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

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

A Review of the Business Management Capability and Adaptability among Malaysian Contractors in the SCORE Program

The selection of contractors for the project is one of the important tasks faced by the client such as developers and government agencies. To ensure that the client has selected a reliable contractor which has a good previous record, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia has established one program named SCORE by assessing seven (7) scopes of assessment which are business performance, financial capability, technical capability, project management, procurement management, best practices, and management ability. Thus, this study was done to assess the level of capability and adaptability of Malaysian contractors in the business management aspect (Scope 1). This study adopted a mixed methodology involving quantitative through secondary data and qualitative research methods through interviews. The data collected for this study is through secondary data from CIDB’S database which cover from the year 2017 until 2021. Besides that, a series of interview sessions were done to find out further suggestions for the improvement of Malaysian contractors. The findings have shown that business performance among Malaysian contractors is one of the lowest scores as compared to other scopes. Thus, this study has proposed several suggestions to increase the performance of Malaysian contractors, especially in business performance such as holding awareness programs and coaching programs

Employee Retention in Pharmaceutical Companies in Malaysia

In today's global economy, more companies are going global, and employees are actively seeking better career opportunities and growth. This dynamic has made employee retention a significant focus for Human Resources Management. The main purpose of this study is to understand the factors that influence employee retention at pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia. The research objectives were to examine whether factors such as reward, career advancement, and manager engagement have a significant influence on employee retention in pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia. The population in this study is made up of employees of pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia. This research was conducted in a natural setting in a non-contrived manner using non-probability convenience sampling. Of the 400 surveys provided, 365 were answered by Malaysian pharmaceutical company employees, regardless of status. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were checked, and responses were collected and analyzed via SPSS software. The result suggests that rewards, career advancement, and manager engagement positively influence the retention of employees in pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia. For hypothesis testing, all independent variables show a significant relationship with employee retention

Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA) of Islamic Insurance (takaful) Drone-Assisted Disaster Victim Identification: Emotional Management

Islamic insurance (takaful) companies have continuously used the latest technology to serve their customers better. One of the potential technologies that takaful operators can consider is drones. Nonetheless, the adoption of drones has shown an imbalanced pattern between regions, with some countries displaying more commendable experiences than others. In the context of Malaysia, such adoption can be regarded as negligible, if not minimal. While drones have numerous positive effects, this study focuses on emotional management through the lens of social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) based on disaster victim identification (DVI). DVI is the process of identifying corpses (often in large numbers) following a disaster, either natural or man-made disaster. This study provides preliminary findings that support the need for drones to be integrated into takaful operations, based on the SCBA method focusing on emotional management. The findings indicate that emotional management affects not only the family of the victim but also the first responders involved in the search and rescue (SAR) operation and their families. Hence, proper consideration must be given to using drones in takaful operations with the government disaster agency

Psychological and Technology Factor Contribute to Social Media Addiction

In the present-day context of worldwide connectivity, social media has emerged as an integral component of many adolescents' everyday routines. However, the seemingly harmless practice of utilizing social networking platforms can swiftly transform into a significant dependency, leading to unfavorable consequences. Adolescents' excessive dependence on social media platforms has garnered significant attention from scholars and practitioners in the mental health field. Psychological and technological elements are recognized as contributing to social media addiction, which has detrimental consequences for adolescents. Hence, the primary objective of this study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the existing literature about the psychological and technological elements contributing to addiction to social media platforms. The discourse outcomes will illuminate the strategies employed to mitigate social media addiction by addressing the abovementioned factors. This conclusion has significant implications, as it will stimulate further discussion and prompt additional research reviews on the various elements contributing to social media addiction

Payment scenario in the Malaysian construction industry prior to ClPAA

This report is literature reviews undertaken to re-establish the state of payment problems in the Malaysian construction industry.The findings from this study will be used as a guide for further survey to measure the situation of the payment problems before the enactment of Construction lndustry Payment and Adjudication Act (CIPAA).There are journals selected to be included in this study.The purposes of the journal were to discover the financial issues of late and non-payment problem related to the causes of delay in construction projects. Most of the research in the journals was carried out by adopting a combination of document analysis, law cases and review of act and statue.The possible solution to overcome the issue to the late and non-payment in construction projects were also highlighted in the journals. Based on the discussion, this research gives a general view and provides a comprehensive result of the "Payment Scenario in the Malaysia Construction lndustry Prior to CIPAA".The result in this paper covered the factors contributed to the late and non-payment problem in construction industry, impact of late and non-payment and also the possible solution towards late and non-payment problem in construction industry