11 research outputs found
Government Secrecy and Security Classifications in the Context of Integrity Management in Malaysia
No full textSecrecy in government is almost always perceived as being antithetical to accountability and transparency in the conduct of democratic government. However, it is undisputable that government secrecy is practiced the world over because it is indispensable to state security, international relations, public and personal interests. Hence, democratic governments must perform a delicate balancing act between openness and confidentiality in the handling of official information. Indeed, effective governance requires various legal regimes that control government information through security classifications and impose punishments on offenders. This paper aims to address the dearth of research on government secrecy and security classifications in the context of integrity management in Malaysia. Integrity management encompasses not only the exercise of moral values by public institutions and officials but also the integrity of processes and procedures that uphold the integrity of governance. This exploratory research uses qualitative content analysis of data gathered from official government publications and websites, relevant documents and course notes, as well as interviews and correspondence with field experts. The inferences derived from themes and categories generated have resulted in several important findings. First, the 1972 Official Secrets Act (OSA) plays a significant role as part of a plethora of statutes and ethical codes that are indispensable to upholding government integrity. Second, weaknesses in balancing between openness and confidentiality when handling official information are attributed to organizational failure, public officials’ lack of ethical values, comprehension and training. The challenge is to ensure that the OSA is not used for cover-ups of corruption, ethical misconducts and administrative transgressions while the proposed Freedom of Information Act does not lead to a culture of blaming and mistrust that could lead to the paralysis of government and governance
The Politics of New Zealand educational restructuring: the case of the Picot Report
No full textThis thesis examines the significance of New Zealand's educational changes as heralded by the Picot Report in the context of the fourth Labour government's attempt at addressing the crises faced by the New Zealand welfare state. It is argued that the significance of the Picot Report can only be appreciated by analysing New Zealand educational restructuring in a comprehensive and unsegmented manner by taking into consideration social, political and economic aspects. It also seeks to illustrate the intricacies, complexities and pressures borne by the government in making a particular educational policy. Thus in meeting these objectives, the thesis has focused on the development of New Zealand's education system in relation to the establishment, expansion, and the subsequent reform of the Keynesian welfare state.
In writing this thesis, the author has consulted numerous books, journals, newspaper articles, reports of various committees on educational issues, election manifestos and specific legislations. As a result, it has been found that the New Zealand education system had evolved in conformity to the needs of the Keynesian welfare state. In pursuing individual and collective interests simultaneously through the notion of equality of educational opportunity, the education system must ensure that the significant social and economic inequalities perpetuated by the workings of the welfare state were maintained. This was done at the expense of its capability to be responsive to particular educational needs which had arisen due to social, technological and economic changes. Hence, the Picot Report represents the fourth Labour government's effort at trying to make the education system more responsive, efficient and adaptive to the changes in needs and circumstances, by reforming its administrative structure. This has been a complex and intricate task given the social, political and economic pressures borne by the government. The success or failure of the Picot Report is not yet known. This is due to: (a) the time needed in translating policy into action; and (b) the everchanging political, social and economic circumstances, and the variation in their influences on the education system. What is certain at this stage, is that the debates over its interpretations will continue well into the future given the Picot Report's controversial nature
Proceedings of Universiti Sains Malaysia International Conference on Social Sciences 2015 - Touching Lives, Bridging Society
No full textA society and people in general have always been the major focus of any study in the field of
social sciences. Given the conflicts, competition, pressures, tensions and differences that are
prevalent and persisting around us in today‘s society, social scientists can have a great
potential to touch the lives of all human beings in many different societies. By doing so, they
too can bridge the gaps that are seen to be widening between and within societies today. The
field of social sciences critically examines and analyses elements of human existence, their
infinite combinations of interactions, their value systems, traditions, culture, options and
choices and practices. This is reflected in a broad range of disciplines which include
anthropology and sociology, development studies, economics, political science, psychology
and social work.
The proceedings of this conference includes papers presented at the USM-International
Conference on Social Sciences (USM-ICOSS) 2015 which was hosted with the aptly noble
theme ―Touching Lives and Bridging Society‖ and held from 27 - 28 August 2015 at the
Rainbow Paradise Beach Resort, Penang, Malaysia. This conference is solely organized by
the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia
CONCEPTS, PRACTICES AND LEGAL AWARENESS OF ETHICS AND INTEGRITY AMONGST KG. SEBERANG TAKIR’S COASTAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS, KUALA NERUS, MALAYSIA: THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER.
No full textEthics and integrity are important to community development because they influence the success of numerous forms of public and private development assistance programs. However, there is inadequate research on ethics and integrity in the context of coastal community development in Malaysia. Hence, this preliminary research’s main objective is to get an initial picture of the state of understanding of the concepts, practices and legal awareness on ethics and integrity amongst Seberang Takir’s coastal community members; where downward mobility is prevalent among inshore fishermen, labourers and small traders. Intense urbanization and drastic increases in tourism and commercial activities means that the success of community development programs depends on the recipients’ ability not only to uphold ethics and integrity in their daily lives, but also to monitor actions and decisions of other stakeholders as well. This preliminary study uses convenience sampling comprising 23 participants who are government officials, university students and committee members of a mosque at Seberang Takir in the Kuala Nerus district. A Google Form questionnaire comprising seven questions specifically on ethics and integrity, and seven questions on law reveals notable findings, showing that: (i) professing to ethics and integrity does not prevent respondents from ethical misconducts; (ii) 41.1% of respondents are ambivalent, in agreement and strongly in agreement of unqualified people getting various types of government assistance; (iii) 52.2% agree and strongly agree that leaders of organizations/community groups should compromise ethics and integrity if doing so means that the quality of life of their members/subordinates can be improved; and (iv) there is a clear splitting of views amongst respondents on transgressing against ethics and integrity even if no law is broken. This explains why despite the high level of trust that they have in the law, more than 90% agree and strongly agree that the law in Malaysia is still not effective and must be amended. Hence, it is imperative that participants’ levels of understanding on ethics, integrity and law be increased through knowledge transfer so that the concerns identified above can be rectified
Implications of ICT for Development on Enhancing Rural Entrepreneur Program (REP) at Telecentres in Malaysia
No full textThis paper examines rural social entrepreneurship program in rural Malaysia communities. The program seeks to promote and turn rural entrepreneurs into social entrepreneurs by strengthening their economic activities and enhancing social capital. This paper focuses on a component of the rural entrepreneur program (REP), namely the Social Entrepreneur Club (SEC). The club runs the rural entrepreneur program and upholds the program’s objectives. It promotes the socialization of rural communities by engaging them in entrepreneurial activities. The club operates under the Rural Internet Centre (RIC); a telecentre that provides space for rural communities to enhance their ICT knowledge and skills. However, despite the opportunity provided, some of the rural entrepreneurs do not show adequate interest in the program as they prefer being entrepreneurs, but not social entrepreneurs. Thus, the success of the SECs depends on the entrepreneurs’ participation in the program, the geographical locations and the support from the telecentre managers. This paper employs the economic gardening concept and community informatics approach to empirically gather evidence to test the theory on ICT for development; particularly rural development for rural communities. A quantitative method has been used to measure the implications of ICT in this program. Data from the entrepreneurs is obtained through an online survey which has been conducted across the varying regions in Malaysia. The quantitative data is supported by interviews (qualitative method) with telecentre managers. The primary data has been triangulated to analyze the results. The key findings show that the SEC is seen as economic development strategy by creating jobs, as well as increasing income and business opportunities. It also strengthens social networking needed to build social capital within and outside of the rural communities. Hence SEC is also a community connector and can be used as an indicator on the quality of rural communities’ wellbeing
THE MARITIME GOVERNANCE CONCEPT IN THE CONTEXT OF ANTI-CORRUPTION, LOGISTICS CYBER SECURITY AND NATIONAL CUSTOMS TRANSIT SYSTEM'S ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN MALAYSIA
No full textMaritime governance is an elusive and formidable concept to define and operationalise since its meanings, interpretations, processes and procedures differ according to the approach, configuration, context, goal, form, level and scope used. The transboundary and complex nature of contemporary maritime environments signify the existence of increasingly complicated systems and forms of maritime governance. Hence the concept of maritime governance must be non-exhaustive, fluid and encompassing so as to be able to illustrate its applicability in different maritime sectors. The problem is that the above gives rise to confusion and misinterpretation of the elasticity of the concept; especially when it attempts to be “interactive, inclusive and integrative” while being contextually exclusive at the same time. The objective of this preliminary study is to illustrate the dichotomy of the concept of maritime governance in the context of anti-corruption, logistics cyber security and national customs transit system by focusing on their respective issues and challenges. A systematic literature review of the operations of the maritime governance concept in maritime anti-corruption, logistics cyber security, and national customs transit system systems of governance has been conducted. Relevant secondary data from official websites, publications, reports, national data sets and legal frameworks have been reviewed and thematically analysed. Findings reveal that the dichotomy of the maritime governance concept arise because of the compositions, operations, frameworks, as well as issues and challenges that are faced in these three areas. Hence it is recommended that more in-depth studies be conducted to illustrate whether the findings are applicable to other maritime sectors
ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION ON STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (SSN) IN SECONDARY INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM
No full textThis study aims to identify the level of rejection and acceptance on Secondary Inclusive Classroom at Hulu Selangor District, Selangor, Malaysia. The study involves 10 schools with a sample comprises of 100 teachers from various educational backgrounds in the Inclusive Education Program. This study uses a set of instrument containing 40 questions to measure level of acceptance on secondary inclusive classroom. The findings showed that in terms of acceptance, there are 97% respondents who agree that SSN join the curriculum and co-curriculum together with mainstream students, 93% - 97% of the respondents accept the presence of SSN, 86% - 99% of special education teachers and mainstream teachers collaborate their teaching aids preparation, a total of 75% respondents increase cooperation between students and teachers and finally 84% are willing to accept the presence of SSN in the classroom. The findings also showed that only 2% up to 12% respondents reject the presence of SSN in the inclusive classroom for curriculum implementation and provision of teaching aids. Implication of the study indicates that the presence of SSN in the secondary inclusive classroom brings good impact for both teachers and SSN
Wireless power transfer system using series-series compensation topology
No full textWireless power transfer (WPT) system becomes a
truthful technique to avoid cabling and the hazards of electric
shock rather than the limitations of plugs compared to the
number of devices in any place. In addition, the flexibility of
using such technology is way comfortable than the classic way
of connecting devices into the charger, where it is obvious that
from the mechanism of wirelessly charging itself when the
device it is just placed or unplaced to be charged or not,
otherwise plug or unplug for charging the devices.
Furthermore, Internet of Things IoT interfering in the
technology with its all strength and become popular, so all the
devices that used this technique need to be wirelessly charged
to be in the same line with the need of them along with taking in consideration the usage of these devices as long as it is possible. Thus, this paper presents a comprehensive view of WPT system inductively coupled with some mathematical model derivation for some basic compensations and design of a system that has high power transfer efficiency with constant voltage and constant current as well by compensating the inductive coils with some basic compensations. Also, focuses on the delivery of power stability over vibrations of distances
Challenges and Readiness of Islamic Education Teachers in Innovative Teaching and Learning
No full textThe importance of Islamic education in building generations and society is undeniable. The field of Islamic education is not static but is constantly evolving as time goes by. In this paper, the author explored the technological innovations in today\u27s world of education as well as the effects of Islamic Education teachers. The paper also discussed the barriers to implement technological education in Islamic education. Because of the current advent and emerging developments of technology and the impact of globalization, the paper offered possible solutions for Islamic educational systems and educational policymakers so as not to miss and fail the momentum of development. This study contributes towards strengthening the Islamic education system to engage in any innovation and transformation that may take place
