Predictors of Employee Information Sharing Behavior using Social Media

Purpose: Social media application such as Blog, Wikipedia, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace, are currently become a useful medium of communication as well as sharing information especially in an organisation. This phenomenon effected not only individual all over the world but also employees in Malaysia organisations. Thus, this study is a work-in-progress that referring to a few theories and journals to identify employee's intrinsic attitude as a predictor that contribute to information sharing behavior using social media with the readiness for change as a mediator factor. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study based on a review of several journal and theories related to individual behavior focusing on intrinsic attitude that has significantly contribute to employees' behavior to adapt with new technologies, which is in this study, social media.  Findings: The results shows that intention behavior, belief expectancy and attitude influence are the predictors for employees' intrinsic attitude and readiness for change comes as mediator factor that being predict to have a significant relationship with information sharing behavior using social media among the employee.   Implications/Originality/Value: The existence of readiness for change as mediator between employee's intrinsic attitude and information sharing behavior using social media among the employee of Government-Link Company can be taken into consideration for developing a new model of information sharing behavior using social media

Climatic influences on aedes mosquito larvae population

The impact of climate on Aedes larval population was studied.Monitoring of population was done using ovitraps. Ovitrap pr ovides a simple and convenient monitoring method for Aedes surveillance as the number of eggs laid in a standard trap within a specific time period give a relative measurement of the number of mosquito in the same area.Ovitraps were set outdoors in selec ted dengue prone areas in Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur for 66 weeks.Weather stations, consisting of a temperature and relative humidity data logger and an automated rain gauge were installed at key locations in the study site.Week-to-week variations of larval densities were correlated against variations in the individual climatic parameters.Results of the study showed that there was a close relationship between the heavy rainfall and the increased mosquito population in the study sites.The study showed that previous week rainfall plays a significant role in increasing the mosquito population

Effects of tranexamic acid on death, disability, vascular occlusive events and other morbidities in patients with acute traumatic brain injury (CRASH-3): a randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background Tranexamic acid reduces surgical bleeding and decreases mortality in patients with traumatic extracranial bleeding. Intracranial bleeding is common after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and can cause brain herniation and death. We aimed to assess the effects of tranexamic acid in patients with TBI. Methods This randomised, placebo-controlled trial was done in 175 hospitals in 29 countries. Adults with TBI who were within 3 h of injury, had a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 12 or lower or any intracranial bleeding on CT scan, and no major extracranial bleeding were eligible. The time window for eligibility was originally 8 h but in 2016 the protocol was changed to limit recruitment to patients within 3 h of injury. This change was made blind to the trial data, in response to external evidence suggesting that delayed treatment is unlikely to be effective. We randomly assigned (1:1) patients to receive tranexamic acid (loading dose 1 g over 10 min then infusion of 1 g over 8 h) or matching placebo. Patients were assigned by selecting a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients, caregivers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. The primary outcome was head injury-related death in hospital within 28 days of injury in patients treated within 3 h of injury. We prespecified a sensitivity analysis that excluded patients with a GCS score of 3 and those with bilateral unreactive pupils at baseline. All analyses were done by intention to treat. This trial was registered with ISRCTN (ISRCTN15088122), ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01402882), EudraCT (2011-003669-14), and the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR20121000441277). Results Between July 20, 2012, and Jan 31, 2019, we randomly allocated 12 737 patients with TBI to receive tranexamic acid (6406 [50·3%] or placebo [6331 [49·7%], of whom 9202 (72·2%) patients were treated within 3 h of injury. Among patients treated within 3 h of injury, the risk of head injury-related death was 18·5% in the tranexamic acid group versus 19·8% in the placebo group (855 vs 892 events; risk ratio [RR] 0·94 [95% CI 0·86-1·02]). In the prespecified sensitivity analysis that excluded patients with a GCS score of 3 or bilateral unreactive pupils at baseline, the risk of head injury-related death was 12·5% in the tranexamic acid group versus 14·0% in the placebo group (485 vs 525 events; RR 0·89 [95% CI 0·80-1·00]). The risk of head injury-related death reduced with tranexamic acid in patients with mild-to-moderate head injury (RR 0·78 [95% CI 0·64-0·95]) but not in patients with severe head injury (0·99 [95% CI 0·91-1·07]; p value for heterogeneity 0·030). Early treatment was more effective than was later treatment in patients with mild and moderate head injury (p=0·005) but time to treatment had no obvious effect in patients with severe head injury (p=0·73). The risk of vascular occlusive events was similar in the tranexamic acid and placebo groups (RR 0·98 (0·74-1·28). The risk of seizures was also similar between groups (1·09 [95% CI 0·90-1·33]). Interpretation Our results show that tranexamic acid is safe in patients with TBI and that treatment within 3 h of injury reduces head injury-related death. Patients should be treated as soon as possible after injury. Funding National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment, JP Moulton Charitable Trust, Department of Health and Social Care, Department for International Development, Global Challenges Research Fund, Medical Research Council, and Wellcome Trust (Joint Global Health Trials scheme)

Modelling the underpinning factors of word of mouth (WOM) intentions of students in an ODL institution

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of the predictors – quality of service, students perceived satisfaction, and university image on word of mouth (WOM) intention in an open distance learning (ODL) institution. Understanding the expectation of customers is an important component in the marketing kit. Competitive market among educational institution lead educational institutions to think of ways to improve the marketing strategy. The paper also investigates the mediating effect of university image and student perceived satisfaction on WOM intentions of students on the institution. Online survey questionnaires were distributed to 1012 students who are studying at an ODL institution. The sample is selected from the various learning centres and selection is based on the number of semesters these students have been studying at the institution. For the purpose of the research the sample are those who have completed six semesters of study at the institution. The items in the questionnaire were developed using existing constructs. The findings showed that student perceived satisfaction; quality services and university image have a positive and significant impact on word of mouth intention at p 0.05. This study establishes the fact that the quality of services provided, the image of the university and how students feel about the services are predictors of word of mouth intention of students about the university. (Abstract by authors

Perkongsian maklumat menggunakan media sosial dalam kalangan pekerja organisasi

Peralatan media sosial berteknologi Web 2.0 telah mengambil alih cara tradisional perkongsian maklumat. Tidak tertakluk lagi kepada perkongsian maklumat secara bersemuka, surat-menyurat, notis pemberitahuan di papan notis, talian faksimili, atau berita di buletin, perkongsian maklumat kini sudah memasuki era teknologi tinggi di mana Facebook, Wiki, YouTube, LinkedIn, blog, dan twittering sudah mengambil alih cara perkongsian maklumat. Kemajuan dalam bidang teknologi moden menjadikan segala mesej, data, bahan, berita, informasi, pengetahuan, ilmu atau apa juga nama yang dalam konteks ini disebut sebagai maklumat, dapat diperolehi dan disebarkan dengan mudah merentasi sempadan masa, jarak dan Negara. Maklumat yang dikongsikan itu juga tidak terhad antara satu individu dengan individu sahaja malah boleh dikongsi kepada satu komuniti dalam talian yang terlibat dalam masa yang pantas. Pekerja organisasi dijangka dapat menerima perubahan tingkah laku untuk melakukan perkongsian maklumat menggunakan media sosial apabila mengetahui kebaikan yang boleh diperolehi daripadanya. Penggunaan media sosial berteknologi Web 2.0 ini disarankan menjadi satu medium pilihan bagi melakukan perkongsian maklumat terhadap pekerja Organisasi Pelaburan Berkaitan Kerajaan di Malaysia

Predictors of Employee Information Sharing Behavior using Social Media

Purpose: Social media application such as Blog, Wikipedia, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace, are currently become a useful medium of communication as well as sharing information especially in an organisation. This phenomenon effected not only individual all over the world but also employees in Malaysia organisations. Thus, this study is a work-in-progress that referring to a few theories and journals to identify employee's intrinsic attitude as a predictor that contribute to information sharing behavior using social media with the readiness for change as a mediator factor. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study based on a review of several journal and theories related to individual behavior focusing on intrinsic attitude that has significantly contribute to employees' behavior to adapt with new technologies, which is in this study, social media.  Findings: The results shows that intention behavior, belief expectancy and attitude influence are the predictors for employees' intrinsic attitude and readiness for change comes as mediator factor that being predict to have a significant relationship with information sharing behavior using social media among the employee.   Implications/Originality/Value: The existence of readiness for change as mediator between employee's intrinsic attitude and information sharing behavior using social media among the employee of Government-Link Company can be taken into consideration for developing a new model of information sharing behavior using social media

Adapting instruments and modifying statements: The confirmation method for the inventory and model for information sharing behavior using social media

This study aims to confirm the information sharing behavior using social media scale and to vali-date every item and make it reliable as an inventory by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The researcher adapted the measuring instruments for every latent construct from the literature and customized the items to suit this particular study. The study sent the revised questionnaire to 262 respondents in order to gather the pilot study data and able to get 163 filled ones as final data. The set of questionnaires consists of 66 items that assess the 6 constructs. Data is analyzed using SPSS AMOS Version 21.0. The results show that every construct achieved its Bartletts’ Test of Spherici-ty 6.0 with the result of Information Sharing Behavior .000 and .871; Intention .000 and .782; Belief Expectancy .000 and .911; Attitude Influence .000 and .925; Readiness For Change .000 and .959; and Self-Efficacy .000 and .902. The entire item of the construct has exceeded the minimum limit of 0.7 reliability of Alpha Cronbach value to achieve the Internal Reliability. The new integrate model has been proposed due to this finding

Relationship between Emotional Stability, Motivation, and Online Learning Skill of First-Year Undergraduates Learning Online During COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined the relationship between the emotional stability, motivation, and online study skills of first-year undergraduate students at a public university in the east coast of Malaysia who studied online at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective of the study was to seek better understanding on the level of online study skills, motivation, and emotional stability of new undergraduate students who were engaged in online learning. A total of 159 students selected through purposive sampling participated in the online survey. They answered two sets of instruments, the Learner Personality Profile and Online Learning Skill, which consisted of 60 items and 30 items respectively. Both instruments were measured based on a five-point Likert scale. The Learner Personality Profile scale comprised (1) never, (2) rarely, (3) sometimes, (4) very often, and (5) always responses, while the Online Learning Skill scale consisted of (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree, and (5) strongly agree responses. The findings of the study showed that female students’ level of motivation scores (mean=3.90) were higher than male students’ scores (mean=3.61) based on a three-level range of mean scores (low=1.00 to 2.33, average=2.34 to 3.67, and high=3.68 to 5.00). Female students’ level of online study skills scores (mean=3.90) were also reported to be higher than male students’ scores (mean=3.61). However, both male and female students reported a low level of emotional stability scores (mean=2.20 and mean=2.19 respectively). The correlation analyses showed a significant relationship between online study skills and emotional stability, and between motivation and emotional stability. Curiously, the motivation variable did not act as a mediating factor in the relationship between online study skills and emotional stability based on the multiple-regression analysis. (Abstract by authors

Future chartered accountants' experience in the Malaysian audit firms: a focus on mentoring supports

Mentoring in the workplace has become a demanding need in the accounting professions. Good mentoring support will improve the future chartered accountants’ competencies. The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) acknowledges the importance of mentoring supports by enforcing formal mentoring to IFAC member bodies, including the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). In Malaysia, there is little investigation on how future chartered accountants obtain mentoring supports throughout their working experience, particularly in the audit firms. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the Malaysian chartered accountants’ experience in obtaining mentoring supports namely career and psychological supports, using the lens of mentoring theory. Interviews with eight future chartered accountants in Malaysia, who are currently undertaking the three years working experience to qualify as chartered accountants. The interviews were transcribed, coded and categorized into themes. The findings show that the process of mentoring supports are contextual to the number of chartered accountants in the workplace, workplace mentor-mentee initiative, career and psychosocial supports and peer mentoring. Although this study has a small sample, it is able to provide the understanding on the mentoring supports obtained by future chartered accountants in the big four and non-big four audit firms. This study makes two contributions: the enhancement of knowledge on mentoring and can assist policy makers in monitoring the mentoring supports obtained by the Malaysian future chartered accountants throughout their working experience