bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Public speaking to enhance oral Mandarin proficiency
Authors: Goh Ying Soon , Lee Chai Chuen , Ngo Kea Leng
Published: April 2019

This paper aims to shed some light on the use of Speaking Contest as an Activity to support the learning of Mandarin among non-native Chinese learners. Speaking Contest as an Activity can be a useful tool to motivate the learning of Mandarin among learners. This study was carried out during a Mandarin speaking competition held at UiTM (Perlis). A self-developed questionnaire was distributed to gain understanding and the views of the participants on the use of Mandarin in the speaking contest as an activity to support the learning of a Chinese language among the non-native Chinese learners. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that students agreed that Mandarin speaking competition as an activity was useful to enhance their learning. Thus, activities such as Mandarin speaking contest can be used as creative practices in particular when teaching Mandarin as a foreign language and also for other foreign languages.
The impact of corporate governance elements on environmental reporting : the case of public listed companies in Malaysia
Authors: Sallehuddin Mohd Rashdan
Published: April 2019

The paper aims to examine the impact of the relationship between the elements of corporate governance and environmental reporting of public listed companies in Malaysia. This study adopts a cross sectional analysis by examining the 2010 annual reports of 254 public listed companies and using content analysis as the method to measure the extent of environmental reporting and compared with various corporate governance measures. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between Corporate Environmental Reporting (CER) and independent variables of Corporate Governance (CG) namely independent non-executive directors, audit committee composition, female director, duality, managerial and government ownership. Analysis found a significant relationship between the extents of environmental reporting with government ownership. In contrast, the extent of CER is insignificant with relation of independent non-executive directors, audit committee composition, female director, duality and managerial ownership. The results could be useful to provide evidence to regulatory bodies to look further and to identify the elements of corporate governance that will enhance the CER.
Testing the effectiveness of health risk messages : threat and efficacy processing
Authors: Periyayya Thinavan , Wee Vincent Eng Kim
Published: April 2019

This is a micro study of an on-going macro study of the different categories of fear appeals used in the on-going national anti-smoking campaign. A quasi-experimental design was used to study the respondents’ responses to the anti-smoking print advertisement campaign. Two types of advertisements were selected, one which depicted a social threat and the other a damaging health threat. Each type of advertisement was evaluated by two separate groups of participants. The evaluation was based on the extended parallel process model’s (EPPM) risk diagnosis scale. The social threat advertisement had a low fear and efficacy message while the health threat advertisement had a high fear and efficacy message. Findings showed that the social threat (low fear/efficacy) was able to make the respondents of the study take a preventive behavioural or danger control position to avoid the negative consequences. In comparison the damaging health threat (high fear/ efficacy) was found to move the participants to a fear control position or maladaptive behavioural position. The study supported the main predictions of the EPPM, and showed that the efficacy construct determined how the fear appeal was processed (danger control or fear control).
Exploring opportunities for government retirees to transfer their KSAOs for the national development : evidence from Malaysia
Authors: Yahya Khulida Kirana , Johari Johanim , Adnan Zurina , Mohd Isa Mohd Faizal , Daud Zulkiflee
Published: April 2019

The number of Malaysian senior citizens is expected to rise to 2.71 million by the year 2020. Malaysia will then become an ageing society, which includes the government retirees who have reached their mandatory retirement age of 60 years old. This study intends to examine knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) of the government retirees in Malaysia and to identify the opportunities for the retirees to transfer their KSAOs for the national development. To elicit findings, a total of 1,609 questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. The results indicated that most of the retirees had acquired vast KSAOs throughout their years of service, especially in the areas related to their tasks and responsibilities. It is therefore of paramount importance for the government and non-government bodies to develop appropriate means for these retirees to use their KSAOs. Several policy guidelines such as programs and activities can be undertaken by the relevant bodies to help government retirees optimize their KSAOs in a more meaningful way.
Continued professional development practices in Malaysian service-based industry
Authors: Kaliannan Maniam , Puteh Fadilah , Alam Nafis
Published: April 2019

The concept of Continued Professional Development (CPD) through continuous learning calls upon organisations to encourage, support, and provide favourable environment for employees to engage in continuous learning. This will help to avoid ‘professional obsolete syndrome’; a syndrome faced by a majority if not all employees. This study intends to investigate the current practices of CPD in the Malaysian service-based industry. This article presents the results of an analysis of CPD practices using a qualitative approach based on several interviews with subjectmatter- experts from various sectors in the Malaysian service-based industry. Fifteen HR Directors and HR Managers were interviewed in order to gauge their perspectives on the current practices of CPD as this will depict the actual scenario on how they see; interpret; regulate; implement; and enforce CPD for staffs’ development. The data which was collected via interviews was transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed different approaches or practices of CPD among several service sectors in Malaysia.
The relationship between personality traits and entrepreneurial intentions
Authors: Javan Rahman Sadeghi
Published: April 2019

This study investigates the impact of personality traits on intention to start an entrepreneurship. In order to examine personality traits, the big five model was used. The big five model consists of five dimensions: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. Entrepreneurship consists of six dimensions: hardworking, risk-taking, self-confidence, creativity, flexibility, and tolerance of ambiguity. In order to collect data, a 47 items questionnaire was designed. Statistical population was university of Isfahan’s personnel, and sample size was 160 personnel and were selected based on the available sampling method. In order to analyse data,descriptive statistic, inferential statistics, ENTER method, and Durbin-Watson test has been used. To measure stability of questionnaires’ items, Cronbach's alpha was calculated for each variable separately. The results of this article indicate that personality traits have an impact on the tendency to entrepreneurship. Based on these results, between all personality traits, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience have impacts on the tendency to entrepreneurship and these factors could explain 0/533 of entrepreneurship regression. Durbin- Watson test results also indicate that there is no selfcorrelation between independent variables. Finally, empirical suggestions have been offered for human resources managers and related professionals.
Transformational leadership, work motivation and performance: An exploratory study on the context and process
Authors: Ong Pooi Fong , Kam Elden Weng Cheong
Published: April 2019

Leadership skills have become an important asset for many organisations as they strive to manage the people that make up the organisations. However, in todays competitive business environment, basic leadership qualities may not be sufficient to sustain the growth of the organisations. This exploratory study aims to look at the influence transformational leaders have on work motivation and performance. The study adopts a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews to solicit corporate and youth leaders' perspectives on successful leadership qualities and challenges, work motivation and performance. Findings revealed that transformational leadership traits are effective in cultivating motivation and higher performance in organisations. An evolving conceptual framework depicting the relationships between leadership, motivation and performance is proposed.
Effect of strategic attitudes on marketing capabilities in Small And Medium Enterprises (SMES)
Authors: Dehghanan Hamed , Jadidi Narges
Published: April 2019

Modern organizations need to use strategies and strategic thoughts to be successful in different and continuous challenges. Regarding the development and importance of strategic issues and their relationships with marketing activities of an organization, the present paper investigated the effect of strategic attitudes on marketing capabilities in active SMEs in detergent and cleaning products. Todoso, a standard questionnaire was designed and the data which have been gathered from 130 managers in active companies of this industry had been studied accordingly. The data were analyzed by structural equation method and Liserl software. The results showed the meaningful and positive effect of customer-orientation on expert marketing capabilities and related activities to the organizational architecture; meaningful and positive effect of competitor-orientation on expert marketing capabilities and related activities to the organizational architecture; and positive and meaningful effect of innovation-orientation on expert marketing capabilities with 95% certainty. But the effect of innovation-orientation on related activities to the organizational architecture was not meaningful at 95% certainty level.
Writing Strategies used by Malaysian ESL Undergraduates
Authors: Lee Lai Fong , Teoh Sian Hoon , Narayanan Geethanjali , Chan Yuen Fook , Kaur Sidhu Gurnam
Published: April 2019

Writing strategies are deemed important to enable learners to write well in academic contexts in higher education. This study examined the writing strategies of English as Second Language (ESL) undergraduates in higher education to look into the type of writing strategies they use. The five categories of writing strategies focused on were rhetorical strategies, metacognitive strategies, cognitive strategies, communicative strategies, and social/affective strategies. The sample of this study comprised 40 students from the social science disciplines in a local public university. The instrument used to collect data was questionnaire. The results showed that the students used all five categories of writing strategies. However, metacognitive strategies, cognitive strategies as well as social/affective strategies were used slightly more compared to communicative strategies and rhetorical strategies. This study has implications for ESL student writers and instructors on writing strategies that can be used to facilitate academic writing. Keywords: writing strategies, undergraduates, writing
Exploring Women's Work Decision in Malaysia
Authors: Tan Peck Leong , Baah Ruzita , Subramaniam Geetha , Iberahim Hadijah
Published: April 2019

Over the years, the educational level of Malaysian women has increased tremendously with more women than men in the tertiary institutions. Nevertheless, investment in female human capital has not been translated into more women in the workforce. Therefore this study aims to explore the work decision of Malaysian women. Results from the survey of 553 women reveal that nearly all women expressed that they are willing to work after completing their tertiary education but they feel that support and influence from families are the most important deciding factors in influencing women’s decision to work. Furthermore, economic and social differences also play vital roles in women’s work decision. Women from poorer families and with lower educational background tend to focus on their financial needs as priority in their work decision. On the other hand, women with higher educational background and who come from richer families tend to choose jobs that will allow them to achieve their goals and also bring great self satisfaction. Therefore, various strategies targeting different women need to be done to increase the labour force participation of Malaysian women. Keywords: Work Decision, Women Work, Female Labour Force Participation
The Effect of Listening To Binaural Beats on Frontal EEG Alpha and Beta of Males and Female
Authors: Norhazman Haryanti , Mohamad Zaini Norliza , Taib Mohd Nasir , Azura Othman Kama , Jailani Rozita , Omar H. A.
Published: April 2019

Healthy brain is important in making sure that our lives are run properly. In most cases, normal and emotionally stable persons can think wisely and most of the time they are able to execute proper strategy in any problem solving. Listening to the Binaural Beats tone is one of the methods to distress. The effects of the Binaural Beats tone on male and female were observed on Alpha and Beta sub bands in both hemispheres. 40 subjects were involved in EEG data collection of sessions before and after listening to the binaural beats. The frequency of the beats used in this research is Alpha frequency of 9 Hz. The Energy Spectral Density feature (ESD) for both left and right hemispheres were used. Graphical analysis observing the box plot from the Normality Test shows that in session before, females have higher alpha level in both hemispheres as compared to males. Females have lower beta level in both hemispheres as compared to males. In session after listening to the binaural beats, both males and females have better decrement in beta levels in both hemispheres. Decrement in Beta sub bands also indicates that the subjects are getting more relaxed. The results indicate that male’s brain is easier to be entrained. During listening to noise, female group shows that they are easily affected by noise as compared to males.

Keywords: Binaural Beats, EEG, ESD, female and male
Ethical Codes as Instruments for Cooperative Sustainability
Authors: Aris Nooraslinda Abdul , Othman Rohana , Rahman Safawi Abdul , Marzuki Marziana Madah , Wan Chik Wan Mohd Yusof
Published: April 2019

Numerous ethical breaches have made cooperatives, and their management endures pressure to improve their image and ethical performance. One of the ways identified is by adopting ethical codes. Codes are regarded as instruments to enhance social responsibility that contain open guidelines describing desirable behavior and closed guidelines prohibiting certain behaviors. Codes clarify the norms and values organizations seek to uphold. Regarded as social enterprises, cooperatives are compelled to scale up their operations for sustainability reasons towards positive contribution to the national economy. Past research on ethical codes affecting behavior, attitude and performance has yielded mixed results. In addition, there are very few studies devoted to cooperatives. This paper presents the results of scientific literature, highlighting how ethical codes and sustainability may progressively improve the cooperatives’ image and reputation in the eyes of the stakeholders.  

 

Keywords: ethical codes, social responsibility, sustainability, cooperative
The Relationship between Collaboration in Learning, Quantity and Timing of Feedback, And Self-Efficacy of Students in Higher Education
Authors: Chan Yuen Fook , Gurdial Singh Gurnam Kaur A/P , Narasuman Suthagar , Lee Lai Fong , Yap Bee Wah
Published: April 2019

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of collaboration in learning, and the quantity and timing of feedback towards the enhancement of self-efficacy among students in a public university in Malaysia. Data was collected using a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to a total of 500 randomly selected tertiary students. A total of 475 questionnaires were returned and used for analysis. Data was analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that most of the students collaborate with peers in their learning. Feedback that was identified has a positive and significant relationship with student self-efficacy. A moderate, positive and significant correlation has been identified between collaboration in learning, quantity and timing of feedback and self-efficacy among the students in a public university. However, collaboration in learning and quantity and timing of feedback only induced a low effect size on self-efficacy.

Keywords: collaborative learning, feedback, self-efficacy, higher education
Comparison of Visibility Threshold on Different Chromatic Contrast Objects
Authors: Rosli Saiful Azlan , Aladin Anis Zahirah , Muhamad Nurulain , Chen Ai Hong
Published: April 2019

The aim of this study was to compare the visibility threshold of eight plates with different chromatic contrast. The staircase psychophysics method based on the resolution of gaps in Landolt C was used to determine the average visibility threshold. Thirty young adults with best-corrected visual acuity of 6/6, normal colour perception and no history of ocular diseases were recruited. The results showed a combination of white on blue background plate gave a highest visibility level (mean=44.48±6.37m), while red on a blue background was the least visible combination (mean=33.30±4.68m). In conclusion, the chromatic contrast of an object can affect the visibility threshold.

Keywords: chromatic contrast, visibility threshold
Text Structures Affect Reading Speed
Authors: Jufri Shauqiah , Buari Noor Halilah , Chen Ai Hong
Published: April 2019

The objective of this study was to investigate how the text structures affect reading speed in the same participants. Two types of text structures were used. The first text structure (TS1) had a total of 84 words that formed by 14 separate sentences with 6 words in each sentence (3-words per line). The second text structure (TS2) was written as 100-words passage with 10 continuous sentences. The average words in TS2 was 3 to 15 words per sentence. The sentences were constructed in Malay language and words selected from Malay textbook under The Malaysia Ministry of Education (MMOE). Twenty-five participants were asked to read aloud both text structures at random. Time to complete both texts was measured with stopwatch and recorded using audiotape. The error was noted in recording sheet if there were any omission, repeated, added or misread of word. Reading speed was calculated as words per minute (wpm). Mean reading speed in for TS1 was found to be faster than TS2 (t=10.61, p<0.01). In conclusion, text structures might affect reading speed among Malay-native speakers. Therefore, it was importance to consider about the text structure in designing the reading material for evaluation and monitoring the reading and vision rehabilitation.

Keywords: reading speed, Malay sentence, text structure
Hard Landscape Trend Analysis: A Case Study at Perak Tengah District
Authors: Zakaria Ahmad Zamil , Abd Rashid Mohd Sabrizaa , Ahmad Syazwani
Published: April 2019

Hard landscape as known is made up of man made materials found in gardens or in house compounds. At the moment it is difficult to obtain accurate information on the existence of hard landscape in the compound of Malay community houses. This is due to the hard landscape of the Malay community which is not very significant (intangible factors) compared to soft landscape elements which are more prominent (tangible factors). The aim of this study was to identify the needs and functions of each hard landscape elements in the Perak Malay landscape. The objective of this study was to determine the elements of traditional hard landscape and its use in the present. As a conceptual framework, this study will focus on the results of previous research findings that are relevant to the “user preference” of hard landscape elements used by the Malay community. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to obtain information for this study. Case studies include the Malay traditional house in the Perak Tengah District. Researchers expect the study to be a benchmark for the survey in other districts in Perak. The results of this study concluded that the hard landscape element that is used by the Malay community is not the same as used by other communities in the world. Differences have made the study more interesting, and this information can be used by other researchers in the future.

Keywords:  Perak Malay garden, Malay landscape, Malay garden concept, Malay, cultural landscape
The Current Practice of Design and Build Procurement Process in Malaysia
Authors: Saaidin Sabihah , Endut Intan Rohani , Abu Samah Abu Samah , Mohd Ridzuan Ahmad Ruslan
Published: April 2019

This paper discusses the design-build project delivery method which is becoming an increasingly viable alternative to traditional project delivery method in the public sector. This interest has led to dialogue among public sector agencies to establish and formalise understanding of the design-build process and its implementation. The process consists of six stages namely Project Definition, Request for Qualification, Request for Proposal, Proposal Submission and Evaluation, Contract Award, and Document/Construction. Therefore, this finding of Design-Build (DB) procurement process is on the improvement and understanding on an owner and contractor in practice and implementation in Malaysia. 

Keywords: design/build, design/bid/build, advantage and disadvantage, procurement process
Tropical Environment Elements for Green Highway Assessment
Authors: Ahmad Asmalia Che , Husin Nur Illiana , Ab Wahid Abdul Muhaimin , Kamaruzzaman Syahrul Nizam
Published: April 2019

A highway is a main public road that connects towns and cities. Subsequently, a green highway is the transportation corridor which is based on a relatively new concept of roadway design that integrates major cities and towns. A green highway also provides more sustainable construction techniques and approaches to maximise its lifespan. The need for evaluation of sustainability and green development requires an assessment system of a green highway.  An assessment system is required to evaluate the sustainability of a highway for construction projects. The aim of this study is to explore the environmental elements for green highway in the tropical climate of Malaysia. The objective is to identify the essential fundamental environment elements in a tropical climate for green highway assessment. The methodology is using desk study. This study has discovered eight fundamental environment elements of the green highway.

 

Keywords: tropical environment, green highway, assessment system
Implementation Process and Lessons Learned In the Determination of Educational Cost Using Modified Activity-Based Costing (ABC)
Authors: Maelah Ruhanita , Sofiah Md Auzair Sofiah , Mohd Amir Amizawati , Azlina Ahmad Azlina
Published: April 2019

Putting in place accurate cost information for the outputs of universities is no longer a choice but a necessity if a university is to have a worldclass management system. Nevertheless, the current costing systems are not designed to support management-related information with fund accounting and budgetary control systems dominating the mind-sets of the administrators of universities. In support of an autonomous pathway for public universities in Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has piloted an educational cost determination exercise using the activitybased costing (ABC) system.  Instead of proposing a major overhaul to the system, an ABC model that takes into consideration existing limitations was developed. While far from being perfect, the model is workable within certain limitations. This study examines the process involved in the exercise of determining educational cost based on the modified ABC approach. Nine critical steps are explained and the lessons learned from the exercise are highlighted. This study contributes to the theoretical knowledge by providing empirical evidence of the application of ABC in a service setting, or, more specifically, in a university. In terms of practice, this study provides guidelines concerning the determination of educational cost to interested parties including the university’s management, Ministry of Education and other universities.

Keywords: activity based costing, educational cost, university, process
The Similarity of Malay Architecture Terminology: Perahu and House
Authors: Abdul Wahab Mohamad Hanif , Bahauddin Azizi
Published: April 2019

The perahu also known as boat was used by the Malay community during the Holocene period when the rise of the sea level altered the Malay world and it became islands and a peninsula. The perahu became important, not only as a navigational vessel but served as a shelter during the journey. As sailing is a part of Malay way of life, many perahu manifestations are often seen in housing construction. The objectives of this paper are to outline the features of perahu used around Negeri Sembilan traditional house – architecture with kajang perahu analogy – and to raise questions on what are the similarities between the terminology perahu and house. The questions look through literature review analysis and identify elements and components related to the house.

Keywords: Malay, architecture, terminology, perahu, house
A Conceptual Framework of Blended Learning for Self-Directed Learners in the Social Context: Case of Mobile Learning
Authors: WAN MOHD ISA WAN ABDUL RAHIM , Zulkipli Zulinda Ayu , Mustapa Mimi Nurakmal
Published: April 2019

Currently, the factors for adopting m-learning revolve around higher education settings. However, the factors surrounding different cultural and background context of the user in using m-learning in different contexts are not fully explored, especially in the social context. Thus, there are needs to understand blended learning for self-directed learners from different communities. The main objectives of this paper are (i) to develop a conceptual framework of blended learning for self-directed learners in the social context by using mobile learning as the case study and (ii) to provide recommendations for improving m-learning for self-directed learners. The adapted conceptual framework which consists of (i) learner aspects, (ii) device aspects and (iii) the social aspects, was used in this study. A survey was conducted with 190 respondents who have experience in using mobile devices for self-directed learning and their qualitative responses were recorded. The preliminary descriptive results are presented to understand the user’s background and qualitative responses in supporting the recommendations related to (i) learner's aspects, (ii) device aspects and (iii) the social aspects, as suggested in the conceptual framework.

Keywords: blended learning; mobile learning, self-directed learners
Comparison on Selected Fitness Indicator and Golf Performances among Elite and Non-Elite University Golfers
Authors: Saiful Annur Muhamad Safiq , Yasin Azman , Syarif Ahmad Farhan , Md Radzi Noor Azila Azreen
Published: April 2019

The purpose of the study was to investigate the differences of physical fitness between elite and non-elite golfers in the National Golf Academy, UUM. The two groups were compared based on their physical fitness (leg power, muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, balance and abdominal muscle performances) and golf performances (handicap, 5-iron ball speed, 5-iron clubhead speed, 5-iron carry distance, average score, greens in regulations, and putts per round). Significant differences were found on handicap and predicted Vo2max variables (p < 0.05). Significant differences were also found on non-dominant leg vertical jump (20.6 ± 4.5 vs. 14.7 ± 5, p < 0.05) and push up performances (27.9 ± 10.1 vs. 16.4 ± 11.2, p < 0.05) between the elite and non-elite groups. Elite golfers have better performances in static balance (both dominant and non-dominant leg) and abdominal muscle performance where the significant level was found to be less than 0.05. While for golf performances, the difference between those two groups were found on the 5-iron clubhead speed, 5-iron ball speed, 5-iron carrying distance and average score (p < 0.05). These results can be used for developing training programmemes, as well as for the development of talent identification programmemes.

Keywords: golf, fitness, performance, comparison, elite, university
Housing For Young People: What Are Their Opportunities?
Authors: Yaacob Mahazril 'Aini , Siti Hajar Abu Bakar Siti Hajar , Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Nor Azriyati
Published: April 2019

Housing does not only serve the basic needs of the citizens, but it is also considered as one of the important features of independent living. A comprehensive literature search revealed that access to housing is vital in the transition to adulthood, mainly to ensure that young adults enjoy a higher quality of life. Young adults face many hardships in their pursuit of adequate and affordable housing. Nevertheless, the act of leaving  home, are typically determined by the economic resources (income) and other influential  factors. The  debate on establishing the homeownership was  rampantly discussed by numerous searchers. However, efforts to examine the factors influencing the housing opportunities among the young people are limited. In response to this need, a preliminary study was carried out to identify the factors  affecting the housing opportunities among the young people. Except for locational factor, affordability,housing knowledge and structural factors play prominent roles in inducing housing opportunities among the youth. Therefore, strategies such as comprehensive information about housing schemes should be made available and accessible to the young people. Additionally, other relevant parties, such as financial institutions and developers, may need to revise their requirement for loan financing, and the eligibility criteria. Overall, these measures should be able to ensure that young can people enjoy housing opportunities and improve their quality of life

Keywords: affordability, housing knowledge, housing opportunities, location, structural
The Mediating Effect of Happiness on the Relationship between Work-Life Balance and Life Satisfaction: An Empirical Study on Employees of Malaysian Financial Industry
Authors: Najamudin Siti Hartini , Omar Muhamad Khalil , Zakaria Azzarina
Published: April 2019

The issue of happiness in organisation has been debated among academicians, practitioners, and policy makers nowadays. This is because it provides an index of how well things are going     within the organisational context. The ability for an organisation to track front-line employee’s happiness over time is a very useful in order to achieve organisation’s successful policies and practices. Some previous studies conducted to measure the relationship contribute of work-life balance effects in quality in life, life satisfaction and wellbeing. Also, the impact of decreased income on           happiness has hardly been studied except  through the drop in income due to unemployment. Therefore, this paper attempts to show the relationship of work-life balance and life satisfaction with the mediating role of happiness. The main problem is to relate the situation to the Malaysian Financial Sector work-life balance with sense of happiness by World Happiness Report to get the outcomes of life satisfaction. Perhaps for these reasons, towards the end of this paper, happiness is proposed to be measured in mediating concept by linking the relationship of work-life balance and life satisfaction.

Keywords: work-life balance, happiness, life satisfaction
Descriptive Analysis - Predictors of Attitude towards Purchasing Halal Skin Care Products
Authors: Jihan Azreen , Musa Rosidah
Published: April 2019

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the percentage of frequencies with measures of central tendency (mean value) and dispersion (standard deviation) of predictors of attitude, namely, spiritual intelligence, spiritual congruence, product image and product involvement of halal skin care products towards a continuous intention to purchase. The primary objective of the descriptive analysis is to explore and gain an initial understanding  and get the feel of the data gathered from the survey. It was based upon a representative sample of adult urban Muslim career woman (users and non-users) who work or live in the target area for this study. These areas are the federal territory of  the  Klang Valley  which are considered urbanised. The survey reached 449 adults, achieving 100 percent of the target sample size of 400. The respondents involved are those who have experience in purchasing and continue to purchase the halal skin care products. The quota sampling technique was employed. Two demographic variables have been determined as a mechanism to control the composition of the sample (gender and age).

Keywords: spiritual intelligence, spiritual congruence, product image, product involvement
The Roles of Employees Coaching Towards Employee Outcomes
Authors: Ahmad Nursaadatun Nisak , Ismail Ida Rosnita , Ismail Azman
Published: April 2019

Employees’ coaching is an effective management tool to enhance employees’ performance and development. Since 1980, a number of researchers have noted the value of the employees’ coaching relationship, but there is still little evidence regarding what makes employees’ coaching to be effective in Malaysia. Therefore, the study looked at the role of leader coach (supervisory coaching behaviour and autonomy support) toward enhancing employees’ motivation (employees’ self-efficacy) and performance to explore this topic in-depth. Again, the purpose of an immediate supervisor as a coach in a practice context is to help employees to consider how they might work and behave differently with a more effective behaviour and thus lead to better outcomes, without a reliance on the formal authority the manager possesses. The outcomes of using PLS-SEM path model analysis showed three important findings: First, the relationship between supervisory coaching behaviour was not correlated with employees’ self-efficacy.  Second, autonomy support was positively correlated with employees’ selfefficacy; and third, employees’ self-efficacy indirectly influences employees’ performance.

Keywords: supervisory coaching behaviour, autonomy support, employees’ self-efficacy and performance
MDAB Programme Is A Waste Of Money?
Authors: Juhaili Nor Hazizah , Mohamadin Mohammad Isa , Mohamed Bebe Norlita , Karim Mariathy
Published: April 2019

The MDAB programme is a remedial course introduced by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in June 2010. The main objective of the programme is to give  an  opportunity to Bumiputera students having under qualified entry results and coming from low income families to further their tertiary studies in UiTM. The students entering this programme are fully sponsored and to date about 22000 students have undergone this programme and about RM20 million has been spent just for the students’ allowance. Thus, this research was embarked to investigate the overall performance of the students in this programme in order to justify that the money invested was indeed well spent and also such remedial courses have helped the students. The performance of all MDAB students for the last nine semesters as well as the performance of a particular MDAB programme namely Pre-Science at UiTM Sarawak are reported in this paper. The results showed that 83.43% of the overall MDAB students managed to complete the courses and continued their studies at diploma level. However, only 70.94% of Pre-Science students in UiTM Sarawak managed to complete their courses. In general, the overall performance showed that the programme has indeed succeeded in helping the students to further their studies at a higher level.

Keywords: MDAB, Pre-Commerce, Pre-Science, performance, UiTM
Orientalism in Celluloid: The Production of the ‘Crazy Year’
Authors: Béord Théry , Merlo Achim Alan
Published: April 2019

This article introduces a journey in the orientalist movement that characterises the cinema of the ‘crazy years’ between 1919 and 1929. Attention will be turned on the peculiarities of this period, including the socio-cultural dimension of that epoch. The role of the woman in cinematographic art will be considered as an appropriate tool for the interpretation of orientalism in the European society during the interwar period. Period of the creation of a popular culture or popularisation of culture, Orientalism became a mean to escape with fantasy the everyday way of life of   modern European society. The film directors involved in the new emerging art, cinema for instance, included Orientalism into their scripts as an artistic style which was already extensively developed in painting and literature beforehand. This process leads to the trivialisation of Orientalism in the collective imagination and to the estrangement of the more ethnographic documentary films with the fictional treatments. We introduce here in this article some significant achievements proceeding from this estrangement. Finally a comparative look will be granted to the French-German couple, core of the European building, with the example of the Atlantis myth, revisited with an Orientalist vision.

Keywords: Orientalism, cinema, ‘crazy years’, Atlanti
Modelling Basic Numeracy Learning Application for Children with Autism: A Pilot Study
Authors: Kamaruzaman Muhamad Fairus , Md Noor Harrinni , Azahari Mustaffa Halabi
Published: April 2019

Children with autism  have various difficulties in developing cognitive abilities and attaining new knowledge. However, it is essential they obtain a competence approach in order to achieve independence. The state of art has shown  that a significant aspiration for children with autism  is to become independent. Part of attaining independence includes achieving skills that allow for self-determination and involvement in social activities. Hence, it is essential for every child with autism to acquire basic numeracy skills to enhance their self-determination. With the emergence of assistive learning technology such as smartphones, PDAs, tablets, and laptops with touchscreen features, there are extensive ways to improve the quality  of life for children with autism. This study, therefore,   aims to explore the basic numeracy skills-based dynamic visual for children with autism that will possibly be of assistance to parents, educators, and facilitators in the development of digital assistive learning tools to meet the requirements of children with autism in learning environments. From the proposed theoretical framework, an application was designed and tested with several children with autism. Based on observations from the experiment, the users showed positive attitudes towards the outcome of the application.

Keywords: children with autism, assistive learning technology, apps, numeracy, education
A Futures Study on the Quality Of Life from the Point Of View of Iranian Youth
Authors: Saeedy Sina , Amiri Mojtaba , Zolfagharzadeh Mohammad Mahdi , Eyvazi Mohammad Rahim
Published: April 2019

Quality of life and satisfaction with life as tightly interconnected concepts have become of much importance in the urbanism era. No doubt, it is one of the most important goals of every human society to enhance a citizen’s quality of life and to increase their satisfaction with life. However, there are many signs which demonstrate the low level of life satisfaction of Iranian citizens especially among the youth. Thus, considering the temporal concept of life satisfaction, this research aims to make a futures study in this field. Therefore, using a mixed model and employing research methods from futures studies, life satisfaction among the students of the University of Tehran were measured and their views on this subject investigated. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analysed together in order to test the hypotheses and to address the research questions on the youth discontentment with quality of life. Findings showed that the level of life satisfaction among students is relatively low and their image of the future is not positive and not optimistic. These views were elicited and discussed in the social, economic, political, environmental and technological perspectives.

Keywords:  futures studies, quality of life, satisfaction with life, youth
Investigating Readiness of Virtual Classroom Environment (VCE) among Students
Authors: WAN MOHD ISA WAN ABDUL RAHIM , AHMAD VIVI NORYATI , AG NORDIN DG ASNANI
Published: April 2019

Virtual classroom environment (VCE) is a platform for learners as it has thepotential to increase learners’ academic performance. The main objectiveof this paper is to investigate the readiness for VCE among students at alocal university in Malaysia. A survey was conducted with 217 respondents.Questionnaires administered comprised sections on the demography ofrespondents and their readiness for virtual classroom and TechnologyReadiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2.0). The Kruskal-Wallis test was conductedin the data analysis. The dimensions of the Technology Readiness Index;(i) insecurity, (ii) discomfort, (iii) innovativeness , and (iv) optimism,were analysed. The results showed only the ‘discomfort’ dimension hada statistically different average total score between the three generationgroups according to their age, namely; (i) Generation X (those born between1965 and 1979); (ii) Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1994); and(iii) Generation Z (born in 1995 or later). The mean rank of total score for‘discomfort’ shows that Generation X has the highest mean rank among thethree generation groups. Thus, the results suggest future qualitative studiesto unravel the ‘discomfort’ dimension for Generation X group.

Keywords: virtual classroom environment (VCE); technology readinessindex 2.0
Knowledge and Perceptions towards the Proposed National Health Insurance Implementation
Authors: DZULKIPLI MOHD REDHUAN , MAON SITI NOORSURIANI , JAMAL AZIZ , MOHAMMAD MOHD FAZRIN , Ismail Muazzatulamali , Imam Sarkowi Farahin Nabilah , IBRAHIM FADZLEEN
Published: April 2019

Public healthcare in Malaysia is largely financed by the governmentsubsidy. With the increased demand and utilisation of healthcare services,the current financing system is seen as no longer accommodating. Tomaintain an agenda of universal coverage and equitable healthcare system,the government is currently proposing the implementation of nationalhealth insurance (NHI) scheme. To determine public disposition towardsNHI implementation, the current study was therefore embarked. A total of471 questionnaire copies were conveniently distributed to selected adultrespondents in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data analysis performed indicateda strong positive correlation between respondents disposition, measured bysubjective norms, and attitude supporting the implementation. Increase inknowledge was also associated with positive attitude towards NHI. Resultof regression analysis identified both subjective norms and knowledgecontributed to the prediction of the respondents attitude.

Keywords: national health insurance, health care financing, attitudes,knowledge
Trade Liberalization and Manufacturing Growth in Malaysia A Cointegration Analysis
Authors: Madhavan Karunagaran , Vengedasalam Deviga , Vengedasalam Veera Pandiyan
Published: April 2019

This study examines the impact of trade liberalization in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia. The theoretical framework for this study employs the Lucas model of 'human capital model of endogenous model'. This study also uses the cointergration test and error correction techniques to measure the impact of trade liberalization on Malaysian manufacturing sector during the period 1963-2003. The empirical results of cointergration test suggest that there exists a long run relationship between manufacturing output and its determinants of trade liberalization, labour, capital and education level. This study uses error correction model (ECM) to determine the short-run dynamics around the equilibrium relationship and suggest that labour and trade liberalization have emerged as significant determinants for the  manufacturing output in Malaysia.
Temperature Measurement System for Building Material and Built Space Thermal Evaluation
Authors: Md Zain Zainazlan , Nasir Taib Mohd , Mohd Shah Baki Shah Rizam , Ahmed Azni Zain
Published: April 2019

This paper examines the temperature profile of a building material and also a built space. The study directly examines the influence of solar radiation on building material and the heat it generated and diffuses into the built space. Two experiments are presented. The first look at a simple technique for evaluating heat performance of a building material, and the second evaluates the performance of a cross-ventilated built space with respect to solar radiation.
Application of Artificial Neural Network for Automatic Contingency Analysis in Power Security Assessment
Authors: Musirin Ismail , Abdul Rahman Titik Khawa
Published: April 2019

Several incidents that occurred around the world involving power failure caused by unscheduled line outages were identified as one of the main contributors to power failure and cascading blackout in electric power environment. With the advancement of computer technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely accepted as one method that can be applied to predict the occurrence of unscheduled disturbance. This paper presents the development of automatic contingency analysis and ranking algorithm for the application in the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The ANN is developed in order to predict the post-outage severity index from a set of pre-outage data set. Data were generated using the newly developed automatic contingency analysis and ranking (ACAR) algorithm. Tests were conducted on the 24-bus IEEE Reliability Test Systems. Results showed that the developed technique is feasible to be implemented practically and an agreement was achieved in the results obtained from the tests. The developed ACAR can be utilised for further testing and implementation in other IEEE RTS test systems particularly in the system, which required fast computation time. On the other hand, the developed ANN can be used for predicting the post-outage severity index and hence system stability can be evaluated.
Design and Testing of an Experimental IPv4-to-IPv6 Transition Network
Authors: Samad Mustaffa
Published: April 2019

The Internet has been an integral part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) community in recent years. New internet users have been growing steadily over the years. This has lead to the depletion of new Internet Protocol (IP) addresses worldwide. To overcome this predicament, the new Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) had been introduced. The existing Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is expected to be eventually replaced by this IPv6. The changeover from IPv4 to IPv6 is expected to be implemented progressively. During this transition period, these two protocols are expected to coexist for a number of years. IPv4-to-IPv6 transition tools have been designed to facilitate a smooth transition from IPv4 to IPv6. The two most basic IPv4-to-IPv6 transition tools available are the hybrid stack mechanism and tunneling. Tunneling is the encapsulation of IPv6 traffic within IPv4 packets so they can be sent over an IPv4 infrastructure. This project was initiated to set up an experimental IPv6 testbed, in order to study the performance as well as transition and migration issues of IPv6 networks under controlled conditions. This paper looks at how tunneling can be performed over existing internetwork infrastructure at Fakulti Kejuruteraan Elektrik (FKE), UiTM.