The study on factors affecting job satisfaction and work commitment among Petronas Refinery Petrochemical Corporation (PRPC) staffs, the intermark / Nur Amalina Diyana Suhaimi

This study determines the levels of Job Satisfaction and Work Commitment among PETRONAS Refinery and Petrochemical Corporation (PRPC) Staffs, The Intermark. The relationships between Remuneration, Management Style and Working Environment on Job Satisfaction and Work Commitment are also investigated. A questionnaire titled ‘Modelling Job Satisfaction and Work Commitment among Lecturers: A Case of UiTM Kelantan’ (2010) was modified and developed for this study. The corresponding data were collected from 148 PRPC staffs which are randomly selected in order to prevent bias to occur. The findings suggested that the Remuneration and Working Environment has a significant influence on Job Satisfaction and Work Commitment. The result also proved that Job Satisfaction only play a mediating role in linking the Remuneration and Working Environment with Dependent Variable. Management Style was found not to be associated with Job Satisfaction and Work Commitment. Mediation also did not occur since the indirect path is not significant. The study also proved that Job Satisfaction has an influenced on Work Commitment among PRPC staff

CONTINUAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OF ONLINE COURSE DELIVERY USING PERCEIVED COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

The input from learners (as a key stakeholder) in the education sector is highly important and is a requirement in Total Quality Management or Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). This is supported by Eom, Ashill and Wen (2006) who highlighted the use of perceived learning outcomes and satisfaction as the goals of educational outcomes in a distance delivery system that uses 3 computer-based instructional systems. Adult learners who are assumed to be self-directed learners ought to be responsible. Thus, they are the best judge over the impact of the delivery modes to their achievement of the learning outcomes

Programme and Service Evaluation by the Teacher and Non-Teacher Group of Students - Implications on Student Persistence in an ODL Institution

A significant proportion of Open University Malaysia’s student population is made up of the “inservice teachers” sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The intake of the “in-service teachers” had stopped since 2013 and the present day students hail from various organizations whereby a majority of these students are self-sponsored. It is crucial for the university to take note of the changes that ought to be implemented to better serve the non-teacher students. This paper reports on the results of a 2015 tracer study (centrally administered by the Ministry of Higher Education) by looking at programme completion rates of the undergraduate “Teacher” and “Non-Teacher” group of students who attended their convocation in September and November 2015. The evaluation of the programmes and services by the two groups of graduates were compared, and areas that differ significantly were highlighted and discussed in the context 2 of improving completion rates. It is important to note that institutions need to be aware that there are tangible and intangible factors related to students’ persistence when it comes to finances, as in the sponsored and non-sponsored students. Keywords: in-service teachers, non-teacher group, completion rates, evaluation of programmes and service

The law pertaining to white collar crime in Malaysia: a study on its enforcement / Mohamad Amir Ardzhar Fahimuddin … [et al.]

The purpose of this study is to analyze the law pertaining to white collar crime in Malaysia with specific reference to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 (the Act) in dealing with the offences of white collar crime in the nation. The practices of white collar crime are remained rampant despite the efforts done by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (the Commission). Malaysia as a nation strives on the vision to create an environment that is harmonious, united, constantly developing and of the high integrity. Such nation breeds communities that uphold dignity and performs the duties and responsibilities with high disciplines and dedication. Since decades, these fundamental elements have lost its grip that had led to a concern that has caused economic losses running billions and destroying the very basis of humanity and integrity. The act of white collar crime has long been a concern and its consequences leads to the destruction of the mortar that grips our economics. White collar crime also had created major imbalances in the economic, political and social strata. The unearthing of greed and selfishness, disrespect and disregard for policies and procedures and the blinding of transparency, results in the nation with low integrity. On the other hand, corruption involves not only middle class society but also higher ranking person in the society. Therefore, this research seeks propose a viable solution where affected parties can be protected and the corrupt be brought to justice

The impact of learner profiling on social skills

The purpose of this study is to describe the use of personality traits dimensions to predict skills. This paper focuses on the social competency dimension. The study also explored some basic questions about why learners learn, what are their main barriers and what are the expected rewards. Two intake groups were used in this study: 1041 September 2017 learners and 278 May 2016 intake students. May 2016 intake students are in their 4th semester during September 2017. An online instrument was developed based on literatures. The findings indicated that the top reasons for students to study were to obtain higher qualification (39.1%), personal growth (25.5%) and career advancement (23.3%). The findings also confirmed that work and family situation is the main barrier in adult students learning. All dimensions which include the big five personality traits, self-efficacy, self-directedness, attitude towards education and motivation towards achievement show significant correlation to the social competency. (Abstract by authors

Acceptance and application of Islamic financial planning among small and medium enterprises Halal operator in Peninsular of Malaysia

Halal Industry in Malaysia has created employment opportunities especially among Small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). High demand for Halal products especially from Islamic countries has put Halal industry as one of the national agenda priorities. In the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP), the halal industry had been given special emphasis by the Prime Minister to ensuring the halal industry is highly and persistently competitive. In Asia, Malaysia has been considered as a leader in the development of the Halal hub center. However, halal industry is not only about halal food production, but also it covers Islamic finance services which prohibit interest (riba), uncertainties (gharar) and gambling (maysir). Islamic financial planning is one of the important parts of Islamic finance because it plays a big role in providing Shariah compliant funds and investment opportunities especially for SMEs halal operators. The holistic approach to halal industry should also cover not only halal food production, but also Islamic financial planning which includes activities such as how to create, increase, purify and to protect wealth from Islamic perspective. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between acceptance of Islamic finance and the application of Islamic financial planning among SMEs halal operators in Peninsular Malaysia. The findings of this study reveal that the acceptance of Islamic finance was significantly correlated with the application of Islamic financial planning among SMEs halal operator. These finding indicated the important of integration between acceptance on the Halal industry with Islamic financial planning activities. SMEs Halal operators should be able to accept the Islamic finance principles. This relationship recognises the importance of acceptance and practice of Islamic financial planning among halal SMEs operators in promoting halal products and services and boost demand for Malaysian halal products at the international level

Continual Quality Improvement of Online Course Delivery Using Perceived Course Learning Outcomes

The objective of an education programme is to enable its learners to successfully achieve the programme outcomes. Programme outcomes can be effectively mapped into the courses within a programme. The achievement of the course learning outcomes can therefore be used to indicate the achievement of the programme outcomes. In an effort to ensure the continuous quality improvement of the education services offered, the Open University Malaysia uses a survey instrument to capture the perception of learners on the contributions of the various parts of online course delivery in their achievement of the expected learning outcomes. Such learners' perceptions are seen important in sustaining their motivation and persistence in completing their studies. There are 19 items measured using 5-point Likert scales and one open-ended response. The items cover the online course delivery parts including course module, workload, resources, learning tasks, online forum interactions, assessments, learning platform, overall online course organisation and the learning experience. Additional items measuring the learners' motivation, attitude, engagement and satisfaction were also included. The targeted population in this study are all the learners in 40 fully online courses offered in January 2017 semester. The findings help the university to identify the perceived effectiveness of the aspects of the online course delivery and the correlations between the items to the learners' motivation, attitude, engagement and satisfaction. Multiple regressions were also used to analyse the relationships. The output is an online course evaluation system that facilitates continual quality improvement efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR

Learner profiling: a study on Big Five Personality Traits and Lifelong Learning skills

There are many interventions introduced by Open University Malaysia in supporting its learners to successfully complete the programme that they have enrolled in. An example is the use of personality traits dimensions to predict learners' Lifelong Learning skills dimension. The research was carried out using a survey instrument which measures 34 items within six dimensions including the five dimensions based on the Big Five Personality Traits and the Lifelong Learning skills. The sample for this study was taken from the population of first semester learners during the September 2019 semester. All new learners are enrolled in one of the compulsory courses OUMH1603: Learning Skills for 21st Century. Data was collected online using the Survey Monkey platform within a-month duration. 411 out of 2546 (16.14%) responses were obtained. The data analysis was carried out based on descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling by using SPSS and AMOS software. The findings indicate that all dimensions have high Cronbach's Alpha scores (more than 0.8) which means that all dimensions are reliable. In addition, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability showed positive correlations with the Lifelong Learning skills dimension. The instrument used in this study is able to support system and propose strategies for improving learners' Lifelong Learning skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR

Classification of Learner Retention using Machine Learning Approaches

Learner retention issues require a huge commitment from a university as the process of monitoring learners' re-registration status from the beginning of each semester until they graduate can be quite tedious. When the number of learners who re-register for a subsequent semester is low, it not only affects the university's image but also its ranking and reputation in the education sector. Therefore, the university must identify, at an early stage, the likelihood of a learner is not retained in the following semester. This study proposed to experiment with the classification methods for solving the issue of learner retention at Open University Malaysia by comparing three Supervised Machine Learning algorithms namely Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine, and k-Nearest Neighbor. The performance of these algorithms was evaluated based on accuracy, precision, recall, and f-measure. It is determined that Support Vector Machine showed the best accuracy in classifying the learners' retention rate with 80% accuracy. The benefit of performing Machine Learning is that it enables the identification of at-risk learners at the earliest opportunity and therefore implement the earliest interventions to retain them. (Abstract by authors

MOOCs Readiness: The Scenario in Malaysia

This study seeks to investigate the readiness levels of adult students studying in Malaysian higher education institutions. The online questionnaire used in this study consists of 18 demographic variables and 43 items based on six constructs: technical competencies, communication competencies, social competencies, self-efficacy, self-directedness, and readiness. With a sample of 413 respondents, the constructs were evaluated using measures based on students’ self-identification with each item. Descriptive statistics depict competency, demographic profile of students, and level of readiness. The statistical analyses used for this study were Pearson correlation, multivariate analysis of variance, and structural equation modelling. All six constructs were reliable with Cronbach’s alpha (α) above 0.7. Findings indicate that self-efficacy was significant for massive open online course readiness, and additional factors that could influence this readiness are explored. The findings from this study provide important input towards designing effective massive open online courses. (Abstract by authors