SETTING STANDARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, AS A SOURCES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Abstract. Tourism is no doubt one of the largest industries and sources of entrepreneurship in the world.Behind fuels, chemicals and automotive parts, it is fourth in the amount of export income it generates.Over the recent decades, a plethora of tourism certification programs have sprung up worldwide in an effort to recognize tourism businesses who truly work to reduce negative impacts by using sustainable practices. This worldwide proliferation of tourism certification programs, however, has led to consumer confusion, lack of brand recognition and widely varying standards. Here the best practice standards for tourism certification programs is used as laid out in the Mohonk Agreement, and the recently released Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, envisioned to serve as the common set of baseline criteria by which to accredit certification programs, to evaluate four state-level tourism certification programs as case studies in the world. This paper also conjecture what the future may look like for these programs. At the end some notes have been proposed for more researches in the way of tourism standardization

Enhancing Learning Quality and Student Engagement: Utilizing Digital Technology in Islamic Education

The progression of science and technology has ushered in an era where knowledge, technology, and information have become inextricably intertwined with the realm of education. This prevailing reality underscores the imperative for Islamic universities to proficiently institute pedagogical management strategies. The primary objective of this study is to comprehensively examine and critically analyze the pivotal role of technology-driven digital learning within the domain of Islamic Religious Education (PAI). To achieve this objective, the study employs a qualitative research approach, utilizing the methodology of a thorough literature review. The findings of this research assert that the incorporation of digital technology in the realm of Islamic Religious Education unequivocally augments the overall quality of the educational experience while concurrently enhancing student engagement. It is imperative to recognize that educators, particularly lecturers, wield a pivotal influence in cultivating the requisite proficiencies and knowledge base among students. The innovation encompassed within technology-based digital learning encompasses the stages of discovery, development, and dissemination of digital technology utilization. The components encompassing digital content, curriculum design, faculty training, and the requisite supporting infrastructure collectively constitute indispensable facets in the evolution of digital technology. Inarguably, digital technology serves as an instrumental catalyst in heightening student engagement and optimizing the efficacy of the learning process. However, it is of paramount significance to underscore that the role of lecturers remains pivotal, as they assume the multifaceted functions of facilitators and adept learning manager

Making 'Noise' Online: An Analysis of the Say No to Terror Online Campaign

A consideration of terrorism as communication necessarily draws attention to the development of counter narratives as a strategy for interrupting the process by which individuals become radicalised towards violent extremism. As the Internet has become a critical medium for psychological warfare by terrorists, some attempts have been made to challenge terroristic narratives through online social marketing and public information campaigns that offer alternative narratives to the terrorists’ online audiences. ‘Say No to Terror’ is one such campaign. This article reports on a study that examined the master narratives in the ‘Say No to Terror’ online campaign and applied concepts of ‘noise’ and persuasion in order to assess whether the key elements of the ‘Say No to Terror’ campaign align with the application of “noise” as a counter strategy against terrorists’ appeal on the Internet. The study found that while the master narratives of ‘Say No to Terror’ align with suggestions based on empirical research for the development of effective counter campaigns, the campaign does not meet the essential criteria for effective noise

A Radical Idea: Applying Psychological Strategy to Combat Foreign Fighters Defending the Islamic State

This thesis focuses on the necessity of psychological strategies to combat the Islamic State’s recruitment of foreign fighters. This thesis argues that psychological strategies are a primary weapon due to the psychological nature of the war against the Islamic State, which is a part of the overall war of ideas. This thesis does not consider psychological strategies for other aspects of U.S. counterterrorism strategy, nor does it reflect the difficulties involved with developing U.S. strategies in the U.S. federal government. Furthermore, this thesis only focuses on foreign fighter defending and supporting the Islamic State, which is the successor of Al Qaeda in Iraq and does not consider foreign fighters supporting other terrorist organizations. The result of the research done for this thesis finds that psychological strategies must become a core element in U.S. policy towards this issue

Investigation of mobile devices usage and mobile augmented reality applications among older people

Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones have allow users to communicate, entertainment, access information and perform productivity. However, older people are having issues to utilise mobile devices that may affect their quality of life and wellbeing. There are some potentials of mobile Augmented Reality (AR) applications to increase older users mobile usage by enhancing their experience and learning. The study aims to investigate mobile devices potential barriers and influence factors in using mobile devices. It also seeks to understand older people issues in using AR applications

Al-Quran Recitation (Tajweed Simulation) “e-Tajweed System”

Al-Quran is the most important book in Muslim‟s life as it gives knowledge in many areas for the use of their daily life. Therefore, it is needed to be read properly so the meaning of the reading is correct. The main purpose of this project is to classify the Tajweed based on letters and signs by defining their shape and location. Images are used as samples to be processed for the use of classification. In an addition, this project was developed parallel to the technology advancement which the interactivity in learning is very important and it influences the understanding of the readers. In order to have a system which has an ability to learn interactively, this project was focused on the implementation of the web-based system. This research has led to the development of e-Tajweed that could monitor individual recitation through internet as well as to the development of practicality of it. As we can see, people nowadays are facing behavioral changes where they want to have a better life especially in the hereafter. They realize it‟s all started from the young education. With the target person are children from primary school, the scope covered for this project is by blending the best approach to be incorporated in order to create rich learning environments that are able to attract children to learn Tajweed and also be able to remember what have been learnt. The methodology used for designing and developing this websites is Rapid Application Development (RAD) which consists of four core phases; planning, analysis, design and development and also implementation. Apart from that, the author also included the results and findings from the survey carried out. Furthermore, the demand for this application in the future will be covered based on the objectives of this project where it enables children to learn Tajweed at home. This will promote independent learning environment where the children could learn Tajweed by themselves or together with their parents or siblings. The active interaction between children and this application will make the learning process more appealing and fun

The impact of task complexity on EFL learners' writing production across gender

The current study investigates the impact of task complexity on EFL learners' writing production across gender. Task complexity is the inherent cognitive demands of the tasks imposed on the learners by the structure of the tasks. It was investigated along the resource-dispersing variables of Pre-task planning time, post-task editing time and prior knowledge across the task difficulty variable of same gender. It also tries to intertwine the concepts of Task Complexity (i.e. TBLT) and sociolinguistics (i.e. gender issues). The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of task complexity on gender differences of EFL learners' writing production which has been measured in terms of CAF i.e. complexity, accuracy and fluency. This can provide useful information in field of foreign language acquisition for language planners, curricula designers, and teachers. It is believed that it can contribute to improving EFL undergraduate students’ ability to a level of writing competence that is more likely to be satisfactory. The findings of the study suggest that variations of certain types of task complexity (in the design of pedagogic tasks) will have particular effects on attentional resources. Subsequently, the researcher believes that directing these attentional resources may have positive effects on learners’ language production and the ability to learn the target language. Besides, study concluded that there is statistically significant difference between males and females in terms of writing production along task complexity

Mobile technology and Islamic education for non-native Arabic children

Most religions practised at present are grounded in deep history and tradition. Sculptures and writings have been passed on from generations and are integral to the sanctity of the religion. In addition, the use of digital technology can provide us with a mechanism to not only maintain the consistency of the teaching but also establish a real-time learning and understanding process for a variety of users. Islam is one of the largest religions in the world with almost 1/5th of the world’s population being of the Muslim faith. The Qur’an is the holy book for millions of Muslims around the world and is read and learnt in the Arabic language. This thesis aims to provide a strong technology base to improve the teaching experience for school teachers and religious scholars in regard to educating non-native Arabic children about the holy book, the Qur’an, as well as improving the progress curve for those children by proving a strong technology base which addresses their circumstances. It should be noted that there was no prior knowledge about those children and their difficulties caused by language, background, and cultural barriers in relation to their learning abilities. In this thesis, we build a web simulator based on a reinforcement learning mechanism and use a Speech recognition system to achieve our intended goal. Unlike other studies, this research is build based on a User Centre Design where data was collected from both types of instructors, being school teachers and religious scholars, to help build the system. After the system was built, we used the same type of instructors to examine the system before they actually implemented it on children. Thus, this research has been completed through the use of three studies: a qualitative study with school teachers and religious scholars to collect data about what the design should address, a qualitative study on both types of teachers to examine the system, and finally, a quantitative study completed by teachers on the use of the system by children. The results found were extremely positive in terms of providing teachers with a system which is cable to support and improve their teaching experience as well as ensuring an incredible improvement of children’s’ performance in their Islamic education

Towards an authentic Islamic development model: Incorporating the roles of trust and leadership in the Islam – Iman – Ihsan paradigm

Over half a century after Islamic economics, as constructed in the post-colonial search for a modern Muslim identity, claimed that a morality-based economic system, built on the axiomatic foundations of Islamic ontological thought, would achieve the social and political aims of Islam, Muslim lands are in a dire state of underdevelopment and chaos in which basic human rights are absent even though resources are not scarce. Therefore, it may be said, that this Islamic economic vision has failed to produce any desired effect. The question is, why? This research explores the ontological sources of Quran and Sunnah, aims to identify the reasons for the failure and, through the reformulation of a new authentic model, aims to present an Islamic development methodology which is holistic in nature and which transcends the limitations of the economic or political spheres. The resulting model encompasses the concept of trust and leadership in Islam and identifies the role and functioning of each one separately. This research, which is qualitative in nature and utilises the methods of discourse analysis and textual and contextual deconstruction, is structured around three major essays the first of which details the overall development model as the path of Islam-Iman-Ihsan (submission-faith-perfection), the second with the role of iman (faith) as the binding force in Islamic social order and the last details a new concept of Islamic leadership, drawn from the prophetic example, and outlines its specific functions to construct the environment in which Islamic development can be sustaine