Trends in Undergraduate Research

Pandangan Pelajar Universiti Berkaitan Masalah Pengangguran Siswazah

Auni Munirah Ahmad — 2025-06-30

Fenomena pengangguran telah menjadi suatu isu yang sering dibangkitkan di Malaysia. Malah sehingga kini isu ini masih belum menemukan langkah yang berkesan dalam menanganinya. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti faktor-faktor pengangguran siswazah, kesan-kesan dan langkah-langkah yang diambil dalam mengatasi permasalahan ini. Dalam kajian kualitatif ini, seramai 10 orang informan kajian telah ditemu bual telah dipilih secara rawak dari pelbagai universiti. Data yang diperolehi dianalisis dengan menggunakan kaedah tematik dan dapatan dijelaskan mengikut tema yang telah diklasifikasikan. Dapatan kajian mendapati empat faktor yang menyumbang kepada isu pengangguran siswazah iaitu kemahiran yang tidak memenuhi keperluan industri, pekerjaan terhad, lambakan graduan, dan kurang kesedaran dan persediaan oleh graduan. Hal ini memberi kesan kepada peningkatan masalah kesihatan mental dan masalah sosial, serta mengurangkan jumlah belia ke institut pengajian tinggi. Oleh itu, siswazah mencadangkan supaya memperbanyakkan program latihan yang mendedahkan mereka dengan alam pekerjaan, menggalakkan pelajar dalam bidang keusahawanan dan mengehadkan kemasukan pelajar untuk program pengajian tertentu. Kesimpulannya, isu ini adalah satu cabaran yang paling signifikan kerana mencerminkan hubungan yang kompleks antara sistem pendidikan, pasaran pekerjaan, dan pertumbuhan ekonomi yang memerlukan perhatian berterusan dari semua pihak bagi memastikan golongan graduan dapat menyumbang secara efektif kepada pembangunan negara

Job Crafting and Employee Engagement Among Employees in Public Organisations in Malaysia

Victoria Jonathan — 2025-06-30

Organizations are continuously seeking ways to make jobs more meaningful to improve employee engagement and productivity. It is important to understand public sector employee perceptions of job crafting and engagement as this group represent a significant number of the workforce, and their engagement directly influences organisational performance. This study investigates the relationship between job crafting and employee engagement among employees in public organisations in Malaysia. A cross-sectional, quantitative research approach was employed with a self-administered survey questionnaire disseminated among employees from two public organisations in Malaysia (N = 114). The respondents comprised of 65 millennials and 49 non-millennials. Findings from an independent sample t-test showed no significant differences in employee engagement levels between millennials and non-millennials. The job crafting dimensions (increasing structural resource and social resources, increasing challenging job demands, and decreasing hindering job demands) were significantly associated with employee engagement. Public organisations and human resource development practitioners can leverage these insights to design interventions and formulate policies that encourage job crafting behaviours thereby fostering a highly engaged workforce

UniTask: Task Management System for UNIMAS Students

Mohamad Johan Ahmad Khiri — 2025-06-30

UniTask is a task management web application created for students at the University of Malaysia, Sarawak (UNIMAS). Unlike general task management tools, it is designed for a university setting. It includes features like group project management, schedule integration, and personalized reminders. The system focuses on multitasking and efficiency. It tracks deadlines and prioritizes tasks automatically. This gives students a simple way to handle coursework, assignments, and project deadlines. The development process involved engaging with UNIMAS students, including surveys and focus groups, to ensure the system meets their specific needs. Through employing Agile methodology, UniTask prototype was improved step by step using feedback from users, ensuring adaptability and ease of use. The system’s customization options allow students to align UniTask with their personal study habits and preferences, enhancing individual productivity. As a result, UniTask empowers students to organize academic tasks more efficiently, supports collaboration on group projects, and ultimately aims to improve academic performance by allowing for automated deadline tracking and task prioritization, establishing itself as an essential tool for success at UNIMAS.

NR-Connect: Development of UNIMAS Non-Resident Mobile Application

Abdul Rahman Mat — 2025-06-30

The NR-Connect application was developed to address the communication and emergency response needs in between NR students, felos, and administrator of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). This project leveraged the Waterfall methodology to systematically design, implement, and verify an integrated platform combining features for news dissemination, event management, and emergency reporting. The application utilizes Flutter for the front-end and Firebase for back-end services, ensuring a seamless user experience across various devices. Key functionalities include a login and registration system, a horizontal scrollable menu for event categories, and real-time data fetching from Firestore. The evaluation of NR-Connect highlighted significant improvements in information accessibility and response efficiency for the university community. Feedback from users indicated high satisfaction with the application's usability and relevance. Future enhancements will focus on expanding features, improving performance, and integrating advanced analytics to further support the dynamic needs of UNIMAS students, felos, and administrator.

Students’ Emotions in Online Learning Post-Covid-19: A Study of Malaysian University Students

Salinayanti Salim — 2025-06-30

This study explores the emotional experiences of the students in a Malaysian university in online learning post-COVID-19. The pandemic forced a shift from traditional to online learning, leading to various emotional responses among students. However, there is limited understanding of how these emotional responses impact students’ engagement and learning satisfaction in the Malaysian context. A survey of 121 students revealed mixed feelings. While some appreciated the flexibility and comfort of learning from home, others faced anxiety, boredom, and challenges with maintaining focus and motivation. The study found that students enjoyed certain aspects of online learning, such as recorded lectures, but struggled with engagement and technical issues. The findings highlight the need for more interactive and supportive online learning environments to enhance student satisfaction and learning outcomes.

Linguistic Markers of Emotions and Coping Stages in Narratives of Cancer Survivors

Su-Hie Ting — 2025-06-30

Linguistic markers in emotional disclosures have not been investigated to identify the stage of emotional adjustment to cancer. The study examined linguistic markers of emotions and coping stages in written narratives of cancer survivors. Using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) framework, 20 narratives with 18,287 words written by cancer survivors were collected from five cancer organisation websites, blogs and online magazines were analysed. The 50 most frequently used words in the cancer narratives appeared 1,153 times because some words were repeatedly used. There were more negative emotional processes (39.20%) than positive emotional processes (18.73%) or cognitive processes (21.16%). Most of the narratives contained words associated to denial, depression, and acceptance. Depression and acceptance were recurring in the cancer narratives. The depression stage was associated with negative emotions but the acceptance stage was associated with cognitive processes. The findings suggest that the decline in emotional words co-occurs with an increase in cognitive words from depression to acceptance, suggesting that cognitive mechanisms are utilised to cope with cancer.