Analysis of the determinants of education expenditures in Malaysia / Najumunisha Abdul Jabbar & Doris Padmini Selvaratnam

Expenditure on education helps in improving the skill formation and raises the ability of individuals to produce and work. It is said to be an investment in human capital which is closely connected with the economic development. Government education spending is of great importance to national development and plays a prime role in assisting growth and knowledge deepening. The aim of this study is to build on the established theories of public policy analysis on education and to empirically investigate and analyze the determinants of public expenditure on education in Malaysia. For the occasion of this study, it is posited that education expenditure is determined by multidimensional determinants. A number of theories are therefore incorporated regarding economic-demographics and political concept which have been used in the study. The results reveal that the education policy in Malaysia is mainly determined by budget deficit and the revenue collected by the government with a significant coefficient variables of -0.22and 0.15 percent respectively. Besides, unemployment has an inverse but insignificant impact on total educational expenditures. These results imply that the Malaysian government mainly takes into account only certain factors and neglect to incorporate the importance of other factors, such as demographic and educational indicators, when allocating education expenditures. Whereas Malaysian government education expenditure doesn’t focus on the political factor which is well described by the insignificant level of 0.80 percent of the dummy election cycle variable

Social capital influence on supply chain integration in the food processing industry in Malaysia / Zurita Mohd Saleh

Supply chain integration has been established as one of the key factors in influencing supply chain effectiveness. In relation to the food processing industry, the need to integrate supply chain initiatives has become more critical as those involved in the food processing and distribution industry are deemed key players whose roles are pertinent in determining supply chain success. Drawing upon the importance of integration, this study establishes the link between supply chain social capital constructs with integration. Based on a final sample size of 184 food manufacturers, a survey was conducted to determine the influence of supply chain relational capital, supply chain structural and supply chain cognitive on the integration of the food processing supply chain. The findings reveal that all three dimensions of supply chain social capital exert significant influence on supply chain integration, thus indicating the importance and relevance of integration among members in the food processing industry. With such findings, the study establishes that both structural and relational elements are of significant importance in ensuring the achievement of ultimate business performance. Although the study has not directly relate supply chain integration with business performance, the direction of the study is substantial to postulate that such relationships is possible and this therefore will be the direction of future study

Addressing demographic differences in servicescape influence among department stores’ patrons in Malaysia / Zuraini Alias, Mokhtar Abdullah

While numerous published works have extensively examined servicescape models and its linkage to loyalty, not many have systematically examined the influence of demographic factors specifically on servicescape in the context of department stores. The purpose of this study is to examine whether servicescape of department stores have specific influence on six demographic characteristics (age, gender, income, race, education and occupation). A mall intercept method was conducted by administering 560 questionnaires across 5 regions in Malaysia. The results indicate that age and income are strongly associated with servicescape (differences in perception as well as experiences on servicescape), while gender, race, occupation, education and occupation are not. Additionally, it was found that older consumers possess different motives on servicescape implications compared to the younger consumers. The results indicated that patrons to department stores have different perception on servicescapes especially among the high income and younger age groups. The findings will enable retailers to understand the implications of customers’ experiential values and personality in line with the demographic characteristics affecting the servicescape offerings. This could lead to better servicescape development strategies to create unique in-store environments to enhance shopping experiences and therefore, result in more satisfied shoppers

Assessment of entrepreneurial inclination among the seaweed operator at Semporna, Sabah Using EAO Model / Nurul Hisifbli Ibrahim, Abdul Rahman Saili

Seaweed cultivation is an export-oriented aquaculture subsector that is rapidly spreading specifically in South East Asia. Recently, almost all segments of seaweed industry are still facing many obstacles, especially at the level of small-scale farmers’ management in the production and processing industry. The most obvious issue is linked to the development of seaweed operators. The main objective of this study is to assess the seaweed operators’ attitude towards the entrepreneurial inclination. The survey was conducted among the seaweed operators in Semporna based on entrepreneurial attitude orientation (EAO) questionnaire. The result shows that the adjusted R square (Adj. R2) value is equivalent to 0.301. This indicates that 30.1 per cent of the entrepreneurial intention were explained by the four entrepreneurial attitude subscales; achievement, innovation, personal control and self-esteem. The result exhibits that the achievement, innovation and personal control were statistically significant at 95 per cent confidence interval. Self-esteem shows no significant relationship and thus signifies subscale as did not contribute much to the regression. The EAO factors contributes little to the regression of the entrepreneurial inclination, which indicates that the other factor such as socioeconomic inputs such as skills, knowledge, extension agent, gender and financial roles might include in the future study

Recycling behaviour of Malaysian urban households and upcycling prospects / Carol Boon-Chui Teo

Households remain the main generator of municipal solid waste in Malaysia. Malaysians produce an average of 30,000 tons of waste per day and only 5 per cent of it is recycled. Malaysian urbanites throw away waste more than normal. The solid waste generated continues to be a costly affair with about two-thirds of the local councils’ total collected annual assessment fees being spent to manage waste. Yet at the same time, Malaysia’s waste recycling rate is way below the average levels. Hence the perennial question remains as to why Malaysian households are not recycling or recycling enough. This study investigates recycling behavior of urban households in a green city. Methodology utilized survey questionnaire approach to 100 households to determine residents’ willingness to participate in recycling activities. Results revealed proactive and reactive behaviors indicating two distinct recycling groups. Analysis generated factors of convenience of recycling facilities and services, environmental involvement recycling benefits and habitual recycling in the two groups. Willingness to recycle differed across the two groups. Recycling benefits and convenience to recycling facilities significantly influenced the behavior of proactive group while only habitual recycling was significant for the reactive group. Findings had implications on policy making and implementation of recycling programs. Upcycling prospects highlighted proactive roles of households to convert useless wastes into quality and marketable products to benefit the environment

Revisiting exchange concept: a rationale for marketing mix in Islamic marketing / Johari Abdullah

Marketing mix has been the cornerstone of the discipline and dominating marketing early thought. This concept has been the focal point in the development of conventional managerial paradigm with strong adherence to its normative pillars of ‘4 Ps’. History has shown that a new paradigm constantly shifting the status quo of such concept into more advance findings. The objective of this paper is to present the rationale of marketing mix in Islamic marketing. Despite the evolution of marketing mix paradigm over more than 40 years, it is undeniable that such classical marketing canon has its root from concept of exchange. By using both qualitative and quantitative approaches in the development of instruments has led to the development of the 5Cs model. It is aimed to proposed a more advance finding derived from an Islamic perspective towards the concept. In depth literature review and survey has found a distinct set of marketing mix variables catering to Muslim consumer that are in line with Islamic principles. 5Cs models of Commitment, Characteristics, Conformity, Conscience, Customer centric offers a new way of marketing to Muslim consumers governed by Islamic principles and injunctions. Therefore, 5Cs model can be applied in many areas, for instance in Halal industry. It is recommended that business and academia will apply and further develop the model as it will enrich the framework and as to remain relevant

Per capita Carbon Dioxide emission in the developing economies: Ccnvergence or divergence? / Siti Ayu Jalil

This study analyzes the convergence of per capita carbon dioxide emission for 126 developing countries situated in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, as well as Asia and the Pacific regions from 1971 to 2009. It employs the current technique proposed by Phillips and Sul (2007) also known as the log-t test. This method is crucial due to its ability to determine the possibility of club convergence that may arise if result shows a divergent pattern. The analysis is significant in order to propose climate change proposals besides being an incentive for developing countries to participate seriously in controlling their emission level. Empirical evidence shows the developing countries portray a convergent pattern of per capita carbon dioxide emissions

Saudi Arabia women teachers' psychological capital towards work engagement / Aljaghthami Eman-Nafa, Noormala Amir Ishak

Education in Saudi Arabia is ranked at number 84 in the Global Competitiveness Report 2016 -2017. In Saudi Arabia, most female teachers work in segregated public or private schools for female students. Through past research, it was reported that in Saudi Arabia, the overall ratio of engaged employees in Saudi Arabia is lesser than the world’s average rate. The study examined the link between psychological capital and work engagement of these women teachers. 414 questionnaires were obtained from Saudi women teachers from three main cities in Saudi Arabia-Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. The findings revealed that psychological capital has an influence on work engagement on Saudi women teachers and the Ministry of Education in Saudi needs to invest in further improving and developing their performance towards achieving its education goals and put the country at par with other countries of the same income level and cultural background

Destination image evolvement through experiential marketing / Nor Aminin Mohd Khalid, Rosmimah Mohd Roslin

This qualitative study is an exploratory attempt at understanding destination image through the writings of the travel writers who have undergone the familiarisation or fam programs organised by Tourism Malaysia. The idea behind the program is for the writers to experience first-hand specific destinations in Malaysia and then expressed their experiences through their travel writings. The data in the form of the travel articles were collected with the assistance of Tourism Malaysia based on the suggested criteria established. This study established that it was possible to derive destination image by interpreting the depth of the articles and through the expressions of the travel writers who very often narrated their experiences coherently through vivid depictions and emotions. It is suggested that future studies further test the evolving themes through empirical analyses that are more conclusive and statistically proven