Essentials of Structural Equation Modeling

Structural Equation Modeling is a statistical method increasingly used in scientific studies in the fields of Social Sciences. It is currently a preferred analysis method, especially in doctoral dissertations and academic researches. However, since many universities do not include this method in the curriculum of undergraduate and graduate courses, students and scholars try to solve the problems they encounter by using various books and internet resources. This book aims to guide the researcher who wants to use this method in a way that is free from math expressions. It teaches the steps of a research program using structured equality modeling practically. For students writing theses and scholars preparing academic articles, this book aims to analyze systematically the methodology of scientific studies conducted using structural equation modeling methods in the social sciences. This book is prepared in as simple language as possible so as to convey basic information. It consists of two parts: the first gives basic concepts of structural equation modeling, and the second gives examples of applications.https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/1064/thumbnail.jp

A Brand-New Definition of Management under the Rule of Robots

Do you want your fate to be determined by a person who moves with the feeling, probably makes irrational decisions or is self-interested; or by an artificial intelligence that will always give priority to the common interests of the stakeholders in their decisions? The artificial intelligence applications developed to manifest human-like behaviours are expected to reach above the human level. It is only a matter of time. Therefore, the definition of management will eventually evolve. This paper discusses and suggests the elements that are required to be included in the new definition of management. Since the definition of future management is a challenging and disputed task, this paper aims to pave the way for a perfect definition of management that belongs to the age of artificial intelligence. As a result, in the perspective of evolution of human consciousness and emergence of management, and also considering the continuation of the evolution in inorganic domain, a new definition of management was suggested

HOW LIKELY IS IT TO TEACH CULTURE IN EFL COURSES? - THE CASE OF PRIVATE AND STATE SCHOOL TEACHERS IN TURKEY

With the recognition of English as a Lingua Franca, intercultural communication has gained great importance. As a result, culture teaching has become an indispensable component of EFL classrooms. Even though there has been extensive research on the attitudes of EFL teachers towards culture teaching, few studies were found bringing attention to the differences between private and state school teachers to this end. The purpose of this research is therefore to shed light on private and state school EFL teachers’ attitudes towards culture teaching, their classroom practices, and the obstacles they come across upon this. The participants are 72 EFL teachers (32 state, 32 private) working at different institutions in Turkey. The data were collected employing a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that both private and state school teachers have positive attitudes towards culture incorporation in their lessons. However, private school EFL teachers were proven to have more positive opinions about culture teaching. The findings also indicated that both private and state school EFL teachers integrate culture into their lessons to some extent. However, both groups reported some obstacles that they come across while teaching culture. The details are further discussed and the implications are made in the article. Article visualizations

The Role of International Trade in the Development of the Countries

Our study aims to investigate the impact of foreign trade on economic growth and welfare of a country, using foreign trade volume and its coverage (i.e. export versus import) ratio representing foreign trade while gross domestic product per capita and purchasing power parity represent economic growth and welfare. Knowing that foreign trade boosts the whole economy, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is a good indicator of an economic output but does not reflect the differences in the cost of living of countries. The challenge in this study is to develop more complementary indicators that can help bridge the gap between GDP per capita and economic well-being. Purchasing power parity (PPP) compares different countries’ economic output using a standardized metric based on a common basket of goods and services. Using PPP exchange rates in addition to a country's gross domestic product (GDP) may help to provide a more detailed picture of a country's economic health. Multiple regression analysis was utilised to test the hypotheses of this study. Secondary data was used in this study. The analyses were performed with SPSS. As a result of the data analyses and tests of hypotheses conducted in this study, it has been empirically proven that foreign trade volume and export/import coverage ratio have positive impact on gross domestic product per capita which has a significant impact on purchasing power parity

Effects of COVID-19 on China and the World Economy: Birth Pains of the Post-Digital Ecosystem

Especially with the emergence of the digital economy in the last two decades, unprecedented changes in technology have come to the fore. Technology-induced unemployment has spread all over the world because developments in digitalization and automation reduced the need for human in all business lines. Digital economy has also shown its effects as changes in the lifestyles. Therefore, it called new ecosocial system. However, beyond the new ecosocial system, humanity awaits a new system as post-digital ecosystem. Most probably this transition would occur in an agonizing way. In the post-digital ecosystem, production methods are changing radically, and thus, due to the recent advancements in artificial intelligence technology, machines increasingly take over the jobs of humans. The steady upward trend in unemployment has made economic inequality a chronic problem in the society. The pandemic has the role of a catalyst that accelerates the emergence of the destructive effects of digital economy and augments these effects. After the pandemic, the post-digital ecosystem will rise from the ruins of the collapsing capitalist system. The purpose of this article is to attract attention to the future economic problems within the context of the pandemic

The Mediator Role of Starting New Business in the Relationship between Logistics Performance and Growth

Economic growth refers to the enchancement in per capita income or purchasing power and this process of development. The main feature of economic growth is that continues progress by emergence of new source of growth when necessary. In addition to changes in the sources of economic growth, the indicators that explain economic growth are also changing. Recent recearches show that Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) per capita is accepted as one of the main indicators of growth. Logistics Performance Index (LPI) which has a direct and indirect impact on economic growth, is a World Bank indicator that examines a country’s logistics performance in six sub-dimension. In order to indicate the importance of economic growth and logistics performance, this study investigates the mediator role of starting new business in the relationship between logistics performance and gross domestic product per capita. The aim of the research is to analyze 76 countries based on the data of 2010-2012-2014-2016-2018 according to the data available at the World Bank.  As a result of analyses, the mediation effect of starting new business on the relationship between logistics performance was not established. Even if no starting new business, the improvement in logistics investments directly affects economic growth. Even with existing logistics investments, it contributes to economic growth by increasing efficiency, increasing the capacity and cost of existing companies. In this case, starting new business does not have an mediator role. Keywords:         Logistics Performance Index, Score-Starting a Business, GDP per capita

The Effects of Export Import Coverage Ratio on Economy

In this research, a conceptual model was tested in order to clarify the relationship between the foreign trade balance and economic growth. Therefore the main purpose of the research is to examine the effect of the ratio of exports to imports on economic growth. Reliability-tested secondary data prepared by international institutions were used for per capita GDP values and the ratio of countries' exports to imports. Regression analysis was performed using the mentioned data using the SPSS computer program.  The per capita GDP values of 126 countries for the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and the ratio of the countries' exports to their imports were used in the study. By performing regression analysis, it was concluded that there is a statistically significant relationship between GDP values and the export- import coverage ratio values of the countries

The Role of International Trade in the Development of the Countries

Our study aims to investigate the impact of foreign trade on economic growth and welfare of a country, using foreign trade volume and its coverage (i.e. export versus import) ratio representing foreign trade while gross domestic product per capita and purchasing power parity represent economic growth and welfare. Knowing that foreign trade boosts the whole economy, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is a good indicator of an economic output but does not reflect the differences in the cost of living of countries. The challenge in this study is to develop more complementary indicators that can help bridge the gap between GDP per capita and economic well-being. Purchasing power parity (PPP) compares different countries’ economic output using a standardized metric based on a common basket of goods and services. Using PPP exchange rates in addition to a country's gross domestic product (GDP) may help to provide a more detailed picture of a country's economic health. Multiple regression analysis was utilised to test the hypotheses of this study. Secondary data was used in this study. The analyses were performed with SPSS. As a result of the data analyses and tests of hypotheses conducted in this study, it has been empirically proven that foreign trade volume and export/import coverage ratio have positive impact on gross domestic product per capita which has a significant impact on purchasing power parity

The Mediator Role of Global Competitiveness in the Relationship between High Technology Export and Coverage Ratio

Global Competitiveness Index, high technology exports and coverage ratio variables were used in the study. The effects of high technology exports on the Global Competitiveness Index and coverage ratio, and the effects of the Global Competitiveness Index on the coverage ratio were analysed. Positive effects of the analyses were observed. It is also assumed that the coverage ratio is one of the most important criteria of foreign trade performance. In the study, it is seen that the Global Competitiveness Index plays an intermediary role in the effect of technology exports on the coverage ratio. Therefore, the increase in the share of technology exports in total trade affects the coverage ratio through the partial effect of the Global Competitiveness level. Therefore, it is assumed that the technological infrastructure and competitiveness of countries will play a key role in improving foreign trade performance

Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence Technologies for Balanced Foreign Trade: Replacing Exchange Function of Money

Today, the capitalist economy has entered into a dead end. Unemployment is expected to reach an unprecedented level due to the rise of automation and artificial intelligence technologies. The creation of excess fiat money will not be a remedy for the collapse of the capitalist economy. In the future, a new economic model open to government intervention will be needed. Moreover, if global monetary system collapses, government should find a solution to continue foreign trade in order to meet the needs of their citizens. Trade unions are classical means that increase trade among the member countries, but they cause imbalance in mutual trade volumes. The advent of blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies will bring an end to the obsolete and outdated foreign trade methods. These technologies will also lead to the emergence of balanced trade unions across countries. This paper focuses on defining a new system known as intelligent trade matrix, suggesting that this system will allow barter transactions between two countries without imposing any customs duty