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Oral presentation apprehension plagues people when they communicate orally, especially when they make oral presentations in public. This study examined the relationship between English proficiency, public speaking experience, and... more
Oral presentation apprehension plagues people when they communicate orally, especially when they make oral presentations in public. This study examined the relationship between English proficiency, public speaking experience, and communication apprehension in polytechnic students during oral presentations. The study involved 62 students from a polytechnic in Sarawak, Malaysia, who filled in the PRCA-24 questionnaire that focused on the elements of public speaking. The results showed that 6.4% of the students had a low level of communication apprehension, while 71% had a moderate level of communication apprehension. For 22.6% of the students, the level of apprehension was very high. The students felt anxious and uncomfortable when asked to give an oral presentation. The t-test showed that the male students significantly differed from the female students regarding their communication apprehension. The mean scores showed that the male students experienced greater communication a...
Research on cancer narratives has not contextualised emotional and cognitive processes in stages of coping. The study examined linguistic indicators of affective and cognitive processes in narratives of 31 Malaysian cancer survivors. The... more
Research on cancer narratives has not contextualised emotional and cognitive processes in stages of coping. The study examined linguistic indicators of affective and cognitive processes in narratives of 31 Malaysian cancer survivors. The analysis of the 58,787-word transcript using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (liwc) software revealed that coping with cancer is a case of mind over emotions, with 12.52% of words related to cognitive processes and 4.17% to affective processes. Frequently used words linked to cognitive processes indicated the cancer survivors’ rationalisations of their denial of the diagnosis and explanations of treatment. Frequently used positive affective words reflect their optimism after reaching acceptance. Frequently used negative affective words indicate their trauma and uncertainty about the prognosis and treatment. Linguistic indicators of emotional and cognitive processes may be useful in identifying stages of coping so that appropriate support can be gi...
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At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the public were still unaware of the disease and its transmission, and information on susceptibility and severity was not well understood. During this time, stigma of COVID-19 patients... more
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the public were still unaware of the disease and its transmission, and information on susceptibility and severity was not well understood. During this time, stigma of COVID-19 patients had led to some people dying in their homes because they did not want to be seen seeking treatment and getting stigmatized in the process. The study examined stigma-marking of COVID-19 patients in Facebook and Twitter messages written by youth in Malaysia. A total of 100 messages were collected from the posts of young people in Twitter (n = 66) and Facebook (n = 34) from March 2020 to April 2021 during the early phase of the pandemic. The social media postings, mostly written in Malay, were analyzed for stigma-markers. The results showed that COVID-19 stigma words were mostly related to health (57%), ethnicity (29%), social class (13%), and work (1%). The frequencies of the types of stigma-marker in Facebook comments and tweets are similar. COVID-19 p...
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The study assessed Chinese teenagers’ perceptions of vitality of Hokkien Chinese in Penang using the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS). The survey involved 156 students aged 13–19 (100 Hokkien; 56 non-Hokkien... more
The study assessed Chinese teenagers’ perceptions of vitality of Hokkien Chinese in Penang using the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS). The survey involved 156 students aged 13–19 (100 Hokkien; 56 non-Hokkien Chinese). The results showed that the vitality of Hokkien in Penang is at EGIDS Level 6b (Threatened). The identity function of Hokkien in Penang is that of a home language, and children are the youngest generation of Hokkien speakers. The stability of the diglossic situation between Hokkien and Mandarin has been disrupted due to Mandarin encroaching into oral domains of language use, particularly the friendship and education domains. Both Hokkien and non-Hokkien teenagers have positive attitudes towards Hokkien. Chinese educational background is the only social factor that makes a significant difference in Hokkien usage among the Chinese teenagers, while gender, socio-economic status and language attitudes have no significant effect on Hokkien usage. I...
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The Iban is an indigenous group living in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, located on Borneo Kalimantan. The study examined ethnic identity and consumption of Iban pop songs by investigating the influence of half- or full-Iban parentage on... more
The Iban is an indigenous group living in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, located on Borneo Kalimantan. The study examined ethnic identity and consumption of Iban pop songs by investigating the influence of half- or full-Iban parentage on knowledge, attitudes and practices of listening to Iban pop songs. Questionnaire data were collected from 189 Iban participants (21.16% half-Iban; 78.84% full-Iban). The favourite genre of Iban pop songs is ballads but 74.6% of the participants could sing the iconic Iban rock song, Biar Bekikis Bulu Betis. A majority of the Iban participants listened to Iban pop songs on YouTube channels although a fair number still used the radio and mobile phones. The participants believed that Iban songs can unite the Iban and represent the Sarawakian identity. The male participants were more familiar with Iban pop songs than the female participants. Consumption of Iban music does not differ significantly with monthly income and education level. The results show...
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Background To have better prognostic outcomes and minimize deaths due to nasopharyngeal cancer, it is vital to understand factors that motivate the public to undertake cancer preventive measures. The study investigated determinants of... more
Background To have better prognostic outcomes and minimize deaths due to nasopharyngeal cancer, it is vital to understand factors that motivate the public to undertake cancer preventive measures. The study investigated determinants of intention to adopt measures to reduce nasopharyngeal cancer risk using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted on Malaysians (n = 515) using a questionnaire on attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, knowledge of nasopharyngeal cancer, past nasopharyngeal cancer preventive behavior, and intention to adopt preventive measures. The attitudes construct encompassed perceptions of susceptibility, severity, benefits and barriers. Hierarchical regression of mediation effect under structural equation model approach was used to test the theory. The model was re-estimated using the two-stage least square approach by instrumental approach. Next the Maximum Likelihood Estimation-Structural Equation Modeling w...
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The study examined rhetorical appeals in Mahathir Mohamad’s speeches delivered during his come back as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia. The specific aspects investigated were: (1) the extent to which the logos, pathos and ethos... more
The study examined rhetorical appeals in Mahathir Mohamad’s speeches delivered during his come back as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia. The specific aspects investigated were: (1) the extent to which the logos, pathos and ethos appeals were used; (2) the use of the active and passive voice in attribution of responsibility; and (3) the use of personal pronouns in the appeals. Six of Mahathir Mohamad’s political speeches in Malay language delivered in 2018-2020 with a word-count of 13,000 words were analysed using Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs. The results show that Mahathir Mohamad relied on logos (56.17%) and pathos (39.63%) but not ethos (4.20%). Mahathir Mohamad came across as a political leader who relied on argumentation and the positioning of himself as a spokesperson for the ruling coalition and the government, reflected in “kita” (we-inclusive) accounting for 50.26% of personal pronouns used. However, in the context of a distressing situation, he resorted to the pathos...
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The content structuring of creative arts thesis is still evolving and has been mainly based on the social science thesis structure. However, the diversity of creative works encompassing music compositions, novels, art works, dance, and... more
The content structuring of creative arts thesis is still evolving and has been mainly based on the social science thesis structure. However, the diversity of creative works encompassing music compositions, novels, art works, dance, and painting makes it difficult for the thesis to fit into the conventional content structure. There is also the description of intellectual property and the final product validation which are distinctly different components of creative arts research which need to be documented. In addition, the impetus for the creative arts research may not arise from a gap of knowledge in the field but from ergonomical problems of certain products or designs. The present study examined how the introduction section is written in creative arts thesis. Eleven creative arts theses written by undergraduate and postgraduate students in two Malaysian universities were analysed to identify the impetus or entry point for the research. The results indicate that the research probl...
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Using Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs of ethos, logos and pathos, university students’ strategies of persuading their lecturer to grant their request was examined. The data were from 99 students enrolled in an English language course who... more
Using Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs of ethos, logos and pathos, university students’ strategies of persuading their lecturer to grant their request was examined. The data were from 99 students enrolled in an English language course who were asked to write down what they would say to persuade their lecturer to end the class early. Some students used more than one strategy, giving rise to 101 persuasion strategies in total. Analysis of their requests showed that logos (reason) was the most popular persuasion strategy, accounting for about half of the total strategies identified. Students reasoned using their heavy workload and undesirable physical classroom conditions to end the class earlier than usual. About 45% of the students used pathos appeal. The emotional appeal was made based on either their own or their lecturer’s condition, signalled by the personal pronouns of “I” and “you” respectively. Appeals to ethos (credibility) was seldom used. The study showed the students used bot...
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Various factors, notably health beliefs, knowledge of the disease and demographic characteristics have been found to influence public receptivity to disease risk information and their likelihood to perform actions to reduce risk. Research... more
Various factors, notably health beliefs, knowledge of the disease and demographic characteristics have been found to influence public receptivity to disease risk information and their likelihood to perform actions to reduce risk. Research has shown that receptivity to disease risk messages is influenced by the framing of the messages. The health risk messages can be framed to appeal to logic, emotion or credibility of information source – referred to as the rhetorical appeals of logos, pathos and ethos respectively. This study examined the framing of disease risk messages in airport banners to identify persuasive strategies used by the Ministry of Health Malaysia to elicit health preventive behaviour. The banners with disease risk messages for Zika, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, Ebola Virus Disease, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus Disease were analysed to find out how appeals to logos, pathos and ethos were used to induce fear of susceptibility to the diseases and t...
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Research Interests:
The content structuring of creative arts thesis is still evolving and has been mainly based on the social science thesis structure. However, the diversity of creative works encompassing music compositions, novels, art works, dance, and... more
The content structuring of creative arts thesis is still evolving and has been mainly based on the social science thesis structure. However, the diversity of creative works encompassing music compositions, novels, art works, dance, and painting makes it difficult for the thesis to fit into the conventional content structure. There is also the description of intellectual property and the final product validation which are distinctly different components of creative arts research which need to be documented. In addition, the impetus for the creative arts research may not arise from a gap of knowledge in the field but from ergonomical problems of certain products or designs. The present study examined the positioning of the research problem in creative arts theses. Eleven creative arts theses written by undergraduate and postgraduate students in two Malaysian universities were analysed to identify the impetus or entry point for the research. The results indicate that the research probl...
In view of the lack of research on types of hooks and endings which are commonly used in articles for leisure reading, this study examined hooks and endings in magazine articles. A total of 19 articles from Kuching In and Out (KINO)... more
In view of the lack of research on types of hooks and endings which are commonly used in articles for leisure reading, this study examined hooks and endings in magazine articles. A total of 19 articles from Kuching In and Out (KINO) magazine published in Malaysia were selected for analysis (6 by males, 13 by females). The most common types of hooks to draw readers into the next sentence and set the tone for the rest of an article were flashback, description, and facts. Flashback and self-introduction were new, probably due to the nature of the KINO magazine which features the life experiences of writers from Kuching who are presently living in other parts of the world. Less-frequently used hooks were empathy, mystery, plot twist, and questions. Most endings were a return to the writer’s hook or information mentioned earlier in the article, taking the form of reflections or issue resolution, as well as two other less-used endings, questioning and giving revelations. An ending that wa...
In Malaysia, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual dan Transgender (LGBT) face moral sanctions and legal challenges because it is prohibited by Islam and not condoned by major religions. A search using Google Trends show that there was a spike of... more
In Malaysia, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual dan Transgender (LGBT) face moral sanctions and legal challenges because it is prohibited by Islam and not condoned by major religions. A search using Google Trends show that there was a spike of interest on “LGBT in Malaysia” in 2009 and 2019, but there has been sustained interest since 2014. The present study examined framing of LGBT in four online newspapers in Malaysia. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the percentage of episodic and thematic framing in the newspapers, and to compare the topics that are reported in LGBT news. LGBT seems to be backgrounded in newspaper coverage by Astro Awani, Free Malaysia Today, Malaysiakini and The Star Online because only 60 articles published in 2019 were related to LGBT. The analysis showed that 81.67% of the articles were episodic frames and 18.33% were thematic frames. Malaysiakini had relatively more thematic articles while Astro Awani had the lowest percentage of thematic articles...
This research uses Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Group Identity Measure (MEIM) to study in-group ethnic identification and other-group orientation among 364 tertiary students (Polytechnic, 292; University, 72) from four ethnic groups in... more
This research uses Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Group Identity Measure (MEIM) to study in-group ethnic identification and other-group orientation among 364 tertiary students (Polytechnic, 292; University, 72) from four ethnic groups in Malaysia: Malay, Indian, Chinese, and Indigenous. The MEIM measures the four components of ethnic identity—affirmation/ belonging, ethnic behavior, out-group orientation, and ethnic identity achievement, the last of which comprise exploration of, and commitment to, ethnic identity. The respondents had the highest score on affirmation/ belonging, which is moderately associated with ethnic identity achievement. Other-group orientation had the lowest score but was still marginally positive. There were no significant differences in the strength of the ethnic identity components, as well as in the exploration and commitment constructs of ethnic identity achievement. However, the mean scores indicated that the Malay and Chinese respondents were inclined tow...
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This study examined the types and functions of if-conditionals in lecture introductions. The data comprise 144 if-conditionals from a 37,373-word corpus (3.85 per 1000 words). A majority of if-conditionals are direct conditionals (89.6%),... more
This study examined the types and functions of if-conditionals in lecture introductions. The data comprise 144 if-conditionals from a 37,373-word corpus (3.85 per 1000 words). A majority of if-conditionals are direct conditionals (89.6%), with 10.4% of indirect conditionals. Of the direct conditionals, 72.9% are expressed as open condition and 16.7% as hypothetical condition. Hypothetical if-conditionals are mainly for hedging about the students' knowledge, and less frequently for hedging about the lecturer's own knowledge, hedging the intended interpretation of the utterance, expressing politeness, or making indirect requests. Most of the if-conditional clauses are in an initial position (88.9%), with some in medial (1.4%) and end (9.7%) positions. Initial if-conditional clauses mainly serve as a framework for subsequent propositions by presenting assumptions, but are minimally used for contrasting, exemplification, and exploring options. Medial if-conditional clauses funct...
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This study compares the framing of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal and the politicising of the issue by a mainstream and an alternative newspaper before and after the historic change of ruling party in Malaysia... more
This study compares the framing of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal and the politicising of the issue by a mainstream and an alternative newspaper before and after the historic change of ruling party in Malaysia in the 2018 general election. A quantitative content analysis of 1,357 news articles in The Star and Malaysiakini was conducted along with lexical analyses using a textual analytics software known as AntConc. The results indicate that 1MDB was more salient in Malaysiakini before the change of government but its salience was elevated in The Star during the new Pakatan Harapan regime. Both newspapers were oriented towards episodic framing, but in the new regime, The Star’s percentage of episodic articles increased while that of Malaysiakini decreased. The low percentage of thematic articles (less than 11%) indicate that the media framing of 1MDB could have made readers oblivious to the ramifying impacts of 1MDB on Malaysia and its citizens. The Star te...
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Communication of disease risk aims to persuade the public to take health preventive measures. The receptivity of the public depends on their knowledge of the disease. However, health risk messages can be framed to heighten awareness of... more
Communication of disease risk aims to persuade the public to take health preventive measures. The receptivity of the public depends on their knowledge of the disease. However, health risk messages can be framed to heighten awareness of the disease threat. This study examined the framing and persuasiveness of disease risk messages in airport banners produced by the Ministry of Health Malaysia. The banners for Zika, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, Ebola Virus Disease, malaria, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus Disease were analysed to find out: (1) the messages on severity, susceptibility and cues to action found in airport banners, and (2) appeals to logos, pathos and ethos were used to persuade the public to take health preventive measures. The results showed that the banners are very informative on risk groups, disease symptoms, and recommended actions. However, the logos focus of the messages may not construct the diseases as a public health threat because a restricte...
Research Interests: Psychology and Law
The study examined the seriousness of plagiarism in university students’ written assignments. The specific objectives of the study were to: (1) identify the plagiarism behaviours used by students to complete their written assignments; (2)... more
The study examined the seriousness of plagiarism in university students’ written assignments. The specific objectives of the study were to: (1) identify the plagiarism behaviours used by students to complete their written assignments; (2) determine students’ attitudes towards penalties of plagiarism; and (3) determine reasons for the occurrence of plagiarism. Questionnaires were distributed to students enrolled in an academic reading and writing course at a non-research intensive Malaysian university. Analysis of 169 questionnaires showed all the students had been involved in some plagiarism behaviours to complete their assignments, primarily use of materials without properly acknowledging the source of the information. The students did not treat plagiarism as a serious act of academic dishonesty as shown by their preference for light penalties for students caught for plagiarism. It seems that the students’ lack of awareness on the severity of plagiarism may be due to the lack of em...
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This workshop aims to provide explicit guidance on the writing of a research article, from the organization of the abstract to the conclusion. The theoretical knowledge for the workshop is drawn from decades of research on the rhetorical... more
This workshop aims to provide explicit guidance on the writing of a research article, from the organization of the abstract to the conclusion. The theoretical knowledge for the workshop is drawn from decades of research on the rhetorical structure and conventions of research articles in various disciplines, including a comparison of the research writing of native speaker and non·native speakers of English. The workshop begins with a presentation of the structure of a research article in terms of the moves and steps of different sections of the article (Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion). Following this, participants are taken through an analysis of the structure of some sample research articles in the science and arts to develop their awareness of the rhetorical structure of a research article. Finally, participants are given hands-on practice in analysing either their own or provided draft research articles in order to identify weak links in the articl...
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The Sarawak Language Technology (SaL T) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak. and vice versa. As part of... more
The Sarawak Language Technology (SaL T) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak. and vice versa. As part of the larger project. a study was conducted to examine the difficulties encountered by the Melanau native speakers who were engaged to translate English texts to Melanau to provide the source data for the development of the English-Melanau translation software. A total of 20 Melanau translators were involved in the translation of a corpus of 1098 English sentences approximating 10,534 words (Including repeated words such as aku, kamu, dia). The translators were educated in English and Bahasa Melayu, and they had jobs ranging from government officers, teachers and students. They did not have degrees in translation but were chosen because of their familiarity with Melanau, English and/or Bahasa Melayu. The Interviews with the Melanau translators indicated...
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Knowing the written and unwritten rules of the game in getting journal papers published is necessary to compete for research space in the international research discourse community. This workshop aims to provide guidelines on tailoring... more
Knowing the written and unwritten rules of the game in getting journal papers published is necessary to compete for research space in the international research discourse community. This workshop aims to provide guidelines on tailoring research articles to journals to increase chances of getting journal papers published. The theoretical knowledge for the workshop is drawn from research on conventions of research articles and studies on why papers are accepted or rejected. The workshop begins with a review ofreasons for manuscript acceptance and rejection. This is followed by a presentation of how different parts of a research article are adjusted to fit targeted journals. Finally, several case studies are used to show how authors tailor their papers to targeted journals in terms of the relevance to the journal, novelty and soundness of research, methodological approach and, last but not least, the writing style and format requirements of journals. This workshop is designed to help p...
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This paper looks at the framing of a financial scandal involving top government officials by a mainstream news medium (The Star) and an alternative news medium (Malaysiakini) before the historic change of the country’s ruling party. In... more
This paper looks at the framing of a financial scandal involving top government officials by a mainstream news medium (The Star) and an alternative news medium (Malaysiakini) before the historic change of the country’s ruling party. In particular, the paper reveals why a financial scandal became politicised, and how a controversial issue was framed within the context of lawsuit threats and newspaper permit suspension. A total of 815 straight news articles from 1 July to 30 September 2016 published in The Star (185 articles) and Malaysiakini (630 articles) were analysed. The quantitative content analysis revealed that headlines generally contained two to three dimensions, and The Star had typically longer and more multi-dimensional headlines. The political, constitution and jurisprudence dimensions dominated the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) news headlines, accounting for 56.7% of 1,619 dimensions identified. Although 1MDB was a financial scandal, only Malaysiakini framed it as...
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English for Academic Purpose (EAP) courses focus on developing undergraduates' language skills through explicit instruction on knowledge, skills and strategies needed to produce effective academic texts for various purposes at... more
English for Academic Purpose (EAP) courses focus on developing undergraduates' language skills through explicit instruction on knowledge, skills and strategies needed to produce effective academic texts for various purposes at university. This study examined the changes in undergraduates' academic writing after taking an EAP course in terms of the structuring of the content and the use of language features relevant to the purpose of the text. Undergraduates enrolled in an EAP course were given a topic to write about at the beginning and at the end ofthe semester. The analysis of the write-up of24 undergraduates in a class indicated that there was preference for information reports although there were a fair number of explanation texts. The end-of-semester writing showed greater awareness of effective ways to structure a text to achieve the communicative purpose based on accepted conventions. There was evidence of improvement in the use of related language features and mechan...
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The Sarawak Language Technology (SaLT) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak, and vice versa. As part of the... more
The Sarawak Language Technology (SaLT) project aims to preserve languages through the use of language technologies such as machine translation of English and Bahasa Melayu to indigenous languages in Sarawak, and vice versa. As part of the larger project, a study was conducted to examine the difficulties encountered by the Melanau native speakers who were engaged to translate English texts to Melanau to provide the source data for the development of the English-Melanau translation software. A total of 20 ...
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Abstract: In the past, information and advice on courses and destinations of higher education were primarily sought from social contacts. However, with the availability of a myriad of options in higher education nowadays, the services of... more
Abstract: In the past, information and advice on courses and destinations of higher education were primarily sought from social contacts. However, with the availability of a myriad of options in higher education nowadays, the services of educational consultants have become relevant. The case study examined the language used in educational consultations. The specific aspects examined were the main languages used for educational consultations, whether the language used for the educational consultation varied with the type of ...
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The study examined millennials’ perceptions of gendered language features in Facebook communication. A total of 60 millennials were presented with samples of Facebook messages and asked to guess the gender of the writer, and to give... more
The study examined millennials’ perceptions of gendered language features in Facebook communication. A total of 60 millennials were presented with samples of Facebook messages and asked to guess the gender of the writer, and to give reasons for identifying the writer as female or male. The results showed that the participants correctly guessed the gender of 71.43% out of 14 Facebook commenters. The main markers of male language features are harsh language, straightforward and shorter comment length, certain topics of discussions, word choice, and social role. The harsh language refers to rough, animal references, and cursing. Male word choice is inclined towards negativity. On the other hand, the main markers of female language features are giving advice, longer comments, presence of emotions, supportiveness, soft spokenness, word choice and feminine topics of discussion. Female word choice is reflected in use of words like “whatever”, certain modifications of spellings and use of s...
Currently the indigenous languages used as the medium of instruction in public schools in Malaysia are Iban in Sarawak, KadazanDusun in Sabah, and Semai in West Malaysia. While the medium of instruction in kindergartens is not as strictly... more
Currently the indigenous languages used as the medium of instruction in public schools in Malaysia are Iban in Sarawak, KadazanDusun in Sabah, and Semai in West Malaysia. While the medium of instruction in kindergartens is not as strictly regulated as the medium of instruction in public schools, the demand for kindergartens using indigenous languages need to be high enough for the programme to be sustainable. There are presently some Bidayuh playschools and preschools established by the Dayak Bidayuh National Association in Sarawak. The study examined attitudes towards Bidayuh as a medium of instruction for kindergartens among the Bidayuh community in Sarawak, Malaysia. Questionnaire data were obtained from 61 Bidayuh who originated from the Kuching and Kota Samarahan districts. Results showed mixed responses to the prospect of setting up kindergartens using Bidayuh as the medium of instruction but a majority were in support. The participants believed that Bidayuh language kindergar...
The Kejaman are a small indigenous group living in the interior of Belaga, along the Balui River, in the Kapit Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. The study examined the role of social network on the language ability of the Kejaman speakers... more
The Kejaman are a small indigenous group living in the interior of Belaga, along the Balui River, in the Kapit Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. The study examined the role of social network on the language ability of the Kejaman speakers from Belaga, Sarawak, Malaysia. Using questionnaires, data were collected from 123 participants from three generations of the Kejaman speakers from two longhouses (Rumah Kejaman Neh Long Litten and Rumah Kejaman Ba Segaham) in Belaga, Sarawak. The study employed Milroy's (1987) framework for social network analysis. The results for language ability showed a marked difference between the older generation and the younger generation. The first and second generations were able to interact fluently and spontaneously using their mother tongue. The second generation was more versatile in terms of language ability as they were fluent speakers of many languages. The ability to use the Kejaman language declined significantly among the third generation. In t...
To reduce deaths due to nose and throat cancer, also known as nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), it is important to understand factors that motivate the public to undertake cancer screening. This study employed the risk perception attitude... more
To reduce deaths due to nose and throat cancer, also known as nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), it is important to understand factors that motivate the public to undertake cancer screening. This study employed the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework to predict factors influencing NPC risk-reducing behaviors among a group of Malaysians. A sample of Malaysians (n=215) completed a questionnaire about perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, self-efficacy, response efficacy, and intention to enact self-protective actions to reduce NPC risk. A majority of the participants had responsive (high risk, high efficacy) and proactive attitudes (low risk, high efficacy). Hierarchical regression of mediation effect under structural equation model (SEM) approach was used to test the theory. Response efficacy and self-efficacy were negatively associated with perceived risk (p<0.01). Intention was negatively associated with perceived risk and positively associated with response efficacy and ...
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Communication of health risk messages is usually through newspapers, magazines, brochures and increasingly through social media. For the health risk message to reach the public, the materials have to be picked up and read; therefore... more
Communication of health risk messages is usually through newspapers, magazines, brochures and increasingly through social media. For the health risk message to reach the public, the materials have to be picked up and read; therefore availability and appeal of the materials are important. Research on message design has identified a few principles that govern health risk communication. This study examines the use of message design principles in the breast cancer brochures produced by Ministry of Health. For the study, five breast cancer brochures were analysed for the use of colour, typographical features, and graphics. Analysis showed that most of the brochures were in pink colour which is associated with breast cancer (The Pink Ribbon connoting breast cancer awareness). The analysis revealed that typographical features is probably the element of message design that needs improvement because most of the brochures used upper case letters and did not maximise the use of other features ...
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Researchers who studied breast cancer awareness have recommended educational programmes but a major gap in knowledge is whether health promotion materials on breast cancer capture the attention of the audience and educate them on the... more
Researchers who studied breast cancer awareness have recommended educational programmes but a major gap in knowledge is whether health promotion materials on breast cancer capture the attention of the audience and educate them on the disease. This case study examined women’s receptivity towards breast cancer leaflets produced by Ministry of Health Malaysia based on the Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) Framework. Five breast cancer brochures were presented to 10 female participants to gauge their receptivity towards the leaflets. The leaflets were analysed for the application of message design principles, notably colour, graphics and typographical features as well as the message content based on RPA constructs. The participants were more receptive towards breast cancer leaflets with susceptibility and self-efficacy messages compared to leaflets with only recommended actions for self-protective behaviour. However, for these behavioural change messages to reach the audience, the message ...
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The recent reform of Malaysia’s education system has witnessed the incorporation of higher order thinking skills into the curriculum at all educational levels. However, the implementation has been surrounded by various issues,... more
The recent reform of Malaysia’s education system has witnessed the incorporation of higher order thinking skills into the curriculum at all educational levels. However, the implementation has been surrounded by various issues, particularly the pervasive lack of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) required by the industry among a majority of undergraduates.This is an area that requires further investigation, given that there are many challenges in the teaching of HOTS at university level. The present paper discusses findings from a study that investigated HOTS among undergraduates at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and developed instructional strategies to enhance those skills. Self-reported survey and interviews were used to gather the views of 120 undergraduates and 20 lecturers on HOTS and the teaching of HOTS in tertiary context. The views were then used to develop instructional strategies that could enhance HOTS among undergraduates. The findings show most undergraduates re...
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This study examined the influence of work experience on polytechnic students’ expectations of working life, and the extent to which these expectations resemble known characteristics of Generation Y. The survey involved 147 polytechnic... more
This study examined the influence of work experience on polytechnic students’ expectations of working life, and the extent to which these expectations resemble known characteristics of Generation Y. The survey involved 147 polytechnic students (62.6% with and 37.4% without work experience). The results showed that their salary expectations were unrealistic. Most of the polytechnic students believed that they would find their first job through job advertisements or personal contacts but those with work experience were more likely to work for someone they knew. Both groups believed that qualification, English proficiency and personality are important in securing their first job but they considered family background to be irrelevant. The students with work experience were more correct in their assessment of the importance of work experience to their would-be employers. The results showed that the polytechnic students exhibited the characteristics of Generation Y, and there are no signi...