SOCIO ENVIRONMENT COMPENDIUM

RESEARCH REVIEW

Editor: Dr. Nur Zahidah Bahrudin

QUALITATIVE STUDY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING EMPLOYEE ECOLOGICAL BEHAVIOUR OF ACADEMICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

M.Y. Yusliza*, Zikri Muhammad*, Khalid Niazi*, Wan Zulkifli Wan Kassim*, Muhamad Khalil Omar** Nik Hazimah Nik Mat*

*Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.

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**Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia.

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 ABSTRACT

The most crucial component for facilitating higher education institutions’ moves towards becoming low-carbon campuses is employee ecological behaviour (EEB) of the academics. It is important to determine how EEB can be influenced by other factors. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine how EEB of academics at Malaysian universities is influenced by environmental, organisational, and individual factors. Using focus group discussion method, data were collected through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with selected academics from Malaysia’s top four research universities. Results showed that under each of three major factors, several themes were identified as influencing EEB. In addition, under the theme outcomes and benefits of EEB, subthemes identified were sustainability and economic, social, and nvironmental benefits. This study provided useful insights into current green practices at Malaysian universities that may indicate their feasibility of becoming low-carbon campuses.

Keywords: Employee Ecological Behaviour, Higher Education Institutions, Malaysia, Green Top Management, Environmental Knowledge.

1. INTRODUCTION

Higher education institutions not only carry the responsibilities of shaping the nation (Lozano, 2006) and training the next generation’s leaders, decision makers, and managers (Alshuwaikhat & Abu bakar, 2008), but also of achieving the goal of low carbon emission and proper utilisation of resources. Meeting these two goals requires that university staff, especially academics, engage in a high level of employee ecological behaviour (EEB). EEB refers to behaviour employees engage in at the workplace that produces less harm to the natural environment or enhances the ecosystem. It is important to determine the influencing factors, challenges, and issues related to EEB that academics face specifically at the workplace. Their green behaviour at the workplace maybe different from the one at home (Davis et al., 2020). To the best of our knowledge, studies that examine the antecedents of EEB of academics at Malaysian universities have not been conducted. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to determine how EEB of academics at Malaysian universities is influenced by environmental, organisational, and individual factors. This study filled the knowledge gap by investigating the impact of individuals’ capabilities to perform EEB. In addition, the study focused on academics’ environmental practices at the workplace, which added new knowledge about academics’ green behaviour at Malaysian universities. At the same time, this study investigated current and real time practices of nature protection at universities. This study also aimed to determine to what extent academics’ opinion on daily green practices helped them protect nature. This concept has long been suggested for further attention (Fawehinmi et al., 2020). 

2. METHOD

This study employed qualitative research method in the form of focus group discussion. Data were collected through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with selected academics at four Malaysian research universities. The interviews consisted of 37 questions and were divided into eight sections. The interviews lasted 60-90 minutes, and they were recorded. Relevant passages of the interviews were first analysed and categorised into three meta types—environmental, organisational, and individual factors. Then, these passages were further analysed to identify the themes.

3. RESULTS

Content analysis of the data under each of the three major factors produced different themes considered as specific factors that influence the EEB of academics. Under environmental factor, four themes were identified, namely environmental attitude, environmental awareness, environmental knowledge, and environmental consciousness. Under organisational factor, three themes were obtained, namely green top management, green transformational leadership, and green organisational climate. Under individual factor, two themes were identified, which were green mindfulness and green self-efficacy. Other broad themes that also emerged were current practices and the situation at Malaysian universities, benefits and outcomes of EEB, and issues and challenges in implementing EEB. Under the broad theme current practices at Malaysian universities, notable subthemes identified were implication of green human resource management practices, issuance of blueprints, and environmental policies and regulations. Under the theme implementation issues and challenges, subthemes identified were time consuming and lack of facilities. Under the theme outcomes and benefits of EEB, subthemes identified were sustainability and economic, social, and environmental benefits.

4. DISCUSSION

Most academics agreed that their EEB is influenced by their positive attitude towards the environment. This concurs well with Ajzen (1991). Majority of academics believed that their EEB is influenced by their environmental awareness, a result consistent with Lillemo (2014). Another theme considered as a factor that influences EEB of academics is their environmental knowledge. This result is aligned with Fawehinmi et al. (2020). Most academics expressed agreement regarding the importance of environmental consciousness. The positive relationship between engaging in EEB and being conscious of the environment is explained by Mancha and Yoder (2015). From data analysis, it was found that academics believed their EEB is influenced by top management, a finding in line with Graves et al. (2019). Another influential factor that influences EEB as perceived by academics is green transformational leadership of their superiors. This is because academics tend to imitate their immediate superiors at work. The result is consistent with Graves et al. (2013). EEB is also influenced by organisational climate, and this aligns with Chou (2014). At the individual level, academics’ EEB can be influenced by two factors, namely their green mindfulness and green self-efficacy. The result is similar with Dharmesti et al. (2020) for green mindfulness and Kim et al. (2016) for self-efficacy. Our finding that EEB provides financial, economic, and social benefit to universities is consistent with Yusoff (2020).

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Acknowledgment is extended to the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for awarding the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) to fund this research (Vol. No. 59600).

REFERENCE

Ajzen,I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process, 50,179–211. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446249215.n22 Alshuwaikhat,

H. M., & Abubakar, I. (2008). An integrated approach to achieving campus sustainability: assessment of the current campus environmental management practices. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(16),1777–1785. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2007.12.002

Chou C. J. (2014). Hotels’ environmental policies and employee personal environmental beliefs: Interactions and outcomes. Tourism Management, 40, 436–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2013.08.001

Davis, M. C., Unsworth, K. L., Russell, S. V., & Galvan, J. J. (2020). Can green behaviors really be increased for all employees? Trade-offs for “deep greens” in a goal-oriented green human resource management intervention. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2), 335–346. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2367

Dharmesti, M., Merrilees, B., & Winata, L. (2020). “I’m mindfully green”: examining the determinants of guest pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) in hotels. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 29(7), 830–847. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2020.1710317

Dumont, J., Shen, J., & Deng, X. (2017). Effects of Green HRM Practices on Employee Workplace Green Behavior: The Role of Psychological Green Climate and employee green values. Human Resource Management, 56(4), 613–627. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm

Fawehinmi, O., Yusliza, M. Y., Mohamad, Z., Noor Faezah, J., & Muhammad, Z. (2020). Assessing the green behaviour of academics: The role of green human resource management and environmental knowledge. International Journal of Manpower. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-07-2019-0347

Graves, L. M., Sarkis, J., & Gold, N. (2019). Employee proenvironmental behavior in Russia: The roles of top management commitment, managerial leadership, and employee motives. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 140(October2017), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.09.007

Graves, L. M., Sarkis, J., & Zhu, Q. (2013). How transformational leadership and employee motivation combine to predict employee proenvironmental behaviors in China. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 35, 81–91.

Kim, S.-H., Kim, M., Han, H.-S., & Holland, S. (2016). The determinants of hospitality employees’ pro-environmental behaviors: The moderating role of generational differences. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 52, 56–67.

Lillemo, S. C. (2014). Measuring the effect of procrastination and environmental awareness on households’ energy-saving behaviours: An empirical approach. Energy Policy, 66, 249–256.

Lozano, R. (2006). A tool for a Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities (GASU). Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(9), 963–972. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.11.041

Mancha,R. M., & Yoder, C. Y. (2015). Cultural antecedents of green behavioral intent: An environmental theory of planned behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 145–154.

Yusoff, S. (2020). University for sustainability: synergizing sustainability leadership in you. 

DEVELOPMENT OF VIRTUAL LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR PROMOTING HEALTH BEHAVIOR CHANGES

Siti Noorsuriani Maon*, Naffisah Mohd Hassan*, Noorain Mohamad Yunus* & Sri Fatiany Abdul Kader Jailani**

*Department of International Business and Management Studies, Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia.

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**Department of Technology and Supply Chain Management Studies, Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia.

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ABSTRACT

Good health and well-being are one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Malaysia for improving the life of the people. Healthcare service is one of the National Key Areas (NKEAs) under the Economic Transformation Program initiatives to ensure the sustainability of quality of life in Malaysia. Several national initiatives focus on health awareness and empowering citizens, including introducing self-health management into their lifestyle. However, there are limited web-based application programs that emphasize a holistic concept of healthy lifestyle within the Malaysian context. The present project therefore aims to develop a web-based application of self-management that promotes daily healthy living and fosters changes in health behavior. This web-based application program is developed using Persuasive Systems Design model. A Web Development Life Cycle is employed in designing this program. This program covers the body, mind, and soul dimensions. Interactive features will be highly employed to encourage user engagement. It is expected to assist people’s ability to self-manage their own health, thus affecting individual behavior and improving their current health status. This platform will provide education, tools, and individual support as well as inform users of their daily progress in order to help them reach their health goal to live a healthy lifestyle. Overall, this web application has significant commercial value in Malaysia.

 Keywords: Healthy Lifestyle, Web-Based Application Program, Changes in Health Behavior and Quality of Life

1. INTRODUCTION

According to World Health Organization (WHO) (2015), tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, and unhealthy diets all increase the risk of dying from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In Malaysia, NCDs are the main cause of premature deaths among adults (MOH, 2016). In a recent WHO report, unhealthy diet contributed to 2/3 (68.9%) of lost productivity due to premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) while tobacco use contributed to more than one third (36.9%) of losses (WHO, 2020). These NCDs can be averted through prevention and lifestyle modification (WHO, 2015). Evidence exists to support the effectiveness of web-based intervention programs in promoting change in behaviors. Thus, development of a web-based application program tailored to a healthy lifestyle within the Malaysian culture is timely as the program will curb rising NCD cases potentially caused by unhealthy living practices including diabetes, hypertension, and mental illness. Therefore, the main purpose of this research project is to develop a web-based application program to promote health behavior changes, which will improve and elevate the health level of Malaysians.

2. OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECT

The web-based application program is known as eSmartHL. This program is a self-management mobile health (mHealth) application that provides essential information relating to healthy lifestyles and personalized health programs. This platform will guide user to reach their health goals, including sustaining a healthy weight, spiritual wellness, and wellbeing through education, tools, and individual support. This platform will provide a report on user’s daily progress to help them achieve their weekly or monthly goals and live the healthiest life possible. Moreover, this platform also focuses on spiritual management, such as handling stress via meditation and Islamic approaches. This research project is funded by Ministry of Higher Education under Prototype Research Grant Scheme (PRGS). The total grant is RM113,000. The main collaborators of this research projects are divided into two categories; 1) internal collaborators (UiTM) – Faculty of Health Science and Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS); and 2) external – Institute for Health Behavioural Research, the Malaysian Ministry of Health, and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).

3. MATERIAL AND METHOD

Consists of seven phases. The program will be improved according to the obtained feedback and information during the testing phase.

3.1 SYSTEM PROTOTYPE

The research project is currently in progress (i.e. testing stage).

Figure 1 shows snapshots of the web-based application program.

4. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the web-based program is expected to assist people’s ability to self-manage their own health, which will affect individual behavior thereby improving their health status. With the age of the Internet, this eSmartHL program is a manifestation of self-health management into daily lifestyle using virtual approach.

REFERRENCE

Ministry of Health (2016). National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Disease (NSPNCD) 2016-2025.

Ministry of Health Malaysia (2020). The Impact of Noncommunicable Diseases and Their Risk Factors on Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (2020). Putrajaya, Malaysia.

World Health Organization (2015). World report on ageing and health. Geneva.

World Health Organization (2020). World health statistics 2020: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. Geneva.

PROFILING AND SEGMENTATION OF URBAN POOR CHILDREN FOR BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE

Naffisah Mohd Hassan*, Erne Suzila Kassim*, Noorain Mohamad Yunus*, Syukrina Alini Mat Ali* & Marhani Midin**

*Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia.

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**Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.

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ABSTRACT

Urban poverty in Malaysia has become an alarming phenomenon due to impacts of urbanization and it has created some social challenges. While reviews of past and present trends and studies have highlighted evidence of the nature and causes of urban poverty in the country, research on the quality of life of Malaysian urban poor’s children has received very little consideration. Past research has indicated the link between poverty, parenting, and psychological distress. World Health Organization (WHO) highlights how these children face a lifetime risk of mental health issues and negative well-being and UNICEF emphasizes their crucial needs and prioritizes the protection of the children. However, this issue is not well researched and there is lacking scientific evidence that captures the children of urban poor’s quality of life and mental health status. Studying the children’s wellbeing is fundamental, as they are the future social group that will shape the country. Therefore, the study proposed carried two main objectives. First is to understand how living in poverty shapes the well-being of urban poor’s children by constructing a profile and segmentation. Second is to explore why there are variations in the level of quality of life among urban poor’s children of similar background and social status. The research will employ both methods of quantitative and qualitative studies. First, through descriptive research, a profile of the children based on the quality of life, resilience, and mental distress indicator will be performed. Second, based on the profiling and segmentation analysis, an in-depth investigation will be conducted to determine factors that make a difference in the quality of life and their life expectation. The study is significant in providing valuable insights in developing protective measures for the children’s social wellbeing.

Keywords: Quality of Life, Urban Poor, Children, Profiling, Poverty.

1. INTRODUCTION

Poverty is not just about money. There has been growing recognition over recent decades of the multi-dimensional quality of poverty, and it is the cumulative effect of a range of deprivations that is most troubling. Poverty is not just about the capacity to afford a basic food basket; it is a matter of lack of access and exclusion in a range of areas, including basic civil and political rights, and this may be especially evident in cities. While the issue is urgent, the state of quality of life among the urban poor’s children in this country has received very little attention.

2. OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT

Past research has indicated the link between poverty, parenting, and psychological distress. World Health Organization (WHO) highlights how these children are at risk of mental health issues and face negative well-being consequences that can last a lifetime and UNICEF emphasizes their crucial needs and prioritizes the protection of the children. A study by UNICEF (2011) of the urban poor highlights that living without secure tenure creates terrible distress and chronic anxiety for the children as the small and overcrowded homes with little opportunity for exploration and physical activity create tempers and a potential for harsh treatment. Eventually, difficult living conditions also inevitably mean some level of neglect for young children (Roelen & Notten, 2011). What is worse is the degree of transience, crowding, insecurity, and poor conditions in many settings can mean a high level of stress and undermines their social capital thus resulting in lower level of reciprocity and higher rates of crime and violence (Bartlett, 2011). The Malaysian Prime Minister highlighted in The Mid-Term Review of the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, 2018 that enhancing the health and wellbeing of Malaysian Citizens is essential in achieving inclusive growth for the nation (Unit, 2018). Thus, it is essential to further investigate the health and wellbeing of the children of urban poor citizens. This study will provide deep insight into urban poor children’s profile and their views on quality of life dimensions. Furthermore, this study will contribute to a better alliance of formal and informal support systems. The information can help the government, service providers, and policymakers to develop strategies, policies, and programs to improve the quality of life of urban poor families in Malaysia. This research project is funded by the Ministry of Higher Education under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS). The total grant is RM83,950.

3. MATERIAL AND METHOD 

A sequential explanatory study will be carried out to answer the research objectives of the study. This research study will employ both quantitative and qualitative research designs and will be carried out in two (2) phases in order to achieve both research objectives. Firstly, the quantitative research is meant to get the profile of the children of urban poor in order to explore how the parents, schools, social surroundings and community, friends, as well as peers make a difference in shaping their current quality of life and future expectation. Secondly, the qualitative research will be conducted to get an in depth view of the variation of urban poor children quality of life especially from the aspect of quality of life, resilience including mental condition and behavior (emotion and body language will be captured using video camera), and life expectation. Finally, key stakeholders that play important role in the society namely the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia, the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), the Prime Minister’s Department, and the Department of Urban Development and Planning will be interviewed besides the main research subjects.

4. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this research is expected to propose the most appropriate protective measures for shaping urban poor children’s social wellbeing. The expected outcome of the study will significantly contribute to a better alliance of formal and informal support systems for the children.

REFERENCE

Bartlett, S. (2011). Children in urban poverty: Can they get more than small change? Child Poverty and Inequality New Perspectives, 139.

Roelen, K., & Notten, G. (2011). Child poverty in the EU: The breadth of poverty and cumulative deprivation. UNICEF Child Poverty Insights, 16.

Unit, E. P. (2018). Prime Minister’s Department. 2016. Eleventh Malaysia Plan, Strategy Paper 18: Translating Innovation to Wealth. Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Department [viewed 2 June 2017]. Available from: http://rmk11. epu. gov. my/pdf/strategy-paper/Strategy% 20Paper.

MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS NETWORK/MySun

Norlida Jaafar*, Norliza Che Yahya* & Mohd Rahim Khamis*

* Economics and Finance Department, Faculty of Business and Management Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia.

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ABSTRACT

Malaysia’s commitment to addressing sustainability, energy access and efficiency, and climate change issues is evident by its allegiance to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To promote and realize the enacted laws and guidelines on sustainability and energy efficiency, a bottom-up approach that focused on local communities such Higher Education Institutions is adopted. However, Malaysian HEIs have no guidelines on improving their campuses’ sustainability or energy efficiency. The inculcation of sustainability in HEI campuses in Malaysia through a national platform is urgently needed to ensure impactful national and local outcomes from future sustainability and energy efficiency activities. The European Union has funded an initiative called Malaysia Sustainable University Campus Network (MySun) for this purpose. Eight Malaysian and three EU universities and the Malaysian MOE are involved in this initiative. The desired project outcomes are firstly to build the human capacities in university campuses’ sustainability and energy efficiency in Malaysia and secondly to develop a structure that promote a culture of sustainable HEI campuses in the Malaysian HE system. Eight work packages that span from 2020 to 2023 are planned for implementation. Regrettably, project progress is slow due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: European Union, Malaysia, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability, Higher Education Institutions

1. INTRODUCTION

Sustainability, energy access and efficiency, and climate change have been part of the world’s zeitgeist since 1992. After Malaysia and 177 other nations signed the Agenda 21 action plan in the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, global awareness at all levels of society and governmental mitigating measures of sustainability issues started increasing. Yet, the subsequent slow and unsatisfactory progress led to a global recommitment in 2015 of an expanded agenda (UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development). Among the agenda’s seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are improving access to affordable and clean energy, increasing energy efficiency, promoting sustainable growth and practices in communities, responsible consumption and production of resources, plus mitigating and adapting to climate change.

This is realized by the passing and promotion of new laws and guidelines for sustainability, and even financial incentives. It was intended that a bottom-up implementation of the agenda that begins with local communities would yield collective outcomes that impact the nation. A significantly influential community is the higher education institutions (HEIs). Their traditional roles of pioneering specific fields of study in relevant areas (energy, environmental management, climate change etc.) should expand to real application of measures that promote and create cultures of sustainability on their campuses. A sustainable university model can be achieved if all HEI communities are familiar with and actively involved in these measures (Velazquez et al., 2006).

Successive Malaysian governments see the importance of sustainable development, especially the need for good energy and environmental practices. The Malaysian economy has expanded from her manufacturing and resource extraction-based model to include services and higher-value-added activities. The demand for sustainable supply of energy has increased in tandem. Thus, her economic development’s dependence on finite natural resources, namely fossil fuels, for energy generation must be reduced. The diversification of energy resources is needed to sustain the energy sector and ensure the security and reliability of the energy supply.

Numerous laws and programs that promote the efficient use of energy and renewable energy, green building standards etc., have been enacted in Malaysia such as the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan for 2016-2025. Most initiatives are aimed at the industrial sector. Despite initiatives that focus on government buildings, Malaysian HEIs have no guidelines on improving their campuses’ sustainability and energy efficiency. The non-existent common sustainability and energy efficiency framework for HEIs has resulted in isolated measures and poor coordination and awareness in HEI campuses in addressing these issues. Therefore, the development of a sustainability framework in HEI campuses in Malaysia through national platform is urgently needed to ensure impactful local and national outcomes from future sustainability and energy efficiency activities.

2. MALAYSIA SUSTANINABLE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS NETWORK (MySun) 

The European Union (EU) approached the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) and several Malaysian universities to help create the beginnings of a common platform for sustainability and energy efficiency in HEIs through the Malaysia Sustainable University Campus Network (MySun). Eight Malaysian and three EU universities and the Malaysian MOE are involved in this initiative (See Table 1). Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) was recommended by University of Alicante to participate as a project member due to its accomplishment in a recently completed EU-funded Erasmus grant project. Each member is represented by several employees possessing certain competencies relevant to the project. UiTM is represented by five employees seconded from the Faculty of Business Studies and the Bursar.

MySun is a National Structural Project in Malaysia which meets EU’s Region 6 (Asia) priority of “Governances, strategic planning, and management of higher education institutions” under Category 2 – Improving management and operation of HEIs. Thus, MySun has two main objectives. The first is to build the human capacities in university campuses’ sustainability and energy efficiency in Malaysia. The second is to develop a structure and promote a culture of sustainable HEI campuses in the Malaysian HE system through the establishment of the MySun Network and the delivery of a pilot Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on sustainability in HEI campuses.

3. MySun PROJECT ACTIVITIES 

MySun activities are founded upon 4 pillars namely analysis and training, institutional strengthening, national-level strategic development, and visibility, quality, and management. Its first activity is the National Structural Project in Malaysia or MySun project that involves the Malaysian MOE, and eight Malaysian and three EU universities. The EU provides the funding for this project amounting to EUR945,589.00 and UiTM was awarded EUR69,941.00. The project expenses are strictly monitored and audited by EU. This project will run for four years from February 2020 to January 2023.

The MySun project (and later the Network) will directly target and address the needs of the stakeholders of Malaysian universities. These stakeholders are (1) HEI staff from Sustainability Offices (or similar entities) & related academic staff, (2) HEI Higher Management, (3) other HEI staff (academic, technical, administrative, and management) not directly involved in the Sustainability Offices & students, and (4) external stakeholders (graduates, local communities, industry, local/regional/national government, and other HEIs).

Having had previous experience in EU-funded projects and developing MOOCs, and strong support to promote campus sustainability, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is the main project manager for the Malaysian universities. The project management function is shared with University of Alicante, Spain. Eight work packages (WPs) of the project are shared among the universities of the project. The WPs match the pool of expertise in each university’s project team. Each WP is assigned to a pair of universities, or in some cases the Malaysian MOE, to be managed (Table 2). The Malaysian universities were each assigned several implementations tasks relevant to the WPs. The EU universities are responsible for supporting the implementation tasks of the Malaysian universities and MOE.

The Malaysian MOE is involved in the project WPs through it support of policies coordination, activity promotions, and additional expertise provision to Training of Trainers (TOTs) (WP2), the pilot MOOC (WP3), and National Workshops (WP5). Its contributions will help ensure the relevance of the policy white paper (WP5). UiTM is to manage the Quality Control Work Package (WP7) with UUM.

The MySun project will contribute to improving management and operations of HEIs most notably through the creation or modernization of the sustainability Offices at the Malaysian HEI campuses. These Offices are to be equipped and assigned staff trained through the project TOT workshops, replication seminars, and/or the MySun pilot MOOC on Campus Sustainability. The Offices will provide guidance and support to their institutions for the better management of sustainability issues such as energy efficiency, waste management, etc. They will organize campus sustainability campaigns to raise awareness among the campus population, and will support the management of the HEI through the development of the Campus Sustainability Plans based on needs and recommendation identified in the WP1 analysis and benchmarking reports.

TABLE 1:  PROJECT MEMBERS

MOE Malaysia’s active participation and the project’s meeting of the MOE’s identified needs will ensure the impacts of the project results relevant to the Malaysian Higher Education System. The Policy White Paper, produced because of the analysis and benchmarking done in WP1 and the discussions held at local and national levels through local roundtables and first national conference (WP5), will provide the basis for future policy reform regarding sustainability and energy efficiency in Malaysian HEI campuses. The creation of the MySun Sustainable Campus Network, supported by the organization of two national conferences and workshops, will also provide a platform for cooperation between HEIs and other stakeholders at the national level.

TABLE 2:  MANAGERS OF WORK PACKAGES

2.2 PROJECT PROGRESS

MySun activities started with a kick-off meeting at University of Alicante, Spain. The purpose is to synchronize the objectives amongst members, and to plan and organize resources for specific activities. Due to travel restrictions, University of Genoa attended the meeting online. The national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia has hindered and slowed progress. However, the project has managed to mitigate the inconveniences of social distancing and gathering regulations by optimizing the use of online communications. Currently, the project is completing WP1, a collaboration between UTM and MMU, and each member has specific assignments to assist the task accomplishment. The team is confident of achieving the desired outcomes despite these challenges.

REFERENCE

Velazquez, L. et al. (2006). Sustainable university: what can be the matter? Journal of Cleaner Production, 14, 810-819. Detailed Project Description: Malaysia Sustainable University Campus Network / MySun. Working Paper submitted to EU.

DOES LEVERAGE MATTER TO MARKET SPREAD?

Mohammed Hariri Bakri*, Ngau Duo Seng*, Mohamad Idham Md Razak** & Shahsuzan Zakaria**

*Faculty of Technology Management and Technopreneurship, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia.

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**Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia.

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Full article can be retrieved from here

ABSTRACT

Securitisation includes the transfer of illiquid resources to investors where such an exchange is supported by the issuance of obligation securities called Asset-Backed Debt Securities (ABS) through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The underutilisation of bonds or the absence of enhancement of the firm’s credit portfolio resulted in financial difficulties being faced by companies during the financial crisis in 1997. The fundamental focus in this investigation is on the determinants of primary market spread on RMBS, CMBS, and ABS, and this study intends to inspect 12 years of information, from 2004 to 2016. Past examinations have left gaps in this area of research. The research objective is to investigate determinants that incorporate domestic macroeconomic variables. The exploration will adopt a quantitative technique in investigating the information gathered, which is focused on pooled Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and panel data. Regarding the primary market spread in Malaysia, factors such as debt to equity showed significance in the primary market spread in the control models, and originators may want to consider this economic issue before issuing securitised products.

Keywords: Asset-Backed Debt Securities, Performance, Asset Pricing, Panel Data

1. INTRODUCTION

Financial markets conventionally consist of three primary types of instruments: (1) direct obligations of corporations and sovereigns, (2) derivatives, such as swaps and futures, and (3) securitised and structured assets (Andrew, 2003). The market for securitisation has developed drastically since its beginnings around three decades back, with the aggregate extraordinary issuance of securitised products expected to reach US$9 trillion before long (Vinok, 2006).

In particular, the entry of new originators from new regions into the market and new utilisations of securitisation by past conventional financial products are keeping the market energetic and dynamic. Researchers such as Vink and Fabozzi (2009), experts in the field of securitisation, studied the determinants of primary market spread and found that the spread can be explained in terms of credit rating and bond market conditions. Still, these studies were done in the United States and Europe. Little is known about the determinants of primary market spread for developing securitisation in Malaysia. This researcher would like to fill the gap by conducting this study. This paper intends to analyse the determinants that contribute to the primary market spread for securitisation in Malaysia at three different levels: firm-level, domestic macroeconomic level, and global macroeconomic level. Current literature regarding the work subject should be examined and the differences and similarities of the said work from the past should be presented clearly in the introduction section.

2. TITLE (MATERIAL AND METHOD)

This study uses secondary market data on securitisation in Malaysia between 2004 and 2014 (562 samples). The primary source for securitisation, Rating Agency Malaysia (RAM) Holdings Berhad, is a leading provider of independent credit ratings, research, risk analysis, training, credit information, and bond pricing. The forecasted extend from (Vink, 2009) variables could be considered to determine primary market spread, as extracted from the literature review. This study includes debt-to-equity, return on equity, and firm size. Therefore, this study specifies the general estimation model as follows:

Model 1 SPREAD = ∫(Debt-to-Equity, Return on Equity, Firm Size) ln SPit = αn + β1 ln DEit + β2 ln ROEit + β3 ln FSit + εit

where SP is Spread, DE is Debt Equity, ROE is Return on Equity, FS is Firm Size, 0? is the constant term, while ? is the slope coefficient and ??t is the error term where i stands for the ith firm and t for the tth period.

H1: Firm Debt to Equity has a positive and significant relationship with securitised firms’ spread.

H2: Firm Return on Equity has a negative and significant relationship with securitised firms’ spread.

H3: Firm Size has a negative and significant relationship with securitised firms’ spread.

3. RESULTS

Based on the estimation results on independent variables, it can be concluded per the Hausman test that the random effect model is the appropriate model. The results are more or less consistent between random and fixed effect estimators. The estimation output exhibits that the coefficient for DE and FS are negatively significant at 0.01 level. In contrast, the ROE is positively significant at 0.01 level for pooled OLS. As for the fixed effect, DE is significant at the 0.01 level. The difference in the sign of the coefficients indicates that the results of this study differ from the theories and past research by Nakashima and Saito (2009).

Likewise, the significant negative relationship at 0.01 level of DE is also not consistent with the findings of Collin-Dufresne et al. (2001), Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003), and Psillaki, Tsolas and Margaritis (2010), who all found positive relationships between spread and DE. However, recent research carried out in Malaysia by Fabozzi (2006) cited in Che-Yahya et al. (2016) and Bakri et al. (2018), argues that if a firm has higher capital, it will generate greater chances of growth in the future. As a result, the issuer’s growth opportunities may be the reason that there is a negative relationship between DE and the primary market spread in Malaysia.

It is interesting to note that, per the pooled OLS, the significant positive relationship at 0.01 level between an ROE and primary market spread in Malaysia is different from the findings of Che-Yahya et al. (2016). Although both fixed effect and random effect models exhibit negative relationships between return on equity and the spread of primary market securitisation in Malaysia, it is not significant at any level. This means that the return on equity may not be the dominant determinant that contributes to the primarymarket spread in Malaysia. In the chosen random effect model, DE is significantand has a negative relationship at 0.01 level while a ROE and firm size is not significant.

Furthermore, the value of R2 for random effect is the independent variables explained by the 0.2183 variation in the dependent variable. According to the Hausman test, the random effect appears to be the best model to explain factors that affect spread for this model. This indicates that REM is fit and valid for the data of the Model on securitised firms in Malaysia. The empirical finding is based on the main and robust reveals that DE has a negative relationship with securitisation performance.

The findings presented in this research have implications for securitisation and contribute to the theoretical framework by finding out the asset pricing of asset-backed securitised firms in Malaysia using panel data. This is because in Malaysia, there is a lack of studies done on securitised performance using panel data. Future studies could consider additional external factors such as exchange rate, economic growth, external debt, or other internal factors such as non-performing loans and different financial ratios.

REFERENCES

Andrew D., Anthony S., Lan-Ling W., Anne C. (2003). Securitization: Structuring and Investment Analysis. John Wiley and Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd. 1- 576.

Bakri, M.H., Sufian, F, Baharom, A.H and Ismail, S., (2018). Determinant of Securitization Spread In Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Society, 19(3), 904-917.

Bhojraj, S. and Sengupta P. (2003). Effect of Corporate Governance on Bond Rating and Yields: The Role of Institutional Investors and Outside Directors. Journal of Business, 6(3), 455-475.

Che-Yahya, N., Abdul-Rahim, R. and Mohd-Rashid, R. (2016). Determinants of Corporate Bond Yield: The Case of Malaysian Bond Market. International Journal of Business and Society, 17(2), 245–258.

Collin-Dufresne, P. and R.S.G. (2001). Do Credit Spread Reflect Stationary Leverage Ratios? The Journal of Finance, 56, 1929–1957.

Fabozzi, F.J. (2006). Bond Credit Analysis Framework and Case Studies. New Hope, Pennsylvania: Frank J. Fabozzi Associates.

Nakashima, K. and Saito, M. (2009). Credit Spreads on Corporate Bonds and the Macroeconomy in Japan. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, 23(3), 309–331.

Psillaki, M., Tsolas, I.E. and Margaritis, D. (2010). Evaluation of Credit Risk based on Firm Performance. European Journal of Operational Research, 201(3), 873–881.

Vink, D. (2009). An empirical analysis of asset-backed securitization. In 21st Australasian finance & banking conference 2008 paper, Breukelen.

Vink, D. and Fabozzi, F.J., (2009). Non ‐ US Asset ‐ Backed Securities: Spread Determinants and Over ‐ Reliance on Credit Ratings. Yale ICF Working Paper, 9, 1–10.

Vinok K.,(2006). Securitization: The Financial Instrument of the Future. Clementi Loop: John Wiley and Sons(Asia) Pte Ltd.

EVALUATING VARIATIONS IN HEALTHCARE OUTCOME USING HEALTH INSURANCE BIG DATA: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

 Aziz Jamal*, Akira Babazono**, Yunfei Li**, Shinichiro Yoshida** & Takako Fujita***

*Health Administration Program, Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia.

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

**Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka Japan.

***Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka Japan.

Full article can be retrieved from here

 ABSTRACT

The presence of comorbid conditions along with heterogeneity in terms of healthcare practices and service delivery could have a significant impact on a patient's outcomes. Therefore, the current study was conducted to quantify the extent to which such variations influence the risk of hemodialysis-associated infection (HAI). A total of 6,111 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who received hemodialysis treatment between 1 October 2015 and 31 March 2016 were identified from an insurance claim database. Patients were followed for one year from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. A total of 200 HAI cases were observed during the follow-up and 12 patients died within 90 days of the onset of HAI. The results of the multilevel analyses indicated that HAI variations were only significant at the care facility level and were largely explained by the heterogeneity between care facilities. The results of this study highlight the need to look beyond the influence of patient-level characteristics when developing policies that aim at improving the quality of haemodialysis health care and service delivery.

Keywords: End-Stage Renal Disease, Hemodialysis, Infection, Insurance, Multilevel, Variations

1. INTRODUCTION

Hemodialysis-associated infection (HAI) has consistently been ranked as the main disease leading to death among dialysis patients (Jha et al., 2013). Using health insurance big data, this study attempts to examine the magnitude of the burden of HAI and quantify the extent to which patients, care facilities, and geographical characteristics influence variations in HAI risk. As understanding increases, information generated from the study would help in the development of policy and informed clinical practice on the prevention and control of infection.

2. METHOD

Data for analysis were obtained from the insurance claim records submitted to the Fukuoka Prefecture Association of Latter Stage Elderly Healthcare in Japan. A total of 6,111 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who received hemodialysis treatment between 1October 2015 and 31 March 2016 were identified from the insurance claim database. Patients were followed for one year from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. The primary outcome was the development of hemodialysis-associated infection (HAI) after the index date (April 1, 2016). Quantification of area variations and contextual effects of care facility on both HAI risks were made by performing multilevel analyses, with patient data nesting in care facilities and within 13 secondary tiers of medical care areas (STMs). Data were fitted into multilevel Poisson regression with a random intercept. Units contributing to the likelihood of given intervals correspond to the “risk set” of Cox’s proportional hazards model (Rabe-Hesketch & Skondral, 2012). Four models were constructed. Model 0 was fitted without explanatory variables, and patient covariates were included in model 1 (sex, age, nephritis, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, malignancy & Charlson’s comorbidity Index), while health facility covariates (ownership & facility size) were added in model 2. Model 3 incorporate both patient and care facility covariates in the analysis. The magnitude of variations was assessed using model variance, Proportional Change in Variance (PCV), Inter-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC), and Median Hazard Ratio (MHR) (Rabe-Hesketch & Skrondal, 2012; Austin et al., 2016; Merlo et al., 2005)

3. RESULT

Variations were only statistically significant at health care-level. Variance was reduced following the inclusion of patient covariates (Model 1) and care facility covariates (Model 2). Controlling all covariates in our study, further reduction in model variance and MHR values were observed, as estimated by our random-effect model. Outcome variations at care facility-level were largely attributed to differences in healthcare covariates. Random-effect estimates are provided in Table 1.

4. DISCUSSION

To address significant variations in clinical outcomes at the care facility level, it is important to look beyond individual patient-level characteristics. While there were almost no variations at the area level, justifying spatial equity in the distribution and use of health care, significant variations exist at the care facility level. Therefore, the development of specific policies to reduce the incidence of hospital-induced infection and improve the survival of hemodialysis patients is urgently needed to address this issue. A task force that composes of various specialties must be set up and must work together to identify the best strategies for improving the current outcome and the quality of healthcare delivery.

REFERENCE

Austin, P. C., Wagner, P. & Merlo, J. (2016). The median hazard ratio: a useful measure of variance and general contextual effects in multilevel survival analysis. Stat Med. 2016 Mar 15; 36(6), 928-938. http://doi.org/: 10.1002/sim.7188

Jha, V., Garcia-Garcia, G., Iseki, K., Li, Z., Naicker, S.,

Plattner, B., Saran, R., Wang, A. Y. & Yang, C. W. (2013) Chronic kidney disease: global dimension and perspectives. Lancet, 382(9888), 260-72. https:// doi.org/: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60687-X.

Merlo, J., Yang, M., Chaix, B., Lynch, J. & Rastam, L. (2005). A brief conceptual tutorial on multilevel analysis in social epidemiology: investigating contextual phenomenon in different group of people. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Jun; 59(6), 443-449. https//:doi.org/: 10.1136/jech.2004.023473

Rabe-Hesketh, S. & Skrondal, A. (2012). Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata, Volume 2: Categorical Response, Counts, and Survival. (3rd ed). Stata Press.