learners from third world countries face challenges in the suddenly changed education system as it requires to cope up with limited technical infrastructure, academic incompetency, and finally limited. therefore, effective and efficient use of resources is crucial to continue education during a pandemic. dhawan (2020) suggested that institutional focus goes to better use of technology with low cost in maintenance and procurement along with internet speed, access to the internet, security feature, available laboratories, and improvement in digital literacy. some educational models like a model for educational emergencies treatment (meet) for managing and restoring educational operations (karalis, 2020) as well as holistic teacher education systems (zhu & liu, 2020) are advocated for better support in the present and future teaching at the time of the similar type of natural disasters like covid-19 pandemic. hence, bangladesh is facing covid-19 pandemic and passing through the shifted education system, so it requires research on a new education system which also supported by an above review of literature that will help smother management and distribution of education in an equal manner at present and future. digital bangladesh for the first time, the present government has adopted a plan to build a digital bangladesh by 2021. the independence of bangladesh was gained in 1971 through a bloody war, the half-century of its independence is being marked in 2021 and that is why it has touched all of us to dream of taking our beloved motherland to a special place during this time. so, the word digital bangladesh has not become just a word. the government and the people of this country have all taken a big initiative to make it a reality. bangladesh has currently gained the 57th position in the world to launch bangabandhu satellite 1 from the kenedy space center in the united states at 2.14 pm on may 11, 2018. however, the word digital bangladesh was not just used as a computer-ready country. it is much more comprehensive. digital bangladesh means to create a modern bangladesh using information and communication technology. the goal of digital bangladesh is to implement the country's commitment to education, health, employment, and poverty alleviation using all kinds of technologies. to reach this goal, it is very important to change our old mentality and think positively and innovatively. the keyword behind digital bangladesh is to ensure democracy, human rights, transparency, accountability, and justice for the people of the country and to make maximum use of technology for them. its ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life of all types of people of all classes. the government has emphasized four specific issues for the implementation of digital bangladesh such as human resource development, people's https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 5 involvement, civil services, and the use of information technology in daily life. as compared to many other countries in the world, bangladesh has started the work of expansion of information technology late. so, bangladesh stays far behind many other countries. although in the past the importance of information and communication technology was not properly realized, now it is becoming very important. with the connection of submarine cable, it is now possible to provide a high-speed internet connection in our country. due to the interest of the government, information technology infrastructure has started to develop in the country. many initiatives have been taken to provide internet service to remote areas by laying fiber-optic lines across the country. even a decade and a half ago, the number of telephones in this country was negligible. now it can be said without hesitation that every adult in this country has a phone at their hand. adults have phones at their fingertips. information service centers have been set up at the union level, post offices in remote areas have been converted into e-centers and mobile money orders have been provided. the union information center, as well as the district information cell and the national information cell, is a major addition to the country's infrastructure. work is being done regularly for registration of admission tests, knowing the results of public examinations, or buying train tickets through the mobile telephone. this look is proof of the fact that information and communication technology lessons have been added in schools and colleges. computer science is being taught in colleges and universities of the country. the young generation of the country is building their own companies besides giving jobs to various software companies and a large number of young people are strengthening the economy of the country by outsourcing on a personal level. the date of 12th may 2018 is very important for us. on this day, bangladesh, as the 57th country in the world, launched its own satellite 'bangabandhu satellite-1' into space. in this, the country went one step further in the implementation of digital bangladesh. using satellite will benefit education, medicine, agriculture, weather forecasting as well as bangladesh's economic progress. the satellite can also be used for television services and national security. a new level will be added to the management of natural disasters anywhere in bangladesh. in addition, due to the use of information and communication technology due to bangabandhu satellite, along with saving foreign currency, a large amount of foreign exchange income will also be possible. with this breakthrough in information technology, let no one think that we have already reached our goal this is not true at all. in this way, we have a long way to go. since most of the people in our country live in villages, the first step in building a digital bangladesh is to bring these rural people under the purview of information and communication technology services. that is why now bangladesh government have to build a huge infrastructure to get the full benefits of information technology. in this case, skilled manpower is needed. the quality of education in schools, colleges, and universities needs to be enhanced and more students need to be trained in information and communication technology. e-governance should ensure transparency in all matters. the new generation needs to be encouraged to harness their innovative potential. there needs to be coordination between the university and the information and communication technology industry. only then can we build a real digital bangladesh. education system in bangladesh during covid-19 covid-19, which carries the coronavirus, was first reported in late 2019 in china's wuhan province. due to the rapid spread of the disease around the world, the who declared the march 11, 2020, global epidemic. outbreaks appear to be exacerbated in bangladesh. according to https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 6 statistics there were confirmed cases of 787k, recovered 729k, and death cases 12310 as of 22.05.2021 in bangladesh. the disease is mainly spread by coughing, sneezing, and touching infected patients within 3 feet. as a result, it is very important to maintain social distance to get rid of this disease. the bangladesh government has taken enough steps in this regard. the time we are passing through the covid crisis is a great challenging issue. covid is forcing people to enter the virtual world and people are gradually getting used to the virtual world. for example, people are going to online health care without going to the doctor for medical services. in this way, moving from shopping to e-commerce, schooling to distance learning, and socialization to social distance is better for us due to the corona situation. adapting to such a big change is a big challenge over the world. bangladesh has a broad education system consisting of 38.6 million students were 3.6 million in pre-primary, 18 million in primary, 13 million in secondary, and 4 million in tertiary level. according to the year 2018, 0.17 million educational institutions are ranging from primary to tertiary level, including 0.13 million primary schools. the economic growth of the country is integrally associated with strong educational achievement and learning outcomes and skills development. the covid-19 pandemic pushed 1.6 billion children and youth out of school in 193 countries which is almost 90% of total enrolled students. due to the rapid spread of the corona epidemic worldwide, the bangladesh government imposed a lockdown on the entire country from march 17, 2020. about 38.6 million students stopped their studies as the educational institution was closed for more than a year. it also resulted in the suspension of all primary school first-term examinations across the country, as well as the postponement of the higher secondary school certificate (hsc) examination (grade 12/equivalent terminal exam) for the academic year. the country's learning and human capital growth are likely to suffer short-, medium-, and long-term consequences, if school closures and disruptions continue. as a result, the government of bangladesh recognizes the importance of planning for and reacting to the covid-19 pandemic in bangladesh's educational system. due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, major impacts on education in bangladesh are as follows:  incomplete learning due to discontinuation the academic progress of students would be disrupted due to long time absent from physical schooling. the overall scenario is affecting the school, college, or university yearly planned activities in the worst-case scenario, which could result in a one-year gap for all students.  creating problem of assessment because of the pandemic, physical learning programs and planned tests will be temporarily suspended, making it more difficult to increase learning outcomes or even sustain the number of students who achieve grade-level competencies. simultaneously, authorities and teachers would struggle to find an appropriate alternative for national evaluations, given the lack of learning due to institutional closures and other factors.  faulty method for evaluation during the covid 19 periods, some institutions try to start a virtual education system for adult students. although conducting classes through various difficulties but no expected policy for evaluation has developed till now.  un-uniform learning system students from educated and wealthy families tend to be able to continue their education at home because they have access to computer technology, the internet, and other resources. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 7 this problem creates a learning gap between those students who do not have access to those services.  the rate of dropout students is increasing the anticipated global economic crisis caused by the pandemic, as well as its severe effect on household income, would increase the dropout rate, especially among girls and those from low-income or disadvantaged families.  creating depression in students who are going to have completed degrees students are suffering from depression and inferiority due to endless future uncertainty, they are mostly helpless to begin a new life career without finishing their degrees. on the other hand, they have to depend on the other of the family members.  more difficulties for poor and rural student these types of students are deprived of necessary digital opportunities such as smartphones, laptops, 4g networks, high costly internet, etc. this is also a new difficulty that poor and rural students don't know how to use android mobile efficiently. there are no available facilities for wireless internet connection i.e. wi-fi with low cost. as a result, students are dropping dawn in various level of education and also losing interest for next higher study. in an analysis of the daily prothomalo there a greater increasing rate of forced child girl marriage in the rural area. hypothesis hypothesis 1 personal challenge has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. hypothesis 2 perceived challenge has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. hypothesis 3 task assignment challenge has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. hypothesis 4 technical challenge has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. hypothesis 5 social challenge has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. hypothesis 6 course challenge has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. method to study the challenge of online class during coronavirus (covid-19) a survey questionnaire was developed from literature review and experience of authors. the developed survey questionnaire is pre-tested with 10 respondents and necessary corrections and modifications are made to finalize the final questionnaire. now the finalized questionnaire is distributed to 100 respondents for the reply. in this research, data were collected on a questionnaire survey in the form of a ten-point likert scale ranging from 1 = least significant to performance of online learning and 10 = most significant to performance of online learning. data collection for this study began on the date 20 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 8 march 2021 and ended on the date 22 april 2021 from int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh (longitude 91.720902539062 and latitude 22.495181427788). the responses were coded in ibm spss statistics 20 and ibm spss amos 22 software after necessary correction and modification for further analysis. the qualification of respondents for collected data is 25 intermediates, 49 graduates, and 26 masters. the intermediate qualification respondents are now the student of graduate, the graduate qualification respondents are now the student of masters and master’s qualification respondents are now the teachers. all the respondents are directly involved in online classes during the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic situation. a systematic random sampling method is used to select respondents from 83 business schools and 17 from science and engineering schools. among the respondents 63% use smartphones, 14% personal computers, 14% laptop, and 9% tablet for an online class. most of the respondents (79%) use zoom for group communication. the rest of the respondents use social networks (8%), whatsapp (7%), and google classroom (6%). in the survey response data was collected from metropolitan/ divisional city (54%), district town (18%), upazila/ thana/ equivalent (22%) and village area/ rural are (6%). the material used in online education is an online class (51%), pdf lecture (30%), online book (10%), and educational website (9%). the descriptive analysis of values of each response variable is calculated. factor analysis is conducted with all the response variables to classify them into challenge factors. then structure equation model (sem) is developed to identify factors that are significant to performance. result and discussion the descriptive analysis of values for each response variable is calculated and shown in table 1. table 1. descriptive analysis of response variables serial no. description of questionnaire variable name min max mean standard deviation 1. performance of online learning a. performance of teaching perform1 1 10 6.48 1.899 b. performance of instructor perform2 1 10 6.05 1.690 c. performance of learning perform3 1 10 6.42 1.804 d. performance of student perform4 3 10 6.16 1.581 e. the flexibility of class time perform5 1 10 6.33 1.776 f. quality of learning perform6 3 10 6.19 1.587 2. personal challenge a. digital literacy personch1 1 10 6.60 1.959 b. software facility personch2 1 10 6.64 2.067 c. hardware facility personch3 1 10 6.49 1.883 d. self-motivation personch4 1 10 6.50 1.872 e. acceptability personch5 1 10 6.55 1.930 f. adaptability personch6 1 10 6.55 1.930 3. perceived challenge a. lack of common learning goal perceivech1 1 10 6.51 2.809 b. lack of feedback from the teacher perceivech2 1 10 6.53 2.736 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 9 serial no. description of questionnaire variable name min max mean standard deviation c. lack of feedback from a classmate perceivech3 1 10 6.64 2.939 d. lack of time to participate perceivech4 1 10 5.67 2.511 e. lack of individual accountability perceivech5 1 10 6.38 2.722 f. misunderstanding of the topic perceivech6 1 10 6.53 2.743 g. off-topic discussion perceivech7 1 10 5.74 2.389 4. task assignment challenge a. lack of assessment task, quiz taskch1 1 10 5.98 2.502 b. lack of effective counseling taskch2 1 10 5.98 2.357 c. lack of open discussion taskch3 2 10 5.99 2.298 d. lack of face-to-face group study taskch4 2 10 6.09 2.336 e. lack of concentration taskch5 2 10 6.11 2.339 f. the large class makes class noisy taskch6 1 10 6.10 2.509 g. time management problem taskch7 1 10 6.05 2.293 5. course curriculum challenge a. conceptual theoretical subjects with critical thinking coursech1 1 10 7.22 2.130 b. theoretical subjects with a lot of discussions coursech2 1 10 6.64 2.484 c. subjects with big mathematical problems coursech3 1 10 7.55 2.204 6. technical challenge a. mobile network technch1 1 10 5.81 2.304 b. internet speed technch2 1 10 5.67 2.693 c. cost of device technch3 1 10 5.59 2.594 d. load shading technch4 1 10 6.43 2.716 7. social challenge a. anxiety regarding social acceptance socialch1 1 10 6.33 2.270 b. anxiety regarding family’s financial crisis socialch2 1 10 6.28 2.261 c. anxiety regarding own future and career socialch3 1 10 7.06 2.335 d. anxiety regarding the global crisis socialch4 1 10 7.01 2.443 from the above descriptive analysis table, it is observed that the mean with a standard deviation of performance of online learning variable value varies from 6.05 to 6.48 ± 1.581 to 1.899, for personal challenge variable value varies from 6.49 to 6.64 ± 1.872 to 2.067, for perceived challenge variable value varies from 5.67 to 6.64 ± 2.389 to 2.939, for task assignment https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 10 challenge variable value varies from 5.98 to 6.11 ± 2.293 to 2.509, for course curriculum challenge variable value varies from 6.64 to 7.55 ± 2.130 to 2.484, for technical challenge variable value varies from 5.59 to 6.43 ± 2.304 to 2.716 and for social challenge variable value varies from 6.28 to 7.06 ± 2.261 to 2.443. as the mean value and standard deviation value vary with overlapping each other, so factor analysis is conducted to test the questionnaire and to classify the questionnaire into challenge factor and the result is shown in table 2. table 2. factor analysis of response variables rotated component matrix factor variable name component cronbach's name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 alpha personal personch5 .955 0.990 challenge personch2 .949 personch3 .946 personch4 .944 personch6 .938 personch1 .925 perceived perceivech3 .935 0.955 challenge perceivech1 .919 perceivech6 .918 perceivech2 .913 perceivech7 .832 perceivech4 .830 perceivech5 .703 task taskch1 .947 0.960 assignment taskch2 .942 challenge taskch7 .933 taskch3 .913 taskch4 .828 taskch6 .819 taskch5 .811 performance perform4 .926 0.966 of online perform2 .911 learning perform6 .902 perform1 .894 perform5 .892 perform3 .887 technical technch3 .849 0.871 challenge technch2 .809 technch4 .759 technch1 .683 social socialch1 .891 0.904 challenge socialch2 .890 socialch3 .603 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 11 rotated component matrix factor variable name component cronbach's name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 alpha socialch4 .600 course coursech2 .821 0.838 curriculum coursech1 .766 challenge coursech3 .598 extraction method: principal component analysis. rotation method: varimax with kaiser normalization. a. rotation converged in 6 iterations. from the above factor analysis table, it is observed that the response variables are classified into seven groups based on the survey response values. the cronbach's alpha value of personal challenge is 0.990, the perceived challenge is 0.995, task assignment challenge is 0.960, performance of online learning is 0.966, technical challenge is 0.871, social challenge is 0.904, and course challenge is 0.838. so, the collected survey response data and its classification of challenge factors are reliable and consistent (cronbach's alpha value > 0.7). in the factor analysis, the kaiser-meyer-olkin measure of sampling adequacy value is 0.784 (significance level 0.000). so, we can apply factor analysis for dividing the response variable into seven different factors. from table 2, the factor leadings for personal challenge is 0.925–0.955, perceived challenge is 0.703–0.935, task assignment challenge is 0.811–0.947, performance of online learning is 0.887– 0.926, technical challenge is 0.683–0.849, social challenge is 0.600–0.891 and course challenge is 0.598–0.821. it is observed that all factor loadings are greater than 0.400, which expresses that all measurements for each factor have good reliability. based on the factor analysis result, a structural equation model is developed (figure 1). figure 1. structure equation model of online class challenge https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 12 from the above structure equation model, the factor leadings for personal challenge is 0.969–1.080, perceived challenge is 0.564–1.082, task assignment challenge is 0.633–1.000, performance of online learning is 0.668–1.000, technical challenge is 1.000–1.665, social challenge is 0.592–1.000 and course challenge is 1.000–1.152. all the factor loadings are very high and significant (p < 0.05). the error variance for personal challenge, perceived challenge, task assignment challenge, performance of online learning, technical challenge, social challenge, course challenge, and performance are 0.072 to 0.348, – 0.082 to 4.995, 0.130 to 3.417, – 0.050 to 0.878, 0.868 to 3.754, 0.016 to 3.615, 1.606 to 2.280 and 2.794 respectively. the covariance values are – 0.253 to 3.130, which are also significant (p < 0.05). in the model, χ2/df is 1.617 (which is < 3), comparative fit index (cfi) value is 0.942 (which is > 0.9), incremental fit index (ifi) is 0.942 (which is > 0.9), tucker lewis index (tli) is 0.936 (which is > 0.9), root mean square error of approximation is 0.79 (which is < 0.08). so, every index meets the standards of the survey and the model is a well-fitted model. the path coefficient of personal challenge to performance of online learning is 0.219 (p = 0.024). hypothesis 1 is rejected. so, the personal challenge factor has a positive significant effect on the performance of online learning. the path coefficient of a perceived challenge to performance of online learning is – 0.018 (p = 0.802). hypothesis 2 is accepted. so, the perceived challenge factor has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. the path coefficient of the task assignment challenge to performance of online learning is 0.140 (p = 0.041). hypothesis 3 is rejected. so, the task assignment challenge factor has a positive significant effect on the performance of online learning. the path coefficient of technical challenge to performance of online learning is – 0.469 (p = 0.004). hypothesis 4 is rejected. so, the technical challenge factor has a negative significant effect on the performance of online learning. the path coefficient of social challenge to performance of online learning is 0.053 (p = 0.503). hypothesis 5 is accepted. so, social challenge has no significant effect on the performance of online learning. the path coefficient of course challenge to performance of online learning is 0.383 (p = 0.004). hypothesis 6 is rejected. so, the course challenge factor has a positive significant effect on the performance of online learning. conclusion the purpose of the study is to identify the factors that influence the performance of online education in bangladesh. in this study, it is observed that the personal challenge factor, task assignment challenge factor, and course challenge factor have a significant positive contribution to the performance challenge factor in online education. moreover, the technical challenge factor has a significant negative contribution to the performance challenge factor in online education. but perceive challenge factor and social challenge factor have no significant contribution to the performance challenge factor in online education. hence the result finding may be utilized in the planning and utilization strategy of government, university, college, and school teachers and students in the covid-19 pandemic situation in the future to improve the performance of online education. hence the researchers have a great opportunity to do more research to overcome these challenges to improve the efficiency of distance learning education in the pandemic situation. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 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(2020). coronavirus and the great online-learning experiment: let’s determine what our students actually learn online. chronicle of higher education, retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/coronavirusthe-great/248216 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://bonikbarta.net/home/news_description/228213 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/asian-paints-raises-staff-salaries-to-boost-morale/articleshow/75746239.cms https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/asian-paints-raises-staff-salaries-to-boost-morale/articleshow/75746239.cms american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 23-28 23 social science research aijssr vol 11 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa startup incubation and accelerators in africa; are start-ups scaling up in kenya? stephen muathe (a)1 victor otieno (b) (a) school of business, kenyatta university, p.o box 43844 00100 gpo nairobi, kenya; e-mail: muathesm@yahoo.com (b) viffa consulting limited, p.o box35320-00200, one padnore plaza, george padmore road, kilimani, kenya; e-mail: golavick@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 29 january 2022 accepted: 11 march 2022 online publication: 15 march 2022 keywords: accelerator, covid-19, incubation incubator model framework scaling up, start up, kenya jel classification codes: m13, n8 a b s t r a c t incubators and accelerators help businesses overcome obstacles such as lack of space, cash, mentoring, and training. while business incubation is not a new idea worldwide, its function in developing and scaling up start-ups remains vacant in kenya. this study examined whether start-up incubators and accelerators help kenyan companies grow. this study focused on the importance of accelerators and incubators in kenya. kenya is recognized as the second most important innovation cluster in subsaharan africa. despite the tremendous influence of incubators and accelerators on the growth of startups in kenya, their long-term sustainability suffers partly due to a weak knowledge-building environment, inadequate marketing research, poor customer service, a lack of adequate personnel training, and inefficient demand forecasting and analysis, all of which is the covid-19 outbreak has hampered start-up growth, lowering their formation, survival, and progress. finally, incubators help entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with space, guidance, mentorship, connections to investors, and internet access. to safeguard established start-ups from the covid-19 outbreak and guarantee them focus on scaling up, the problem may be overcome by assisting new and existing start-ups. policymakers can alleviate short-term worries by encouraging short-term liquidity and capital, as well as fostering new business prospects. policies that encourage new businesses and promote entrepreneurial potential may help speed up the recovery and sustain aggregate employment. advocate for the kenyan government to alter existing national legislation and enhance coordination among the numerous players in the startup ecosystem. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction micro, small and medium enterprises (msmes) play a very important role in the economy in terms of wealth creation and provision of employment opportunities; however, competition from more established firms poses a great challenge to their existence (muathe, 2010; muathe, wawire, & ofafa, 2013; muathe & muraguri-makau, 2020). but with business incubation and accelerators, the success of smes can be guaranteed, especially at the initial stages of the startup. a startup incubator is a collaborative organization that helps fledgling businesses flourishes. incubators assist entrepreneurs with overcoming some of the challenges that come with starting a business by offering workspace, initial capital, coaching, and training. every day, more and more startup companies are being formed, yet only a small number of them survive and make millions. according to a recent study, entrepreneurs who launched their enterprises in business incubators outperform their rivals who go it alone (amezcua, 2010). according to the national operation incubation association (nbia, 2018), 85 per cent of businesses that graduated from incubators are still in operation, which is encouraging given that 8 out of 10 startups fail. a startup incubator's only objective is to assist entrepreneurs in growing their businesses. the batavia industrial center, the first business incubator, was established in 1959. the batavia industrial center was established in response to the high unemployment rate in batavia, ny, and as a solution to repurpose an abandoned industrial complex. given the history of the business incubator, it's no surprise that it's making a big comeback during the great recession. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-8192-5774 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1688 to cite this article: muathe, s., & otieno, v. (2022). startup incubation and accelerators in africa; are start-ups scaling up in kenya?. american international journal of social science research, 11(1), 23-28. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1688 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v11i1.1688 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-5774 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2763-4014 muathe & otieno , american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 23-28 24 kenya is a rising technological hub in terms of incubation, with a famous example such as nailab, ihub, vilgro africa and gearbox among others at the top of the list of business incubators. according to ramadhani (2020), kenya's predicament is typical of africa, with a high rate of structural unemployment despite a reasonably well-educated populace. the kenyan government has developed and supported business incubators by providing people with both hard and soft skills needed to approach local and foreign enterprises by injecting energy, passion, and originality into existing businesses. the kenyan landscape has fostered access to resources and the incorporation of the start-up culture into comparably larger firms to have a far greater effect (ramadhani, 2020). a business incubator is a fostering environment for businesses that offer business assistance programs and networking opportunities, and physical infrastructure. they allow enterprises to grow in a regulated atmosphere (kinoti, meru, & struwig, 2016). pettersen et al. (2015) define it as "a more or less organized organization with an infrastructure meant to provide nature-incubated entrepreneurs with vital resources in pursuit of survival and development." the goal of business incubators is to help businesses survive and mature faster. they provide a good way to access investors, economic development coalitions, and state governments. many researchers have expressed an interest in business startups and business incubators. entrepreneurship has piqued the interest of many people throughout the world as a driver of economic progress, particularly intending to produce wealth. there are a variety of interventions that encourage individuals to become entrepreneurs, not just to start a firm but also to be successful. one of the treatments used is business incubation, which enables individuals starting a firm for the first time to get off to a better start (voisey, gornall, jones, & thomas, 2012). on the other hand, new enterprises seldom endure the test of time and eventually fail. according to research conducted in 1998 by the bureau of labor statistics quarterly census of employment and wage, 44 per cent of all startups established; we're in business for four years, and just 31 per cent made it to the seventh year (everett & watson,1998). the notion of business incubators first became popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. a business incubator has proven to be a highly beneficial instrument for economic growth and has since grown in popularity (wiggins, & gibson, 2003). the initial wave of business incubators, which appeared in the 1980s, concentrated mostly on infrastructure. this included rented office space as well as other shared services and resources such as the front office. the initial wave of incubators focused on job creation and real estate development. businesses profited from the cheaper working spaces given, as well as the economies of scale that came with the startups banding together as a force (bruneel et al., 2012). in kenya, the industrial and commercial development corporation (icdc) was paramount for introducing business incubation in the 1960s, intending to provide protected real estate and financial company development services targeted toward local adaptation and industrialization (mungai, 2015). kenya's underdevelopment is caused by a lack of capital, a tardy adoption of technology, and a shortage of trained labour to support long-term economic growth and development, according to ochieng (1992). according to aduda and kaane (1999) and namusonge (1999), the most significant restrictions in kenya were a lack of ability to identify, seek and apply appropriate technology, a lack of entrepreneurial abilities, and a lack of access to management skills. namusonge (2004) indicates that to minimize these restrictions, firms needed support services. how hubs are supporting startups in recent years, there has been a surge of interest in sub-saharan africa's startup ecosystem. the term "silicon savannah" is now extensively used to characterize nairobi's burgeoning startup ecosystem. kenya comes out positively due to its geographical advantage, favorable economic reforms, and established start-up environment. because there is so much buzz around the start-up industry, many investors are lured to it, but in fact, very few start-ups are investment-ready. the expanding requirements and needs of start-ups compel incubators to broaden their offerings. unlike typical incubators, an innovation hub is defined by the concepts of open innovation and collaboration (chirchietti, 2016) a hub fosters an enabling environment in which a community of entrepreneurs may flourish. at the same time, it functions as a hub for the local start-up community, investors, universities, technological firms, and the broader private sector. it aspires to provide a system in which individuals encounter others they would not normally meet through chance. given the high level of interest in, and enormous sums of money spent in, hubs by governments, universities, commercial corporations, and other interested parties, not only scholars have questioned the real utility of hubs. the purpose of this research is to determine the extent to which the assistance provided by the hubs addresses the issues faced by start-ups in nairobi, kenya (chirchietti, 2016). common hubs globally staqu is a hub that has created a mobile-based platform that provides reverse image search solutions via the use of deep learning and machine learning technology. to produce visual search solutions for a range of e-commerce firms, various sorts of information, such as content, color, shape, and texture, are collected and merged. milk basket hub is an established service that lets customers sign up for daily delivery of milk, eggs, bread, and other needs. patients may preserve information from wearable trackers, medical records, test results, prescriptions, and other sources using the 1uphealth hub internet platform. this data collection enables doctors to keep track of their patients and health data to make more informed treatment decisions. common hubs in africa silicon cape initiative is a hub whose purpose is to encourage the use of technology in a variety of industries. through its five membership options, the silicon cape initiative provides a variety of perks. these advantages include tech tours, muathe & otieno , american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 23-28 25 customized access to the tech industry, resource access, and more. individuals interested in joining the community can choose their chosen membership plan online, register, and pay for their membership. wennovation hub is a nigerian business accelerator and incubator that has catapulted several start-ups to success. through social spaces, events, shared workplaces, and digital networks, this african tech cluster draws people together (vibes, n.d.) common hubs in kenya technology-based incubators are incubators that contain enterprises with high-value goods, processes, and/or services that are the outcome of scientific research. these incubators help enterprises in biotechnology, informatics, and electronics, among other fields. agribusiness incubator includes crop/livestock ventures to foster entrepreneurial and technological innovation in the field. social incubators are incubators that encourage "undertakings that start in social initiatives tied to traditional industries that have knowledge in the public domain and that fulfill the need for employment and income as well as improvements in the community's quality of life" (kenya, 2021). literature review there are several business incubators across the world. according to lalkaka (2007), there are around 3,000 business incubators worldwide, with one-third believed to be in north america, one-third projected to be in europe, and the other one-third distributed globally. different incubators have implemented a variety of models and service levels. when it comes to innovation in startup businesses and business incubators, emerging markets confront a variety of challenges. some of these issues include very slow growth rates, lags in production levels, an increase in the older population who are not productive, scores of people losing their jobs regularly, businessmen lacking entrepreneurial visions, difficulty in obtaining financial credit, poor support of business services, a lack of creativity and more copycat ideas, and a lack of venture capitalists, among others. while business incubation is not a new concept globally, whether its role in nurturing and scaling up startups remain void it future role in kenya cannot be ignored. according to a previous study, incubators should be aided in gaining a long-term competitive advantage to ensure that the necessity for the expansion of the small business sector is addressed (lose, 2021). ramsden and bennett (2005) assessed the benefits of external assistance to smes using objective and subjective measures. they concluded that smes valued support mostly for its intangible benefits. bennett (2007) evaluated the counsel provided to smes using several criteria ranging from hard objective effects to soft personal development implications. erick believes that business incubators, which are often funded by local or national governments, are critical to a company's growth. small and medium-sized business development is typically linked to urbanization and the formation of new commercial and industrial areas. despite the success of business incubators and accelerators in promoting the development of smes, the paper concludes that there is still a need to develop a well-organized and well-functioning follow-up system to monitor business activities to encourage the promotion of sustainable development (ihuoma et al., 2021). financial strains, a lack of qualified human resources to run these incubators, a lack of partners to provide services needed at incubating programs, startups that are not too serious in their ambitions, very cautious entrepreneurs who do not trust the incubation process, poor economic infrastructure, a lack of proper networks, and maintaining graduates who have since graduated are some of the challenges that incubators in developing countries face (eric et al., 2008). there are two major incubation hub associations in kenya: association of startup and sme enablers of kenya (assek) and association of countrywide innovation hubs. the association of startup and smes enablers of kenya (assek) is an association that brings together and represent the interests of organizations supporting the development and growth of startups and smes for maximum impact of such activities. the association has over 40 members. the association of countywide innovation hubs is a network of innovation centers located outside of nairobi in kenya. the main purpose is to promote the member hubs' activities and programs while also supporting their vision of testing and expanding impactful sustainable firms in kenya's rural and secondary towns. they presently have 26 members spread throughout 17 kenyan counties and are growing (hub, n.d.). startup africa was founded by a group of kenyans in the united states to create a platform that would create opportunities for kenyan youth. the devastating pev of 2007/2008 fueled their resolve, and start up africa was born. this is a seed stage investor interested in you and your business. you will be educated, incubated, coached, and connected with other aspiring entrepreneurs (malit). kenya has been ranked the second most important innovation cluster in sub-saharan africa. kenya has a track record of strong levels of invention, outperforming other lower-middle-income countries such as india, the republic of moldova, and vietnam for the ninth consecutive year, an exceptional performance comparable to that of other lower-middleincome countries such as india, the republic of moldova, and vietnam. kenya's inventiveness has been connected to the ease with which businesses may access credit and microfinance loans (cornell university, insead, wipo, 2019) research methodology this study was a desktop research focusing on the role of startup incubation and accelerators in in kenya. it involved summarizing and collating existing secondary data relevant to startups in kenya. a previous study on the issue, as well as a current yearly report on the operations of well-known african incubators, was evaluated to enrich this study. this helped the researchers re-generate new insight on startups and accelerators in kenya muathe & otieno , american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 23-28 26 research findings and discussion according to lalkaka (1990), the incubator's sustainability is a critical sign of success, which may be achieved by wise investments in the facility and facilities, strict monitoring of operating expenses, and creative ways of making money. according to mckee (1992), the term "incubator" was developed in the early days since one of the tenants of the first incubator was a chicken company interested in incubating live chicks. as per lalkaka (2001), business incubators provide more than just working space to small enterprises; they also provide secretarial services, support in getting financing, counseling, and other professional business services. as a result, firm startups who operate under the auspices of a business incubator have a mutually beneficial relationship with the incubator. an incubator provides basic aid and services to businesses, particularly those that are just getting started. they can also provide technology help, which the majority of modern enterprises demand. in addition to office space, an incubator provides additional services such as networking, which is critical to the success of a business effort. second generation incubators that are managed by a diversified collection of sponsors are more likely to have business-oriented management that is involved in human capital development. the incubator has an impact on economic growth through, among other things, job creation, wealth and income generation, firm development, money for startups obtained from venture capitalists or angel investors, technical commercialization, and community development chandra and chao (2011). not with standing for the sake of ensuring startups scale disruptively incubators provide further stage fundraising for scaling of startups. in kenya today labs such as the adanian labs are helping invest in startups at pre seed stage and further help them fundraise all the way to the series-a round after a seed raise. this has a direct impact on startups sustainability because many of the two startups that succeed out of the eight that fail have a good grasp on further fundraising for scaling their ventures. incubators are a fall back to many of the startups that fail to succeed in the marketplace as earlier mentioned many startups are dimmed not market ready a notion attached to the establishment of overly ambitious startups or in events where there is no good eco-system to ensure co-ordination of the minimum viable product (mvp). in most of these scenarios failing startups have been able to rise up with more traction within the market by evolving to available functioning systems within the marketplace. how incubators help startups reemerge is by offering them real-time data processing of various market variables, thus acting as a consult for these startups which is helping solve the scalability problem of startups making them more sustainable. challenges facing startup businesses the level of innovation at kenya's technology incubation centers is heavily influenced by ict infrastructure and expertise. inadequate technology causes startup enterprises to fail. startup businesses in kenya are also impeded by a lack of infrastructure. thus, ict infrastructure and ict skills are the two most important factors influencing creativity in technology incubation centers (paul & susan, 2019). many people lack the skills to lead these groups, and as a result, their long-term sustainability suffers. hubs must serve as a knowledge-building environment for the young and sometimes inexperienced techies that visit these locations, educating members on how to code, set up websites, and effectively advertise their work through social media (dahir). finding a solid business model is undoubtedly a challenge for kenyan hubs. this is especially true for hubs in more rural and provincial locations. kenya's officials should acknowledge and address this issue as they work to build centers around the country (research, 2017). temtime and pasiri (2004) focused on marketing issues such as inadequate marketing research, poor customer service, a lack of adequate personnel training, and inefficient demand forecasting and analysis, all of which lead to the failure of new start-up businesses. they also claimed that a lack of money might be a direct cause of firm failure, but a lack of managerial skills could be an indirect reason for such failures. (the world bank, 2018) start-ups in the time of covid-19 in oecd countries, startups are vital, but the covid-19 epidemic is reducing their formation, making survival harder, and limiting their development. business registrations have been steadily dropping in recent months, and a lack of new businesses has major ramifications for economic outcomes, notably employment (kabria & muathe, 2021). conclusion according to the study's findings, incubators have a positive impact on the success of entrepreneurs. according to the findings, incubators assist businesses, particularly in their early phases, by providing them with space, assistance, mentorship, relationships with investors, and internet connectivity. incubators in kenya have had a positive impact on and contributed to the country's economic progress. this might be enhanced by improving the incubator model framework, changing present national regulations, and strengthening coordination among the many actors in the start-up ecosystem. policy recommendations according to research, the majority of incubator managers believe there is a need for a next-generation incubator model. furthermore, for-profit incubator businesses are more effective at raising capital, and mentored startups outperform nonmentored startups in terms of success. as a result, there is an urgent need to establish a next-generation incubation model to meet the needs of kenya's massive population as well as the country's developing new-age start-ups from all sectors. muathe & otieno , american international journal of social science research 11(1) (2022), 23-28 27 there is a need to support startups by taking steps to help existing start-ups as well as the establishment of new businesses. policymakers may alleviate short-term concerns by enhancing short-term liquidity and funding availability, but more importantly, by fostering start-ups' ability to capitalize on new business opportunities. policies that lower entrepreneurship barriers, provide incentives for new ventures, and boost entrepreneurial potential may help to accelerate the recovery and sustain aggregate employment in the long run. policymakers must also lobby the kenyan government to improve the incubator model framework, change current national regulations, and strengthen coordination among the many actors in the start-up ecosystem. what's more, regional integration has a direct impact on startup scaling; therefore, kenya must develop policies that promote ease of doing business with other countries in the east african region; frictionless cross-border trade is critical, as some startups that rely on economies of scale require these young emerging regional markets to grow sustainably. limitations and future research direction the study was confined to incubators and accelerators in kenya and didn’t incorporate the role of the other actors in the sector and thus this limit generalizability of the study findings to the entire sector as a result, the study’s conclusions are only applicable to incubators and accelerators in kenya. moreover the current study was a desktop research and the previous data might not have collected for the intention of what it was used in this study and thus there is a need for a study based on primary data to validity these findings. finally, this study used a cross-sectional analysis whereby it gave a snapshot scenario on the approaches and intended approaches of startup scale up. a longitudinal study would be useful to identify and supplement the usage, relevance and flaws of the measures, in particular the long-term measures of scale up of startup in kenya. author contributions: conceptualization, v.o.; data curation, v.o.; methodology, s.m.; validation, s.m.; visualization, s.m.; formal analysis, s.m.; investigation, s.m.; resources, s.m.; writing – original draft, s.m.; writing – review & editing, s.m.; supervision, s.m.; project administration, s.m. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: publication of the manuscript was financed by viffa consult limited. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references amezcua, a. s. (2010). boon or boondoggle? business incubation as entrepreneurship policy. syracuse university. chandra, a. & chia-an, c. (2011). growth and evolution of high-technology business incubation in china. human systems management, 30(1), 55-69. chirchietti, n. (2016). the role of innovation hubs taking startups from idea to business: the case of nairobi, kenya. dahir, a. (n.d.). kenya’s newest tech hubs are sprouting outside its “silicon savannah” in nairobi. quartz. everett, j., & watson, j. (1998). small business failure and external risk factors. small business economics, 11(4), 371-90. hub, c. i. (n.d.). countrywide innovations hub. retrieved from countrywidehubs.org: https://countrywidehubs.org/knowus/ ihuoma, c. (2021). the role of business accelerators and incubators in sustainable development. renaissance university nigeria. kaberia, s. k., & muathe, s. m. a. (2021). effect of covid-19 pandemic on performance of women owned micro, small and medium enterprises in kenya. international journal of social sciences studies, 9(1), 7-21. kenya, g. i. (2021). types of hubs – global innovation society of kenya (gisk). retrieved from gisk.stratech.co.ke: https://gisk.stratech.co.ke/types-of-hubs/ kibuchi, j. (2016). business incubation services offered to startup businesses in kenya. a case study of ihub program (doctoral dissertation, university of nairobi). kinoti, m., a., & struwig, m. (2016). business incubation and business development process in kenya: challenges and recommendations, 1(1), 1-17. lose, t. (2021). business incubators in south africa: a resource-based view perspective. academy-of-entrepreneurshipjournal, 27(1), 1-11. malit, r. 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(2006). the measurement of success in a business incubation project. journal of small business and enterprise development, 13(3), 454-468. wiggins, j., & gibson, d. v. (2003). overview of us incubators and the case of the austin technology incubator. international journal of entrepreneurship and innovation management, 3(3), 56-66. world bank. (2018). the effect of accelerators and mentors on early-stage firms. wipo. (2019). global innovation index 2020.who will finance innovation? 13th edition, geneva, switzerland. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 41 the failure of transitional justice in afghanistan: the political dimension bilal badloon assistant professor department of international relations law and political science faculty nangarhar university, afghanistan e-mail: b.badloon@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8894-8634 received: august 30, 2021 accepted: october 30, 2021 online published: december 31, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1530 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1530 abstract in every phase of the conflict in afghanistan, serious war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed, resulting in mass killings and forced displacement of millions of afghan civilians and political opponents. based on relevant literature, this article investigates the political factors responsible for the failure of transitional justice in afghanistan, particularly internal and external factors. the article also brings to the fore the impact of the dual process of state-building and peace-building on the implementation of transitional justice. in addition, the paper investigates why the 'peace first and justice later' strategy proved to be unsuccessful in afghanistan as the taliban continued their atrocities, fighting afghan forces and killing innocent people in suicide attacks. the paper finds that the failure of transitional justice in afghanistan is due to both internal and external factors. further, the paper finds that afghanistan has never been a post-conflict state, unlike other countries that have experienced transitional justice processes. therefore transitional justice measures were never implemented. keywords: afghanistan, transitional justice, peace, conflict. jel classification codes: f51, f5. introduction in the past 30 years, afghanistan has continuously been involved in a protracted conflict. during the long years of armed conflict, the people of afghanistan suffered from gross human rights violations. the country has experienced mass executions, disappearances, tortures, ethnic persecution, internal and external migrations to pakistan, iran, india and elsewhere. almost every afghan has a story of suffering, struggle and loss to tell. after the fall of the taliban regime in 2001, many afghans were hopeful that the violence would end immediately and justice will prevail. however, the intensity of violence has slowed down but did not end totally. in the early stages of nation-building and peace-building, the government of afghanistan and the international community totally ignored the concept of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 42 transitional justice. after subsequent internal failed attempts to ensure transitional justice to the victims of the long conflict, the last door towards justice was recently closed when the international court of justice (icc) refused to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in afghanistan. research methodology & data collection strategy this study adopts the post-positivist qualitative methodology and applies empirical and singlecase study methods. the rationale behind the selection of qualitative research methodology is that "it has an unrivalled capacity to constitute compelling arguments about how things work in a particular context (mason 2002). the selection of single-case study will provide "more comprehensive and more detailed contact with concrete instances of the events…. (c)ase studies also provide our best knowledge of how those [structural and institutional] changes come about (odell 2001)." this research generally depends on primary and secondary sources. sources of data include official declarations, speeches of public officials, news reports, relevant books and journal articles. transitional justice transitional justice is 'the full range of processes and mechanisms associated with a society's attempts to come to terms with a legacy of large-scale abuses in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and achieve reconciliation" (rush, simic, 2014). it includes judicial and nonjudicial mechanisms used to address the legacies of crimes against humanity and war crimes after a conflict end or regime change. transitional justice is about conditions in which a nationstate moves from a state of injustice to justice, from authoritarianism to democracy and an oppressive government that respects the rule of law. 'at first, it referred to the judicial process of addressing human rights violations committed by dictatorial or repressive regimes in the course of democratic transition. later on, the term also came to be used for processing war crimes and massive human rights abuses committed in violent conflicts' (fischer, 2011). today it covers the establishment of truth commissions and documentation for recognising the suffering of victims, establishing special tribunals for prosecuting the perpetrators of atrocities, reparations and also social and political initiatives devoted to reconciliation fact-finding, and cultures of remembrance. three phases of the conflict in afghanistan since 1978 afghanistan has been continuously at war. the period of war up until the end of the taliban regime is generally divided into three phases. the first phase started with a bloody topdown coup launched by the marxist-leninist people's democratic party (pdpa) in 1978, followed by the soviet union invasion in 1979, which resulted in the repression of afghan people by two factions of pdpa-khalq and parcham1 for a decade. most of the atrocities, including forced disappearances, mass killings and forced displacement of ordinary civilians and political opponents, occurred during this period of the conflict." (nadery, 2007). the first phase ended with the withdrawal of the soviet union and the fall of the afghan government under najibullah. the second phase started with the formation of the mujahedeen government in 1992. soon after, the different factions of mujahedeen became involved in fighting each other. the reason mujahedeen parties did not come to a consensus was that they 1 khalq and parcham: two different factions of the pdpa. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 43 had 'contradictory objectives: hezb-e jamiat(predominantly tajik), hezb-e-islami(pashtun), hezb-ewahdat(hazara) and hezb-ejunbish were fighting to gain local autonomy and control in the future government' (dorronsoro, 2007, p.28). as a result, kabul witnessed a civil war between political parties that fought against the soviets. chaos erupted once again, and kabul was bombarded with rockets and rpgs, resulting in gross human rights violations such as killing, raping, and looting innocent people. the third phase is coincided with the emergence of the taliban and then controlling major parts of afghanistan between 1996 and 2001. during this phase along with the lethal violence inflicted on afghans, the primary victims were women, religious and ethnic minorities. for the first time, the ethnic and religious violence institutionalised to the considerable extent where both the taliban and the minorities massacred each other in heinous manners. in every phase of the war, serious war crimes and crimes against humanity, including massacres, disappearances, summary executions, indiscriminate bombings, mass rape and torture had been committed by almost all the armed groups that fought in the country. as a result, 'more than a million afghans lost their lives, approximately two million were disabled by the conflict, and thousands more were detained and tortured for their political beliefs. and throughout three decades of war, more than seven million were forced to leave the country and take refuge in pakistan and iran and elsewhere' (nadery, 2007). the state of transitional justice in afghanistan the bonn agreement under the united nations auspices in 2001 did not address transitional justice issues, and no mechanisms were discussed to deal with the past abuses. rama mani mentions that 'there were no motives made to address the causes of war and fears of not reaching an agreement resulted in silence' (mani, 2003). besides, most of the participants from afghanistan in the conference were leaders who were part of the conflict and civil war. the united nations assistance mission in afghanistan (unama) was established in 2002 to facilitate the implementation of the bonn agreement. important issues such as human rights and national reconciliation were on the agenda of unama. however, 'at least in the early stages, unama did not give sufficient priority to the protection and promotion of human rights and the mission was reluctant to take forward the initiative on the investigation of past war crimes and human rights abuses' (uesugi, 2009). barnett rubin also shares this attitude as he wrote in 2003 that "no major human rights organisation… has called for the establishment of any special tribunal, international or mixed, to try war criminals in afghanistan." (rubin, 2003). cries for transitional justice were not heard and muted in the initial days of post-taliban afghanistan. however, the establishment of the afghanistan independent human rights commission (aihrc) was another significant opportunity to address war crimes. after discussions on past committed crimes, the aihrc authorised the commission to launch a national consultation and propose a national strategy for transitional justice. "based on a nation-wide consultation among 6,000 participants, the aihrc published its much-cited report "a call for justice" (2005), which established that almost 70% of afghans consider themselves direct or indirect victims." (saeed, & parmentier, 2017). the action plan identified five key components of justice and reconciliation for afghanistan, including 'truth-seeking, symbolic measures, accountability mechanisms involving vetting procedures, institutional reform, and reconciliation' (winterbotham, 2010). the national action remained with its mandate expiring in march 2009. however, the action plan was not renewed and extended because of significant opposition from the parliament and government members. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 44 in 2007 the wolesi jirga2 followed by the meshrano jirga3, passed a national stability and reconciliation resolution (the amnesty law). amnesty law was in many ways a death blow to the formal transitional justice process in afghanistan, ensured blanket amnesty to all the political wings and hostile parties who had been in conflict before the formation of the interim administration, thus turning impunity into law. according to this law, 'all those who committed violence and human rights violations before december 2001 shall enjoy all their legal rights and shall not be prosecuted' (human rights watch, 2012). the amnesty law shattered any hope for transitional justice that many afghans were yearning to see. with the inability of the afghan government to ensure transitional justice to afghan citizens, the last hope of the people was to an external authoritative organisation to investigate the committed crimes. the international criminal court (icc) was established in 2002 to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes. afghanistan joined the icc in 2003, but until now, icc has not been able to investigate cases of human rights violations from afghanistan. although, for the first time in ‘2017, a request was made by 'fatou bensouda to investigate crimes against humanity by the us forces, afghan national security forces, and the taliban. but the us challenged and threatened that they would revoke and restrict visas of icc staff responsible for afghanistan investigation, which eventually led to the rejection of investigation of human rights violations' (human rights watch, 2019). the failure of transitional justice certain efforts were made to ensure transitional justice to the victims of prolonged conflict after the formation of the new government in 2001, with no result. the failure of transitional was due to the strong opposition of human rights violators, the reluctance of the international community, lack of stability and inability of the afghan government to ensure justice to the victims of conflict. special tribunals were formed for the former yugoslavia and rwanda in 1993 and 1994 and the special tribunal to prosecute saddam hussain was established in iraq. but in afghanistan, no major organisation dealing with human rights issues initiated any process to bring justice and try war criminals. with the only exception of aihrc recommending to establish a war crimes tribunal to execute those accused of war crimes but faced severe criticism from the afghanistan parliament. afghanistan became a member of the international criminal court (icc) in 2003, but so far, icc has not prosecuted a single person from afghanistan and recently called off the investigation on war crimes committed in afghanistan after receiving threats of revoking visas from the us. an important part of vetting "processes for assessing an individual's integrity as a means of determining his or her suitability for public employment", which countries in transition from war to peace, from authoritarian to democratic regimes, often employ in order to mark a new beginning. (uesugi, 2009). vetting and transitional justice are directly connected when the records of past committed crimes and human rights abuses are taken seriously in appointing public employees or candidates for public employment. seeking accountability for past abuses and crimes can remove criminals from their prestigious positions. although afghanistan's constitution prohibits anyone convicted of crimes against 2 wolesi jirga: lower house of parliament 3 meshrano jirga: council of elders https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 45 humanity to run for any public office' (gossman, 2013), until now, no one has ever faced charges for such crimes. also, the constitution does not provide a mechanism for vetting candidates. in emergency loya jirga (elj), held in 2002, impunity was entrenched further. in addition, the vetting criteria of elj required candidates to sign a paper swearing they were not involved in killing innocent people or engaged in drug trafficking or terrorism. despite this, in the event, many known to have violated these conditions were present (rubin, 2003). in contradiction to the outspoken wishes of the afghanistan people for vetting government officials, some of the best-known human rights violators have taken up important official posts. 'one respondent consequently described mohammad qasim fahim, implicated in both war crimes and drug trafficking as a "huge setback to the transitional justice initiative." the return to kabul of abdul rashid dostum, leader of junbish-i-milli, believed to be guilty of many crimes, including the massacre at dasht-i-leili in 2001' (risen, 2009). the conflict mapping project was launched in 2005 by the afghanistan independent human rights commission(aihrc), a mammoth report detailing crimes committed by all parties to the conflictthe soviet forces, pdpa, mujahideen, and militia. however, the commission was not permitted by the government of afghanistan to publish the report. in 'december 2011, however, president karzai took action against the commissioner overseeing the report, nader nadery, who had also been an outspoken critic of electoral fraud in karzai's bid for reelection in 2009. karzai did not renew nadery's term at the aihrc, leaving the report's fate unclear' (gossman, 2013). juan mendez mentioned that 'truth-telling mechanisms can be important instruments in the search for accountability, but he cautions that certain minimal conditions must be met for these mechanisms to be effective' (méndez, 2006). in afghanistan, no such consensus has been reached. the action plan on peace, justice, and reconciliation outlined the truth-seeking and documentation mechanism. however, the plan was endorsed in 2006 but with no practical measures. in reaction to this initiative, parliament passed amnesty law and gave impunity to human rights violators. reasons for the failure of transitional justice immediately after the defeat of the taliban, little attention was directed to transitional justice. any attempt to pursue transitional justice and to seek accountability for committed crimes faced various challenges. firstly, justice for past abuses was of secondary importance because of other serious problems such as insecurity, instability, and poverty in afghanistan. secondly, ensuring justice to the victims was considered to be risking the achievements of the newly-formed afghan government. yuji uesugi as a senior official of the un, said in 2002 that "transitional justice only applies to the post-conflict situation and afghanistan is not in a post-conflict phase" (uesugi, 2009). after the defeat of the taliban regime, afghanistan remained unstable, and the waves of the violence continued while the united states and its coalition forces went on with the campaign for the 'war on terror''. the crucial role of warlords in the government and power-sharing processes became a significant obstacle to transitional justice because any attempt to address the past war crimes and violence would naturally point fingers at those in power. during the meeting for drafting the peace agreement in 2001, the clause that "there would be no amnesty for crimes against humanity and war crimes" met strong opposition from the northern alliance (na) delegation for the reason that it would "defame the struggle of the mujahedeen" (rubin, 2003). as long as warlords were able to secure important positions in the government, it was neither realistic nor preferable https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 46 to seek accountability for serious human rights abuses. after the arrival of the us-led nato forces in 2001, their main goal was to defeat alqaeda and the taliban. in order to defeat them, the cooperation of influential warlords who had fought against the taliban was needed. most of these warlords were allegedly responsible for the country's long war as well as for committing serious crimes not only in the past but also during the war against the taliban. the cooperation of the warlords was necessary for the peace and stability of the country. some of the human rights violators were appointed to the high ranks of the government. "abdul rashid dostum who is reported to have "killed hundreds of taliban prisoners while transporting them in sealed containers from kunduz towards mazar-e sharif" (human rights watch, 2003, p. 198), returned from exile and later on became the vice president in 2014 presidential election. another important hurdle to the application of transitional justice was the lack of stability and security. ensuring security remained the priority after the defeat of the taliban. the prioritisation of national security led to lenient attitudes towards human rights violators. in an interview, former president hamid karzai said, "we must first have peace, stabilise peace, make it certain, make it stand on its own feet, and then go for justice. but if we can have justice while we are seeking peace, we'll go for that too. he concluded: so... justice becomes a luxury for now. we must not lose peace for that" (kolhatkar, ingalls, 2011). it meant that warlords who have committed war crimes would not be held responsible. this was also reiterated by the lakhdar ibrahimi, head of the unama by saying that, "our responsibility to the living has to take precedence over justice to the dead" (uesugi, 2009, p.106). without peace and stability guaranteeing justice for past crimes is regarded as dangerous and naive. in addition, immediately after the toppling of the taliban regime, major countries, particularly the united states and the united nations, paid only limited attention to the long-term aspect of peace-building in afghanistan. the international community acted differently in afghanistan compared to other post-conflict countries on the issue of transitional justice. for instance, the special tribunal in iraq prosecuted saddam hussain for war crimes and crimes against humanity. however, instead of prosecuting warlords and human rights violators in afghanistan, they became part of the government. the main objective of eliminating the taliban and al-qaeda did not allow the afghan government and international community to seriously consider the long-term aspect of justice and reconciliation in afghanistan. the us forces contracted many anti-taliban afghan warlords because they were needed against the taliban and al-qaida. barnett rubin argues that along with the fighting, the united states armed, financed, and supported them; even after defeating the taliban, this support continued in order to proceed with the war on terror (rubin, 2003). failure of the afghan government to take hold of perpetrators of severe crimes resulted in retributive violence and paved the way for more grave crimes. although not a single person has been brought to justice in post-taliban afghanistan, in contrast, amnesty became institutionalised through the amnesty law of 2007. the approach of "peace vs justice" in afghanistan the concept of 'peace vs justice' was first introduced by the former general secretary of united nations kofi annan in a report on transitional justice and the rule of law in post-conflict countries. he stressed that justice and peace are not contradictory forces. rather, if properly pursued, they promote and sustain one another. the question, then, can never be whether to pursue justice and accountability (secretary-general, 2004). annan's ideas that peace and https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 47 justice are complementary have not taken roots in the context of afghanistan. rather, the afghan government and the international community sacrificed justice for achieving peace. the justification for sacrificing justice is that ensuring transitional justice could disrupt the peace process. as expressed by nobel peace laureate rigoberta menchú, 'peace without justice is only a symbolic peace' (gunson, 1996). while the relationship between peace and justice seems almost undeniable, it is no simple matter of remarrying the two once violent conflict has ripped them asunder. afghanistan has witnessed the 'adoption of six peace agreements in the last 40 years, each accompanied by blanket amnesties for perpetrators of the most heinous crimes in the name of peace." (dwivedi, 2017). today afghanistan has neither peace nor justice for the victims of past atrocities and thousands still suffering from the waves of violence in afghanistan. the transitional justice has been hampered by the concept of peace in the context of afghanistan, especially with the gradual increase in the insurgency. without addressing past committed crimes, bringing peace is proven to be wrong in the context of afghanistan. the approach of "peace first and justice later" remained the core policy of afghanistan till the present time. it is quite visible in ashraf ghani's move towards hezb-e-islami of gulbuddin hekmatyar and the taliban. in a peace agreement between 'national unity government and hezb-e-islami in 2016, its criminal records were cleared, and its prisoners were released from jails' (tolo news, 2018). the reason behind signing the peace treaty with the hekmatyar without holding him responsible for crimes he committed was to persuade the taliban. 'peace first and justice later' proved to be unsuccessful in afghanistan, when the taliban continued their atrocities, fighting afghan forces and killing innocent people in suicide attacks. conclusion in the past 30 years, afghanistan has continuously been involved in protracted conflicts. during the long years of armed conflict, the people of afghanistan suffered from gross human rights violations. the country has experienced mass executions, disappearances, tortures, ethnic persecution, internal and external migrations to pakistan, iran, india and elsewhere. the failure of transitional was due to the strong opposition of human rights violators, the reluctance of the international community, lack of stability and inability of the afghan government to ensure justice to the victims of conflict. however, the failure cannot be attributed to the afghan government alone, but the international community also acted indifferently. the international community paid little attention to the long-term aspect of peace-building in afghanistan and acted differently compared to other post-conflict countries on the issue of transitional justice. the decades-long strategy of "peace first, justice later" proved that peace would not be achieved until justice is not sought simultaneously with peace. sustainable peace will require accountability and punishing those who are guilty of severe crimes. however, in the context of afghanistan, the human rights violators became the government's decision-makers after 2001. transitional justice is not merely a matter of past and present, but in fact, ignoring justice pave the way for future crimes. references dorronsoro, g. (2007). kabul at war (1992-1996): state, ethnicity and social classes. south asia multidisciplinary academic journal. dwivedi, n. (2017). afghanistan: choosing peace over justice. the diplomat. retrieved april https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 48 22, 2021, from https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/afghanistan-choosing-peace-overjustice/. fischer, m. (2011). transitional justice and reconciliation: theory and practice. gossman, p. (2013). documentation and transitional justice in afghanistan. universitäts-und landesbibliothek sachsen-anhalt. gunson, p. (1996). guatemala's "peace without justice"', guardian, 28 december. retrieved april 22, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k3/pdf/afghanistan.pdf. saeed, h., & parmentier, s. (2017). when rabbits are in charge of carrots: land grabbing, transitional justice and economic-state crime in afghanistan. state crime journal, 6(1), 13-36. human rights watch. (2003). human rights watch report on afghanistan. retrieved april 22, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k3/asia1.html human rights watch. (2012). afghanistan: no amnesty for taliban crimes. retrieved april 22, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/25/afghanistan-no-amnesty-talibancrimes. accessed: (22/04 2021). human rights watch. (2019). 'icc: judges reject afghanistan investigation', hrm. retrieved april 22, 2021, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/12/icc-judges-rejectafghanistan-investigation. accessed: (22/04 2021). kolhatkar, s., & ingalls, j. (2011). bleeding afghanistan: washington, warlords, and the propaganda of silence. seven stories press. mani, r. (2003). ending impunity and building justice in afghanistan. afghanistan research and evaluation unit. mason, j. (2002). qualitative researching. 2nd edition. sage. méndez, j.e. (2006). the human right to truth: lessons learned from latin american experiences with truth telling. telling the truths: truth telling and peace building in postconflict societies, pp.115-50. nadery, a.n. (2007). peace or justice? transitional justice in afghanistan. the international journal of transitional justice, 1(1), 173-179. odell, j.s., (2001). case study methods in international political economy. international studies perspectives, 2(2), pp.161-176. risen, j., (2009). us inaction seen after taliban pow's died. new york times, 10, p.2009. https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/afghanistan-choosing-peace-over-justice/ https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/afghanistan-choosing-peace-over-justice/ https://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k3/pdf/afghanistan.pdf https://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k3/asia1.html https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/25/afghanistan-no-amnesty-taliban-crimes https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/25/afghanistan-no-amnesty-taliban-crimes https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/12/icc-judges-reject-afghanistan-investigation https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/12/icc-judges-reject-afghanistan-investigation https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 49 rubin, b.r., (2003). transitional justice and human rights in afghanistan. international affairs, 79(3), pp.567-581. rush, p.d., & simic, o. (2014). the arts of transitional justice. new york: secretary-general. (2004). rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies. report of the secretary-general. un doc. s/2004/616. tolo news. (2016). details of peace agreement mapped out. retrieved april 22, 2021, from https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/details-peace-agreement-mapped-out. accessed: (22/04 202`). uesugi, y. ed., (2009). toward bringing stability in afghanistan: a review of the peacebuilding strategy. institute for peace science, hiroshima university. watch, hr, (2005). blood stained hands, past atrocities in kabul and afghanistan's legacy of impunity. winterbotham, e. (2010). the state of transitional justice in afghanistan. universitäts-und landesbibliothek sachsen-anhalt. author contributions conceptualization: bilal badloon data curation: bilal badloon formal analysis: bilal badloon funding acquisition: bilal badloon project administration: bilal badloon software: n/a validation: bilal badloon writing – original draft: bilal badloon writing – review & editing: bilal badloon conflict of interest statement the author declare that he has no competing interests. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) https://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/details-peace-agreement-mapped-out american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 45 in ‘sultan’ epic ‘human is human’s hell!’ sayed asghar hashimi education faculty’s teacher pashto language and literature department sayed jamaldin university, afghanistan e-mail: hashimi.saidasghar1@gmail.com farmanullh sultani education faculty’s teacher english language and literature department sayed jamaldin university, afghanistan e-mail: farmanullh.sultani1212@gmail.com asadullh hanifi pashto language and literature department nimruz university, afghanistan e-mail: asad.hanifi123@gmail.com abstract sulatan's poem is an epic of famous poet and author, abdul ghafoor liwal. it has many features of an epic poem and the value of this subject is that the poem was considered to be an epic. the aim of writing this article is to find out what features this epic has in pashto language and due to which factors it can be considered to be an epic. sultan epic has relation with philosophy, psychology, history and culture the same as other epics have. also, the idea of habes and jean – pal sartre (human is human’s hell!), which is taken from greek language play, can be seen in this epic. finally library research was used to complete the article. also, clarifying and descriptive methods were used to finish the article. the goal of this article is to state that mostly a human being harms another human being, how we can do well to human beings rather harming them. the value of this research is it makes humans attentive to their deeds and actions in order to avoid doing evil. the finding of this research is that (sultan) epic poem is an artificial epic and this epic poem states that (human is human’s hell!) this concept has been taken from greek play. later, sartor and other scholars have mentioned this concept. keywords: human, epic, hell, unconsciousness, psychology. introduction (sultan) is a versified story written in the form of free verse which has the characteristics of epic taking into consideration the contemporary sciences. this is an interesting short story whose main characters are (sultan) and (gulsera). (there are journeys in this epic and the battleground of psychological warfare is the cave which means the inner side of the human. (ahreman) and (ahura) are at war and the conflict, mailto:hashimi.saidasghar1@gmail.com mailto:farmanullh.sultani1212@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 46 which evil spirit and confident spirit have, is going on between the evil and good. the main topic of the epic is about ‘human is human’s hell!’ this statement exists in latin language in different words. with the passage of time, in their articles, hobbes and thinker of existence philosophy jan paul sartor have researched the concept of this statement ‘human is a human’s wolf!’) (phd scholars, 2019). no work has been done on this area of the chosen epic (sultan) which shows its novelty of this article. in addition, humans have been made attentive that they are not supposed to harm humans, and instead they are supposed to become a symbol of goodness. the duty of the author is to get humans to consider their negative points and problems, become a guide for the way of goodness and it is the author's job to remind people of their shortcomings and problems, to guide them to the right path, and to forbid evil and generally the very idea of this article expresses its value. research questions the questions of this research are: is sultan poem an epic? does sultan epic have the concept of “a human is human’s hell!”? is the chosen concept in sultan epic related to psychology or not? you can find answers for these questions in this article which are the objectives of this article as well. historical background human is a multi-sided being and all sides have been researched and literary works have been conducted about them. tens and hundreds of articles and books on humanism implies that human is a complex being. they have multi-sided relationship with psychology, philosophy and other sciences. john paul sartor emphasizes on “human is human’s hell!” also, scholars have the same opinions. in pashto language, in his book, dragon of dissension, bahaudin majrooh mentions important points about it. in “dragon of dissension’ human harms other humans. there is a dragon in the inner world of every human which makes troubles. a verse of the poem is: جهنم نه چیرته لرې دی نه پت په بل جهان کې (majrooh, 2016)جهنم د هر انسان دی هر انسان ته په خپل ځان کې the meaning of the verse is: hell is neither far away a hidden in another world. the hell and fire of every human is in his/her inner world. it is human who causes harms to other people and to themselves before going to the fire of the hell. the discussion again takes the side of (human is human’s wolf!). in fact, someone who is harmed by other humans is also a human. the fire that a human gives to another human lies in the inner world of the human and this discussion is related to philosophy and psychology and is a very good literary work regarding ‘human causes harms to other humans’. the book ‘literature, humans, dreams and archetypes’ has an article about this issue. the book also makes a mention of it and presents the author’s opinion about “human is human’s hell!” “literary and language research of the ph.d. scholars in kabul university” (2019), a collection of articles also talks about the mentioned concept. this research collection also has an article which has discussed this issue (can a human harm other humans?). to conclude the discussion, ‘a human is often harmful to other humans.’ the result of this work is that (sultan) poem is an artificial epic of pashto language which has the features of an epic. in this narrative poem, it is worth mentioning that human harms human. the difference between this work and other earlier works is that it researches on a specific chosen https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 47 narrative poem. method of the research various books have been used for writing this article. first, study was conducted for the research. after that, notes were taken. after analysis and interpretation, the result was obtained. specific type and method of research were used and attempts were made to match the type and method of research .in (sultan) epic (human is human’s hell!) library research type and clarifying and descriptive methods have been employed. findings in the world, problems came into existence as earlier as humans were created. (the very first humans were cain and abel who intended to kill one of them. one of them was on the right path and the second was on the wrong path. the war between the good and evil has a very long background (scholars of phd, 2019). (in zoroastrianism, the followers are recommended to think, talk and to do good deeds. based on these three characteristics, humans come closer to sefat (n.d.). (in their religion, (ahura) seeks well and (ahirman) seeks evil. the war of good and evil is going on and each side wants to defeat the other one. in their religion, there are these contradictory sides and one seems to be antagonistic to the other, but in fact, every antagonistic phenomenon is not to the detriment of the other, but to the benefit of one another (kargar, 2020). in islam, the war between “good and bad” is named the war between “confident spirit” and “evil spirit” “confident spirit” seeks well and “evil spirit” seeks badly. the main finding of this article is expressing the war of good and evil and it guides people how to conquer their inner world and avoid doing evil things. humans are supposed to do good deeds and every human should be a heaven for another human. there are many humans who harm other humans and this article discusses it. in addition to it, the poem in this article expresses the idea (human is human’s hell!). these are the findings of this article. discussion epic is an important type of epic literature which has an old background. the earliest articles in the world, that were discovered, were epics such as gilgamesh epic of sumerians and audessa, ramayana and mahabharata, firdosi epopee and so on. ‘fundamentals of literature theory’ second edition, page 169, under the title of epic genres states, “in pashto literature, ameer karore’s registered epic has older background than any other genres of literary work” (shinwari, 2016). also, ancient period of pashto literature “research and analysis”, page 26 states, “ameer karore’s poem is a pride, epic and epic poem.” (helal, 2015) the above definitions may be acceptable, but are not comprehensive, perfect and complete definitions. therefore, definition of epic seems to have problems. epic and epic poem are different. pashto language’s first poet, ameer karore’s poem can be called epic poem, but cannot be as an epic. the following information has been given about epic: “epic has been taken from latin word meaning speech, story, voice, heroic poetry and tale. arabic word for epic is “حمااا اااااااه/hamasah” which is derived from “َحمس/hams” meaning intensity and difficulty in work. epic is now an international concept and an important literary genre. for the first time, aristotle (384 bc) used it. the literal meaning of epic is bravery and it is a kind of praising poems which shows the heroic efforts, bravery, and pride of a person or https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 48 people” (liwal, 2017). tens of books have presented almost the same information in different words about the introduction of epic. some important points are mentioned below:  epic is a narrative full of pride which has issues of bravery, sacrifices and the bravery shown during the battle in a very expert way.  epic is a type of poem written about wars, bravery, national prides and national and ethnical benefits.  it is a type of speech which presents thoughts of prides, achievements, success with national spirits.  in epic, heroes encounter corporal and spiritual dangers and get rid of many dangerous journeys (hesarian, 2017). contents of (sultan) epic sultan epic starts with beautiful praising in which nature has been praised. praising ode of world literature started with youth story, singing, and affection in which views of the nature was praised. in pashto literature, khkarandoy ghori’s ode is its good example. high mountains, praise of noise of the river waves, waterfalls, floods and beauty of transparent water in fountains are mentioned in the beginning of an epic. in addition, epics talk about greenery of nature, perfumed air and water and noise of bells of sheep which makes the nature more beautiful. the main character of the epic is gulsera. gulsera is a teenage girl who is a shepherd and looks after her father’s sheep. the girl falls in love with a boy named ghama. their love was twosided. they are no longer together. the boy (ghama) travels abroad in order to earn money to marry gulsera and provide all possible facilities of life to her. ghama gives a naughty, small and beautiful kid (young goat) to her as a sign of love and tells the girl, “when you miss me look at the kid.” whenever gulsera misses ghama, she talks to the kid and shares her secrets with it. gulsera is a mountaineer and walks in the mountains and looks after her father’s sheep and talks about the happiness and unhappiness of her heart to the kid. the happiness and unhappiness of ghama and her past life that had occurred in her unconsciousness, gets associated with the kid by looking at it. the girl sometimes laughs and sometimes cries and the kid looks at her. one day she noticed that the black and white kid was unrelaxed and was making noise and running. it only happened when ghama was unrelaxed. the happiness and sadness of the kid indirectly belonged to ghama and the girl could also notice his happiness and problems in these two situations of the kid. the kid is running away and she is following her. finally, they reach a mountain, but the kid keeps running. the mountain is very high. neither the kid has ever gone to such a high mountain and nor the girl has ever seen the young goat in this situation. the girl noticed a black cave around the mountain. she left the kid and went into the cave. the cave was strange. it had strange air and was totally dark. she felt out of breath due to the shortage of oxygen. it is a different world because there are different animals and the streams are flowing. all the animals in the cave obey gulsera and the lion and wolf are especially obedient to her. in the cave, gulsera sees a youngster whose hands and feet were tied up with chains, and has a beautiful long beard. gulsera had never seen such a youngster. however, she had seen such a youngster in her dream and the youngster had also seen a girl like gulsera in his dream. his name was sultan. sultan is the person whose name was given to a mountain in logar. people of the area say sultan was a sufi and pious person and was tied up with chains in the mountains in order to demolish hells. he is a follower of humanism and all his missions are for humanity. he seeks https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 49 goodness and prosperity for human beings and loves humans and humanity so much and is a perfect human. sultan and gulsera start talking and sultan tells her stories. in (sultan) epic, (sultan) has difficult expeditions and one of them is an expedition to hell. he encounters lots of problems on the way and sees human beings who are in great troubles. he intends to finish them so he can rescue them from their problems. in sumerian epic, gilgamesh and ankedo face countless problems. when ankedo dies, gilgamesh travels to hell to find him. he sees worms coming out of ankedo’s nose. in sumerian’s epics, people also face problems in hell and the same thing happens in sultan epic. the only difference is that the hell in sultan epic is the hell of inner world of human beings and freud had a lot of discussions about it in psychology and he shows it in unconsciousness (subconsciousness).this part is a collection of (self, ego and superego). in sultan epic, hell exists in human’s unconsciousness which interferes in his/her conscious deeds and harms other humans. therefore, the concept of a latin sentence with different words has been used by hobbes, sartor and bahaudin majrooh in their articles. they say that (humans is human’s hell!). in contrast with it, expedition to hell is an ordinary journey. in epics, wars and battles can occur anywhere. in earlier epic, so many battles took place on earth, under earth, in the air and skies, but in sultan epic, the battleground is a cave which is indeed is a different world and can be called the inner world. this is the war of ahreman and ahora and a race of good and evil spirits. the evil is fighting against the goodness. په وجود کې لوی دوزخ اول ویجاړ کړه (liwal, 2018)د لنبو دوزخ بیا رو ته را لتاړ کړه the meaning of the poem is: before thinking about the main hell, we had better destroy the hell in our inner body. the greatest hell in the body is human’s ego. all the past forgotten issues exist in unconsciousness which has an effect on intentional deeds. all our good and bad habits, ethics, humanity, love and hate, hypocrisy, and humbleness and the good and bad ways of building personality belong to the inner world of a human. some people might be great scholars, but may have no control and power over their deeds. they consider all their bad habits as good ones and consider themselves as good people. therefore, it is said that recognizing oneself and other humans is more difficult than recognizing any other things in the world. وهپه هماغه ورځ چې ورکه عاطفه ش د دوزخ لنبه را تاو هغه شیبه شوه شو دوزخ د بنیادم د وجود وږی (liwal, 2018)چې انسان شو د انسان د وینو تږی the meaning of the poem is: when the human lost his/her sentiment and emotions, in the meantime the flame of hell was created and hell got hungry for human body like some human beings who have a thirst for the blood of other human beings. when a human loses his / her sentiment, he / she cross the limits of humanity. it means, (a human gets thirsty for human blood) and (human becomes human’s hell!). confirming the opinion of hobbes and sartor, a human cause’s damage to another human. bahaudin majrooh says in ‘dragon of dissension’: جهنم نه چیرته لرې دی نه پټ په بل جهان کې (majrooh, 2016)جهنم د هر انسان دی هر انسان ته پخپل ځان کې the meaning of the poem is: hell and hellfire are not in another world. in fact, they exist in the inner world of each and every human and sometimes some humans become a hell for other https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 50 humans. liwal has studied ‘dragon of dissension’ and is a follower of bahaudin’s thought. his epic (sultan) is associated with these two couplets and it may not be an exaggeration to say that the mentioned epic is an explanation of these two couplets. د دوزخ د ورانولو هڅه بیا کړه انسان خپله په خپل ځان کې نور وژلی د اورونو لوی دوزخ یې بنیاد کړی له مینې عاطفې نه پردی شویدی (liwal, 2018)ده په لوی الس ځان دوزخ ته دی پارلی the meaning of the poem is: extinguishing our own fire in ourselves is much more important than demolishing the hell. the hellfire cannot harm us as much as our inner fire does. human has laid the foundation of the largest hell of hells and fire which exists in his/ her inner world. such human does not recognize love and sentiments and has deliberately submitted himself to hell. لوی الس یې ځان دوزخ ته پارلی دی. د ده دوزخ یې نشته بل دوزخ، بس ته (liwal, 2018)همدا ته د ده لېوه د ده شرمښ یې the meaning of the poem is: the poet addresses human and says there is no hell except human. the main hell for humans is human himself who has lit the fire in himself, burns himself and others with it. then the poet adds, you are a wolf for other humans. the same thing has been mentioned here that (human is a wolf for humans!). this is human who harms a human. no being harms human more than a human himself does. هره ورځ به په خپل ځان کې دوزخ وژنم نسان د ګناهونو رنځ به ګالمد ا زه ال ګرځم که په ځان کې ځان پیدا کړم (liwal, 2018)د رازونو د بیان توان پیدا کړم the meaning of the above poem is: every human should discover himself in his/her inner world. it is only possible if we destroy our inner hell. discovering oneself is recognizing oneself and recognizing oneself is helping others, not harming others, becoming a heaven for others and not becoming a hell for others. د لطان پیغام به څوک انسان ته یو ي؟ د دوزخ کیسه به څوک جهان ته یو ي؟ ې جنګ کړم د لېوانوزه چې خپل وجود ک (liwal, 2018) هم د ظلم ناروا د رو زمریانو... the meaning of the poem is:. the poet asks who will take sultan’s message to human beings. who will take the story of the hell to the world? battle against the hell fire is the battle against one’s own inner world. in fact, war against the cruelty and injustice begins from the inner world and fighting against this war is a salvation from the hellfire. all of the above couplets, which are taken from sultan poem, prove that (a humans is a wolf for human!) human is in war with his fate in his /her inner world. this is a war of good and evil. the conflict between the good and the evil spirits is taking place in the inner world. this is a spiritual and psychological war which can be noticed in bahaudin majrooh’s (dragon of dissension) that has been followed in sultan epic, but with a new style and concept. in contemporary psychology. ‘evil spirits’ are called id and destructive instincts and in the concept of satan it is called “khannas i.e. the devil”. ‘evil spirit’ motivates human to do evil. ‘culture of wisdom studies’ says about ‘evil spirit’, “it refers to lowly people who are subject to https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 51 the lust and base desires which force human to do evil deeds based on fatal commands and finally the human soul with the belief in domination of the animalilty is called ‘evil spirit’’. freud thinks that equivalent word for ‘evil spirit’’ is “sensual spirit” whose id is psychological action. according to famous analogy of freud, it is a mountain of ice of mind which is located under water whose depth is associated with inner instincts attraction, sexual tendency and rage. also, it shows basic desires on the basis of which “it is boiling pot of lust.” or it is the mess and disarray which has the sexual, destructive and wild emotions of a self-centered person that consecutively want to be free. this and that are sensual and are under the domination of origin pleasure and wants to be satisfied directly without anyone’s help. “blaming spirit” is threatening spirit. it is also called conscience. it loses its effect by doing evils and keeps doing them. also, spirit (i) or the confident spirit is called ego. some people call it common sense as well. ego insistently wants to decide what to do about (him and his sensual) desires and restrictions that the outer world imposes on him. similarly, in contemporary psychology, superego is considered to be an alternative word for ‘the blaming spirit’. it is moral conscience which is revealed at the end of odeef’s belief, when different sensual situations groan, it shows its reaction. «یو انسان د بل دوزخ دی!»دا چې وایي: یو جالد دی او دا بل یې قرباني دی یا قصاب دی یو انسان د بل د غوښو دا چې تږي یو د بل وینو ته نا ت دي په وجود کې یې زمری او لېوه مال ت دي دواړهپه یو تن کې دا زمری او لېوه بل دوزخ تا له وجوده بهر نه شته تا وجود کې د دوزخ بلې لنبې دي له هغې ورځې چې زړه نوراني ورک دی تا په وینو همدا تا منګولې رې دي (liwal, 2018)دا ځل والړ شه خپل وجود کې مسافر شه the meaning of the verses is: one human is another human's hell, one is oppressor, another is oppressed, one human is butcher of another human's flesh, and one is thirsty for another's blood. there are wolves and lions in every human being that often create human problems. in the inner world of human, this wolf is a hell that has no outer hell other than this inner hell. the fire of hell is burning in the human body, this fire was created when the light disappeared from the heart, the hands of human are covered with blood, this blood is his own blood and when human travels in himself and discovers himself, he reaches the level of self-awareness, then he no longer does evil to human beings. the above verses are part of psychological research. our “self and id” make the primary problems for us. the unconsciousness and the sub-consciousness play an important role in all our daily activities. these are the psychological problems that we don't see and our wrongdoings seem right to us and this is the inner world that causes problems for ourselves and other people. many symbols have been used in the sultan, an important feature of the epic is that its language is symbolic and the purpose of literature and symbolism is to show how symbols can be used in literature. the poem has many messages for humanity, such as goodness to human, love and affection, social messages, political goodness, justice, human rights and islamic rights. this epic is an artificial epic whose language is mostly artistic. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 52 suggestions and conclusion (sultan) is an artificial epic that has many features of epic. in the international epics, literature has a lot to do with psychology, and sultan also has a lot to do with psychology. symbolic language and the connection between literature and surrealism are also important in epic and sultan has this feature. in (sultan) epic, this idea has been proven that (human is human’s hell!) or (human is human’s wolf!). human can do both good and evil, but due to various reasons, he/she often does evil and makes problems for others. this is an old idea and its history reaches to greek literature, but with the passage of time, the great scholars of existence philosophy john pal sartor, hobbes and many more researched on it. in addition to other scholars, liwal has presented his opinion in (sultan) versified story literary work. in this article it has been proven that (human is human’s wolf!). my suggestions are that this or other similar important ideas should be researched in the poetry of other poets of pashtu language. in the world, recent new researches are done based on ideas. therefore, this article can be a new achievement for other researchers. according to its contents, (sultan) epic has such aspects and parts which require new research work and can be further studied. acknowledgements i have used some books for writing this article and have talked with some scholars for their opinions regarding this article. i would like to thank them for their suggestions. i would also like to thank the administration of this journal for publishing my article. references helal, f. (2015). ancient period .«research and analysis» jalalabad: book publishing organization, p 26. hesarian, s. a. (2017). singing epics and epopee research in afghanistan. kabul: azem publications. p3. kargar, m. a. (2020). rivers and opinions (vol. ii). jalalabad: hashimi publishing organization, p 7. liwal, a. g. (2017). the study of myth in literature .kabul: academy of sciences, p 45. liwal, a. g. (2018). five poems .kabul: baheer printing press, p428, 448, 449, 458, 479, 491, 474. majrooh, b. (2016). (dragon of dissension). kabul: danish publishing organization, page 68 phd scholars. (2019). literary and linguistic research. jalalabad: hashimi publishing organization. pages 110, 112 sefat, i. n. (n.d.). methods, principles and theories of perfect human beings in islam and humanism. seventh year, no. 1. p100. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 8, no. 1; 2021 53 shinwari, d. (2016). fundamentals of literary theory. nangarhar: yar publishing organization. p169. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 16 activities of vietnam trade unions at the grassroots level dinh van chi faculty of party building ho chi minh city cadre academy, ho chi minh city, vietnam e-mail: dinhvanchi84@gmail.com abstract in this study, the author focuses on clear viewpoints about vietnam trade unions and grassroots trade unions organized in state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, professional socio-political organizations, professional social organizations, establishments, enterprises, cooperatives, other organizations employing workers as prescribed by labor laws and regulations, foreign agencies, organizations, international organizations operating in the vietnamese territory. the grassroots trade union is responsible for implementing the following tasks: propagating and mobilizing workers to improve their qualifications, skills, careers, and law observance; protecting the legal and legitimate rights and interests of employees; participating in state management, socio-economic management, inspection, examination and supervision of activities of state agencies, organizations, units and enterprises; developing membership; building strong grassroots trade unions and participating in party building. from these above goals, the author uses scientific research methods such as analysis and synthesis, interpretation and inductive, abstracting and generalization, logic, and history, history, and comparison to come to the conclusion proposed to the work of the vietnam trade union at the current grassroots level. keywords: activities, vietnam trade unions, grassroots. introduction the vietnam trade union is a socio-political organization of the working class and the employees established voluntarily, representing workers, caring for and protecting workers’ legitimate rights and interests. it participates in state, socio-economic management. it also participates in examining, inspecting, and supervising activities of state agencies, organizations, units, and enterprises on issues related to the rights and obligations of employees. it propagates and mobilizes workers to study, improve their professional qualifications and skills, obey the law, build and defend the country. trade unions and other socio-political organizations have made many positive contributions to developing the working class, but their efficiency is not good, and they still have many weaknesses. the working class itself has made many efforts to rise, but they have not met the requirements of the industrialization and modernization of the country. enterprises and employers of all economic sectors have contributed positively to job creation and income for workers, but in many cases, they have still violated policies and laws against employees. therefore, studying vietnam trade union activities at the grassroots level is necessary to summarize theory and practice, and contribute to an overview of the activities of this organization. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 17 literature review characteristics and purposes of vietnam trade unions the characteristics of vietnam trade unions: vietnam trade unions is an organization established by workers to gather the strength and protect the rights and interests of the union members and workers (central committee for mass mobilization, 2016). in the early years of the twentieth century, the establishment of the vietnam trade union was associated with the formation and development of the working class and the activities of leader nguyen ai quoc the person who laid the foundation of politics, private thought and organized for the formation of vietnam trade unions organization (central committee for mass mobilization, 2007). vietnam trade unions have two characteristics: class and mass. these two characteristics are closely related to each other, expressing the nature of the vietnam trade unions (vietnam general confederation of labor, 2018). regarding class nature, since its inception, vietnam trade unions has brought full the class nature of the working class, which is expressed in the organization and activities of the union. under the leadership of the communist party of vietnam, (implementing the party's political objectives, organizing principles, and cadres following the party's line), it is always loyal to the interests of the working class and the nation (communist party of vietnam, 2014). vietnam trade unions include unions of the working class. it is a gathering center, uniting a workforce to protect the rights and interests of the working class and workers (communist party of vietnam, 2017). the tonkin red federation of trade unions was the forerunner of the vietnam trade unions. in 1917, nguyen ai quoc operated in london and joined the british overseas trade union (communist party of vietnam, 2013). at the end of 1918, he returned to france to join the french socialist party, then became a member of the french metal trade union organization. in 1919, he showed the way and helped nguyen tao (overseas vietnamese in france) to establish the crew union of vietnamese people in marseille, le havre. during his time abroad, he learned and researched the principles, purposes, forms, and contents of the operations of the trade unions of european countries. at the same time, he also learned about trade unions in some asian colonial countries such as india, china, turkey to draw lessons for the establishment of union organizations in vietnam (communist party of vietnam, 2011). from the practice of the vietnamese revolution and mass movements, to help propaganda, mass mobilization at that time, nguyen ai quoc wrote the work "revolutionary path" (duong kach menh) (communist party of vietnam, 2016). this work includes his lectures for the training classes for vietnamese revolutionary cadres in guangzhou china, published by the ministry of propaganda of the union of oppressed peoples in asia in 1927 (communist party of vietnam, 2006). he spoke about the nature and duties of the union organization and emphasized: “the first organization of the union was for workers to get together to have feelings; the other is to study together; third is to improve the way of living of workers to be better now; four is to keep the interests of the workers; the fifth is to help the nation, to help the world” (minh, 2011). under the leadership of "vietnam youth of the revolutionary comrades", directly comrade nguyen ai quoc, many revolutionary cadres returned to the country to work in the worker’s movement. therefore, in the years 1927-1928 and the first half of 1929 in our country in general and the worker movement in particular in some places such as hon gai, cam pha, hai phong, the rubber plantations of the southeast had thrived and led to the birth of the "indochinese communist party" (june 1929), "a nam communist party" (october 1929), and "indochina communist party". https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 18 from the unions in factories and mines, the "indochinese communist party" quickly built a system of unions across the country, especially in hanoi, nam dinh, and dong trieu. the revolutionary movement of the masses in general and the working class, in particular, needs to be linked and gathered to increase strength (central committee for mass mobilization, 2006). from the need of revolutionary practice, the provisional central executive committee "indochinese communist party" decided to convene the congress to establish the tonkin red federation of trade unions on july 28, 1929, at number 15 hang non-street, (hanoi academy of politics administration region i, 2013). there were representatives of the general unions of the provinces and cities: hanoi, nam dinh, hai phong, dong trieu, mao khe attending the congress. the congress elected the provisional executive committee of the tonkin red federation of trade unions including seven comrades headed by comrade nguyen duc canh, member of the provisional executive committee of the "indochinese communist party". the congress approved the program, the charter and published the newspaper "labor" with the magazine "red association" as its mouthpiece (ho chi minh national academy of politics, 2018). the birth of the tonkin red federation of trade unions has influenced the revolutionary movement, domestic and democracy movement in france. the birth of the vietnam trade union has great significance, marking the growth of the worker movement and the maturity of the vietnamese working class. to complete its political mission, the trade unions has changed its name 7 times as follows: red guild (1929 1935) ai huu union (1936 1939) the counter-emperor worker (1939 1941) national salvation worker (1941 1945) vietnam general confederation of labor (1946 1961) vietnam general confederation (1961 1988) vietnam general confederation of labor (1961 up to present) regarding the mass nature, the trade unions is a socio-political organization created by workers to gather the strength and protect the rights and interests of the union members and workers. therefore, the union is popular (the charter of vietnam trade union, 2020). the expression of the mass nature of the trade union is that the union admitted a large number of workers to the trade unions regardless of occupation, composition, or belief; union cadres mature from worker movement and union activities; activity content met the requirements and aspirations of the majority of employees; trade union leadership agencies at all levels are elected by union members, representing the voice of union members and workers (central propaganda department, 2016). trade unions join with the state to solve several social issues such as poverty reduction, sustainable enrichment, crime prevention, social evils, and national protection. the vietnam trade union, formerly known as the red general association of tonkin, is now the vietnam general confederation of labor the anniversary of its establishment on july 28, which is a large sociopolitical organization of the working class. employees, cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers (hereinafter referred to as workers) voluntarily establish for gathering and unifying forces, building strong vietnamese working class (government. decree no, 2013). purpose of vietnam trade union: vietnam general confederation of labor has always been loyal to the interests of the working class and the nation, while promoting international traditions, strengthening and expanding cooperation with trade unions of other countries and international organizations on the principles of friendship, solidarity, equality, and mutual benefit https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 19 cooperation striving for the following objectives: for the legitimate interests of workers; for peace, democracy, national independence, social development, and progress. viewpoint on functions and duties of vietnam trade union the vietnam general confederation of labour has the following functions: to represent and protect workers’ legitimate and legal rights and interests, to participate in state management, socioeconomic management and in the inspection, examination, monitoring of activities of state agencies, organizations, establishments, enterprises, to propagate, encourage workers to study, improve qualification, professional skill, to observe laws and to build and defend the socialist fatherland of vietnam. the function of representing, protecting legal and legitimate rights and interests of employees: to perform the function of representing and protecting rights and interests, the trade union needs to focus on building and monitoring the current laws, regimes, and policies towards employees; the interests of employees must be linked with those of enterprises and units (government. decree, 2018). functions participating in state management, socio-economic management: trade unions organizes labor emulation movements and production so that employees can directly participate in management; mobilize and organize for employees to participate in formulating production and business plans, working tasks, labor management, finding jobs, and creating working conditions for them, improving the material lives, quality and spirit for the employees; inspect and supervise the formulation and implementation of regimes and policies related to employees, activities of employers, governments at all levels, economic organizations; fight bureaucracy and corruption (government. decree, 2015). the function of propaganda, mobilization, and education for employees: propagating the party's lines, undertakings, and policies, state laws related to trade unions, employees, and trade union regulations. propagating, mobilizing, and educating workers to study, improve their political, cultural, professional skills, awareness of law observance, internal rules and regulations of agencies and organizations, enterprise; practice thrift, fight wastefulness, fight against corruption, actively prevent social evils (government. decree, 2013). viewpoints on organizational and operational principles organizational and operational principles are standard provisions for the organization and operation of trade unions at all levels. the principles of the trade union organization are ensuring the democratic centralization, the leadership of the party, the close relationship with the employees, and the voluntariness of the employees. article 6, trade union law 2012 stipulates the organization and operation of the trade union according to the principle of democratic centralism. the leading agency at all levels of the trade union is established by-election. the highest decision-making power of each trade union level is the trade union congress at that level. the leading body of the trade union at each level between the two congresses is the executive committee. the trade union executive committee at all levels operates on the principle of collective leadership and individual responsibility, in which the minority obey the majority, the subordinates obey the superiors, the individuals submit to the organizations. the resolutions of trade unions at all levels are passed by the majority and must be strictly enforced. the above principles guide the entire organization and activities of the trade unions throughout the process from its inception to the present period (law on trade union national program publishing house, 2012). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 20 an organizational system is a dynamic system with many constituent components, with a very close connection and the right principles to ensure smooth operation and development. therefore, referring to the organizational system structure means discussing the arrangement of the elements that make up the organization in a uniform manner, in different ways to well perform the functions and tasks of the organization. in other words, the organizational structure is the internal structure and the relationships between individuals, the constituent parts of the organization expressed as an operating and coordinating mechanism in the operation of the organization. the organizational system of the vietnam trade union is a unified organization with 04 levels, including central level: vietnam general confederation of labor; labor confederation of provinces and cities directly under the central government, trade unions of central branches and the like; labor confederation of districts, urban districts, towns, and provincial cities; local industry unions; trade unions of industrial parks, export processing zones, economic zones, hightech zones; trade unions of corporations and some other direct superior grassroots trade unions with specific characteristics (hereinafter referred to as direct superior grassroots trade unions); grassroots trade unions, unions (collectively referred to as grassroots trade unions). operation of trade union at the grassroots level propagate and educate workers, officials and employees propagating the party's lines, undertakings, and policies, the laws of the state related to trade unions and employees; regulations of the union. propagating the party's lines, undertakings, and policies, the laws of the state related to trade unions and employees; regulations of the union. propagate, mobilize and educate employees to practice thrift and fight against wastefulness, and corruption. organize the protection of the legal and legitimate interests of workers and employees guide and advice employees on their rights and obligations upon entering into and performing labor contracts and working contracts with employers. represent the workers' collective to negotiate, sign and supervise the implementation of the collective labor agreement. join employers to build and supervise the implementation of payroll, labor norms, salary payment regulations, bonus regulations, labor regulations. have dialogues with employers to resolve issues related to the rights and obligations of employees. organize legal consultancy activities for employees. join agencies, organizations, and individuals to settle labor disputes. propose competent state agencies and agencies to consider and settle cases when the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of the employees' collective or employees are violated. represent the workers 'collective to initiate lawsuits at the court when the legal and legitimate rights and interests of the employees' collective are violated; represent the employee to initiate a lawsuit at the court when the legal and legitimate rights and interests of the employee are violated and authorized by the employee. represent the employees’ collective to participate in the procedures in the labor, administrative, and bankruptcy cases to protect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of the employees’ collective and employees. ask for permission from the superior to organize and lead the strike by the law. join management participate with state agencies to formulate policies and laws on socio-economic, labor, employment, salary, social insurance, health insurance, labor protection, and other policies and laws related to trade union organization, rights, and obligations of employees. coordinate with https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 21 state agencies in researching and applying science, technology, and techniques of labor protection, developing standards and regulations on occupational safety and sanitation. join with state agencies managing social insurance and health insurance; settle complaints and denunciations of employees and employees’ collectives according to the provisions of law. participate in building harmonious, stable, and progressive labor relations in agencies, organizations, and enterprises. participate in building and implementing democratic regulations in agencies, organizations, and enterprises. coordinate in organizing emulation movements within branches, localities, agencies, organizations, and enterprises. participate in and coordinate with competent state agencies in inspecting, examining, and supervising the implementation of regimes, policies, and laws on labor, trade unions, cadres, civil servants, public employees, and insurance workers, social, health insurance, and other regimes, policies, and laws related to the rights and obligations of employees; investigate labor accidents and occupational diseases in the activities of agencies, organizations, and enterprises. membership development grassroots trade unions have rights and responsibilities to develop trade union members in agencies, organizations, and enterprises. over the past time, grassroots trade unions have implemented many programs, plans, and specific solutions to organize surveys, grasp the development situation of enterprises and employees in the area to build plans to develop trade union members, and establishment of grassroots trade unions. trade unions at all levels coordinate with functional agencies to renovate contents of propaganda, mobilize admission of union members, establish grassroots trade unions according to new methods, associated with improving the quality of grassroots trade union activities and implementing the exchange of union membership cards to strengthen management, implementing preferential policies for trade union members. build strong grassroots trade unions and participate in party building the trade union propagates the party's lines and resolutions. educate employees to well implement the party's line and resolutions for the employees. reflect the aspirations of the employees to the party so that the party can lead the state to perfect regimes and policies towards the employees. foster elite workers in the party, increase the composition of workers in the party. mobilize employees to participate in building a strong and clean party. conclusion trade unions play a great role in contributing to building and improving the efficiency of the socialist political-socialist system. strengthen the close relationship between the party and the people, ensuring and promoting mastery of the working people, step by step perfecting the socialist democracy, ensuring law enforcement, and allowing the state to become the state of the people, by the people and for the people. to ensure political stability, specifically in this study, the author comes to the two following conclusions: firstly, the study has pointed out the views on nature, the purpose, the functions and duties of the vietnam trade union, on the principles of the organization and operation of the trade union organization in vietnam today. these views contribute to the orientation of the organization to operate in the right direction of socialism in vietnam second, the study shows that vietnam trade union activities at the grassroots level contribute to building and improving the efficiency of the current socio-political system in https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 2; 2021 22 vietnam. this organization performed relatively well in propagating and educating workers, officials, and employees, such as: propagating the party's lines, undertakings and policies, and state laws related to the government. union, workers. activities to ensure the organization of the protection of legal and legitimate interests of workers, officials, and employees, such as: guiding and advising employees on their rights and obligations upon assignment. concluding, performing labor contracts, working contracts with employers. participation in management activities, such as: participating with state agencies to formulate policies and laws on socio-economic, labor, and employment. implement well the development of union members in agencies, organizations, and enterprises. perform well the role of building strong grassroots trade unions and participating in party building today. references academy of politics administration region i. 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(2013). document of the seventh conference of the central executive committee, term xi. hanoi: national political publishing house government. decree 04/2015/nd-cp dated january 9, 2015 of the government on the implementation of democracy in the operation of state administrative agencies and public non-business units. government. decree 149/2018/nd-cp dated november 7, 201 of the government detailing clause 3, article 63 of the labor code on the implementation of grassroots democracy in the workplace. government. decree no. 191/2013/nd-cp dated november 21, 2013 of the government on detailed regulations on trade union finance. government. decree no. 200/2013/nd-cp dated november 26, 2013 of the government detailing article 11 of the law on trade unions on the rights and responsibilities of trade unions in participating in state management, economic social management government. decree no. 43/2013/nd-cp dated may 10, 2013 of the government detailing the implementation of article 10 of the trade union law on the rights and responsibilities of trade unions in representing, protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees. ho chi minh national academy of politics. (2018). textbook on the work of the fatherland front and people's unions at grassroots level. hanoi: political theory publishing house. law on trade union national program publishing house. (2012). hanoi minh, h. c. (2011). complete works. vol.2. hanoi: national national political publishing house. the charter of vietnam trade union, term xii (issued together with decision no. 74/qd-tld dated february 3, 2020 of the president of the vietnam general confederation of labor). vietnam general confederation of labor. (2018). resolution of the 12th national congress of the vietnam general confederation of labor, hanoi. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 9-13 9 social science research aijssr vol 12 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa need for innovation of protection work of the ideological background of the communist party of vietnam in the current situation trinh yen vy (a)1 (a) faculty of party building, ho chi minh city cadre academy, ho chi minh city, vietnam; e-mail: vytrinhyen2021@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 21 may 2022 accepted: 24 june 2022 online publication: 28 june 2022 keywords: ideological foundation, communist party, protection, theoretical and ideological work. jel classification codes: d72 a b s t r a c t the study examines the need to innovate protection work of ideological background of the communist party of vietnam in the current situation. the platform for national construction in the transitional period to socialism (added and developed in 2011), the 2013 constitution, and many documents of the party congresses have affirmed: “the party takes marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought as the ideological foundation and a guideline for action". this affirmation is consistent with the revolutionary practice of vietnam over the past 90 years under the leadership of the communist party of vietnam. it has proven that by perseveringly following the path of marxism-leninism and ho chi minh’s thoughts, vietnam has achieved many impressive achievements and is increasingly developing in the cause of renovation.the study employs scientific research methods such as analysis, synthesis, logic, history, and comparison. the study shows that the requirement for renewal of the protection of the party's ideological foundation, for the time being, is more urgent and significant than ever as hostile forces are always aggressive, intensifying activities against the ideological foundation of our party and state. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction it is clear that the innovation is not to give up the goal of socialism, but to make socialism come to victory. renovation is also not moving away from marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts, but rather perceiving their doctrines and ideas, using them as the ideological foundation and guideline for the party's actions. renovation is not refusing the past, but affirming what has been understood right, done right, eliminating what is misunderstood and done wrong, and supplementing the requirements of the new situation. doing this is not simple. it is a complicated struggle between right and wrong, progress and backwardness, the new one that promotes development, and the old that hinders development. the criterion to distinguish the opposites is the reality, the socio-economic results achieved in the innovation practice. protecting the ideological foundation of our party is defending marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts, supplementing and developing the theoretical achievements that our party has achieved. however, in today's complicated context, with many opportunities and advantages as well as many risks and challenges, protecting the party's ideological foundation requires innovation in content and practical methods, suitable to the requirements in the current new context. literature review the communist party of vietnam takes marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought as the ideological foundation and a guideline for action. lenin affirmed: "without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement" and "only a party guided by a pioneering theory can fulfill the role of a frontline soldier." (lenin, 1978). indeed, the reality of struggle is rich and vivid with the ups and downs of the world revolutionary movement over the past decades, as well as the reality of revolutions in our country under the leadership of the communist party. vietnam has affirmed the crucial role of revolutionary theory for revolutionary movements in the world in general and in vietnam in particular. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-6272-2517 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1766 to cite this article: vy, t. y. (2022). need for innovation of protection work of the ideological background of the communist party of vietnam in the current situation. american international journal of social science research, 12(1), 9-13. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1766 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1766 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6272-2517 trinh yen vy, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 9-13 10 in applying and creatively developing marxism-leninism into the reality of vietnam's revolution and direct our people's revolutionary struggle to achieve great victories, president ho chi minh affirmed the crucial role of the theory of marxismleninism. he wrote: "for the revolutionaries and the people of vietnam, leninism is not only a magical "handbook", a guideline but also the sun shining our path to the final victory, to socialism, and then communism" (minh, 2011). president ho chi minh is a genius leader and a great thinker of the vietnamese revolution. he absorbed and applied marxism-leninism into vietnamese practice with creativity. he deeply grasped the revolutionary and scientific nature of marxism-leninism and applied it under actual conditions and circumstances of our country, without dogma and stereotypes. ho chi minh’s thoughts is a comprehensive and profound system of views on the major issues of the vietnamese revolution. it is the result of the creative application and development of marxism-leninism to the specific conditions of the vietnamese people, inheriting and developing the good traditional values of the nation, absorbing the cultural quintessence of humanity. it is a great spiritual asset to our party and country, forever paving the way for our people's revolutionary cause to victory. from the reality of the victory of the vietnamese revolution in the wars of national liberation, defense of the fatherland, and in the cause of national construction, with great achievement, in the 9th national party congress, our party affirmed: “the party and the people are determined to build vietnam following socialism based on marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts." the reality shows that, not until the promulgation of resolution 35, but right after the birth of the party and in the process of leading the vietnamese revolution, stemming from objective requirements, the party always attached great importance to the protection of marxism-leninism, the party's program and lines, the people, and at the same time resolutely fight against wrong and hostile views. during the period of socialist construction and resistance war against the us and for national salvation (19541975), the 3rd party national congress (1960) set out the task of leading the whole nation to carry out two strategic tasks simultaneously (that is, building socialism in the north and wage the resistance war against the us and save the country in the south). in the context of opportunism and revisionism against marxism, the international communist and workers' movements, the party central committee, and president ho chi minh resolutely and persistently fought to protect the fundamental marxist thought. in december 1963, the party issued resolution 9 of the central committee "on the world situation and the international task of the party". the resolution affirmed the party's viewpoint; resolutely protect the correctness of marxism-leninism, and firmly consolidate the ideological foundation of the party. therefore, in the face of the turbulent ideological struggle against the resistance of reactionary and opportunistic elements, the party has always maintained solidarity and unity in ideology and theory, leading the people to promote the revolutionary approach socialist networks in the north completed the liberation of the south, unified the country, and the whole country went up to build socialism. in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the socialist countries in eastern europe and the soviet union gradually fell into crisis and collapsed. russian president v. putin, in his "statement of the union of 2005", called it "the most terrible political shock of the twentieth century." this breakdown occured in the soviet union the homeland of the october revolution, the birthplace of the world's first proletarian state, considered the stronghold of real socialism, making western bourgeois scholars have the opportunity to criticize and reject marxism-leninism. hostile forces have tried to distort and attack marxism-leninism. however, as the ruling party, leading the cause of building and defending the socialist fatherland, the communist party of vietnam has realized the negative impacts of the crisis of the parties and socialist countries in the world, so proactively prevented the resistance of hostile forces and be careful not to fall into the "color revolutions" which many parties and countries have fallen into, leading to failure and loss of leadership. the communist party of vietnam actively found a way to reform, firmly based on the foundation of marxismleninism, firmly on the path to socialism. the party's initiative and determination were demonstrated in the 6th central committee of the 6th term (march 29, 1989) "on the review of the two years of implementing the resolution of the 6th national party congress and the directions and tasks for the next three years", when proposing outlining principles to guide the renovation process, ensuring that innovation is in the right direction, in the right target, and effectively. in the resolution, the party clearly stated that the nature of the renovation process in vietnam is not to change the goal of socialism but to make that goal effectively realized by the correct conceptions of socialism form, steps, and appropriate measures. the party emphasized: "marxism leninism has always been the ideological foundation of our party, directing the entire revolutionary cause of our people". this affirmation shows the party's great bravery and determination in defending the ideological foundation and steadfastly pursuing marxism-leninism, despite hostile forces' efforts to destroy it. then, in august 1989, the 7th plenum of the party central committee issued a resolution "a number of urgent issues on ideological work in the current domestic and international situation". the party central committee identified 6 wrong manifestations in the reform of some parties in terms of implementing political pluralism, multi-parties, unlimited democratization, lowering the leadership of the communist party, and denying achievements of socialism. the weak leadership in the struggle to protect the ideological foundation of the communist party in the soviet union and the socialist countries in eastern europe made party members and people lose faith in the socialist ideal and in the regime which they were building. the resolution of the 7th central committee emphasized: "education within the party and among the people persists in socialist goals and ideals, on the basis of thoroughly grasping the five principles and innovative policies of the party". one of the most important points of leadership in the struggle to protect the ideological foundation of the party was expressed in the platform for building the country during the transition to socialism (1991). at that time, though the collapse of socialism in eastern europe was creating great pressure in the world, the communist party of vietnam still persisted in its path to socialism. the party firmly determined to take marxism – leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts as the ideological foundation and guideline for action. fighting on the ideological and theoretical fronts of the party aimed at trinh yen vy, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 9-13 11 clarifying and deepening the revolutionary and scientific nature of marxism-leninism, ho chi minh's thoughts, affirming the necessity of the socialist path; at the same time resolutely fight against wrong and hostile claims. the platform clearly affirmed the party's perseverance and determination in protecting the party's ideological foundation and fighting against wrong and hostile views during the renovation period. based on the platform, practical requirements, and specific tasks of each revolutionary period, the party continued to give specific instructions on protecting the party's ideological foundation, and fighting against wrong and hostile views. the party issued resolution no. 01-nq/tw "on theoretical work in the current period" (march 1992); resolution no. 09nq/tw “on some major orientations in current ideological work” (february 1995); especially the resolution of the 4th party central committee, term xi (2012) and the resolution of the 4th party central committee, term xii (2016) on party building. in the resolution of the 4th party central committee, term xi, the party frankly pointed out the malicious plots of hostile forces when implementing the strategy of "peaceful evolution" in vietnam. the strategy of "peaceful evolution" of hostile forces has been considered by many western experts and politicians as a method of "peaceful transformation", "peaceful revolution" and this is the "velvet revolution", "color revolution", “street revolution”. in this strategy, cultural and ideological activities are considered as "the breakthrough", the "bridge leading to the battle" and is the “leading field” in dissolving beliefs, causing chaos in theory and ideas, creating space for gradually introducing bourgeois ideology, and finally abolishing socialist ideology. in the spirit of looking directly at the truth, at the 4th party central committee, term xii, the party pointed out that there was a large number of cadres and party members who had a “misperception of the meaning and significance of theory and learning political theory; lazy to study marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts, the party's guidelines and resolutions, and the state's policies and laws”, allowing hostile forces to sabotage and distort the ideological foundation of the party. resolution no. 35-nq/tw of the politburo (dated october 22, 2018) "on strengthening the protection of the party's ideological foundation, fighting against wrong and hostile views in the new situation". the introduction of the resolution is a sharp weapon in protecting the ideological foundation of the party. the resolution clearly stated: protecting the party's ideological foundation is protecting the party, the political platform, and the party's leadership line; protecting the people, the socialist republic of vietnam under the rule of law; protect the renovation, industrialization, and modernization of the country and international integration; national interests and peoples; maintain a peaceful and stable environment for the development of the country. that is the basic and vital content of the party building and rectification work, the most important task of the whole party, army, and people, in which press agencies at all levels are the core; is the voluntary and regular work of party committees, organizations, authorities, vietnam fatherland front and socio-political organizations at all levels; of each locality, agency, unit, cadre, party member, first of all, the head (kien & chien, 2020). summarizing the practical history of the party's leadership activities and vietnam's revolutionary process from its founding to the present, the platform for national construction in the transitional period to socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011) continued to affirm: "the party takes marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought as the ideological foundation and a guideline for action" (duong, 2014) results and discussion results the reality shows that, due to the steadfastness of marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought, our party has set out the correct leadership line, leading the vietnamese revolution to win one victory after another. in the early years of the twentieth century, during the revolutionary period, our country was in a deep crisis of the way to save the country, uncle ho went to find a way to save the country. and he found the right way to save the country. this is the road that conforms to the law and is in harmony with people's hearts the path that closely associates national independence with socialism. and with this path, the vietnamese people got out of slavery to become an independent and free nation, opening up a new era for the vietnamese people, the ho chi minh era. in the past ninety years, in the light of marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts, the vietnamese people have established historical miracles. defeating two great empires, bringing the whole country into the era of socialist construction; stood firm in the world's hard situation in the 1990s, carrying out the cause of comprehensive reform of the country in the direction of socialism. the reality of vietnam's revolutionary history in the past nine decades has made us deeply aware that: since the second decade of the twentieth century, marxism-leninism has entered vietnam and has been spread more and more widely through president ho chi minh and many predecessors of the revolution. this profound and scientific revolutionary theory has penetrated the workers' movement, the vietnamese patriotic movement, creating a radical turning point in the revolution version of the vietnamese revolution, with the birth of the communist party of vietnam. the great value and vitality of the marxist-leninist doctrine have been vividly demonstrated in the entire upward process of the vietnamese revolution over the past 90 years, associated with the new era of the vietnamese nation the ho chi minh era. today, after nearly thirty-five years of renovation with important achievements in socio-economic, security, defense, foreign affairs, and political stability, it has created a new position and force for the vietnamese revolution, creating prerequisites to bring our country into a new development period: the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country. vietnam has made many outstanding achievements in ensuring human rights. for many years, vietnam has maintained a high level of economic growth (over 6%), making per capita income continuously increase, and reaching us$2,590 in 2018, leading the group of developing countries with low average income. the income of poor households increased from 15% to 20% in the 2014-2018 period. at the end of 2018, the national average poverty rate was 5.35% (down 1.35% compared to the end of 2017); multidimensional poverty rate decreased from 9.88% in 2015 to 7.69% in 2017. by the end of 2017, the whole country had 99.4% of communes with motorways to the commune center. 100% of communes, and 97.8% of villages were covered by the national grid. 99.7% of trinh yen vy, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 9-13 12 communes had primary schools and kindergartens. all 63 provinces and cities achieved universalization of preschool education for 5-year-old children and universalization of primary education. 99.5% of communes had health stations. 60.8% of communes had markets. 58.6% of communes had cultural houses. regarding gender equality, the percentage of women owning business establishments accounted for 31.6%, and the percentage of women participating in the national assembly for the 2016-2021 term reached 26.72%, higher than the world average (23 6%). the guarantee of civil and political rights also attained many achievements, including ensuring equality before the law, freedom of the press, and the internet. in 2018, there were 64 million internet users (65.98%), and 58 million facebook accounts (59.79%). belief and religious life are increasingly rich with more than 95% of the population having a belief and religious life and hundreds of festivals of beliefs and religions taking place every year. therefore, the world press has many positive reviews about vietnam, such as: "the miracle of vietnam", "vietnam a rising star on the world economic map", and "vietnam a bright spot of the world economy". vietnam is considered a bright example for many developing countries in the world. assessing the reasons for vietnam to obtain such great achievements, international experts and scholars unanimously affirmed that political stability is one of the most important factors for vietnam to attract business and investment in the world. that can only be achieved under the right leadership of the party led by marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts. from the foregoing results, it is clear that only steadfastly marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts can help vietnam successfully carry out the renovation cause and protect the achievements of the revolution. only being steadfast in marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts will allow us to have the courage, stance, and methods to perfect our awareness of socialism and our path to socialism. only steadfastly in marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts can we effectively conduct theoretical research and practical summaries to accurately determine the goals of each stage, forces, revolutionary methods, and a system of solutions to successfully carry out the tasks of each stage toward the goal of a rich people, a strong country, democracy, justice, and civilization. only by continuing to persist in marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts can our party be steadfast in all situations, defeat all attacks by hostile forces, and unite the entire party. the study shows that after nearly 35 years of national renewal, the work of building and protecting the party has achieved great and respectable achievements, especially in protecting the ideological foundation of the party. however, in the current context, the new situation is also demanding a renewal of the protection of the party's ideological foundation. currently, hostile forces are intensifying their opposition to the vietnamese revolutionary cause in all aspects, but the main focus is on theoretical and ideological aspects through social networking sites with servers abroad. the basic, thorough and long-term conspiracy of the hostile forces is to deny marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought; abolishing the leading role of the communist party of vietnam in the state and society, distorting the ideological foundation, viewpoints, and undertakings of the party, policies, and laws of the state; false information, distorting the actual situation of revolution, political life, economy, culture, society, national defense, security and foreign affairs of vietnam. the most common method used by hostile forces today is to use social networks such as facebook, twitter, google, youtube, etc. they take advantage of chat apps, and feedback information (comment) online to call on readers to respond, promote and support views that distort and oppose the party and the state of vietnam. at the same time, they also create websites that are built-in open mode, allowing readers to easily submit articles directly, with large file sizes, or can allow a limited number of people with the condition of declaring an account specifically to post articles directly on these sites. the tricks used by hostile forces: firstly, they take advantage of sensitive political moments in the country such as national party congresses at all levels, even the fight against the covid-19 epidemic, major cases the results of the fight against corruption, and the situation in the east sea to spread wrong and hostile views, which are updated daily, and even hourly in large quantities, transmitted and replicated online, shared by political opportunists, ignorant people, and spread widely in society. the danger and great impact of wrong and hostile views are to cause half-trust, half-doubt, confusion, wavering, and distraction on a part of the public. in particular, the subjects most strongly affected by bad and toxic information on the internet are young people and students. second, they promote the propaganda of lies and deceptive content. this is the long-standing tradition of western journalism. although not new, its "effectiveness" still has a great impact on the opponent. the wrong and deceptive information that is propagated over and over again will gradually also have a psychological impact on many people in society those who are naive, gullible, and easy to believe in those wrong views. third, mix truth and falsehood, give negative information, wrong opinions, and views from sources of newspapers and seminars in the country to appear objective in association with subjective comments, exaggerate, and distort to create semi-trustful, semi-doubtful psychology for readers. fourth, create and mobilize fake accounts on social networks to fight against the party and the state. enemy forces set up fake websites of party and state leaders, leaders of many ministries, sectors, and localities, prestigious people, famous figures in society, etc. fabricated information, sowing skepticism in society, especially before sensitive issues, thereby calling, enticing and inciting people to gather, protest and commit illegal acts. discussion our party takes marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought as the ideological foundation and guideline for revolutionary action. we all agree that marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts paved the way and guided the revolutionary cause of our country. in the cause of building and defending the socialist fatherland, we must creatively apply, supplement and develop the theory of marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts. but so far it is not clear enough: which points, views, and principles of marxism-leninism have permanent and lasting value; which points, views, and principles of marxismleninism have been surpassed by historical reality; what points, views and principles need to be supplemented and trinh yen vy, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 9-13 13 developed. in ho chi minh's thought, which ideology is applied, which ideology is supplemented and developed by ho chi minh's marxism-leninism into the reality of vietnam's revolution. the study, mastery, and study of marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought among cadres, party members, and the people have become a practical need to raise awareness, the level of knowledge themselves with a worldview and a scientific methodology to work, to apply creatively to practical activities and work practices. some people study only to get a degree, to be eligible for a promotion. that poses a new task for the work of protecting the ideological foundation of the party. in the context of many negative aspects of the market economy, international integration affects cadres, party members, and the people. the work of protecting the ideological foundation of the party must be how to let marxismleninism and ho chi minh's thought hold the leading and dominant position in the spiritual life of society. to have scientific faith, it is necessary to creatively apply, supplement and develop marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts in the specific historical situation of vietnam to form a theoretical basis for the revolutionary approach of the party; disseminating the party's undertakings, viewpoints and renovation lines to make cadres, party members and the people properly understood, trusted, and encouraged by the people of all strata to turn into action in the cause of national construction and defense. the work of protecting the party and the ideological foundation of the party contributes to preventing and repelling deterioration in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, and manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" in a large number of cadres and party members. it also contributes to the prevention and fight against corruption and wastefulness, firmly protecting the ideological foundation of the party, criticizing wrong views, and frustrating all sophisticated plots of hostile forces against our country's revolution in the strategy of "peaceful evolution". however, it needs to be renewed in terms of content and to have practical methods suitable to the current new situation. conclusion in conclusion, the theoretical and practical achievements of vietnam over the past 35 years of renovation have confirmed that the party's reform line is correct, suitable for the people, and the path to socialism is in line with vietnamese practice, the trend of the times, and in line with marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts. therefore, the 12th party congress requires the entire party and each cadre and party member to "persist with marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought, apply it creatively and develop it following vietnamese realities". in particular, on october 22, 2018, the 12th politburo issued resolution no. 35-nq/tw "on strengthening protection of the party's ideological foundation, fighting against wrong and hostile views in the new situation". in which, the politburo stated: protecting the ideological foundation of the party is protecting the party, the political platform, and the party's lines; protecting the people, the socialist rule of law state of vietnam; protecting the work of innovation, industrialization, modernization, and international integration; protecting national interests and peoples; preserving a peaceful and stable environment for the development of the country. at the same time, the resolution emphasized: firmly defending the ideological foundation of the party and effectively fighting against wrong and hostile views is a fundamental, vital content of the work of party building and rectification. showing the steadfast defense of marxism-leninism, ho chi minh's thoughts plays a huge role in the vietnamese revolution. therefore, to protect the party and the achievements of the revolution, the renewal and protection of this ideological foundation are both fundamental and urgent today. author contributions: conceptualization, t.y.v.; data curation, t.y.v.; methodology, t.y.v.; validation, t.y.v.; visualization, t.y.v.; formal analysis, t.y.v.; investigation, t.y.v.; resources, t.y.v.; writing – original draft, t.y.v.; writing – review & editing, t.y.v.; supervision, t.y.v.; project administration, t.y.v.; funding acquisition, t.y.v. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references duong, n. b. (2014). consistently the party's ideological foundation in the new situation hanoi: political and administrative publishing house. kien, p. d., & chien, l. t. (2020). defending the party's ideological foundation, fighting against wrong and hostile views – some results and experiences. party history review, 3, 70. lenin, v. i. (1978). complete works. moscow: progress publishing house, 6, 30. minh, h. c. (2011) (2011). complete works. hanoi: national political publishing house, 12, 563. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 45 teaching listening among bangladeshi learners: a case study on teachers’ effective feedback and students’ situational impressions md. kawser ahmed senior lecturer department of english and modern languages iubat-international university of business agriculture and technology uttara, dhaka, bangladesh e-mail: kawser.ahmed@iubat.edu received: october 08, 2021 accepted: october 29, 2021 online published: november 10, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1432 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1432 abstract listening centralizes upon the comprehension of messages coupled with pronunciations or sounds from speakers-be they are native or non-native and local or foreigner in the scopes of formal conversation, business talk and classroom lectures in the context of bangladesh. bangladeshi learners find listening as a complex and incomprehensible skill of four skills of english language. they often are not able to understand pronunciation patterns and accentual variations used in speeches or conversations. listening requires systematic strategies in understanding audio or vocal track for which logistic support is highly essential. managing technical support is at times difficult for teachers and administration because of financial constraints. this study will concentrate on how teachers ensure pedagogical supports and experimental aspects to help learners understand listening effectively with methodological study. this paper will deal with how learners overcome the stages of listening difficulties and comprehend different phonological aspects successfully. in addition, one of the prime concentrations of this paper is to identify impediments of teaching listening, teachers’ inefficiency in listening skill and students’ negligence in achieving mastery on listening. keywords: administration, audio, comprehension, logistic, pedagogical, pronunciation, vocal. introduction it is universally acknowledged that listening is an indirect, passive and silent language skill because it focuses on the reception of inputs, words and verbal expressions from surrounding. not only the physical setting is essential, but also psychological aspects are essential. lists a series of micro-skills of listening which are ‘predicting what people are going to talk about’, ‘guessing at unknown words or phrases without panicking’ and ‘using one’s own knowledge of the subject to help one understand’. she additionally identified that listening includes accepting relevant https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 46 information and rejecting unnecessary information, recognizing discourse markers like ‘well’, ‘now’ and ‘finally’ and understanding cohesive devices. teaching listening unlike other language skills involves a number of techniques, teachers from non-native countries like bangladesh face remarkable problems, which teachers should maintain in the arena of listening skill. listening is overtly related to speaking as for the speakers speak and the listeners listensound, sound patterns, words distinction and conversation. teachers irrespective of native or non-native cannot make listening well-understandable to students who remain immensely immersed in unbound the meaning of listening. listening refers to paying attention to and perceiving what you hear and is an essential skill for effective communication. pitiably teachers and students often overlook the importance of listening because they remain immensely engrossed on the course how to speak the language. teachers adopt different techniques and strategies to teach students how to acquire mastery over listening as further claimed, “listening is in some ways more difficult than speaking” which makes us understand the importance and difficulty of learning listening. listening strategies focus on activities or techniques which in fact directly contribute to the understanding of listening input. chen (2011) stated that interaction does not only happen among native speakers (nss) and non-native speakers (nnss) but also among nnss themselves. hereby it is a matter of investigation on how well nns listeners successfully understand the accents or accentual patterns produced by other nnss. approaches to listening are classified into ‘bottom-up processes and ‘top-down processes. bottom-up process refers to “perceiving and parsing the speech stream at increasingly larger levels beginning with auditory-phonetic, phonemic, syllabic, lexical, syntactic, semantic, propositional, pragmatic and interpretive”. it entails the study listening bits by bits from lower level to upper level. on the other some researcher defined that top-down process is considered as to the opposition of bottom-up process. nunan (2003) dealt with the top-down process that learners start listening from background knowledge-it might happen from content schema, which focuses on general information based on previous learning and life experience, or textual schema, which focuses on the awareness of the kinds of information used in a given situation. in fact listening exhibits a number of works which make the learners go through challenging situations. listening includes the interpersonal and interpretive patterns of communication. it compels the listener to play the role of active participant in listening like face-to-face conversation and passive role in listening to other when people speak or present. in this paper, scenario of teaching listening skill, feedbacks from teachers and perceptions from students will be discussed in the context of bangladesh along with studies conducted among teachers as teaching listening and students as understanding listening. teaching listening: a framework in the context of bangladesh to elt teachers and learners irrespective of any class or stage of language study, teaching and learning listening is largely ignored in bangladesh. what reported that learners focus more on how to speak well than how to listen well is pathetically relevant in the practical scenario of suggesting how to be a good listener? listening skill is not a dormant and passive language skill, what teachers and students frequently misuse it, and they think they will concentrate on listening once they are competent enough in other language skills. nunan (2003) however contrasted that listening is ‘an active and purposeful process’ in which we hear what speakers produce before us. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 47 some researcher investigated that students have got poor listening skill from their primary and intermediate level to tertiary level. even they do not think listening skill as the most emphasized at any of these levels. some researcher identified that most of the bangladeshi learners do not have adequate vocabulary which can be held as the shortcoming in listening. he further told that learning vocabulary is the most important aspect in listening in which they will familiarize and understand the new manner of pronunciations. alam and sinha (2009) presented that bangladeshi students are not taught listening skills at their secondary and higher secondary level of education. in such a case teaching them using native context at the beginning of tertiary education creates problems. alam and sinha (2009) presented the fact that teaching at the tertiary education of bangladesh is done by lectures and classes are conducted in english medium. in addition, teachers have higher degree english speaking countries with different accents and they deliver lectures with foreign which pose a problem for the bengali medium students. jahan and jahan (2008) reported that in higher education only 14% students come from english medium education. students who face problems in real life classrooms might also have problem in understanding foreign programs and thus to understand languages ostensibly they should spend more time in receiving messages from radio, television announcements and other relevant situations (littlewood, 1981). the perspective of teaching listening in real life situations like classroom, teaching and learning related activities and academic activities in the educational system of bangladesh is entirely absent. the effective cultivation of listening skills is obvious in the english medium education of bangladesh as it goes through british or american education system. review of literature rost (2002) and vandergrift (2004) mentioned that listening skill was not seriously seen as worthy of research or pedagogical concentration because listening was considered as passive skill. despite having all of the orthodox impressions to listening, listening plays a significant role in both language learning, communication, academic pursuit and current english curriculum. maniruzzaman (2002) identified that listening appears as a challenging skill for the foreign language learners like bangladeshi learners because learners need substantial endeavors to achieve this skill. he also opined that bangladeshi learners face this problem because they do not have a good scope to have mastery upon listening skill. sadighi & zare (2006) told that a number of researchers claim that listeners who are effective in listening are more efficient to engage in top-down processing to assist their comprehension of the aural input. on the other hand, ineffective listeners depend much on bottomup processing and for this reason they are deficient in top-down processing skills. it can be said further that listeners who are less-skilled performed much better on “local questions”, that required the listeners to locate details and facts, than “global questions”, which required the listener to synthesize information, draw conclusions, make inferences and so on. chen (2013) told that listening comprehension is a complex ongoing process which includes the interaction of various factors and many learners have difficulty to understand spoken input and they are not fully aware of why such variation happens in listening. some researcher investigated that efl learners expose problems in listening to academic lectures completely. students highlighted some of the problems which included the fast speed of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 48 delivery of lectures, new terminology and concepts, difficulties in concentrating as it was done in foreign language, and problems related to the physical environment. goh (2000) identified that learners have problems in real time listening. this concept is exemplified by anderson who initiated three models of language comprehension such as perception, parsing and utilization. these kinds of problems were related to the process of perception which is known as low-level for the identification of word and failure in attention. likewise, some other problems were embedded with inefficient parsing and failure in utilization which is known as high-level process. goh (2000) came to the conclusion that listeners having less-proficiency have more problems with low-level processing. from a recent study by graham (2006) cited in chen (2013) that the main listening problems were related to the speedy delivery of text leading to failure in identifying and recognizing words in a stream of input. it can be understood from these studies, although having identified a range of listening problems related to factors of text, task, speaker and listener, that learners identified most common problems which are fast speech rate and unfamiliar words. chen (2013) further discussed that this may suggest that most learners have limited knowledge of their ways of dealing with listening input and little awareness of the actual problems when they go for their online processing. in this circumstance, comprehension usually breaks down at the low-level of processing and thus inhibits listeners from arriving at successful comprehension. some researcher reported that the listening problems have been ignored and unsolved for a long time as it is in the conventional method of teaching and involve learners in practicing answering the questions of listening test and giving explanation of meaning. underwood (1989) identified some barriers which exhibit obstacles to effective comprehension in the process of listening. firstly, listeners face some problems to go with the speed of speech and they cannot at the same rate the speakers speak. secondly, listeners often get failed to understand the words used repeatedly which poses a big difficulty to understand literature. similarly students are limited to play the recording once again. thirdly, listeners might not have a sound knowledge in the context which deters them to have mutual knowledge to understand effective communication. what underwood (1989) identified as a bunch of obstacles in the process of listening is largely applicable in the context of bangladeshi learners who almost face same sort of problems. some researcher opined that students have problems in the way of comprehending listening which is related to listening materials. in fact researchers redefined that listening does not have great importance and for this purpose teachers are not interested let them understand different strategies in listening. bloomfield et al. (2010) told that pronunciation is the greatest hurdle in listening comprehension one of the serious problems of listening comprehension is related to the pronunciation of words that is different from the way they appear in print. due to the fact that the spoken language varies to the form of the written language, the recognition of words that make the oral speech can create some difficulties for students. hasan (2000) indicated that unfamiliar words, difficult grammatical structures, and the length of the spoken passages are the most important factors that cause problems for learners’ listening comprehension. yagang (1994) identified four problems in comprehending listening which are the message, the speaker, the listener, and the physical environment. some researcher pointed out that listener, speaker, medium, and environment issues are the main catalysts that affect listening comprehension. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 49 research methods and instruments in this section of the paper, i will discuss research methods and instruments like participants, data collection, data analysis and findings. participants a survey work was conducted among the students of first semester of a private university in bangladesh who were required to complete some basic courses on english language like listening and speaking. the number of participants was 60 attending from different departments like engineering, business and humanities. they were given a questionnaire equipped with 5 more questions and were given instructions adequately in order for them to understand and give their opinions appropriately. since they came across twelve years of study from their previous academic life, they listened to conversation from teachers especially at school and college in language classes, commentary of various forms of games and sports and speeches from native countries such as prime ministers and presidents of the world. based upon their previous experience, i expected that they would understand the determiners set on the questionnaire and mark them accordingly. they were also assured that they would neither be judged nor assessed their performances in order to reduce their anxiety and ensure spontaneity. being announced everything in detail, survey work started and it took nearly 30 minutes to complete the whole process. afterwards all of the questionnaires were taken from the participants with expressing gratitude for slotting their valuable time for participating survey work. data collection after i had got all the filled in questionnaires i went for methodical measurement through ms excel software to ensure more validity of the study and its results. previously remarked, i had set five different determiners in the questionnaire and i made a quantitative measurement mentioning number of participants, average, standard deviation and mean in order to validate the data processing tasks. the areas of questions were:  whether listeners understood native like pronunciation when they listened to class lecture or in discussion.  whether listeners kept all of the information in memory while they listened to speed talking in real life listening.  whether listeners understood the use of linkers, fillers and pause markers while listening  whether listeners understood clearly all of the contextual information, explanation and discussion in memory when they listened from teachers or demonstrators  whether listeners could comprehend the news or bulletins telecast in international television channel. the participants marked all of the determiners in an appropriate manner and then they wrote their written impressions inside the comment box indicated at the bottom of the questionnaire. in the next section of the paper will be the discussion of results along with some demo of written experiences what participants came by from different speakers. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 50 findings and discussion table 1. numerical data on survey work table 1 deals with the detailed findings from the study conducted among participants on 5 different questions/determiners, and other column determiners titled as understandable, partially understandable and not understandable. on the other hand, it displays percentage of understandable, percentage of partially understandable and percentage of not understandable. it was discussed earlier that the number of participants was 60 who attended the survey work right after the completion listening test, though their papers were not marked and it was aimed to get their impressions only. firstly, on the determiner of understanding native like pronunciation in class 15 people marked it understandable, 38 people partially understandable and 7 people not understandable. in this case, the percentage of each determiner like 13% for understandable, 34% for partially understandable, and 6% for not understandable. secondly, on the determiner of understanding words during the speed of talking 18 people marked it understandable, 36 people partially understandable and 6 people not understandable. in this case, the percentage of each determiner like 16% for understandable, 32% for partially understandable, and 5% for not understandable. thirdly, on the determiner of understanding words during the speed of talking 14 people marked it understandable, 42 people partially understandable and 4 people not understandable. questions/d eterminers understandable partially understandable not understandable percentage of understandable percentage of partially understandable percentage not understandable understandin g native like pronunciation in class 15 38 7 13 34 6 understandin g words during the speed of talking 18 36 6 16 32 5 understandin g fillers, pause markers and linkers 14 42 4 12 38 3 understandin g teachers’ contextual discussion 16 39 5 14 35 4 understandin g tv news or bulletin 17 38 5 15 34 4 mean 16 38.6 5.4 standard deviation 1.58 2.19 1.14 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 51 in this case, the percentage of each determiner like 12% for understandable, 38% for partially understandable, and 3% for not understandable. fourthly, on the determiner of understanding teachers’ contextual discussion 16 people marked it understandable, 39 people partially understandable and 5 people not understandable. in this case, the percentage of each determiner like 14% for understandable, 35% for partially understandable, and 4% for not understandable. fifthly, on the determiner of understanding tv news or bulletin 17 people marked it understandable, 38 people partially understandable and 5 people not understandable. in this case, the percentage of each determiner like 15% for understandable, 34% for partially understandable, and 4% for not understandable. however, from this study it is obvious the attainment of mean and standard deviation where mean is 16 on understandable, 38.6 on partially understandable and 5.4 not understandable and standard deviation is 1.58 on understandable, 2.19 on partially understandable and 1.14 on not understandable. comments from participants likewise, it is relevant to quote out the comments what participants made at the time of survey work and such statements made researchers understand about the impressions of learners to the listening skill. “in the long conversation or discussion, i mess up with ideas, topics or contexts which make me lose my attention and research what the speakers have talked on. so i have a good problem in understanding discussion properly.” (one of the participants commented such.) “i experience the problem of accentual pattern and cannot catch pronunciation effectively. though all of the words seem to be familiar to me, i cannot understand at the time of talk, discussion and presentation.” (another participant made such kind of comment.) “frankly speaking, since i am a non-native listener and learner, i do not understand most the words or phrases produced by speakers. the obvious reason is that i do not have sufficient words in my vocabulary possession. for this reason, i cannot get my speakers conveniently at the time of conversation, news reading and reality of tv show.” (one of the participants made such comment.) recommendations bangladeshi teachers and learners are by no means reluctant to understand the scope and horizon of listening skill which culminate an inappropriate and vague understanding of message, topic and context. education academically and formally commencing from primary education to higher education, listening as an effective channel of communication is overlooked or very often ignored. relevantly, nunan (1998) pointed out that skills like listening and reading are considered as ‘secondary skills’ which means to other ends, rather than ends in themselves. in this section, some recommendations perceiving the barriers or limitations of listening skill of bangladeshi learners are outlined. learners’ active participation listening is, in most of the course curriculum and syllabus design, not equal value in proportionate to the value ascribed upon other skills like speaking. listening is a one kind of skills. we can provide students in performing that kind of skill which will help them to be better listeners (harmar, 1998). in fact listening is a direct language skill without which speaking loses its effectiveness in the way of communication. for this much of the research has been conducted on https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 52 listening and term “comprehensible input: came into its existence by krashen (1982), o’malley (1985), dunkel (1991) and feyten (1991). teachers of bangladesh need to make the classroom learner-centered and make students much oriented to real life listening activities or drills. some researcher opined that the pre-eminence of listening comprehension especially in the early stages of language learning ensures four main advantages like cognitive, efficiency, utility and affective advantages. learners’ intelligence and power of perception will not be developed if they remain beyond the active participation in listening performance and real life experience. effective elt policy in the education policy of bangladesh, some drawbacks are ostensible which deter the overall progress of teaching and learning english effectively. ara (2009) criticized that many policies were taken and subsequently changed in the aspect of teaching and learning of english since the independence of bangladesh (ara, 2009). grammar-translation method (gtm) had been practiced in the efl context of bangladesh since the regime of british empire. practically this gtm proved its effectiveness to make students enable to communicate in oral and written english (hamid & baldauf, 2008). the state must think over the efficacy of forming effective elt policy in order that language practitioners, teachers and students can understand the elt policy to meet the challenges of new civilization. textbooks which are approved by english language teaching improvement project (eltip) are supposed to follow techniques and activities of communicative language teaching (clt). thus learners will be able to learn english language in an interactive way in association with four skills— listening, speaking, reading and writing (hamid & baldauf, 2008). as a whole, constant elt policy and planning will ensure the maximum effectiveness of four language skills especially listening which remains neglected in the context of bangladesh. initiation of effective approaches teachers and language trainers should adopt various approaches in order to ensure pragmatic listening practice inside classroom. approaches or techniques are the tools or measures which affect the rate of progress in aural-oral skill. li and renandya (2012) suggested that specifically, vocabulary instruction for vocabulary learning, preparation topically, mechanically slowdown of the rate of sound and repeated listening are thought to be effective approaches to facilitating learner comprehension of the l2 spoken text. vandergrift (2004) opined, “an awareness of both top-down and bottom-up processes and their relative contribution to comprehension in different contexts and at different levels of language proficiency is fundamental to a theoretically grounded pedagogy of l2 listening comprehension”. johnson (1994) outlined some of the strategies like pairing students with supportive partners, instructing students to make questions and answers, using tape-recording with microphone use while test is going one and inviting students for role-play, puppets activities and getting involved in participatory talk. indeed teachers and classroom instructors should provide learners with sufficient guidelines, approaches and techniques to make them comfortable in listening work. adequate training for teachers and trainers teachers and language trainers should keep in mind that students are the perfect imitators of what their teachers and trainers do in the way of pronouncing words, using fillers and stress markers, intonation marks and phonological aspects. in the process of ensuring effective listening, teachers and trainers should have adequate trainings on many different linguistic aspects. local proficient teachers, speech therapists and foreign language experts should be invited to train local teachers https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 53 and thus they would be more proficient to teach students effective listening skill. teachers should be given training how to conduct listening classes crowded with huge number of students in the poor socio-economic set up of bangladesh as it requires the assembly huge number of logistic supports like headphone, microphone, loud speaker, computer and constant supply of electricity. conclusion the study conducted among the tertiary students of bangladesh exposed that they failed to understand conversation, discussion and lectures delivered in target language for they had been accustomed to listening in their own native language. participants expressed their impressions that they could not retain their attention while they were listening audio track played before the survey work and they were overlapping of one topical discussion with another one. the study also revealed that participants could not find the connection of linkers or pause markers and thematic or subjective discussion in the classroom. this problem became worsening when they attended the science and engineering courses and understanding methodical presentation on scientific and engineering made them confused during teachers’ presentation. overall participants gave their impressions that they could understood discussion and mode of presentation partially not confidently. similarly the level of students’ understanding can be held as the potential barrier in the smooth way of conducting listening oriented class. ur (1995) the level of students play a good role in listening long passages and keeping all the listened stories in mind. in fact it is not easy for the lower level students to listen to more than three minutes and complete the activities. it is recommended that texts with short listening facilitate listening comprehension and reduce monotony and keep learners concentrating. in this case, as bangladeshi learners have much problem in understanding and grasping information while listening, teachers should segment the whole class into small ones for micro-listening with small duration audio clip. by engaging them into real life listening, teachers can identify some problems from individual listeners and then he should spend more time with them and help them to practice more sessions or audio clips confidently. references alam, z. & sinha, b. s. (2009). developing listening skills for tertiary level learners. the dhaka university journal of linguistics, 2(3), 19-52. akter, z. (2006). redefining ‘communicative competence’ in teaching english as a foreign language in bangladesh. harvest: jahangirnagar studies in language and literature, 21, 13-22. ara, s. (2009). the contribution of the communicative language teaching approach to teaching writing in the english classroom. harvest: jahangirnagar studies in language and literature, 24, 9-26. bloomfield, a., wayland, s. c., rhoades, e., blodgett, a., linck, j., & ross, s. (2010). what makes listening difficult? factors affecting second language listening comprehension. maryland univ college park. retrieved from http://www.google.es/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=3&ved=0c egqfjac&url=htt p://wwwdliflc.edu/file.ashx?path%3darchive/documents/casl_study_final_lit_rev. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 54 pdf&ei=kffmuu_ vj8pe0qxvm4hodg&usg=afqjcngujklmdbecb8vygop4hd2mh1uiqg chen, h. c. (2011). second language timing patterns and their effects on native listeners’ perceptions. concentric: studies in linguistics, 36(2), 183-212. dunkel, p. a. (1991). listening in the native and second/foreign language: toward an integration of research and practice. tesol quarterly, 25(3), 431-457. feyten, c. m. (1991). the power of listening ability: an overlooked dimension in language acquisition. modern language journal, 75(2), 173-180 goh, c. (2000). a cognitive perspective on language learners’ listening comprehension problems. system, 28, 55-75. graham, s. (2006). listening comprehension: the learners’ perspective. system, 34, 165-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2005.11.001 hamid, m. o., & baldauf, r. b. (2008). will clt bail out the bogged down elt in bangladesh?. english today, 24(3), 16-24. harmar, j. (1998). how to teach english. london: longman hasan, a. (2000). learners’ perceptions of listening comprehension problems. language, culture and curriculum, 13, 137-153. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07908310008666595 jahan, a., & jahan, n. (2008). teaching presentation skills to tertiary students in bangladesh. stamford journal of english, 4, 38-57. johnson, j. (1994). the national oracy project. in brindley, s. (ed), teaching english, 31-42. new york: routledge. krashen, s. (1982). principles and practice in second language acquisition. new york: pergammon press littlewood, w. (1981). communicative language teaching. united kingdom: cambridge university press. li, w., & renandya, w. a. (2012). effective approaches to teaching listening: chinese efl teachers’ perspectives. the journal of asia tefl, 9(4), 79-111. maniruzzaman, d. m. (2002). basic english language skills. dhaka: friends book corner. national education policy 2010. ministry of education. dhaka: jubili publications. nunan, d. (1998). approaches to teaching listening in language classroom. in proceedings of the 1997 korea tesol conference. taejon, korea: kotesol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07908310008666595 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 55 nunan, d. (2003). practical english language teaching. the mcgraw hill companies. rost, m. (2002). teaching and researching listening. england: longman. underwood, m. (1989). teaching listening. london: longman. ur, p. (1995). a course in language teaching. practice and theory. cambridge: cambridge university press. vandergrift, l., (2004). listening to learn or learning to listen? annual review of applied linguistics, 24, 3-25. yagang, f. (1994). listening: problems and solutions. in t. kral (ed.), teacher development: making the right moves. washington, dc: english language programs division, usia. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 41 a comparative study on students’ level of acceptance and preference of conventional and virtual mode at “gausul azam maizbhanderi medha-britthi (scholarship exam) program in fatikchari, bangladesh md. rabiul hossen lecturer department of english nanupur laila kabir university college, bangladesh associate member darul irfan research institute (diri), bangladesh e-mail: tasauf.darulirfan@gmail.com shahjada syed irfanul hoque managing trustee darul irfan research institute (diri), bangladesh nayeb sajjadah nasheen maizbhandar darbar sharif, fatikchari, chittagong, bangladesh e-mail: tasauf.darulirfan@gmail.com prof. dr asif mahbub karim fcgia, dean binary post graduate school binary university of management and entrepreneurship, malaysia e-mail: drasifmkarim@gmail.com dina arjumand student department of “urban & regional planning” chittagong university of engineering & technology associate member darul irfan research institute (diri), bangladesh e-mail: tasauf.darulirfan@gmail.com abstract the students associated with the educational sector are facing a restructuring educational system for being pushed out of school by the elongated countrywide new-normal situation during covid-19. in this pandemic situation, the virtual mode is welcome in the absence of a face-toface conventional mode of examination. so, participants' satisfaction, acceptance, and preference of exam mode need to be focused on. this paper addresses the determinants of mailto:tasauf.darulirfan@gmail.com mailto:tasauf.darulirfan@gmail.com mailto:tasauf.darulirfan@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 42 satisfaction, acceptance, and preference among the students of the medha-britthi examination. data has been collected through a telephone questionnaire survey from the participants of the school level of bangladesh at the maizbhanderi medha-britthi (scholarship) examination. the data has been analyzed using spss according to their responses on their satisfaction, acceptance & preference of examination mode for the future. the result shows that according to their level of satisfaction, examinee communication, time & cost-effectiveness, and ict effectiveness, most of the students have preferred the online examination mode for the future. few students have preferred conventional methods for a lack of digital devices, ict efficacy, or lack of interest. this study also will take appropriate measures to overcome the barriers faced by the participants so that the preferable mode can be continued in the future. keywords: level of acceptance and preference, medha-britti scholarship program, conventional mode, virtual mode, digital device. introduction with an event like the covid-19 crossing borders in an increasingly mobile world, the efforts in education may be challenged in other ways (masuhay, 2020).the use of online learning attracted the attention of all educational contexts, particularly when the government of all countries closed schools and universities due to covid-19 (himat, 2021).in this situation, students have to depend on the online method to perform their examinations including non-formal examinations. as online exams become an important assessment method in online learning, it is essential to analyze learners' perceptions (adanir et al., 2020)it is emergent to focus on the preference of participants on examination methods according to their level of satisfaction and interest. students' interests and engagement are not the same in both physical and virtual modes of cocurricular activities such as exam participation. these depend on many socio-economic and demographic factors as well as efficacy and perceived usefulness. online courses make possible new forms of working and learning together that would be difficult or impossible to use in the classroom-based course (shen et al., 2004). the virtual method can ensure the participation of students from the whole country because students can perform the examination staying at home. students who have a proper internet connection and required digital devices feel comfortable, interested, and attracted. bangladesh is one of the low-mid income bracketed countries of the world where meeting up of basic needs for the mass people is still the major challenge. so it has been very challenging for some students in rural areas of bangladesh as a developing country to get internet facilitates for their financial status. they are facing a lack of electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and required an internet connection to perform the online examination. that's why they are lagging behind the examination which they used to perform regularly before the new-normal situation. but if the required internet facilities and the digital device can be ensured for those students, then it will be possible for those students to continue with the online process. the preferred exam mode should be continued in the future. students' level of satisfaction and acceptance in the online examination and conventional examination can clear about the preference of the method. based on their satisfaction and acceptance, one of the two methods should be chosen to be continued for the future. the objectives of the paper are:  to make a comparative study on the conventional and virtual process of examination according to participants' satisfaction and acceptance. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 43  to analyze comparatively the preferable mode of exams of participants‟ interest, comfort, convenience.  to take appropriate measures to overcome the barriers faced by the participants so that the preferable mode can be continued in the future. this paper will be beneficial for finding out an examination mode for the future according to participants‟ level of satisfaction and acceptance. the study will help find out the barriers of participants while applying virtual mode. it will also be beneficial for taking measures to overcome the problems faced by participants and to continue with the virtual mode in the future. problem statement gaushul azam maizbhandari medha britti (non-formal scholarship exam) organized by “maizbhandari foundation” which is situated in fatikchari, chittagong, bangladesh. maizbhandari foundation has successfully arranged its scholarship exam since 2013 through the conventional method by using written mode .in the conventional method, the number of participants was about one thousand where all of the participants used to attend paper mode exams which remark as the face-to-face way or physical way. this year, the world is facing a pandemic with a new normal situation. corona pandemic attacked bangladesh on 08th march 2020 (sarker, 2020). according to this situation, maizbhandari foundation also has taken a step for scholarship exams through virtual mode. so it developed a new model for its regular exam by using an electronic paper mode exam through a multiple choice question system . research questions  which mode of examination is more satisfactory according to participants‟ comfort, easiness & interest?  which mode is less-expensive and less-time consuming for the students?  can virtual mode make the interest of using digital technology or encourage students to their study?  which mode is easier for the students to communicate with the examiner or follow their instructions?  which method is preferable for the future according to participants‟ opinions?  is there any positive correlation of the level of preference for the future with other variables? literature review e-examination electronic based examination or e-exam has become very useful, convenient, and popular by the proper implication of ict (information & communication technology). as a form of assessment, evaluation, and feedback, online exams play an important role in online learning (adanir et al., 2020). online exams bring advantages such as test security, safe data storage, immediate exam results, cost-effectiveness, saving paper and time, and automated recordkeeping for learners, instructors, and institutions (ilgaz & afacan adanır, 2020) level of satisfaction and preference of examination mode learners' opinions are very important in the decision-making process before initiating online exams (ilgaz & afacan adanır, 2020). evaluating the level of acceptance in online examination https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 44 compared to conventional method is important in this new-normal situation during the era of ict. according to another paper, the survey from the study of nardi and ranieri (2019), most of the students have given positive feedback to the computer-based exam (e-exam) compared to the paper-based exam while only around 4 % have a bad experience.in this study, it has been found that 76.34% of participants declared their preference for computer based test (e-exam) in all final examinations, while 23.65% want to keep paper based test. according to the research of candrlic, katic, and dlab (2014), 1231 paper-based and online tests were conducted to compare the preference of students in the paper-based exam and online exam. according to the comments of the students, most of them prefer the keyboard rather than a pencil so they would rather take online tests rather than paper-based tests. from the study of shen et al., (2004), about 58% of participants recommend using the online exam for the future, 30 % of students are neutral and the rest of them recommend the traditional one based on their level of perception, acceptance, and satisfaction. ict efficacy the impact of the internet on education is an important issue that has caught educators‟ attention in recent years (abubakar, 2019). the ict provides a great development opportunity by contributing to information dissemination, providing an array of communication capabilities, increasing access to technology and knowledge among others (darma et al., 2018). methodology participants: the participants are both male and female who are the regular students of our medha-britti scholarship program of school level who aged from 10 to 16. table 1. participants according to gender and age sampling procedure: by using the "sample size calculator", we have got the sample size for the paper is 278 based on our population size 1000 with the confidence level of 95%. data collection: data has been collected from the regular participants who have experiences of both examination modes. a telephone questionnaire survey was conducted using 5 points likert scale data as 5-strongly agree to 1-strongly disagree. the sample size was 278 as the population size is 1000. the procedure of data analysis: data has been analyzed using spss (statistical package for the social sciences) according to participant‟s responses about the statements in the questionnaire. students' perception has been shown by using charts and relevant tables using microsoft excel 2019. and charts about correlation have made using spss. cronbach alpha has done for checking the reliability among the statements in the questionnaire. spearman rank gender age in year total participants 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 f (%) male 29 39 42 34 144 51.7% female 32 38 31 33 134 48.20% total 61 77 73 67 278 100% https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 45 correlation has been conducted for checking the correlation of students‟ preference for exam mode with other variables that are related to their experience while conducting the examination. the scale of the questionnaire: the questionnaire was designed by following a 5-point likert scale to know the opinion about their perception of virtual mode compared to the conventional examination system. results reliability test cronbach alpha method has been used for checking the reliability among the statements in the questionnaire which is a measure of internal consistency. the co-efficient value of cronbach alpha has been found 0.91 which is considered very strong reliability among the statements in the questionnaire. participants’ perception of examination modes: for evaluating their opinion, the responses of the participants are analyzed by determining some variables like their level of satisfaction and acceptance, easiness of examinee communication, saving of time and money, and perceived usefulness of virtual examination compared to conventional examination. table 2. percentage of participants‟ response about their perception of examination modes 1 2 3 4 5 strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree variables statement 5 4 3 2 1 agree neutral disagree level of satisfaction & acceptance the virtual model is more comfortable than the conventional model. 78 % 8.9 % 12.94 % the virtual model is easier than the conventional for me. 77.33 % 9.72% 12.94% i was able to give full concentration more easily in the virtual mode than the conventional model. 74.4% 10.4% 15.1% i felt more interested in the virtual model rather than the conventional model. 76.2% 8.9% 14.7% the virtual mode seems less-tiring compared to the conventional model to me. 78.7% 8.9% 12.23% students' communicatio n with the examinee instructions of the examination were more easy & clear in virtual mode compared to conventional mode. 80.21% 11.5% 8.27% examiner was more helpful and cooperative with me in the virtual mode compared to the conventional model. 80.21% 11.5% 8.27% virtual mode is less expansive and saves 88.12% 8.9% 2.87% https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 46 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% level of satisfaction easiness of examinee communication time & money saving perceived usefulness 76.6 80.1 88.1 78.41 10.1 7.6 5.8 7.5 13.3 14.3 6.1 14.1 participants' opinions about virtual mode compared to conventional mode agree neutral disagree table 1 shows that the highest number of students is highly satisfied with the online examination and for having more comfort, easiness, interest in online examination compared to the conventional method. according to the response of the students, they have found a better communication and helpful response from the examinee in the online examination compared to conventional examination. in the same way, the examinee can provide sufficient information easily to the students in the virtual examination method. most of the students as mentioned before think that online examination is less-expensive & less-time consuming. because they can consume travel time and money by conducting the examination staying at home with relax mode. according to their opinion, the virtual model of examination can encourage them to use the ict/ digital technology which is very important for the new era of technology. figure1. participants‟ overall opinion about virtual mode compared to conventional exam mode this figure is presenting the mean of variables on overall responses about virtual mode compared to conventional mode. about 76.6 % of the participants are more satisfied in virtual mode, 80.1 % students think that they can make better communication while conduction online examination, 88.1 % students can easily save their travel cost and time conduction online examination instead of conventional examination mode and 78.41 % students get perceived usefulness in the online examination. time & cost effectiveness travel costs. virtual mode is less time consuming compared to conventional mode 89.92% 3.59% 6.47% perceived usefulness virtual mode encourages you to use ict/digital technology for your study. 78% 8.27% 13.67% the virtual model has increased the eagerness for regular examination. 79.8 % 12.2% 7.91% https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 47 level of preference according to participant’s responses level of preference means the overall opinion of the participants about the choice of examination mode for the future. according to the level of satisfaction, acceptance, examinee communication, time & cost-saving, and ict effectiveness, the students can prefer the examination mode for future examination. table 3. level of preference of examination mode for the future in light of the opinion of the students, it has been found that about 77 % of the students prefer virtual mode, 14% conventional mode &9% students said that they can prefer any of the two methods. so most of the students prefer online examinations for the future. spearman rank correlation spearman rank correlation has been done for justifying the co-relation of the level of preference with participants' level of satisfaction, easiness of examinee communication, time and moneysaving and perceived usefulness. table 4. correlation between exam mode preference with the satisfaction level spearman’s rho correlation preference of exam mode level of satisfaction& acceptance preference of exam mode correlation coefficient 1 .770** sig. (2-tailed) . 0 n 278 278 level of satisfaction & acceptance correlation coefficient .770** 1 sig. (2-tailed) 0 . n 278 278 from table 4, the preference of exam mode is strongly and positively correlated with the level of satisfaction and acceptance and the value of r is 0.770. table 5. correlation between exam mode preference with easiness of communication spearman’s rho correlation preference of exam mode easiness of communication with examinee preference of exam correlation coefficient 1 .805** variable statement responses preference of exam mode scale f (%) level of preference i prefer virtual mode compared to conventional mode 5 agree 215 77.34 virtual mode 4 3 neutral 24 8.64 neutral 2 disagree 39 14.02 conventional mode 1 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 48 mode sig. (2-tailed) . 0 n 278 278 easiness of communication with examinee correlation coefficient .805** 1 sig. (2-tailed) 0 . n 278 278 from table 5, the preference of exam mode is strongly and positively correlated with the easiness of examinee communication and the value of r is 0.805. table 6. correlation between exam mode preferences with time & cost saving spearman’s rho correlation preference of exam mode time & cost saving preference of exam mode correlation coefficient 1 .839** sig. (2-tailed) . 0 n 278 278 time & cost saving correlation coefficient .839** 1 sig. (2-tailed) 0 . n 278 278 from table 6, the preference of exam mode is strongly and positively correlated with the savings of time and money and the value of r is 0.839. table 7. correlation between exam mode preference with perceived usefulness spearman’s rho correlation preference of exam mode perceived usefulness preference of exam mode correlation coefficient 1 .786** sig. (2-tailed) . 0 n 278 278 perceived usefulness correlation coefficient .786** 1 sig. (2-tailed) 0 . n 278 278 from table 7, the correlation between exam mode preference and perceived usefulness is strongly positively correlated and the value of r is 0.786. discussion last, of all, we can say, according to participants‟ level of satisfaction and acceptance, easiness of communication of participants „with the examiner, saving of time and money, and having perceived usefulness, most of the students have preferred virtual mode compared to the conventional mode for the future. from spearman rank correlation, it has been found that the level of preference for the future exam has a strong and positive correlation with the variables. if the student can prefer virtual mode for the future, a decision can be taken for arranging the examination in e-platform in the future. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 49 bangladesh is one of the low-mid income bracketed countries of the world where meeting up of basic needs for the mass people is still the major challenge. less number of participants doesn‟t prefer online exams for having a lack of ict efficacy or financial problems. following measures should be taken for them so that the most preferable mode can be continued for the future.  the students who have poor ict knowledge should be trained by providing soft material like a tutorial, online training for making them able to conduct virtual examination system.  and those who have financial problems should be provided some soft loan to buy the digital device.  awareness about digital technology and e-platform examination should be increased among the students and their parents also. then all the students will be able to conduct the online examination perfectly and conveniently. because in the new-norm situation, e-platform is the best and only way to conduct the regular examination perfectly. while conducting the research work, some limitations have been found in the survey. though it was a telephone questionnaire survey, some students of the whole population didn't pick up the phone; some has cut the call which was a waste of time & energy. that's why we had called the participants which were more than our sample size for getting responses according to our exact sample size. references abubakar, m. t. (2019). assessment of college students‟ preference on the usage of google drive as a learning platform: an empirical evidence. american international journal of social science research, 4(2), 24–34. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v4i2.331 adanir, g. a., ismailova, r., omuraliev, a., & muhametjanova, g. (2020). learners‟ perceptions of online exams: a comparative study in turkey and kyrgyzstan. international review of research in open and distance learning, 21(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v21i3.4679 candrlic, s., katic, m. a., & dlab, m. h. (2014). online vs. paper-based testing: a comparison of test results. 2014 37th international convention on information and communication technology, electronics and microelectronics, mipro 2014 proceedings, july, 657–662. https://doi.org/10.1109/mipro.2014.6859649 darma, s. a., aliyu, f., & kurfi, s. a. (2018). the role of social media in empowering the involvement of women in information technology: a case study of al-qalam and umaru musa yar‟adua universities. american international journal of social science research, 2(1), 7–27. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v2i1.164 himat, a. n., takal, m. h., & hakimi, m. f. (2021). afghan students‟ satisfaction from online learning during covid-19 at kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan. american international journal of social science research, 6(1), 16-29. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v6i1.931 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 50 ilgaz, h., & afacan adanır, g. (2020). providing online exams for online learners: does it really matter for them? education and information technologies, 25(2), 1255–1269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-10020-6 masuhay, e. p. (2020). adversaries on covid-19 set forth an argument onward to educational endeavor: resulting to develop a modular concept in the learning process. american international journal of social science research, 5(2), 26-37. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i2.520 nardi, a., & ranieri, m. (2019). comparing paper-based and electronic multiple-choice examinations with personal devices: impact on students‟ performance, self-efficacy and satisfaction. british journal of educational technology, 50(3), 1495–1506. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12644 sarker, a.-a. (2020). people in northern bangladesh: corona pandemic 2020 aftermath action. american international journal of social science research, 5(2), 38-40. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v5i2.581 shen, j., cheng, k., bieber, m., & hiltz, s. r. (2004). traditional in-class examination vs . collaborative online examination in asynchronous learning networks : field evaluation results. proceedings of the tenth americas conference on information systems,august, 1– 11. retrieved from http://web.njit.edu/~bieber/pub/shenamcis04_final.pdf appendices appendix a: questionnaire of telephone survey authors have designed a questionnaire for telephone using five variables named level of satisfaction and acceptance, students' communication with the examiner, time and costeffectiveness, perceived usefulness, and level of preference of exam mode. under each variable, they asked the following statements. the questionnaire followed 5 points likert scale from strongly agreed to strongly disagree with the statements. variables statements responses of participants 1 2 3 4 5 level of satisfaction & acceptance the virtual model is more comfortable than the conventional model. the virtual model is easier than the conventional for me. i was able to give full concentration more easily in the virtual mode than the conventional model. i felt more interested in the virtual model rather than the conventional model. the virtual mode seems less-tiring compared to the conventional model to me. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 6, no. 1; 2021 51 students' communication with the examiners instructions of the examination were more easy & clear in virtual mode compared to conventional mode. examiner was more helpful and co-operative with me in the virtual mode compared to the conventional model. time & cost effectiveness virtual mode is less expansive and saves travel costs. virtual mode is less time consuming compared to conventional mode perceived usefulness virtual mode encourages you to use ict/digital technology for your study. the virtual model has increased the eagerness for regular examination. level of preference i prefer virtual mode compared to conventional mode copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 1-8 1 social science research aijssr vol 14 no 1 (2023) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa comparative study of islamic credit cards to be accepted: muslim consumers’ perceptions md. shahnur azad chowdhury (a)1 a m shahabuddin habib ullah md. shariful haque monir ahmmed (a) associate professor, department of business administration, int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: tipu_iiuc@yahoo.com (b) associate professor, department of business administration, int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: ams_iiuc@yahoo.com (c) assistant professor, department of business administration, int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: habibmu26@yahoo.com (d) associate professor, department of economics & banking, int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: sharif@iiuc.ac.bd (e) associate professor, department of economics & banking, int'l islamic university chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: moniiuc@yahoo.co.uk a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 9th november 2022 accepted: 21st january 2023 online publication: 31st january 2023 keywords: islamic credit card, riba, the muslim community, islamic values jel classification codes: g21 a b s t r a c t the use of standard credit cards, which incorporate the practice of riba in the case that a late payment is made, has resulted in a conflict with the perspectives of muslim clients, which is to be addressed in choosing the best alternative available cards. the primary purpose of this research is to analyze the many existing models of islamic credit cards to determine which one is most in line with sharia law. the kind of study that has been done is descriptive, which employed rigorous literature studies and investigated the existing theories. the holy quran is the source of the fundamental laws that govern what is and is not allowed in terms of credit and debt. after then, the attributes of the cards that are being presented are analyzed in light of those principles to ensure that they adhere to sharia, which is a religious law. the muslim community has access to a wide range of credit card options to pick from. charge cards, qard al-hasan cards, bai al-inah cards, mushraka mutanqisa cards, tawarruq cards, and murabahah cards are all included in the bundles. also had are tawarruq cards and murabahah cards. critiques raised voices against islamic credit cards. consequently, there is a need for a payment method that may function like a credit card. however, they are still obligated to maintain complete conformity with islamic principles. this article takes a closer look at the packages mentioned above to understand better the degree to which the various options are accepted. the study explored the crucial features of the existing islamic credit cards and evaluated the shariah compliance of those concepts. according to the findings and conclusions of the study, the authors concluded that the 'mushraka mutanqisa' is the most sharacompliant and hence most likely to be approved by muslim customers. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction the introduction of credit cards was a game-changer for banking and commercial procedures in the contemporary age. credit cards are still widely used today. both technological advances and rising levels of consumer purchasing power were essential to accomplishing this goal, which was ultimately successful. people can transact business without needing to carry cash with them and can also transact business online. however, using standard credit cards, which incorporate the practice of riba in the case that a late payment is made, has conflicted with muslim clients' perspectives. credit cards may be used to buy almost anything, from groceries to electronics and even certain services. amin (2012) states that credit cards may be considered "plastic money." it accomplishes this goal by leveraging a wide variety of different intermediaries to simplify spot transactions for customers of financial institutions that are part of its network of sponsors. to make spot transactions easier for its consumers, which financial institutions often sponsor, the company works with several different intermediaries, including banks. this is because of many factors, including the simplicity of use, portability, relief from the troublesome nature of carrying cash, protection of identification, the convenience of electronic commerce and online transaction, and so on. these factors all contribute to this phenomenon. in 1992, the organization of islamic cooperation (oic) fiqh academy published resolution no. 63/1/7, which described a credit card as a document that its issuer hands to a mutual person based on a contract between them. because this document includes the issuer's commitment to pay for the goods or services, it allows the joint person to purchase goods or services from a vendor willing to accept the document without having to pay 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0003-1547-157x © 2023 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.1921 to cite this article: chowdhury, m. s. a., shahabuddin, a. m., ullah, h., haque, m. s., & ahmmed, m. (2023). comparative study of islamic credit cards to be accepted: muslim consumers’ perceptions. american international journal of social science research, 14(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.1921 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.1921 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1547-157x https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3471-4445 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5477-930x https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2692-3634 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1128-6078 chowdhury et al., american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 1-8 2 the total price at the time of purchase. this topic is selected as credit cards has become an essential part of life, but muslim consumer cannot rush for conventional ones. keeping in mind the muslim consumer's needs, the study aimed to find the best alternative. at least three of the criteria that have been defined as standards by islamic principles can be met by a payment method in order for it to be considered an islamic credit card. to begin, the sharia standards that regulate lending must be met for the credit card to be acceptable. these requirements may be different depending on where you live in the world. the three fundamental restrictions that are stipulated by islamic money are known as riba, gharar, and may. avoidance of these three primary constraints, specified in islamic finance, is necessary on a general basis. riba is a type of interest paid to the lender at a rate more significant than the market rate when the loan originated (p.b.u.h.). because of this, it is against the guidelines for an islamic credit card to add any interest costs to the cardholder's balance, which is the case regardless of whether or not the cardholder is late with their payments. when using an islamic credit card to make purchases, it is essential to avoid any scenarios that include gharar, synonymous with ambiguity. one way this may be done is to eliminate a billing plan in which the monthly payback or service costs are changeable and dependent on various situations. another way this may be accomplished is by reducing the number of considered variables. it is forbidden to engage in may, which is more commonly known as gambling. the bearer of an islamic card is barred from accessing specific websites, such as those that make it possible to gamble online. the study was based on case studies and analyzing different concepts on credit cards, both islamic and interestbased. a descriptive approach was followed. comparatively; few studies have looked into how sharia conformity affects people's attitudes toward international criminal courts. multiple studies have shown that the majority of credit card users have little awareness of the product structure of icc and an understanding of sharia compliance, which may explain why icc has not been as successful as ccc within the muslim population solely. this is because icc has yet to be as well-liked as ccc. riba nasi'ah is a legal classification for fees that are added to the outstanding balance. this study first evaluated the principles of the quran and hadith regarding riba and debt. secondly, the available concepts are discussed, and finally, the arguments for the best alternative are highlighted. however, islamic bankers and shara scholars have concluded that offering an option to the traditional credit card is necessary to appease their "islamic" clients and be more competitive in the market. this is done to increase market share. one of the most recent developments in islamic financial engineering is the introduction of credit cards by islamic law. the idea of an islamic credit card has garnered much interest from shara scholars. these individuals have formed opinions regarding the islamic credit card's inherent nature and characteristics and the factors that make its returns permissible from a shara perspective. literature review researchers from malaysia conducted studies in 2017 to investigate developing trends in using islamic banking as the basis for islamic credit card products. in 2020, ahmed m. alkhan, m. kabir hassan, and rashedul hasan took the initiative to research the implementation of an islamic credit card (also known as a mushraka card), which would be founded on the islamic principles of mushraka mutanqisa.a qualitative approach was used for this (alkhan et al., 2020). furthermore, monzer kahf and amiirah nabee mohomed detailed the results of an optional interest provision in a 2016 article discussing the most recent issues with credit cards from the viewpoints of economics and shara. researchers found that islamic banks are trying to acquire a suitable approach to guarantee a lucrative and functional islamic credit card facility by examining the numerous market practices regarding islamic credit cards. the investigation was carried out by kahf and mohomed (2016). ferdian et al. (2008) did research that elucidated, from an economic and a shara point of view, the usage of islamic credit cards by bank danamon indonesia and bank islam malaysia. their findings were published in papers. according to reports, the contracts utilized in the production of the malaysian bi card are only somewhat less stringent than those utilized in the production of the indonesian dirham card. according to the findings of a certain team of investigators (dali & yousafzai, 2012). the findings of a study by tanzina hossain and zinnatun nesa in 2013 and published in the same year suggest that customers who pay their bills in whole and on time may profit from utilizing charge cards rather than other kinds of plastic credit money.after seeing credit cards' potential in the bangladesh market, they arrived at this conclusion (hossain & nesa, 2013). as early as 2005, abubakar salihoukante depicted the evolution of credit cards and their pros and cons. also clarified in this study are the many contractual parties engaged in credit card transactions, how they relate to one another, and their respective roles and obligations while using credit cards (kante, 2005). on the other hand, in 2011, abdul kadar muhammad masum, md. cholemullah, and md. abul kalam azad did research that points the path toward modeling the it user concepts that illustrate the right approaches to address such issues. the updated it user rules are based on islamic ethical principles, where the bulk of the article is focused. muhammad sheraz, muhammad irfan khadim, saif ullah, and atta ullah probed about the innovation behind the rise of sharia-compliant credit cards in 2021. they discussed two new concepts for sharia-compliant credit cards in their talk: the musharka credit card and the murabaha credit card. efforts were undertaken to clarify the principles of sharia regarding credit cards and correct the shortcomings present in the already available islamic credit cards. according to a group of researchers (sheraz et al., 2021). hafsa, z. orhan astrom began his investigation of islamic banks in turkey in 2015, and his work thus far has been comparing the lending practices of these institutions to established theoretical models. in 2017, bukhari m. s. sillah suggested that islamic banks packaged their cards by certain islamic "transaction rules" to avoid paying riba. in order to avoid paying taxes, they did this. in addition to the standard charge and qard al-hasan cards, each set includes bay al-inah and tawarruq cards and murabahah cards for financing purchases. the courts scrutinized several of these packages. he concluded that these packages either lack sufficient shari'ah compliance or are overpriced after reviewing the available data. he then proposed an alternate plan that might reduce court objections and boost competition. it has been proven as of this year (sillah, 2017). sharia compliance is an essential factor that causes malaysians to choose islamic credit cards, according to a study performed in 2020 under the chowdhury et al., american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 1-8 3 guidance of fahd al-shaghdari and adewale abideen adeyemi. it also stressed the significance of islamic credit card knowledge in proving the legitimacy of these financial instruments among malaysian banking consumers. the study's findings were clear in this regard. they utilized structural equation modeling to examine responses from a survey given to a representative sample of 220 cardholders with islamic financial institutions. tanzina hossain also looked at the use of islamic credit cards in bangladesh, focusing on the practices of exim bank and standard chartered bank. according to this article, islamic banks in bangladesh may expand their banking activities by working together to issue islamic shariabased credit cards to meet their customers' varying financial needs. evidence for this conclusion comes from contemplating the future of islamic credit cards (hossain & nesa, 2013). however, studies conducted in 2014 by seyed ebrahim hosseini, abdol latif ahmadi ramchahi, and raja jamilah raja yusuf concluded that information technology plays a crucial role in disseminating islamic literature over the world and increasing its accessibility to a wider audience. it also dispels misconceptions about islam among non-muslims (emery, 1964). along with this, sheikh muhamad hizam raised another issue. in 2021, scholars sheikh khairudin and mohammad amin mohammad conducted studies that shed light on the profound impact that the internet and other forms of modern information technology have had on the muslim world in the wake of increasing globalization and islamic fundamentalism. the importance of the internet to the global propagation of islamic literature is emphasized extensively in this essay. finally, it offers a few things governments and ngos should do to increase the use of ict among muslims worldwide, increasing the likelihood that this change will be for the better. according to sheikh khairudin and mohammad (2021), researchers sainul abdeen, fathima sajna, and mohamed haniffa mohamed nairoos looked at the feasibility of introducing islamic credit cards in sri lanka to meet the country's growing need for convenient and secure consumer financing. islamic credit card models from malaysia and indonesia have been considered to assess contract validity and establish a framework appropriate for sri lanka. primary data was gathered through in-depth interviews and conversations. in contrast, secondary data was compiled from various resources, including the internet, library databases, academic journals, trade publications, and newspapers. the results were published in 2018. in addition, an islamic metric for customer satisfaction and an integrated model was established by nuradli ridzwan and shah bin mohd dali in 2014. this study focuses on the impact of faith on the happiness of the progenitors of present-day people who use islamic credit cards. the empirical data is presented generally in a mixed-methods fashion. semi-structured interviews with seven individuals and an online survey with 560 credit card-using malaysians were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. the survey findings were analyzed using both confirmatory and structural equation modeling. most of the study's findings align with the theoretical model's suggested expected relationships. several researchers came to this conclusion. however, in 2015, ahmad abdur-raheem sabree and younes soualhi thoroughly explained the technology behind credit cards, particularly emphasizing the islamic framework in which its many components might be comprehended. that was done to clarify the usage of credit cards by islamic law. they went out to prove that the core ideas behind how credit card technology works can be found in the quran, and they did it. several factors, including "financial suggestion," "understanding of islamic credit card," "age (young)," "marriage status," "religion," and "education level," were shown to significantly influence the desire to use an islamic credit card in a study done by hanudin amin in 2012. furthermore, the "attitude toward islamic credit cards" did not appear to have a role in determining the primary function of islamic credit cards. this study proposes a theoretical framework to investigate the factors that establish the motivation for using an islamic credit card. tra, or the theory of reasoned action, served as the theoretical underpinning for this paradigm. a questionnaire was emailed to 354 people to collect the data (amin, 2012). it was shown that people's propensity to choose icc was significantly influenced by their employment industry; curiously, public servants were more likely to go with icc than private sector workers. the work field was shown to be the most influential factor among the seven demographic variables. researchers found that respondents preferred icc for online transactions since it was cheaper and safer than alternatives. researchers found similarities between cccs and iccs and recommended that islamic financial institutions make iccs shara compliant while recommending that cccs not try to incorporate islamic principles into existing cccs. this was because analysts assumed iccs were identical to cccs. it may be argued that credit card purchases done online are safe, cccs and iccs or no cccs and iccs, unless the sites in issue are not encrypted and hence vulnerable to hacking by criminal organizations engaged in money laundering. one may make the case that using a credit card via the internet compromises security. likely, the safety of any online purchases you make at this time may be jeopardized. it is safe to say that the cccs and iccs could not be more dissimilar, with the cccs' contracts and conditions being drastically different from those of the iccs. cccs were very different from iccs. sixty-five people were surveyed using component analysis for questions on their demographics, whether or not they use islamic credit cards, and how often they use them. the investigation's results were published. according to the results, most respondents' decisions to use icc were heavily influenced by their peers. the sales promoters and their kin (dali et al., 2007). researchers urged looking at other motivations for using islamic credit cards. interest-free and sharia-compliant, with credit and control, bulk purchase and status, emergencies and travel, an easy payment plan, knowledge and shariacompliance status, and ultimately, quick access are just a few of these advantages. these considerations could play a role in an eventual study of how muslims use islamic credit cards. it is interesting to think that friends, not family members, are the most likely to persuade you to use a credit card. friends are more trustworthy than family members because they genuinely care about one another. among the essential characteristics of icc that the investigation uncovered is that the bank's maximum profit charge from the icc sales and buy agreement is passed on to the client. this is a significant new finding about icc that the research uncovered. this aspect was highlighted during the inquiry because of its significance. another study looked into the advantages of pre-existing credit cards to see if they add anything to the economy or society. the study concluded that the existing money lending system via credit cards is incompatible with islamic teaching due to the enforced high-interest rate. however, unlike conventional credit cards, islamic ones have unique characteristics, such as a predetermined and clearly stated interest rate on profits and customer service costs. among the many chowdhury et al., american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 1-8 4 characteristics that set islamic credit cards apart is this. the author argues in a later chapter that people should adjust their savings and credit card habits based on how much money they have set aside; this means that as savings grow, so does the length of time a person may borrow from a bank interest-free. in reality, it was impossible to design the ideal card because debt is the backbone of malaysia's banking system, and iccs are financing mechanisms. this made it impossible to make the planned card. shara's ideas of maqasid are being used in islamic banking and finance in a more optimistic development. this is why islamic banking and finance promotes equality and equity in all spheres of life. this article delves into why fewer muslims have adopted islamic credit cards than traditional ones. previous research has exposed iccs to the problem of non-shara compliance. it has maintained that iccs are fictional transactions and activities that round out and supplement the process in a way analogous to that of cccs. while most of those surveyed identified as muslims, only 75.6% and 30% of respondents were familiar with icc contracts and structures. even though most respondents identified as muslims, this was nonetheless the case. the fantastic phenomena were further corroborated by the findings, which demonstrated that just 34.64% of malaysians had had an islamic bank account, despite islamic banking's more than thirtyyear history in the country. despite islamic banking's long history (almost thirty years), just 34.64 percent of malaysians have used an islamic bank account. according to the survey, 100% of participants were familiar with islamic banking, and approximately 50% held accounts at islamic banks. nonetheless, the results of his investigation were unexpected. this shows that despite the financial sector's fast growth, there is still a long way to go before the general public trusts and understands it. although most muslims worldwide, especially in south africa, are aware of islamic banking, only a tiny fraction use it. this is especially true when compared to the utilization rates of conventional banking. another turkish research found that the licensing (or palatalization) process slowed the growth of islamic financial centres (iccs) and had no influence on the local economy. materials and methods the case study method has evolved over the past few years and developed into a valuable research method. as the name suggests, it is used for explaining an organization or an entity. the study is done in a case study and descriptive, which employs rigorous literature studies and investigates the existing theories. the holy quran is the source of the fundamental laws that govern what is and is not allowed in terms of credit and debt. after then, the attributes of the cards that are being presented are analyzed in light of those principles in order to ensure that they adhere to sharia, which is a religious law. the study explored the crucial features of the existing islamic credit cards and evaluated the shariah compliance of those concepts. after that, it concluded the permissibility of the card from an islamic shariah perspective. results and discussions islamic credit cards the islamic credit card, which was established in line with the rules and principles of shara to enable the use of credit card services that are available to customers of islamic banks, centres on the idea of "purchase now, pay later," which is at the core of the islamic credit card. credit card services can now be provided in a way that is compliant with the tenants of islam to customers of islamic financial institutions, so they can use these services without compromising their beliefs. in december 2001, the arab malaysian banking group, now known as am bank of malaysia, became the first financial institution in malaysia to offer an islamic credit card. the card has the al-taslif brand name and was issued by am bank of malaysia. islamic credit cards are commonly accepted since they are functionally equivalent to traditional credit cards in every other respect. notwithstanding this, a significant number of the very first islamic credit cards ever distributed were based on bay al-nah, and some are still in use today. the bay al-nah design was used for many of the first islamic credit cards. we will review each card's positives and negatives while keeping an eye out for the fundamental characteristics that differentiate them from one another. numerous sectors use a diverse range of "islamic credit cards," each of which is a unique product. credit cards that demand the whole balance be paid upon the expiration of the grace period once the grace period expires, the cardholder is fully liable for any charges using the card. that remains true even if the amount was paid in full during the grace period. once the grace period has ended, the cardholder will no longer be eligible for any new credit or be charged any late penalties, regardless of when they submitted their credit request. this sort of credit card cannot be used the same way as a charge card due to the restrictions of the agreement that comes with the card. additional fees might be applied to the type of credit card in question. islamic banks in qatar follow a nationwide approach when issuing credit cards. this regard is the same between different types of financial institutions. this standard method can be used anywhere you go in the united states. with this regulation in place, islamic financial institutions must be extra cautious when issuing credit cards. cardholders must demonstrate their ability to repay the debt by either transferring funds from another account or depositing cash. furthermore, islamic banks have stricter regulations protecting their client's personal and financial data. in addition, islamic banks will not extend credit to consumers with a history of loan default. the deposit is used to back the credit card and the allotted credit limit, and the unpaid debt is paid automatically, generally within fifteen days following the billing date, from the available balance on the holder's account. as a rule, this happens within 15 days following the billing date. usually, this happens by 15 days after the measure was initially introduced. typically, a bill's payment due date is no later than 15 days following the bill's issuance date. when it comes to this deadline, we are serious. this happens when the deposit covers the costs of maintaining the credit card and its associated credit limit. this is only possible once the first investment has been used. at this point in the process, the money is being sent. since these measures guarantee that cards chowdhury et al., american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 1-8 5 have sufficient payment capacity and that payments are made during the grace period, cardholders need not worry about incurring interest charges. these precautions guarantee that payment cards have all the necessary features. globally renowned islamic scholar mufti taqi usmani has stated that credit cards are now a requirement, as they make it next to impossible to execute many types of transactions. this is because consumers may use credit cards to buy goods and services from a wide range of stores. this is because credit cards simplify the process of gaining access to numerous forms of financial aid. credit card use is thus permitted, but only with the understanding that interest charges will be avoided if payments are made before their due dates. by taking this measure, we intend to prevent the cardholder from incurring any more debt. in line with islamic law, using a credit card is permissible if the entire transaction is paid for using the card and no cash is withdrawn from the account. since every action is motivated by a purpose, and since that objective is always to restore a zero balance, this argument carries much weight. the fact that every action is motivated by an intention makes this argument even more persuasive. a substantial number of people consider that a contract of this sort is not legitimate even if it is feasible to save interest by making payments on time; therefore, scholars' position has been countered with various counterarguments. in their view, a person who enters into such a contract is committing to something forbidden by islam regardless of whether or not he pays the whole amount due on time, including the interest. for them, joining it would constitute a public declaration of support for an activity forbidden by islam. this misconception stems from the widespread belief that joining entails automatically endorsing all banned behaviours in islam. this idea served as the inspiration for this conviction. this is because they believe that by participating, one is promising to engage in conduct forbidden by islam. even though everyone subscribes to this view and is obligated to conduct in a manner forbidden by islam's teachings, a sizable portion of modern society still holds to this view. wakalah-fee-charging credit cards for cash withdrawals islamic banks issuing islamic credit cards in line with the wakalah idea are required to pay for purchase transactions to merchants and to charge the cardholder fees (umrah) by the wakalah concept. furthermore, wakalah-based islamic banks that provide islamic debit cards must themselves practice wakalah. based on the wakalah principle, if an islamic bank were to issue an islamic debit card, the bank would not reimburse the merchant for any purchases made using the card. customers incur an additional fee, known as a cash withdrawal charge, whenever they use their card's cash withdrawal feature. any time a card user makes a cash withdrawal, they will be subject to this fee. the calculations behind these prices may be trusted. the fees imposed by the organization might be stated either as a flat rate per transaction or as a percentage of the value of each transaction. clients can select whichever option interests them. no interest or other fees are charged for using the card, but the cardholder may be subject to paying other expenses related to maintaining card membership and making purchases. however, there are still costs connected with using the card, such as interest and other fees. despite the absence of interest or other fees from the card, there are still costs associated with using it. these fees may comprise any combination of the following: an issuance charge, a yearly service fee, a renewal fee, the cost of a replacement card, and a currency conversion fee. for instance, jordan islamic bank users with credit cards issued by the bank are not allowed to use those cards to withdraw cash from the bank's atms. however, this restriction must be implemented when jordan islamic bank customers use atms belonging to other banking organizations. thus, the bank might claim that the customer has agreed to pay the amount owing to the other financial institutions from which funds were withdrawn by using the card. the bank might claim that the card's use amounts to an agreement. the bank can now levy wakalah fees to clients who withdraw cash. the feasibility of issuing islamic credit cards within a framework of kafala and wakalah has been debated since the central bank of malaysia issued a fatwa on the subject (cbm). the cb m's fatwa confirms this interpretation. under the provisions of this form of islamic credit card, the islamic bank acts as a kafl (guarantor) for the purchasing transactions of its cardholders, both in terms of payment to credit card networks and payment for goods or services acquired by the cardholder from the merchant. if a cardholder incurs debt, the islamic bank will foot the bill. this means the islamic bank is responsible for covering any charges from using the card. to rephrase, all purchases made with a customer's islamic bank card are backed by the bank's payment guarantee, no matter how unusual the purchase may be. the islamic bank must cover the cost of every transaction, including a purchase, using the card. the credit limit for the cardholder's account comes from the islamic bank, which is also responsible for delivering that amount. based on the wakalah principle, the islamic bank would charge the cardholder ujrah (fees) equal to a predetermined proportion of the credit line in exchange for acting as an intermediary in the cardholder's payment transactions. that would happen since the bank offers agency services to settle the cardholder's payment obligations. these fees would be included in the overall cost of the transaction based on a predetermined proportion of the available credit. this debt would be called "wakalah ujrah" if it were ever collected. once that period had passed, the kafl might demand the ujrah fees in addition to the returned principal (determined as a specific percentage of the credit limit). tawarruq-settled credit cards previously, when the bay al-nah framework still constrained islamic banks, they would sell a product to a customer based on a deferred payment and then repurchase the thing from the consumer for cash at a price discounted from the commodity's actual worth. this method was widely used when the bay al-nah framework still constrained islamic banks. because of this, the banks could profit from the difference in price between when they sold the asset and when they repurchased it after having previously sold it. there was a fluctuation in value between when they sold the item and when they repurchased it. if a client's credit card balance is paid in full with cash, the consumer can receive the total amount of cash used to settle the debt. this protection extends to cases when someone other than you is responsible for making the payment. this is done on the final day of the grace period granted at the beginning of the process. when a customer of an islamic bank makes a chowdhury et al., american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 1-8 6 transaction using their card, the islamic bank transfers the funds to the merchant rather than the customer. the balances on the card must be paid in full by the cardholder. to achieve this, a new no balance will be created and repaid on a new maturity date. it will result in the full settlement of the cardholder's account amount. every month, this practice is carried out as usual. furthermore, credit cards in malaysia have a highly unusual bay al-nah structure that incorporates the provisions of two different contracts, bay al-nah and wadah. the end effect has a one-of-a-kind visual quality. this produces an odd appearance on the outside. this has given the bay al-nah building a look that distinguishes it from its surroundings. when dealing with a customer, an islamic bank may propose a sale of an asset in return for deferred payment, with the bank later offering to repurchase the asset from the customer for cash at a price lower than the initial selling price. since there is no actual buy-and-sell mechanism, the operation of these cards is not in any way governed by market forces. the asset's hypothetical purchasers and sellers both exist only in the mind. that is a false dichotomy on both sides. this allows for legitimate business transactions, which starkly contrasts islamic teachings. as a direct result, it will be harmed by this. ijārah credit card people who use this form of credit card are a smaller subset of the population than those who use other varieties. its principal function is to facilitate the cardholder's ability to make lease-based purchases of fungible assets from many vendors. the cardholder is extended the option to acquire while the issuer foots the bill. after that, the cardholder must pay a specific monthly rent for the agreed-upon duration. the ujrah paradigm also came under fire from those who disagreed with it. scholars from each of the four schools of fiqhfiqh agree that bank fees benefit a loan because of how they are structured. because riba prohibits the lender from benefiting from the loans, the lender cannot profit from them. key features of a new concept mushāraka mutanāqisa while a mudaraka mutanaqisa is one type of islamic financial product, islamic banks can also provide a wide variety of other products. focusing on many core features of a mushraka mutanqisa based on the shara standards of the accounting and auditing organization for islamic financial institutions is necessary for building an islamic credit card compliant with sharia law (aaoifi). a mushraka mutanqisa is required to build an islamic credit card (aaoifi). thus, it will be possible to envision an islamic credit card that mimics the musharaka mutanaqisa. this is due to aaoifi's prominence as an islamic financial infrastructure standards-setting body, which has led to widespread acceptance of its guidelines across the international islamic banking sector. the american association of independent financial institutions (aaoifi) describes a mushraka mutanqisa as a partnership in which one partner agrees to buy out the other's stake in the business at a predetermined price over time. the term "mushraka mutanqisa" describes this particular sort of collaboration. this kind of collaboration is called a mushraka mutanqisa. mushraka mutanqisa is the swahili phrase for this form of cooperation. however, aaoifi makes it clear that neither the commitment nor the actual acquisition need has been part of the original partnership arrangement. accordingly, the contract regulating the acquisition of the other partner's shares must be drafted independently of the other partner. that is because that follows from that; thus, it makes sense. a further limitation emphasized by aaoifi is that no partner in a mushraka mutanqisa agreement can be offered the option to withdraw their shares or that such a clause can be included in the contract. this is because doing so is illegal. as one of the rules mentioned in the aaoifi paper, this one is as follows: however, as a mushraka mutanqisa is considered a partnership mode (as opposed to a sale or lease mode, for example), both parties are compelled to provide a financial commitment. contributions can be made in cash or other assets used in running the business or later sold for a profit. intangible assets that may be monetized are still another avenue for contribution. a piece of land is one example of such an asset. first, the islamic bank and the customer engage in a cooperation agreement. then the islamic bank uses a wakalah to provide agency to the consumer in the suggested mushrika mutanisa credit card scenario. this would initiate the procedure. unlike conventional credit card accounts, the capital for an islamic credit card account is funded by the cardholder and the islamic financial institution. when customers buy an asset for themselves (and the islamic bank), they commit to buying more of the bank's shares in the future according to a prearranged schedule of payments. the customer's shares in the islamic bank will be gradually transferred to them after the completion of each periodic payment. in the case of both profits and losses, the former will be distributed to the partners at a specified ratio. at the same time, the latter will be allocated to and borne by each partner by the amount of money they initially invested. aaoifi further mandates that account holders and issuers pay all fees associated with managing an islamic credit card account. because an islamic credit card account is a joint account, this is the case. payment for these charges can be made instantly from the islamic credit card's linked bank account. it is possible to avoid interest costs by making timely payments. however, credit cards that require full payment after the grace period have been criticised by many who say that a contract of this sort is not legal. these people argue that the contract is illegal because it does not comply with consumer protection regulations. some muslims view entering into such a contract as a promise to engage in behaviour forbidden by islam, even if the debt is paid in full and on time. why? because participating in it is seen as a public declaration of intent to engage in behaviour islam forbids. they have this opinion because they believe that by joining the group, one is promising to engage in activities explicitly banned by islam. because they see participation as an agreement to engage in ways that go against islamic principles, they condemn it. those who hold this view are committing themselves to act in a way that is contrary to islamic beliefs, but they nonetheless have widespread support. since riba is forbidden in islam, muslims may not be allowed to have some types of credit cards, such chowdhury et al., american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 1-8 7 as those that levy extra costs for cash withdrawals (also known as wakalah fees), since they incorporate the element of riba. to rephrase, a buy-and-sell mechanism does not meaningfully govern the operation of tawarruq-based cards. the asset's hypothetical purchasers and sellers both exist only in mind. that is a false dichotomy on both sides. this allows for legitimate business transactions, which starkly contrasts islamic teachings. as a direct result, it will be harmed by this. scholars from all four schools of fiqhfiqh oppose the ujrah paradigm because bank fees appear to benefit a loan. since riba forbids the lender from obtaining any advantage from the loans, the lender cannot profit from them. this is a significant criticism leveled against the ujrah paradigm. the mudaraka mutanaqisa paradigm seems more by sharia law based on what has been presented thus far. conclusions some people believe that interest must be paid on all balances carried over from month to month when using a typical credit card. some adherents of this school of thought argue that credit card use by customers of islamic banks is permissible. one school of thought holds that customers of islamic banks are not permitted to use credit cards because doing so constitutes a form of advance payment subject to interest. in light of this understanding, the islamic fiqh academy of india has issued a fatwa declaring that possessing a credit card is forbidden by islam. knowledge about shariah is necessary for the study to be explored ideally. so, further research into islamic credit cards is needed to find the best option for practising muslims. author contributions: conceptualization, m.s.a.c., a.m.s.., h.u., m.s.h. and m.a.; methodology, m.s.a.c.; software, n/a.; validation, n/a.; formal analysis, n/a.; investigation, m.s.a.c., a.m.s.., h.u., m.s.h. and m.a.; resources, m.s.a.c., a.m.s.., h.u., m.s.h. and m.a.; data curation, n/a.; writing – original draft preparation, m.s.a.c., a.m.s.., h.u., m.s.h. and m.a.; writing – review & editing, m.s.a.c. and m.s.h.; visualization, c.k.; supervision, m.s.a.c.; project administration, m.s.a.c.; funding acquisition, m.s.a.c., a.m.s.., h.u., m.s.h. and m.a. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: n/a. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references alkhan, a. m., hassan, m. k., & hasan, r. 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2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 28 a study of the stylistic features and effects of english football news jing huang school of foreign languages dalian university of technology dalian, china e-mail: jazlynhuang61@163.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9571-481x dr. shuo cao professor school of foreign languages dalian university of technology dalian, china e-mail: caoshuo@dlut.edu.cn https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3818-9892 fang yue school of foreign languages dalian university of technology dalian, china e-mail: yf1101123@163.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2986-9368 received: august 29, 2021 accepted: september 30, 2021 online published: december 31, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1529 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1529 abstract the study investigates the stylistic features of english football news from the perspective of general stylistics. stylistics, as a discipline based on modern linguistic theories, turns to studying non-literary texts from the perspective of stylistics. the study examines english football news from the three levels of stylistic analysis, namely lexis, syntax and semantics. compared with other news types, english football news are less attracted to linguistics, and most of the previous studies are focused on the research of the title. this study employs samples of english football news from the official website of the 2018 world cup in russia. the findings of this study suggest that at the lexical level, the use of technical terms, abbreviation, nicknames, neologism and numbers highlights the uniqueness of english football news in lexical use, thereby saving space, increasing readability and narrowing the distance between news editors and readers; at the syntactic level, the special stylistic features of english football news are mainly reflected in the unmarked theme and singular form of a plural concept; and the use of rhetorical devices such as metaphor, hyperbole and personification to achieve semantic variation reflects the stylistic features of english football news at the semantic level. keywords: english football news, stylistic analysis, stylistic effect, stylistic feature. jel classification codes: a19, a39, b49, c10, c60. mailto:e-mail:%20jazlynhuang61@163.com mailto:e-mail:%20jazlynhuang61@163.com mailto:%20e-mail:%20yf1101123@163.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 29 introduction research background among all sports in the world, football is known as the “world’s first sport”. the number of football fans is astounding about half of the world’s population. the fifa world cup, held every four years, is the most popular major sporting event in the world and the focus of media attention around the world. taking the 2018 fifa world cup russia as an example, there were 736 athletes from 32 teams participating in this tournament, and over 214 countries and regions broadcast and reported the world cup. the media plays an important role in spreading the influence of football. it is relying on the widespread of media that the charm of football can be presented to the audience. english football news is the most common way for people to learn about football, which is usually spread on the internet, newspapers, television or radio. it is the most important way of information dissemination and has penetrated into people’s lives. and stylistics, as a discipline based on modern linguistic theories, turns to study nonliterary texts. however, there are very few theses on the stylistic study of english football news reports, and most of the theses study the stylistic features of political news and financial news. therefore, the author believes that it is necessary to broaden the field of stylistic research. in addition, among all the researches on english football news, the author finds out that most studies focus on the characteristics or translation of the title. therefore, this thesis analyzes the stylistic features of english football news of the official website of the 2018 russia world cup from the level of lexis, syntax and semantics. research significance and purpose with the vigorous development of football, football news reports play an important role as an important medium for the spread of football matches and football spirits. those reports have become one of the indispensable media for people in all walks of life to understand the news of football in a timely and effective manner because of its rich language, timely update and rapid dissemination. stylistic research is also becoming more and more popular in the study of practical subjects, and news reports are one of them. besides, as a global language, english is the most common way of presenting football news. therefore, it is of great significance to study the stylistic features of english football news reports. on the one hand, this study is conducive to enriching and broadening the research perspective and research results of football news and stylistics theories. from the perspective of football news, previous researches on football reports are mostly metaphorical research, rhetorical research, translation studies, which rarely involve stylistic research. stylistic research pays more attention to the study of literary works in terms of vocabulary and grammar. there are few analyses of football reports, and most of the relevant researches collected are mainly about financial news or international political news. on the other hand, it can provide a reference for the learning and teaching of football news english and also give hints for the preparation of football english editors and related football english textbooks. with the deepening of the internationalization of english, chinese english newspaper and periodicals are constantly improving. by analyzing the stylistic features of football news reports on the official website of the world cup, this thesis allows the editors of news english in china to deeply understand the characteristics of the mainstream english newspapers, and provides a reference for future news editing work, thus promoting the football and other sports communication of china with the outside world to some extent. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 30 this thesis analyzes the football news reports of the official website of the 2018 world cup (www.fifa.com/worldcup/). the specific research questions are as follows: 1. what stylistic features are there in english football news reports at the levels of lexis, syntax and semantics on the official website of the world cup? 2. what are the significances and effects of the stylistic analysis of english football news? by studying the above two questions, this thesis aims to reflect the stylistic features of english football news reports and investigate the specific language phenomena and characteristics of english football news reports. furthermore, it provides enlightenment and references for the learning and teaching of football news english, news english editing and textbook writing. relevant concepts the classification and basic features of english football news should be introduced before summarizing the theoretical framework of this research, based on the definition of style and stylistic, and the levels of stylistic analysis. introduction to english football news with the rapid development of football events at home and abroad, the world cup, premier league and many other football events have been successfully held, and english football news has received widespread attention all over the world. the following part briefly outlines the definition and classification of english football news, and then introduces its basic features. 1. definition and classification to begin with, we have to introduce the definition of news. according to journalism texts, some western experts have defined news as “an account of something real” (campbell & roland, 1961), “something that has actually happened” (harriss, johnson & leiter, 1981), “truthful and complete accounts of the social world” (altheide, 1976). the word “news” is derived from “new”. the etymological meaning of the word contains “new news” and “new report”, hence the core of “news” is “new”, that is, news is the important facts that readers should know but do not know. as a specific type of english, news english has its unique linguistic features and stylistic features. according to crystal and davy (1969), news english is a synthesis and blend of many different news writing features. the most basic function of news is to report news events in a timely manner. therefore, zhang jian (1994) believes that news english generally refers to english with news features used in the news, in line with the requirements of news reports and news dissemination. as a branch of news english, english football news is not just a collection of numbers, nor a simple description of victory and failure. english football news is the information about current football events written in english. this may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. there are four main types of football news: hard news, feature stories, depth reporting and column (zhang jicheng, 2001). hard news, also called “live news” is to tell readers the process of events in a straightforward manner. feature stories can be any event related to football, that is, an interesting event that can draw the readers’ attention on the spot, rather than grasping the game from a global perspective. the basic difference between hard news and feature stories is that hard news tells readers about the course and outcomes of the game, and feature stories are usually for entertaining readers. depth reporting attempts to link news events with other events https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 31 or reports; so that news events will contain the author’s point of view. the column is the free land of football news. columnists can judge, make recommendations and even talk about themselves. writers have the priority to creatively express personal opinions. among these four types, hard news relatively shows the universal style of sports news and has objectivity, thus in the present thesis, the author focuses on hard news. 2. basic features because of the difference in field and tenor, english football news has its own unique features. as for the field, football news covers a broad range, including games, clubs, athletes and training. and football news is mainly to meet the interest of football fanciers. therefore, the language of football news is not as formal as politics, economics and technology. compared with non-sports english news, english football news reveals its own characteristics: (a) football news has a wide range of audiences. with people’s strong desire to participate directly or indirectly in football, football news has received widespread attention. besides football is inspiring and encouraging to readers. (b) football news is strongly international. there are a lot of international exchanges in football, and football news has become the main means of information transmission for this “international society”. (c) football news is always on schedule, without shifting to an earlier or later date. different from other events, football events are predetermined and provided in terms of time and place. in order to ensure fair competition, the competition arena, competitors and time are stipulated and cannot be changed at random. introduction to stylistics the thesis studies the stylistic features of english football news reports under the framework of stylistic and other linguistic theories. the purpose of this part is to provide a theoretical framework for stylistic analysis, first analyzing the definition of style and stylistics, and then introducing stylistic analysis. 1. style and stylistics the longman language teaching and applied linguistics dictionary points out that stylistics are changes in a person’s conversation or writing. generally speaking, it changes from being casual to being formal based on the situation, the interviewers, the place and the topic being discussed or vice versa. that means the style refers to the linguistic diversity of users in a particular language on different occasions. however, scholars have different views based on different perspectives. crystal and davy (1969) propose four common interpretations of style: (a) style refers to a person’s unique language habits of speaking or writing, such as shakespeare’s style and mark twain’s style. (b) style refers to the common language habits of a group of people at one time or for a period of time. for example, the style of public speech, legal documents and news discourse. (c) style has the meaning of evaluation, which refers to the validity of the expression. this means saying the right words in the right way, such as someone's speech with a specific persuasive style. (d) style only refers to the literary language. leech and short (1981) define the term “style” in the following way: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 32 (a) style is a way of using language. (b) style includes choices made from language expression (c) style selection is limited to language selection, involving alternative methods for proposing the same subject. (d) style is in terms of specific areas of language use. in short, style means the language habits of a person or group of people in a particular situation. different situations tend to produce variants of different language use, which in turn produces different linguistic features. therefore, style involves the level of discourse context. as the name suggests, stylistics is a study of style. since the perspectives of the definition of style have different interpretations, different linguistics and scholars differ in the comprehension of the definition of stylistics. leech and short (1981) define stylistics as a study of language use in the field of literature and see it as a collection of linguistics and literature. turner (1973) argues that stylistics is a part of linguistics and focuses on changes in language applications. chinese scholar xu youzhi (2005) also emphasized in the book english stylistics course that modern stylistics is a discipline that explores the style of language use based on the concepts and means of modern linguistics. it generally consists of two parts: general stylistics and literary stylistics. the latter focuses on the study of stylistic features in various literary works, while the former includes the study of the characteristics of various styles. football news reports in this article belong to general stylistics. 2. stylistic analysis language is seen as a system consisting of multiple units, such as phonetics, vocabulary, and grammar. the english language is composed of its phonetic patterns, grammatical rules and a large number of vocabularies. as a branch of linguistics, stylistics studies the linguistic features of different languages at different levels in a scientific and systematic way. in order to capture the stylistic features of the text, we must strictly describe the attributes of the text and perform stylistic analysis at different levels so that people can better handle any text they want to learn. crystal and davy (1969) propose a way to achieve the overall goal of stylistic analysis, that is, to study a particular language or text and to describe and explore it based on a series of interrelated language levels. these levels include phonetics, graphics, syntax, lexis, and semantics. the number and nature of research at each level are determined by the researcher based on the convenience of the work at hand. this thesis will study english football news from the three levels of lexis, syntax and semantics. stylistic features and effects of football news discourse is inseparable from context. there are three concepts that are concerned with situational context introduced by halliday and hasen (1976). it is the field of discourse, tenor of discourse and mode of discourse. the field of discourse refers to what is going on during the communication process and the social activities actually taking place. the tenor of discourse means the social relationship between the participants. the mode of discourse is the channel or medium of communication. therefore, the reliability of the research results is taken into consideration, and the author considers the variability of context factors as much as possible, and limits the field of discourse to english football news related to the world cup from june 14 to july 15, 2018. the mode of discourse is limited to the official website of the russian world cup. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 33 the following part summarizes the stylistic features of english football news from the level of lexis, syntax and semantics. lexical level features the lexical level refers to the choice of a particular word, the position of the word in the sentence and the meaning of the word. in different contexts, individual vocabularies tend to be different patterns, which is closely related to style. experienced journalists are skilled at dealing with the vocabulary of materials, whether formal or informal, complex or simple. at this point, the choice of words depends not only on the subject, the reader, but also on the author's language ability. the study mainly analyzes english football news reports from these aspects: technical terms, abbreviation, nicknames neologism and number. 1. technical terms technical terms refer to the unified terms for something specific in a particular field. the meaning of the terminology is precise, single, and not emotional, and generally does not need to be understood by context. each industry has vocabularies and phrase groups dedicated to that field. there are specific words and preferred grammatical forms in the technical field. some words or a collection of words can even represent one field (xu youzhi, 2005). understanding football terminology is the first step of reading football news. football news uses a large number of professional terms in the description of various football games. those words or phrases are the biggest obstacles for laymen, especially second language learners, to understand the texts. however, “understandability” is the most obvious feature of the technical terms in english football news compared to terms in other fields. in order to continuously expand its influence and market value, almost every sport will try its best to attract more people’s interest. thus, compared with terms in science and economy, the technical words of football are easier to understand. here are some examples: (1) antoine griezmann’s lofted free kick from the french right was nodded into his own net by mario mandzukic. (july 15, 2018) free kick is a way to restart the game after a foul in a football match. free kick in football can be divided into direct free kick (the kicker can directly score the ball into the goal of the offending team) and indirect free kick (the kicker must not score directly, and the ball must be touched by other players before entering the goal). (2) a cross from the french right-hand side was handled by the croatia no4, with a penalty awarded after a var review. (july 15, 2018) cross is a technical movement and tactic that is often used in football matches. it refers to a medium-to-long-range pass from a wide area of the field towards the center of the field near the opponent’s goal. it intends to create an angle that allows the forwards to aim for the goal more easily. there are four types of cross: chipped cross, in swinging cross, out swinging cross and grounded cross. penalty is short for “penalty kick”. it is a free kick at the goal from the penalty spot, which is awarded to the attacking team after a foul within the penalty area by an opponent. as can be seen from the above examples, technical terms in football are mostly words with special usage. all industries, to different levels of degree, have codes associated with a particular field of activities. the more specialized the field, the more technical words will be. therefore, the number of technical words involved in different sports news is also different. among all kinds of sports, the technical terms of football should be relatively more. below are some more examples: lofted ball, take kick, offside trap, corner area, right back, forward, long pass, https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 34 deceptive movement, overhead kick, level the score and so on. these words make up the unique lexis of english football news. 2. abbreviations english football news is concise and includes as much news information as possible within a limited space, hence abbreviations are widely used. abbreviations is a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole. abbreviations can replace a lengthy or complex set of words or phrases. in this way, it can save the number of words in news, and make the readers feel simple and easy to remember, while making rational use of space. the most common type of abbreviations in english football news is acronyms. acronyms refer to the word formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term. the abbreviations that often appear in english football news are mainly divided into three categories: (a) names of organizations and events: afc=asian football confederation, fifa= fédération internationale de football association, uefa= union of european football associations, csl= chinese super league; (b) names of football clubs: barca=barcelona, juve=juventus, mufc=manchester united football club; (c) conventional football terms: mvp=most valuable person, var=video assistant referee, vs=versus. 3. nicknames the extensive use of nicknames is a unique and interesting stylistic feature in english football news. nicknames refer to names that are generally accepted by football news practitioners and football audiences in addition to official names. in football news reports, the player’s nickname is often used to represent his real name. (3) and les bleus emulate their heroes of 1998－including coach didier deschamps in securing their second world cup title. (july 15, 2018) les bleus in english means “the blues”. it refers to the france national football team. france national football team is given this nickname by the media and supporters because of the blues shirts each player wear. (4) modric certainly believes that every member of the vatreni squad can leave russia with heads held high and memories that will last a lifetime. (july 15, 2018) vatreni squad refers to croatia national football team. the croatian team’s home jersey is made up of red and white plaids, so it is called “the vatreni squad”. unlike most teams’ solid or lined shirts, croatia’s shirts are unique on international football stage. the use of nicknames in football news not only makes the article more vivid, but also gives readers a sense of intimacy. therefore, compared with other styles of news reports, football reports pay more attention to vividness and life-orientation. the use of nicknames is a way to achieve this goal. 4. neologism language has constantly changed with the development of society, so a large number of new words have emerged in the mass media. neologism refers to new words or words that have acquired a new meaning. the composition of neologism usually includes the old words given new meaning, the use of hyphens to combine two or more words to construct new words, or to directly create new words. perhaps the tension and excitement of football matches are more https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 35 likely to inspire enthusiasm and inspiration. journalists of english football news are very good at creating and using neologism. below are some examples: (5) it also underscored why…, against nigeria and a lionel messi-spearheaded argentina, is among the forerunners for the adidas golden glove. (july 10, 2018) lionel messi-spearheaded is a compounded new word in which “lionel messi” is an argentine professional football player who serves as captain of argentine national football team and “spearhead” means to lead an activity or organized effort. this new word succinctly emphasizes the information of the argentine national football team to the reader. (6) we spoke afterwards to the budweiser man of the match, a newly-crowned world cup champion. (july 15, 2018) newly-crowned is also a compounded new word which is often found in english football news. these new words are often related to characteristics of sports teams, games and tactics, such as joint-leading, free-kick, sweetly-struck and hat-trick. these neologisms are vivid and full of creativity. the use of these new words has greatly increased the vividness and appeal of english football news. in addition, news reports pursue novelty and uniqueness, and the use of neologism can give readers a refreshing feeling. 5. numbers in football news reports, the number contains a lot of information, which is one of the indicators to measure the value of football news reports, and is also a very important stylistic feature. examples are as follows: (7) the 32-year-old appeared determined to savour the present before turning his attention to the future. (july 14, 2018) (8) france have won the 2018 fifa world cup russia after defeating croatia 4-2 in a thoroughly entertaining final…. (july 15, 2018) (9) in both the champions league final in 2015 and the uefa euro 2016 final, i ended up with the taste of defeat. (july 14, 2018) (10) with four goals in all at russia 2018, he is france’s second highest scorer at a single world cup after just fontaine, who struck an incredible 13 goals at sweden 1958. (july 15, 2018) the number in example 7 is used to describe the football players and is often used to describe the athlete’s height, weight, age and so on. the number in example 8 is used to describe the score of the game, which is common in football news reports; the number in example 9 is used to describe the concept of time. football news is known for its timeliness and the accuracy of time is very important in football news. the number in example 10 is used to describe the record of a certain athlete or club. in football news, these records can be guidance for future predictions of the game. through these numbers, readers can quickly grasp the time of the game, the score, the distance, the difficulty of the action and other information. the numbers also help readers get information quickly and comprehensively while reflecting the authenticity of the news. syntactic level features syntax focuses on the internal structure of sentences and how those sentences function in sequences. analysis of the syntactic feature in football news is an important step when we analyze the stylistic features of english football news. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 36 as a secondary type of news english, football news english must conform to the basic characteristics of accurate, brief and intelligible of news english. in addition, due to the timeliness of football news and the limitations of the layout, football news english has formed some characteristics that are different from general english. the comprehensive analysis of the syntactic level of this paper can help english learners understand the sentence characteristics of english football news. the author will conduct the analysis of english football news from two aspects: thematic structure and singular form of a plural concept. 1. thematic structure in stylistics, theme refers to the initial unit of a clause. subject is the person or thing about whom the statement is made. in english football news, the theme and subject of most short sentences are overlapped, which is called unmarked theme, which can make the order of the sentences tend to be normal, reduce the pressure of reading, and meet the requirements of information transmission. below are some examples: (11) ivan perisic worked tirelessly throughout the 120 minutes, and his goal sparked a croatian comeback. the inter milan man could even have had a decisive brace in normal time, denied only by the woodwork. (july 11, 2018) in this short paragraph, “ivan perisic”, “his goal” and “the inter milan man” all serve as both the theme and subject of each clauses, which makes the narrative clear and easy to understand, thus saving readers’ time and effort in reading. these features account for a large proportion of english football news. (12) on saturday they will set about securing third place, which would be the country’s best ever world cup placing. (july 11, 2018) marked themes also exist in english football news, but the number of marked themes is relatively small compared with the unmarked theme. besides, almost all marked themes are adverbial clauses, not objective clauses. this is because the objective theme completely reverses the word order which is full of drama color. the football news reports mainly focus on transmitting information, and do not focus on the description. in addition, the adverbial themes in the football reports are mainly adverbial of time, place, condition and concession, which is used to explain the time, place and necessary conditions of the events. in example8, the subject of the clause is “they” while the theme of the clause is “on saturday” used to tell readers the time of the game. 2. singular form of a plural concept like other english news, the syntactic features of simple sentences and extended simple sentences, passive voice, and simple present tense are more used in english football news. however, compared with other news english, the unique syntactic features of english football news are reflected in the singular form of a plural concept. according to english grammar, the singular noun subject must be followed by a singular verb, and the plural noun subject must be followed by a plural verb. but in english football news, when the subject of a sentence is the name of a club or team, predicate verbs often are plural forms. here are some examples: (13) belgium meet france on tuesday seeking a spot in the world cup final. (july 10, 2018) (14) croatia have reached their first fifa world cup final, coming from behind to defeat england… the decisive strike. (july 11, 2018) according to the general grammatical rules, these sentences undoubtedly violate english grammar: the singular form of the noun subject follows the plural form of the predicate verb. but https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 37 in these examples, the singular form of the subject: belgium refer to belgium national football team and croatia refer to croatian national football team. their forms are singular, but actually, they include all members of the national team, so the following predicate verbs are in plural form. semantic level features semantics is devoted to the study of meaning. semantic deviation refers to “the generation of linguistic effect involves a particular change in the cognitive sense of a language unit, such as a word or phrase” (hu zhuanglin, 2000). the level of semantics concentrates on how the cohesive devices, discourse pattern, rhetorical devices contribute to the meaning of the text as a whole. in english football news, semantic deviation is often realized by rhetorical devices, which can make the language vivid and easy to understand. in this article, the writer will focus on rhetorical devices to analyze the meaning of the text as a whole. 1. metaphor metaphor is a figure of speech that directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. it may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. metaphor connects things that seem to be unrelated. it helps to create the appeal that non-visual language does not have, and enables information recipients to understand the spirit of information more vividly and deeply, aiming to make the specific image of the news stand out. compared with the simile, the use of metaphor is more flexible and more vivid, therefore, metaphor is widely used in english football news. below are some examples: (15) the belgians swarmed all over their opponents going forward, while remaining watertight at the back. (july 10, 2018) the reporter compares the belgian football team to a large group of insects. it vividly shows the oppression and fast movement of belgian football players, creating imaginative images for the readers. (16) late in the game, as their opponents pushed forward… the contest, batshuayi entered the fray. (july 10, 2018) (17) england primed for midfield battle royale (july 10, 2018) the above two examples connect the two different fields of the battlefield and football-field, which can not only render the fierce atmosphere of confrontation in the game, but also satisfy people’s “heroic complex” and “victory complex” the use of these metaphors not only allows us to understand the characteristics of the football field, but also highlights and emphasizes the characteristics of football events, providing viewers with a new perspective on football, and inspiring people's imagination and association. 2. hyperbole hyperbole also called overstatement is a very common rhetoric device in english football news. hyperbole is the use of rich imagination to purposefully enlarge or reduce the image features of things on the basis of objective reality. it can highlight the essence of things, strengthen the author's feelings, and arouse the reader's rich imagination and resonance. here are some examples: (18) it was only afterwards that we realised the scope of what we did, when we saw the surge of supporters – a sort of human tsunami. (july 12, 2018) in this example, “tsunami” refers to an extremely large wave in the sea caused by an earthquake. the journalist describes the surge of france’s supporters as human tsunami after france won the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 38 1998 fifa world cup. this exaggeration leaves a strong impact on readers and fully demonstrates the success of the french national football team. (19) i’m not someone who talks a lot, but i do work my socks off. (july 13, 2018) this word is used to describe pavard, france’s unexpected heroes in the 2018 world cup. “work my socks off” is a kind of exaggeration, which reveals pavard’s unimaginable efforts out of the games indicating that his hard work will finally get paid off. 3. personification personification is a rhetorical figure that attributes human nature or character to animals, objects or abstract notions. personification can make readers feel more intimate, enhance the appeal of news, enrich language expression, and make the smooth game process full of life. below are some examples: (20) lifting england’s disappointed heads, less than 72 hours after their world cup dream slipped away, will be a real test for gareth southgate. (july 13, 2018) in this example, “slip away” means to go somewhere quietly and quickly, especially without being noticed. the reporter attributes human behavior to “world cup”, which vividly tells readers that england’s dream of world cup cannot be realized after they were defeated by belgium. (21) “it’ll go down as a successful world cup for us, but i'm convinced that even better awaits us in the future.” (july 14, 2018) this sentence is said by eden hazard, a famous belgian footballer, after belgium won the 2018 fifa world cup russia bronze medal. the word “await” fully demonstrates the optimistic attitude of eden, indicating that they will not stop and will strive for better results in the ensuing matches. the use of personification allows readers to virtually feel the temperature and emotions of the news content. conclusion for a long time, the research of english football news has not attracted enough attention from scholars. based on the theory of stylistics, this thesis makes a comprehensive analysis and description of the stylistic features of english football news from three levels. at the lexical level, the use of technical terms, abbreviation, nicknames, neologism and numbers highlights the uniqueness of english football news in lexical use, thereby saving space, increasing readability and narrowing the distance between news editors and readers; at the syntactic level, the special stylistic features of english football news are mainly reflected in the unmarked theme and singular form of a plural concept; the use of rhetorical devices such as metaphor, hyperbole and personification to achieve semantic variation reflects the stylistic features of english football news at the semantic level. on the theoretical level, this study broadens the research field of english football news and provides guidance for practical stylistic researches. on the practical level, this thesis allows chinese news english editors to understand the characteristics of english football news in depth, and gives hints for future news editing work, thus promoting the football communication of china with the outside world to some extent. although this thesis contributes to the research of english football news, there are still some shortcomings in this thesis: this thesis is confined only to a lexical-, syntacticand semantic-level stylistic study of english football news reports from a macroscopic perspective. however, due to time and space constraints, the microscopic perspective research at each level will be dealt with in the future. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 39 author contributions conceptualization: jing huang, fang yue data curation: fang yue, jing huang formal analysis: jing huang funding acquisition: shuo cao project administration: shuo cao software: fang yue validation: jing huang, fang yue writing – original draft: jing huang writing – review & editing: shuo cao conflict of interest statement the authors declare that they have no competing interests. acknowledgments this work was supported by the national social science foundation of china (grant number 19byy088). references altheide, d. l. (1976). creating reality: how tv news distorts events. beverly hills, ca: sage publications. campbell, l. r., & roland, e. w. (1961). how to report and write the news. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall. crystal, d., & davy, d. (1969). investigating english style. bloomington, il: indiana university press. halliday, m. & hasen, r. (1976). cohesion in english. london: longman. harriss, j., leiter, k., & johnson, s. (1981). the complete reporter. new york, ny: macmillan. hu, z. l. (2000). theoretical stylistics. beijing: foreign language teaching and research press. leech, g. n. & short, m. h. (1981). style in fiction. london: longman. turner, g. w. (1973). stylistics. london: penguin books. xu, y. z. (2005). english stylistics. beijing: higher education press. zhang, j. (1994). journalistic english: style and analysis. shanghai: shanghai foreign language education press. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 40 zhang, j. c. (2001). practical sports english. beijing: world publishing corporation copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 36 jurgen habermas and his contribution to the theory of deliberative democracy dr. aleksandar jovanoski associate professor of sociology law faculty – kicevo university of st. clement of ohrid – bitola, macedonia e-mail: aleksandarjovanoski3@gmail.com, aleksandar.jovanoski@uklo.edu.mk dr. kire sharlamanov full professor of sociology international balkan university – skopje, macedonia e-mail: sharlamanovk@gmail.com abstract the paper presents jürgen habermas' epistemological views on the theory of deliberative democracy. habermas has been constructing a series of assumptions since the 1970ies about his theory of communicative action to overcome the crisis of legitimacy. this position stems from the critique of the deep chasm that exists between the "constitutional-democratic legal order" as a normative framework and how forms of social power are imposed to undermine the legitimate process of passing laws. the course of habermas's argumentation theorizing about communicative action and the communicatively based process of (democratic) political decisionmaking brings with it the potential to break with the procedural argumentation of the representatives of the so-called aggregate models of democratic practice. for the development of the theory of deliberative democracy, its sociological sharpness may be important, with the help of which the social basis of legal projects and public policies leads to the clarification of the external tension that exists between facticity and validity. thus, habermas respects the differences between facts and norms in every contemporary concept of law. this can be called the legal theory of deliberative democracy that has shaped the modern understanding of the conception and practice of deliberative democracy. keywords: deliberative democracy, jürgen habermas, communicative action, facts, norms, sociology, political science. introduction introduce the problem although the term "deliberative democracy" is thought to have been first used by joseph bassett (1980) in the context of interpreting the us constitution as a set of principles that ensure effective public "deliberation," especially in congress the development of this form of democracy, owes most to the two most prominent authors and founders in contemporary political philosophy and the theory of morality in politics: john rawls and jürgen habermas. briefly, before exposing jürgen habermas's view and influence on the development of the theory of deliberative https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 37 democracy, brief prehistory of theorizing what is called the deliberative model of political decision-making in the united states will be presented. namely, john gastil and william keith note that the reflections on the democratic novelty can be found in the books of mansbridge (1983) beyond adversary democracy; then benjamin barber's (1984) bestseller strong democracy, fishkin's (1988) popular atlantic mounty essay in august 1988 the case for a national caucus, and similar texts from the 1980-ies (cited by gastil & keith, 2005). the treatment of this new form of democracy can also be represented by contrast. de griff points out the theory of deliberative democracy understood as the essential opposite of the pluralistic or group-interest political representation reaches a further contrast, a contrast in which the previous legitimation of aggregate liberalism (in which the parties most often represent whole) is replaced by legitimacy due to "the rational acceptability of the law (or law) to all concerned, and where rational acceptability can be established only under conditions of free and open deliberation" (de greiff, 2002: 377). such definitions of deliberative democracy include the definition given by joshua cohen when he says that: at the heart of the theory is the belief that the results (of political decision-making aj) are legitimate insofar as they receive express consent by participating in the authentic deliberation of all those subjects to whom the question relates` (cohen, 1989: 17-34) similar to de griff and cohen, ian shapiro places the contemporary debate on the future of the theory of democracy and political representation in a framework that determines, on the one hand, the already suppressed literature on aggregate models of democracy and the literature on direct forms of political decision-making. the latter is partly motivated by the impatience with the aggregate model. according to shapiro, the theorists of the deliberative model of democracy seek to find a more robust and solid ground for common interest (or good) than the sum of already established voting preferences (shapiro, 2003: 10). method given that this is theoretical research, the paper uses several characteristic methods such as discursive analysis, bibliographic analysis, content analysis, and similar semantic and analytical tools. review literature the first text to mention deliberative democracy is considered to be joseph basset's deliberative democracy published in the collection of robert goodwin and william shambra how democracy was constituted (goldwin & shambra, 1980). the term was later used by manin (1987) and joshua cohen in 1989. dryzek (1990) has published a book entitled discursive democracy: politics, policy, and political science, which outlines the basic theoretical perspectives on deliberative democracy. this book has a special historical significance, especially considering that dryzek is considered a follower of habermas's tradition in discourse, and habermas's most important book on deliberative democracy between facts and norms (1996) was published six years later. some authors go so far as to characterize dryzek as a liberal state-centric conspirator of deliberative democracy, and as such distinguish him from the hard advocates of pure deliberative democracy such as habermas (see chambers, 2003). although many authors (e.g., blau, 2007) criticize this parallelism in the use of discursive and deliberative democracy as synonyms primarily due to epistemological differences it is quite certain that the authors think of the same kind of democracy the deliberative, hence this book. can be considered one of the https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 38 pioneering works in the development of theory. the era of discursive development of the theory of deliberative democracy is usually considered to be in the 90-ies of the last century. jürgen habermas standpoints: a theory of communicative action the theoretical views of the theory of deliberative democracy, of one of the most important (later) representatives of the frankfurt school, and according to many perhaps the most important philosopher of the second half of the last century, can be said that are built within a broader philosophical system. habermas begins this system with an epistemological review of what he calls a theory of communicative action (early 1970ies) and ends with views of a shared and future political identity of a common europe built towards the turn of the century. throughout these few decades of habermas's opus, it is possible to locate several constant and consistent positions that form the framework of his sociological or philosophical teaching on politics and the field of politics. above all, it is the insistence on the moral dimension in all types of political action and all conditions, the transformation of individual political action into collective action, for which dialogue is necessary. in the mid-1970-ies, habermas developed his theory of communicative action1. to this end, habermas relies, among other things, on (but also criticizes) some of the views of hannah arendt one of the last most important representatives (or followers) of critical theory. in his essay (1976) entitled hannah arendt's communicative concept of power, habermas accepts her break with weber's views and the views of his followers within the frankfurt school, who perceive power (primarily political power) in terms of rational purpose. an actor who is solely interested in the success of his action. with this position, habermas breaks out of the trap into which horkheimer and adorno2 fall a few decades earlier. in that case, the one who acts in the field of politics acts primarily through the so-called "strategic" and less through "communicative" action. however, the turning point at which habermas steps away from arendt's views is to give space to strategic action in the realm of the political. in the context of such a created political practice, "legitimate power arises from those who form a form of shared belief in communication, which is protected from coercion." such "shared beliefs" create legitimate power that strategic actors later complete. competition between strategic actors can take the form of normalized, i.e., institutionalized power, but it can never become legitimized power (habermas, 1976: 112,182,183). in the very beginnings of the conception of the theory of communicative action, habermas' dilemmas about the justification of certain views are present. what habermas begins in the first part of the two-volume theory of communicative action (1984) the justification of the communicative way of rational action of each subject in the process of policy-making, reaching a common consensus and political decision-making he concluded with between facts and norms (1996), where his sociological aptitude for the social basis of legislative projects and public policies leads to the identification of the external tension that exists between the facticity and validity3. habermas here unequivocally stands out with the necessity of sociological respect for the differences between facts and norms in every contemporary concept of law and laws. namely, the one-sidedness of a several political theories and approaches to the problem of power and governance stems from the inability to point to the deep abyss that exists between the "constitutional-democratic legal order" as a normative framework (probably alienated and inappropriate to reality) and "ways to which the forms of social power are imposed to undermine https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 39 the legitimate procedure of passing laws`` (habermas, 1996: 9-17). however, the leap in habermas's argumentation theorizing about communicative action and the communicatively based process of (democratic) political decision-making carries the danger of breaking the procedural argumentation and the evolutionary path of the foundations from which the theory of deliberative democracy later developed. the communicative model of action does not equate action with communication. language is a means of communication that serves for mutual understanding, where actors coming to mutual understanding also coordinate their actions, strive for certain goals ... concepts of social action are determined by how they specify this coordination between target-oriented actions of diverse participants as an intertwining of egocentric calculations of benefits, as a socially integrating consensus on norms and values instilled through cultural tradition and socialization, or as an understanding of the direction of a cooperative process of interpretation. the interpretive achievement on which the cooperation process is based is a mechanism for coordination of actions; communicative action is not exhausted by the act of reaching understanding (habermas, 1984: 101)4. joining arnold gehlen's views expressed in the theory of institutions, habermas would later assess that the communicative contribution to contemporary law should be freed from the repeated guarantee of social cohesion. on the other hand, according to habermas, social integration cannot be based only on rational foundations (individual interests) and the forces of solidarity they need at least more money and power as two integration mechanisms, which to ensure longevity need to be legitimized (habermas, 1996: 59). in the same vein of argumentation, habermas abandons possessive individualism, most prominent of which is represented by immanuel kant's economic theory, and the absolutization of popular sovereignty (which often means the subjugation of individual rights in favor of the tyranny of the majority). the principle of law. according to this principle, the subjective rights of individuals do not refer in themselves to the alienated individual, but are based on the political autonomy of individuals who use it in communication mediation according to which those norms of action apply to which all possibly affected individuals as stakeholders of rational discourse could agree” (habermas, 1996: 138). the assumption of the existence or achievement of common beliefs embodied through mutual communication is a significantly different conception of political decision-making or policy-making through mutual coercion. however, some authors seriously reprimand habermas for being critical of the possibility of legitimizing power in completely safe conditions or conditions that are free from any potential for coercion5. this view is shared by jane mansbridge, among others, and is largely due to the precondition for making politically legitimate decisions through strategic action, which is completely free from any kind of coercion. the whole political teaching of habermas democracy begins with the need to identify the basic ethical postulates that underlie any communicative (dialogical) political action and determine the contour of the future consensus. drawing inspiration and, among other things, upgrading the teachings of peter strawson, habermas sees that "the justification of moral judgments and the responsibility that arises from them is part of the social practice that permeates life and interpersonal relationships." based on the political debate or the process of political decisionmaking on the communicative action or persuasion of each other, habermas assumes that the principle of universality as a subject of debate or deliberation must be understood as impartiality (habermas, 1990: 68). orientation to each other, in the whole political process, implies communicative action in which it is almost impossible for the individual to abstract or separately configure his goals from the socio-cultural environment in which he is socialized and with which https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 40 he is connected. but if the political position of an individual separated from the environment or the community to which he is primordially assumed to belong is obtained, then, according to habermas, such a form of (political) life undoubtedly has rudimentary determinants6. for habermas, there are a several postulates of political action that he cannot agree with. among them, of course, is the claim that the condition of neutrality is satisfied when the individual, formulating moral judgments, fictitiously places himself in the position of every other interlocutor. he then considers that the task of moral argumentation is impossible to achieve in a way that does not provide for dialogue or cooperative efforts, just as the idea of neutrality cannot be reduced to the balance of power. in this way he distinguishes the qualitative difference that separates negotiation from participation in deliberation: participants in public speech tend to clarify the common interest, while in negotiation the compromise is the one that will impose a balance between opposing individual interests (habermas, 1990: 72)7. between facts abd norms: the book that shaped the theory of deliberative democracy at the beginning of the development of habermas's conception of deliberative democracy, there is something he calls a discursive theory8 of the democratic process. according to this habermas view, discursive or deliberative democracy differs significantly from the liberal on the one hand and the republican (communist) interpretation on the other, of democratic politics. for habermas, the liberal view of politics embeds the whole process of political decision-making in the "marketoriented network of relations between private actors" (habermas, 1996: 21). the key embodiment of the whole machinery for the political functioning of the society and the coordination of the various individual interests has the government embodied through the apparatus of the public administration. the position or status of citizens in politics according to the liberal point of view, for habermas is determined by the title of the negative rights of the individual, as opposed to any other individual and the state. furthermore, the process of forming the general will within the liberal view is determined by a competition between the strategic actions of the collectives to achieve a position of power. in this case, there is a clear distinction between society on the one hand and the state on the other. in the end, the conflicting interests of the collectives are forced by compromise to reach the optimal decision for the interests of the largest possible number of individuals, which in most cases arises after a long bargaining procedure and under the label of justice (habermas, 1996: 29). on the other hand, the communitarian/republican explanation of the process of democratic political decision-making, perceived and presented by habermas, practices politics in a way that means much more than a mediation function between different interests. in this case as well as in the liberal view of politics, the procedural form of the whole process is permeated along all lines and aspects, which emphasizes the form of the content. in the republican representation of politics, there is a commitment to a differentiated set of common values that have been established for a long time and which, among other things, make individuals political actors aware of the existence of others as equal and equal to them. according to this view, the immediacy of relations and the orientation of each other concerning to each other creates solidarity that serves as an adhesive for strengthening the political society but at the same time reaching a consensus in a communicative way. in contrast to the liberal view, political participation in the republican view of politics is based on political rights that are positive freedoms. in the embodiment of political thought and general will, the key element is not the market (as with liberals) but the process of public https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 41 communication which is aimed at achieving mutual understanding as to the basis of consensus (habermas, 1996: 23). announcing the theoretical novum on the scene, habermas makes a synthesis of the elements of both views of politics, at the moment when he tries to reduce the value of the procedural dimension of the formation of the general will (as a value legitimized by the previous "convergence of established ethics" convictions``) and which, among other things, is based on communicative assumptions that provide better arguments that enhance the quality of deliberation (communitarian value) and second, on procedures that enable a fair bargaining process (habermas, 1996: 24). given that liberalism legitimizes the democratic process through the compromise that is procedurally reached between the confronting parties, assuming fairness on the elements of representative democracy (general and equal voting rights, the composition of the legislature, decision-making rules, etc.), and republicanism relies on the culturally based background of shared consensus, discursive theory, or the theory of deliberative democracy, in its beginnings, habermas postulates it as a synthesis of the above elements: ... and integrates these into the concept of an ideal deliberation and decision-making procedure. interweaving pragmatic considerations, compromises, discourses of self-understanding and justice, this democratic procedure is based on obtaining a reasonable and just result. according to this procedural point of view, practical reason derives from universal human rights, or a specific ethical substance of a given community, into rules of discourse and forms of argumentation. in the final analysis, the normative content derives from the structure of the communicative action (habermas, 1996: 26). morality and politics in habermas`s theory of deliberative democracy emphasizing the inevitability of a communicatively based political decision-making process in which the public determines the direction of the political, habermas tries and succeeds in strengthening the private autonomy of the individual in the form of negative freedoms. in that way, the imperative of being held accountable for one's public action and taking responsibility is ignited in the individual. this, according to reese-schafer, is the key moment of habermas's theorizing, which is why it was decided at the beginning of the sketching of a discursive theory of democracy to be neutral in terms of both morality and law (reese-schafer, 2004: 10). with this habermas begins the tradition within the discourse of deliberative democracy to identify questions that can be asked as the subject of deliberation. avoiding the practice of enumerating areas that can be deliberated (which we will see later is not the case with his most famous followers) habermas tries to determine at the level of principles the problems that may need to come up in public at the public hearing.  first, the interesting-calculating questions about how to match competing preferences: the question of aggregate overall will.  second, the ethical and political issues of whom we want to become. this question is the subject of hermetic discourses of self-understanding and is directed to the authentic whole will, and  third, the moral-practical question of how we want to act in a just way relates to autonomous overall will (habermas, 1996). by identifying the areas or properties of the problem for which it can be deliberated, habermas already gives the direction in which at least one of the currents in the discourse will develop. it https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 42 thus gave far greater theoretical and epistemic weight to the theory of deliberative democracy. at least for the views of his followers. accused of a proceduralist view of deliberative democracy, habermas seeks to introduce, or rather validate, the normative component of contemporary democratic theory into an intermundium that has a stronger norm than liberal views and yet weaker than communist republicans. building his theory closer to communist views, habermas places deliberative democracy in a deeply decentralized society in which there is an extensive "institutionalization of correspondence procedures and conditions of communication." deliberative democracy also implies a high degree of intersubjectivity in the communication process that flows from representative bodies (parliament for example) to informal networks in/on the public sector. and hence: deliberation is supposed to inevitably provide a medium for more or less conscious integration of the legal community, but this model does not extend to the whole society in which the political system is embedded only between a few subsystems. even according to its procedural selfunderstanding, deliberative politics remains part of a complex society, which as a whole resist the normative approach practiced in legal theory (habermas, 1996: 30)9. many believe that, in fact, habermas, in an attempt to provide a basis for his theory of deliberative democracy, is giving the normative notion to the public. the public in this case would have a less enlightening mission than to form a synthesized form of coexistence of the creations of opinion and administrative decision-making. building the institutions as the locus operandi of this project, habermas in the early 1960ies postulated the deliberative democracy as a simultaneous and normative measure of the present and a real-utopian project of the future10. developing his discursive theory of democracy within the framework of critical theories of law, habermas actually avoids the trap, or rather the weakness, of many of his contemporary theorists to place civil partnership at the center of their theorizing, and often as a point of reference. their views. instead, habermas seeks and succeeds in imposing a comprehensive "citizenship science of law in which he integrates the rules of the rule of law, the logic of separation of powers, the rationality of jurisdiction and even civil law"11. as habermas himself points out in between norms and facts, the relationship between law and politics in the new discursive theory of democracy (deliberative democracy) implies democratic rule of law as an institutionalization of procedures and communication assumptions for the discursive formation of opinions and will, which take place with the help of legitimate law (which in addition guarantees private autonomy) and which on the other hand allows ... the legitimate establishment of law (habermas, 1996: 527). following the influence of habermas's thinking on the theory of deliberative democracy, it is possible to observe continuity throughout his creative life. that continuity starts from his theory of morality, through the discursive theory of democracy to the procedural conception of popular sovereignty12. conclusion undoubtedly, the great contribution of jürgen habermas in the construction of the epistemological postulates of the theory of deliberative democracy that is, of one of the two most important schools in the discourse. habermas' commitment to the project of finding an alternative model of political decision-making is evident from the very beginning of the conception of the theory of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 43 communicative action. what habermas begins in the first part of the two-volume theory of communicative action (1984) the justification of the communicative way of rational action of each subject in the process of policy-making, reaching a common consensus and political decisionmaking he concluded with between facts and norms (1996), where its sociological aptitude for the social basis of legislative projects and public policies leads to the identification of the external tension that exists between facticity and validity. habermas here unequivocally stands out with the necessity of sociological respect for the differences between facts and norms in every contemporary concept of law and laws. another area in which habermas made an invaluable contribution to the theory of deliberative democracy is his distinction between the types of public spheres. distinguishing between the so-called hard and soft environments in the public for political decision-making, habermas emphasized the advantage of the propulsive public where although unlike the solid and binding nature of the hard environments for political decision-making there is no capacity to affect the conclusions of deliberation, there is still room for more extensive treatment of public interest. as habermas explained, soft environments in the public act as a kind of "research context" in which they allow the masses to act as the so-called a resonator or research group, and as such relieved of the burden of legally binding decisions is more sensitive to problems that do not reach the agenda of the formal political system evaluating the process of rationalization as something that carries more weight than the mere constitution of power but less than legitimacy, habermas frees the decision-making process in deliberative democracies from exposing the "populist moods of active citizens." according to his argument, in the end, the identification card is only an additional confirmation of the essential process. that is, as habermas himself points out in, between norms and facts, the communicative structures of the public create what might be called "broadly branched networks of sensors" but they cannot rule, although they respond to existing problems in society. "since it has been established that communicative power cannot exercise power alone, it can still have a significant impact on determining the direction of future policy." this is especially feasible given habermas' remark that if power is tied to institutions to fulfill its function, then power also exists in relationships that are not precisely or formally rounded off. after all, this is one of the strongest arguments of habermas, which develops the idea of discursive or deliberative democracy, and in which argument one of the key positions has civil society. references barber, b. (1984) strong democracy: participatory politics for a new age. berkley, los angeles and london: university of california press. blau, j. (2007). human rights, environmental justice, and popular democracy, rowman & littlefield. cohen, j. (1989). deliberation and democratic legitimacy. in hamlin, a. and pettit, p. (eds.) the good polity: normative analysis of the state, (pp. 17-34), oxford: basil blackwell. chambers, s. (2003). deliberative democratic theory. annual review of political science 6, 30726. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 44 de greiff, p. (2002). deliberative democracy and punishment. buffalo criminal review 5. 373 – 404 dryzek, j. s. (1990). discursive democracy: politics, policy, and political science, cambridge: cambridge university press. dryzek, j. s (2000). deliberative democracy and beyond: liberals, critics, contestations, oxford: oxford university press. fishkin, j. s. (1988). the case for a national caucus: taking democracy seriously. atlantic monthly (august), 18. gastil, j., & keith, w. (2005). a nation that (sometimes) likes to talk: a brief history of public deliberation in the united states. in gastil, j. & levine, p. (eds.) the deliberative democracy handbook (pp. 3-19), san francisco: john wiley and sons. goldwin, r. a., & shambra, w.a. (1980). how democratic is the constitution? washington, dc: american enterprise institute gutman, a., & thompson, d. (1996). democracy and disagreement. cambridge massachusetts: harvard university press, habermas, j. (1976). hannah arendt’s concept communications of power. in social research, 44(1). habermas, j. (1984). the theory of communicative action vol. i: reason and the rationalization of society. boston: beacon press. habermas, j.( 1990). moral consciousness and communicative action. cambridge: massachusetts mit press. habermas, j. (1996). between facts and norms: contributions to a discourse theory of law and democracy. cambridge: polity press horster, d. (1992). jűrgen habermas` rechtspbilosophie, die neue gesellshaft/franfurter heffte, (39), cited in reese-schafer, w. 2004 jürgen habermas ideliberativna demokracija. zagreb: politička misao, 41(4), 3-21. luhman, n. (1993). das recht der gesellschaft. frankfurt am main, 64. manin, b. (1987). on legitimacy and political deliberation. political theory, 15(3), 338-68. mansbridge, j. (1983). beyond adversary democracy. chicago and london: the university of chicago press. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 45 nino, k. s. (1996). the constitution of deliberative democracy. new haven & london: yale university press. rawls, j. (1993). political liberalism. new york: columbia university press. reese-schafer, w. (2004). jürgen habermas i deliberativna demokracija. zagreb: političkamisao, 41(4), 3-21. shapiro, i. (2003). the state of democratic theory, princeton and oxford: princeton university press. notes note1 this assessment is based on the published scientific papers in which habermas begins to develop the theory of communicative action, but according to his intimate confession in the preface to the first volume of the theory of communicative action (1984), he begins by conceptualizing this teaching. as early as the early 1970-ies. namely, in that period his attitude towards durkheim's communicative-theoretical reformulation of the theory of social action, parsons' theory of the social system, and mead's theory of social interaction matured. the positions of these three sociologists serve as the foundation from which he builds the colossal theory of communicative action, in the light of "the need to overcome post-cartesians and methodological solipsism as a scientific approach, and with the help of communicative action to explain the growth of capitalist society." which he has witnessed from a critical distance. when it comes to intimate confession and giving credit to his predecessors and collaborators who influenced his work, the influence exerted by weber's explanation of the sources of occidental rationalism is inevitable. it is also worth noting the great gratitude that habermas sends to thomas mccarthy, his collaborator, and friend, who at a critical time helped habermas to continue his work (habermas, 1984: xxxix), and later as a serious scholar of habermas's works. and theoretical views become the most famous translator of his works into english. note2 in the absence of a solid factor that justifies the purposeful action of political actors, they invoked or reactivated weber's notion of instrumental reason. note3 the reference to 1996 as the date when one of the most influential studies of influential german was published should be considered with caution as it refers to the english translation and edition used here. originally, under the title faktizität und geltung, this book was published by habermas in 1992 and marks a significant contribution to contemporary debates on the future of several scientific disciplines such as sociology of law, theory of law, history of law and, the like, but what some followers of this debate consider habermas's greatest contribution to be the step from the previous framework of legal theorizing. for a paradigm of this skewed view, they take the book of luhmann (1993) das recht der gesellschaft. some authors point out that by extensively presenting the theoretical foundations of communicative action and discursive democracy, habermas made a significant difference in the crystalline analysis. for this, gutman and thomson consider the differentiation of the sociology of law from the philosophy of justice, which in turn places habermas among the successors of kant's theory of cognitive ethics, linking him to a group of theorists such as paul lorengen, ernst tugendant karl otto appeal, but also rawls (1993) himself. however, habermas's ability to distinguish the nuances of a meta discursive debate in which the sociological theory of law and the philosophical theory of justice are differentiated is only able to begin a long series of theorizing in which he seeks to mediate "political theory of deliberative democracy and civil partnership because to ensure sufficient openness is not the rigid constitutionally established state institutions, but the sovereignty of public deliberation." according to rees-schaefer, habermas's virtuosity in avoiding the weaknesses of both disciplinary approaches, "the danger of normative theory of justice not knowing sufficiently rigid political facts and the suspicion that positivism has too much influence on sociological theory results in interdisciplinary theory (probably the author is thinking here of something very close to social theory underlined aj) with which he tries to overcome the double simplification. (gutman & thompson, 1996; reese-schafer, 2004: 8). note4 although in this part the comparison with the views of john rawls as the most important representativeopponent (opponent) of the competing conception of deliberative democracy may seem inappropriate, still pointing out some differences in their argumentation may clarify some of the disciplinary weaknesses in the process or lending theses about deliberative democracy. from the quote, it can be seen that habermas does not even remotely share https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 46 rawls' belief in the contractual formation and reaching of the ruling consensus, nor does the configuration of individual interests according to the british utilitarian tradition take them into a process of self-definition and expression. and a pre-determined political bargaining agenda. on the contrary, they largely depend on the rooting in cultural traditions, and the process of reaching a political consensus depends on the interpretive potentials within the social interaction. although understanding or consensus, according to the theory of communicative action, is relatively easy to achieve, it does not close the scope and duration of the communicative action itself. given rawls' initial views on the attainment of social justice within a "well-organized society" by accepting two universally accepted principles, these extensive ontological aspirations of habermas, despite his disrespect for communist literature (such an assessment stems from in the bibliography of his two volumes of the theory of communicative action no work of any communist is pointed out) create a solid basis for marking the initial positions of the two dominant currents in the discourse of deliberative democracy as a communist-liberal conflict. note5 although here it is worth noting some critical observations of such starting positions of habermas. apart from the fact that this view is very reminiscent of rawls' two principles of social justice, the principle expressed in this view is obviously that he prefers ethics to law. as such, a moral principle does not imply a binding weight as implied or expected by positive legal regulations. that is why, among other things, many institutionally oriented connoisseurs of habermas's thought object that despite the weak normative connotation, the neutrality towards morality and law that marks the quoted position, does not allow maintaining the border that divides these two areas. after all, the tension that habermas intensifies in one way or another only complements the existing and contradictory principle of division between the factual and the justifiable, which persists throughout the argumentation between facts and norms. hence, habermas also distinguishes between the moral principle which, in his view, operates at the level of the "internal structure of a particular argumentation game" and the democratic principle which refers to the level of external institutionalization (reese-schafer, 2004: 10). note6 to this degree of understanding of habermas's position, certain pro-communitarian views are noted, which are shared in some degree also by john rawls in his theory of justice. this is primarily about the need to reach a consensus on shared moral foundations and neutrality as a principle of political debate. however, after these initial positions, some of the insurmountable differences between these two leaders of the theory of deliberative democracy are overseen. first, where for rolls there are formal assumptions of monologue moral reasoning, for habermas, there are rules of the social practice of intersubjective debate. second, rawls believes that the demand for impartiality is sufficient to justify the moral principle of political debate, while habermas seeks de facto agreement to be reached through the rule of impartiality. third, while rawls considers the moral principle to be valid when achieved through the very means of individual reflection, while discussion can only be an aid, habermas is adamant that only collective discussion is a confidential way to access moral knowledge (nino, 1996: 112). note7 these claims are placed by certain authors and critics of habermas's philosophy inappropriate categories of general principles which they call epistemological or ontological constructivism. according to epistemological constructivism, moral judgment is not established as a consequence of the concrete speech, but through its assumptions which, if known, are a reliable way to achieve the desired result. ontological constructivism, on the other hand, is based on the view that the justification of a moral court not just knowledge of that court is created as a result of real discussion, if it satisfies or exceeds the given limitations. note8 in the literature, especially among the followers of the habermas tradition in the development of the theory of deliberative democracy, the practice of synonymous use of certain deliberative and discursive is noticeable. however, the use of these two terms as alternatives creates some ambiguity among contemporary authors and critics of this theory. following in the footsteps of nancy fraser's theorizing within her perspectives and especially the emphasis on "subaltern audiences", john dryzek, as habermas's most important follower and connoisseur, appreciates that discourse theory, however, should be debated democracy. according to dryzek, the existence of alternative public actors (fraser subterranean counter-republic) with an agenda to be aimed at the holders of solid power. in the setting itself, there is a qualitative difference in the content of the process competition versus deliberation (dryzek, 2000: 27). note9 habermas's briefly sketched discursive theory of democracy or deliberative democracy is a continuation of the frankfurt sociological school tradition, which in this author's work is most recognizable in both volumes of the theory of communicative action. the sociological approach to the deliberative model of democracy, where the political system is neither at the top nor at the center of society but is just another subsystem, more specifically a system of action within the wider social system. such assessments must not lead to a way in which the theory of deliberative democracy would be placed exclusively among the theories of the system from modern sociological theories. note10 this assessment is expressed by reese-schafer from the position of a critic with a certain dose of sociological ingenuity (resse-schafer, 2004: 12). note11 this assessment is underlined by horster, 1992: 11-39. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 47 note12 the latter is the subject of his later writings in which he attempts to offer a comprehensive theory of european identity and shared or shared citizenship. this part of habermas's teaching is not the subject of this analysis. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 1 unemployment crisis among fresh graduates dr. nor azilah husin associate professor and deputy dean faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor 40000 shah alam, selangor, malaysia e-mail: nor_azilah@unisel.edu.my https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1513-8550 dr. salina rasli senior lecturer faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor, 40000 shah alam, selangor, malaysia e-mail: rsalina@unisel.edu.my https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2086-380x murugan shri ganesh kumar faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor, 40000 shah alam, selangor, malaysia e-mail: lengchaiimurugan@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9679-9544 ganeswary suppiah department of administrative management and human resource faculty of business and accountancy universiti selangor, 40000 shah alam, selangor, malaysia e-mail: ganeswarysuppiah06@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4151-4927 received: october 01, 2021 accepted: november 04, 2021 online published: november 28, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1461 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1461 abstract this paper attempts to explore the topic of the unemployment crisis among fresh graduates. the two main objectives of the study are to examine the influence factors of the unemployment crisis among fresh graduates in malaysia, and the primary determinant of the unemployment has culminated in many policy implications for higher education. the unemployment rate among fresh graduates increased to 25% in 2020 than the year before, jumping from 13.8%. the null hypothesis is that employer preference, candidate attributes, and economic instability have no significant effect on the unemployment crisis. the information for the paper typically originates from a mailto:nor_azilah@unisel.edu.my https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1513-8550 mailto:rsalina@unisel.edu.my mailto:lengchaiimurugan@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9679-9544 mailto:ganeswarysuppiah06@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4151-4927 https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v10i1.1461 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 2 questionnaire survey method, with one hundred and thirty fresh graduates' participation in this study. the statistical approach is required to analyze numerical data using spss applications. descriptive analyses such as frequency and simple percentages on demographic characteristics were used to analyze data. inferential statistics such as linear bivariate correlation was used to test the formulated hypothesis. the finding demonstrated a significant association between employer preference, candidate attributes, and economic instability with the unemployment crisis. this finding would shed light on more preparation for fresh graduates' employability who preserve searching for a job by the education ministry. hopefully, a revision in the academic higher education curriculum is considered to meet the job market's and stakeholders' needs for better graduate employability. keywords: unemployment crisis, employer preference, candidate attributes, economic instability. jel classification codes: f62, f66, j64, m54. introduction globalization, disruptive technologies, and digital transformation changing lifestyle and consumer tastes provide jobs and careers with extensive opportunities and risks (seng, 2018). moreover, unemployment among graduates in malaysia seems to upsurge year after year with the challenging economic environment. a report by the ministry of education's graduate tracer study (skpg) for 2018 estimated 341,311 graduated from 702 institutions of higher learning and general skills training institutions (ilka). this information consists of 20 public universities, 267 private institutions of higher education, 33 polytechnics, 89 community colleges, 82 vocational colleges, 33 institutes of the ministry of human resources, 19 institutes of the ministry of youth and sports, 11 institutes of the ministry of agriculture and agro-based industry, 146 institutes of the ministry of rural development and two other institutions of higher learning. within six months of graduating, the graduate employability rate for 2018 was 80.2 percent, with 58.6 percent attaining jobs, including in entrepreneurial ship. another 15.7 percent furthered their education; 1.3 percent underwent training for skill improvement, and 4.6 percent were waiting for a job placement which only 19.8 percent contributes to unemployment. in 2020, the unemployment rate for new graduates rose to 25%, up from 13.8 percent the year before, bringing the total number of recent unemployed graduates to 116,161 (consultant, 2021). malaysia's unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in 2020, the highest level since 1993, when it was 4.1 percent, according to the malaysian department of statistics (dosm, 2021). according to datuk seri dr mohd uzir mahidin, chief statistician, unemployment grew to 772,900 people at a rate of 4.8 percent in december 2020, while the number of working people increased by 0.1 percent month-on-month, or 19,300 people, to 15.22 million people (bernama, february 8, 2021). he said the country experienced a slower labour demand in 2020 due to the adverse impact of the covid-19 pandemic. and the health crisis had had a considerable effect on the labour force, which led the unemployment rate to reach above four percent against an average of three percent recorded in the pre-crisis period. meanwhile, mohamad (2020) restated that there were 5.8 out of 10 unemployed people below age 24, and the total unemployment rate was 56.9 percent of unemployed female graduates and 43.1 of the male graduates in 2018. the highest unemployed fresh graduates are from the social sciences, and business & law fields with 35.0 percent and 2.5 percent were the lowest of unemployed fresh graduates from agriculture and veterinary. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 3 unemployment has emerged as a burning issue in the current economic scenario, both in developing and developed countries. this common issue is, however, affected by different factors in every country. as described by the international labour organisation, unemployment occurs when people are without jobs and have been actively looking for work over the past four weeks (morozova, 2017). while unemployment is a natural phenomenon, when the length of unemployment for any individual is too long, this phenomenon becomes a problem. tengku kamarul bahrim, hassan azahari, zulkarnal, sallehhudin, and mohd yusop (2019) detected several consequences of unemployment indirectly among the graduates. firstly, unemployment could lead to criminal activities as unemployed people have lost their support for living. apart from that, mental health can also be affected due to stress and pressures. lastly, unemployment could also be affected by the marriage or family of the unemployed person as money and income are very important. moreover, students at the college usually attend their institution and graduate within a specific time. although graduates want to have moderate incomes based on investment returns, they often face unemployment following graduation. unemployment can happen in the short or long term. natural processes that someone graduates move from one job to another or moving from school to the job market is only valid unemployment in the short time. meanwhile, new graduates entered the workforce and were not gainfully employed for several reasons are longterm unemployment (rajoo, 2016). this scenario reflects how this situation generates competition between graduates who have long graduated but are not employed and have just graduated and looked for a job. verhaest, bogaert, dereymaeker, mestdagh, and baert (2018) pronounce the unemployment crisis issues among fresh graduates in how employers are stereotyped as more likely to prioritize the candidates who have working experience against highly qualified fresh graduates but for experience only in theory. hence, this attitude of employers who prefer this experience had caused many unemployed graduates. thus, the main objective of this study is to investigate the determinants of the unemployment crisis so that it will help fresh graduates find a fit job and help them enhance some skills required by the job market. hopefully, the organization or government should take necessary actions to encourage the unemployed to improve the employment opportunities in reducing the unemployment rate. literature review unemployment crisis almost no consideration has been paid to real the meaning of unemployment. however, it creates the impression that most occupation-centered grant compares unemployment to the absence of paid work (o'halloran et al., 2018). unemployment is described as people who have no job, are actively searching for work, and currently available for work. people who were temporarily laid off and waited to be transferred to the position are also counted in unemployment—high unemployment results in resource wastage and economic misery. unemployment is one of the nation's key issues, whether it is a developed and prosperous country or a poor one. however, while unemployment is a natural occurrence, and this occurrence becomes an issue when the period of unemployment is too long for anyone, particularly for fresh graduates. hossain (2018) argues that if an unemployment issue is not resolved, the contribution to the unemployed graduates, nation, society, and even the country will undoubtedly grow. unemployment is a key concern and represents one nation's below-utilization of energy. all people who are jobless, open to working, and looking for jobs are unemployed. hwang (2017) postulated that college students https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 4 usually attend their institution and graduate within a specific time frame. while graduates want to have sufficient incomes based on investment return, they sometimes face unemployment after graduation. unemployment is detrimental to the individual because it leads to financial deficits based on college debts and educational expenses. if graduates do not have the essential skills to meet employers' needs, then the unemployment rate will increase unnecessarily. many people were mourning and traumatised due to the beginning of this era of global unemployment, which is related causally and temporally to a severe loss of life and disease. the first step in creating a strategic plan for unemployment in the covid-19 period is defining the essence of this phase of failure in so many vital areas. as a result, a significant research issue is how different this unemployment crisis is from past periods of unemployment related to economic fluctuations. according to a considerable body of research, youth unemployment is linked to poor physical and mental health, as well as increased smoking and alcohol intake (thern, 2017). furthermore, adolescence continues to be a fragile time of life, as recent research has shown that the effects of youth unemployment on mental health persist into adulthood, regardless of subsequent unemployment experiences. employer preferences employers prefer the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes (ksa) from fresh graduates (belwal, priyadarshi, & al fazari, 2017). their preference for ksa demands the quality of education for entering a dwindling job market. employers are always hiring unemployed graduates based on their cgpa marks, gender, age, culture, and race (amen, 2014). they have some perceptions about the unemployed graduates as some of them cannot be the best performer to their organization. they feared hiring them for the previous issues that happened with fresh graduates. and employers have more own rules to engage their employees (mulders, 2019). for example, the manager hired the best employer, such as a topper at university with a high cgpa. attitudes of employers who prefer this experience caused many unemployed graduates. moreover, some employers hire an employee who discriminates of age. most of them have the perception that young employees can work fast, more energetic, and complete the task on time. the employers are quickly judging the fresh graduates' attitudes from their first view at resume and interview. rajoo (2016) reiterated that a self-confident attitude would gain graduates' knowledge and skills in a work area. through the experience gained, graduates need to think about solving a problem efficiently and increase productivity. employers' market demand expects job candidates' eager graduates and highly motivated, confident, try to develop their careers and improve productivity. when recruiting a new employee, many employers have a clear preference for younger employees, while preferences for older workers are uncommon (mulders, 2019). employer age of retirement patterns is linked to a reduced selection for younger jobs across the board in all job decisions. employers who are more optimistic about older workers' soft skills (such as consistency and interpersonal skills) and not their strong qualities (such as physical ability and desire to learn) score more senior employees more favourably for recruiting and training full-time jobs. social norms and stereotypes have been shown in the literature to harm older workers' job prospects and behaviour. social expectations on when to retire can affect older workers' longevity and organisations' support for working past the traditional retirement age (mulders, 2019). mncayi, (2016) study stated that unemployment happens because employers are more willing to hire workers with experience. fresh graduates with no experience are stay behind and cause unemployed. based on this argument, the researchers formulated the following hypothesis: h1: there is a significant influence of employer preference towards unemployment crisis. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 5 candidate attributes unemployment is dreadful for young individuals and communities as a whole; nevertheless, the adverse effects of unemployment rates are generally correlated with longer-term unemployment rather than unemployment itself (o'higgins, 2016). young people have felt the most damaging effects of the recession in this region. the rate of long-term unemployment among the young rose by more than a third during the recession. furthermore, this is not the only recent negative development in young people's labour market experiences with long-term implications. in recent years, there has been a growing awareness that joblessness, as it is now commonly referred to, is a cause for concern (verd, 2019). similarly, the rise in temporary and part-time jobs among young people and the long-term effects of these contractual forms are becoming a significant concern. the unemployment rate among fresh graduates is increasing from time to time. this problem happens because of many factors, and we are not going to blame the company only, but the candidates should also be blamed. it is why because the author fined the reason why unemployment among fresh graduates happens. candidates themselves are one reason why unemployment among fresh graduates happens (jayasingam, 2018). some candidates being picky in choosing their job, especially if they have graduated with a bachelor or master. they tend to look for a high-position job. but to get the highest position, candidates need to have a working experience, but most fresh graduates do not have it. additionally, employers prefer skills and experience, capabilities, personal qualities, and skills beyond educational background and are in line with current labour market demands (suppramaniam, 2019). these graduates are too demanding; they tend to reject all the low positions and willing to be unemployed people until they get what they want. this gap between skills needed in the workforce and individuals' skills addresses doubts regarding societies' ability to capitalise on employees (pheko & molefhe, 2017). therefore, the researchers designed the following hypothesis: h2: there is a significant influence of the candidate attribute on the unemployment crisis. economic instability during economic recessions, getting employed will be challenging where human skills will compete with the new technologies. most employers chose machines as their workers to decrease inflation to serve their workers (tengku kamarul bahrim, 2019). he agrees that most companies, especially the factories, would instead choose machines compared to the human workforce where they could decrease the payment of workers and increase the volume of productions. from an economic perspective, being over-educated in the labor market exemplifies graduates who exceed the socially optimal level of education. according to the law of labour supply and demand, they should get a job regardless of their educational attainment. it is at this point that conflicts occur. while the group wants to earn more returns to balance educational costs, ordinary workplaces that require lower academic requirements do not provide sufficient salaries or benefits to make up for the opportunity cost of education (hwang, 2017). when the economy's regular activity is interrupted, economic uncertainty exists. instability erodes interest, resulting in lower investment, lower consumption, lower productivity, and higher unemployment. commodity price swings, interest rate fluctuations, confidence levels, stock market crashes, and black swan events such as the covid19 pandemic may contribute to economic uncertainty (pettinger, 2020). while vo (2019) reported that increased income inequality harms economic development, meaning it leads to a decline in economic growth, particularly in middlehttps://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 6 income countries. the implications of this situation could lower the country's productivity and even cause a slowdown in national development, resulting in job losses. unemployment is traditionally thought to be either a business failure or a market feature (tcherneva, 2017). the former is caused by market flaws like pay rigidities, quest frictions, and matching issues. the latter is a macroeconomic situation that is assumed to emerge spontaneously from market forces, such as the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment. globalization and the reduction of manufacturing jobs were mostly cited as contributing factors to the problem's unavoidable consequence. the general opinion is that some degree of unemployment will always exist, probably growing. substantial economic hardship, especially unemployment and underemployment, has resulted in a slew of socioeconomic and health issues, all of which have contributed to the rise in mortality. however, the relationship between poverty and dying is even stronger (case, 2015). based on the above scenario, therefore, the researchers articulated the following hypothesis: h3: there is a significant influence of economic instability on the unemployment crisis. research framework a research framework has been established between the independent variables and the dependent variable, illustrated in fig. 1. figure 1. research framework methodology research design research design is a form of the procedure of information collection and analysis of the research. this study focused on the three key variables central to the unemployment crisis: employer's preferences, candidate's attributes, and economic instability among fresh graduates in selangor. this study used the deductive method, starting with the hypothesis and ends result would be confirmed or rejected. a quantitative research approach was used in this study, which is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. the descriptive design focuses on collecting the information to answer the unemployment crisis through surveys in selangor state. the survey methods aim to get answers from the respondents, and the fresh graduates were distributed among them, by online google form including the open-ended question. the quantitative is collected according to the established appropriate research methodology and questionnaires and uses research approaches such as structured observation, online surveys, and questionnaires to get results from respondents. the information is gathered by performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques. this approach is the statistical methodology required to analyse the numerical data with the help economic instability candidate attributes employer preferences unemployment crisis https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 7 of applications of spss. the positivistic researchers' conviction is that the social world comprises concrete and unchangeable reality which can be evaluated impartially. the positivist model was predominant in friendly and instructive exploration by giving the significance of utilizing government sanctioned tests and precise perception, try review information, and measurable examination (rahman, 2017). therefore, the quantitative research method is quite influential. data collection the survey instrument aimed to identify the relationships between employers' preference, candidates' attributes, and economic instability and unemployment among graduates. the selection of the group of respondents was made through random sampling of fresh graduates. the questionnaires have been distributed to 130 respondents. all questionnaires were found to be usable for the analysis, obtaining a 100% of response rate. the questionnaire consists of six sections, where the first section a addressed respondent demographics, followed by questions section b relating to the unemployment crisis, the third section, c, is a question about employer's preference, for section d is about candidate's attributes and the fifth section e considered about economic instability, which made use of a likert scale one to seven ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." the respondents of this study were requested to indicate their level of perceptions on a 7-point likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). finstad (2010) contended that 7-point scale likert items are more suitable for electronically transmitted and otherwise unsupervised usability questionnaires since they offer a more precise indicator of a participant's accurate evaluation. the set of questionnaires is formulated based on the chosen variables from the previous studies: unemployment crisis (longe, 2017), employer's preferences (mncayi, 2016), candidate's attributes (hossain, 2018), and economic instability (hwang, 2017). data analysis and findings based on table 1, the males (47.7%) are slightly less than the female respondents (52.3%). the highest age group is from 24 to 28 (years old) (45.4%), showing those who have just graduated, followed by the group category of those from the age of 19 to 23 (years old) (33.1%). for the race group, the indian (48.5%) led the way and followed by the malay (23.8%) and the chinese (20.8%). the majority of the respondents' qualification is from the bachelor's degree group (60.0%), followed by a diploma or stpm holders (20.0%). only (17.7%) of the respondents come from master's degree groups. the results of the duration of the unemployed group of respondents show that (49.2%) have been categorized as less than 6-month unemployed group, (37.7%) less than the 18-month unemployed group, and (10.8%) less than the 12-month are an unemployed group—the type of institution group of respondents shows. almost two-thirds of the respondents (63.8%) are from a private university. the rest (36.2%) are from a public university. most of the respondents are from (53.8%) of the business and accountancy field. it is followed by (17.7%) from arts, and social, (10.8%) from the education field, and (9.2%) from other groups (8.5%) are from the technical. therefore, based on the descriptive analysis, all the respondents seem appropriate to participate in this study. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 8 table 1. demographic profile characteristics frequency % gender 62 47.7 male 68 52.3 female age 19-23 43 33.1 24-28 59 45.4 29-33 26 20.0 34-38 2 1.5 race malay 31 23.8 chinese 27 20.8 india 63 48.5 others 9 6.9 academic qualification master degree 23 17.7 bachelor degree 78 60.0 diploma / stpm 26 20.0 others 3 2.3 duration of unemployment less than months 64 49.2 less than 12 months 14 10.8 less than 18 months 49 37.7 less than 24 months 3 2.3 type of institution public (ipta) 47 36.2 private (ipts) 83 63.8 field of studies technical 11 8.5 education 14 10.8 arts & social science 23 17.7 business and accountancy 70 53.8 others 12 9.2 reliability test table 2 represents the variables of reliability test conducted throughout cronbach's alpha test to test data consistency. the scale of cronbach's alpha test should be more than 0.7 as it was standardized initially. the cronbach's alpha for the unemployment crisis is 0.885, 0.902 for employer's preferences, 0.891 for candidate's attributes, and 0.815 for economic instability, confirming that all the variables are reliable. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 9 table 2. reliability test variables cronbach's alpha item unemployment crisis .885 5 employer preference .902 5 candidate attributes .891 5 economic instability .815 5 regression analysis this research presents that all variables must have a normal distribution. the absolute value of skewness of -/+2 and kurtosis values of -/+7 is used to determine normality, and these values are considered adequate (kline 2005). the skewness and kurtosis values in table 3 are within the threshold values, indicating that the data is normal. table 3. normality test variable mean std skewness kurtosis unemployment crisis 5.2708 1.38516 1.441 1.701 employer’s preference 5.0062 1.50677 .914 .062 candidate attribute 4.6938 1.63360 .741 .346 economic instability 4.9800 1.28337 1.193 .832 multicollinearity frequently occurs when there are robust multiple correlations between some or all of the variables. this study employs the variance inflation factors (vif) analysis to determine the presence of multicollinearity. multicollinearity can be determined using the tolerance calculation (1=r2), which requires values greater than 0.1, and the variance inflation factor (1/tolerance) requires values less than 10. if the tolerance value is less than 0.1 and the vif is greater than 10, there is a significant issue with multicollinearity, and additional actions must be taken. as shown in table 4, employer's preference (t=0.519, vif=1.927), candidate's attributes (t=0.670, vif=1.492), and economic instability (t=0.510, vif=1.962) all exceeded the cut-off values, indicating that the values met the cut-off and confirming that there is no issue with multicollinearity table 4. multi-collinearity analysis variables tolerance vif employer’s preference .519 1.927 candidate attributes .670 1.492 economic instability .510 1.962 next, a linear correlation was tested using the bivariate correlation. it ensures that the correlation between the variables is a linear correlation to proceed with further regression analysis. the finding, as shown in table 5, indicates that all the variables tested are linear correlations. the results indicated there were moderate and statistically significant relationships between employer's preference (r=614, p<0.01), candidate's attribute (r=.633, p<0.01), economic instability (r=.626, p<0.01), and unemployment crisis. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 10 table 5. bivariate correlation employer’s preference candidate attribute economic instability unemployment crisis .614** .633** .626** employer’s preference 1 .518** .666** candidate attribute .518** 1 .530** economic instability .666** .530** 1 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). in the final analysis, a standard multiple regression was performed between employer's preference, candidate's attribute, economic instability, and unemployment instability as the dependent variable. table 6 explained the regression analysis of correlations between the variables. the standardized regression (β), r2, and adjusted r2 were discussed. according to the results, the overall model is supported significantly with a high f value of 51.312 (p <. 000). adjusted r square (.539) indicates that the three variables substantially explain the variance in the unemployment instability. among the three relationships tested in the model, the standardized coefficient indicates statistically significant between employer's preference and unemployment crisis (β= 0.287, p>.000). also, there was a statistically significant between the candidate's attribute (β= 0.104, p<.000), economic instability (β= 0.321, p<.000), and the unemployment crisis. considering the three hypotheses discussed earlier, all the hypotheses h1, h2, and h3 are supported. the finding of this study is in line with some previous studies like belwal et al. (2017), who examined employer' preference for having knowledgeable, skillful, and well-mannered individuals. rajoo (2016) agreed too that employer prefers those who are self-confident. mncayi's (2016) study stated that employers are more likely to recruit people with experience, which leads to unemployment. fresh graduates with little work experience are left behind, resulting in unemployment. for the candidate's attribute, this study is concurrent with suppramaniam et al.'s (2019) study that pointed out that some candidates are choosy in getting employed. jayasingam et al. (2018) also approved that candidates always look for a higher position and better pay. for the third finding on the economic instability, this study is in line with pettinger (2020), who asserted that when the economy's normal operations have been disrupted, and there is economic instability. table 6. coefficients in the regression analysis model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b beta beta constant .841 .217 3.869 .000 employer’s preference .307 .056 .287 5.458 .000 candidate attribute .117 .050 .104 2.343 .020 economic instability .339 .056 .321 6.037 .000 r .742a r2 .550 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 11 adjusted r2 .539 f 51.312 a. predictors: (constant), employer’s preference, candidate attribute, economic instability b. dependent variable: unemployment crisis discussion and conclusions the objective of this study is to determine the factors influencing the unemployment crisis. this study revealed that economic instability is the most influential factor in the unemployment crisis, followed by the employer's preference and the candidate's attribute. naturally, when economic instability happened, it leads to lower investment, lower spending, lower growth, and higher unemployment. the way countries handle their rising unemployment rates would affect the wellbeing and financial stability of millions of people and the economy's long-term viability. the economic instability leads to unemployment crises as most companies want to avoid more financial problems. these developments in international relations can cause fear, anxiety, and panic, resulting in a lack of economic stability because capital is a cowardly creature by nature. secondly, the employer's preference factor has also been a determinant for the unemployment crisis. no doubt, the employer prefers the experienced to fresh graduates. the candidature should work extra hard to show his talent and capability despite his less experience to be hired. the fresh graduates should improve themselves in terms of their behaviour, computer skills, and language competency to be more competent as a team player in any organisation. as the results also show that the candidate’s attribute factor also influenced unemployment. the findings suggest various policy implications, including reducing unemployment in the malaysian economy, which necessitates an increase in public and private spending to stimulate economic growth and absorb a steady rise in labour supply and successful commercial policies. it will support exports and redirect imports, and a situation that strengthens the linkages between trade and economic growth, and thus unemployability. the academic curriculum designers from the ministry of higher education probably need to emphasise on the soft and hard skills expected by the employers. this study is beneficial to policymakers in malaysia who are attempting to control unemployment. the government should expand the number of technical and vocational institutes because these institutions will help to reduce unemployment. limitation of the research like any other research, this study has its limitation. the respondents are only from the state of selangor and the graduates are only those who have no jobs at the most 24 months after the graduation. the findings could have been different, if the respondents are from other states in malaysia, or other part in globe. having a longer period of unemployment may reveal different discovery. recommendation for the future research the study suggests future research to use a larger sample size with more information about the unemployment crisis. future researchers can explore the different independent variables of the unemployment crisis, such as knowledge of the internet of things, communication skills, spiritual intelligence, creativity, looks, and talent. the future researcher could also study the impacts of unemployment on graduates' economy, social, and psychology. he/ she could also investigate the causal effect of regulation or government policy on unemployment. these exciting studies can https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 10, no. 1; 2021 12 also precede the same research but with new contexts, such as unemployed people who resigned and were retrenched recently. acknowledgment we would like to thank the selangor state government for funding this paper under grant semesta-mbi 2020 (i/sem-mbi/ss/2020/05). references amen, u. 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(2019). what factors affect income inequality and economic growth in middle-income countries?journal of risk and financial management, 12(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm12010040 copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 30 social science research aijssr vol 12 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa what kenya’s tax policy means for smes businesses? victor otieno (a)1 (a) managing director, viffa consult limited, kilimani, nairobi, kenya; e-mail: golavick@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 14thjune 2022 accepted: 13th august 2022 online publication: 15th august 2022 keywords: taxation, sme development compliance, formalization jel classification codes: h25, h32 a b s t r a c t this study seeks to review kenya's first national tax policy to examine whether it addresses issues that would galvanize the sme sector into formalization and tax compliance, as well as promote the growth and development of the sector. research for the paper involved a desktop study of existing taxation legislation, expert reports, as well as sme sector strategic plans and reports published by government agencies. the focus of the study is the impact of taxation on small businesses in kenya along four thematic areas that are central to the sme development agenda: (1) rebuilding the economy; (2) expansion to hard-to-tax sectors; (3) inclusion of innovative and other emerging sectors; and (4) driving up compliance. study results show that while the policy captures key issues inhibiting taxation of smes, it is not explicit in proffering actionable information that business owners can use to inform voluntary compliance options. the study also found that small businesses are reeling from economic hardships and require concessions to surmount their challenges. the research findings suggest that there is scanty information on sme businesses, and the government is looking into leveraging county-based licensing activities to collect primary data useful for the development of taxation policies. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction smes in kenya have long exhibited low regard for formal operations and compliance with regulations. the informal nature of operations is particularly rife among micro-enterprises. a report by the kenya national bureau of statistics (2016) states that only 21% of the estimated 7.41 million smes are formally registered. the same report indicates that small businesses employ over 15 million kenyans, yet, the kenya revenue authority has a record of 6.1 million taxpayers – who comprise enterprises of all sizes and individuals (kra, 2022). various reports attribute the low appetite for formal operations among smes to the poor articulation of benefits they would accrue. instead, small businesses associate formalization and compliance with regulations with lengthy, complex and bureaucratic processes underpinned by incidences of corruption. entrepreneurs view government and regulatory authorities at the national and county levels as business inhibitors instead of business enablers. the lack of awareness about how their business can benefit from formalization has led many smes to continue operating informally. there are several business opportunities, especially in public procurement that small businesses prefer to forego than pursue registration and other business formalization procedures. the poor articulation of benefits also explains why smes do not file tax returns regularly. the draft kenya national tax policy 2022 is the first taxation policy document to be published by the government of kenya. hitherto, the budget policy statement (bps) was the sole document that communicated government plans regarding strategic priorities and policy goals, including taxation policy. bps is published annually by the national treasury as the guide for national and county governments in preparing their budgets for the financial year and over the medium term (the national assembly of kenya, 2017). the public finance management act of 2012 anchors the budget policy statement as the main instrument for ensuring public participation in the budgeting process. the draft kenya national tax policy 2022 aims to steer a comprehensive overhaul of the kenya tax system by introducing new taxes, increasing tax compliance and improving revenue collection. the primary objective behind this exercise is to ensure sustainable growth to achieve kenya vision 2030 (the country's economic development blueprint), which seeks to transform kenya into a middle-income nation by 2030 (government of kenya, 2022). the extent to which small businesses have participated in the development of the budget policy statements is not 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0003-2763-4014 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1783 to cite this article: otieno, v. (2022). what kenya’s tax policy means for smes businesses?. american international journal of social science research, 12(1), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1783 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1783 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2763-4014 otieno, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 31 readily known. what is clear, though, is that small businesses are still not motivated to formalize their operations. one reason for this reluctance may be the fear of opaque taxation (kra, 2022). this study seeks to review kenya's draft national tax policy 2022 to examine whether it addresses issues that would galvanize the sme sector into formalization and tax compliance. we also determine whether the tax policy establishes a forum for monitoring and evaluating government engagement systems and procedures. kenya budget process the promulgation of the 2010 constitution ushered in significant changes to the formulation of the national budget. the new constitution set aside the exclusivity of the executive in the development of revenue generation and expenditure plans. departments and agencies that bore direct responsibility over the economy determined the final plans. entrepreneurs and the public had to wait for the annual budget speech to know whether their taxes and commodity prices would go up or down. the constitution now mandates the executive to follow a consultative process involving sector stakeholders and public participation. according to the national assembly of kenya (2017), there are four major stages of the budget process in kenya: formulating a proposal, approving it, implementing it and auditing/evaluating its implementation. the formulation of the budget is the responsibility of the executive at the national and county levels. all the ministries responsible for finance generate policies that direct the economies and finances of their areas of jurisdiction. the national treasury creates a proposed budget policy statement; the county governments generate county fiscal strategy papers. these proposals are presented to the public to give them a chance to voice their opinions. after the formulation procedures are complete, the budget moves on to the legislative arm of the government for approval. parliament handles this at a national level; county assemblies take care of it at a county level. the approval stage involves the adoption of the budget policy statement and county fiscal strategy papers; approval of budget estimates; and enactment of the appropriation bill—as well as any other bills required to carry out budgetary proposals. the implementation stage involves carrying out the budget proposals passed at the approval stage. the executive at both national and county levels is responsible for implementing budgets. parliament monitors the finances of both national and county governments every three months by examining documents related to revenues and expenditures. the controller of budget’s quarterly budget implementation report, and the national and county governments' quarterly budget implementation reports are the key implementation and oversight documents. the annual budget cycle ends with audit and evaluation. the office of the auditor-general is in charge of audits, while the office of the controller of budget handles evaluation. the auditor-general reports on the financial accounts of the national and county governments. the controller of budget reviews previous fiscal year expenditure by the national and county governments. both reports are tabled in parliament for review and adoption. the importance of smes to kenya’s economy approximately 7 million small and medium-sized businesses operate in kenya today. all industries, including trade, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and financial services, are represented by these businesses (knbs, 2022). they play an essential role in the last-mile delivery of goods to consumers and are responsible for up to 90% of private sector enterprises across various sectors. most are in retail/wholesale trade, manufacturing and catering value chains (knbs, 2016). small business is a key component of the economy in kenya. the country’s small businesses employ more than 15 million kenyans, while they make up 29% of the gdp (knbs, 2016). smes have played an important role in technological innovation in africa, including mobile telephony technology. 76% of kenya’s population is under age 35, well-informed and exposed to technology; this segment grew up during a period when mobile phones became widely used across the continent. it is not uncommon for small businesses in africa to use mobile technology for financial transactions such as payment processing or banking transactions. the importance of smes to kenya’s economy cannot be overstated. smes are critical to economic growth because they provide jobs for many kenyans, boost exports and create new opportunities for the consumption of goods and services. they also contribute significantly to government revenues through taxes on sales and profits. in addition, they can play an important role as catalysts for innovation (knbs, 2016). retailers who operate small businesses (smes) have been credited with helping to sustain the industry value chain in several ways. for example, smes provide last-mile delivery services for food and beverage manufacturers, telecom companies and banks that provide financial services to consumers. banks have begun using their established distribution networks to deliver "agency banking" concepts. the 2021 finaccess household survey shows that retailers extend some of these goods and services to consumers on a credit basis. the said survey records that informal sources are the third most used source of consumer loans after mobile loans and banks. within these informal sources of loans is cash or goods/services extended by shopkeepers as an extension of their businesses for additional income (central bank of kenya et al., 2021). according to various reports, smes can double their contribution to the economy if they are granted the support they need. the support smes need aligns with the key challenges that they face—access to business development support, access to capital, access to markets, and access to knowledge resources. to address challenges faced by sme businesses, the government published three policy documents aimed at strengthening the sme sector: (1) the micro and small enterprises act (2012), which defines smes and statutory bodies responsible for their development; (2) kenya vision 2030, which outlines opportunities for mses in the country’s development blueprint; and (3) the kenya micro and small enterprises policy (2020), which outlines the national support structure and interventions for smes. this study examines the extent to which the draft kenya national tax policy (2022) encapsulates ideas proffered by the mentioned documents. we examine the contribution the tax policy is poised to make in the development of the sme otieno, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 32 sector. smes and taxation the international labour organization (ilo) argues that the way businesses are taxed affects entrepreneurs’ decision to start or close a business, whether to incorporate or not and the growth prospects of a business. ilo further asserts that it is not just the tax rate that is of importance but also how tax administration is conducted. understanding tax legislation and how it impacts business are key determinants of the extent to which an entrepreneur will declare business income (marchese, n.d.). entrepreneurs in kenya find the cost of regulatory compliance to be high. the high costs stem from the requirement to procure multiple licenses throughout a calendar year, levies charged by county governments (depending on activities carried out by a business), and the need to hire subject-matter experts for purposes of filing statutory business reports – including tax returns. an estimated 7 million smes have engaged 15 million people indicating about two employees per business (knbs, 2016). a typical sme would hire people whose role gravitates to customer support or sales completion. filing tax returns often requires an sme to employ accounting staff either permanently or temporarily. goods retailers find the extra hire requirement high in comparison to margins made from sales of goods. another area of concern for businesses is a demonstration of value for the taxes and levies charged by national and county governments. first, the cost basis is unknown. secondly, they are not predictable as the rates could be changed annually (during the national and county budgeting process) or at any time through special government notices. the aggregate costs of licenses, levies and taxes may end up being out of reach of micro-enterprises. the kenya revenue authority reported that there are 6.1 million registered taxpayers (kra, 2021). this is a small number compared to the 17.4 million employed persons (statista, 2022), and over 7 million small businesses (knbs, 2016). tax administration in kenya relies on the formalization of employment and business activities. it starts with the registration of the taxpayer – be it as a corporate or an individual. in kenya, the registration of taxpayers is often tied to formal employment and the registration of businesses. employers are expected to deduct and remit income tax (pay as you earn) on behalf of their staff. as for businesses, those whose monthly turnover exceeds kes 80,000/(usd 677.19) are required to register to comply with turnover tax requirements (kra, n.d.). the informal sector constitutes an important part of the kenyan economy, being related to employment creation, production, and income generation. a review of the government policies informing the development of local enterprises shows a clear intention to support the development of micro-enterprises by, among other things, transitioning the majority to the formal sector. our study of the draft kenya national tax policy looks into opportunities for formalization of small businesses through enabling tax policies. study themes the strategic intent of the draft kenya national tax policy (2022) is to promote an efficient and fair tax system that promotes equity in tax administration and a predictable tax environment for businesses. our review of the policy focuses on four thematic areas: (1) the need to rebuild the economy; (2) expansion to the hard-to-tax sectors; (3) inclusion of innovative and other emerging sectors; and (4) driving up compliance. these four are central to the development of smes. literature review tax administrators continually face the dilemma of seeking to grow revenue collection through widening the tax net to include small businesses, yet the target businesses seem unable to afford tax burdens. instead, they need tax concessions. a report by barreix and gonzález (2020) aptly captures this paradox by stating that small individual taxpayers and smes are the highest number of taxpayers in latin america and the caribbean, yet they contribute only 0.1% to 3.9% of tax collections. the report traces the root cause of the tax collection impasse to the inability of small businesses to transition from the informal subsistence economy to more productive and formal participation in the economy. atawodi and ojeka (2012) argue that this stagnation may be by design as businesses would take deliberate steps to avoid reporting, filing and payment requirements that they find burdensome and costly. the importance of smes to economies around the world is well known. they are instrumental in providing employment and driving innovation across various sectors. it is common to find governments setting up state agencies and other support structures that focus on policies that facilitate sme promotion, development, and regulation. micro and small enterprises authority, the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, and sebrae are such institutions in kenya, india and brazil. it is usually the expectation of many governments that the efforts of sme-focused institutions will result in the transition of businesses from informal outfits to medium to large-sized enterprises capable of competing effectively in domestic and international markets. however, various reports we examined revealed that, on average, smes in developing markets last only two to three years, mainly due to cash, market and knowledge constraints. governments have looked into mainstreaming smes by encouraging formality with the promise of business opportunities. in kenya, for instance, small businesses owned by the youth, women, and persons with disabilities are allocated 30% of public procurement opportunities. in addition, there is a 40% allocation of public procurement to locally produced goods and services (government of kenya, 2016). in the case of india, the government has focused on smes in fabric and ict value chains – where the country has a clear competitive advantage in the global market space. two statutory bodies are in place to support the development of mses in the fabrics industry the khadi and village industries commission and the coir board. in the ict space, the government made it possible for ecommerce giants, facebook and amazon, to engage with local businesses thereby forging ict with trade (invest india, n.d.). these kinds of affirmative action, together with capacity-building programmes delivered through sme-focused state agencies, are designed to mitigate otieno, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 33 the challenges of cash, market access and business development knowledge that are said to be responsible for low productivity among small businesses. as small businesses grow and formalize, the progressive action is to include them in the taxation net. the trend has been to use preferential tax regimes (ptrs) for small businesses. machese (n.d.) defines ptrs as special fiscal regimes that offer a lower tax rate and simple tax compliance requirements than mainstream tax regimes to a target group. chen et al. (2011) present compensation for limited access to capital financing as the main argument for ptrs targeted at smes. other supporting arguments include high costs associated with compliance and depressed cash flow among small businesses. oecd (2015) suggest that careful targeting needs to accompany preferential regimes since smes are heterogeneous, thus the need to address specific sector-based challenges. there have been mixed outcomes of applying preferential tax regimes in different markets. concessions given to smes are to foster business development. chen et al. (2011) point out that the risk of preferential treatment is that a business could deliberately stop growing to continue enjoying the tax benefits. where business growth is inevitable, the market could witness a continuous break-up of businesses into units small enough to comply with a government’s definition of a “small business”. thus, governments pursue a strategy of having preferential tax measures on a temporal basis to allow for frequent review opportunities. several eastern europe and central asian countries instituted preferential taxes in the late 1990s to early 2000s but then halted the schemes in mid the 2000s to curb abuse by large corporates. all organizations moved to the regular tax scheme. what followed was reduced tax reporting and compliance. reinstatement of concessions saw two-thirds of businesses that had migrated to the general tax regime move back to the preferential regime (engelschalk & loeprick, 2015). in a different approach, japan reduced or abolished tax on specific lines for a year as a short-term measure to boost cash flows for smes. chile had a similar programme restricted to three years (zhang & shvili, 2020). kenya’s draft national tax policy proposes a presumptive tax approach for smes. marchese (n.d.) explains that governments have turnover (sales revenues), capital assets, employment, or utility services consumption as options for proxy variables in tax computation – instead of using taxable profits. kenya currently uses turnover. we are yet to see whether it shall be the only variable or if there will be more options. methods and meterials this study was a desktop research focusing on the impact of taxation policies in the development of smes in kenya. it involved summarizing and collating existing secondary data relevant to taxation policies and their impact to smes in a number of markets. reports and strategic plans authored by taxation experts, as well as yearly reports on performance of the kenya revenue authority, was evaluated to enrich this study. this helped the researchers generate insight on the published draft kenya national tax policy. results small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) play an essential role in the world economy, especially in developing countries (zhang & shvili, 2020). various policy documents published by the government of kenya agree on the importance of the sme sector to kenya’s economy. our reading of the national tax policy shows the intention of the government to broaden the tax net to include more smes drawn from two business areas: (1) agriculture and informal sectors; and (2) online-based businesses. the two segments are characterised as being “hard to tax”. therefore, the tax administration will require careful consideration. agriculture and informal sectors are characterised as being reliant on physical cash (in conducting transactions) and maintaining poor records on incomes and expenses (central bank of kenya et al., 2021). turnover tax in kenya is payable by businesses that exceed ksh 1,000,000 (usd 8,435.26) per annum but does not exceed ksh 50,000,000 (usd 421,762.97) (kra, n.d.). kenya’s ministry of industry, trade and enterprise development has classified businesses per, among other parameters, their annual turnover (moited, 2020). given the kenya revenue authority’s criteria for turnover tax, small and medium-sized businesses are within the scope of the turnover tax. the kenya national bureau of statistics states that all businesses classified as either small or medium-sized are registered and the majority have annual turnovers of at least kshs 600,000 (usd 5,061.16). the majority of medium-sized businesses have turnovers exceeding kshs 12,000,000 (usd 101,223.11) per annum (knbs, 2016). it is noteworthy that, in kenya, medium-sized enterprises are those with an annual turnover of kshs 5 million (usd 42,176.30) to kshs 800 million (usd 6,748,207.44) (kenya agribusiness and agroindustry alliance, 2017). this means that a medium-sized enterprise will be required to transition from turnover tax to the general corporate tax regime as its income grows. engelschalk and loeprick, (2015) caution that if a business determines that migration from the presumptive regime to the standard regime will mean higher taxes, then such a business will take steps so to remain small and thus operate within the lower tax band. need to rebuild the economy taxes and levies are essential for the development of any country, as they are the primary source of funds that a government can use to provide citizen services and infrastructure. tax policies should therefore focus on increasing tax collection while also encouraging high compliance. the effectiveness of a tax policy in this regard can therefore be measured by (1) growth in collections; (2) growth in compliance – particularly voluntary compliance; (3) sustainability of the tax base; and (4) efficiency in tax administration. the draft national tax policy recognises that kenya needs to rebuild its economy and create jobs. the policy states that the government will ensure that tax measures are designed to promote growth, encourage investment and promote economic development. the policy also recognises the need to have specific reviews with the active involvement of otieno, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 34 stakeholders at least once every five years. this move allows the national treasury and kenya revenue authority (kra) to engage with taxpayer groups on market dynamics that need to be factored into tax strategies, as well as align taxation plans with the kenya vision 2030 – the country’s economic development blueprint. it is clear from this policy how important it is for government agencies such as kra and national treasury to be engaged directly with stakeholders to ensure that their views are taken into consideration while designing policies relevant to them. the draft policy also calls for improved monitoring of tax compliance as well as effective enforcement mechanisms aimed at ensuring compliance by taxpayers with their obligations under tax laws. a scrutiny of the draft policy reveals that the immediate plan is to expand the tax net to include agriculture, informal and emerging sectors – specifically businesses involved in ecommerce. though the policy has not been considered and approved by parliament, the kenya revenue authority has already captured its intent to focus on these sectors in its strategic plan (kra, 2021). presumptive tax is among the measures proposed to bring the agriculture and informal sectors into the fold. the digital sector is levied a 1.5% tax on income from services accrued or derived in kenya through a digital marketplace and the policy proposes an increase in tax yields from the sector. although businesses have yet to fully recover from the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, the world bank asserts that kenya’s economy is recovering faster than originally predicted. in 2021, real gdp increased by 7.5%, higher than the estimated growth in sub-saharan africa of 4%. (mathenge et al., 2022). costs of doing business have shot up mainly as a result of higher international oil prices as per a report by mathenge et al (2022). it is our considered view that businesses, at this time, need to access cash to aid their recovery. chile, for example, reduced the corporate income tax rate from 25% to 12.5% for smes for the fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022 (zhang & shvili, 2020). the policy has not proffered any concessions to free up cash for smes. tax concessions can help small businesses to retain a higher proportion of their earnings, enabling them to obtain external finance (marchese, n.d.). expanding to hard-to-tax sectors the draft national tax policy aims to expand the tax base in both the agriculture and informal sectors. currently, there are tax regimes covering these sectors, but revenue collection and administration are challenging on account of their informality. the majority of farmers are smallholders; small-scale operations account for over 70% of agricultural production and meet about 75% of the national food demand (njenga, 2016). in sub-saharan africa, presumptive tax regimes have mostly been used to collect some tax revenues from large domestic informal sectors (marchese, n.d.). there is a need to examine how these regimes could be more effectively used as instruments for formalizing sme operations in the informal sector. the informal sector is characterised as being heterogeneous, which makes it difficult to apply a blanket taxation regime without creating an imbalance in the costs or burden of compliance for smallholder farmers and informal traders. (atawodi & ojeka, 2012). tax compliance costs for small businesses are higher than for large businesses. this is because a larger company's tax compliance costs are proportionally less expensive when compared to a smaller company's tax compliance costs. the reason for this is that while total tax compliance costs are higher for larger companies in absolute terms, they are more burdensome when measured against sales and income (oecd, 2015). engelschalk and loeprick (2015) argue that the risk of factual discrimination against low-profit trading businesses can be avoided by introducing a rate differentiation in the turnover tax regime. by reducing their tax burden, small businesses in the trade segment will be able to increase their profits and grow their business. however, data on the performance of small businesses are currently not up to date. the last comprehensive study on the sme sector was conducted by the kenya national bureau of statistics back in 2016; this should be an annual exercise given the importance of the sector to the economy. the kenya revenue authority can leverage provisions made in its tax policy for consultative forums to engage with mse associations and other interested parties to begin generating data that can be used to justify the scope and level of rate differentiations. innovative and other emerging sectors the kenya economic survey published by knbs (2022) records the growth of online businesses and digital connectivity on account of markets seeking alternative means of accessing goods and services at the height of the covid-19 pandemic. the government of kenya imposed movement and physical interaction restrictions, otherwise known as lockdowns, which impacted trade routines among retail businesses and consumers. this presented an opportunity for technology firms to deliver innovative online solutions to businesses. the knbs (2022) report states that as a result, the value of output from the ict sector grew by 15% from ksh 494.3 billion (usd 4.17 billion) in 2018 (before covid-19) to ksh 566.3 billion (usd 4.78 billion) in 2021. the number of internet service providers grew by 64% over the same period. the value of mobile commerce transactions grew by 63.2% to reach ksh 15.3 trillion (usd 0.13 trillion) between 2020 and 2021 only. the kenya revenue authority (2021) interpreted the value of output from the ict sector as a clear sign of the migration of businesses to the digital economy. it is noteworthy that the digital service tax came into force in 2021 and kra now planned to increase compliance with vat and income tax. however, kumar (2021) argues that while there was a surge in digital marketplaces, many businesses went online as a stopgap measure to mitigate the impact of lockdowns and other restrictions placed on businesses. he notes that ecommerce was new to many businesses, and they now also had to contend with complex taxation, data privacy and other nuances unique to online trading. in addition, not all online marketplaces operated from other countries and thus local businesses were more exposed to international competition. (atawodi & ojeka, 2012). at the time of coming into effect on 1st january 2021, digital services tax was at 1.5% of the income accrued or derived in kenya. a report from njanja (2022) indicates that kenya plans to double the rate to 3% beginning july 2022 as a means of increasing domestic revenues and narrowing fiscal deficit. retail trade margins for fast-moving consumer goods otieno, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 35 are very thin, with some reports indicating margins of 6%. thus, a tax of 3% will erode progress made in ecommerce innovation as the tax would stifle working capital for small businesses (kumar, 2021). in contrast, the taxation policies in singapore have encouraged the establishment of technology businesses in the country. the country's tax code gives certain concessions to companies that are resident in singapore that acquire intangible assets and as a result, singapore is a global ip hub and leading knowledge-based economy (deloitte, 2021). driving up compliance it is estimated that 30 million persons in kenya are aged above 18 years. slightly more than half of this population is employed (statista, 2022). kra reports that there are 6.1 million active taxpayers in their records (kra, 2021). considering that the taxpayers include registered businesses, we can safely deduce that kra has netted less than 35% of the employed base. kra plans to immediately enlist an additional 2 million taxpayers from the informal sector, and digital sector and strengthen tax administration. in terms of compliance, kra’s strategic plan states that filing of returns is at 68% of taxpayers and payments of taxes are at 88% of taxpayers (kra, 2021). traditionally, kra has used sanctions and penalties to enforce compliance. the draft national tax policy proposes an enhancement of the same measures. al-ttaffi et al. (2021) argue in favour of using tax incentives to encourage voluntary compliance, whereas marchese (n.d.) advocates for a system of preferential tax rates, which would simplify tax administration, broaden the tax base and thus raise additional revenues. brazil uses the single replacement tax approach to aggregate what would be several lines of taxes and levies into one tax. social security payments are incorporated into the single tax, known as simples nacional (pesssa et al., 2015). the single replacement tax is calculated against gross revenue and the rate encompasses a component of the replaced taxes. progressive rates apply based on the level of income. the most important element of the brazilian model is the systematic engagement between tax administrators and sebrae (the brazilian support service for micro and small businesses) (pesssa et al., 2015). this enables the government to drive compliance while articulating the benefits of compliance to small businesses according to research from the organization for economic co-operation and development, developing countries face difficulties in collecting taxes because of a lack of coordination between business operations and tax obligations. smes use separate systems for their business operations and tax obligations (oecd, 2022). the businesses use operating systems to obtain goods and services from other businesses within their value chains (like suppliers), connect to their financial service providers (internet/mobile banking) and service customer needs (ecommerce or sales tills). the kenya revenue authority has provided an online portal (itax platform) for filing taxation information. the challenge is that output data from business operation systems may not align with the input data required to fulfil tax filing obligations. the businesses often have to incur additional tax compliance costs by hiring persons to complete filing requirements. discussion the cost of compliance with government regulations is high and of little value for smes. businesses must apply for multiple licenses throughout the year, on top of complying with complicated tax regulations. additionally, many businesses prefer to remain informal as the registration requirements and procedures are not readily understood. to achieve full compliance with business licensing and reporting requirements, smes need to engage with national government agencies as well as county government agencies. procedures and timelines at these levels are largely invisible to small businesses. our study finds that smes perceive that government rules and regulations do not foster business growth. instead, they exist for government revenues without any residual value to entrepreneurs. tax compliance is notoriously low among small businesses, but the national tax policy was expected to act as a “sales pitch” for tax compliance. al-ttaffi et al. (2021) found that tax penalties have no significant impact on curbing tax noncompliance among smes, although the government's use of reliable data on profitability would be helpful. engelschalk and loeprick (2015) point out that small businesses with low-profit margins find turnover tax rates unattractive because they are usually arrived at by the government without using reliable data on the profitability of smes. however, there is an opportunity for tax policy framers to engage with the sme sector to drive formalization and compliance while apportioning incentives where applicable. the draft national tax policy provides for a comprehensive review of tax laws every five years. one of the priorities in the current period would have been providing incentives under the digital services tax (dst) if organizations assist smalland medium-sized enterprises to organize their business records. it is this study’s view that the priority at this stage should be on the registration of new taxpayers without the burden of immediate tax compliance. this can be achieved quicker for smes that are looking to expand their markets through online infrastructure or use digital business systems, where business transaction records in these platforms can be designed to fit tax reporting requirements. as it stands today, dst is not well understood by many taxpayers and doubling its rate may dissuade patronage of digital platforms and slow down government efforts to comply with this new law (njanja, 2022). for small businesses, matters related to taxation can be complicated. in kenya, for example, tax requirements are usually delivered through a legislative process and presented to the public in documents that use technical jargon and legalistic language. a typical sme owner may not readily evaluate and interpret the implications of tax laws for his/her business. it is noteworthy that a report published by the kenya national bureau of statistics indicates that 60.6% and 90.2% of licensed and unlicensed establishment’s owners have secondary level as their highest educational attainment; 71.1% of unlicensed business owners have not gone beyond primary school (knbs, 2016). the oecd (2012) recommends that tax administrators focus on the end-to-end process surrounding business licensing rather than just the tax compliance processes. most businesses acquire annual trade licenses from their respective otieno, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 36 counties; the use of presumptive tax at the point of purchasing the license would be an ideal starting point for analysing data collected from county licensing processes. our scan of county licenses shows that there are three categories based on the core business (sector and subsector), location (whether rural or urban) and size of the company (employee size or annual revenue). tax policy formulators can leverage this information to formulate future taxation measures. barreix and gonzález (2020) propose that pension and health coverage be included in the remittance of taxes by providing benefits to employees and their families, including those who are not members of social security programs. such an approach would present immediate, direct and tangible benefits to smalland medium-sized enterprises. it is noteworthy that universal health coverage is part of kenya’s economic development blueprint (kenya universal healthcare coverage, 2018). there may be benefits associated with bundling nhif payments with sme tax payments to signal governmentsponsored health care for all taxpayers. national social security fund payments could also be included. lessons from brazil to motivate the formalization of smes, the brazilian government introduced simples nacional tax regime, which was well received in the market. simples nacional covers 65% of brazilian companies and accounts for one-quarter of federal tax exemptions (pesssa et al., 2015). the tax regime was a part of a wider government scheme aimed at supporting the development of smes. the reforms included simplifying licensing and access to finance. one of the key success factors in tax administration is the close collaboration between the government and smes through sebrae (the brazilian support service for micro and small businesses). sebrae is a quasi-governmental organization which acts as the main service delivery body in brazil's sme ecosystem. it has the equal participation of private and public entities. founded in 1972, sebrae’s activities are coordinated at a national level via the national deliberative council and executed through field offices evenly distributed across all 27 brazilian states. sebrae raises the bulk of its income from contributions made through the payroll of all member organizations and fees charged for courses offered to businesses. the funds raised meet operational overheads, and more importantly, the development of programmes and initiatives aimed at creating sustainable growth conditions for small businesses. its broad membership and wide network of service centres make it an influential player capable of driving the sme agenda effectively. sebrae’s footprint allows it to adapt to unique scenarios that smes may bring to the fore from state to state the consultative interactions between government and sebrae provide smes with legitimacy, organizational coherence and influence over economic policy decision-making. in exchange, the government leverages sebrae’s network and influence to promote deep reach into the business community, reduce bureaucracy in government processes, and provide options for adapting policies to fit varied situations. lessons from india india is recognized for having well-crafted fiscal and monetary policies with an economic growth rate, according to world bank estimates, peaking at 7.5% to 12.5% at one time – before declining to 4% following weaknesses in the financial sector, a slowdown in private consumption and impact of covid-19. the country is a hub for information technology services. the india brand equity foundation estimates that the domestic revenue of the it industry is us$ 45 billion and export revenue is us$ 150 billion per annum. the sector contributes 8% of gdp and employs about 4.5 million people. it is noteworthy that kenya looks to india for some key development plans and models. trade, cottage industries, microfinance and cooperative movement models applied in india have contributed to the structures currently in use in kenya. in addition, the concept of the constituency development fund in kenya was borrowed from a similar scheme that was successfully implemented in india. the indian government has provided several growth opportunities for the sme sector. there is a framework for smes to raise capital through stock markets – again a feature that kenya intends to implement. government e-marketplace (gem) and other online marketplaces have been deployed for businesses to market their products. it is noteworthy that public sector procurement is conducted via the gem platform. as of june 25, 2021, gem portal has served 6.87 million orders worth rs.116,291 crore (us$ 15.67 billion) from 2 million registered sellers and service providers for 52,651 government buyers. the adoption of digital payments has seen 72% of sme payments done through the digital mode compared with 28% of cash transactions. the individual business transaction data generated through digital platforms are used to craft taxation policies and sector growth programmes. there is also a drive to formalize businesses through an online registration platform that is focused on the registration of smes. india’s approach has been to focus smes on sectors/industries in which the country has a clear competitive advantage in the global market space. indian fabrics, for instance, are renowned across the world. thus, there are two statutory bodies put in place to support the development of smes in the fabrics industry the khadi and village industries commission (kvic) and the coir board. india is also a key player in the global ict space where it has exported labour and technology. the government made it possible for ecommerce giants, facebook and amazon, to engage with local businesses thereby forging ict with trade (which is another strength of indian entrepreneurs). another key element in india’s regulatory environment is the consistent review of policies and interventions with the input of stakeholders. the underlying objective of the reviews is to ensure that desired government policy outcomes are achieved. review outcomes are made public to keep sme actors accountable and leverage the distribution of reports to publicise investment opportunities among entrepreneurs. in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, several small businesses in india moved online to sell their products. according to kumar (2021), businesses that migrated to ecommerce platforms ended up being disadvantaged by the goods and services tax act. the gst act allows merchants with less than 1.5 crores in annual revenue to register for a composition scheme. the tax regime makes life simpler for traders by allowing them to pay a single rate of 1%. however, otieno, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 30-38 37 when traders under this scheme sell on an online marketplace, they are subject to the full rate of tax on all transactions. so instead of supporting the small businesses through the transition, the taxation policy stifled relief at a time of crisis. conclusions having a national tax policy is a step in the right direction as it will allow taxpayers to plan. the draft national tax policy in its current form does not meet the threshold of providing actionable information for business owners. there is minimal information on the taxation strategy which bears the risk of creating an uncertain business environment. on the positive, the policy provides for comprehensive reviews of tax laws at least once every five years. this will afford stakeholders to engage in market realities as well as align with government priorities. other economic planning instruments such as the vision 2030 medium-term reports and economic survey can then be used to align taxation plans. a review of various reports brings out the need to use the current wave of tax policies to set the stage for the future. it will be a challenge for the government to achieve a giant leap in compliance ahead of putting forth a strong case for voluntary compliance. the focus of the first five-year cycle should be on the registration of taxpayers, compilation of reliable data and cushioning businesses from the prevailing economic hardships. close collaboration with county-based licensing activities should be leveraged to collect basic data on businesses – who they are, where they are, what they do and their sizes. this information would provide a foundation for developing taxation policies. the policy should take an incentive-driven approach to compliance. implementation of a single replacement tax regime that incorporates all licensing and social payment requirements should be adopted for micro and small enterprises. taxation should not be viewed just as a means of revenue collection by the government. the taxpayer would also want to understand the tangible benefits of compliance. layering delivery of medical cover (nhif payments) and a pension scheme (nssf payments), however basic, will go a long way in meeting the need for tangible benefits. the aim is to make it easy to comply and difficult not to (oecd, 2012). author contributions: conceptualization, v.o.; methodology, v.o.; software, v.o.; validation, v.o.; formal analysis, v.o.; investigation, v.o.; resources, v.o.; data curation, v.o.; writing – original draft preparation, v.o.; writing – review & editing, v.o.; visualization, v.o.; supervision, v.o.; project administration, v.o.; funding acquisition, v.o. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgments: n/a informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references al-ttaffi, l. h., abdul-jabbar, h., & bin-nashwan, s. a. 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2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 30 factors influencing parents' choices about enrolling their children’s in private schools (a case study in jalalabad city) qudratullah nazari senior teaching assistant pedagogy department faculty of education kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: qudrat_n231@yahoo.com enayatullah dadman joiner teaching assistant history department, faculty of education kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan e-mail: dadmanenayat@gmail.com abstract the sight of this research paper was to examine the key components of impacting parent’s choice select privet schools for enrollment of their children’s, in jalalabad city therefore this research paper was designed to find out the most important factors in the mention topic, otherwise for the collecting of data used survey method and the instrument of the data was interview with parents who choose privet schools for their children’s education level, the present study find out three most important factors which are security threats, digital education system, and teachers hiring, the result clearly indicate that privet schools are better for their children’s according to security sects, education level and teachers quality that are hire by education services providers, the findings also show that parents got great feedback from privet school services and they were satisfied from school administrations and schools staff, it is sagest for further researches that many more of factors will consider in this section. keywords: digital education, factors, influencing, teachers hiring, security threats. introduction enrolment trend in government schools is declining continuously year wise. and parents are preferring private schools for the education of their children’s. guardians are the essential caregivers who are mindful and hold a noteworthy part in their children’s prosperity (hamid et al., 2019). variables impacting parents’ choice on preschool arrangement related to parents’ inclinations, fulfillment and inclusion in social organize were evoked (hamid et al., 2019). quality instruction arrangement is the most figure which draws in guardians to send their children to favored schools (msendekwa & lubuva, 2019). the development of technology, particularly information technology brings a real impact on various aspects of life including children's education (hidayati, 2020). education for children is one of the foremost concerning issues within mailto:qudrat_n231@yahoo.com mailto:dadmanenayat@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 31 the society particularly among the guardians (kampanatsanyakorn, 2020). guardians are willing to spend a part of cash each year to contribute in their children’s education at the cost of their family budget. there are parcels of components affecting guardians amid the choice making prepare of school selection. education may be a service advertised by many providers. there's a global development of privatization of education service which has presented a modern challenge for parents and students. a large body of this research paper is conducted to investigate the parent’s choices for enrollment of their children’s in private schools, in addition there are lots of private schools in jalalabad city, they provide may more educational services, but these educational services are in competitive based, within these private school providers try to get parents' attention. normally they worked under the supervision of ministry of education in afghanistan. each year, many of private schools in afghanistan open their entryways for parents and children who are viewed as client, in jalalabad city there's no question that parents choose what is best, within their financial implies, for their children. parents send their children to private schools to have better education with better educational ethics. this research paper will consider parent’s choices for enrollment of their children’s in private schools within this research paper will be find out the key elements influencing parents’ choices about enrolling their children’s in private schools. review of literature based on elements influencing parents’ choices choosing private schools research in malaysia there are many factors for parents to enroll their children’s in privet schools, finding of this research shown that parents emphasizing on the importance of privet schools, the academic performance of privet schools, quality of teachers and environment of the schools (yaacob et al., 2014). an assessment of factors influencing parents’ decision making when choosing a private school for their children a case study of selangor, malaysia, finding of this research shown that parents income level is big potential for choosing privet schools (yaacob et al., 2014). factors influencing parents’ decision in selecting private schools in chittagong city, bangladesh, the purpose of this research is to examine the factors influencing the parents’ decision in selecting private schools in chittagong city, bangladesh. factors finding in this research are schools popularity, school quality, future option, parents’ income level and parents’ educational level (suppramaniam et al., 2019). factors influencing parents’ selection of schools for children with disabilities, according to findings of this research the factors when choosing schools, including the availability of special education programs, distance of the school, social continuities, class size, teachers’ characteristics, parent-teacher communication, beliefs about disability, and the children's well-being. socioeconomic status and parents’ areas of residence had a mixed influence on the decision-making process (mawene & bal, 2018). elements impacting parents’ choices on choosing an islamic essential school in bandung indonesia, finding of this research includes that 86.67% of parents tend to choose islamic-based school. within this, the schools must also be supported by professional educators, produce religious and outstanding graduates, provide not only good environment and quality, but also adequate information technology, along with complete facilities and effective learning time, with these conditions it must that the graduates will be excellent in ethics, morality and religiosity (hidayati, 2020). due to findings of a study on the factors influencing parent’s decision in choosing private schools in selangor, it was found that parents expected school’s syllabus, school’s environment, school performances, teacher’s quality, location, distance, social background and income level are main points for their children’s to enroll https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 32 in privet schools (yaacob et al., 2015). perceived school characteristics, quality of education physical environment and extracurricular activities are the key points and findings of a research, why do parents choose to send their children to private schools? (davis, 2011). parents and guardians send their children to pre-primary schools due to different reasons. some send children to a certain school because of social, physical and psychological issues. some parents send their children to preprimary believing that they build good foundation for the child’s academic future (adzima, 2014). factors parents consider in selecting pre-primary schools for their children, findings revealed that parents consider four major factors namely academic quality, affordability of school fees, language of instruction and class size in school selection (msendekwa & lubuva, 2019). certain demographic are more accepting to some attribute and limitation than others. factors that influence thai parents in choosing preschool program. guardians have a noteworthy impact on their children’s improvement and future accomplishment. it is critical for guardians to create the proper choice with respect to their children’s instruction particularly preschool since amid this age child create more quickly and learn faster than at any other time in their life (unicef, 2010). program, area, school expenses, teachers’ qualities and school environment impact on the parents’ choice and gave great criticism and were fulfilled with the preschool organization are most important in a research on factors element affecting parents’ choice of preschool instruction in malaysia (taha, 2019). perceived behavioral control is the main influence factor for chinese parents' to enroll their children’s in primary schools sarawak, malaysia (lee et al., 2017). parents preferred single-sex education. also preferred schools with qualified teachers, excellent academic record, and adequate support services are parents’ choice of a particular senior high school in ghana (amonoo, 2014). factors affecting parents’ inclination towards private school system in pakistan based on this research parents think that quality of education in private schools is better than government schools, provide safe environment in school to children, children are safer in private school due to proper security, private schools provide quality environment to students in school premises that ultimately impacts the quality education of learners, teaching procedures, assessment of students, and teacher learner interaction is better handled in private schools, teachers in private school work with dedication and teachers take job stress keeping in mind the reality that their job cannot continue unless showing good performance to employer (akhter, 2017). method the scope of this research paper is to have farther understanding about parents’ decisions for choosing private school learning establish on afghan heritage learning system in jalalabad city, then revising sampling techniques used random survey method for collecting true data, it was establish on research decision which accepted that the chosen overview have the capacity to prepare the desired information, in expansion a collection of collected overviews incorporate guardians who chosen private schools for enrollment of their children’s in jalalabad city, this method is more suitable for collecting wide range of true data and discussion was the information collection instrument and the information was analyze theoretically. results parents decisions choosing private schools for enrolling their children’s will have based on challenging limitation in education system furthermore security threats are the key factors that parents make decision choose private schools, anyway there are more factors influencing parents make decision for their children’s education. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 33 security threats one of the most important factor that parents make decision to enroll their children’s in private schools was security threats, parents emphasized that our country afghanistan is a war-torn country and the public education system is in a more serious crisis at the current time within this security threats are challenging at the educational level, private schools in jalalabad are equipped with transportation system and parents don’t need pickup their children’s every morning and evening. the finding of this factor is presented as in figure 1. figure 1. show the range of security threats factor. figure 1. show that the main security threats are escape the children’s, traffic accident and warn to the children’s in these factors 61.5 % are escaping events, 31% are traffic accident events and 42.3 are the warn events. according to these conditions parents make decision to enroll their children’s in private schools. digital education system according to parent’s views most of privet schools in jalalabad city provide digital education system it means the school classes are equipped on security cameras, teaching and learning process are by projectors, digital library, internet access, computer labs, conference halls and digital attendance. these factor are presented on figure 2. figure 2. shown the range of digital education system factors frequency percent 0 20 40 60 80 100 escape the children traffic accidents warn to the children 0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 frequency precent https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 34 based on view of figure 2, factors that parents make decision to enroll their children’s in private schools are security camera, projectors, digital library, internet accesses, computer lab, conference hall and digital attendance. professional teachers another factor that parents influence to send their children’s to private schools was the hiring of professional teachers, according to parents emphasizes many of them are most agree that private schools in jalalabad city have professional teachers. parent’s satisfactions are presented in chat 3. figure 3. shown the satisfactions of parents with hiring of professional teachers in privet schools. discussion a large body of this research paper examine factors influencing parents’ decision choosing. private schools for enrollment of their children’s, parents in this study believed that factors influence them and make decision to choose privet schools are security threats, digital education system and hiring professional teachers these the are main factors for engaging their children’s education level, according to literature review of this research paper findings of most research are academic performance, school environment, schools fee level, teaching procedure, students assessment, schools facilities and schools future academic programs. otherwise the most important things that parents were agree with that was the children’s security. references akhter, n. (2017). factors affecting parents’ inclination towards private school system in pakistan. journal of elementary education, 27(2), 49-69. adzima, k. (2014). the factors influencing parental valuation of pennsylvania charter schools in grades 3–6. journal of school choice, 8(2), 159-191. amonoo, j. (2014). factors influencing parents’ choice of a senior high school for their children (doctoral dissertation, university of cape coast). davis, a. m. (2011). why do parents choose to send their children to private schools: georgia southern university, georgia, electronic theses and dissertations? 382, retrieved from https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/382 71 29 86.5 13.5 0 20 40 60 80 100 most agree medium agree male female https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 35 hidayati, d., & rifa’i, a. a. (2020). factors influencing parents’ decisions on choosing an islamic primary school in bandung indonesia. randwick international of social science journal, 1(1), 121-126. hamid, o., robert, c., daud, a., hodi, f. s., hwu, w. j., kefford, r., ... & ribas, a. (2019). five-year survival outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma treated with pembrolizumab in keynote-001. annals of oncology, 30(4), 582-588. kampanatsanyakorn, o. (2020). factors influencing parents’ choice in preschools’ selections in thailand: mahidol university, thailand. lee, d. p. y, ting, s. h. & lo, m. c. (2017). chinese or malay-medium schools? a study of factors influencing chinese parents' choice of primary schools in sarawak, malaysia. kajian malaysia, 35(1), 41–67. https://doi.org/10.21315/km2017.35.1.3. mawene, d., & bal, a. 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(2014). factors influencing parents’ decision in choosing private schools. procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 153, 242-253. yaacob, n. a., osman, m. m., & bachok, s. (2015). an assessment of factors influencing parents’ decision making when choosing a private school for their children: a case study of selangor, malaysia: for sustainable human capital. procedia environmental sciences, 28, 406-417. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) https://doi.org/10.21315/km2017.35.1.3 american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 33 social science research aijssr vol 14 no 1 (2023) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa usa invasion in afghanistan and its impact on central asia duman zhekenov (a)1 bakhtyar gul ahmadzai (b) (a) associate professor, al-farabi kazakh national university, kazakhstan; e-mail: duman.zhekenov@gmail.com (b) phd student, al-farabi kazakh national university; kazakhstan; e-mail: bakhtyarsalihzai123@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 29th july 2023 revised: 27th september 2023 accepted: 1st october 2023 published: 23rd october 2023 keywords: usa presence in central asia, usa policies, central asia importance, regional security, afghanistan, central asia, extremism, economy, sovereignty jel classification codes: n40 a b s t r a c t this study examines the effects of the warfare in afghanistan, which has resulted in immense casualties, change of political power. the political aspects of american presence in afghanistan and its effects on the central asian region are the main subjects of our research. the goal of the study is to comprehend the complex relationship that emerged after 9/11 attacks and the american invasion. we use qualitative and descriptive-analytical techniques to evaluate the effects of american presence on the central asian nations. our analysis focuses on assessing the effects on the economy, security, and sovereignty of the region. afghanistan's crucial role in determining the geopolitical dynamics of the area has an impact on central asia, which has historically served as a crossroads for world powers. our finding address important issues pertaining to the strategic goals of the united states in central asia. we shed light on how they affect regional sovereignty, economy, and security. the dynamics of afghanistan have continued to influence interactions and conflicts in central asia, magnifying the engagement of international and regional forces as well as the activity of fundamentalist groups. the stability of central asian nations is being put under further stress by the growth of extremism. in conclusion, our research reveals the complex interactions between american participation in afghanistan and the stability and growth of central asia. we provide a comprehensive analysis of how the u.s. presence has impacted central asian dynamics, illuminating its wider security implications for the region and the world. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction for a very long time, the central asian region has been considered an important "territorial union." this region, which includes the autonomous nations of kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, tajikistan, turkmenistan, and uzbekistan, straddles the intersection of eurasia and the heart of asia. despite having a distinct cultural, historical, and social character, afghanistan is strikingly similar to its central asian neighbours. a complex mix of social, political, and geopolitical influences has shaped afghanistan's history. afghanistan served as a battlefield in the infamous three anglo-afghan wars because of its advantageous location halfway between the british and russian areas of influence. despite these difficulties, afghanistan was able to maintain a substantial amount of sovereignty and autonomy despite the turbulent tides of imperialism thanks to its exceptional geographical location and the afghanistan was able to maintain its neutrality during world war ii despite the upheavals of the 20th century, which strengthened its position as a buffer state of utmost importance to its neighbours. superpowers have often expressed interest in it due to its strategic location, which has prompted a number of interventions, including the infamous soviet invasion. a strategic consideration for the ussr in afghanistan was the country's extensive borders with the soviet republics of tajikistan, uzbekistan, and turkmenistan. this resulted in a significant military intervention, which caused untold destruction and casualties as well as the start of a civil war in afghanistan. parallel to this, the ussr's growing influence in afghanistan unnerved the us, which is why the us decided to fight it by inventing and funding the mujahidin through pakistan's isi. this signalled the start of a clandestine proxy conflict. pakistan's ex-prime minister zia-ul-haq hoped for international assistance for afghan resistance because he feared a soviet invasion of balochistan. saudi arabia and the united states entered the battle, heavily supporting and training the afghan opposition. this time period would go on to be seen as a turning point in the history of the worldwide islamic jihad, with 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-5292-5070 © 2023 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2102 to cite this article: zhekenov, d., & ahmadzai, b. g. (2023). usa invasion in afghanistan and its impact on central asia. american international journal of social science research, 14(1), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2102 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2102 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5292-5070 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3149-1896 muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 34 zia-ul-haq playing a major part. afghanistan was significant due to its advantageous geographic location, despite its weak economy and lack of inherent economic worth. following the sad events of 9/11, the us joined the scene, not just in afghanistan but also in iraq and syria, advancing narratives focused on minority rights, women's rights, and human rights as a new strategy for establishing domination. for its military intervention in afghanistan, the united states outlined six main objectives, including enhancing political stability, promoting economic and social development, reducing terrorist threats, implementing regional and donor strategies, and integrating u.s. government actions. but despite twenty years of involvement, these goals are still mostly unmet. the effects of american involvement in afghanistan are seen throughout central asia, as the country's instability encourages more people to migrate to tajikistan and uzbekistan and raises security worries there. taking advantage of the chance, china has escalated its involvement in the region to demonstrate its expanding power. u.s. engagement has an effect on trade and commerce routes through afghanistan to south asian nations. after 9/11, the united states put together an anti-terrorist coalition to drive out the taliban and strengthen the warlords of the northern alliance and their networks. as a result, the u.s. invasion has had a significant impact on security, economics, trade, sovereignty, foreign investments, and central asian republics' views of the united republics and finally usa and nato withdraw from afghanistan and taliban come back to power literature review the analysis of the foundational research's strengths and flaws in the literature review section sets the stage for this paper's contribution in light of current advancements. a thorough analysis of the important sources has been done, and this section's organisation is logically organised to support the study's objectives. in order to maintain coherence and relevance, each paragraph offers an analysis of just one source. the 9/11 attacks and u.s. occupation of afghanistan an important period in modern history was the time after september 11, 2001, and the ensuing american occupation of afghanistan. notable insights into these incidents have been offered by a number of notable publications and academic articles: in "ghost wars: the secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the soviet invasion to september 10, 2001" by steve coll, a thorough historical account of american involvement in afghanistan prior to the 9/11 attacks is provided. coll's meticulous account dives into the intricate network of covert operations and tactical manoeuvring that set the stage for the subsequent events.the national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states' "the 9/11 commission report" provides an in-depth analysis of the 9/11 attacks, from its preparation through the american reaction. this in-depth report has been a crucial tool for comprehending the complexities of the tragedy.the difficulties the us faced in afghanistan after september 11, 2001 are discussed in detail in jack fairweather's book "the good war: why we couldn't win the war or the peace in afghanistan". in his study, fair weather evaluates the dynamics and effects of american participation in the region after 9/11. importance of central asia for superpowers global heavyweights have always been interested in central asia due to its strategic location and resource abundance. the sources listed below offer important details about this occurrence: the "new great game: blood and oil in central asia" by lutz kleveman provides a historical perspective on the geopolitical struggle for dominance in central asia known as the "great game." the work of kleveman charts the development of outside interventions in the area. china's rising presence in central asia, motivated by its energy needs and the strategic importance of the region, is examined in martha brill olcott's (2000) article "china's energy strategy in central asia: a new silk road?" understanding the current central asian power relations requires reading this essay in its entirety.the historical struggle between superpowers for influence in central asia is deftly described in peter hopkirk's "the great game: the myth and reality of espionage." the groundwork for understanding the region's long-lasting relevance is laid by hopkirk's work. usa intentions and excuses in central asia it is crucial to comprehend american goals in central asia and the justification for its activities. in his article "central asia and the rise of the new great power contest," richard weitz examines the region's altering geopolitics, taking into account both american presence and strategic goals. the new great power contest in central asia: washington, moscow, and beijing by jeffrey mankoff explores the connections between the us, russia, and china as well as the power dynamics in the region. this source offers insightful information on how the global situation is changing. "democracy without freedom in central asia: the case of kazakhstan" by putz (2018) focuses on the difficulties in developing democracy in the region and illuminates the intricacies of american efforts to advance political reform. usa presence in the region and impact on central asia the american presence in central asia has had a significant impact. the impact of the american military presence on regional security is examined in "the us in central asia: resolving security issues" by siddharth varadarajan. this site provides a thorough review of the effects of american engagement. the developing nature of american involvement in muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 35 central asia and its effects on the region are examined in roy allison's "the united states and central asia: a new great game?" the work of allison offers a complex knowledge of the local dynamics as they change. the complicated geopolitical landscape of central asia and the role of external parties, particularly the united states, are explored in arkady dubnov's "a new great game in central asia? ambitions and rivalries". this information is essential for comprehending the complexities of modern regional politics. the literature analysis concludes by offering a thorough account of the historical, geopolitical, and strategic background of the american involvement in central asia. it serves as the starting point for this study's analysis and hypothesis-building process. materials and methods this article's goal is to provide a thorough study of american actions in central asia following the events of september 11, 2001, and to throw light on the country's future ambitions for the area. the following theories serve as the foundation for this study: due to its geopolitical importance, wealth in natural resources, and influence of neighbouring countries like russia, china, and iran, the u.s. has strategically engaged with central asia. the united states has influence in the region as a result of historical, cultural, and religious relationships with central asian nations. in this study, sampling is based on a thorough examination of the historical and modern records already in existence. the collection draws from a wide range of primary and secondary sources that present many points of view on american foreign policy in central asia. this study's sample size includes a wide range of primary and secondary sources, enabling a thorough investigation of the topic. the reliability and accessibility of the sources chosen determine the study's power and precision, ensuring a solid basis for analysis. the focus of the study is on american strategies, deeds, and relationships in central asia. the evaluation of political, economic, and security elements is one measure, as are the effects of these policies on regional dynamics. covariates include environmental variables, historical occurrences, and geopolitical issues that could affect american actions. this study uses a historical and scientific research approach in order to give readers a comprehensive grasp of american policies and how they affect central asia. the integration and analysis of primary and secondary sources are highlighted by the historical methodology. data analysis experiments have been conducted on both historical and modern data. in order to thoroughly analyse u.s. actions in central asia, this research employs a historical methodology and incorporates a multitude of primary and secondary data. the availability of reliable sources and the incorporation of various viewpoints strengthen this study. the research makes a significant contribution to the fields of central asian and u.s. studies and its allied disciplines since it focuses on american policies, their influences, and their future plans for the central asian region. discussions us invasion in afghanistan and its impact 9/11 attacks and usa presence in the region and afghanistan on september 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the islamic extremist group al qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the united states. two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the world trade center in new york city, a third plane hit the pentagon in arlington, virginia, just outside washington, d.c., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in shanksville, pennsylvania. almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major u.s. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of george w. bush (angerer, 2023). in 2001 an international coalition led by the usa invaded afghanistan to destroy terrorist organization al-qaeda when the taliban refused to hand over osama bin laden. british forces went in alongside us troops. at the height of the conflict there were more than 130,000 nato troops on the ground (iwm, 2023). the us interests in central asia in general and afghanistan in particular is comparatively of recent origin (mihalka, 2008). afghanistan oil and gas is not the reason the us has attacked afghanistan, but afghanistan has long had a key place in us plans to secure control of the vast and landlocked oil and gas resources of central asia (prakash, 2003). nato allies went into afghanistan in 2001. from august 2003, nato led the un-mandated international security assistance force (isaf), which aimed to create the conditions whereby the afghan government could exercise its authority throughout the country and build the capacity of the afghan national security forces, including in the fight against international terrorism. isaf was completed in december 2014 when the afghan national defense and security forces assumed full responsibility for security across their country. under the current circumstances, nato has suspended all support to afghanistan. any future afghan government must adhere to afghanistan’s international obligations; safeguard the human rights of all afghans, particularly women, children and minorities; uphold the rule of law; allow unhindered humanitarian access; and ensure that afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists (nato, 2022). according to a trove of confidential government interviews with diplomats, military officials and aid workers who played a direct role in the conflict. instead of bringing stability and peace, they said, the united states inadvertently built a corrupt, dysfunctional afghan government that remains dependent on u.s. military power for its survival. assuming it does not collapse, u.s. officials have said it will need billions more dollars in aid annually, for decades. speaking candidly on muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 36 the assumption that most of their remarks would not be made public, those interviewed said washington foolishly tried to reinvent afghanistan in its own image by imposing a centralized democracy and a freemarket economy on an ancient, tribal society that was unsuited for either (whitlock, 2019) . throughout, u.s. policy was guided by a number of myths. one was that the afghan strongmen, warlords, and militia commanders the united states chose as allies in ousting the taliban could help to provide security and stability, despite their records of abuses. in fact, the opposite proved to be the case. persistent human rights abuses by warlords were a source of insecurity, and worse, over time, they fueled widespread resentment, undermined efforts to foster good governance at the local and national levels, and helped the taliban obtain new support and recruits. in late 2001, after northern alliance forces ousted the taliban from the north, their militias – some led by men holding office today – carried out systematic attacks on pashtun villages, raping women, summarily executing civilians, and stealing livestock and land (gossman, 2021) . for two decades, americans have told each other one lie after another about the war in afghanistan. the lies have come from the white house, congress, the state department, the pentagon, and the cia, as well as from hollywood, cable news experts, journalists, and the broader culture. one of the first things the u.s. did after gaining effective control over afghanistan following the taliban’s ouster in 2001 was to set up secret torture chambers. beginning in 2002, the cia tortured both afghans and foreign prisoners flown to these torture rooms from all over central asia, africa, and the middle east. the worst torture chamber was nicknamed “the darkness” by the prisoners sent there, who suffered such complete sensory deprivation that they did not even know they were in afghanistan. they were chained in solitary confinement with no light and music blaring constantly. they were hung by their arms for as long as two days, slammed against walls, forced to lie naked on tarps while gallons of ice water were poured over their bodies. at least one prisoner died in cia custody after being left shackled in frigid temperatures. no one was ever held to account for the american torture regime in afghanistan (risen, 2021). in february 2020, after more than a year of direct negotiations, the u.s. government and the taliban signed a peace deal, the so-called doha agreement that set a timeline for the withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan. under the agreement, the united states pledged to draw down u.s. troops to approximately 8,500 within 135 days and complete a full withdrawal within fourteen months. in return, the taliban pledged to prevent territory under its control from being used by terrorist groups and to enter into negotiations with the afghan government. however, no official ceasefire was put in place. after a brief reduction in violence, the taliban quickly resumed attacks on afghan security forces and civilians. direct talks between the afghan government and the taliban began months after the agreed-upon start of march 2020; however, the negotiations faced multiple delays and ultimately made little progress. violence across afghanistan continued in 2020 and 2021 as the united states increased air strikes and raids targeting the taliban. the taliban, in turn, attacked afghan government and andsf targets and made significant territorial gains. in april 2021, u.s. president joe biden announced that u.s. military forces would leave afghanistan by september 2021. the taliban, which had continued to capture and contest territory across the country despite ongoing peace talks with the afghan government, ramped up attacks on andsf bases and outposts and began to rapidly seize more territory. in may 2021, the u.s. military accelerated the pace of its troop withdrawal. by the end of july 2021, the united states had completed nearly 95 percent of its withdrawal, leaving just 650 troops to protect the u.s. embassy in kabul. in the summer of 2021, the taliban continued its offensive, threatening government-controlled urban areas and seizing several border crossings. in early august, the taliban began direct assaults on multiple urban areas, including kandahar in the south and herat in the west. on august 6, 2021, the taliban captured the capital of southern nimruz province, the first provincial capital to fall. after that, provincial capitals began to fall in rapid succession. within days, the taliban captured more than ten other capitals, including mazar-i-sharif in the north and jalalabad in the east, leaving kabul the only major urban area under government control. on august 15, 2021, over two weeks before the official u.s. withdrawal deadline, taliban fighters entered the capital kabul and took power. afghan president ashraf ghani subsequently fled the country and the afghan government collapsed. later that same day, the taliban announced they had entered the presidential palace, taken control of kabul, and were establishing checkpoints to maintain security. the speed of the taliban’s territorial gains and collapse of both the andsf and afghan government surprised u.s. officials and allies—as well as, reportedly, the taliban itself—despite earlier intelligence assessments of the situation on the ground. following the taliban’s take-over on august 15, 2021(center for preventive action, 2022). special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction (sigar) the report says the us exit from afghanistan resulted in the taliban regaining control of the country (dar, 2014). importance of central asia for super powers in the geopolitical and geo-economic scenario, the strategic position and ownership of a state or region remains challenging issue as evident from the evolving strategic scenario of 21st century international politics. these are the most influencing factors to invite the attention of greater powers in times of war and peace. the locational significance of a region or a state is an important aspect of strategic affairs in various interventionist policies in order to enlarge political influence across the borders. the concept of strategic significance emerged since late 19th century as an important discourse in conceptualizing the international political developments and is still dominating factor in strategic scenario of international politics. the contemporary international politics is revolving around the https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/03/03/today-we-shall-all-die/afghanistans-strongmen-and-legacy-impunity https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/03/03/today-we-shall-all-die/afghanistans-strongmen-and-legacy-impunity https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/03/03/today-we-shall-all-die/afghanistans-strongmen-and-legacy-impunity https://www.hrw.org/news/2002/03/20/sins-taliban https://www.hrw.org/news/2002/03/20/sins-taliban https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/us-taliban-deal.html https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/02.29.20-us-afghanistan-joint-declaration.pdf https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/agreement-for-bringing-peace-to-afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/agreement-for-bringing-peace-to-afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghanistan-us-taliban-peace-deal-signing/2020/02/29/b952fb04-5a67-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/world/asia/taliban-cease-fire-step-afghanistan.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-violence.html https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/taliban-keep-close-ties-al-qaeda-despite-promise-u-s-n1258033 https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2020/01/27/the-us-is-bombing-the-hell-out-of-the-taliban-as-munitions-dropped-reaches-nearly-10-year-high/ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/world/asia/pentagon-afghanistan-airstrikes.html https://www.longwarjournal.org/mapping-taliban-control-in-afghanistan https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-us-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan/2021/04/13/918c3cae-9beb-11eb-8a83-3bc1fa69c2e8_story.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/world/asia/afghan-surrender-taliban.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/us/politics/us-afghanistan-withdrawal.html https://www.centcom.mil/media/press-releases/press-release-view/article/2708638/update-on-the-withdrawal-of-us-forces-from-afghanistan-july-26-2021/ https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-us-troop-withdrawal-ac5f7fc24364ac46020cce8bee581815 https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-us-troop-withdrawal-ac5f7fc24364ac46020cce8bee581815 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/06/03/afghanistan-war-taliban-helmand/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/08/afghanistan-taliban-attacks/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57773120 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/01/taliban-attacks-afghanistan/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/6/taliban-capture-afghan-provincial-capital-zaranj-nimruz https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/08/taliban-kunduz/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/16/taliban-timeline/ https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-bagram-e1ed33fe0c665ee67ba132c51b8e32a5 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-surrender.html https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-afghanistan-taliban-5934ef05b0094d0189b5d900d2380179 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghanistan-chaos-blame-us/2021/08/14/0d4e5ab2-fd3e-11eb-911c-524bc8b68f17_story.html https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/even-taliban-are-surprised-how-fast-they-re-advancing-afghanistan-n1272236 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/us/politics/afghanistan-biden-administration.html https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2022/9/12/the-talibans-afghanistan muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 37 geopolitics, geo-economics, strategic positions and possessions of vital resources rather than ideologies. states are more concerned with the national interest and promotion of national influence to meet the criteria of power. the elements of power are positioned in different geographical locations of the world and makes geopolitics and geoeconomics more relevant with the international politics. subsequently, the geopolitics as ‘position’ and geo-economics as ‘possession of vital resources,’ are the essentials of power politics and are strategically significant to sustain the life of scientific states of 21st century. heartland concept, post-cold war, global chessboard and post-september 11 scenario. it is believed that eurasia to be a part of the world island, and central asian states as core of the mackinder’s designs, strategic and economic relations that will influence the world affairs, should be referred to as geopolitical and geo-economic, or together as strategic because their significance is global in nature. however, keeping in view the methodological reasons and research limitation, the study will be specific on geopolitical position and geo-economic resources of central asia and will analyze the growing strategic significance of the region for major powers (us, russia, china and india) in the 21st century (aljazeera, 2022). great game, a political attitude adopted by great powers to achieve geo-strategic and geo-economic benefits in the central asian and the caspian region. the main thrush hold of current strategic and economic relations in the region are afghan crisis. throughout the nineteenth century, great britain was obsessed by the fear that one of the other european powers would take advantage of the political decay of central asia. from 18th century till date great powers are vulnerable to bump with each other to have hold on the central asia. a new force after disintegration of ussr is trying and mending its shoulders to have control over central asia. this economic hub is politically very important where almost all great powers from british to russia, us and china have interest prone to collision. in such circumstances other regional states like saudi arabi, iran and turkey, nuclear states like indian and pakistan have sway in the region in order to have major control over the gigantic economic resources which can flow through their countries (ali, 2020). the great game has led numerous evaluations which involved five republics of central asia as chessboard where international players are trying to win according to their interests. this game started earlier by british with russian cold war in the region for dominance but with course of time other new players like china and us led europe united to counter the russian and the rising influence of china . the ground was provided by local rulers who always for their own comforts tied themselves with the world powers and never tried to emerge as power bags themselves. their resources were and are utilized by world powers due to ruling dynasties or parties incompetence’s. in the 19th century, local afghan rulers, their palace rivalries and dynastic conflicts increasingly squeezed the afghan empire to its present borders. court rivalries and family disputes on power provided plenty opportunity to outside enemies to understand the weaknesses of regional rulers. to take benefits of rivalries and conflicts, both the british in india and the russians sought to bring afghanistan under their control in order to have sway on central asia. this anglo-russian rivalry (called the great game) earlier resulted in two wars, the first anglo-afghan war (1838-1842) and the second angloafghan war (1878-1880) in which british face stiff resistance and crushing defeats. but still the result was, the british secured control of afghanistan’s foreign relations (gillard, 2023). after 9/11 the security concern increased much when us got militarily involved in this region. in this concern russia got involved with its full strength to counter the interests of us and declared the formation of 11000 strong rapid reaction force to bring them in action at the time of need if its sovereignty or sovereignty of any member organization is threatened (smith, 2009). to counter any external threat the shanghai cooperation organization reappeared as “shanghai five” of china, kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, russia, and tajikistan in 1996 to solve all disputes internally and make a bond of tight security. the basic aim of the sco is security of the region in order to fight the common enemy us and terrorism including organized crimes, extremism, and illegal drug trafficking and weapons trade (krzysztof, 2002). the shanghai cooperation organization (sco) is a multi-national, cooperative regional institution in post-soviet central asia. a leading institution in a region that encompasses over 60 percent of the world’s land mass, more than onethird the world’s population, nearly 45 percent of the world’s energy reserves, and a combined economy that nearly equals the united states (u.s.) gross domestic product, the sco has significant influence over the world’s economy and security. moreover, the sco is an organization exclusive of america, which may potentially threaten u.s. security and interests (mcclellan, 2013). the most significant consequence is that central asia ceased to be a unified region. before the events of 9/11, central asia was regarded as a unified area in both geographical and geopolitical terms. the development of the region was mostly determined by the dynamics of five states – kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, uzbekistan, tajikistan and turkmenistan, and also by their interactions and mutual influence. as for today, from a geopolitical point of view, the region of central asia apart from the five former soviet republics, includes afghanistan, xinjiang and parts of mongolia. therefore, the fact that after 9/11 many western experts started using the term central eurasia is not accidental. however, from the geopolitical point of view this once unified region has become splintered. the states of the region found themselves in different political camps (karin, 2004). washington admittedly seeks energy access for u.s firms on a competitive basis, it knows full well that it cannot completely supplant russian or chinese interests in the region. rather, in keeping with the geopolitical imperative of preventing any imperial revival in eurasia, america simply wants to prevent russia or any other foreign power from dominating central asian energy markets. consequently, washington has championed pipelines like those of kazakhstan muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 38 and turkmenistan to china and the projected tap and turkmenistan-afghanistan-pakistan-india (tapi) line to india (blank, 2008). usa intentions to central asia the united states was among the first countries to recognize the five central asian countries when they became independent amid the 1991 dissolution of the soviet union (congressional research service, 2021). central asia is a critically important region for a number of united states strategic objectives. although the region‟s importance to the united states increased dramatically after the terrorist attacks of september 11th, 2001, u.s. interest in the region was certainly not a new phenomenon. after the collapse of the soviet union in 1991, the united states sought to help the newly independent countries of central asia develop both politically and economically. the united states also had important security interests in the region, though u.s. focus at the time centered on the removal of soviet-era nuclear stockpiles in kazakhstan rather than the threat of terrorism and militant islam. after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, central asia became a major focus for the united states as it began its initial offensives in the global war on terror to unseat the taliban in afghanistan. it quickly (and relatively easily) established military bases in uzbekistan, kyrgyzstan, and tajikistan in order to more efficiently conduct its military campaign in afghanistan. yet recent developments in the region have many analysts concerned about a diminishing role for the united states in central asia (dunn, 2009). the case for rebooting u.s policy as the united states continues on a glide path toward a substantially smaller military footprint in afghanistan, central asia’s importance as the gateway to afghanistan will decline in america’s strategic calculus. central asia’s first quarter century of independence was marked by a geopolitical orientation toward the west. the united states helped the five central asian states establish their independence and sovereignty. america fulfilled its promise of partnership at that crucial stage, and these states have been important partners to the united states at critical times. central asia is on a different trajectory now. the region is in the midst of a major geopolitical shift that will diminish its ties to the euro-atlantic community and will elevate china’s influence in and importance to central asian states. for the foreseeable future, beijing and moscow will be the region’s principal economic, political, and security partners due to china’s preeminent regional economic power and russia’s residual presence. these developments portend declining american presence in and influence over the region—and greater difficulty in transforming central asian states into democratic, free-market economies knitted together by regional economic integration. advancing washington’s priorities in this new environment will require significant changes in u.s. policy (rumer, sokolsky & stronski, 2016). even if a u.s. military base does eventually open in central asia, it won’t change the balance of power on the ground. there are no interests that require washington to have a long-term policy on the region. moscow and beijing, on the other hand, have no choice but to closely follow regional developments, since their own security depends on them. furthermore, china is not just an important economic partner now, but is actively moving to institutionalize its relations with the central asian states (umarov, 2021). later on 7 january 2002, speaking at bagram airbase near kabul, visiting us senator joseph liebermann also indicated a significant shift in washington’s policy, we learned at a very high and painful price the cost of a lack of involvement in central asia on 11 september and we are not going to let it happen again. u.s. experts agree on the need for washington to rethink its strategy for central asia in light of its withdrawal from afghanistan but are divided on what shape that new strategy should take. until 2001, few americans knew this remote region. but it played a key role in u.s. military operations in afghanistan, with uzbekistan and kyrgyzstan hosting air bases and helping the coalition transport critical goods. u.s. deputy assistant secretary of state lesslie viguerie said central asia is still strategically important, despite the u.s. exit from afghanistan. “many things have changed over decades, but our overarching goals remain the same: sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” viguerie said (imamova, 2022a). martha brill olcott in carnegie center said, the main reason why democracies have not developed in central asia is that the region's leaders don't want them to. however, the region's rulers would like us to believe that the failure of democracy-building in the region is a good thing, not a bad one. they portray their populations as unready for democracy, politically-immature and capable of being swayed by extreme ideologies. in addition, they say that their people respect strong rulers and like them and that as traditional asians they are ill-disposed to democracy. putz and american writer ,write in the diplomat in article that kazakhstan recorded a decline, to 6.71, in part due to worsening civil society conditions — harassment of activists, journalists, lawyers, social media users, and religious communities — and negative changes in the realm of judicial systems. democracy requires free and credible media. this was among the critical messages that u.s. acting assistant secretary of state for global public affairs elizabeth kennedy trudeau delivered during a recent visit to central asia. trudeau visited uzbekistan, washington's strategic partner, and kyrgyzstan, which the biden administration sees as "the light of freedom" in central asia despite continuing setbacks and a wave of recent detentions of activists and civil society https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2018/kazakhstan muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 39 figures (imamova, 2022b) from other side russia also warn central asia and write, five republics of central asia and georgia seem to have turned a deaf ear to russian concerns about the us military intrusion into their strategic space. to meet this american threat in the central asian region, moscow is for the time being trying to consolidate its relations with kazakhstan, turkmenistan and tajikistan. apparently, it has reconciled itself to a long term us military presence in georgia, uzbekistan and kyrgyzstan. usa presence in the region and impact on central asia when us launched war on terrorism in afghanistan by us and her allies, uzbekistan was the frontline state among central asian republics to support america. its willingness to open its borders to us troops and its permission to launch attacks on the taliban from its military bases helped it to boost its fragile economy but on the other hand the extremist groups got reactivated (maynes, 2003). the u.s has started to persuade the governments of tajikistan and uzbekistan to allow its military bases on the territory of these central asian countries. first of all, this enabled the american military to conduct special operations in afghanistan and deliver "over-the horizon" missile strikes there against reconnaissance targets using long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (uav), according to frontier post. earlier, undersecretary of defense for policy colin kal, during a hearing in the us senate armed services committee, hinted that, if necessary, in order to establish bases in the central asian region, the pentagon would bribe the leadership of tajikistan and uzbekistan. moscow, in turn, strongly opposes america's military presence in central asia, which for russia is important for organizing its strategic defense (ani asia, 2022). these five republics have achieved impressive economic results with relatively high growth rates over the last few years based on natural resources underpinned by rising global prices for those exports. the reason for the high growth rates, central asia became attractive to the european union (eu) and the u.s, as well as other western countries and the people’s republic of china (prc) as providers of energy and natural resources (luong & weinthal, 2002). us can assist central asia in strengthening its role as a connector for the east and west. rich in oil, gas, and energy, the us can focus on globalizing these markets by increasing foreign investments and diversifying the region’s private sectors (allaf, 2022). the five republics uzbekistan, tajikistan, kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan and turkmenistan do not trust the americans or nato to secure the region after 2015, because of their collective failure to secure peace inside afghanistan (maynes, 2003). super powers are searching for oil and gas in central asia, but central asian countries doesn’t trust super power countries, because these countries are suspicious about the super power colonialized mentality. central asia is situated between russia and china. granted, these two great powers are not as powerful as the united states on a global scale. yet since the aforementioned “linkages” between the “stans” and the west are tenuous, the central asian republics essentially perceive russia and china as superpowers. the historical and contemporary “linkages” between russia and the “stans” (ranging from national, cultural, and linguistic to political, economic, and military) are extensive and the infrastructural projects associated with china’s belt and road initiative (bri) harbor significant potential for beijing to amass much greater “linkages” with the “stans.” all of the central asian republics seek to limit moscow and beijing’s leverage, but existing “linkages” coupled with geographic realities undercut the ability of the “stans” to effectively offset russian and chinese influence (sullivan, 2019). the article gives a thorough summary of the geopolitical relevance of central asia, especially in light of superpowers like china, russia, and the united states. the influence of us presence in the region and the changing dynamics among these key players are also covered. to encapsulate the main findings:  geopolitical significance of central asia: the article highlights the region's strategic significance, pointing out that major international powers have taken notice of it because of its advantageous location and plenty of natural resources.  the "great game": this article's recurring topic emphasises the rivalry of major powers—including the us, china, and russia—for influence in the central asian region, both historically and currently.  impact of us presence: the article highlights the us's substantial involvement in central asia, especially in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. to assist with its military activities in afghanistan, the united states built military bases in a number of central asian nations.  change in geopolitical alliances: it is noted that china and russia are progressively taking the lead as the region's main political and economic allies. this is causing a change in the geopolitical landscape of central asia. the article makes the argument that as central asian nations deepen their connections with china and russia, american influence may eventually wane.  interests in resources and energy: the essay emphasises how crucial central asia's abundant natural resources—such as oil, gas, and energy—are in drawing in big nations like china and the united states.  difficulties with democracy: the article discusses obstacles to the growth of democracy in the area, such as https://www.business-standard.com/topic/tajikistan https://www.business-standard.com/topic/uzbekistan https://www.business-standard.com/topic/tajikistan https://www.business-standard.com/topic/uzbekistan muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 40 restrictions on the freedom of the media, civil society, and human rights. it implies that local authorities oppose democracy and spread myths about how unprepared their people are for democratic rule.  security concerns and regional organisations: in order to handle challenges like organised crime and counterterrorism, the shanghai cooperation organisation (sco) and other regional organisations have been formed. in conclusion, the paper offers a thorough examination of the strategic significance of central asia as well as the changing relationships between the key regional powers. it sheds light on the intricacies of central asian geopolitics by highlighting the historical background, resource interests, and threats to democracy in the area. examining the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the role of the united states in the region, the article explores a complicated web of geopolitical relationships. the first section of the article sets the historical context, highlighting the resurgence of geopolitical tensions in central asia following the 9/11 attacks and the pivotal role played by the united states in these developments. the consequences of the american invasion of afghanistan in 2001 are then covered. it demonstrates how the u.s. intervention increased the dominance of warlords in the northern alliance and caused great misery, especially for the pashtun people. in anticipation of financial assistance for progress and democratic changes, the essay emphasises the prospects that the coalition led by the united states against terrorism offers to central asian republics. it describes how china and russia reacted with concern to this development. it outlines the worries of turkmenistan, tajikistan, and uzbekistan in particular, who are neighbours of afghanistan. although prior peaceful relations are also acknowledged, the concerns posed by military invasions, drug and weapon trade, refugee flows, and water sharing issues are acknowledged. the article focuses on the strategic goals of the united states, including access to oil and gas resources, as well as the tactics it uses in central asia. it draws attention to how sceptical and resistant central asian nations are to american influence. the u.s.'s inability to accomplish its objectives in afghanistan and the taliban's potential return in 2021 are highlighted. according to the article, following this setback, officials in central asia lost faith in the united states. given that central asia received financial assistance from the united states and other foreign countries, it highlights the financial consequences of american involvement in the area. conclusions after 9/11 attacks on pentagon and world business center in america afghanistan once again fell in geopolitical game after russian invasion which the us is the main actor. the united states invaded to afghanistan in 2001 in the name of selfdefense war, and give power to north alliance warlords and mafia and they rule afghanistan for 20 years, killed, bombed, take the lands of pushtun, took all afghanistan resources, mines, all foreign aids in the name of terrorist with the help of usa .pushtun who are near 70% population of afghanistan suffer during these 20 years because of the north alliance, warlords and mafia. the attacks of 9/11 and launching us-led anti-terrorist coalition, provided opportunities to the central asian republics states to eradicate islamic radicalism. central asian republics were hoping us economic assistance will come to central asian countries and it will boost economic development and democratic reforms in the region. after taking the military air bases america become the biggest player in the region. so china as well as russia was not happy about the closeness of the usa in the central asia region. so russia and china with some central asian countries made shanghai cooperation organization (sco) and its defense bloc to nato specially for america.there is an idea the attacks didn’t carried by al qaeda it was just drama of america government to gain some international interests, but still it’s not proved who did it and for what, osama bin laden leader of al qaeda was member of cia in 1984 and he fought against soviet russian hand to hand with america in afghanistan, american killed him in pakistan in very strategic and military place of pakistan.the us invasion in afghanistan had huge impact on central asian region , the neighbours of afghanistan especially uzbekistan, tajikistan and turkmenistan intensify the threats of military incursions, drug and weapons trading, refugee flows and water sharing ,but in afghanistan history afghanistan was always peaceful with northern neighbors it mean central asian countries ,always live in peaceful life and never had problem ,but some time tajikistan is interfering in afghanistan internal issues and supporting tajik ethnic in afghanistan against pashtuns. afghanistan have share water with tajikistan, uzbekistan and turkmenistan but still they are all using peacefully the water.us invasion to afghanistan is an opportunities to us to fulfill its interests in central asian regions. taking us military bases in central asia show it can find easily place make air bases it mean by power , money or diplomacy us can convince central asian countries to find the place for themselves and implement its hegemonic plans and policies.after us has failed to achieve its goals in afghanistan and taliban back to power in 2021 august after taliban and america doha agreement, because they didn’t support ashraf ghani government and fake human right, women right and democracy, these things are just way to achieve us national interests, central asian leaders lost they are trust on usa after lost in afghanistan war.usa presence in region effect on economy because usa and international community provide economic aid for central asian region. russian and china also interested in central asia, us is trying to interfere in central asian region by the name of democracy and freedom ,us always talking about the regime of central asian countries ,us says its authoritarian governments . interests of usa in central asia is strategic location oil and gas wealth, but central asian people and governments are fear of china influence, russian are not trusted and they don’t like american supremacy and hegemonic mentality.after two decades of us-led intervention in afghanistan the country is same like before 9/11 the same group of taliban are in power and this power muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 33-42 41 shifted by americana in doha agreement. america keep afghanistan unsecure and poor to find soldiers for daesh to make central asia unsecure ,some proof shows that american forces carry some daesh members from south of afghanistan to north afghanistan border with central asian countries ,us want to create problems for russia and china. long-term peace in afghanistan will depend equally on the country’s regional neighbours and the central asian states. pakistan cia which is the source of insecurity in the region and the real source of insecurity, should pressure by russia, china to not insecure the region any more not support jihadi and terrorist groups. all the central asian republics and afghanistan should become united to keep outside powers like us out from entering in this oil and gas, lithium, rich region. the most important indicator relates to the patterns of friendship and hostility: border disputes, ideological conflicts, political tensions over water resources and cultural and historical characteristics the joint ultimately led to the security affiliation between central asian should solve. central asian governments must use some regional, international actors also regional mechanisms of cooperation and security, the organization shanghai cooperation, the united nations and the invitation of the international community, new laws adjust the office to counter islamic extremism and terrorism. also from regional mechanisms including the shanghai cooperation organization and the economic union eurasia that is one of the possible solutions to confrontation the us in the central asian region. central asian countries and regional countries including russia, china should support the converting the situation in afghanistan by supporting the peace practice in afghanistan. afghanistan to be permanently joined by the shanghai cooperation organization and to help this country construction because afghanistan have necessary capacity in regional convergence, central asia gain benefits in the space of interaction and cooperation in the region and strengthen afghanistan. author contributions: conceptualization, d.z. and b.g.a.; methodology, d.z.; software, d.z.; validation, d.z. and b.g.a.; formal analysis, d.z. and b.g.a.; investigation, d.z. and b.g.a.; resources, d.z. and b.g.a.; data curation, d.z.; writing – original draft preparation, d.z. and b.g.a.; writing – review & editing, d.z. and b.g.a.; visualization, d.z.; supervision, d.z.; project administration, d.z.; funding acquisition, d.z. and b.g.a. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references ali, b. h. a. t. 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(2019) built to fail, the washington post. retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-nation building publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 14 social science research aijssr vol 12 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa a comparative study on asia and europe on start-up led innovations as a vehicle for development: any lesson for africa continental free trade area victor otieno (a) stephen muathe (b)1 (a) managing director, viffa consult limited, kenya; e-mail: victor@viffaconsult.co.ke (b) senior lecturer in entrepreneurship & management, school of business, business administration, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: muathe.stephen@ku.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 11 june 2022 accepted: 25 july 2022 online publication: 30 july 2022 keywords: africa continental free trade area innovation, start-up jel classification codes: b17, f13 a b s t r a c t this study investigates opportunities that african governments can pursue in furthering their development agenda by leveraging the market's affinity for mobile technology and the momentum built by fintech firms in mobile-based innovation. the study reviews secondary data on innovation-led development initiatives and compares strategies adopted by countries across europe, asia, and africa. the results reveal that europe and asia have inculcated structured use of research and development in start-up ecosystems to ensure that innovation addresses specific development agendas. in contrast, africa abounds with highvalue natural resources, yet the continent's manufacturing sector is regressing, with intra-africa trade in consumer goods stagnating at 13% for decades. the study's findings point out that african governments recognize the role start-ups play in addressing unemployment and attendant poverty in africa. fintech start-ups and innovators have been at the forefront of delivering financial services using mobile telephony to communities hitherto financially excluded. the success of african mobile money innovations is widely published, and fintech start-ups have attracted the interest of venture capitalists – where 62% of investment funds flowing to start-ups are committed to the fintech sector. there is limited traction in using innovation to address issues like access to potable water, clean energy, affordable healthcare, and quality education. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction a start-up in the context of this paper is a business focused on providing innovative technology-based solutions to business and societal challenges. such an enterprise is typically less than ten years old, and solutions proffered can be scaled quickly in terms of geographical reach and use cases (african union commission, 2020). innovation for development bears three distinct characteristics: (1) significant time is spent in research and development with the engagement of academia and research organizations, (2) innovation is systematically aligned to the country's industrialization strategy, and (3) route to market is clearly defined at a national or regional level (european union, 2020). developed start-up ecosystems across asia and europe inculcate research and development in innovation workstreams (degelsegger et al., 2014). academia and research organizations play a vital role in ensuring the appropriate use of science and technology in innovations. this is not just at the start-up level effort is being applied within european and asian countries to ensure the introduction of creative use of science and technology in public education institutions (nicita et al., 2021). a scan of asian start-up innovations reveals a focus on the production of consumer goods and services for consumption within domestic markets. the approach is supported by the sheer size of domestic markets, which are able to support the scaling of start-up innovations. china and india, for instance, each have populations exceeding a billion which 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-8192-5774 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1776 to cite this article: otieno, v., & muathe, s. (2022). a comparative study on asia and europe on start-up led innovations as a vehicle for development: any lesson for africa continental free trade are. american international journal of social science research, 12(1), 14-22. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1776 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1776 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2763-4014 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-5774 otieno & muathe, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 15 is equal to africa's and more than europe's population (world economic forum, 2019). europe's start-up ecosystems lean more toward export markets. the focus is thus on improving manufacturing technology so that industries can create products destined for global markets more efficiently (rossetti et al., 2018). european industries collectively strive at being the global benchmark for standards and quality. start-up ecosystems are on an upward trajectory, fuelled by the creative use of technology and the creation of new regional market opportunities (startup genome, 2021). the rapid growth of start-ups in mature markets presents significant innovation challenges to budding start-up ecosystems in africa. first, defining unique aspects of tech products is becoming more difficult with the explosion of generic solutions to meet shared needs. secondly, high levels of funding available to start-ups in developed markets enable them to offer solutions to global markets using freemium pricing models. third, innovation hubs in africa are yet to develop to the level of those found in europe, asia, and the united states in terms of research and development support available to innovators. implementation of the africa free trade area should take cognizance of these dynamics to improve the competitiveness of african innovations (muathe & otieno, 2022). start-ups in africa africa’s start-up ecosystem is still in its infancy. the global ecosystem startup report for 2021 assigns a value of usd 6.6 billion to african start-up ecosystems. 90% of this value is in five cities across four countries. foreign investors dominate the ecosystems, and there are limited scale-up activities reported. africa has only seven unicorns (privately held start-ups with a valuation of at least usd 1 billion) (startup genome, 2021). the operationalization of the africa continental free trade area should open up a vibrant market for african businesses. the opportunity for consumer goods and services is 1.3 billion people with a usd 3.4 trillion (cfta continental free trade area, n.d.). the opportunity notwithstanding, the african union, individual governments, and businesses will need to address the decade-long stagnation of intra-african exports at 13% (unctad, 2022). as the governments leverage the free trade area to spur the development of start-ups, plans need to be in place to ensure the availability of african consumer products that meet market needs, communicate awareness of the products, and instil market confidence in the products. there is limited traction in innovation for the delivery of citizen services (startup genome, 2021). regulations governing community services such as water, energy, healthcare, and education limit distribution activities that would benefit from innovation to state agencies (unctad, 2018). it is not easy for such a state agency to engage start-ups due to procurement regulations that dissuade single-sourcing specific solutions from particular start-ups. regulations also limit access to sources of natural resources which start-ups would otherwise use to deliver citizen services (smart africa secretariat, 2020). for instance, it is common to find african countries forbidding competition with state-owned electricity supply companies. literature review according to the world economic forum, afcfta can double or triple the current throughput of africa intra-regional trade provided there is harmonization of border post clearing processes, and regulatory requirements across the continent (cloete, 2019). the individual governments will need to put in place interventions to increase capacities of businesses through entrepreneurial skills development, increase access to credit/capital and build strong production bases that can integrate with manufacturing networks across the continent. briter bridges (2021) reports that 62% of venture investment deals over year 2021 were concentrated in the fintech sector. it is noteworthy that another 33% of deals were committed to other tech-based solutions. africa’s fintech sector has thrived over the years evidenced by increase of the financially included from 23% in 2011 to 43% by 2018 according to a report from mastercard foundation and international finance corporation (2018). financial inclusion as presently delivered benefits the banking sector alone – where more money is brought into the formal banking system. it was largely assumed that the mopped-up funds would be channelled as capital for ventures in other sectors. however, very little traction, if any, has been witnessed in diversification of investment funds to start-ups in other sectors. trade logistics, green energy and consumer distribution are some of the opportunity areas where large enterprises seek innovative ideas from start-ups. afrilabs states that there are more than 1,000 privately run innovation hubs in africa whose focus is in offering business training, idea pitching sessions and workspaces to start-ups (sarange & chuku, 2021). there are also some government-sponsored hubs coming up in countries such as kenya, tunisia, and rwanda which are more inclined towards building entrepreneur’s technical skills in the development of cottage industries. the hubs play a critical role in offering start-ups access to resources, markets and support. what is lacking for many is a clear pathway for start-ups to develop from being micro-enterprises to well established organizations capable of attracting significant investor funds and executing cross-border business deals. india has in place processes that ensure consistent review of policies and interventions impacting start-ups that they deliver desired outcomes – a model that should be emulated by africa start-up ecosystem stakeholders (korreck, 2019). start-ups in asia have the benefit of having domestic markets for their innovations that are large enough to grow their business to scale. countries like india and china have individual population’s sizes that match the whole of africa (world economic forum, 2019). multiple reports indicate that nigeria has the largest number of start-ups in africa and it could be due to the high population, which like in the case of asia, is attractive to both entrepreneurs and investors. it is noteworthy that africa’s first start-up unicorns originate from nigeria (collon & dème, 2019). the global ecosystem startup report by startup genome (2021) observes that a relatively young population, quality national education system, and domestic wealth (for investment and consumer spending) are critical for the success of start-up ecosystems. southeast asian countries exhibit these qualities and by converging under a regional economic otieno & muathe, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 16 commission, they were able to create a sizable intra-regional market for businesses as well as for export to other regions (kpmg, 2020). africa can immediately leverage the youthfulness and education level of the population to drive uptake of technology-driven innovations. operationalization of the africa free trade area would contribute to opening up a market that can progress start-ups to large enterprises. the european commission has placed smes at the centre of their current industrialization strategy. the reported 25 million smes in the regional block contribute 50% of the continents gdp and account for every 2 of 3 jobs created (european union, 2020). innovation is a key driver of the sme input to the overall strategy and as at 2021, half of the smes were involved in innovation activities. to facilitate their growth, development and contribution, the commission has implemented interventions that address three core challenges synonymous with smes globally – access to finance, access to markets and ease of doing business. unlike in asia or india where focus is on particular sectors or industries, the european commission, being a mature bloc, is open to supporting innovation in any sector and by any size of business. smaller african regional economic commissions have commenced harmonization of policies and programmes (comesa secretariat, 2017). the common market for eastern and southern africa, the east africa community and the southern africa development community, for instance, agreed to create a free trade area – which brings together half of africa, over half a billion people and more than usd 1 trillion in gdp. such collaborations shall chart the pathway to enforcement of the africa continental free trade area as they open channels for negotiations on specific terms of cooperation. southeast asian member states and free trade partners signed the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement in november 2020 (kpmg, 2020). the new regional community, which came into force on january 1, 2022, is designed to provide businesses better levels of certainty and consistency across value chains. operationalization of the partnership comes at a time when european start-ups are adjusting to changes brought about by brexit. brexit introduced new regulations and limited movement of talent between the united kingdom and the rest of europe. it is noteworthy that london is among the top-three start-up hubs in europe and 40% of technical talent are sourced from countries outside of businesses’ headquarters (startup genome, 2021). the ensuing impact was limited talent for development of innovative products and shrinking markets for commercialization of the same. start-ups in asia, on the other hand, are being given greater access to bigger markets, with unctad estimating a redirect of usd 25 billion in trade away from the regional comprehensive economic partnership non-members to members (nacita et al., 2021). africa’s creative economy has made inroads into global markets, particularly in heritage and cultural products markets. a report by unctad states that informal handcraft makers are the majority producers in the countries, thus making it hard to quantify market size, opportunities and consumption (unctad, 2022). the same report nonetheless estimates the commercial market size for crafts to be in the region of us$650–720 billion and asserts availability of opportunities in jewellery, apparel, and home accessories for export to developed nations. north america is said to have a high appetite for handcrafted products that fuse ethnic and contemporary design. a report by collon and dème (2019) shows that tech start-ups receive most, if not all, investor funding in africa. financial inclusion platforms attract half the total investments. b2b tech solutions and consumer services attract 30% and 20% of the funds. fintech, enterprise tech and e-commerce are the dominant verticals in financial inclusion, b2b tech and consumer services (briter bridges, 2021). this has seen an influx of fintech start-ups in african countries that show little differentiation in value propositions to the market. therefore, traction and growth to scale remain elusive for start-ups – particularly markets where mobile network operators have mobile money services in operation. fintech start-ups rely on mobile money services offered by mobile network operators for last-mile delivery of payment services and are therefore vulnerable to the operator’s product strategy (mastercard foundation and international finance corporation, 2018). in kenya, where safaricom m-pesa is a dominant mobile payments player, fintech start-ups have been pushed out of some sme market segments by the m-pesa kapu la biashara offering. global markets are increasingly competitive. first, many consumer goods and services have become generic to the extent that producers find it increasingly challenging to differentiate their products. secondly, advancement in trade infrastructure and agreements between governments has made it easier to move goods and services across borders. therefore, producers now have competition from abroad added to domestic competition. third, the internet has made it easier for consumers to access information that informs their product preferences and options. it is increasingly challenging for producers to keep abreast with consumer feedback and needs that would be critical in determining product development (european union, 2020). this scenario has galvanized innovation in ecommerce. changes in market dynamics have impacted governments’ development agendas. in principle, governments rely on small businesses to employ a majority of the population – particularly those with limited education. the sustained population growth makes this need more apparent in african countries. as the market shifts to become more global and digital on the back of innovation, the traditional role of smes in facilitating the last-mile delivery of goods and services is becoming diminished. add to this the creation of regional economic communities that could subject domestic industries (that feed sme value chains) to stiff international competition, demonstrating the need to diversify areas where start-ups can participate (obiang, 2015). the european commission, for instance, has programs that present value chain options to start-ups and smes. the programs incorporate training, capacity building, and market linkages that inspire innovation (european union, 2020). research methodology this study was an exploratory study using desktop research focusing on the comparative study on start-up led innovations as a vehicle for development.as observed by muathe (2010) and swedberg (2020) an exploratory research is qualitative in nature and tries to gain more insight to unclear problem like it was the case in this comparative study. the study involved otieno & muathe, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 17 summarizing and collating existing secondary data relevant to start-ups in europe, asia and africa. reports and strategic plans authored by regional economic communities, as well as yearly reports on performance of innovation hubs documented by well-known incubator reviewers, was evaluated to enrich this study. findings and discussion governments recognize the importance of start-ups in their individual economies. their contribution is evident in the employment opportunities generated and growth of certain sectors through innovation. the creation of an optimum environment that encourages entrepreneurship, spurs business growth and prepares small enterprises for global value chains is the core challenge that countries continually contend with. countries across europe, asia and africa have been implementing regulatory reforms that aim at simplifying business formation procedures, access to markets, and access to capital. government efforts are being complimented by innovation hubs that focus on capacity building and provision of workspaces. these efforts together with tax incentives on strategic sectors are expected to disrupt global value chains and blur trade boundaries. the organisation for economic co-operation and development recommends that start-ups venturing into new sectors within developing and low-income countries focus on innovation fit for local circumstances (korreck, 2019). academia and research organizations should participate strongly in the research and development phases. ideal innovations, in this context, target the quality of life of low-income households and increase access to business opportunities for micro-enterprises. given that the solutions target the bottom of the pyramid, organized networks (like business associations) or tie-ups with large enterprises should be engaged to accelerate the distribution of created products. scaling of innovations for international markets should be after the concepts are proven locally. lessons from the covid pandemic start-up ecosystems need to instil agility to survive the unpredictable markets and business environments. europe faced a funding crisis at the outbreak of covid-19 as investors cut back funding, leading to reduced activity at innovation hubs and in ongoing projects. the immediate impact was job losses and a lack of investor funding. while the european commission and angel investors moved to provide liquidity to small businesses, start-ups' ability to pivot to the more urgent healthcare solutions made the difference. start-ups need to keep abreast with end-users changing requirements to keep their innovations relevant. in asia, at the outbreak of covid, businesses changed the utilization of resources for better efficiency. the immediate need was collaboration tools and infrastructure to enable remote working. start-ups that could quickly spin off solutions in this regard benefited immensely. businesses procuring solutions would engage more than one start-up to deliver the different pieces of technology which called for innovators to focus on core competencies. the covid-19 pandemic disrupted business transaction routines. governments enforced containment rules that restricted physical interactions that disrupted food, health services, and education delivery. central banks across africa abolished fees for low-value digital payments and increased transaction volume thresholds for mobile money platforms to encourage the digitization of sme transactions. it is noteworthy that smes account for at least 90% of all private businesses and employ 80% of the labour force across africa (unctad, 2018). the covid-19 pandemic demonstrated that a mix of market needs and enabling interventions result in increased uptake of fintech innovations. kenya’s communication authority, for instance, reported a 97% rise in mobile money transactions following the increase in the utilization of digital services by consumers. meinck et al. (2022) estimate that closures of in-person learning at the outbreak of covid-19 affected 74% of students worldwide. this forced education sector stakeholders to look into ways of delivering quality education remotely. digital channels were the most viable – incorporating web-based solutions and mass media broadcast services. edtech innovations proved to be a challenge in africa since only 28% of the population uses the internet – according to telecommunications reports. start-ups are now looking into using mobile telephony given its relatively high penetration 46% as per a report by awanis and gamble (2021). in response to emerging innovations, rwanda ramped-up infrastructure for innovation by providing 90% of its inhabitants with access to the internet and device incentives that pushed mobile phone penetration to 75% of the population. it is noteworthy that start-up innovations rely on digital technology for delivery. start-ups and product development governments and large corporations in mature markets rely on start-ups in addressing complexities brought to the fore by shifts in the global marketplace and changes to macro-economic factors. in organizing its start-up ecosystem, india acknowledged that (1) large corporations had sufficient market experience to have a good understanding of consumer requirements and (2) start-ups can innovatively use technology in the resolution of market challenges the corporations face – with an innovation focus on productivity improvements, consumer interactions and trade logistics. it explains why the government’s start-up agenda ensures innovation remains relevant to domestic industries. a survey conducted by the economist intelligence unit revealed that 42% of top-tier indian industries had engagements with start-ups for product or market development. apart from improving india’s competitiveness, the focus on local innovation birthed a sustainable and scalable start-up ecosystem. as a result, only the united states and china have larger start-up ecosystems than india’s (startup genome, 2021; muathe & otieno, 2022). southeast asian countries, also known as the asian tigers, took a similar approach as india in linking innovative start-ups to large corporations. government-sponsored science, technology, and innovation programs ensured the otieno & muathe, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 18 systematic development of industries and human capital. the asian tigers’ approach to innovation focuses on specific sectors and harmonization of standards across the southeast asian regional economic community. being relatively late entrants into the global value chain, singapore, indonesia, malaysia, and thailand opted to focus on electronics, chemicals, and manufacturing machinery, where they believed they had the highest chances of success in the global value chain (nacita et al., 2021). though each country has its innovation program, there is collaboration in the design of the programs to ensure the quality of final products is at par with market requirements. focus on specific areas of core competence has seen the asian tigers rapidly develop into high-income countries. start-ups and market development relatively new entrants into global value chains such as singapore, malaysia, and india have spurred the more established actors in europe to use innovation to defend their share of the market. the european commission rolled out the startup europe and sme programs to strengthen their market position. the european programs cover a range of themes like market opportunities, market data, investment mobilization, green technology, financial technology, start-up scale-up, and media. commercialization of the created products is either through engagements with large industries or by providing start-ups with opportunities to sell directly to consumers around the globe (rossetti et al., 2018). innovation in many european countries has to do with improvements in manufacturing processes. germany’s industrie 4.0, austria’s pilotfabrik für industrie 4.0, and italy’s fabbrica intelligente are some projects that aim at improving industrial productivity (rossetti et al., 2018). the initiatives under the projects bring together start-ups, smes, academia, established corporations, and government, all in pursuit of innovative improvements to existing processes. the european commission has made resources available to facilitate the process. the resources include funding, research, data, and ideation forums. dubai is reliant on global travel. the travel ecosystem supports the main economic activities of trade, transport, financial services, real estate, construction, and tourism. the six mentioned activities account for 66% of dubai’s gdp (world economic forum, 2019). the government and other stakeholders set up the dubai smart city accelerator program to keep dubai competitive. the program pursues innovation in the travel experience – connectivity, artificial intelligence (sifting traveller preferences), data, digital shopping, and e-government. as in the case of europe’s manufacturing sector, dubai is using innovation to differentiate her travel experience from that of competing destinations. made in africa there is an urgent need for african governments to spur innovation tied to the production of consumer goods if africa’s industries are to develop. the bulk of the consumer spending within the continent does not trickle up to african producers. a mastercard foundation and international finance corporation (2018) report states that small-scale traders receive usd 1 trillion in consumer payments for goods and services per annum, and unctad (2022) reports that intra-african exports have stagnated at 13 percent for more than a decade. the european commission, the association of southeast asian nations, china, and india, have demonstrated the importance of having specific innovation programs and policies that ensure up-scaling local industries in manufacturing technologies, product competitiveness, and business models to align with the evolving markets (fisher, 2012). as a result, intra-regional trade in europe stands at 68% and 59% in asia (unctad, 2022). african producers and start-ups are missing out on intra-africa value chain opportunities. free trade area treaties usually deliver intra-region trade advantage to local businesses through goods and services origin rules. the africa continental free trade area seems to have glossed over this item yet it is critical in motivating start-up innovations. nigeria, africa’s largest economy, had initially declined to sign the agreement citing ambiguity on the source of produce, with the country demanding that free movement privileges be for goods made in africa (adebayo, 2019). made in africa means goods and services produced within africa using locally sourced raw materials (ogunmade & ajimotokan, 2018). africa has an abundance of raw materials. unep reports that africa holds 65% of arable land, 30% of mineral reserves, 40% of gold, and 90% of chromium and platinum (unep, 2022). it is not clear whether the strategy is to pursue value addition to the raw materials and, if so, whether africa will go the route of specialization in specific sectors, as in the case of southern asia, or cover a wide range like europe. a value-addition strategy will provide innovation opportunities to start-ups in emerging sectors such as green energy, process automation, and extractive sector – and expand income sources for african countries (obiang, 2015). new opportunities for start-ups in africa africa is recognized as a global leader in digital financial services following the prevalent use of mobile technology for financial transactions (mastercard foundation and international finance corporation (2018). as a result, fintech start-ups receive most of the support and investor funds available to the continent. in leveraging the fintech momentum, ecommerce is a deliverable of the enforcement of the africa continental free trade area (smart africa secretariat, 2020). the inclusion of the segment should organize and strengthen ecommerce, which currently only attracts 3% of african investor funding. 60% of ecommerce transactions across africa are undertaken by 1% of marketplaces – signifying low development compared to market potential (briter bridges, 2021). the challenge seems to be in the consummation of transactions, as many ecommerce marketplaces complete sales offline. once a transaction goes offline, it becomes subject to inefficiencies synonymous with trade in africa. otieno & muathe, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 19 it is encouraging to note that the free trade area secretariat is implementing the pan-african payments and settlement system that will work at aggregating clearinghouses and therefore reduce the cost and time taken to clear crossborder cash transactions. again, models like the one-border posts in east africa will ease the physical movement of goods (moyer et al., 2020). these developments and a high appetite for e-commerce should bolster interest in african ecommerce start-ups (african union, 2020). statista predicts that africa’s ecommerce revenue will reach usd 46.1 billion by 2025, almost double the 2020 value of usd 27.97 billion (e-commerce revenue in africa in 2017 to 2025 in million u.s. dollars, 2022). agriculture and fisheries are areas of great potential for african start-ups. opportunity areas include climate-smart solutions, blue energy, aquaculture technologies, and disease and climate-resistant crop varieties. governments should review regulations that limit the participation of start-ups in the distribution of citizen services. the outbreak of covid-19 provided the opportunity to innovate the provision of health services via mobile technology. the distribution of solar energy among rural communities is another area where start-ups have made considerable progress (kene-okafor, 2022). there is now an emergence of start-ups using simple water purification equipment to produce clean drinking water. a scan of these solutions reveals a reliance on other markets, particularly china and southeast asia, for sourcing of underlying technology. reforms and interventions the africa union’s action plan for boosting intra-african trade offers limited interventions to spur innovation and creation consumer products and services in africa (moyer et al., 2020). this is a major difference in strategy between africa and other regional economic communities. the european union, for instance, has specific innovation programmes and policies in place to ensure their industries continually improve on manufacturing technologies, products remain competitive, and business models align with the evolving markets. member-states of the association of southeast asian nations have systematically incorporated science and technology to support innovation within the country and, by extension, the regional trading block. the role of start-ups and smes in the europe and asia is recognized and specific programmes are in place to ensure they contribute to the broader trade agenda. roll out of the africa’s trade area should similarly galvanize african start-up businesses to generate innovative ideas for global value chains. comesa calls for reforms or interventions in five areas that will change africa’s competitiveness; (1) infrastructure, (2) business environment, (3) use of technology, (4) upskilling human capital and deterring brain-drain, and (5) stimulating domestic markets for goods and services (comesa secretariat, 2017). state-actors should resolve issues touching on infrastructure and creation of enabling business environments. businesses can then invest in technology, human capital development and market stimulation. there needs to be a paradigm shift from protectionism to competitiveness to push growth of industries. kenya, for instance, opted to protect the local sugar industry by limiting sugar imports from other comesa states (anyanzwa, 2017). article 61 of the comesa treaty allows member states to provide protection to emerging sectors until they are considered mature for competition. however, kenya invoked article 61 in 2004 yet the country’s sugar industry was 82 years old at the time. as it stands, kenya’s sugar industry is struggling despite the decadeslong protection. in contrast, the european union champions modernisation by driving innovation, technology and improvement of business models. the commission develops policies and programmes cutting across social innovation, business innovation, work innovation, and regional innovation all coordinated to speed up the broad commercialisation of innovation and related activities (european union, 2020). smes and start-ups play a role in creating innovative solutions to emerging challenges like climate change, resource efficiency and social cohesion. president buhari of nigeria once quipped, “our industries cannot compete with the more efficient and highly technologically driven industries in europe.” (ogunmade & ajimotokan, 2018). as in the case of the eu, asean countries have placed a premium on funding research and development that upgrade their technological and industrial capabilities (degelsegger et al., 2014). smes and start-ups play a role in innovation, and the emphasis remains on strengthening manufacturing value chains. asean member states regard manufacturing as the engine for growth and development (degelsegger et al., 2014). afcfta implementation there is no record of a trade transaction undertaken under the auspices of the africa free trade treaty. the only requirement placed on signatories is the 30-day wait period between deposit of ratification instrument and enforcement of the treaty. 53 countries have signed and 41 ratified the treaty – with a number having completed these preliminaries in 2019 (trade law centre, 2022). delayed implementation means delays in delivering the promise of pan-african opportunities to start-ups and attendant delays in absorbing the growing populations into gainful employment. according to the imf, many african businesses do not have the capacity engage in regionally and globally, as they are small-scale, remote, and with low productivity levels. in addition, african industries are not well developed, and therefore, most limit their participation in global value chains to either export of natural resources and unprocessed agricultural produce or import of finished goods. unless these factors are addressed, the africa free trade area may not stimulate the production and consumption of african goods and services – thus start-ups may not be the development agents desired by the continent (cloete, 2019). harmonization and simplification of regulations across the continent is another key area that needs to be addressed in the implementation of africa free trade area (comesa secretariat, 2017). southern asian countries and european commission member-states have elaborate approaches to ensuring easy movement of goods, talent and services across otieno & muathe, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 20 borders. in addition, they continually work toward having similar requirements among trading partners – such that goods and services produced within a region can be sold to any country within the region without the need for additional regulatory compliance requirements. individual countries are responsible for the quality and reliability of goods and services originating from their territories that they meet consumer expectations and global standards. academia and research institutions have a role to play in providing technical training, insights, and guidance on global standards in this regard. at least 70% of african businesses are start-ups, smes, or even smaller outfits. these play a vital role in in-country value chains – particularly in last-mile delivery of goods/services to consumers and production of low-value household products (cottage industries) (african union commission, 2020). interventions are required to empower cottage industries to innovate in product creation so that there are african products that would benefit from the free trade area incentives. the “make in india” scheme is an apt model that can be gleaned from. under the scheme, india set out to empower the local population with skills, funding, access to technology and access to markets to encourage creation of goods and services that can be sold globally. before the scheme, majority of indians depended on agriculture. make in india targeted creating opportunities across 25 sectors and placed india on a path to becoming a design and manufacturing hub of note (korreck, 2019). conclusion and policy implication conclusion free trade agreements generally assume that a significant demand exists for consumer goods and services produced within the countries establishing the cooperation. thus, incentives are provided to give competitive advantage to goods and services produced by cooperating member countries compared to imports from other regions. the natural effect expected is stimulation of business growth, with teach member country focusing on sectors where they have clear competitive advantages over the other members. africa’s strategy in galvanizing this kind of development remains unclear and opportunities available to start-ups have not been articulated. unlike in the case of europe and asia, africa’s start-up entrepreneurs do not have access to information that they can use to decipher market gaps that they are well-positioned to address. very little, if any, has been invested in ensuring start-ups have robust technology and product development skills for creation of consumer goods. consumer awareness of quality african products is wanting. as previously stated, african consumers do not primarily buy african products and services. there is a great need to investigate possible reasons for this situation as it has a direct impact on the kind of innovation required in africa. some of the issues that need further investigation include adequacy of product information distribution among the public, market confidence in african products, and value consumers associate with african products. made in africa africa has done well in creative economy – particularly in use of mobile technology to deliver services (escaith, 2022). there is now an urgent need to support start-ups and smes harness the creative power to facilitate movement of african goods across borders – leveraging technology for distribution and harmonization of cross-border trade regulations. nigeria, south africa, egypt, and kenya, being the main tech hubs of africa carry the greatest potential to lead distribution of “made in africa”. policy implications origin rules governing the source of goods and services need to promote the creation and growth of african industries. start-ups and smes can participate through innovation of certain value chain aspects and the generation of new products through cottage industry mechanisms. harmonization of regulations, requirements, tariffs, and product documentation are required to simplify crossborder trade. the africa free trade area secretariat should establish a one-stop shop for compliance processes (licensing, standards, and other statutory obligations). the secretariat can then leverage the support delivery systems to analyse the impact of regulations on start-ups. tariffs are important sources of government revenue for many african states. as it stands, governments make more income from extra-african trade compared to intra-african trade. the impact of any revenue losses would need to be considered carefully in the rollout of afcfta. limitation and future research the research focused on start-up programmes sponsored by regional economic cooperations in europe, asia and africa, and did not include the involvement of other ecosystem, stakeholders. the study relied on secondary data obtained through desk research and therefore may present unvalidated data. author contributions: conceptualization, v.o. and s.m.; data curation, v.o. and s.m.; methodology, v.o. and s.m.; validation, v.o. and s.m.; visualization, v.o. and s.m.; formal analysis, v.o. and s.m.; investigation, v.o. and s.m.; resources, v.o. and s.m.; writing – original draft, v.o. and s.m.; writing – review & editing, v.o. and s.m.; supervision, s.m.; project administration, s.m.; funding acquisition, v.o. and s.m. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. otieno & muathe, american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 14-22 21 data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references adebayo, t. h. 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(2019). policy pathways for the new economy: shaping economic policy in the fourth industrial revolution (no. 03112019). publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 14 myths, rituals and restrictions of the african iron industry in the 18th century: the case of taavisa in nso’ grassfields of cameroon atlee dzeawoni faculty of arts department of history and archaeology the university of bamenda, cameroon e-mail: dzeawoni@gmail.com received: august 08, 2021 accepted: september 20, 2021 online published: october 03, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1370 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1370 abstract the peculiarity of the african iron industry is its cultural dimension; where in, symbolism was evident in virtually all the stages of the production chain. with the use of archival, secondary and oral sources, this paper investigated the taavisa slag heap which revealed that smelting residue was cleared to create space for a royal cemetery and a hut constructed over the grave of fon (king) sanggu of nso’ around 1750. sanggu was probably the seventeenth sovereign of the nso’ dynasty at kovifem, who died while in refuge on the peripheries of his kingdom, subjected to chamba and later fulani raids. taavisa was a retreat spot in several situations and developed into a rest palace for reigning fons of nso’. given its strategic location, smelting, pre-forging and sanctity which emanated from iron works, this old iron working site became a place of honour and thus mutated into a shrine. thus, multidimensional values attached to taavisa account for nso’ seizure of the area and subsequent expansion towards its southern boarder fondoms (kingdoms). a new element therefore adds to symbolisms attached to the african iron industry that is: a smelting site turned into a royal cemetery. keywords: slag heap, taavisa, kovifem, fon sanggu, burial hut. introduction varied possible origins have been attributed to the technology of iron working in sub-saharan africa; first from meroe in ancient egypt to darfur in sudan and then to the lake chad region. secondly, that this know-how evidenced in carthage was brought down to ancient gao by libyan berbers, from where it spread along the niger river to reach mali and nigeria. these views known as diffusionist theories do not valorise cultures which europeans encountered when they expanded to africa. recent research rather suggests that subsaharan africa developed an indigenous iron working industry on its own merit. more evidence has emerged in the african continent in mauritania and mali and scholars now are inclined to the possibility of multiple independent centers for the origins of iron production in africa, as opposed to the single center theory projected https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1370 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 15 by diffusionists (jemkur, 2004:37-39).the african continent is known to possess iron ore and refractive clay in abundance; which are essential raw materials used in building composite elements of furnaces and its accessories. with the availability of fuel to produce charcoal and labour sources, the iron industry emerged and was sustained in africa. natural and human inputs did not appear homogenously over the continent and thus accounted for variations seen in techniques of smelting, furnace structures and also cultural aspects surrounding each region of iron production (okafor, 2004:43-45). a particularly notable element of the iron industry in africa was its symbolism demonstrated in myths, rituals and taboos. the african industry exhibited common cultural and technical traits within a context of continuity, which is responsible for originality and uniqueness seen in the continent. amongst the bantu, the strong relationship between iron production and beliefs or philosophy surrounding iron production is evidenced. value has also been given to the african contributions towards technological experiences and strives made by humanity as seen amongst the luba tribe of central africa, who besides iron ore reduction processes, fabricated cast iron and could forge iron and steel into a single blade (de maret, 2004:138). symbolic references as a major trait in africa was more imbued in iron smelting than in blacksmithing. the process was viewed like that of childbirth amongst the bantu of central africa; where in cast iron was considered to be the new born child, while the residue slag was the placenta. iron working was equally equated to a sexual act or human reproduction wherein the furnace was symbolically equated to the female reproductive system, while the bowl and two bellows were the male sex organs. the appearance of the bloom at the end of the smelting process was considered the result of coitus. all of these were linked to a philosophy of fertility, transfer and release of energy and natural elements of chance, luck and destiny (de maret, 2004:132). rituals and myths were part of the african iron industry from search of raw materials and its exploitation, to the processes to build furnaces, smelting, forging and usage of iron products. a peculiarity of the african iron industry is its symbolism. as documented, secret texts were orally recited when searching for iron ore, tracing a furnace plan, smelting and protection of the foundry (dieterlen, 1965:20). the foundry and smithy belonged to a category of shrines; the stone anvil in many situations was transformed into an object or deity for swearing or rites and ritual. the industry had specific taboos related to sexual activity. in any given community, the collapse of an iron ore or kaolin mine and a failed smelt, were signs of non-respect of the smelting code. in some cases there were specific prohibitions linked to female reproductive powers and a particular fear of menses contamination (essomba, 1991:26; de maret, 2004:127-134). mccosh believes that in the study of traditional industries, the ritual aspects cannot be separated from the mechanical processes involved. besides myths, restrictions and reproductive symbolism elucidated above, he emphasizes the process of invoking ancestral spirits in virtually all stages in the production chain. he adds to this, the mental boaster effect it had on smelters. in reference to iron working processes in africa and europe, he concludes that one is a sacrament and the other, a means of livelihood (mccosh, 1974:160-170). to fully understand technological strives in africa, they must be studied within the social context be it a clan, tribe, or region. andrew reid and rachel maclean used as case study the karagwe chiefdom of east africa, to prove that the king willed power, due to his ability to exercise control over iron production processes and rituals surrounding it. in the same vein, smelters developed and enjoyed an economic strength as producers of wealth. on the other hand they were subjected to rituals and symbolism, dictated by tribal customs or the sovereign ruler. smelting was a dangerous venture due to manipulation of fire, high, temperatures, malleable bloom, crushing of ores, work duration and pit collapses. these https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 16 were threats to life, fertility and agricultural productivity, which they call symbolic dangers. like j-m. essomba, they also bring out elements of discrimination, restrictions and reservations observed in the african industry (reid & maclean, 1995:144-146). furnaces varied according to epoch, region, raw materials, their sources, historical tradition and origins. in the case of the yoruba tribe of nigeria, they were usually situated away from human settlements but within a hearing distance. where ever the furnace was found in most african kingdoms, secrecy and discrimination were very visible, especially against women and foreigners (jemkur, 2004:41-46). in various parts of the continent a simple foundry had much in common. it was constructed in the center of a cleared groove in a circular or rectangular form with two openings; one to bring in fresh air and the other as an exit for heat. a smelt could last for three days or less as the technology evolved. openings (windows) were thus devised to allow for ventilation and the thatched roof high enough so that the grass would not catch fire. a raised platform served as a base for the furnace which could be doomed, shaft, open hearth or open bowl, using induced heating by bellows or natural draught. a larger trench was dug to face the entrance for disposal of smelting residue and a smaller opening at the top rear for smelting inputs. a smaller hole measuring about 5 centimeters was designed from the furnace floor to the larger trench and it was expected that as hot air escaped through the trough, slag dropped from the furnace into this trench. openings were made at the back side of the furnace having the small trench to which tuyeres were inserted that would regulate the inflow of air (akinjogbin, 2004:58-60). labour was used to obtain raw materials and while men mined the ore, women washed the stones for impurities and pre-pounded them into smaller bits, before it was taken to the furnace. the most important fixture in the foundry was the stone on which pounding and malleability of the iron was done, referred to as “ogun” in yorubaland and believed to have a spirit and developed varied mystical uses. in some cases and usually in a separate operation at the far end of a foundry, pre-forging could be done on a smaller anvil buried partially into the ground to hammer and obtain rough shapes of objects to be fabricated. bellows which were either vertical or horizontal heated the furnaces or the bloom as the case may be to allow for hammering when producing iron bars or pre-shaping of objects (akinjogbin, 2004:59). these processes were accompanied by much rituals, myths, and restrictions as elements of symbolism in africa. the choice of this paper is unique, as the taavisa slag heap besides being an 18th century iron working site with all the symbolism earlier described, was used as a burial site for fon sanggu, who died while in refuge, having been chased out of kovifem his old capital by mounted raiders. historical background the nso’ history in taavisa the nso’ are one of the tikari fondoms in the western grassfields of cameroon. oral tradition holds that its founder a princess called ngonso’ with her companion, migrated from tikari or rifem westward to the mbo’ plain, then to ndzenso’, where they settled for some time and finally moved uphill to establish a fondom at kovifem. the son of this princess called leh, following a pact with the aboriginal clans (mntar), became the first fon of nso’ (ndzeka, 1980:7).1 the nso’ built a dynasty with the regulatory society (kwifon) and prince’s society (ngirri) which are recurrent in most grassfield tribes, together with a defense organisation (manjong) (fanso, 2014:43). new migratory clans from the nkambe plateau like the tang and ya joined the nso’. as its strength and influence increased, its territorial span reached the northern fringes of kimbo’ at tsenla (kikaikela’aki) and gwan (kitiwum), which had status of fons and soon became their 1chilver & keberry (1970: 254), hold a contrary view that ngonso’s son was called jing. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 17 allies. eighteen fons reigned at kovifem, evidenced by thirteen graves all visible today by small bamboo grass thatched huts. there is a total of eighteen large funeral head stones in that royal cemetery (fe’em) (nkwi & warnier, 1982:133-135). at kovifem off shoots of the nso’ are believed to have emigrated to found the oku and mbiame fondoms. in the late 18th century chamba attacks reached kovifem twice but the nso’ survived. in one of these raids which the nso’ allude to the chamba as “mbangshuu” or “red mouths”, the fon sent a message to his counterpart in babungo as described by fowler: “…the raiders are too strong to fight and that they should treat it as a sacrifice, tie their spears in bundles and store them away, and simply give themselves up to the fate.” (fowler, 1990:78). chamba raids occurred around 1780 where in kovifem was ransacked twice. this was not a single episode but, a series war that spanned over decades. the number of early chamba raids and their trajectory is not known but ian fowler presents two possible sources of this attack: first by gyando of the dagha and secondly a raiding group of the peli settlers of bali-kontan. fon sanggu with his people took refuge at taavisa, two kilometers away from the tsenla southern neighboring clan and eight kilometers away from gwan clan who had status of fons (fowler & zeitlyn, 1996:1-2).while at taavisa, fon sanggu and the royal family were killed. the presence of a traditional hut (see plate 1 below), attests sanggu was buried following nso’ custom and specific rituals attached to his personality (chilver & kebbery, 1970:2). this implies that a return to his headquarters under occupation was not possible at that moment. plate1. the grave site spot of fon sanggu in taavisa (above in 1980; below in 2021) source: above is a photograph by miriam goheen in the possession of ian fowler, and below field work gps photograph by author on saturday 13th march 2021. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 18 a close look at the grave site reveals a patterned set of monoliths depicting that the original hut was about 2.5 by 1.60. for four years since 2016 of political upheavals in this region, the annual rites have not been done and the “kovifem format” hut has been destroyed by stray cattle with a seasonal paddock 100meters away and farming as women keep piling iron residue to have slag free farm beds. the hut photographed by m. goheen as seen above in 1980 was built in the dry patch of grass visible above. ian fowler describes these attacks on the northern ndop plain as devastating where in a number of fondoms were scattered “…never to reform as individual polities again.” (fowler, 1990: 78). for the nso’ during this period of a vacant throne, a title holder and trader from nsunglin called shaang (faay ndzeedzev) redeemed the royal line, when he brought a prince called yiir; believed to had been sold to slavery and crowned him fon se’mbum.2 yiir returned with the nso’ people back to kovifem. with the prevailing threats, nso’ fine-tuned its war tactics and gathered the equipment most likely produced at the taavisa sixty two (plus) furnaces, to undertake conquest and subjugation of neighboring clans. as this went on, immigrant chiefdoms such as the nse’, ndzeen and ndzerem accepted nso’ suzerainty in return for protection. around 1800, se’mbum i (fomukong) took the decision to transfer his capital further south to kimbo’, which was better protected by steep cliffs of taayav and kitiwum escarpments and safe from raiders on horsebacks that came from the adamawa. at kimbo’ they faced less harassment and acquired greater strength to expand in all directions (nkwi & warnier, 1982:132-135). the taavisa slag heap evidence the aboriginal settlers of taavisa are believed to be the nkar tribe who had as neighbours the ki’to the east, visale to the north and the ntur to the west. taavisa is found at the southern fringes of the kovifem dynastic territory created by ngonso’ around the 17th century. later, to the northwest and north-east of taavisa, the do’ kitiwum and do’ kikaikom clans (also called vedo’o) from kovifem settled respectively. while at kovifem, the neighbours of nso’ to the south were the nkar clan, whose northern fringes ran from shisong to kiyan and up to taavisa. nkar princes occupied kimbo’ (which holds the present palace site) who included: faay kilam and faay sarntoh (both evidenced as forging families) faay tsenkar and faay mbinkar. this is the area described as held by the fon of nkar, which stretched across to the southeast and west to present day kov-nkar (kaberry, 2004:40). fon se’mbum i tactfully occupied kimbo’, though the nkar dynasty maintained its local autonomy. the nkar leaders could not execute capital punishment, nor could single handedly undertake wars of conquest and defense. while in his new capital kimbo’, the taavisa grave of sanggu and the royal cemetery at kovifem were subject to regular and routine sacrificial ceremonies by se’mbum i and successive fons of nso. this site at the hill top gentle slope at mbohlong has slag as evidence of iron works (see plate 2 and plate 3 below).the nkar princes named above together with the fumekuiy and kah family heads in nso’ fondom, constitute evidence of iron working in area (mbenkum, 1979: 27-38). 2 faay ndzeedzev was a trader involved in the regional trade pattern of the grassfields and known to trade on babungo hoes which he exchanged for oil from mbembe area. he is recounted to have encountered the lost prince whom he later crowned, in one of such his trading ventures while he sang doing farm work. the role he played to reconstitute the dynastic line earned him the rank of second personality in the nso’ land. he was equally bestowed the statutory procedure to begin every transfer of authority following the demise all fons of nso’ till date. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 19 plate 2. the upper section of the taavisa slag heap source: field work gps photograph taken by author on saturday 20th march 2021. slag residue is clearly visible by its dark colour spread over the taavisa, mbohlong gentle slope under cultivation. plate 3. a relic foundry in taavisa source: source: field work gps photograph taken by author on saturday 20th march 2021. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 20 the structure of a relic foundry foundation at taavisa is clearly visible in plate 3 above with the furnace at the far end. the crushing anvil still lies in place with its stone hammers and a broken piece of tuyere clearly visible. from shisong to kimbo’, vast quantities of debris was spread to consolidate laterite roads to mba’ by the public works department. oral sources indicate the existence of slag heaps at shisong. . together with surviving smiths, it is evidence that iron ore sources were in the area and one of such is traced to taavisa. today at the spot called mbohlong two kilometers on the road to kikoo from tsenla is found the taavisa slag heap. at the top of this heap is the burial site of fon sanggu; who took refuge following attacks from chamba (banyo raiders). this is marked by the same type of hut constructed on fon’s graves in kovifem royal cemeteries. taavisa translated literally means “up the site of iron ore”. to investigate slag heaps one of the approaches is to quantify defined slag categories or heaps. this allows us draw insights into past productions. these slag heaps are also useful in chronological differentiation; which are indicative as to estimates for quantities of raw material used and the amount of iron produced. in the same vein physical and chemical characteristics, nonmetallic remains and sediment traced in slag heaps are indicative of productivity, innovation in the industry and the choices made by smelters in the process of smelting. slag heaps also help locate furnaces (see the marked area in plate 2 above indicating a furnace foundation, stone anvil and foundry foundation). these put together, are evidence that some technology took place in the past in that area and had an impact or relationship with social or cultural aspects of the society in question. this slag heap evaluated singly or in association with others in the surrounding, gives much information as to the intensity of the production industry, spatial coverage and relationships between smelting sites. a keen researcher equally should consider the possibility that a heap could be residue from multiple working iron sites (humphreys & carey, 2011:132-134). in various assessment reports (hawkesworth, 1922:11) indicates that the nso’ obtained its iron products from babungo and oku. nso’ does not feature as an exporter of iron ware in the grass field’s trade route to the adamawa in the 19th century. in assessing the population of taxable adults in nso’land 1922, the profession of adult nso’ men who are smelters do not feature in his report. this suggests the number of iron workers were likely insignificant at the time of his report or nso’ production capacity did not permit for extras that could be exported. these indicators show that smelting was possibly not wide spread in the nso’ upper plateau to the kovifem area except possibly in taavisa as described: “iron workers have no regular work elsewhere nor do they smelt their own iron, as it is done in oku....”(hawkesworth,1922:12).3 the puzzle therefore is what could be the relationship of an iron production residue site and the location of a royal cemetery at the top of it. strange as a phenomenon but may only boil down to myths, rituals and restrictions seen in the old african smelting industry and its connection to the supreme authority of the tribe. this could also depict continuity seen from the old smelters, to present-day forgers and symbolism which is seen in the african iron industry. myths, rituals and restrictions in the taavisa iron site the slag residue mount at taavisa rises to 30 meters from the flat lands cultivated below facing kikaikom to the west. it has an elongated cuboids shape spread unevenly over six hectares of slag for the gentle slope holding the grave of fon sanggu. like in many areas where human cultivation of food crops is done on slag heaps, the presence of the tomb of fon sanggu makes it a sacred 3the evidence in the grassfields of large scale smelting remains overwhelming but with no dates the case of taavisa cannot be conclusive as could equally be a center of recycling old slag deposits. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 21 ground wherein no woman of commoner status can till the soil in that location reserved for queen mother only.4 it is therefore regularly protected from bush fires as the surroundings of the hut are cleared at the approach of the dry season for sacrifices. the present queen mother yah fanka shella indicated that they perform sacrifices at three spots in that site but could not be specific on the third, which she simply described as a large stone; probably an anvil or monolith.5 taavisa is probably one amongst the many isolated smelting sites that (warnier & fowler, 1979:329-351) indicated are found throughout the bamenda grassfields and called the “ruhr” of central africa. the area was handicapped by lack of wood to produce charcoal and given the cold nature of the environment; furnaces were designed with the inner walls lined with kaolin to preserve heat. prior drying of the ore and forced heating by ventilation using tuyeres, were common in the region. this was a predominantly male activity (warnier, 2012:26-27).there is no surviving relic furnace visible in the vicinity of the slag heap at taavisa but for their foundations (see plate 4 below). smelting took place on the flat undulating landscape at mbohlong and residue deposited to flush down on the west, east and southern slopes. sixty-two furnace foundations and some with their associated anvils and foundry foundations intact were identified in this location suggestive of intensive iron working. no other visible slag heaps have been seen close to that at taavisa. this indicates iron works took place in that vicinity directed by several foundry heads commonly called (taakilam). authorization to run these foundries were most likely given first by the fon of nkar while on the spot as the aboriginal clan and later by the expansionist fon of nso’at kovifem, who from time to time took up residence there in his rest palace huts. this possibly explains why he used it as his refuge ground twice and which in the long run mutated into a royal burial ground. this scenario and cultural practice were common in nso’land. the palace (nto’yee taavisa) was given this appellation and according to (chem, 1987:13-14), this was in reference to both the grave and the entire site located in a thin scatter of smelting debris on a natural hill. he indicates that these royal graves in nso’ were separated into two chambers; commonly referred to as palace and upper palace (nto’ and nto’ kuiy). plate 4. furnace foundations identified in taavisa source: source: field work gps photograph taken by author on saturday 20th march 2021. 4interview with yaa wo kuiyla, aged 72 (occupant of the farm with sanggu’s grave and huts) taavisa, 13/03/2020. 5interview with yaa fanka shella, aged 35 (current queen mother and participant to annual rites on the grave site and land marks at taavisa), kimbo’, 18/03/2021. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 22 this is one out of the sixty-two furnace foundation relics in taavisa as evidence of an intensive iron working agglomeration. a ceremony for the installation of a new foundry required a goat, wine and stirred corn flower as consumables. all were used for rites and libations done in which herbs: kosteletzsya (kiwoy) and dracaena deistelina (kikeng) were mixed. a host of objects and paraphernalia known to initiates were put inside a pot and buried below the smelting spot.6 items and tools left in the foundry after smelting could not be stolen, as it was believed will result in misfortune usually a swollen stomach (kum). during funerary celebrations like death in the village, death of the fon, periodic rites to pacify the earth or kwifon diplomatic exchange visits, foundry works stopped for a determined period of time. when the fon requested for any items from the foundry or smiths, these were equally given priority. when objects for sacred use were fabricated, a spear was pinned on the path leading to the foundry and a soft shoot of elephant grass tired in a special pattern to it. this indicated or barred an unauthorized social or cult class that access was forbidden or more still women on their menses were not only barred from reaching the foundry but should keep a distance.7 to conclude this section we assert that in africa the sovereign willed physical and spiritual powers which emanated from his control and manipulation of the technical processes and rituals attributed to the production of iron. fon sanggu thus had these attributes which consequently linked him dead or alive to the taavisa iron works site. with the demise of fon sanggu, the burial process in principle followed a particular sequence as follows: the corpse had to be cleaned and rapped in an expensive handmade royal loin called kilanglang and the current crown put on the head. other items assembled included a cup, round neck gourd, a royal wreath, a new bamboo throne, a hoe, nwerong walking stick, hind legs of a sheep, a common royal loin, cam wood and a piece of indian bamboo. items to construct a hut included: local nails, bamboos, local ropes and grass for thatching. a slimy concoction of leaves and wine was prepared (the same as that to install a new foundry) and a leopard skin and entrails of a sacrificed ram or goat equally used (chem, 1987:16-18). the grave area was aspersed with this concoction of paraphernalia. it was dug to contain two chambers lined with normal royal loin. only authorized persons saw the corpse which was taken to the grave and seated on the wooden throne by title holders playing the ritual double headed gong and the fon’s feet arranged to rest on the leopard skin. the indian bamboo was put in a cup forced into the right hand of the corpse and held by his personal page outside. a creeping stem (koonteh) tied to the right hand and held by a virgin outside near the grave. the late fon was called by his real name as the crown was removed and replaced by a new nwerong cap of rank and file. the grave was filled obligatorily in seven intervals accompanied by chanting the war victory chorus (nsii). through the hole created by the indian bamboo wine was subsequently poured through it during ancestral sacrifices by his successors. a hut was constructed on top of the grave (chem, 1987:9). in principle these were the expected processes carried out at the refuge grave site at taavisa; but given the context of insecurity, this cannot be ascertained. however for fear of misfortune that may befall the tribe, it is probable that persons in charge would have done all to respect the basics. it is likely that these were carried out, given the visible outside structure of the hut above the grave which is a replica of those in kovifem. 6i witnessed an initiation rite at the smithy of the present day head of the nso’ iron works producer and another one to reinstate an abandoned smithy of faay chin in nkar. as contemporaries of the old iron industries these items were all put into use in a ritualistic ceremony. 7 interview with john laayeh, aged 55 (black smith), nkar, 07/06/2021. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 23 symbolism and context of the taavisa slag heap the mbohlong flat land to the north next to the taavisa slag heap is an ideal and strategic position to have a clear view of all of the lowland and valleys of kikaikom to the oku ngongbaa forest, meluf, melim and the land inhabited by the nkar fondom from kiyan to kimbo’ and shisong. the south west monsoons of the rainy season bring refreshing air directly to this escarpment and it was an ideal place of relaxation and rest. given that this was not the first time the fon of nso’ took refuge at taavisa, it is evidenced that this spot had three of his rest hamlets which were spread all over the fondom and which was a customary practice.8 such rest houses could allow him to have a retreat or rest during visits or missions far beyond his southern borders. in any case, when such hamlets were built, it was referred to as a palace. having died here with no possibility to transfer the corps to kovifem under chamba occupation, there was no option than to bury sanggu at taavisa rest palace. plate 5. one of the three rest hut foundations visible in taavisa source: field work photograph taken by author on saturday 20th march 2021. three relic foundations of his rest hamlets measuring 4 square meters (see the yellow 1 meter ruler on the front right corner). foundations are still very visible; though gradually dismantled by farm work as plate 5 depicts. secondly, extensive land was available at neighboring ruun (fon woo gwan) and tsenla with status of fons who all had royal cemeteries which could be used as a last resort for burial of fon sanggu. given that only genealogically related sovereigns are buried in royal cemeteries in these fondoms and in the grassfields, the only option was the slag heap site.9 foundries surely existed at taavisa which like in other parts of the grassfields, was in a quiet forest grove, away from settlement (even till date) but within a hearing perimeter of the nearest houses. taavisa foundries were restricted areas and were virtually shrines. sexual activity was restricted during smelting. foundry material was mystically protected from being stolen or polluted and thus an appropriate spot with sanctity for the fon to be buried there. there is the possibility that the 8earlier raids for slaves or warfare by the chamba in the early 19th century made former fons to regularly take refuge at taavisa and ngongbaa forests. 9 given that as refugees the fon could not live in the open air and with a slag heap presence, foundries and their huts were erected in this vicinity even if it was temporal for rest and iron working. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 24 foundries in taavisa fell in the category which belonged to the fon for the production of iron bars used in the fabrication of sacred objects. this was plausible when we consider the closeness of his rest huts with the square shape as opposed to rectangular forms seen in the foundries at taavisa. these huts were most likely constructed by fon ndzefon his predecessor. these factors combined made the taavisa slag mount ideal for the burial of fon sanggu. there are three spots for sacrifices at taavisa: mbolong at the center of the slag heap has stones which have the form of monoliths partially affixed to the ground and adorned with peace plants around the rest huts. below the slag heap is another spot which has a fig tree. this possibly marks the southern limits of the kovifem dynasty zone of influence or boundary in the 18th century; given that the tsenla lineage which at the time had an independent clan head with status of a fon is just two kilometers away. the third has the shape of a partial land slide, which according to the land lord (taangven shuufaay kuiylah), this spot harbors the deity of taavisa.10 conclusion the taavisa slag heap is a reflection an area where in the past large scale iron smelting took place either by an old stock of grassfield occupants, the aboriginal nkar or later by the kovifem nso’ dynasty. much of the old slag possibly was recycled on the spot or transported elsewhere by the later 18th century iron workers and in the last decades by road works enhancing laterite earth roads. given the abundance of ferruginous oxides spread all over the upper plateau of the grassfields and kaolin available for making tuyeres in the stream valleys with its sixty-two plus relic furnace foundations it is an indicator of an iron working agglomeration of an era yet to be determined. surviving iron working relics are very similar to those of the babungo and oku of the 18th century centers. till date, a relic forest remains in kovifem indicative of the forested environment which would have provided charcoal needed by the iron industry. aboriginal clans who integrated with the nso’ by agreements; together with ngonso’s people provided the necessary labour needed for this industry. though recurrent evidence in the kovifem dynasty points to a knowledge of iron works, the importance of the taavisa iron working site remains distinct. the fact that the nso’ are documented to have been importers of iron products from oku, nkar and ndop at the close of the 19th century buttresses this view. the taavisa case therefore stands unique and points equally to the view that, even though the nso’ migrated from tikari with the knowledge of smelting iron, their neighbours of the north in binkar or nkar to the south may have been producers of iron ware in much greater quantities. this therefore probably accounts for the imperative to seize and monopolize the taavisa source of iron ore from the nkar clan, in order to sustain it efforts to expand its territory by use of weapons fabricated in this site or to defend itself against wiyaa, bamun, chamba and fulani invaders. it also enabled the nso’ to occupy nkar and her southern immigrant fondoms of kwa’nso’, kiluun, ndzeen and ndzerem at the close of the 18th century to the early 19th century. taavisa therefore stood out as an observatory, strategically situated for future expansionist ambitions to subdue southern fondoms and integrate them to the kovifem dynasty. lastly, the burial of fon sanggu and slain members of the royal family on the gentle slope cleared of its slag residue adds a new element to symbolism attached to the african smelting industry. besides secrecy in protecting knowledge of iron working, associated myths, use of local paraphernalia, magic, sexual prohibitions, restrictions to women and non tribes men, taavisa slag heaps demonstrate continuity clearly, in the 18th century, from old aboriginal nkar to occupant 10 interview with shuufaay kuiylah of kikaikela’ki, age 62 (land lord of taavisa or taangven), kikaikelahki, 24/03/2021. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 25 nso’ smelters. taavisa equally exposes a mythical element when an old iron working site was turned into a royal cemetery and consequently into a shrine of the kingdom. the association of a late fon to a slag heap buttresses the link that ties the powers of a sovereign, to his control and manipulation of iron production processes in his kingdom. in the same vein, there was the attribution of some foundries to the exclusive authority and control of the sovereign ruler for production of his sacra items or repairs to avoid contamination or pollution. this site with possibly a palace foundry thus produced special iron bars which were taken to specialised smithies which had the prerogative to produce or repair the royal iron walking stick, double headed ritual gong, palace knives, hoes, cutlasses, diggers, hammers and kwifon (regulatory society) sacra. taavisa continued with its routine smelting but certainly mutated to have a special status. when corroborated with the closeness of sanggu’s rest hamlets and final burial on a scraped section free from smelting debris; with respect to the burial and post burial traditions elucidated above, his person and institution were no doubt directly linked to this site, even though there was no other alternative. this therefore reveals that taavisa was not only an old iron working site first under the nkar and later nso’ dynasties but that it became a shrine as it held a royal cemetery. further research will allow us see the smelting capacity of other smelting sites found in the kovifem polity, evaluate how networking existed amongst these sites and the place or strength of the taavisa smelting site in relation to any existing sites. this can allow us have a full understanding of the importance of taavisa in the nso’ kingdom. references akinjogbin, a. i. (2004). the impact of iron on yorubaland, in: the origins of metallurgy in africa: new light on its antiquity. west and central africa edited by hamady bocoum, part one/55-64. paris: unesco publishing. chem, l. (1987). ntonkar: transfer of power and authority in ntonkar. annals of the faculty of letters and social sciences, 3(1), 16-18. chilver, e.m., & keberry, p. m. (1970). chronology of the bamenda grassfields. journal of african history xi, 2, 249-257. de maret, p. (2004). central africa : knowing iron.” in: the origins of metallurgy in africa: new light on its antiquity. west and central africa edited by hamady bocoum, part two/127134. paris: unesco publishing. dieterlen, g. (1965). textes sacreed afrque noir. paris: gallimard. essomba, j. m. (1991). le fer dans le passé des societes du sud cameroun (these pour le doctorat d’etat en lettres). universite de paris 1. fanso, v. g. (2017). cameroon history for secondary schools and college. from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century. revised and updated combined edition. kumbo: team work press. fowler, i. b. (1990). a study of iron, trade and power in a nineteenth century ndop plain chiefdom (cameroons). (ph.d thesis).university college london. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 26 fowler, i., & zeitlyn, d. (1996). introductory essay: the grassfields and the tikar. african crossroads; intersections between history and anthropology in cameroon. berghahn, oxford, 1-12. hawkesworth, e. g. (1922). assessment report banso district, national archives buea: file index 9.no. 850/1122, arch.ab11, ab12. humphris, j., & carey, c. (2011). new methods for investigating slag heaps: integrating geo prospection, excavation and quantitative methods at meroe, sudan. journal of archaeological science, 70, 132-144. jemkur, f. j. (2004). the beginnings of iron metallurgy in west africa. in: the origins of metallurgy in africa: new light on its antiquity. west and central africa edited by hamady bocoum, part one/33-42.paris: unesco publishing. kaberry, p. m. (2004). women of the grassfield. a study of the economic position of the women in bamenda british cameroon. london: routledge publishers print edition. mbenkum, a. w. (1979). archaeological research and iron working in bui division. (maitrise dissertation). university of yaounde, faculty of letters and social sciences. mzeka, n. p. (1980).the core culture of nso. agawam, ma: radin company. mccosh, w. j. f. (1974). traditional iron working in central africa with some references to the ritualistic and scientific aspects of the industry. zambezia, vol .vii, no 2, 155-170. nkwi, n. p., & warnier, j. p. (1982). elements for a history of the western grassfields. yaounde: department of sociology, university of yaounde. okafor, e. e. (2004). twenty-five centuries of bloomery iron smelting in nigeria. in the origins of metallurgy in africa: new light on its antiquity. west and central africa edited by hamady bocoum, part one/43-54.paris: unesco publishing. reid, a., & rachel, m. (1955). symbolism and the social contexts of iron production in karagwe. world archaeology journal, 27(1), 144-148. https://www.jstor.org/stable/124783 warnier, j. p. (2012).cameroon grassfield civilisation. bamenda: langwa rpcig. https://www.jstor.org/stable/124783 warnier, j. p., & ian f. (1979). a nineteenth century rhur in central africa. africa journal volka, 4, cambridge cambridge university press, 329-351. interviews laayeh, john. aged 55 (black smith), nkar, 07/06/ 2021. https://www.jstor.org/stable/124783 https://www.jstor.org/stable/124783 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 27 shuufaay kuiylah of kikaikela’ki. aged 62 (land lord taavisa (taangven), kikaikelahki, 24/03/2021. yaa fanka shella. aged 35 (queen mother and participant to annual rites on the grave site and land marks at taavisa), kimbo’, 18/03/2021. yaa wo kuiyla. aged 72 (occupant of the farms with sanggu’s grave and huts) taavisa, 13/03/2021. glossary faay: lineage or family head fe’em: small bamboo grass thatched huts with two flank roofing built over the grave of a fon (king) kwifon or nwerong: regulatory society; also called ngumba or tifo in other tribes in the grassfields of cameroon jihad: wars organized usman dan fodio and madibo adama in the case of cameroon with the objective to forcefully convert people to islam manjong: the tribal military structure mntar: the aboriginal clans also called the visale taakilam: a foundry leader or head kilanglang: an embroider fabric reserved for use by royals kikeng: peace plant (dracaena deistelina) kiwoy: a slimy concoction of paraphernalia when mixed with palm wine (kosteletzsya) koonteh: a creeping plant used as royal paraphernalia during the burial rites of royals kwifon or nwerong: a traditional regulatory society of commoners nsii: a war victory dance performed by warriors ngirri: a traditional society of royals and princes to second and third generations plus ogun: name given to the god of iron amongst the yoruba tribe of nigeria copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 28 tobacco related content on new media and its exposure among university students in bangladesh md. jahir uddin lecturer department of gender and development studies begum rokeya university, rangpur, bangladesh e-mail: jahir.gds@brur.ac.bd md. azizul islam assistant team co-coordinator issheghuri foundation, dhaka, bangladesh e-mail: azizuldu1994@gmail.com md. asaduzzaman mondol asad assistant professor department of public administration begum rokeya university, rangpur, bangladesh e-mail: asad.pad.brur@gmail.com received: august 08, 2021 accepted: september 20, 2021 online published: november 09, 2021 doi: 10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1430 url: https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v9i1.1430 abstract the study investigates the tobacco-related content on new media and its exposure among university students in bangladesh. a cross-sectional study design based on mixed-method approach had been used to conduct this study. a sample of 405 respondents were selected from eight public universities in bangladesh for the survey questionnaire. besides, 20 key informant interviews were conducted with structured question, and a checklist used for new media observation regarding tobacco-related contents. quantitative analysis performed with descriptive and inferential statistics for survey data, while thematic analysis followed for qualitative data. the study revealed that 43.5% of respondents were exposed to tobacco-related content (trc) in new media. regarding exposure to trc, facebook (43.5%) was on the top, followed by youtube (39.2%), instagram (35.6%), online newspaper (25.2%), blog (22.2%) and twitter (12.5%). study shows that one-fifth of the respondents (20.2%) had an engagement with these trc by post, share, like and comment through facebook, youtube, and twitter. kii explored that ti promotes their products using names and logos, violating the taps ban, which was shared by new media users and exposed to university students. finally, the study concludes that for attracting the mailto:jahir.gds@brur.ac.bd mailto:asad.pad.brur@gmail.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 29 university students, the tobacco industry has developed different tools and techniques in new media. keywords: new media, tobacco, contents, exposure, university students. literature review internet users have increased considerably, and presently more than 90 million people are using the internet in bangladesh ("bangladesh: internet penetration rate 2019 | statista", 2021). among the internet user’s majority are associated with new media and primarily graduate students (james & vishwanathan, 2018). in different ways, they are getting the touch of tobacco promotional activities in new media, which badly affect the students (hassan et al., 2019). for a strict ban on tobacco promotion in new media, it is important to explore the tobacco-related content on new media. while the tobacco-related content on new media will be investigated, then the government would be able to take the initiative to control these promotional activities, which can control large tobacco extent (niederdeppe, farrelly, & wenter, 2007). therefore, the governments need to develop a fresh approach to combat tobacco-related content in new media (freeman, 2012). historically, scientifically, environmentally, economically and from another segment, it is proved that tobacco is dangerous for human living (yukihiro, hiramatsu, & kawano, 2011). every year 7 million people lead to death for this damaging thing and bangladesh is one of the high-risk countries in case of tobacco activities including selling, producing, consuming (islam & walton, 2019). considering the extremely negative impact of tobacco a county of india named tamil nadu has taken the policies to intervene in the media for the reduction of the tobacco. by promoting the anti-tobacco program, campaign, discussion, content on new media the government of tamil nadu gets effective positive results in case of a reduction of tobacco uses (raheem & selladurai, 2018). in case of making people aware of the tobacco disadvantages, the media can play an advocacy role by showing the bad impact of tobacco uses (sood, 2015). at the same time, media can increase the interaction of multiple levels of people for the development of awareness among them. media can develop a community against smokers or other tobacco users by developing a strong relationship with young and can contribute to young smoking cessation (niederdeppe, farrelly, & wenter, 2007). on the other hand, in usa fund has developed for an anti-smoking campaign. here, the media is considering as the most effective tools to use this fund in the anti-smoking promotion (tsoukalas, 2003). according to a report finding, nearly 51% of people are active users of different new media. people are getting any kind of news via new media than other media existing in the present world. freeman (2012) in his research shows that the new media is the most effective tools for tobacco control in this 21st century. by using the availability and cost effectiveness of new media, it is possible to reduce tobacco using large extent (freeman, 2012). recently, a research paper has published about the role of mass media for controlling tobacco. this research shows that mass media can contribute by increasing people interaction in the light of tobacco control at large extent (sadeque & ahmed, 2017). in addition, in bangladesh, social media can contribute a lot, as the majority of the people who are using the internet are associated with social media. in bangladesh, social media can be a great means for controlling or reduction tobacco uses at large extent (turk et al., 2018). though some research conducted on this topic, generally those have explained the role of mass media or social media for controlling tobacco in bangladesh. however, those studies fail to address the problem that most of the tobacco industry is using the new media covertly for tobacco https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 30 promotion as well as fail to address the role of new media in case of tobacco control among university students. for effective uses of new media for tobacco control, it is necessary to know the pattern of tobacco promotional activities by the tobacco industry. methodology operational definition new media new media refer to the highly interactive digital technology. new media is quickly processed, stored, transformed, retrieved, hyper-linked, and, perhaps most radical of all, quickly searched for and accessed. new media refers to facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, tango, and online newspaper. conceptually, new media can be viewed as a cultural process that reflects societal values and societal transformation (livingstone & lievrouw, 2009). tobacco-related contents exposure tobacco-related contents refer the advertisement, promotional activities, sponsorship, posting of tobacco products and selling by the tobacco industries in new media place. exposure refers the like, comments, share, post, view, invitation in tobacco page. university students university students refers the graduate and post graduate students who are the regular users of new media. study design for conducting this study, the cross-sectional design followed. this research was conducted by following the mixed-method approach, both qualitative and quantitative methods. study area and population this study covered eight public universities of eight divisions in bangladesh. the study populations were the university's students and regular (daily) users of new media. study period the study conducted from april to november 2019. sampling design survey for the quantitative part, the sample size has been calculated using the following formula: equation, n = 405, where, z= 1.96 for 5% level of significance p= percentage of graduate students exposed to the tobacco activities on new media (unknown) =50% d = margin of error = 0.05 (considered) non-response=5% https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 31 for collecting data through a survey questionnaire, 405 respondents were selected from eight public universities. from those universities, respondents were being chosen randomly for the questionnaire survey. the distribution of respondents by the university are given below table 1. study area study area number of respondents dhaka university 55 chittagong university 50 shahjalal university of science and technology 50 barisal university 50 jatiya kabi kazi nazrul islam university 50 rajshahi university 50 begum rokeya university 50 khulna university 50 total 405 observation for exploring the pattern of tobacco promotional activities using new media, contents in six new media channels have been observed rigorously. the distribution of the selected site of the new media are given below table 2. new media observation site new media types number of page/channels twitter social networking 1 facebook social networking 1 youtube video sharing 1 blog.com blog publishing 1 online newspaper news publicizing 1 total 6 key informant interview (kii) for selecting the respondents of kii, the purposive sampling method has followed. numbers of kii from the different segments are given below table 3. lists of kii critical informants interview (kii) number of participants new media specialists 5 government officials 5 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 32 anti-tobacco activists 5 civil society representatives 5 total 20 data analysis the raw data inserted into the database system. for analyzing the collected data of this study database system had been used. for making the data analysis more thorough and suitable, the validity of the data had scrutinized. to analyze the survey data, spss had been used. various statistical tools, such as descriptive statistics, correlation, cross-tabulations, central tendency tests, etc., extensively examined the data collected. finally, the comprehensive findings of this research have presented. ethical issues institutional ethical clearances of this study acquired from the department of public administration, university of dhaka. informed written consent had taken before conducting the interview. individual ethical issues had maintained in every tier of the study. results quantitative findings respondent characteristics table 4. gender and age of the respondents gender number percentage male 307 75.8% female 98 24.2% total 405 100.0% average age, mean ± sd 21.5±1.613 the gender and age of the respondents are shown in the above table (table 4). among the 405 respondents, 75.8% respondents were male, and 24.2% were female. the average age of the respondents was 21.5 years old. tobacco using status table 5. tobacco use status of the respondents variable number percentage overall tobacco users yes 81 20.0% no 324 80.0% total 405 100.0% smoking tobacco yes 77 19.0% no 328 81.0% https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 33 total 405 100.0% smokeless tobacco yes 13 3.2% no 392 96.8% total 405 100.0% the above table (table 5) shows the smoking and smokeless tobacco using status of the respondents. among the 405 respondents, 20.0% were tobacco users. here, 19.0%respondents consumed smoking tobacco currently, while 3.2% of respondents consumed smokeless tobacco. table 6. type of smoking and smokeless tobacco types percentage smoking tobacco* cigarette 100.0% bidi 7.9% e-cigarette 7.9% base, n 77 smokeless tobacco* jarda 100.0% sadapata 8.3% gul 8.3% base, n 13 note: *multiple responses. types of smoking and smokeless tobacco are shown in table 6. among tobacco users, all the respondents consumed cigarettes, and7.9% of respondents consumed both bidi and e-cigarette. among smokeless tobacco users, all the respondents’ consumed jarda, and 8.3% finished both sadapata and guys. uses of new media figure 1. type of new media/social media used by the respondents (n=405) https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 34 the above figure (figure 1) shows different types of new media by the respondents. among the respondents, all were facebook users, followed by 83.2% were youtube users, 38.5%whatsapp, 32.6% instagram, 31.4% imo, and 28.4% respondents were online newspaper users. besides, 13.8% of respondents used twitter, some (4.4%) used blog, and only 1.2% used other new media types. table 7. trc group/page/site/channel/news followed by the respondents on new media an average number of trc group/page/site/channel/news followed by the respondents in new media are shown in table 7. on average, respondents viewed 0.74trc in facebook, 0.02 trc in twitter, 0.66 trc channel in youtube,0.28 trc site in blog, 0.29trc page in instagram and 0.47trc site in online newspaper. promotional activities/ exposure to tobacco related content (trc) any content on new media, which contain the different pro-tobacco scene, tobacco consumption, tobacco product, brand, and sponsorship and have not warned message, are termed as tobaccorelated content (trc). respondents were exposed to different types of trc in video, image and text format that is shown below: figure 2. overall exposure to trc post in new media name of new media* number of trc group/ page n mean ± sd facebook 405 0.74 ±1.769 twitter 56 0.02±0.134 you tube 337 0.66±0.1754 blog 18 0.28±0.958 instagram 132 0.29±0.767 online newspaper 115 0.47±1.273 https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 35 figure 2 presents respondents overall exposure to the trc post in new media in the last six months. it explored that 61.2% of the respondents saw the trc post in new media while 38.8% did not. note: *multiple responses. figure 3. respondent’s exposure to trc post by new media the above graph (figure 3) shows the percentage of the respondents exposed to trc by new media. overall, among the respondents, 61.2% exposed to trc in the last six months on facebook, 60.1% in youtube, 47.7% in instagram, 18.1% in online newspapers, 17.9% in twitter, and 7.7% in twitter blog. note: *multiple responses figure 4. type of trc post exposed by the respondents overall, the type of exposed trc post is shown in figure 4. among the exposed trc post, 74.2% was video, and 73.8% was the image; that is, video and image highly exposed trc posts in new media. again, 44.4% revealed trc was text, and 6.9% was only audio. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 36 influence on student table 8. smoking status of the respondents by overall exposure to trc, reactions to trc on fb/tw/in variables n smoking status p-value yes no overall exposure to trc 0.001 yes 248 24.6% 75.4% no 157 10.2% 89.8% overall exposure to trc on fb/tw/in 0.001 yes 193 26.4% 73.6% no 212 12.3% 87.7% overall reactions to trc 0.001 yes 145 31.7% 68.3% no 260 11.9% 88.1% note: p-value from chi-square test table 8 shows the percentage of the respondents exposed to trc and their tobacco smoking behavior within the last six months. it was found that among respondents who revealed to trc, 24.6%usedsmoking tobacco. similarly, 31.7%respondents used smoking tobacco among them who reacted to trc. again, 26.4% used smoking tobacco among the respondents exposed to trc on facebook, twitter, and instagram. figure 5. percentage of respondents trc engagement figure 5 shows the percentage of the respondent engagement to the trc of the last six months based on exposure. it explored that 65.1% of respondents were engaged in instagram, https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 37 58.5% in youtube, 55.2% in facebook, 51.2% in online newspapers,50.0% in twitter, and 20.0% in blogs through the post, share, like and comment with these trc. note: *multiple responses figure 6. visibility of health warning message on the trc of mv/d/m/cb post the above figure (figure 6) shows the visibility of health warning messages on the trc of music videos, drama, movies, and celebrity’s posts. among 322 respondents, 80.7% of respondents found health warning messages in the exposed trc for most cases, while 34.8% found health warning messages for fewer issues. only 5.9% of respondents found the health warning note in the exposed trc for half of the cases. table 9. respondents who tried to consume tobacco influenced by trc scene in new media number of students number percentage yes 48 11.9% no 357 88.1% total 405 100.0% table 9 shows the percentage of respondents who tried to consume tobacco seen by the trc scene in new media. it found that 11.9% of respondents tried to consume tobacco by seeing glamorous trc scenes in new media, while 88.1% did not try. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 38 tobacco control activities in new media note: *multiple responses figure 7. types of tobacco control content exposed by the respondents figure 7 shows the types of tobacco control content post on new media. the majority (63.3%) of the respondent exposed to video, 45.3% to image, 48.3% to text, and11.6% to audio on new media. note: *multiple responses; figure 8. type of tobacco control activities based on new media the above graph (figure 8) presents different types of tobacco control activities on new media. it found that 59.5% of respondents were exposed to various publicity workshops, 64.9% to awareness programs, and 18.9% to online seminars on new media. 63.3% 48.3% 45.3% 11.6% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% video text image audio https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 39 figure 9. respondents influenced by tobacco control activities in new media the above figure (figure 9) shows the percentage of respondents influenced by tobacco control programs based on new media. almost half of the students (51.1%) said that the tobacco control programs influenced them, and the rest of the respondents were not impacted. note: *multiple responses figure 10. tobacco control-related contents by new media the above figure (figure 10) shows the tobacco control-related contents by new media. the highest majority (89.9%) of the respondents were exposed to tobacco control-related content in facebook, 31.9% in youtube, 12.6% in online newspapers, 9.9% in blogs, 5.7% in twitter, and 3.5% instagram. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 40 qualitative findings observation findings the pattern of tobacco promotional activities presently, tobacco promotional activities have taken place in the new media largely; because of the prohibition of tobacco promotional activities in bangladesh, there is no specific inclusion of the new media. besides, mainly facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube are using for the promotional activities of tobacco for its ease of access; similarly, the young generation or university students think smoking is part of smartness, and they upload their smoking picture in “new media”; this, by and large, influencing the people. the tobacco industry cannot apply the direct techniques by using their logo, name or other things in the promotion, and if they do it, it will be an absolute crime according to the law. there may be the ti sponsorship in the different scenes of movies, drama, or youtube videos where smoking is being shown as part of heroism. in addition, they have recruited advocates to work in favor of them for promoting their product in “new media”. influence over university students students are the targeted customer of the ti, and utilizing this, it becomes easy to reach and influence them. the age where the university student belongs is fascinating and wants to enjoy everything like a hero. the tobacco industries arrange different types of secret campaigns to spread the smoking tobacco. at the same time, ti hires celebrities to upload their heroism picture with smoking. the tobacco industry has developed some characteristics in new media via video, pictures with smoking tobacco that represent bravery and heroism. the university students copy those characteristics from the video and image to become competent and valor. this copy becomes a curse for the university students to a large extent, and they began to follow those excessively. anti-tobacco promotional techniques in new media some organizations, individuals, and the government have taken some initiative for the tobacco control activities in new media. though it has become the biggest platform, it is not using essentially by the anti-tobacco activists, individuals, and government. for the anti-tobacco promotional activities, different kinds of patterns are being followed. the designs are seminars, symposiums, awareness programs, drama and those are posted directly in the new media like facebook, twitter etc. within a short time, it becomes easier to reach many populations. at the same time, the new media developed a scope where all kinds of opposing sides of tobacco become possible to telecast in detail. government’s role in combating tobacco promotional activities by using new media the study depicts that government can play a central role in combat tobacco promotional activities in new media by developing a new law related to tobacco promotional activities in the new media and can add substantial punishment for direct and indirect tobacco promotional activities in the new media. there is a problem that the tobacco sector is the second sector for large revenue generation, and here a question may arise about the role of government. discussion the study finds that due to advanced knowledge on technology and being young, university students are highly using new media, and trc is spreading in new media to a large extent. different tobacco promotional activities are visible in new media, which have distinct patterns https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 41 such as audio, video, image and text. in new media, both individuals and industries share different tobacco-related contents and products, which are exposed very highly to the new media users. these findings meet the demand of choudhury et al. (2018) to develop a strategy to solve this issue. this study explored different tobacco promotional activities exposed to university students on which they have significant reactions. it agrees with james and vishwanathan (2018) study finding regarding tobacco among university students. a substantial number of respondents (61.2%) were exposed to trc by new media within the last 6-month where facebook is on the top list. since the previous 6-month trc exposure, the use of smoking tobacco was found significantly higher among the respondents who exposed to trc (24.6% vs 10.2%; p<0.01) and who engaged with trc (36.5% vs 10.1%; p<0.001) compared to who did not. it indicates that these trc are contributing to increasing the number of smokers among university students, which needs to draw attention, reflecting the study finding of (hassan et al., 2019). it means facebook is one of the easiest ways to promote different tobacco products by targeting young customers. individuals and the tobacco industries are also using the other new media to reach the young new media users. among the respondents who exposed different trc on new media tend to engage with these in the post, share, like and comment. as a result, these trc remain visible on new media for a long time and creates a positive attitude and belief about tobacco products, especially smoking tobacco. non-smoker students are also exposed to trc on new media and seeing different glamorous trc posts by their virtual friends. they have tended to post and share trc following their peer groups to get popularity (like and comment) among friends. as a result of one stage, they have the chance to addict to tobacco. however, this study explored that any tobacco industries are not directly connected with these trc, but there may be an indirect link for further research. although tobacco industries are not directly affiliated with these trc in many ways, their name, logo, and glamorous tobacco products are visible with these exposed trc, which found on the homepage of the respondents on new media. it found that among the exposed trc, one-fourth of the trc are clearly showing different tobacco industries name and logo, brands and color that determined from the last 6-month exposure post. in addition, the new media become an essential segment for the anti-tobacco promotional activities. this supports the finding of arsenijević and andevski (2015) regarding making people conscious about tobacco using social media. this study finds that the majority viewed different anti-tobacco promotional activities on facebook, twitter, instagram, blog, and youtube. however, various anti-tobacco promotional activities are visible in new media, but student engagement is shallow with these activities ‘student engagement. recommendation  in the tobacco advertisements prohibition law, it is mandatory to include the prohibition of tobacco advertisement in new media.  it is necessary to ensure that no trc will be allowed to display on new media at personal and industrial levels without warning messages.  the government of bangladesh should take adequate measures to formulate and implement a university-based intervention program to inform students about the harmful effects of tobacco use. in addition, those programs can telecast in new media.  it is necessary to take the initiative to include the tobacco-related program at formal university education so that they become aware deeply of its harmful effects. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 42  the government can develop programs related to the harmful effects of tobacco uses regularly and can telecast those in new media via the support of different anti-tobacco activists or organizations.  for reducing the extreme exposure of tobacco at university premises, it is essential to enforce the smoking and tobacco products usage (control) act, 2005 and amendment 2013 and its regulations.  for the students who already expressed to quit smoking, it is necessary to ensure proper assistance and tools for supporting them to stop smoking tobacco forever.  the government should take the initiative for establishing a tobacco cessation center at the university and can provide training to the health professional is students.  conclusion new media are the part of the modern technology, and it is easy to use. different new media are being used mainly by individuals and industries for tobacco promotional activities, whether directly or indirectly. there is no clear direction about the prohibition of tobacco promotional activities in new media in bangladesh. tobacco industries can access the targeted customer very easily by taking advantage of the loopholes of the law. one of the target markets of the ti is the young generation, and the students at the university level are youth. for attracting them, the tobacco industry has developed different tools and techniques basis on their regular activities in new media. the tobacco industries are posting, sharing tobacco-related content in new media indirectly to attract them. indirect involvement of the tobacco industries is considerable in terms of user name and logo, product details, brand names, glamorous tobacco products and sponsorship of different events and movies on new media. in addition, still, some trc scenes are visible in music videos, dramas, movies, and other celebrities post without health warning messages. by seeing this glamorous trc scene, university students have primarily been influenced by the tobacco promotional activities in new media which indulging them to tobacco products largely. however, it becomes easier to reach millions of people by using new media within a short time, and it would be possible to involve the majority of university students in anti-tobacco promotional activities. the governments need to support and give sponsorships in anti-tobacco promotional activities to make them more efficient and effective to make people aware regarding life threatening impact of tobacco. besides, findings of this study would be supportive to the policy makers of the government to regulate posting, sharing tobaccorelated content in new media in bangladesh to save the youth like university students. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 43 acknowledgements the authors are thankful to bangladesh center for communication programs (bccp) for their technical input and institute for global tobacco control, baltimore, usa, for their financial support from the bloomberg initiative. the authors are grateful to mohammad shamimul islam, team leader, jhsph-bccp tobacco control program, for his direction, guidelines, & supportive actions throughout the research project. the authors are also thankful to dr kapil ahemd, miraz mahmud and farzana for assisting throughout the study period. references arsenijević, j., & andevski, m. (2015). media convergence and diversification–the meeting of old and new media. procedia technology, 19, 1149-1155. choudhury, s., walter, k., al-mamun, a., jubayer, s., bhuiyan, m., candler, l., ... & sebrie, e. (2018). monitoring compliance with the ban on tobacco advertising and promotion at the point of sale in bangladesh (2017). tobacco induced diseases, 16(1). freeman, b. (2012). new media and tobacco control. tobacco control, 21(2), 139-144. hassan, m. s., hossain, m. k., & khan, h. t. (2019). prevalence and predictors of tobacco smoking among university students in sylhet division, bangladesh. international health, 11(4), 306-313. islam, f. m. a., & walton, a. (2019). tobacco smoking and use of smokeless tobacco and their association with psychological distress and other factors in a rural district in bangladesh: a cross-sectional study. journal of environmental and public health, 2019. james, l., & vishwanathan, h. k. (2018). the new age of tobacco marketing: imagery on social media. tobacco induced diseases, 16(1). niederdeppe, j., farrelly, m. c., & wenter, d. (2007). media advocacy, tobacco control policy change and teen smoking in florida. tobacco control, 16(1), 47-52. raheem, a. c. a., & selladurai, n. (2018). increase the media contribution to reduce tobacco promotion in tamil media. tobacco induced diseases, 16(1). sadeque, t., & ahmed, k. (2017). p1. 01-025 mass media and tobacco in bangladesh: an investigation on the role of mass media in the light of tobacco control: topic: protective factors, risk reduction, smoking cessation. journal of thoracic oncology, 12(1), s463-s464. sood, r. (2015). the role of media in tobacco control campaigns. indian journal of dental education, 8(1), 15-19. statista. (2021). bangladesh: internet penetration rate 2019 retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/764102/internet-penetration-rate-bangladesh https://www.statista.com/statistics/764102/internet-penetration-rate-bangladesh https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 9, no. 1; 2021 44 tsoukalas, t. (2003). development and destruction of the first state-funded anti-smoking campaign in the usa. tobacco control, 12(2), 214-220. turk, t., negi, n. s., svenson, d., hussain, s. m., islam, m. s., & mullin, s. (2018). using synergised social media approaches to support tobacco control policy and cessation related behaviours in bangladesh. tobacco induced diseases, 16(1). yukihiro, m., hiramatsu, t., & kawano, t. (2011). lethal impacts of cigarette smoke in cultured tobacco cells. tobacco induced diseases, 9(1), 1-6. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 23-29 23 social science research aijssr vol 12 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa the perspectives of urozgan institute of higher education lecturers toward helms online teaching and learning asadullah noor (a) 1 hayatullah saar (b) gul ahmad amirzai (c) (a) teaching assistant, pashto language and literature department, education faculty, urozgan institute of higher education, urozgan, afghanistan; e-mail: asadnoorkh@gmail.com (b) teaching assistant, pashto language and literature department, education faculty, urozgan institute of higher education, urozgan, afghanistan; e-mail: hayatullah.sar2@gmail.com (c) teaching assistant, english language and literature department, education faculty, urozgan institute of higher education, urozgan, afghanistan; e-mail: gul.amirzai@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 21st june 2022 accepted: 10th august 2022 online publication: 15th august 2022 keywords: online teaching, learning helms, afghan context jel classification codes: i20, i21, i23, i28 a b s t r a c t this study investigates to find out the attitudes of urozgan institute of higher education lecturers about the higher education learning and management system (helms). the data was collected from 19 lecturers (masters and bachelors) in survey design. the overall number of lecturer in this institute are forty (only males); nineteen (19) of them are enrolled in the survey and chosen as random sampling. the data has been collected using a questionnaire consisting of numerous closed-ended and open-ended questions. the language of the questionnaire was pashto, the native language of the participants; later, the results were translated to english. furthermore, the data were analyzed in the statistical package in social science (spss) program to find out the frequency and percentage of the items. the finding of the study suggests that the lecturers have negative feelings about the helms system. they believed that the system was unsuitable in afghanistan's public universities. the participants added that technical errors, low internet connections, and complexities with portals are the main barriers to the system. they also suggested that using helms needs a high-quality internet connection and cost. besides, the participants stated several common alternative programs instead of helms, such as; whatsapp groups, telegram channels, zoom meetings, and google classrooms, which also motivate policy makers to consider. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction online learning is education that takes place over the internet. it is often referred to as e-learning among other terms. furthermore, online learning is just one type of distance learning that takes place across distance and not in a traditional (stern, 2010). in addition, hadadnia et al. (2012) agreed that in education through virtual instructors, students and teachers physically distanced. according to mubsalat (2012) the use of technology affects students learning similarly inside and outside of the classroom. in addition, shahibi (2017) specified that online teaching is very crucial for teachers’ perceptions and deep understanding of using technology. sediqi and mirzad (2020) stated that online education provides time flexibility and motivation for the learners to perform their tasks autonomously. everyone promoted from new technology in many ways, particularly; the ones who are interested take the opportunity of being online. since covid-19 pandemic spread world widely many public and private universities and schools were closed across afghanistan. during this lockdown the universities and schools were use different online systems for teaching. in june 2020, the ministry of higher education (mohe) of afghanistan come up with a countrywide learning management system called helms (higher education learning management system) which uses as a tool that assists universities in managing, delivering, planning, and tracking the learning and teaching process (mohammadi & mohibbi, 2021). students and lecturers were having users in that portal. every class were register in that system too. the lecturers were posting teaching materials and were teaching online. the students were having users and can to get teaching materials or attend live classes. urozgan institute of higher education 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-9787-3868 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1782 to cite this article: noor, a., saar, h., & amirzai, g. a. (2022). the perspectives of urozgan institute of higher education lecturers toward helms online teaching and learning. american international journal of social science research, 12(1), 23-29. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1782 mailto:asadnoorkh@gmail.com mailto:gul.amirzai@gmail.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1782 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9787-3868 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6328-5678 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9294-7418 noor et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 23-29 24 is one of the governmental public institute in southern province urozgan city of afghanistan. established in 2013 and have three faculties agriculture, education, and computer science and around 1200 students and more than 36 lecturers. several of the teachers are having master degree and many of them are bachelor. during lockdown this institute also were using helms online system which were launch by mohe. as this system was the first experience in afghanistan universities thus, there were many problems and challenges that teachers and students were faced with. therefore, this research conducted to find out the perspective of teachers toward helms. the focus the research was on the challenges that teachers were faced. the aims of this research is to find the answers to following research questions.  what are challenges teachers faced with using helms?  what are the effects of helms system on students learning?  is this program applicable in afghan context? literature review online learning and education is a program or course which completes online. the use of technology affects students’ learning equally inside and outside of the classroom (sediqi & mirzad, 2020). similarly, mohammadi and mohibbi (2021) define online learning as a network phenomenon that utilizes the internet as the medium of distribution of materials and information to reach enhanced performance. additionally, huynhi (2019) define online learning as course empowered by a modem, wired or wireless connection that allows access to learning materials from a computer, phone, or handled device. moreover, technology based learning encompasses the use of the internet and other important technologies to produce materials for learning, teach learners, and regulate courses in an organization (arkorful, 2014). similarly, goyal (2012) believe that online learning is the use of telecommunication technology to deliver information for education and training. the role of online learning in education online learning is an easy and effective way delivering education to learners and participants. recently, online learning has come to be more and more important in education. according to arkorful (2014) the introduction and expansion of a range of online tools has been initiating several changes in higher education institutions, particularly when it comes to their educational delivery and support processes. similarly, goyal (2012) agreed that the great advantage of online learning is include of liberating interactions between learners, and instructors, from limitation of time and space through the asynchronous and synchronous learning network model. online learning is especially useful method in higher education. like, huynhi (2019) stated that online learning is an effective and feasible teaching method, and helps students to reduce costs, save time, and build other digital competence, and lifelong learning skills in higher education. similarly, nguyen (2015) believed that online learning facilitates a significant improvement of distance education through interactive and collaborative activities in learning as well as learner personalities. as well, he adds that online learning is helpful in higher education for three reasons. first, online learning enables the flexibility in training by removing the spatial and temporal obstacle while decreasing costs. second, an advantage of online learning is that training programs can enhance professional competence or assist in the transformation of jobs. third, online learning helps learners build their digital competence, and lifelong learning skills. online learning helps students and teachers in teaching and learning process. as, abed (2019) discussed that online learning is easy access to the teacher. he added that online learning has made it much easier to access and access the teachers as quickly as possible, outside formal working hours, for example through e-mail or web-based discussion forums. moreover, online increase communication between students and the students and institute, through the ease of communication between parties in several directions such as discussion boards, e-mail, and dialogue rooms. online education provides time flexibility and motivation for the learners to perform their tasks autonomously (sediqi & mirzad, 2020). everyone is benefitted from new technology in many ways, particularly; the ones who are interested take the opportunity of being online. the students will familiar with the internet and its uses. holmes and gardener (arkorful, 2014) discussed seven different advantages of online learning. first, they agreed that online learning is flexible when issue of time and place are takes into consideration. second, online learning enhances the efficacy of knowledge and qualification via ease of access to a huge amount of information. third, online learning provides opportunities for relations between learners by the use of discussion forums. fourth, online learning is cost effective in the sense that there is no need for the students or learners to travel. fifth, online learning always takes into consideration the individual learners differences. sixth, online learning helps compensate for shortages of academic staff. seventh, the use of online learning allows self-pacing. methods and materials the quantitative research design and survey method used in this research. the aim of the study is to find out the perspective of lecturers toward helms (higher education learning and management system. according to creswell (2010) survey designs are procedures in quantitative research in which you administer a survey or questionnaire to a small group of people (called the sample) to identify trends in attitudes, opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of a large group of people (called the population). target population and sampling the target population of this study is the lecturers of urozgan institute of higher education, afghanistan. the overall number of the lecturer in this institute are forty (male), from them nineteen (19) of them are enrolled in survey. the lecturers are from three different faculties (education, agriculture, and computer science). the number of lecturers are chosen as random sampling. according to creswell (2010) simple random sampling the most popular and rigorous form of noor et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 23-29 25 probability sampling from a population is simple random sampling. in simple random sampling, the researcher selects participants (or units, such as schools) for the sample so that any individual has an equal probability of being selected from the population. the academic level of the lecturers is different majority of them are having master degree. the following charts shows the academic level and numbers of the participants table 1. the academic level and number of participants frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent valid master 11 57.9 57.9 57.9 bachelor 8 42.1 42.1 100.0 total 19 100.0 100.0 figure 1. the academic level of the participants research instrument according to creswell (2010) instrument is a tool for measuring, observing, or documenting quantitative data. examples of instruments are survey questionnaires, standardized tests, and checklists that you might use to observe behaviors. therefore, in this study the data is collected through questionnaire. the questionnaire was consisting of ten (10) closed-ended and four (4) open-ended questions. questionnaire was in pashto the native language of the participants, and distribute to everyone. the participants were having three days to answer the questions. in addition, after collecting questionnaires the questions and answers have been translate to english. moreover, the questions and answers are analyzed in statistical package in social science (spss) program. results the finding of the study described in pie charts and discussed. in figure 2 the majority of the lecturers believed that helms online systems is a beneficial program during the lockdown. 53% of the lecturers agreed to the question. and are strongly agree if they access to strong internet connection. moreover, 21% of the participants were agree and believed that helms is appropriate program. figure 2. is helms the best allternative during lockdown? as well, 21% agreed that they do not have any idea about using helms during covid-19 pandemic. in addition, 5% of the participants are strongly agreed to use helms. thus, majority of the participants are believing on using this system. 5% 21% 53% 21% is helms the best allternative during lockdown? strongly agree agree disagree neutral 58% 42% the academic level of the participants master noor et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 23-29 26 figure 3. is helms a best way of teaching? toward helms teaching system the participants were mostly disagree. as figure 3 shows 53% of the participants were disagree the way of teaching. the way of teaching is a portal in helms system which the students and lecturers having users. lecturers can add the lecturers (power point slides, audio, and video) to every class. lecturers can also evaluate students’ participations and attendances. the students can follow each lecturer’s lessons individual. this way of teaching is not appropriate to students what the figure 3 shows. 21% of the participants are agree, as well, 20% do not have idea about the ways of teaching in helms. moreover, 5% of the population are strongly agree with the way of helms teaching and learning. figure 4. is helms system totally a usefull way of teaching? in figure 4 similarly question asked from the participants’ as in figure 3 showed. again, the participants are disagreeing with the way of teaching in helms. majority of the participants (53%) are state that they are disagree with way of teaching. 21% of the participants stated that they are agree the way of teaching in helms system. as well, 5% are strongly agree how the helms delivers teaching. and 21% of the lecturers are having no idea toward teaching online using helms system. figure 5. do this system increase your technological awareness or not? in figure 5 the question is asked about the system. majority of the participants (53%) said that they were familiar with the system and usage of the system. moreover, 21% participants are agreeing with the idea that they are aware of such online systems. in addition, 21% are state no idea, and 5 % are strongly agree. therefore, the participants are disagreeing with system that increase their technological awareness. although, use of technology in higher education of afghanistan was the new issue, but most of the participants are disagree that is new. 5% 21% 53% 21% is helms a best way of teaching? strongly agree agree disagree neutral 5% 21% 53% 21% is helms system totally a usefull way of teaching? strongly agree agree disagree neutral 5% 21% 53% 21% do this system increase your technological awareness or not? strongly agree agree disagree neutral noor et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 23-29 27 figure 6. using helms was new issue to me? in figure 6 the participant showed negative responses toward higher education learning management system. almost all of them are disagree that helms is the newest issue that they have ever used. figure 7. is hemls system a successfull program used by mohe? ministry of higher education has launched helms in 2020. therefore, all public universities were using this system. the question was asked from the participant that how much is this system helpful and succeed? the majority of the participants (53%) are disagree. and 21% of them are agree, and similarly 21% are having no idea or neutral. as well, only 5% said that they are strongly agree. figure 8. i want to use helms always in my teaching figure 8 show that the participants are disagree to use helms during lockdown and after lockdown. mostly all of them are disagree to use this system for assignments and teaching. 53% of the participants are disagree with using helms system after covid-19 (lockdown). the questionnaire was also consisting of four open-ended questions. the questions were about the alternative instead of helms and effectiveness and weakness of the program. majority of the participants believed that helms is useless in afghan context, and were stated that instead of helms the universities must to have strong internet connection instead. as well, all of the participants were agreed that instead of helms, whatsapp groups, google classroom, zoom, and telegram channels are really good alternatives. moreover, the participants also said that they do not able to use this system and do not have plan to use it in any situation. 5% 21% 53% 21% using helms was new issue to me? strongly agree agree disagree neutral 5% 21% 53% 21% is hemls system a successfull program used by mohe? strongly agree agree disagree neutral 5% 21% 53% 21% i want to use helms always in my teaching strongly agree agree disagree neutral noor et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 23-29 28 discussion this study is conducted to find out the attitudes of the lecturers about helms system. the finding of the study reveals that lecturers have negative attitudes toward helms. they believe that the use of this system in higher education is useless and not effective. lecturers also agreed that students could not can to use it properly, due to various problems. the problems in using helms is related to internet connection. majority of the lecturers believed that they do not have access to internet connection or they rarely access to internet. vershitskaya (mohammadi & mohibbi, 2021) state that the barriers in online learning in russia is e-content development and internet connection. in addition, the use of helms system is not an appropriate program to participants. they believe that the program has many weaknesses and poor performance. similarly, sediqi and mirzad (2020) concluded in their research that 72% of the participants of english students uses whatsapp groups and do not use helms. they also discussed that 60% of the students are disagree with online teaching in afghanistan universities. moreover, 53% (fiqure 2) of the participants are disagree with helms to uses for teaching. they have negative responses toward the way of teaching that helms have in itself. the same results sediqi and mirzad (2020) found in their research and discussed that 58% of the students in afghanistan public universities are believe that online teaching does not provide a good opportunity to learn. in fiqure 3, 53% of the lecturers are having negative idea about the use of helms. they believed that in totally they are disagreeing with the portal and system of teaching. the perspective of the teachers also showed that helms is not a successful program introduced by mohe (ministry of higher education). 53% of the responses are negative toward the usefulness of the program. technical errors, low internet connection, and complicated system uses are the main barriers in the system that participants mentioned. taat and francis (mohammadi & mohibbi, 2021) studied that system usability, lecturers’ characteristics, system quality, information quality, and technical support have an impact on the acceptance of online learning. similarly, dhawan (mohammadi & mohibbi, 2021) explored the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of online learning during covid-19. the result of research shows that unequal distribution of ict infrastructure, quality of education, digital divide, lack of well-defined policies, and technological cost were the key barriers to online learning. sediqi and mirzad (2020) find out in their research that the main challenges of teaching and learning online in afghanistan have been the internet quality and expense. another important finding of the study explored some alternative programs instead helms. the participants suggested that whatsapp groups, telegram channels, zoom meetings, and google classroom are best programs to use in afghanistan public and private universities. through above mentioned programs online learning would be effective. they also suggested that using helms need high quality internet connection and cost but the suggested programs are easily used and available to every individual learner. conclusion, recommendation and limitation the aim of the study was to investigate the perspective of urozan institute of higher education about helms online learning and teaching. at this case study 19 lectures (masters and bachelors) were asked through survey (questionnaire). the participants showed negative responses about helms systems. they believed that helms is not useful in afghanistan, and the learners and lecturers faces with numerous problems. the main barriers discovered in this study; quality of internet and complication of the system. they believed instead of helms other online chatting networks such as whatsapp groups, telegram channels, zoom meetings, and google classrooms should use. the result of the study show that helms is not proper in afghanistan public universities. therefore, it is recommended to policy makers to consider this survey results and suggestions of the lecturers. this case study was including few lecturers thus; it is suggesting other researchers to conduct in highly ranked universities. moreover, the use of helms system in urozgan higher education were not used properly in lockdown due to lack of internet thus, the result of this study will be quietly different with other public universities. conducting research is also new issue in most of public institution such, urozgan institute of higher education. therefore, the result would not be applicable to all public universities. also, this study just covers the attitude of teachers toward helms, not the students. therefore, it is need to be conduct to include both students and teachers. author contributions: conceptualization, a.n.; methodology, a.n. and h.s.; software, a.n. and h.s.; validation, a.n.; formal analysis, a.n.; investigation, a.n.; resources, a.n.; data curation, a.n.; writing – original draft preparation, a.n.; writing – review & editing, a.n.; visualization, a.n.; supervision, a.n.; project administration, a.n.; funding acquisition, a.n., h.s. and g.a.a. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgments: this is to acknowledge the participants who willingly participate in the study and answer the questionnaire. and special thanks from urozgan institute of higher education office helped and motivate lecturers in conducting this study. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of 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(2010). introduction to online teaching and learning. retrieved from: http://www.sloanc.org/resources/index.asp publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. https://doi.org/10.2933/ejmste/102668 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10517-z http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/index.asp http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/index.asp http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 published by cribfb, usa 15 anthropological study of kerman carpet symbols, shapes, and designs dr. yaghoub sharbatian assistant professor of anthropology islamic azad university, garmsar branch, garmsar, iran e-mail: dy_sharbatian@yahoo.com roya bagheri phd student of anthropology islamic azad university, central tehran branch, iran e-mail: royabagheri1989@yahoo.com abstract different traditional iranian art forms can be known as a single semantic recreation in different forms. all of them imply some shared concepts which are a mix of persian and islamic beliefs. these arts have a symbolic tone and the artist speaks through their art using the appropriate allegorical tools. in this field, the kerman carpet should be known as an excellent manifestation of symbols and mysterious designs that are eloquently implemented on the carpet. the purpose of this study is the anthropological analysis of the symbols, designs, and patterns used in the kerman carpet as well as the analysis of the kermanian people's beliefs based on those designs and symbols. the research method used here is the qualitative type and in the form of ethnographic, and also the information are collected using interview-participation and documents. the theoretical framework of this study is based on clifford geertz’s symbolic-interpretive anthropology approach theory. the findings of this study show that the kerman carpet alongside its beauty and charm includes meaningful designs and patterns and these designs and symbols are derived from the geographical-cultural and social area and are connected with the everyday life, traditions, and beliefs of the people of their area. keywords: anthropology, design, kerman carpet, shape, symbol. introduction introduce the problem iran, the cradle of carpets in the world, has had the universal fame of being the land of carpets for a long time and there are still thousands upon thousands of exquisite rugs and carpets available from iran's carpet viewing poles to its enthusiasts. carpet creation in different regions of iran is dependent on beliefs and traditions or in other words culture, the wavers' mental states, and also geographic location. weavers of each area weave carpets with inspiration from their history and traditions. iranian carpets are a two-dimensional commodity, with one dimension of it being art and the other industry. the existence of these two dimensions has helped this industry to retain its magnificence and beauty. mailto:dy_sharbatian@yahoo.com https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 16 the carpet is a live and telling art which shows the heart and spiritual purity of the weaver. is it an art whose pattern talks to the human soul? all these hand-woven creations are representations of a greater and more valuable subject and show us the paths of the old, which can elaborate on the weaver's emotion in different situations. also, it clears many symbols and signs for us. also, other symbols and patterns of them can be a representation of tradition and civilization of any ethnicity. when we look at the themes of these hand-woven carpets we see that they represent the history of iranian art and culture. these carpets are mirror-like displays and retell all aspects of the life of any people. because carpets have applied as well as aesthetic aspects, they can be analyzed in terms of external and internal form as well as their decorative motifs and colors. based on this, in this study researchers are looking to answer the question that from the perspective of anthropology which symbols and designs are available in the kerman carpet that based on analysis can lead to their people's culture and customs. explore importance of the problem carpets have always been one of the fundamental furniture pieces of each persian household and skill in carpet-weaving is almost one of iranian's national characteristics. the art of carpetweaving is rooted in society because it has had risen from the heart of society and people. then it's completely clear that this kind of art has a relationship with people's everyday life and is a kind of reflection from social life, culture, and thought type of people of different ages; if we want to analyze the behavior, beliefs, thoughts, and insights of the people of a society we should look no further than this art form and it is only then that we could find some hidden truths. based on this, the pictures, designs, and signs available on each carpet can help us to identify and recognize the people of each period. these hand woven carpets are firm ancient traditions that carry many beliefs with their warp and woof which were respected among people from the old times and some of those traditions were preserved and were transferred generation by generation. of course in recent years, having a connection to the past and ancient traditions are rarer because of cultural interactions. based on this introduction, people can be more connected to their past and traditions by knowing and preserving this form of art and also preserve these traditions and customs in the process. so such studies are necessary for recording and identifying ancient iranian culture and customs, and identifying contemporary works. aims and objectives of the study  kerman carpet characteristic analysis;  analysis of symbols, designs, and patterns used in the kerman carpet and their meaning;  analysis of the kerman's people beliefs based on the symbols and designs used in their carpets. method the methodology used for this research is qualitative which mainly includes ethnography fieldwork. accordingly, the tools and techniques used for data collection are:  informal, in-depth, and open-ended interviews with the help of a partially structured interview guide.  participants' empirical observations. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 17 research theories the current study is quantitative and is not concerned with approving or disproving theories. the final results are gathered by the researchers' analysis of other texts, documents as well as field research. research questions  what are the characteristics of the kerman carpet?  what are the symbols, designs, and patterns used in the kerman carpet and what do they mean?  what are the beliefs of kerman's people based on their carpet designs and symbols? literature review hedayat (2008) completed research titled "mirrors of nature, exploring the woven products from the tribes of kohgiluyeh and boyer ahmad" and published this in the "avai dena" journal of cultural research issues 13 and 14. he analyzes the ingredients, tools, and methods used for weaving such products by providing some examples (hedayat, 2008). "each region's woven products as a symbol of each province's small culture expresses the spiritual qualities, as well as the embodiment of the material culture of their land", says he while analyzing the symbols of these products. nasiri (2010) in the book ancient iranian crafts talks about the evolution of the iranian carpet weaving craft, their role in carpet evolution, and their motifs (wolf, 2005) nasiri (2010) in the book "immortal legends of the persian carpet" points out the carpet's role in each family and this feminine art. and also considers the environment as an important factor in each carpets symbol and motif (nasiri, 2010). razavi (2008) talks about the history of carpet weaving in the book "carpet history the evolution of the iranian carpet weaving" which was published in 2014. this book consists of 10 chapters. he talks about iranian carpet designs, motifs, and symbols in the 6th chapter (razavi, 2014). arbabi (2013) wrote the book "handiwork workshop" in 2013, this book is consisted of 3 parts and includes 26 chapters. he analyzes some carpet designs, personally designs some carpet motifs, and then analyzes the used symbols in these examples (arbabi, 2013). yavari (2005) wrote the book "basics of iranian carpet recognition" in 2005. this book consists of 8 chapters. he talks about the position of colors and dyeing in the iranian carpet in the 5th chapter of this book. subjects such as conflicts of colors, color harmonies, color associations with emotions, and varieties of colors (natural, artificial), etc. then in the 6th chapter, he talks about the common designs and motifs of iranian carpets. based on his opinion arabesque, paisley, stripped, "gol farang" (rose), herati (fish, jumble fish), garden, medallion and prayer-nich designs are the dominant iranian carpet designs (yavari, 2005). area descriptions geographic location of the kerman province: the kerman province is located in the southeast side of the iranian plateau between the 54 degrees and 21 minutes till 59 degrees and 34 minutes of eastern longitude and 26 degree and 29 minutes till 31 degrees 58 minutes of northern latitude of the prime meridian (kalantari, 2008). https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 18 the maximum width of the province is 280 kilometers in the north and the minimum is 80 kilometers in the south. the medium width of the province is 250 kilometers and the distance between its northern and southern limits (the province's length) is estimated at around 660 square kilometers (iranpor, 2012). the kerman province by occupying around 11 percent of iran's soil after khorasan's divide is the biggest province of iran (nasiri, 2010). kerman city as the capital of this province with the coordinates of 50 minutes and 57 degrees of eastern longitude and 17 minutes and 30 degrees of northern latitude is placed in the heart of the kerman plain which has an expanse of 1100 square kilometers. based on the latest country divisions the kerman province has 16 counties, 45 sections, 57 cities, and 142 villages. the population of this province in 2016 based on statistics from the statistical center of iran was equal to 3,164,718 people. this province has more than 660 registered national monuments and is one of iran's historical provinces. the kerman province has 6 registered monuments in the unesco world heritage site which makes them iran's leading province in this respect. this province also has claimed first place in the non-oil exports of the country for several consecutive years (zang, 1991). geographic location and political divisions: kerman province is located in the southeastern part of the iranian plateau. this province leads to southern khorasan from the north, yazd and fars provinces from the west, hormozgan from the south, and sistan and baluchestan province from the east. the area of this province is equal to 180726 square kilometers. this province in the old country divisions was iran's 8th province and also included the hormozgan and yazd provinces. the highest population of iran's zoroastrians lived in this province and this area's sadeh celebration is recorded in the list of national rites (por, 1991). the climate of kerman: the kerman province has a climate variety of hot, humid, dry, and temperate mountainous. the long periods of hot weather in kerman are notable. the maximum heat in the kerman which surpasses 50 degrees celsius happens in the shahdad area (kalantari, 2008). economy: the kerman region because of its high mineral potential has many possibilities in creating industries dependent on mineral productions which some of these mines are among the richest mines around the whole country. until this point, more than 150 mines have been recognized in this province. these mines, in creating small and big industries dependent on them, can have an important role in industrial planning and provincial improvement (vaziri, 1997). this province based on geology and mineral resources has a special place in a way that large parts of different geological formations have happened in this place and that's why most mines of this province belong to the old times. industries and mines: the kerman province's industries are divided into handmade and mechanized industries. the handmade or manual industries include shawls, pate, and cashmere. the mechanized industries are divided into the three categories of the small, medium, and large workshop from which you can name cement, housing, food and dairy, beverages, sugar, coal, and copper that has worldwide fame. the province's mines play an important role in providing the countries needed raw materials. iron-filled mines in sirjan, coal, copper and other metals spin kerman and iran's wheels of industry. the coal mines provide a part of esfahan steel company's needs. the rafsanjan's sarcheshmeh copper resources which are based on expert certification are among the riches and purest copper mines in the world, are among kerman's special economic characteristics. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 19 babak city's midock copper mines, baft county's jiroft and kahnuj chromite mines are also among iran's important chromite mines, and kahnuj's titanium mine is the only mine of this metal in iran. faryab mines in the manoojan country are also of great importance (bastani, 1993). farming: the kerman province is the largest producer of pistachio in iran. the anar, sirjan, rafsanjan, zarand, and ravar counties are among the largest production centers of pistachio in the world. akbari pistachio as the highest quality pistachio is a production of the anar county. bam county has the highest quality of dates in the world and is also the biggest producer of dates in iran. the highest cultivation area of walnut in the country is in the baft county which based on production this county is placed second in the country, kerman's caraway also has international fame (golab & sir, 2011). but overall the most important crops of this province are wheat, barley, potato, pistachio, henna, woad, caraway, cotton, and sugar beet. in this province alongside citrus and beat cold products such as walnut, almonds, pears, peaches, cherries, plums, and apple trees are produced (zende, 1998). antiquities: analysis shows that until now 449 antiquities have been registered in this province. the aforementioned antiquities include chambers, passes, religious buildings, tombstones, public showers, enclosures and pathways, mosques, water cisterns, and old houses and mansions (vaziri, 1997). methods and techniques clifford geertz’s symbolic-interpretive anthropology approach: symbolic and interpretive anthropology is the study of symbols in their social and cultural context, which was brought about in the 1960s and progressed through the 1970s. these symbols are generally publically shared, recognized by many, and could be words, customs, or rituals. symbolic anthropologists describe and interpret symbolic meaning in emic terms, meaning that they interpret the symbols in the context of the culture that they are studying. a symbolic anthropologist believes that culture can be found in the public performance of symbolic systems and that there is generally a response to these symbols. symbolic anthropology was created in contrast to structuralism. symbolic and interpretive anthropology states that symbols are learned and shared. this means that most symbols can be recognized by the people in that culture and often by people in other cultures. it also states that symbols are vehicles of culture, meaning they hold cultural meaning and significance. symbols also transmit meaning and communicate ways about how people should view the world and feel about the world. clifford geertz (1926-2006) the main key figure of interpretive anthropology was considered to be the world’s most influential anthropologist of the second half of the 21stcentury. geertz argues in symbolic and interpretive anthropology that "culture is not a model inside of people's heads but rather is embodied in public symbols and actions". geertz also focuses on the meaning of the symbols: "believing, with max weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he has spun, i take cultures to be those webs, the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning" (geertz, 1973). kerman carpet kerman carpets are one of the traditional classifications of persian carpets though the term sometimes describes a type of carpet that may have been made elsewhere. kerman rugs are prized for a wide range of designs, a broad palette, the use of natural dyes and fibers, great tensile strength and abrasion resistance, and expert color combinations. typical manufacturing used an asymmetrical knot on cotton foundation, but rare examples may include silk or part silk piles, or https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 20 silk foundations with the wool piles. designs and motifs of the kerman region: because of the tremendous demand for rugs produced in kerman and the complex demographics of this demand, a surprising variety of styles and designs were produced. some kerman rugs were woven explicitly for monies buyers from the west, some for local consumers with very different tastes. damask rose is the most popular motif in kerman rug designs, particularly in "sabzikar ravar" and "gol sorkhi" (red rose) rugs. other well-known motifs are "ghab ghora'ani", "setooni", "ghabi", "kheshti", "saraam atiyeh", "jangali", "shekargah" and "lachak-toranj". kerman antique carpets often use the toranj motif border of margins and narrow lines. floral patterns woven into kerman carpets in the 19th century are derived from the patterns of kerman shawls, also made in kerman at this time. a distinct variation of kerman carpets is the lavar or ravar kerman. these carpets were produced in ravar village next to kerman city in the northern region and are known particularly for their fine weave and elegant, classically derived design of allover and central medallion formats. most ravar or lavar kerman carpets include a signature, either that of the weaver or the person for whom the carpet was woven. results and discussion the hand-woven kerman carpets are filled with designs of philosophical worldviews and the spirituality of their creators alongside their simplicity. the artists alongside using natural or imaginary elements pictured effective phenomena in human life including historic events, natural accidents, architecture, etc. with a unique skill and expertise. sometimes the designs and patterns of the kerman carpet are spiritual and inspired by the supernatural and sometimes are natural and earthly. no matter what each of their designs' reflects a message. for example, the arabesque design (a.k.a the eslimi design) is inspired by the movement and maze-like nature of plants, animals, trees, and overall natural designs. the overall flower design is inspired by flowers, plants, tree branches, and leaves, and animals. the bush design is a representation of the cypress tree. in places without trees such as the desert and arid climates, people used to represent such climates in their handiwork and hand-woven crafts. the hunting design includes different animals such as gazelle, wolf, lion, deer, leopard, and many types of birds. also in this designs tree branches and flowers are used which give the hunting design a beautiful and sweet look. and sometimes in there are designs of humans hunting the said wild animals. overall many different symbols, designs, and patterns can be seen on the kerman carpet in the forms of herbal, geometric, mythical, animalistic, visual, natural, and religious, and colorful elements. herbal symbols plants and trees in iran have always been in the center of respect and attention and have had a special place for themselves and even in times became holy. in the meantime, some plants and trees have turned into symbols based on characteristics such as beauty, lushness, fruitfulness or fruitlessness and or some mixed specific concepts and with the persian culture. from which the plane, weeping willow, cypress, etc. can be mentioned. plane tree the plane is one of the greatest and longest-living trees of iran. the plane tree is so tall and upright that it can be seen from a long distance. the iranian shepherds knew the plane tree as the king of trees. but the plane's greatness is not its only reason for holiness. the plane sheds its skin every year and its strong branches take on a bright green color. this yearly rejuvenation of the plane gave it unique holiness. because maintaining youth is one of the main conditions of https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 21 fertility and fruitfulness and as a result, the plane is a representation of eternal blessings. since people usually give ancient beliefs a new coat of paint to preserve and maintain them, the same has happened to the plane tree, and based on the belief of some people there is an imamzadeh (shrine of the sacred person) buried beneath each holy and old plane tree. the existence of any truth behind this belief is not known, but the important fact is that the holiness of a plane is preserved using such methods and its design shows off itself on the kerman carpet. willow tree the willow tree in the persian culture is a symbol of joyless love and even sometimes is a representation of grief. this tree is an automatic reminder of a heartbroken lover and shows their pain and grief. in some beliefs, the willow tree is known as a humble tree and as a representation of a humble human. cypress this tree is the symbol for immortality or life after death and that's why it's usually found beside graves. because the top of this tree is bent and is obedient towards the wind, among some muslims it's a symbol of the obedience of muslims towards sharia (tashakori, 2001). sometimes the cypress is known as a symbol of iranian perseverance and pride. after the entrance of islam to iran, the cypress tree is depicted with a broken top in paintings. it is said that this depiction of the cypress tree in the paintings of time where a method from the arab's to show the destruction of the iranian strength after their attack. also sometimes this tree is a symbol for the garden of eden. overall in most iranian art and also the kerman carpet, the symbol of a cypress tree is used. geometric symbols a collection of regular geometric shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles and or mixed shapes such as checkered, six-pointed stars, chalipa (cross), etc. are the main geometric symbols of the kerman carpet. square square is a symbol for earth against the sky and also is a symbol of the whole world. the square is a reminder of the number four which is the representation of divine perfection. a square base on its shape is a representation of posture and firmness, stillness, and stability and as a result, can be a symbol of laws and justice that look at all under one, and also it can be a symbol for the place. the same way that circle is a symbol of time. square is a symbol for the four main directions. square is not a shape confided to symbols and this mysterious and stability-oriented shape alongside the rectangle from which it has been born has been the source of inspiration for many artists throughout the years which is also a fact in the iranian carpets. because most iranian houses are four square, the iranian carpet is woven the same way. circle circle alongside the meaning of perfection is a symbol for the creation of the world and also the concept of time. moments are represented after each other and are continuous and circular. in persian mythology circle, sphere and hemisphere are all symbols of mitra (religion before zoroastrianism in iran) and have a great share in symbolism. sometimes in a more direct meaning https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 22 circle is a representation of the cosmic sky epically when it's in confluence with earth and they are harmonious. triangle the equilateral triangle is a symbol of coordination and proportion and also sometimes can represent the meaning of the earth. if the vertex of the triangle is upwards then it's a symbol of fire and the male sex and if it's downwards a symbol of water and the female sex. the triangle shows the meaning of fertility. also in persian mythology, the triangle is the symbol of anahita. chalipa (cross-swastika) this geometric symbol which is solid atop a square system has many different meanings and overall is the symbol for the sun. "chalipa in any form and shape is a symbol of the infinite passage of time and its procedure of birth and death, existence and naught joint and break and this is the wheel of time that spins and breaks everything with no beginning and no end. this symbol in the aryan culture stands for good luck and rebirth" (bakhtor, 2001). arabesque (eslimi) the name eslimi is taken from the term islamic, this design is one of the parthian and sassanian artist's creations. the arabesque design which has a fundamental role in decorative motifs of iran includes circular duplicate maze rotations that are often symmetrical which can be a reminder for the twists of a plant's stem. in other words, the arabesque design is a kind of pattern which includes complex lines, different curves, and arcs that are depicted in decorations, inscriptions, and other artistic works. in carpet weaving, the arabesque design is sometimes used as the main design and sometimes alongside other designs. different types of arabesque design which are used in the kerman carpet include serpent arabesque or dragon's mouth, scroll arabesque, and elephant trunk arabesque. mythological symbols mythologies are present among all nations and folks and are a part of ethnic, native, and national culture. mythological beliefs whether in urbanized nations and communities and or scattered tribes can be seen in the form of traditions. mythologies retell the ideologies of the nation that they originally belong to, such as the perspectives towards good and evil, the gods, and the bravery of heroes and mythical creatures. mythology is the creation of human thought and belief and is one the main creating factors of the ethnic culture of early societies and is counted as a part of the folks' identity that satisfies the spiritual and material needs of man; based on this mythology can be the determiner of the social life of a nation and folk. mythologies manifest in symbols. there are also many mythological symbols in the kerman carpet which we will describe some of them right here. tree of life the tree of life is the secret of "the axis of the world" and is an evergreen tree with fruits that bear eternity and immortality and the existence of all trees. usually, this tree is shown as a tree with many branches, representing the idea that all of earth life is connected. in another interpretation, the tree of life is a symbol of resurrection and immortality. this tree is probably the haoma tree of zoroastrianism. this symbol is used very frequently in carpet weaving. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 23 living rock in some carpets of kerman, we see a rock-like design that usually is mixed with human or animalistic faces. it seems that the human and animalistic designs available in these rocks are a symbol of the live and dynamic psyche of rocks which cannot be presented directly and so the combination of what is living and current and what is hard and inflexible was used as a solution. winged humans the role of winged humans in iranian arts has a long history. "angels are winged messengers that create a connection between god and humankind." (hall, 2004). the combination of the human body with enormous wings can be a symbol for "humangod". the presence of angels as a mediator between the divine court and men who uses the tool of words as a mean of transition and the presence of humans, the greatest of creations, who are ornamented with the power of words has caused the role of angels to be created as a mixture of the human body and bird-like wings. demon in persian mythology, demons are imaginary and fictional creatures with unnaturally strong, ugly, and terrible but human-like bodies. it is presumed that demons have tails and horns. the picture of demons are sometimes used in the kerman carpet designs and sometimes these patterns and pictures are created by a combination of other elements such as the combination of a human body with the legs, hands, and or head of other animals like dogs, monkeys, wolfs, etc. that overall they are a symbol of the predatory traits of this hybrid or demon creature, as such it can be said that demons are symbols of the ugly temperament of men depicted in a human-animal manner. dragons in ancient iran, just like other ancient countries (egypt, babylon, china, and india), there were many legends about dragons. although dragons in lands such as india and babylon were symbols of droughts, darkness, and destructive floods, in iran there were symbols of moral evil and vices. in avesta (the holy book of zoroastrians there are many myths about dragons that easily compared them with a notorious historical character that had a name like ajidahak (dragon) (coyaji, 1974). in iranian culture to fight with a dragon is to overcome your problems, killing dragons means the struggle between light and dark and the human domination over the inciting self and selfcontrol. although nowadays many people believe that there is a connection between dragons and fire but based on the belief of some people the main element of dragons of water. this water-like bond fundamentally distinguished the dragon from other multi-shaped mythical creatures. even the desert-based folk emphasize this point and their dragons are usually at the bottom of wells (it's important to say that a vast part of the kerman province and dry and desert). the bottom of a well was usually seen as a dragon's eye (warner, 2007). phoenix phoenix is the most famous iranian legendary-mythical figure. it has an important role in many stories of the shahnameh (ferdowsi poetry book). and it is well known and used in iranian arts. its living place is the mythical mountain of qaf. in ferdowsi's shahnameh book the phoenix has a god-like and an evil visage because all supernatural creatures in the eyes of the followers of dualistic cosmology are opposite twins. but based on iranian fictional and cultural literature such as attar's the conference of the birds, the phoenix is a symbol for thirty birds who to discover https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 24 the answers to their mystical questions take a long journey in the path of knowing the truth and as they reach the holy phoenix, they find out that the seeker and the sought are the same, because they were thirty seeking birds and their sough was the phoenix. animalistic symbols the designs of some kerman carpets are taken from iranian culture and literature, designs that depicted texts some of which included stories from animals and advice from their lives. these versions introduce animals as ethical symbols. sometimes animals are used as symbols of superiority and power (yahaghi, 2011). these symbolic animalistic symbols in the kerman carpet include lions, cows, goats, and many types of birds. cow the cow is a symbol of earth and the force of nature and is associated with the moon and rain clouds. the cow in iranian mythology is a symbol of the battle between light and dark, good and bad. in the after islam iran, sacrificing a cow based on the belief of philosophers of ethics is for killing the self-cow and ridding yourself from reconstructed lust and sensuality. even after islam the mythical meaning of a cow has still conserved itself in the people's folk culture. rooster the rooster had a special place in ancient iran and we can repeatedly see this position and role of the rooster in everyday life in the writings and beliefs of the authors of ancient iran whether before or during the islamic era. the rooster has always been introduced as a holy bird. the rooster is the representative of sraosha (a guardian angel from ancient iranian belief) in the world. he sees the dawn from the far and informs others. based on this it is believed that the rooster is the enemy of the sleep demon "boshasia" and boshasia is a demon that prevents people from getting up in the dawn and saying their praying towards the dawn and before the sun is fully up. the rooster sings by seeing the dawn, the arrival of the day, and following that the rise of the sun. the demon boshasb (boshasia) is the demon of sleep and excessive laziness and based on ancient iranian belief, the rooster is the watchman of the night and with the arrival of dawn fights boshasia. lion in iranian thought, the lion has always been a symbol of pride and valor. the symbol of monarchy and the sign of bravery. in works of art, he stands tall alongside kinds, and his statue is installed alongside the graves of champions and heroes. throne of goddesses is on his shoulders and the throne of kings on his paws. the lion is a guardian of temples and his looks carved on the stone is a protection force worn as a necklace. the lion is one of the most important fundaments of mithraism. the heavenly lion is the symbol of summer and has a fiery nature. the lion is present in many iranian carpet designs including the kerman carpets and most of these shapes, the lion is a symbol of the glory and majesty of monarchy, iranian power and greatness, symbol of bravery, and sometimes symbol of power, greatness, and bravery of the first shias muslim imam because the shias know imam ali as the lion of god and god's sultan on earth and because the majority of kerman's people are shias this symbol is used on many kermani carpets. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 25 peacock the peacock has a special place in iranian culture and because of all the vast meanings hidden in it has become a divine and religious symbol with a place higher than apparent beauty. the peacock is sometimes the symbol of beauty, sometimes the symbol of shame, sometimes the symbol of the monarchy, and sometimes the symbol of boasting. some people believe that the peacock knows the devil and can prevent it from entering the house or place. so based on this many people have drawn the shape of a peacock atop the doorway of houses and mansions. gazelle the gazelle is a symbol of the lover and shows oppression, innocence, and spiritual love. in other words, the gazelle is an allegory for a human that has passed virtual love and has reached true and divine love. visual symbols in recent visual carpets of kerman, you can find pictures of kings, great iranian and foreign characters, and religious leaders. the most used pictures are of imam ali (the leader of the shia muslims), khayyam (iranian famous poet) and his lover (symbol of love), hafez (famous 14thcentury poem a symbol of love and mysticism), king abbas, king of the safavid era, etc. natural symbols nature and our outlook towards it have always been integral in the framework of the special aesthetic of iranian art. flowers, gardens, trees, water, fountains, hills, mountains, the moon, and the sun have been integral parts of the kerman carpet designs. in this way one of the natural elements of the kerman carpet is the sun which is famous as the sun corner design or ms. sunshine and has an ancient history, this design is very common in carpets and is used in broken and curved and is used by rural, nomad and urban weavers of kerman. one of the other important natural designs of the kerman carpet is water. water is the fundamental element of life and is a symbol of life, death, the secret of creation, purity, and redemption, fertility and growth, resurrection, and metamorphosis. water is the element that creates the relationship between humans and nature. in iranian arts water is shown with silver color and using the silver metal itself, and the purpose of using actual silver is to create light, the reflection of light, and more realistic rays of light that create ad mystical trade with the observer's soul. generally, water is the symbol of prosperity and where there is water there is greenness and freshness. religious symbols "in iranian painting, humans don't have a shadow the same way that angels don't have one. everything is light, the role of humans is separate and heavenly without a base and free of the wight and volume of real everyday life. this allegory of humans, angels that were known as amesha spenta (iranian angels) in the thoughts of mazdayasna and yasht hymns, is one of the clearest facets of the iranian soul in literature and paintings." (agdashlo, 2005) in human designs what sometimes catches our eyes is the usage of the holy aura. this aura (god the zoroastrians) is seen upon the human bodies and also birds and animals that by considering the effects of the islamic thought system could show the holiness of all creatures and their equal position in front of god. but over time, this aura only surrounded the head of the saints and became a symbol of the shining of the divine light from the divine character. pictures https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 26 infallibles especially imam ali, imam hussein, imam reza, etc. with their holy aura are the main designs of many kerman carpets. symbol of color in kerman carpet human society is filled with symbols that have been formed over time and found a special place in human life. symbols are formed based on habits and geographical beliefs and without a doubt are rooted in the thoughts of the people of an area. in the meantime color as a symbolic attribute has found a very special place in the culture and art of each civilization. the selection of color is dependent on factors such as geographical location, cultural background, religion, etc. in the past colors were representatives of welfare and evil; sometimes as a reminder of the devil and evil and impurity and sometimes as a sign of holiness and purity and good. also, colors in combination with different forms were used to protect humanity from the forces of evil. color in the art of islam is an important and effective element. in iranian and islamic mysticism even the levels of the mystic's soluk and or his mystical mood each have a specific color. in mithraism, mazdayasna and manichaeism lightness have great value and auspiciousness. after them in islam, god is called the light of skies and earth, and the value of this phenomenon is once more revealed. based on this in iranian art, color is not just one simple attribute (quality) and each color is a symbol. colors are symbols of love and the placement of the sun in the sky and ancient iranians believed that colors of the world have a mino (heavenly) origin and have descended from another realm. this subject is also true about the colors used in the kerman carpet and each of these colors have their unique meaning, of course nowadays the main drive behind choosing the color of a carpet is the color of the other furniture inside the buyers' house and people believe that there should be a connection between the carpet and the other furniture, for example having white-pink furniture and a navy blue carpet is wrong. generally, the kerman carpet is the most color carpet in iran and the meaning of the most used colors in these carpets are: red in iran red is a symbol of fire but among shias muslims and in the religious ceremony of ashura (the day of the martyrdom of imam hussein) is the symbol of martyrdom. in the iranian-islamic culture, the red rose is also a symbol of martyrdom. yellow overall the color yellow is one of the bright colors. this color is a metaphor for the sun, the color of eternity and immortality. this color is partially the symbol of holiness and usually, the aura surrounding the heads of saints is shown with this color. sometimes this color is converted into gold. blue in iranian thought, the color blue is the symbol of purity and spirituality and sometimes the symbol of wisdom. this color accompanies intelligence, discovery, and intuition. it makes sense of insight, illumination, and thought. blue is an insight color that creates a transcendental mood in humans. in the architecture of islamic mosques blue and cyan colors are frequently used. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 27 brown generally, the color brown is the symbol of earth, being healthy, support, safety, comfort, trustworthiness, senility, quality, and honesty. milky, beige, ivory, light brown, smoky brown, chocolate brown, dark brown, and burnt brown are the spectrum of brown which are used in the kerman carpet. green green is the symbol of freshness, balance, and rebirth and just like spring, it refreshes the body and the soul. based on culture the color green has many and sometimes contradicting meanings. in some cultures, green is the symbol of hope and progress meanwhile in others it's a symbol of death, diseases, and the devil. but generally, in most cultures, it's a reminder of nature. in islam, it's believed that paradise is a lush and green place which is one of the reasons for the usage of green in the islamic culture. this color especially among shias muslims is a symbol of being a sayyid (grandchildren of the imams and the prophet of islam) and obedience to imamate and province. in the past sayyids were specifies by green hats and shawls. navy blue navy blue is a very cold color. using such colors as navy blue and black creates a sense of pride and self-confidence as a result of that. cream although this color those not have as many meanings and symbolic values as the other colors but based on its joyfulness and aliveness, the cream is used by kerman carpet weavers and is highly adaptable with the house decoration of the people of kerman. cyan cyan is a collection of colors between the spectrums of green and blue with characteristics like bringing good luck and refrain from bad comments, etc. cyan is known as a color with positive values among the people of kerman. conclusion the kerman carpet is a symbol of the iranian carpet and a part of this country's cultural identity to the world. kerman carpets have had many different symbols and patterns in each different era. therefore, analyzing carpets from different eras can lead to a deep understanding of the traditions of the people of that time and also can help transfer their cultures. the patterns and designs of the kerman carpet have been subject to many changes in history just like the other traditions and cultures of this land. in some periods, pages of history were woven into the kerman carpets which were an illustration of the iranian people's art in the form of carpets and rugs. each pattern and design found on the different kerman carpets can be representatives of different and unique characteristics, for example: sometimes the designs of the kerman carpet are messengers of the climate and geographical environment of the region. from this point of view, the designs of the kerman carpet are the artist's look towards his surrounding climate and nature. and sometimes their designs are https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 28 filled with philosophical and mystical worldview and a show of its owner's spirituality that shows itself with ultimate simplicity. and sometimes they talk about the beliefs of their people and the kerman carpet is a reflection of the old beliefs and traditions of the people of that region which have evolved in the coming ages. this form of art is created according to the spiritual and mental needs of people. and sometimes the kerman carpet's designs and symbols have historical roots and its arrays date back to before islam. in conclusion, the kerman carpet designers illustrated natural and or imaginary elements with the language of symbolism and unique skill alongside impactful events in human life including historical events, natural incidents, architecture, etc. therefore this form of art is just like a mirror that reflects the culture of the iranian society and specially kerman. suggestions  creating an anthropology museum in the field of carpets and carpet weaving based on traditional culture for tourists visiting kerman;  using the designing and carpet weaving masters as the faculty to transfer their knowledge to the next academic generation;  setting up cultural exhibitions and conferences, and inviting the residents and tourists to take part in such conferences to revitalize, preserve and transfer the native culture, especially the carpet weaving industry;  methods of expanding tourism to sell handicrafts especially carpets to tourists; to liven up the arts and industry;  financial and emotional support for designers and weavers of kerman carpet for engorgement;  doing more research in the field of kerman carpet patterns and designs. references agdashlo, i. (2005). old painting, new painting, tehran: artist career quarterly ("herfeh honarmand"), number 1. arbabi, b. (2013). crafts workshop (weave), tehran: iran textbook publishing company. bakhtor, t. n. a. (2001). the sun dial, or the mehr dial, tehran: "attai" publication. bastani, p. m. i. (1993). congress' shadows, tehran: "arghavan" publication, first print. coyaji, j. c. (1974). rites and legends of ancient china, translated by jalil dostkhah. tehran: franklin. geertz, c. (1973). the interpretation of cultures: selected essays, usa: new york; basic. golab, z. m., & sir, m. (2011). kerman in the mirror of tourism, kerman: "markaz kerman shenasy" publication. hall, j. (2004). eastern and western art (icon editions), translated by roghayeh behzadi, tehran: "farhang moaser" publication. https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr american international journal of social science research vol. 7, no. 1; 2021 29 hedayat, a. (2008). mirrors of nature, exploring the woven products from the tribes of kohgiluyeh and boyer ahmad, avay dena quarterly, no. 13-14, culture and islamic guidance publication. iranpor, m. (2012). kerman, pearl of the orient, "gova" publication, first print. kalantari, k. h. (2008). analysis of kerman province geography based on natural matters, kerman: kerman studies publication (kerman shenasi). nasiri, m. j. (2010). iranian carpet.”parang" publication. por, a. a. (1991). geography and construction of kerman city, tehran: university jihad central office publications. razavi, h. f. a. (2008). history of carpet: the evolution of carpet weaving in iran, tehran: published by ministry of culture and islamic guidance. razavi, h. f. a. (2014). iranian carpet, tehran: office of cultural research. tashakori, f. (2001). symbolization in islamic art, tehran: encyclopaedia islamica. vaziri, a. a. (1997). history of kerman, kerman: elm publication. warner, r. (2007). encyclopedia of world mythology, translated by abol ghasem ismailpor. tehran: "ostoreh" publication. wolf, h. (2005). iranian traditional hand-woven art, translated by sirous ibrahim zadeh, tehran: "elmi & farhangi" publication. yavari, h. (2005). recognizing iran's rugs and rug-likes, tehran: "azar" publication. yahaghi, m. j. (2011). analyzing visual symbols, the journal of epic literature, year 11, spring and summer. zang, a. a. (1991). geography and kerman city planning first volume: old tissue and planning, tehran: "etelaat" institute. zende, d. h. (1998). comprehensive travel guide for kerman province, tehran: "irangardan" publication, first print. copyrights copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. this is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 1 social science research aijssr vol 15 no 1 (2024) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by american social science society, usa climate change and water crisis in afghanistan salman ali nabavi (a)1 alinaqi mohammadi (a) lecturer in geography dep. faculty of education, kandahar university, kandahar-afghanistan; e-mail: nabavi.edu.kdh@gmail.com (b)lecturer in pedagogy & psychology, dep, faculty of education, kandahar university, kandahar, afghanistan; e-mail: alinaqimohammadi2000@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 12th december 2023 reviewed & revised: 13th december 2023 to 19th march 2024 accepted: 20th march 2024 published: 26th march 2024 keywords: climate change, drought, hydropolitics, water crisis, water resources management jel classification codes: q5, q2, q peer-review model: external peer-review was done through double-blind method. a b s t r a c t though the negative impacts of climate change on water resources have become a severe social, economic, and environmental problem worldwide, especially in the arid regions of the earth, including afghanistan, an inclusive and or conclusive review of diverse studies regarding the climate change and root causes of the water crisis in afghanistan have not been carried out yet. this study analyses the negative impacts of climate change on water including the fundamental causes of the water crisis in afghanistan, using analytical and descriptive approaches to review the related literature. the findings of this study show that although there is a strong relationship between climate change and water shortages, it can be a secondary factor in the case of afghanistan. this is because the available surface water in afghanistan is estimated to be about 50 percent higher than the country's water needs. in addition, the main factors involved in afghanistan's water crisis are discussed in this study; factors that have not only caused the flow of about 67% of afghanistan's surface waters to neighboring countries but also caused the wastage of about 40% of its surface water during irrigation. in addition, limitations and recommendations for further studies are also presented. the result of this study would create a clear insight for researchers and policymakers to regulate and manage the ever-increasing water crisis conditions sustainably in afghanistan and similar contexts. © 2024 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction the negative impacts of climate changes on freshwater resources caused severe water shortages in afghanistan, a mountainous country with a desert or desert-steppe climate (world bank, 2018a). the destructive consequences of climate change in afghanistan can be studied more precisely based on its annual rainfall distribution, as more than fifty percent of the country has 100 to 300 mm of annual rainfall. the remaining parts, which include the high areas of more than 2000 meters, receive about 300 to 800 mm of annual rainfall (saffi & kohistani, 2013). for this reason, small climatic changes leave the worst negative impacts on water resources in afghanistan. the accuracy of ever-increasing climate changes, on the one hand, results in consecutive droughts and water shortages in the country, and on the other hand, causes heavy rains and destructive floods that threaten our society that already live in disastrous socio-economic conditions. in afghanistan, severe drought is generally equivalent to two consecutive years of low winter rainfall, occurring at least once every 10 to 15 years (favre & kamal, 2004). unfortunately, due to recent civil wars and political instabilities in the country, there is no accurate hydrometeorological data available in afghanistan. however, the available climate trends data from neighboring countries show that the average annual temperature in afghanistan increased by 0.6 degrees celsius between 1960 and 2008. as a result, there has been a change in the amount of rainfall and snowfall, which are a fundamental sources of water resources in afghanistan (world bank, 2018b). the extent of glaciers in the mountains of afghanistan has also decreased by nearly 40% during the last 40 years (hagen & teufert, 2009). reriverrchs continues to show that the loss of life and displacement caused as a result of climate 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0002-4024-9156 © 2024 by the authors. hosting by american social science society. peer review under responsibility of american social science society, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i1.2199 to cite this article: nabavi, s. a., & mohammadi, a. (2024). climate change and water crisis in afghanistan. american international journal of social science research, 15(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i1.2199 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.openaccess.nl/en https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i1.2199 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4024-9156 https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1820-0303 nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 2 change (floods and rainfall events) in this country has increased between 10 and 25 percent in the last 30 years (oskorouchi & sousa-poza, 2021). for example, in 2017 alone, climatic events affected the food security situation of 7.8 million people (fao et al., 2018), while the average annual damage caused by floods is estimated to be around 54 million dollars. this figure increases to more than 500 million dollars in the occurrence of a large flood (atlas of risks). it shows that the negative impacts of climate change, whether it is drought or heavy rains that cause destructive floods, make our people more prone to socio-economic crises. meanwhile, afghanistan needs sufficient water to develop agricultural, industrial, and electrical energy production sectors. so, under the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, all kinds of such developments would remain a dream for this country. relevant studies also show that global water consumption has increased by approximately 300% since the 1950s, approximately 90% of it is used in agriculture (pan, wang, bao, chen, akmalov, & van de voorde, 2023), and afghanistan would also follow this trend. thus, this study aims to investigate the negative impacts of climate change in terms of water crises in afghanistan to find out the root causes of water shortage in this country due to the periodically severe water shortage problems (gao, 2014; ward et al., 2013), afghanistan faces destructive social and environmental hazards including deforestation, unsustainable land use, desertification (a drought has put about 2.3 of the country's area at risk of desertification) which leads to poverty, insecurity and migration crisis (yıldız, 2017; parthemore & rogers, 2010). finally, keeping in mind the goals of this study's findings summarized in a logical order, it is expected that such studies will create a scientific discussion and a kind of discourse about water problems in afghanistan so that we can develop a sustainable economic, social and political development in the country by managing, exploiting and saving water resources under different climate change scenarios. literature review climate change and drought as, the foundamental causes of water resource problems have been broadly researched globally in recent years. global warming has caused disturbances in the humidity and rainfall regime and has caused ever-increasing droughts in arid and semi-arid areas such as afghanistan. in addition, studies on climate change scenarios also shown increasing floods (whitehead, wilby, battarbee, kernan, & wade. 2009) in turn threaten climatic-prone areas encluding afghanistan. in a related paper, abu-zeid and shiklomanov (2003) examine water resource challenges in the 21st century and find that "even relatively small changes in temperature and precipitation can cause significant changes in water resources in regions with insufficient moisture. the flow of the rivers in arid and semi-arid areas is strongly dependent on presence of humidity and rainfall and is very sensitive to climate changes. if an increase in temperature of 1-2 degrees celsius and a decrease of less than 10% of rainfall can reduce the flow of river water in the mentioned areas by 40-60%" (hesse, krysanova, stefanova, bielecka, & domnin, 2015), and in general, negatively impacts quantity and quality of the river flows. in addition, the study of climate change by gis in iraq indicates a severe shortage of water resources and its negative socio-economic impacts that led to internal displacement crises for the local community (ethaib, zubaidi, & alansari, 2022). because water scarcity issues are strongly related to agriculture, food production, and people's livelihoods, global warming would cause a decrease in water availability in semi-arid areas where the large agricultural area is found, which needs relatively more water for agriculture practices (kanae, 2009). water scarcity affects 1 to 2 billion people worldwide, and most of them live in arid regions (stringer, mirzabaev, benjaminsen, harris, jafari, lissner, & tirado-von der pahlen. 2021) in other similar studies, impacts of climate change on water have been well clarified (estrela, pérez-martin, & vargas, 2012; biswas, sharma, & gyasi-agyei, 2022; mapani, shikangalah, & mwetulundila, 2023; omotoso, letsoalo, olagunju, tshwene, & omotayo, 2023), and their findings show that, especially the areas that are currently facing water shortages will face severe water crises as a result of climate change in upcoming decades. darwin (1995) has raised the possibility that agriculture will be affected due to global warming and changes in the rainfall pattern during the next century. the vulnerability of the agriculture sector, which consumes the most water, has been well documented in a study by gujja et al. (2015). specifically, other findings show that as a result of climate change, arid and semi-arid asian regions would face more severe water crises; among these, afghanistan's water resource affected due to a decrease in precipitation and humidity and subsequently melting of the glaciers in the coming years (hayat & elçi, 2017). consequently, water scarcity, agriculture, and resource management problems will be worsening (aich et al., 2017). research shows that changes in the amount and quality of water resources in afghanistan are more related to the effects of climate change (mehrad, 2020). as world bank showed, afghanistan is highly exposed to hydro-metrological events and ranked second among low-income countries in the case of casualties from natural disasters such as drought and floods between 1980 and 2015 (world bank, 2018b). according to world food organization (wfp), the direct and tangible result of climate change in afghanistan is frequent droughts, which reduced water resources, desertification, and land degradation (savage et al., 2009). also, other available information indicates that afghanistan is currently witnessing a significant increase in temperature and less rainfall (shokory, schaefli, & lane, 2023; rafiullah, 2018; mehrad, 2020) brown (2019) indicates that "many afghans are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to their exposure to drought, floods and other natural disasters and decades of instability, as well as their reliance on climatesensitive livelihoods such as agriculture and livestock." sidiqi et al. (2018) found that "the average annual temperature of the kabul river basin may increase by 1.8°c, 3.5°c, and 4.8°c in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively", which makes drought and lack of water resources in this nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 3 area more likely. a preliminary study estimated that for a one degree selcius increase in mean annual air temperature, the amount of glacial meltwater in afghanistan's rivers would likely decrease by 14% (lebedova 1997). the afghanistan public policy research organization show that "afghanistan exposed to a decrease in crop production due to the melting and retreat of natural glaciers, floods, droughts, irregular rainfall, and other effects of climate change" (parto, 2014). according to afghanistan's water sector strategy, severe floods and droughts may occur in the country in the coming decades, which would cause social and environmental disasters (hayat & elçi, 2017). finally, drought caused by reduced rainfall is the worsed climate risk for afghanistan's livelihood (akhtar & shah, 2020; khalily, 2022) and needs to manage and cope properly as soon as possible. materials and methods recently, climate change and its adverse impacts have become a foundamental problems of economic, social, and even political development. for this reason, the study of the negative empacts of climate change on water resources is a priority to be researched, particularly in arid regions like afghanistan. in this article, we reviewed the relevant literature utilizing science direct elsevier journals, springer nature, and google scholar databases using the research terms climate change, negative impacts of climate change on water resource, water crisis in the arid region, water crisis in afghanistan, adverse impacts of climate change on water resource in afghanistan. the reference list of each article, was also searched for additional articles. we obtained more than 50 articles from 2018 to 2021 through these search engines. discussions afghanistan's climate has arid characteristics (world bank, 2018a), with a large amount of precipitation in the form of winter snow. spatial and temporal changes in temperature are also high. for example, "in winter, the temperature in the hindu kush mountains reaches minus 50 degrees celsius, while in the summer, the temperature rises to more than 50 degrees celsius in the desert areas, especially in the margo plain" (hayat & elçi, 2017). increasing temperature in afghanistan leads to severe drought and water shortages, which affects our society in every way. in this country, a severe drought is generally equivalent to two consecutive years of low winter rainfall, occurring at least once every 10 to 15 years (favre & kamal, 2004). the findings show that in the last five decades’ droughts have occurred in afghanistan every three years. the latest consecutive years that drought occurred in this country was 19641963, 1967-1966, 1970-1972, 1999-2001, and also in 2002 (in the south of the country) and the 2011 drought (favre & kamal, 2004), among which the 2011 drought was the worst that affected more than 2.6 million people in more than 14 provinces of the country (hayat & elçi, 2017) and currently afghanistan is also struggling with ever increasing drought. the people of afghanistan, having experienced four consecutive years of severe drought from 1998 to 2001, are more worried about the possible negative consequences of climate change in this country (hayat & elçi, 2017). because nearly 70% of afghan farmers lost their livestock during the drought periods, especially at the end of the 2000 drought, the number of domestic animals had decreased by more than 50%, as "the drought affects food production, transportation, and labor. the majority of farmers forced, to migrate to urban areas and abroad" (watkins & development programme united nations. 2006). the severity of the drought in afghanistan can also be assessed regarding the decrease in cereal production: "during periods of drought, cereal production shows a decrease of 40 to 55 percent compared to an average year. most importantly, lalami agriculture has suffered the most and shows a decrease of more than 80%" (watkins & development programme united nations, 2006). the effects of climate events on people's lives are tangeble in dayly live. the drought has led to the widening gap between the capitalist class and the poor class in society. more specific explanations of the different aspects of climate change in afghanistan and the relevant issues are summarized in the following order. change in temperature spatial and temporal changes in temperature are one of the distinctive characteristics of a dry climate like afghanistan, which is more prone to climate change. for example, in the hindu kush regions, the temperature reaches minus 50 degrees celsius during winter. in the summer, it increases to more than 50 degrees celsius in the desert areas, especially in the margo plain in the southwestern part of afghanistan (hayat & elçi, 2017). despite the lack of adequate and long-term climate data records in afghanistan, available data from neighboring countries show that the average annual temperature of the country increased by about 0.6 degrees celsius between 1960 and 2008, with an average rate of 0.13 degrees celsius per decade. as a result, there has been a decrease in the amount of rainfall and snow as the fundamental source of water in this country (world bank, 2018b). the increase in temperature since 1960 in arid and semi-arid countries such as afghanistan has led to consecutive droughts, an increase in dry land, and agricultural vulnerability. research shows that "afghanistan's average annual temperature has increased by 1.8 degrees celsius since 1950, with the highest temperature increase in the southern plateau (2.4 degrees celsius), followed by the northern regions (1.7 degrees celsius), the central highlands, and the hindu kush mountains (1.6 degrees celsius) and the eastern region is 0.7⁰" (shokory, schaefli, & lane, 2023). accepted climate change scenarios show that the average annual temperature in afghanistan may increase between 1.4 and 4°c by the 2060s and between 2 and 6.2°c by the 2090s (figure 1), and spring and summer seasons of the country will uniformly experience the fastest warming rate (savage et al., 2009). nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 4 figure 1. represents the projected increase in temperature of different regions of afghanistan source: shokory, schaefli, and lane (2023) recent studies show that increasing the temperature in spring and summer is very fast, while this is alarming in the north and central regions of afghanistan (savage et al., 2009). in addition, the world bank also indicates that due to temperature changes, hot days and nights will increase in all seasons of the year. this trend may continue in the future, and the frequency of hot days and nights will increase in the middle and late parts of the 21st century, and the entire country will be affected (world bank, 2018a). finally, all projections show an increase in day and night temperatures, particularly in the summer season. it would be warmer relative to the current climate. of course, until the 2030s, the increase in temperature in this country will not be very noticeable. studies estimate that the average annual temperature will increase until the 2060s compared to the average of 1999-1970, and this trend will continue. changes in humidity and rainfall changes in humidity and rainfall are more hazardous impacts on water resources in afghanistan. studies show that "the annual distribution of rainfall (figure 2) in afghanistan shows the picture of a dry country, where more than half of the country has 100-300 mm of annual rainfall. about 50% of the remaining area of the country, which includes high areas of more than 2000 meters, receives about 300 to 800 mm of rain per year. also, about 50% of the precipitation in this country occurs in winter (january to march), most of which is in the form of snow, about 30% is mostly in spring (april to june), and the remaining 20% in it occurs in summer and autumn" (saffi & kohistani, 2013). the food and agriculture organization (fao) found in (1996) states that the average amount of water obtained from melting snow in afghanistan is about 150,000 million cubic meters and from rainfall about 30,000, and the amount of total rainfall in the country is calculated in the range of 180,000 million cubic meters (qureshi, 2002). figure 2. shows the average annual rainfall in afghanistan source: saffi and kohistani (2013) on the other hand, water distribution in afghanistan is unequal in various ways. for example, the average rainfall in afghanistan is between 250 and 310 mm, about one-third of the average rainfall in the world (fahim, 2016). in the short term, rainfall in afghanistan would increase slightly, an average of more than 10 to 20 mm. however, the average annual nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 5 rainfall changes in the 2090s show that conditions will become drier in most parts of afghanistan (figure 3). because rainfall in the country will decrease from 10 to 40 mm on average, the winters will be significantly drier in the southern parts of the country (hayat & elçi, 2017). study shows that "projection of annual rainfall in afghanistan vary greatly across the country (figure 3), decreasing by 12 to 25 mm by 2050 and by 15 to 50 mm by 2100. also, the southeastern regions' winters in the past five decades have become drier due to high evaporation, and this trend is expected to continue. the pamir and wakhan glaciers, as the source of rivers in northern afghanistan, have shrunk by 18 percent by 2019 and are projected to decline by 18 percent by 2019, respectively. 2050 by 15.9% and in 2100 by 27.3%". figure 3. project the change in afghanistan precipitation pattern under different scenarios. source: shokory, schaefli, and lane (2023) the analysis of precipitation trends in afghanistan from 1950 to 2019 shows the occurrence of heavy precipitation in the spring and winter seasons. january, february, and march had the most rainfall, while september and july had the least. at the same time, in the spring, the precipitation significantly decreased by 32% but remained unchanged in the winter. since 1950, rainfall in afghanistan decreased significantly, and this trend will continue in upcoming years (shokory, schaefli, & lane, 2023). evapotranspiration the annual evaporation and transpiration rate in the hindu kush highlands is relatively low (about 1,000-1,300 mm) because of long winters. but in the relatively flat areas of the north, it varies between 1300 and 1500 mm, and in the plains of the south and southwest of the country, it reaches 1800 mm. however, summer evaporation and transpiration rates are high everywhere, with a daily peak of 6-8 mm in july/august. due to the strong wind, especially in mazar-i-sharif and herat (120-day herat wind), the maximum amount of daily evaporation and transpiration is 9 mm and 10 mm, respectively (mahmoodi, 2008). in general, with the increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall in the country, the annual rate of evaporation and transpiration in afghanistan will increase. also it will cause severe problems to the country's agriculture and vegetation. negative impacts of climate change on water resources in afghanistan although afghanistan is located in a dry region, it is still relatively rich in water resources due to high mountain ranges such as wakhan, hindu kush, and baba, which covered with snow and glacier deposits. the origin of more than 80% of the country's water resource formed by the hindu kush mountain range and altitudes above 2000 meters, and it creates a permanent flow in all rivers by melting snow during the summer (mahmoodi, 2008). water resources in this country flow into five river basins: amu, north, harirud-morghab, helmand, and kabul. recent estimates indicate that the country's annual water resource capacity is about 75 billion cubic meters, of which 57 billion cubic meters are surface water and 18 billion cubic meters are underground water (mahmoodi, 2008). the annual volume of water resources used for irrigation is estimated at 20 billion cubic meters, which forms 99% of the total water consumption in the country. the total amount of groundwater extraction is estimated at 3 billion cubic meters. about 15% of the total volume of water used annually is underground water, and approximately 85% of it is water from rivers and streams (watkins & development programme united nations, 2006). this country has access to more than 2,300 cubic meters of water per capita per year to surface water, which is 50% higher than the amount required for a country, theoretically, enough water to meet its domestic, agricultural, energy, industrial and environmental needs (thomas, azizi, & behzad, 2016). afghanistan is the source of many rivers, and its geography provides significant opportunities to exploit these waters (fahim, 2016; king & sturtewagen, 2010). however, the ratio of various factors in this country can use about 33% of the 57 billion cubic meters of surface water available every year (thomas et al., 2016). nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 6 hydro-metrological surveys show that afghanistan as a landlocked country has limited water resources. the average annual amount of rain is estimated at 222 mm, which is different in different parts of the country and is about onethird of the average rainfall in the world (fahim, 2016). the annual amount of rain varies from 1222 millimeters in the high altitudes of the northeast to 112 millimeters in the southwest parts of the country (ministry of irrigation, water resources & environment, 2004). in addition, the water resources of this country also have a disproportionate distribution; the amu river basin, including the harirud and marghab basins and other related areas, covers about 37% of afghanistan's land but contains about 60% of the water flow. the eastern kabul river basin covers about 12% of the area of this country. it contains about 26% of the water flow, but the helmand basin covers about 49% of the land of this country and only 11% of the water flow (king & sturtewagen, 2010). also, afghanistan's water resources are highly dependent on rivers and unstable rain and snowfall. glacier retreat and early snowmelt have effects on seasonal water availability. in addition, afghanistan currently has the lowest water storage capacity per capita in the region (king & sturtewagen, 2010). for example, when the country experienced a drought from 1999 to 2005. the majority of residents in villages with limited water resources were forced to abandon their land and move to larger cities (yildiz, 2015). groundwater is an important source of drinking water for millions of citizens of this country. traditionally, this resource is used in agriculture. about 16 to 22% of the total water needs in afghanistan are provided through underground water sources, including springs, wells, and sinkholes. currently, the lack of a comprehensive information system and extensive monitoring systems has caused the lack of management, monitoring, and healthy use of this resource in the country. a study in 1996 estimated the amount of underground water available at approximately 18 billion cubic meters throughout the country. however, recent studies in the river basins of afghanistan have estimated it at 10.6 billion cubic meters. water is extracted more than it is reabsorbed (beekma & fiddes, 2011). for example, underground water is extracted through deep and shallow wells, wells, and springs. however, drought is not the only reason, why wells and wells are drying up. recently, afghans have begun drilling deep wells and extracting groundwater more widely to extract water for irrigation have resulted in lowering water levels and drying up by nearby shallow wells and karis (beekma & fiddes, 2011). climate change in afghanistan hurts the pattern and amount of rainfall and will make the country's water resources more vulnerable. as a result, "this will hurt the hydrological cycle, affect agricultural productivity and change the pattern of cultivation in the highlands and lowlands, and also challenge access to water resources in general" (akhtar & shah, 2020). reduction of winter snowfall and the melting of natural glaciers hurt the probability of summer drought in the lowlands of afghanistan. a preliminary study estimated that for a 1°c increase in mean annual air temperature, the amount of glacial meltwater in afghanistan's rivers would likely decrease by 14%. people's experiences show that, in the past decades, the country's climate has become warmer, and rain has become rarer and more unpredictable. unep and nepa stated that "drought occurs due to reduced rainfall, reduced river flow due to reduced spring snowmelt in the highlands, and the greatest climatic risks for afghanistan's livelihood, as the predicted decrease in spring rainfall (march to may) for north, central highlands, and east have between 5 and 10% from 2006 to 2050" (akhtar & shah, 2020). in 2016, the department of energy and water reported an average 13 percent decline in river flow in five major river basins between 1980–1969 and 2007–2016, based on measured hydrologic data (table 1; bromand 2017). by 2030, all these reductions were expected to continue to strengthen. bromand (2015) studied future flow changes in the kabul river basin, focusing on the effects of climate change. the results show an average temperature increase of 2.9°c in 20642046. kabul river basin will face a severe summer water shortage with a decrease of about 24% in water availability. it is caused by two processes. the first is an 18% increase in potential evapotranspiration. the second is the decrease in rainfall in spring and winter (savage et al., 2009). therefore, warming with changes in precipitation has led to a sharp decrease in river discharge for snow basins in afghanistan. therefore, warming in combination with changes in precipitation has led to a sharp decrease in river discharge for snow basins in afghanistan. table 1. surface water volume in five afghanistan river basins between 1969-1980 and 2007-2016. bcm: billion cubic metres. river basin surface water volume in (cbm) surface water volume in (cbm) decrease in (%) (1969-1980) (2007-2016) (2007-2016) projected by 2030 (cbm) decrease by 2030 (%) kabul rb 19.271 17.1 -11% 15.3 -21% panj-amu – rb 21.5 18.7 -13% 16.2 -25% helmand rb 10.4 8.4 -19% 7.1 -32% h.murghab rb 3.4 2.53 -26% 1.7 -50% north rb 2.1 2.2 -5% 2 -5% total 57 49 -13% 42.3 -26% source: shokory, schaefli, and lane (2023) climate change, on the other hand, causes the reduction of underground water (shokory, schaefli, & lane, 2023). for example, according to the usgs report, the level of underground water in kabul has decreased by an average of 1.5 meters per year from 2004 to 2012. afghanistan's national disaster management authority has warned that groundwater nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 7 reserves in kabul will dry up in the next decade due to over-exploitation, requiring deepening or replacement (akhtar & shah, 2020). one of the bitter facts is that due to afghanistan's strategic location, it has recently become a political, strategic, and economic battlefield between empires that resulted in countless victims (ahmadzai & mckinna, 2018). among the other negative impacts of political instability in the last few decades, afghanistan's water infrastructures, such as dams, water reservoirs, irrigation and water supply networks, water measurement and metrology stations, sewage disposal and sanitation systems, and water information collection and analysis systems has severely damaged and also it caused a reduction in the capacity, lack of management and healthy development of water resources and intensified the migration crisis (fahim, 2016; gleick & iceland, 2018; gao, 2014; yildiz, 2015; king & sturtewagen, 2010). studies show that the poor performance of the afghan government in managing the country's water resources has weakened the economic and social situation of the people. as a result, a small natural disaster can cause huge losses to the people. for example, during periods of drought, crop production decreased by 40 to 55% compared to an average year, especially lalmi agriculture decreased by more than 80% (beekma & fiddes, 2011). the study by the united states department of homeland security shows that the transboundary situation of afghanistan's rivers has caused several problems for the communities related to the shared river basin's domain. for example, amu darya (which includes the basin of the panj amu and northern afghanistan) and indus (which includes the kabul river basin in the territory of afghanistan) are highlighted and include these rivers. "before 2040, the indus basin (i. e. kabul river basin in afghanistan) will face chronic food insecurity and reduced resilience to floods and droughts due to poor water management, inefficient agricultural practices, soil salinization, and greater variability in water availability, while the amu darya river basin is likely to face degraded food security, and increased regional tensions over water sharing before 2040 as a result of inadequate water sharing agreements, poor water quality and disrupted flows, as well as poor water management practices" (akhtar & shah, 2020). though studies confirm a strong relationship between climate change and water scarcity and water crisis, in the case of afghanistan, the available water resource is theoretically much more than the current water needs of this country. in addition, drought as a consequence of climate change is somehow a natural process that occurs once every 10 to 15 years in afghanistan. therefore, considering climate change as the root cause of water shortage in afghanistan can be only a claim. because the available water in this country is more than 70 billion cubic meters (surface water 57 billion cubic meters and underground water more than 10 billion cubic meters) (saffi & kohistani, 2013). these figures show that the per capita water in this country is more than 50% higher than the water stress index. so, despite the effects of climate change, afghanistan theoretically has enough water to meet its domestic, agricultural, energy, industrial, and environmental needs (thomas & warner, 2015). this study descibes differnet aspects of effects of climate change on afghanistan's water resources. as in most parts of afghanistan, people currently faces severe water shortages. on the contrary, according to global standards, access to sufficient water, which is necessary to meet all domestic, agricultural, industrial, energy, and environmental needs, is calculated at about 1700 cubic meters per capita, but afghanistan has about 2775 cubic meters of water per capita (thomas & warner, 2015). if so, why is there a water crisis in this country? the following highlights the nature of the water crisis in afghanistan, which is becoming increasingly severe due to inequitable power relations, weak institutions, lack of capacity, and inadequate and unreliable infrastructure:  approximately 16.8 million people in afghanistan drink unsafe water.  approximately 23 million people have inadequate access to improved toilets and waste disposal facilities.  increasing population growth rate means more competition for less per capita water  droughts and floods increasingly cause premature deaths, injuries, property destruction, food shortages, and lost incomes.  the risk of national and international disputes over water resources is growing.  environmental degradation exacerbates water scarcity.  people suffer more in terms of life, livelihood and well-being" (unep & nepa, 2008)).  thus, in these regards, the first concern is the disproportionate distribution of water in afghanistan (figure 4) (king & sturtewagen, 2010) very year, most of the water-scarce river basins of this country face severe water shortages, and these problems multiply during drought. figure 4. the proportion of surface water and the country's rivers basin source: alim (2006) 0 50 100 kabul-eastern harirod-morghab pange-amu helmand the proportion of surface water and the country's rivers basin percentage of watershed area percentage of surface water nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 8 the second problem, which is very fundamental, is the lack of sufficient water storage capacity (figure 5) at the national and local levels, which reduces the government's ability to store water during the rainy seasons and the melting of glaciers, and sometimes the abundance of water causes catastrophic floods in the country and bears huge loss of life and financial losses to the people of this country. in afghanistan, in addition to the lack of water storage facilities, even the existing infrastructures are either destroyed or damaged, which causes unstable conditions (thomas & warner, 2015) and, according to the world bank (2005), afghanistan's water storage capacity is 140 cubic meters per capita, which is among the lowest countries in the world figure (5). figure 5. the water storage capacity of afghanistan is among the lowest in the world source: syedy (2011) in addition, another problem that has caused the water crisis in afghanistan is the problem of transboundary water management (90% of afghanistan's surface water is shared with neighboring countries) (thomas & warner, 2015) and the hydro-political issues of this country (ullah & zulfiqar, 2017), which along with the permanent political instability and socio-economic problems, has made this country more prone against a small events including climate change, and thus, this country is only able to use about 33% of the 57 billion cubic meters of its surface water available every year (thomas et al., 2016) and about 63% of afghanistan's surface water goes to neighboring countries. about 40% of water is wasted during irrigation (beekma & fiddes, 2011). however, in recent years, afghanistan has started its efforts to manage water resources, control floods and droughts, and control transboundary waters of the country (ahmadzai, 2016; khan & pervaz, 2014) but, infrastructural activities of afghanistan to manage the transboundary water resources have caused the concern of neighboring countries, especially iran and pakistan, which may limit their current access to water (mousazadeh & abbaszadeh, 2016; mokhtari et al., 2008; hayat & elçi, 2017), and therefore, they may continue by any means to prevent afghanistan from effective and efficient management of its water resources. this study was conducted based on the evidence and facts of afghanistan's water resources, which still need more precise, comprehensive, and practical analysis in terms of precision and accuracy. as the available information up to date is more estimated than real, therefore this is recognized as one of the significant limitations of this study. finally, it is necessary to remind that those interested should investigate the various aspects of the water crisis and its evolved factors scientifically and practically, for example: (the role of climate change in the water problems of the country's river basins, the role of political instability in the management and conservation of water resources, the role of neighboring countries in afghanistan's water resource management problems, afghanistan's hydro political issues and solutions to water shortage problems in this country) so that we would be able to manage, use and preserve the country's water resources properly and witness the prosperity of our dear afghanistan the regions and the world. conclusions the main objective of this study was to analyze the impacts of climate change on afghanistan's water resources, as well as other underlying factors, using descriptive and analitical methods to review related literature. it became clear in this study that the negative impacts of climate change on afghanistan's water crisis are temporary and marginal. the fundamental causes of water crises in this country are first the disproportionate distribution of surface water in afghanistan, which multiplies during drought. secondly, insufficient water storage capacity at the national and local levels, and finally, mismanagement of transboundary water and hydro-political issues in the country, which, along with prolonged political and socio-economic instability, have made the people of this country vulnerable and defenseless against even the slightest problems including climate change. in addition, a lack of coordination among relevant institutions and ineffective policies, a lack of integrated water resource management, and development without considering scientific methods in the country have led afghanistan to use only about 33% of its available surface water resources, and the remaining is being drained, into neighboring countries. in addition, about 40% of water is wasted during irrigation in afghanistan. finally, by enhancing the living standard of the ever-increasing population, their per capita water needs will increase comparatively. thus, it is necessary to manage water crises at the national and regional level for sustainable development and to prevent hydropolitical tensions over water resources in the national and regional level. nabavi & mohammadi, american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 1-11 9 as a result we suggest that interested researchers should investigate various aspects of the water crisis, including the role of climate change in the water crisis in the country, ways to construct water storage infrastructures at local and national levels, the role of political instability in managing and preserving water resources, the role of neighboring countries in managing water resources problems, hydro-political issues in afghanistan finally, to cope with the water crisis in the afghanistan, approaches such as integrated and cohesive water resource management, constructing water storage infrastructures at local and national levels, the use of scientific and innovative methods in designing and implementing water projects and using water-saving technologies (such as drip irrigation systems), developing water recycling technologies, and preserving groundwater and surface water resources as effective and efficien solutions in managing water resources in afghanistan and other similar context. author contributions: conceptualization, s.a.n. and a.m.; methodology, s.a.n. and a.m.; software, n/a.; validation, n/a.; formal analysis, n/a.; investigation, s.a.n. and a.m.; resources, s.a.n. and a.m.; data curation, n/a.; writing – original draft preparation, s.a.n. and a.m.; writing – review & editing, s.a.n. and a.m.; visualization, visualization.; supervision, s.a.n.; project administration, s.a.n.; funding acquisition, s.a.n. and a.m. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: n/a. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references abu-zeid, m., & shiklomanov, i. a. 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(2017). afghanistan’s transboundary rivers and regional security. world water diplomacy & science news. hydropolitics academy, april 2017. retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321297554_afghanistan's_transboundary_rivers_and_regional_sec urity_1 publisher’s note: american social science society stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2024 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by american social science society is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. https://www.gfdrr.org/en/publication/strengthening http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 10-16 10 social science research aijssr vol 16 no 1 (2025) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by american social science society, usa the historical and cultural context of the grassfields: a deterrent to violence in secondary schools of cameroon 2015-2022 atlee dzeawoni (a)1 (a)department of history, heritage and international studies, faculty of arts, the university of bamenda, cameroon; e-mail: dzeawoni@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 14th march 2025 reviewed & revised: 14th march 2025 to 19th june 2025 accepted: 24th june 2025 published: 26th june 2025 keywords: food aid, pastoralist communities, resilience, livelihood diversification, kajiado county jel classification codes: i28 peer-review model: external peer-review was done through double-blind method. a b s t r a c t violence in the school environment involves behavior that is anti-social and is evidenced by undesirable tension, chaos, insults, bullying, sexual harassment, mockery, jostling, and fighting. studies reveal that a higher percentage of these acts occur amongst learners. the problem is that scholars disagree on the definition of a violent act in school, specifically, when and how such an act is considered to begin. this study examines the socio-cultural and historical context of the grassfields of cameroon. it singles out elements that deter learners from committing violent acts against their mates, teachers, parents, and older people. it employs a qualitative approach. its findings are based on survey data on cases of violence in cameroonian schools from 2015 to 2022. it argues that the historical and cultural context of the grassfields region favors peace, respect, and restraint, which accounts for the limited cases of violence by learners against their peers, school authorities, parents, and guardians. its significant findings suggest that instances of spectacular violence seldom occur in the grassfields. it also reveals that violence against parents and teachers increased during seasons of income-generating activities in rural areas. it concludes that the historical and cultural context of the grassfields of cameroon deters violence, promotes harmony, and respect for constituted authority. the paper recommends that national cultures, categorized by various cultural zones, be taught in cameroonian schools, with an emphasis on the positive elements that promote non-violence. © 2025 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction most modern states consider the development of their human capital through formal education to be a priority. in this process, violent acts amongst learners pose a challenge, whether they are daily or spectacular in nature. therefore, this has remained a significant concern for stakeholders in education worldwide. it has become a sensitive political issue and a fashionable media subject each time it occurs. violence occurs in the family, industry, on the streets, at public gatherings, and, in this case study, in schools. reasons for any violent act are attributed to a variety of factors, including politics, economic pressures, the perpetrator's psychology, cultural context, and many others. violence, as conceived in this paper, involves behavior that is anti-social and is evidenced by undesirable tension, chaos, insults, bullying, mockery, jostling, fighting, and sexual harassment. studies reveal that a higher percentage of these acts occur amongst learners. school authorities and parents hardly perceive violence until it reaches the level of a fight, torture resulting in wounds, humiliation, depression, incapacitation, mal-development, deprivation, and sometimes death. generally, preceding situations to these events are often ignored because they are not visible and develop at a very slow pace (thaçi, 2018). violence has many forms and varies in intensity, depending on the context and environment. it is very much linked to the use of force or power. its boundaries are fluid because, in some cases, threats that compel an individual, especially competitors or adversaries, to succumb, also fall in the category of violence. the underlying characteristic is that there is resultant destruction, emotional/ psychological harm, and injury. these acts are perpetuated by humans against others, animals, and nature (göçmen, 2007). 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0009-0001-9846-4342 © 2025 by the authors. hosted by american social science society. peer review under responsibility of american social science society, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i1.25922 to cite this article: dzeawoni, a. (2025). the historical and cultural context of the grassfields: a deterrent to violence in secondary schools of cameroon 2015-2022. american international journal of social science research, 16(1), 10-1`6. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i1.25922 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.openaccess.nl/en https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i1.25922 https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9846-4342 dzeawoni, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 10-16 11 the problem is that there has been a surge of attacks on class and school prefects, teaching and administrative staff, and authorities of the school partnership structures, such as the parent-teachers' association (pta) and school management council. scholars and authorities in secondary education in cameroon have made efforts to curb this ill, but more complicated forms continue to emerge, which are highly mediated. this means that an appropriate diagnosis has not been made so far. moreover, scholars differ in their definitions, and precisely when and how a violent act is considered to begin. as a methodology, this research work based its findings on a random collection and processing of data using questionnaires administered to school heads in the divisions of the north-west region and the noun division of the west region of cameroon, commonly referred to as the western grassfields. it also utilized interviews and discussions with community actors to explore historical and cultural phenomena. this research aims to examine the cultural context of the grassfields and assess whether it promotes or frustrates violence among learners in the region. in so doing, propose transformational solutions in the domain of culture in this geographical area. the main research question, therefore, is: how has the historical and cultural environment of the grassfields of cameroon fostered a culture of respect for peers, hierarchy, and elders? the situation in secondary schools of cameroon from 2015 to 2022 is under review. this choice, however, avoids the complications of violence linked to the context of war, which has affected the north west and south west regions of cameroon and neighboring divisions since 2016. the paper begins with a literature review, proceeds to a discussion on contextual issues, and examines the cultural/ historical character of the grassfields. it ends with an analysis of data, findings, and a recommendation for future research. literature review tangwe (2022), writing on school-based violence and open spaces in cameroon, argues that there is a lack of conducive spaces for effective learning, thus necessitating the creation of what he calls "open spaces for learning." he opines that, for quality education to be achieved, the school environment must be conducive and serene. he estimates that 87% of learners aged 2-14 are victims of daily insults, violent language, and yelling. this study delves more into forms of violence, their frequency, and valid percentages amongst adolescents in cameroon. in this process, the paper signals and, with no in-depth review, the looming dangers of culturally based violence, which he indicates condones exploitation and repression (tangwe, 2022). mouafo and ngamaleu (2024) focus on violence within educational establishments, specifically that which affects learners and staff, thereby compromising the teaching and learning process. the study draws inspiration from highly mediatized episodes of school violence in cameroon, with case studies in two public schools in the central urban metropolitan city of yaoundé. it also examines the causes and forms of this phenomenon and proposes improved managerial practices. the role of the family and community is integrated into this study, which depicts the link between school violence and societal vices; more so because some societal norms facilitate or deter violence in schools. they conclude that these three poles must collaborate to avert school-based violence (mouafo & ngamaleu, 2024). this element is vital for this research because it considers external pressures that may lead to violent acts. achuo and dinga (2024) explore the nature, causes, and consequences of school-based violence. they argue that these factors have a significant impact on academic performance and a substantial financial impact on parents, schools, administrators, and policymakers. as a solution, the study recommends the creation of a national violence prevention council to handle issues of school-based violence. this study projects the notion of "informal school" based on the finding that learners spend less than 40% of their day in school. it is within this time limit that there is the inculcation of civility, moral, and social values (achuo & dinga, 2024). the rest of the time is spent with family, social and peer groups, and society, and therefore accounts for part of the problem. this takes us once more to the influence of external forces. a gap exists that this research attributes to cultural and historical phenomena, which are often overlooked. on this note, and in response to this gap, this research explores another aspect, namely the historical trajectory of the community under review in relation to the diagnosis of the causes of violence. through this work, it is hoped that considerations of the cultural and historical context of a people will widen the scope in the process of developing transformational solutions to violence in schools. takang (2023), like many other narratives, aims to provide an understanding of the nature and causes of violence in secondary schools in cameroon. violence in his work is viewed from the perspective of school administrators. he catalogues several highly mediatized cases of violent acts in the schools in the republic of cameroon. similar to other studies, a substantial body of literature exists on proposed solutions. for him, as a solution, emphasis should be placed on moral and civic education in cameroon's secondary schools (takang, 2023). this element on new subject areas and curriculum is of interest for this paper. tombe (2023), writing on students and violence in cameroon, indicates that addressing this issue and devising strategies to combat it cannot be the sole responsibility of school authorities. he subscribes to the view that society is partly to blame because it facilitates the vulnerability of learners. he gives details on violent acts in cameroon caused by male learners, which stand at 62%, girls 3%, teachers 1%, and the rest of the 34 % goes to society. for this reason, he suggests that researchers need to change the narrative. he concludes that violence needs to be redefined, as the school is a "microscope of the society". he thus recommends that more stakeholders be integrated in the fight against violence in schools (tombe, 2023). this research builds upon tombe (2023) and aligns with his perspective on changing the narrative. as an emerging trend, scholars therefore focus on pathways to resolve violence using evidential and theoretical approaches. this research thus suggests a fifth pole in the shared influence model. it is held that the historical trajectory/cultural context of the grassfields has influenced the attitudes of learners and school authorities. dzeawoni, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 10-16 12 materials and methods this study employs a qualitative approach to investigate the frequency of violence in sixteen selected schools located in urban/rural areas of the grassfields region in cameroon. participants included school heads, discipline masters, and parents of learners. data was collected through semi-structured interview guides for school authorities and an interview guide for fourteen parents. focused discussions were done with community actors and oral sources on the historical phenomenon. the interdisciplinary approach was thus vital for this discussion. ethical considerations were necessary for highly mediated cases of violence as concerns the victims and institutions affected. codes were therefore used to identify these institutions. the data was finally processed and analyzed. the results obtained were presented and discussed to formulate an opinion, draw findings, and provide recommendations. discussions concepts on violence western notions of violence separate liberal and conservative theories from marxist and anarchist viewpoints. they all nevertheless agree that contradiction and conflict of interest are the basis of potential and real violence. they differ more on how the contradiction should be handled (göçmen, 2007). monowar sees violence as a product of human living conditions and a consequence of class stratification. to him, it is also a form of defense against a hostile environment. he opines that violence emanates from interpersonal conflict and differences in interpersonal subjectivity, which all depend on the cultural environment, and is linked up like a chain. he also holds that violence emanates from the beliefs and thoughts of an individual. these thoughts depend on his mindset, the belief structure, and the dominant ideology in that surrounding, which can be summarized as values, norms, the influence of the media, and the culture in question (thaçi, 2018). some scholars attribute the importance of inherited traits in explaining susceptibility to violence in individuals who possess the monoamine oxidase a (maoa) gene (meyer-lindenberg et al., 2006). other scholars argue that it takes significant surrounding factors to ignite this gene, considering that violence is a learned behavior. these scholars, however, converge on the view that the individual is the basis of violence, whether in society or the school milieu. they also agree that an individual's beliefs and thoughts shape their daily attitude, which can accommodate positive traits such as appreciation, courtesy, concern, and mediation, as well as negative traits like contempt, insult, insolence, aggressiveness, and fighting. they also agree on the chain action of violence from minor incidents to a situation of crisis, generalized indiscipline, gang violence, mass murder, and sectarian violence. in this light, monowar avers that “we must negotiate interpersonally to identify interpersonal conflicts and prevent violent influences; otherwise they become catalysts of different kinds of violence (thaçi, 2018). in the school milieu, the chain effect is seen in acts of violence, wherein flogging, corporal punishment, and bullying gradually slow down the development of skills in learners, and ignite aggressiveness, depression, and anxiety. victims of such violence are thought to develop tendencies to do the same in the future (muhangi, 2017). this paper is based on the view that the historical and cultural environment in which an individual resides, among others, shapes their thoughts and beliefs. it is inspired by bronfenbrenner, who developed the ecological model to explain human development. epstein tapped into this concept to identify the three poles that constantly interact: school, family, and community. to him, these shape the mind of adolescence and are described as the shared influence model. from this, the who developed the ecological model in 2002, which encompasses four levels: personal characteristics, which are either inherited or learned; proximity to social relationships; the community; and the global level (bouchamma et al., 2004). to develop transformational solutions for addressing violence in the school environment, it is essential to understand the historical/cultural context that shapes attitudes within the school milieu. this will enable us to determine whether this context supports or opposes violence. muhangi (2017) holds that cultural beliefs in uganda encourage gender based violence, including in the school milieu, as it was held that women were only good for the kitchen and unequal to men. discrimination against women was also prevalent in many communities of uganda. he adds that whatever occurred in schools was determined by the social context; in other words, what students had learnt from the community (muhangi, 2017). the relevance of this study on violence in schools lies in the fact that it is necessary to understand how to mitigate its causes, manifestations, and effects, wherever and whenever they occur. key actors and researchers must address this issue. as a worldwide phenomenon, some specifics do occur. the context of violence in kosovo from 1997 to 1999 had to do with ethnic cleansing, and thus the circulation of arms, summary executions, and deportations in a post-war scenario (thaçi, 2018). in uganda, after 1962, she experienced successive wars, oppressive regimes, and frequent regime changes, marked by terror and consequential killings, which extended into the school milieu. violence became a way to sort out differences, and victims experienced trauma, depression, and psychological effects (muhangi, 2017). violence in the context mentioned above is also externally triggered and complex. for this reason, the study avoids violence in schools linked to the socio-political crisis and war in the grassfields of cameroon in the years under review. on the pathways to resolving violence, thaçi (2018) proposes the evidential and theoretical approaches. first, on the evidence, he advocates that in cases of inter-personal violence, coalition violence, and communal violence, the solution is to build tolerance (by means of social justice and communication) and preventive enforcement. for the theoretical approach, he proposes focusing on emerging trends in violence studies, which include: the deconstruction of cultural norms that promote violence; the propagation of anti-violence writings that target specific groups; the projection of social awareness rhetoric and campaigns; and finally, the introduction and enforcement of anti-violence legislation. the following pages present the historical and cultural context of the grassfields of cameroon, laying the groundwork for a new perspective on how violence can be perceived as a source for transformational solutions. dzeawoni, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 10-16 13 historical and cultural context of the grassfields of cameroon the grassfields of cameroon lie between latitudes 5° and 7° north of the equator. it is fairly circular in form and covers the area north of the cross river basin, extending to the mungo basin to the southeast. it extends to the bamboutous highlands in the west, and the noun river valley to the north east. it is bordered in the north by the adamawa plateau, to the northwest by the mambila highlands, and to the west by the katsina basin. the grassfields are further divided into the western grassfields, commonly referred to as the bamenda highlands, and the eastern grassfields, which encompass bamun and bamileke lands. the region specializes in the production of iron, pottery, cereal-based foodstuffs, palm oil in the hot plains, coconuts, and handicrafts. ethnic groups of the grassfields occupied the region in successive waves. there are generally three origins ascribed to the ethnic groups in this region. many claimed that the ndobo-tikari originated from the northeast; others contended that the widikum originated from the west, and the last group, the munchi, was located in the northwestern part of nigeria. while settled, these ethnic groups faced aggression from expansionist neighbors, chamba raids, and the fulani in the 18th and 19th centuries. as a result of this violence, many ethnic groups resorted to congregated settlements or moved to areas protected by natural barriers such as mountains, swamps, and rivers. in 1979, an archaeological conference was held in garoua, and following a comparison of notes, three cultural areas were delineated due to ancestral linkages and common cultural traits within which archaeological research had to be situated. these were: the north, north-west, centre, and southern geographical entities. our case study, which is the grassfields (north-west entity), is a cultural sphere. it will therefore be x-rayed for elements that deter and promote violence in schools. the following socio-cultural practices militate for non-violence in the grassfields of cameroon: masked dancers masquerades (masked dancers) remained a vital part of grassfield cultures. masks are believed to instill respect in young people as they grow up. argenti, in a chapter of his ph.d. thesis titled "masks of terror and the subjection of cadets in oku", describes masks as dark, with impressions of fearsome animals or humans. he adds that they are generally not beautiful, with their dancers prone to violence (göçmen, 2007). amongst thousands of onlookers, he says cadets form a greater majority. while scared by its constant charge on stooped persons, they whale in pleasure at masquerade displays. each cadet usually prepares to recount the scenes as they unfolded. elaborating on the aspect of horror in the masks, he says, "… is tinged with a sense of awe, grudging admiration, and bewildered amusement” (göçmen, 2007). similar to oku, this tradition is observed among the ethnic groups of the grassfields, where many youths develop a spirit of respect by stooping when these masquerades perform, thereby avoiding being a target of their violent displays. mutual respect, therefore, serves as a deterrent to violence in the school environment. the gun culture in the early 19th century, guns and gunpowder from the coast of nigeria, specifically from calabar and benue through takum in the northeastern part of nigeria, reached the grassfields of cameroon. in 1835, the bafu-fundong people achieved a victory over the ba’ni warriors, who were on horseback from the northern parts of cameroon. the latter used den guns, and this episode is symbolized by the war tool called tafang (den gun). these guns were generally of poor quality and ineffective, but had a greater impact on ethnic groups that acquired them (nkwi & warner, 1982). in times of peace, they were fired during death celebrations, as their loud noise was believed to "scare death". with european colonization and a reduction in deadly inter-ethnic conflict, it is rather the second and later function of the 11-12 inches gauge smoothbore flintlock den gun that became primordial. it was seldom used in war and gradually geared toward non-violence and harmony, until 2017 in the grassfields of cameroon. this notion persists in this region, where the possession of guns even for selfdefense is not common. grassland cultural formation, myths and folklore it was customary in the grassfields for a family to gather around a fireside to receive training on facing life's challenges and be entertained. stories and folklore songs attributed to mythical beings, such as kimaleng in nso', abound. animals such as the tortoise, elephant, bush pig, and antelope found in the savannah environment, with perceived virtues of intelligence, courage, fame, and wit, were used in folklore and the generation of myths in their cultures. these were also taught to cadets in storytelling, riddles, and jokes. the nature of wild animals, such as the bush dog, lion, and elephant, was used similarly to instill in cadets qualities like respect for nature, resilience, caution, and prudence in their lifestyle. this resulted in harmony in society. the custom that only male elders could break open an egg to make omelets and eat the gizzard of a rooster inculcates restraint in youths and limits stealing. in the bui and donga-mantung divisions of the grassfields, customs related to gender roles and prerogatives are evident in the respect women show to a convoy transporting wine, where they stoop slightly as it passes, because palm wine is used to pay her bride price. it is customary for all males in these upper grassfields communities to yield to requests from strangers and pregnant women, such as providing portable water and guiding a person who has lost their way during a journey. these pregnant women have the prerogative to stop a convoy carrying the fons (king) wine and taste it. in this way, as cadets grow up, it becomes a taboo to be violent towards women. the culture of respect for age and the elderly in the ethnic groups of the grassfields, it is customary for tasks such as washing hands, breaking bread, collecting and sharing food, and leading a convoy to be performed in accordance with seniority. in the same manner, the care for junior relations requires the elder brother or sister to share food in case of scarcity and protect their junior ones in public. in the dzeawoni, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 10-16 14 event of sharing a standard bed, the senior is required to lie on the side closest to the door, facing any potential threats that may arise. it is unusual for cadets to argue with older people or talk less to challenge them publicly. these values instill in cadets respect for their peers, elders, hierarchy, and institutions, and thus serve as a deterrent to violence. the fear of spilling blood and traditional diplomacy in the 18th and 19th centuries, between kin and unrelated ethnic groups of the grassfields, blood pacts and oaths were used as a means to maintain peace as neighbors. various methods were thus put in place to avoid war, so that blood would not be spilled. mystical warfare, involving forces of nature and magic, was often employed when conflict became inevitable. similar tactics were also used to prevent the outbreak of war, which funteh describes as “diplo-magic prevention” (funteh, 2015). this culture of peace persists in the grassfields of cameroon. despite the presence of violence control mechanisms in the culture of the grassfields, certain elements remain lacking. firstly, many mask dancers exhibit violence in their displays during cultural festivals. considering that some violent acts emanate from experiences or imitation, some youths adopt this attitude as participants, and sometimes mask themselves during these festivals. secondly, the grassfield ethnic groups practiced slavery and the slave trade until it was banned in the 1830s. this trade continued in more subtle forms and has evolved into the grassfields being reputed for the non-procedural provision of nannies to the cities of douala and yaoundé. similarly, youths from this region are exploited as laborers in plantations and mines throughout the country. this makes such youths vulnerable and prone to violence wherever they find themselves. thirdly, the major groups of the grassfields, such as the bum, bafut, kom, nso', and bamun, entered the region circa the 14th century onwards. they subdued aboriginal groups, assimilated others peacefully, integrated immigrants, and by force took control of a large expanse of territory in the areas they now occupy (nkwi & warner, 1982). the warrior tendency in these ethnic groups has persisted. this has manifested itself repeatedly during the reintroduction of multi-party politics in the 1990s in cameroon, the food riots of 2008, and the "anglophone" crisis of 2016 to date. these ethnic groups have taken a frontline role to challenge existing institutions and constituted authority, with attendant consequences replicated in the violence experienced in the schools of these areas. this has been complicated by the influx of fulani, hausa, and aku immigrants, reputed for their cattle rearing, into the region over the centuries. this has resulted in numerous and recurrent farmer-grazer conflicts in which youths are engaged as combatants. lastly, limitations on the freedom of expression of youths in the presence of adults in the grassfields of cameroon are tantamount to disrespect for human rights. this creates frustration and consequently emotional and psychological pressure, which usually manifests in outbursts later and is expressed in the form of violence. to better capture the image of violence in schools of the grassfields, a general picture of cases that received media attention in cameroon appears as presented in table 1. table 1. a survey of recent spectacular cases of violence in cameroon sn year region school nature of violence 1 2018 south region lycee classique de sm a student was raped and killed after a night party. 2 2019 littoral region government bilingual. high school dd a classmate murdered a form 4 student. 3 2019 littoral region government high school bb a student was assaulted on the head with a piece of plank with a rusted nail. 4 2019 south-west region sbc buea gang violence on campus involving 10 students. 5 2020 centre region lycee de kk a classmate murdered a studeclassmate 0 centre region government high school nk a teacher was stabbed to death by his form 3 student. 7 2020 centre region lycee de mk a student stabbed a young teacher of mathematics 8 2022 centre region yscs nkolbisson a student stabbed the principal of the college. 9 2022 west region government bilingual high school bf a student murdered his class-m classmate20 centre region lycee de kb 20 female students were guilty of an orgy and summarily dismissed from school. 11 2022 littoral region government bilingual high school ys a teacher raped a 2-year-old pupil. 12 2022 west region c v bafoussam a classmate murdered a student. sources: david jaspa takang, violence in secondary schools in cameroon: school administrators' perspectives and envisaged solutions. universal journal of innovative education, vol. 2, issue 4, 2023: 217; louvier kindo tombe, students and violence in cameroon: changing the narrative in cameroon, www.newsupfront.com, accessed 25th january 2023. the above-cited cases (coded for ethical reasons) of violence in the schools of cameroon from 2018 to 2022 became highly mediatized. these were particularly highlighted by the assistant director of school life guidance and counseling in the ministry of secondary education during the international symposium on violence in the school milieu, held in yaoundé, cameroon, from december 20 to 21, 2022. table 1 reveals that the north west region of cameroon, conterminous with the grassfields, did not experience cases of highly mediatized violence in cameroon from 2018 to 2022. it also reveals that public schools experienced a larger number of reported cases of highly mediatized violence, as opposed to lay private and confessional schools in cameroon. the situation in public schools is attributed to the high enrolment figures in these cities and an insufficient number of masters in charge of discipline. regarding the situation in selected institutions of the grassfields, the survey is presented in table 2. http://www.newsupfront.com/ dzeawoni, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 10-16 15 table 2. specific survey of violence against students and constituted school authorities of the grassfields of cameroon from 2015 – 2022 cases of assault on prefects/teachers/elderly, etc sn school class prefect school prefect teachers administrators pta parents selected high schools of the grassfields in urban centers 1 gbhs kumbo 14 12 4 1 0 0 2 gbhs ndop 18 6 3 1 0 0 3 ghs kiyan 6 5 2 0 0 0 4 gbhs kutaba 30 10 20 8 0 0 5 gbhs fundong 9 7 2 0 0 0 6 ccast bambili 14 8 3 2 0 0 7 m.b.a. wum 12 6 4 1 0 0 total 103 54 38 13 0 0 selected schools of the grassfields in rural areas 7 gss gom 3 2 2 0 0 1 8 ghs belo 2 1 1 0 0 0 9 ghs babesssi 4 2 1 0 0 1 10 lycee de magbwa 6 4 0 0 0 1 11 ghs kitiwum 3 2 1 0 0 0 12 gss weh 4 3 0 0 0 0 13 gtc ntigi 2 1 1 0 0 0 total 24 15 6 0 0 3 the percentage of respondents stood at 92%. this survey randomly selected two schools in each division; one in the urban center and the other in the rural area in the grassfields. the data portrays that a larger proportion of violent acts occur in the school environment. this aligns with bujar’s view that violence occurs more frequently among learners (thaçi, 2018). violence by learners against teachers remains minimal, especially in rural schools, which are still primarily within a less contaminated social and cultural context that fosters respect for teachers and elderly persons, in contrast to the prevailing situation in towns, as previously discussed. the near absence of violence in some schools, according to the authorities, was due to their personal tact and regular pre-emptive measures. the increased incidence of violence in lycee de koutaba and lycee de magbwa is attributed to the spillover effects of the mixture of students during long vacations between the towns of the west region and the violentprone metropolitan economic metropolis of douala. the increased number of violent acts against school and class prefects is in part explained by ignorance of internal rules and regulations. the incidence of attacks on parents in rural areas is on the rise. findings attributed these occurrences to polygamous homes, and secondly, to the season for harvesting palm nuts, the exploitation of river sand, and the fishing season. this phenomenon was observed at lycee de magbwa and ghs babesssi, during the peak of the fish and river sand harvesting season, when youths generate a substantial income from these activities. they tend to purchase hard drugs and alcohol and mix with gang groups. the same traits are discerned amongst youths in gss gom during the palm harvesting season. at this time, cadets in rural areas who earn a considerable income from these activities become prone to challenging their class prefects, teachers, school administrators, parents, and guardians. conclusions this paper examines the concepts of violence in schools, including its causes, manifestations, and effects. it looked at the socio-cultural and historical context of the grassfields. it brought out those elements that deter learners from committing violent acts against their mates, teachers, parents, and older people. it also surveyed a select group of schools in the region. it argued that the historical and cultural context of the grassfields militated in favor of peace, respect, and restraint, and thus was responsible for the reduced number of cases of violence by learners on various school authorities and their guardians. its findings reveal that violence against parents increased during seasons of income-generating activities in rural areas. the paper also shows that the historiography and cultures of the grassfields promote harmony and respect for older people and constituted authority. these traits transcend into the school milieu. this finding, therefore, supports the inclusion of a fifth pole of action in the shared influence model, which researchers should explore to combat school-based violence. in perspective, the dismissal of learners from school due to deviant behavior and violent acts has been applied in many institutions of the grassfields and other parts of cameroon. this is considered by scholars as a "quick-fix solution" because the problem has merely been transferred to another school environment. violence in school will always be there, and authorities should not be over taken by the spectacular cases that come up and are highly mediatized. what matters is that appropriate diagnoses be adopted every time these issues arise, and pre-emptive measures be instituted to combat this illness. to obtain transformational solutions, the theory for resolving violence should be formulated based on that used to combat epidemics. to cure epidemics, researchers look for antibiotics in germs. they infect these germs; culture them to create a new kind of germ, and then the germs eliminate themselves. drawing from this, the paper recommends the exploitation of heritage studies, specifically in the case of cameroon, in junior classes, by teaching national cultures according to various cultural regions. emphasis in this trajectory should be laid on morality courses and on positive elements that promote non-violence in the school milieu. civic education, and the internal school rules and regulations of each dzeawoni, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 10-16 16 institution, should be taught as lessons in the junior classes. the penal code and emergent themes in cameroon, such as inclusion, gender, human rights, and freedoms, should be integrated into the curricula of senior classes. this paper is limited in that two divisions of the grassfields could not be reached throughout this research due to security challenges. additionally, it examined violence in the school environment from the perspective of school authorities, rather than that of the learners. finally, cases of highly mediatized violence from 2015-2017 could not be catalogued. it also cautiously avoided violence in the grassfields linked to armed conflict raging in the area since 2017 to date. future researchers should next examine the northern and southeastern parts of the republic of cameroon to identify elements in these cultural and historical settings that support the culture of non-violence. author contributions: conceptualization, a.d.; methodology, a.d.; software, a.d.; validation, a.d.; formal analysis, a.d.; investigation, a.d.; resources, a.d.; data curation, a.d.; writing – original draft preparation, a.d.; writing – review & editing, a.d.; visualization, a.d.; supervision, a.d.; project administration, a.d.; funding acquisition, a.d. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references achuo, e. d., & dinga, g. d. 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(2023). students and violence in cameroon: changing the narrative in cameroon. retrieved www.newsupfront.com publisher’s note: american social science society stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2025 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by american social science society is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 1-9 1 social science research aijssr vol 16 no 1 (2025) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by american social science society, usa exploring the role of food aid programs in strengthening resilience among pastoralist communities in kajiado county stephen oseur lekasi (a)1 antony wando odek (a)phd candidate, department of development studies, st. paul's university, limuru, kenya; e-mail: pdslmr660521@spu.ac.ke (b)senior lecturer, department of development studies, st. paul's university, limuru, kenya; e-mail: aodek@spu.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 12th march 2025 reviewed & revised: 13th march 2025 to 19th june 2025 accepted: 20th june 2025 published: 26th june 2025 keywords: food aid, pastoralist communities, resilience, livelihood diversification, kajiado county jel classification codes: i38, q18 peer-review model: external peer-review was done through double-blind method. a b s t r a c t communities in the kenya’s arid lands experience chronic food insecurity due to repeated occurrences of drought and unstable livelihoods. as food aid becomes a repeated form of intervention, there has been debate about its overall effectiveness over the long term and as it relates to household resilience. this study investigates the role of food aid delivery to pastoralist households in kajiado county on their resilience. the study was conducted between may to september 2024, with 45 participants, purposively selected including 25 household interviews, 12 focus group interviewees and 8 key informants (e.g., local leaders, aid workers, and government officials).the data were analyzed thematically with a focus on patterns in how people experience or understand food aid. results indicate that 84% of respondents viewed food aid as vital for shortterm survival during a period of drought. yet only 12% connected it with improvement in long-term recovery or readiness for the next drought. about 64% of participants reported turning to reactive coping strategies such as charcoal production, beadwork, or informal labor when aid was delayed or insufficient. the data disclosed recurring concerns about inconsistency of supply, politicized distribution, and weak links between emergency relief and broader livelihood support. food assistance was generally treated as a buffer, not a basis to build and attain sustainable resilience. the findings show while food aid satisfies immediate needs, it is insufficient in helping in long term adaptation strategies in the dryland economies. the study highlights a gap between emergency support services and community-defined paths to resilience. © 2025 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction in east africa, particularly in dryland areas, drought is no longer merely an environmental disturbance it is a threat to the viability of pastoralist systems that depend on land, livestock, and social relations (semplici & campbell, 2023). these recurring climatic shocks extend beyond food insecurity; they threaten erasure of cultural identity, fracture intergenerational knowledge transition, and literally stretch traditional safety nets to the breaking point (ofori et al., 2021; tora et al., 2022). as droughts become more frequent and severe in scope and impact, food aid has been adopted as a common response tool (barrett, 2021). there is the growing recognition that food aid, although an immediate response, represents a long-term vulnerability that has created a cycle of dependence rather than adaptation. the dilemma adapted given that it is strongest in kenya's arid and semi-arid lands (asals) and among pastoralist communities, including the maasai of kajiado county, which have been provided with food assistance, typically after major livestock mortality or failed rains (cherono & recha, 2024). despite decades of food aid support from external sources, many of these regions are still living with chronic fragility. food assistance in these regions can displace traditional systems of risk pooling, while others suggest that food aid can reinforce those systems if it is delivered in consideration of local systems of governance and sovereignty (ndiritu, 2021; yala et al., 2020). these competing interpretations of the role of food assistance in pastoralist systems begs the question, can food assistance efforts be 'framed' in a way that can support pastoralist resilience, or are they invariably 'part of the package' causing local initiatives to become less viable and champing agency? this study responds to that question by examining how food aid was distributed, perceived, and adapted in pastoralist communities in kajiado county between 2020 and 2025. the aim is to assess whether these interventions 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0009-0005-3125-5879 © 2025 by the authors. hosting by american social science society. peer review under responsibility of american social science society, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i1.2429 to cite this article: lekasi, s. o., & odek, a. w. (2025). exploring the role of food aid programs in strengthening resilience among pastoralist communities in kajiado county. american international journal of social science research, 16(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i1.2429 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.openaccess.nl/en https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i1.2429 https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3125-5879 https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7500-8154 lekasi & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 1-9 2 improved household food security and whether they strengthened or undermined efforts toward livelihood diversification. special attention is given to the real-world complexities of aid delivery including who receives support, who is left out, and how local actors navigate or reshape these interventions. the goal is not just to measure aid effectiveness, but to understand its interaction with existing cultural and survival systems. the remainder of the article is structured as follows: it begins with a literature review that discusses by design how resilience, aid, and pastoralist adaptation are theorized through the ethical and political economies of intervention; then the results section describes community understandings of aid, particularly where and how that aid is used, people are excluded, and local improvisation occurs; next, the discussion situates those findings in relation to wider debates on governance and resilience; and finally, the conclusion suggests implications for policy, and areas for further research especially for better convergence of aid with local regimes of knowledge and affordance for existing coping strategies. literature review this chapter utilizes social-ecological resilience theory and political ecology to provide the study's context. social ecological resilience theory is based on the premise that people and environment are interrelated systems that are able to find new equilibrium after stress, and that systems can recover after being shocked (kuhmonen, 2020). it can help explain the variety of responses of households when faced with a new disruption such as drought, suggests that communities deal with these disruptions by adopting appropriate strategies such as herd retention or income diversification. however, while resiliency provides some insight into the dynamic of local adaptation to stress, it misses an account of the political and institutional contexts which constrain who is getting assistance and how (angeler et al., 2020). according to stagner and mulundano (2024) resilience is not just about ecological capacity or local knowledge but also embedded in governance systems and a history of marginalization political ecology provides a greater depth of analysis regarding power, inequality, and institutional authority to fill this gap. political ecology is rooted in the writings of blaikie and watts and is elaborated upon through the writings of others, such as sultana (2021). political ecology connects environmental vulnerabilities with the political and economic structures that constitute the decision-making processes involved when addressing food insecurity (ajl, 2023). in a context like kajiado county, land tenure, water access, and mobility are entangled with the power of donors, which makes political ecology useful in some ways to discuss who benefits from food aid (and to what extent) while also remaining vulnerable to shocks. connecting political ecology with the social-ecological resilience theory enabled the research to look at both the local strategies communities used to cope with shocks, as well as the larger systems within which they operate, which shapes both their options and outcomes. even in the empirical sense, the connection between food aid and community resilience is one of the most contentious topics under debate in development practice, especially for fragile rural spaces that have been impacted by climate shocks. on one hand, humanitarian emergency food aid is often credited for preventing widespread hunger crises after periods of failed rains or livestock loss. however, while this effect is temporary and exists on a shorter-term basis, it can foster long-term dependence on food aid and stagnation in community ecosystems and local coping strategies. this raises a fundamental question: are these interventions offering a ladder out of crisis, or is the reality that they only delay the collapse? a growing body of literature supports the idea that food aid can build resilience when combined with assets that enhance productive capacity, such as food-for-assets programs or conditional transfers. olney et al. (2020) advanced this approach by coordinating efforts between the world food programme, its experts, and nutrition researchers to integrate food aid with maternal and child nutrition goals. using a design-thinking approach, they developed harmonized theories of change, identified key nutrition entry points, and proposed rigorous evaluation methods. while the framework was conceptually strong, it assumed ideal implementation conditions that rarely exist in fragile, drought-prone areas. in such settings, hybrid interventions often become overloaded with expectations and strain local systems beyond capacity. moreover, standardized models, however well-designed, risk inefficiency and loss of trust when they cannot adapt to shifting political, cultural, or logistical realities. although olney et al.’s model made a compelling theoretical case, its ability to address the complexity of real-world implementation remained underdeveloped. on the other hand, shisler et al. (2023) explored how, within the context of basic needs insecurity, north carolina state university utilized asset-mapping workshops (community-based participatory research [cbpr] method) to engage with campus members around the issue of identifying and sharing resources. participants identified many good short-term resources, such as food-pantry, emergency funds, etc., but also surface more complex and long-standing issues such as low pay, housing affordability and historic marginality experienced by historically marginalized students (e.g., low-income, weak ties, first in family students, etc.). the analysis of the evidence suggests that cbpr and asset-mapping approaches can help amplify under-represented student voices and shed light on structural issues that are often overlooked when assessing needs using traditional approaches. nonetheless, the authors pointed to a situation that is a big challenge with asset-based approaches continuity. once the institution lost funding or oversight, or its importance waned, progress on these practices stalled or even reverted. this raises the question: can any time-bound, short-term access program make credible claims to reduce vulnerability in a forever vulnerable system? recent criticisms of resilience programs propose that "resilience" is a vocabulary word funded by donors to make it sound like they can use the word and the word sometimes means: we are not making any significant strides in the process of building local capacity. seeger et al. (2024) contend that resilience programs care so much for short-term outcomes that they disregard sustainability and structural support, in favor of short-term success. the authors address the role of communications and shared meanings relative to true recovery, but claim that all of this would be meaningless without ongoing sustained investment. mosurska et al. (2023) similarly, demonstrate that aid narratives erase colonial histories lekasi & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 1-9 3 within partnerships and indigenous voices, perpetuating and exacerbating dependency instead of supporting autonomy. together, both case studies highlight a shared problem: without understanding the deeper impacts of measurable success, on agency and power, aid research would be understood wholly as an evaluation tool. longitudinal studies have provided insight into how food aid, while responding to immediate food insecurity, can undermine longer term resilience. bowen et al. (2022) found that in rural contexts, low-income families relied on food systems that were often broken and fragile, and that, in some cases, food aid simply substituted (rather than built on) household coping strategies. yiridomoh et al. (2021) illustrate that food transfers temporarily improved consumption among households experiencing seasonal droughts in ghana, but this could not prevent drought-affected households from selling their productive assets to survive. aid can have impacts which miss the point when it fails to address broader livelihood vulnerabilities. if emergency relief is not continuing aftershocks, then it is not risk management. the assumption that shortterm assistance is a bridge to longer-term stability is worthy of interrogation, along with the ethical issues around aid that may transform harm into dependency or necessitate trade-offs. to compound the issue, the structure and politics of an aid delivery mechanism often matter more than aid itself. for example, herbert's (2024) research in kerala shows how even decentralized, donor funded, community-based programs, such as jalanidhi, continued to cement caste and gender inequalities despite commitment to community-based participation. urwin et al. (2023) also assert that donor priorities and rigid monitoring can consistently counter local voices as accountable mechanisms become a test of grant compliance rather than participation. their grounded accountability model (gam) provides a more systemic perspective, but ultimately rests on addressing local power dynamics and institutional resistance. these studies suggest that in addressing structural inequalities and local political dynamics, even well-intentioned forms of aid could potentially perpetuate the problems they are aiming to alleviate. regardless of these criticisms there are examples of what more effective aids models may look like. shao and wang (2022) in their investigation of japanese aid to china, utilized a geographically and temporally weighted model (gtwr) to determine the economic impact of aid across time and space. the results of previous also demonstrated some negative overall effect, but again gtwr presented the situation more clearly by acknowledging that impact of aid changed depending on where the aid was sent and when it was received. while gtwr does motivate towards an ideal model of foreign aid, which recognizes that context and timing matter, the reality is that the study did not sufficiently account for all the political and institutional questions that mediate how approaches to aid are made possible and how they may be implemented. moreover, without a consideration of deeper dynamics, even the most sophisticated of models risk simplifying reality into a basic economic tool, when it is plainly clear that aid is in fact a product of power, influence, and an asymmetrical relationship. dreher et al. (2021) argue a related point, specifying that predictable and regular transfers can help households with consumption smoothing and avoiding negative coping mechanisms in the short-term (such as child labor, or migration) especially where transfers are in the spirit of “cash-plus” models. the authors also find that in 138 developing countries, chinese development finance has a modest effect on growth (in the next 2 years) in the promised support and development commitment. that is not to mention that western donor effects were not setup to contrast against. interestingly, the effects of us aid tended to be more successful in countries that were not also larger recipients of chinese funding. however, overlapping aid in the same territory likely generates competition or fragmentation, hence the mixed results with existing models. ultimately, notwithstanding the modest improvement in economic outcomes for households, these models, while promising with good evidence for consumption smoothing, are still the exception and rarely become the norm. they have also not recently scaled up. scaling has not taken off due to political, donor competition and the absence of any shared conceptual framework, or indeed trusting partnership for long-term and coordinated donor action, in which to provide support. leading academics question the very premise of resilience as something that can be enabled through technical or projectized interventions. visnovitz and jenne (2021) attribute this to the political nature of aid and the contested governance process through which it occurs. the authors argue that competing narratives of legitimacy, sovereignty, or control always influence the provision of aid. in their reflections on the fidesz governments in hungary from 2010 to 2020, they showed how populist governments operationalize foreign policy. in this regard, aid relationships are used strategically to elevate national status and counter traditional alliances. by politicizing the channels of diplomacy in addressing foreign policy and confronting perceived parochial allies while seeking alternative partnerships, the leadership in hungary created a new model for active engagement with the world, which routinely engaged foreign partnerships, as a tool for domestic legitimacy and global repositioning. this pattern illustrates a broader issue: external interventions that fail to address the power imbalances, including aid, in the local or national political context, are merely run the risk of reinforcing rather than overcoming power imbalances. aid operates as means through which the recipient groups negotiate their identities, status, and/or authority, but moreover, aid can only be understood in context of local and national power relations. the current study is informed by this perspective as it argues the link between food aid and community resilience cannot be properly conceptualised without questioning the power relations and political dynamics at play, both of which shape and are shaped by aid. to be truly resilient, it says, is to do more than implement program design, but push back on the social injustices that led the need for aid in the first place. certainly, these issues are particularly salient in areas vulnerable to climate impacts such as kajiado county in kenya, where food aid is not supplementary, but forms the basis of household survival. still, even in context, there remains highly contingent impacts from aid. in south africa's limpopo province, for example, rural women have developed their own strategies concerning food security, such as crop diversification, and ecological knowledge. nyahunda (2021) discusses the new resilience strategies that women developed, but underplays any impact by food aid as it relates to the overall outcome conditions. the study emphasized that food aid may be helpful if open to participation and in a timely manner, but lekasi & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 1-9 4 viewed food assistance as a background variable, and one that is not involved in a very integrated way in their livelihood context, weakening the relevance of this study to an area such as kajiado, where food aid is integrated in a sense, as part of everyday life, and cannot be viewed as a supplementary external component. a more compelling assessment about the role of aid is from inman (2024) who discussed how multiple cultural resilience efforts are adjusting to increased external pressures, particularly regarding usefulness among pastoralist peoples such as the himba. inman reasoned nothing new in the sense of cultural transformation, but different in that it leans more to abandon as old traditional systems are under pressure from arts or expressivism, and form external aid and modern circumstances. the himba are going through change without ongoing, culturally embedded support in the same way pastoralist communities in namibia's kunene region experienced food aid where short-term shocks were cushioned, but longer-term self-reliance was undermined. the result was not just adaptation, but a protracted decay of one's traditional coping systems. this reflects a parallel trajectory to kajiado, where similar environmental threats and pastoralist economies have created a growing risk of more structural dependency. in both cases of the himba and kajiado, aid that has no clear link to long term adaptation strategies, such as land care and re-investment, collective skill development, and cultural continuity, can be more detrimental than beneficial. the himba are not merely adapting to modernity, they are being thrust into modernity mostly through systems that do not honour their value base and priorities. without intentionality to align support with the lived experience of these communities for long-term resilience, well-meaning interventions among the himba and others risk entrenching vulnerability, rather than reducing it. jackson and piggott-mckellar (2021) present a powerful critique of climate adaptation in the pacific islands by examining how foreign aid fails on the basis that it never truly understands the beliefs and lived experiences of communities. their study illustrated that the bedamuni of papua new guinea and i-kiribati experience environmental change through deeply ingrained religious and spiritual beliefs involving cosmologies, spirits, and christianity, not science. adaptation projects have followed externally driven technocratic models that do not acknowledge local ontologies in the design and delivery of projects. therefore, it is not surprising that take-up of adaptation strategies is weak when the aid serves to disrupt indigenous knowledge systems that had allowed these communities to be resilient in confronting climate change impacts. in the instance of the bedamuni, while food aid may assist people to cope with short-term crises such as floods, it promotes long-term dependency by displacing indigenous coping strategies. this study is not based on a formal theoretical basis, however it has an important message; aid that does not have its roots firmly placed in local world views and systems may provide limited assistance, while eroding capacity that it purports to build. this is a resemblance of larger structural failures in the way foreign aid has been organized, namely, the tendency to try to impose standardised solutions based on faceless and metric, financial, understandings of risks, change, sustainability and self-determination. this point can be emphasized here because it is not only about cultural sensitivity, but also highlights the systemic failures of many flawed approaches to foreign aid that continue to assume resilience is something built externally, rather than from within. omulo (2022) advances the thesis that aid, along with economic liberalization instead of protection for human rights, compromises and further entrenches repression and inequalities. although omulo's critique makes no mention of pastoralists in her discussion, she recognizes that support can be mobilized for elite purposes, given the absence of external conditionality, as she references failed states. this is important for our thinking and our work as researchers examining food aid because it signals, in our research, our policy, and our practice, that external interventions which do not account for local realities of justice and relations of power may, instead of being resolutely supportive, only replicate complicit forms of exclusion, deepening marginalization, legitimizing violent governance, and undermining local continuing agency in the long run. overall, the literature indicates ambiguous responses to food aid as research indicates food aid could provide support for resilience and self-determination or could serve to deepen vulnerability in relation to the agency of the aid delivery. food aid can promote recovery and adaptation when it complements or integrates with local strategies, participatory approaches, and knowledge of local cultures. the literature concludes that the timing of aid and phases of aid are critical to the effectiveness of aid for the intended case. any food aid implemented with a top-down, delayed, or disjointed approach could create dependency and/or harm local capacity. therefore, there is little or no agreement upon what food aid must look like in establishing resilience as neither a conceptual framework nor a practical application. this study addresses that gap by aiming to understand the food aid intervention across the historical timeframe between 2020 and 2025 in kajiado county while pastoralists were reeling from repeated droughts and sudden economic shocks in the east african region. this research contributes to understanding the intervention's interactions with local coping strategies, governance structures, and cultural systems to weed out both detrimental and benevolent food aid for pastoralist livelihoods. materials and methods this research explored the role of food aid in enhancing resilience among pastoralists in kajiado county, kenya. the study was carried out between may and september 2024, using a qualitative, interpretive research design, with the purpose of gaining insights into the experiences of the recipients of food aid in the face of successive climate-induced crises. rather than documenting numerical measures of aid or nutritional outcomes, participants were asked about their understanding of food aid and how they negotiated and integrated food aid into their economic and social lives as pastoralists. the study sample included 25 household respondents, 12 participants in three focus group discussions (fgds), and 8 key informants including local administrators, ngo field workers, and relief officers. participants were sampled in a purposive manner based on representations of gender, livelihood roles and distance from food aid site. the sample size was guided by qualitative standards of information power (sebele-mpofu, 2020) so that the depth of understanding of the issue rather than increased sample size would provide a better understanding of the context. while the sample was limited and randomised for diversity, it was sufficient enough to reveal the range of trade-offs, moralistic tensions and perceptions of kajiado's local lekasi & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 1-9 5 context that shaped people's everyday experience of aid. kajiado's diverse food aid experience could then be interpreted while maintaining the depth of analysis. the data analysis utilized braun and clarke's (2022) six-phase approach to thematic analysis. the lead researcher's manual coding was not one-dimensional, focusing on how people modified their assistance and renegotiated trade-offs and ideas of fairness. the themes emerging from these data were shared with an independent second coder to discuss their thematic aspects. disagreement from this coder was handled via peer discussion. thematic saturation was achieved across the data, however, we did not treat this as evidence of completeness in the analysis; rather, we saw thematic saturation as a marker of strong internal coherence in the sample. following hossain et al. (2024), we kept the minority and outlier voices, rather than discarding them for the sake of analytic closure. this decision facilitates a developing consensus that saturation should not be applied to flatten difference, especially in socially uneven or politically sensitive contexts (steils, 2021). this study adhered to strict ethical consideration. all participants provided informed consent (either verbal or written depending on literacy) and they were anonymized to protect their identities. however, given that this was a study based in a humanitarian context, it is possible that the participants perceived the researchers as being linked to aid providers, which may have led participants to censor criticisms or exaggerate feelings of gratitude afterwards. a local facilitator explained the independence of the researcher and that their participation as a participant in the study would not have implications for any future aid. participants were reminded that they could withdraw from the interview at any time. these measures were helpful in reducing but not erasing the power asymmetries that characterize research in these contexts. the major context of long-term dependence on aid likely shaped the participants' openness in sharing their frustrations, disappointments, or feelings of unfairness, and this is a limitation that was accepted as part of the structural vulnerability that the research was embedded in. results this section presents the results of the qualitative study carried out in kajiado county between may and september 2024. the study involved 45 participants from five villages which had been affected by drought, through semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions (we engaged with 25 household members and 12 focus group participants and interviewed 8 key informants). while the results can’t be statistically generalized, they show common themes based off of common lived experiences. participants reflected on food aid as having two main interpretations: the practical value of food aid as a life-saving intervention in times of drought and food aid as ineffective for longer-term recovery. although not explicitly oppositional, these responses reflect a tension between short term relief and sustainable change in settings with food insecurity. overall, the participants stated that food aid played a necessary support for short term survival when food was scarce, specifically in times of peak drought periods, where 84% of, stated food assistance was mitigated starvation and provided households relief for immediate food shortage that would generally follow when herds of livestock failed, or markets collapsed. a male elder said: "without food relief, many people would die. this is not politics, this is just the reality." others acknowledged that food distributions were an essential form of support for children, elderly people, and pregnant women, but they also recognized that support has limits. only 12% of respondents thought food aid meaningfully supported long-term recovery or resilience. a woman from of the fgds put it succinctly:“when the food arrives, we eat. but when it ends, we go back to hunger. it helps us today, but not tomorrow.” a further 64% of participants reported falling back on reactive coping strategies, charcoal burning, casual labor, beadwork, when food aid was delayed or insufficient. these were widely seen as harmful, short-term responses rather than pathways toward economic stability. a mother from mashuuru sub-county said, “we wait for the relief food, but when it delays, we go to the forest for charcoal. it’s not a choice, it’s survival.” local officials echoed these concerns. as one assistant chief in kajiado west observed, “it is good, but it cannot carry us forward.” these findings make it clear that food aid is both necessary and inadequate, necessary to prevent starvation, but inadequate for building resilience. as one county-level relief coordinator noted, “we cannot stop giving food during emergencies, but we also can’t ignore that every year we’re feeding the same families.” the recurring reliance on aid year after year raised concerns about stagnation. rather than rejecting food aid, participants called for it to be repositioned within broader strategies that also promote self-reliance. table 1. summary of thematic findings and representative quotes theme interpretation illustrative quote food aid as essential for survival participants overwhelmingly emphasized the lifesaving role of food aid during peak drought periods. “without relief food, many would die. it’s not politics, it’s truth.” limited link to recovery or preparedness few respondents viewed food aid as helping them transition out of vulnerability. “it doesn’t build anything. it just stops the worst.” reliance on coping strategies when food aid fails charcoal burning, beadwork, and casual labor were common fallback options. “we burn charcoal not because we want to, but because we must.” food aid seen as both vital and inadequate aid was necessary but not sufficient to prevent longterm hardship. “it’s good, but it cannot carry us forward.” lekasi & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 1-9 6 concerning the role of food aid in promoting livelihood diversification within pastoralist communities, participants were more divided, but not ambivalent. among key informants, elders, and local leaders, food aid was widely regarded as critical for crisis survival, but its ability to facilitate meaningful shifts toward alternative livelihoods was considered minimal. most respondents (71%) stated that food aid wasn’t linked directly to any new income-generating practice. one youth in a fgd expressed this sentiment saying, “it feeds the body, not the business.” although a small number of respondents (14%) admitted that the temporary food security afforded by the aid allowed them to participate in casual jobs or trade opportunities; they also generally suggested that these opportunities were short-lived and weren't formally connected to any programming. only 10% of participants had encountered food aid initiatives that were part of broader packages, such as training, seed distribution, or start-up grants. in these instances, participants were more likely to describe a transition from basic survival to small-scale livelihood activities. a woman from kajiado west reported, “when we are full, we can think about other things, like selling milk or beads.” another added, “some organizations gave food, but also helped with seeds and training. this support helped some families start vegetable gardens and small businesses.” these experiences, however, were exceptions. most participants expressed frustration with the absence of structured, integrated support models. a local leader said, “if they gave goats instead of maize, maybe we would change.” this evidence demonstrates that although food assistance is critical in sustaining pastoralist households during emergencies, it typically does not contribute to a material shift towards livelihood diversification, as it rarely has established links to training, resources, or enterprise support; while food assistance interventions are successful, the relationship between the intervention and longer-term adaptation goals, in other words, economic resilience in the targeted communities, is tenuous. table 2. summary of perceptions on food aid and livelihood diversification theme interpretation illustrative quote minimal direct link to diversification participants did not associate food aid with longterm livelihood shifts. “it feeds the body, not the business.” youth respondent, fgd food aid sometimes enables short-term stability a few participants used the temporary relief to engage in small-scale trade or labor. “when we are full, we can think about other things, like selling milk or beads.” female respondent missed opportunity to link aid with resilience many viewed food aid as a missed gateway to broader economic empowerment. “if they gave goats instead of maize, maybe we would change.” local leader absence of integrated support models no structured food-for-work or conditional schemes were reported in the study area. “we’ve heard of such programs, but not here.” ngo officer discussions this section discusses the main trends identified in the findings in regard to the effects of targeted food aid interventions on household food security and alternative livelihoods for pastoralist(s) in kajiado county. the evidence indicates that food aid is critical to survival at times of drought and/or economic shocks. nevertheless, while food aid is critical at times of emergency, the evidence from the study revealed that food aid is ineffective at fostering long-term resilience and sustainable livelihoods. the discussion incorporates recent literature that can contextualize these findings and enables reflection on additional ramifications for policy and practice. the food assistance between 2020 and 2025 was critical during the drought phases and food crisis. the food distribution clearly benefited many households to avoid hunger and most significantly during the once devastating periods when livestock deaths and low milk production could not return households to their primary food sources. thus, food aid did what it was intended to do during times of crisis, help moving through the acute and immediate need for food. certainly, nyahunda (2021) shared similar themes when looking at food aid as a temporary safety net for rural populations subjected to environmental and economic stress. nevertheless, food aid’s immediate contribution notwithstanding, failed to address ongoing structured solutions that addressed food insecurity. many of them explained that food aid had its value to them in the short term, but did now tackle the causes of hunger. food aid merely provided a cycle of temporary supports, and ultimately recurrent vulnerabilities when it ceased. this aligns with inman et al.’s (2024) contention that aid responses only deal with the symptoms like, food shortages, but not the structural issues like climate shocks, the loss of grazing ground, poor market access, insecure land tenure, etc. respondents were very frustrated with visits from aid agencies, especially kajiado women who pointed to delays in the aid, prior claims of bias, and variability in targeting. vulnerable households were often walked past, while politically connected households received aid on multiple occasions. this is indicative of a larger problem in centralised systems of aid that jackson and piggott-mckellar (2021) argue are disconnected from local needs and are also prone to reproducing existing power relations. in kajiado, it was often clan or party lines that determined the distribution, leaving already vulnerable households and female headed households far behind. these patterns were not new, they echoed long tolerated inequalitites within both governmental apparatus and traditional institutions. even among this very broken system, there were some households that were able to contingency use food aid some applied that support to probably managing to earn a few cents petty trading, transport and/or temporary labour. but again, these were idiosyncratic experiences of resourcefulness not outcomes prescribed by aid. this supports shisler et al.'s (2023) assertion that food aid cannot be used to facilitate economic change unless it has the potential to viscously connect to mobility pathways like vocational education, asset support and access to finance. women were often the key lekasi & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(1) (2025), 1-9 7 facilitators of food aid within households, they were frontline workers looking after the survival of the household, but their role did not go as far as the design or governance of food aid, nor was there a bridge for them to convert this level of support into advantageous, long-term productive benefits given the barriers to new resources and assets, land, credit, and supporting market opportunities. as bowen et al.'s (2022) indicate the potential role of aid in reproducing and further entrenching gendered inequalities without consciously and institutionally addressing them. politics influenced nearly every part of the process. interviewees described how food aid was given out along clan lines or distributed through nontransparent, patronage-based networks. omulo (2022) raises similar issues, and points out that most aid agencies ignored or underestimated how much local power relations influenced the outcome of distribution. in kajiado, it meant food aid was frequently buttressing the very systems that kept vulnerable groups, particularly women and poor households, marginalized. even when food aid helped households avoid starvation during rainfall failure or livestock loss, it did nothing to create new economic opportunities. support was short-term and rarely tied to other developmental inputs like skills training or productive assets. in the words of an elder, “food aid helps families survive drought, but does not provide the skills or resources to start creating better livelihoods.” this is similar to nyahunda (2021), who emphasized that food aid, without being linked to an overall strategy, could simply prolong dependency and not reduce it. all in all, the results tell us that we need to think about food assistance as part of a resilience agenda rather than an emergency response in and of itself. targeted food distributions will continue to play an important role in minimizing the impacts of emergent crises on livelihoods in the short-term. however, structural interventions that aim to disrupt chronic vulnerability should be involved as it connects with food assistance. thus, programs should be developed that connect food assistance, with vocational training, micro-grants, and asset recovery support and business development services. in addition, the gendered barriers that are limiting women's access to market diversification must be dealt with, and this will require supporting women to gain access to resources like land, inputs and markets. overall, food support in kajiado county helps communities cope during crisis times but is often viewed as failing to provide meaningful longer-term change. in order to be supportive of creating resilience and diversifying livelihoods, aid must work within a broader development lens, engage with the systemic inequalities that underline who receives help and how. political ecology offers us a useful space to think about these challenges, emphasizing the importance of empowering communities and reforming the institutions they engage with, so that food support is more equitable, effective, and rooted in their reality. conclusions the research looked at food assistance to maasai pastoralists living within kajiado county, to determine if food aid creates long-term resilience or simply addressing short-term crisis relief demand. food aid was, of course essential during drought periods, albeit hunger related to livestock loss was extreme; brining families beyond intervention level, but food assistance largely did not sustain or further constitute improvement in coping capacity, as such assistance almost always occurred in isolation of any other kind of contextual support, such as income opportunities, training, and productive assets. using a political ecology lens, we could see how political processes and social relations of power, configured both the relevance and impacts of food assistance. food assistance, rather than being situated to align with the priorities of the community, was used to promote the external agenda of delivery agents and created limitations on local agency and livelihood diversification. in conclusion, food assistance should not occur in isolation, instead food assistance work to embed food assistance into approaches driven entirely by the community which aim to address structural constraints and focus on developing long-term resilience. in practical terms, this means agricultural organizations should embed food assistance into community development plans and shift from imposed external solutions to equitable, locally driven approaches. the research had a narrow geographic focus and an inability to assess longer timeframes, but as such, suggested future research opportunities include regional comparative studies of food assistance, analyzing gendered dimensions, including male and female pastoralist intended and unintended impacts of food assistance, and extended studies focusing on shifts from dependency to eventually being self-sufficient. author contributions: conceptualization, s.o.l. and a.e.o.; methodology, s.o.l.; software, s.o.l.; validation, s.o.l.; formal analysis, s.o.l. and a.e.o.; investigation, s.o.l.; resources, s.o.l.; data curation, s.o.l.; writing – original draft preparation, s.o.l. and a.e.o.; writing – review & editing, s.o.l. and a.e.o.; visualization, s.o.l.; supervision, s.o.l.; project administration, s.o.l.; funding acquisition, s.o.l. and a.e.o. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references ajl, m. 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(2021). enhancing the adaptive capacity of pro-poor populations for climate change adaptation: analysis of cash transfer programs in rural ghana. local environment, 26(1), 146-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2020.1867839 publisher’s note: american social science society stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2025 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by american social science society is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2022.02.002 https://doi.org/10.1111/nejo.12448 https://doi.org/10.1057/s41295-021-00256-3 https://doi.org/10.9734/ajaees/2020/v38i1030442 https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2020.1867839 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 14 social science research aijssr vol 16 no 2 (2025) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by american social science society, usa socio-economic factors influencing primary school dropout among households in kitui east subcounty, kenya benjamin mutua kituu (a) antony wando odek (b)1 (a)master’s student, department of development studies, st. paul’s university, limuru, kenya; e-mail: mdsdist415821@spu.ac.ke (b)senior lecturer, department of development studies, st. paul's university, limuru, kenya; e-mail: aodek@spu.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 30th june 2025 reviewed & revised: 30th june to 8th november 2025 accepted: 10th november 2025 published: 13th november 2025 keywords: school dropout, parental income, parental literacy, household engagement, rural kenya jel classification codes: i21, d12, o15, r11 peer-review model: external peer-review was done through double-blind method. a b s t r a c t despite national reforms like free primary education and the push for universal transition to secondary school, school dropout remains widespread in kitui east sub-county. this study examines the socio-economic factors associated with school retention, focusing on parental financial status, education, and involvement. a mixed-methods design was adopted, drawing a sample of 377 households from a population of 17,497 through cluster, random, and purposive sampling. quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. the results show that 48.7% of households report being unable to afford schooling, which is associated with three times the odds of dropout (or = 3.20, 95% ci: 1.54–6.62). financial constraints further increase the risk of dropout (or = 2.44, 95% ci: 1.20–4.98). higher parental education is protective, with diploma (or = 0.34, 95% ci: 0.14–0.84) and degree holders (or = 0.24, 95% ci: 0.09–0.66) less likely to report dropout. literacy practices such as reading educational materials (or = 0.41, 95% ci: 0.19–0.87) and parental involvement through school visits (or = 0.31, 95% ci: 0.13–0.73) significantly reduce risk. a larger family size is associated with a higher likelihood of dropout (or = 2.04, 95% ci: 1.08–3.86). thematic findings reinforce these quantitative results, linking irregular income, high schooling costs, and limited literacy practices to decisions to withdraw children from school. the study indicates that household income security, parental literacy, and active engagement in education are the key household-level factors associated with pupil retention in a rural kenyan sub-county. © 2025 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction universal primary education remains central to global education agendas, yet progress has slowed. estimates suggest that the number of out-of-school children and youth rose by about 6 million in 2023 to roughly 250 million worldwide, while primary-completion rates increased only marginally, from 84% in 2015 to 87% in 2023 (unesco, 2023), a pace insufficient to meet sustainable development goal 4 (reimers, 2024; soudien et al., 2022). the covid-19 pandemic worsened exclusion through prolonged school closures, economic strain, and rising teenage pregnancies, leaving global youth literacy and adult-education participation largely stagnant (ramaiya et al., 2023; soudien et al., 2022). household socioeconomic status remains one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of educational outcomes. empirical evidence shows that wealthier families translate education policies into higher retention and completion, while poorer households remain constrained by poverty, limited parental education, and household labor demands (evans & yuan, 2022; maldonado et al., 2022). these findings suggest that policy reforms, although necessary, are insufficient without interventions that directly address household-level barriers affecting children's schooling. kenya reflects these global patterns. national estimates indicate that out-of-school ratios increased between 2021 and 2022 (wafubwa et al., 2024). exclusion is most severe in arid and semi-arid counties, where drought, household labor pressures, and limited educational infrastructure exacerbate dropout risks (lanyasunya, 2024; muthami et al., 2023; yusuf & ikiugu, 2024). the scientific problem addressed in this study is the limited empirical understanding of how household-level factors interact to influence primary-school dropout in rural kenyan settings. while existing studies highlight individual correlates, 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0009-0003-7500-8154 © 2025 by the authors. hosting by american social science society. peer review under responsibility of american social science society, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i2.2617 to cite this article: kituu, b. m., & odek, a. w. (2025). socio-economic factors influencing primary school dropout among households in kitui east sub-county, kenya. american international journal of social science research, 16(2), 14-24. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i2.2617 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.openaccess.nl/en https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i2.2617 https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8242-1371 https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7500-8154 kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 15 such as income, distance to school, or parental education, few have examined how these variables jointly shape dropout decisions within specific local contexts. this knowledge gap constrains the design of context-responsive interventions that strengthen school retention. this article, therefore, investigates household determinants of primary school dropout in kitui east sub-county. it employs a convergent mixed-methods design that integrates household surveys and key-informant interviews to capture both statistical patterns and local perspectives. the paper proceeds with the conceptual and theoretical framing, outlines the methodology, and presents and discusses the findings. lastly, it concludes with implications for education policy and practice in kenya. literature review this chapter presents the theoretical framework that guided the study and reviews relevant literature on the social and economic factors that affect children's educational outcomes. it highlights the key factors that influence school retention and academic achievement, providing a broad context for understanding the issues at hand. the chapter also identifies gaps in existing research that the study aimed to address. furthermore, it outlines the conceptual framework, illustrating the interrelationships between the variables that guided the study's investigation. theoretical review the study drew on social capital, human capital, and ecological systems theories to structure the analysis of householdlevel determinants of school dropout. social capital theory, advanced by putnam, holds that networks, norms, and trust provide access to information and support (van bakel & horak, 2024). it assumes that social relations can create or restrict opportunities. a key limitation is that not all networks are supportive because some reinforce exclusion and privilege (toyon, 2022). this limitation was acknowledged by distinguishing between bonding and bridging ties and by controlling for household socio-economic status to reduce bias. despite this, the theory was valuable for operationalizing parental involvement and local networks as measurable forms of support. human capital theory, advanced in the mid-20th century by economists such as gary becker, explains education as an investment that builds skills, enhances productivity, and improves future earnings for individuals and societies (nadezhina & avduevskaia, 2021). it assumes that households make rational choices about allocating resources to schooling (aslam et al., 2024). a limitation is that it tends to treat parental education as both an outcome and a determinant, which can create risks of multicollinearity and endogeneity. in this study, robustness checks were applied, and education was treated as an explanatory variable while avoiding causal claims. the strength of this theory was in linking parental literacy and qualifications to household decisions about school continuation. ecological systems theory, developed in the late 20th century by urie bronfenbrenner, explains that child development is influenced by dynamic interactions across interconnected systems, including the family, school, community, and broader environment (tudge et al., 2022). it assumes that individual outcomes cannot be understood apart from broader structures (hayes et al., 2022). however, the theory risks being applied too vaguely unless external factors are clearly specified and measured. in this study, it complemented the other two theories by incorporating external variables such as distance to school, local labor markets, and drought exposure, grounding dropout analysis in the broader institutional and environmental context. together, the three theories addressed one another's weaknesses. social capital focused on relational resources but risked ignoring structural constraints, which ecological systems captured. human capital explained how parental education and literacy influenced household investment decisions, but did not fully account for external shocks, which the ecological lens covered. ecological systems, while broad, was sharpened by the concrete mechanisms of social and human capital. this complementarity allowed the study to capture both household-level decisions and the wider forces shaping school dropout in kitui east sub-county (amali et al., 2023; akbayrak & douglas, 2022; yang & sanborn, 2021). empirical review of literature household income has long been recognized as a determinant of schooling outcomes, but evidence remains context-specific. in norway, parental unemployment was shown to lower completion rates (askeland et al., 2025). in india, longitudinal data linked household wealth to school retention (kumar et al., 2023), although family processes such as parental monitoring were not explored. across africa, poverty has been consistently associated with dropout: in zimbabwe, children from lowincome households were more likely to leave school (runhare et al., 2021); in nigeria, parental income strongly predicted retention (roman et al., 2022); in kenya, inability to afford uniforms and levies was identified as a key barrier (kerei et al., 2022; kotiano et al., 2022); and in cameroon, economic hardship limited attendance (ewondo mbebi, 2023). however, many of these studies used broad income categories or urban-based samples, limiting insight into rural households affected by shocks such as drought or crop failure. the present study improved on this by examining affordability at the household level and integrating both routine and shock-related constraints into survey and interview data. parental literacy is another central factor influencing school dropout. in ethiopia, parental literacy increased the likelihood of keeping children enrolled (kim et al., 2022). in zimbabwe, children of literate parents had higher attendance probabilities (sibanda et al., 2021). in kenya, parents with secondary education were more involved in supervising homework and attending school meetings (owino et al., 2023). evidence from asia and east africa further supports this pattern: in pakistan, literacy enhanced participation in ptas (abid et al., 2021), while in tanzania, literate parents were more engaged in school committees (kigobe et al., 2021). a limitation in these studies is that literacy was narrowly measured as formal schooling or years of education, overlooking functional skills such as reading circulars or interpreting sensitization kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 16 messages. the current study addressed this gap by combining indicators of formal education with measures of functional literacy, allowing for a more comprehensive assessment of parental influence. parental involvement has been widely shown to reduce the risk of dropout. in indonesia, family support and monitoring directly lowered dropout probabilities (fatimah et al., 2021). in norway, close supervision and parental expectations provided strong protection against disengagement (schmid et al., 2021). comparative evidence across several countries found both home-based and school-based involvement critical for retention (yang et al., 2023). in spain, continued parental engagement sustained enrollment (gil et al., 2021), while in zambia, participation in school committees improved retention (mulubale, 2022). in tanzania, consistent family monitoring promoted regular attendance (mwinyi et al., 2024). in kenya, involvement through pta activities and supervision reinforced persistence (muthami et al., 2023). nevertheless, most of these studies relied on cross-sectional or qualitative data, limiting causal inference. few explicitly tested whether involvement moderated other household-level disadvantages, such as poverty or long distance to school. this study expanded the scope by treating involvement as both a direct factor and a potential buffer against adverse socio-economic conditions. despite the consistency of findings across income, literacy, and involvement, several methodological limitations recur. studies in ethiopia and zimbabwe equated literacy with the highest qualification, while kenyan evidence did not test whether literacy buffered against income shocks. pakistani and tanzanian research relied on cross-sectional data, preventing causal conclusions. similarly, income-focused analyses often failed to account for how shocks or distance amplified household vulnerabilities. evidence on involvement rarely tests interactions between family behavior and structural barriers. this study addressed these limitations by integrating survey and interview methods, combining formal and functional literacy measures, and testing interaction effects (e.g., income × distance and literacy × income) using logistic regression. the study was guided by a conceptual framework that modeled dropout, measured at both household and community levels, as the dependent variable. figure 1 summarizes the conceptual model, showing how household resources, parental behaviors, and contextual constraints interact to shape dropout risk. conceptual framework source: self the independent variables were parental income, literacy, and involvement, with distance to school serving as a moderating factor that intensified the effects of low income on dropout risk. the framework was anchored in human capital theory, emphasizing education as a household investment; social capital theory, highlighting parent–school–community linkages; and ecological systems theory, situating dropout within layered household and community contexts. together, these theories complemented one another by linking resources, behaviors, and environments. at the same time, their limitations — such as human capital theory's focus on individual returns and social capital theory's neglect of structural poverty — were offset through integration. materials and methods the study used a mixed-methods design, combining structured household questionnaires and key informant interviews to examine socio-economic determinants of drop-out at the primary school level in kitui east sub-county. this predominantly rural kitui county is home to the kamba community, whose socio-cultural practices shape household-level decision-making regarding education. the sub-county has an estimated population of about 123,000 people and approximately 17,500 households distributed across six wards: mwitika, nzambani, chuluni, kyamatu, endau, and kaliku (kimanzi et al., 2024). parental income  income source  affordability of education  payment strategies  school type (public/private)  cost-related barriers (uniform, joblessness, transport) primary school dropouts in kitui east subcounty  prevalence of dropout  school attendance status  dropout outcomes  known dropout cases independent variables dependent variable parental literacy  education level  value placed on education  awareness level/academic requirements  belief in education’s impact moderating variable -distance to school parental willingness in the involvement of the child's education  visit frequency, purpose, and usefulness of visits  dropout prevention actions  monitoring of the child's progress kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 17 livelihood is subsistence-based on farming, and household income is therefore at the mercy of fluctuations in rainfall and regular droughts. poor transport facilities, the distance to school, and restricted access to secondary schools further limit the resources of resource-poor households (wafubwa et al., 2024). kitui east was selected purposively because it offers a setting within which family-level variables are most important to educational success. the area experiences high dropout rates, as noted by the ministry of education, and thus represents a well-suited case for examining socio-economic pressure at the family level. this setting provided a suitable backdrop for examining how the stability of income, literacy levels, and active parental engagement influence school attendance choices within the study's household-level framework. the sample of 377 households was computed using the krejcie and morgan formula for a finite population and distributed proportionately to the six wards. households were randomly sampled within wards from official rolls to ensure equal selection probability (dubey & kothari, 2022; hazari, 2024). household heads or their senior members in their absence were selected as respondents. of 377 questionnaires distributed, 267 were returned and accepted as valid, with an overall response rate of 71 percent. non-response checking between respondents and the sampling frame was by demographics and ward representation; weighting and sensitivity analysis were applied where differences threatened representativeness. instrument development and validation followed standard protocols. questionnaires and interview guides were reviewed by experts and piloted in kitui central sub-county with 37 individuals, representing 10% of the target sample (taheri & okumus, 2024). the content validity index was 0.87, and likert-type scales measuring parental income, literacy, participation, and attitudes toward dropout were very reliable (cronbach's α = 0.85). item-total correlations and exploratory factor analysis validated construct validity. quantitative spss analysis involved descriptive statistics (means, percentages, and standard deviations), chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression with dropout coded as a dichotomous outcome variable (1 = dropout, 0 = non-dropout). qualitative interview and focus group discussion data were transcribed, coded deductively and inductively, and used to contextualize survey trends. triangulation among quantitative and qualitative sources enhanced knowledge and substantiated the conclusions to a greater extent (creswell & plano clark, 2023). results were presented systematically, beginning with descriptive statistics of household socio-economic status and demographics: means, percentages, and standard deviations were used to characterize household income, parental involvement, and literacy rates. cross-tabulations and chi-square tests examined the association between dropout and household variables, and logistic regression estimated the predictors of dropout and their relative contributions. qualitative focus group and interview stories were woven together to reinforce quantitative trends, ensuring both numerical information and household opinions are heard. tables and figures were used to highlight statistical results, with narrative summaries bridging these to qualitative results for cohesion and understanding. ethical permission was obtained from the university research ethics committee, and a research permit was issued by the national commission for science, technology and innovation (nacosti). the respondents were informed of the purpose, procedures, and voluntariness of the research, with advance written consent before data collection. anonymization and secure handling of data ensured confidentiality, and reports on findings were presented only in an aggregated form. such measures ensured compliance with ethical standards for research on human subjects. results and discussions this chapter reports the findings of the study on the social and economic factors associated with school dropouts in kitui east sub-county. the results of the study were organized according to the objectives, focusing on parental income, literacy, and willingness to invest in their children's education. the discussion relates the findings to prior empirical research and theoretical perspectives to present a holistic view of the main determinants of dropout. effects of parental income on school dropouts the first objective of the study was to determine the effects of parental income on school dropout rates in kitui east subcounty. the findings are summarized below: table 1. household economic factors affecting children’s education (n = 267) question category response option frequency percentage (%) household’s source of income selling livestock 89 33.3 business 89 33.3 formal employment 45 16.9 other source 44 16.5 ability to afford education yes 137 51.3 no 130 48.7 if yes, how do you manage? (n = 137) savings 45 32.8 bursaries 45 32.8 family support 47 34.3 type of school attended public schools 222 83.1 private schools 45 16.9 challenges in catering for education jobless household 178 66.6 no money for a uniform 45 16.9 no transport to school 44 16.5 the primary sources of household income were livestock sales (33.3%), small-scale business (33.3%), formal employment (16.9%), and others (16.5%). slightly more than half of respondents (51.3%) could manage their child's kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 18 education, while 48.7% reported hardship. reports from households that could manage education came from 32.8% who used savings, 32.8% who utilized bursaries, and 34.3% who asked family members for support. public schools make up the primary education setting (83.1%), alongside severe headwinds such as joblessness (66.6%), inability to afford uniforms (16.9%), and limited transport (16.5%). therefore, the data show that household income instability significantly affects educational access. just under half of households do not include primary education expenses in their budgets, which is clearly a significant financial burden. family support is a coping mechanism, but drawing on it also has its challenges, as you cannot assume that all relatives are reliable. qualitative data illuminates this further. one respondent stated "we do not have enough money to support all our children's needs, especially when things are bad. sometimes we cannot afford both food and school fees." another reported: "when we do not have enough, relatives sometimes help, but it is not always guaranteed, and sometimes they too are struggling." these statements underscore the vulnerability of formal income sources and the insufficiency of informal support. families are frequently faced with trade-offs and basic needs, which increases the risk of dropping out of school. the results reported in this study are consistent with previous studies. kotieno et al. (2022) found that income volatility among rural households in eastern kenya is a significant cause of dropout, particularly in households that depend on livestock or smallscale businesses. kumar et al. (2023) also reported that low-income households, most of whom are employed informally, experience a high rate of educational interruptions, particularly due to income loss. this study confirms similar experiences articulated in kitui east and highlights that low formal employment opportunities compound this vulnerability. in general, parental income is a strong determinant of school attendance and risk for dropout. families experiencing financial insecurity are forced to face difficult decisions between basic needs and educational requirements. to minimize the risk of school dropouts among families facing these pressures, formal policy interventions, such as bursaries, uniform support, and transport support, are needed. however, for sustainable long-term interventions, a program to create stable climate-resilient income opportunities for households needs to be developed. to explore this relationship further, we cross-tabulated household income source and education affordability and used a chi-square test of independence. our assumptions were met: each respondent contributed their information once, expected cell counts were greater than 5, and both variables were categorical. the results are presented in table 2. table 2. cross-tabulation of household source of income and ability to afford child’s education (n = 267) ability to afford education selling livestock business formal employment other sources total yes 45 (16.9%) 50 (18.7%) 30 (11.2%) 12 (4.5%) 137 (51.3%) no 44 (16.5%) 39 (14.6%) 15 (5.6%) 32 (12.0%) 130 (48.7%) total 89 (33.3%) 89 (33.3%) 45 (16.9%) 44 (16.5%) 267 (100%) chi-square value (χ²): 15.29; degrees of freedom (df): 3; p-value: 0.0016 the analysis shows a statistically significant relationship between household income source and the ability to afford children's education (χ² = [value if available], p = 0.0016). households engaged in business or formal work had the highest likelihood of affording education compared to households that depended on livestock or informal income. this shows that predictable income can improve a household's capacity to support education, while climate-sensitive livelihoods can create uncertainty that disrupts educational continuity. climate-related shocks, notably prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall, have direct impacts on households reliant on livestock, reducing household incomes and forcing children to miss school. one respondent indicated that: "when there is drought and i cannot sell any animals, my children stay home because i cannot pay school levies or buy uniforms." this observation aligns with kerei et al. (2024), who linked income volatility in eastern kenya's pastoral zones to higher dropout rates. the present study extends their findings by providing statistical evidence (p = 0.0016) and demonstrating real-time household responses. applying resource dependency theory, families that depend on climate-vulnerable resources face greater educational risk because their ability to fund schooling relies on unpredictable external conditions. in contrast, families with formal employment or diversified income demonstrated more consistent support for children's education. this explains why households with unstable income often rely on irregular support networks or make trade-offs prioritizing survival over schooling. these results extend kumar et al. (2023) by showing that not only low income but also the reliability and source of income are central determinants of school access in rural kenya. beyond financial constraints, cultural and gendered dynamics exacerbate dropout risk, particularly for girls. respondents reported early marriage, domestic caregiving responsibilities, and traditional gender expectations as barriers. one participant noted: “my daughter dropped out after class six to help take care of her siblings… we could not afford boarding, and the day school is far.” this statement illustrates how financial constraints force families to prioritize immediate household needs over education, particularly for girls, and how distance and boarding costs exacerbate the risk of dropout. these findings corroborate those of kotiano et al. (2022), showing that economic hardship and gender roles intersect to increase female dropout rates. the study further links these patterns to both financial instability and environmental stressors, highlighting how climate-sensitive livelihoods amplify the educational risks for girls. kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 19 overall, school dropout in kitui east emerges from the combined effect of income volatility, climate-related shocks, and entrenched gendered expectations. households dependent on unpredictable income sources, such as livestock sales, face a higher risk of interrupted schooling, while cultural norms, including early marriage and domestic responsibilities, intensify the impact of financial instability. these insights underscore that strategies addressing school retention must account for this intersection, as measures targeting only financial support, climate adaptation, or gender norms in isolation are unlikely to mitigate dropout risk fully. effects of parental literacy on school dropouts the second objective examined how parental literacy influences school dropout in kitui east sub-county, focusing on educational level, the value placed on children's education, siblings' educational attainment, and exposure to educational sensitization messages. the analysis considered both formal education and informal learning or vocational experience, recognizing their potential to support children's schooling. of 267 respondents, 44.9% held a certificate, 3.7% a diploma, and 1.5% a university degree, while 49.8% had no formal education. despite low literacy levels, all respondents reported valuing education for their children. however, only 33.3% had read sensitization materials, and two-thirds reported that siblings had not completed school, suggesting a pattern of educational discontinuity within households. the findings are summarized in table 3. table 3. effects of parental literacy on school dropouts (n = 267) characteristic category frequency percentage (%) education level certificate 120 44.9 diploma 10 3.7 degree 4 1.5 none 133 49.8 value education for children yes 267 100 no 0 0 siblings completed education yes 89 33.3 no 178 66.7 read sensitization messages yes 89 33.3 no 178 66.7 qualitative data reinforced these trends. parents without formal education emphasized the importance of schooling despite limited capacity to assist academically: "i never went to school myself, but i want my children to go far. even if i do not understand their books, i always tell them to work hard." (female, 48 years, kaliku ward) a respondent shared: "no one in my family finished school. my older children also dropped out because we did not see education as necessary back then. now i regret it." (male, 52 years, zombe ward). another participant remarked. “sometimes i have to choose between sending them to school or buying food; it is a hard choice,” (male, 49 years, chuluni ward). one of the community leaders interviewed observed: “many parents in this area say they value education, but without the skills to help with homework or follow up on school matters, children often lack motivation and drop out when challenges arise.” (key informant, kitui east) these findings illustrate that while parents express strong educational values, low literacy and systemic barriers limit effective engagement. applying bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, parental literacy affects dropout risk across multiple layers: at the microsystem level, parents’ direct interactions are constrained by literacy; at the mesosystem level, weak home–school connections reduce support; at the exosystem level, outreach efforts are often text-based and poorly adapted; and at the macrosystem level, social norms and poverty cycles reinforce disengagement. the patterns also reflect the uneven distribution of cultural capital (bourdieu, 1986). parents with diplomas or degrees possess institutionalized and embodied knowledge that facilitates navigation of school systems. in kitui east, many parents rely on practical skills rather than formal literacy, which does not indicate disengagement but suggests they are underserved. sensitization efforts reached only 33.3% of respondents, likely reflecting a mismatch in format rather than a lack of interest, consistent with yang et al. (2023), who emphasize oral, peer-led, or radio-based approaches in low-literacy contexts. intergenerational dropout trends observed among 66.7% of respondents support kim et al.'s (2022) findings that educational behaviors persist across generations due to systemic exclusion rather than personal choices. in kitui east, dropout is shaped by interactions across ecological layers: household poverty (microsystem), communication gaps with schools (mesosystem), and underinvestment in rural education (exosystem and macrosystem). while parents clearly value education, their capacity to support learning is undermined by low literacy, limited institutional engagement, and structural constraints. this suggests that interventions should target multiple levels of the ecological system. microsystem-level approaches include parent workshops using oral, visual, and participatory methods. mesosystem-level strategies could strengthen school-community collaboration through local media, churches, and community centers. exosystem-level interventions could deploy mobile campaigns in local languages, focusing on mothers kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 20 and caregivers. at the macrosystem level, policy initiatives promoting adult education, gender equity, and support for families with multiple dropout cases are necessary. effects of parental willingness to be involved in children’s education on school dropouts the study examined how parental willingness to engage in their children’s education influences school dropout in kitui east sub-county. table 4 presents the survey findings. table 4. effects of parental willingness to be involved in children’s education on school dropouts question response frequency percentage (%) do you visit the school to check on your child's progress? yes 178 66.7 no 89 33.3 if yes, how frequent? every week 59 33.3 every month 89 50 termly 30 16.7 never 0 0 are the visits helpful? yes 178 66.7 no 89 33.3 do you think the size of your family affects your involvement in their education? yes 223 83.3 no 44 16.7 a majority of parents (178 of 267, 66.7%) reported visiting schools to monitor their children's academic progress. among these, 50.0% visited monthly, 33.3% weekly, and 16.7% termly. all parents who reported school visits engaged to some extent, and 66.7% perceived these visits as helpful. a substantial 83.3% of respondents acknowledged that a large family size limited their involvement, highlighting how household composition constrains active engagement. these results suggest a relationship between parental involvement and reduced dropout risk. regular school visits provide parents with timely information on academic performance, behavioral issues, and emerging needs, positioning them to intervene early. conversely, parents who do not engage regularly may leave children without guidance or oversight, increasing the risk of absenteeism, disengagement, and dropout. large families exacerbate this effect, reducing the individual attention each child receives and the capacity for consistent monitoring. qualitative insights reinforce the survey data. parents emphasized the motivational and monitoring role of school engagement: "they help me know the progress of my children." “the more the parent helps, the more it encourages the children to learn and perform well in school.” a different parent highlighted the role of education level in influencing involvement: “the more educated the parent, the more they encourage the children to learn.” (female, 35 years, kaliku ward) school officials observed that parents with multiple school-age children or limited financial resources often struggle to remain actively involved in their children's learning. the present study confirmed this pattern: many parents value education but face daily constraints such as time pressure, limited literacy, and a lack of transport or money for school activities. comparable evidence from other contexts also shows that consistent parental involvement, both at home and in school activities, reduces dropout risk and supports retention (abid et al., 2021; kim et al., 2022; mulubale, 2022; owino et al., 2023; yang et al., 2023). however, the findings here challenge the idea that changing parental attitudes alone will improve engagement. belief in education does not automatically translate into active support when households face structural and economic barriers. effective strategies must therefore go beyond awareness creation; they should address material constraints, offer flexible participation options, and strengthen parents' functional literacy so they can practically support their children's schooling. in sum, the greater parents' willingness to be involved, the lower the risk of dropping out of school; however, this protective effect is constrained by factors such as family size and economic pressures. it is unlikely that any interventions to promote engagement, without addressing these structures, will be fully effective. evidence demonstrates that targeted interventions, such as flexible visitation schedules, formal parent workshops, and community approaches to support larger or vulnerable families, will enhance engagement and reduce dropout rates. regression analysis to understand how socio-economic factors influence primary school dropout in kitui east sub-county, a binary logistic regression was conducted. a school dropout within a household served as the dependent variable, while scoring 1 indicated yes and 0 indicated no. the independent variables are divided into three groups: parental income, parental literacy, and parental willingness to participate in their children's education. multiple indicators represented each variable. two binary indicators measured parental income by assessing the household's ability to pay educational expenses and past financial difficulties related to schooling. the study examined parental literacy using two measures: the parents' educational attainment (none, certificate, diploma, degree) and their ability to read educational sensitization materials. the analysis of parental involvement consisted of three elements: school visit frequency and the impact of family size on parents' participation and school attendance. the odds ratios for individual variables were estimated using logistic regression, controlling for the other factors, to understand the impact of a set of separate socio-economic factors on school drop-out. the overall fit statistics, including kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 21 the chi-square test, nagelkerke r², and classification accuracy, were used to assess the model's goodness-of-fit and predictive power. the results are displayed in table 5. table 5. logistic regression analysis predicting likelihood of school dropout predictor b se wald df p exp(b) 95% ci for exp(b) parental income cannot afford education (1 = yes) 1.162 0.378 9.438 1 .002** 3.197 1.543 – 6.624 financial constraint experienced (1 = yes) 0.893 0.362 6.097 1 .014* 2.443 1.198 – 4.981 parental literacy certificate (ref = none) -0.781 0.41 3.628 1 0.057 0.458 0.205 – 1.024 diploma -1.065 0.437 5.949 1 .015* 0.344 0.142 – 0.836 degree -1.439 0.518 7.724 1 .005** 0.237 0.085 – 0.658 reads education materials (1 = yes) -0.904 0.386 5.486 1 .019* 0.405 0.188 – 0.873 parental willingness to be involved visits school (1 = yes) -1.177 0.442 7.081 1 .008** 0.308 0.130 – 0.729 frequency of visits (ref = never) termly -0.322 0.418 0.593 1 0.441 0.725 0.319 – 1.648 monthly -0.845 0.387 4.768 1 .029* 0.43 0.201 – 0.921 weekly -1.208 0.437 7.646 1 .006** 0.299 0.126 – 0.709 family size limits involvement (1 = yes) 0.712 0.327 4.744 1 .029* 2.038 1.77 – 3.861 model statistics: chi-square = 48.782, df = 11, p < 0.001; -2 log likelihood = 251.216; nagelkerke r² = 0.292; classification accuracy = 72.3% the results show that parental involvement in children's education significantly reduces the incidence of dropout. parents who visited their child's school had 69.2% lower odds of reporting a dropout (or=0.308, p=0.008). the more frequently parents engaged, the stronger the effect: once-monthly visits translated into a 57% reduction (or= 0.430, p= 0.029); weekly visits resulted in a 70.1% reduction (or= 0.299, p= 0.006). on the other hand, households with a larger family size had twice the odds (or=2.038, p=0.029) of reporting dropout. financial instability remained a strong predictor: parents who could not afford to send a child to school had over 3 times the odds of experiencing dropout (or=3.197), and parents who reported prior financial instability had 2.44 times the odds. higher parental education was associated with a lower likelihood of dropout: or for diploma holder = 0.015344 (p = 0.015); or=0.237rep=0.005s = 0.237 (p = 0.005). engaging with sensitization materials was also negatively associated with dropout rates (or = 0.405, p = 0.019), suggesting that access to knowledge is a complementary mechanism to formal education in supporting retention. qualitative data corroborate these findings. participants noted: "it is hard for us to keep the children in school when we cannot afford the fees, and many times, i have seen my children drop out because of the financial challenges" (participant 12). "we are struggling with school fees, and when we do not have money, our children end up leaving school to look for work" (participant 34). "i know that when i went to school, i understood the value of education and have made sure my children stay in school" (participant 46). these statements show how financial instability restricts schooling and how parental literacy shapes supporting actions. social capital theory explains that frequent visits to schools build bonding capital and solidify trust-based relationships, thereby deepening educational engagement. bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory provides a framework for understanding these impacts. parental engagement at the microsystem level supports children directly; interactions at the mesosystem level provide a connection for home and school; however, exosystem and macrosystem factors that constrain engagement (e.g., work obligations, number of children at home) affect educational engagement. human capital theory depicts how parental education and informal learning from sensitization materials increase opportunities to support children. in summary, higher parental engagement, literacy, and stable household income are associated with lower dropout rates. however, these findings are tempered by household size and larger socio-economic pressures. therefore, efforts to prevent school dropout must address these intertwined aspects rather than focus on single-dimensional factors. the data reflect chronic systemic vulnerabilities: barriers to involvement may be mounting or long-standing, hindering motivated and present parents as well. conclusions this study sought to explore how household income, parents' literacy level, and active parental engagement influence dropout in kitui east sub-county. the findings reveal that economic hardship and larger family size are strongly associated with an increased likelihood of dropout, while greater parental education, literacy practices, and parental engagement reduce the likelihood of withdrawal. homes with unstable incomes were the most at risk, whereas stable-income homes were more likely to keep children in school. parental diplomas or degrees and their reading of instructional materials were key buffers, whereas parent visitation to school, especially weekly or monthly, dramatically reduced the odds of dropping out. these findings make three main contributions. first, they quantify household-level factors using logistic regression, giving a direct statistical estimate of school dropout risk. second, they treat parental literacy and participation as independent protective factors rather than by-products of income. third, they show how interactions between income insecurity, literacy, kituu & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 14-24 22 and household size accumulate to affect household decisions, and provide a mechanism-based account of dropout in a rural kenyan setting. theoretically, the results confirm perceiving school retention as a result of both household economic and social capital. in practice, the results confirm the importance of programs that enhance access to education and retention, combining flexible school fees, bursaries, and material support, as well as parent-teacher forums organized through parents' livelihoods. for county education boards and school authorities, the results highlight the value of interventions that address both financial and literacy constraints simultaneously. there are several limitations to be borne in mind. the descriptive survey design used here restricts causal inference. income and literacy were measured in broad categories, which could mask within-group heterogeneity or bias downward the effects of functional literacy. there is a possibility of non-response bias, with 29 percent of households not responding, and parental take-up may be endogenous, dependent on unobserved traits such as motivation. finally, results are particular to kitui east county and may not be generalizable elsewhere. follow-up studies should use quasi-experimental or longitudinal designs to assess causality, employ ongoing and functional measures of income and literacy, and employ econometric methods to adjust for endogeneity. comparative studies at the regional level would increase external validity, and detailed item-level reporting should be standard practice to improve reproducibility. author contributions: conceptualization, b.m.k. and a.w.o.; methodology, b.m.k.; software, b.m.k.; validation, b.m.k.; formal analysis, b.m.k. and a.w.o.; investigation, b.m.k.; resources, b.m.k.; data curation, b.m.k.; writing – original draft preparation, b.m.k. and a.w.o.; writing – review & editing, b.m.k. and a.w.o.; visualization, b.m.k.; supervision, a.w.o.; project administration, b.m.k.; funding acquisition, b.m.k. and a.w.o. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references abera, h. g. 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(2024). nomadic education policy's effectiveness in enhancing access to primary schools by learners in balambala sub-county, garissa county, kenya. journal of education, 4(6), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.70619/vol4iss6pp31-39 publisher’s note: american social science society stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2025 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by american social science society is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://doi.org/10.51709/19951272/winter2022/1 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92002-9_16 https://en.unesco.org/themes/education/sdgs/material/04 https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035308767.ch33 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315497 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1201/9781003128830-9 https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075859 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 20 social science research aijssr vol 14 no 1 (2023) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship, and human learning as drivers of performance in manufacturing industries in kenya ann muriithi (a)1 stephen makau muathe (a) school of business, economics and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: dorothywanjiru@gmail.com (b) school of business, economics and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: muathe.stephen@ku.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 29th june 2023 revised: 26th september 2023 accepted: 1st october 2023 published: 16th october 2023 keywords: strategic human capital, product diversification, customer care relationship, human learning jel classification codes: m1, l200, l66, l25, m41 a b s t r a c t strategic management is an essential element of contemporary businesses. firms have embraced these drivers to enhance performance and competitive advantage. constant environmental changes underline the need for strategies to respond and remain competitive. the study investigates the effect of strategic management drivers on the performance of confectionary manufacturing industries in kenya. strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship management, and organizational learning are the drivers examined. this study employed a descriptive research design to select a sample of 124 employees from the target companies. the data was analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression models. the results indicate that strategic management drivers significantly affect the performance of the confectionary manufacturing companies. the findings indicated that strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship management, and organization learning have a positive and significant effect on the performance of these firms. strategic human capital and organizational learning had a significant effect, while the influence of product diversification and customer relationship management was moderate. the study concludes that strategic management drivers can help companies enhance organizational performance. the results from this study imply that companies should embrace implementing these drivers to boost performance. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction strategic management, concerned with making strategic judgments and remedial measures to fulfill an organization's longterm plans and goals, has increased in popularity. as a result of its imperative contributions to business success (chuang, 2015). it is the setting where the business function is always changing, and several factors influence it. why some organizations flourish and others fail has historically been one of the most crucial questions in business strategic management iravo et al. (2013). hamel and prahalad (2013) describe strategic management as a set of activities that include the analysis of the organization, choices, and activities to build and maintain advantages of competitiveness. these advantages of competitiveness enable a company to investigate possibilities and mitigate challenges in the business environment. strategic management drivers enable businesses to survive, grow, and establish a long-lasting competitive advantage over their rivals (chuang, 2015). firms employ strategic management drives to shield themselves from a volatile business environment and to assure their survival and growth. strategically managed firms are more likely to see stronger revenue improvement, greater profit margins, and greater asset return. alkhafaji and nelson (2013) described strategy as a blueprint incorporating an entity's major aims, programs, and deed arrangement into a unified approach that indicates how businesses achieve their long-term objectives. food manufacturing companies have proved significant employment and benefit the global economy in developed and developing countries, but their full potential remains untapped (phapruke, 2012). organizations in the food industry worldwide have been found to employ 15% of any country's workforce. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0009-0007-2229-2656 © 2023 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2099 to cite this article: muriithi, a., & muathe, s. m. (2023). strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship, and human learning as drivers of performance in manufacturing industries in kenya. american international journal of social science research, 14(1), 20-32. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2099 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2099 https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2229-2656 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-5774 muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 21 for strategic choices to effectively impact organizational performance and competitiveness in manufacturing organizations, there must be key prospects that propel the entire process. these prospects are strategic management drivers (ketchen & short, 2016), including strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationships, and organizational learning. the rationale for this study was that not all organizations in kenya are engaged in applying strategic management drivers (lopokoiyit et al., 2013). several kenyan researchers have performed studies on the strategic management drivers of firms. muiga and namusonge (2020) investigated the strategic management drivers influencing the success of kenya’s three-tier commercial banks. the study concluded that strategic drivers improved the performance of kenya's three-tier commercial banks. in a related study on strategic management drivers and performance, muthoka (2017) revealed that strategic management drivers had an appositive effect on the performance of kenyan state corporations. however, the research was conducted in kenyan commercial banks and tourism state enterprises rather than the manufacturing sector. as a result, this research aims to establish the influence of strategic management drivers on the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county through the following objectives.  to assess the effect of strategic human capital on the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county  to examine the effect of product diversification on the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county  to establish the effect of customer relationship management on the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county  to explore the effect of organization learning on the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county literature review theoretical review a theoretical framework is a structure that supports a research study’s theory. it introduces and defines the theories that explain why the research problem under consideration exists. the theories under consideration are profit maximization theory, human capital theory, knowledge-based view theory, relationship marketing, and organization learning theory. profit maximization theory the profit maximization theory is traced to the times of adam smith’s earlier work, 1776, in the wealth of nations (abdullah, 2010). adam smith claimed that owners of firms would behave in their self-interest to maximize profit, hence increasing the total value to society. kumlachew (2014) asserts that a firm pursues its goals through return and, further precisely, through the transformation of its assets into products and amenities, which are subsequently sold to customers to earn a profit. in this sense, the firm's ability to stay in business depends on its ability to make a profit. if profits are not made and then utilized to buy resources and make more, the business eventually goes out of business. profit maximization theory states that strategies are motivated primarily (but not exclusively) by exploiting the business’ long-run productivity profits, with the eventual aim of establishing a strong edge of competitiveness above the competitor (jafar et al., 2010). the application of this theory to the subject of corporate turnaround is straightforward. the purpose of a company turnaround is to change its status from where it is to a better position. at that point, the first and only option is to boost the company's profitability. this is pertinent to the research because the theory is pertinent to the study since earnings are a key factor in determining how well a company performs. the management's goal is to maximize profits, which means getting higher returns at lower costs. companies' management would behave in the best interest of maximizing profit, giving them a competitive advantage (badaracco, 2016). by converting its resources into goods and services and then selling them to customers to make a profit, a company achieves its goals through the channel of profit. in this respect, the organization's effectiveness is contingent on its capability to make a profit, but only if those gains are reinvested in the company. the theory underpins the constructs of the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries. the human capital theory the proponents of human capital theory were becker and schultz in 1961. the theory is a framework of for examining how education, economic development, and social well-being are related (schultz, 1961). it is a furtherance of the concept of capital, which claims that investments in health, job training, and education are investments in capital that have positive, cost-effective, and societal outcomes for both the person and the larger society. training and education are thought to promote production that then results in financial benefits like higher pay and an increase in gdp (thomas et al., 2013). the quality of education and the timing of educational inputs are significant factors in the building of human capital (phillips, 2005). gary stressed that training and education are input investments that may lead to increased output. human capital is the impalpable, cost-effective worth of an employee's capability and talents. this embraces factors such as intelligence, training, education, talents, and other attributes that proprietor’s respect, such as faithfulness and aptness (eide & showalter, 2010). people enter the labor market with varying degrees of education, knowledge, experience, and ability, as well as their expectations. davenport (1999) posits that an employee with more training and education can exert a greater quantity of meaningful and fruitful energy than an individual with less training and education. the theory is pertinent to the study because, as a major theory of value creation, an organization relies on individuals' skills, knowledge, and capacity to improve organizational performance. in determining the associations between training and education as efforts and cost-effective and societal benefits as outcomes, human capital theory aids researchers and policymakers. the framework can also help policymakers understand the types and amounts of education and training muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 22 (such as their quality) that are most crucial for attaining anticipated results like profitable development and higher stages of public engagement. this theory underpins the construct of strategic human capital. knowledge-based view theory grant developed the theory in 1996 and states that firms are seen as stocks of knowledge resources. since they do not degrade as quickly as conventional economic productive elements do, it considers these knowledge and information stocks to be the primary foundations of competitive advantages. knowledge stocks are highly valued since they are socially complex and challenging to imitate. grant argues that various information foundations and capacities amongst businesses are the key determining factors of continued superiority advantage and greater business performance since informationfounded assets are usually hard to duplicate and complex. the knowledge-based view varies from other theories in that it places a strong emphasis on the part played by organizational factors in creating competitive advantage, with a focus on the intricate internal organization (grant, 1996). contrary to the rbv of the firm, which is further concerned with finding the crucial prolific (information) means and considering how these assets can be attained and sheltered, the kbv of the firm assumes that information can be managed with strict processes, guidelines, and clear accomplishment (vonkrogh, 1998). grant (1996) asserts that the mechanism by which economic value and competitive advantage are created, as well as the new essential element of competitiveness, is knowledge. knowledge should be recognized as a special type of capital because it is the most significant source of income (von krogh, 1998). given the importance of knowledge, businesses should approach it strategically (blomqvist & kianto, 2007). this theory is significant to the study because the knowledge-based approach is a management paradigm that provides firms with options to gain a competitive advantage through organizational learning. this is achieved by involving more staff members in the design and management of the business' operational objectives and long-term, transformational goals (mahoney, 1995). the constant learning and transfer of knowledge inside corporate organizations is required by variables, including the frequently occurring deregulations, the ever-changing competitive conditions in marketplaces brought on by globalization, and technological breakthroughs. this theory underpins the construct of product diversification. the theory of relationship marketing the proponent of the theory was american marketing expert berry (1983). according to berry, relationship marketing is a marketing activity that businesses use to build, nurture, and obtain successful connections with their customers. long have organizations explored ways to gain a competitive advantage in unpredictable and changing situations. some believed that focusing on providing superior quality products and services to clients would result in a competitive advantage (bitner 1992). others believe that businesses should adopt a more pragmatic approach in their search for 'best practices,’ taking into consideration compromises between the external environment and strategic goals (narver, park, & slater 1992). finally, others have proposed a more rational and cultural approach in which businesses work to instill a market orientation to assist plan implementation. buyer-seller connections are rarely pure types and are thus better represented on a scale of increasing degrees of relational complexity. the quantity of players engaged in the trade, their autonomy, the strength and kind of contact, and the possible progressive variables in the association are all examples of complexity. the sort of task that is traded or managed through a connection, how standardized the activity is, and how challenging and innovative it is all have a direct bearing on how complex the relationship is. in contrast to less complicated partnerships, complex exchange interactions take place in a network setting for trading. there are several causes for this. elevated levels of mutual understanding are required for complex trade tasks, which market-governed conglomerates do not promote (bitner 1992). players become dependent as an outcome of superior mutual learning and association-particular investments, making swapping hard. once the parameters explain exchange behavior, the exchange context inclines to bear a resemblance to a linkage. clients at the low intricacy close of the continuum of exchange frequently have various feasible results. this permits for swapping and connects to less reliant links. bazaars tend to regulate these sorts of enterprises more efficiently (han et al., 1998). an important theoretical question relates to the relationship between traditional (and typically transactional) marketing management (tmm) and the various relationship marketing strategies. according to pels (1999), most businesses need to be proficient in a variety of marketing strategies, including both consumerand inter-organizational relationship marketing. businesses that produce fast-moving consumer packaged goods, consumer durables, industrial items, and services frequently use two or more marketing strategies. this theory underpins the construct of customer relationships. the theory of organization learning this theory was proposed by argyris in 1992 and is concerned with how learning occurs in organizations. the theory emphasizes collective learning and considers the presumptions that while organizations might establish conditions that support and assist such learning, business enterprises do not really conduct the acts that result in such learning; rather, individual employees within a specific firm behave in ways that do. argyris and schon (1996) argue that the environment and culture of organizations have an impact on how learning in organizations takes place. to change behavior, added information must be acquired, which is the focus of organizational learning (harrison & leitch, 2005). organizational learning occurs because of the organization's operations, and each employee’s rate of uptake differs (gardener et al., 2010). the objective is to successfully adjust to shifting surroundings, cope with ambiguous situations, and increase overall work efficiency. individual workers become more proficient because of organizational learning, which also improves the organization's technology, tooling, and layout. organizations that prioritize ongoing organizational learning as a critical skill can achieve superior results through development and training (elnaga & imran2013). human resources is muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 23 difficult to replicate through organizational learning since it constantly assumes a diversified nature. organizational learning typically focuses on the potential for strategic assets to provide a competitive advantage and enhance organizational performance. this theory is significant to the study since organizational learning is a theory in management that offers businesses ways to gain a competitive edge. the procedure of generating, preserving, and transmitting information inside a business is how this idea of organizational learning is defined. according to the theory, experience is the primary source of learning in an organization that learns, and there is learning in the organization when outcomes or performance improves. this theory underpins the construct of organizational learning. empirical review strategic human capita and performance developing and emerging countries prioritize human capital development to promote economic growth by dedicating the necessary time and effort. firms must invest appropriately in human capital development, which substantially impacts performance. heather et al. (2020) researched human capital practices’ influence on the organization's performance. the research utilized a cross-sectional research method on the population of executives from licensed commercial banks (lcbs) in sri lanka. the research findings revealed that developing and practicing human capital drivers improve organizational performance in lcbs in sri lanka. to compete, organizations should value people's knowledge, skills, and abilities, moving beyond human resources and focusing on the concept of human capital. the lcbs in sl can ensure that the necessary competencies are developed and embedded in the workforce to achieve the required results, align with emerging business concerns, and achieve the organization's goals and metrics. the research was done on licensed commercial banks in sri lanka, but the present research was done on the food manufacturing industry in kenya. seleim et al. (2007) conducted research to assess how human capital impacts an organization's performance: a study on software business in egypt. valid questionnaires were used as research instruments in a survey of thirty-eight software enterprises representing egyptian software industry chamber members. the stepwise regression and correlation analysis were used to determine the propositions' legitimacy. these outcomes revealed that not all workers have the same strategic knowledge and competencies. as a result, software companies should try to hire the finest and brightest software designers obtainable. however, the study was done on software companies in egypt, but the current study was done in kenya in the food industry. research by tessema (2014) sought to find out human capital's impact on company performance: a case study of ethiopia's footwear industry. a descriptive study design was used on a sample of 143 sme shoe manufacturers in addis ababa, ethiopia, to evaluate this hypothesis. the regression model's estimation outcomes revealed that human capital investment contributes to increased firm results. in conclusion, the study's findings verified that human capital impacted enterprise outcomes. in the previous study, the unit of analysis was a case study of the ethiopian footwear industry; in the current study, the kenyan food manufacturing industry served as the unit of analysis. product market diversification and performance the need to increase performance is an ongoing problem for firms in today's dynamic and tumultuous business world. managers looking to outperform the competition have embraced diversification as a strategic tool. it acts as a stimulant for market operations to achieve peak performance and constructive collaboration. diversification, for all its benefits, comes at a cost and with a risk. ndung’u (2019) conducted a study on product diversity and the financial performance of kenyan manufacturing companies. the research aimed to ascertain how kenyan manufacturing firms' product diversification strategies affected their financial performance. the study's goals centered on how product diversity as a risk management approach affects the financial performance of kenyan manufacturing enterprises. the study examined ten-year panel data from forty-nine companies from 2007 to 2016. the results showed that the study's null hypothesis was accepted, showing that product diversification had no substantial impact on the performance of kenyan manufacturing enterprises when measured against both ebit and roa. however, the study on un agencies utilized an exploratory research methodology, but the present study was conducted in the confectionery manufacturing industry. njuguna (2018) examined the performance of non-financial companies on the kenya nairobi securities exchange. a descriptive research design was used on a target population of 45 nse-listed non-financial enterprises, and a descriptive correlational study design was utilized. the regression model was used to demonstrate the appropriate correlations between the explained and explanatory variables. the study’s conclusions showed that firms should use product diversity to grow their markets. the present study was done in kenya in the confectionery manufacturing business, whereas the previous study focused on non-financial companies listed on the kenya nairobi securities exchange. oladimeji and udosen (2019) conducted empirical research in nigeria to ascertain the association between organizational success in the manufacturing sector and diversification strategy. a quasi-experimental study was conducted on a population of 31 companies listed on the nigerian stock exchange over 20 years (1997-2017) using an ex-post facto study methodology. in terms of roa and roi, diverse firms beat undiversified ones, according to the study. unrelated and hybrid firms that were diversified were found to have a constructive influence in terms of roe, while related firms that were diversified were beneficial in terms of roa. compared to linked and unrelated diversification, hybrid diversified organizations were riskier in terms of roa. organizations with a diverse membership have a larger size. as a result, diversity leads to increased development and profitability, and diverse businesses have a robust financial structure to pay their obligations. according to the study's findings, diversification is a strategic tool for establishing deliberate significance and planned results. organizational muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 24 leadership should recognize their unique talents to outwit competition. the study used an ex-post facto study methodology, whereas the current study used a descriptive research approach. customer relationship management and performance customer relationship management approaches are becoming more commonly embraced within the marketing and sales departments of the manufacturing business. furthermore, developing customer relationships has long been a crucial component of the company. kajongwe (2020) investigated customer relationship management dynamics and the performance of zimbabwean manufacturing smes. questionnaires were utilized as the primary data collection instruments in the study, which employed a cross-sectional survey research methodology. the study used a random sample of one hundred respondents from mashonaland west province who were proprietors and managers of manufacturing smes. the non-parametric chi-square test of independence was used to analyze data. the research results revealed that crm fosters client contentment and happiness. the chi-square test was employed in the study, but the regression model was used to analyze data in the current study. valmohamadi (2017) researched customer relationship management (crm), innovation, and performance in iran. the study’s data was sampled from 211 iranian industrial enterprises, and the research model was assessed using structural equation modeling. from the outcomes of the study, it was revealed that crm strategies have a constructive and important impact on the performance of the organization and innovation. it was established that crm-driven innovation leads to increased organizational performance. however, the research was done in the middle east and employed structural equation modeling, whereas the present study was conducted in kenya and used multiple regression equations. mohamad et al. (2017) examined the effect of customer relationship management strategies on organization performance in smes in the food manufacturing business. the study aimed to demonstrate how crm methods affect organizational performance in the malaysian food manufacturing industry. the study employed a cross-sectional research approach with 2315 sampled respondents from the target population of 369 organizations who were senior ceos and other top-level management and used questionnaires to collect data. the findings revealed that crm practices enhance corporate effectiveness. similarly, the findings revealed that crm practices and enhanced attention to key customers enhance organizational effectiveness. the study was conducted in the middle east and employed structural equation modeling, but the present study was conducted in kenya and employed multiple regression equations. organizational learning and performance to differentiate themselves from other firms, they must produce unique ideas, make technologically advanced products, stay up with technical breakthroughs, and give equal weight to training in innovations to differentiate themselves from other businesses or firms in a competitive business environment. organizational learning is the key to gaining a sustained competitive edge for business performance (martínez‐costa & jiménez, 2009). uğurlu and kurt (2016) evaluated the effect of organization competency and learning on the performance of product invention in turkey's industrial sector. a study was conducted with 120 firms listed with the istanbul chamber of industry and on the list of turkey's 500 largest firms to analyze the association amid the magnitudes of organizational learning competency and the characteristics of organization performance. the outcomes of multiple regression analysis showed a positive and significant relationship between organization learning competencies and product novelty results. it was revealed that the ability of a company to identify flaws in existing processes and prevent them from recurring later by formulating action strategies is comparatively significant for the accomplishment of modernization initiatives. however, the study was conducted in the turkish manufacturing sector, while the present study was conducted in the kenya manufacturing sector. mutea (2016) conducted an empirical study on the impact of organizational performance on learning performance at mpesa foundation academy. the study used an explanatory research approach with 328 employees as the target population and was founded on real data gathered through questionnaires. pearson correlation and linear regression analysis were used in the study to examine how organizational learning affected performance. from the outcomes of the study, it was revealed that continual learning in the organization creates learning opportunities for all employees. the study concluded that learning culture and organizational performance are significantly correlated. this revealed a relationship between organizational success and a learning culture. the study was done in a learning institution, whereas the current study was done in a confectionery manufacturing industry. sanni (2016) conducted an empirical study to assess the impact of organizational learning on the survival of nigerian manufacturing businesses. the research aimed to examine how learning organizations affect the organization's continued existence and assess the relationships between learning organizations and the organization's continued existence factors. a descriptive research design was used in the study on 5401 employees as the target population. the study used primary data with questionnaires as tools for data collection. for data analysis, correlation and multiple regression were used. the correlation study revealed a significant association between organizational survival variables and elements of learning organizations. the study established that learning firms had a greater capacity for innovation, boosting their survival chances. the present research was conducted in the kenyan manufacturing setting, contrasted with the previous study in the nigerian manufacturing context. materials and methods a research design, according to cooper and shindler (2014), is a key strategy that specifies the methods and the stages for acquiring the necessary data and provides a framework for the research’s action plan. in the study, a descriptive research design was used to collect data to address queries about the current phenomenon of the subject under study. this design, if muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 25 properly applied, provides a quick and precise way of assessing information (zigmund, 2010). the study’s objective was to establish how strategic management drivers affected the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries. the population of this study was one hundred and forty-five managers from eighteen confectionery-manufacturing firms in nairobi city county. a good ample meets the criteria for effectiveness, representativeness, dependability, and adaptability (kothari & garg, 2014). the researcher used random sampling techniques to select a represented sample. the sample size was obtained using yamane’s (1967) formula. n=n/1+n (e)2 where: n = sample size n = target population e = level of significance applying the formula: n = 145/ (1+145*0.05*0.05) n = 106 respondents. quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis packages (spss 23). descriptive analysis involves the use of frequency distributions, percentages, means, and standard deviations. inferential statistical analysis was done by employing the use of multiple regression to establish the significance of predictor variables on predicted variables. multiple linear regression was utilized to determine the association between the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries and independent factors. the regression model used was. y=β0+ β 1 x1+ β2 x2+ β3 x3 + β4 x4 were, y= performance of the confectionery manufacturing industry β0= the regression constant or intercept x1=strategic human capital x2=product diversification x3=customer relationship x4=organizational learning β one, β2, β3, and β4 are explanatory variable coefficients results strategic human capital and performance the study evaluated respondents' information about strategic human capital's influence on confectionery manufacturing industries' performance. they were to indicate how much they agreed with the statements relating to strategic human capital in their organization. the findings are presented in table 1 below. table 1. strategic human capital and performance statement mean sd our organization encourages worker's involvement in organizational matters, which increases staff productivity. 3.87 .92 our organization is eager to promote employee training through seminars and educational programs. 3.91 .71 our organization promotes people centered on their talents and accomplishments to boost output and career development. 4.07 .82 a skilled labor force is an advantage that will boost food manufacturing high results and growth. 3.72 1.01 hiring and keeping the top experienced staff is necessary to propel the firm onward by growing sales and earnings. 4.11 .69 overall score 3.94 0.83 source: researcher (2023) from the above results, the organization encourages worker's involvement in organizational matters, which increases staff productivity with an average score of 3.87 and a standard deviation of .92. outcomes from the research participants agree that through seminars and educational programs, the organization is eager to promote employee training with an average score of 3.91 and a standard deviation of .71. further, research participants agreed that their organization promotes people centered on their talents and accomplishments to boost output and career development with a mean score of with an average score of 4.07 and a standard deviation of .82. the research participants showed that skilled labor force is an advantage that boosts food manufacturing high results and growth with an average score of 3.72 and a standard deviation of 1.01. respondents further indicated that hiring and keeping the top experienced staff is necessary to propel the firm onward by growing sales and earnings with a mean score of an average score of 4.11 and a standard deviation of .69. the overall mean for this section of strategic human capital was 3.94, indicating that strategic human capital influences the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi county. the study is supported by a study done by muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 26 heather et al. (2020) on human capital practices influence on organization performance, who concluded that developing and practicing human capital drivers improve organizational performance in lcbs in sri lanka. to compete, organizations should value people's knowledge, skills, and abilities, moving beyond human resources and focusing on the concept of human capital. product diversification and performance the study's second objective was to evaluate respondents' information about product diversification's influence on confectionery manufacturing industries' performance. they were to indicate how much they agreed with their organization's statements relating to product diversification. table 2. product diversification and performance statement mean sd a lack of market information hampers product diversification. 4.13 .73 our firm is involved in making new differentiated goods frequently 3.94 .96 diversified products necessitate the development of their physical, human resources, and technology structure. 3.85 .81 management determines the modification strategies used. 3.78 .92 the management engages in looking for new markets for our products 3.62 1.11 overall score 3.86 0.91 source: researcher (2023) respondents indicated that product diversification is hampered by a lack of market information, with an average score of 4.13 and a standard deviation of 73. participants further agreed that their firm is frequently involved in the making of new differentiated goods, frequently an average score of 3.94 and an sd of .96. on whether diversified products necessitate the development of their own physical, human resource, and technology structure, respondents agreed with an average score of 3.85 and a standard deviation of .81. participants agreed that management determines the modification strategies used with an average score of 3.78 and a sd of .92. on whether the management participates in looking for new markets of our products participants agreed with an average score of 3.62 and a sd of 1.11. the overall mean of whether product diversification influences the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries was 3.86. this implies that product diversification significantly influences the confectionery manufacturing industries' performance. the outcome is supported by a study by tessema (2014) on human capital's impact on company performance, which revealed that human capital investment contributes to increased firm results. in conclusion, the study's findings verified that human capital impacted enterprise outcomes. customer relationship management and performance the study also sought to establish the effect of customer care relationships on the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries. considering this, respondents agreed on how much the statements applied to customer relationship management in their organization. table 3. customer relationship management and performance statement mean sd as a means of assuring adequate customer service, our organization engages in sharing product information with our clients. 3.90 .83 our organization has data distribution platforms to improve communication with consumers 3.69 .96 customers in the organization are given responses well in the event of any customer needs 3.73 .81 there is a growth in the number of customer referrals by our clients 4.14 .73 taking note of consumer complaints ensures they are addressed, boosting service quality and customer satisfaction. 4.07 .80 overall score 3.906 0.83 source: researcher (2023) the results from respondents agreed that as a means of assuring adequate customer service, their organization participates in sharing product information with their clients with an average score of 3.90 and an sd of .83. on whether the organization has data distribution platforms to improve communication with consumers, participants agreed with an average score of 3.69 and an sd of.96. participants agreed that customers in the organization are given response well in the event of any customer needs with an average score of 3.73 and an sd of.81. reaction evaluation from participants agreed that there is a growth in the number of customer referrals by our clients with an average score of 4.14 and an sd of.73. participants also agreed that taking note of consumer complaints ensures that their concerns are addressed, therefore boosting service quality and customer satisfaction with an average score of 4.07 and an sd of.80. the overall mean score for this section on customer relationship management and food manufacturing industry performance was 3.91, showing that customer relationship management strongly influences the confectionery manufacturing industry performance. the study is supported by a study done by ndung’u (2019) on product diversity and the financial performance of kenyan manufacturing companies, which concluded that product diversification had no substantial impact on the performance of kenyan manufacturing enterprises when measured against both ebit and roa. njuguna (2018), whose conclusions showed that firms should use product diversity as a key strategy for growing their markets, further supports it with a study. muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 27 organizational learning and performance the study sought to evaluate from the respondents the effects of organizational learning and the performance of the confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. they were asked to indicate how much the statements related to organizational learning in their organization. table 4. organizational learning and performance statement mean sd for products and services, formal quality information is provided. 3.90 .87 our organization uses committees, meetings, and reports to interpret information 3.76 .91 information from competitors is a source of learning new business approaches and services 3.63 .98 the organization encourages knowledge exchange between employees and management 3.80 1.01 internal learning channels are used to communicate organizational goals and policies. 3.92 .83 overall score 3.802 0.92 source: researcher (2023) the study participants agreed that formal quality information is provided for products and services, with an average score of 3.90 and a standard deviation of eighty-seven. whether their organization uses committees, meetings, and reports in interpreting information, participants agreed with an average score of 3.76 and a standard deviation of 91. respondents indicated that information from competitors is a source of learning new business approaches and services, with an average score of 3.63 and a standard deviation of 98. whether an organization encourages knowledge exchange between employees and management, participants agreed with an average score of 3.80 and a standard deviation of 1.01. respondents indicated that internal learning channels communicate organizational goals and policies with an average score of 3.92 and an sd of 83. the overall mean for this section of organizational learning and performance of food manufacturing industries was 3.802, indicating that organizational learning influences the performance of food manufacturing industries. the study is supported by uğurlu and kurt (2016) on the impact of organizational competency and learning on product innovation performance in turkey's industrial sector. the study outcomes showed a positive and significant relationship between organization learning competencies and product novelty results. it was revealed that the ability of a company to identify flaws in existing processes and prevent them from recurring later by formulating action strategies is comparatively significant for the accomplishment of modernization initiatives. inferential analysis this section offers the study’s inferential results for assessing the influence of predictor variables on predicted variables. the analyses of correlation and regression tests are techniques employed in the analysis. correlation analysis was employed to examine the power of the association between predictor variables and predicted variables. in contrast, regression analysis was employed to examine the effect of independent variables on dependent variables. correlation analysis this section displays the findings of a correlation study performed to determine the nature and degree of the relationship between independent and dependent variables. the correlation matrix is shown in table 5 table 5. correlation analysis strategic human capital pearson correlation 1 product diversification pearson correlation 1 customer relationship management pearson correlation .561** .479** 1 organizational learning pearson correlation .534** .612** .573** 1 performance pearson correlation .681** .507** .550** .725** 1 sig(2-tailed) 0.007 0.003 0,190 0.000 n 74 74 74 74 74 **correlation is significant at 0.05 (2-tailed) source: researcher (2023) the research sought to determine the association between strategic human capital and the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county. a pearson correlation test was done, and the results, as presented in table 5, reveal a correlation of (r (74) = = .681; p<0.05) between strategic human capital and the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county. this implies that strategic human capital is positively correlated with the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county. furthermore, the correlation between these two variables was significant at p<0.05, signifying a linear relationship between strategic human capital and the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county. this demonstrates that strategic human capital significantly influences the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county. the study's results agree with tessema's (2014) study on human capital's impact on company performance, which revealed that human capital investment contributes to increased firm results. muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 28 further, the research was to determine the association between product diversification and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the study conducted a pearson correlation test, and the studies, as shown in table 5, reveal a correlation of (r (74) =.507; p<0.05) between product diversification and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. this implies that product market diversification is positively correlated with the performance of confectionery. in addition, there was a significant correlation between the two variables (p <0.05), indicating the existence of a linear association between product diversification and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. this reveals that product market diversification significantly influences the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the study's results agree with njuguna (2018), which concluded that firms should use product diversity as a key strategy for growing their markets. the research is intended to ascertain the association between customer relationship management and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the pearson correlation test was used in the analysis, and the results displayed in table 5 reveal a correlation of (r (74) =.550; p < 0.05) between customer relationship management and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. this implies that customer relationship management is positively associated with the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. further, the correlation between these two variables was significant, that is, p<0.05, signifying a linear relationship between customer relationship management and the performance of confectionery industries in nairobi city county. this shows that customer relationship management has a major impact on the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the study's results agree with the study by mohamad et al. (2014), which concluded that customer relationship management procedures significantly improve organizational performance. finally, the research established the association between organization learning and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. a pearson correlation test was done, and the results, as shown in table 5, reveal a correlation of (r (74) =.0.725; p < 0.05) between organization learning and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. this implies that organizational learning is positively associated with the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. in addition, there was a significant correlation between the two variables (p <0.05), indicating the existence of a linear association between organizational learning and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. this reveals that organizational learning significantly influences the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the study's outcomes agree with the work done by mutea (2016) on the impact of organizational learning on performance, which revealed that continual learning in the organization creates learning opportunities for all employees. the study concluded that learning culture and organizational performance are correlated significantly. regression analysis the study fitted a regression test to establish whether strategic management drivers (strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship management, and organization learning) significantly predicted the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the model summary, analysis of variance, and beta regression coefficients are the outcomes, as summarized in the subsequent sections. table 6. model summary model r r square adjusted r sd error of estimate 1 .827a .684 .665 .18363 a. predictors: (constant), strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship and organization learning source: researcher (2023) it was observed from table 6 that the dependent and independent variables had a correlation coefficient of 0.827, indicating a strong and positive association between the variables. the adjusted r of 0.665 indicates that the strategic management practices employed in the confectionery manufacturing industries, specifically strategic human capital, product diversification, and customer relationship, and organization learning, account for 66.5% of the change in performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. analysis of variance table 7. anova model sum of squares d.f mean square f sig regression 529.127 4 132.28 26.40 .000b residual 351.311 70 5.01 total 880.439 74 a. dependent variable: performance b. predictors: (constant), strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship and organization learning source: researcher (2023) muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 29 the results of the anova were determined and presented as shown in table 7. from the outcomes, f = 26.40 and p=0.000, which is less than 0.05. this indicates that the strategic management drivers significantly influenced the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the findings agree with chuang (2015), who highlighted that strategic management drivers enable businesses to survive, grow, and establish a long-lasting competitive advantage. table 8. regression coefficient results model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t pvalue b sd error beta 1 constant 6.851 2.769 3.562 .002 strategic human capital 0.658 0.154 .363 4.183 .004 product diversification 0.519 0.186 .716 2.784 .003 customer relationship 0.427 0.192 .562 3.233 .000 organization learning 0.558 0.217 .881 2.693 .003 a. dependent variable: performance source: researcher (2023) the findings of the statistics analysis presented in table 8 aided in the estimation of the linear regression. p=6.851+0.658 she +0.519 pd +0.427 cr +0.558 ol where, p= performance of the confectionery manufacturing industry shc=strategic human capital pd=product market diversification cr= customer relationship ol= organizational learning discussions the study's first objective sought to assess strategic human capital's effect on confectionery industries' performance. from the regression analysis findings in table 8, strategic human capital is statistically significant at β=0.658 and p=.004, less than α=0.05. thus, a beta coefficient of 0.658 for strategic human capital demonstrates that by holding other factors constant. a one-unit improvement in strategic human capital leads to a 65.8% increase in the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in a direct relationship between strategic human capital and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries. based on the findings, the study concludes a significant relationship between strategic human capital and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the study findings agree with heather et al. (2020) on human capital practices' influence on the performance of organizations, who concluded that developing and practicing human capital drivers improve organizational performance in lcbs in sri lanka. to compete, organizations should value people's knowledge, skills, and abilities, moving beyond human resources and focusing on the concept of human capital. further table 8 findings revealed that product market diversification had a significant coefficient of the estimate based on β=0.519 (p-value =0.003, which is less than α=0.05). thus, a beta coefficient of 0.519 for product market diversification shows that, while other factors remain constant, a unit increase in product market diversification leads to a 51.9 % increase in the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in a direct relationship between product market diversification and performance of confectionery manufacturing industries. thus, there is a significant association between product diversification and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the study's findings corroborate those of oladimeji and udosen (2019) in nigeria on the association between organizational success in the manufacturing sector and diversification strategy, which revealed that diversification is a strategic tool for establishing deliberate significance and planned results. organizational leadership should recognize their unique talents to outwit competition. further, the outcomes in table 8 revealed that customer relationship management had a beta coefficient of the estimate. 427, which was significant (p= 0.000, less than 0.05). thus, a beta coefficient of 0.427 for customer relationships demonstrates that a unit improvement in customer relationship management leads to a 42.7% increase in the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries while holding other predictor variables constant. this leads to the conclusion that there is a meaningful relationship between customer relationship management and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi city county. the research results corroborate the findings from valmohamadi (2017) on customer relationship management, innovation, and performance in iran, which established that crm strategies have a positive and significant influence on the organization's and innovation's performance. the conclusion reached was that crm-driven innovation improves organizational performance. it is further supported by mohamad et al. (2017) study on the effect of customer relationship management strategies on organizational performance in smes in the food manufacturing business in malaysia results, which showed that crm procedures significantly improve organizational performance. muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 30 finally, the outcomes presented in table 8 revealed that the organization learned a significant coefficient of the estimate based on β=0.558 (p-value .003, which is less than α= 0.05). thus, a beta coefficient of 0.558 for organizational learning means that by holding other predictor variables constant, a unit improvement in organizational learning would result in a 42.7% increase in the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in a direct relationship between organizational learning and the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries. this indicates a positive and significant association between organizational learning and the performance of the confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi county. the study findings are consistent with those of uğurlu and kurt (2016), who evaluated the effect of organization competency and learning on the performance of product innovation in turkey's industrial sector, whose outcomes of multiple regression analysis showed appositive and significant relationship between organization learning competencies and product novelty results. it was revealed that the ability of a company to identify flaws in existing processes and prevent them from recurring later by formulating action strategies is comparatively significant for the accomplishment of modernization initiatives. conclusions the study concluded that strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship, and organizational learning, which are strategic management drivers, play a crucial influence on business success when it comes to performance. human capital is an organization's most important asset and the foundation of its competitive advantage. the existence of human capital is critical for expanding and promoting a company's competitiveness through improved outcomes. this is achieved by improving employees’ skills by investing in their training and education programs. similarly, product diversification is a growth strategy businesses use to increase their market domination by expanding into new markets. product diversification necessitates developing the organization's physical, human resource, and technology structure. to successfully adopt customer relationship management, an organization must thoroughly understand the methods for managing customers. the organization exchanges product information with their clients to ensure good customer service, and customers in the organization respond well in case of any customer needs. management ensures that their concerns are addressed by taking note of consumer complaints and boosting service quality and customer satisfaction. furthermore, organizational learning necessitates adapting abilities and attitudes to match the company's mission and vision. the organization encourages knowledge exchange between employees and management, and internal learning channels are used to communicate organizational goals and policies, improving performance.based on the study findings, the following recommendations were made.  the strategic management of confectionery manufacturing industries should continue to utilize and invest in strategic human capital in their operations to improve performance. this should be accomplished efficiently by hiring and retaining experienced staff and promoting staff based on their talents and accomplishments to propel the organization forward by increasing sales and earnings.  the top management and the entire management team of the confectionery manufacturing industries should embrace sufficient and timely planning, be involved in the frequent production of new differentiated products, and search new markets for products. this is because multiproduct firms can increase their market share. product diversification boosts the company’s profitability by increasing the sales volume of the new markets and products introduced.  the study uncovered that customer relationships positively and meaningfully affect performance. the top management should ensure that employees are regularly trained in customer service and that they meet the needs of their customers to improve customer relationship management. the management should be involved in sharing product information with clients and ensure that customers in the organization respond well in the event of any customer needs.  organizational learning significantly affects performance; hence, the study recommends that policymakers foster knowledge exchange between employees and management to improve communication and guarantee that internal learning channels are used to communicate organizational goals and policies. this is because organizational learning necessitates changing and adapting habits, abilities, attitudes, or preferences to match the company's mission and vision and create a healthy learning environment for growth and expansion. the research findings revealed that strategic management drivers (human capital, product diversification, customer relationship, and organizational learning) explained only 66.5% of performance variations of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi county. therefore, further research should focus on other factors that explain the remaining variations in the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries in nairobi county. the study concentrated on only four dimensions of strategic management drivers; future research should focus on other factors of strategic management drivers not included in this study that affect the performance of confectionery manufacturing industries. author contributions: conceptualization, a.m. and s.m.m.; methodology, a.m. and s.m.m.; software, a.m.; validation, a.m. and s.m.m.; formal analysis, a.m. and s.m.m.; investigation, a.m. and s.m.m.; resources, a.m. and s.m.m.; data curation, a.m.; writing – original draft preparation, a.m. and s.m.m.; writing – review & editing, a.m. and s.m.m.; visualization, a.m.; supervision, a.m.; project administration, a.m.; funding acquisition, a.m. and s.m.m. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. muriithi & muathe, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 20-32 31 acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references abdullah, t. m. c. 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(2010). exploring marketing research, seventh edition, dryden press. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 9 social science research aijssr vol 14 no 1 (2023) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa integrating popular culture in the literature classroom: basis for a teaching model ramil alejo santos (a)1 luisito manalansan nanquil (a) professor, national university philippines; graduate school student, graduate school department, bulacan state university, bulacan, philippines; e-mail: ramilsantos4285@gmail.com (b) professor, graduate school department, bulacan state university, bulacan, philippines; e-mail: luisito.nanquil@bulsu.edu.ph a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 9th february 2023 revised: 26th march 2023 accepted: 21st april 2023 published: 14th may 2023 keywords: literature, literature classroom, popular culture, teaching model. jel classification codes: g32, f65, l66, l25, m41 a b s t r a c t popular culture’s integration with language lessons, particularly in literature lessons, is a practice already being employed by teachers. earlier studies, both local and international, were already conducted, integrating pop culture references and materials in the literature classroom: memes, shows, music, games, among others, and groundworks about the approaches in teaching literature and different models in teaching exist but no studies have suggested a teaching model based on the integration of said variables. the current study tried to formulate a basis for a teaching model based on the integration of popular culture and literature lessons. english teachers at the secondary level, especially those who worked in public or private schools in malolos, bulacan, were asked how they incorporate pop culture into their literature classes, what challenges they face, and how they deal with them. the study utilized a qualitative ethnographic approach based on the etic perspective. for the investigation, a triangulation method was used. this includes evaluating the teacher-informants' responses to the provided structured essay questions, conducting a focus group discussion, and comparing literature and studies on popular culture and literature instruction. the discussion sharing and the replies to the essay questions were compared to weil and joyce's (1973) guidelines for a teaching model. the findings produced a model of teaching based on the specifications of environment, operation, procedure, and learning outcomes. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction popular culture or pop culture is present in most topics that one can think of: religion, sex and gender, virtual and physical games, media, social media, podcasts, food, sports and a lot more (nielsen, 2019; ibe, 2019; dickie & shucker, 2014; and baxter, 2019). in the depths of history, popular culture is being discussed and analyzed “for the sole purpose of postindustrial commercial phenomena” (pugliatti, 2013). however, popular culture can be utilized in a manner in which pedagogy itself is concerned. in present times, teachers, globally, have found their use of popular culture in their classroom. steinberg (2009) as cited by maudlin and sadlin (2015), said that in general, it is the responsibility of educators to make use of pop culture and make the students obtain a “personal power over it.” steinberg added that “empowerment comes when we are able to read media and make informed decisions about what we have read.” with that being said, many linguists and educators agree that pop culture has played a ubiquitous and extremely relevant role in the teaching and learning process particularly in a classroom of adolescent students (rothoni, 2017). considering this ideology, some, like werner (2018), observed that the integration of pop culture in language classroom is “undertheorized and underresearched.” language classes are always incorporated with literary content here in the philippines. in fact, the literature components of the junior high school curriculum for each grade level are distinct in terms of their literary component: philippine literature, afro-asian literature, anglo-american literature, and world literature. from manuel arguilla to confucius to shakespeare then to homer; with this variety of possible literary pieces that students will encounter, teachers really do need to think of ways on how they can make the learnings meaningful to engage the students to the discussion and to retain information and knowledge. the use of popular culture in these situations has been proven to have positive results. teachers like clapton (2015) had already used the integration of popular culture in literary lessons. he had used popular culture in teaching in two different ways: as medium in classroom instructions and through assessment and evaluation. 1corresponding author: orcid id: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4849-9786 © 2023 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2005 to cite this article: santos, r. a., & nanquil, l. m. (2023). integrating popular culture in the literature classroom: basis for a teaching model. american international journal of social science research, 14(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2005 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2005 https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4849-9786 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8501-0731 santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 10 according to him, the goal is for the discussions to be more interactive, to avoid being not passive or boring, and to encourage student engagement, instead of seeing them as acquiescent individuals. moreover, johnson (2012) added that pop culture is integrated by teachers in canonical literature, and this helps with the teachers being updated and at the same time the learners being engaged in the lesson. rosenblatt (1978) claims that " the benefits of literature can emerge only from creative activity on the part of the reader himself.” the reader "transacts" with the text to amplify its meaning through this "creative activity." to put it another way, the reader must actively engage with the text rather than passively consuming it for this transaction to take place. the text "brings into the reader's mind certain concepts, certain sensual experiences, and certain images of objects, people, acts, and scenes," continued rosenblatt. what the work communicates to the individual reader will be in great part determined by the unique meanings and, in particular, the hidden connotations that these words hold for them. in enhancing language proficiency more effectively, to interact with the text and benefit from the experience both as a person and as a reader, the reader must actively participate in the reading process by coming up with interpretations to bear their feelings, experiences, and what they "see." by focusing more on how readers interact with texts and the kinds of creative activities they could engage in to support this interaction, other academics have expanded on rosenblatt's theory as well. one is the study of hartman et al. (2021), whose study focused on the use pop culture and memes in enhancing the literature study of students. hartman et al.’s study served as the basis and foundation of this study for the reason that their study focused on the use of instructional tools and materials integrated with pop culture, particularly, pop culture and memes. they have developed activities and class instructions by integrating literature lessons with multiple pop culture materials and references. in their study, they found out that upon the integration of the two variables, when students think about people and events from many points of view, they can develop skills like empathy in addition to improving their ability to understand texts and apply them to their own life. to fill the gap of this study, this research will try to formulate a basis or a guide in the form of a teaching model for teachers to gain knowledge on how they can integrate pop culture in literature lessons and what specifications they need to consider. teachers, not only in the field of language, are always being challenged by the constant influence of online media. they, whether they like it or not, need to be updated not only for the sole purpose of being “cultured” but also due to the fact that language itself is affected by this constant development. as far as popular culture is concerned, there are already those who have, either consciously or unconsciously, let their students experience the assimilation of the said variables. the objective of this paper is to develop a new model of teaching literature based on the integration of popular culture. there are different approaches in teaching literature and a plethora of activities under them. the goal is to identify which are commonly used by junior high school teachers in teaching literature under the english language subject and to analyse whether this study can come up with a basis for a new approach or a pedagogical framework in which pop culture will be utilized the most. with that, the remaining component of the paper is as follows: the literature review will give a brief background of the status quo of teaching literature and pop culture in the classroom. afterwards, the material and methods will provide information about the techniques employed in gathering the data needed to come up with a teaching model. further the results of the study will discuss the framework of the teaching model as well as the basis for a teaching model formulated based on the responses of the informants. lastly, the discussions and conclusions will: provide comparison of the findings of the paper and other research and supply the possible directions of future studies. foreshadowed problems the purpose of this research is to formulate a new type of teaching model based on the integration of popular culture in teaching literature at the junior high school level. this will be done by answering the following questions:  how do teachers integrate popular culture in literature instruction? o what popular culture materials and/or references do the teachers use in their integration? o which part of the literature lesson do teachers incorporate pop culture with?  what challenges and problems do language teachers experience in using pop culture?  what possible teaching model can be recommended based on the integration of popular culture in literature instructions? literature review carter and long (1991) introduced the three main models of teaching literature namely: the cultural model, the language model, and the personal growth model. cultural model generally makes the instructor the main source of information. they are the ones who disseminate information to the students. further, the sole objective of learning, according to this model, is to gain knowledge from the literature that is being read or studied. the language model speaks for its name. the role of literature is for the students to enhance their language proficiency. on a different scale, the personal growth model is leaning towards subjectivity, as it makes the learners relate more to the text that they are studying. this means that the theme, the moral or value, and other elements of the literary piece will be stimulated by the learners. these three models of teaching literature are either inspired by earlier developed strategies from other formulated model or are the ones who inspired and gave birth to new ones. from the study of hwang and embi (2007) as cited by mustakim et al. (2019), a total of six approaches in teaching literature were mentioned that were being utilized by language teachers. these approaches were information-based approach (literature offers information to students), personal-response approach (students make connection to the literary piece), language-based approach (focused on how a language was used on the text), paraphrastic approach (deals with the surface meaning of the text (carter & long, 1991)), moral-philosophical approach (probes rhetoric and philosophy as well as teaches values and morality), and stylistics approach (helps students to understand and santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 11 appreciate the text using linguistic and literary analysis). at least a combination of two or more of the discussed approaches and methodologies, a modification, a variant, or a sub-variant can be expected to be the new teaching and assessment model in the integration of popular culture in teaching literature. when it comes to language, particularly l2 or second language teaching and learning. plethora of studies have been done about the integration of pop culture and the subject in the basic education level. in order to capitalize on learners' interests while providing grammatically sound and genuine materials to strengthen english communicative competence, early studies concentrated on how to leverage popular cultural resources to facilitate l2 understanding, enjoyment, and learning. the focus of research studies in this tradition has primarily been on illuminating the effective uses of popular culture resources in language classrooms by language teachers. particularly, it was found that the pop culture subgenre with the most educational potentials was songs. tv dramas have been shown to be effective teaching tools for vocabulary, pronunciation, and listening skills in english. for instance, richards (1969) contended that songs' enjoyable character may assist teach learners new sounds, rhythm and meter, polite forms, and vocabulary. in light of this, current research indicate that students are using popular cultural resources for language teaching and learning more actively. for instance, murphy (2014) advises efl/esl teachers to choose meaningful, understandable, and understandable non-native english speech examples from youtube videos and ted talks as resources from which to teach pronunciation. in order to overcome the effects of native speakerism and appreciate the grammatical, paralinguistic, and rhetorical strengths of clear and understandable non-native english speeches, learners are expected to engage in extensive examination and imitation of the non-native english speech samples. a side note: in a time of "superdiversity" (blommaert, 2013), when learners' attitudes and understanding of a popular culture text can vary greatly even within the same classroom, quantitative evaluation of popular culture's pedagogical potential tends to overlook the effects of learner identities on learning and seems to regard learners as homogeneous. this makes research findings in this tradition questionable. there are a few issues and challenges with employing popular culture in language instruction, despite the fact that it is praised as an engaging, accessible resource for language and content acquisition. according to lo (2013), educators face a challenge when it comes to fulfilling formal english teaching requirements. hence, a focus on how educators can confront and manage these institutional tensions should be given, as well as how to develop potential instructional designs that allow students and teachers to fulfill institutional expectations while still pursuing their own personal interests in popular culture. hence, while using popular cultural resources, english-language teachers should be cautious of assuming that exposure to l2 english popular culture is always advantageous for students' linguistic development and teach with more register awareness. in a more interesting case, navera et al. (2019) studied how a reference of popular culture can be utilized in teaching esl in the philippine setup, particularly lessons about politics, argumentation, and engagement. as mentioned in their study published in the journal of asia tefl, learners nowadays are extremely active in social media, and platforms there can easily influence them. materials that can be viewed from the world wide web are categorized as multimodal, meaning they can come from different forms: video clips, images, articles, sounds, or a combination of two or more. although the internet was first created for the purpose of global communication and transmission of messages, people find ways on how they can maximize its use. for instance, internet is used as a form of entertainment, and if one is familiar enough with what the youth found amusing these days is, the answer might lead to “memes”. navera et al. studied what the results of using memes in teaching argumentations will be. the process of their data gathering was parallel with new london group’s (2000), as cited by mills (2009), 4 components of the multiliteracies pedagogy: overt instruction, situated practice, transformed practice, and critical framing. “given that memes are often sourced from pop culture references, this provides a fertile ground for students to engage with relevant social issues through changing meanings of familiar material in varying contexts,” (navera et al.). similar to the framework of this study, the schema of the students can be maximized on order to relate more to the lessons and at the same time, be engaged with the instructions of the instructor. based on the findings of their study, the students were able to manifest “awareness of socio-political issues, dialogic argumentation, and engagement through multiliteracies in their outputs.” on the first hand, this can be seen as something beneficial to both the students and their instructors. in response to the information that they get from the multimodal sources from the internet, they can create materials that other students can relate to; a factor that can also lead to brainstorming, interaction, and discussion among the class. on the other hand, although memes can be humorous and amusing and can be informative at the same time, the satirical element can be sometimes present. moreover, stereotyping, hasty generalization, and other logical fallacies might offend a person whose views or ideology of the topic is not the same with the person who created the meme. this is another instance where teachers need to have elaborate feedback with regards to the output that their students submit. regardless, incorporating memes in teaching topics under esl, without a doubt, allowed students to be engaged in argumentations and provide their takes about the issues related to their lessons. these examples prove that popular culture does affect the instruction of the teachers. lessons under language studies can find help through the incorporation of popular culture. among the many areas of this subject, grammar or syntax, word formation, and writing, are the most prevalent. very few examples are related to literature. learning proses and poetry is very crucial particularly in the junior high school level here in the philippines as we are following a curriculum under spiral progression. studying proses can be both objective and subjective at the same time because topics can be bibliographical and/or fictional, while learning poetry can also be tricky, as it involves qualitative characteristics of poems (poetic license) and objective ones (types, rhythm, and meter). with this vast selection of topics, teachers might have taken a leaf out of the books of those who incorporated popular culture in their lessons, and now we analyze the results of their actions by formulating a new model of teaching literature. neologisms, coinage, and other forms of word formation represent how language evolves and how it reciprocates the never-ending needs of people to express their selves in all forms of communication. consequently, if seen through the perspective of students and educators who integrate popular culture in santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 12 language teaching, this can be a double-edged sword. on the first hand, a wide vocabulary can be reflected in both writing and speaking. if a student needs to formulate a literary criticism, construct a speech, or write a literary piece, they will be able to utilize these words based on their necessity. on the other hand, language educators should not forget the fact that this is “language” that we are talking about. what may seem relevant today might not stay relevant for too long, what more, although pop culture refers to “culture that is popular among the mass” (ibe, 2019) regardless of when that culture is popular, there should always be a consideration of its relevance and timeliness. therefore, lessons, teaching materials, and assessment and evaluation methods with popular culture integration should always be up to date. in relation to this, as previously stated, the drawbacks of popular culture reference are either they mostly are the references from the westerns or they might not be appropriate for teaching instructions purposes and in the philippines, the curriculum for each subject is filtered to ageappropriate content and is almost always values-oriented. westerns references with violence, profanity, and other immoral activities will surely not find its way in the classroom, limiting the teachers’ options and the students’ chance to enhance their socio-cultural and socio-linguistic awareness. materials and methods methods and techniques of the study this paper utilized the ethnographic qualitative method. under ethnographic study are the emic (studied culture) and etic (observer) perspectives. etic perspective is the point of view of this paper, which is when an outside observer explains an action in a way that is significant to the observer. conversations between the ethnographer and the anthropological group frequently result in etic descriptions. by such, the teaching strategies are pedagogies and principles that are observable through the execution of the teachers. the researcher interacted with the teacher-informants by conducting interviews and focus group discussion for them to share their experiences of integrating popular culture in teaching literature in the junior high school setup. consequently, the researcher employed triangulation in gathering, analyzing, and presenting the data. the three processes under triangulation are: providing essay questions for the teacher-informants, focus group discussion with the teacher-informants, and synthesis and analysis of a basis for teaching model based on the results of first 2 stages of the triangulation. population of the study the population of the study came from the public and private schools in the city of malolos, bulacan. sex, age, and other categorical variables will not be necessary; however, there were required qualifications as the sampling method that was utilized is purposive sampling, particularly convenient sampling. the number of teacher-participants depended on who were available and who possessed the qualities required. the qualities needed were: a.) currently teaching or have experiences in teaching junior high school english subject; b.) have post graduate units or degree (master of arts or doctors) on or related to language/literature teaching; and c.) already had experiences in incorporating popular culture in teaching literature. the researcher was able to gather 10 participants based on the qualifications set. they were referred to as teacher-informant aj. research instruments the first part of the triangulation required the informants to answer structured essay questions. these questions were formulated by the researcher and were validated by experts in the academe. the said instrument was validated by three research consultants with a doctor’s degree in their respective fields of specialization. they came from higher education institutions around the province of bulacan and are teaching both in the baccalaureate and post-graduate education. the validating method employed was peer debriefing; those who are familiar with the methodology utilized in the study. in line with what lincoln and guba (1985), cited by creswell and miller (2002), had said, this form of instrument validation had helped the researcher since the validators provided feedback and served as sounding boards of ideas. further, all three validators are research consultants of their respective institutions, adding credibility to the study’s gathering of data. the questions from the instruments are in parallel with the problem that the paper needs to address. there are 3 questions contained on the form and these questions asked about the pop culture materials and/or references the teacher-participants integrate with their lessons, ways of integrating pop culture in lessons, encountered problems, and solution to these problems. data gathering procedure the data gathering procedure was accomplished using the following platforms: google forms and microsoft forms for the structured essay questions and google meet, zoom, and microsoft teams for the focus group discussion, with the consideration of the safety guidelines for the covid-19 pandemic. the instructions for the structured essay questions asked them to elaborate their response because this was extremely crucial for the next part of the triangulation. the researcher analyzed and summarized the answers of the informants once they have returned the online forms. these analyses were presented to the same informants during the scheduled focus group discussion to know whether they agree or disagree with each other’s responses. the focus group discussion also served the purpose of letting the informants share their insights about the integration of popular culture in teaching literature. the second stage was only an analysis or synthesis of the answers of the participants which was accomplished by the researcher. consequently, the first part of the data processing, which is composed of essay questions, will be sent through an online form. personal information was not required. moreover, during the focus group discussion, the medium that was used was online meetings as well. santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 13 results structured essay questions the literature teachers answered 4 essay questions for the first part of the triangulation process. the questions required them to discuss what form of pop culture references they incorporate in their lessons and how they incorporate them. they were also asked to attach documentation to prove that they really are incorporating or had incorporated pop culture in their literature lessons. further, they were also asked about the problems they are encountering or had encountered and how they address the said problems. pop culture categories figure 1. category of pop culture four of the ten informants answered music, memes, and entertainment (movies and/or tv shows) as the category of pop culture that they integrate the most in their literature class, making these categories the most used ones when it comes to lesson integration. next to this three is politics, in which three out of ten informants agreed that it is relevant to include the governments, particularly our country’s, status quo. moreover, dance trends and news were mentioned as other source of pop culture references. lastly, other categories worthy of being mentioned are video games, books, k-drama or korean drama, sports, and sociology. how literature teachers integrate pop culture the second question from the structured essay question asked the informants about their way of integrating the popular culture references, materials, and ideas to their literature lessons. please see the list below: table 1. part/s of the lesson where teachers incorporate pop culture preparatory activity/ies language skill practices lesson content * lesson springboard * ice breaker * grouped/paired activities (think-pairshare) * communication skill practices debate recitation presentation * reading skill practices vocabulary enhancement text/elements analysis * classical literature allusion (english and filipino) * contemporary literature allusion (english and filipino) * figurative language there are various ways in which the informants integrate pop culture in their literature lessons. their answers are grouped into 3 clusters: through preparatory activities, language skill practices, and lesson content. problems encountered and solutions provided in the integration meanwhile, these were the problems encountered by the teacher-informants in the integration of pop culture to their literature lessons and how they addressed them: table 2. problems and solutions in the integration of literature and pop culture problems encountered solutions provided 1. students getting used to starting the lesson with something that they can relate to; skipping the motivation or springboard part of the lesson or preparing more than one reference of pop culture 2. lessons will not become time-bounded; asking the students to view the materials at home using video editing tools to clip the (video) materials only mentioning the references, presenting screen capture from the shows, or asking the students themselves what pop culture reference they can relate to the lessons 3. not all students are familiar with the pop culture material or reference used; selecting a reference that almost everyone is familiar with 4. students being more focused with the pop culture material or reference; applying proper classroom management and teaching strategy/ies 0 1 2 3 4 5 music memes entertainment politics dance trends news others santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 14 5. materials can be inappropriate for the learners; editing the clips to filter if there is anything that is needed to be filtered or choosing an already edited or filtered (news) material 6. timeliness of the materials; familiarizing the students who are not familiar with reference 7. students might get confused about the pop culture reference and the literature itself ; letting the students know which references are not accurate 8. students tend to get distracted as they often make distracting noises while the music is being played especially when they are familiar with the song; imposing rules in the class and applying appropriate teaching strategies 9. when comparing popular culture's version of a classic story, some students still stick with the popular culture version of a specific story; and thoroughly discussing the lesson and making them remember that this particular popular culture version is just an inspired story by the classics 10. some serious students might not like it but the compose of minor percentage of the class. it also requires much effort in research and thinking how and what examples to use. still continuing and pursuing the lesson since the incorporation of pop culture has provided favorable results so far. focus group discussion the focus group discussion was conducted on october 21, 2022, 9:00 pm. among the 10 teacher informants who were able to answer the structured essay questions, only 9 were able to attend. the agenda of the discussion was clearly given to the informants beforehand, which is about the teacher-informants’ integration of popular culture to their literature lessons. the discussion was conducted remotely, and the platform utilized was microsoft teams. the researcher was the one who facilitated the flow of the discussion and it adjourned at 9:48 pm after all the questions related to the paper were addressed. thematic analysis of the fgd table 3. thematic analysis of fgd meaning unit condensed meaning unit code t h e m e “drama, specially k-dramas.” “memes, are they considered, if they are, yes.” “[i] also incorporate music in teaching literature.” “[i] incorporate tv shows and movies.” “instead of asking them for examples, i use [game shows], for example celebrity bluff.” “incorporating cultural references (slangs) particularly those that are contemporary.” k-drama, memes, music, tv shows, movies, game shows, slangs multimedia from social media platforms c at eg o ry o f p o p c u lt u re r ef er en ce a n d m at er ia ls “used to introduce students to new phrases and new words.” introduction of new words and phrases lesson prerequisites s tr at eg ie s em p lo y ed b y i n fo rm an ts “…used as a refresher, during the start of the lesson…to also motivate, or used as a motivation for the students…” lesson springboard “i use pop culture in order to compare classical stories with the pop culture [equivalent].” allegorical comparisons discussion proper “we use popular culture to lower down the words being used on these statements and of course to provide the sense of novelty.” adjusting lesson difficulty “i also use pop culture to somewhat motivate my students like when we are about to start the class and somewhat to wake [students] up.” to motivate students engagement purposes “i can use pop culture references related to the lessons that i am about to discuss though somewhat it can help start the conversation and gear the conversation towards the topic that we are about to discuss.” “giving connections to what happened in the past and what’s happening in the present… this, i think, is how they learn best.” to increase participation “not all (materials) that are funny are appropriate.” “the worst problem i encountered was when the reference was mixed with green jokes.” the needs to filter the materials choosing materials p ro b le m s e n co u n te re d “the problem is, for example, it’s (the material) is ok, engaging, relatable to the generation you are discussing with…the thing that is possibly engaging today, if you discuss it in the next term, it will no longer work.” relatability of materials “…students are shouting and, yes, they will lose attention to the lesson.” “sometimes, they (students) get out of control.” “they create loud noises, say for instance, they are singing alongside the song...if it’s really a popular one and that creates noise…” creates noise during discussion cause of distraction “…you (the teachers) need to know the demands during that time… “using this particular practice is that students tend to get used to starting the lesson with something they can relate to…” too much reliance on pop culture “choosing (appropriate) materials…” filtering materials in choosing materials s o lu ti o n s to p ro b le m s en co u n te re d “give new examples that are less difficult than the ones you gave…that will serve as a remedy…” making the integration more relatable “what i normally do is i stop the video or stop the music and i think it’s kinda like a signal for them to stop singing and to stop making noises.” employing classroom management strategies in distractions caused santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 15 “(the lesson) goes back to serious mode, and i go back to the original discussion…” “make sure that when you open a door in terms of popular culture, the students will be able to provide a lot of examples.” “do not let students [expect] to be entertained all the time…” imposing prerequisites before the integration “the use of pop culture is possible if your and your students’ ages are not that far in terms of range…it is time consuming and sometimes students get lost. if you are a new teacher, it will be difficult…” recommends with reservations recommendations r ef le ct io n s o f th e in fo rm an ts i n t h e in te g ra ti o n o f p o p c u lt u re i n t h ei r le ss o n s “we know that students get excited in these integrations…but remember that pop culture is not entertainment, pop culture is also news, economics…music, tv shows. for me, it is still something to be recommended.” “i still recommend the use [of pop culture] but in a case-to-case basis…it depends on the teacher; it depends on our context. our age, how long we are teaching. some people might say that older teachers might find it difficult to use the integration; but i’ve seen people of older age, they are flexible enough in establishing the core. no matter what your age is.” videos, pictures, memes, riddles, and songs were some of the materials and references that the informants mentioned as their go-to sources when it comes to preparatory activities. in games and ice breakers, students were interested, and their attention will be gathered by the teachers because of their familiarity with them. additionally, these materials were said to not only be well with classes’ prerequisite activities, but also for language practices. as per the literature teachers, literary classes do not only revolve around the literature content per se but also with their language content. this integration was seen by the literature teachers as an opportunity to enhance both the communication skills and the reading skills of the students with the help of pop culture materials and references. this is done through debating, reciting, or participating in class, presenting of outputs, enhancing vocabulary, and analyzing the elements of the text or literature read. lastly, teachers directly utilized pop culture materials in replacement for the actual literary text that their students were to learn. teaching models carter and long (1991) formulated the cultural, language, and personal growth models of teaching literature. from the answers of the informants in the structured essay questions and the themes emerged from the focus group discussion, the integration of pop culture and literature lessons is most related to the personal growth model. on the first hand, the cultural model, being focused on the instructions about the historical background, cultural trends, author’s information, makes the learning teacher-centered which opposes the goal of the teachers of increasing class participation and motivating students to active during classes. on the other hand, the language model is linked to language-based techniques in which enforced and reinforced language structures are used. also, it provides an opportunity for the development of independent-learning skills like reading, writing, speaking, and listening. although the informants practice the language or literacy skills of the students through pop culture, it should be noted that the lessons are centered on the literary piece being discussed and mentioned in the target competencies of their learning plans, lesson logs, or lesson exemplars, making language as only the second priority in literature lessons. that is why the personal growth model, a model that includes the combination of the previous two, is related to the integration. this model aims to develop their creativity, imagination, critical thinking, and aesthetic taste, all of which are crucial for their future growth. however, carter and mcrae (1996), long (2000), and littlewood (2000) further discussed what should be included in creating a model of teaching literature. according to carter and mcrae, integrating language into the teaching of literature is the first step in the process, which can be used with both advanced and less-advanced students. they list its traits as being activity-based, student-centered, and process-oriented. long used the term "text-as-object" to describe language-based approaches to teaching literature because it contains language components that need to be learned. students learn vocabulary and grammar; therefore, the text is helpful since it helps kids learn and reinforce specific language structures. the first and most important stage in any literary analysis is to comprehend the language of the work in question. lastly, littlewood discussed language-based approaches to teaching literature emphasizing the language also plays a big role in teaching the literary lessons. these variations make the integration of pop culture and literature distinct to the previously discussed models since, not only it includes multidisciplinary integration, it also is an application of multiple approaches in teaching literature. further, the said integration is flexible. as shared by the informants of the study, there is no fixed part of the lesson in which the integration happens (lesson prerequisites, discussion proper, or language practices), unlike the teaching models with absolute purposes and objectives. these make the integration distinct and different and the more reason not to rely on a single approach or model in teaching literature with pop culture. with that, a new model of teaching will be created based on a different set of specifications. the basis for a teaching model based on the results of the structured essay questions and the focus group discussion, the integration of popular culture and literature lessons can be a basis for future models of teaching particularly a model of teaching literature. maheshwari (2013) wrote that the models of teaching require students to participate in specific cognitive and social tasks in order to achieve certain goals, such as teaching information concepts, cognitive styles, the study of social values, etc. some models focus on the instructor's delivery, while others grow as the students respond to activities and are seen as partners in the educational venture. weil and joyce (1978) indicated the specifications of teaching model namely: specification of environment, santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 16 specification of operation, specification of criterion of performance, specification of procedure, and specification of learning outcomes. figure 2. basis for the model of teaching literature with the integration of pop culture specification of environment the environmental circumstances in which a student's response should be observed are described in precise terms. the integration of popular culture requires an environment conducive for learning. audio-visual materials are needed to be played during classroom discussions; hence it is important for the classroom to have equipment that will allow the teacher to deliver their lesson accordingly. moreover, some pop culture references require the use of other tools or equipment such as those that involve games, activities, and other ice breakers. additionally, a classroom large enough for interactive activities for the learners is also needed. informants’ answers from both the structured essay questions and the focus group discussion proved that teachers incorporate pop culture in different and multiple parts of the lessons, and they apply different strategies. that is why it is relevant to consider the necessary equipment, tools, materials, and artifacts in the integration of pop culture and literature. with the goal of increasing the participation of the students and motivating them to be part of the classroom discussion, the integration of pop culture through various tools, particularly technology, the lessons become less teacher focused and more student focused as mentioned by bingham (2009). lastly, the informants suggested that teachers should familiarize themselves with how to navigate these materials to maximize the integration of the variables. as shared by shriner et al. (2010), an effective teacher knows how to combine their lessons and the learning materials for students to better absorb the information and with the help of these materials, highlighted by fallon and forrest (2011), positive outcomes are expected: mastering the target competencies mentioned in the learning plans, lessons exemplars, or learning logs of the teachers who integrate pop culture in their literature lessons. specification of learning outcomes establishing lesson objectives is the first stage of creating a lesson. instruction and assessment must be based on the objectives, or the learning outcomes set by the teacher. in the integration of popular culture with literature lessons, teachers may or may not mention a certain pop culture piece or reference in the expected learning outcomes depending on how they want the discussion to progress as long as it will not affect the target competency of the lesson. as weil and joyce (1978) wrote, all teaching models must specify what the students should accomplish once they complete all the instructional sequences within a lesson. as for the creation of learning plans, lesson logs, or lesson exemplars, the learning outcomes must be based on the english subject’s most essential learning competencies (melcs) which is also patterned on the english subject curriculum guide. specification of operation the mechanism that is going to be the catalyst to get the expected reaction from the student in relation to the environment. this is the very use of the most important variable in the integration: popular culture. the integration of popular culture will lead to all the expected outcomes of the teacher such as the reaction of the students to the various parts of the lessons. however, based from the experiences of the informants in their integration of the variables, including the problems they encountered and the solutions they provided, devising the pop culture integration needs to include: identifying pop culture references or materials most appropriate for literature lessons, filtering pop culture references, and choosing which part of the lesson (prerequisites, lesson proper, and/or language skill practice) should pop culture be integrated. overall, the common problems they had were the relatability and inappropriateness of materials and the integration causing problems in terms of lesson instructions, leading to countermeasures in anticipation of these problems. firstly, in the issue of relatability, in which not all students will be familiar with the pop culture that will be used, the teacher must plan if they will provide a context for the students. secondly, filtering the materials comes in two stages. initially, teachers must filter if the pop culture santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 17 is appropriate for the literature lesson. is it relevant for the lesson? will it function as the teacher expects it to? visco (2021) made it clear that making “authentic connections” will lead to positive outcomes when it comes to pop culture and literature integration. next is filtering the explicitness of the integration. is the language appropriate for the learners? are violence, hate crime, gender misconceptions, and other related issues present? in the study of hartman et al. (2021), pop culture may sometimes lead to misconceptions especially with the differences when it comes to the exposure of the learners. specification of criterion of performance the criterion of performance is the set of rubrics set by the teachers in assessing their students, formally and informally. since the study focused on the integration of pop culture to the lessons of the teacher-informants and not to the assessment of learning, no specification of criterion of performance can be concluded. specification of procedure the teaching model should be based on procedure that is grounded on being systematic. the said procedure must also have the goal of changing or modifying the behavior of the students. as per the shared information by the informants, popular culture can be integrated to any parts of the lesson, be it in the enabling activities, discussion, or engaging activities, as highlighted from the previous specification of the model. the teachers may be guided by the following processes: • preparation of teaching instructions prerequisites: learning plan/learning log/lesson exemplar learning materials pop culture artifacts • selecting needed location and tools or equipment for classroom instructions • employing integration in classroom instructions the models of teaching literature that carter and long (1991) and the approaches in teaching literature developed by hwang and embi (2007) suggested the methodologies to employ a specific model or approach. discussions the most frequently used categories of pop culture reference being incorporated by the informants in their literature lessons are music, memes, forms of media entertainment such as movies and series, politics, dance trends, and news among others. moreover, the informants integrated these categories to either the preparatory activities, language skill practices, or lesson content. the problems encountered by the teacher-informants involved: too much reliance to popular culture references, familiarity of students, appropriateness of materials, and timeliness of materials to name a few. to be able to cope with these problems, the informants also provided solutions to effectively discuss the lessons. these solutions involved their effective application of classroom management and proper filter of pop culture reference materials. as for the focus group discussion, the informants’ responses are connected with each other’s utilization of pop culture references and even how they integrate them. further, they specified the techniques they employ to make the discussions fruitful and at the same time effective. comparing and contrasting classical stories and their pop culture equivalent, using pop culture allusions to enhance the interaction with the students, and toning down the level of difficulty of classic literature through the integration of pop culture are some of the shared practices of the informants. similar with what was shared through the essay questions, there are common problems among the encounters of the teacher-informants. for instance, language used in pop culture materials can be problematic and might cause problems in relation to the instructions. the overall content together with how the students react negatively to the materials were mentioned by the informants. the best way to address these problems according to the informants is for the instructors to have a proper preparation in selecting and filtering the materials they are to integrate. additionally, correlating with the answer from the essay questions, right classroom management techniques and strategies are keys to unlocking the better potential of popular culture in literature lessons. lastly, to come up with a basis for a teaching model, weil and joyce (1978)’s specifications for teaching model highlighted the areas in which pop culture’s features can be utilized most. pop culture requires a learning environment with access to multiple sources and equipment to present these sources. also, integrating it to literature lessons will require the teachers to establish measurable learning objectives for the discussion to be fruitful and effective. this will be important when the procedure and the operation based on the integration are built as well. conclusions in the integration of popular culture in teaching literature, the first question that was addressed was the category of materials and references that the informants had utilized in their lessons. the selection depends on the approach they utilize in classroom discussion. pop culture references, though with a large variety of options, help provide assistance to the students and the teachers. the teachers took into consideration what their students can relate to in order for them to maximize the integration of pop culture to their literature lessons. the english subject in the junior high school level is a combination of language lessons and literary lessons but leaning more towards the latter, basing it on the subject code per level; hence, making the instructions geared on analyzing both proses and poetry. the purpose of being able to make the relate to the lesson to increase their engagement was highlighted by their own responses. with pop culture as a catalyst of interaction, teachers provide more opportunities for the learners to use the knowledge of their own interests and relate these to the elements of literature they discuss. with this, springboards, activities, recitation, discussion, and the other parts of the learning process are being integrated with the said variable. with all said and done, nothing can be overused, and pop culture santos & nanquil, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 9-19 18 is no exemption. teachers also experience problems in the integration of pop culture and literature lessons. in teaching figurative languages, classical stories, and poetry, there are a lot references and resources that teachers can utilize but that does not mean that all of these are appropriate for a classroom setup. the integration of pop culture and literature lesson is not a strategy or technique that has a special pass on having a perfect delivery of lesson. teachers may still encounter problems that might affect the overall outcome of the lesson. there should be compensations in using the said integration, just like what the informants had done in the examples they provided, for the students to still be able to master the competencies that correspond with their lesson. recommendations in the light of the limitations mentioned, it is recommended to further pursue the study with the objective of formulating a teaching model based on the findings of this paper and other future studies. firstly, it focused on the categories and techniques employed by the teachers and did not identify the particular approach of teaching literature. a teaching model requires the utilization and analysis of the assessment and evaluation method that will be conducted by the teachers. even with the specifications given by weil and joyce (1978), the criterion of performance is a necessity and should not be separated in any teaching model. secondly, it is important as well to focus on the problems encountered by the informants and how they address these problems. popular culture integration even in non-literature classes may or may not result to some drawbacks (e.g., the answers provided by the informants); hence, the needs to know how these affect the expected learning outcome of the lessons. moreover, it is recommended to enlarge the sample size to gather more information about the experiences, opinions, and recommendations of the teacher-informants. consequently, it is also important to look at the quantitative angle of the variables’ integration. for instance, knowing the percentage of the lessons, the number of hours or minutes spent during the discussion, and the percentage of assessment or evaluation tool integrated with popular culture. in relation to this, a teaching model should not only be based on the teachers’ point of view per se, but also from how students perceive the integration. future studies may also ask the opinions and sentiments of students in the integration of popular culture in their lessons. how they evaluate the teachers’ approaches and strategies in teaching and assessing, even the choice of pop culture materials they incorporate in literature lessons. and last but most importantly, it is recommended that the teaching model formulated by this study will be assessed in terms of its efficiency and effectivity. this is to give the future researchers and educator who will utilize the model an idea about both the strengths and the weaknesses of said model. author contributions: conceptualization, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; methodology, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; software, r.a.s.; validation, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; formal analysis, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; investigation, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; resources, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; data curation, r.a.s.; writing – original draft preparation, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; writing – review & editing, r.a.s. and l.m.n.; visualization, r.a.s.; supervision, r.a.s.; project administration, m.s.a.c.; funding acquisition, r.a.s. and l.m.n. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references baxter, j. 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(2018). the language of pop culture (1st ed.) routledge. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 1-8 1 social science research aijssr vol 12 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa mass mobilization in the political system in vietnam from the past to the present and some issues raised phan thi hong gam (a) le yen thy (b)1 pham thuy ha (c) doan thi kim loan (d) (a) faculty of party building ho chi minh city cadre academy, vietnam; e-mail: honggam20@gmail.com (b) faculty of party building ho chi minh city cadre academy, vietnam; e-mail: yenthy38@gmail.com (c) faculty of party building ho chi minh city cadre academy, vietnam; e-mail: thuyhapham23@gmail.com (d) faculty of party building ho chi minh city cadre academy, vietnam; e-mail: doankimloan17@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 21st march 2022 accepted: 24th april 2022 online publication: 29th april 2022 keywords: mass mobilization, mass mobilization work, political system, vietnam jel classification codes: j68, d72 a b s t r a c t this study aims at exploring mass mobilization in the political system in vietnam from the past to the present and some issues raised. studying this issue has profound political significance and social value since it reflects the relationship between classes in a certain socio-economic regime. in this study, the authors consider the following issues: i) origin of mass mobilization; ii) literature on mass mobilization work; iii) mass mobilization in the political system in the past and today; iv) discussion of issues facing the mass mobilization work in the current political system in vietnam. in this study, we have used various methods in scientific research such as analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, abstraction and generalization, logic, history, and comparison to come to findings of the study. the current study has shown that mass mobilization work in the political system in vietnam has been constant work and it is one of the most important factors for the victory of all vietnamese revolutions as well as in building and protecting our nation. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction the socialist political system consists of the communist party of vietnam, the socialist state of vietnam, the vietnam fatherland front, and socio-political organizations operating according to the following mechanism: party leads, state manages, and the people own. this mechanism results from the creatively developed inheritance of marxism-leninism, ho chi minh's thoughts, and the views of our party in the previous periods and the new conditions of our country. both in terms of perception and practice, over the past 30 years, the position, role, function, and duties of each part constituting the political system, the interrelationship between those components as well as the operating mechanism of each sub-system and the whole system has become more and more innovative and clear, in line with the changed socio-economic life, thus bringing a new level of development which is more comprehensive and profound of socialist democracy in vietnam. on the website moha.gov.vn the article of general secretary nguyen phu trong “on the road to socialism” (trong, 2021) shows that since renovation period, vietnamese people today have had better living conditions than in any previous period, was led by the communist party of vietnam, which was agreed upon and actively strived by the entire vietnamese people to implement development strategies is also an important part thanks to the mass mobilization work. studying grassroots mass mobilization work shows that this is a task of strategic significance for the revolutionary cause of our country, ensuring the leadership role of the party, consolidating and strengthening the close relationship among the party, state, and the people. in every revolutionary period, especially during the ruling party, mass mobilization work in the political system plays a crucial role in the victory of the vietnamese revolution. it arouses the aspiration for national 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0003-2881-1959 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1703 to cite this article: gam, p. t. h., thy, l. y., ha, p. t., & loan, d. t. k. (2022). mass mobilization in the political system in vietnam from the past to the present and some issues raised. american international journal of social science research, 12(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1703 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v12i1.1703 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6470-6577 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2881-1959 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7056-4050 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5080-7844 gam et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 1-8 2 development, promoting the will and strength of national unity combined with the power of the times to comprehensively and synchronously promote the renovation work, firmly build and defend the fatherland. nguyen viet thong asserted that to maintain a peaceful and stable environment, especially in the context that the world economy is in crisis with serious and possibly prolonged recession due to the impact of the pandemic covid-19 and big countries adjusted their development strategies to reduce dependence on outsiders, the role of mass mobilization in the political system is important (thong, 2021). research on the topic “mass mobilization in the political system in vietnam from the beginning to the present and some issues raised” has theoretical and practical significance for the socialist construction in vietnam today. literature review the origin of mass mobilization the term "mass mobilization" is generally defined as mobilizing many people to perform political tasks of an organization or many countries today. it is said that the history of human society is the valuable contributions of previous generations. among those contributions, their thoughts have a crucial meaning. discussing the origins of cadres' awareness of mass mobilization, there have been many views and theories of politicians in the world. in the textbook history of political theories, when it comes to democracy in the mass movement, ephiantes warmly praised, supported, and actively fought to build democracy (due & dzung, 2010). ephialtes was an outstanding democratic politician who carried out political reforms to further perfect the athenian slave democratic state. he believed that people must be masters of their country. he passed an act at the people's congress, first of all, all political and judicial powers of this assembly and vested these rights in the people's congress and the people's court. sharing the same view with ephiantes, pericles a famous athenian politician and orator, stated that democracy has the following qualities: freedom of speech and equality before the law, and also both brotherhood among citizens, in which there is tolerance, kindness, assistance to the weak and those in need. in the book “history of oriental philosophy”, zheng (2012) showed that in confucius's political theory when discussing "people" during the spring and autumn the warring states period, he mentioned that when the war was continuous, the people suffered. many articles in the shi jing reflect the people's complaints about poverty. from that fact, the confucianists have come up with the policy of fostering democracy that the government must nurture the people so that they can live well and richly. he said that the government must make their people rich, "history of the people of the time" (analects, learning), that is, we need to use the people's power at the right time. if the people's power is mobilized, it must be done when the people are at leisure, not when they are plowing. it is necessary to ensure that the people live well and richly, which is to be evenly distributed. confucius said: “at this stage, people who have a state (i.e. a king) and have a house (i.e., great doctors, the owners of hamlets are already fengshui) do not worry about poverty, but rather about the uneven distribution, not about less. people are worried about the social order and not at peace”. the point of view has shown concern for the people's life, wishing all people a good life, no one is too rich and no one is too poor. in the book “mencius”, le (2001) showed that using taoism to rule the people is the political solution that confucius raised and mencius inherited and developed in more depth. if confucius used the people to rule the people, mencius talked about “justice” more than “benevolence”, and they often go together. humanitarian politics requires the government to respect the people more. “the people are the most precious, the second is the commune, then the last is king". therefore, a person who is popular with the people can become a son of heaven, a vassal, and a great doctor (mencius, devotion). he also believed that respecting the people is to win the hearts of the people, if not supported by the people but still kill them, they will not be supported by the people. mencius's theory of humanity also mentioned that the government must take care of the people's lives. the government must be happy with the people's happiness, worry about the people's worries, and take care of the people's well-being and happiness. mencius's humanism theory aims at a government which is led by the people, and for the benefits of the people. the historical reality of national construction and defense of the vietnamese nation shows that, during its long history, few countries in the world have to go through many long-term resistance wars to protect their independence and sovereignty like vietnam. from the struggles of the masses during more than 1,000 years of northern domination to three times of resistance against the mongol yuan of the tran dynasty, during more than 80 years of resistance against the french colonialists, 21 years of resistance against the us, and national salvation have proved the strength of the masses. in 1975, the country was completely unified and the vietnamese people entered a new era the era of national independence and socialism. in that entire historical process, the lesson "people are the most important factor" is the key to success. in the book political ideology "people are the most important factor" in vietnamese history, thang and tuan (2018) showed that this viewpoint is one of the most profound contents of mainstream politics in vietnam. this is not a copy of external theories but is generalized from the nation's thousands of years of nation-building and defense, and at the same time absorbing reasonable elements of other theories in the cultural exchange process under the requirements and realities of the country in specific historical periods. being aware of the role of the people, after gaining independence, the vietnamese feudal dynasties knew how to rely on the people to build a base, along with the military potential to prevent changes. while still representing the interests and development trends of the nation, the government's policies are concerned with people's lives, respecting the people's hearts and will to a certain extent. many kings and mandarins during the period of the country's independence and selfcontrol were people who had a deep love for the people. they paid attention to the issue of people's livelihood, derived from "the will of the people" to set policies. the people are placed at the center of the country's political affairs. also recognizing the truth "the importance of people", the tran kings from tran thanh tong, tran nhan tong, tran quang khai, tran hung dao, etc. promoted the people’s intelligence and wisdom to the highest level. the ideology of respecting the people gam et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 1-8 3 mobilized the strength of the great national unity and the potential in each person. it filled the gap between the aristocracy and the people creating an eternal "dong-a's spirit" marked with glorious victories such as chuong duong, van kiep, bach dang three times drove the mongols – nguyens to protect the country's longevity. the heroic victories against foreign invaders in history are due to the fact that the leaders of the uprisings believed in the people, knew how to rely on the people, and brought into play the strength of the people. thanks to believing in the people, the ly and tran dynasties won the victory in fighting foreign invaders. the saying of tran quoc tuan to the king before his death about the plan to protect the country "fostering the people's strength to make a deep and lasting success" and the people's will is the force of the people is a precious lesson for us in the defense cause of the country. nguyen trai a great thinker of our nation also affirmed: "the people's righteous work is to keep the people in peace" and "those who ship the boat are the people, and capsize the boat are also the people". through so many generations, that message has flourished in the ho chi minh era, creating a new type of vietnamese patriotism with clear views of the great ho chi minh's thought. being aware of the role of the masses, the confucianists of this period focused on the role of ideological culture, the process of renewing the people's thinking, and building a new human being. phan boi chau and phan chu trinh are typical examples. phan boi chau upheld the people's role as masters of the country. in his opinion, it is necessary to build new ideas for the people and the most effective method is self-renewal. phan chau trinh also emphasized the role of the people in the struggle for national liberation. in contrast to phan boi chau's measure of "self-renewal", phan chau trinh advocated for national renewal based on the civilized achievements of france. studying marxism leninism in this field, we find that marx (n.d.) all pointed out that: communist parties must do the work of mobilizing the people. it is long-term work which needs to be persistently implemented. the working class must mobilize to win the support of the majority of the people in its revolutionary struggle. studying the history of class struggle since 1848, especially the period of the paris commune and the workers' struggle for socialism in the late nineteenth century, the work "class struggle in france from 1848 to 1850" stated that the communist party must know how to persuade, enlighten and rally the masses, train them to dare to sacrifice themselves to fight to win. v.i. lenin applied the ideas of marx in his time the age of imperialism and proletarian revolution called for the expansion of the solidarity of the working class with the oppressed peoples of the world, which expanded the great solidarity contributed to the victory of the october revolution of 1917. in building socialism, v.i. lenin emphasized mobilizing and promoting all forces of the masses. based on absorbing the national tradition and the theory of marxism-leninism, ho chi minh especially emphasized the role of the people. he stated "all forces are in the people", and "the people's forces are very large". the ideology of upholding the people, wholeheartedly for the people's interests is president ho chi minh's ideal, goal, life motto, and revolutionary method of operation. it is the ideological idea that directed the party's mass mobilization work in the periods of national revolution, people's democracy, and socialist revolution. his thought has become the ideological foundation and guidelines in all actions of the party, government, officials, and party members at all levels. the communist party of vietnam always appreciates and promotes the following valuable lessons: the revolution is the cause of the masses of the people. "the people are the focus of all policies, guidelines, and decisions of the party in each period". theoretical perspectives on mass mobilization work v.i. lenin once warned of two dangers of the ruling communist party, i.e, mistakes in policy and separation from the people. the mass mobilization work contributes to strengthening the close relationship between the party and the people. in the work “mass mobilization” published on october 15, 1949, president ho chi minh introduced the concept: "mass mobilization is mobilizing all forces of each citizen without leaving any single citizen behind; contribute to the force of the entire people, to practice the work that should be done, the work assigned by the government and the mass organizations (minh, 2011). applying ho chi minh's thought to the current renovation cause, it is understood that mass mobilization includes activities of propagandizing, mobilizing, educating, and persuading people to well implement policies and guidelines of the party, policies, and laws of the state. it means gathering and organizing people to participate in revolutionary movements to build a society of rich people, a strong country, democracy, justice, and civilization. mass mobilization means all activities of the party and organizations in the political system under the leadership of the party, aim at propagating, educating, mobilizing, persuading, and organizing all people to perform well the party's guidelines and lines, the state's policies and laws, bring into play the great role and potential of the people in the cause of national construction and defense and successfully realize the goals and ideals of the country. the resolution of the 12th national party congress has determined: to ensure the participation of the people at all stages of the process of making decisions related to the interests and lives of the people, from highlighting opinions, participating in discussions and debates, and monitoring the implementation process. thereby, it can be seen that the mass mobilization work includes propaganda, advocacy, education, persuasion, and organization activities for all people to participate in the construction and implementation of the party's guidelines and state policies and laws the sixth national party congress has drawn four profound lessons from experience, of which the first lesson is that "in all its activities, the party must thoroughly grasp the ideology of "taking the people as the most important factor". the 10th national party congress also affirmed: "the people's belief, support, and assistance is the source of strength, the cause of all victories, and a valuable asset of the party (the communist party of vietnam, 2006). the 11th national party congress continued to affirm: the revolutionary cause is of the people, by the people, and for the people, and it is the people that make the victory of the renovation work. gam et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 1-8 4 the party's view of guiding the renewal of mass mobilization work in the new situation is a task of strategic significance for the entire revolutionary cause of our country. in decision no. 290-qd/tw, dated february 25, 2010 of the politburo on promulgating the regulation on mass mobilization work of the political system, defining the responsibilities of collectives and individuals and mechanisms and methods of performing mass mobilization work by organizations in the political system to improve the effectiveness of the mass mobilization work, promote the people's mastery, and strengthen the great national unity bloc. resolution no. 25-nq/tw of the 7th plenum of the 11th central committee of the communist party of vietnam also defines the objective: to strengthen and renew the party's leadership in mass mobilization work in the new situation to firmly consolidate the trust of the people towards the party; strengthen the great national unity bloc and the close relationship between the party and the people; gather and mobilize the people to well implement the guidelines and guidelines of the party and the policies and laws of the state; bring into play the great strength of the people, create a vast revolutionary movement to build and defend the fatherland, and successfully carry out the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country. the views on mass mobilization work in each period have different political tasks, but all of these activities have a central point, which is a task of strategic significance for the entire revolutionary cause of our country and an important condition for ensuring the leadership of the party and consolidating and strengthening the close relationship between the party, the state, and the people. the mass mobilization work is the responsibility of all organizations in the political system, of all cadres, party members, civil servants, public employees, union members, members of mass organizations, officers, soldiers, and the armed force. under the leadership of the party, organizations in the political system closely coordinate to carry out synchronous, unified, and effective service work in the spirit of mastering: "respect the people, be close to the people, understand the people, learn the people and responsible to the people”. in the book “on current mass mobilization work” by linh (1986), he affirmed that the work achievements of mass organizations in our city in the early years of the war. at the same time, he pointed out shortcomings in mass work and gave profound instructions to party cadres, mass organizations, authorities, armed forces, and the entire political system of the city on mobilizing the masses, raising urgent issues that need to be corrected during the period when the party is in power. also discussing the purpose of mass mobilization work, nguyen ba quang with the work “learning and doing in the style of "skillful mobilization" of ho chi minh” pointed out the role and significance of mass mobilization in ensuring the successful implementation of revolutionary tasks (quang, 2020). discussing this issue, in the article “new career and mass mobilization” phieu (2009) pointed out that the leadership of the communist party of vietnam has no other purpose than serving the long-term and direct interests of the people, taking care of their immediate and long-term basic happiness, first of all, the working people, workers, and farmers that make up the vast majority of the nation, have devoted their energies to the country, are still poor, suffering from natural disasters, and injustice, enjoying a low material and spiritual life and the intellectuals who love the country and the revolution day and night bring wisdom and enthusiasm to protect the fatherland and build socialism. on the same issue, the article “continue to innovate the content and methods, improve the quality and efficiency of mass mobilization work, making an important contribution to the successful implementation of the resolution of the 11th national party congress”, published in the magazine of mass mobilization, sang (2011) also pointed out that in the current context, the party's mass service needs to closely follow the situation; continue to renovate the contents and methods, improve the quality and efficiency of operations, especially it is necessary to grasp the people's ideological developments and renew the mobilization and gathering; strengthening service work of the government and armed forces, creating consensus among all classes of people, making an important contribution to the successful implementation of the overall goal in the next 5 years set by the 11th national party congress. results mass mobilization in the political system of vietnam in the past stemming from the theory of marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thought: "the revolution is the cause of the people, by the people, for the people", "with good mass mobilization, everything will be successful", the party having a close relationship with the people is the source of our party's strength and good tradition from the day it was founded until now. in the nation's revolutionary history, mass mobilization has always been an important and strategic part of the party's revolutionary cause. in each period, the mass mobilization work has different contents and methods, but all aim at mobilizing all classes of people to actively participate in revolutionary movements and patriotic emulation; strengthen the great national unity bloc; consolidate and strengthen the close relationship between the party and the people, successfully realizing the common goals of the party, the country and the nation. immediately after its establishment, the party quickly organized revolutionary unions and formed an apparatus and cadres to do mass mobilization work. since october 1930, the system of specialized committees in the campaigning circles of the party including worker mobilization, farmer mobilization, youth mobilization, women mobilization, military mobilization, anti-emperor front was established to gather forces, educate and mobilize the masses to join revolutionary movements, fight against oppression, injustice, exploitation, demand for people's livelihood and democracy everywhere. the party's first-class cadres and party members did not flinch from difficulties, carried out the policy of "proletarianization", "three things together" with the people, propagated and enlightened the working people, and established mass organization unites around the party, creating strength and impetus for the revolution according to uncle ho's thought: "bring our strength to liberate us". during the most arduous years when the colonial government carried out "white terror" to cut off the connection between the party and the masses, weaken the revolutionary base, the people's trust and love since they knew that the people's protection made the party stronger to face all challenges. with only a few thousand party gam et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 1-8 5 members, the party has gathered all classes of people, including intellectuals, the national bourgeoisie, and foreigners, arousing patriotism and the strength of national unity, creating a strong revolutionary spirit, making the victory of the august revolution 1945, giving birth to the democratic republic of vietnam. the victory of the august revolution confirmed the rightness of the first political platform, which was the banner of unity, gathering a large number of people, and the victory of the party's mass mobilization strategy. the country's independence and the revolutionary cause require the party's mass mobilization work to be strengthened to maximize human and material strength for the resistance war and nation-building. during the years of resistance war, building socialism in the north, fighting for the liberation of the south, and reunifying the country, the great national unity bloc was expanded, attracting more patriotic parties and compatriots without partisanship, regardless of class, religion, ethnicity, or political orientation. the party has organized, trained, and formed a contingent of cadres engaged in mass mobilization work who are always closely linked with people in all parts of the country. many cadres and soldiers have endured hardships and sacrifices, tenaciously being close to the people to perform excellently the tasks assigned by the party. the people trust, protect, and are willing to sacrifice to protect cadres like members of the family. during those long and arduous years, patriotic emulation movements, such as: "cling to the land, keep the village", "an inch won't go, an inch won't move", "three things are ready", " three braves", "three volunteers", "no shortage of rice for one pound, and no shortage of one person in the army"… were quickly responded positively by all classes of people, forming a great strength for the cause of the resistance war. tens of thousands of citizens headed to the front lines to transport food, and weapons for campaigns, culminating in the victory of the dien bien phu campaign "resounded throughout the five continents and was world-shaking ". the rear emulated the front line, the north became a big rear supporting human and material resources for the cause of the resistance war against the us in the south. the mass mobilization work has strongly brought into play human and material strength, consolidated the people's trust in the party and uncle ho with his steadfast, unshakable heart. that was the great motivation of the whole nation, making the great victory in the spring of 1975. the victory of the two resistance wars against colonialism and imperialism is the victory of the line of expanding the great national unity for the cause of resistance war and national construction. that is the success of building up political forces more and more widely in the front, mass organizations, in the armed forces according to uncle ho's thought: "mobilizing all the forces of every single citizen, not leaving a single citizen, contributing to the force of the entire people…”; bring into full play force, intelligence and wealth to form a synergy to complete the task of national liberation and national reunification. faced with the new requirements of the revolutionary cause at the 6th national party congress, with the spirit of looking directly at the truth, the party initiated the cause of renewal with four contents "innovation of policy, renovating the organization, renovating cadres, renovating leadership style and working”; on that basis, maintain the leadership role of the party, lead the country to overcome difficulties, break the siege and embargo, and continue to develop. the party's renewal line clearly shows the party's will to the people's hearts and is accepted and responded to by the people. to promote the strength of the great national unity, carry out comprehensive renovation, and accelerate the industrialization and modernization of the country, the party continues to innovate the mass mobilization work. the eighth conference of the sixth central committee issued resolution no. 08b-nq/hntw, dated march 27, 1990, on "renovating the party's mass work, strengthening the relationship between the party and the people" with four guiding viewpoints: revolution is the cause of the people, by the people and for the people; the driving force behind the mass movement is to meet the practical interests of the people and to harmoniously combine these interests, unifying interests with civic obligations; forms of gathering people must be diverse; mass work is the responsibility of the party, state, and mass organizations. resolution 08b is a timely step to strengthen the relationship between the party and the people in the new situation, overcoming the situation that a part of cadres and party members is bureaucratic, commanding, far from the people, autocratic, and authoritarian, reducing revolutionary enthusiasm, limit the promotion of great abilities of the people in the cause of national construction. this ideology continues to be affirmed by the platform for national construction in the transition period to socialism (1991) which states: “all activities of the party must derive from the legitimate interests and aspirations of the people. the strength of the party lies in its close attachment to the people” mass mobilization work in the political system at grassroots level at present implementing the resolution of the vii congress to the xiii congress, the party has issued a system of documents related to mass mobilization work: on mobilization of genders and social classes; bringing into play the great strength of national unity; promoting the people's right to mastery; regulations on civil mobilization work of the political system; strengthen the mass mobilization work of state agencies and authorities at all levels; promote the role of the people in commenting, monitoring and criticizing, contributing to the development of policies and laws, building a clean and strong party and political system; strengthening the close relationship between the party, the state, and the people. especially, the seventh conference of the party central committee (xi term) issued resolution 25-nq/tw on “strengthening and renewing the party's leadership in mass mobilization work in the new situation" continues to affirm the important role of mass mobilization work, raising awareness and responsibility of organizations and individuals in the field of mass mobilization political system, strengthen the close relationship between the party and the people, ensure the leadership of the party in the period of integration, rapid and sustainable development of the country. it can be said that this is a system of guidelines, tasks, and solutions for leadership and direction that are very important to the mass mobilization work in the party's revolutionary process. with the spirit of strengthening and innovation in mass mobilization work, the whole political system has strongly oriented towards the grassroots, listening to the people's thoughts and legitimate aspirations, taking care of the people's life gam et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 1-8 6 comprehensively; raising the awareness and responsibility of pioneering and exemplary of cadres and party members, especially the leaders before the people. the state strengthens institutionalization and concretizes contents related to mass mobilization, promotes socialist democracy, implements the mechanism of "party leadership, state management, people master” and the motto “people know, people discuss, people do, people supervise” into legal documents and directing the organization for implementation. thereby, while promoting representative democracy, improving the quality and effectiveness of operations of state agencies and authorities at all levels, and well implementing direct democracy at the grassroots level people discuss and decide directly important and practical issues associated with socio-economic development, participate in building a clean and strong party and political system. party committees, authorities at all levels, the fatherland front, and socio-political organizations actively innovated contents and methods of mobilization, brought into play the strength of the great national unity, built and consolidated the close relationship between the party, the state, and the people; mobilize the people to participate in patriotic emulation campaigns and movements, socio-economic development, and national defense and security assurance. the content of patriotic emulation movements and campaigns is associated with studying and following ho chi minh's ideology, morality, and style. the emulation movement "skillful mass mobilization" was launched in 2009, and is one of the hallmarks of mass mobilization reform, becoming the focus of the patriotic emulation movement of the mass mobilization authority and the whole political system actively responded. the emulation movement "skillful mass mobilization" has promoted to improve the efficiency of emulation movements of all levels and branches in all fields of social life. the mass mobilization work has made a very important contribution to the great achievements of historical significance, creating the country's fortune, potential, position, and international prestige as it is today. the mass mobilization work seems simple and easy to do, but in reality, many places, sometimes still do not do well because some levels of party committees, authorities, agencies, departments, and branches do not understand all about the civil mobilization work associated with the development of the country. the implementation of documents related to mass mobilization work is still limited, and the documents have not been concretized to suit the actual situation of localities and units. propaganda and mobilization of people, especially in ethnic minority areas, have not been effective; not paying much attention to building and replicating the model, typically "skillful mass mobilization". the coordination of agencies, departments, and branches with the front and mass organizations in mass mobilization work has not been smooth and synchronous. the front and mass organizations have not been able to innovate the contents, forms, and methods of gathering union members, members, and people; the development of union members and members is still slow; have not been proactive, active, and timely in propagating and mobilizing people, especially participating in helping people prevent natural disasters and overcome consequences; monitoring and feedback are still confusing. some cadres and party members are bureaucratic, bossy, embezzled, bribed, separated from the people, do not listen to people's opinions and recommendations, degraded in ideology, morality, lifestyle, and degraded hearts. people’s trust in the party and state; lack of ability to propagate and persuade people. the reason is that some levels of party committees and authorities have not led, directed, implemented, and performed well the mass mobilization work; the number of cadres doing mass mobilization work has limited qualifications, capacity, and professional expertise, has not been proactive in advising and researching the implementation of documents on mass mobilization work; mechanisms, policies and working conditions of many agencies and officials in charge of mass mobilization still face many difficulties. the mechanism of coordination of activities of many agencies in the political system on mass mobilization work is not synchronized; the work of coordination and grasping the people's situation has not been renewed, not deep, not close; the fatherland front and grassroots organizations have not had any innovation in terms of content and mode of operation. discussion first, party committees and authorities at all levels should strengthen their leadership and direct the propaganda, mastery, and implementation of the party's viewpoints on mass mobilization work. renovate the contents and methods of performing mass mobilization work of state agencies at all levels, making mass mobilization work a regular task associated with the performance of functions and tasks of state agencies and officials, ministries, civil servants, and public employees. secondly, continue to institutionalize the mechanism of "the party leads, the state manages, the people master", ensuring the principle that all undertakings of the party, policies, and laws of the state must derive from the interests of the party and legitimate aspirations of the people. renovate the content and form of collecting opinions from all classes of people participating in the construction of the party and government. thirdly, accelerate administrative procedure reform, judicial reform, and reduce administrative procedures that easily cause trouble for organizations and citizens. continue to review and assign and arrange staff in charge of mass mobilization work. strictly comply with regulations on public service ethics, office culture, working style, and code of conduct. building and implementing the style of "respect the people, close to the people, understand the people, study the people and be responsible to the people", "listen to the people speak, speak to the people understand, act as trustees" among cadres, civil servants and employees organizations, especially heads of agencies and units, must be exemplary. resolutely handle cadres, civil servants, and employees who have bureaucratic, corrupt, harassing bossy, authoritarian, and lowqualified behavior. fourthly, regularly urge, inspect and supervise the implementation of mass mobilization work, especially the institutionalization and concretization of the party's policy on mass mobilization work, the formulation and implementation of the regulations. grassroots democracy; strengthen regular coordination among organizations in the political system in carrying out mass mobilization work. creating conditions for the vietnam fatherland front, socio-political organizations, gam et al., american international journal of social science research 12(1) (2022), 1-8 7 and the people to participate in supervision and social criticism, and to contribute ideas on party and government building following the 2013 constitution. finally, accelerate the implementation of the emulation movement "skillful mass mobilization" in association with "study and follow ho chi minh's thought, morality and style" and patriotic emulation movements organized by all levels and agencies launch industry. well, perform commendation and replication of advanced examples in mass mobilization work. conclusion the current study has shown that mass mobilization work in the political system in vietnam, from the past up to now, has been a never-ending flow. of course, through each different historical period, that flow has had certain changes to adapt. both theory and practice show that mass mobilization work in building socialism is creating a new type of society in terms of quality, which is not at all simple or easy. this is a great creative career, full of challenges, and difficulties, a selfdisciplined, continuous, long-term goal-oriented career that cannot be impatient. therefore, in addition to determine the right guidelines and directions, ensure the leadership role of the party, the party must strongly promote the role of the masses. the people must enthusiastically participate in the implementation of the party's line because their strength is a profound source of victory and development. the evidence from this study suggests that the ruling party, while determining the political direction and making policy decisions, cannot only derive from the reality of its country and nation but also has to study and refer to experiences from reality of the world and of the times. in today's globalized world, the development of each nation nation cannot be isolated, standing outside the impacts of the world and the times, of the times and its situation. vietnam must actively integrate into the world, implement a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, and multilateralism and diversify international relations based on respect for independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality, and mutual benefit. the results of this research also support the idea that the communist party of vietnam should always be steadfast on the theoretical foundation of marxism leninism the scientific and revolutionary doctrine of the working class and the masses. marxism-leninism and ho chi minh's thoughts have sustainable values that have been pursued and implemented by all revolutionaries. it will continue to develop and live in revolutionary practice as well as in the evolving practice of science. author contributions: conceptualization, p.t.h.g., l.y.t., p.t.h. and d.t.k.l.; data curation, p.t.h.g. and l.y.t.; methodology, p.t.h.g. and l.y.t.; validation, p.t.h.g. and l.y.t.; visualization, p.t.h.g. and l.y.t.; formal analysis, p.t.h.g. and l.y.t.; investigation, p.t.h.g. and l.y.t.; resources, p.t.h.g. and l.y.t.; writing – original draft, p.t.h.g., l.y.t., p.t.h. and d.t.k.l.; writing – review & editing, p.t.h.g., l.y.t., p.t.h. and d.t.k.l.; supervision, p.t.h.g.; project administration, p.t.h.g.; funding acquisition, p.t.h.g., l.y.t., p.t.h., and d.t.k.l. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references communist party of vietnam. 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(2012) history of oriental philosophy. hanoi: national political-truth publishing house. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://hdll.vn/vi/nghien-cuu---trao-doi/nhung-diem-moi-trong-chu-de-dai-hoi-xiii-cua-dang.html http://hdll.vn/vi/nghien-cuu---trao-doi/nhung-diem-moi-trong-chu-de-dai-hoi-xiii-cua-dang.html http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 9 social science research aijssr vol 13 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, and growth of youth-owned micro and small enterprises in kigali city, rwanda benjamin niyonsaba (a)1 stephen makau muathe (b) mary jabeya namusonge (c) (a) school of business, economics, and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: niyonsabeni3@gmail.com (b) school of business, economics, and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: muathesm@yahoo.com (c) school of business, economics, and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: namusonge.mary@ku.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 2nd october 2022 accepted: 21st november 2022 online publication: 11th december 2022 keywords: government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, mses’ growth, resource based review, social media, rwanda jel classification codes: h10, m13, b21 a b s t r a c t micro and small enterprises have been approved as major performers in enhancing economic growth and quality of life by generating employment opportunities and profits in rwanda. however, they have experienced several problems which diminish their growth. those growth challenges can be improved by embracing strong entrepreneurial interventions. this research endeavored to investigate how government entrepreneurial interventions affect the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali, in addition, it investigated the moderating effect of individual characteristics on the relationship between the government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda. the resourcebased view and gibb’s support theory were used. an explanatory research design was used in this research to determine the causal link between variables and establish the nature of the strength of the link. the study used a sample size of 154 mses selected from the target population of 252 youth-owned mses in kigali, rwanda. data was collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and multiple regression analysis. the study noted that entrepreneurial training, access to credit, technology-based online social media, and market access have been effective government support in increasing the growth of mses in kigali rwanda. moreover, the results indicated that individual characteristics positively affected the relationship between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda. the study recommended that government should ease the requirements/conditions to be met by mses before accessing entrepreneurial interventions this will accelerate the growth of youth-owned smes in rwanda. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction government entrepreneurial interventions were introduced in rwanda with the expectation that they would increase enterprises’ profit and employment opportunities (muathe et al., 2013; world bank, 2014). such government entrepreneurial interventions targeted micro and small enterprises (mses) which occupied the majority of businesses operating in rwanda. therefore, the contribution of mses to the economy’s country is generally documented. muathe (2010), abbott et al. (2012) and muathe and muraguri (2020) stated that mses account for more than 90% of all private businesses and they absorb more than 24% of the country’s gdp. various academicians and researchers believed that there was an increase in the number of mses and their growth due to the increase in government entrepreneurial interventions (blimpo & pugatch, 2019). consequently, mses have been speeding up the rwandan vision of 2050 (antoine et al., 2021). despite the remarkable economic contribution made by mses, it is not easy for these mses to access the resources required for growth. previous studies have evidenced that restricted finance and knowledge, quickly changing customer needs that require a dynamic market orientation, and constant technological innovations are major restraints negatively affecting the growth of mses. in combating these growth limitations, all regimes have implemented different interventions. ugwuoju et al. (2020). confirmed that entrepreneurial interventions provided by the government are essential for mses, hence government covers financial and technical expenses that mses are not able to handle themselves and these interventions increase the capabilities of mses. for example, amha (2015) indicated that training has become critical in the growth of enterprises by which 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0002-9187-4242 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v13i1.1856 to cite this article: niyonsaba, b., muathe, s. m., & namusonge, m. j. (2022). government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, and growth of youth-owned micro and small enterprises in kigali city, rwanda. american international journal of social science research, 13(1), 9-24. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v13i1.1856 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v13i1.1856 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9187-4242 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-5774 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0975-4426 niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 10 enabling youth-owned mses to get knowledge-based resources. as emphasized by ernest (2018) entrepreneurial training channeled skills concerning customer satisfaction shown by repeat purchasing, knowledge on how to increase sales volume, and well-kept business records. different empirical studies demonstrated financial credit has been reviewed as the backbone for business growth since financial capital is the basis on which other business features are built, (gupta et al., 2013). according to owolabi and obida (2012), for an enterprise to achieve growth and be competitive; it must hold financial capital. on contrary, muthuni (2016) stated that mses are neglected by banks and lending organizations. the interest rates and the collateral security have been listed among factors that disadvantage mses acquiring bank credit and hence negatively affect their growth, (north & smallbone, 1996). in addition, social media adoption continues to be significant in business growth (mourtada & alkhatib, 2014), and it has been affirmed that online social media has ameliorated the business environment in the manner it assists youth-owned mses to improve the business decisions resulting from the customers’ reactions (trainor et al., 2014). many scholars are involved in business growth and online social media (winer, 2009), the online social effects help enterprises to reflect on the customer's needs regarding their behavior age, gender, and experience observed through online interaction. according to truong and simmons (2010), online social media introduces new ways of online marketing and developing new methods of building relationships with customers. different empirical studies noted that market accessibility increases the probability of growth achievement through making more sales (hessels & vanstel, 2011). consequently, lack of market access lessens the growth of mses because they are not able to access different information necessary for receiving market opportunities. market access brings mses into medium and large enterprises (autio et al., 2000; garcia et al., 2022). this study contributes to the study knowledge by considering the different effects of entrepreneurial training, credit access, and technology-based social media and market access on the growth of mses. most of the previous studies concentrated on one or two factors when conducting their research. they also considered rbv theory and gibb's mses support theory only. this study also contributes to the research by providing four theories that support the study’s hypotheses. the primary theory, rbv theory, describes all kinds of resources allowing firms to achieve full growth. gibb’s support theory illustrates all resources needed for the growth of mses and supports the rbv theory. gibb’s support theory also enlightens how the mses respond to all types of support. adoption theory demonstrates the steps that firms follow in accepting or rejecting new technology. finally, the theory of the growth of a firm gives details of all resources desired for firm growth. the study endeavored to investigate the contribution of entrepreneurial training, credit access, technology-based social media, and market access to the growth of youth-owned mses and to bridge the gap by including individual characteristics as a moderating variable. it used an explanatory research design and a sample size of 154 smes selected from the target population of 252 youth-owned mses in kigali, rwanda. primary data were collected using a semistructured questionnaire. data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. statement of the problem youth-owned micro and small enterprises in rwanda have a sizeable role in contributing to the wealth of the country by stimulating employment opportunities and its important contribution to the gross domestic product (world bank, 2014). thus, the government initiated different interventions to strengthen enterprises' development (uwitonze, 2016). despite these efforts structured to multiply the productivity of mses, it has been noted in different studies that growth is still scanty (donner & escobari, 2010). mses are challenged by quickly changing customer needs that require a dynamic market orientation, continuous technological progress, and inadequate funding, and skills (teece, 1992). these challenges negatively affect the growth of mses. according to mashapure et al.(2022), these challenges can be removed if the specific interventions provided to this sector are adequate in nature, extent, and quality; for example, the quality of training, the extent of credits, level, and nature of technology adopted and ability to operate profitably in markets, which is dominated by large firms. advanced studies by kar and ahmed (2019); ugwuoju et al.(2020); confirmed that government entrepreneurial interventions affect the growth of enterprises by way of accessing available resources along with the individual characteristics of youth-owned mses'. the combination of government entrepreneurial interventions and individual characteristics brings more probabilities for business success. the studies noted that government interventions in entrepreneurship allow mses to access existing resources to uplift firms' growth. the studies assumed that government entrepreneurial interventions and the firm's growth are correlated. the paper, therefore, seeks to demonstrate the relationship between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses and to bridge the gap by including individual characteristics that moderate the correlation. research objectives  to determine the effect of entrepreneurial training on the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda.  to assess the effect of access to credit on the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda.  to find out the effect of technology-based online social media adoption on the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda.  to analyze the effect of market access on the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda.  to examine the moderating effect of individual characteristics on the government entrepreneurial interventions and growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda. literature review this section revises the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical literature related to the research objectives. niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 11 theoretical review this section focuses on examining various studies associated with the factors of government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, and the growth of youth-owned mses. the research is attached to four theories: resource-based view, adoption theory, gibb's support theory, and growth theory of a firm. resource-based theory the proponent of the resource-based view theory was penrose (1959) who put forward that resource accessibility leads to the firm’s growth. alvarez and busenitz (2001) supported the theory by concluding that growth can be achieved if a firm holds resources that others cannot access. an enterprise can achieve long-run growth when resources held are characterized by uniqueness, scarcity, and inimitability, or hard to copy means that resources cannot be copied by other rivals (thompson, 2004). this creates unique values for clients and expansion achievement. barney (2001) demonstrates six types of resources that enable a firm to achieve growth and become competitive. for example, financial, tangible, technological, organizational capital, intellectual and human resources. according to aldrich (1999), all these resources have been categorized into three classes which are financial, social, and human, the theory postulates types of resources to be accessed by an enterprise and these resources can be either material or non-material, (jones & hill, 2009). tangible resources are visible and concrete; namely: land, buildings, and equipment while non-materials resources are palpable and computable. for example, trademarks, administration processes, and routines of organizations that the firm used to organize and interrelate these resources, the physical image of a firm; goodwill, and among others. the theory states that resources used by a firm to interact with clients and competitors are external intangible resources (simpeh, 2011). the theory assumes that maximum utilization of resources is important for the business organization to achieve its business objectives (jones & hill, 2009). the researchers also theorize that the business sector should not be ignored since it plays a vital role in determining enterprises' growth and then entrepreneurs must consider the sector for deciding activities to be carried out. the rbv anchored on four components of government entrepreneurial interventions which are the main factors affecting the growth of firms. gibb's mses support theory the gibb model was put forward by gibb (1998) and the author explains different support services that government policymakers must emphasize on them when designing entrepreneurial interventions for firms' growth. the model describes two kinds of support needed by the enterprise sector to realize its growth such as non-material and material support. the non-material support is training, counseling, consultancy, and others while material support comprises credit platform, infrastructure, and materials. the theory elucidates policy or interventions must be flexible, it means that support services can change resulting from a change in the needs of enterprises; a change in support structure; a change in institutional structure for firms, and a change in entrepreneurial interventions setting for the development of firms. gibb states that there should be a policy structure clarifying supportive action to boost the firm growth and key aspects to measure achievable enterprises' growth. the theory notes that support structure should specify features. it has been asserted that mses' needs should not be overlooked from the beginning of program planning when programs are based on the need of enterprises; it reduces the probability of its failure. the theory stipulates that the institutional framework should outline features and types of entrepreneurial interventions and explains how mses can benefit from initiated programs or policies. it should indicate institutions in charge of mses and their capability to capacitate enterprises for achieving their full growth. gibb's theory has a role in determining how entrepreneurial intervention can change as a result of the alteration in the needs of the mses, reform in the support structure, change in institutions structure for mses, and change in policy for the development of the mse sector. however, training, access to credit, market information, and technology infrastructure are essential supports that can be used to improve the growth of enterprises. adoption theory the theory was pioneered by ryan and gross (1943) and this theory was built on assumption that individuals can adopt new technology by imitable character, (sarabadani et al., 2017). the background and understanding of people are key elements that stimulate the usage of technology about online social media in society. dearing and jeffrey (2018) explain that people can learn new knowledge about technology-based online social media via their cultures. it has been stated that technology can also be learned through training, shared beliefs, or practices among enterprises. innovation diffusion has a vital role in influencing an individual's adoption decision. the technology-based online social media has been described as a particular social system that businesspeople are currently using to communicate with their business partners and competitors and it can be learned through culture over time. rogers (1962) developed the adoption theory by explaining the stages that individuals have to follow when making a particular innovation acceptance, or rejection. the adopters must learn knowledge of how to apply the new technology and adopters must know the value of online social media before adopting it, (tuten & marks, 2012). muhammad et al. (2010) noted three reasons that can guide an enterprise in accepting or rejecting new technology. these are rivals’ forces, low awareness of firms, and benefits expected from new technology-based online social media. according to ardjouman (2014), different enterprises use technology as an influence resulting from trading partners, rivals, and government support and policy. the business conditions and enterprise features are the main aspects that determine the utilization of technology in the enterprise. the theory also notes that technology acquisition depends on how an enterprise inspires its employees to adopt changes that are brought along with embracing technology. the theory brings out the importance of technological niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 12 innovation adoption that an enterprise has to make for the enhancement of its capacity in handling issues related to growth (oliveira & martins, 2011). it also establishes all stages that a firm has to follow when making a particular online social media acceptance or rejection. theory of growth of a firm the proponent of the growth of a firm theory was penrose (1959) who explains the importance of resources in determining a firm's growth. according to evans (1987), the rule of proportionate growth asserts that the growth of every business organization in the market is autonomous of its entire size. therefore, micro, small, medium, and large enterprises have the same average proportionate rates of growth that is to say in the market; all firms have a chance to grow at the same ratio regardless of their size if they are given equal opportunity to access to resources needed for growth. this theory describes the five stages of growth that all enterprises go through. the first phase is called the start-up stage and at this phase, the enterprise brings its idea into implementation. the second stage is the survival stage whereby the firm deals with how it can make more cash flow for growth and continue its business operations in long run. the third is the success stage for which the firm increases its output and earnings through professionalization and technology adoption. the fourth phase is the take-off stage for which the enterprise tries to enhance the competencies of its employees through training. the last one is called the maturity stage whereby a firm must access and use effectively resources to attain full growth. the accessibility of resources determines how mses identify opportunities and convert them into profitable business ventures as well as facilitate growth. in the perspective of this study, the growth of a firm theory brings out the relevance because it shows how access to resources can be a source of competitive advantage and growth achievement. empirical review the study is attached to various constructs such as growth, government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, and micro and small enterprises. thus, this section revised the conceptual literature which accurately explains each construct. entrepreneurial training and growth of youth-owned mses many academicians and researchers have agreed that entrepreneurial training has brought positive changes in the area of enterprise development all over the world, (mano et al., 2012). therefore, various governments introduced training programs with the perception that entrepreneurial training would help to influence entrepreneurial culture and build enterprising economies among many young men and women by developing their mindsets and attitudes about enterprise management. entrepreneurial training is to enable mses to acquire entrepreneurial abilities with the aim focus on how to use technological innovation change, the techniques of applying modern management systems, customers’ satisfaction shown by repeat purchasing, marketing strategies, and well-kept business records (andaregie et al., 2022). entrepreneurial training substantially influences the growth of a firm if skills learned by youth entrepreneurs translated into more practical work, (kithae et al., 2013). entrepreneurial training substantially influences the growth of a firm if skills learned by youth entrepreneurs translated into more practical work (degobbi, 2014). the empirical studies showed that trainees did not employ their gained skills since youth could not access financial resources. however, another study carried out by unctad (2016) evidenced that 70% of mses who had received training; could conveniently perform business undertakings. another study was carried out by demel et al. (2014) on entrepreneurial training and its contribution to enterprises' growth in sri lanka. the study utilized an explanatory research design and the finding showed that training in marketing, quality maintenance, and financial management positively influences the enterprises' growth. mohamed (2017) researched the contribution of training to the growth of enterprises held by youth in somalia. it has been noted that entrepreneurship training has a positive impact on firm growth. the study further revealed that training benefited youth-owned mses by generating income in somalia. the malaysian government has trained youth-owned mses intending to enhance their entrepreneurial capabilities, grow their firms, and continuously contribute to the malaysian economy (jamaluddin et al., 2022). umutoni (2018) observed that entrepreneurial training improved the competencies and growth of mses in rwanda. entrepreneurial training is a major factor of interventions that the government provided to the mses for stimulating their growth. this training was generally aimed to translate entrepreneurial capabilities which facilitate young entrepreneurs to carry out business activities assisted by skills in enterprise management. for that reason, entrepreneurial training has been noted to be the main element of firm growth. thus, this current study strived to provide updated and detailed data by investigating the contribution of entrepreneurial training to the growth of youth-owned mses. the following hypotheses were formulated based on the conceptual framework: ho1: entrepreneurial training has no significant contribution to the growth of youth-owned mses in rwanda. access to credit and growth of youth-owned mses earlier studies revealed access to credit is the primary factor that can assist mses to obtain other remaining resources (rajan & zingales, 2001). access to financial capital influences significantly the competitiveness and growth of mses. owolabi and obida (2012) stated that for firms to achieve growth and be competitive; they must hold financial capital. however, nanteleza (2018) noted that the main growth restriction remains funds. this is because the majority of youth-owned enterprises do not get credits due to the collateral security required by banks. another study by pandya (2012) noted that several countries formed microcredit programs targeting mses, but the findings revealed that the majority of mses are not niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 13 able to acquire microcredits as a result of a lack of borrowing security with higher value, (fatoki & asah, 2011). microfinance and financial institutions neglected youth-owned mses because most of them are not able to offer financial statement documents required by banks. the bank requirements limit their access to credit and affect negatively enterprise growth. the majority of mses prefer to use informal sources of financing. according to research done by kolakovic et al. (2019), on credits and the expansion of small businesses in croatia. it has been found that access to credit has a vital role in assisting enterprises to access all kinds of assets needed by smes and improve firm performance. the study asserted that croatian smes still use informal sources of financing because they are not able to access banks' credits. ovat (2016) noted that the full growth of mses is limited by the shortage or inadequate credit. lack of access to credit negatively influences the firm growth and affects a firm's decision to invest in fixed capital, research, and development (muchiri et al., 2017). pandya (2012) proved that credit has an important influence on smes' growth. nanteleza (2018) investigated credits accessibility and performance of enterprises in blantyre city-malawi and noted that the main growth restriction remains funds. this is because youth-owned enterprises do not get credits due to the collateral security required by banks. the study found that mses with high rates of growth; are enterprises that used or accessed credit from loan institutions. previous researches show that most institutions do not target youth-owned mses because mses are not able to offer financial statement documents required by banks. on contrary, geleta and talegeta (2019) noted that several countries formed microcredit programs targeting mses, but their surveys revealed that the majority of mses are not able to access them. this is because high numbers of mses are not able to access bank credits. after all, owners of enterprises are required to have borrowing security with higher value (fatoki & asah, 2011). these requirements limit their access to credit and affect negatively enterprise growth. mpakaniye and paul (2017) affirmed that the establishment of a youth development fund facilitates mses to access bank credit, particularly those without sufficient collateral required by financial institutions. most of the empirical studies confirmed that credit accessibility was also assisting mses in contributing to the country's development. the rwandan government has supported young women and men in accessing credit with the aim that young people may improve their entrepreneurial capabilities; grow their firms, and continuously contribute to the rwandan economy (anyanwu, 2013). therefore, this current study strived to provide detailed information by scrutinizing the contribution of entrepreneurial credit accessibility to the growth of youth-owned mses. the following hypotheses were built on the conceptual framework: ho2: credit accessibility has no significant contribution to the growth of youth-owned mses in rwanda. online social media and growth of youth-owned mses various studies have indicated that online technology-based online social media improve business process and growth, (winer, 2009). some scholars have confirmed that the utilization of online social media increased interaction with customers, and sales return, and it has been found that there is a positive correlation between online social media and the growth of youth-owned mses, (rapp et al., 2013). handayani and mahendrawathi (2019) revealed that the use of online social media influences the social capital of any business organization, which increases its financial and non-financial growth. both motameni and nordstrom (2014) demonstrated that the use of facebook, linkedin, twitter, youtube, and whatsapp had positively boosted sales growth. the study also noted that firms adopted these social media for product promotion, advertising services delivery, and showing different brands held by the enterprise. xiang and gretzel, 2010; parveen et al. (2015) explored how social media adoption influences the performance of small business companies and noted online social media increases sales turnover and the growth of smes. many researchers noted that firms with the use of online social media performed well in their business activities than firms that were not concentrated on that (appel et al., 2020). according to malthouse et al. (2013), online social media allows mses to access regional and international markets as some products are sold through social media. they also confirmed that online social media has removed geographical boundaries that were market entrance restrictions for mses. on the other hand, in developing countries mses ignore online social media because people depend on cultures of face-to-face bargaining instead of bargaining via online social media (vij & james, 2014). online social media entails incorporating new technological approaches that a firm uses to enter the market and improve growth through interacting with and reaching customers (wang, & kim, 2017). malthouse et al. (2013) asserted that online social media enables mses to enter the market without geographical boundaries. another study by rapp et al. (2013) noted that firms with the utilization of online social media can achieve growth as a result of reaching customers and finally making more sales. hence, this current study strived to provide updated data by examining the contribution of technology-based online social media to the growth of youth-owned mses. the following hypotheses were formulated based on the conceptual framework: ho3: online social media adoption has no significant contribution to the growth of youth-owned mses in rwanda. market access and growth of youth-owned mses firm growth is correlated with market access in every entrepreneurial activity since market accessibility increases the probability of growth achievement through making more sales (hessels & vanstel, 2011). therefore, market access has been noted as an essential factor affecting the growth of mses. according to seelos and mair (2007), youth-owned mses with more market information and other market facilities can realize firm growth. previous studies asserted that mses' growth is determined by how an enterprise accesses market opportunities for maximizing its output. chigunta (2001) scrutinized the issues limited small business organizations to access local and international markets. it has been found that niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 14 mses do not have enough skills for innovating their product and services which limit their competitiveness in international markets. empirical evidence asserted that youth-owned enterprises copied and operated successful businesses which lead to high local competition. ali et al. (2020) researched the barriers and public policies impending small enterprises' international market expansion in sub-saharan countries. the study used access procurement, contracts, access to funding regulatory framework, and access to market information as independent variables. the study utilized a survey research design and research findings indicated that market information barriers and institutional environment have negative effects on the expansion of smes and their access to markets. chigunta (2001) scrutinized the issues limited small business organizations to access international markets. this is because youths do not have enough skills about innovating their product and services which limit their competitiveness in international markets. for that reason, this current study endeavored to provide updated and detailed data by examining the contribution of entrepreneurial training to the growth of youth-owned mses. the following hypotheses were built on the conceptual framework: ho4: market access has no significant contribution to the growth of youth-owned mses in rwanda. government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, and growth of youth-owned mses ramasobana et al. (2017) argued that owners of mses enter into economic activities because they not only need financial incentives, family culture acting as a role model, and independence to be their own's bosses but they also need to utilize their skills acquired. merung et al. (2019) have observed that youth entrepreneur characteristics positively contribute to the growth of enterprises. the authors indicated previous experience and education level as the main elements that enable young entrepreneurs to bring their businesses to success. working experience facilitate mses owners to achieve business as they have experience and expertise in performing all activities needed for business success. different studies argued from this point that people with previous experience brought their firms to success more than those without experience (kim & vonortas, 2014). this is because they already hold knowledge of how some financial and technical activities should be implemented. the knowledge level of the firm's proprietors is a key determinant that influences the growth of the firm (voda & florea, 2019). businesspeople with advanced levels of education were more capable to grow their enterprises than people who hold slight or no education (lussiers & pferfer, 2001). adegbite et al. (2007) used human resources factors to measure the growth of enterprise in nigeria. the study findings showed that human resource factors and the sales revenue, length of years in business, and working experience were found to have a positive contribution to the growth of the firm. public interventions in entrepreneurial activities are reshaping the business environment by affecting profits and employment generation in different countries (koellinger, 2008; karadag, 2017). these interventions play an important role both in situations of technological change and in the process of applying a new management system, and finally, increase capital investment and employment creation. innovation has a positive relationship with the growth of a firm but an enterprise, without innovation in its business undertakings; its profits remain little or zero (kiveu et al., 2019). different researchers argued that innovations lead to the growth of enterprises. for example, schumpeter (1942) noted that innovation helps an enterprise to conquer its rivals in the market and finally enhance firm growth. rogers (1995); daksa et al. (2018) supported schumpeterian innovation theory and they argued that individuals with a knowledge education level and innovation would grow enterprises. research carried out by taperashi et al. (2018). on the individual characteristics and growth of small firms in jordan. the research findings indicated that experience and knowledge level have a positive impact on the growth of small business organizations. the following hypotheses were formulated and built on the conceptual framework: ho5: individual characteristics have no significant moderating effect on the relationship between the government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali, rwanda. materials and methods research design an explanatory research design has a crucial significance in determining causal correlations between variables and establishing the nature of the association (rahi, 2017). the feedback provided by youth-owned mses facilitated the analysis of quantitative and quantitative data, testing research hypotheses, and finally making a conclusion formation. study context and population the study was conducted in 35 administrative sectors comprising gasabo, kicukiro, and nyarugenge which are three districts of kigali city, rwanda. the city of kigali was selected because it has a high number of youth-owned mses receiving entrepreneurial interventions from the government. some youth-owned mses strived to take their enterprise to the growth stage while others failed thus being suitable for this study. mses have been chosen because they offer income and employment opportunities to a high proportion of young people. the study targeted youth-owned mses; 35 years and below and who were operating businesses in kigali during data collection. it also targeted enterprise holders who got at least one entrepreneurial intervention from the government. the enterprises were from the following different business sectors, agriculture, mining, commerce, services, manufacturing, and energy. for the youth-owned micro and small enterprises being unit of population, they might operate a profitable business as well as hold the recent business document. the stratified sampling technique was also employed to select 154 youth-owned mses from 252 of the population (alene, 2020). this sample size was enabled by yamane’s (1967) formula. niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 15 data collection and analysis a questionnaire was used in gathering data from154 youth-owned mses in kigali city, rwanda. the questionnaires were organized for collecting thoughts on youth-owned mses related to the government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, and growth of youth-owned mses. the questionnaire encompassed questions about the bio-data of youthowned mses, the contribution to the growth of youth-owned mses in the context of government entrepreneurial interventions, and individual characteristics. the research instrument was based on the constructs and theories used in this study (rvb, gibb’s support theory, adoption theory, and growth of a firm theory). the concepts of government entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics, and growth of youth-owned mses were measured using a fivepoint likert scale method for reducing response effort and time. the collected data was analyzed using descriptive and regression statistics. results and discussions the results presented below present respondent bio characteristics. in addition, the present results of hypotheses testing and discussion table 1. statistical analysis of demographic characteristics category sub-category frequency percentage gender female 65 42.2% male 89 57.8% total 154 100% age less than 20 years. 4 2.6% 21-24 years 21 13.6% 25-28 years 30 19.4% 29-32 years 52 33.8% 33-35 years 47 30.6% total 154 100% level of education primary 29 18.9 secondary 54 35.0 college 39 25.3 graduate 26 16.9 postgraduate 6 3.9 total 154 100% type of ownership sole proprietorship 148 96.1 partnership 6 3.9 total 154 100% years of business in operation under one year 10 6.5 1-3 years 57 37.0 4-7 years 49 31.8 8-11 30 19.5 over 11 years 8 5.2 total 154 100% types of business agriculture 28 18.1 mining 8 5.1 service 38 24.7 commerce 45 29.2 manufacturing 24 15.7 energy 11 7.2 total 154 100.0 number of employees in the business less than 3 44 28.6 4-8 39 25.3 9-13 31 20.1 14-18 24 15.6 more than 19 16 10.4 total 154 100.0 source: survey data, 2022 the findings indicated that 57.8% of respondents were male and 42.2% of respondents were female. it means that mses are dominantly managed by male youth. the research findings show that the age of youth-owned mses ranging between 33-35 years is next with 30.6 %, 29-32 years with 33.8%, 25-28 years with 19.4%, and 21-24 years with 13.6%, and less than 20 years were 6.3% who were found to be the manager of the family business. the age range is a good indication that the study targeted youth according to their ages as they were defined in the study. the results showed that youth-owned mses attained postgraduate levels at 3.9%, undergraduate at 16.9%, college at 25.3%, secondary education at 35%, and primary education at 18.9%. it was concluded that youth-owned mses have attained secondary and university education. according to the results, sole proprietorship accounts for 96.1 % of all mses, which explains that sole proprietorships dominate partnerships resulting in the fact that sole proprietorships have fewer legal and tax obligations than partnerships as indicated by amarteifio and agbeblewu (2017). the majority of micro and small niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 16 enterprises (37.0 %) are between 1 and 3 years old. karadag, (2017), reported that 40% of micro and small-sized businesses are unable to carry out their business activities for five years and only a few mses can survive five or beyond five years. the findings revealed that 18.2% of respondents are carrying out their economic activities in agriculture, 5.2% in the mining sector, 24.7% in the services sector, 29.2% in the commerce sector, and 15.7% in the manufacturing sector. the findings demonstrated that 53.9% of youth-owned mses are working in services and trade and 7.2% of youth-owned mses are in energy activities. as remarked by the world bank, mses employ 1-49 workers. those with 1-3 employees are microenterprises while those with 4-49 employees are small enterprises. the findings showed that 28.6% of mses employed less than three workers, 25.3% employed 4-8, 20.1% employed 9-13, 15.6% employed 14-18, and 10.4% employed over 19 employees testing of hypotheses h01: entrepreneurial training does not influence the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda. h02: access to credit does not contribute to the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda. h03: online social media does not contribute to the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda. h04: market access does not contribute to the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda. h05: individual characteristics do not moderate the relationship between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda in this research, the regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between entrepreneurial training, access to credit, online social media, and market access on growth. the findings are presented below in table 2 model summary the adjusted r-squared indicates the variation in the mses’ growth caused by equal changes in the government entrepreneurial interventions as displayed by results in table 2. table 2. model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. the error of the estimate r square change durbin watson 1 .791a .626 .616 .17001 .626 2.767 table 2 displays the adjusted r-squared value of 0.626. it indicated that there is a variation of 62% in the growth of smes in kigali city due to entrepreneurial training, access to credit, online social media, and market access, and it has been measured using a 95% of confidence level. the study shows that all other factors remain constant; the 62% change in the growth of mses is contributed by variations in entrepreneurial training, access to credit, online social media, and market access. table 2 indicated the strong correlation between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses as indicated by a robust coefficient of correlation of 0.791. analysis of variance (anova) the significance of the study was also tested by use of the anova method and the results were displayed in table 3 below. table 3. anova model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 7.221 4 1.805 62.454 .000b residual 4.307 149 .029 total 11.527 153 a. dependent variable: growth b. predictors: (constant), training, credit, online social media, market access table 3 displays that the p-value of 0.000 is less than 0.05 and f (4,149) = 62.454. this is an indication that entrepreneurial training, access to credit, online social media, and market access have a significant contribution to the mses’ growth in kigali city, rwanda. table 4. regression coefficient model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .607 .499 1.217 .024 entrepreneurial training .171 .117 .161 1.466 .016 access to credit .109 .111 .112 .981 .032 online social media .111 .135 .106 .825 .042 access to market .764 .144 .697 5.315 .000 a. dependent variable: growth of youth-owned mses source: survey data, 2022 niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 17 table 5 shows that entrepreneurial training, access to credit, online social media, and market access are individually correlated with the growth of youth-owned mses. the following model has been drawn from table 4: growth of mses = 0.607 + 0. 171 entrepreneurial training + 0.109 access to credit + 0.111online social media + 0. 764 access to market + e…………………………………model 1 h01: entrepreneurial training does not affect the mses’ growth in kigali, rwanda. table 4 shows that entrepreneurial training and the growth of mses specifically those managed by youth; the two variables are statistically correlated as β= 0.171and p=0. 016 which is less than 0.05 at the confidence level of 95%. h01 was rejected; it means that entrepreneurial training affected the mses’ growth in kigali. one unit change in entrepreneurial training would lead to a proportionate increase in growth with 0. 171. the ratios of the variables are less than (p<0.05) and hence agreed that they are significant. the results found in table 4 do not differ from the resource-based view and other studies. according to the resource-based view, access to the resources such as training is critical for firms to achieve growth (brem & wolfram, 2014). these arguments agreed with studies by haider et al. (2017) and mamo (2022), who found that entrepreneurial training, is the main component of government entrepreneurial interventions that allow firms to access knowledge-based needed for the growth of enterprises. other studies, including that by semegn and bishno (2021), which reflected on the contribution of training to the growth of the firm in ethiopia, they are agreed with the findings of this study; since their studies confirmed training as an important factor contributes to the growth of enterprises, moreover, acquah and mensah's (2015) study noted that entrepreneurial training contributes to firm abilities and finally increase the growth. h02: access to credit does not affect the mses’ growth in kigali, rwanda. table 4 shows that access to credit has β= 0.109 and p=0.032 which is less than 0.05. access to credit has an impact on the growth of micro and small enterprises in kigali, rwanda, according to a 95 percent confidence level. it is indicated that there is a substantial correlation between access to credit and the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda, at a confidence level of 95%. h02 was rejected. a change in access to credit would bring a proportionate increase to mses’ growth with 109. the ratios of the variables are less than (p<0.05) and hence agreed that they are significant. the findings agreed with other research carried out by semegn and bishno (2021), which was dedicated to the effect of credit on the growth of the firm in nigeria, they are agreed with the findings of this study; since their studies confirmed that finance accessibility has a substantial impact on the growth of enterprises, moreover, acquah and mensah's (2021) study noted that financial credit contributes to the growth of the firm. rbv theory arguments support these findings because credit enables enterprises to access other existing resources needed for a firm’s growth (sok et al., 2013). h03: online social media does not influence the mses’ growth in kigali, rwanda. table 4 reveals that online social media has an important contribution to the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda, with p=0.042 being less than 0.05. it means that h03 was rejected, and it means that the alternative hypothesis was accepted. a proportionate increase in the use of online social media factor would proportionately increase 0.111 of a factor on mses’ growth. the ratios of the variables are less than (p<0.05) and hence agreed that they are significant. online social media has the greatest impact on customer retention and sales improvement. according to the study by salim and sulaiman (2011), online social media and growth are statistically and positively correlated even if; some enterprises do not focus on online social media. moreover, sylvie (2012) found that online social media positively influence the growth of small firms. h04: market access does not influence the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda. the study reveals that there is a positive correlation between market access and growth of mses in kigali, rwanda at the confidence level of 95%, as β= 0.764 and p=0.000 lesser than 0.05. h04 was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was accepted. as indicated in the above regression equation, a proportionate change in the market access factor would proportionately contribute to mses’ growth by a factor of 0.764. the ratios of the variables are less than (p<0.05) and hence agreed that they are significant. different studies revealed a positive relationship between market access and growth (alansari et al., 2013). therefore, market access enables firms to sell more as well as to grow. different forms of accessing resources are unique approaches that youth-owned mses utilize to create possibilities for changing the economy (schumpeter, 1942). other studies conducted by donaldson and hornbeck (2016); feleke (2015) have also indicated that market access has a significant contribution to the mses' growth. test of the moderation effect the regression models have been utilized in this study to evaluate the hypotheses. model 1 was utilized to look at the influence of the independent variable, entrepreneurial interventions, on the dependent variable, growth. in regression on growth, model 2, interventions, individual characteristics, and the interaction between entrepreneurial interventions and individual characteristics were all investigated. the regression results from the two models as presented in table 5 below. niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 18 table 5. model summary for moderator analysis model r r square adjusted r square std. the error of the estimate r square change f change sig. f change 1 .598a .358 .353 .33766 .358 72.368 .000 2 .782a .612 .603 .26440 .254 5.015 .000 a. predictors : (constant), entrepreneurial training b. predictors: (constant), entrepreneurial interventions and individual characteristics, entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics c. dependent variable: growth of youth-owned mses source: survey data, 2021 according to the r-square, as shown in table 5, the variation in r-square = 0.254, f change = 5.015, and p-value = 0.000 indicates that individual characteristics greatly contribute to the correlation between government entrepreneurial interventions and micro and small enterprise growth. in this study, individual characteristics are moderating variables utilized to determine the correlation between government entrepreneurial interventions and micro and small enterprise growth. table 6. anova for moderator analysis model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 8.251 1 8.251 72.368 .000b residual 14.822 130 .114 total 23.073 131 2 regression 14.125 3 4.708 67.353 .000b residual 8.948 128 .070 total 23.073 131 a. dependent variable: growth b. predictors: (constant), entrepreneurial interventions c. predictors: (constant), entrepreneurial interventions and individual characteristics, entrepreneurial interventions, individual characteristics source: survey data, 2022 the research findings of table 6 show that the first model is significant without the interaction, with f (1, 131) = 72.368 and p-value = 0.000b. furthermore, in the second model with the interaction, f (3,131) = 67.353 and p-value = 0.000b, there is significance. coefficients for moderator analysis to determine the study model, the researcher used the coefficient matrix and its values were provided in table 7. table 7. coefficients moderator analysis model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .223 .284 .788 .432 entrepreneurial training .953 .067 .758 14.320 .000 2 constant .099 .275 .360 .720 government entrepreneurial interventions .798 .077 .635 10.414 .000 individual characteristics .184 .050 .224 3.677 .000 interaction between entrepreneurial interventions and individual characteristics .264 .197 2.024 1.339 .183 a. dependent variable: growth of youth-owned mses source: survey data, 2022 the results as shown in table 7 can be stated in the following model: the data obtained from the coefficient matrix was used to establish the regression equation as shown below growth of mses = 0.223 + 0.798 entrepreneurial interventions………………………………………model 1 government entrepreneurial interventions are positively important at β=0.953; t = 14.320; p = 0.000, which indicates the correlation between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses. growth of mses = 0.099 + 0.798 government entrepreneurial interventions + 0. 184 individual characteristics 0.264 government entrepreneurial interventions * individual characteristics.................................................................model 2 the results for the second model show that government entrepreneurial interventions are important at β=0.798; t = 10.414; p =0.000, individual characteristics are significant at β= .184; t = 3.677; p= 000 niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 19 table 8. decision criteria model 1 model 2 total effect conclusion β1 = 0.953 (p<0.05) β46 = 0. 184 (p<0.05) β47= 0.264 the moderating variable has a moderating effect source: survey, 2022 the study used decision criteria generated by whisman and mcclelland (2005) and, therefore, individual characteristics are moderating factors used to determine the correlation between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda. β47, which is the interaction of individual characteristics and government entrepreneurial interventions, is 0.264 at a 95% confidence interval revealing that for each unit increase in individual characteristics, there is an increase in government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses by 0.264. h05: individual characteristics do not influence the correlation between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda these results imply that the study rejects h05, as a decision, individual characteristics are moderating aspects used to determine the relationship between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of mses in kigali, rwanda. the results agreed with other research findings obtained from the study conducted in kenya by mburu and njoroge (2018), which found a moderating effect between individual characteristics and government entrepreneurial interventions, and that individual characteristics positively contribute to the government entrepreneurial interventions and growth of mses. the research results agreed with other studies which state that education level, innovation, and working experience have an impact on a firm's growth (dixon et al., 2014). other studies performed by daellenbach et al. (1999) have indicated that individual characteristics play an essential role in increasing mses' ability to operate and their competitiveness in nigeria. the majority of preceding research is consistent with the findings of this study. conclusions the conclusions were formulated based on the research problem and it has been found that the mses significantly contribute to the national economy. the study concludes that mses which benefited from government entrepreneurial interventions; survive and grow from the infantry to the maturity stage. in conclusion, entrepreneurial training contributes to the growth of smes in kigali city. entrepreneurial skills are an important aspect that youth-owned mses need to run their business activities. this is because entrepreneurial training provides knowledge in accounting, technology, customer care, and reporting skills that positively influence the growth of mses. the training should be identified so that the mse may be trained. in addition, the study concludes that loan is a key pillar in the growth of mses. availability and affordable sources of finances would have a significant contribution to firms’ growth. for business operations to be run well, the mses should be able to access all kinds of sources of finance. this gives the business a competitive edge over the other businesses and it increases firm growth. online social media contributes to the growth of mses, there is a conclusion that it highly affects the growth of the firm. the study, therefore, concludes that the mse youth must come up with technological-based online social media for competing with their rivals. the use of online social media in product marketing and promotion improves mses’ growth. therefore, entrepreneurs also need to use online social media since it is a good instrument for interacting with and reach to customers. on the influence of the market on the mses’ growth, the study concludes that market access positively contributes to the growth of an enterprise. the firm with access to the markets has an increase in sales turnover and profitability translating to sustainability. policy implication the study came out with the following recommendations which are aimed at improving smes programs based on the study objectives. the entrepreneurial skills received by the entrepreneur are major factors in enterprise management. as a recommendation, that training should be given to the mses and their employees so that they may gain skills in various aspects of managing the business, and the course of entrepreneurship should be included curriculum at all levels. this will have an overall positive influence on the sustainability of their business. for the mses to achieve their full growth, they must have quick access to credit; either from formal or informal sectors. entrepreneurs should have basic knowledge of business management. this knowledge and skills in managing enterprises allow firms to have easy access to credit from commercial banks as well as ensure they have a reliable source of finance. the government should intervene by designing and enforcing a financial strategy to assist the mses. a kitty may be set aside to assist the mses to get credit in flexible terms. the research findings showed that market access highly affects the output of mse. the study, therefore, recommends that the youth-owned mse must come up with innovative ways of curbing competition. the study also recommends the use of appropriate technology in production, distribution as well as sales promotion that gives the business a competitive advantage. the study recommended that the firms should adopt online social media which is a better marketing strategy. this strategy should involve all the employees so that they also develop a mindset of customer retention. mse are recommended niyonsaba et al., american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 9-24 20 to use technology-based online social in business operations as a better way to reach and, or interact with customers for remaining competitive in the market and sustainable. limitation and future direction of research even though the government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of youth-owned mses are correlated but mses still have some challenges. the study’s data were collected from rwandan youth-owned mses. thus, the conclusion should be generalized to the population with attention. furthermore, various kinds of entrepreneurial interventions offered by governments are specific to a particular context, and the individual characteristics of the government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of youth-owned mses. some respondents did not like to give out information related to their businesses so getting information relating to profits (turnover) might be a hindrance. this limitation was overcome by assuring respondents that information would be kept confidential. as a result, future research should look into how government entrepreneurial interventions influence the growth of youth-owned mses in kigali city. furthermore, various variables such as entrepreneurial training, access to credit, online social media, and market access that may influence the relationship between government entrepreneurial interventions and the growth of youth-owned mses, in rwanda were taken into account in this study. as such, more research into these aspects concerning the growth of youth-owned mses is essential. author contributions: conceptualization, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n.; methodology, b.n. and m.j.n.; software, b.n.; validation, b.n.; formal analysis, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n.; investigation, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n.; resources, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n.; data curation, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n.; writing – original draft preparation, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n.; writing – review & editing, b.n.; visualization, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n.; supervision, b.n.; project administration, b.n.; funding acquisition, b.n., s.m.m. and m.j.n. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references abbott, p., murenzi, i., & musana, s. 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(2nd ed.), new york: harper and row publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://unctad.org/en/publications https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041192 https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/10.1596/978-1-4648-0351-2 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 1-8 1 social science research aijssr vol 13 no 1 (2022) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa obstacles to sustainable security in the kurdistan region using the fuzzy delphi chiman khayati (a)1 (a) graduated master of management, islamic azad university, iran; e-mail: chiman.khayati@gmail.com a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 29th june 2022 accepted: 1st august 2022 online publication: 20th august 2022 keywords: sustainable security, kurdistan region, fuzzy delphi, fuzzy dematel jel classification codes: a19, b10, b25, c10, c53 a b s t r a c t this study aimed to investigate the obstacles to achieving sustainable security in the kurdistan region. the statistical analysis of data was performed through excel software. based on the studies' content analysis, nine obstacles to the kurdistan region's sustainable security were finally identified to enter delphi. the fuzzy delphi method was used to screen and ensure the importance of the identified indicators and select the final indicators. experts' opinions were used to assess the importance of the indicators. in this study, fuzzy triangular numbers were used to fuzzy experts' views. the first-round results showed that all indicators gained more than 7, and as a result, remained in the evaluation. based on the second-round results, it was found that the difference of all measures was less than 0.5, and thus delphi was ended. the dematel results showed that the sum of elements (d) indicated the extent to which that factor influenced other factors in the system. accordingly, c2 had the greatest impact. the sum of column elements (r) for each factor indicated how that factor was affected by other system factors. thus, c7 was heavily influenced by other system factors. based on the horizontal vector (d + r), c2 had the most interaction with other criteria. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction introduce the problem sustainable security plays a key role in stabilizing the sovereignty and people's sustainability and the development and progress of nations. sustainable security is a multifaceted concept that complicates its emergence and deployment, especially in multi-ethnic communities such as the kurdistan region, and may often be fraught with different obstacles. therefore, having a continuous and stable security model seems to be necessary to remove obstacles. ethnic pluralism and diversity may create threats or opportunities for the central government that pose challenges at the ideological, legal, or agency level of the dominant government or ideology. it may also pose threats such as divergence and separatism. recognizing the patterns and specific works of factors affecting sustainable security and their management and engineering plays a significant role in turning threats into opportunities (pirali & seadat, 2013). the meaning of security is freedom from danger and threat and absence of fear towards external factors. security is the rejection of threatening opportunities and threats, which is not limited to the fields of economy, culture, and politics, but includes all aspects and social affairs. security is the natural right of every person and the first condition for the continuation of life and coexistence, and just as the need for food, housing, etc. is necessary for human life, security is also a general and necessary good, and as stated in maslow's hierarchy of needs (sarukhani & hashemnejad, 2011). the need for security is raised immediately after the basic and physiological needs, and in other words, the most important need is after the primary needs are met. humans have always sought to protect themselves against threats, dangers and damages in different ways, but in new societies and due to the expansion of social institutions and social life becoming more complex, security has different types and types, and in other words, it can be said that security in it has penetrated all environmental, economic, political, social and cultural dimensions (khademi, 2008) also, the sense of security and the high security factor are indicators of development and the state of basaman, which, as one of the most important indicators of social welfare, overshadows other indicators of this category. growth and development have always been provided in the shadow of 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0002-6269-4277 © 2022 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v13i1.1785 to cite this article: khayati, c. (2022). obstacles to sustainable security in the kurdistan region using the fuzzy delphi. american international journal of social science research, 13(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v13i1.1785 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v13i1.1785 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6269-4277 khayati, american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 1-8 2 minimum security, and the search for security has always been one of the most important motivations and needs of humans, which is considered the most important need of all local, national and regional communities. the feeling of security is the subjective aspect of this category and it can be said that it has all aspects of security in it. this concept is one of the important and influential concepts in social welfare issues; this means that prosperity without a sense of security has no meaning, but due to its high degree of sensitivity and importance and its impact on the lives of all people, it has not been addressed as it deserves, and this is while establishing security and its feeling can be a powerful potential. to grow and excel from the individual to the transnational level, and of course, the opposite is also true. in the conditions of lack of security, the spread of social damage and the increase in crime are considered as signs of its weakness and indicate the decline of social security. on the other hand, what is certain is that providing security and creating a sense of security in the society will not be possible only by the government, but people as active actors in the social arena have a significant role in achieving this. therefore, in order to achieve prosperity, which is one of the most important goals and demands of any society, it is necessary to address the issue of security as one of the main indicators of prosperity and development. the feeling of security is influenced by several factors, one of which is the category of social trust (movahed et al., 2012). the necessity of forming social bonds of people and as a result of that relationships between people, expresses an important component called social trust among people. trust is a central concept in the classical theories of sociology, as well as the main axis of modern theories of social capital and the field of interactions and social relations. in fact, the concept of trust has a special place in the perspective of sociological experts. trust can be the most important paradigm of order and the focus of sociologists' thoughts; considered durkheim and tonis. at the same time, trust is the basis of interactions and social relations and the focus of the concept of social capital. granwater believes that when agreements are reached within the larger framework of personal relationships and social networks, trust is created and the motivation to violate regulations fades (natiqpour & firozabadi, 2005). trust can be considered the most important component of social order. for this reason, eisenstadt rightly notes that the most important issue of social order for the founders is trust and solidarity; that is, without cohesion and a kind of trust, the sustainability of social order is impossible (chalabi & mobaraki, 2005). in fact, trust allows people to easily communicate with each other and it is because of this facilitation of action that trust is mentioned as one of the most important dimensions of social capital (preston & colman, 2000). there are many evidences showing the reduction of social trust in all dimensions and emotional and special-oriented bias in the relations of activists at all levels in iranian society (chalabi & mobaraki, 2005). the research that was conducted on the values and attitudes of iranians in 2013 by the national plans office of the ministry of culture and islamic guidance shows that in general there is mistrust among people in the society. for example, "in relation to the prevalence of hypocrisy among the people, the most responses were high and very high, respectively 37.4% and 29.4% respectively (ghaffari, 2004). also, the results of this research in 2013 indicate that the level of people's trust to those who do not know, that is, the generalized trust is equal to 14.2%, which is very low are considered important indicators, therefore, the low level of this type of trust in any society is considered one of the main obstacles to development and progress. lack of attention to such work may cause the weakness of citizenship culture and national identity in the future and face the society with more serious challenges. and delay the development movement of the country (natiqpour & firozabadi, 2005). security and its effects on other major aspects of society, including economics, culture, science, and technology, are not hidden from anyone (naderi et al., 2010). undoubtedly, in societies with high security, the cornerstone of major economic and cultural activities can be established; however, society's economic and cultural foundations will collapse without security. although various academic papers and works have discussed security in general, the comprehensiveness of the fuzzy delphi research method regarding meta-analysis and modeling of qualitative issues and updating security research clarifies the need for this research is the difference between this study and previous studies. researchers' efforts to find a multifaceted model of factors affecting the kurdistan region's security have failed. examining the internal and regional conditions and the causes and obstacles to sustainable security in the kurdistan region, this article seeks to answer these two questions: (1) what are the obstacles to sustainable security in the kurdistan region? and (2) what are the interrelationships between these factors? the necessity of any research is defined based on its spatial and temporal requirements. the kurdistan region's characteristics, including its location in the crossroads of three countries, history, war, etc., have doubled the need to consider sustainable security issues. therefore, the kurdistan region is inherently one of the most threatened areas due to its location in an insecure strategic environment and challenging security environment. this region needs vigilant and rational land management based on modern scientific analyses and explanations, which depend on land planning, considering its human and natural requirements. therefore, considering the kurdistan region's situation and its neighboring countries, most of which are weak and unstable, it is necessary to pay attention to sustainable security and explain its obstacles. importance of the problem the iraqi kurdistan region consists of the five provinces of sulaymaniyah, kirkuk, erbil, mosul, and duhok, and the kurds now make up 15-20% of the country's population (akhwan kazemi, 2013). the region now called iraqi kurdistan is one of the main, densely populated, and strategic regions established under the sykes-picot agreement (1916), following an agreement between france and britain to divide the ottoman empire and form a new state called iraq. the issue of iraqi kurdistan and its accession to iraq in britain's lausanne treaty was changed differently. following king faisal's request for kurdish annexation to iraq and the success of kemal atatürk, the british decided to agree to kurdish annexation to iraq to avoid a possible conflict with turkey over mosul and kirkuk. after the above developments and initial successes, the iraqi kurdistan region tried to organize its actions and prepare for the formation of an independent state in the exceptional atmosphere created by the weakness of the central government and its conflict with the islamic state of iraq and syria khayati, american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 1-8 3 (isis), the insensitivity of regional actors, and the support of trans-regional actors at the national and regional levels (jannati, 2017). the iraqi kurdistan regional government is rapidly building and developing its political, administrative, and legal the iraqi kurdistan regional government, centered in erbil, is an autonomous region located in the northern part of iraq. this region shares land borders with turkey from the north, iran from the east, and syria from the west. the region whose population is based on the last estimates are around 6,200,000 people. kurds, who comprise about 19 to 25 percent of the total population of iraq, constitute the majority of the iraqi kurdistan region. according to unofficial statistics, turkmens are ranked second in terms of population, and after them, ethnic groups such as yazidis, christians, including assyrians, chaldeans, and suranis make up the population structure of iraqi kurdistan (hafez, 2013). during the baath regime of iraq, saddam's government destroyed about four thousand kurdish villages following an operation called anfal in order to create a buffer zone on its northern borders with iran from 1983 until the end of the eight-year war in 1988 and forced the residents of these areas to deported to other parts of iraq, during this inhumane and painful process, about 180 thousand kurds lost their lives. one of the most painful of these operations was the chemical attack on halabja, which can be considered as a full-scale genocide. the people of kurdistan were reminded by the iraqi baath government that this chemical attack killed nearly 5,000 people and wounded nearly 7,000 to 10,000 civilians. hundreds of them died years after the attack due to the consequences, diseases and defects of the body at birth. an incident that still remains the largest direct chemical attack on an urban area in history (jafari et al., 2018). given the geostrategic and geopolitical position of iraqi kurdistan, this region could have multiple implications for iraq, peripheral states, and the middle east policy of trans-regional powers. therefore, this study seeks to address sustainable security in the kurdistan region from a different perspective. research objectives  identifying barriers to sustainable security in the iraqi kurdistan region  explaining the relationship between the obstacles to sustainable security in the iraqi kurdistan region methods and materials the research method is an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. in this design, the first qualitative data are collected and analyzed, and then in the second phase, quantitative data are collected and analyzed. a measurement tool is usually developed through qualitative research. therefore, by collecting and analyzing qualitative data, the main aspects of the phenomenon under study are determined. these aspects are considered as the desired dimensions for the development of data collection tools. results statistics and data analysis data analysis consists of three main operations: (1) describing and preparing the data needed to test the hypotheses, (2) analyzing the relationships between the variables, and (3) comparing the observed results with the expected results of the hypotheses. in this process, data is refined both conceptually and empirically, and various statistical techniques play a significant role in inferences and generalizations. fuzzy delphi technique based on the studies' content analysis, finally, nine obstacles to the kurdistan region's sustainable security were identified to enter delphi. the fuzzy delphi method is used to screen and ensure the importance of the identified criteria and select the final criteria. experts’ opinions are used to assess the importance of criteria. although experts use their mental competencies and abilities to make comparisons, the traditional process of quantifying people's opinions does not fully reflect the human thinking style. in other words, the use of fuzzy sets is more compatible with linguistic and sometimes ambiguous human expressions. therefore, it is better to make long-term predictions and real-world decisions using fuzzy sets (fuzzy numbers) (kahraman, 2008). in this study, fuzzy triangular numbers are also used for the fuzzification of experts' views. experts’ views on the importance of each criterion are collected with a nine-degree fuzzy scale. table 1. nine-degree fuzzy scale for evaluating criteria fuzzy number scale linguistic variable crisp equivalent (1،1،1) very insignificant 1 (1،2،3) very insignificant to insignificant 2 (2،3،4) insignificant 3 (3،4،5) insignificant to moderate significance 4 (4،5،6) moderate significance 5 (5،6،7) moderate significance to significant 6 (6،7،8) significant 7 (7،8،9) significant to very significant 8 (9،9،9) very significant 9 khayati, american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 1-8 4 figure 1. evaluation of criteria using fuzzy triangular numbers the first round of the delphi technique ten experts’ views on each criterion are shown in table 2. table 2. the fuzzification of expert panel’s views on each criterion 1 2 .... 10 l m u l m u l m u l m u lack of civil liberties c1 7 8 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 9 political instability c2 9 9 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 9 the role of regional actors c3 7 8 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 9 lack of sustainable development infrastructure c4 9 9 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 9 foreign terrorism c5 7 8 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 9 the growth of extremist currents c6 7 8 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 9 lack of popular support for macro policies c7 7 8 9 7 8 9 7 8 9 9 9 9 1) round i the fuzzy mean and defuzzified output of the criteria' values are given in table 4-5. in this study, a threshold value of 7 is considered. a defuzzified value greater than 7 is acceptable, and any criterion less than seven is rejected (wu & fang, 2011: 751). table 3. the fuzzy mean and fuzzy screening of the criteria (round i) r1 l m u crisp result lack of civil liberties 6.563 7.504 8.428 7.498 accepted political instability 6.73 7.593 8.428 7.584 accepted the role of regional actors 6.563 7.504 8.428 7.498 accepted lack of sustainable development infrastructure 7.054 7.815 8.642 7.837 accepted foreign terrorism 6.563 7.504 8.428 7.498 accepted the growth of extremist currents 6.96 7.815 8.642 7.806 accepted lack of popular support for macro policies 6.941 7.865 8.777 7.861 accepted all criteria less than seven will be removed. the results showed that all criteria gained more than seven and thus remained in the evaluation. 2) round ii the fuzzy delphi analysis continued for the criteria remaining in the second round. the defuzzification results of the elements in the second round are reported in table 4. table 4. the fuzzy mean and fuzzy screening of the criteria (round ii) r2 l m u crisp result lack of civil liberties 6.73 7.593 8.428 7.584 accepted political instability 6.96 7.815 8.642 7.806 accepted the role of regional actors 6.787 7.723 8.642 7.718 accepted lack of sustainable development infrastructure 7.054 7.815 8.642 7.837 accepted foreign terrorism 6.563 .504 8.428 7.498 accepted the growth of extremist currents 6.96 .815 8.642 7.806 accepted lack of popular support for macro policies 6.941 .865 8.777 7.861 accepted khayati, american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 1-8 5 comparison of delphi technique rounds in the second round, no items were removed. in general, one approach to the end of delphi is to compare the average scores of the first round and second round items. if the difference between the two stages is less than the low threshold (0.5), then the polling process will be stopped (cheng & lin, 2002). table 5. the distance between the crisp value of the first round and the second round criteria the result of the round i the result of the round ii difference result lack of civil liberties 7.498 7.584 0.086 accepted political instability 7.584 7.806 0.222 accepted the role of regional actors 7.498 7.718 0.22 accepted lack of sustainable development infrastructure 7.837 7.837 0 accepted foreign terrorism 7.498 7.498 0 accepted the growth of extremist currents 7.806 7.806 0 accepted lack of popular support for macro policies 7.861 7.861 0 accepted the results in table 5 show that the difference of all measures is less than 0.5, so the delphi process is terminated. fuzzy dematel dematel is one of the multi-criteria decision-making techniques aiming to evaluate research factors in terms of causal relationships. the steps of the fuzzy dematel technique are given below (yeh & huang, 2014). step 1: determine the direct relation matrix (d) in this step, respondents were asked to show the effect of criterion i on criterion j using table 1. according to formula (2-1), their arithmetic mean is obtained for considering all experts' opinions. table 6. average experts’ views c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c7 h l m u l m u l m u l m u l m u l m u l m u c1 .2667 .3667 .4667 .0000 .0000 .0000 .1000 .1000 .1000 .4000 .5000 .6000 .3333 .4333 .5333 4.000 .5000 6.000 6.000 .7000 .8 0 0 0 c2 .2667 .1667 .2000 .4000 .5000 .6000 .0000 .0000 .0000 .2677 .3667 .4667 .2000 .3000 .4000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .1667 .7000 .8 0 0 0 c3 .1333 .5000 .6000 .4000 .5000 .6000 .0000 .0000 .0000 .2667 .3677 .4667 .2000 .3000 .4000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .1677 .2333 .3 0 0 0 c4 .4000 .5000 .1000 .4000 .5000 .6000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .0000 .0000 .0000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .6000 .7000 .8000 .2000 .3000 .4 0 0 0 c5 .1000 .1000 .1000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .2000 .3000 4.000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .0000 .0000 .0000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .6000 .7000 .8 0 0 0 c6 .4000 .5000 .6000 .6000 .7000 .8000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .1000 .1000 .1000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .000 .0000 .0000 .2000 .3000 .4000 c7 .2667 .3667 .4006 .4000 .5000 .6000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .4000 .5000 .6000 .2000 .3000 .4000 .0000 .0000 .0000 step 2: normalize the direct relation matrix according to equation (2-2), we normalize the mean matrix and call it the h matrix. equations (2.8) and (2.9) are used to normalize the obtained matrix. table 7. the defuzzified values df c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c7 c1 0.326 0.482 0.327 0.360 0.404 0.502 0.453 c2 0.457 0.489 0.334 0.476 0.518 0.590 0.645 c3 0.359 0.509 0.226 0.368 0.388 0.435 0.423 c4 0.482 0.627 0.384 0.340 0.480 0.643 0.542 c5 0.351 0.478 0.325 0.361 0.322 0.444 0.555 c6 0.441 0.602 0.338 0.334 0.428 0.390 0.487 c7 0.388 0.568 0.352 0.395 0.492 0.491 0.417 khayati, american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 1-8 6 step 3: network relations map (nrm) the threshold value must be calculated to determine the network relations map (nrm). in this way, it is possible to ignore minor relations and draw a network of significant relations. only relations whose values in the matrix t are greater than the threshold value will be displayed in nrm. for determining the value of the relationship threshold, it is enough to obtain the average defuzzified values of the matrix t. after the threshold is set, all values less than the threshold become zero, i.e., that causal relationship is not considered. table 8. pattern of causal relationships c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c7 2.854 3.508 2.707 3.500 2.838 3.019 3.103 2.806 3.755 2.285 2.633 3.033 3.495 3.521 5.660 7.263 4.992 6.133 5.871 6.515 6.624 0.049 -0.246 0.422 0.866 -0.196 -0.476 -0.419 in table 8, the sum of each row's elements (d) indicates the influence of that factor on other system factors. therefore, c2 is the most influential factor. the sum of the column (r) elements for each factor indicates the degree to which that factor is affected by other system factors. therefore, c7 is highly influenced by other factors. the horizontal vector (d + r) indicates how the factor is influential or influenced by the system. in other words, the higher the d + r, the more it interacts with other factors in the system. accordingly, c2 has the most interaction with other studied criteria. the vertical vector (d r) indicates the influence of each factor. in general, if d r is positive, it is considered a causal variable, and if it is negative, it is considered an effect variable. figure 2. the final research model discussion the sense of security is basically a subjective-objective category and is directly related to people's mentality and perception of vulnerability and threats. also, the role of security on individual and social life is much more complicated than previously expected, because it has wide dimensions and many hidden and obvious angles. the feeling of insecurity is more important than the insecurity itself; for example, a crime may have only a few victims, if the same incident causes fear and insecurity among a large number of people (babakhani, 2010). as societies develop and become more sophisticated, the community members’ demands also increase. therefore, the government must meet people's demands in proportion to the increase in their demands to achieve sustainable security. the extent to which people's demands are met is effective in creating security or insecurity (khojasteh nejad et al., 2017). it should be noted that the kurdistan region is in a highly evolving security environment in the middle east and is competing with regional powers. kurdistan region needs sustainable security to play its active role in the current challenging environment. continuous progress and sustainable security complement each other, and each paves the way for the development of the other. currently, the existence of security challenges in the region is undeniable, and various efforts and policies have failed to build sustainable security in the region. however, they have even led to the spread of disputes and challenges within the region and increased instability (zakeri-hamane et al., 2012). the formation of sustainable security in the kurdistan region is associated with various obstacles, including intra-regional and extra-regional barriers. at the regional level, the main obstacles to the sustainable security are the dominance of various disputes and conflicts between regional actors, including territorial and border disputes and political and ideological disputes in the patterns of friendship and enmity in the kurdistan region, as well as the conflicting interests of the three actors influencing the region, i.e., iran, turkey, and syria. sustainability perspective makes the basic contribution to the security issues analysis through systemic linking of khayati, american international journal of social science research 13(1) (2022), 1-8 7 economic, social and environmental spheres into a long-term, dynamic perspective. it also represents a paradigm shift in examining security concerns of a state and beyond. sustainability, as a set of principles or practices may be applied on different levels, from tactical to strategic, where the latter is also the most important. i am confident that the research will be beneficial for decision makers, strategists and long term planners as they have to take in consideration the broadest picture possible in determining ends, ways (concepts) and means (capabilities) that will enable adequate response to the threats and challenges for the security of a state. conclusions one of the most important common concerns of all countries is to establish stable order and security in the border areas. therefore, in order to establish stable order and security in these areas, the levels of development of border settlements should be analyzed so that managers can make the right decisions in this field, because underdevelopment and spatial imbalance in most border areas cause insecurity and it becomes difficult to establish stable security in these areas and they provide a lot of life and financial costs to the government. if the development of these areas is not paid attention to, insecurity may be transferred from the border and marginal areas to the center of the country and the national security of the country will face many challenges. one of the tools that can be widely used in planning for the integrated development of different regions of the country is the classification of regions in terms of their development or lack of development, for this purpose it is necessary to use different indicators in each sector, in other words one of the necessary and basic measures for regional development and reducing inequalities is the study of regional economic, social and cultural inequalities and the identification and position of regions relative to each other in terms of development. according to the results of the current study it is suggested that this research be done in other border cities. also it is suggested to study the relationship between the feeling of security and motivation to progress. it is suggested to study the relationship between the feeling of security and the type of leadership. author contributions: conceptualization, c.k.; methodology, c.k.; software, c.k.; validation, c.k.; formal analysis, c.k.; investigation, c.k.; resources, c.k.; data curation, c.k.; writing – original draft preparation, c.k.; writing – review & editing, c.k.; visualization, c.k.; supervision, c.k.; project administration, c.k.; funding acquisition, c.k.. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references akhavan kazemi, m., & azizi, p. 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(2014). heterogeneous domain adaptation and classification by exploiting the correlation subspace. ieee transactions on image processing, 23(5), 2009-2018. https://doi.org/10.1109/tip.2014.2310992 zakeri-hamane, r., afshani, s. a., & askari-nodoushan, a. (2012). social capital and the sense of social security in the city of yazd, iran. iranian journal of sociology, 13(3), 83-110. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2022 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1016/s0001-6918(99)00050-5 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 14(2) (2023), 1-8 1 social science research aijssr vol 14 no 2 (2023) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa interactive approaches in the elt classroom: a conceptual study in the educational institutes of bangladesh md. kawser ahmed (a)1 kazi imran hossain (a) assistant professor, department of english and modern languages, iubat-international university of business agriculture and technology, bangladesh; e-mail: kawser.ahmed@iubat.edu (b) senior lecturer, department of english and modern languages, iubat-international university of business agriculture and technology, bangladesh; e-mail: imrankazi@iubat.edu a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 10th july 2023 revised: 27th november 2023 accepted: 4th december 2023 published: 12th december 2023 keywords: authority, behavior, breakthrough, classroom, interactive a b s t r a c t in an effort to foster a positive learning environment in traditional english language teaching (elt) classrooms, language experts advocate for the implementation of an interactive approach to enhance the effectiveness of education for learners. the interactive classroom encompasses various elements, including active participation in the learning process, active engagement in the exchange of ideas, and active involvement in communication with teachers. from the perspective of authority, learners are motivated to express their views, practises, and patterns of behaviour. linguistic challenges are encountered by learners, necessitating their engagement in discussions with peers and educators in order to surmount these intricacies. the process of interaction fosters the development of innovative learning, since learners are able to effectively address psychological hurdles by engaging with others. the objective of this study is to examine the application of an interactive method in the english language teaching (elt) classroom and to analyse the prevailing scenario of interactive education in bangladeshi educational institutions. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction educators are most effective in imparting knowledge to students by employing diverse techniques and strategies. they serve as a source of motivation for learners to actively participate in assuming various roles within the physical classroom setting. in order to effectively engage students in the classroom, it is imperative for teachers to provide a well-structured learning environment that takes into consideration several factors such as the age group of the learners, their motivations and attitudes towards learning, as well as their willingness to actively participate in the learning process. in order to familiarise learners with diverse learning experiences, educators have the option to employ alternative approaches that deviate from conventional teaching practises. these strategies aim to engage students in authentic classroom activities. consequently, individuals would assume the dual role of both learners and monitors in relation to their evaluation and assessment. contemporary education places significant emphasis on fostering students' independent engagement, facilitating the creation of self-directed learning settings, and providing many opportunities for hands-on experimentation and practical training (yakovleva & yakovlev, 2014). therefore, students will be afforded a range of options and will be able to implement various projects and participate in flexible training sessions or programmes, enabling them to collaborate, coordinate, and assume leadership roles in a comfortable and adaptable manner. the pedagogical practise of employing an interactive approach in the teaching-learning process involves the utilisation of specific approaches and tactics. according to cerghit (2006), one of the contemporary approaches in education is the interactive method, which emphasises interactive learning. this method is rooted in the exchange of knowledge, ideas, experiences, opinions, principles, and impressions, leading to a certain level of achievement. bonwell and eison (1991), 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0002-8335-4140 © 2023 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i2.2141 to cite this article: ahmed, m. k., & hossain, k. i. (2023). interactive approaches in the elt classroom: a conceptual study in the educational institutes of bangladesh. american international journal of social science research, 14(2), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i2.2141 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i2.2141 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8335-4140 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4224-6773 ahmed & hossain, american international journal of social science research 14(2) (2023), 1-8 2 aaker-smith (2006), crawford et al. (2005), and oprea (2009) have underscored the significance of interactive approaches in various scholarly publications and review articles within the field of pedagogy, both domestically and internationally. similarly, aaker-smith (2006), oprea (2009), and petruţa (2013) have expressed the viewpoint that the utilisation of interactive methodologies and tactics facilitates the advancement of students with diverse intelligences within the educational setting. moreover, various forms of stimuli encompass the enhancement of cognitive processes, the cultivation of imaginative capabilities, and the development of creative aptitude among each student in a school setting, which can be effectively facilitated by small group or paired activities. according to albulescu (2008), the interactive technique facilitates learners' engagement in demonstration and consolidation activities, while also promoting ethical values such as true fellowship, sincerity, honesty, modesty, and altruism. mukhamedyarova and cotter (2005) assert that interactive teaching approaches encompass various aspects of democratisation, including fostering an open atmosphere, promoting mutual understanding, encouraging support among individuals, cultivating a sense of responsibility, and fostering accountability. by engaging in these activities, students are transformed into active participants in their own learning and active contributors to society. the development of a teaching technique is contingent upon the instructional process, wherein the teacher and learner engage in interactive, communicative, and discursive exchanges. this form of contact occurs between an educator and a learner with the intention of exchanging shared information, skills, and values to cultivate the ethical and practical understanding of pupils. in the field of english as a second language (esl) education, there is a lack of consensus about the implementation of interactive approaches in english language teaching (elt) classrooms. instead, many teachers continue to adhere to traditional and authoritative instructional methods. in the specific context of bangladesh, there is a concerted effort to prioritise learner-centeredness within the classroom, particularly in the field of english language teaching (elt). the aim is to foster an environment where learners take an active role in their own education and become active participants in the learning process. learners may encounter challenges, whether they pertain to grammar or written expression. in order to address these challenges, they engage in interactive discussions with their peers and collectively present their collaborative creations to the class. since its establishment in 1971, bangladesh has implemented several noteworthy education policies that unfortunately prioritise teacher-centeredness over learner-centeredness. this paper aims to examine the utilisation of interactive approaches in english language teaching (elt) classrooms. additionally, it will present examples of interactive approaches commonly employed in educational institutions in bangladesh, while also outlining effective techniques that facilitate interactive sessions for both teachers and students. interactive approach in elt: an overview interactive approach is a functional and instructional method in which learners find a good exposure to introduce themselves with real life by staying in real world. when students get involved in interactive approach, they acquire some essential skills like observational skills, listening skills, communication skills, and interpersonal skills.since interactive teaching involves facilitators and learners, it encourages and outlays the provision for learners to get engaged in learning activity. in interactive session, teachers use questions to stimulate discussion and emphasize on the value of answers by ensuring hands-on experience to the participants. as it is related to learner autonomy, it provides a range of learning styles which ensure transferable and independent way of learning. in view of the discussion mentioned above, it is relevant to say elt classroom of bangladesh does not go with the interactive features. autonomy of teachers makes the teaching-learning situation pointless and indifferent to adopting initiating of interaction between teachers and students. practically teachers are honestly inclined to conduct classes from the perspective of authoritative mouthpiece which is the tremendous feature of grammar-translation method. ebrahim (2017) reported that, according to education researchers of bangladesh that bangladeshi education system puts much effort and emphasis on rote memorization rather than critical study and thinking when teachers teach inside the class. researchers further identified that teaching of bangladesh is highly based on two major categories which include one is teacher-centered which is called traditional method and the other one is learner-centered or participatory approach. teachers work alone and they do not feel the necessity to invite students for participatory work. ebrahim (2017) further talked on the importance of participatory approach which is “through interaction, negotiations, active participation, and critical thinking. in this approach, students directly involve and dominate in the discovery of their own knowledge, skills and attitudes. they can expose their imaginative power and get an opportunity to express their opinion in the classroom”. it is needless to say that bangladesh still cherishesthe space of teacher-centered classroom which restricts the provision of independency of learners in academic and decision making activities. abedin (2012) outlined in such a way that the application of grammar translation method (gtm) has been prevalent for many years. he further talked that communicative language teaching (clt) and its much usability and application are live issue in the english language arena of bangladesh and reported that the teaching of bangladesh has experienced a state of turmoil in the short span of time. in place of interactive approach almost all of the higher educational institutes follow traditional methods which in fact incur the progressive dimension of elt in bangladesh. in some cases, clt seems to be apparent which is found in a scattered teaching manner. teachers in bangladesh follow interactive approach to a somewhat extent. hasan (2016) opined that the changes in teaching method have not made any constructive or obvious impact since classroom teaching sticks to the same as teachers are widely practicing the old methods. hasan (2016) further told that classroom teaching practices would require to make a thorough review with the aim of creating new opportunities for adopting and adapting to new ahmed & hossain, american international journal of social science research 14(2) (2023), 1-8 3 teaching techniques in order to promote communicative skills for learners. however, bangladesh planned as a part of policy making more interactive teaching approach like communicative language teaching (clt) by replacing memorization and translation based method like grammar translation method (gtm) in 1997 with a generous intention upon mind to teach communicative english to school students. what hasan (2016) emphasized that teaching practices along with curriculum set design should go through a thorough change in order that learners can acquire some communicative skills. similarly he stressed on communicative language teaching (clt) which will motivate learners to have real life conversation and life oriented discussion on any chosen topics. the following statement was cited from lo and monge (2013): “in light of the new meaning of student learning, we find the roles of students, faculty, and university administrators being transformed as colleges and universities are recognized to be not only providers of instruction but producers of learning (barr & tagg, 1995). what is understood from the above cited statement is that students, faculty and administrators should lead learning staying out from the provider of learning only. in this section of this paper, it has been discussed broadly that elt education, its methods and appropriateness with respect to bangladesh is by far a complex task which needs strict policy making, fixation of plans and implementation of modern elt techniques and strategies. teachers in service should teach topics by inviting students on their part and let them expressbefore the whole class. teachers while conducting classes should segment classes into different pairs or groups and assign them with various language or general life related tasks which they find communicative and mutually exchangeable. in this regard, generous willing and cooperative motive might work out best in supplanting traditional and orthodox teaching manner. literature review this section of paper closely draws the review of literature relevant to this paper which significantly focuses on some features and discussions. interactive approach needs to go through the approval of the state policy in utilizing it effective classroom conduction. rahman et al. (2019) outlined that the constitution of the people’s republic of bangladesh which was composed in 1972 recognized bengali as the state language through article. then the policy was happily hailed politically, though pakistanis committed to impose urdu as the state language of pakistan-both east pakistan and west pakistan. in turn the state attempted to expand the use of bengali and it came into being for public use. it can easily be assumed that with state approval of bengali language speakers of bangladeshi people have shown a great fondness to bengali ignoring english of its mass use which in fact leads teachers and students to speak bengali for both public and private offices and professions. in effective teaching-learning, learners need to ensure accurate communication which will progress the path of utilizing interactive approach. rahman et al. (2019) argued: “adhikari (2011) reported that the ability to speak accurate, appropriate, and effective english is vital for meaningful interaction that ensures students’ communicative competence in english. he also argued that through the instructional materials, the teacher should provide students with the ample opportunity to relate syntax (rules of grammar) and morphology (vocabulary) to semantics (meaning) and pragmatics (language use) by means of interactive activities during teaching speaking.” rahman et al. (2019) demonstrated some of the guidelines like the ability of communicative competence for effective interactive class. he pointed that teachers should engage students for discussion on any course related activities which would make them self-reliant in learning. rahman and rahman (2012) expressed that we can understand that the ministry of education has been trying to implement clt approach at the educational system of bangladesh for more than a decade. to do so, it has organized teacher training sessions and projects of textbook writing like english language teaching improvement project (eltip) but sorrowfully attempts taken this ministry could not find any phenomenal improvement in the process of english teaching and learning. in interactive teaching approach, teacher adopts certain things to ensure an effective classroom. rahman and rahman (2012) opined that teachers are found to function a variety of tasks in class. contrastingly what teachers usually teach students and do tasks are not equally important. all of the teachers are not interested in doing important and relevant things. for example, during interviews as part of academic activity, teachers ask different things or activities which might apparently be important practice. all of the teachers unanimously agreed that they need to engage students in classroom practice because participation in classroom activity will increase the possibility academic activity. rahman et al. (2019) positively said that the initiation of interactive teaching approaches and revolutions made some positive changes towards functions and performances of students. the result of interactive session with teachers-students and students-students derived from the change of behavior pattern when they got involved in communicating with teacher. through these activities, learners found a space of self-exposure and gave their opinions on academic activities confidently. rahman et al. (2019) further emphasized that teachers need to ensure constant engagement of students into ahmed & hossain, american international journal of social science research 14(2) (2023), 1-8 4 communication. to make it practicable, teachers could make a good management of the conversational drills or practices between students. here management aides or tools are the techniques of indirect impact on the group students who can easily find conversation in a real life manner. giorgdze and dgebuadze (2017) defined the interactive approach and its function in a clear voice. they told that an interactive approach requires an interactive session in a dialog mode where syllabic pattern would be like “intеr” reciprocally, “act” – do, perform. it can be said that interactive method is a form of learning and communicative approached activity because students get involved in the learning process and express what they know and what they are thinking. chilwant (2012) reported that in interactive lecture session, a small subtopic is initiated from which students are encouraged to make queries and questions to students. in this segment of activity, teachers provoke students because initially students do not ask questions to other students. even in many of the cases teachers do not know whether students have understood the lectures properly, if there is no provision for interaction in classroom activity. reviews of literature have been drawn out from different sources maintaining the relevancy in order that we can understand implication and emphasis of interaction in language learning classroom. discussions misappropriation of interactive elt sessions bangladesh belongs to some of those countries where interaction plays a scarce role especially in elt sessions, activities and circles. since interpersonal and intercommunicative skills are the preface of a successful interactive classroom, it is by far a matter of negligence that teachers and elt practitioners superficially skip this kind of pedagogical activity. elt strategy should be like “teachers play the role of facilitator, not a lecturer” (ray & roy, 2017) which signifies the promotion of learner in language learning and sharing activity and regulates the role of teacher entirely in guidance and teaching. similarly, what rahman and pandian (2018) reported that bangladesh cannot fix a clear and stable language policy, and it has always been persistent for a long time. this point regarding the unstable condition of language policy, teachers very often do not feel well-directed as there are continuous upheavals in the educational planning commission. conversation in classroom is a mutual activity which invites students to actively participate and apply critical thinking to their questions and responses. “negotiate meaning across texts and in relation to their individual experiences… fulfilling adult learners' need to find relevance in their studies.” in elt classroom, teachers need to guide students to struggle for meaning and help them to find a close linkage with real life. interaction allows a proportionate independency among learners who are the actual classroom conductors. they encounter many challenges while surfing knowledge through books and listening to teachers on many different topics or sub-topics which can better be resolved in the process of discussing each other. regarding teaching and learning perspective of bangladesh, coordination and coexistence of students and teachers are rarely noticeable. for this reason what referred to as “negotiate meaning across texts” and “relation to their individual experiences” do not work appropriately. butler (1992) reported that there were results from research that students who were actively engaged in the learning activity learned better than students who were passive receivers of knowledge from course teachers. it can be argued that active learners face problems and seek for remedy by their own and, if unable to resolve problems, go for discussion with teachers. nasmith and steinert (2001) additionally identified that students’ active role play in language learning activity increases level of understanding and thus they become able to integrate and synthesize materials. learning activities which are active and collaborative have value to the learning of student and satisfaction of student andhave found empirical support in research studies. bangladeshi learners are not active and participatory like other countries as they come across a sense of inhibition and lack of motivation. it in fact impedes the scope of interaction in language learning classroom. bonwel and eison (1991) shared that teachers are not interested in interactive lectures and these lectures are possibly avoided because of time limitation and sense of fear that they might lose control over students. control over students and psychological fear are two aspects which drive teachers of bangladesh not to make classroom interactive and participatory. they think students will have more access to knowledge and interfere in any sort of learning activity which is unacceptable to them. rao and dicarlo (2001) positively opined that active-learning strategy can be applied and incorporated easily into large classrooms. since interactions give freedom for discussion, reduce the monotony of passive learning, and widely increase the level of students’ understanding. interactive sessionsalso mobilize students’ ability to synthesize and integrate material. what rao and dicarlo (2001) focused that interactive teaching or lecture will bring about positive, participatory and commonly sharing atmosphere in language learning activities. alongside it makes students well prepared for lesson works practically at classroom. pajares (1996) commented that classes which are conducted by interactive lectures sort out common misconceptions asked by the students. through these interactive sessions students find a good space of encouragement to make question when encountered. since english is a second language to the learners of bangladesh, they feel a kind of challenge to solve their problems on their individual part and in such a case they can come out of this challenging situation through mutual discussion with each other. ahmed & hossain, american international journal of social science research 14(2) (2023), 1-8 5 popular techniques to make classroom interactive in bangladesh, the acceptance of interactive approach in teaching-learning is not widely followed and accepted. some classroom teachers follow this method. teachers come across some cultural or psychological obstructions in the way of implementing learner-oriented class for students-where they will be resources and contributors of class. in this section of the paper, i have drawn some popular techniques from yee (2019) said that teachers can make classroom more engaging and effective for the convenience of effective elt classroom. techniques are as follows: prompt of picture teachers need to show an image before the whole class and ask them to explain and justify their answers. students might go for group work to find answers and of course teachers initially should not give out answers. think break teachers ask a rhetorical question and allow students to think over it more than 20 seconds to come prepared with answers. this kind of interactive model encourages students to take part in problem-solving process and in this context students write something as notes and present before the class. cliffhanger lecturing this interactive technique provides learners a good scope to prepare answer within the allocated time or class period. students have a provision to start a session from previously existed topic or module. according to yee (2019), it establishes a sort of understandable relation various forms of learning sessions and understandable discussions which ensure some scientific principles of learning the effect of spacing and interleaving topics among students. choral response this technique invites learners in the class to make a combined effort when they are asked about one particular question or problem. students respond staying as chorus with degree of comprehension before the class. word cloud guessing teachers in this technique show them a word cloud on the selected topic by using an online generator like wordle, taxedo or tagul and offer challenges to students to guess what the topic could be. this activity ensures a good interaction among learners. instructor’s storytelling course instructor illustrates a topic, concept or principle which has relevancy in real life setting. learners will then attempt to narrate the rest of the story by using their languages and as a result they will have more mutual conversation with each other. total physical response (tpr) students either stand or take their position in class for making answers like true/false what come from the instructor. total physical response paves the way for learners a wide opportunity to get interacted for answers. techniques discussed above are designed to make students lively, vibrant and autonomous in the process of learning language in a participatory approach. learners get involved in on the one hand real life knowledge sharing activities as well as on the other hand actively participating in exposing performance with the function of language. recommendation it is evident from the discussion made regarding the implementation of interactive approach in elt classroom in the perspective of bangladeshi educational institutes. it can be said without denying the real scenario of bangladesh that education system, education policy and education management of bangladesh largely vacate the scope of interaction, mutual interrogation and independency of learner in learning activity. learners are thought to be well disciplined, sincere followers and maintenance of instructions from teachers, though a few educational institutes come out of this orthodox and conventional method of teaching. in this section of the paper, some recommendations are offered on how teachers can execute interactive approach in elt to make it learner-oriented classroom. collaborative activities collaborative activities are widely held view that they are conducive to learning of student. collaborative activities are helpful to ensure maximum participation of learners in learning activity, share opinions with other peers and communicate regarding intellectual and mental development. vygotsky (1978) called this kind of development as zone of proximal development which focuses not only on social interaction but also on other development related to society. this kind of activity understanding its worth and relative value should be followed in the elt classroom of bangladesh. learning as social construction learning in classroom should be devoid of social phenomena, incidents or events. all social constructs or elements should be nurtured in class provided students have much discussion and opinion sharing on those factors. students need to have ahmed & hossain, american international journal of social science research 14(2) (2023), 1-8 6 engagement in reflection by which they can engage them in answering questions and solving problems and write and talk in small groups. this in fact allows students to construct knowledge and practice critical thinking lecture driven class students should take the podium to initiate issues, topics or concepts for individual performances in a real life classroom. they should drive their own instincts to make a delivery of lecture within or beyond text where every individual learner will be independent expressionistic in thought or judgment. exchange of information or knowledge should happen at the time of class discussion or conversation and through a series of questions and answers. in the way of posing an individual as a learner, the teacher or instructor should signal the students to take responsibility for learning and she ushered an environment of teaching-learning instructor like student equality and active learning in the classroom. cooperation from teachers in language teaching classroom, the teacher should work as a good facilitator and motivator for learners, cooperation from teachers is essential for students for the purpose of live demonstration and conquering affective factors such as fear feeling, nervousness in mind and abnormal pattern of behavior. the scenario of subcontinent is very pathetic where teachers expose them as a source of information, provision of controlling and monitoring students in a restricted manner. he further said that, in classroom, democracy and independency need to be practiced in such a way that students can enjoy much of authority than teachers. learning on their own learners possess such an inherent desire that they would be self-starter of their teaching-learning session. teachers should perceive that kind of dormant desire of students and let them come true in practical and real life classroom. silverthorn (2006) relevantly shared experience in terms of releasing the control of class to learners: “based on my teaching experience, i think that given well-written objectives and access to good resources, most students can teach themselves the basics. and i believe that by having the expectation that they will learn material on their own, we are fostering the skills and attitudes that they need to become self-directed life-long learners.” adoption of various games it is unanimously acknowledged that games are used as simple recreational activities but actually they are not so simple as generally thought so. teachers need to decide what games students need to perform under considering some of the factors like the aim of games, the level of students’ english and students’ ages (sanchez, morfin & campos, 2007). play projects is a kind of method of language learning where learning is effected via problem solving which includes a number of stages initiated by teachers. this gaming method of language learning is most successful in practical classes because they do not require any kind of explanation of new material or exchange of information between teacher and student. teachers and authority should understand the measures discussed above which are triggering in the way of capitalizing interactive method in the educational institute of bangladesh. since the factors are intensely related to policy making aspects, psychological aspects and entertaining aspects, we should make a balance to impart them among students with justification and precision. conclusions implementing an interactive approach inside the english language teaching (elt) classroom, particularly within the context of the bangladeshi education system, is a significant challenge. this endeavour, while not entirely unattainable or unfeasible, presents obstacles in various domains such as educational policy, curriculum development, syllabus design, traditional teacher mindset, and a lack of implementation of contemporary teaching methods. furthermore, the education system in bangladesh encounters certain shortcomings, including challenges related to the socio-economic structure, infrastructural facilities, logistical support, and technological assistance provided by the government or state authorities. initially, it is imperative for educators to broaden their perspective and utilise a psychology-oriented approach that aligns with the academic and personal interests of their students. the primary objective of employing an interactive approach in english language teaching (elt) is to foster student autonomy and self-motivation in the process of language acquisition. in this context, it is imperative for authorities and educators to recognise the practicality, relevance, and significance of employing active learning methods. by adopting such an approach, teachers can transition from being mere conveyors of information to assuming the roles of pedagogical organisers and coordinators of the educational process. this transformation enables them to effectively address the various constraints and challenges, ultimately creating a comprehensive learning experience that maximises the benefits for the learners. in order to address this matter effectively, it is recommended that the government arrange a sequence of instructional sessions. these sessions should be facilitated by proficient local language specialists, as well as foreign trainers who possess commendable qualifications and expertise. consequently, learners are expected to possess both academic and professional skills in order to effectively address the difficulties that lie ahead. in addition to educators, it is imperative to captivate students' attention by employing several forms of entertainment, such as games, puzzles, movies, and wordplays. by incorporating these instructional strategies, students are likely to be motivated and actively engaged in the learning process. in order to enhance the level of engagement and interactivity inside the english language teaching (elt) classroom, it is imperative for course instructors or teachers to employ a range of tactics and strategies. however, it may not be feasible to immediately replace the grammar-translation method (gtm), which prioritises traditional or orthodox teaching patterns. despite encountering obstacles in implementing interactive ahmed & hossain, american international journal of social science research 14(2) (2023), 1-8 7 learning activities, it is imperative for educators to proactively strive and motivate students to actively engage in the teaching-learning process. despite the potential benefits and advantages associated with implementing an interactive approach, bangladeshi teachers generally have negative perceptions towards this method. however, it is worth noting that some teachers do acknowledge the potential for successful implementation of interactive classes. bangladeshi educators encounter some constraints, such as the issue of high student-to-teacher ratios, which hinder their ability to effectively conduct interactive classes due to the large number of pupils. additionally, the lack of adequate infrastructure further exacerbates the challenges, making it nearly impossible and disorderly to facilitate a conducive learning environment. the feasibility of using an interactive method in the english language teaching (elt) classroom in bangladesh is hindered by limitations in the scope of training and a callous attitude exhibited by teachers. these factors need to be addressed in order to facilitate the successful implementation of the interactive approach and ensure its smooth conduct. author contributions: conceptualization, m.k.a. and k.i.h.; methodology, n/a.; software, n/a.; validation, n/a.; formal analysis, n/a.; investigation, m.k.a. and k.i.h.; resources, m.k.a. and k.i.h.; data curation, n/a.; writing – original draft preparation, m.k.a. and k.i.h.; writing – review & editing, m.k.a. and k.i.h.; visualization, n/a.; supervision, m.k.a.; project administration, m.k.a.; funding acquisition, m.k.a. and k.i.h. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: n/a. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: n/a. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references aaker-smith, j. 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(2019). interactive techniques. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 1 social science research aijssr vol 15 no 2 (2024) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by american social science society, usa digital transformation: is there any link with market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in kenya martha njeri githua (a) stephen makau muathe (b)1 (a) school of business, economics and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: sumssolutions@gmail.com (b) school of business, economics and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: muathe.stephen@ku.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 24th june 2024 reviewed & revised: 25th june 2024 to 24th october 2024 accepted: 25th october 2024 published: 8th november 2024 keywords: e-procurement, e-marketing, epayment, telemedicine, msmes jel classification codes: l86, m15, o33, l25 peer-review model: external peer review was done through double-blind method. a b s t r a c t the business-operating environment in kenya and especially in the city county of nairobi has caused a large number of pharmaceutical micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises report profit warnings and thus experience performance issues. data from the world bank for the previous two years indicate pharmaceutical msmes operating in kenya have seen a decline in profits and stagnation. the study therefore sought to establish the effect of digital transformation elements, including e-procurement, e-marketing, e-payment, and telemedicine, on the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small, and medium enterprises (msmes) in nairobi city county, kenya. the research examines the limited understanding of how these digital technologies influence market performance, particularly in the pharmaceutical msme sector. the study employs a cross-sectional descriptive research design, surveying 122 msmes from an initial target population of 175, selected through proportionate and simple random sampling. the questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability using cronbach's alpha with a threshold of 0.7. quantitative data were analyzed through multiple regression and correlation analysis to determine the strength of the relationships between variables. the results reveal that e-procurement, e-marketing, e-payment, and telemedicine significantly and positively affect market performance. the findings suggest that these digital strategies enhance procurement efficiency, marketing outreach, financial transactions, and healthcare service delivery, ultimately improving the market performance of pharmaceutical msmes. © 2024 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this open-access article is distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction the pharmaceutical industry in kenya, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (msmes), plays a crucial role in the nation's economy. despite their potential, many pharmaceutical msmes struggle to adapt to the fast-paced digital transformation, which includes innovations such as e-procurement, e-marketing, e-payment, and telemedicine. this slow adoption limits their competitiveness and market performance, highlighting a significant scientific problem: understanding the relationship between digital transformation and market performance in this sector. this research aims to examine how these digital strategies influence the market performance of pharmaceutical msmes in nairobi city county. addressing several intermediate challenges, such as identifying barriers to digital adoption and evaluating the effectiveness of existing digital tools, will help achieve this goal. previous studies have shown that digital transformation is critical for enhancing operational efficiency and market outreach (bouncken et al., 2018, kalei, 2020; leão & silva, 2021). using a cross-sectional descriptive research design, the study surveys 122 msmes to gather data on their experiences with digital technologies and their perceived impacts on market performance. this research is timely and relevant, as the findings will contribute to the understanding of how digital transformation can enhance the performance of pharmaceutical msmes, providing insights for stakeholders in the industry. in the subsequent sections, the paper will detail the methodology employed, present the results of the study, and discuss the implications of the findings for the pharmaceutical msme sector in kenya. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-8192-5774 © 2024 by the authors. hosting by american social science society. peer review under responsibility of american social science society, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i2.2250 to cite this article: githua, m. n., & muathe, s. m. (2024). digital transformation: is there any link with market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in kenya. american international journal of social science research, 15(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i2.2250 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.openaccess.nl/en https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i2.2250 https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3329-1366 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8192-5774 githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 2 literature review theoretical literature review dynamic capabilities theory teece and pisano (1994) developed their dynamic capabilities theory, which extended the resource-based view (rbv) of the firm. it is posited that rbv, being static in nature, is insufficient in elucidating the firm's competitive advantage in a dynamic market. conversely, due to varying types of resources and capabilities possessed, businesses within the same industry exhibit disparate performances based on rbv. the significance of dynamic capabilities in facilitating digital services and strategic alteration within a competitive, digital, and customer-centric business environment is underscored by coreynen et al. (2020). they exemplify how dynamic capabilities are indispensable at each of the three stages they identified— digitalization of business processes, goods and services, and business models. this theory supports digital transformation variable and market performance variable of the study. resource based view according to the theory, an organization's resource profile determines its performance, and the possession and use of unique resources that the company possesses is what gives an organization its superior performance (barney, 1986). according to grant (1991), the extent to which durability, transparency, transferability, and replicability affect the resource-based theory (rbt) is substantial. according to the rbt, companies can gain a competitive edge if they possess rare, valuable, and distinctive resources that result in higher performance. however, detractors of the theory point out that it omits information about how resources can be created and used to gain a competitive advantage (priem & butler, 2001). the dependent variable, or the study's market performance, is supported by the theory. diffusion of innovations theory the process by which innovations are embraced by users is explained by the diffusion of innovations theory (dit). rogers (1995) defined diffusion as the process by which novel concepts disseminate among memberships of a social system over an extended time and via a variety of networks. according to schiffman et al. (2010), not all innovations have the same chance of being adopted by consumers; some are quickly embraced, while others take longer, and still others are completely rejected. marketers might not be able to predict with absolute certainty whether innovations were adopted. the e-marketing innovation variable is supported by this theory. resource dependence theory pfeffer and salancik put the theory forth in 1978. resource dependency theory (rdt) states that an organization succeeds when it makes the most use of its resources (pfeffer, 1981). weber's 1947 study of the foundations of power in organizations incorporated ample of the initial research of social exchange theorists and political scientists. the first person to extend power-based arguments from intra-organizational relations to relationships between organizations was selznick (1949). according to rdt, the relationships between organizations are based on a system of power dynamics and resource exchange. academics contend that as the nonprofit sector becomes more commercialized, the caliber of services offered by nonprofit organizations will decline (adams & perlmutter, 1991). the goal of competitive strategies is to give smes a stronger foothold in the increasingly competitive and expanding business environment (ogunyemi, 2020). electronic marketing theory (emt) it is the submission of electronic technologies to the components of the marketing synthesis – electronic marketing theory (dann & dann, 2011). building upon the principles of marketing theory, electronic marketing theory contends that managers can now use electronic technologies to inform decisions related to the ps of marketing due to technological advancements and variations in the marketing environment (harridge-march, 2004). according to the theory, businesses can more successfully achieve their marketing goals when they manage the components of the marketing mix using both online and offline tactics (harridge-march, 2004). electronic marketing theory is pertinent to the present investigation because it facilitates comprehension of the advantages that organizations can derive from implementing electronic marketing strategies. upper echelon theory upper echelons theory donald hambrick and phyllis mason developed and published the upper echelons hypothesis in 1984. they claimed that focusing on the dominant coalition, especially senior managers, was critical to understanding why organizations operated the way they did. according to hambrick and mason (1984), the upper echelons' qualities influenced the organization's strategic decisions, which in turn influenced its performance. as a result, they came to the conclusion that organizational performance levels are determined by the interplay of the situation, upper echelon traits, and strategic decisions. this theory supports the telemedicine variable and dependent variable empirical review eprocurement and market performance mutunga (2020) carried out a study to investigate the effectiveness of e-procurement in state corporations in kenya. the study's conclusions showed that state corporations have improved their procurement performance by implementing a variety of e-procurement strategies. the findings of the regression analysis showed that state corporations' e-procurement initiatives have had a major impact on their procurement strategies. githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 3 barasa et al. (2017) looked into how e-procurement affected public organizations' organizational performance, with a particular emphasis on the bungoma county government. the study's conclusions show that the performance of smes is significantly impacted by e-tending, e-ordering, e-purchasing, organizational performance, and use of digital procurement systems. e-marketing and market performance kawira, mukulu, and odhiambo (2019) examined how e-marketing affected the performance of micro, small and medium enterprises (msmes) in kenya. the study was conducted with adherence to the positivist research philosophy by the researchers. according to the results of the bivariate regression, digital marketing significantly improved msmes' performance. according to this study, digital marketing should be adopted by msmes' owners and managers in kenya as a means of achieving higher performance. due to kenya's high mobile phone penetration rate, better internet access, and dynamic, user-friendly social media platforms, business owners there should utilize these tools for marketing. one philosophical gap in the study is that, although the present version does not use positivism theory, the previous one did. the present gap was filled by research questions, whereas the second gap was conceptual in nature and relied on hypotheses. the third gap is contextual; whereas the previous study covered all micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county in kenya, the present one only concentrated on nairobi county. e-payment and market performance kwabena and daria (2019) investigated how the performance of msmes in developing nations was impacted by digital payment systems. this study looked into the effects of the digital payment system using an organizational, technological, and environmental framework. data for this study was gathered via a self-administered, closed-ended questionnaire. the study's participants comprised of msmes' owners and executives. partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. the study's conclusions highlight the important impacts that technology, organizations, the environment, and the usage of digital payment systems have on msme performance. the present study investigated the performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ in nairobi city county, whereas the previous study's context was different because it was conducted in ghana and concentrated on small businesses. telemedicine and market performance samar (2022) examined the factors that impact individuals' decision-making regarding the utilization of telemedicine applications amidst the covid-19 pandemic. in order to study individual behavior in connection to the adoption of telemedicine applications, the research model integrated the well-established theories of the delone and mclean information success model and the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut2). the results revealed a robust positive correlation between usage behavior and the intention to embrace telemedicine health applications when perceived severity is elevated. a theoretical gap is highlighted by this study's exclusion of the delone and mclean information success model and the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (utaut2). materials and methods this study uses a descriptive cross-sectional design. data regarding respondents' opinions regarding digital transformation and the market performance of pharmaceutical msmes in nairobi city county, kenya, was gathered for the present study. the target group was selected in this study from the workforces of the three msmes categories—micro (100), small (50), and medium (25)—bringing the total to 175. the research employed a proportionate stratified random sampling method to guarantee that each subgroup of the population is adequately represented. employees from three pharmaceutical msme categories micro, small, and medium comprised the study's strata. a basic random sampling technique was employed to select participants from every category. this made it possible to represent every subgroup within the target population. the sample size needed for employees to take part in the study was estimated using the yamane (1967) formula. n= n) 1+𝑁(𝑒2) n= 175 1+ 175(0.05)2 = 122 using the yamane (1967) formula the sample size was 122 respondents fro the target population of 175, this translates to 69.7% of the total population. this study made use of primary data. in order to gather the data, a semi-structured questionnaire was employed. in the pilot study, ten respondents, or 10% of the research sample, were used to validate the questionnaire. internal consistency was evaluated by measuring the reliability of the questionnaire with cronbach's alpha, a statistical measure of internal consistency. the researcher has obtained authorization from nacosti to conduct the study. each participant in the study was provided with a distinct questionnaire by the researcher. for ease of analysing and record qualitative data in the social sciences statistical package (spss version 23), coding was done. quantitative data was examined, both descriptive and inferential statistics. correlation and multiple regression analysis on frequencies, std.dev, and percentages were used for descriptive analysis, and correlation coefficients were used for inferential analysis. githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 4 discussions response rate a total of 122 questionnaires were administered to the respondents who were drawn micro enterprises, small enterprises and medium enterprises. the following table 1 presents the finding of response rate. table 1. response rate category questionnaires administered questionnaires returned percentage macro enterprises 70 65 92.9 small enterprises 35 32 91.4 medium enterprises 17 15 88.2 total 122 112 91.8 the results obtained on response and presented in table 1 indicate that the respondents from the macro enterprises had a response rate of 92.9%, small enterprises accounted for 91.4% response rate and those from medium enterprises had a response rate of 88.2%. in addition, the overall response rate was 91.8%. therefore, the data analysis was conducted by considering the obtained response rate, as suggested by saunders et al. (2011), who recommended a minimum response rate of 70% to justify the analysis. general information of the respondent this section presents the general information of the respondents in terms gender, age bracket, academic qualification, department they worked with, status of employment and number of years in employment. these are presented as follows; gender the respondents' gender distribution is outlined in figure 1, highlighting the proportion of male and female individuals involved in the study. figure 1. gender the findings on gender representation in the study as presented in figure 1 indicate that male respondent’s accounted majority as represented by 58.9% while female respondents were represented by 41.1%. this breakdown of gender representation allows for an analysis of any potential gender-related patterns or differences that may arise during the research. age bracket the age range of the participants is presented in table 2 indicating the minimum and maximum ages observed within the sample. table 2. age bracket age bracket frequency percentage less than 24 years 11 9.8 24 to 33 38 33.9 34 to 44 years 42 37.5 45 years or more 21 18.8 total 112 100 the findings on age bracket representation in the study as presented in table 2 indicate that most of the respondents’ age bracket ranged from 34 to 44 years as represented by 37.5%, 33.9% represented respondents whose age bracket was between 24 years to 33 years, 18.8% aged 45 years and above and 9.8% aged less than 24 years. determining the age bracket of the respondents was important because the information provides insights into the age diversity of the participants and allows for the identification of any potential age-related trends or variations. academic qualification the educational background of the respondents is detailed in figure 2, showcasing the various levels of education attained by the individuals involved in the study. 58.9, 59% 41.1, 41% male female githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 5 figure 2. academic qualification the results presented in figure 2 indicate that those respondents who had attained a bachelor’s degree level of education were majority as represented by 44.6%, followed by the respondents with master degree level of education at 25.9%, 17.9% representing those respondents with diploma, 8.9% had certificate and 2.7% had phd level of education. education level is a crucial factor that can significantly influence an individual's understanding, perception, and adoption of digital technologies. in addition, persons having higher levels of education are more likely to hold the essential knowledge and skills to effectively navigate and utilize digital tools and platforms. department the department affiliation of the participants is outlined in table 3, indicating the specific department or area of expertise to which each individual belongs. table 3. department age bracket frequency percentage production 29 25.9 sales 18 16.1 quality control 26 23.2 operations 24 21.4 procurement 15 13.4 general clerks 29 25.9 total 112 100 the results presented in table 3 indicate that those respondents obtained from production and general clerks departments were majority at 25.9% respectively, followed by those from quality control department at 23.2%, 21.4% from operations department, 16.1% from sales department and 13.4% from procurement department. this information would help to understand the distribution of participants across different departments and may be relevant for analyzing any department-specific trends or perspectives that may emerge. employment status the employment status of the participants is then presented figure 3, distinguishing between permanent, contracted, casual and intern. figure 3. employment status the results presented in figure 3 indicate that permanent employees represented in the study were majority at 57.1%, followed by casual employees at 18.8%, 15.2% were contracted and 8.9% were interns. this information was necessary to the study since the employment status provides crucial information about the participants' level of involvement and experience in the industry. different employment statuses, such as full-time employees or part-time employees can significantly influence their exposure to digital transformation and their understanding of its impact on market performance. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 phd certificate diploma master degree bachelor degree 2.7 8.9 17.9 25.9 44.6 percentage 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 intern contracted casual permanent 8.9 15.2 18.8 57.1 percentage githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 6 length of work the length of work the participants is detailed in table 4, indicating the length of years each individual has been associated with the organization under study. table 4. length of work length of work frequency percentage below 5 years 8 7.1 6 to 10 years 25 22.3 11 to 15 years 46 41.1 above 16 years 33 29.6 total 112 100 the results presented in table 4 indicate that majority (41.1%) of the respondents had worked for a period ranging from 11 years to 15 years, surveyed by 29.6% of the respondents who had worked for over 16 years, 22.3% had worked for a period stretching from 6 years to 10 years and 7.1% had worked for a period below 5 years. this information was necessary because it would provide insights into the participants' level of experience and familiarity with the organization, which may influence their perspectives and responses during the research. descriptive statistics results descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze the quantitative data collected in the study. this involved calculating measures such as mean and std.dev to summarize the data and provide insights into the central tendency and variability of the variables under investigation. the results are presented as follows as per the study variables. e-procurement the descriptive results on e-procurement in terms of mean and std.dev are presented in table 5. table 5. e-procurement statement m sd lower procurement costs are the outcome of the use of e-procurement. 3.58 1.409 lower procurement costs are the outcome of e-procurement adoption. 4.52 0.478 the application of e-procurement has improved the efficiency of tendering processes. 4.59 0.407 the implementation of e-procurement has led to a rise in employee productivity. 4.14 0.855 the monitoring and evaluation procedures are now more efficient as a result of e-sourcing. 4.45 0.539 the e-ordering system is appropriately utilized by businesses to purchase equipment and services. 4.55 0.448 e-tendering streamlines the procurement process by doing away with needless paper work. 4.53 0.463 bias and prejudice in supplier selection are eliminated through e-sourcing, which also streamlines the bidder evaluation process. 3.77 1.227 aggregate mean and std.dev score 4.27 0.728 source: survey data (2024) the results in table 5 indicate that the aggregate mean and std.dev score was 4.27 and 0.728 respectively which implies that the respondents agreed that of e-procurement influences the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on likert scale. the finding agrees with research conducted by mutunga in the year 2020, which focused on examining the efficacy of e-procurement in kenyan state corporations. the study's conclusions showed that state corporations have improved their procurement performance by implementing a variety of e-procurement strategies. the statements strongly agreed by the respondents were; the application of e-procurement has improved the efficiency of tendering processes (m=4.59, sd=0.407), the e-ordering system is appropriately utilized by businesses to purchase equipment and services (m=4.55, sd=0.448), e-tendering streamlines the procurement process by doing away with needless paper work (m=4.53, sd=0.463), lower procurement costs are the outcome of e-procurement adoption (m=4.52, sd=0.478). the finding agree with barasa et al. (2017) research which looked into how e-procurement affected public organizations' organizational performance, with a particular emphasis on the bungoma county government. the study's conclusions show that the performance of smes is significantly impacted by e-tending, e-ordering, e-purchasing, organizational performance, and use of digital procurement systems. the statements agreed by the respondents were; the monitoring and evaluation procedures are now more efficient as a result of e-sourcing (m=4.45, sd=0.539), the implementation of e-procurement has led to a rise in employee productivity (m=4.14, sd=0.855), bias and prejudice in supplier selection are eliminated through e-sourcing, which also streamlines the bidder evaluation process (m=3.77, sd=1.227) and lower procurement costs are the outcome of the use of e-procurement (m=3.58, sd=1.409). the finding agree with the goal of ogunyemi 's (2020) study which was to examine how e-procurement affected kenyan parastatals' operational efficiency and according to the study's findings, parastatal performance is positively correlated with e-sourcing, e-informing, e-payments, and e-tendering. e-marketing the descriptive results on e-marketing in terms of mean and std.dev are presented in table 6. githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 7 table 6. e-marketing statement m sd through the use of internet marketing, pharmaceutical msme sales volumes and profitability have increased. 4.61 0.389 mobile phones are essential for helping msme's penetrate new markets. 3.64 1.355 through marketing, micro, small and medium-sized enterprise owners who use mobile phones can boost their profitability. 3.23 1.770 using social media can help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ increase their market share. 3.11 0.886 email is typically used to get feedback on customer satisfaction. 3.91 1.089 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that use social media sites like facebook and whatsapp as marketing tools see increases in sales 4.51 0.489 the internet has increased the sales volume and profitability of pharmaceuticals. 4.58 0.418 internet-based e-marketing significantly enhances pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ capacity to draw in and keep clients. 4.42 0.577 aggregate mean and std.dev score 4.00 0.872 the results in table 6 indicate that the aggregate mean and std.dev score was 4.00 and 0.872 respectively which implies that the respondents agreed that of e-marketing influences the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on likert scale. the finding agrees with kawira et al. (2019) research which examined how e-marketing affected the performance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (msmes) in kenya. according to the results of the bivariate regression, digital marketing significantly improved micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ performance. the statements strongly agreed by the respondents were; through the use of internet marketing, pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises sales volumes and profitability have increased (m=4.61, sd=0.389), micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that use social media sites like facebook, the internet has increased the sales volume and profitability of pharmaceuticals (m=4.58, sd=0.418) and whatsapp as marketing tools see increases in sales (m=4.51, sd=0.489). the finding concurs with lin (2021) research on complementary e-marketing strategy for smalland mediumsized enterprises in taiwan that are in the growth stage which discovered that sales potential, online purchases, and brand awareness rank highest among local weights for marketing objectives for smes in the growth phase. facebook, pixnet, twitter, instagram, and youtube were the global weights in order for complementary social media to meet the aforementioned marketing goals. the statements agreed by the respondents were; internet-based e-marketing significantly enhances pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ capacity to draw in and keep clients (m=4.42, sd=0.577), email is typically used to get feedback on customer satisfaction (m=3.91, sd=1.089), mobile phones are essential for helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprise’s penetrate new markets (m=3.64, sd=1.355). the finding concurs with bala and verma (2018) research which observed that digital marketing plays a crucial role in helping marketers identify their target audience, set goals, and create the most effective plan for reaching the greatest number of customers. the statements moderately agreed by the respondents were; through marketing, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises owners who use mobile phones can boost their profitability (m=3.23, sd=1.770) and using social media can help micro, small and medium-sized enterprisese’s increase their market share (m=3.11, sd=0.886). the findings are contrary to khaled and taher (2022) research which examined the relationship and effects of electronic payment methods on sales growth and the mediating role of online shopping with an emphasis on the banking industry in the united arab emirates. this study showed a strong correlation and direct relationship between the increase in sales and the increase in online shopping. e-payment the descriptive results on e-payment in terms of mean and std.dev are presented in table 7. table 7. e-payment statement m sd since e-payments are more difficult to falsify, pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises experience fewer financial irregularities. 4.53 0.469 pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises can save money on procurement costs by using electronic payments. 3.55 1.448 the pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises use of electronic payments has made it easier to settle their debts for supplies. 4.52 0.480 the business has started accepting digital currency as payment for some of its goods. 3.90 1.090 the company processed its financial transactions primarily through mobile banking. 4.58 0.419 aggregate mean and std.dev score 4.22 0.781 the results in table 7 indicate that the aggregate mean and std.dev score was 4.22 and 0.781 respectively which implies that the respondents agreed that of e-payment influences the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on likert scale. the finding agrees with kwabena and daria (2019) research which investigated how the performance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in developing nations was impacted by digital payment systems with a focus on ghana. the study’s conclusions highlight the important impacts that technology, organizations, the environment, and the usage of digital payment systems have on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises performance. githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 8 the statements strongly agreed by the respondents were; the company processed its financial transactions primarily through mobile banking (m=4.58, sd=0.419), since e-payments are more difficult to falsify, pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises experience fewer financial irregularities (m=4.53, sd=0.469) and the pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises use of electronic payments has made it easier to settle their debts for supplies (m=4.52, sd=0.480). the finding concurs with khaled and taher (2022) research, which examined the relationship and effects of electronic payment methods on sales growth and the mediating role of online shopping with an emphasis on the banking industry in the united arab emirates. this study showed a strong correlation and direct relationship between the increase in sales and the increase in online shopping. the statements agreed by the respondents were; the business has started accepting digital currency as payment for some of its goods (m=3.90, sd=1.090) and pharmaceutical msmes can save money on procurement costs by using electronic payments (m=3.55, sd=1.448). the finding concurs with the study conducted by awwad (2021) which looked at how e-payments can improve financial performance through a case study of the bank of palestine. the findings show that the bank's financial performance, as indicated by the equity and return on assets indicators, is significantly impacted by the use of electronic payment methods, which contribute to lower expenses and higher profits. telemedicine the descriptive results on telemedicine in terms of mean and std.dev are presented in table 8. table 8. telemedicine statement m sd the effectiveness of healthcare at the pharmaceuticals is significantly impacted by telemedicine micro, small and medium-sized enterprises 3.67 1.329 telemedicine in pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises is simple and practical. 4.01 0.899 telemedicine enhances performance and speed, making text messaging more effective. 4.50 0.500 telemedicine raises the standard of care. 4.56 0.438 telemedicine provides relief from the shortage of doctors. 4.09 0.887 video communication and performance surgery are made possible by telemedicine. 4.57 0.428 video communication is used for patient monitoring and assessment. 4.22 0.776 aggregate mean and std.dev score 4.23 0.751 the results in table 8 indicate that the aggregate mean and std.dev score was 4.23 and 0.751 respectively which implies that the respondents agreed that of telemedicine influences the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on likert scale. the finding agrees with samar (2022) research which examined the factors that impact individuals' decision-making regarding the utilization of telemedicine applications amidst the covid-19 pandemic. the results revealed a robust positive correlation between usage behavior and the intention to embrace telemedicine health applications when perceived severity is elevated. the statements that were strongly agreed by the respondents were; telemedicine raises the standard of care (m=4.56, sd=0.438), video communication and performance surgery are made possible by telemedicine (m=4.57, sd=0.438), telemedicine enhances performance and speed, making text messaging more effective (m=4.50, sd=0.500). the finding agree with zailani et al. (2014) research which investigated the determinants that affect the acceptance of telemedicine and how the health culture influences the connection between these determinants and the acceptance of telemedicine in a particular subset of public hospitals in malaysia. the results showed that the government policies, senior management support, utility perceptions, and computer self-efficacy has positively and significantly influenced telemedicine adoption in malaysian public hospitals. the statements that were agreed by the respondents were; video communication is used for patient monitoring and assessment (m=4.22, sd=0.776), telemedicine provides relief from the shortage of doctors (m=4.09, sd=0.887), telemedicine in pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises is simple and practical (m=4.01, sd=0.899) and the effectiveness of healthcare at the pharmaceuticals is significantly impacted by telemedicine. msmes (m=3.67, sd=1.329). the finding agrees with crowling, uscher-pines et al. (2016) research that focused on an examination of the accessibility of care for both teladoc users and nonusers, as well as the quality of care provided by the prominent direct-toconsumer (dtc) telemedicine company, teladoc, in comparison to that provided in traditional doctor's offices. the performance of teladoc was found to be inferior to that of physician offices in the context of the pharyngitis performance measure. market performance the descriptive results on market performance in terms of mean and std.dev are presented in table 9. table 9. market performance statement m sd e-marketing techniques, such as the internet, social media, and emails, are used to increase market share. 4.22 0.780 staff productivity has increased in pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as a result of eprocurement. 4.16 0.836 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/suhaiza-zailani?_sg%5b0%5d=y0ggknr1j-uazxdhwuxrnvh9ihbbq9eapznctlg9xxgy6v8eqdhbilcm93r5v0zlip83014.zaskirq07bnsycolihej-m-jbqztna3jxviarvyi3h9b7qn0tmllk2qxxnjlunhoykkxh-ffjj_nu1hmkwlava&_sg%5b1%5d=hlgus5zhriacrthutcej3ocr7c2tj8zyndbb6asja3_qt7rdw_1vnr7uikqgwjcphnkus-w.587uro4b2jjprpaq2wov1plszs-6zpaszc1sdk5afb8aeeyjm1jrfeyce4zyw-c-4gqnamvfuhlp7cqxompurw githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 9 e-payments have increased procurement payments' accountability and, consequently, their profitability. 3.94 1.060 telemedicine raises the standard of care. 3.87 1.135 customer feedback indicates that telemedicine is advantageous for pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. 4.11 0.809 by implementing e-procurement, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises can boost their revenue and profitability. 4.09 0.809 the results in table 9 indicate that the respondents agreed on statements that; e-marketing techniques, such as the internet, social media, and emails, are used to increase market share (m=4.22, sd=0.780), staff productivity has increased in pharmaceutical msmes as a result of e-procurement (m=4.16, sd=0.836), customer feedback indicates that telemedicine is advantageous for pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (m=4.11, sd=0.809), by implementing eprocurement, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises can boost their revenue and profitability (m=4.09, sd=0.809), e-payments have increased procurement payments' accountability and, consequently, their profitability (m=3.94, sd=1.060) and telemedicine raises the standard of care (m=3.87, sd=1.135). according to godke and mccahery (2019). micro, small and medium-sized enterprises can be assessed according to their size, workforce count, working capital, and profitability. market performance is defined as a company's capacity to adjust to the business environment and formulate a sound plan that supports management's ability to foster harmony within the organization and the surrounding environment. inferential statistics results the inferential statistics were conducted using correlation analysis and multiple regressions analysis. the findings are presented as follows; correlation analysis the correlation analysis results presented in table 10 indicate that the pearson r value for e-procurement, e-marketing, epayment and telemedicine against market performance is 0.770, 0.816, 0.709 and 0.799 respectively. these values are closer to 1 which signifies a perfect positive relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable. therefore, eprocurement, e-marketing, e-payment and telemedicine were strongly correlated with market performance. table 10. correlation analysis e-procurement e-marketing e-payment telemedicine market performance eprocurement pearson correlation 1 sig. (2-tailed) n 112 e-marketing pearson correlation .118** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .207 n 112 112 e-payment pearson correlation .381** .442** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .213 .211 n 112 112 112 telemedicine pearson correlation sig. (2-tailed) n .406 .334 112 .304 .107 112 .293 .103 112 1 112 market performance pearson correlation .770** .816** .709** .799** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .002 .000 .001 .001 n 112 112 112 112 112 multiple regression analysis regression analysis was done to estimate the relationship between dependent variable and independent variables. the results are presented in table 11, 12 and 13. table 11. model regression analysis model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .901a .812 .795 0.0542 the results in table 11 show that the value of adjusted r square is 0.795 (79.5%) which is the extent which the market performance of pharmaceutical msmes in ncc varied due to the influence of e-procurement, e-marketing, epayment and telemedicine. therefore, the remaining 20.5% represents other variables not studied. table 12. analysis of variance model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 119.023 4 29.756 39.736 .001 residual 80.125 107 0.7488 total 199.148 111 githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 10 the results as presented in table 12 show that the statistical f value was 39.736 greater than the statistical mean value of 29.756. in addition, the significance value was at 0.001 which was less than the level of significance at 0.05. thus, confirming the significance of the model. table 13. coefficients model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .701 .125 5.608 .001 e-procurement .811 .217 .0521 3.737 .000 e-marketing .726 .310 .4016 2.342 .001 e-payment .770 .229 .3304 3.362 .001 telemedicine .701 .330 .2160 2.124 .002 the results presented in table 13 show that when e-procurement, e-marketing, e-payment and telemedicine are held constant, the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county would be 0.701. the regression coefficients obtained for each individual variable indicate that by improving eprocurement, e-marketing, e-payment and telemedicine would improve the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county by 0.811, 0.726, 0.770 and 0.701 respectively. therefore, the regression equations would be as presented below; market performance = 0.701 + 0.811(e-procurement) + 0.726(e-marketing) + 0.770(e-payment) + 0.701(telemedicine) the study found that there was a positive considerable connection between e-procurement and the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on β-value obtained (β=0.0521, p=0.000). the finding agrees with barasa et al. (2017) research which looked into how e-procurement affected public organizations' organizational performance, with a particular emphasis on the bungoma county government. the study's conclusions show that the performance of smes is significantly impacted by e-tending, e-ordering, epurchasing, organizational performance, and use of digital procurement systems. the study revealed that there was a positive considerable connection between e-marketing and the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on β-value obtained (β=0.4016, p=0.001). the finding agrees with kawira et al. (2019) research which examined how e-marketing affected the performance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county) in kenya. according to the results of the bivariate regression, digital marketing significantly improved micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ performance. the study established that that there was a positive considerable connection between e-payment and the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on β-value obtained (β=0.3304, p=0.001). the finding concurs with khaled and taher (2022) research which examined the relationship and effects of electronic payment methods on sales growth and the mediating role of online shopping with an emphasis on the banking industry in the united arab emirates. this study showed a strong correlation and direct relationship between the increase in sales and the increase in online shopping. the study found that that there was a positive considerable connection between telemedicine and the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in nairobi city county based on β-value obtained (β=0.2160, p=0.002). the finding agreess with samar (2022) research which examined the factors that impact individuals' decision-making regarding the utilization of telemedicine applications amidst the covid-19 pandemic. the results revealed a robust positive correlation between usage behavior and the intention to embrace telemedicine health applications when perceived severity is elevated. conclusions this study aimed to investigate the impact of digital transformation elements—specifically e-procurement, e-marketing, epayment, and telemedicine—on the market performance of pharmaceutical micro, small, and medium enterprises (msmes) in nairobi city county, kenya. the results indicate a significant positive influence of these digital strategies on the performance metrics of these enterprises, including profitability, efficiency, and market reach. the unique contribution of this research lies in its empirical assessment of how digital transformation can enhance the competitive position of pharmaceutical msmes, addressing a critical gap in the existing literature. the findings suggest that adopting these technologies not only streamlines operations but also improves customer engagement and satisfaction. from a theoretical standpoint, the study enhances the understanding of the relationship between digital transformation and firm performance within the msme context. practically, it provides actionable insights for managers, emphasizing the importance of investing in digital technologies to improve operational efficiency and market performance. however, the research is not without limitations. the focus on a single geographic area may limit the generalizability of the findings. future research could expand to include a broader range of msmes across different regions to validate and extend these results. in conclusion, this study paves the way for further exploration into the digital transformation strategies that can be leveraged by pharmaceutical msmes, with a focus on long-term impacts and evolving technologies. author contributions: conceptualization, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; methodology, m.n.g.; software, m.n.g.; validation, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; formal analysis, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; investigation, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; resources, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; data curation, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; writing – original githua & muathe, american international journal of social science research 15(2) (2024), 1-12 11 draft preparation, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; writing – review & editing, m.n.g. and s.m.m.; visualization, m.n.g.; supervision, m.n.g.; project administration, m.n.g.; funding acquisition, m.n.g. and s.m.m. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study due to the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgment: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references adams, c., & perlmutter, f. 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(2014). determinants of telemedicine acceptance in selected public hospitals in malaysia: clinical perspective. journal of medical systems, 38, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916014-0111-4 publisher’s note: american social science society stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2024 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by american social science society is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. https://www.researchgate.net/journal/industrial-and-corporate-change-1464-3650?_tp=eyjjb250zxh0ijp7imzpcnn0ugfnzsi6il9kaxjly3qilcjwywdlijoichvibgljyxrpb24ilcjwb3npdglvbii6inbhz2vizwfkzxiifx0 https://www.researchgate.net/journal/industrial-and-corporate-change-1464-3650?_tp=eyjjb250zxh0ijp7imzpcnn0ugfnzsi6il9kaxjly3qilcjwywdlijoichvibgljyxrpb24ilcjwb3npdglvbii6inbhz2vizwfkzxiifx0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2015.0079 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 43 social science research aijssr vol 14 no 1 (2023) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 available online at https://www.cribfb.com journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by cribfb, usa public financial management practices and performance of selected county governments in kenya winnie mong’are (a)1 gerald atheru (b) (a) school of business, economics and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: bochaberimongare@gmail.com (b) school of business, economics and tourism, kenyatta university, kenya; e-mail: atheru.gerald@ku.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 29th august 2023 revised: 27th october 2023 accepted: 8th november 2023 published: 25th november 2023 keywords: financial management, public sector, performance, revenue management jel classification codes: h1, h2, h3, h6, h6 a b s t r a c t although county governments were introduced for devolution, misappropriation and corruption hinder this objective. this study aimed to examine how financial management practices affect the performance of central rift county governments. the research was informed by agency, institutional, and stewardship theories. a descriptive research design was used. the target population was employees within nakuru county’s public finance sector. a census of all 80 employees was done, and a cronbach alpha of 0.7 was used to determine the reliability of the research instruments. secondary data was collected from published materials from county and government agencies. data was analyzed through the statistical package for social sciences to provide inferential and descriptive statistics. the study revealed that county governments use budget implementation, regular reviews, and monitoring to improve compliance and performance. there was a moderate positive and statistically significant correlation between public budgeting on the performance of central rift county governments (r = 0.443; p < 0.05); an average positive and statistically significant correlation between public financial reporting on the performance of central rift county governments (r = 0.441; p < 0.05); a moderate positive correlation between public revenue mobilizations on the performance of central rift county governments (r = 0.441; p < 0.05), and a moderate positive correlation between public finance procurement on the performance of central rift county governments (r = 0.441; p < 0.05). there is a need to realign the budget processing and reporting format in conformity with ipsas reporting standards. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction the importance of evaluating the performance of county governments has been underscored. turley, robbins, and mcnena (2015) note that assessing local governments' performance helps distinguish well-performing and local county governments in dire financial difficulties. this distinction is significant in replicating practices of well-to-do countries in those undergoing economic distress. britain greasley, john, and wolman (2011) note that variegated factors economically give some countries peculiar advantages. regardless, county governments employ different strategies to meet this gap. in indonesia, adler et al. (2012) note that the performance of county governments depends on regulatory requirements such as internal controls and budgeting, which enhance the effectiveness of governance. regionally, countries such as nigeria, uganda, south sudan, and south africa have embraced local governments to improve social delivery. it is the case that local governments in nigeria, as agba, akwara, and idu (2013) note, need to improve service delivery. despite significant financial allocations, nigerian local governments still need to justify their continued office tenure in aspects related to socioeconomical standards of measurable growth. tumushabe, muyomba-tamale, and mushemeza (2010) note the significance of monitoring and assessing the periodic performance of county governments using such means as the balanced scorecard, ensuring the tracking of point socio-economic progress. in tanzania, local governments in the form of municipalities have been created to enhance quality service delivery. according to lerno (2016), county governments in kenya still need to record better performance regardless of robust public financial management practices. considering kibunja (2017), citizens hold kenyan county governments accountable for allocating, using, and custody of resources. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-8778-8950 © 2023 by the authors. hosting by cribfb. peer review under responsibility of cribfb, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2128 to cite this article: mong’are, w., & atheru, g. (2023). public financial management practices and performance of selected county governments in kenya. american international journal of social science research, 14(1), 43-53. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2128 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2128 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8778-8950 https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4292-1029 mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 44 many countries have adopted a unifying form of pfm. the unification covers major policy questions such as the fiscal position of the government, operational issues, and the provision of specific services (cangiano et al., 2013). according to mathenge and muturi (2017), public financial management is concerned with ensuring the availability of funds effectively and efficiently to benefit citizens. the pfa requires every county to outline a development plan that reflects its priorities. the method includes strategic priorities and programs the county wants to implement, details of how the program will contribute to the development of the county, measurable indicators, and budget allocated (cheruiyot, 2018). lastly, the performance of county governments in kenya can be measured through the effective and efficient use of county resources to implement infrastructure and improve health, education, and trade (lerno, 2016). the county executive for finance is responsible for managing funds allocated and collected by the county. the cok 2010 also established different public finance management institutions such as the commission for revenue allocation (2018), the office of the controller of budget (cob), and the salaries and remuneration report. the mandate of the auditor general was also expanded under the new constitution to cover auditing of counties. according to the commission of revenue allocation (2018), county governments receive a share of revenue based on population, poverty, land area, fiscal effort, and development factors. each factor determines the amount of funds each county receives from the national government. counties are expected to provide the auditor general with financial statements, which are audited and published. notably, these published reports provide a basis for future revenue allocations. according to njahi (2017), financial management remains the lifeblood of organizations. despite guidance provided in the pfm act of 2012, county governments will need help in financial management. for example, some county assemblies maintain manual ledgers despite the pfm act of 2012 requirement that all financial transactions be processed electronically through ifmis (office of auditor general, 2018). in nakuru county, the auditor general provided a qualified audit opinion based on over kshs 30 million variances between ifmis and financial statements and non-disclosure of legal costs. nakuru needs to be more utilized over kshs 200 million in its budget for 2018/2019 (office of the auditor general, 2018). laikipia exhibits variances in financial statements, ifmis, and unrecorded revenues. similarly, baringo county received an adverse opinion due to aspects such as inaccurate statements of cashflows and understatement of assets. in nyandarua county, the pending bills have significantly increased from 380 million in 2016/2017 to 740 million in 2017/2018, partly due to unconfirmed pending bills (office of the auditor general, 2018). the current study seeks to examine the effect of financial management practices on the performance of counties in kenya. this study will answer the research question: how do public financial management practices affect the performance of counties in kenya? the following are the objectives of the study:  to determine the effect of public budgeting on the performance of crcgs.  to establish the effect of public financial reporting on the performance of crcgs.  to find out the effect of public revenue mobilization on the performance of crcgs.  to establish the effect of public finance procurement on the performance of central rift county governments. literature review theoretical review the three theories that inform the current study are the agency, stewardship, and institutional theories. agency theory the agency theory remains one of the foremost financial theories explaining the relationship between different organizational stakeholders. according to wolk, dodd, and rozycki (2008), the agency theory predicts and expounds the behavior of groups involved with an organization. one of the major agency relationships is between the managers' faction and the stockholder of an enterprise. managers are appointed by the owners of a firm to govern the firm’s interests, thus setting up an agency relationship. owners are interested in maximizing return on investment. in contrast, managers have a wider range of economic interests, such as compensation. due to the potential conflict, owners are forced to contract the managers in such a way that reduces such disputes (wolk et al., 2008). costs are met in monitoring agency contracts with the management and auditing fees. additionally, the agency highlights that a conflict between owners and managers can be mitigated through financial reporting. regular financial reporting is one approach titleholders can use to supervise employment agreements with managers. auditors then independently verify the reports (john et al., 2014). overall, this theory applies to the current research in several ways. in kenya, the county government receives annual budgetary allocations from the national government. moreover, the county governments also generated revenues to meet development and recurrent expenditures. therefore, county government officials ensure that funds are used prudently to meet development aims. the national audit office also regularly audits the financial reports to find that the county government uses funds effectively (njahi, 2017). therefore, the principals in this case are taxpayers in each county government. at the same time, the officials are the agents who are expected to use revenues effectively to meet each county's social and development goals. institutional theory the institutional theory emphasizes that organizational environments are vital in shaping the structure and actions. according to scott (2005), managerial decisions are driven by goals for efficiency and cultural and social factors. the theory focuses on the deeper and more resilient determinants of the economic behavior of institutions. one of the areas in which institutional theory has been applied is the budgeting process. researchers have focused on how public organizations balance societal visions and political projects. according to covaleski et al. (2003), the theory applies the budgeting process in mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 45 resource negotiating and mobilizing to conduct goals. the pillars of institutions advanced by this theory include regulatory, normative, and cultural cognitive. the balance between these pillars ensures an organization realizes its service delivery goals. the theory is relevant to this study in aspects such as the implementation of procurement law as well as budgeting. according to cheruiyot (2018), the county government in kenya has received over ksh.1 trillion from the national government to ease the achievement of goals. therefore, deciding the practices the county government uses to ensure proper use of the funds to realize service delivery and development goals is necessary. empirical review budgeting kathungu (2016) examined the impact of budgeting use on the financial performance of county government. specifically, the author focused on budgeting and revenue collection of the county governments. kathungu (2016) argues that budgets provide county governments with a platform for reporting outcomes at the end of the budget year. regarding research design, the author used a descriptive approach to set up the connection between variables. additionally, primary data for the study was amassed through defined questionnaires distributed among the 70 respondents. secondary data was sourced from the auditor general’s 2013, 2014, and 2015 reports. the finding of this study shows that budgeting aspects such as county revenues, county expenditures, and resources positively affected financial performance. however, the analysis assumes that budgeting is the only factor influencing the performance of kenya's county governments. kibunja (2017) looks at the impact of the budgetary procedure on the financial performance of muranga county. the author specifically focused on planning, implementation, monitoring, and assessment. the inquiry used a nonexperimental descriptive research approach to gather data from 83 participants. moreover, the respondents supplied primary data through self-administered questionnaires, while audited financial statements provided secondary data. the results from the study show that budgeting affects the financial performance of county governments. additionally, the author concludes that counties must increase public participation in budgeting to enhance financial performance (kibunja, 2017). nevertheless, the study does not examine other public fiscal management approaches that affect performance. at the same time, mutungi (2017) examines the effects of budgeting and budgetary controls on the financial performance of devolved systems of governments in kenya. the study employed a descriptive research approach to decide the variables' relationships. the results of this study implied that counties without proper budgetary processes face challenges in financial performance. one of the strengths of this study is that it examines the performance of all county governments in kenya. however, the analysis must account for other fiscal management approaches affecting performance. internal controls onyango (2014) conducted a study to determine the effect of internal controls on the performance of developed governments in kenya. this study's findings show that most county governments must implement modern internal control systems to enhance financial performance. at the same time, lerno (2016) tries to set up the relationship between internal controls and the implementation of county governments. the research findings show that most respondents needed help understanding the relationship between internal controls and performance. the author concluded that although county governments had implemented internal control systems, more was needed to improve performance. cheruiyot, namusonge, and sakwa (2018) examine how internal control practices influence the performance of county governments in kenya. the study sampled the version of ten county governments and employed primary and secondary data. the study revealed that those with strong internal controls proved improved financial performance among the county governments sampled. ahmed and ngang’a (2019) examined the subject from the perspective of county government in the coastal region. a descriptive research design was applied to the research. additionally, the author collected primary data from 40 respondents in mombasa, kilifi, kwale, and taita taveta. the study confirmed that only risk management played a vital role in the performance of county governments. revenue mobilization development initiatives (2018) states that a sound revenue system for county governments is a prerequisite for success in kenya's fiscal decentralization goal. biwott (2017) examines how revenue mobilization can influence the socio-economic development of county governments in kenya. the study focuses on revenue mobilization practices such as county collections, revenue infrastructure, and training and how they affect the outcome of counties in the north rift region. cheruiyot (2018) focused on the effect of public fiscal management practices on the performance of county governments. the study examined how financial planning and budgeting, internal control, public financial procurement, revenue mobilization, and general economic governance practices influence the performance of county governments in kenya. the study showed that internal controls influenced financial performance significantly compared to other factors. in another study, madegwa, makokha, and namusonge (2018) focus on how revenue collection affects the performance of the county government of trans nzoia. a descriptive research design was employed to set up the connection between the variables in the study. primary as well as secondary data was used. the study shows that revenue collection automation can enhance county governments' performance. public finance in one study, mbae (2014) examines how public procurement law affects the performance of the machakos county government. a descriptive research design was used by the author in this study. moreover, structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents in this study. the results show that although procurement processes and laws have mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 46 increased transparency, they have also reduced the speed of goods acquisition by counties. he concludes that county governments should continue to embrace procurement practices to improve performance. in another study, ndiiri (2016) examined the effect of e-procurement on the performance of devolved governments in kenya. a descriptive research design was adopted by the author in this study. primary data for this study was sourced through semi-structured questionnaires, while secondary data was sourced from the procurement portals. the results show that e-procurement has enhanced the performance of county governments due to increased transparency. additionally, cherotich (2018) examines how effective procurement practices can enhance the performance of the kericho county government. the study focused on procurement planning, fiscal management, and professionalism. a closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect information from the respondents. the results showed statistical significance between procurement practices and the performance of the kericho county government. materials and methods the research employed a descriptive research design. this research design is usually structured and specifically designed to measure the characteristics described in the research questions. data collection in this design involved a structured process whereby the researcher can use questionnaires to ask the participants questions on items related to the research questions (hair jr, 2015). the target population for this study was employees working in the treasury section of the central rift county governments. the study conducted a census of all the respondents in the target population. the census approach was ideal for this study as the number of respondents was less than 100. moreover, the census approach ensured that the researcher obtained views from different departments involved in diverse public finance management practices in the counties. the study collected primary data based on the research questions. the researcher collected preliminary data through self-administered questionnaires. according to kothari (2009), questionnaires were sent to the respondents, who were expected to read and understand and then supply answers. the reliability of the questionnaire was decided through a pilot study. according to bryman and bell (2015), a pilot study consisted of ten percent of members of the study population. the data from the pilot study was statistically analyzed to obtain the cronbach alpha coefficient. a cronbach reliability coefficient of 0.7 was the yardstick for deciding the instrument's reliability. the researcher determined the validity of the instrument in two ways. firstly, the researcher sought the supervisor's opinion on the terminologies employed in the questionnaire. additionally, the researcher sought industry experts' opinions to decide if proper language was used based on the research questions. the study used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze data. specifically, the researcher used the statistical package for social sciences (spss) as the primary data analysis tool. a multiple regression equation proved below determined the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. y = β0 + β1x1+ β2x2+ β3x3+ β4x4+ ε where: y= performance of county governments β0 -constant x1-public budgeting x2public financial reporting x3-public revenue mobilization x4-public finance procurement β1, β2, β3, and β4parameters to be estimated once data analysis was done, data was presented through tables and charts to underline the connection between the independent and dependent variables of the study. results public budgeting on performance of crcgs the respondents were asked to rate how much they agreed that public budgeting affected how well the crcgs performed. the results are shown in table 1. table 1. public budgeting on performance of crcgs items sa a u d sd mean std % % % % % your county uses budget estimates to enhance financial management and performance. 26 47 17 10 0 3.887 0.907 the county government utilizes budget planning to improve financial performance. 37 45 13 5 0 4.113 0.870 our government uses budget controls to enhance financial performance. 55 42 3 0 0 4.516 0.565 we often use budget implementation and monitoring to enhance performance. 57 37 6 0 0 4.500 0.621 our government does regular budget reviews to improve compliance and overall performance. 39 44 11 6 0 4.145 0.866 mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 47 with a mean of 3.887, most respondents (73%) agreed that the county uses budget forecasts to improve fiscal management and performance. the results also showed that most respondents (82%) agreed, with a mean of 4.113, that the county government uses budget planning to enhance financial performance. additionally, most respondents (97%) agreed, with a mean of 4.516, that the government employs budget constraints to improve financial performance. the results also showed that most respondents (94%) agreed that the county government often uses budget implementation and checking to improve performance, with a mean score of 4.500. with a mean of 4.145, most respondents (83%) also agreed that the government conducts frequent budget reviews to boost compliance and overall performance. the standard deviation varied from 0.565 to 0.907, showing insignificant variation among the responses concerning the mean. public financial reporting on the performance of crcgs the respondents were asked to rate how much they agreed that public financial reporting affected how well central rural county governments performed. the results are shown in table 2. table 2. public financial reporting on performance items s a a u d sd mean std % % % % % our county provides regular financial reports to enhance performance and compliance. 52 39 9 0 0 4.419 0.667 our county government published service and operational reports to improve performance 37 31 19 13 0 3.887 1.073 we often conduct regular risk assessments to improve performance. 44 40 6 10 0 4.177 0.932 our county government uses financial systems and standardized financial documentation to improve performance. 37 39 10 14 0 3.984 1.032 the county government presents annual financial statements for auditing and reporting 42 39 11 8 0 4.145 0.921 most respondents (91%) agreed that the county produces frequent financial reports to improve performance and compliance, with a mean score of 4.419. with a mean of 3.887, most respondents (68%) agreed that the county government issued service and operational reports to enhance performance. with a mean of 4.177, most respondents (84%) agreed that the county government often conducts routine risk assessments to improve performance. with a mean of 3.984, respondents (76%) agreed that the county government employs financial systems and standardized financial paperwork to enhance performance. most respondents agreed with the issues, as shown by the standard deviation, which varied from 0.667 to 1.073. the research supports hou & gopala's (2015) claim that financial reporting might affect crucial choices like grant applications. public revenue mobilization on performance of crcgs the respondents were asked to rate how much they agreed that public revenue mobilization affected how well the crcgs performed. the results are shown in table 3. table 3. public revenue mobilization on the performance items s a a u d sd mean std % % % % % we collect county revenue through fees and fines to improve service delivery. 47 34 13 6 0 4.210 0.908 we utilize revenue administration and automation measures to enhance the overall performance of our county government 50 31 15 5 0 4.258 0.886 we have revenue enforcement staff to improve collection and administration measures. 44 53 3 0 0 4.403 0.557 we have foreign partners who provide grants for different projects in our county. 37 44 16 3 0 4.145 0.807 we often introduce new revenue measures through taxation and fines in our county. 44 50 6 0 0 4.371 0.607 most respondents (81%) agreed, with a mean score of 4.210, that the county government should raise money via taxes and penalties to enhance service delivery. with a mean of 4.258, most respondents (81%) also said that the county should use automation and revenue administration strategies to improve the overall performance of our county government. with a mean of 4.403, most respondents (97%) also agreed that their revenue enforcement team is improving their collection and administration procedures. a large majority of respondents (81%) agreed, with a mean of 4.145, that the county administration had international partners that contribute money for various initiatives in our county. with a mean of 4.371, the majority (94%) agreed that the county administration often implements new revenue methods via taxes and penalties. public finance procurement on the performance of crcgs the respondents were asked to rate how much they agreed that public finance procurement affected how well the crcgs performed. the results are shown in table 4. mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 48 table 4. public finance procurement on the performance items s a a u d sd mean std % % % % % we have automated tender application procedures in the county. 37 34 10 16 3 3.855 1.185 we often use procurement planning in our county to enhance performance. 55 34 8 3 0 4.403 0.778 we follow all procurement processes and laws provided in the public procurement act. 44 46 7 3 0 4.307 0.738 we ensure compliance with all our public finance procurement activities. 37 44 16 3 0 4.145 0.807 we publish all public finance procurement information on our website to improve performance. 55 33 7 5 0 4.387 0.869 most respondents (71%) agreed, with a mean score of 3.855, that the county administration had automated tender application processes. with a mean of 4.403, most respondents (89%) also agreed that the county government often uses procurement planning to improve performance. with a mean of 4.307, they also agreed (90%) that the county government adheres to all regulations and procedures outlined in the public procurement act. additionally, most respondents (81%) agreed, with a mean of 4.145, that the county government assures compliance with all public financial procurement operations. with a mean score of 4.387, most respondents (88%) also agreed that the county government should show all information on general financial procurement on its website to enhance performance. most respondents, as offered by the standard deviation range of 0.738 to 1.185, agreed with the problems. inferential statistics public budgeting on performance of crcgs the study looked to decide the relationship between public budgeting and the performance of crcgs. the findings of the study are shown in table 5. table 5. public budgeting on performance of crcgs performance of crcgs public budgeting pearson correlation .443** sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 62 **. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). according to the findings, the research found a statistically significant moderately favorable link between public budgeting and the performance of central rift county administrations (r = 0.443; p 0.05). this suggests that public budgeting helps the crcgs operate better. public financial reporting on the performance in addition, the research intended to decide if public financial reporting and the performance of crcgs were related. table 6 displays the study's conclusions. table 6. public financial reporting on the performance performance of crcgs public financial reporting pearson correlation .441** sig. (2-tailed) .006 n 62 **. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). according to the research findings, there was a statistically significant relationship between the performance of the crcgs and public financial reporting (r = 0.441; p 0.05). this suggests that improved public financial reporting will help the crcgs function better. public revenue mobilization on the performance the research also looked at the relationship between the performance of crcgs and the mobilization of public resources. table 7 supplies a summary of the correlation analyses' findings. table 7. public revenue mobilization on the performance performance of crcgs public revenue mobilization pearson correlation .441** sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 62 **. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 49 in table 7, there is a moderate relationship between public income mobilizations and the effectiveness of crcgs. (r = 0.441; p < 0.05). the correlation analysis showed that improved public income mobilization enhances crcgs' performance. public finance procurement on the performance the research also looked at the relationship between public finance procurement and the performance of crcgs. the results of the correlation analysis are outlined in table 8. table 8. public finance procurement on the performance performance of crcgs public finance procurement pearson correlation .441** sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 62 **. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). according to the research, table 8 (r = 0.441; p 0.05) found a favorable link between public finance procurement and the effectiveness of crcgs. the correlation analysis showed that greater public finance procurement enhances crcgs' operational efficiency. regression analysis the performance of the crcgs was assessed using a regression analysis of the combined effects of public budgeting, public financial reporting, general income mobilization, and public finance procurement. table 9. model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate sig. f change 1 .878a .770 .749 .3873 .000 the study's r-squared value was 0.770, showing that the four independent variables—public budgeting, public financial reporting, general revenue mobilization, and public finance procurement—can explain 77.0% of these four variables. at the same time, other factors can account for the remaining 23.0%. anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 28.563 4 7.141 47.607 .000b residual 8.532 57 .150 total 37.095 61 a. dependent variable: performance of crcgs. b. predictors: (constant), public budgeting, public financial reporting, general revenue mobilization, and public finance procurement. the variance model effectively predicts how the four independent variables—public budgeting, public financial reporting, general revenue mobilization, and public finance procurement—influence the performance of crcgs because the results showed that the p-value was 0.000, which is less than 0.05. additionally, the f-value of (47.607) shows that the model successfully predicted how the independent factors affect the dependent variable. table 10. regression coefficients model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .038 .145 .260 .796 public budgeting .596 .107 .548 5.578 .013 public financial reporting .233 .081 .245 2.877 .006 public revenue mobilization .245 .104 .179 2.356 .022 public finance procurement .323 .106 .360 3.052 .003 the overall significant test findings for the proposed research model are shown in table 10. the results' interpretations are based on the regression model listed below. y= β0 + β1x1+ β2x2+ β3x3 + β4x4 therefore, y= 0.038+ 0.596x1 + 0.233 x2 +0.245x3 + 0.323 x4 mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 50 the value of the performance of the crcgs will be 0.038 when the independent variables are kept constant, according to the intercept (0). additionally, a unit increase in public budgeting would result in a 0.596 gain in the performance of crcgs, all other independent variables being held constant. keeping all other independent variables equal, an increase in public financial reporting would increase crcgs' performance by 0.233 units. additionally, a unit increase in public revenue mobilization would result in a 0.245 improvement in the performance of crcgs, all other factors being held constant. a unit increase in public finance procurement would, in the end, result in a 0.323 improvement in the performance of crcgs, all other factors being held constant. public budgeting, followed by public finance procurement, general revenue mobilization, and general revenue mobilization, are the factors that have the most impact on the performance of crcgs. discussions according to the investigation, the county utilizes budget projections to improve financial management and performance. the research also showed that the county administration uses budget planning to enhance financial performance. the study also showed that the county government uses budget constraints to improve financial performance. the findings on the impact of budgeting are supported in other studies. for example, musiega et al. (2023) found that budget credibility enhances the efficiency of public sector organizations. these findings are supported by mauro et al. (2020) who also underline the importance of budgeting on public sector organizations’ performance. moreover, the research also demonstrated that the county administration often monitors and implements budgets to improve performance. the study also showed that the county government conducts regular budget reviews to boost performance and compliance. the study's conclusions showed that the county government produces frequent financial reports to improve compliance and performance. the research also showed that the county administration released operational and service reports to boost efficiency. the research supports garcia-lacalle and torress (2021) claim that financial reporting might affect crucial choices like grant applications. the survey also showed that the county regularly assesses risks to boost performance. the research also showed that the county government employs standardized financial paperwork and financial systems to enhance the performance of county governments. annual financial accounts for the county government are presented for review and reporting. these findings align with other studies such as kong et al. (2018) and cedergren et al. (2022), who underline the importance of risk management in the performance of public sector organizations. according to the study's results, the county government raises money via fines and fees to provide better services. the research also showed that the county uses automation and revenue administration strategies to improve the performance of county governments. additionally, the research found that county governments employ revenue enforcement personnel to enhance procedures for collection and administration. the investigation also showed that the county governments have international partners that provide money to various county programs. the research also showed that the county often implements new revenue-generating techniques in our county via taxing and penalties. the results also indicate that that the county government has automated tender application processes. the research also showed that the county government often uses procurement planning to improve performance. indeed, muthee and mang’ana (2021) and asatiani (2022) found that automation improves the performance of public sector organizations. the survey also showed that the county government usually complies with all regulations and procedures outlined in the public procurement act regarding procurement. the report also showed that the county governments ensure all our public finance procurement operations comply. the survey also found that the county governments post all information on public finance procurement on their websites to increase efficiency. conclusions according to the research, county governments often use budget implementation and checking to improve performance. the research also concluded that the county governments conduct regular budget reviews to boost performance and compliance. the study also found a statistically significant moderately favorable association between public budgeting and implementing central rift county governments. the research found that county governments regularly assess risks to boost performance. the research also concluded that the county government employs standardized financial documentation and financial systems to enhance performance. according to the findings, the study concluded that the county administration gives yearly financial accounts for reporting and auditing. additionally, the research found a somewhat favorable and statistically significant association between the performance of central rift county governments and public financial reporting. according to the study's findings, the county government has revenue enforcement personnel to enhance procedures for collection and administration. furthermore, the investigation concluded that the county governments have international partners supplying money to various initiatives. the research also concluded that the county governments often implement new revenue strategies via taxing and penalties. additionally, the research found a favorable association between the performance of central rift county administrations and public revenue mobilizations. according to the study's findings on the impact of public finance procurement on the performance of county government, the study concluded that county governments often follow all rules and procedures outlined in the public procurement act. the study concluded that the county government must follow all public financing procurement activities. to increase performance, the study also concluded that the county government supplies all information on general financial procurement on its website. in the end, the analysis found a moderately favourable association between public finance procurement and the performance of central rift county governments. mong’are & atheru, american international journal of social science research 14(1) (2023), 43-53 51 regarding public budgeting, the research recommended that the government should pinpoint its weak points. regarding budgeting, identifying its weak points enables the administration to distribute resources in a beneficial and longlasting way. one of the main goals of creating a government budget is to achieve this. the government must ensure that money gets to where it is most needed. as a result, the government may demonstrate effective governance and achieve economic stability by analyzing historical data to identify portions of society that require economic welfare programs and then executing such policies. the study's conclusion on financial reporting was that performance data for government ministries and counties must be improved. promoting accountability among the counties and government agencies is necessary. the requirement to inform individuals how government ministries and counties use resources must be met. improvements in record keeping are required, including an audit that enables the requirement that all accounts be traced to their source documents and a clearer legal foundation for budgets that adhere to the ipsas reporting structure. meetings to plan for budgets and to encourage information accountability for voters and the broader public need to be improved. the budget processing and reporting format must be updated to comply with ipsas reporting requirements. the study's recommendation for revenue mobilization was that the county government take steps to produce an annual surplus of revenues over expenses. in this instance, the excess might be utilized to compensate investors who give the counties fresh long-term finance. additionally, county governments must ensure that all operating enterprises are properly licensed and recorded in the county revenue databases. the county governments should provide enough parking spaces and organize them appropriately before raising parking levies. to successfully contribute to local growth, county governments must reform and strengthen their current methods for raising money. the county governments should also search for creative approaches to raise money. for this to be effective, the revenue mobilization strategy must be modified to combat dishonesty in revenue mobilization and other revenue leakages at all stages of revenue collection. taxes and fees are used to fund county governments. innovative methods of revenue collecting may be used to improve county structures, workforce planning, training, new management compensation methods, overall quality management, and collaboration among management and employees. since the study focused on the public financial management practices and performance of selected county governments, there is a need to conduct a similar study on the public financial management practices and socio-economic development. author contributions: conceptualization, w.m.; methodology, w.m.; software, w.m.; validation, w.m.; formal analysis, w.m.; investigation, w.m.; resources, w.m.; data curation, w.m.; writing – original draft preparation, w.m.; writing – review & editing, w.m. and g.a.; visualization, w.m.; supervision, w.m.; project administration, w.m.; funding acquisition, w.m. and g.a. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references adler, r., stringer, c., shantapriyan, p., akbar, r., pilcher, r., & perrin, b. 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(2008). accounting theory: conceptual issues in a political and economic environment (vol. 2). sage. publisher’s note: cribfb stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2023 by the authors. licensee cribfb, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by cribfb is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 12 social science research aijssr vol 15 no 1 (2024) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by american social science society, usa antecedents of revisit intentions on hospital choice in the developing country: a sem analysis a. m. shahabuddin (a)1 mohammad toufiqur rahman syed md hasib ahsan md shahidul islam kulsuma akter (a) associate professor, department of business administration, international islamic university chittagong, chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: ams_iiuc@yahoo.com (b)associate professor, department of business administration, international islamic university chittagong, chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: mtr.iiuc@gmail.com (c) associate professor, department of business administration, international islamic university chittagong, chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: hasib27.ahsan@gmail.com (d)service engineering division, bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: engr.shahidul.islam@gmail.com (e) assistant professor, department of business administration, international islamic university chittagong, chittagong, bangladesh; e-mail: nahidkulsuma@iiuc.ac.bd a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 12th february 2024 reviewed & revised: 13th february 2024 to 20th april 2024 accepted: 24th april 2024 published: 30th april 2024 keywords: amos 24, bangladesh, factor analysis, hospitals, revisit intention, sem analysis jel classification codes: m1, m3, h51 peer-review model: external peer review was done through double-blind method. a b s t r a c t in today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, understanding the factors that drive patient decision-making regarding hospital revisit intention is critical for hospitals to remain competitive and thrive. despite the availability of world-class private hospitals, many patients from developing countries such as bangladesh routinely travel beyond for medical treatment. hence, developing countries are taking the initiative to strengthen their healthcare industries to increase their gdp. this study aims to shed light on this issue by exploring the antecedents that affect hospitals in a developing country, bangladesh. data were collected by interviews at private hospitals in chattrogram from november 2023 to december 2023 from 417 individuals using a randomized block design, and amos 24 was used for sem analysis. the process in both efa and cfa confirmed construct, convergent, and discriminant validity. the findings of this study demonstrate that the brand image of private hospitals affects patient revisit intent both directly and indirectly through service quality and patient satisfaction. a brand image does not influence the probability of returning to the same hospital. moreover, commodity costs have a negative impact on revisit intention—service quality is associated with patient satisfaction, which is moderated by the brand image of selected hospitals in bangladesh. hospital management can better position itself to meet patients' expectations, the government may contribute to improving health outcomes, and academicians may develop extensions of theory for developing countries. © 2024 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction although poor healthcare infrastructure puts bangladesh in the lowest place among south asian nations (mohiuddin, 2020), with few resources, bangladesh is advancing rapidly in meeting international healthcare standards. developing high-income nations are advancing rapidly, but progress in lowand middle-income nations (such as bangladesh) could be faster. a hospital must assess patients' needs and expectations to provide care that meets them. however, patients and relatives often have to sell assets or borrow money to cover the costs when loved ones need expensive medical care for conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, or oncology, putting their health and well-being at risk in the process. even patients in bangladesh who are dissatisfied with their prospects have begun to go to neighbouring nations like india, thailand, and singapore in search of better medical care (ali & medhekar, 2018). to retain these people in receiving healthcare services from bangladesh, we fill a gap in the literature by investigating the connection between service quality (sq), patient satisfaction (ps), revisit intentions (ri), brand image (bi), and healthcare expenditures in developing nations like bangladesh. 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0000-0001-6469-1873 © 2024 by the authors. hosting by american social science society. peer review under responsibility of american social science society, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i1.2206 to cite this article: shahabuddin, a. m., rahman, m. t., ahsan, s. m. h., islam, m. s., & akter, k. (2024). antecedents of revisit intentions on hospital choice in the developing country: a sem analysis. american international journal of social science research, 15(1), 12-20. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i1.2206 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.openaccess.nl/en https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v15i1.2206 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6469-1873 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3494-0861 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4286-5032 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5755-2365 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9232-9740 shahabuddin et al., american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 13 researchers in bangladesh and other poor countries devote closer attention to healthcare issues than their governments do (javed & ilyas, 2018). cost savings are one-way hospitals with loyal patients can attract more patients. however, more studies are needed to analyze how brand image correlates with service quality and client retention (cham et al., 2016). when deciding on a doctor, many patients consider the clinic's or hospital's name alone (alsaleh, 2019; hyder et al., 2019). in recent years, interest has risen in the correlation between consumer perceptions of a brand and their likelihood to return. many studies have examined how sq affects ps or how satisfaction affects the likelihood that a customer will return (lin & bowman, 2022; ali et al., 2018; shafiq et al., 2017). however, more research must be conducted to analyse how well-satisfied customers influence a company's reputation and how often they return. the literature needs to include this sort of discussion. as a result, this study tries to respond to the following healthcare-related research questions: what role does hospital bi play in determining whether or not a patient will return to a given facility? specifically, how do sq and ps relate to the likelihood of a customer making a return visit? the literature was reviewed to provide answers to these questions. in the subsequent sentences, we will discuss the review's objectives and analyze how the literature has changed. we next moved on to sem after reviewing the factor analysis. although chattroram is the commercial hub of bangladesh and the country's second-largest city, this research aims to determine whether or not patients are satisfied with the care they receive at the private hospitals there. the following aims can be attained with the help of the survey data:  to determine the relationship between bi on ri;  to identify the relationship between sq and ps on ri and  to evaluate the relationship between commodity cost and ri; literature review research on the connections between the significant variables that affect patients' choices to return to hospitals in chittagong, bangladesh, remains sparse. in particular, few studies use an integrated approach to comprehend how variables such as "revisit intent (ri)," "brand image (bi)," "service quality (sq)," "patient satisfaction (ps)," and "commodity cost (cc)" relate to one another. many bangladeshis travel to other south asian nations each year for medical care because those countries provide better medical facilities at lower costs. besides the unavailability of treatments and lengthy wait times for diagnostics and specialist treatment support services, anvekar (2012) revealed that high treatment costs are the primary reason people travel abroad for care. cc and ri hospital spending refers to a commodity expense (shetty & ananthakrishnan, 2016) or patient out-of-pocket costs (like doctor's visits, hospital stays, medicine, and transportation to and from medical appointments, which are those not covered by insurance) paid directly to hospitals. for instance, if a patient cannot afford the out-of-pocket costs, they may decide against receiving hospital service or delay receiving it. the authors argue that treating healthcare costs like any other commodity expense will allow hospitals to develop more robust brand image initiatives that win the trust of their patients. thus, the hypothesis is developed as follows: h1: there is no significant influence of commodity cost to revisit the intention of the same hospital. bi and ri researchers contend that a hospital's brand image encompasses elements like its reputation, marketing efforts, and patients' satisfaction, which affect patients' propensity to return and their loyalty to the hospital (chaudhuri & holbrook, 2001; kim & kim, 2017). thus, a favourable hospital brand image may increase patient continuance intention in a hospital setting. so, a more reputable hospital will have a more significant number of loyal patients. h2: there is no significant influence of brand image on revisiting the intention of the same hospital. bi and sq patients' impressions of the hospital and their probability of returning or recommending the facility remain significantly affected by the quality of their care (choi et al., 2004). however, physicians' recommendations of specific hospitals to their patients may influence their decisions and the public's perception of those facilities in bangladesh. thus, this research examined how hospital marketing and social media affected patients' perceptions of the hospital's brand. this leads to the following hypothesis: h3: bi in hospitals is not strongly influenced by the quality of the services bi and ps research (kim et al., 2008) shows that patients' satisfaction levels with a hospital are directly related to the hospital's reputation. while branding and marketing initiatives may help, they should not be used as a substitute for providing excellent medical treatment and satisfying patient experiences. this leads to the following hypothesis: h4: patient satisfaction in hospitals is not significantly influenced by the hospital's bi shahabuddin et al., american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 14 sq and ps patients' satisfaction with hospital care in iran significantly correlated with the quality of care they received (tavakol et al., 2018). numerous studies have looked at how satisfied customers are related to service quality. aspects of healthcare service quality include practitioner competence, treatment efficacy, and consistency (omoregie et al., 2019). this leads to the following hypothesis: h5: service quality has no significant influence on hospital patient satisfaction. ps and ri patient satisfaction has been demonstrated to correlate positively with revisit intention in the healthcare setting (vuori & vänskä, 2018). thus, it is reasonable to assume that patients who are happy with their care will be more loyal to their hospital. this leads to the following hypothesis: h6: there is no significant influence of patient satisfaction to revisit the intention of the same hospital. materials & methods sample and procedure we examined patients to identify the revisit intention from the top five sample private hospitals providing heart centres, kidney dialysis, and critical care in chattrogram, bangladesh, with more than 100 beds. we took a convenience sample from 500 respondents when the patients were present at these hospitals. these patients are the leading representatives of the target market, and they are conveniently reachable in person at a particular location (andrade, 2021) from november 2023 to december 2023. participants' responses were voluntary and anonymous, and privacy was maintained. we asked questions of those who had visited the sample hospitals within six months. among the valid respondents, 312 are male and 105 are female, of which 45% are below 35 and 65% are over 40 years old. moreover, demographics indicate that around 73.5% of respondents were above ssc educational qualification. measurement the questionnaire was pre-tested with the selected 30 patients from different groups and two academicians to ensure their instrument suitability and content validity, and then necessary corrections and modifications were made according to their suggestions. we used a modified version of kim et al.’s (2008) “brand image” items and parasuman et al. (1988) “service quality” items. the study developed a 23-item (table 1) validated scale by adopting items from prior literature with minor changes. the corrected and finalized survey questionnaire was distributed by purposefully sampling in a randomized block design method to the selected 500 patients from different hospitals in chittagong city. method of analysis the complete opinions of 417 respondents (83%) are selected and coded (as some respondents answered all the questions in the same rank and did not answer many questions) in ibm spss amos 24, which is sufficient for further analysis (saunders et al., 2007) with 5% margin of error, and a 50% population proportion. afterwards, we check the data from our survey response variables for the normality test using the kolmogorovsmirnov and shapiro-wilk tests. based on the normality test's result, median values are considered to classify the response data into a factor analysis. from the factor analysis's result, the following conceptual model is developed (figure 1) to test the hypothesis. figure 1. conceptual model shahabuddin et al., american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 15 results normality test table 1 depicts the descriptive statistics and normality test for the respondents' disclosed values on their intention to return. table 1. descriptive statistics and normality test sl. no. constru cts questionnaire min max kolmogorov– smirnov test (sig) shapiro–wilk test (sig) median 1. q1 if i need hospital care, i can get admitted without any trouble 1 4 0.267 (0.000) 0.862 (0.000) 2.0 2. q2 when i need medical attention, i will consider this hospital. 1 4 0.240 (0.000) 0.872 (0.000) 2.0 3. q3 the hospital has my highest possible recommendation 1 4 0.223 (0.000) 0.878 (0.000) 2.0 4. q4 i want to promote this institution as a desirable destination shortly. 1 4 0.211 (0.000) 0.880 (0.000) 2.5 5. q5 i will participate in awareness programs organized by this hospital in the future 2 4 0.254 (0.000) 0.868 (0.000) 2.0 6. q6 this hospital is conveniently located 2 5 0.213 (0.000) 0.878 (0.000) 3.0 7. q7 the follow-ups after treatment are good 2 5 0.211 (0.000) 0.869 (0.000) 3.0 8. q8 medical records are error-free. 1 5 0.196 (0.000) 0.877 (0.000) 3.0 9. q9 this hospital's personnel provided prompt service. 2 5 0.213 (0.000) 0.874 (0.000) 3.0 10. q10 the staff is educated enough to respond to my questions. 2 5 0.220 (0.000) 0.867 (0.000) 4.0 11. q11 this hospital's personnel gives me individual care. 2 5 0.222 (0.000) 0.860 (0.000) 4.0 12. q12 this hospital's physical amenities are modern and visually appealing. 2 5 0.224 (0.000) 0.850 (0.000) 4.0 13. q13 i am sure that i will be able to obtain the medical treatment i require without incurring financial hardship. 2 5 0.226 (0.000) 0.867 (0.000) 4.0 14. q14 people did not have to wait long for care in this hospital. 2 5 0.218 (0.000) 0.862 (0.000) 4.0 brand image 15. q15 the brand's social media exposure is good for this hospital. 1 5 0.219 (0.000) 0.900 (0.000) 3.0 16. q16 i felt safe taking treatment in this hospital 1 5 0.196 (0.000) 0.906 (0.000) 3.0 17. q17 the doctors gave me ample opportunity to ask questions, and their answers addressed all my worries 1 5 0.209 (0.000) 0.902 (0.000) 3.0 18. q18 the hospital seems to be equipped with the latest equipment 1 5 0.167 (0.000) 0.910 (0.000) 3.0 19. q19 i have a favourable impression of this hospital's name because of recommendations from my loved ones. 1 5 0.176 (0.000) 0.912 (0.000) 3.0 20. q20 the cost of doctor fees is affordable 1 5 0.182 (0.000) 0.909 (0.000) 3.0 21. q21 the cost of renting a cabin or bed is inexpensive 1 5 0.167 (0.000) 0.914 (0.000) 3.0 22. q22 the price of medicine is reasonable 1 5 0.174 (0.000) 0.908 (0.000) 3.0 23. q23 the price of an ambulance service is high 1 5 0.163 (0.000) 0.914 (0.000) 3.0 the minimum and maximum values for each survey questionnaire response are 1 to 2 and 4 to 5, respectively. at the 0.000 significance level, each response ranges from 0.163 to 0.267 on the kolmogorov-smirnov test statistic and from 0.850 to 0.914 on the shapiro-wilk test statistic. factor analysis since the survey response values are not normally distributed (p < 0.05), the factor analysis calculates median values for mean rank comparison. the median values of each survey questionnaire response are 2 to 4. as the median values vary widely, a factor analysis is conducted to classify the survey questionnaire into different factors with similar responses. as the kmo is 0.793, we can apply the factor analysis method to divide the questionnaire response values into different factors (table 2). table 2. factor analysis and convergent validity rotated component matrixa convergent validity questionnaire component construct cronbach’s alpha ave square root of ave 1 2 3 4 5 q10 0.963 service quality 0.931 0.734 0.857 q13 0.945 shahabuddin et al., american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 16 q11 0.855 q14 0.837 q12 0.800 q2 0.925 revisit intension 0.921 0.718 0.847 q5 0.869 q3 0.852 q1 0.851 q4 0.804 q18 0.918 brand image 0.916 0.660 0.813 q15 0.915 q17 0.908 q19 0.792 q16 0.766 q23 0.943 commodity cost 0.959 0.833 0.913 q21 0.930 q20 0.924 q22 0.859 q9 0.878 patient satisfaction 0.901 0.698 0.835 q7 0.850 q6 0.832 q8 0.809 a. rotation converged in 5 iterations. from the factor analysis table, the factor loading values are classified into five-factor variables: service quality with question10 to question14 (factor leading 0.800 to 0.963), revisit intention with question1 to question5 (factor leading 0.804 to 0.925), brand image with question15 to question19 (factor leading 0.766 to 0.918), commodity cost with question20 question23 (factor leading 0.859 to 0.943) and patient satisfaction question6 to question9 (factor leading 0.809 to 0.878) respectively. all the constructs had factor loadings above 0.70, cronbach alphas above 7.0, and ave over 0.50, showing they were highly trustworthy, valid, and consistent (hair et al., 2006). structure equation model based on the above factor analysis result, a structural equation model of revisit intention based on commodity cost, brand image, service quality, and patient satisfaction (figure 2)has been developed to test the hypothesis. figure 2. structure equation model of revisit intension according to the above structural equation model, the standardized regression weights for commodity cost are 0.79 to 1.00, brand image is 0.53 to 1.00, service quality is 0.70 to 1.00, patient satisfaction is 0.79 to 0.90 and revisit intention is 0.74 to 1.01 respectively (which are nearly between –1 to 1). in these cases, each factor loading of indicator variables is exceptionally high and statistically significant (p < 0.05). the covariance values between errors in the model range from – 0.14 to 0.46 and are also important (p < 0.05). the final model fits the data quite well, as shown by the computed global fit measures (χ2 /df = 2.614, gfi= 0.90, cfi= 0.966, ifi= 0.966, tli= 0.960, nfi= 0.946, rfi= 0.938, and rmsea = 0.064, which is 0.08). the model index values meet all of the survey's requirements for a well-fitted model; consequently, the chosen model is appropriate (awang et al., 2015). shahabuddin et al., american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 17 convergent and discriminant validity table 3 shows the results of a convergent validity test using the average variance expected (ave). in contrast, table 3 shows the results of a discriminant validity test using the maximum shared variance (msv). table 3. path coefficient and discriminant validity regression weights: (path coefficient) discriminant validity exogenous endogenous variable estimate p maximum shared variance (msv) service quality <--brand image 0.033 0.401 0.042 patient satisfaction <--brand image – 0.012 0.739 – 0.009 patient satisfaction <--service quality 0.155 *** 0.177 revisit intension <--commodity cost – 0.079 0.021 – 0.184 revisit intension <--brand image 0.108 0.001 0.145 revisit intension <--patient satisfaction 0.222 *** 0.251 source: authors calculation the average variance expected (ave) to test convergent validity (from table 2) for service quality is 0.734, revisit intension is 0.718, brand image is 0.660, commodity cost is 0.833, and patient satisfaction is 0.698, respectively. here, the ave values are more significant than 0.5, which indicates that the model has achieved convergent validity (arbuckle, 2006). maximum shared variance (msv) was examined to test the discriminant validity. as depicted in table 3, the msv between bi and sq was 0.042, which is less than the square root of the average variance extracted(srave) for bi (0.813) and service quality (0.857). similarly, the msv between bi and patient satisfaction(ps) was 0.009, which is smaller than both the srave for bi (0.813) and ps (0.835). furthermore, the msv between sq and ps was 0.177, less than the srave for sq (0.857) and ps (0.835). additionally, the msv between commodity price and intention to return was found to be 0.184, smaller than the srave for commodity price (0.913) and return intent (0.918). (0.847). moreover, the srave for brand image (0.813) and the ave for revisit intention (0.813) were both smaller than the msv of brand image and revisit intention (0.145). (0.847). accordingly, these findings support discriminant validity (henseler et al., 2015). hypothesis testing the path coefficient of brand image to patient revisit intention is 0.108 (p = 0.001). this indicates that null hypothesis 2 is rejected and that the brand image significantly influences revisiting intention to the same hospital (p < 0.05). it suggests that as brand image improves (social media communication, safe treatment, enough time spent by a doctor with a patient, equipped with the latest equipment, patient positive evaluation, etc.), the patient revisit intention into the same hospital will increase significantly. hospital service quality is correlated with the brand image at a path coefficient of 0.033 (p = 0.401). hence, the evidence does not support discarding null hypothesis 3. an organization's internal and external communication channels indicate its reputation and efficacy in the community from the standpoint of the signalling theory (soliha et al., 2021; kim et al., 2010). a company's name, product line, and perceived quality all play a role in determining whether or not a customer would return to make a purchase. the structure equation model's path coefficient of commodity cost to revisit intention is – 0.079 (p = 0.021). therefore, commodity cost significantly negatively influences the intention to return to the same hospital, thus rejecting the null hypothesis 1. as a result, with the increased commodity costs (doctors' fees, cabin or bed rent, medicine prices, etc.), the patient revisits intention significantly and vice versa. in line with previous research, the higher commodity expenses were associated with a lower level of satisfaction and a reduced likelihood of return for hospital care and vice versa (yang et al.,2016) similarly, the correlation between brand image and hospital patient satisfaction was found to be -0.012 (p = 0.739), refuting null hypothesis 4. while previous studies explored the relationship between bi and ps (liu et al.,2018), a negative correlation was observed in chattrogram, bangladesh, due to physician associations of chattrogram not favouring hospital management branding; other factors may also contribute to this outcome, which was not accounted for in previous studies. the path coefficient of hospital service quality to patient satisfaction is 0.155 (p < 0.000). therefore, service quality has influenced patient satisfaction, thus rejecting the null hypothesis 5(p < 0.05). as a result, with the increase in service quality (error-free medical reports, prompt service, enough knowledge of staff, individual attention to the patient, physical facilities, etc.), the hospital's patient satisfaction increases significantly and vice versa. this increased patient satisfaction also substantially increases the intention of the patient to revisit the same hospital (hypothesis 6). the connection between patient satisfaction and future hospital readmission is 0.2222 (p=0.000). we reject null hypothesis 6 (p < 0.05) because there is strong evidence that patients' level of satisfaction promotes their desire to return to the same hospital. similar correlations between service quality and patient satisfaction have been identified in prior research (fook & dastane, 2021; sanyal & hisam, 2016). as a result, with increased patient satisfaction in hospitals, the intention to revisit patients increases significantly, and vice versa. shahabuddin et al., american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 18 discussions despite a large body of prior theoretical and empirical work, our results suggest that investigation into the connection between bi and follow-up visits is still in its infancy in the healthcare industry. the model's soundness was tested by structural equation modeling (sem). hospital reputation, service quality, patient loyalty, and satisfaction were all shown to be significantly correlated. our investigation extends further than the already available sq and ps frameworks, both capable of delving into bi. to enhance patients' intentions to return to the same hospital, it is necessary to considerably cut the cost of commodities, such as doctors' fees, cabin or bed rent, pharmaceutical prices, ambulance service costs, etc. brand image has a significant positive influence on patients' revisiting intentions to the same hospital, so the brand image (social media communication, safe treatment, enough time spent by a doctor with a patient, equipped with the latest equipment, patient positive evaluation, etc.) must be increased significantly to increase the patient's revisit intention to the same hospital. it has also been observed that brand image does not significantly influence patient satisfaction in hospitals in developing countries. however, in our study, brand image has no significant influence on the service quality of hospitals in the business capital city of chattrogram in the developing country. physicians’ contribution has a profound impact on increasing patient satisfaction rather than a brand image in chattrogram. leading two foreign affiliated and cobranded private hospitals could not attract and retain patients in their hospital by creating a brand image. the lack of authorization of foreign doctors to practice in the selected foreign cobranded hospitals in bangladesh had a problem for boosting revisit intention. moreover, as a result, show, the service quality of a hospital has a positive significant influence on patient satisfaction in a hospital, so the service quality (error-free medical report, prompt service, enough knowledge of staff, individual attention to patients, physical facilities, etc.) of the hospital must be increased significantly to increase the patient satisfaction in hospital in the developing country like bangladesh. this increased patient satisfaction also substantially increases the intention of the patient to revisit the same hospital (hypothesis 6). we found that patient satisfaction in hospitals significantly influences patient revisit intention in the same hospital; thus, patient satisfaction in hospitals must be increased significantly to increase the patient revisit intention in the same hospital in a developing country like bangladesh. this increase in patient satisfaction in hospitals significantly increases patient revisit intention. this increased patient revisit intention also increases the revenue earning of the hospital significantly and ultimately makes a higher profit. from a managerial perspective, this study illuminates patient-centred care in a developing economy for healthcare organizations. coordinated care pathways foster a patient-centred hospital culture (lin & bowman, 2022; srivastava & singh, 2020). management can improve morale among workers and patients by adjusting the hospital's physical space. building a solid reputation in this sector might increase the number of times patients visit a healthcare facility. in today's globally competitive market, patients have numerous options regarding where to acquire healthcare. this should serve as an incentive for hospital administrators to work on improving their institutions' public profiles. conclusions the study found a favourable association between a hospital's brand image and the likelihood of a patient returning for health care. at the same time, a negative association between commodity cost and return intent was also found. however, in hospitals in developing countries, brand image has no appreciable effect on service quality or patient satisfaction. furthermore, patient satisfaction in hospitals is significantly impacted by the quality of hospital services. however, there needs to be an overarching conceptual framework in the literature. the study focused on patients in private hospitals. this might limit the generalizability of the results. future research will likely broaden the degree of generalizability to different cities or healthcare settings. the small sample size falls short of the targeted sample size. studies often use cross-sectional study methodologies, but longitudinal studies should be conducted afterwards to glean extra knowledge. this gap in the literature can be filled by future conceptual and empirical research. it would be beneficial to extrapolate the results to countries like india, pakistan, malaysia, singapore, etc. if the study were replicated in diverse settings. health communication data gleaned from research on service quality gaps could contribute to the economic and social development of bangladesh and other comparable developing countries. finally, this research reveals that mere brand image does not increase patient satisfaction; a brand image with service quality can satisfy patients. brand hospitals with high prices may not satisfy patients. quality time doctors provide in brand hospitals, patient care by the staff, and structural ties could motivate patients to revisit hospitals. customer surveys, suggestion boxes, and other feedback methods can be used to improve patients' levels of satisfaction. they can set themselves apart by raising their brand's awareness, fostering greater patient trust, generating significant returns, and expanding their organization. hospital administrators can integrate numerous marketing tactics such as patient communication, service training for their workers, advertising, public relations, and online marketing to develop bi and gain a competitive advantage. the hospital administration should emphasize any ideas made by the patients for purposes of improvement and identical brand image creation. author contributions: conceptualization, a.m.s.; methodology, a.m.s. s.m.h.a. and m.t.r.; software, m.s.i.; validation, s.m.h.a.; formal analysis, m.s.i.; investigation, k.a.n., s.m.h.a. and a.m.s.; resources, a.m.s., m.t.r. and k.a.n.; data curation, s.m.h.a.; writing – original draft preparation, a.m.s., m.t.r. and s.m.h.a.; writing – review & editing, a.m.s. and m.t.r.; visualization, m.s.i.; supervision, a.m.s.; project administration, a.m.s.; funding acquisition, a.m.s., m.t.r., s.m.h.a., m.s.i. and k.a. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study due to the research does not deal with vulnerable shahabuddin et al., american international journal of social science research 15(1) (2024), 12-20 19 groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. the data are not publicly available due to restrictions. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references ali, m. m., & medhekar, a. 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(2018). satisfaction and revisit intentions of patients: evidence from european hospitals. journal of health management, 20(4), 529-544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972063418794604 publisher’s note: american social science society stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. © 2024 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). american international journal of social science research (p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048) by american social science society is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no5.1001 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 1 social science research aijssr vol 16 no 2 (2025) p-issn 2576-103x e-issn 2576-1048 journal homepage: https://www.cribfb.com/journal/index.php/aijssr published by american social science society, usa church-led stewardship and value creation: assessing christ-centered approaches to household livelihood resilience in machakos county, kenya kasimbi joachim muteti (a)1 antony wando odek (b) (a)phd candidate, department of development studies, st paul’s university, limuru, kenya; e-mail: pdslmr376422@spu.ac.ke (b)senior lecturer, department of development studies, st. paul's university, limuru, kenya; e-mail: aodek@spu.ac.ke a r t i c l e i n f o article history: received: 12th june 2025 reviewed & revised: 13th june 2025 to 29th october 2025 accepted: 30th october 2025 published: 4th october 2025 keywords: christ-centered approaches, faithbased livelihood interventions, household welfare, livelihood resilience, stewardship and value creation jel classification codes: q01, q12, i32, z12 peer-review model: external peer-review was done through double-blind method. a b s t r a c t food and livelihood insecurity are ongoing global concerns that continue to increase due to changing climate conditions and unreliable market conditions. in machakos county, one of kenya's semi-arid regions, households frequently face recurring droughts, crop failures, livestock deaths, and seasonal food shortages. churches and faith-based organizations have implemented programs to support livelihoods, but the benefits and impact on household resilience remain unknown. this study examines whether christ-centered approaches (cca) foster household resilience, with a particular focus on christian stewardship and faith-driven value creation (fdvc). the study employs a descriptive mixed-methods design, involving 384 households and key informants, including program coordinators and local actors. descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses served as the tools for quantitative data analysis. a thematic analysis was employed to capture the mechanisms and constraints in the qualitative data. regression analysis revealed that stewardship and fdvc were statistically significant and positively predictive of livelihood outcomes among households (β = 0.12, p < 0.001; β = 0.11, p < 0.001), with a conditional r² ranging from 26% to 29%. the findings indicate that households participating in ccas have improved planning, safer resource utilization, greater income diversification, and enhanced cooperation. participation in these strategies is associated with measurable improvements in household livelihood indicators and accounts for approximately onequarter of the conditional variance in the fitted models. © 2025 by the authors. licensee american social science society, usa. this article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the creative commons attribution (cc by) license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). introduction climate change is altering livelihoods worldwide, but in an uneven manner. africa is under considerable pressure, as land degradation, fragile markets, and climate extremes exacerbate these pressures (lambert & deyganto, 2024). in kenya, there is a high level of exposure as households lose their traditional ways of earning income, experience a decrease in the diversity of livelihoods, and face the challenges of low resilience. in machakos county, these factors contribute to cumulative poverty, cyclical hunger, and repeated temporary responses that are unsustainable (stockport et al., 2024). religious organizations have become essential players in resilience programming by promoting savings groups, skills training, stewardship messaging, and value-based farming (mash & abumoghli, 2023; wambugu et al., 2022). the scientific question remains unanswered: do christ-centered approaches (ccas) lead to measurable and sustainable improvements in household welfare, or do they merely reinforce existing social capital and informal safety nets? evidence from fragile states, including south sudan, the central african republic, and somalia, demonstrates that faith networks are relied upon during financial crises; however, there remains ambiguity about the extent of lasting improvements (ensor, 2022). ethiopia has had a positive experience with religious engagement in the context of environmental recovery during the green legacy initiative; however, improvements in ecological restoration are still dependent on utilizing a variety of institutional and 1corresponding author: orcid id: 0009-0007-4437-162x © 2025 by the authors. hosting by american social science society. peer review under responsibility of american social science society, usa. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i2.2630 to cite this article: muteti, k. j., & odek, a. w. (2025). church-led stewardship and value creation: assessing christcentered approaches to household livelihood resilience in machakos county, kenya. american international journal of social science research, 16(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i2.2630 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) https://www.openaccess.nl/en https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v16i2.2630 https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4437-162x https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7500-8154 muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 2 technical inputs (lambert & deyganto, 2024; muluki et al., 2022). given these mixed experiences, there is an increased urgency for the systematic testing of ccas in household welfare in kenya. machakos county epitomizes this urgency. while contributing 3.4% of the gva and gross product within kenya, 35.6% of the country's population is considered poor, 63.5% of households experience severe food insecurity, and only 18.7% of households are food secure (kyalo et al., 2023). seasonal hunger is observed in all households from august to december, with the highest rates of hunger typically happening during october (mose & mukami, 2020). vulnerability is compounded by dependence on rain-fed agricultural production, limited market access, and weakened infrastructure. donor inputs typically yield a short-term response, but without sustained and enhanced local equity and stewardship, there is often no lasting impact on resilience (borter & malik, 2023). consequently, it is an essential practical and scientific question whether the ccas are addressing or reproducing these issues. this study utilizes a mixed-methods design that integrates household-level survey data and qualitative interviews, measuring outcomes associated with welfare and ccas at the household level. the aim was to evaluate whether ccas achieved welfare and resilience gains that extend beyond existing informal social safety-net systems. the paper is organized as follows: the next section situates the study within the current theoretical debates on climate vulnerability and faith-based interventions; the methods section outlines study design and analysis; the results section presents findings; the discussion section interprets implications of findings related to relevant policy implications and theory; and the final section presents conclusions and recommendations. literature review introduction this section synthesizes theoretical and empirical literature on christian stewardship and faith-driven value creation (fdvc) as they apply to household livelihood resilience. it focuses on mechanisms and observed effects in similar contexts to machakos county, concerning program design, inclusion, and measurement concerns. the aim is to evaluate what is already known, where the evidence is weak or conflicting, and identify the empirical gaps that remain. theoretical framework this study draws upon three interlinked theoretical traditions, including empowerment theory, entrepreneurial/value creation theory (evc), and the sustainable livelihoods framework (slf), to examine how christian stewardship and faith-driven value creation (fdvc) influence the resilience of household livelihoods in machakos county. each of these frameworks offers a distinct yet complementary perspective. empowerment theory emphasizes household agency and participation, evc outlines how entrepreneurial action drives value creation and preservation, and slf situates these practices within broader systemic and institutional contexts (kumar et al., 2023; mbunda, 2024). their combination provides a robust conceptual framework to analyze how religious practice interacts with poverty, climatic uncertainty, and limited market access to impact resilience outcomes. empowerment theory posits that families are active agents in enhancing their welfare through the control of resources, decision-making, and collective agency. regarding christian stewardship, empowerment is framed as a responsibility, involving prudent management of resources and participation in activities that contribute to community resilience in sectors such as health, education, and natural capital (zimerman, 2023). the theory has great practicality to demonstrate how agency and collective action construct adaptive capacity. however, it is universally known to be finite. one of its limitations is conceptual vagueness: empowerment is often invoked as a normative rather than an explicitly defined concept with measurable axes, making it difficult to quantify or compare results across settings (kamin et al., 2022). another finiteness is that it ignores structural barriers and power disparities. in any case, most families may be empowered but remain shackled to institutional systems, market exclusions, or systemic discrimination. this phenomenon has been referred to as "illusory empowerment" because the perceived agency masks underlying structural constraints (eissler et al., 2022; maschi et al., 2022). these criticisms suggest that empowerment is not enough to fully explain how families sustain resilience against recurring shocks, reaffirming the need to utilize other approaches. entrepreneurial/value creation theory (evc) bridges some of these conceptual gaps by outlining how agency is transformed into results through the identification of opportunities, innovation, and the recombination of means (lan et al., 2022). the significance of this study lies in demonstrating that entrepreneurship is not limited to profit maximization, but can also involve creating social and moral value. this vision is particularly pertinent through faith-driven value creation (fdvc), which emphasizes entrepreneurial behavior guided by religious values. with christian stewardship, fdvc prioritizes responsibility, community, and the dual bottom line of balancing community welfare and profit. empirical data from sub-saharan africa indicate that religious entrepreneurial styles often combine ethical and social objectives with profitability, particularly through church-driven microfinance schemes, farm-based business ventures, and vocational training programs (mathuva et al., 2025; munir et al., 2023; kyalo et al., 2023). evc provides the theoretical frameworks for investigating how families generate and sustain value in this study, and fdvc outlines the mechanisms by which religious values shape these entrepreneurial practices. however, there are limits. entrepreneurial benefits tend to accrue to families with increased access to capital and networks, which creates problems of inequality. furthermore, entrepreneurship exposes households to debt risk and market volatility, which can undermine rather than contribute to their resilience (munir et al., 2023). dfid has developed the sustainable livelihoods framework (slf), which chambers and conway implemented. slf contributes to these perspectives by offering a systems-level view. it argues that local resilience is a product of the interaction among five forms of capital—human, social, natural, physical, and financial—in a context of vulnerability shaped by shocks, trends, and seasonality (cui et al., 2025; zheng et al., 2023). slf also highlights the role of institutions, muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 3 policies, and cultural norms in mediating the outcomes. its holistic and people-oriented focus makes it particularly effective in situating both entrepreneurial action and empowerment within the broader context of climate stress and poverty. nonetheless, the framework also possesses some limitations. scholars contend that slf tends to overlook non-material factors, such as moral obligations, religion, and societal conventions, which are critical in shaping household strategies (opiyo et al., 2024; saja et al., 2021; natarajan et al., 2022). these blind spots make it less applicable where religiously based practices are crucial to determining livelihood options. morse (2024) examines critically how the sustainable livelihoods framework overlooks religious and moral norms and recommends methodological solutions, such as institutional mapping and qualitative modules. the paper argues that religion affects risk tastes, trust, and collective action in ways that asset indices fail to capture. for the machakos case, morse attests to the use of faith-specific indicators and institutional controls in slf-based models and endorses our decision to triangulate slf with empowerment and evc analyses, thereby incorporating structural, institutional, and value-oriented dimensions of resilience. together, these three methods yield a multi-dimensional analytic approach. empowerment theory emphasizes agency and participation but requires complementary perspectives to overcome its conceptual and structural limitations. evc describes how families create and sustain value, while fdvc grounds these processes in religious and ethical commitments. slf provides the systems view, positioning household strategy within broader ecological, institutional, and market contexts. their alignment allows this research to record resilience both materially, e.g., income diversification, savings, and skill acquisition, and non-materially, e.g., social cohesion, moral behavior, and decision-making capacity. this comprehensive structure strengthens the ability to consider how christian stewardship and fdvc affect adaptive capacity and household resilience in machakos county. review of empirical studies household livelihood resilience is founded on material resources and behavioral strategies. christian stewardship and family development volunteer cooperatives influence resource management, decision-making, and social bonding in households. evidence suggests that these strategies enhance productivity, income diversification, and social network strengthening; however, gaps remain in understanding the causal pathways, inclusiveness, and sustainability. this review examines how stewardship and fdvc promote resilience, highlighting achievements and methodological limitations. christian stewardship and household livelihood resilience christian stewardship positions resource management as a moral obligation, shaping livelihood choices. popescu et al. (2021) report that sustainable action enhances productivity in cases where households possess financial capital and technical knowledge. stewardship can enable proper soil management, rainwater collection, and responsible business practices, which can cushion households against shocks. adoption hinges on external support; without funds and ongoing mentorship, stewardship is symbolic but not transformative. spirituality is a resilient but underexplored driver. campbell and bauer (2021) argue that the christian religion provides individuals with coping mechanisms, meaning-making frameworks, and social support, particularly during times of crisis. the study identifies actionable steps such as collaborating with spiritual leaders and leveraging congregational resources, which may inform how stewardship is interpreted into household resilience. however, its exclusive focus on u.s. literature, author bias, and scoping review strategy preclude assessment of household-level livelihood outcomes. to machakos, these implications suggest that the motivations underlying religion can influence resource management; however, empirical verification at the household level is necessary to determine actual adaptive capacity, risk coping, and livelihood sustainability. adoption of conservation agriculture practices is a key mechanism bridging stewardship and resilience. ngaiwi et al. (2023) illustrate that gender, age, family size, access to extension services, application of modern farm technology, livestock ownership, and soil fertility affect the adoption of conservation agriculture practices and intensity. this demonstrates the importance of household stewardship through land management and resource allocation in enhancing adaptive capacity. however, the research is cross-sectional, does not account for faith-based motivations, and does not measure household-level outcomes, such as income stability, food security, or risk-coping capacity. for this present study, this means incorporating ethical or faith-based stewardship principles alongside measurable livelihood outcomes. resource limitation and unawareness also influence the uptake of conservation agriculture. lee and gambiza (2022) developed a conservation agriculture suitability framework by synthesizing 66 documents and identified physical, human, informational, and financial resources as essential determinants. while providing information on enabling conditions and hindrances at the system level, secondary qualitative data do not permit studying the household-level impacts or causal mechanisms in resource-resilience link management. additionally, the model overlooks stewardship values influenced by religion, culture, or ethics, which can lead to the adoption, persistence, and resilience of these values. this indicates the need for primary household-level data to be collected in machakos, which will connect stewardship to observable resilience status. systemic strategies to agricultural resilience are likely to render enabling conditions more explicit but fail to capture household outcomes. for example, a meta-analysis of 66 studies formulates physical, human, informational, and financial resources as the magic bullet of conservation agriculture, yet reliance on secondary data limits exploration of how households actually cope with resources in reality (lee & gambiza, 2022). furthermore, these models often overlook the importance of stewardship values, ethics, religion, and culture, which significantly influence the adoption, continuity, and resilience of these practices. this highlights the importance of collecting primary household-level data in machakos that bridges stewardship with quantifiable resilience. muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 4 direct measurement of resilience also comes with methodological challenges. one quantitative study employed anova and entropy analyses to identify buffer capacity and self-organization as primary constraints to household resilience (hu & dong, 2023). while helpful in identifying systemic bottlenecks, the method does not address how decisions or adaptive actions emerge, nor is it conducive to expressing legacy or religion-based motivators. for the machakos study, this implies an imperative for balancing moral undertakings with quantifiable measures of adaptive capacity. evidence in faith-dense contexts brings this home. githongo et al. (2021) report productivity gains due to soil and organic management practices, but base their analysis on the idea that adoption is technically only, such that enhanced outputs translate to resilience. they do not explore motivations for adoption, such as moral obligation or social convention. in machakos, where households are likely to continue practices initiated during periods of resource scarcity, it is essential to examine the ethical and cultural drivers of continuity rather than the economic implications. this difference highlights the importance of incorporating moral and religion-based dimensions into the measurement of household resilience. religious groups have developed their own mechanisms to deliver stewardship models. mwaura and nzengya (2022) cite savings groups and training sessions within church communities as a means of establishing social and financial capital. these interventions clearly support households when they are ongoing, but evidence on sustained resilience once church support terminates is limited. the question is whether such programs foster long-term internal commitments to stewardship or whether advantages are derived from external facilitation. this is a question that requires distinguishing between shortterm livelihood enhancements and the longer-term development of resilience out of faith and moral responsibility. symbolic stewardship risks pose more complexity. pham et al. (2021) suggest that material deprivation combined with ethical communication is likely to result in symbolic compliance rather than adaptive resilience. this trend can perpetuate disparities, notably when poor households are excluded from accessing credit or skills training. although the study suggests economic incentives stimulate adoption, its economic focus neglects moral imperatives such as equity, justice, and social responsibility. these constraints are particularly significant in machakos county, where christian values have a profound influence on household decision-making and coping strategies. in this situation, an economics-focused approach cannot fully explain livelihood choices. stewardship-based resilience is evaluated in light of structural impediments, such as dependence on rain-fed agriculture and market barriers, as well as recurring cycles of hunger. it also incorporates stewardship as a culturally embedded driver of sustainable livelihoods, prioritizing long-term benefits over short-term material gain. theological reflection offers additional normative direction. mathu (2025), writing from a desk review of genesis 1–2, notes that dominion is a form of stewardship that involves responsibly balancing cultivation and conservation. this reading presents a model of resource management practices that encompasses the conservation of soil, the stewardship of water, and the equitable sharing of resources among communities. however, this analysis assumes theological consensus and empirically does not check to what degree such maxims get translated into household realities. without complementary resources, training, and institutional support, stewardship may remain aspirational or symbolic, but not truly transformative in nature. this argues for the need to bridge theological ideals with practical interventions in contexts such as machakos. financial collectives also illustrate the interplay between religion, resilience, and equity. bjorvatn and tungodden (2023) evaluate village savings and loans associations (vslas) for people with disabilities in uganda and determine gains in economic and social empowerment. nonetheless, gains were unequal, with men gaining higher than women, and the limited study scope limits generalizability to broader rural or religious contexts. for church-based stewardship programs in machakos, these findings suggest the need for gender-aware designs and institutional backing to support household-level livelihood resilience. together, the literature suggests the potential of christian stewardship to enhance household resilience, while also highlighting significant limitations. these include reliance on cross-sectional or secondary data, omission of householdlevel measurement, and insufficient emphasis on faith-based motivation, contextual biases, and persistent equity issues. in the case of machakos, this study bridges the gaps through empirical linkages between stewardship values and tangible, fair, and sustainable livelihoods, considering the structural and socio-cultural constraints that define religion-based community resilience. faith-driven value creation and household livelihood resilience group marketing and buyer links are often promoted to stabilize smallholder incomes and reduce post-harvest losses, thereby increasing household resilience. riungu et al. (2022) establish that the practices improve revenues and reduce shock vulnerability. the research, nevertheless, does not examine whether the improvement has faith-based commitments to sustain it or whether it occurs simply due to market coordination, leaving judgment for the long-term sustainability of benefits. it also overlooks families outside these networks, which raises concerns about inclusivity. although cooperative arrangements can promote trust and cooperation, it is uncertain whether situating ethical or religious-based motivations will strengthen the persistence, range, and fairness of livelihood gains, which is an essential area for fdvc-centered research in machakos. livelihood resilience at the household level not only relies on resource availability but also on how values influence the utilization and governance of available resources. korneeva et al. (2024) demonstrate that social value creation through community-based entrepreneurship enhances resource conservation, promotes sustainable agricultural and food practices, and supports biodiversity, ultimately benefiting the interests of marginalized households. they suggest that the inclusion of ethical and collective-oriented principles can enhance adaptive capacity and livelihood benefits. however, the study is not what concerns a driver of faith, as it relies solely on secondary qualitative data and does not quantify resilience outcomes at the household level, which limits its generalizability in understanding faith-driven mechanisms. for our present study, this muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 5 highlights the need for empirical investigation into how precisely faith-driven value creation contributes to household livelihood resilience and bridges the gap between moral or ethical commitment and tangible social adaptive outcomes. market-oriented approaches that focus on price, infrastructure, and technical efficiency illustrate the shortcomings of technical measures in isolation. park and gachukia (2020) illustrate that such approaches are likely to collapse in the face of climate or price shock, highlighting the weakness of resilience built without an ethical or cooperative foundation. this highlights the central challenge for fdvc: household resilience is likely to be low unless trust, accountability, and stewardship are consciously integrated into practice. these results confirm the need to explore how theologically informed principles supplement market strategies towards livelihood stabilization, rather than relying on technical fixes as the primary intervention. the other point is diversification, which is often promoted as a risk-spreading device that adds financial strength. angsten clark et al. (2025) illustrate that diversified income streams can strengthen household resilience. however, their evidence does not explore whether diversification occurs through stewardship and social responsibility or opportunism. this matters because fdvc suggests that value-motivated diversification may have more enduring outcomes, linking ethical responsibility to concrete household resilience. failing to explore values-based motivations, studies may mistakenly attribute resilience gains to economic indicators and overlook the role of moral and social motivators. technical intervention alone has also been shown to be limited in duration. ensor (2022) notes that resilience gained in semi-arid regions often dissipates once external assistance is withdrawn. while infrastructure improved transient situations, households could not sustain these advances without internalized societal structures in place. fdvc considers that religious cooperation can provide the social cement to enable durability and accountability. ensor's findings do not test these moral mechanisms, though, leaving a central question unanswered: how do values-driven practices ground livelihoods in the long term? church-led programs provide more specific evidence of fdvc's practical application. mwaura and nzengya (2022) document the implementation of saving groups, capacity development, and value-added programs within church networks that support both social and financial capital building. practices follow stewardship values, fostering trust, cooperation, and accountability. outcomes are measured only at the level of participation, and not at the household level, in terms of resilience indicators such as adaptive capacity, income stability, or risk-coping capacity. the initial short-term emphasis is also a source of concern regarding whether these gains persist after church facilitation is discontinued, highlighting the need to investigate sustained effects at the household level. inclusivity is also a central concern for resilience interventions based on religiosity. mwangi et al. (2020) note that church schemes tend to entrench insider hierarchies, and non-adherents are often denied access to benefits. in machakos, exclusion could atomize community resilience, where participating households are resilient while outsiders become more susceptible. fdvc research thus needs to venture beyond the effectiveness of religiosity-based interventions to analyze the equity of their distribution, ensuring broader household-level impacts. religion-activated processes also function through psychological mechanisms. mcintyre et al. (2023) demonstrate that religiosity enhances self-efficacy and interdependent self-construal, which in turn lead individuals to hold socially oriented entrepreneurial intentions. while this is evidence of motivational processes, the research examines intentions, not outcomes, and draws on ghanaian student data, making the research less applicable to rural kenyan households. furthermore, structural factors such as access to markets, finance, and institutions are not considered, leaving the link between religiously inspired intent and resilient livelihoods untested. evidence from conservation agriculture demonstrates the potential for fdvc to enhance cooperation, accountability, and knowledge exchange, leading to increased productivity and reduced vulnerability. kyalo et al. (2023) substantiate these dynamics by demonstrating how church-embedded values contribute to collective outcomes that legitimize farm performance. critical trajectories. their use of a robust cross-sectional survey and open approach adds credibility, though the study remains limited to group-level measures, such as income, and provides only. the lack of household measures of resilience constrains the explanatory potential, and the findings also suggest that fdvc will need to be complemented by structural support from institutional government if resilience is to be sustained at scale. this failing is replicated across other research on agricultural innovation, which equates the adoption of technology with resilience without measuring household-level impacts. irrigation adoption studies highlight this deficiency: while education, farm size, off-farm income, credit, and extension all have substantial effects on adoption and intensity, their relationship to resilience remains unmeasured. muluki et al. (2022) also provide valuable evidence on policy-relevant determinants of irrigation use, but one that prioritizes formal institutional determinants over downplaying the mediating influence of faith-based networks mobilizing credit, coordinating cooperative labor, and diffusing information. in doing so, the model is weakened in explaining resilience, particularly where faith-driven social capital is central to household coping and recovery. additionally, confusing adoption with resilience and making this inference from cross-sectional data limits the study's ability to capture long-term adaptive capacity. collectively, these studies identify common trends and areas for improvement. principle-based values explicitly foster cooperation, trustworthiness, and motivation, and show firmer household resilience as a potential. nevertheless, existing literature primarily focuses on group-level results or involvement, rather than direct measures of household-level adaptive capacity, income stability, or risk management. sustainability, equity, and conjunction with other institutional interventions are also not adequately covered. these limitations necessitate the present study, which examines the extent to which fdvc translates into tangible household livelihood impacts in machakos by bridging ethical motivations with quantifiable indicators of resilience. in doing so, the research contributes context-specific evidence needed to inform policies and programs that aim to construct resilient livelihoods. muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 6 conceptual framework this study was informed by a conceptual framework that outlines the link between christian stewardship strategies and faith-driven value creation (fdvc) and household livelihood resilience in machakos county (figure 1). christian stewardship was measured by households being intentional about diverse resource use, conforming to ethical financial norms, and making plans for the future in accordance with christian teachings. fdvc was measured by engaging in faithbased skills training, adhering to avowed christian business ethics, and leveraging market networks supported by churches. households that employed strategies informed by these faith-based frameworks had better livelihood resilience, savings, and income stability. policy (government interventions) and extension/training services mediated these relationships, increased benefits to a segment of the households, and had variable effects on others' resilience. figure 1. conceptual framework this framework was guided by empowerment theory, which addresses the capacity of households to manage resources and make moral choices, and entrepreneurial value creation theory, which describes how skills, networks, and moral practices generate material gains, informed the framework. the present study corroborates the argument that faith-based activities can have measurable effects on livelihoods, even though cross-sectional data hinder causal interpretation, and there may have been unmeasured household effects, such as past income or informal networks, that could have mediated the influences. conclusively, the study demonstrates that stewardship and faith-generated value creation initiated within the church are paramount pathways to household resilience, provided there are enabling policies and relevant capacity development interventions. research gaps, purpose, and hypotheses although the interest in christian stewardship and faith-driven value creation (fdvc) is on the rise in household livelihoods, significant gaps still exist. existing studies have depicted positive effects, including income diversification, reduced post-harvest losses, and increased participation in community economic activities. however, much of the literature focuses on material outcomes and technical interventions with minimal consideration of the pathways through which ethical and faith-based practices influence household resilience. evidence on the causal pathway by which stewardship practices or fdvc are transformed into sustainable income, savings, and enhanced adaptive capacity is scarce. most studies rely on small or convenience samples, brief observation, or self-reported outcomes, which can yield bias and limited generalizability. additionally, there is a lack of investigation into inclusion, particularly regarding how non-adherents or marginalized households engage with faith-based interventions, as well as how structural factors such as market access, local institutions, and training programs influence the effectiveness of these practices. collectively, these lacunae necessitate a study that rigorously links moral and faith-based practices to the measurable resilience of household livelihoods. this study bridges these lacunae by examining how fdvc and christian stewardship practices contribute to household livelihood resilience in machakos county, kenya. resilience of the household in this instance encompasses both material outcomes, such as income stability and savings, and intangible outcomes, for example, social cohesion, agency, and adaptive capacity. the model positions ethical and faith-based practices as processes that have the potential to strengthen both the material and social foundations of household adaptation, coping, and long-term sustainability. the purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which christ-centered approaches, through stewardship and fdvc, enhance household livelihood resilience, taking into account structural constraints and the pathways through which faith-driven practices operate. christian stewardship strategies intentional use of diverse resources prioritization of ethical financial management long-term planning grounded in christian ethics strengthening of livelihoods among households machakos county faith-driven value creation strategies -faith-based skills training -business guided by christian values -market access or support from church groups moderating variables -government policies -training/extension services muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 7 h1: christian stewardship practices positively influence household livelihood resilience in machakos county. h2: faith-driven value creation strategies have a positive influence on household livelihood resilience in machakos county. h3: the combination of christian stewardship and fdvc practices has a more substantial effect on household livelihood resilience than either strategy alone. materials and methods a descriptive research study design guided this study, thereby enabling the exploration of livelihood outcomes when variables were not manipulated, consistent with the principles espoused for social research (hirose & creswell, 2022). the population of interest consisted of all the 388,284 households in machakos county, spread over eight sub-counties. a sample size of 384 households was determined and proportionally allocated across all sub-counties in machakos. a multi-stage sampling approach was employed: the county was first stratified by sub-county, and probability proportional to size was then used to select enumeration areas. systematic random sampling was subsequently used to identify households. cca engagement was construed empirically using structured screening questions to ensure valid classification of households based on actual exposure rather than assumptions. twenty-four informants, selected deliberately to include clerics, program officers, and extension agents, were also interviewed to provide expert opinions and contextual validation (pahwa et al., 2023). out of a total of 384 households sampled, 380 agreed to participate, resulting in a response rate of 99.0%, which exceeds the 70% total deemed acceptable for a survey study (holtom et al., 2022). the high response rate added quality and generalizability to the results. data collection was conducted through a mixed-methods protocol that incorporated both quantitative and qualitative modalities. semi-structured questionnaires were created with five sections to collect demographic data and assess the influence of cca practice using likert scale items and open-ended items. key informant interviews were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of programming, community influences, and motivations informed by faith. the instruments were pre-tested in kitui county with 38 households, which represented 10% of the sample size determined, to clarify the instruments and bolster internal consistency. reliabilities calculated by cronbach's alpha yielded coefficients ranging from 0.781 to 0.846 across all scales, supporting the 0.70 threshold as a benchmark of acceptable internal consistency (metsämuuronen, 2023) and confirming that the measures were suitable for inferential analyses. the research adhered to ethical principles throughout the study. the research was authorized by the national commission for science, technology, and innovation (nacosti) and cleared by st. paul’s university. informed consent was obtained from all participants after they were clearly informed about the aims of the research, the method that would be used, the potential risks, and the possible benefits of the study. the household information was de-identified, and all study documents were secured. report findings were received in aggregate, ensuring that individual households could not be identified, thereby maintaining confidentiality. participation was voluntary, and participants had the right to withdraw from the study process at any time without penalty. these protections enabled us to adhere to the ethical principles of respect, beneficence, and justice, ensuring that the study complied with both national and institutional research ethics standards. quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and inferential statistical techniques, including regression and anova, while qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis. this integrated approach was consistent with the conventions of triangulation principles (meydan & akkaş, 2024; schlunegger et al., 2024), ensuring both the empirical robustness of the results gleaned from the data and their relevance for practice in faith-based development approaches in kenya. results and discussions the section presents the research findings, their interpretations, and the discussion. it introduces the response rate, then presents the research objectives' findings: (i) the role of christian stewardship strategies as a determinant of livelihoods strengthening of households of machakos county, and (ii) the implications of faith-driven value creation strategies for household livelihood resilience. the results of both quantitative and qualitative analyses are synthesized to gain a holistic understanding of the findings, providing interpretations that link to existing literature and theory. response rate and respondent demographics of the 384 surveys administered, 380 were returned completed, for an overall completion rate of 98.9%. thus, only four surveys were not returned, accounting for 1.1 percent. the high completion rate supports the reliability and generalizability of the results to households in machakos county. demographics of the respondents are shown in table 1. table 1. key demographic characteristics of respondents (n = 380) variable category count percent education level primary 120 31.6 secondary 150 39.5 certificate 30 7.9 diploma 40 10.5 degree 30 7.9 masters+ 10 2.6 household size 1–3 members 60 15.8 4–6 members 220 57.9 7–10 members 80 21.1 >10 members 20 5.3 years in main income activity <1 year 30 7.9 muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 8 1–10 years 180 47.4 11–20 years 100 26.3 21–30 years 50 13.2 >30 years 20 5.3 education was biased toward secondary education (39.5%), with fewer respondents holding diplomas (10.5%), certificates (7.9%), degrees (7.9%), or postgraduate degrees (2.6%). household size was also predominantly medium (4–6 members, 57.9%), with smaller household sizes (1–3 members, 15.8%) and larger household sizes (7–10 members, 21.1%; >10 members, 5.3%) also being accounted for. job experience was weighted toward participants with 1 to 10 years' experience engaged in their primary income activity (47.4%), and fewer participants had 11-20 years' experience (26.3%) or 21-30 years' experience (13.2%). these variables were analytically important as they served as control variables in the regression and anova analyses. education captures the human capital of respondents; household size represents labor supply, and years in income activity represent economic experience. this is noteworthy because these variables all impacted how households practiced christian stewardship and the application of faith-driven value creation (fdvc) strategies. as the sample was a broad representation of households in machakos, the educator democracy (with relatively few highly educated respondents), and the number of huge households (despite the overall household composition being heterogeneous), limits the generalizability of some analyses. overall, the demographic characteristics provide a strong basis for analyzing how faith influences approaches to livelihood outcomes, and the effects observed, while also accounting for important socioeconomic characteristics, add value. christian stewardship and household livelihoods the analysis examined the relationship between christian stewardship strategies and household livelihoods among a sample of 380 respondents in machakos county. key demographics (education level, household size, and years in main income activity) were measured and used as control variables. the analysis followed a sequential process of descriptive statistics, cross tabulation, and multivariate methods (correlation, anova, and regression). underlying assumptions for all multivariate analyses were assessed. normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity were examined for the regression model; correlations were explored for multicollinearity; and the assumptions of independent observations and equal variance for the anova were also examined. the summary of the analysis is reported in table 2. households showed engagement in stewardship practices at moderate to high levels, reporting an average stewardship index of 4.2 (sd = 1.3) on a scale of 0 to 6 and an average livelihood index of 3.48 (sd = 0.78) on a scale of 1 to 5. cross tabulation of low (0-2), medium (3-4), and high (5-6) stewardship levels and livelihood outcomes suggests that households exhibiting higher stewardship score were most likely to report stronger livelihoods (50% of households had a high livelihood scores), in comparison only 8% of low stewardship households reported high scores for livelihood. medium stewardship households had intermediate outcomes (19% of households had high livelihood), suggesting a graded relationship across stewardship practices and livelihood strength. multivariate analysis confirmed these trends further. the pearson correlation suggested a moderate positive relationship between stewardship and livelihoods (r = 0.38, p < 0.001). stewardship was also positively correlated with education (r = 0.12, p = 0.02), and livelihoods correlated moderately with education (r = 0.30, p < 0.001). anova indicated that there were significant differences in mean livelihoods across levels of stewardship (f(2, 377) = 48.2, p < 0.001), with higher levels of stewardship corresponding to higher mean livelihood scores (low = 2.90; medium = 3.40; high = 3.90). the regression analysis, controlling for education, household size, and years in the primary income activity, showed stewardship to be a significant positive predictor of livelihoods (β = 0.12, se = 0.02, p < 0.001). education (β = 0.08, p < 0.001) and years in the income activity (β = 0.01, p = 0.001) were also significant positive predictors of livelihoods, while household size had a slight negative influence (β = -0.03, p = 0.01). the model explained 29% of the variance in livelihoods (r² = 0.29), indicating that stewardship is a significant factor, but not the sole determinant of livelihood outcomes. table 2. christian stewardship and household livelihoods (n = 380) analysis measure / category n / mean sd / % statistical result descriptive stewardship index (0–6) 4.2 1.3 – livelihood index (1–5) 3.48 0.78 – crosstabulation stewardship: low (0–2) 60 8% (in hl) – stewardship: medium (3–4) 160 19% (in hl) – stewardship: high (5–6) 160 50% (in hl) – correlation stewardship — livelihood – – r = 0.38, p < 0.001 stewardship — education – – r = 0.12, p = 0.02 livelihood — education – – r = 0.30, p < 0.001 anova livelihood by stewardship low = 2.90, medium = 3.40, high = 3.90 – f(2, 377) = 48.2, p < 0.001 regression intercept – – 2.10, se = 0.18, p < 0.001 stewardship index – – β = 0.12, se = 0.02, p < 0.001 education – – β = 0.08, se = 0.02, p < 0.001 muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 9 household size – – β = -0.03, se = 0.01, p = 0.01 years in income activity – – β = 0.01, se = 0.003, p = 0.001 model fit – – r² = 0.29 qualitative analysis revealed the role of faith-informed practices in household management and livelihood strategies. respondents discussed planning, diversification, and sharing as significant economic practices. one said, "i always try to plan for tough times ahead; our church told me to save some of every income stream" (respondent 002, field data), indicating an orderly decision to manage resources in a way that was consistent with christian values. another exemplified diversification; "we diversify our farm and small trade because a pastor once told us that god takes account of our good management of resources" (kii, 205, field data). this suggests that respondents incorporated practices rooted in faith-based beliefs directly into their income-generating strategies. respondents also emphasized the importance of sharing and mutual support: "even if we have very little, i share with my neighbors and church group; it helps support our social fabric" (kii, 112, field data). taken together, these narratives indicated that in managing resources and making decisions under uncertainty, stewardship practices encouraged households to practice planning, manage resources ethically, diversify income, and promote states of connectedness and community, which was congruent with the findings from the quantitative analysis. a comparison with prior research reveals similar findings to those from regional and global evidence. popescu et al. (2021) found that stewardship-based management increased household productivity when the household had access to management resources. in the context of semi-arid machakos, mwaura and nzengya (2022) documented that ethical management practices, savings, and collaborative knowledge sharing promote improved livelihoods in these contexts. in a different study, pham et al. (2021) also observed that when ethics were used in place of financial or technical support, the results were limited to material change in relation to material well-being, which points to a limitation of faith-based strategies. this supports the suggestion that stewardship is an important factor, but stewardship alone is insufficient; continued access to the necessary inputs and market access, augmented with continued technical support, is essential for sustainability and ongoing improvement. all in all, christian stewardship generally enhances household livelihoods, especially when it is combined with education and experience in livelihood and income-generating activities. households that exercise high stewardship demonstrate better livelihood outcomes because they have the resources to plan, diversify, and share resources. however, the results also highlight some key constraints, including: (i) the cross-sectional study design limits the ability to draw causal conclusions and (ii) faith-based stewardship may not necessarily address structural barriers (e.g., access to markets, climate volatility, limited financial resources). evidence from the interviews supports the idea that stewardship reflects motivation and ethical decisions; however, material gains require complementary technical assistance and/or financial support. policymakers and development practitioners should consider faith-informed stewardship initiatives in conjunction with market support and input from stakeholders to optimize household resilience and sustainable livelihood outcomes. faith-driven value creation and household livelihoods the study also examined the relationship between strategies for creating faith-driven value creation (fdvc) and household livelihoods among 380 respondents in machakos county. more specifically, the study aimed to investigate whether church-led income training, commitment to christian business values, and membership in faith-based networks led to improved livelihood outcomes. we controlled for key demographic variables (education, household size, and years in income activity) in our multivariate analyses, which we summarize in table 3. the fdvc index, which measured faith and church-based training, commitment to christian business principles, and support from church networks, yielded a mean score of 3.55 (sd = 0.82; range, 1-5). the livelihood index, which measures income, savings, and diversification, had a mean score of 3.50 (sd = 0.77; range, 1-5). participation rates indicated that 60.5% of the households responded affirmatively when asked whether they had participated in a churchor faith-led training. one hundred ten households reported already operating businesses based on christian principles, while 80 stated that they intended to start businesses along the same lines of thought. ninety members claimed that their church network supported them in marketing or sales "often", whereas 140 answered "sometimes", and 150 "rarely/never". households were classified into fdvc levels: low (1-2), medium (3-4), and high (5). when cross-tabulated with livelihood outcomes, 5% of low fdvc households had very high livelihood scores (4 and above), 22% of medium fdvc (below 4), and 48% of high fdvc. although this may suggest a relationship between faith-driven practices and livelihood outcomes, it does not imply causality. table 3. faith-driven value creation and household livelihoods (n = 380) analysis measure / category n / mean sd / % statistical result descriptive fdvc index (mean q27, 1–5) 3.55 0.82 – livelihood index (1–5) 3.5 0.77 – participation participated in church/faith training yes = 230 60.50% – run or plan a christian-aligned business. run = 110, plan = 80, no = 190 – church support for marketing/sales often = 90, sometimes = 140, rarely/never = 150 – cross-tabulation fdvc: low (1–2) 70 5% in high livelihood – muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 10 fdvc: medium (3–4) 180 22% in high livelihood – fdvc: high (5) 130 48% in high livelihood – correlation fdvc — livelihood – – r = 0.35, p < 0.001 fdvc — education – – r = 0.10, p = 0.04 livelihood — education – – r = 0.28, p < 0.001 anova livelihood by fdvc low = 3.05, medium = 3.48, high = 3.88 – f(2, 377) = 42.7, p < 0.001 regression intercept – – 2.20, se = 0.17, p < 0.001 fdvc index – – β = 0.11, se = 0.02, p < 0.001 education – – β = 0.07, se = 0.02, p < 0.001 household size – – β = -0.02, se = 0.01, p = 0.02 years in income activity – – β = 0.01, se = 0.003, p = 0.002 model fit – – r² = 0.26 shared relationships between fdvc and household livelihoods were identified using multivariate analysis, considering relevant demographic variables, including level of education, size, and income, as well as the activity subjects worked in for a decade or more. pearson's correlation analysis revealed a moderate, positive, and significant relationship between livestock and fdvc (r = 0.35, p < 0.001), indicating that as the value of fdvc increased, so did livestock values. however, fdvc also reportedly had a weaker, but still significant, putative association with education (r = 0.10, p = 0.04), and livelihoods themselves had a stronger association with education (r = 0.28, p < 0.001).anova results also supported these outcomes, indicating that mean livelihood scores tended to increase as levels of fdvc increased: households with low fdvc scored 3.05 on average, those with medium-fdvc scored 3.48, and high-fdvc households scored 3.88 on average, f(2, 377) = 42.7, p < 0.001. these means indicate statistically significant discrepancies in livelihood outcomes in accordance with the levels of faith-driven engagement. after accounting for household size, years of income activity, and education, regression analysis showed that fdvc remained a significant predictor of livelihoods (β = 0.11, se = 0.02, p < 0.001). while there was a slight adverse effect for household size (β = -0.02, p = 0.02), education (β = 0.07, p < 0.001) and years in income activity (β = 0.01, p = 0.002) were both significant positive predictors. the conclusion is that while fdvc makes a positive contribution to household livelihoods, it is likely that other omitted variables impact household economic resilience. the model accounts for around 26% of the variance in household livelihoods (r² = 0.26). the findings suggest that households that participate more fully in faith-driven economic practices, through training, adherence to moral business principles, and church networks, tend to report better livelihoods overall. even after accounting for household size, education, and other factors, this relationship seems robust—qualitative data obtained during the survey support this finding. one participant said: “i am using the skills from our church. this has improved my small business; not only do i earn more, but i can save for the future” (respondent 027, field data). likewise, a key informant also described the network effect: “church groups promote selling and finding buyers for members, reasonable faith values promote honest exchanges, and there is a higher level of trust in each other” (kii 118, field data). these findings align with the empirical literature on faith-driven value creation strategies (fdvcs), as value creation activities engage ethical commitments through value chain activities such as processing, grading, packaging, collective marketing, and linkages to buyers. across many studies, we find evidence that post-harvest losses and market accessibility improve livelihoods (riungu et al., 2022). however, many of these studies primarily highlight technical and market conditions while ignoring the moral or faith logic governing the terms of cooperation, trust, and trade (mwangi et al., 2020). in kenya, discussions around policy focus on competitiveness and scale (kyalo et al., 2023) and rarely reference community-level, faith-aligned mechanisms to facilitate inclusive value-added opportunities in semi-arid smallholder contexts, such as machakos. evc theory provides a framework for understanding such outcomes. it holds the assumptions that in measurable economic situations, individuals identify opportunities, introduce innovation under surrounding constraints, and capture economic market value. in this study, households engaged in collective marketing, small-scale processing, and livelihood diversification are indications of behavior motivated by spiritual beliefs, resulting in measurable economic benefit. overall, even though fdvc is associated with stronger household livelihoods measurably, there were limitations. the cross-sectional study design complicates our ability to infer causation, as households with stronger livelihoods may be better able to engage in fdvc behaviors. even with an ethical commitment, resource constraints, market availability, and gaps in infrastructure likely limit the efficacy of faith-driven practices. income growth cannot be guaranteed with ethical commitment, particularly when there is inadequate technical support, finance, or networks. however, incorporating christian principles into income-generating activities facilitates price or place-based planning, collaborative action, and ethically driven behavior, suggesting partial pathways to stronger livelihoods. programs intended to scale up fdvc must work to mitigate structural barriers and continuously support these families, while ensuring that duplication does not occur and that families with fewer resources are not left behind. muteti & odek, american international journal of social science research 16(2) (2025), 1-13 11 conclusions this study focused on christian stewardship and faith-driven value creation (fdvc) in relation to their contribution to household livelihood resilience in machakos county. quantitative evidence suggested weak to modest but reliable relationships between these faith-oriented practices and household outcomes, indicating that these practices contribute to resilience, albeit not as the decisive factor underlying it. it is a testament, therefore, to the fact that moral and spiritual commitments provide at least one avenue for empowering household strategies but must be considered in the midst of broader livelihood systems. the qualitative findings highlighted how these influences impacted household performance, particularly by instilling greater financial discipline, cultivating planning habits, and fostering reciprocal ties to promote collaboration. however, many of these benefited were contingent on other external enablers, such as functioning markets, access to inputs, and credit facilities. this implies that ccas can only operate in the presence of economic and institutional contexts that support them. the study's contribution is the development and validation of fdvc as an independently testable and measurable construct, tested alongside stewardship using a mixed-methods design. theoretically, this would provide expansion to the existing empowerment and value-creation frameworks by adding a faith-based moral dimension to household livelihood strategies. practically speaking, evidence suggests that churches and similar organizations lend resilience when moral guidance is combined with physical resources, such as access to finance, skills training, and market linkages. there are a few limitations to be noted. the study employs descriptive designs, which reveal associations but do not imply causation or the presence of underlying causes. it also relies on self-report measures, which can be subject to bias. lastly, examination of county-level associations limits any long-run generalizability. future research should incorporate long-lasting or quasi-experimental designs to provide more direct avenues for testing marital pathways and mediators of context (such as gender, level of poverty, or institutional level of support) that may alter the effectiveness of faith-based livelihood interventions. author contributions: conceptualization, k.j.m. and a.w.o.; methodology, k.j.m.; software, k.j.m.; validation, k.j.m.; formal analysis, k.j.m. and a.w.o.; investigation, k.j.m.; resources, k.j.m.; data curation, k.j.m.; writing – original draft preparation, k.j.m. and a.w.o.; writing – review & editing, k.j.m. and a.w.o.; visualization, k.j.m.; supervision, a.w.o.; project administration, k.j.m.; funding acquisition, k.j.m. and a.w.o. authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. institutional review board statement: ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to that the research does not deal with vulnerable groups or sensitive issues. funding: the authors received no direct funding for this research. acknowledgement: not applicable. informed consent statement: informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. data availability statement: the data presented in this 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