Internet use among urban Malaysians: Network diversity effects

This study examines social network diversity in urban areas relative to residents’ usage of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Individual-level variation in social network diversity was measured using position generator data collected as part of a survey conducted in Malaysia’s Klang Valley (N = 808). Regression analyses were performed to assess the extent to which network diversity is related to ICTs. We find that most ICTs have a negative effect on diversity. Only frequent use of the Internet at work, mobile access to the Internet, and reading online news or blogs contribute positively to diversity. Findings support both a tendency toward ‘networked individualism’ and the more recent ‘glocalization’ thesis that some ICTs may also afford participation within local space rather than only across distant space

Content-Based VLE Designs Improve Learning Efficiency in Constructivist Statistics Education

Background: We introduced a series of computer-supported workshops in our undergraduate statistics courses, in the hope that it would help students to gain a deeper understanding of statistical concepts. This raised questions about the appropriate design of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in which such an approach had to be implemented. Therefore, we investigated two competing software design models for VLEs. In the first system, all learning features were a function of the classical VLE. The second system was designed from the perspective that learning features should be a function of the course's core content (statistical analyses), which required us to develop a specific-purpose Statistical Learning Environment (SLE) based on Reproducible Computing and newly developed Peer Review (PR) technology. Objectives: The main research question is whether the second VLE design improved learning efficiency as compared to the standard type of VLE design that is commonly used in education. As a secondary objective we provide empirical evidence about the usefulness of PR as a constructivist learning activity which supports non-rote learning. Finally, this paper illustrates that it is possible to introduce a constructivist learning approach in large student populations, based on adequately designed educational technology, without subsuming educational content to technological convenience. Methods: Both VLE systems were tested within a two-year quasi-experiment based on a Reliable Nonequivalent Group Design. This approach allowed us to draw valid conclusions about the treatment effect of the changed VLE design, even though the systems were implemented in successive years. The methodological aspects about the experiment's internal validity are explained extensively. Results: The effect of the design change is shown to have substantially increased the efficiency of constructivist, computer-assisted learning activities for all cohorts of the student population under investigation. The findings demonstrate that a content-based design outperforms the traditional VLE-based design

The people we know: Social network diversity among urban Malaysians

Social networks are an important source for individual social actors to access critical resources (e.g., information and support) and can be variably associated with tolerance, social harmony and nation building, also under conditions of rapid urbanisation. The purpose of this paper is to provide much-needed factual and quantitative details regarding the social networks of urban Malaysians. The approach includes self-report questionnaire data obtained in the first half of 2014 from a representative sample of 808 respondents, aged 31 to 55, living in five major cities/towns across the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Findings show that urban Malaysians function within social networks that are racially, culturally and socio-economically heterogeneous, interacting with all major groups in Malaysian society, including neighbours. For the vast majority, however, the observed degree of network diversity is medium to low. The analysis also suggests that social network diversity is no indication of the closeness or importance accorded to the social relationships involved. A final finding is that social network diversity weakly correlates with respondents’ sex, race and religion but not with their age or employment status. Overall, this study seems to point to the existence, among urban Malaysians, of a dual social network system: a more closely knit homogeneous network based on family ties versus a looser and more heterogeneous network of non-family contacts. Among the non-family contacts, the observed diversity can be hypothesised to be a diversity of necessity rather than one by choice. Potential political and social implications will be discussed

The effect of online reading on argumentative essay writing quality.

In tertiary education in Malaysia, essay-writing assignments are central to most English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. Often reading texts are used as a stimulus to better writing but it has not yet been extensively researched whether these texts should be presented on screen or on paper. This study examines which of these two presentation modes, viz., interactive online reading or print-based reading, help today’s ICT-literate generation of Malaysian students write better argumentative essays. The rationale is that interactive online reading motivates these students more, and that this higher task motivation in its turn leads to more successful task performance. Using a quasiexperimental,between-subjects research design, we elicited a total of 90 essays (31,207 words), 44 of which written by students reading the input text online and 46 by students reading the same text on paper. The quality of argumentation was analysed, using a modified three-way version of Harrell’s (2005) coding rubric: thesis, support and counter-arguments. Our comparative study shows that 61% of all essays are ‘good’, with 39% rated as ‘average’ to ‘poor’. Results indicate that the interactive online reading condition yields superior task performance and that it also produces proportionately more essays with a ‘good’ thesis statement. Both findings are statistically significant. Essays with a ‘good’ thesis are more likely to contain ‘good’ support though not always ‘good’ counter-arguments. Counter-argumentation remains underdeveloped for both conditions.As a springboard to better argumentative content, ICT-enabled reading-based activities may not suffice, leaving room for other pedagogic interventions

Improving definitional skills in business learners: Useful strategy or waste of time?'

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Mitigation in turning down business proposals across cultures: the case for pragmatic competence instruction

Writing ‘bad news’ messages in English constitute a skill critical to interpersonal effectiveness in today’s global marketplace. This study investigates the rejection (or refusal) strategies that native and non-native speakers use naturally, i.e. without the help of explicit pragmatic competence instruction. The data consist of the letters of rejection written by higher education students in response to a business proposal. These letters were analyzed in terms of four dimensions: meaning components, organizational approach and indirectness (using a framework derived from Félix-Brasdefer 2006) and the speech acts of apologizing and thanking (Wannaruk 2008). Results show that the student rejections display more variation, and even randomness, than predicted by the literature. Additionally, national culture and language appear to be much less of an explanatory factor than the students’ shared subcultural identity and exposure to similar models of communication. Overall, the data allow us to conclude that not only non-native but also native student writers would benefit from pedagogical interventions aimed at raising genre awareness and improving their intercultural pragmatic competence

Turning down business-to-business proposals diplomatically

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Should business students be taught how to say 'no'? A comparison of Flemish and US rejection letters in English

Writing “bad news" messages constitutes a skill critical to interpersonal success and effectiveness in many people’s professional lives. It is also believed to be “one of the most difficult tasks facing business communicators" (Salerno 1985). Despite research to the contrary (see e.g. Locker 1999), there is still a relatively strong — if often implicit— preference among textbooks (e.g. Thill and Buvée 2002) for the so-called indirect organizational approach. This communicative strategy includes (i) a buffer opening meant to soften the rejection as a potentially face-threatening act (Brown and Levinson 1987); (ii) an indirect refusal; (iii) one or more reasons for turning down the request, proposal or application; and (iv) a positive ending. The present study is an attempt to examine the extent to which Flemish, US student writers will follow, or depart from, the indirect organizational pattern in the absence of any explicit writing intervention or business genre instruction. The data — a corpus of 21 rejection letters — have been collected as part of a semester-long business correspondence project in which Flemish and US students exchanged letters and other documents by email. The findings reveal that only one third of Flemish and US writers use an indirect approach. Also, writers in both groups combine indirectness and directness in unpredictable ways. However, most interestingly, Flemish and US rejection letters show a strong positive correlation with “best practice" sample letters discussed by opponents of the indirect approach like Locker (1999). This paper concludes by questioning the relevance of writing instruction for advanced students of business communication.status: publishe

From gender stereotyping to constructing political identity: changes in Malaysiakini’s portrayal of women candidates during Malaysia’s 2008 and 2013 general elections

The under- and misrepresentation of women politicians and electoral candidates in the news media has been well documented. Much less is known, however, about how news providers portray women politicians differently over time, either in tandem with developments in the political and media landscape — e.g., the presence, visibility, and role of women in politics — or to reflect changes in internal newsroom policies. Against this background, this study aims to compare and contrast the news coverage of female candidates in two successive general elections, using multiethnic Malaysia as its case. Samples of news articles from Malaysiakini — one of Malaysia’s major independent online newspapers — were collected for the election periods of 2008 and 2013 and subjected to qualitative content analysis, with a focus on headlines. Findings suggest that the more recent reporting of women candidates helps position women as competent professionals compared with the more gendered portrayals five years before. At the same time, there is a trend away from descriptive to interpretive journalism, putting the many challenges that Malaysian women face as candidates in a wider societal and international context. The implications of the study are that also in Malaysia, individual newspapers can change over time, revise their gender stereotypes and overall play a stronger role in enhancing women’s electoral viability