Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 368-374).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Aston in Birmingham, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 329-335).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Syracuse University, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-198).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Purdue University, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-295)

Thesis (M.C.A.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Background: The rights of children to freedom of expression and receiving information are underpinned by Articles 12 and 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989), which was ratified by the Malaysian government in 1995. There has been increasing shifts toward recognising the importance of children’s rights with many initiatives to realise and uphold the rights of children in Malaysia. However, no previous studies of children’s participation have been conducted in Malaysia. The aim of this study was to explore children’s participation in decisions regarding their nursing care from the perspective of the children, their parents, and nurses in an oncological ward in Malaysia. Methods: This was a focused ethnographic study. Participant observation was carried out with 61 participants (21 children, 21 parents, and 19 nurses) in the paediatric oncology-haematological ward, Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 participants (6 children, 7 parents, and 8 nurses). The existing documents pertinent to the research focus were examined to validate the participant observations and interview findings. Data were analysed using Roper and Shapira’s (2000) focused ethnographic data analysis techniques. Findings: There were different degrees of the participation of children in decisions among children diagnosed with leukaemia, including: being physically present, being informed, being consulted where children can express their wishes and opinions during the provision of nursing care, and being able to make their own decisions in relation to their nursing care. The degrees to which children participated in decisions fluctuated throughout the course of their hospitalization; moving from lesser degrees of participation (passive participant) to greater involvement (active participant) and vice-versa. The extent to which children participated in decisions were significantly influenced by the children’s preferences for participation. The preferences of children also fluctuated over the course of their illness and treatment. There were several factors contributing to children’s participation in decisions including; i) interpersonal relations in the child-parent-nurse interactions; ii) experiences of the child (veteran or novice); iii) attitude of nurses; iv) parental role; and v) the ward policy. Conclusion: The children want to be involved and really appreciate participation in communication and decisions but their opportunities for participation are somewhat limited. This study calls for a flexible model to assess children’s preferences for participation and different forms of participation for children in relation to decision-making in paediatric oncology.

Researching on the appropriateness of video materials for learners of EIL has required in-depth discussion of the role of the medium of video in the field of crosscultural communication in an EIL context - the ASEAN countries generally and Malaysia specifically. This has drawn into the picture two perspectives. The first is sociocultural; the consideration of the role of English as an International language in Malaysia and the other ASEAN countries, the recommendation of a suitable pedagogical model of speech for audio-visual materials in Malaysia, the components of cross-cultural communication that are essential for any language learner who aspires to communicate in English with persons who come from varying sociocultural backgrounds. The second perspective is that of the role of video for the teaching of intercultural language teaching. What is it in the medium that enables it to play a pivotal role in delivering the message - aspects of cross-cultural communication? These perspectives provide the background to the main research question at hand, which is, how appropriate in sociocultural content and design are ELT video materials for language learners in Malaysia? ELT video materials have been commercially produced since the mid-70's. The majority of these materials are based in Western sociocultural settings, portraying native speakers interacting with-each other. Given the dominant role of English as an international language, linking countries communicatively that otherwise would have great difficulty doing so, yet there has been minimal change in the sociocultural nature of the materials. Therefore, this research aims to investigate via critical analysis and questionnaires, the appropriateness of the sociocultural and design features of existing and potential ELT video materials for EIL language learners. The information from the two sources will, it is hoped, provide useful recommendations for the future-production of appropriate ELT video materials for EIL-language learners in Malaysia specifically and the ASEAN countries generally.

The study examines the perception of faculty members and students towards library services and usage in three selected Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia. It attempts to find out how academic users felt towards library staff/library services, their actual needs, library usage and their expectations of the library. It also looks closely at the feasibility and possible impact of the library/information skills course as part of the Higher Education Institutions' Curriculum. An extensive review of related and relevant literature that includes previous and present studies is also discussed. In addition, a profile of Malaysia, its educational system and the development of academic libraries are also presented in the study. The population studied was drawn from faculty members and students of three selected Higher Education Institutions. Data was collected using selfadministered questionnaires, personal interview, group interviews/ discussions with focus groups and a short skill test. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data collected from the questionnaires and the short skill test. As for the interviews, important and relevant comments or suggestions were collated and incorporated in the research. The study concludes that users are not really getting the full benefit of the library services and some of the services are under-utilised. The major causes or reasons for this problem are the lack of knowledge and the low state of awareness of certain services, attitude of staff, inadequate training to use the services and the lack of computer facilities. Finally. the idea of having an in-class library/information skills course for students is well received by users of the three Higher Education Institutions.

This research investigated the library end-users' perceptions of their training needs in relation to using the electronic information resources in selected public universities in Malaysia. It also investigated the training methods preferred by end-users in learning how to use electronic information resources. The subjects of the study were university students and academic staff from three selected public universities in Malaysia. They comprised 433 students and 223 academic staff. This study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. The main data was gathered through self-administered questionnaires, while the supplementary data was gathered through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Opinions from the librarians responsible for end-user training at the three university libraries were also sought through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Comparisons were made between the two groups of end-users, namely, students and academic staff in areas related to the problems of the study. Appropriate non-parametric statistical techniques such as cross-tabulation, chisquare test, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation test were applied in analysing the data measured at both nominal and ordinal scales. Among the major findings were: (1) a statistically significant differences were found between students and academic staff in terms of knowledge and ability in using electronic information resources. Many academic staff were more knowledgable and able to use electronic information resources than students. However, concerning knowledge in using certain IT facilities, many more students than academic staff knew how to use them; and (2) both students and academic staff preferred one-to-one training methods as their first choice. With regard to the second choice of training method, students preferred computerassisted instruction (CAI), while academic staff preferred library workshops with hands-on training. Recommendations based on the research findings were made.