WEB ACCESSIBILITY COMPLIANCE TO WCAG 2.0 STANDARD: A CASE OF A MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

Most universities now communicate, exchange pertinent information, and facilitate transactions among their stakeholders through their websites. Website accessibility is, therefore, essential to ensure equal access to information from the institution regardless of their physical limitations and other potential restrictions. Based on ACHECKER and WAVE, the objective was to present the features of non-compliance to WCAG 2.0 standard and ways to overcome for a Malaysian public university homepage. The study found a low degree of compliance with the WCAG 2.0, respectively.  Parsing, labels or instruction, headings and labels, link purpose, resize text and information and relationship are some of the aspects that require rapid attention. It is possible to further improve issues with navigation, adaptability, input assistance, compatibility, empty links, and empty headings. An expert’s insights indicated that without proper monitoring from the higher authority of the government body like MAMPU, the web accessibility would remain partially or completely inaccessible to certain sectors of the population. Overall, this study provides insightful information, especially to web designers who can better adhere to the standards when creating their websites. Keywords: ACHECKER, WAVE, a Malaysian public university, WCAG 2.0, web accessibility

Algorithm as a problem solving technique for teaching and learning of the Malay language

The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of using scratch program to teach Malay language subject. 32, 4th year students in a primary school of Seremban district participated in the study. A case study was used. The teachers teach Malay subjects using scratch programs with the theme of agriculture and title of food product from agriculture. The students were to arrange the basic words into grammatical sentences based on the scratch program and write a cake recipe using an algorithmic technique, a series of instructions contained in the scratch program. This conceptual teaching and learning algorithm was conducted in five steps namely the induction set; step 1; step 2; step 3; and enrichment and recovery. Students could understand the concepts of algorithms taught and did not require recovery activities. This implies that the algorithm concept of how to prepare a cake through a scratch program has been fully understood by the students. Students are also excited about the algorithmic techniques and the scratch program generated. They remain focused throughout the session which shows that the use of algorithms and scratch programs is better than conventional methods in teaching the Malay Language

Critical Thinking Skills among Final Year Students of Malaysian Technical Universities

Critical thinking is an essential skill that individuals need to have in order to be effective learners and workers in the global knowledge economy. In line with the mandate of the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE), institutions of higher learning including universities under the Malaysian Technical Universities Network (MTUN) have adopted several approaches to ensure that their graduates are equipped with the sufficient level of critical thinking skills. However, there is little knowledge about the attainment levels of critical thinking skills, among Malaysian tertiary students. Thus, the California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST) was used to collect data from one hundred final year students at four Malaysian Technical Universities in order to identify their attainment level on critical thinking skills. The CCTST scores revealed that these students exhibit some proficiency in critical thinking, but they are way behind the global standard, as stipulated by Insight Assessment California. Students’ competencies of the CTS also vary across the four universities. This study has significant implications on the curriculum design and development as well as pedagogical practice adopted by MTUN universities in developing their students with appropriate level of critical thinking skills

Exploring Leadership Styles Adopted in Organizational Performance of ADNOC Company

Leadership style is critical for improving organisational performance, and inappropriate leadership styles harm both employees and the overall performance of any organisation. Poor leadership is likely to be the cause of unethical practises, a high turnover rate, and employee disengagement. Furthermore, they may use an ineffective leadership style when dealing with project subordinates. Subordinate performance that is effective is always desired, but it does not always occur. As a result, the current study investigated the four leadership styles and the characteristics that influence organisational performance. The analysis of 398 questionnaire forms collected from ADNOC Company participants revealed that all the attributes of the four leadership styles used in the UAE are reliable. Transformational leadership is found to be the most influential leadership style, while democratic leadership is the least influential in influencing the organisational performance of the ADNOC Company in the UAE. In transformational leadership, leaders focus on employees' beliefs about their jobs as the most influential attribute. Leaders in our organisation are reported to have good communication with other employees as one of the most influential attributes in Transactional leadership style. Similarly, the most influential attributes in Charismatic Leadership style are leaders in our organisation are effective in managing our organisation. The most influential attribute of Democratic leadership is that leaders in our organisation work hard with other workers. Results of this study will able to assist the company in dealing its leadership style

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION

Many Malaysian primary school pupils have problems in understanding English texts that could be impacting their English achievement. This study is to ascertain the effectiveness of using cooperative learning in teaching reading comprehension. The sample comprised fifty-eight year six pupils who were chosen randomly from a population of eighty-seven. T-test results indicated that the experimental group (cooperative learning method) made gains in post-test 1 and post-test 2 for both reading comprehension score and overall English score but not for the control group (direct instruction method). The result of this study reveal that cooperative learning method brings a positive effect on pupil’s reading comprehension ability. This study is beneficial for teachers of English and policy maker of school in incorporating cooperative learning in school system. Future research should gear toward examining teachers and administrators’ perceptions in order to improve the implementation of CL method in school system. Keywords: cooperative learning, reading, comprehension, Englis

Mediating Effect of External Factors to the Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Organizational Performance

Inappropriate leadership style harms employees and the organization's overall performance. Lack of leadership likely causes unethical practises, high turnover, and employee disengagement. Many of the organization's problems are attributed to incompetent or mismatched administrators. They may use an inappropriate leadership style with project subordinates. There is lack of studies on leadership styles and organisational performance, especially in oil and gas organisations. Hence, this research examines the relationship leadership styles and organisational performance of ADNOC company. This study involved questionnaire survey for data collection and analysis of 398 questionnaire forms was carried out through structural equation modelling. The study established a mediation model where the external factors act as mediator to the relationship. Based on the assessment on the model, it was found that Charismatic and Democratic leadership styles have a significant impact on organisational performance while Transformational and Transactional do not have significant effect on the organization performance. Also, external environment is proven as mediator of Charismatic and Democratic leadership styles. Overall, the developed model can assist for adopting the leadership style in achieving the successful organizational performance of ADNOC Company

The Portrayal Of Masculinity/ Feminity Between Malaysian And Australian University Websites

This paper analyzed web features which were applicable to a cultural dimension namely masculinity/feminity which contributed to cultural understanding and assisted web designers in customizing the websites to a specific culture. Quantitative content analysis was utilized through a t-test and discriminant analysis. 60 samples of websites were selected from Malaysian and Australian universities. Predictor variables were “Use a fluid layout”, “Pop-ups”, “Homepage length”, “Use site map”, “Use simple background image”, “Use of flash” and “Highlight critical data”.The findings yielded that there was a relationship between the masculinity/feminity cultural dimension and features of website usability of different countries. Malaysian university websites tend to have lower masculinity index. The results of Discriminant analysis also confirmed that Malaysian university websites and Australian university websites differed significantly on a linear combination of seven variables of masculinity/feminity. Hence, the masculinity/feminity dimension is a factor to consider in ensuring the usability of websites of different countries. This research also suggests that localisation is still important in terms of university web marketing. Hence, the web is not a culturally neutral medium, but they reflect the cultural environment that surrounds the developers. This study is beneficial for web policy makers and web designers of universities in providing a guide in terms of integrating cultural values for specific cultures. Future research should examine other cultural dimension in universities of other countries to gain more insights into the relationship of culture and university web usabilit

Utilizing cerlis model in improving creative writing skills

The objectives of this paper were to identify the effectiveness of Cerlis Model in assisting teachers to improve students’ creative writing skills such as descriptive and imaginative essays and to analyze whether the model can improve students’ ways of expressing and organizing ideas in composing essays accurately. Samples consisted of 5 students from a primary school in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. This study was conducted using a narrative qualitative approach through observation, questionnaire survey and document analysis and the results were reported using relevant tables, photos, and visual graphics. The study focused on students that lack ideas in producing creative essays such as descriptive and imaginative types. The results yielded that the Cerlis Model was able to create fun in learning and generate a high confidence level in producing ideas for essay writing. Indeed, Cerlis Model is able to increase students’ interests in writing essays and their comprehension level. This study also shows that games are generating students’ ideas for composing descriptive and imaginative essays

Algorithm as a problem solving technique for teaching and learning of the Malay language

Computational thinking or CT refers to the thought processes involved in expressing solutions as computational steps or algorithms that can be carried out by a computer. CT is not merely using software or computer programs alone but is also interlinked with information and communication technology (ICT) and computer science based on problems; tools; action (praxis); solutions; concepts; and social needs. Hence, the aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of using scratch program to teach Malay language subject. As part of the methodology, 32, 4th year students in a primary school of Seremban district participated in the study. A case study was used. The teachers teach Malay language subject using scratch programs with the theme of agriculture and title of food product from agriculture. The students were to arrange the basic words into grammatical sentences based on the scratch program and write a cake recipe using an algorithmic technique, a series of instructions contained in the scratch program. This conceptual teaching and learning algorithm was conducted in five steps namely the induction set; step 1; step 2; step 3; and enrichment and recovery. The result of this study shows that students could understand the concepts of algorithms taught and did not require recovery activities. This implies that the algorithm concept of how to prepare a cake through a scratch program has been fully understood by the students. Students are also excited about the algorithmic techniques and the scratch program generated. As a conclusion, the student's reaction as they remain focused throughout the session shows that the use of algorithms and scratch programs is better than conventional methods in teaching the Malay Language