Single top polarisation as a window to new physics

We discuss the effect of heavy new physics, parameterised in terms of four-fermion operators, in the polarisation of single top (anti-)quarks in the $t$-channel process at the LHC. It is found that for operators involving a right-handed top quark field the relative effect on the longitudinal polarisation is twice larger than the relative effect on the total cross section. This enhanced dependence on possible four-fermion contributions makes the polarisation measurements specially interesting, in particular at high momenta.Comment: LaTeX 10 pages. v2: comments and references added, journal versio

AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDES TOWARD LEARNING JAPANESE LANGUAGE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SRI LANKA

The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivation and attitudes of students in secondary schools (G.C.E. Advanced Level classes) towards learning Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) in Sri Lanka. Further, it examines whether JFL students are instrumentally or integratively motivated to study Japanese. This study adapted a quantitative research paradigm and used a questionnaire for collection of data. The study focuses on investigating the two important social psychological variables introduced in Gardner’s socio educational model, which are the instrumental motivation and integrative motivation. The international version (2004) of Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) was used to examine the students’ attitudes and motivation levels. A systematic sampling was used under the complex probability sampling method. The results discovered that the integrative motivation of the students was slightly greater than the instrumental motivation. Further, it was found that the students had positive attitudes towards learning situation which are language course and the language teacher. The findings shows that JFL learners in G.C.E. Advanced level classes were less likely to hold utilitarian and academic reasons for learning Japanese. However, the results proved that their attitudes towards the Japanese language community and its members were highly positive. Finally, the study introduces some pedagogical implications that would help to enhance the students’ motivation and attitudes.  Article visualizations

PREFERENCES FOR MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES: A COMPARISON OF STUDENT AND TEACHER PERSPECTIVE IN JAPANESE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (JFL) CLASSROOM IN SRI LANKA

This study was aimed to investigate the teachers’ and students’ preference of motivational strategies employed in motivating students to learn Japanese language in General Certificate of Education (G.C.E) Advanced Level classes in Sri Lanka. The sample consisted of 27 Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) teachers and 275 students. An adapted questionnaire with 28 items was used to measure the perception of students and teachers towards using motivational strategies in JFL classroom. Fourteen items in the questionnaire targeted at measuring traditional strategies while the rest of the items measured innovative strategies. Descriptive statistics was used to find out the mean values of both the teachers’ and students’ preference of strategies and to prepare two lists of motivational strategies according to the priority order of rankings rated by teachers and students. The independent samples T-test was applied to determine the significant level of difference between the two groups. The results indicated that both students and teachers agree on the use of motivational strategies to motivate students. Nevertheless, it is statistically evident that students prefer innovative strategies than traditional strategies while teachers prefer both types of strategies equally. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between these two motivational strategies as perceived by teachers and students.  Article visualizations

WHAT FACTORS AFFECT SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR AN EXPLORATION

This paper develops a conceptual framework to explore the factors affecting secondary school students’ performance in science in the developing countries. While the various factors are related to the increased academic performance, the specific mechanisms through which those factors exert their influence on a child's academic performance are not yet fully understood. Based on both sociological and psychological theories and empirical studies, socioeconomic status, parental involvement, school resources and teacher quality as independent variables and motivation towards learning science as a mediating variable were incorporated into the proposed framework. Appropriate instruments for the exploration are suggested. While the conceptual framework developed in the present study lessening the knowledge gap pertaining to the factors affecting students’ performance in science, especially in the developing countries, it paves a path to explore the effect of those factors on students’ performance.  Article visualizations

Impact of Customer Perception towards Online Business in Malaysia: An Empirical Study

The use of social networks has become a phenomenon of great importance to the business environment nowadays. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of customer perception towards online business in Malaysia. A total of 100 respondents aged 21 years and above were involved in this survey. Prior to the hypothesis testing, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), reliability analyses for each construct, correlation and regression were conducted to achieve the research objectives. The results found that the online business has the opportunity of doing business with a lower cost by using customer perception as their marketing platform. Thus, this online business required to be assisted by the government in order to provide the proper business courses and to comply with the law. The implication of the study would draw the bigger picture in business milieu. Although online business is generally is in the infant stage, but given the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of business and with proper guidance, there will be a future for them and there can be an expectation to expand the business on to the next level. Keywords: Customer Perception, Online Business, Malaysi

THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT AND KNOWLEDGE RETENTION ON PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALED ENTERPRISES (SMES): A STUDY OF APPAREL SMES IN SRI LANKA

The main purpose of the study is to see whether three is a relationship between knowledge development (KD) and knowledge retention (KR) on the performance of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) and also to understand which factor has a significant effect on the performance of the SMEs. The data was collected from the owners of export-oriented apparel SMEs through a self-administrated questionnaire and used SPSS 21 version to analyze the data statistically. The results suggested that KD and KR have a positive significant relationship with the performance of SMEs, jointly. In the individual effect, the KR is the most influential factor on the performance of SMEs. The findings further reveal that apparel SMEs are practicing KD and KR strategies at the work place at average level.  Article visualizations

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON ACCEPTANCE OF MOBILE PAYMENT AND ITS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN MALAYSIA

Mobile payment refers to a payment method by which a consumer pays a bill for goods or services through a mobile terminal. mobile payment users can send payment instructions directly or indirectly to a bank financial enterprise via mobile devices or proximity sensing devices, thereby enabling currency payments and funds transfers. It realizes the integration of terminal equipment, Internet, application providers and financial institutions, and completes financial business such as currency payment. However, the adoption rates of this payment method are relatively low in Malaysia. This research aims to identify and explore key factors that affect the decision of whether to use mobile payments. Qualitative and quantitative research are the main methodology in this research. The well-established theories, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the theory of Perceived Risk, the Compass Acceptance Model for the analysis and evaluation of mobile service (CAM) are applied to investigate user acceptance of mobile payments. An empirical model for acceptance of mobile payment in Malaysia is established in this paper. Survey data from mobile payments users are used to test the proposed hypothesis and the model. The result of data analysis shows that Malaysian consumers’ perceptions of cost has no statistically significant relationship with attitude to adopt mobile payment. On the other hand, the factors of Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Subjective Norm and Consumer Trust play significant roles. The results of this study also have some practical implications for the spread and management of mobile payment industry in Malaysia and some suggestions are offered to mobile payment platform. At the end of this paper, the limitations and future research directions are listed. Article visualizations

THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE TRAINING ON PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALED ENTERPRISES (SMEs): EMPLOYEE TRAINING AS A MEDIATOR

The main purpose of the study is to examine whether owners of apparel sector Small and Medium-scaled Enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka are practicing knowledge management and providing training opportunities to their employees on how those practices have an effect on performance of those SMEs. Also, the mediating role of employee training between knowledge management and performance of apparel SMEs has been analyzed. A new model was developed to explain the relationship between knowledge management and employee training on the performance of apparel SMEs and also to determine whether the mediating effect of employee training is a full or partial. 235 owners of export-oriented apparel SMEs in Sri Lanka were taken as the population sample for the analysis. The outcome of SPSS statistics 21.0 established the relationships. The results highlight owners of apparel SMEs are currently practicing both knowledge management and employee training at workplaces in average level. The results further reveal a strong relationship between knowledge management and employee training on performance of apparel sector SMEs and a partial mediating effect of employee training. Accordingly, key findings of the study are a) higher the knowledge management higher the performance of apparel sector SMEs b) higher the employee training higher the performance of apparel sector SMEs c) and employee training partially mediates the relationship between knowledge management and performance of apparel sector SMEs. The outcome of the study further confirms statistical significance of the proposed hypotheses.  Article visualizations