Communication practices of the Karen in Sheffield: Seeking to navigate their three zones of displacement

This study investigates communication practices of a newly arrived Karen refugee community in the UK who, as well as establishing themselves in a strange country, seek to keep in touch, campaign politically and maintain identity collectively through communication and contact with their global diaspora. We look at the technologies, motivations and inhibiting factors applying to the communication by adult members of this community and construct the idea of three zones of displacement which help to model the particular contexts, challenges and methods of their communication. We find that overall, they are using a wide range of internet-based technologies, with the aim to 'keep-in-touch' (personal contacts) and to 'spread the word' (political communication). This also includes archaic, traditional and hybrid methods to achieve extended communication with contacts in other 'zones'. We also identify the importance of the notion of ‘village’ as metaphor and entity in their conceptualisation of diasporic and local community cohesion. We identify the key inhibitors to their communication as cost, education, literacy and age. Finally, we speculate on the uncertain outcomes of their approach to digital media in achieving their political aims

Sexual health communication among youth: a study of knowledge and attitude

Sexual health communication is currently one of the most discussed topic in Malaysia as the country witnessed the surge of sexual related crime and social problem among youths. In relation to this, youths’ knowledge and attitude are the important factor that contribute to this delinquent behaviour and must be addressed as it will shape the youths in the future. The paper discussed the correlation between knowledge and attitude concerning youths in obtaining information on sexual related materials. The research primarily focuses on youths in Malaysia which made up 40% of Malaysia population. The study is significant as it provides a thorough picture how knowledge and attitude influence youths communicate the sexual health topic which is deemed as taboo in Malaysia. The study involved 853 respondents from various demographic group in Malaysia and self-administered questionnaires were distributed and analysed using SPSS to address the research objectives. The result indicated there are significant relationships between knowledge and attitude among youths toward sexual health communication practice. Results showed that 55.1 percent of the studied factors contributed to sexual health communication model among Malaysian youths. Moreover, knowledge and attitude are very critical for the youths to have a better comprehension on sexual health communication. This further testified that Malaysia government and various stakeholders need to acknowledge the importance of sexual health communication and how knowledge and attitude shape positive youth’s development which ultimately contribute to nation building

A comfirmatory factor analysis of a newly integrated multidimensional school engagement scale

Inconsistencies in measures of school engagement in the literature have called for a re-conceptualization of the school engagement construct. Although many researchers view school engagement as a multifaceted construct, to our knowledge, none of the available instruments have integrated all the important domains that represent its multifaceted nature. This study is our first attempt to examine the psychometric properties of a newly integrated Multidimensional School Engagement Scale (MSES). Data were gathered from 2,381 secondary school students, aged 14 to 16, from 40 day schools in northern Malaysia. Exploratory factor analysis and confi rmatory factor analytic techniques were used to examine the instrument. Based on the available literature, we posited an a priori hypothesis that the scales could be explained by three fi rst-order factors and one second-order factor. We used SPSS v.12 and AMOS 6.0 to analyze the data. Findings supported our hypothesis that the school engagement construct can be explained by three fi rst-order factors and one hierarchical factor comprising cognitive engagement, behavioural engagement, and psychological engagement sub-scales. Findings also showed acceptable internal consistency reliability for the overall scale and the three specific sub-scales of adolescent school engagement

Quality modeling in electronic healthcare: a study of mHealth Service

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to radically transform health services in developing countries. Among various ICT driven health platforms, mobile health is the most promising one because of its widespread penetration and cost effective services. This paper aims to examine Quality Modeling in Electronic Healthcare by using PLS based SEM

MOOCs Continuance Intention in Malaysia: The Moderating Role of Internet Self-efficacy

Previous researches have validated that students intention to continue use MOOCs was mainly determined by Usefulness and Enjoyment. This paper takes a different approach from previous studies and postulates that relationship between Usefulness and Enjoyment on MOOCs Continuance Intention are moderated by Internet Self-efficacy. Partial Least Square Path Modelling (PLS-PM) approach has been employed to analyse the data collected. Using online survey data from 251 students registered with Malaysia MOOCs program, the results revealed that Internet Self-efficacy moderates the relationship between Enjoyment and MOOCs Continuance Intention. However, the moderating effect of Internet Self-efficacy showed insignificant result on the path between Usefulness and MOOCs Continuance Intention

Investigating the Factors Affecting Purchase Intention of Muslim Women Towards Halal Cosmetics

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between brand awareness, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and purchase intention towards halal cosmetics among Muslim women in Indonesia. The questionnaires were distributed to 304 Muslim women at Medan, Banda Aceh, and DKI Jakarta within end of January until early February 2019. To investigate the relationships between factors; the structural equation modelling (SEM-PLS) version 2.0 was used to analysed the data. The finding of this study has found that two components of TPB (attitude, perceived behavioural control) and brand awareness are positively related with purchase intention towards halal cosmetics, while subjective norm is found to be insignificant. The result shows that positive attitude is the most important factor to increase consumer purchase intention toward halal cosmetics. The result of this study provides information to cosmetics’ firm that Muslim women with high brand awareness, attitude and perceived behavioral control will have high purchase intention toward halal cosmetic products. The findings of this study contribute valuable information to scholars, policy makers and firms in order to understand Muslim customers in Indonesia. Research paper  Keywords: Corporate Governance, Firm Values, Firm Size, Gender, Tobin Q, Board Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Kamalul Ariffin, S., Fadhilah Azra, W., Abdul Wahid, N., & Yen Nee, G. (2019). Investigating the Factors Affecting Purchase Intention of Muslim Women Towards Halal Cosmetics, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 7(2s), 78–105

Utilizing Visual Images Of Autism Behavioral Symptoms In Facebook Application For Raising An Awareness Among Secondary School Teachers In Pulau Pinang

This paper highlights the outcomes of utilizing visual images of Autism behavioural symptoms using Facebook application to increase awareness among secondary school teachers in Pulau Pinang. The issues of identifying autism symptoms have always been questions to many of us. Autism always misinterpreted and associated with a group of complex disorders of brain development, these disorders are characterized in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviours. The conventional method in identifying autism symptoms was limited and too clinical to be understood by the societies. Furthermore, children diagnosed with autism tend to have different behaviour which difficult to recognised. By utilizing social media apps such as Facebook, it helped the teachers to increase their awareness towards basic symptoms of these children’s. Selected images of autism behavioural symptoms were hand drawn and posted to the Facebook application for the identification purposes from the respondents. This research investigated the effects of visual images on Facebook based on how many ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ features given by respondents. Based from the outcomes, it’s revealed that the use of visual images in Facebook application managed to increase the awareness towards identifying autism behavioural symptom

UTILIZING VISUAL IMAGES OF AUTISM BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS IN FACEBOOK APPLICATION FOR RAISING AN AWARENESS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN PULAU PINANG

This paper highlights the outcomes of utilizing visual images of Autism behavioural symptoms using Facebook application to increase awareness among secondary school teachers in Pulau Pinang. The issues of identifying autism symptoms have always been questions to many of us. Autism always misinterpreted and associated with a group of complex disorders of brain development, these disorders are characterized in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviours. The conventional method in identifying autism symptoms was limited and too clinical to be understood by the societies. Furthermore, children diagnosed with autism tend to have different behaviour which difficult to recognised. By utilizing social media apps such as Facebook, it helped the teachers to increase their awareness towards basic symptoms of these children’s. Selected images of autism behavioural symptoms were hand drawn and posted to the Facebook application for the identification purposes from the respondents. This research investigated the effects of visual images on Facebook based on how many ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ features given by respondents. Based from the outcomes, it’s revealed that the use of visual images in Facebook application managed to increase the awareness towards identifying autism behavioural symptoms

Modelling predictors of blog stickiness and retention by university students

Weblogs represent a popular tool for sharing common knowledge and promoting learning among university students. Yet, little is known about what influences university students to stick to a blog. The current study develops a framework to investigate the role of several key factors on blog stickiness and retention among university students. Data for the study was collected from a sample of university students in Malaysia (n=725) and analysed using structural equation modelling. Results of the study revealed that social influence, content quality and perceived enjoyment were the most important predictors of blog stickiness, resulting in blog retention. More specifically, it was found that the need for cognition, perceived enjoyment and social influence also play a key role in predicting blog stickiness among student. Results of this study help to provide insights to the social, cognitive and physiological components that will encourage student to read and use blogs more frequently. This understanding can assist in designing approaches to increase blog application, stickiness and retention among students and help educate better learners capable of obtaining information from electronic sources of knowledge