Assessing Psychomotor Domain in Civil Engineering Design Project During Pandemic

Previous studies highlighted the challenges in assessing psychomotor skills in engineering education when using online platforms. The main aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of learning psychomotor skills online in Civil Engineering Design Project during the pandemic. This paper discusses the challenges faced in assessing the psychomotor domain in Civil Engineering Design Project during the pandemic and the immediate actions taken during the semester. New structural engineering software was used as the initial software was not accessible outside campus. The greatest challenge for lecturers was to learn the new software within a short period and to implement the use of the new software in their teaching and learning activities as well as in the students’ assessments. New evaluation rubrics were created to assess students’ psychomotor skills in using the new software for course assessments. Marks were allocated to each practicalskill identified in completing the assessments. Students’ grade attainments of the two course outcomes mapped to the psychomotor domain show that more than 85% of students were able to achieve the KPI of 50% for the two course outcomes. This shows that most students were able to grasp the relevant practical skills required in the course when taught via ODL.

Factors Affecting Students’ Satisfaction Towards Bus Services in Campus

The reliability of public transport services (e.g., bus) is a critical factor to be considered among public transport users. This factor is important for the consequences that come with unreliability will significantly increase unnecessary anxiety and discomfort. Such consequences include additional waiting time, late arrival at destinations, and missed connections. The ability of the system to follow the planned schedule and maintain consistent travel time are some of the factors that need to be in focus. In this study, we investigated satisfaction among students who reside in campus towards bus services provided by the university. Factor analysis and structural models were developed to achieve the research objective. Three factors havesignificant relationships with students’ satisfaction. The finding also indicated that bus services are an important requirement of the on-campus students.

Effects of Academic Quality and Service Quality on University Students’ Satisfaction

This study was conducted on the premise that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with strong reputation have superior market positions in the higher education sector. It empirically examined academic quality, service quality, and student's satisfaction in the context of HEIs. The investigation was conducted using quantitative research. Four hundred twenty-six questionnaires were collected from students in public and private HEIs in Klang Valley. Correlation analysis and multiple regression were used to analyze the influence of variables and hypotheses testing for the study. The findings showed a significant relationship between academic quality and service quality with students' satisfaction. The results show that HEIs should continue to reinvest in their resources and skills to ensure that their institutions are in a better position to meet the needs of their students and, at the same time, improve the branding and reputation of their institutions. Future studies should include other factors that may influence HEIs’ reputations (both positively and negatively). The findings may provide valuable guidelines to Malaysian HEIs in improving specific areas of academics quality and service quality.

Usability and Users’ Satisfaction on Online Electronic Voting System

This paper identifies the respondents’ views towards e-Voting (electronic technology voting) such as the process, users’ satisfaction, and relevancy, and to determine the usability criteria of e- voting’s interface, in which it employs a quantitative method, using self-administered adapted questionnaires. The survey involves 250 respondents (voters), who immediately completed five Likert scales survey after they had voted for the committee members in two general elections: a social club for the university’s staff (using Internet) and an organization for the female staff of the university (using the Intranet). The respondents were of different demographic backgrounds and they casted their online votes at two different periods (two years difference). The data were analysed using the SPSS software. The study found positive responses from most of the voters in which they expressed their satisfaction that e-Voting was convenient and easy to be used in the voting process, where the system illustrated relevant content and generated adequate procedures. Notably, the usability criteria of the interface of e-Voting as indicated by most respondents are between good to very good scales (navigation, graphic, user-friendliness andconsistency, content, and transparency).

Connotation and Realization Path of Labour Education in Universities - Based on the Perspective of Chinese Universities

Labour education has been weakened and alienated in higher education. Repositioning labour education is an important part of the deepening reform of colleges and universities as well as the focus of improving the higher education system. Practicing labour education can enhance college students’ labour awareness, improve labour skills and enable college students to obtain a rational understanding of ‘knowledge’ from the practice of ‘action’. This is an important way to realize holistic education. This article puts forward the connotation of ‘labour’ under the background of the new era and updates the traditional cognition of ‘labour’. It proposes effective ways for colleges and universities to realize labour education according to the background of the era and the labour demand of employers; so as to break the shortcomings of labour education in colleges and universities as well as improve the quality of whole-person education to better meet the needs of the job market.

Gender and Ethnic Diversity, and Economic Value Added: Evidence from Government-Linked Companies

Board diversity was further emphasized in the revised Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2017, as this can allow for more board effectiveness in constructive debates and better decisions. With this recommended deliverable, the code believes that companies should perform and will be more equipped to face the ever-changing business environment and challenges. This study examines the influence of boardroom diversity on corporate performance using Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) in Malaysia as units of analysis. The study used secondary data of publicly listed GLCs in Malaysia for seven years (2012 to 2018). We used gender and ethnicity to proxy for boardroom diversity while economic value added (EVA) represents the company’s performance. We also used panel data multiple regression to analyze the data. After controlling for firm size and firm age, the empirical results revealed that board ethnicity is negatively and significantly related to firms’ economic performance. Board gender, however, provides insignificant results. We also find the firm size to be significant and positively related to EVA. This preliminary result on board composition requires further research on how Malaysian GLCs can address the MCCG’s recommended governance compliance, particularly on the monitoring roles of the board on firm performance.

Factors Influencing the Performance of Sarawak Local Authorities

This paper presents the empirical research on factors that influenced the performance in Local Authorities in Sarawak. It explores the benefits of performance measure and discusses the factors that influenced the performance for Local Authorities in providing an excellent service delivery in accordance with the vision to provide a world class standard of civil service in Sarawak. Additionally, this paper highlights issues affecting the performance of Local Authorities and their usage in performance management. Findings from this study could assist in the identification of factors that notably have an impact on performance and provide recommendations that would efficaciously enhance the performance for Local Authorities in Sarawak.

Examining Work Re-Entry Decisions for Single Mothers through Bourdieu’s Capital Theory

This paper presents the qualitative results of a larger mixed-methods study on how barriers to, and determinants of, the labour market shape re-entry decisions and the role of economic/cultural/social determinants in influencing employment re-entry decisions for single mothers residing in urban Sarawak. Through the lens of Bourdieu’s capital theory, the study examined the decision-making process of single mothers and provided nuanced insights into the factors that enable or impede access to necessary resources for re-entry to work. Data were collected from in-depth semistructured interviews with 26 single mothers in urban Sarawak. The findings revealed that cultural (education), economic (finance), and social (family)capitals were both enabling and impeding factors and were inextricably linked in shaping employment re-entry decisions. Low volumes of these capitals perpetuated the poverty cycle for a majority of these single mothers. The findings reinforced the complexity of integrating single mothers, who have low incomes and low education levels, into employment. Nevertheless, poverty among single mothers and their children can be substantially limited through the right mix of social, education and labour market policies. The study highlights the challenges facing single mothers in urban areas in developing countries, which are quite different from rural areas or developed countries.

The Effectiveness of Anti-Money Laundering / Counter Financing of Terrorism Requirements in Fund Management Companies

Anti-Money Laundering / Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) broadly encompasses regulatory requirements, acts and guidelines designed to curtail the practice of generating funds through unlawful or criminal activities. Several infringement notices were issued to market intermediaries due to provision breaches of the guidelines. Although policies and procedures have been tightened up to the level of satisfaction, assessing the effectiveness of AML/CFT legislation is still necessary. The main aim of the study is to examine the independent variables, namely competency level of compliance team members, regulatory compliance and quality of AML/CFT framework that influence the effectiveness of AML/CFTrequirements of the compliance officers that are working in FMCs in Malaysia. The Expectancy Theory has been applied to form the framework and to develop the hypotheses. Three hypotheses were developed and tested using the data from 70 samples of FMC's in Malaysia. The result of the study showed that there were significant relationships between the factors analysed in this study. This study will help the financial institutions especially the Fund Management Companies (FMCs) in understanding the factors that influence the effectiveness of AML/CFT requirements and taking necessary action to enhance their internal AML/CFT process and its compliance with the regulations. This would help the FMCs to have effective control of AML/CFT during the on-boarding and ongoing monitoring process.

Transparency and Accountability of a Village Fund Management During COVID-19 Crisis

In the face of the super contagious and deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the government has to accelerate planning and make quick decisions to contain the virus and provide necessary assistance to the affected people. Therefore, amid this global health crisis, public fund management procedures may undergo significant modifications. This study considers how urgency is implicated in the village fund management during COVID-19 in Indonesia. A case study of an East Javanese village was conducted between May and August 2020. In-depth interviews with four key managers and eight beneficiaries of the fund yielded interesting findings. Particularly, two key elements formerly practised by the village fund managers, namely transparency and accountability, were largely omitted. Consequently, some of the locals being interviewed claimed that a portion of the funds was misappropriated. Arguably, urgency warrants some adaptation, and hence transparency and accountability may have to be forfeited (to some extent) to expedite the fund allotment. However, our findings imply that opportunistic behaviour may occur among the fund managers. Consistent with the notion of strategic responses to institutional pressure, the urgency of dealing with the crisis fund may prompt the higher authorities to adopt an adaptive regulating style, hence relaxing their coercive pressure, and allowing fund managers to pursue their self-interest.