Developing and Validating an Instrument to Assess the E-learning Environment at a Public Higher Education Institution in Malaysia

As Knowledge, Communication and Technology (KCT) plays crucial role in the restructuring of the educational system in this new millennium, e-Learning is seen as an effective means to stimulate this process, especially on the teaching and learning aspect. The introduction of e-Learning has become an important factor in reshaping the educational environment, particularly in the Higher Education System (De Boer et al, 2002). In order for e-learning systems to take advantage of these technologies so as to be successful, effective and of a quality comparable with the well received traditional learning systems, the e-learning systems must be designed and constructed with care, using a thoroughly scrutinized approach which embraces well-designed procedures and techniques (Colette, 2001).This paper describes the development and validation of the instrument to assess the e-learning environment at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The blueprint of the e-Learning project was thoroughly studied to ensure that the instrument is comprehensive in assessing the e-learning environment. This is complemented with a series of focus group interviews with students. The instrument was answered by a total of 226 randomly selected students from USM. Factor analysis, both exploratory and confirmatory, was performed on the data and the result indicate that in assessing the E-Learning environment there are six distinct factors: technology, course content, teaching and learning material, teaching and learning environment, learning strategies, and support. The psychometric properties of the instruments are as follows; GFI=0.88, AGF=0.87, RMSEA = 0.061, NFI = 0.88, CFI=0.89, PNFI = 0.77, and PGFI =0.84. (Authors' abstract

ICT in Student-Supervisor Communication: A Case Study at a Public Institution of Higher Learning in Malaysia

This study examined the use of ICT among postgraduate students and supervisors at University of Science Malaysia, Penang with special focus on student-supervisor communication. It employed a cross sectional survey design utilising an online questionnaire as data collection instrument. Students' and supervisors' competence in using the common MS Office programs, data analysis packages, and communication tools were gauged. Apart from that, their perceptions on the usefulness of ICT in student-supervisor communication were measured according to the following aspects: improves communication; strengthen student-supervisor relationship; add value to face to face interaction; and optimize student learning. A total of 81 students and 70 supervisors participated in this study. The results show that both students and supervisors were either intermediate or advance users as far as the basic Microsoft Office programs are concerned but not many of them have good knowledge on other programs such as data analysis packages. As for the open source applications, significantly higher percentage of supervisors (76%) use Moodle compared to students (42%), however the percentage of student users were significantly higher for Wiki, Facebook, Blog, and Friendster. All supervisors and students surveyed used email as the major communication tool, while considerable percentage of supervisors (64.3%) and students (79%) used SMS. On the perception towards the usefulness of ICT, the supervisors' ratings range from 4.32 to 5.44 on a scale of 1 to 7. The highest rating was for all "ICT improves communication" while the lowest was "ICT add value to face-to-face interaction". Female supervisors have a more favorable perception compared to male on all the four aspects assessed (p < 0.05). Supervisors with less then 10 years in USM gave significantly higher rating on the following aspects: "ICT improves communication" and "ICT optimizes students' learning", whilst students' ratings range from 4.84 (ICT add value to face to face interaction) to 5.55 (ICT improves communication). Students' demography did not have any bearing on their ratings. The t-test analysis indicated that supervisors' and students' ratings on the usefulness of ICT significantly differed only for "ICT strengthen student-supervisor relationship" aspect (p = 0.021); students' rating was higher than the supervisors

Correlates of Academic Achievement for Master of Education Students at Open University Malaysia

This study focused on the relationship between demographic variables and academic achievement among adult distance learners has received considerable attention

The relationship between persistence, academic engagement and academic achievement among post graduate students of OUM

Self directed and self manage learning is one of the pillar for lifelong learning. Learners’ stamina to sustain as self directed learners is vital for their academic success. This paper examines the association between persistence, academic engagement, and academic performance among post graduate students in an Open and Distance Learning Institution. The logistic regression was used to model the relationship while the Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) curve was used to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the predictive model. In this cross sectional a total of 390 students enrolled in various Master degree programs at OUM answer a self administered questionnaire. Academic performance was compared with students’ perceived engagement in academic activities, and persistence in studies. Among the significant predictors of academic performance are classroom and cognitive emphasis (components of engagement), and academic integration, service satisfaction, academic conscientiousness and degree commitment (components of persistence). Students with favorable ratings on their academic engagement and persistence in studies tend to do better academically. The statistical model predicting these relationships is 83.33% sensitive and 91.04% specific. Using student engagement and persistence as predictors of academic achievement would enable the academic institutions to identify ‘at risk’ students much earlier compared to using CGPA. (Abstract by authors

The relationship between persistence, academic engagement, and academic achievement among postgraduates students of OUM

Self-managed learning is one of the pillars of lifelong learning. Learners’ stamina to sustain as selfdirected learners is vital for their academic success. This paper examines the association between persistence in studies, academic engagement, and academic performance among postgraduate students in an Open and Distance Learning Institution. The logistic regression was used to model the relationship while the Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) was used to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the predictive model. In this cross-sectional research, a total of 339 students enrolled in various Master’s degree programs at OUM answer a self-administered questionnaire. Academic performance was compared with students’ perceived engagement in academic activities, and persistence in studies. Among the significant predictors of academic performance are classroom behaviour and cognitive emphasis (components of engagement), and academic integration, institutional commitment, academic conscientiousness and degree commitment (components of persistence). Students with favourable ratings on their academic engagement and persistence in studies tend to do better academically. The statistical model predicting these relationships is 83.33% sensitive and 91.04% specific. This paper concludes that by using student engagement and persistence as predictors of academic achievement would enable the academic institutions to identify ‘at risk’ students much earlier compared to using CGPA. (Abstract by authors

Measuring and managing franchisee satisfaction: a study of academic franchising / Firdaus Abdullah... [et al.]

Franchise satisfaction is crucial to franchise management, and it is considered to be a central variable for the franchise network's long-term survival. While an abundance of research exists on the topic of franchising, none has been directed toward measuring franchisee satisfaction within an academic setting, and this despite the increasingly large number of tertiary institutions offering programs on franchise arrangement. Although there were initiatives to develop a new measuring instrument of satisfaction for the franchise industry, such generic scale was not suited to the unique nature of academic franchising. Therefore, this study attempts to explore different approaches of franchisee satisfaction within an academic setting, develop and validate a new measuring instrument, examine the key factors and their influence on performance and intention to remain in the network, and eventually manage the franchise network for long-term continuity. This study was conducted in Malaysia over a sample of 68 respondents representing 19 franchised colleges within MARA University of Technology's (UiTM) network. The findings suggest five dimensions of franchisee satisfaction namely social interaction, service support, financing, assurance and competence. Hence, UiTM should be able to ascertain the level of services provided, and to determine which dimensions need improvement. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of these dimensions and their relative influence may result in better allocation of resources so as to provide a better service to the franchised colleges. This study has also sought to contribute further to the growing literature on franchising by advancing a new 23-item measuring instrument, which is specifically tailored for academic franchising

Training simulated patients: evaluation of a training approach using self-assessment and peer/tutor feedback to improve performance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most medical schools use simulated patients (SPs) for teaching. In this context the authenticity of role play and quality of feedback provided by SPs is of paramount importance. The available literature on SP training mostly addresses instructor led training where the SPs are given direction on their roles. This study focuses on the use of peer and self evaluation as a tool to train SPs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>SPs at the medical school participated in a staff development and training programme which included a) self-assessment of their performance while observing video-tapes of their role play using a structured guide and b) peer group assessment of their performance under tutor guidance. The pre and post training performance in relation to authenticity of role play and quality of feedback was blindly assessed by students and tutors using a validated instrument and the scores were compared. A focus group discussion and a questionnaire assessed acceptability of the training programme by the SPs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The post-training performance assessment scores were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the pre-training scores. The degree of improvement in the quality of feedback provided to students was more when compared to the improvement of role play. The acceptability of the training by the SPs was very satisfactory scoring an average of 7.6 out of 10. The majority of the SPs requested the new method of training to be included in their current training programme as a regular feature.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Use of structured self-reflective and peer-interactive, practice based methods of SP training is recommended to improve SP performance. More studies on these methods of training may further refine SP training and lead to improvement of SP performance which in turn may positively impact medical education.</p

The progeroid phenotype of Ku80 deficiency Is dominant over DNA-PK CS deficiency

Ku80 and DNA-PKCS are both involved in the repair of double strand DNA breaks via the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway. While ku80-/- mice exhibit a severely reduced lifespan and size, this phenotype is less pronounced in dna-pkcs -/- mice. However, these observations are based on independent studies with varying genetic backgrounds. Here, we generated ku80-/-, dna-pkcs -/- and double knock out mice in a C57Bl6/J*FVB F1 hybrid background and compared their lifespan, end of life pathology and mutation frequency in liver a

Association of Methylentetraydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) 677 C > T gene polymorphism and homocysteine levels in psoriasis vulgaris patients from Malaysia: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme catalyzes the reduction of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and methyl donors. The methyl donors are required for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Mutation of MTHFR 677 C > T disrupts its thermostability therefore leads to defective enzyme activities and dysregulation of homocysteine levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This case-control study (n = 367) was conducted to investigate the correlation of the MTHFR gene polymorphism [NM_005957] and psoriasis vulgaris amongst the Malaysian population. Overnight fasting blood samples were collected from a subgroup of consented psoriasis vulgaris patients and matched controls (n = 84) for the quantification of homocysteine, vitamin B₁₂and folic acid levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no significant increase of the MTHFR 677 C > T mutation in patients with psoriasis vulgaris compared with controls (<it>χ</it>²= 0.733, p = 0.392). No significant association between homocysteine levels and MTHFR gene polymorphism in cases and controls were observed (F = 0.91, df = 3, 80, p = 0.44). However, homocysteine levels in cases were negatively correlated with vitamin B₁₂(r = -0.173) and folic acid (r = -0.345) levels. Vitamin B₁₂and folic acid levels in cases were also negatively correlated (r = -0.164).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that there was no significant association between the MTHFR gene polymorphism and psoriasis vulgaris in the Malaysian population. There was no significant increase of the plasma homocysteine level in the psoriasis patients compared to the controls.</p