Towards Quality Education: Physical Notes VS Digital Notes in Health Expectancy, Eco-Friendly Environment and Notes Accessibility Conditions

Due to the pandemic of COVID-19, students have started using digital technology in learning and note-taking. However, for early adopters, this method might be challenging. Thus, this study objectively examines the preferences of students’ physical or digital note-taking styles. Convenience sampling among 125 students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selangor branch, Puncak Alam Campus has been used as part of the methodology. Three main variables are selected in assessing the student’s preferences for notes based on the previous study which are Health Expectancy, Eco-Friendly Environment, and Notes Accessibility Conditions. The analysis done is descriptive statistics and correlation analysis using SPSS and SMARTPLS 4. The findings show that the students still prefer physical notes over digital notes. The percentage of preferences is almost the same, and it is expected that in the future the percentage of digital notes taking will shift from physical notes to digital notes. Notes accessibility condition is a significant variable while the other variables are not significant towards student’s preferences for notes. The students are still in the transition process from the era before the pandemic and the post-pandemic era. Thus, it is recommended that the learning style and note-taking style might adopt the combination of physical and digital notes

The Roles of Emotional Intelligence in Developing Optimism among Public University Students in Perak, Malaysia

When Covid-19 hit the globe, Malaysia was specifically affected by the implementation of MCO which restricted its citizens from having their normal daily activities. Malaysian students are especially distressed by the implementation of online learning, whereby they need to cope with the burden of learning without having physical consultation with their lecturers while indulging the ‘nuisance’ of the home environment. This cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship and impact of emotional intelligence which comprised self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management components toward optimism among public university students in Perak, Malaysia. Convenience sampling was applied as the sampling technique in selecting the required sample size of 441 respondents. A set of questionnaires comprised of three sections was used as the instrument and was virtually distributed to the respondents via Google form through their acquaintances. Descriptive analysis findings have demonstrated male students have greater levels of emotional intelligence and optimism as compared to female students. Meanwhile, results from correlation analysis projected each component of emotional intelligence has a large relationship with optimism except for social awareness with a medium relationship. Subsequently, the multiple regression analysis revealed that self-awareness was the strongest predictor of the dependent variable. This study has achieved all research objectives and the hypotheses were supported by the findings. Therefore, a few recommendations for educational institutions as well as future researchers were suggested accordingly

The effects of technostress creators and organizational commitment among school teachers / Narehan Hassan … [et al.]

In the fast-paced world, information is retrieved and stored efficiently using IT technologies. Due to the constant change and advancement in technology, technostress has become a critical issue in many organizations especially for those who are IT illiterate. This scenario is especially true for school teachers in Malaysia where students’ information is stored and retrieved using a database system and posted online for quick accessibility of files and student management. However, for those who are not IT-skilled, this type of work demand can influence both the employee’s motivation and work commitment. School teachers in Malaysia are found to be overworked and most had to take home their work, especially in updating students’ information. The changing work demands and the need to perform both teaching and administrative duties have resulted in teachers facing a stressful working environment. This is especially true for senior teachers, whose IT skill is often lagging compared to their younger counterparts; hence the term technostress is coined -- not only to teachers but to those who are lacking in IT-related skills. Teachers’ commitment is of utmost importance to produce better workforce for the future. Hence, this study was conducted to examine both the relationship and the effects of techno-stress creators and organizational commitment among school teachers. This study was carried out at six schools in Selangor involving 173 school teachers. The findings revealed that two dimensions of techno-stress creators which were techno-uncertainty and techno-insecurity had positive and significant influence on organizational commitment while all other three elements of techno-stress creators which were techno-overload, techno invasion and techno complexity did not predict teachers’ organizational commitment. The findings also revealed that certain amount of techno-stress can enhance the level of teachers’ commitment