Exploring The Views of Malaysian Hoteliers About Survival During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The sudden new crown pneumonia epidemic has had a huge impact on tourism, as well as hospitality industry in Malaysia. This paper analyses the views and reaction in crisis management practices pursued by hotel managers for business survival during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, in-depth interviews were carried out on the managers of Malaysian hotels (five managers from 3-star hotels, and four managers from 5-star hotels). The results indicated that the labour actions (e.g., unpaid leave, salary cut and layoff) were the first and most favour by hotels to respond to the COVID-19. However, it causes the shortage of manpower when the hospitality industry resumes back at the recent stage. This is one of the main challenges faced by hoteliers. Digital marketing and promotion were another strategy implemented by hotels to increase occupancy rate during the pandemic. In addition, views on government supports to the hotels during the pandemic were also identified

Overqualification And Innovative Work Behaviours: The Role of Entrepreneurial Leadership

The aim of this study is to unpack the bright side of overqualification. Based on social learning and human capital theories, this study is an attempt to explore the relationship between overqualification and innovative work behavior. Further, we investigate the role of entrepreneurial leaders as a moderator in the relationship between overqualification and innovative work behavior. The study is based on a dyadic source field study from employees and their supervisors. The empirical results reveal that overqualification has a positive and significant association with innovative work behavior when the overqualified employees feel that their leader/supervisor has adopted an entrepreneurial leadership style. This is the first study that explores the relationship between overqualification and innovative behavior in the presence of entrepreneurial leadership. Additionally, the limitations, restrictions, and future directions are thoroughly covered

Model of Teaching Malay Language to Non-Native and Foreign Speaker

Purpose – This study aims to develop a teaching model of the Malay language for non-native and foreign speakers in schools. Implementing this model can assist educators in teaching the Malay language to students who do not use it as their first language in everyday use. Methodology – This study used a qualitative approach to develop teaching models for non-native and foreign Malay speakers. Interviews were conducted with 27 teachers and 23 stakeholders who are experts in teaching the Malay language, especially in teaching non-native speakers. A prototype model was developed thematically as a result of interviews using ATLAS.ti 22. Further, the prototype model was used by ten teachers from primary, secondary, and international schools in their teaching. Findings – This study has succeeded in developing a model for teaching the Malay language to non-native speakers and foreigners that includes five elements: teaching strategies, individual differences, input, social, and motivation. This model strongly emphasises instruction involving interaction, communication, and bilateral relations as a medium for students’ language acquisition and meaningful input. Verbal interaction between teachers and students can stimulate and improve students’ language skills in learning Malay. Significance – This model can help teachers teach the Malay language to non-native speakers and foreigners with a greater focus on achieving learning objectives. This model is expected to expand the usage, cultivate interest, and facilitate teaching the Malay language in educational institutions

The Inclusion of Disaster Risk Reducation in Classroom and Extra-Curricular Activities: A Case of Rural Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract Purpose – Balochistan, which makes up roughly 44 percent of Pakistan’s total land area, is home to 6 percent of the nation’s inhabitants. Due to long distances and low population density, service delivery is particularly challenging. The province’s educational services are impacted by natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, droughts, and migration. Disaster risk reduction is a widely recognized concept that emphasizes appropriate education to lower an individual’s personal, familial, and communal vulnerability. The role of the school is crucial in Disaster Risk Reducation (DRR) education. As a result, the study’s goal was to explore the approaches adopted for the inclusion of DDR through teaching in classroom and school activities. Methodology – A focus group discussion with three groups of Pakistan studies and Geography teachers was conducted that consisted of 10 male and 14 female members. Findings – Findings demonstrate that the current textbook continues to teach students less about disaster risk reduction; teachers include knowledge from their personal experience in planning lessons about DRR. School assemblies, child clubs and activities designed by school management, and social organizations play a prominent role in DRR education. Further, the role of teachers and school management was identified in psycho-social support during disasters and pandemics. Significance – The study concludes that in addition to extracurricular activities and the teacher’s role, prior disaster experience, school, and social organization played a significant role in DRR education in rural Balochistan. The study results will assist curriculum developers, policymakers, and education leadership in developing more effective school disaster management plans. The results will also clarify how schools and teachers can close the knowledge gap in disaster preparedness education. Organizations working on disaster risk education and education in emergencies will also benefit from additional research to respond to the need readily and effectively

Land Law Perspective On Soil Erosions At Housing Areas In Malaysia

Many landslides occurring in housing areas in Malaysia have intrigued and shocked the Malaysian public. These disasters have caused colossal damage to property and losses of life. It is a trite fact that, in Malaysia, soil problems have negatively impacted the residents' life and property. The most significant soil problem disaster in Malaysia was the collapse of Highland Towers in 1993. This disaster caused pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses to the residents of the buildings. The question is, what can be learnt so far from these land-related catastrophes? The main objective of this paper is to analyse the legal provisions in land law that bear on soil problems in housing areas. This writing aims to explore the weaknesses in the land law and its implementation to provide preventive and curative legal measures against soil problems and their consequences in housing development areas. This writing proposes a new perspective on land legal ideas for governing soil fitness. The author researchers used qualitative social and legal research methodologies to study the facts and issues. The subjects of this research involve many housing development areas that face soil problems in Malaysia. It follows that the outcomes of this paper and its analysis relating to flood disasters in housing areas can enrich knowledge and ideas on how to face the issue and protect the rights of house residents

Application Of Bibliometric Analysis on Root Growth Algorithm

The root growth algorithm has often been used to solve challenging optimization issues. It is one of the metaheuristic algorithms inspired by root growth in plant behaviors. An article reviewed and analyzed bibliographic data on metaheuristics but is not specific on the topic of root growth algorithm. Therefore, this article presents a bibliometric analysis based on the topic of the root growth algorithm. It reviews the publication from the Scopus database. Based on the search process done on 14 February 2023 using the keywords of root growth algorithm, this article managed to gather 1836 articles from 1976-2023. However, this article only focuses on Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics to ensure it relates to the area the researcher wants to explore. Moreover, articles in the year 2023 will also be excluded due to incomplete data. After the researcher limited the data to those areas, it was reduced to 837 articles. This article uses three types of software: Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer software, and Harzing’s Publish or Perish software to analyze the frequency, visualization mapping, and citation metrics analysis, respectively. The finding from the bibliometric analysis shows the researcher has noticed that the total publication keeps increasing rapidly from 2014 until 2022. The country that contributes the most to the root growth algorithm topic is China. Furthermore, the most productive author is Chen, H. and all the top 10 productive authors are from China except for Christofides, P. D., who comes from the United States. The top 10 sources of root growth algorithm research contributed over a quarter of the total articles (231 or 27.60%). The results of this study have significant implications for increasing the number of practices using the root growth algorithm in future research. Last but not least, bibliometric analysis on the topic of root growth algorithm is needed to identify influential publications, understand research trends, evaluate research impact, and identify potential research gaps in a concise manner, which helps researchers and readers stay informed, make informed decisions, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field