An analysis of the impact of soft skills on Malaysian technical institutions

Many people recognize the importance of technical skills as knowledge and proficiencies required in the accomplishment of professional jobs. However, the importance and applicability of soft skills are mostly ignored despite the fact that, it is a process how individual carry himself in an organization or professional environment for the progress of that individual and the organization he found himself. The paper explored into some journals from the previous the literatures, some soft skills were identified such as communication, lifelong learning, entrepreneurship, leadership, and teamwork, problem solving and critical among TVET institutions in Malaysia. Document analysis was conducted as a methodology for this study. The impacts of these soft skills on TVET related institutions like polytechnics, training centers and universities in Malaysia. It was indicated that, the result of the impact of soft skills on these institutions was generally moderate. The paper concluded that, technical skills alone could not bring about the organizational development there must be a compliment of soft skills for any organizational sustainability. Supplementary of soft and technical skills conceptual model was formulated. The paper was concluded by saying that, the competitive nature of the present situation, soft skills are essential because they have affected all aspect of human development. Some recommendations were suggested, teachers, lecturers and instructor must teach students soft skills for complete individual proficiencies and organizational sustainability

The Place of Flowers in Literature

Panel: Writing and Politic

Barriers and obstacles to the implementation and practice of servant leadership among pastors and lay leaders of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Nigeria

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1806/thumbnail.jp

Policy and the drafter: The role of the drafter in influencing the substance of policy

Lord Henry Thring’s approach that the legislative drafter is not concerned with policy or substance but form has subsisted for long but modern realities which have made drafters’ role to overlap from the policy formulation stage to other parts of the policy process, make it glaring that this approach which is now considered a myth, cannot hold water for modern day legislative drafting in common law jurisdictions. This article uses Ann and Robert B. Seidman’s bill drafting process as criteria to compare the drafting process in UK and Nigeria and analyses how the role of drafters in both jurisdictions influence the substance of policy

Deforestation in Nigeria: a critical assessment of the Church of Christ in Nations’ (COCIN) Community Development Programme (CCDP) on ecology in Panyam District, Angu Local Government Council, Plateau State.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.This research has investigated the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) Community Development Programme (CCDP’s) theology on ecology. The reason for doing this research was that ecological problems pose a global danger to humanity and the environment. In Nigeria, where the research is situated, one of the common ecological problems is deforestation. Nigeria is critically affected by deforestation as a result of the negative human impacts on the ecosystem, such as relying on firewood as one of the major sources of energy in many rural and urban areas. This research starts with the argument that anthropogenic activities, such as mining, urban development, slash and burn agricultural practices and the felling of trees for the production of charcoal as a source of energy, are the main causes of deforestation in Nigeria. These human activities have resulted in other environmental crises such as soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, the extinction of some indigenous and medicinal plant species and even desertification in some regions in the country. The research found that the COCIN, as one of the main church denominations in Nigeria, does not have any specific document that contains its beliefs and teachings on ecology. However, a careful study of the church’s liturgy on the dedication of the farming season and the thanksgiving service in the COCIN Service Handbook indicates that both human and non-human creation belong to God. From this stand point, it was deduced that one of the beliefs of COCIN on ecology is that God has given to humankind the mandate to care for other creatures. In order to further investigate the issue of deforestation in Nigeria, the research applied Nick Spencer’s theory on “The Biblical Vision of Care for the Environment” as a justifiable framework. Through the application of Nick Spencer’s theory, this research assessed the activities of COCIN’s Community Development Programme (CCDP) as a development arm of the COCIN. This was to ascertain whether their activities, such as raising tree seedlings and organising workshops in some schools and communities and to COCIN’s pastors, help in reducing deforestation in Panyam district and its environs. The research discovered that, despite the awareness created by CCDP for the COCIN’s pastors on climate change and the importance of tree planting, virtually all the sermon notes examined during this study did not reflect any theme on ecology or environmental degradation. To this end, Sallie McFague’s “Planetary Theology” was used to show that humankind needs to embrace the ecological worldview. This idea is based on sustainability, distributive justice and the fair allocation of resources among people in the community. Following the investigation, it is suggested that ecology as a course should be introduced into the curriculum of the Bible Schools and Seminaries that are owned and controlled by COCIN and by so doing, the church will fulfil its prophetic role to the environment

Comparative analysis on perspectives of environmental and non-environmental NGOs on solid waste management in Jos metropolis, Nigeria

This study aimed to make comparative analysis of perspectives of environmental and non-environmental NGOs in Jos Metropolis on key solid waste issues with a view to provide relevant data that would hopefully help in facilitating collaboration between the state and NGOs as well as between NGOs and relevant local and international development partners. Using purposive approach, 115 NGOs in the study area were identified and given the same questionnaire. The study revealed that there are just as many NGOs working in solid waste management (SWM) as there are NGOs that are not (50% each) and there was a link between the NGO categories across all of the parameters considered in the study. It also demonstrated that NGOs' organizational viewpoint on the solid waste issues examined in the study is unaffected by their orientation or primary field of activity, and that registration as a non-environmental NGO is not a disincentive to intervening the area of environment, particularly SWM. It is recommended that the state government adopts an all-encompassing approach or framework that allows for active NGO participation including all relevant stakeholders in the SWM initiatives undertaken by the responsible government agency. Similarly, local and development partners with interest in environmental protection need to assist the NGOs by partnering with them through funding, technical support, and research among other things

Investigating Elementary School Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge of Students about some Numbers

The study investigated the competence of elementary mathematics teachers’ knowledge of students about some numbers. Studies have shown that there are common misconceptions that students exhibit in dealing with numbers. This study wanted to determine how competent elementary teachers are in identifying and dealing with such students’ misconceptions. A sample of 30 teachers was randomly selected as participants in this study. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire designed for teachers to respond to through detail explanations in writing. Participants were presented with the problem situations and were expected to respond to the questions or tasks. The problem situations were a given problem and the hypothetical students’ solutions of the given problem. The study revealed that while some teachers were competent in addressing students’ misconceptions in the topic area, others had difficulties themselves in understanding the problem situations and the hypothetical students’ solutions