Assessing the effectiveness of two-year banking and insurance technology programs of junior colleges in Taiwan, R.O.C.: An application of the Context Input Process Product (CIPP) evaluation model

The purpose of this descriptive study was to evaluate the banking and insurance technology curriculum at ten junior colleges in Taiwan. The study focused on curriculum, curriculum materials, instruction, support services, student achievement and job performance. Data was collected from a diverse sample of faculty, students, alumni, and employers. ^ Questionnaires on the evaluation of curriculum at technical junior colleges were developed for use in this specific case. Data were collected from the sample described above and analyzed utilizing ANOVA, T-Tests and crosstabulations. Findings are presented which indicate that there is room for improvement in terms of meeting individual students' needs. ^ Using Stufflebeam's CIPP model for curriculum evaluation it was determined that the curriculum was adequate in terms of the knowledge and skills imparted to students. However, students were dissatisfied with the rigidity of the curriculum and the lack of opportunity to satisfy the individual needs of students. Employers were satisfied with both the academic preparation of students and their on the job performance. ^ In sum, the curriculum of the two-year banking and insurance technology programs of junior college in Taiwan was shown to have served adequately preparing a work force to enter businesses. It is now time to look toward the future and adapt the curriculum and instruction for the future needs of the ever evolving high-tech society. ^

Islamic Hijab

Dr. Soroush Dabbagh presents a lecture on the moral permissibility of unveiling from both philosophical and jurisprudential points of view. Lecture was held on February 8, 2013 at the Green Library, Modesto Maidique Campus, Florida International University.

Shi'a women's participatory roles in the establishing and sustaining Shi'a religious identity in South Florida : Islamic Jaffaria Association

The research on the Muslim American community is largely Sunni specific and the purpose of this thesis is to add upon the limited scholarly work concerning the Shi'a Muslim American community. This study looks into the American Shi'a Muslim education experience at the Islamic Jaffaria Education Center (IJEC) and how it establishes and sustains a Pakistani Shiite Muslim identity. In addition, research on widespread American Muslim education shows high female participation on all levels, including, but not limited to, board and teaching positions. To see if this situation exists inside the Shi'ite communities an ethnographic study was conducted over the course of about 4 months at the IJEC. The findings show that there is also high female participation at that Shi'ite education center on all levels. The study links the high female participation with the education and how it established and is currently sustaining a Pakistani Shi'ite Muslim American identity in South Florida.

An analysis of the impact of the Islamic revolution in Iran on Iranian women

This study compares the status of women under the secular government of the Pahlavi Dynasty with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It relies on Hisham Sharabi's theory of neopatriarchal society and Fatima Mernissi's psychological analysis of the dynamics of gender relations in Islam. Both the Pahlavi dynasty and the Islamic regime promoted a perception of women's rights which were conducive to the ideologies of secularism and Islamism. Both regimes, however, worked within the framework of a patriarchal society by instituting policies that were misogynous in nature. This study found that the majority of Iran's female population was not greatly affected by the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty and the subsequent implementation of the Islamic regime. The basis of this argument lies in the fact that despite the contrasting ideologies of both governments, where women's issues are concerned, the patriarchal social structure remained virtually intact.