Vol. 5 (1) Jul. 2023
Article ID. JHSSR-0011-2023
Vol. 5 (1) Jul. 2023 Article ID. JHSSR-0011-2023 |
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FOREWORD
Editor’s Foreword and Introduction to Vol. 5 (1) Jul. 2023
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I would like to welcome you to Horizon Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research’s first issue of 2023. JHSSR (eISSN 2682-9096) is a peer-reviewed open access and broad-scope scholarly journal that aims at bringing innovative research to both academics and practicing professionals. It is published rapidly by BP Services. Find out more here.
The journal is independently owned, and runs on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the world-wide social science community.
Original articles of archival value covering research and development topics, which span all areas of humanities and social sciences, are published by this journal. In addition to new advances in traditional and more established areas of humanities and social sciences, we strive to include findings on both emerging and interdisciplinary issues.
This issue, Vol. 5(1) Jul. 2023, consists of 21 articles including one invited article from our prestigious Editor-in-Chief, Dean Emeritus Professor Dr. Brij Mohan. In addition, the issue has three review, two opinion pieces, 14 research articles and a book review.
These articles are written by authors that come from 12 different countries, such as Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Vietnam.
This remarkable statistic of varied geographical background clearly shows that this journal is truly an international journal with diverse authorship as well as editorship. The articles in this issue span a wide range of topics, including issues of Business and Finance, Financial Management, Human Resource Management, Literature, Comparative Literature, Linguistics, Music, Personal Development and Empowerment, Pragmatics, Psychology, Religion, Sex Education, Sociology, Social Studies, Urban Studies and also interdisciplinary studies.
The invited article sheds light on the increase of global inequality, authoritarianism, violence and terror, as manifestations of the new bourgeois class’s evil profligacy. The author talks about post-industrial society and liberal democracies in countries such as the USA.
The systematic review article is significant because it examines sustainable entrepreneurship in the context of the FinTech industry involving Shariah and conventional compliance, thus forwarding the much-needed generalisable results in terms of sustainability entrepreneurship of firms in Malaysia. The article is expected to assist Islamic FinTech leaders in offering solutions to cater to the bottom 40 small and midsize enterprise’s (B40 SMEs) access to better financial health opportunities and empower sustainable entrepreneurship. The reader will find it exciting and beneficial that the proposed next-generation model for B40 SMEs will shape and empower them as future enterprise sustainability leaders where Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)/ Environment, Social, and Governance (ESGs) values shape them to contribute towards Malaysia’s interest in a sustainable social and environmental development and shifting their economic levels from B40 to M40 income groups.
The next review article sheds light on the process of exchange and acculturation of ideological flows in literature culture as there is an inherent trend that contributes to the development and strengthening of cultural–ideological ties between Vietnam and other nations in the region. The article should be of interest to readers in the areas of literature and anthropology.
The final review article is significant because people have been interested to know about stars and the Universe since time immemorial. This article discusses cosmology as understood in science today. Therefore, it will be of interest to readers who want to know about Astronomy, Astrology and Cosmology. Additionally, it will be intriguing for Sikh scientists and theologians to see how much Nanakian Philosophy about the 15th century Cosmology is similar to the Cosmology of today.
The opinion piece on Heritage and Culture showcases vibrant Patialavi culture in the Indian state of Punjab. This culture is rich and traditional, has long been a part of people’s everyday lives and has left a significant legacy for heritage and culture that has impacted the lives of many others in many different ways. Although Pagh, Paranda, Jutti and Salwar have become popular fashion trends, they have extensive and complex histories that explain their evolution and transformations.
The second opinion piece focuses on Mulao folk songs. Its significance lies in the inheritance and development of minority music culture in Southwest China. The author anticipates that through this study, more scholars and experts will pay attention to Mulao music and culture which predominantly exists in the Guangxi region of China.
The research article on ‘Gendered Impact of COVID-19 in Bangladesh’ contends that the COVID-19 has exacerbated, reinforced and perpetuated women’s unpaid reproductive work burden. The authors hope that this new research will fill the knowledge gap and would also be beneficial for academics and researchers who are keen to further explore the field of women’s vulnerability in the context of disease outbreak. The article fills in the void in existing research and contributes to the theory and practice of gendered impact of COVID-19. The article should be of interest to readers interested in the areas of gender, women, human rights, pandemic, violence against women and other related topics.
The next research article is significant as it intends to act as a resource in helping educate instructors to teach reading skills more effectively. This study provides promising guidelines and effective modern strategies that can be helpful in improving the reading classes drastically, and on the other hand, assist students in using the strategies for a more effective and reliable reading environment. The students can therefore use the recommended strategies to learn the texts and read and understand them deeply. Readers of this journal will find this study interesting as it offers some new and exciting strategies for teaching reading in a more fun and interesting way both for teachers and learners. Readers with an interest in the areas of education, language instruction, teaching and learning will find the material interesting.
The article on ‘Sustainable Business Practices and Value Creation’ is significant because it highlights the reason and challenges in practicing sustainable business strategy by ecotourism operators and small and medium enterprises in Sandakan, Malaysia. In view of the ongoing issues of palm oil sustainability between Europe and Malaysia, an overview of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification criteria is also discussed in this article. The strict standard in the MPSO Certification had provided credible sustainable management, ensuring that Malaysian palm oil will be able to compete in the global market. The article should be of interest to readers interested in the areas of sustainable practices in business and its potential for value creation through their business strategies and operation.
The focus of the next article is on a pilot study conducted in Oman in which the researchers investigated the relationship between students’ home environment and their proficiency in English. The authors believe that this is the first time that these variables are studied in the Omani context. The researchers selected three factors (educational background, socioeconomic background and technological background) and reviewed them against the students’ English language proficiency. The results revealed varied impacts of these factors.
The eleventh article discusses the need to empower, inspire and share the knowledge about choreography creation from the standpoint of a global societal concern. The article proves helpful in producing a choreography, ‘SOPAN’, which provides an ideology and approach in raising the rights and causes of women’s power in a community. It also touched upon the opposing view of women as sex symbol which can be seen from different aspects. Readers interested in performance studies, choreographers and cultural anthropology should find this work interesting.
The following article focuses on a study of toxic workplace environment, employees’ well-being and emotional intelligence. Employee well-being is a key issue of discussion in the workplace today. Various triggers may have a negative impact on employees and lower productivity, performance, and pleasure. A few strategic requirements are necessary for employee well-being at work. Readers interested in human resource management and well-being should find this article interesting.
The study in the next paper is conducted to identify biomedical students’ perceptions on the significance of online quizzes towards enhancing their understanding on the subject taught. This paper is significant because the findings from the survey conducted among Biomedical science students support the contention that online assessments have significant positive effects on learning. The paper should be of interest to readers who are involved in teaching and learning at colleges and universities. Publication of this article would encourage educators in the Biomedical science field to expand their assessment methods from purely traditional practical assessments to more advanced and interesting online methods.
The paper on “A Psychoanalytical Reading of Paul Auster’s City of Glass” is significant because of its novelty in a new sense of crafting identities in postmodern societies. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of sociology, linguistics, English literature.
This fifteenth paper on education demonstrates on using the “single-blind” group teaching experiment method by the students of Xinxiang Medical College in China whereby they use this method as experimental subjects to explore and reveal the inner relationship between the appearance of tennis forehand stroke and technical specifications, as well as the degree to which students master the technique of tennis forehand stroke. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of Education.
This paper on “Internet Education and Teaching” is significant because online education become a global phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have started taking online lessons from home, leading many to believe that students’ grades have declined. Since many people are concerned about the effects of online education, this paper studies the learning outcomes of online education students in Ningxia, China, using analytical software. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of Education and Economics.
The next paper is based on the flow theory where the researchers have summarised relevant researches on the flow experience of musical performance and summarise the four most important flow antecedents of musical performance: affection, challenge-skill balance, confidence, and clear goals. The authors also designed a flow-facilitating procedure showcasing that a flow antecedents of musical performance can facilitate a more intense flow experience for students. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of music psychology and music pedagogy.
The paper on “Internal and external integrated teaching mode in University’s public physical education curriculum of China” is important because the research content of this project is based upon an experimental study conducted on the combination of the teaching model and the table tennis elective course.
This nineteenth paper is significant because during the Chinese epidemic in the face of new network teaching mode, which type of teaching application is adopted that brought about historic transformation to music education. The paper should be of interest to readers in the areas of “online teaching music education”.
The last research paper in this issue is interesting as it discusses the perspective of course content on an experimental study conducted on the combination of the teaching model and the Tai Chi elective course.
We conclude this issue with a book-review on a very interesting book titled “Fake News & Fact-Checking”, a simplified edition by Renu Nauriyal. This book provides a vital understanding of the threat of fake news to democracies worldwide and has been designed especially for first-generation English learners.
I believe this issue would be intriguing, thought-provoking and useful in reaching new milestones. I would be grateful if you recommend the journal to your peers and students to make this endeavour more meaningful.
I am glad to share with you that as of now JHSSR has surpassed a total of about 1,100 articles from across the globe for intended publication in JHSSR, of which only 200 got accepted and published. Which also means an acceptance rate of only about 18%. The reasons for this high rejection rate are mainly the manuscript failing the technical screening, manuscript not falling within the journal’s scope, weak hypothesis, poor methodology, and high similarity index.
Our Quality
All the papers except the book-review published in this edition underwent a rigorous yet relatively rapid double-blind peer-review process involving a minimum of three reviewers comprising internal as well as external referees, which translates to benefits such as timeliness of publication, widespread dissemination, high visibility, and likelihood of high citations and broader impacts. This was also to ensure that the quality of the papers justified the high ranking of the journal, which hopes to be one at par with one of the renowned and heavily-cited journals not only by authors and researchers in Malaysia and America but by those in other countries around the world as well.
While I hope this issue will have particular appeal to new readers across this region and beyond, I am confident that the articles published will raise interest among our regular readership of scholars and postgraduate students elsewhere, thanks to the relevance and diversity of contributions on a region whose future bears central importance to us all.
I would also like to express gratitude to all the contributing authors for their trust, patience, and timely revisions, who have made this issue possible, as well as the reviewers and editors for their professional contribution. Last but not least, the assistance of the journal’s editorial office in Texas, particularly Jessica Whitsitt, Lucy Fernandez, and Judy Meester—my adorable assistants, is greatly appreciated.
The Editorial Board of JHSSR welcomes your contributions and looks forward to many years of fruitful research to come. We continue to welcome submissions in all fields of humanities and social sciences. Horizon JHSSR is currently accepting manuscripts for its second 2023 issue based on original qualitative or quantitative research that opens new areas of inquiry and investigation. Empirical articles should demonstrate high rigor and quality. Original research collects and analyses data in systematic ways to present important new research that adds to and advances the debates within the journal’s fields. The editors hope that the authors publishing in this journal can support the noble cause of JHSSR in reaching its goals.
Let me conclude by saying that with the publication of this issue, we are now almost completing five years of continuous and successful scholarly publication of Horizon JHSSR. Changing publishing norms and expectations have given rise to a new wave of publishing standards that we’ll be riding into 2024 soon and beyond. I am confident that the upcoming year will bring yet another challenging year of emerging scholarly articles.
Only time will tell what the next decade has in store, but one thing for sure is we will likely see greater innovation in all areas of scholarly publishing. If you are observing other scholarly publishing trends, please do share your thoughts with the Chief Executive Editor!
