The evolution of newly qualified English teachers’ cognition in Malaysian primary schools

This thesis investigates the evolution of knowledge and beliefs of four newly qualified English teachers in their first year of teaching in Malaysian primary classrooms. Although there has been an increased interest in the study of teachers’ cognition in general education research over the years, studies on the cognitions of language teachers in their first year in the classroom remain limited, particularly research into the use of a longitudinal approach to case studies on newly qualified teachers’ beliefs. The aims of this qualitative multiple-case study were to explore the evolution of newly qualified teachers’ (NQTs) beliefs about teaching and learning during their first year of teaching, and to examine the factors that might influence their thinking and classroom practices. The four research participants were from the first cohort of a new Bachelor of Teaching (Hons) course in the Teaching of English as a Second Language (Primary Education) at an Institute of Teacher Education (ITE) in Malaysia. The data was gathered from Skype interviews, classroom observations, stimulated recall interviews and journal entries throughout the participants’ first year of teaching. They were then analysed both manually and using nVivo, a qualitative data analysis software. The outcome provides interesting insights into the evolving thoughts of the four NQTs. As well as shared areas of concern, they each display relatively distinctive reactions to their first-year teaching experiences. The findings support the current movement towards viewing teachers’ cognition constructions as an individual process, and classroom experience in a given moment seems to be the strongest element in NQTs’ belief formation. This study hopes to add to the understanding of the complexity of teachers’ cognition and the appropriacy of the existing pre-service training courses for teachers teaching in public schools. The potential impacts of the study include understanding the importance of providing real support systems for NQTs and adjusting the curriculum structure, content and pedagogy in pre-service English language teacher education to better prepare NQTs for the reality of the classroom

Competency-driven benefits realization model for minimization of post-contract transaction costs in design-build (d&b) delivery systems

The construction industry has been struggling with the issue of inconsistent performance with respect to cost of projects, completion time and the delivery of a quality product. In an attempt to address this issue the Design-Build (D&B) project delivery system was initiated primarily to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional procurement strategies. Although, traditionally D&B delivery system was aimed to greatly enhance client‘s benefits, this has not significantly been achieved. It lacks clear benefits realization management process to deliver the planned client‘s benefits. In particular, the Transaction Costs (TCs) incurred at the post-contract phase (PTCs) through D&B system has been the subject of criticism, wherein it has been unable to achieve the expected resounding success of a total shift away from the issues attributed to the traditional systems. This research aims to establish the importance of leveraging on D&B project team-competency and commitment structured within a strategic Benefits Realization Management framework to optimize client‘s benefits in terms of minimizing PTCs. The focus is on the aspect of competencies of key project participants and their project team commitment with respect to minimizing TCs that is structured within a Benefits Realization Management (BRM) practice. Questionnaire survey data was obtained from 231 respondents out of 357 administered questionnaires to G7 contractors registered under CIDB Malaysia that was based on a systematic sampling of the existing CIDB contractor database. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to test the relationships being hypothesized and to validate and confirm the developed Competency Driven Benefits Realization Model (CD-BREM). Exploratory preliminary research findings reveal that post-contract TCs for D&B projects range from 3.5% to 13.5% of the project value. The primary research findings reveal that D&B team commitment has partial mediating effect between team competency and post-contract TCs. Whilst, BRM was found to have a partial mediating effect between team competency and post-contract TCs and no moderating effect as initially hypothesized. In general the research findings indicate that team competency, commitment and BRM have significant positive influences on post-contract TCs. This research provides a multi-dimensional perspective of the D&B project benefits realization concept and has the potential to address the issue of minimizing PTCs, which is seen as a social waste of wealth. Using CD-BREM it is possible to identify key human factors that can contribute to high project performance that also serves as an enabling mechanism for realizing the full potential of the D&B method for delivering successful projects. This research is timely to help reverse the trend of poor performance within the construction industry as a whole. Further work on the implementation of this CD-BREM model on construction projects and the consideration of including additional independent variables in the research theoretical framework can be explored to strengthen the credibility of the outcome of this research which is aimed at minimizing PTCs

The impact of economic indicators, industrialization and pollutant emissions (CO2) on economic development in Malaysia / Saliza Sulaiman ... [et al.]

The main purpose of this research is to identify whether there is any relationship between economic indicators, industrialization and pollutant emissions (CO2) on economic development in Malaysia. Economic indicators consist of government debt, health and education expenditure. This paper used Ordinary Least Square (OLS) Method to test the factors affecting the economic development. The data collection for each variable are collected from year 1980 until 2014 for 35 years in Malaysia. The result of the study shows that industrialization and pollutant emission (CO2) have a significant relationship on economic development. Meanwhile, government debt, health and education expenditure do not have a significant relationship on economic development. These finding will help to understand the effect of independent variables towards the dependent variable (economic development)

Pengaruh kepimpinan distributif terhadap pengurusan konflik dalam kalangan pemimpin sekolah

Amalan kepimpinan distributif dalam kalangan pemimpin sekolah adalah elemen penting dalam menjayakan pelaksanaan Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025 ke arah meningkatkan amalan kepimpinan berkesan. Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti perkaitan antara kepimpinan distributif dengan pengurusan konflik dalam kalangan pemimpin-pemimpin sekolah. Kajian ini mengguna pakai pendekatan kuantitatif dalam kajian keratan rentas untuk mengumpul data berkenaan kepimpinan distributif dan pengurusan konflik. Populasi kajian melibatkan pemimpin-pemimpin di sekolah menengah kebangsaan zon utara, Semenanjung Malaysia dan persampelan rawak berstrata digunakan untuk memilih responden kajian. Instrumen yang digunakan ialah soal selidik Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) yang dibina oleh Kouzes dan Posner pada tahun 1995 dan soal selidik Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory – II (ROCI-II), yang dibina oleh Rahim pada tahun 1983. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang signifikan dan positif antara kepimpinan distributif dan pengurusan konflik yang mana kepimpinan distributif juga didapati memberi pengaruh kepada pengurusan konflik di sekolah. Justeru, elemen di dalam amalan kepimpinan distributif perlu diterapkan kepada pemimpin-pemimpin sekolah dalam mempastikan keberkesanan kepimpinan sekolah dapat dicapai seperti mana yang telah dirangka dalam Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025

Identifying Needy Students for University-Industry Snapfeed Program

This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the university students’ nutritional habits and peer pressure on food purchases. In addition, the motivations for the study were the media highlights on poverty among public university students that led to hunger. A survey was conducted with a sample size of 1,000 students; the response rate was 80%. The findings revealed the dietary patterns from money spent on food. Cross-tabulation between family income and the number of daily meals per day showed that students coming from a low-income background have satisfactory nutritional habits, but lack of money meant lesser meals or food insecurity. Hence, a snapfeed program for low-income student to assist with daily food intake was suggested.   Keywords: Needy students; poverty; dietary habits; food insecurity eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i12.190

Malaysian Apprenticeship Implementation: Issues and Challenges Towards Effective Employers Engagement

While the jobs recovery is underway in many countries, persistently high rates of youth unemployment remain a significant labour market challenge. In response, there has been increasing interest in apprenticeships both as a route into employment and also in raising the skill levels of the workforce. Apprenticeship is one of the methods to promote young people's employment. It is historically prevalent and successful in Europe and is emulated in other countries around the world to promote employment especially amongst youth. Apprenticeships and other work-based training opportunities are valuable training pathways for improving the transition from school-to-work. At the local level, apprenticeship programmes can contribute to regional development objectives and provide local employers with the skilled workforce they require to remain competitive and create jobs. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the currents issues and challenges faced by Malaysian industrial employers in employer engagement of apprenticeship programmes through action research and descriptive studies. This action-based research as a methodology is to gather the responses of Malaysian local companies’ experiences in the manufacturing sector, across Multinational Companies (MNC), Government-Linked Corporations (GLC) and Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SME) and identify the key issues and solutions that could create a beneficial prospect for TVET graduates and participating companies. Both descriptive quantitative and qualitative data from the survey questionnaires and interviews, respectively, were employed. 71 companies involved in the online survey and 6 manufacturing companies participated in the interviews and discussions as well as brainstorming. From the perspective of industries, this study found that the main key issues and challenges are: scarcity of competent industries instructors and coaches; provision of CPD; availability of apprenticeship bridging programs; teaching capacity; skills to deliver high quality employer focused apprenticeship; and industries and training providers collaboration. These six main issues are fundamentally systemic and highly intertwined in nature and will have to be resolved by all the stakeholders based on an agreeable working framework of apprenticeship in Malaysia. The findings of this study could provide policy makers and social partners with specific learnings to remove barriers to engaging employers in apprenticeship programmes, broaden access to training opportunities and improve the economic development and labour market performance of local areas

The performance of Bursa Malaysia and its causality effect with South Korea, Taiwan and Japan stock exchanges : 2000 – 2004 / Omar Samat, Zuraidah Ismail and Jaslin Md Dahlan

This study examines the effect of returns from South Korea, Taiwan and Japan Stock Exchanges on the Bursa Malaysia in the year 2000 to 2004. The return from an individual stock exchange is no longer exclusive but with effect of globalization, it is also influenced by activities happening in other countries. The sources ofco-movements between stock markets are of great importance both for international investors and academics. A better knowledge of the underlying factors may improve portfolio management and help to assess the degree offinancial integration and efficiency

PEMBEBANAN NAFKAH IDDAH DAN MUT’AH DALAM PERKARA CERAI GUGAT DALAM TINJAUAN HUKUM ISLAM DI INDONESIA DAN MALAYSIA

Abstract Divorce lawsuits filed by wives are often not accompanied by additional demands on the husband to provide Iddah and mutah. Because many cases that occur in a divorce lawsuit, a wife does not get the right to provide iddah and mut'ah. Even though the application for a living right can be submitted at the time of filing a divorce suit as in the Decision of the Pangkalan Balai Religious Court No.727/Pdt.G/2021/Pa.Pkb. The purpose of this paper is to find out the legal basis that the judge considers regarding the imposition of iddah and mut'ah maintenance in divorce cases and to understand the review of Islamic law in Indonesia and Malaysia on the imposition of iddah and mut'ah maintenance in divorce cases. This research uses a type of field research or what is called (field research). From the results of the study it was found that the judge made a decision based on the consideration of the party's evidence presented at trial, where evidence was found that the plaintiff was not nusyuz so that based on the theory of justice and the protection of women's rights, the judge could make a decision in accordance with the ijtihad that was carried out. In addition, according to Islamic law in Indonesia it is in line with Article 41 of Law No. 1 of 1974. Meanwhile, according to Islamic law in Malaysia it is in line with the Anakmen Islamic Family Law Number 17 of 2003. Keywords.: Divorce; Iddah income; Mut'ahGugatan perceraian yang dilakukan oleh istri seringkali tidak disertai dengan tuntutan tambahan kepada suami untuk memberikan Nafkah Iddah dan Mut’ah. Sebab banyak perkara yang terjadi dalam gugatan perceraian seorang istri tidak mendapatkan hak nafkah iddah dan mut’ah. Padahal pengajuan hak nafkah ini dapat di ajukan pada saat pengajuan gugatan cerai seperti dalam Putusan Pengadilan Agama Pangkalan Balai No.727/Pdt.G/2021/Pa.Pkb. Tujuan dari penulisan ini untuk mengetahui landasan hukum yang menjadi pertimbangan hakim mengenai pembebanan nafkah iddah dan mut’ah dalam perkara cerai gugat dan untuk memahami tinjauan hukum Islam di Indonesia dan Malaysia terhadap pembebanan nafkah iddah dan mut’ah dalam perkara cerai gugat. Penelitian ini menggunakan jenis penelitian lapangan atau yang disebut dengan (field research). Dari hasil penelitian ditemukan bahwa hakim memberikan putusan berdasarkan pertimbangan pembuktian pihak yang dihadirkan di persidangan, dimana ditemukan bukti bahwa penggugat tidak nusyuz sehingga berdasarkan teori keadilan dan perlindungan hak-hak perempuan, hakim dapat memberikan keputusan sesuai dengan ijtihad yang dilakukan. Selain itu, menurut hukum Islam di Indonesia sejalan dengan pasal 41 UU No.1 Tahun 1974. Sedangkan menurut hukum Islam di Malaysia sejalan dengan UU Keluarga Islam Enakmen Nomor 17 Tahun 2003. Kata Kunci.: Cerai Gugat; Nafkah Iddah; Mut’a

The Impact of Economic Indicators, Industrialization and Pollutant Emissions (CO2) on Economic Development in Malaysia

The main purpose of this research is to identify whether there is any relationship between economic indicators, industrialization and pollutant emissions (CO2) on economic development in Malaysia. Economic indicators consist of government debt, health and education expenditure. This paper used Ordinary Least Square (OLS) Method to test the factors affecting the economic development. The data collection for each variable are collected from year 1980 until 2014 for 35 years in Malaysia. The result of the study shows that industrialization and pollutant emission (CO2) have a significant relationship on economic development. Meanwhile, government debt, health and education expenditure do not have a significant relationship on economic development. These finding will help to understand the effect of independent variables towards the dependent variable (economic development

Solar water heating system in Libyan buildings

Solar energy is a clean and abundant energy resource that can be used to supplement several energy needs. Solar energy can be utilized as a form of heat, such as solar water heating, and as electricity, such as solar photovoltaic. Solar water heating systems are commonly referred to in the industry as Solar Domestic Hot Water systems. The challenges (increasing demand for energy, sustainable development, low competitiveness, reducing environmental impacts) and the opportunities (value added, job creation, transfer of knowledge and technology acquisition) that North African countries are experiencing today in this field, call for collective action across the whole region, oriented towards tangible results, including Libya faces challenges in providing energy in light of the continuing power outages. The objectives of this research are to identify the current practices of solar water heating system in Libyan buildings, to identify the factors that hinder the application of solar water heating system in Libyan buildings, to suggest on the application of solar water heating system in Libyan buildings. Questionnaires were used to collect the data from contractors and consultants in the construction industry. Ranking and analysis of variance (correlation) were used to analyse the data collected with the use of version 21 SPSS. It was found that the application of renewable energy in construction project is very low. However, the factors that hinder of solar water heating system in Libya were lack of consultant's initiatives, lack of financial commitment, and lack of commitment design team, lack of government interest to promote solar water heating system and high tax on solar energy by government. The result of this finding implicate that the construction industry in Libya need to improve its approach in using solar water heating system by understanding its current practices and finding ways to solve of the factors that hinder