Assessing corporate brand equity of public universities

Brand equity studies focus heavily on the brands of profit-based organisations. Similarly in Malaysia, while there have been a number of studies on leading brands owned by profit-based organisations (e.g. Petronas, Air Asia and Maxis), few studies have explored branding in relation to not-for-profit organisations, such as public universities. Public universities tend not to place too high a priority on their brand development because they often lack an understanding of the significance of brand equity. The increased pressure on public universities to compete in the highly competitive higher education market, however, is slowly changing this perception. Therefore, this study will offer some preliminary insights into the dimensions contributing to the corporate brand equity of a public university in Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). This study illustrates how metrics can be used to assess the brand of a public research university and can facilitate the development of corporate brand equity metric for institutions of higher education. Data collection was conducted using the survey method, distributing questionnaires to 400 students from eight local public universities. The findings of this study indicate that the dimensions of awareness, quality of service, trust and relevance have a positive relationship with USM’s corporate brand equity. These findings may help to guide future researchers in understanding the dimensions of brand equity in relation to public universities

Facebook and political communication : a study of online campaigning during the 14th Malaysian General Election

Every democratic country has to go through the general election where political candidates must convince the public to vote for them. In recent years, Facebook has become one of the most popular social media used in election campaigning. Due to its popularity and easy access to the public, Facebook offers election candidates the ability to personalise their political messages and directly communicate with the voters and win the voters’ trust. This study looks into this phenomenon by studying how election candidates used Facebook to campaign during the 14thMalaysian General Election. The study investigated how the candidates’ personalised their campaign by looking at the types and characteristics of the candidates’ Facebook posts as well as the issues highlighted and slants applied in the posts. Content analysis of the candidates’ Facebook posts showed that the candidates were very active on Facebook and had strategically used Facebook to create and maintain a positive image rather than promoting issues and engaging in discussions with the public. The study also found a significant case of personalisation in the Malaysian politicians’ campaign strategies on Facebook

Knowledge, attitude on health practices of university students and staffs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

A novel coronavirus; COVID-19 is posing a great threat to mankind worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the deadly pathogen as a pandemic in view of its alarming spread. Literature affirms that universities have a higher potential to be centres of a pandemic outbreak. The infectious disease could easily transmit from one person to many others within a university vicinity, thus creating a cluster if not properly contained. The Malaysian government has imposed the movement control order (MCO) to flatten the curve of infection. All economic sectors were closed during the MCO period. This study was conducted to explore the knowledge, attitude and health practices towards COVID-19 among internal stakeholders of a public university in Malaysia. An online survey was carried out on the first week of MCO. A total of 340 respondentsD comprised of students and staffs took part in the survey. The regression analysis found knowledge and attitude were significant predictors for adopting appropriate health practices among the internal stakeholders during the new coronavirus outbreak. This present study extends the existing literature on health crisis focusing on internal stakeholders of an institute of higher learning particularly during an early phase of MCO in Malaysia

Facebook use and personalization among Malaysian politicians during the 14th Malaysian general election = Penggunaan Facebook dan personalisasi oleh ahli politik Malaysia semasa Pilihanraya Umum Ke-14

Politicians today are very much reliant on Facebook to communicate with the public and promote their political ideologies. In an attempt to explore how the politicians use Facebook during election campaigns, this article explores official Facebook posts by three prime ministerial candidates during the 14th Malaysian General Election. Content analysis of the candidates’ Facebook posts showed that they strategically use Facebook to create and maintain a positive image rather than promoting issues and engaging in discussions with the public. The candidates differed in terms of the amount of posts but had minor differences in the characteristics of their Facebook contents. All of them focused on promoting their personal image suggesting that Facebook is encouraging the personalization of politics. ******************************** Ahli politik hari ini sangat bergantung kepada Facebook untuk berkomunikasi dengan orang ramai dan mempromosikan ideologi politik mereka. Dalam usaha untuk meneroka bagaimana ahli politik menggunakan Facebook semasa kempen pilihan raya, artikel ini meneroka hantaran Facebook rasmi oleh tiga calon perdana menteri semasa Pilihanraya Umum Malaysia ke-14. Analisis kandungan hantaran Facebook sampel calon itu menunjukkan mereka secara strategik menggunakan Facebook untuk mencipta dan mengekalkan imej positif daripada mempromosikan isu semasa atau terlibat dalam perbincangan dengan orang ramai. Hasil kajian juga mendapati walaupun jumlah hantaran adalah berbeza tetapi mereka berkongsi ciri-ciri kandungan hantaran yang senada. Mereka juga menggunakan Facebook untuk promosi imej peribadi masing-masing. Oleh itu, dapatan ini membuktikan Facebook telah membentuk keperibadian berpolitik

Political communication and election campaigning on Instagram during the 14th Malaysian General Election

Researching Instagram as a tool in political communication is a relatively new phenomenon since the platform only began to operate in 2010. However due to its increasing popularity, it is definitely time for more studies to be conducted. World leaders are becoming very prominent on Instagram. They are sharing both personal and political contents and are challenging the usually formal and beurecratic nature of political communication. Therefore this study attempts to explore how Instagram affects political communication by focusing on how several Malaysian politicians used Instagram as part of their communication and campaign during the 14th general election that was held on May 8th , 2018. Coding analysis was done on the Instagram posts of 8 prominent Malaysian politicians. The results showed that these politicians were very active on Instagram and have extensively used Instagram to campaign during the election thus verifying that Instagram is indeed a vital medium for political communication.***************************************************************************************************************************************** Kajian Instagram sebagai alat komunikasi politik adalah fenomena yang agak baru kerana platform media sosail ini baru mula beroperasi pada tahun 2010. Namun, kerana populariti penggunaannya yang semakin meningkat dalam kalangan ahli politik, telah menjadi faktor kajian-kajian politik menggunakan media sosial ini giat dijalankan. Ramai pemimpin dunia telah menjadi sangat terkenal di Instagram. Mereka berkongsi kandungan aktiviti peribadi dan politik. Ini merupakan suatu norma baharu dalam komunikasi politik biasa yang bersifat formal dan birokratik. Oleh itu kajian ini cuba meneroka bagaimana Instagram mempengaruhi komunikasi politik di Malaysia. Tinjauan memfokuskan bagaimana beberapa ahli politik menggunakan Instagram untuk berkomunikasi dan berkempen semasa pilihan raya umum Malaysia ke-14 yang diadakan pada 8 Mei 2018. Analisis pengekodan dilakukan pada posting Instagram 8 ahli politik terkemuka di Malaysia. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa ahli politik ini sangat aktif di Instagram menggunakan media sosial ini untuk berkempen semasa pilihan raya. Kajian ini turut mengesahkan bahawa Instagram sememangnya merupakan media sosial yang penting dalam komunikasi politik

The mediating effect of attitude on E-Wallet usage among users in Malaysia

Malaysia is moving towards a cashless society. The latest trend in a cashless society is e-Wallet, which has the ability to store personal information as well as financial status. The e-Wallet can efficiently replace the physical wallet (cash). The implementation of online Internet banking for a financial transaction is the starting point of e-Wallet in Malaysia. In 2017, e-Wallet is introduced to the public. This study tries to gauge the extent of e-Wallet usage in Malaysia. The objectives of the study are to (1) determine the level of usage, perceived usefulness, perceived ease-of-use, media influence, social influence, and attitude in using e-Wallet; (2) analyse the relationship between e-Wallet usage with internal and external factors; and (3) test mediating effect of attitude in using e-Wallet on the relationship between usage, internal factors, and external factors. The study uses a quantitative research design using a survey method with the questionnaire as the research instrument. A total of 436 respondents participated in the study. The study uses Technological Acceptance Model (TAM) to test for the mediating effect. The findings show that perceived ease-of-use is the highest level rated compared to other variables. The relationship between e-Wallet usage with the internal and external factors are all significant and positive. Furthermore, the attitude partially mediates the relationship between e-Wallet usage, internal factors and external factors. Hence, all hypotheses constructed are supported and TAM applies to the study of e-Wallet

Media Agenda and Public Agenda: A Study of Issues during the 13th General Election

Media might play an important role in public’s voting decision. Even so, it is unknown whether the media agenda counterpart public agenda with regard to the level of importance of the issues covered in the media. This study examined the issues of concern by the Malaysian mainstream newspapers, as well as the issues of concern by the public during the 13th General Election (GE 13). In particular, this study explored the relationship between media and public agenda; as well as the relationship between Malay language newspaper agenda and the Malay public agenda. Content analysis and survey were performed to fulfil these objectives. The findings showed that the media has different agenda from the public. In addition, the Malay newspaper and public of the same ethnic group do not share similar agenda of issues. On top of that, the findings showed the priority of issues perceived by media and public are different. While the public see national security as the most important issue of the country, media on the other hand, set religion and politics as the priority in their agenda

Factors driving the intention to adopt a tobacco-free policy among employees in a public higher education institution

Due to their role as a centre of knowledge and character development, public higher education institutions serve as the best platform for emphasising health communication messages and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Higher educational institutions’ employees should have good physical and mental health to enable them to demonstrate good values to the students. Thus, the social cognitive theory (SCT) was specifically selected to take a close look at how a conducive environment and knowledge influence employees’ intention towards the tobacco-free policy. This study used the partial least squares (PLS) and structural equation modelling (SEM) software to examine factors influencing the adoption of tobacco-free policy among employees in a Malaysian higher education institution. It also measured the impact of workplace health promotion on employees’ intention to comply with tobacco cessation regulations. Statistical results confirmed that all three constructs of employees’ environment, self-efficacy, and knowledge have a significant influence on employees’ intention to adopt the tobacco-free policy. The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of the effectiveness of higher education institutions’ tobacco-free policy in Malaysia. The findings are useful for policymakers, higher education institutions, and practitioners in enhancing tobacco cessation policy in Malaysia. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also included in this paper

The role of mosque committee in empowering mosque’s educational programmes: case study of mosques in Gombak district, Malaysia (peranan ahli jawatankuasa masjid dalam penambahbaikan program pendidikan masjid: kajian kes bagi masjid-masjid di daerah Gombak)

This article analyses the roles of the mosque committee in enhancing the mosque’s educational programmes in Gombak, Selangor. Gombak as an administrative district that is located inside the hectic and modernized area of Klang Valley is prone to foreign ideologies and socio-cultural issues. This study aims to broaden the understanding of how the mosque committee in Gombak could empower the mosque’s educational programmes in addressing these issues. This study also aims to discover creative improvision that the committee could make in making the mosque’s educational programmes attractive to the surrounding community. This study focuses on the role of the mosque committee in improving their mosque’s educational programmes with a specific case study on selected mosques in the Gombak district. It is a qualitative study that utilizes the deductive and inductive methods derived from surveys collected from Focus-group Discussion (FGD) and literature studies. Recordings from the FGD survey and recent literature studies related to this topic are examined and analysed according to its appropriation. The result indicates the importance of the mosque committee and their significant roles in enhancing the mosque’s educational programmes such as adjusting the curriculum to cater the diversity of people and continuously improvising the lesson through feedback taken from the surrounding community

Factors propelling the intention to adopt of tobacco-free policy among employees in higher education institution

Higher education institutions are the best platform in emphasising health communication message and promoting healthy lifestyle. This because of its role as a centre of knowledge and character development, higher education institutions employees should have good physical and mental health in order to be able to demonstrate good values. Thus the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was selected specifically to takes a close look at how conducive environment, self efficacy and knowledge influence the employees’ intention towards the policy. This study used the partial least squares (PLS) and structural equation modelling (SEM) software to examine factors influencing adoption of tobacco-free policy among employees in Malaysian higher education. It also measures the impact of workplace health promotion on employee’s intention to comply with tobacco cessation regulations. Statistical results confirm that that all three constructs of employees environment, self efficacy and knowledge significantly influenced employees’ intention to adopt the tobacco free policy. The results, has also contributed to a better understanding of how effective is the higher education institutions tobacco-free policy in Malaysia. Findings are useful for policy makers, higher education institutions and practitioners to enhance Malaysian tobacco cessation. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also included