Foreword

ICSAI, Home of Research and Innovation

Research should not simply be viewed as a means to uncover facts and build understanding. Apart from being a compulsory academic exercise, all research should aim to create an impact on the particular academic discipline it belongs to by expanding the body of knowledge and improve existing theories. Research must also lead to creativity and innovation, be practical, significant, and improve quality of life in general. These are the values we are promoting through the International Journal of Language, Literature, Culture, and Education (IJLLCE).

For this issue, we look into papers that cover a few disciplines. Lynn M. Besa from the English Department, College of Education, Rizal Technological University, Philippines investigated the purpose of literature as a vehicle in exposing the readers to the socio-political issues of their setting world of literature. Specifically, the study aims to uncover the characteristics of the novel which reflect a certain type of society, determine the kind of society presented in the novelette, disclose the socio-political environment through characterization and extract the sociopolitical issues implied in the text.

Woo Jhia Mae from the Department of Psychology, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia looked into the Malaysian students’ perception of the national school uniforms and to investigate the relationship it has towards perceived social cohesion. Reema Aslam Rao from the School of Foreign Languages, Final International University Toroslar Caddesi, Turkey on the other hand, studied the behaviors of teachers affect the motivation of students. This is followed by Asri Purnamasari from the English Education Department, Universitas Kristen Indonesia (The Christian University of Indonesia), Indonesia, who analysed the implementation of the 2013 Characters Curriculum for Senior High School Grade XI General Programme English in Indonesia.

Shigeru Ozaki, Faculty of Global and Regional Studies, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan performed an empirical study on the impact of English proficiency on the economic development of some countries. His study utilized some economic development indicators such as GDP, GDP per capita, as well as GDI. Next, Towhid bin Muzaffar, from the Department of English Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) investigated the status of an endangered language, Mahale, which is spoken by an indigenous community in Northern Bangladesh. Last, but not least, Quah Wei Boon, from Sungai Petani Community College, Kedah, Malaysia investigated the Front Office Tasks Simulator as an innovative teaching tool for hospitality students, particularly in Front Office subjects.

ICSAI.org is very fortunate to have collaborated with this talented group of academicians and researchers from different parts of the world, coming together as a community to share our knowledge and experiences for the benefit of the human race. We are deeply honored and happy to be part of your academic journey.

Lokman Abd Wahid
Editor-in-Chief

Online Repository of the International Journal of Language, Literature, Culture, and Education