The Dynamics of Training Outcomes in a Training Experience

It is rather common to find researchers and practitioners in training and development evaluating training effectiveness based on Kirkpatrick’s criteria of training reactions, learning, behavior change, and overall results. In recent years, in-depth review of Kirkpatrick’s criteria for training evaluation by theorists and researchers resulted in renewed interest in possible underlying dimensions and more operationalized measures of these factors. In this study, a hypothesized model is proposed to explain the effects of training reactions on learning outcomes and training transfer. Path analysis is carried out on data collected from 118 participants of a training course on operational housekeeping to examine the validity of the proposed model. Training reactions is considered in terms of affective reactions and utility reactions, and learning is considered in terms of declarative learning and application-based learning. Moderate effects between affective reactions, declarative learning, and training transfer are observed; while the links between affective reactions and utility reactions, and between declarative learning and application-based learning appeared to be more significant

ICT in the changing landscape of higher education in Southeast Asia

As in the developed nations, developing countries in the Southeast Asian region increasingly are recognising the important role higher education plays in enhancing the human resources of a nation for promoting its development in a world of depleting natural resources. Advances and pervasiveness of ICT in the society mean that higher education systems in the region are increasingly leveraging ICT in handling the many arising challenges faced by higher education systems in Southeast Asia. Some of the possible roles of ICT in higher education in the face of these challenges discussed in this paper are what and how students learn, when and where students learn, who the new faces of students and lecturers are, and ways to reduce the cost of education. However, research-based knowledge on how ICT has been and can be used to enhance the design, delivery and management of higher education programs in the Southeast Asia region is not readily available. Furthermore, countries in Southeast Asia are at different stages of development in the use of ICT in education. Thus, success stories, experiences and lessons learnt from the use of ICT in higher education will be of immense importance for educators and administrators who are at the forefront of integrating ICT for higher education in countries in the region

Training of Trainers: The Post-Graduate Diploma In Teaching And Learning Program at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

A public university in Malaysia is generically geared towards three core businesses, namely teaching-learning, research, and consultancy and community services. Being a young university in the country and the first one in the state of Sarawak, UNIMAS has had to hire young graduates to put together eight faculties at the time it opened its doors to the first intake of students in 1994. The more experienced faculty members are lecturers who have taught elsewhere in Malaysia, mostly with more than five years of teaching experience at university level. As the academic community at the university grew, and as the student population increased each year, the university realized how much the quality of teaching-learning needed to be effectively addressed, in terms of training and recognition. The university acknowledged the necessity to put in place a mechanism to train lecturers the basics of teaching, to ensure effective learning and the achievement of learning outcomes, as part of the contribution to a quality education at the university. It is also hoped that, with the current fresh interest in upgrading the skills of teaching among lecturers, the academic community will collectively be more inclined toward improving the delivery of learning and skills in their courses. After a decade of existence, the university introduced a special training program—the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning as a strategy to fulfill its mission to achieve excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. As one of the youngest universities in the country, UNIMAS is now at a crucial stage of seriously considering developing a culture to enhance the scholarship of teaching and learning to provide quality education

Examining the effects of environmental components on tourism destination competitiveness: The moderating impact of community support

Contemporarily, tourism sector is a highly competitive environment, which forces tourism players to provide better visitor services in order to stay competitive. In rural tourism, a growing niche in the tourism market, multiple components of environmental constructs play a crucial role in contributing to the sustainability and competitiveness of rural tourism destinations. Hence, this study examines the impact of environment components on development of rural tourism destination competitiveness from a local community perspective. In addition, community support was adopted as moderator variable to examine the relationship among the constructs. 299 respondents comprising of residents of rural tourism in Sarawak, Malaysia took part voluntarily in this study. Data analysis was performed using SPSS Version 21.0 and Smart PLS 2.0 (M3) to assess the developed model, based on path modelling and then bootstrapping. Interestingly, the findings revealed that four of the environmental constructs have had a significant positive impact on destination competitiveness from local communities' perspective

Self-efficacy and sustainable rural tourism development: local communities’ perspectives from Kuching, Sarawak

The future of the tourism industry is dependent on local communities’ ability to develop and sustain tourism developments, especially in sensitive rural areas. But there is limited research on this topic to guide tourism authorities and governments. In particular, few studies have studied sustainable rural tourism development from the perspective of the local communities. Therefore, this study examines local communities’ views on their capability to achieve sustainable rural tourism development in selected rural areas in Kuching, Sarawak. Questionnaires were distributed to the local communities residing at three rural tourism destinations in Kuching, Sarawak. Interestingly, the results indicated that local communities’ self-efficacy has a positive relationship with social, cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability. Hence, this study offers theoretical and practical contributions to sustainable rural tourism development literature and the tourism industry

Community Informatics: Challenges in Bridging the Digital Divide

Abstract. This paper describes how community informatics can help to overcome the digital divide between rural and urban communities in developing countries of Asia. The e-Bario project, a research initiative undertaken by a group of researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) provides a context to demonstrate how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can provide opportunities for remote and rural communities to develop socially, culturally, and economically. The results of the initiative show the many ways in which ICTs can be used to improve the lives of the marginalized groups. However, other than the opportunities that the initiative provides, there are also many challenges that are encountered along the way. These challenges, based on the e-Bario experience are the major focus of this paper

Tourscape: A systematic approach towards a sustainable rural tourism management

Tourism plays an important role in the Malaysian economy as it is considered to be one of the corner stones of the country’s economy. The purpose of this research is to conduct an analysis based on the existing tourism industry in rural tourism destinations in Malaysia by examining the impact of economics, environmental, social and cultural factors of the tourism industry on the local communities in Malaysia. 516 respondents comprising of tourism stakeholders from 34 rural tourism sites in Malaysia took part voluntarily in this study. To assess the developed model, SmartPLS 2.0 (M3) was applied based on path modeling and then bootstrapping with 200 re-samples was applied to generate the standard error of the estimate and t-values. Subsequently, a system named Tourscape was designed to manage the information. This system can be considered as a benchmark for tourism industry stakeholders as it is able to display the current situational analysis and the tourism health of selected tourism destination sites by capturing data and information, not only from local communities but industry players and tourists as well. The findings from this study revealed that the cooperation from various stakeholders has created significant impact on the development of rural tourism

ICTs and tourists’ satisfaction. A test on a rural tourist destination

This study examines the impact of ICTs in local communities. This study was conducted in Bario, a rural tourism destination located in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. The results indicate that ICTs are able to increase the number of visitors. The study also demonstrates the important dimensions that contribute to tourists’ satisfaction so that future ICT efforts can be focused on them. The findings revealed that most of the visitors were aware of Bario because of its publicity through the website