Relationship of counselling self-efficacy, job satisfaction and organizational commitment among malaysian school counsellors

The roles of school counsellors have evolved over the years and the professional and personal development of the school counsellors receives scarce attention from researchers, policy makers and authorities. Past research studied on the relationship of the counselling self-efficacy, job satisfaction and the organizational commitment was not in the context of Malaysian counsellors. Thus, this study was conducted to study the relationship of the counselling self-efficacy, job satisfaction and the organizational commitment among school counsellors in Malaysia. The descriptive and correlational research design was used. The sample size was 541 secondary school counsellors selected via the simple random sampling method from all over Malaysia. A structured questionnaire which comprised of 5 different inventories was used, (a) sources of counselling selfefficacy, (b) perceived access to training and perceived supervisor support towards training, (c) Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, (d) Counselling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE), and (e) Three-Component Model (TCM) Employee Commitment Survey. The Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to determine the model fit of the proposed models, and the direct and indirect effects of the mediator. The findings indicated that the correlation between the variables studied (mastery experience, social persuasion, vicarious learning, access to training, and perceived supervisor support towards training) and counselling selfefficacy were significant and as predicted. Mastery experience reported the strongest relationship with counselling self-efficacy, followed by social persuasion and vicarious learning. Both environmental determinants reported moderate correlation with counselling self-efficacy. Counselling self-efficacy was positively related to job satisfaction, and job satisfaction was also positively related to the organizational commitment of the school counsellors. The Bootstrapping procedure also revealed that counselling self-efficacy emerged as significant partial mediator to only: (a) mastery experience and job satisfaction and (b) perceived supervisor support towards training and job satisfaction. The finding revealed that mastery experience, perceived supervisor support towards training and counselling self-efficacy contributed 20% variance in job satisfaction among school counsellor. The findings could be used to further enhance counselling self-efficacy and job satisfaction of the school counsellors. Counsellor educators could focus on the professional and personal development of the school counsellors through structural opportunities for efficacy-building on mastery experience, cultivating sense of belief in performing counselling tasks, and obtaining the supervisors’ support towards training

Consistency of online consumers' perceptions of posted comments: An analysis of TripAdvisor reviews

Ratings and comments play a dominant role in online reviews. The question, thus, arises as to whether or not there is any consistency in consumer perception of the reviews, and how future choices might be influenced. We analysed 2000 comments of 20 different hotels posted on TripAdvisor to determine if the comments posted by previous guests of a hotel influence the decisions of potential guests. Two hundred human raters were asked to consider 20 reviews and to rate a hotel based on the reviews. The Cohen Kappa coefficient was used to evaluate the degree of agreement on the hotel quality as determined by the human raters and the star rating given by the original reviewer. The results showed a high consistency between the human raters’ evaluation and the reviewers’ star rating. This research reveals the importance of website feedback such as TripAdvisor in influencing consumer choice

Differences in counselors' career outputs in view of licensure status in Malaysia

Malaysia is a rapidly developing country. In the last decade, the availability of counseling services has been getting progressive attention and there arises the question of who govern the standard and practice of the counseling service providers. In Malaysia, school counselors are encouraged to register under the Malaysia Board of Counselor which is subjected to the Counselors Act 1998 or Act 580 of the Laws of Malaysia. This paper aimed to study and examine the licensure status of Malaysia school counselors and its’ relation with their career outputs. Three hundred and forty five secondary school counselors in Malaysia responded via paper and online survey. The result shows counselors who are registered with the Malaysia Board of Counselor demonstrated higher levels of job satisfaction, career success, professional commitment and self-perceived employability. The reasons of not registered were also explored and discussed in this paper. The recommendation and suggestions for future policy development and governance were discussed

Depression, anxiety, stress and satisfaction with life: moderating role of interpersonal needs amongst university students

© 2022 Ooi, Khor, Tan and Ong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Depression, anxiety, and stress are ranked among the top mental health concerns faced by university students in recent times perpetuated by the proliferation of digitalization. Thus, this study was performed to assess the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress, and satisfaction with life, with interpersonal needs (perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) as moderators. A cross-sectional study using a convenient sampling method was conducted among 430 Malaysian private university students (Mean aged= 20.73 years; SD = 1.26 years). A self-administered questionnaire comprising the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire were used. Students who experienced lower depression and anxiety reported higher satisfaction with life under the influence of low perceived burdensomeness. Perceived burdensomeness, when coupled with depression (β = 0.76, p < 0.01) and anxiety (β = 0.79, p < 0.01), contributed 15.8% of variance in satisfaction with life. Students who experienced stress reported higher satisfaction with life under the influence of high thwarted belongingness (β = 0.73, p < 0.01), contributing 17.3% of the variance in satisfaction with life. For university students who experienced depression and anxiety symptoms, mental health practitioners may need to be cognizant of how to support students' education and management of their perceived burdensomeness perceptions.Peer reviewe

Relationship between sources of counseling self-efficacy and counseling self-efficacy among Malaysian school counselors

School counselors’ role in the formation and transformation of the Malaysian education system is indispensable. This study employs the Social Cognitive Theory to examine the relationship between the sources of counseling self-efficacy and the Malaysian school counselors’ counseling self-efficacy. The Sources of Counseling Self-Efficacy questionnaire and the Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory were used on 541 school counselors nationwide, as the respondents. The result reveals mastery experience has the strongest relationship with counseling self-efficacy. Recommendations on how to strengthen self-efficacy are proposed

Viewing Airbnb from Twitter: factors associated with users’ utilization.

Airbnb is a peer-to-peer accommodation website in the sharing economy. Past studies have examined the factors associated with Airbnb utilization from various platforms, but not exclusively from Twitter. A total of 21,097 tweets was collected in a period of two months, and the tweets were qualitatively analyzed with the help of text analysis tools to verify the discourse of discussion. Literature was reviewed for common factors attracting clients to an Airbnb accommodation. Factors were then qualitatively analyzed and compiled using Wmatrix, and the themes that emerged were: Price and status, social interaction and communication, location, reputation, amenities and a pet-friendly environment. This result provides a deeper insight to Airbnb hosts to strategize and add value to their current market situations

Consistency of online consumers' perceptions of posted comments: An analysis of tripadvisor reviews

Ratings and comments play a dominant role in online reviews.The question, thus, arises as to whether or not there is any consistency in consumer perception of the reviews, and how future choices might be influenced.We analysed 2000 comments of 20 different hotels posted on TripAdvisor to determine if the comments posted by previous guests of a hotel influence the decisions of potential guests.Two hundred human raters were asked to consider 20 reviews and to rate a hotel based on the reviews.The Cohen Kappa coefficient was used to evaluate the degree of agreement on the hotel quality as determined by the human raters and the star rating given by the original reviewer.The results showed a high consistency between the human raters’ evaluation and the reviewers’ star rating. This research reveals the importance of website feedback such as TripAdvisor in influencing consumer choice

Relationships between emoticon usage and recipient groups in students’ text messages

Emoticons are pictographic representations of facial expressions that are used to convey emotions in text messages and other similar methods of communication. Most research on emoticons has examined how they are used in public forums rather than in private messaging. Using a sample of undergraduate students (n=106; male 52.83%; mean age 20.26 years, SD 1.93), this study examines the use of emoticons in private text communication. Results reveal that emoticon usage is highest amongst friends, followed by siblings, then parents, other family members and more distant connections. Emoticons representing positive emotions are more commonly used than those representing strong negative emotions. Emoticons representing relief were found to be used particularly within peer group communication, whereas emoticons representing contentment were used more with family members and other, more distant, connections. The use of the “Relieved” emoticon with peers may reflect overcoming the stressors associated with shared educational challenges, whereas using the “Content” emoticon outside peers and family may represent emotional modulation and presentation

The digital defence against cyberbullying: A systematic review of tech-based approaches

Cyberbullying, which has been exacerbated by the widespread use of smartphones and the increasing stress associated with the pandemic, needs the promotion of positive online behaviour, cyberbullying awareness, and victim support. The PRISMA technique is used in this review to identify effective preventative tools and intervention options. Eleven studies met our inclusion criteria and were selected for review. A quality assessment was conducted. Upon thorough evaluation of the included studies, the intervention data was compiled in a narrative format. Using thematic analysis, we explored the effectiveness of technological interventions for preventing cyberbullying comprehensively. Technology-driven strategies for identifying and combating cyberbullying in educational settings, such as language-specific cyberbullying detection tools, IRCB programmes for empowering teenagers, and technologies such as CREEP Semantic Technology and CREEP Virtual Coach, have showed potential. TIPIP and the #WIIWY movement have also assisted to raise awareness and educate people about cyberbullying. However, more research is required to design targeted interventions that address varied demographics and circumstances, while including parents and taking the target audience’s age into account remains critical for effective technology-driven educational interventions and digital advocacy