This article explores the possible theoretical relationships of ethnocentrism (independent variab... more This article explores the possible theoretical relationships of ethnocentrism (independent variable) and interethnic interaction (mediating variable) with interethnic bridging social capital (IBSC) (dependent variable). Interethnic bridging social capital is extremely noticeable that there is a lack of such investigation in specifically Malaysian public universities. In an attempt to clarify the current situation, a survey questionnaire was conducted with 343 undergraduate students from the three main ethnic groups. The findings reveal that not only ethnocentrism can effect directly and negatively on IBSC, but also its impact can be partially mediated through interethnic interaction as well. Overall, this article contributes to our understanding of how negative attitudes towards outsiders inhibit trust, reciprocity and cooperation in heterogeneous communities.
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2017
This article examines the influences of initial position on negotiation approach in solving envir... more This article examines the influences of initial position on negotiation approach in solving environmental cases in Malaysia. Negotiation is referred as a tool of solving conflict which is due to different of interest or needs between individuals and groups. Since conflict may be complicated at times, a great number of studies make emphases mainly approaches of negotiation, medium of communication and nature of conflicts and specifically influences on the negotiation approach in solving environmental cases in Malaysia. What is the level of initial position possessed by environmental control officers? What is the type of negotiation approaches employed? Is there any relationship between initial position and negotiation approach used in solving the environmental conflict? The analysis wishes to identify which level of initial position that promotes the negotiation approach in solving environmental cases in Malaysia. A quantitative approaches employed using a survey which adopts a set of questionnaire and responses of 186 respondents are analyzed (when is done?). The analysis includes descriptive, Pearson correlation and Chi-Square test. There is a negative significant correlation between the initial position and the approach of negotiation with a weak correlation. It indicates a reverse influence by which the lower level of initial positive, the more tendencies that the integrative approach of negotiation is employed. The initial position determines how the negotiation is managed which leads to the outcome of negotiation either win-win, win lose or lose-lose. An extensive study may revisit the context of study and the elements of negotiation that determines the success of one negotiation.
International Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 2021
Willingness to test for HIV is initial critical factor to break HIV transmission cycle. This stud... more Willingness to test for HIV is initial critical factor to break HIV transmission cycle. This study determined social predictors of willingness for HIV-testing among Malaysians at higher risk of HIV infection. A cross-sectional survey involving 369 individuals at higher risk of HIV was conducted in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study used a combination of snowball and respondent-driven sampling methods to approach 456 individuals yielded a response rate of 80.9%. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Almost one third (35.2%) of the respondents were willing to test for HIV. The odd ratios suggest that the odds of estimating correctly who is willing to take HIV-testing improve by 89% if one knows the subject's level of HIVrelated self-stigma, by 11% if one knows the subject's level of HIV knowledge, and by 6% if one knows the subject's age. Successful intervention programs to increase HIV testing willingness among individuals at higher risk of HIV infection is contingent upon the subjects' HIV-related self-stigma, knowledge about HIV and age. The role of HIV-related self-stigma is more prominent to prevent individual at higher risk of HIV exposure from HIV testing. Further research is needed to investigate social context-specific predictors of HIV-related self-stigma.
The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the items used to measure... more The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the items used to measure engagement in culturalrelated experiences among local undergraduate students in Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs). Engagement in cultural-related experiences has two forms: informal cross-national interaction (ICNI) and curricular/ co-curricular diversity (CD). In determining the internal consistency and construct validity of the items, the Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied. The Cronbach's alpha values for both ICNI and CD models were good. The values indicated very good construct reliability and adequate convergent validity. This study suggested that the ICNI 10-items model and CD 6-items model have a good fit and shown good psychometric values.
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2018
Growth of new media plays a great role in society and political landscape in Malaysia. Thus, it i... more Growth of new media plays a great role in society and political landscape in Malaysia. Thus, it is imperative to understand the main issues arising from development of new media, which affects the society. This paper therefore aims to explain how issues pertaining to new media has affected Malaysia. Three key issues will be discussed, namely, credibility, influence in the political landscape, and effectiveness in providing information to the public. Review of past literature and studies showed that credibility of online news is crucial whereby demand for reliable information is rising to compete with traditional media, which has been proven to be a credible source many decades ago. Moreover, in recent years, new media through online news has been influencing the political discourse in Malaysia with the help of many interesting features offered by that medium.
The function of MYC in youth development in Malaysia
In Malaysia, youth is defined as anyone who is between 15 and 40 years old. From this age interva... more In Malaysia, youth is defined as anyone who is between 15 and 40 years old. From this age interval are significant in terms of numbers and if translated into a source of energy, youth give positive influence to the nation development in term of the political (the voters), social (cohesion) and economic (human capital) aspects. Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) is a recognized non-governmental organization that represents the voice of Malaysian youth. The objective of the establishment of youth organizations in Malaysia is to provide tools and opportunities for youth development, empowerment and engagement so that young people can contribute towards national building. MYC has three main functions: 1) to implement youth development, 2) to coordinate and organizes activity, service and advocacy, and 3) to serve as a platform for youth delegates in a variety of scope and level. Since the majority of Malaysian population is under 40 years old, the continuing youth development programs and in...
In this study, the authors examine the influence of ethnocentrism on offline and online interethn... more In this study, the authors examine the influence of ethnocentrism on offline and online interethnic interactions among Malaysian students at two multiethnic and multicultural Malaysian public universities. The responses of 200 Malay, 105 Chinese, and 38 Indian undergraduate students were analysed. Results reveal a significant difference between the level of offline and online interethnic interactions among respondents. It was found that students had more offline interethnic interactions compared to online interactions. This is due to the fact that interactions through online media are more dependent on a conscious choice and decision to communicate actively and to take the step for interethnic communication. Thus in situations where they could choose whether or not to interact, they presumably willingly elected to not take that step. It can be concluded that students were uninterested in making any effort in expanding their interethnic interaction in the virtual world beyond their o...
Masyarakat antarabangsa daripada negara budaya konteks rendah yang datang ke Malaysia mempunyai g... more Masyarakat antarabangsa daripada negara budaya konteks rendah yang datang ke Malaysia mempunyai gaya komunikasi yang berbeza dengan masyarakat tempatan. Gaya komunikasi budaya konteks rendah mereka boleh kekal atau berubah kepada budaya konteks tinggi semasa berada di Malaysia. Kajian ini bertujuan meneroka perubahan gaya komunikasi individu daripada budaya konteks rendah kepada gaya komunikasi budaya konteks tinggi selepas berada 6 bulan di Malaysia. Kaedah tinjauan telah dijalankan menerusi pengedaran borang soal selidik kepada responden di sekitar Lembah Klang.Sejumlah 122 orang responden telah terlibat dalam kajian ini. Pemilihan responden ini menggunakan teknik persampelan bertujuan. Selepas enam bulan berada di Malaysia, didapati gaya komunikasi sesetengah individu daripada negara budaya konteks rendah telah mengalami perubahan kepada gaya komunikasi budaya konteks tinggi. Ujian-T Berpasangan menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan dalam perubahan gaya komunikasi individu yang b...
The essence of this research work is to test the predictive roles of attitudinal professionalism ... more The essence of this research work is to test the predictive roles of attitudinal professionalism and competencies in public relations practitioners’ self-efficacy. For the fast three (3) decades, a lot of works have been conducted by scholars as part of an effort to uplift PR as a full pledge profession. However, scholars still lament the shortfall of PR practitioners in the discharge of their professional duties. This work is an attempt to study public relations practitioners’ ability in accomplishing professional tasks which self-efficacy represents. The work conceptualizes Six (6) PR self-efficacy dimensions and also tests the predictive role of attitudinal professionalism; which is practitioners’ commitment to their profession and competencies; which represents sets of behaviors that are required to accomplish organizational objectives. It appraises the importance of commitment to professional development and mastering professional competencies that are evolving and changing. Co...
Difficulties to convey information by local employees particularly in organizations led by foreig... more Difficulties to convey information by local employees particularly in organizations led by foreigners frequently arise. Among the problems that had been discussed by previous researchers were employee silence behaviour and silence attitude. This article discusses about the analysis of the concept of employee silence behaviour as well as developing research instruments on silence tendency. The focus of this research is to examine the silence tendency among Malaysian employees who are working in German organizations. German organizations in Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam were selected based on the highest density distribution of German organizations in Malaysia. Pre-test had been done and this paper is to report the result of reliability test by taking Cronbach alpha value 7.0 and above and subsequently it was chosen to be used in the actual survey.
This study on HIV-related stigmatisation and discrimination was conducted to summarize key findin... more This study on HIV-related stigmatisation and discrimination was conducted to summarize key findings and identify existing research gaps in this line of research in Malaysia. A search on available online databases yielded 58 documents, but only 25 were eventually included in the review. Searching process was conducted at the end of 2013 to include all previous relevant studies up to this year but not limited to any specific starting date. Eight journal articles and one research report were empirical studies, and hence were the core documents in the analysis. The studies included were synthesised to identify common shared areas that they investigated and make an updated conclusion about the current state of knowledge on HIV-related stigma in Malaysia. Results revealed that the published works mainly focused on knowledge and attitudes toward HIV. Most studies were descriptive and correlation research. Information about self-stigmatisation is limited, while HIV campaigns in some cases i...
The moderating effect of peer attachment on hedonistic behavior among Malaysian undergraduate students
This article discusses the influence of peer attachment - comprised of communication, trust and a... more This article discusses the influence of peer attachment - comprised of communication, trust and alienation - on the relationship between religiosity and religious worldview, and hedonistic behavior among Malaysian undergraduate students. Using Bronfenbrenner’s theory of human ecology and Armsden and Greenberg’s attachment model as a backdrop, this study examines the direct and indirect influence of religiosity and religious worldview on the development of hedonistic behavior as moderated by peer attachment. Drawing on a quantitative survey of 394 Malaysian university students (M age = 21.0, SD = .40), structural equation modeling and path analysis revealed that peer attachment moderated the relationship between religiosity and religious worldview, and hedonistic behavior. The results further showed the unique moderating effect of communication, trust and alienation within peer attachment. Implications from the findings are also discussed.
Background: Not much is known about correlates of HIV-related self-stigma among female sex worker... more Background: Not much is known about correlates of HIV-related self-stigma among female sex workers. Using the theory of planned behavior in the Malaysian context, this study investigated the relationships of HIV knowledge, attitudes towards HIV, attitudes towards people living with HIV, perceived social support, self-esteem, and age with HIV-related self-stigma, also how much of the variance in HIV-related self-stigma is explained by the variables. Methods: Self-administered close-ended questionnaires were administered to 134 female sex workers, as a subgroup of HIV-at-risk individuals, selected using a combination of snowball and respondent-driven sampling methods. Results: Self-administered close-ended questionnaires were administered to 134 female sex workers, as a subgroup of HIV-at-risk individuals, selected using a combination of snowball and respondent-driven sampling methods. Results: A majority of the respondents substantially stigmatized themselves, despite good HIV knowledge, high self-esteem, and favorable attitudes towards both HIV and people living with HIV. Attitudes towards HIV was more favorable than attitudes towards people living with HIV. The respondents received higher social supports from a special person, followed by friends, and family members. Age, attitudes towards HIV, and attitudes towards people living with HIV were significantly and negatively correlated with HIVrelated self-stigma. Age, attitudes towards HIV, and attitudes towards people living with HIV collectively explained 18% of the variance in HIV-related self-stigma. Conclusion: HIV knowledge, perceived social support and self-esteem did not enter the final model to explain variance in HIV-related self-stigma. This study advances our understanding by clarifying the relative contribution of age, attitudes towards HIV, and people living with HIV in the variance of HIV-related self-stigma among female sex workers at risk of HIV.
Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal of Communication, 2018
Laman sosial Facebook telah menjadi sebuah ruang untu pameran emosi kerana setiap pengguna bebas ... more Laman sosial Facebook telah menjadi sebuah ruang untu pameran emosi kerana setiap pengguna bebas untuk memilih lokasi, masa dan jenis emosi yang ingin dipamerkan. Kepelbagaian karakter individu dalam laman sosial adalah berkait dengan personaliti kerana setiap personaliti mempunyai gaya yang berbeza untuk berkomunikasi dan bersosial dalam talian. Individu Introvert dan Ekstrovert adalah dua personaliti yang dominan dalam bidang komunikasi namun kedua-duanya mempamerkan karakter yang berlawanan antara satu sama lain. Persoalannya, apakah corak dan tujuan penggunaan Facebook oleh setiap personaliti dan adakah mereka menggunakan Facebook untuk pameran emosi? Satu ekperimen dalam talian (online experiment) telah dilaksanakan dalam Facebook dengan menggunakan 60 personaliti (30 individu Introvert, 30 individu Ekstrovert) yang dipilih menerusi kaedah persampelan mudah. Data kajian dianalisis dan dipersembahkan dalam bentuk deskriptif seperti frekuensi, peratusan dan skor min. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa individu Introvert memperuntukkan masa yang lebih panjang untuk melayari Facebook. Seterusnya, individu Introvert dan Ekstrovert menggunakan Facebook dengan tujuan untuk mencari informasi dan mereka tidak berminat untuk mengintip aktiviti pengguna lain. Kedua-dua personaliti turut terlibat dalam aktiviti berkumpulan namun apabila ingin mempamerkan emosi, individu Introvert memilih mesej segera manakala individu Ekstrovert pula melalui tulisan dinding. Kesimpulannya, individu Introvert dan Ekstrovert mempunyai cara yang berbeza dalam memilih lokasi dan jenis emosi yang dipamerkan terutamanya dalam komuniti dalam talian. Dapatan kajian ini merupakan sebuah gambaran awal mengenai pameran emosi yang ditonjolkan oleh dua personaliti bipolar dalam interaksi dan sosialisasi. Diharapkan agar kajian akan datang dapat memberikan generalisasi dengan melibatkan khalayak Facebook yang lebih luas.
This paper's purpose is to understand what criteria constitutes narratives in the vision and miss... more This paper's purpose is to understand what criteria constitutes narratives in the vision and mission statements on the corporate website of the Malaysian research universities based on storytelling elements. By looking at the vision and mission statements, through qualitative content analysis to discover what type of storytelling use in the local research university and to examine if it helps to add 'value' and effectively use as corporate strategy practice to better position itself among the top 100 'world-class university'. The results of this study, provide a preliminary findings of higher education institutions practice of their narratives in order to gain a competitive advantage within education industry. The paper also be valuable and provide an insight on how universities in Malaysia to communicate their narratives and corporate strategy in order to gain a competitive advantage and position to be the 'world-class university'.
For the past three decades self-efficacy studies have been conducted in social science and other ... more For the past three decades self-efficacy studies have been conducted in social science and other fields of academic endeavor. However, sufficient evidence has clearly shown that this research interest seems to neglect Public Relations (i.e. PR) discipline as there are hardly traceable works connected to this important field of study. This work therefore, represents an attempt to develop PR professionals’ self-efficacy scale to measure the ability of PR professionals in carrying out their duties. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with PR experts and the result has shown a required factor loading for 23 out of total 24 items. Equally, the six operationalized dimensions were all consistent when confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. Similarly, discriminant and convergent validity tests which guarantees the instrument as valid for measuring Public Relations practitioners’ self-efficacy were also found to be fit.
menerusi tarikan penampilan superior. Dapatan perilaku membisu menunjukkan bahawa subordinat intr... more menerusi tarikan penampilan superior. Dapatan perilaku membisu menunjukkan bahawa subordinat introvert cenderung menunjukkan perilaku membisu terhadap superior dalam pelbagai situasi. Hal ini boleh dikenal pasti pada hasil ujian-t sampel bebas bagi perilaku membisu (t (358) = 2.69, p < 0.05). Situasi ini bermaksud, subordinat introvert lebih cenderung berperilaku membisu berbanding dengan subordinat ekstrovert.
The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: Annual Review, 2009
Ethics are a core component of professionalism in youth work yet little research has been done in... more Ethics are a core component of professionalism in youth work yet little research has been done in this area. Given the growing demand for greater standards and quality of youth work, there is an urgent need for research in work ethics among contemporary youth development workers in the country. The current self-administered survey was designed to investigate selfperception in the areas of work ethics among 601 government and non-government youth workers. The survey showed that the samples fared well in terms of ethics as defined by respect for others, responsibility and honesty, with respect for others more pronounced than the other two. Age and years of involvement in youth work correlated positively and significantly with respect for others and responsibility. Job sector correlated negatively and significantly with honesty, and academic qualification correlated negatively and significantly with responsibility. Recommendations for work ethics training and development are discussed.
International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 2014
This study was carried out on the moderating effect of peer attachment on the relationships betwe... more This study was carried out on the moderating effect of peer attachment on the relationships between religiosity and worldview, and on how hedonistic behaviour among Malaysian undergraduate students is shaped by such influences. With regard to peer attachment, the study focused on the influences of communication, trust and alienation among youth. Bronfenbrenner's theory of human ecology and Armsden and Greenberg's attachment model were used as the framework. Drawing on a quantitative survey of 394 Malaysian university students (M age = 21.0, SD = 0.40), structural equation modelling and path analysis revealed a significant relationship between worldview and hedonistic behaviour. Peer attachment moderated the relationships between religiosity and religious worldview. The results further showed that the unique moderating effect of the lower level of attachment with peers is positively related to the hedonistic behaviour. Implications from the findings are discussed.
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Papers by Ezhar Tamam