University Utara Malaysia Research Articles

Cultivating Innovation: Pedagogical Strategies for Enhancing Critical and Creative Thinking

The objective of this study is to assess the level of critical and creative thinking of the foundation students of University Utara Malaysia (UUM) in the class AALK0013 Critical Thinking and to identify the problems faced and solutions deployed while doing a product innovation and invention project. The work is based on the quantitative research method, and the data is analyzed using descriptive analysis of the questionnaires administered. The instrument developed from the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT, Torrence, 1982) and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA, Watson and Glaser, 1980) comprises forty items and is subdivided into seven constructs. The study involved 59 students as the sample of participants. Quantitative data was analyze using on the SPSS statistical tool to calculate the mean and standard deviation of the results of the critical and creative thinking abilities of the students besides providing an idea of the difficulties encountered in completion of the project. The specific objectives of the study are: To assess: (i) the changes in the critical and creative thinking abilities of students after the application of the product innovation and invention project, (ii) the challenges faced by the students during the project and (iii) the ways in which the challenges were dealt with by students. The results show improvements in the evaluation of cognitive abilities, identify gaps in knowledge and skills, issues of time management, shortage of resources as well as team and prototyping problems and present solutions to these shortcomings. It therefore becomes important to incorporate aspects of product innovation, invention activities in the curriculum to ensure they enhance the thinking skills and problem-solving qualities of every learner.

Quality Of Audit In Public Sector Organizations: Trends And Article Analysis

This study purpose to explore and analysis the "characteristics of audit quality" through two questions: 1. what are the publication trends of audit quality-themed articles based on research contributors, and 2. what are the developments in research related to audit quality up to the present. The study employs a systematic literature review using keywords that describe the article topic coverage to identify trends in audit quality characteristics. The sample consists of 26 articles from the database SCOPUS from 2011 to 2020 on audit quality. The results indicate that University Utara Malaysia's contributions dominate among institutional contributors to the articles, article contributions are predominantly from Indonesia by country, and contributions are dominated by the International Journal of Economics Research based on journal source. The final results related to audit quality show variability with appropriate testing. This research empirically contributes to the development of literature and aids in analyzing audit quality-related research.

The Impact of Academic Achievements, Organization Growth, and Leadership Development Programs on Resilient Leadership Skills among University Students at University Utara Malaysia

The Impact of Academic Achievements, Organization Growth, and Leadership Development Programs on Resilient Leadership Skills among University Students at University Utara Malaysia

Detecting Change in a Volatile Curve United State Stock Market (US SM) with the Use of Automated Decomposition for Time Series Components

The main reason for this investigation is to use manual process of identification of time series components with two types of automated decomposition for time series known as automated BFTSC (break for time series components) and, automated GFTSC (Group for time series components) in detecting change in a volatile curve united states stock market (US SM). In identification of components of time series present in the seasonal data of US stock market. The data US Stock Market was a monthly data from January 2001 until December 2018 and a total of 18 years. The stock market of US is also available as a secondary data at the DataBank of University Utara Malaysia Library. The weaknesses of BFAST were corrected by the extension of BFAST to BFTSC and GFTSC. Both were created to capture the cyclical and irregular components that were not captured by BFAST technique and it was included in the methodology of this study. BFTSC and GFTSC were considered to provide a combined image of all the four components of time series while GFTSC had additional advantage of providing equations to the components automated. Evaluation using simulation data and empirical data vindicated the accuracy of BFTSC and GFTSC based on linear trend less volatile data. They are effective and better than BFAST because it was able to identify 100% of the data with the basic four time series components monthly. Both techniques detects 99 % of the entire components in the time series data in a linear trend data.

Cross-culture communication apprehension in communicating in English among Jordanian students in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)

Cross-cultural communication apprehension (CCA) can be a significant challenge for international students, impacting their learning experiences. This study examined the Jordanian students’ perspectives of and experiences in cross cultural communication Apprehension in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) where English is the medium of instruction. This study employed qualitative study while the participants were 16 Jordanian PhD students at UUM. The sampling of this study was purposive sampling while the researcher selected homogeneous sampling strategy, collected the data through face to face interview with the participants. The findings of the research question were divided into two main themes and sub-themes. The first main theme is language barriers, which consists of four sub-themes: limited English proficiency, pronunciation difficulties, and grammar challenges and Cultural context and communication styles. The second main theme is language anxiety, which includes two sub-themes: shyness and limited vocabularies. This has various implications on their overall learning experiences in University Utara Malaysia.

ANALYSIS ON ERGONOMIC ISSUES AMONG UNIVERSITY’S ACADEMIC STAFF

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) was on the rise in Malaysia because of ergonomic issues. This research aims to analyse the factors that cause ergonomic issues among academic staffs in University Utara Malaysia (UUM), to observe the musculoskeletal pain among academic staffs at workplace in University Utara Malaysia (UUM). This research is conducted using the qualitative method where each respondent will be given a set of questionnaires to answer, and the researcher makes observation and semi structured interview. An assessment tool called the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) is used to assess the likelihood of developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) while doing particular job-related duties. There are 12 respondents participated in this research which they work as a academic staff under the School of Technology Management & Logistic (STML) in University Utara Malaysia (UUM). The data that the researcher had collected and analyzed will be presented in the form of tables and graphs or both. The result shows that only 2 respondents have a medium risk level and corrective action is necessary, and the rest of the 10 respondents have low risk level and corrective action may be necessary. The findings of this research highlighted the ergonomic issues in the workplace of the academic staffs and raised the awareness about the importance of ergonomics.

POST-PANDEMIC ANALYSIS FOR VALUE AT RISK OF REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST IN MALAYSIA UNDER QUANTITATIVE APPROACH

A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a fund or trust that owns and manages commercial real estate and generates revenue. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole REITs sector suffered from lockdown, diminishing revenue from office and shopping mall rentals. Hence, investors may lose more than expected on invested capital without further analysing this situation. This highlights the importance of investors knowing the risk of investing in REITs to plan their investment strategies appropriately. The Value at Risk (VaR) is widely employed to calculate the investment risk under a mathematical model to achieve this. A past review suggested that two approaches had been utilised for modelling, i.e., parametric and non-parametric methods. The methods under non-parametric include historical simulation, Monte Carlo simulation, and bootstrapping simulation. Thus, comparing parametric methods, historical simulation, Monte Carlo simulation, and bootstrapping simulation is essential in determining the best method to analyse the VaR in the Malaysia REITs (M-REITs) sector, which particularly focuses on Malaysia. Actual previous five-year history raw price data for each REIT in Malaysia are extracted from Yahoo Finance, Refinitiv Eikon, and DataStream via University Utara Malaysia’s (UUM) e-resources database. The result of VaR from those methods is compared and validated using backtesting. Other than that, the result reveals that the parametric method and Monte Carlo simulation are good methods for REIT’s VaR calculations in Malaysia, which are close to the current value for 12 from 17 M-REITs companies.

What we can Learn from Covid19 Pandemic: A Zoom Lens from Islamic Viewpoint Based on Hadith

This article explores the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from an Islamic perspective, focusing on resilience, coping mechanisms, and community support through Hadith literature. Selected participants (Muslim) were recruited through random sampling from international students at the University Utara Malaysia. Interviewed them and asked four questions about their responses and reactions to issues during COVID-19. Analyzed the responses and their relation with compiling relevant Hadiths through an inductive reasoning approach. Utilizing qualitative interviews and analysis of Hadith teachings, the research delves into the responses and perceptions of Muslim individuals amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic. Findings reveal a deep-rooted faith and commitment to collective well-being among participants, manifested through proactive measures to protect families and patient acceptance of government regulations. The study highlights the resonance between respondents' actions and the timeless teachings of Islam, particularly in emphasizing the importance of caring for others, avoiding selfishness, and maintaining confidentiality regarding individuals' Covid-19 status. By integrating Islamic principles into the discourse on pandemic response, the research offers valuable insights for fostering resilience, solidarity, and compassion within Muslim communities and beyond. Ultimately, this study underscores the enduring relevance of Islamic teachings in navigating contemporary challenges and promoting a sense of unity and hope amidst adversity.

Keyness for Revelation of Self and Other Representation in Kurdish National Identity Construction

The presentation of Self and Other as the basis of inclusion and exclusion strategies, which is the core of ideologically formation of national identity, has been examined using various branches of CDA. This paper demonstrates that the keyness technique combined with concordance can reveal the ideology behind the representation of Self and Other in national identity construction relying on the discourse-historical approach (Wodak et al. 2009) as a theoretical basis. Accordingly, four discursive strategies that signal the presentation of Self and Other: constructive strategies, perpetuation strategies, transformation strategies, and dismantle strategies, are explored. As a methodology, the six-step outline proposed by Subtirelu and Baker (2018) was followed. A corpus was compiled with data from two focus group interviews. For the focus group interviews, ten participants were recruited purposefully from postgraduate students in University Utara Malaysia. As the study is on how Kurds depict Self and Other in their national identity construction discourses, only Kurdish students were reached. The paper seeks to contribute to the body knowledge of corpus linguistic analysis in the revelation of ideology through co-text and intertext. The findings display that Kurds emphasize the ingroup sameness and sharply distinguish themselves from their Other. However, they intend to confer a shade of vagueness on their other through depersonalizing and institutionalizing. Through the discursive construction of Kurdish national identity, the informants rely primarily on transformation and dismantling strategies.

International Students’ Nostalgic Behaviour towards the Purchase of Products and Services

The literature has highlighted that international students abroad exhibit a strong preference for products from their country compared with foreign products and services, thus suggesting that the cultural disposition of consumers influences their purchasing decisions. Therefore, this current research aimed to determine how the feeling of groundedness could affect international students’ purchasing behavior in Malaysia through cultural products and services. To this end, quantitative data were collected from international students at the University of Malaya and the University Utara Malaysia and then analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM). The findings of this research highlighted that consumer behavior was influenced by a “feeling of groundedness”. This suggested that cultural services and products are valued by international students in foreign universities because of their ability to evoke a feeling of groundedness. The theoretical contributions of this study, particularly to the consumer behavior literature, are extensive, including how it highlights the influence of the feeling of groundedness on international consumers’ purchasing behavior. The marketing implications of this research are also valuable for businesses targeting international students.

IMAGE-BASED VIRTUAL REALITY STRESS THERAPY APPLICATION (VRT-stressNOmore): AN ALTERNATIVE TOOL FOR SELF THERAPY

Students in university are experiencing increased stress levels due to their daily routines. Students can self-manage their everyday stress with the self-therapy application before it causes other problems requiring professional assistance. This study aimed to determine whether VRT-stressNOmore, an image-based virtual reality with a few realistic University Utara Malaysia environments, can reduce student stress. However, the evidence for image-based virtual reality as a self-therapy is still in the leakage phase. Therefore, the objectives are determining the features that support self-therapy, confirming the features through expert review, designing and developing, and conducting therapeutic test. Implementation of pre-production-post methodology to achieve the goals and objectives. During the week of final exams, 47 healthy undergraduates and 29 healthy postgraduates consented to participate in this study. The T-test result indicates the different values before and after experiencing VRT-stressNOmore, demonstrating the beneficial effect of reducing stress. However, additional research is necessary to confirm the potential and efficacy of VRT-stressNOmore as a self-therapy application for university students.

Effect of Online English Learning Game ‘Kahoot’ on L2 Undergraduate Learners in a Malaysian University

Gaming, in conjunction with innovative education, is gaining traction as a means of motivating and involving learners in their intercultural learning process. Vast research supports the relationship between learning games and increased motivation and connection. Learning games are a promising technique for aiding the acquisition of a language. This study was planned as a descriptive qualitative study, with data collected through brief questions on using the Kahoot online programme in English schools. This study aims to examine learners' interests and enhance the dynamic behaviour of the classes by integrating Kahoot in the English classroom to enhance activities connected to vocabulary identification. The study used phenomenological investigations using a sample of 31 University Utara Malaysia students. It collected data on the learners' impressions using an open-ended questionnaire. The data from the surveys were evaluated qualitatively through interviews. The findings indicated that Kahoot might boost student learning accomplishments, demonstrating a considerable rise in English learning in terms of worth. As a result, it is concluded that it is beneficial for learners in terms of assisting them in learning English.

Sustainability awareness in society and its impact on the level of responsible business adoption in the business sector of Dubai

The private sector is assisting in sustainable development because of the enormous development and rise in commercial and industrial revolutions. However, corporate social responsibility is declining despite this development for several reasons. Among others, they include a lack of belief on the part of owners or boards of directors in the sustainability idea and the prohibitively expensive nature of some technologies. This study aims to examine how community members’ awareness relates to the amount of commitment of businesses in Dubai. In order to investigate the association between two variables, this study used a mixed methods approach that included both interviews and a general questionnaire with several questions. A sample of 314 members of the Dubai community was selected via an electronic platform to collect the data. Descriptive analysis, regression analysis, and pertinent correlations were used to process the data. The findings of this study were encouraging regarding the strength of the link between a person’s social consciousness and their level of commitment to businesses and organizations operating in the exact United Arab Emirates community. Further studies can investigate additional influential factors. The conclusions of this paper may serve as valuable tools for pressuring businesses to increase their effectiveness and efficiency to forge a genuine societal commitment to sustainability. AcknowledgmentFinancial assistance provided by the RIMC (14802) of University Utara Malaysia is gratefully acknowledged.

Motivational Orientation towards Learning English: The Case of Indonesian Undergraduate Students at University Utara Malaysia (UUM)

Realizing motivation is a part of the key aspects in effective English learning as a EFL in Indonesia, there have been many scholars investigating the motivation of Indonesian university students who major in English studies. However, Empirical researches discussing motivation toward learning English of Indonesian students studying abroad from different disciplines are uncommon. Employing Gardner's instrumental and integrative motivation, this research aims to examine the major motivational level toward Learning English of Indonesian undergraduate students who are studying at the University Utara Malaysia (UUM). 20 items of a questionnaire were administered to 89 students from different disciplines. This study reported that the students were highly motivated both in integrative and instrumental motivation. However, they had more integrative motivation than instrumental motivation. In terms of integrative motivation, students learned English because they believe that it can give them the chance to interact with a diverse range of individuals. However, in terms of instrumental motivation, students much concentrate to learn English for their long-term objectives, such as succeeding in their careers and jobs.

Reviewer Acknowledgements (Vol. 5, No. 1)

International Journal of Law and Public Administration (IJLPA) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this volume. Many authors, regardless of whether IJLPA publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this volume.Reviewers for Volume 5, Number 1Antonio Fortes Martín, Carlos III University of Madrid, SpainDiane M. Hartmus, Oakland University, USAJohn Mark R. Asio, Gordon College, PhilippinesJosé Sebastián Kurlat Aimar, University of Buenos Aires, ArgentinaTatiana Bachvarova, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, BulgariaTaylisi de Souza Corrêa Leite, Anhanguera University, BrazilYusra, University Utara Malaysia, Malaysia

The Impact of Service Quality Dimensions on Customer Satisfaction: Case Study of University Utara Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of service quality (reliability, empathy, tangibility, assurance, responsiveness) on customer satisfaction in University Utara Malaysia (Education Service). Each variable is measured using 7-point interval scale: reliability (6 items), empathy (6 items), tangibility (5 items), assurance (10 items), and responsiveness (5 items) on customer satisfaction (6 items). Using the primary data collection method, 160 questionnaires were distributed to postgraduate students inside University Utara Malaysia (Sintok Campus), in north Malaysia. The responses collected were 98 completed questionnaires representing with 61.25 % response rate. The data were analyzed using Structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS 7. Confirmatory factor analysis of measurement models indicates adequate goodness of fit after a few items were eliminated through modification indices verifications. Goodness of fit for the revised structural model shows adequate fit. This study has established five direct effects: (1) reliability customer satisfaction; (2) empathy and customer satisfaction; (3) tangibility and customer satisfaction; (4) assurance and customer satisfaction; (5) and responsiveness on customer satisfaction. And, this study concludes that all hypotheses have been asserted in the revised model.

BUSINESS SIMULATION AS KEY MOTIVATION FACTOR IN STIMULATING BUSINESS INTENTION AMONGST UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

The importance to raise up the number of entrepreneurs among the younger generation, especially among the university’s students has been recognized by the Government. This study seeks to link the effectiveness of business simulation with entrepreneurship interest of the students in University Utara Malaysia, main campus, Sintok. Four main objectives of the study were highlighted which is to see the relationship of perception, learning, interest and satisfaction of the business simulation on the tendency of students to venture into the business environment. The fifth objective is the combination of perception, learning, interest and satisfaction from business simulations of their entrepreneurial tendencies. The findings show that there is a significant relationship between learning, interest, satisfaction and the combination of all dimensions-dimensions of the business tendency. The findings from this study particularly useful to certain parties in the field of education and also to entrepreneurial developers.

STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION ON THE QUALITY OF SERVICE UNIVERSITY PARCEL CENTRE (UPC): A FOCUS ON UUM

The purpose of this paper is to measure the level of students’ satisfaction on University Parcel Centre (UPC) among University Utara Malaysia (UUM) students. The University Parcel Centre (UPC) play pivotal role in providing fundamental services to classify, arrange and store the students’ parcel which arrive from the third-party couriers. It also recognizes as a one stop parcel hub center, so that students can collect their respective parcel by themselves at UPC. This study has adopted SERVQUAL model as the research framework. The five dimensions of this model which are tangibility, assurance, reliability, responsiveness and empathy were used to determine its effect on students’ satisfaction on using the UPC services. This study adopted quantitative research design. A total of 370 respondents participated in the survey from which all of them were taken from around 20,000 UUM students living in campus. The Cronbach’s Alpha score was 0.813. The findings showed that all the factors tested (tangible, reliability, responsiveness and empathy) were significant with positive relationship. Only one factor (assurance) is not significant. Strategies and dynamic initiatives should be driven by these factors to improve UPC service quality.

Factors Influencing Food Consumption among University Students

Vegetables and fruits are an important food component of a healthy lifestyle as it contains variety of nutrients. Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Malaysia has showed in the AgroFood Statistics Book 2014 that the commodity consumption of vegetables and fruits kilograms per year from 2008 to 2014 has consistently increase and expected to increase. Studies on factors influencing the consumption of vegetables and fruits are still lacking in Malaysia. There appears to be relatively scarce research and analysis concerning Malaysia. Research aims to identify the attitude of having fruits and vegetables among students of University Utara Malaysia (UUM) by adopting product, price, promotion, place and knowledge as variables. Data were collected using the questionnaire method studied using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0 application. Research was done to examine whether marketing mix factors, product, price, distribution, and knowledge affect the attitude of fruit and vegetable consumption among Universiti Utara Malaysia students. Findings indicates all the variables are significant except for knowledge on vegetables and fruits consumption. Hence, the accuracy of food intake in terms of the amount and the types of food consumed should be aware by the students.

Corporate social responsibility practices of business firms in Dubai during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the first quarter of 2020, COVID-19 spread worldwide, claiming lives of thousands of people every day. This marked the beginning of all emergency and business continuity plans around the world. This study attempts to study people’s awareness of CSR practices among business firms in Dubai and investigate people’s evaluation of these CSR practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employs a quantitative research method and mainly uses questionnaires for data collection. 199 respondents are selected from different business firms in Dubai. Expert interviews are also conducted for triangulation purposes. It involves the Dubai community with various backgrounds and status. This study shows that a large scheme of the Dubai community has a decent level of expertise in sustainability and corporate social responsibility. It also shows that firms that have implemented CSR before the crisis will mostly be better suited to play a supportive role for government and society during the crisis. AcknowledgmentResearch grant provided by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme [FRGS/1/2017/SS01/UUM/02/23] under Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, and University Utara Malaysia (SO Code: 13806) is gratefully acknowledged.