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The aim of this study was to measure the level of challenges faced by novice teachers in South Africa. Findings suggest a need for professional development courses to upskill teachers with effective pedagogies that can incorporate the social and emotional components into teaching and learning.

This study applied a descriptive research methodology by administering a questionnaire to 143 novice teachers. The data analysis technique was the Rasch model.

The findings indicated high item and person reliability, with a good item fit and polarity values that are compatible with the Rasch model. The three major challenges identified are uninvolved parents, discipline problems and a lack of guidance and counselling. These challenges can be related to social and emotional learning (SEL) components.

The study used quantitative methods and discovered the challenges that novice teachers face. If the research uses a combination of qualitative methods, it will be possible to better identify the specific causes of the above three challenges of novice teachers.

Due to the complex nature of South African society, many novice teachers are overwhelmed by the challenges they face when entering the profession. These challenges are often embedded in societal risk factors, which complicate the transition from student teacher to novice teacher. The major challenges identified in this study can be related to SEL components, as the challenges are closely linked to the psychological and social backgrounds of the students. Teachers in this study indicated that they found it difficult to deal with these challenges at the beginning of their careers.

By identifying the challenges facing new teachers in South Africa, they will be better prepared for their work in schools. Therefore, they will improve the above situation to continue developing professionally.

The findings indicated high item and person reliability, with a good item fit and polarity values that are compatible with the Rasch model. Teachers in this study indicated that they found it difficult to deal with these challenges in the beginning of their careers. Professional development courses are suggested to help teachers deal with issues such as discipline, uninvolved parents and guidance and counselling effectively. Higher education programmes should also include these topics in their curricula for student teachers. A greater emphasis on training teachers in their pastoral roles is suggested.

This study aims to validate the English version of a WHO-adapted questionnaire: Zika infection awareness/knowledge questionnaire using a unique dual-approach validation model.

A cross-sectional pilot study of 30 adult respondents in Malaysia completed the self-administered questionnaire on knowledge and perception to Zika infection. Construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of SPSS and Rasch partial credit. Reliability is tested using pKR20 and Cronbach’s alpha.

Knowledge construct was unidimensional, good model fit, easy to endorse and well discriminative. Five-rating Likert scale for perception domain was appropriate. Knowledge domain should be separated into 6 level of difficulties. Perception domain should remain as one construct. Knowledge domain was highly reliability (pKR20 = 0.96), perception domain was fairly reliable (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.641). Respondent's ability to answer knowledge domain and perception domain were separated into 3 and 4 levels.

Small sample size may affect factor analysis.

The questionnaire has good psychometric properties to measure the knowledge and perception of Zika infection among Malaysian community.

The questionnaire helped to gauge knowledge and perception of the general community in Malaysia to aid preparation of health education tool for Zika infection.

This paper validated questionnaire with two biostatistical software programs in bidirectional approach – items difficulty and respondents' ability – is the first field test of WHO questionnaire among general population in Southeast Asia.

In Kenya, gaps exist in health service provision to slum residents, especially service availability and access to quality care. There is also little information on the health status of people living in slums other than in Nairobi. The purpose of this paper is to generate evidence for use in designing interventions to improve health services in four mid-sized slums in Embu, Nyeri and Thika, Kenya.

A cross-sectional survey of clients receiving services in health facilities was conducted in the targeted slums. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Factor scores were generated using the Rasch model; simple and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done using the R statistical software.

Overall, 81 per cent of the 203 participants reported being satisfied with health services. Most clients (89 per cent) reported that health facility staff greeted them warmly; 82 per cent said their consultation was private. The facility type, waiting time and client experience with service providers determined their satisfaction (p < 0.05).

Healthcare managers can improve client satisfaction levels by understanding the client flow in their facilities and addressing causes of client dissatisfaction, such as long waiting times, while at the same time promoting facilitating factors.

The authors use latent variable modelling to compute client satisfaction scores, which were dichotomised into two categories and fitted into a logistic regression model to identify factors that influence client satisfaction. Health facility clients in the four slums are satisfied with services and have confidence the providers will serve them in a friendly and professional manner that promotes respect and quality care. The paper recommend healthcare managers in similar settings carry out client flow analysis and institute remedial measures to address long waiting times. Qualitative studies are recommended to determine the reasons behind the high satisfaction levels reported in this study.

Psychometric analyses of self-administered questionnaire data tend to focus on items and instruments as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the functioning of the response scale and its impact on measurement precision. In terms of the response scale direction, existing evidence is mixed and inconclusive.

Three experiments are conducted to examine the functioning of response scales of different direction, ranging from agree to disagree versus from disagree to agree. The response scale direction effect is exemplified by two different latent constructs by applying the Rasch model for measurement.

The agree-to-disagree format generally performs better than the disagree-to-agree variant with spatial proximity between the statement and the agree-pole of the scale appearing to drive the effect. The difference is essentially related to the unit of measurement.

A careful investigation of the functioning of the response scale should be part of every psychometric assessment. The framework of Rasch measurement theory offers unique opportunities in this regard.

Besides content, validity and reliability, academics and practitioners utilising published measurement instruments are advised to consider any evidence on the response scale functioning that is available.

The study exemplifies the application of the Rasch model to assess measurement precision as a function of the design of the response scale. The methodology raises the awareness for the unit of measurement, which typically remains hidden.

Environmentally-friendly certifications have increased over the past decade within food supply chains. Although a large body of literature has explored the drivers leading firms to adopt such certifications, it has not closely examined the strategic motivations associated with their adoption. This paper aims to investigate an environmentally-friendly certification, VIVA, examining its role as an alternative form of supply chain governance. The aim is to investigate the drivers affecting the adoption of VIVA and to assess managerial perceptions related to transaction-related characteristics and the firm’s internal resources and capabilities.

This study draws upon both an extended transaction cost economics perspective, which is based on transaction risks and the resource-based view, which examines a firm’s internal resources. A survey was conducted via a structured questionnaire sent to all of the wine producers in charge of the decision regarding whether to adopt VIVA certification. A Hierarchal Bayesian Model was applied to analyse questionnaire responses. Such a model allows us to specify the probabilistic relationship between questions and latent constructs and to carry over uncertainty across modelling levels.

The adoption of this environmentally-friendly certification is envisioned as a tool to curb internal risks, and thus to manage behavioural uncertainty within the supply chain. A high level of exposure to exogenous transaction risks discourages firms from adopting VIVA certification. The certification system is not perceived as a promoter of operational capabilities. Managers are more likely to implement the certification when they expect that its adoption will leverage their potential knowledge of the supply chain or prompt new and better collaborations with the suppliers. Therefore, the certification can become a resource that interacts with the capabilities of the firm, expressing complementarities that stimulate the formation of dynamic capabilities.

The identification of drivers from the two theoretical perspectives offers insights into the attributes that are perceived as important by managers and which, therefore, could be leveraged to foster the adoption of the environmental certification. The external validity of the study could be improved by extending the sample to other certifications and supply chains.

The study offers a different perspective on environmental certification. It demonstrates that considering the certification as an alternative form of supply chain governance opens up a set of efficiency and strategic considerations that could be addressed to promote the effectiveness of an environmental strategy within a supply chain

This study aims to determine whether it is possible to use information and communication technology (ICT) tools to share tacit knowledge. Few studies have considered this subject, and they have reported both the ineffectiveness and effectiveness of ICT tools for sharing tacit knowledge.

In this study, the participants comprised 217 knowledge workers from New Zealand and researchers who attended a knowledge management conference in the UK. In all, 59% of the sample was men and 41% women. The research model compared the scores of knowledge workers in two categories of ICT, those that allow dialogue and those that do not, in relation to knowledge sharing in organizations. The instrument used a Likert scale with five levels of response.

It was found that not all ICT technologies let tacit knowledge to be shared, but those ICT that facilitate dialogue, for example, text messaging and video conferences. Emails did not facilitate the exchange of tacit knowledge.

It is suggested to replicate the study with different countries to evaluate the role of culture in the communication of tacit knowledge.

An implication for practitioners based on this study is that email should not be the preferred mode for transferring knowledge between an organization and their workers. This mode is adequate for the exchange of explicit knowledge, but it has a limited capacity for transferring tacit knowledge. Thus, organizations may increase the use of audio and video tools to transfer electronically tacit knowledge. Interaction or socialization may facilitate the understanding and internalization of tacit knowledge by workers.

This study contributed to understand the reason for contradictory results from previous research. ICT tools are effective to share tacit knowledge when they facilitate dialogue. Results also support practitioners about how to obtain more effective exchange of tacit knowledge in organizations.

This paper aims to provide a maturity model for information security awareness (MMISA), based on the literature, expert interviews and feedback. In addition to developing the MMISA, the authors investigate the role of the three decisive factors that affect ISA maturity level: risk management mechanism, organizational structure and ISA.

The research methodology is a combined one; qualitative and quantitative methods were applied, including surveying the literature, interviews and developing a survey to collect quantitative data about decisive factors that affect ISA maturity level. The authors perform a variance-based partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) investigation of the relationships between these factors.

The investigation of decisive factors of ISA maturity levels revealed that if the authors identify a strong risk assessment mechanism (through a documented methodology and reliable results), the authors can expect a high level of ISA. If there is a well-defined organizational structure with clear responsibilities, this supports the linking of a risk management mechanism with the level of ISA. The connection between organizational structure and ISA maturity level is supported by ISA activities: an increased level of awareness actions strengthens an organizational structure via the best practices learned by the staff.

The main contribution of the proposed MMISA model is that the model offers controls and audit evidence for maturity levels. Beyond that, the authors distinguish in the MMISA model controls supporting knowledge and controls supporting attitude, emphasizing that this is not enough to know what to do, but the proper attitude is required too. The authors didn't find any other ISA maturity model which has a similar feature. The contribution of the authors' work is that the authors provide a method for solving this complex measurement problem via the MMISA, which also offers direct guidance for the daily practices of organizations.

Universiti Brunei Darussalam has been fostering the study of foreign languages in Brunei to expand their undergraduates’ accessibility in the job market and overall give them equal opportunities to have a quality foreign language learning experience. This paper is a critical analysis of past studies by Ainol and Isarji’s (2009) on foreign language learners at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and Farhana’s (2019) study on Universiti Brunei Darussalam’s (UBD) foreign language learners’ motivation. A focused investigation at how different motivation types, namely intrinsic, extrinsic, instrumental, and integrative, affect foreign language learners at the university level in Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. A pattern observed in Brunei and Malaysian universities is that intrinsic motivation is the foundation of foreign language learning. Bruneian undergraduates are learning out of interest, and their Malaysian counterparts are learning because they enjoy the experience. While the university's language policy determines the number of students learning a foreign language each semester, the outcome is still highly dependent on the student's motivation to learn the foreign language.

This study aims to propose and test a model that examines the potential connections between two teacher situational variables (teacher immediacy and credibility) and three learner affective factors (motivation, attitudes and communication confidence) and to examine how such associations predict learners’ L2WTC (Foreign/second language willingness to communicate) in a language class via a comprehensive communication model to structurally verify the theoretically based associations among these variables.

In total, 214 females and 198 males took part in the study with age range between 19 and 38 years. Participants filled in a verified, translated Arabic version of the questionnaires using an online questionnaire. Data were gathered using questionnaires and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis and sequential mediation analysis using bootstrapping methods to identify and verify direct and indirect paths in the model.

The initial L2 communication structural model showed acceptable goodness of model fit. Teacher credibility and immediacy behaviors only indirectly predicted L2WTC through the mediation of affective variables. Motivation and communication confidence mediated the relationship between credibility and L2WTC, while the association between immediacy and L2WTC was mediated by communication confidence.

The findings of this study have important pedagogical implications globally for professions related to communication instruction, especially with regard to teacher credibility behaviors and particularly for practitioners and beneficiaries in EFL contexts where learners are widely acknowledged for their unwillingness to communicate in foreign language classes.

To enhance the loan repayment performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Pakistan, this study aims to analyze the direct impact of social capital and loan credit terms on loan repayment performance and microenterprises’ business performance while considering the mediating role of microenterprises’ business performance on the relationship between social capital, loan credit terms and loan repayment performance.

The analysis was conducted based on the data gathered via a questionnaire distributed to 316 microenterprises owners. The respondents were selected using the stratified sampling technique by dividing the target population into three influential groups of manufacturing, trading and services microenterprises. The reliability and validity of the constructs were established using (1) factor loading, (2) Cronbach’s alpha, (3) composite reliability, (4) average variance extracted, (5) the variance inflation factor, (6) the Fornell–Larcker criterion and (7) the heterotrait–monotrait ratio. The structural equation modeling technique was then applied, and the hypotheses were tested based on the structure model generated through bootstrapping by using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The results confirm the direct impact of social capital and loan credit terms on microenterprises’ business performance and loan repayment performance. It also supports the mediating role of microenterprises’ business performance toward the relationship between social capital, loan credit terms and loan repayment performance while considering the direct impact of microenterprises’ business performance on loan repayment performance.

To date, the direct impact of social capital and loan credit terms on microenterprises’ business performance and loan repayment performance has been hardly investigated in the context of Pakistan. This study also examines the mediating role of microenterprises’ business performance toward social capital, loan credit terms and loan repayment performance. The findings will enable both MFIs and microenterprises to improve their business performance and loan repayment performance through enhanced social ties and the development of more flexible credit products that protect the borrowers’ interests and the interest of lenders.