Postgraduate University Students Research Articles

Attitude towards Online Shopping Activities in Malaysia Public University

The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of attitude towards online shopping activities among undergraduate and postgraduate students in Malaysian public university. By applying a quantitative survey approach, a total of 800 questionnaires were distributed to the students by handing them out, subsequently 662 questionnaires were usable for analysis. Systematic sampling technique was applied in this research and the measurement instruments are adapted from several resources that high in internal consistency. The final response rate was 83% and data was then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. By referring to the mean score, this research recommended the overall score for attitude was of moderate level. Future study was suggested to include also other variables and different sample frame could be inserted for further investigation. Finally, the current study could provide an informative idea to the country, business as well as the consumers for the potential to perform online shopping. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2s1p456

Recognition and accountability: sole parent postgraduates in university conditions

This paper aims to examine some of ways sole parents sought recognition as postgraduate students in Australian universities. Judith Butler's theory of recognition notes that recognition is always partial and any account we give of ourselves must be given to another. Participants articulated that supervisors were critical in the process of recognition; without recognition from an academic supervisor, postgraduates are unrecognisable and are unable to account for themselves. University timetabling often conflicted with sole parenting responsibilities, academic conference attendance and expectations of academic publications were understood as problematic factors in recognisability for sole parent postgraduates. Problematic supervisory relations, restricted access to academic classes or seminars and limited access to academic conferences exacerbated sole parent isolation and influenced their recognisability as sole parent postgraduates.

Having fun with words while taking them seriously

This is the third edition, revised and updated as well as greatly embellished with a number of additional attractive features, of a book first published in 2005. This fact alone speaks volumes for the book's immense popularity amongst its target readership primarily composed of students with no specialist knowledge about its subject matter. As part of the series “Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics,” of which there already are over a score of widely appreciated titles on the market, the book is true to the stated objective of the series which is to cater to “second and third-year undergraduate, and postgraduate university students” who “have completed a first-year introductory course in general linguistics.”

University Museums as Spaces of Education: The Case of the History of Education Museum at the University of Athens

It is widely accepted that museums comprise centers for the conservation, study and reflection on culture and heritage. In the Museum context, objects are presented to visitors, not simply as artifacts, but as objects embedded in cultural significance. If one of museums’ main tasks consists in the contextualization of objects in their cultural meanings, past and present, museums may be cast anew, theoretically, as spaces not simply responsible for the preservation of artifacts, but as spaces of education as well. In the museum space, visitors, according to their own cognitive capacities and skills, and their educational backgrounds, approach such meanings mentally. University Museums form a peculiar case of museums as they provide laboratories for the training of students. It follows that, a University Museum concerned with the history of education, as it is oriented towards preserving the cultural inheritance related to education, can easily provide material for both study and research purposes to many undergraduate or postgraduate university students. It can cover an enormous variety of activities and excite the interest of different parts of the society. In this paper we present our personal experience from a period of study and professional work at the Museum for the History of Education in the University of Athens, reflecting on ways in which the museum tried to respond to students’ needs, and those students undertaking graduate studies in Departments of Education in Greece, or those who attend primary or secondary school classes.

El efecto de la conservación de recursos sobre la intención emprendedora en el contexto de crisis económica: el rol moderador de la autoeficacia y la creatividad

This study presents a research line of entrepreneurship incorporating personal factors and current socio-economic context in the framework of the Conservation of Resources Theory. The objectives were to analyze the effect of the loss, threat loss, and gain of the resources on entrepreneurial intention and to determine the moderating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perception of own creativity. A cross-sectional study in 278 university postgraduate students was conducted. It was found that loss and gain of resources contributed in the decision to start a business, the positive effect of both variables was greater when the effect of the creative perception joined. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy showed more predictive power. It is concluded that the Conservation of Resources Theory is a theoretical support for the study of entrepreneurship in the context of economic crisis, however studies are needed to clarify and consolidate the results obtained, incorporating prospective analysis covering the social structure, coping strategies and types of entrepreneurial behaviour.

Agotamiento laboral en profesionales de salud de Lima Metropolitana

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo conocer el grado de agotamiento laboral en los profesionales de salud que laboran en los centros de salud de Lima Metropolitana, en una muestra de 89 sujetos que cursaban estudios de posgrado en diversos centros superiores de estudio. El estudio muestra que el agotamiento laboral en los profesionales de salud es normal con tendencia a ser aún más bajo. Una exploración más minuciosa entre los componentes permite encontrar un conjunto de correlaciones, entre los cuales tenemos que existe una asociación negativa entre el estrés y la satisfacción con el salario, la relación con los pacientes, el medio ambiente físico y la salud. Igualmente, asimismo hay asociación negativa entre vida familiar y estrés, satisfacción con el trabajo y estrés, horario y estrés, satisfacción con la vida y estrés, y suficiencia de materiales y estrés. Asimismo existe una relación positiva entre desgaste emocional y estrés, despersonalización y estrés, y logro y estrés. Finalmente, un análisis con las variables demográficas nos indica que existe asociación entre satisfacción con el trabajo y sexo, y tipo de contrato; vida familiar con edad, tipo de contrato, y trabajar en otra institución; despersonalización con nivel de estudios alcanzados; realización profesional con tiempo de trabajo; compromiso afectivo con antigüedad en la institución y con ingreso neto mensual; estrés con ingreso neto mensual; y satisfacción salarial con ingreso neto mensual.

Gender, family business background and entrepreneurial intentions in an emerging economy

The present study initiates a detailed empirical investigation on entrepreneurial intention among university postgraduate students from different domain of specialty in India. The study employs theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in which intentions are regarded as resulting from attitudes, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms. The sample size for the study is 176 comprising of 92 males and 84 females, who were selected by employing a stratified random sampling method. The results of the study reveal that there is a low, but statistically significant, correlation between a family business background and the intention to start a new business in India. Moreover, the attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control are positively and significantly correlated with entrepreneurial intention. The 2 × 3 ANOVA (gender × domain of specialty – science, humanities and technical) reveals domain of specialty do not have significant effect on postgraduate students’ entrepreneurial intention despite the fact that gender has significant effect on entrepreneurial intention.

Knowledge regarding palliative care amongst medical and dental postgraduate students of medical university in western Maharashtra, India

Background: Palliative care is a relatively new field of medicine. The goal of palliative care is not to cure, but to provide comfort and maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains. However, there is a paucity of studies on knowledge among postgraduate students from medical and dental disciplines. Objectives: The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge about palliative care amongst postgraduate students of Medical University in Western Maharashtra. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst a total of 178 postgraduate students which includes 112 medical and 66 dental disciplines of Medical University in Western Maharashtra during the period of June-August 2013. Data was analyzed in the form of percentage and proportions and Chi-square test was applied whenever necessary. Results: In the present study, 42.1% students didn't know the concept of 'autonomy' in palliative care, while 107 (60.1%) of students believed that most preferable route of administration in palliative care for treating chronic cases is oral. Among medical students 41.6% had shown overall good level of knowledge, while only 16.6% of dental students showed overall good level of knowledge. There was a significant difference found in the level of knowledge among the postgraduates between two disciplines. Conclusion: The study revealed the inadequacy in knowledge amongst postgraduate students of both disciplines; however knowledge level of dental was poor as compared to medical students. There is need to introduce palliative care in postgraduate curriculum of all health professional education.

Factors associated with body weight status of Iranian postgraduate students in university of putra malaysia.

Good nutrition, a balanced diet and regular physical activity are foundations of good health. Research has found that dietary patterns change dramatically following the arrival of students in a foreign country. However, nutritional status of Iranian students studying oversea has never been investigated. The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with body weight status of Iranian postgraduate students in Universiti of Putra Malaysia (UPM). A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the body weight status of 210 Iranian postgraduate students aged between 22 and 55 years in University of Putra Malaysia. The associations between body weight status and socio demographics factors and also lifestyle factors (smoking and physical activity) were assessed. Anthropometric factors (height, weight, BMI and waist and hip circumferences) were measured. Chi-square, Spearman Rho and Pearson tests were used for data analysis. From a total of 210 postgraduate students 110 were females, and 100 males. No significant correlation was observed between smoking and BMI (P = 0.4). However, statistically significant correlations were observed between gender (P = 0.007), physical activity (P = 0.02), using protein (P = 0.005), carbohydrate (P = 0.002), fat (P = 0.001), fiber (P = 0.003), vitamin C (P = 0.04), calcium (P = 0.005), waist circumference (P = 0.02), hip circumference (P = 0.001), Waist to Hip Ratio (P = 0.002), and BMI. The nutritional behavior of university students was poor. Therefore, it is essential to encourage young people, including university students to enrich their diets with milk, beans, fruit, and vegetables to decrease the risks of nutrition related disorders.

A percepção da imagem de preço em serviços: um estudo de abordagem quantitativa sobre os cursos de lato sensu de uma Universidade

A imagem de preço pode ser definida como uma variável latente e multidimensional que consiste numa convicção subjetiva e emocional associada a fatores relacionados com o preço de um produto ou serviço (ZIELKE, 2006; 2011). Assim, este estudo identifica que a imagem de preço de serviço pode ser mensurada a partir de quatro dimensões: Dimensão Funcional, Valor Percebido, Nível de Preço e Dimensão Emocional. A partir destes fatores este trabalho buscou testar e validar uma escala de imagem de preço de serviço de modo a identificar a influência destas dimensões sobre as intenções de recompra. Tal escala foi aplicada a uma amostra de 159 estudantes dos cursos de pós-graduação lato sensu de uma Universidade privada. Os resultados apontam que esta escala apresenta uma boa confiabilidade, validade e que as dimensões funcionais, relacionadas aos aspectos da infra-estrutura, ao corpo docente e a qualidade, e a dimensão de valor percebido, relacionada à percepção de custo versus benefícios são as que mais influenciam na intenção de recompra dos estudantes. Ainda, as análises multivariadas de regressão, ANOVA e cluster apontaram diferenças significativas na percepção das dimensões e na intenção de recompra entre os estudantes no início, meio e final do curso, o que reflete a natureza e a complexidade deste constructo, uma vez que está associado à experiência de consumo.

Knowledge sharing behaviour of postgraduate students in University of Malaya

Purpose This research aims to examine the knowledge sharing factors that influence postgraduate students during research. The main objective is to identify the differences in knowledge sharing behaviour among the postgraduate students with the behaviour commonly found in corporate organisations.

A qualitative study of Irish postgraduate students’ alcohol consumption

This exploratory qualitative study investigated Irish postgraduate students’ experiences of alcohol consumption and the motives that work to encourage their engagement in the consumption practice. Utilising a non-probability purposive sampling method, seven semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with postgraduate university students from a range of academic disciplines. The findings of the research indicate that, during their studies, these young people underwent an important transition regarding the manner in which they engage in alcohol consumption. The excessiveness that characterised their initial behaviour as undergraduates has given way to a more restrained approach to alcohol consumption as postgraduates. A number of factors sustain this desire to adopt a more controlled approach to alcohol consumption, including an increasing sense of responsibility, critical self-reflection and experience gained. The research also provides valuable insight into the motives that continue to underlie engagement by this more mature group in the consumption practice, namely pleasure-seeking and the belief that drinking represents a form of expected behaviour.

Spirituality and Resilience among Post-Graduate University Students

Spirituality relates more to personal search and personal growth, and to find greater meaning and ‘purpose of one’s existence’. Spirituality is believed to connect human beings with the powerful divine force that exists in the Universe. Likewise, it is also believed that spirituality plays a major role in coping with the life stressors. Coping is the process of managing and expending efforts to solve personal problems, and seeking to master, reduce or tolerate it. The aim of the study is to examine the existing relationship between spirituality and the ability to cope with stress among university post-graduate students. The sample for the study consisted of 100 university post-graduate students from various departments (50 men and 50 women) selected through the random sampling method. The examined research hypotheses are: ( a) there is a significant relationship between spirituality and stress coping ability among university students; ( b) there is a significant difference between men and women with regard to spirituality; and ( c) there is a significant difference between men and women with regard to stress-coping ability. In this study the spirituality level and coping ability for the sample were measured. The results reveal that students who have scored on spirituality are better able to cope with their stressors, are better able to adapt and have a positive outlook towards their problem situations.

The influence of anger, impulsivity, sensation seeking and driver attitudes on risky driving behaviour among post-graduate university students in Durban, South Africa

IntroductionRoad traffic accidents (RTAs) constitute a serious global health risk, and evidence suggests that young drivers are significantly overrepresented among those injured or killed in RTAs. This study explores the role of anger, impulsivity, sensation seeking and driver attitudes as correlates for risky driving practices among drivers, drawing comparisons between age and gender. MethodThe study used a cross-sectional survey design, with a sample of 306 post-graduate university students from two universities in Durban, South Africa, who completed the self-administered questionnaire. ResultsThe results indicate that drivers with higher driver anger, sensation seeking, urgency, and with a lack of premeditation and perseverance in daily activities were statistically more likely to report riskier driving acts. Males reported significantly more acts of risky driving behaviour (RDB) than females. Driver attitudes significantly predicted self-reported acts of RDB on most indicators. Older drivers (25 years and older) had safer driver attitudes and a lower sense of sensation seeking and urgency in life. ConclusionInterventions targeting young drivers, which focus on impeding the manifestation of anger, impulsivity and sensation seeking are recommended. Also, the empirical support for the attitude–behaviour hypothesis evidenced in this study vindicates the development or continuation of interventions that focus on this dynamic.

A review of the soil science research legacy of the triumvirate of cotton CRC

For nearly two decades (1994–2012) a series of three consecutive Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) dealing with cotton production provided the impetus and financial support for a substantial body of soil science research in eastern and northern Australia. Focusing on the most commonly utilised soil for irrigated crop production, the Vertosol, CRC-affiliated soil researchers undertook detailed soil inventories of cotton-growing valleys in New South Wales, and tackled a range of applied soil research questions that faced the entire Australian cotton industry. Across the broad categories of soil mapping and characterisation, soil physical condition, salinity and sodicity, soil chemical fertility, and soil carbon and biota, some 120 CRC-affiliated research papers were published in peer-reviewed journals during the years of the CRC. Findings from this body of research were fed back to the industry through conferences, extension workshops and materials, and to a lesser extent, the peer-reviewed publications. In certain cases, underpinning basic research was carried out concurrently with the more applied research, meaning that the cotton CRC were effectively supporting advances in the discipline of soil science, as well as in sustainable cotton production. A feature of the soil research portfolio over the span of the three cotton CRC was that priorities shifted according to the interplay of three factors; the natural maturation of research topics and the concomitant evolution of cotton farming systems, the rising importance of environmental implications of agricultural land use, and the emergence of carbon as a national research priority. Furthermore, the commitment of the CRC to education resulted in the involvement of undergraduate and postgraduate university students in all aspects of the soil research effort. A legacy of the triumvirate of cotton CRC is a wide-ranging body of both applied and basic knowledge regarding the physical, chemical and biological attributes of Australian Vertosols used for irrigated agriculture.

Knowledge and attitude of medical undergraduate, interns and postgraduate students in India towards emergency contraception

Background:Although India was the first country in the world to have national family planning policy, the acceptance of contraceptive methods has been unsatisfactory. Many women in their peak reproductive years, who wish to control their fertility, are not aware about the different methods of contraceptives available. Unregulated fertility results in unplanned pregnancies. Emergency contraceptive pills can avoid many such unplanned pregnancies.Aim:The study was to assess the knowledge and attitude about emergency contraception (EC) among the undergraduate, interns and postgraduate medical science university students.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was carried out among 180 medical students which include undergraduate (final year MBBS), interns, and postgraduate students (60 from each group) studying at Rural Medical College and Pravara Rural Hospital of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences University of central India by a convenient sample method over a period of February 2009 to May 2009. Data were collected by pre-designed, pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed in the form of percentage and proportions and Chi-square test was applied.Results:In this study, a total of 180 respondents, of which 110 (61.2%) were male and 70 (38.8%) were female. The knowledge about EC was highest (47.6%) among postgraduates in comparison to interns (43.3%) and undergraduate students (41.6%). Overall positive attitude toward EC was observed among 73.8% of the respondents.Conclusions:Considering the role of a medical graduate as counselor and health-care provider, the technical knowledge about different aspects of EC among the study population was inadequate.

Attitude and Students’ Performance in Computer Assisted English Language Learning (CAELL) for Learning Vocabulary

Learner performance is an important source of data for evaluating Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) programs and the factor that has the most influence on language-learning outcomes is a positive attitude. Therefore, the relationship between attitudes toward Computer Assisted English Language Learning (CAELL) and their performance on the English language vocabulary were investigated in this study. The attitudes of 30 Iranian postgraduate students in a Malaysian university toward CAELL were assessed via questionnaires and the effects of CALL on their performance were assessed by using vocabulary tests. The data gathered from the vocabulary tests were quantitatively analyzed using the Statistical Packag e for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results showed that participants possessed positive attitudes towards Computer Assisted English Language Learning (CAELL) and their attitudes and performance were found to be positively related. The present study will provide valuable insight on the implications for integrating computers into the design of EF L course.

Managing One's Own Cognitive Load when Evidence of Split Attention is Present

SummaryThere is an increasing expectation in tertiary education that students take control of their own learning, experience independence and manage their own cognition. This research sought to investigate techniques for university students to manage their own cognitive load. This paper presents two experiments conducted with postgraduate university students enrolled in an educational psychology subject in an Australian university. A total of 86 students participated in Experiment 1 and 85 in Experiment 2. The results of both experiments show that it is possible to instruct students on how to self‐manage split attention. Furthermore, the findings from Experiment 2 show that students can transfer skills of split‐attention management when provided with new instructional materials. The implications for this unique direction of cognitive load theory research are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PSY2-4 - Education of Medical Oncology at Cancer Centers and Universities in Japan

ABSTRACT There is a constructional difference in opportunities of learning medical oncology between cancer centers and university hospitals in Japan. The university is the only institution to provide oncology education for all medical students including those who will make a specialty of fields other than oncology. Since palliative and terminal care as well as primary and secondary cancer prevention have become more important recently, students who wish to become a primary physician need to learn medical oncology. The university plays a role in education for doctors in early postgraduate training. Whether they will have an interest in medical oncology depends entirely on the results of the education. The education for doctors in late postgraduate training is conducted at both cancer centers and university hospitals. The cancer centers have an enriched on-the-job training program (resident program), while such program has not been established in many university hospitals. This is partly because assignment of roles between a newly organized medical oncology department and traditional organ-specified departments remains in a chaotic state. Knowledge and insight on cancer biology have been even more essential for medical oncologists than before, but no chance to learn basic medical science is given to doctors in training, except for postgraduate students in universities and senior residents in cancer centers. There is a lot of argument about the identity of medical oncology in Japan. It should not be defined in a hurry, but it is being gradually established as medical oncologists will grow up to be the support and driving force of future medical oncology in Japan.

Validating Antecedents of Customer Loyalty for Indian Cell Phone Users

The Indian telecom industry is one of the fastest growing in the world and second largest mobile market globally. The Indian cell phone market is characterized by a large subscriber base (545 million connections as on May, 2010, expected to reach 876.6 million in 2013), low average revenue per user (INR 209 as on March 2009) and high churn rates (53.2% in 2009, and is expected to increase to 59.6% in 2013). The Indian consumers are enjoying a wide range of services along with the world�s lowest local call rates. The mobile phone operators in India are faced with the challenge of reducing customer churn in the ever-increasing prepaid subscriber market. Under such circumstances, the success of mobile phone service providers in India mainly depends on developing innovative schemes to increase customer loyalty. In service organizations, customer loyalty is considered as prime determinant of long-term financial performance of firms. One of the crucial issues of today is to understand how or why a sense of loyalty develops in customers. Loyalty definitions and metrics are mostly in behavioural and attitudinal terms. Consensus is absent in the marketing literature on how loyalty should be conceptualized and measured in the service industry. The present study addresses both the conceptual and measurement issues related to customer loyalty amongst the cell phone users. Building on existing literature, the antecedents of customer loyalty are reassessed in a service setting namely, customer satisfaction, trust, commitment, corporate image, and switching costs. This paper reports the development and validation of scales for measuring customer loyalty and its antecedents. The scale development and validation process was divided into three phases. Phase 1 consisted of the item generation process, assessment of content validity, and initial purification of measures. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were used on data collected from 250 postgraduate business students of a major university in India for initial purification of the instrument. In Phase 2, additional data were collected from 855 cell phone users in northern India to assess the latent factor structure through confirmatory factor analysis. In Phase 3, the discriminant validity and convergent validity of the measures were established. The managerial implications of the major findings of this study are as follows: It contributes to the existing literature by developing a theory-based framework for understanding the direct effects of satisfaction, trust and commitment, switching costs and corporate image on behavioural and attitudinal loyalty. By measuring loyalty as composite measure consisting of both behavioural loyalty and attitudinal loyalty, it provides evidence of the multidimensional nature of loyalty construct. Using data collected from mobile phone users, the reliability and validity of the scale are established. The newly refined and validated measures can be used by future researchers to study customer loyalty and its antecedent factors. The loyalty measures developed in this study provides managers with an easy tool to identify attitudinal and behavioural differences among customers. Marketing managers can draw meaningful distinctions between customers who buy out of habit and those who buy because of emotional attachment to the company.