Johor Research Articles

The Adoption of MyGAP among Pineapple Smallholders: Case Study in Muar, Johor Malaysia

The Adoption of MyGAP among Pineapple Smallholders: Case Study in Muar, Johor Malaysia

Karekteristik Kebolehpasaran Graduan: Perbezaan Antara Gaya Perapatan, Autonomi, Regulasi Emosi Dan Resiliensi Dengan Anak Mangsa Penceraian Ibubapa

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in graduate employability characteristics: attachment style, autonomy, emotional regulation and resilience with parental divorce. The research design is a survey and quantitative study using existing questionnaire research instruments through reverse translation. In this study, the measurement of the reliability of the questionnaire and the analysis of the study findings using the Statistical Packages for The Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 27 program with independent sample t-test analysis. The study sample was a total of 285 respondents consisting of final year Vocational Diploma students in the State of Johor, Malaysia. The findings of the study found that there is a significant difference between attachment style with a significant value of p<0.05, there is a significant difference between autonomy and parental marital status, p<005, there is a significant difference between emotional regulation and parental marital status, p<0.05 and there is a significant difference in resilience with parents' marital status, p<0.05. The implications of this study are expected to provide knowledge about the importance of family function in shaping the marketability characteristics of vocational college graduates.

Prevalence of Burnout and Its Detrimental Effects Among Workers

When it comes to managing their workforce, one of the most difficult difficulties that organizations encounter is burnout among employees. This study sought to examine the level and factors contributing to burnout among employees in Johor state health department, Malaysia and to determine the association between burnout and sociodemographic. This was a cross-sectional study of 282 employees from Johor State health department. 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was developed to measure emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. The questionnaire elicited information regarding socio-demographic and work characteristics. Descriptive analysis was undertaken and parametric test was conducted to establish the relationship of burnout and sociodemographic. The data indicated on the MBI, majority of the respondents have moderate degree of emotional exhaustion (55.8%), High degree of depersonalization (55.8%) and low degree of personal accomplishment (62.2%). One way- ANOVA demonstrates there is association in emotional exhaustion between type of profession, depersonalization between type of profession and service period, and personal accomplishment between service period. (p value <0.01). The findings show that research design and techniques are sufficient for the upcoming prospective analyses of aetiology and effects of burnout and of the influence of workplace intervention.

Combating Non- Communicable Disease Among HCW: The Broken Soldiers

Non communicable disease (NCD) has recently emerged as a major public-health concern, with prevalence rising over the world. As a submerged portion of the iceberg, the hidden burden of NCD is escalating and devouring the world. NCD affects HCW in the same way it affects other types of workers. Healthcare worker (HCW) should serve as role models in the community, raising NCD prevention knowledge and encouraging patients to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The Objective to the study to access the prevalence of non-communicable disease among healthcare workers. A cross sectional study was conducted in Johor state public health division with secondary data source from health screening of HCW from 2021. A total of 123 subjects participated in the study. Based on BMI calculation 26% were categorized normal, 42% were overweight and 30% were obese. Correlation and univariate analysis were conducted on BMI and blood screening. The results show a significant relationship between BMI towards Total Cholesterol and Fasting blood sugar level among HCW (P value <0.01). The high prevalence of NCD risk factors and their significant association necessitate an appropriate risk-reduction strategy to reduce the possibility of chronic illness among them.

Social Media Political Information Use and Voting Behavior of the Malaysian Youth

The Malaysian lawmakers approved a legal amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years old on July 16, 2019. The new policy had empowered the very first batch of the 18 year-olds to cast their vote in the Johor state election which was held on March 12, 2022. Political analysts generally believe that what’s up in the near future would be the General Election 15 (GE15). For the first time ever Malaysians witnessed the transfer of power in the national political landscape since independence, politicians and big data analysts generally hailed the 2018 GE14 a ‘social media election’, given that social media had been used extensively by both the ruling and Opposition coalitions as major campaigning battleground, especially in their efforts to reach and sway the wired young voters. By employing an online self-administered survey questionnaire with 217 Malaysian first-time voters at a local university who rely heavily on social media for political information, this paper aims to learn how do these wired youth make use of social media platforms to learn about politics and observe voting. Findings of the current study suggest that social media political information use does not prompt the wired youth to be more likely to vote, but instead, distracts them from performing voters’ duty. On the contrary, voting behavior is more likely to be predicted by political variables such as party affiliation and political interest. Subsequently, research implications for practice and directions for future studies were discussed.

Habitat and Season Drive Chigger Mite Diversity and Abundance on Small Mammals in Peninsular Malaysia.

Chigger mites are vectors of the bacterial disease scrub typhus, caused by Orientia spp. The bacterium is vertically transmitted in the vector and horizontally transmitted to terrestrial vertebrates (primarily wild small mammals), with humans as incidental hosts. Previous studies have shown that the size of the chigger populations is correlated with the density of small mammals in scrub typhus-endemic regions. Here, we explore interactions between the small mammals and chiggers in two oil palm plantations located in the Perak and Johor states of Peninsular Malaysia. The location in Perak also contained an aboriginal (Orang Asli) settlement. A ~5% sub-sample from 40,736 chigger specimens was identified from five species of small mammals (n = 217), revealing 14 chigger species, including two new records for Malaysia. The abundance and species richness of chiggers were significantly affected by habitat type (highest in forest border), state (highest in Perak), and season (highest in dry). The overall prevalence of Orientia tsutsugamushi DNA in small-mammal tissues was 11.7% and was not significantly affected by host or habitat characteristics, but in Johor, was positively associated with infestation by Leptotrombidium arenicola. These findings highlight the risk of contracting scrub typhus in oil palm plantations and associated human settlements.

Randomized high order fuzzy cognitive maps as reservoir computing models: A first introduction and applications

Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) have emerged as an interpretable signed weighted digraph method consisting of nodes (concepts) and weights which represent the dependencies among the concepts. Although FCMs have attained considerable achievements in various time series prediction applications, designing an FCM model with time-efficient training method is still an open challenge. Thus, this paper introduces a novel univariate time series forecasting technique, which is composed of a group of randomized high order FCM models labeled R-HFCM. The novelty of the proposed R-HFCM model is relevant to merging the concepts of FCM and Echo State Network (ESN) as an efficient and particular family of Reservoir Computing (RC) models, where the least squares algorithm is applied to train the model. From another perspective, the structure of R-HFCM consists of the input layer, reservoir layer, and output layer in which only the output layer is trainable while the weights of each sub-reservoir components are selected randomly and kept constant during the training process. As case studies, in this paper we consider solar energy forecasting with public data for Brazilian solar stations, hourly electric load of the power supply company of the city of Johor in Malaysia, solar energy dataset from United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), electric load data from the Global Energy Forecasting Competition 2012 (GEFCom 2012), and PJM hourly energy consumption data. The experiments also include the effect of the map size, activation function, the number of order and the size of the reservoir on the accuracy of R-HFCM method. The obtained results confirm the outperformance of the proposed R-HFCM model in comparison to the other methods. This study provides evidence that FCM can be a new way to implement a reservoir of dynamics in time series modeling. The Python code of the model is publicly available for research replication.

How Social Advertising Affects the Buying Behaviour of Malaysian Consumers? Testing the Moderating Effects of Gender and Education

This study examines the influence of social advertising on the buying behaviour of Malaysian consumers along with the moderating role of gender and education. We use our own Primary data that were collected through questionnaire-based survey from the shoppers at various shopping malls of fashion clothing brands at Kuala Lumpur and State Johor in Malaysia. The collected data were analyzed by using step wise regression and correlation statistics to find results. The findings revealed that social advertising, informativeness, entertainment, credibility, ease of use, contents, and gender have positive effects on the buying behaviour of Malaysian consumers toward the fashion clothing brands. By contrast, we find negative effects of privacy and education. Next, we show that gender has moderating effects in the defined context. The main contribution of this study is the assessment of the effects of some unique and influential factors of social advertising on the buying behaviour among Malaysian consumers towards the fashion clothing brands. In addition, this study has also assessed the moderating effects of gender and education to extend the body of knowledge in that area. Finally, we present practical implications for managers.

EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF SCHOOL CULTURE IN DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP PRACTICES AMONG SCHOOL LEADERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS LOCATED IN THE STATE OF JOHORE, MALAYSIA

Distributed leadership is a popular theory of leadership, especially among school leaders. This study aimed to explore school culture in distributed leadership practices among school leaders in secondary schools located in the state of Johore, Malaysia. This study uses a qualitative approach. Eight school leaders were selected among secondary school leaders in the state of Johor using the purposive participant selection method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis and then analysed using NVivo software version 12. Interviews and document analysis found that secondary school leaders in the state of Johore practice school culture, a dimension of distributed leadership practices in school.

Exploring the School Climate in The Formation of Student-Athlete Morals At A Sports School in Johor

Moral depravity is prevalent among adolescents nowadays, and student-athletes are not exempt from being exposed to bullying, electronic cigarette addiction, and other misconducts involving other adolescents. The school's climate is one of the social learning aspects that might contribute to students' well-being. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the school climate as a determinant of social learning by focusing on the daily routines of students at the Johor State Sports School. Case study qualitative research approaches were utilized for this study and involved ten informants, including student-athletes, teachers, and principals. Data was gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews, supplemented by participant observations, document analysis, and field notes. According to the study's findings, several aspects of empowering everyday activities, such as spiritual practises, physical health, academic balance, sports, morals, and student self-management, are present in the school environment. The findings of this study are expected to provide guidance and encouragement to the school, administrators, teachers, and the Malaysian Ministry of Education, particularly in maintaining a conducive and suitable school environment.

Readiness To Adopt Virtual Team Among Medium- Sized Companies In Malaysia

In Malaysia, medium sized companies was faced immature management in virtual team and lack of research focus in adoption virtual team. There have three objectives identified in this study which is future drivers, readiness and future trends of virtual team adoption among medium sized company in Malaysia. There are 328 populations had been chosen as the sample sizes. In this study, 31 participants from management of medium sized companies, Johor Malaysia involved. This study used exploratory research design utilizing foresight methods. STEEPV analysis was used to identify the key drivers of virtual team adoption and adopted in impact-uncertainty analysis. The four scenarios generated by top two drivers which is ‘connectivity between interpersonal relationships’ and ‘High rapid economic development’ which are in dimensions of mature adoption, resistance, growing adoption, and preferred and success in conventional teams. A technology readiness index was conducted and obtained a high level of technology readiness result

Rubric Usage Knowledge for Group Assignment: An analysis of Vocational Colleges

Rubrics are tools used to measure student performance through group work. Instructors should know the use of rubrics to assess student assignments in groups. This study was conducted to identify the level of knowledge in rubric usage for group assignments among Vocational College instructors in the state of Johor, Malaysia. Differences in instructors’ rubric usage knowledge for group assignments based on gender and the relationship between the knowledge and teaching experience were also studied. A total of 293 instructors were involved in this study. A quantitative approach using survey design was applied. The questionnaire containing 15 dichotomous items was administered using the google form application. Data were analysed using SPSS 23. Findings showed that instructors’ knowledge of rubrics used in group work assessment is high. The level of knowledge in rubric usage for group assignments among the instructors was found to have a significant mean difference based on gender. It also has a significant relationship between the level of knowledge in rubric usage for group assignments and teaching experience. In summary, this study is expected to provide input to stakeholders in improving the existing alternative assessment practice in Vocational Colleges in Malaysia. Therefore, suggestions for improvement are given for the intervention.

The remaining black jewels ecosystem in southern Peninsular Malaysia: Floristic composition of peat swamp forest in Muar, Johor

The Ayer Hitam North Forest Reserve (AHNFR) is located in the Muar district of Johor, Malaysia. The total area of AHNFR is stated as 3,797 hectares (ha), and this forest is unique as it has both inland forest and peat swamp forest. Peat swamp forest established on organic soils while the inland forest grows on mineral soils. AHNFR best described as the last remaining ‘black jewel’ ecosystem in the state of Johor as other peat swamp forests has perished. Five transect lines were established within the peat swamp forest areas. Each transect line has five plots where each plot is 0.04 ha in size. All trees with more than 10 cm in diameter at breast height were enumerated to determine the community structure and diversity of trees. 447 individuals tree were enumerated and result indicated that a total of 31 families with 70 species were found in the area assessed. The total tree density for peat swamp forest in AHNFR was estimated at 447 tree ha-1. The top five species with highest density were Syzygium cerinum (33 tree ha-1), Syzygium inophyllum (31 tree ha-1), Palaquium hexandrum (29 tree ha-1), Stemonurus secundiflorus (24 tree ha-1) and Koompassia malaccensis (21 tree ha-1). Total tree basal area at peat swamp forest area of AHNFR was 24.48 m2ha-1. Species with highest basal area was K. malaccensis (3.46 m2ha-1) while the least was Lithocarpus curtisii (0.01 m2ha-1).

A systematic approach for synthesis and optimisation of sustainable oil palm value chain (OPVC)

An oil palm value chain (OPVC) considers the interconnectivity between each activity within the oil palm industry to allow for a top-down overview of the industry, while capturing the details for more substantial system interactions. However, it is a challenge to deliver the big picture without a proper tool, especially for an extensive value chain network with various processes, the existence of multiple facilities for each process, and supply chain management system. In this respect, a novel systematic approach is developed to synthesise and optimise an integrated OPVC network for higher economic and environmental performance. In this work, an OPVC case study in Johor state is presented and solved to illustrate the proposed approach. Besides, the coalition reliability index is introduced to measure the reliability of the OPVC network formed under different supply chain management. The results demonstrated that the value-added across the entire value chain improves significantly, from 167.0 million US$/y in the conventional design to 220.2 million US$/y. Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emission is reduced substantially from 2700 to 1878 kt CO2e/y. To ensure more strategic sourcing of materials, and therefore, improves the likelihood of successful implementation for the value chain network developed, a Pareto-optimal front is plotted to predict the economic performance generated based on the changes in coalition reliability index.

A Study on Check Dam Design at Peat Soil Area for Peat Fire Management

In the past decade, incidents of peatland fires have occurred in Malaysia, especially during the prolonged dry weather between February to May and July to October of each year. The canal blocking system or check dam is commonly used to control water tables in peatland. The objectives of this paper are to review the common check dam used for peat fire management. Next to propose a suitable check dam for peat fire management and to prepare a Sketchup model. The case study at Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve (AHFR) is located in the district of Muar, Johor State, with a total area of 3,797 ha. There are four phases in designing a check dam. There are four phases in designing a check dam. Phase I is to review the check dam that have has been produced before. Next, phase II is a design concept for a check dam that is suitable for construction on peatland areas. Phase III, engineering design, involves calculations related to engineering, AutoCAD drawings, and construction price estimates. Phase IV is the last phase to produce a model using a paper model or Sketchup software. In conclusion, the study manages to innovate a check dam for peat fire management at Ayer Hitam, Muar.

Speed-Flow-Geometric Relationship for Urban Roads Network

Speed on the urban roads is significantly affected by the surrounding geometric and traffic parameters. Based on this fact, we ascertained the impact of the geometric and traffic parameters on the average travel speed of the urban roads network. Herein, 197 urban road segments in Johor (Malaysia) with diverse features were randomly selected. The average travel speed and volume of the traffic on these road segments were measured using the moving observer method (MOM). Meanwhile, these roads’ features were recorded via the direct visual inspection. Various geometric (density of the traffic calming speed, right-turn driveway, access, and right-turn) and cross-sectional (median, number of lanes, and side friction) parameters were considered. First, 14 multilinear models constructed via multilinear regression analysis were developed for traffic volume scenarios (in veh/h and pcu/h). Then, 10 models were adopted to evaluate the geometric parameters’ influence on the average travel speed for the selected roads. The results revealed a considerable impact of some geometric and traffic parameters on the average travel speed for the studied urban roads. Furthermore, the density of traffic calming speed, driveway, and intersection per 1 km of urban road segment one for each parameter was found to reduce the speed of the vehicles from 1.3 to 0.22 km/h. The combination of the road cross-section features such as median, number of lanes, and side friction strongly affected the observed speed variation. It is asserted that the developed model may facilitate the Malaysian urban roads network management to provide better traffic performance with higher mobility and safer roads design and planning, thereby offering a gateway toward sustainability.

Tret Personaliti dan Faktor Pemilihan Kategori Pekerjaan Dalam Kalangan Pelajar Kolej Vokasional

This study focuses on personality traits and job category selection factors among second year students of the Malaysian Vocational Diploma in Vocational Colleges in the state of Johor. This study uses Holland’s Theory of Career Typology (1973) to identify personality traits and key factors that drive students career choices in vocational colleges. 104 people participated in this study which consisted of 2nd year students of the Malaysian Vocational Diploma selected through random sampling. The Self-Directed Search (SDS) -Form Eassy research tool was used to survey the personality traits of the respondents, while the items for the factors that drove the selection of the student occupation category were developed by the researcher. Analysis of the descriptive data obtained showed that the main factor in the career choice of the respondents was the interest factor. The findings of the study also showed that the overall personality profiles of the respondents were S (social), I (investigative) and R (realistic). Characteristic of this career category is an interest in activities related to manipulating others such as informing, training, educating, avoiding explicit, structured activities as well as activities involving materials, equipment and machinery. Independent Sample T-test analysis was used to see the significant differences between the factors that influence the career choice of respondents. The findings of the study showed that there are significant differences between the factors of interest that influence the career choice of respondents. As a conclusion, the selection of job category of students in vocational colleges is SIR which can work with others with the ability of thinking skills that can be applied in the work of skills appropriate to the field of study in technology. Apart from that interest is a major factor in the selection of field and these students are ready to venture into a career field that is parallel to the field ofstudy. The importance of this study can be part of the reference for the selection of field of study to students who choose TVET as a career path.

Metabarcoding of Parasitic Wasp, Dolichogenidea metesae (Nixon) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) That Parasitizing Bagworm, Metisa plana Walker (Lepidoptera: Psychidae).

Microbiome studies of the parasitoid wasp, Dolichogenidea metesae (Nixon) (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) are important because D. metesae has potential as a biological control agent to suppress the pest, Metisa plana Walker (Lepidoptera, Psychidae). Three field populations of parasitic wasps with different Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to control M. plana collected from Perak state (Tapah) and Johor state (Yong Peng and Batu Pahat districts) in Peninsular Malaysia were studied. Bacterial community composition and structure were analysed using α and β diversity metrics. Proteobacteria (83.31%) and Bacteroidetes (6.80%) were the most dominant phyla, whereas unknown family from order Rhizobiales was the most abundant family found in all populations followed by Pseudomonadaceae. Family Micrococcaceae was absent in Tapah. Rhizobiales gen. sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were abundant in all populations. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed the strongest correlation between individuals of Batu Pahat and Yong Peng (r = 0.89827, p < 0.05), followed by Tapah and Yong Peng with r = 0.75358, p < 0.05 and Batu Pahat and Tapah (r = 0.69552, p < 0.05). We hypothesise that low diversity and richness in Tapah might be due to direct and indirect effect of insecticides application. This preliminary data was the first study to do inventory of the microbiomes in the gut of the D. metesae.

Capital mobility and centre–state relations: unpacking the spatial configuration of real estate investment in Iskandar Malaysia

ABSTRACT Iskandar Malaysia – in the southern state of Johor – was conceptualized in 2006 as a high-impact project by Malaysian economic planners. However, its development has generally been uneven, with centre–state governmental discoordination a constant flashpoint. This dynamic, as the paper argues, is manifested through the federal and Johor governments’ facilitation of capital to push their respective real estate projects, thereby exerting economic and political control. Although Putrajaya enjoyed a slight upper hand in the early stages (2006–12), the Johor state soon levelled the playing field. From 2013 to 2017, the Johor state aggressively recruited several well-capitalized Chinese real estate transnational corporations as an economic tool with which to regain dominance in its own turf. The centre–state competition for capital and physical space continued unabated as both sides promoted projects that are priced out of reach of the majority of the local populace. This groundswell of discontent was then exploited by the opposition, Pakatan Harapan, who harped on it and several socio-economic issues to challenge the United Malays National Organisation-led government. This explosive mix eventually created a ‘perfect storm’ that brought down one of Asia’s longest-ruling administrations in the May 2018 general election.

The implementation of 5S as an organisational development practice: a case study in a property development company in Malaysia

Property developers such as government-link companies in the state of Johor, Malaysia faced some difficulties in organising workspaces. This research studies how the implementation of 5S contributed to organisational development. The study adopted a qualitative research and used participant observations and secondary documents as the main source of data and performed a SWOT analysis of the company. The general model of planned change was applied to identify the problems in the organisation using the four stages, which are entering and contracting, diagnosing, planning, and implementing phase. The challenges the company was having disappeared and they no longer affect the company performance. These findings showed that 5S has been implemented to overcome the issues in the company. Limitations of the study involve the inability of the researchers to have access to some confidential documents related to 5S and the inability of the researchers to visit other branches outside the state of Johor.