Peter-Paul Songan

... Page 95. 89 Factors Influencing Student Choice Norazila Abd Aziz, Hong, KS Fitri Suraya Mohamad, Songan, P. & Noweg, GT (2010). ... Psychometric theory.(2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Songan, P., Hong, KS, Tonga, G., Mustafa Abdul Rahman & Tan, K. W.(2009). ...

ABSTRACT The current study built and empirically tested a model of the relationships between selected organisational variables, Organisational Learning (OL) capability and performance in the context of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Theoretical advances in the OL domain have been based on the experiences of large organisations in the western hemisphere. In response, the study focuses on analysing the OL capability of SMEs in a transitional economy, namely Malaysia. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyse the datasets from 256 manufacturing and services SMEs. Statistical results showed that entrepreneurial orientation and human-capital development practices have direct positive effects on SMEs' OL capability. It was further found that human-capital development practices mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and OL capability. This implied that while entrepreneurial orientation fosters the need for a strong OL capability, human-capital development practices serve as the mechanisms for developing such capability. Lastly, empirical evidence was provided to support the notion that OL capability enhances the performance of SMEs.

A public university in Malaysia is generically geared towards three core businesses, namely teaching-learning, research, and consultancy and community services. Being a young university in the country and the first one in the state of Sarawak, UNIMAS has had to hire young graduates to put together eight faculties at the time it opened its doors to the first intake of students in 1994. The more experienced faculty members are lecturers who have taught elsewhere in Malaysia, mostly with more than five years of teaching experience at university level. As the academic community at the university grew, and as the student population increased each year, the university realized how much the quality of teaching-learning needed to be effectively addressed, in terms of training and recognition. The university acknowledged the necessity to put in place a mechanism to train lecturers the basics of teaching, to ensure effective learning and the achievement of learning outcomes, as part of the co...

This paper describes a rural ICT (Information and Communication Technology) project in the most remote areas of Sarawak, the Bario and Long Bedian. In the absent of both regular power supply and basic telecommunication infrastructure, the e-Bario and the e-Bedian projects overcome the challenges in providing the community and the schools with Internet connectivity. The telecommunication infrastructure implemented in the project is also discussed which include the use of VSAT(Very Small Aperture Terminal), call routing and wireless technology.