This study investigated the impact of social media on purchasing decision-making using data from a questionnaire survey of 257 randomly sampled students from the College of Business at Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. The study items were selected from the study community through a random sample, where several (257) students were surveyed. To achieve its objectives, the study follows the descriptive analytical approach in addressing its topic. The questionnaire was adopted as a tool for collecting data. The questionnaire collected data on the independent variable social media—and the dimensions of the dependent variables representing the stages of purchasing decision-making: Feeling the need for the advertised goods, collecting information about alternatives, evaluating available options, buying decisions, and post-purchase evaluation of the purchase decision. Then, the data were analyzed based on regression analysis using SPSS and AMOS. The important findings are summarized below: Social media use is directly related to feeling the need for and searching for information on advertised goods. Social communication and the evaluation of alternatives to advertised goods, in addition to the existence of a moral effect and a direct correlation between social media use and making the purchasing decision for advertised goods. Providing honest, sufficient, and accurate information via social media to the buyer can help them make the purchasing decision.
The evolution of the internet has led to the emergence of social media (SM) platforms, offering dynamic environments for user interaction and content creation. Social media, characterized by user-generated content, has become integral to electronic communication, fostering higher engagement and interaction. This study aims to explore the utilization of SM marketing, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), focusing on Széchenyi István University’s academic social network sites (SNS) as a case study to enhance student engagement and satisfaction. The primary objective of this study is to review recent academic literature on SM marketing, especially for HEI marketing, and investigate the potential of the University’s SNS platforms as a case study in increasing student engagement. First a systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus and Science Direct databases to analyze recent research in academic SM. Then the article examined the University’s website and SNS platforms using the Facepager program to collect and analyze posts’ content. The findings from the literature review and observation indicate the growing importance of SM in higher education marketing. The university’s use of various SM strategies, such as visual storytelling, multimedia content, blogs, and user-generated content, contributes to increased student engagement of the university’s values.
Performance Management is a major concern to various stakeholders in Education System, it is considered to be key driver to improve school effectiveness and learning quality. However, the complexity of education Systems, has made it challenging to apply an effective PM model. This study paper introduces a maturity model with six dimensions, fifteen Capability Areas and forty-two Best-Practices to assess education systems’ organizational capacity for performance management. It provides deep insights into their structural and functional characteristics and serves as a framework for decision-makers to identify and implement missing practices while enhancing existing ones. The maturity model was developed following the Design Science Research methodology to ensure both rigor and relevance. A bottom-up approach guided its design, integrating insights from extensive literature reviews and lessons learned from benchmark countries. The evaluation process employed a qualitative approach, using focus groups with a carefully selected cohort of academics, experts, and practitioners. The Moroccan case study serves as part of the “Reflection and Learning” phase, providing an initial test for the model and paving the way for further empirical research. Future studies will aim to test, refine, and extend the model, facilitating its application across diverse educational contexts.
Teachers are instrumental in advancing the cognitive and motor skills of children with autism. Despite their importance, the incorporation of both educators and robotic aids in the educational frameworks of specialized schools and centers is infrequent. Extensive research has been conducted to evaluate the impact of robotic assistance on the learning outcomes for children with autism. This study investigates the effects of the Furhat robot on the educational experiences of autistic children in schools, analyzing its utility both with and without the presence of teachers. Interviews with educators were carried out to gauge the effectiveness of implementing Furhat robots in these settings. Data collected from sessions with autistic children were analyzed using ANOVA tests, offering insights into the Furhat Social Robot’s potential as a significant tool for fostering engagement and interaction. The findings highlight the robot’s effectiveness in enhancing social interaction and engagement, thereby contributing to the ongoing discussion on how social robots can improve the developmental progress and well-being of children with autism. Moreover, this paper underlines the innovative aspects of our proposed model and its wider implications. By presenting specific quantitative outcomes, our aim is to extend the reach of our findings to a broader audience. Ultimately, this research delineates significant contributions to the understanding of social robots, such as Furhat, in improving the overall well-being and developmental trajectories of children with autism.
This research uses both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to examine the complex factors affecting community resilience in various settings. In this case, the research explores how social cohesion, governance effectiveness, adaptability, community involvement, and the specified difficulties influence resilience results by using the five pillars of resilience as variables. Descriptive and inferential statistics are used to test hypotheses on the relationships between social cohesion, governance effectiveness, adaptive capacity, and community resilience variables. Qualitative data provides further insights into the quantitative results by providing broader views and experiences of the community. The study shows how social capital is important in increasing community capacity, stressing the importance of social relations and trust in developing community solutions to disasters. Another major factor that stands out is the governance factor that ensures that decisions are made, and actions taken in line with the community’s best interest in improving its ability to prepare for and respond to disasters. Adaptive capacity is seen as a key component of resilience and this paper emphasizes the importance of communities to come up with measures that can be adjusted to the changing circumstances. In summary, this study enriches theoretical understanding and offers practical applications of the processes that can enhance community resilience based on the principles of social inclusion, sound governance, and context-specific solutions.
This article analyzes the modes of organizing the political realm of society in Aceh, especially after the signing of the Helsinki MoU in 2005 by representatives of the Indonesian government and GAM as the two parties most interested in the social organization of Acehnese society. The post-conflict social and political phenomenon in Aceh is the fragmentation between democratic and customary institutions that can be directly observed by the public through their competition in local government elections. Former GAM leaders have chosen to revive Majelis Wali Nanggroe and Gampong as customary and cultural institutions to help the government organize the lives of Acehnese people post-conflict. This paper contends that the various relationships and networks of relationships present in institutional formations are understood and explained through the different rules and frameworks that define and regulate them. Data sources were collected through in-depth interviews with several key informants, such as former GAM members, DPRA members, university rectors, local Aceh mass media editors, and socio-political observers, field observations for eighteen days (5–22 August 2018), and literature studies. This qualitative research uses a new institutionalism approach that focuses on the dynamics of the social structure of Acehnese society, which was largely controlled by GAM before the Helsinki MoU and began to loosen after the elections and even formed fragmentation among former combatants in the struggle for leadership in local government institutions. This article finds that GAM elite divisions and conflicts after the conflict for official government positions occurred due to the absence of imagination of modes of organizing society that was able to connect structurally and functionally formal and informal institutions. Pragmatically, GAM leaders and negotiators tend to maintain identity politics as a resistance movement against the central government and at the same time, they continue to run governance in a special autonomy model that gives them a lot of constitutional, institutional and symbolic freedom.
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