Academic performance is a multidimensional parameter that extends beyond cognitive ability and includes emotional, behavioural, and psychological aspects of students’ learning. It is the product of the knowledge and skills students possess and is the basis for them to pursue a higher education and career as well as lifelong learning. While most of us think of cognitive capabilities as the main determinants of academic success, there is growing evidence that psychological characteristics and mental health are equally important as well. In this paper, we conceptualise the interplay of the basic psychological characteristics, such as cognitive skills, personality and motivation, and mental health factors (e.g., anxiety, depression and emotional well-being), and what influences students' academic achievement in school. By incorporating all of the psychological theories (i.e., Self-Determination Theory, Social Cognitive Theory and Broaden-and-Build Theory), we have developed an integrated theory to explain the interplay of psychological and mental health in academic achievement. This paper contributes to the literature through the application of these theoretical frameworks to show how self-efficacy, self-regulated learning, and affective states are the most important mediating factors in psychological attributes and mental health in academic achievement. It also challenges conventional educational paradigms in the sense that emotional well-being and psychological resilience are cognitive and academic success factors rather than just the outcome of an individual's achievement. This conceptual paper provides a powerful overview of psychological factors in academic performance and is very useful to students (and higher education institutions) and policymakers for improving student well-being and academic performance.
This study investigates how students at the beginning of the learning process develop the knowledge of value creation in management accounting following a simple lesson in the classroom. The study has been carried out using a qualitative classroom-based design by analysing the written responses of 24 students enrolled in a Management Accounting class. The data were gathered using open-ended questions that elicited responses from the students regarding the definition of value creation, the role of management accounting information in managerial decision making and suggestions for teaching methods to enhance their understanding of management accounting information. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the responses. The findings reveal that the students' early knowledge of value creation was predominantly financially related, with the majority of students linking value creation with profit, costs, benefits and efficient use of resources. Other students showed more of a sense of the wider picture by making connections between value creation and customers, stakeholders, quality, sustainability and long-term business performance. Students also saw management accounting information as a support to cost analysis, pricing, profitability and decision making. Students recommended that using real-world examples, practice exercises, providing a clearer explanation, summarizing content, and speaking more slowly would help them understand the material. The study reveals that students are starting to understand that there is more to value creation than just money and that management accounting has a broader and more practical dimension as a decision-making tool.
Corruption remains a major challenge to governance, public trust, and institutional legitimacy in Southeast Asia. This study compares trends in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in Malaysia and Indonesia from 2012 to 2024 using annual data published by Transparency International. It examines how changes in CPI scores and rankings corresponded with major political transitions, institutional reforms, and anti-corruption developments in both countries. Through a qualitative approach, this study interprets CPI trends alongside key political and governance events identified through content analysis. The findings show that Malaysia recorded higher CPI scores than Indonesia throughout the period, although its performance remained unstable post 2020 amid political turnover and governance uncertainty. In Indonesia, CPI data observed pre-2020 were not sustained, with subsequent declines coinciding with reforms widely seen as weakening the autonomy of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). These patterns imply that improvements in corruption perception are difficult to sustain without institutional continuity, credible enforcement, and political commitment to reform. By comparing two neighboring democracies with different reform paths, this study contributes to the broader debate on corruption, governance, and political accountability and offers policy-relevant insights to strengthen anti-corruption institutions in both countries.
The fast-moving digital revolution in the education sector has transformed how future taxpayers learn and prepare to comply. The conceptual paper is a discussion of the use of emerging technologies like AI-assisted learning, gamification of tax simulations, and digital tax laboratory to increase the readiness of tax compliance among university students in Malaysia and Indonesia. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Transformative Learning Theory (TLT), the developed framework describes the role of digital learning engagement, perceived usefulness, and reflective learning in developing compliance-oriented behaviour. The paper adds to theory by developing TAM and TLT in a tax education setting and provides implications for the use of technology-based curriculum to produce ethical and digitally skilled taxpayers.
There are various discussions on the hypothesis of export-led growth, but due to different methods, the results are controversial. Nonetheless, this research aims to examine the short-run and long-run relationships between exports, imports, services, and economic growth of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in the time range from January 2010 to December 2021. The dynamic analysis approach utilized in this study is the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to investigate whether Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are export-led growth (ELGH) or import-led growth hypothesis (ILGH) during the selected period. The findings indicate that, in addition to imports and economic growth, both countries show that there is a bilateral relationship between exports and economic growth in the short-run and long run. Thus, international trade is the engine of rapid growth, where the hypothesis of export-oriented growth and the hypothesis of import-oriented growth are reasonable. Therefore, the policymakers should ease the trade barrier to encourage trade liberalization and foreign investment, besides controlling the trade services.
This study looks into the possibility of waqf-based crowdfunding as a different way to get money to help develop non-ruminant livestock, especially poultry, in Malaysia. Even though the sector is becoming increasingly important to national food security, farmers face significant financial challenges, including high capital costs and limited access to traditional financing. At the same time, waqf funds are still not being used enough in productive sectors. This study finds important legal, institutional, and operational problems by using a qualitative method that combines doctrinal and non-doctrinal analysis, such as interviews and a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The results show that there is a regulatory gap and broken governance that make it hard to implement waqf crowdfunding. In response, the study suggests a model that combines one-time waqf funding for infrastructure with Qard al-Hasan funding for operations. This model provides a long-term, Shariah-compliant solution that helps farmers, increases access to financial services, and helps improve food security.
Mental health is foundational to human productivity and national development. Grassroots civic actors are essential to bridge the health service where there is scarcity. Quality health service delivery, therefore, is not just for hospitals and elites, but rather it requires multidimensional collaboration with community-based organizations (CBOs) via visionary leadership. This study explored the roles of civil organizations in mental health advocacy in Nigeria’s Southwest geo-political zone. Three research questions and one hypothesis were evaluated using a descriptive survey design. A multistage and convenient sampling technique was used, resulting in 200 samples. Researchers engaged a self-designed, 15-item questionnaire for data collection. The study’s contribution showed that community-based organizations significantly contribute to mental health support at 71.5%, bridging the health gap in rural areas. CBO's effectiveness was rated strong at 79.4% level. Furthermore, the report established that groups collaborate with public health centers to enhance mental health support in the Southwest of Nigeria. Based on the findings, the study recommended that policymakers in the health sector should formally incorporate CBOs' roles as an essential, assistive service for mental health in rural communities. There should also be a strategic public-private partnership with a designed framework to increase funding and capacity-building for organizations. The study concluded that the professional delivery capacity of groups requires training and retraining in prioritizing mental health advocacy to enhance citizens’ capacity for nation-building in Nigeria.
This study examines resident satisfaction within the Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR), a primary government initiative in Malaysia designed to provide the B40 low-income group with affordable and sustainable housing. As housing is recognized as a fundamental human right essential for social and economic stability, evaluating the success of such public programs through the lens of resident well-being is critical for future urban planning. The purpose of this research is to assess the level of satisfaction among residents regarding their living conditions and the facilities provided under the program. Guided by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the study focuses on three key dimensions: physical characteristics of the housing unit, safety needs, and social needs. Data was collected from 212 residents at PPR Paya Nahu, Kedah, using a quantitative approach. The findings indicate that while all variables correlate positively with resident satisfaction, the physical characteristics of the house—such as unit size, layout, and ventilation—emerge as the most influential factors. Conversely, safety needs recorded the lowest satisfaction levels, highlighting significant concerns regarding security and criminal activity in the area. This research contributes a holistic, need-based model to the literature on public housing, offering a structure for policymakers and managers to design more effective interventions that balance physical functionality with security and community cohesion.
Sports participation has gradually become a core component of modern tourism development. Both sports activities and tourism consumption place a high value on experiential perception and active participant involvement. This paper aims to explore the effect of individual sports experience on tourists’ overall travel experience, satisfaction level, willingness to engage in sports tourism, and destination revisit intention in the background of domestic tourism. Based on existing scholarly findings, this study developed measurement scales for key research variables and surveyed Taiwan residents aged 18 and above who had travelled domestically in the past year. Through purposive sampling, 695 valid responses were collected for empirical analysis. The analytical results reveal that sports experience is significantly and positively correlated with tourism experience, tourist satisfaction, sports tourism participation willingness, and revisit intention. This study further verifies that experiential participation in sports plays a vital role in shaping tourists’ behavioral tendencies and their subjective evaluation of tourism destinations.
Financial stress is an unescapable global issue impacting millions, exacerbated by economic uncertainty, growing living costs, and income inequality. This stress affects individuals' mental and physical health, lowers productivity, and hinders societal progress. This study aims to determine a map of research in financial stress. The study was steered from 592 published documents from 1945 until 2024 interrelated to financial stress, have were included after several cleaning processes undertaken by the researchers. A bibliometric analysis was performed by absolute counts using Bibliometric BiblioShiny and Vos-viewer software. The results depicted that there is a continuous increase in the number of publications, especially for the period 2014 - 2024, which represents 83.17% of publications from earliest published paper in 1945. Most of the sources extracted from the Scopus Database were written in English language representing 581 total publications, while the other 11 publications were written in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Czech, German and Italian. Amongst top highly cited documents were published in Journal of Financial Stability, Journal of Psychology and Aging, and Journal of Applied Mathematical Modelling. On the other hand, among the top countries contributing to financial stress publications are the United States, China and Australia. Finally, from bibliometrics results, this study provides an overview of global citation trends on financial stress. This study also attempts to determine the development of financial stress research, which can provide ground information to the researchers to attain an inclusive understanding of this field and can be a reference for application of financial stress visualization approaches.
Mobile banking has become a common method used by banks in delivering their products and services to customers. However, operational issues occur in the use of mobile banking, including function failure, system failure, information failure, and service failure. Therefore, this research aims to explore the factors that could affect mobile banking usage in Malaysia. Hence, this research presents a conceptual framework on the effects of operational failure (function failure, system failure, information failure, and service failure) on mobile banking usage. Research hypotheses are proposed based on the theorised relationship among the variables in this research. Significant relationships are expected between function failure, system failure, information failure, service failure, and mobile banking usage. It is hoped that this research will provide insights to the banks in effectively managing their mobile banking platform in serving the customers.
The increase in price for consumer goods and services has an impact on the economic growth of a country. Many of the previous studies had been done to determine what really causes inflation across many countries. Referring to the existing variables that impact the growth of inflation, this study aims to ascertain what factors cause inflation in four selected countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The study also investigates the relationship between inflation with several independent variables, which consist of money supply, interest rate, unemployment, gross domestic product, exchange rate, government expenditure and imported goods and services. The data used in this study were obtained from various sources such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as Eikon. The type of research in this study is panel data, consisting of time series from the year 2008 to 2023 annually. The diagnostic tests conducted include a normality test, a Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) test, a Modified Wald Test, as well as a unit root test for each variable. To estimate the panel data, Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) is used. The study finds that among seven variables, government expenditure, interest rate and imported goods and services significantly affected the inflation. Interest rate and imported goods and services have a positive relationship with inflation, while government expenditure has a negative relationship with inflation.
This paper explores Customer Service Management (CSM) from an Islamic perspective, emphasizing the integration of ethical values such as honesty (?idq), trustworthiness (am?nah), justice (‘adl), and excellence in character (?usn al-khuluq). Unlike conventional CSM, which focuses on speed and efficiency, Islamic-based CSM frames service as a moral responsibility and a form of worship. The study highlights the opportunities of this approach, including increased customer loyalty, access to the halal market, and enhanced brand reputation, while addressing challenges such as ethical-profitable conflicts, a lack of staff training, and policy ambiguity. The paper identifies critical gaps in research, including the absence of a unified Islamic CSM framework and the limited number of cross-sector and empirical studies. It concludes with practical managerial implications and future research directions aimed at developing comprehensive, Shariah-compliant service models. This paper contributes to academic discourse and practical business strategies by offering a faith-based approach to ethical and sustainable customer service.
Recognized as one of the Muslim dominated countries, Malaysia is seen to have a good prospect for marketing modest fashion products. Nevertheless, modest fashion presents unique marketing challenges due to its sensitivity to religious issues and its niche consumer base. While established brands like dUCk, Naelofar, and Jovian are believed to benefit greatly from having well-known figures as their founders, other businesses require effective marketing strategies to compete in the market. Therefore, this research aims to identify the primary factors that drive Muslim women consumers in Malaysia to purchase modest fashion products. The study adopts a quantitative research method, with data collected through an online survey from a sample of 116 valid responses. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 29 and AMOS version 29 for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The result revealed that two out of three hypotheses were supported. Muslim Influencers (MI) had a significant positive effect on Purchase Intention (PI), while Design and Trend (DT) demonstrated a significant negative effect, suggesting that consumers prioritize modesty over trends. Brand Consciousness (BC), however, was revealed to be insignificant in influencing the PI of Muslim women consumers for modest fashion products. The findings contribute to the understanding of Muslim women's consumer behavior in purchasing modest fashion, offering practical guidelines for brands to prioritize value-aligned marketing strategies. The study also discusses its limitations and provides directions for future research.
In the area of corporate governance, the integrity of financial reporting is a cornerstone of stakeholder confidence and market efficiency. Audit quality plays a central role in ensuring the credibility of financial statements. High audit fees are usually an indication of extensive audit efforts and rigorous controls, reflecting auditors' commitment to detecting and reducing misstatements in financial reporting. This study explores the influence of financial reporting behaviours, namely earnings management, financial manipulation, and accounting conservatism, on audit quality. Based on agency theory, it examines how audit quality as a governance mechanism influences firms’ financial reporting strategies through variations in audit fees that reflect perceived audit risk and effort. The framework proposes that aggressive financial reporting practices may trigger heightened audit quality, while accounting conservatism may signal reduced audit risk. By synthesizing existing literature, this paper aims to develop a theoretical foundation for understanding the interplay between financial reporting behaviour and audit quality. The proposed model offers practical insights for auditors, regulators, and policymakers seeking to reinforce audit effectiveness and enhance financial reporting integrity in an increasingly complex corporate environment. This study emphasises the importance of audit quality in improving corporate transparency and ensuring financial integrity.
This study investigates the effect of customer-based brand equity (CBBE) on guests’ experience in the beach and island resort settings. A survey method was adopted by using a self-administered questionnaire. Purposive sampling was employed, and data were collected from 200 guests who had stayed at beach and island resorts in seven destinations. A Structural Equation Model (Partial Least Squares-SEM or PLS-SEM) approach was applied to analyze the data. The findings in this study reveal that the hypothesized relationship between brand association and guests’ experience and perceived quality was supported. However, the findings failed to support the hypothesized relationship between brand awareness and guests’ experience. This study offers several theoretical contributions, followed by managerial implications and outlines potential directions for future research.
Parental decision-making in selecting childcare services is crucial to ensuring children’s safety and well-being. However, many parents face difficulty accessing reliable information, often relying on unverified sources such as social media and personal recommendations. This study explores parental experiences in choosing childcare, focusing on challenges, risks, and consequences. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted, using semi-structured interviews with parents whose children experienced neglect or abuse at childcare centres. Thematic analysis, supported by NVivo software, revealed three key findings. First, many parents rely heavily on informal sources like Facebook, which often lack credible reviews or verification. This reliance increases the risk of selecting unsafe childcare. Second, affordability and proximity significantly influence decisions. Financial pressures and work commitments often compel parents to choose unregistered providers despite known safety concerns. Convenience and cost were prioritised over regulatory status in many cases. Third, children exposed to unsafe childcare environments exhibited concerning physical and behavioural changes, including fear, withdrawal, speech delays, bruises, and recurring illness. Some suffered lasting trauma, negatively affecting emotional and social development. Parents often hesitated to report abuse, especially when dealing with unregistered centres, due to legal ambiguity and lack of evidence. This study highlights the urgent need for a centralised digital platform offering verified reviews, ratings, and registration status to aid parents in making informed decisions. Enhancing transparency can significantly reduce risks associated with unregulated childcare. Future research should examine the role of government oversight and parental awareness in strengthening childcare selection practices.
Housing policies are crucial in shaping accessibility, affordability, and social stability. This study critically examines housing policy frameworks in Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom to identify actionable insights to enhance Malaysia’s housing landscape. The study draws on government reports, policy documents, and international academic literature using a qualitative research design based on secondary data. A comparative methodology highlights the successes of Singapore’s comprehensive policies, including affordability-driven strategies and ethnic integration, alongside the challenges faced by the UK’s fragmented and market-driven housing approach. Key findings reveal that Singapore’s policies, underpinned by centralized governance and proactive planning, have achieved high homeownership rates, inclusivity, and economic resilience. Conversely, the UK’s housing policies illustrate the detrimental effects of inadequate regulation, insufficient investment in social housing, and over-reliance on private markets, contributing to housing unaffordability and social disparities. Malaysia’s current housing policies, while showing promise through initiatives like subsidies and loan guarantees, remain constrained by issues such as affordability gaps, project delays, and market volatility. The study proposes policy recommendations for Malaysia, including expanding financial assistance programs, adopting a Build-Then-Sell system, aligning house prices with median income levels, and fostering social cohesion through community-centric policies. Furthermore, strengthening governance structures, enhancing land use strategies, and addressing market inefficiencies are emphasized to create a sustainable and inclusive housing framework. This research highlights the importance of adapting successful international models while avoiding their pitfalls, providing a roadmap for Malaysia’s housing policies to ensure affordability, equity, and resilience.
This study examines how young workers in rural and urban Sabah, Malaysia, base their retirement choices on psychological and behavioral aspects. Numerous factors, including individual beliefs, societal conditions, and environmental settings, influence retirement, a significant life transition. While everyone should make retirement plans, workers in rural and urban areas differ from one another. Rural workers typically have lower financial literacy and less access to financial services, whereas urban workers usually enjoy greater financial education and services. To better understand the variables and challenges influencing retirement behavior in these diverse settings, this research will examine theories of aging, such as the theory of planned behavior (TPB), continuity theory, and disengagement theory. This study evaluates how current policies affect young workers' retirement planning and identifies the main factors influencing retirement savings behavior. The research will take a quantitative approach, analyze the data using the PLS-SEM model, and test validity and reliability against common method bias in two steps. The results emphasize the necessity of specialized policy interventions to guarantee the well-being and financial stability of young workers in Sabah's rural and urban settings about the need for focused financial literacy programs and retirement planning initiatives catered to Sabah, Malaysia's rural and urban areas, by offering insightful information about the behavioral and psychological factors influencing young workers' retirement decisions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of contemporary science and information technology that aims to replicate human-like intelligence in machines. Its application has increasingly become a significant component in modern education, transforming the way knowledge is accessed and delivered. Educators are now required to recognize AI technology as a pivotal tool in both current and future educational environments. In light of this, the present study investigates the predictors of behavioral intention, namely, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, towards the use of AI technology among lecturers in Polytechnics and Community Colleges (POLYCC) in Malaysia. This research is grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework. Employing a simple random sampling method to ensure equal representation, data were collected from 142 academic staff members in POLYCC through an online questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS to test the proposed research model and hypotheses. Findings revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and facilitating conditions significantly and positively influence lecturers’ behavioral intention to use AI. In contrast, social influence did not have a significant effect. Additionally, the study identified experience as a moderating variable, which significantly strengthened the relationships between effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions with behavioral intention. These results highlight the importance of considering educators’ experience levels when designing strategies for AI adoption in teaching and learning environments.
