Universiti Utara Malaysia

Recent literature in environmental management implies that employee behaviour is imperative for improving environmental sustainability. Despite this, little effort has been made into how human resource management (HRM) relates to green creativity. This research aims to examine if an organization's green HRM (GHRM) practices can foster green creativity among manufacturing sector employees through the serial mediation path of environmental concerns and employee engagement with environmental initiatives, using self‐determination theory (SDT). To conduct this research, we collected and analysed data from 309 employees of manufacturing firms in Pakistan using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM). The results supported a positive relationship between GHRM and green creativity and the role of environmental concern and employee engagement with environmental initiatives in mediating that relationship. Likewise, the findings indicated that the relationship between GHRM and green creativity would strengthen as employees become more environmentally concerned. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on HRM and environmental management by providing new insights into the critical role of GHRM in fostering green creativity. Using SDT as a foundation, this research provides theoretical and practical contributions and implications and valuable recommendations for scholars and managers in the manufacturing sector.

Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) is a phenomenon that significantly influences oral modality and English speaking fluency negatively, where second language learners potentially have impediments that prevent their fluency in different situations. This study aimed to understand the process and mechanism of FLSA in English among Jordanian students inside and outside classroom settings. The sample was chosen from the Zarqa University (ZU) in Jordan from English Language Department. The qualitative research method was used to explain the process and mechanism of the anxious behavior of the students’ speaking anxiety scenarios. The findings revealed that anxious behavior includes Fear of Negative Evaluation, Avoiding Participation, Shyness, Lack of self-confidence, Teacher-centered role, Oral Communication Apprehension, and Loss of Self Confidence. Implications were suggested to reduce and alleviate the negative impacts of these factors on the smoothness of oral communication and speaking fluency.

The effectiveness of a machine learning model is significantly impacted by feature selection. Feature selection is one of the most popular and highly effective techniques for eliminating irrelevant and redundant features to enhance the relevance of the collected data and improve the effectiveness of classification tasks. Feature selection is challenging because of the intricate relationship between features and large search space, which grows exponentially with the number of existing features in the original dataset. Metaheuristic algorithms are the most effective techniques for managing feature selection due to their robustness, intelligibility, and effectiveness in solving intricate optimization problems. Recent studies have focused on using hybrid metaheuristics as feature selection approaches. This systematic literature review explores recent studies from 2019 to 2023 that used hybrid metaheuristic algorithms for feature selection in classification. This paper aims to understand the existing hybrid algorithms, the goal of hybridization, the type of hybridization, and their application domains. Moreover, crucial parameters, fitness and transfer functions, initial population method, feature selection approach, classification algorithm, evaluation criteria, and statistical test are also investigated in this paper. A list of 30 relevant papers in line with the topic were extracted and examined to develop new insights in the domain of feature selection in classification. The focus is on a single fitness function (single objective). However, feature selection can be seen as a multi-objective problem, making hybridization in multi-objective feature selection problems a future research work for scholars.

The young generation is an important part of becoming the nation’s successor. The interest of the younger generation to the farming profession is still very minimal because the farming profession is considered less promising. This study aims to determine and analyze the influence of the student development strategy of the Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Science, University of Muhammadiyah Malang on the future of the farmer profession in Indonesia. In this study, the authors used sampling with Slovin’s formula, namely a sample of 105 respondents. Respondents in this study were active students of the 2019 FPP UMM class. The analytical tool used is multiple linear regression analysis with quantitative descriptive analysis approach and using SPSS Software Version 26. The results of this study can be concluded that X1, X2, X4 partially have no effect on the farmer profession, while for X3 it shows that it partially has an effect significant to the farming profession. The coefficient of determination of 0.469 means that the farmer profession variable can be explained by the student development strategy variable of 46.9 % while the remaining 53.1 % is explained by other independent variables not examined in this study.

Climate change since 2012 has had a real influence on the uncertainty of soybean production which has resulted in fluctuating soybean production in Indonesia. The study purposed to: (i) analyze the fluctuation of soybean production before and during climate change, (ii) analyzing the factors that affect soybean production fluctuations covering land area (X1), soybean prices (X2), consumption (X3). The type of data used is secondary data, a time series data of soybean production in 1994 to 2019. The data was obtained from the Central Statistics Agency. The analytical method used is trend analysis to analyze production fluctuations. Multiple linear regression analysis to analyze the factors that influence production fluctuations. The results showed that before climate change production trends decrease, during climate change production trends increase slightly. Factors that influence soybean production are land area (positive influence on fluctuations in soybean production by α 5 % means an increase in land area results in an increase in production), price has positive effect on soybean production fluctuations with α 5 % means an increase in price motivates farmers to produce, and consumption has positive effect on soybean production fluctuations with α 5 % means an increase in consumption motivates farmers to produce.

This research is motivated by the urgent need to address environmental quality challenges in South Asian economies. By examining the interplay of financial development, globalization, energy consumption, and corruption control, the study aims to identify strategies mitigating environmental degradation and fostering sustainable development in the region. The prime objective of this research is to examine the correlation between financial development, globalization, and energy consumption with environmental quality in South Asian economies. Moreover the study has also examined the moderating role of corruption control in the relationship between financial development, globalization, and energy consumption with environmental quality in South Asian economies. The research incorporates data from 1996 to 2019. Panel co-integration technique is employed to investigate the long-term correlations, and fully modified ordinary least squares is utilized to determine the coefficients of co-integrating vectors, ensuring a comprehensive and robust analysis of the examined variables The study finds that energy consumption, financial development, and globalization negatively affect South Asia’s environment. However, the presence of corruption control measures can mitigate these impacts therefore, given the region’s corruption concerns, effective anti-corruption measures become crucial to address environmental degradation. The empirical results stress the need for implementing such measures to alleviate adverse environmental effects in this specific area. The results implies that policymakers should balance economic growth with environmental sustainability, recognizing the interconnectedness of these factors. Thre results of the study highlights that addressing corruption is crucial in environmental policymaking, and policymakers should prioritize anti-corruption initiatives alongside conservation efforts. The study also suggests strengthening institutional frameworks and governance structures to curb corruption, creating an environment conducive to sustainable development. Future policies should integrate anti-corruption measures into environmental conservation strategies. The study highlights the need for anti-corruption measures in South Asia, in line with Sustainable Development Goals 16 and 13, to combat environmental degradation caused by energy consumption, financial development, and globalization, thereby promoting peace, justice, and strong institutions.

The International Accounting Standard Boards highlighted financial reporting timeliness (FRT), as one of the qualitative attributes taken into consideration when measuring financial reporting quality (FRQ). Considering that the board is the main internal corporate governance (CG) mechanism, the attributes of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are predicted to be associated with the FRT. The study aims to analyse the impact of CEO demographic characteristics on the FRT of non-financial listed companies in Nigeria. The sample consisted of 86 listed non-financial companies’ annual reports on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) for 2015–2021. Multiple linear regressions were used in analysing the collected data via STATA software. Results revealed that 6 out of 10 hypotheses were significantly related to FRT. Findings indicated that CEO characteristics may encourage managers to reduce reporting lag, increase the quality of financial reports, and signal good news to shareholders, which may significantly affect the company’s performance. It is recommended that stakeholders review CG and accounting standards reform to improve FRT and deter managers from late submission of financial statements to the NSE. The study contributes to stakeholders like managers, regulatory bodies, policymakers, and professional bodies to enhance current standards, and regulations in Nigeria. Finally, agency theory and upper echelons theory were used to delve into new findings based on the Nigerian setting and enhance the rigour, coherence, and impact of this study within its academic or practical domain.

Objective Adolescent sleep problems are a worldwide public health issue. The present study examines factors associated with worry‐related sleep problems among school‐going adolescents. The country of interest is Timor‐Leste, a low‐income country, where studies pertaining to adolescent sleep problems are lacking. Design and Measures Data were analysed from the Global School‐Based Student Health Survey Timor‐Leste ( n = 3455). An ordered probit model was used to assess the effects of demographic, lifestyle, social, and psychological factors on different levels of worry‐related sleep problems (i.e., no, mild and severe sleep problems). Results School‐going adolescents were more likely to face mild or severe worry‐related sleep problems if they were older, passive smokers, alcohol drinkers and moderately active. School‐going adolescents who sometimes or always went hungry were more likely to experience worry‐related sleep problems than those who did not. Involvement in physical fights, being bullied, and loneliness were positively associated with the probability of having modest or severe worry‐related sleep problems. Conclusion Age, exposure to second‐hand smoke, alcohol consumption, physical activity, going hungry, physical fights, being bullied and loneliness are the important determining factors of adolescent worry‐related sleep problems. Policymakers should pay special attention to these factors when formulating intervention measures.

Executive coaching intervention is undergoing tangible changes, primarily due to and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to systematically review the evidence regarding the determinants of executive coaching effectiveness. Particular attention is paid to aspects of coaching digitalization and new technologies and approaches that coaching practitioners utilize. A systematic literature review was conducted using main academic databases, and 71 studies were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study identified six main factors that contribute to successful executive coaching: coach characteristics, coachee aspects, coach-coachee relationships, coaching approaches, organizational role, and technical tools. The study also discusses the traits of e-coaching and online interventions, and suggests practical implications and future research directions. This study provides insights into the factors that affect executive coaching, based on studies conducted during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The review sheds light on the direction of coaching evolution and identifies critical factors that organizations should investigate before implementing coaching. Specifically, the strengths and weaknesses of online training and coaching should be carefully evaluated before implementation. Theoretical contribution of the study involves expanding the common determinants of successful executive coaching. We thoroughly analyzed and identified factors associated with crisis situations and the adoption of new technologies. Consideration of the identified determinants of effective executive coaching facilitates the improvement of the coaches’ selection process, encourages the preparation of executives for coaching interventions, and ensures necessary organizational support. The efficacy of e-coaching equips organizations with an opportunity to select coaching modalities that remain efficient while concurrently being more accessible and cost-effective.

Background – This research examines the role of psychological characteristics (psychological empowerment and psychological ownership) in reducing employees’ workplace procrastination. Further, using organizational commitment theory, this research examines the mediating mechanism of organizational commitment in the relationship between psychological characteristics and employees’ workplace procrastination. Methods– Two studies were conducted to test our hypotheses. In Study 1, we collected online data from 146 working individuals via the crowdsourcing platform Prolific. For Study 2, we gathered data from 384 employees in the banking sector in Pakistan using a paper-and-pencil survey questionnaire. Both studies employed a time-lagged data collection approach to minimize common-method bias. Results – The research findings supported our hypotheses that organizational commitment mediated the positive relationship between psychological characteristics and employees’ workplace procrastination. Conclusion – Previous studies have focused on the factors responsible for employees’ workplace procrastination. This study advances our knowledge by identifying the antecedents of employees’ workplace procrastination and examining the underlying mediating mechanism.

This research evaluates the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model from the context of mobile-based learning using smartphones amid COVID-19. It specifically examines the impact of exogenous variables such as social isolation besides standard dimensions and mediating variables such as perceived compatibility, perceived anxiety, and perceived value on mobile learning technology. The research also explores the impact of service quality and technological innovation as moderating variables on the modified and extended UTAUT model. The data for this research was gathered from 898 students in technologically advanced countries. The outcomes of this research show that the exogenous dimensions of the UTAUT model, such as social isolation, have an affirmative and significant association with the behavioral intent to adopt mobile-based learning in an online education environment. The study's findings further exhibited that the mediating dimensions, such as perceived anxiety, perceived compatibility, and perceived value, have a robust and affirmative association between exogenous and endogenous factors. Moreover, the results demonstrated a strong influence of technological innovation and service quality on the association between independent and dependent factors. Overall, the research findings have significant implications for both industry and academia regarding management and theory.

The study investigated how national culture acts as a mediating factor in the connection between peer effects and corporate capital structure in enterprises from emerging market nations. The methodology employs a two-stage least squares technique, incorporating fixed effects and an instrumental variable approach, to analyze the regression results obtained from ordinary least squares. The results indicate that the level of influence exerted by peers is significant for a firm when determining its own level of leverage. Furthermore, it has been noted that enterprises tend to adopt similar cultural traits as their peers, such as minimal power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity. Hence, managers may consider their peers’ decisions on leverage in the industry while making assessments about the appropriate level of leverage for their own company. Furthermore, as emerging economies often encounter perplexing and uncertain circumstances, obtaining reliable information from peers’ financial decisions can potentially mitigate the duration and cost associated with making this crucial decision.

This study aims to investigate the effect of the green policy announcement on heavy-polluter stock returns in Malaysian industries. The study adopted a market-model event study methodology to measure 251 heavy-polluter companies from October 9, 2009 to October 29, 2021. Based on the findings, the first objective (to accept H1) showed that investors in Malaysia demonstrated mixed reactions (+ve and –ve) towards the green policy announcement whereas the second objective (to accept H2) revealed that there is an effect (+ve and –ve) for ESG adopters in three industries namely chemical and construction, metal and mining, and travel and leisure towards the green policy announcement. From a practical standpoint, there are several implications to consider. Firstly, investors, portfolio managers, and regulators can utilize stock returns as a means to maximize shareholders’ wealth. Secondly, the incorporation of ESG practices in the selection of companies can serve as a performance indicator for investment decisions. Thirdly, government entities can benefit from the ratification of green policies as an effective approach towards maximizing shareholders’ value. A theoretical perspective, an efficient market, investors cannot generate abnormal profits once the announcement is made. Failure to incorporate information related to environmental events into share prices would be inconsistent with the efficient market hypothesis. Finally, from a management or company standpoint, investing in green initiatives allows heavy-polluter companies to transition into more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly entities, fulfilling their social, environmental, and ESG responsibilities. This study’s novelty focuses on the relationship between stock performance, green finance policies, and ESG adoption.

The rapid growth of live streaming e-commerce is hindered by its high rate of product returns, which poses a challenge to its long-term sustainability. Specifically, clothes shoppers account for 30% of all sales made during live broadcasts. This study aims to evaluate the impact of live streaming e-commerce on repurchase intention in the sports brand industry in China. The paper used quantitative research methods with 398 data collected from consumers of sports brands who were willing to provide information regarding their shopping experience on the live streaming platform. 224 respondents were females (56.3%), and 174 were males (43.7%). The study adopted a questionnaire to collect the data. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used to test the correlation between the variables. The results revealed direct and positive effect of consumer trust (β = 0.397, p = 0.000) and perceived value (β = 0.215, p = 0.001) on repurchase intention in live streaming e-commerce. The findings also indicated that both consumer trust and perceived value play a mediating role. In addition, the results supported the assumption that the characteristics of live streamers (β = 0.389, p = 0.000) have a positive impact on consumer trust, and customer-to-customer interaction (β = 0.678, p = 0.000) has a significant impact on perceived value. Finally, sports brands are advised to optimize live streaming platforms to better meet consumers’ needs. Acknowledgment The authors acknowledge Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) that supported this study.

In the contemporary educational landscape, integrating technology into traditional classroom settings has garnered substantial attention as a method to enhance students’ academic achievements. This particular research wants to evaluate complex relationships encompassing the integration of smart classrooms (SMRTs), perceived ease of use (PEoU), self-efficacy (SE), and Islamic spiritual values (ISVs) in fostering students’ academic accomplishments. The present employs a survey-based quantitative approach to investigate how these factors interact across diverse students and institutions. With the aid of the PLS-4 software, the collected data undergo thorough analysis via the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach. Subsequently, findings pertaining to this investigation show that SMRTs, PEoU, SE, and Islamic values strongly predict academic performance. However, the direct relationship between ISV and PEoU, as well as the indirect effect of PEoU on student academic performance (SAP) via ISV, is not empirically supported. The study contributes theoretically by revealing intricate connections between technological advancements, psychological factors, and spiritual values in educational contexts. Practically, it guides instructor and policymakers in designing technology-driven SMRTs to meet students’ cognitive and spiritual needs, ultimately fostering a conducive academic environment. The research’s novelty is based on the intricate connections between SMRT integration, PEoU, SE, and ISVs in shaping SE.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP) are well-known for their efficacy as inorganic compounds with antifouling and antibacterial properties in membrane filtration. In this work, bio-zinc oxide nanoparticles (bio-ZnO NP) was synthesized using Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis miller) powder as a green reducing agent and Zinc nitrate as a precursor through the sol-gel method. Subsequently, the bio-ZnO NP powder was incorporated into a polysulfone (PSf) membrane at varying weight percentages (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 Wt.%). The results indicate that the addition of bio-ZnO NP to PSf enhances the size and complexity of finger-like structures, leading to an increase in tensile strength from 31.9 MPa to 57.6 MPa. However, porosity also increases from 44.1% to 58.2% as the bio-ZnO/NP content rises from 0.1 wt.% to 0.5 wt.%. Notably, the PSf/bio-ZnO NP membrane with 0.5 wt.% concentration demonstrates the highest Pure Water Flux (PWF) at 517.9 LMH with humic acid rejection reaching 99.9%. Furthermore, the incorporation of bio-ZnO NP significantly enhances antibacterial activity, as reflected in the inhibition ring diameter increasing from 24.2 mm to 48.3 mm with higher bio-ZnO/NP concentrations. The PSf/bio-ZnO NP mixed matrix membrane (MMM) with 0.3 wt.% concentration exhibits optimal stability conditions, and superior antifouling properties, making it a promising candidate for membrane applications.

In this paper, a new 3D dynamical system with four quadratic nonlinear terms is presented. It is shown that the proposed chaotic system has two saddle-foci, unstable, equilibrium points. Thus, the proposed chaotic system exhibits self-excited chaotic attractors. Dynamical analysis methods such as Lyapunov exponents spectrum, bifurcation diagrams, and phase portraits are used to explore the complex dynamical behaviors of the proposed chaotic system and analyze its basic qualitative properties. It is shown that the maximal Lyapunov exponent (MLE) of the new chaotic system is 7.196, which is a high value. The proposed highly chaotic system exhibits high complexity and it will be very useful for applications in cryptography, encryption and secure communications. The physical feasibility of the proposed system is verified by implementing its electronic circuit schematic using Multisim software. Additionally, a PRNG has been developed using the derived state variables and analyze with NIST-800–22 test. Lastly, we developed a PRNG-based image encryption and employ it for an encryption. The experimental outcomes obtained prove that the 3D chaotic system-based encryption application presented in this section has a very good performance.

The analysis of academic research on animated characters in the animation industry effectively summarises the current state of scholarly research on animated characters through a variety of software tools such as CiteSpace, VOS viewer, HistCite, and Bibliometrix analysis, and visually charts and formulates this data. Through study and research, it that the United States is (278) the most prolific country, and the United States has the highest intermediary centrality, as well as the most Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and PEOPLES R CHINA are the most cited organizations and Countries/Regions with the highest intermediary centrality and Countries/Regions with the highest citation explosiveness, respectively. This study also suggests possible challenges and future directions in character design for animated characters.

The EQ-5D is a common generic tool used in clinical trials and economic evaluations to evaluate the health-related quality of life as a proxy of health outcomes. To date, studies using EQ-5D-5L to evaluate the health status of cancer patients remain scarce in Malaysia. In this study, EQ-5D-5L dimensions, EQ-5D-5L index, and EQ-VAS scores were applied to assess the health status of Malaysian cancer patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted March-December 2022 to collect data relevant to the EQ-5D-5L valuation of health status via the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) platform. Respondents rated their health states using EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS. Among the 235 respondents, the mean EQ-5D-5L index and EQ-VAS score were 0.76 (SD 0.223) and 81.06 (SD 16.36). Most of the patients reported some problems in the pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression dimensions. The level of education, stage of cancer, and comorbidity were significantly associated with better health status on EQ-5D-5L (p < 0.05) but only the stage of cancer was significantly associated with EQ-VAS scores. This study highlighted the disparities in self-reported health status across patients of different sociodemographic and medical profiles with EQ-5D-5L valuation. Thus, future research should use EQ-5D norm scores as a benchmark of comparison among cancer patients.