Trends in Undergraduate Research

The The Relationship between Flexible Work Arrangements and Employee Engagement among Managerial Employees in the Private Sector

2024-10-23T11:16:19+08:00

Today, it is common practice for most organisations to implement flexible work arrangements in order to meet the needs of their employees and ensure the long-term viability of the business. It got its beginnings during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the techniques have spread, they have unquestionably changed many facets of peoples' lives and forced societies, corporations, nations, and individuals to reconsider how they live and work. Flexible work arrangements have become the new norm as a result of the epidemic forcing more workers to work remotely or with less hours in the workplace. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between flexible work arrangements, such as flexible time, telecommuting, and flexible leave towards employee engagement among managerial employees in one of the private sectors in Selangor. Employing a quantitative approach through a correlational study has been adopted to test the hypotheses to this relationship. The population of this study comprises 52 managerial employees from middle and first-line manager. A convenience sampling method was employed for data collection through the distribution of questionnaires via Google Form Link. The results of this research, using Spearman correlation analysis, indicate a significant relationship between flexible work arrangements, specifically flexible time and telecommuting, and employee engagement. Therefore, it is recommended that organizations review their existing policies and practices to better accommodate the current situation and the needs of their employees.

Attitude towards Learning Statistics and Factors Associated with it among University Students, Sarawak, Malaysia

2024-08-22T14:01:50+08:00

Statistics is a course required for most undergraduate university students. Statistical methods are often used in problem solving in various fields, including information, communication technology, medicine, etc. This study examined students' attitudes towards learning statistics and its relationships with perceived academic performance, learning styles, and educational environment. This cross-sectional study at UNIMAS involved 610 undergraduate students. It used multistage cluster sampling and a questionnaire to assess attitudes towards statistics, learning styles, academic performance, and academic environment. Data were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression. The study examined attitudes toward learning statistics among 610 university students, predominantly female (65.9%) and in their second year (90.7%). Students reported moderate overall academic performance (M=3.49, SD=0.43), with the highest scores in group work. The perceived academic environment was generally positive, with sports facilities and empathy learning rated highest. The learning style preferences showed a strong inclination towards visual (84.1%) and sensing (73.3%) styles, with 87% having a mild overall preference. Attitudes towards statistics were slightly positive (M=4.57, SD=0.61), with the highest scores in the effort and interest domain. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that group work (β=.159, p<.001), work productivity (β=.197, p<0.001), and the perceived academic environment (β=.139, p<.001) were significant predictors of attitudes towards statistics in multiple domains. Age and gender had minimal impact on attitudes towards statistics, except for a slight female preference in the value domain (β=.086, p<.05). The effort domain was positively influenced by group work (β=.207, p<.001), work productivity (β=.222, p<.001), and the academic environment (β=.252, p<.001). In contrast, the affective domain was negatively influenced by cognitive ability (β=-.115, p<.01) and impulse control (β=-.169, p<.001). These findings provide insight into the factors that affect student attitudes toward statistics, highlighting the importance of collaborative learning, productivity, and a supportive academic environment.

Penggunaan dan Sikap Terhadap Bahasa Ibunda: Satu Penelitian Terhadap Dialek Melayu Sarawak

2024-09-17T15:49:29+08:00

Bahasa Melayu merupakan bahasa kebangsaan yang juga bahasa rasmi negara Malaysia. Namun begitu, sepertimana bahasa utama lain di dunia, bahasa Melayu itu juga mempunyai dialek-dialek Melayu tersendiri Apakah interaksi yang biasanya dilakukan dalam bahasa Melayu standard dan apakah interaksi yang biasanya dilakukan dalam dialek Melayu? Kajian ini memfokus kepada dialek Melayu Sarawak (DMS) dan bertujuan mengkaji penggunaan dan sikap terhadap DMS dalam kalangan penutur natif di sebuah institusi pengajian tinggi awam negara dengan memfokus kepada tiga domain, iaitu domain keluarga, domain pendidikan dan domain persahabatan. Data dikutip menggunakan soal selidik dan seramai 80 orang pelajar sebuah institusi pengajian tinggi terlibat dalam kajian ini. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan walaupun terdapat bahasa lain digunakan, namun kekerapan pemilihan penggunaan DMS adalah sangat tinggi dalam dua domain informal, iaitu domain keluarga dan domain persahabatan Dalam domain pendidikan pula, bahasa Melayu standard dan bahasa Inggeris menunjukkan kekerapan penggunaan yang lebih tinggi. Walaupun tahap penggunaan adalah berbeza antara ketiga-tiga domain ini, namun dari segi sikap terhadap DMS, majoriti responden kajian juga menzahirkan sikap yang sangat positif terhadap DMS kerana ia disifatkan sebagai cerminan identiti dan jati diri anak Sarawak

UNIMAS Students' Perception of the Use of Roleplay as an Assessment in Increasing Communicative Competence and Social Constructivism: An Action Research

2024-05-24T03:55:43+08:00

Roleplay or simulation are classroom activities that provide students with a 'safe' and less threatening environment for learning. In ESL for higher educational institutions, roleplay is used as one of the assessment strategies because of its authenticity and practicality. This study examined students' perception of roleplay to increase their communicative competence and social constructivism. One hundred eight participants from various faculties at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) were chosen using the purposive sampling method as the study's participants. SPSS 2.0 was used as the instrument, and several tests (T-test, F-test, Pearson) were conducted to obtain the results. The findings showed that 1) using roleplay as an assessment has increased their communicative competence; 2) the student’s gender does not affect the students' roleplay and social constructivism; 3) the student’s study programmes do not affect their roleplay and social constructivism, and 4) social constructivism appears to have a strong relationship with roleplay based on the positive correlation result. This study has shown that roleplay is an effective tool for ESL classrooms as it allows students to express themselves confidently, practise conversational English, and improve their communicative competence and social constructivism.

Knowledge and Attitude towards Euthanasia among UNIMAS Undergraduate Nursing Students

2024-04-17T13:32:54+08:00

Euthanasia is a controversial and ethically debated topic, stirring intense discussion and moral dilemmas in the medical field. This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude towards euthanasia amongst Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) undergraduate nursing students and to examine the association between knowledge and attitude towards euthanasia. 148 undergraduate nursing students from UNIMAS responded to an online self-administered questionnaire on knowledge and attitude towards euthanasia adapted from Portilla et al (2021) and Wasserman et al (2005) respectively. The results revealed that 78.4% of participants possessed good knowledge levels regarding euthanasia. However, more than half of the participants (50.7%) exhibited poor attitudes towards euthanasia. There were no significant associations between knowledge and attitudes among undergraduate nursing students towards euthanasia. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening education and ethical guidance for nursing students, to prepare then to encounter morally challenging situations that call for their best moral judgment. This study emphasizes the need for appropriate and targeted interventions to promote understanding and fostering empathetic decision-making skills among undergraduate nursing students to navigate such a sensitive domain of moral-ethical issue ensuring optimal patient care delivery and ethical practice.