The aim of the study was to examine the determinants of well-being in Malaysian students at home and overseas. Prior to the main study, interviews were conducted with seven PhD students of Malaysia studying in Plymouth, to explore their needs and values, and their adaptation experiences in terms of missing and enjoyment experiences abroad. Based on the interview findings and literature reviews, a questionnaire was developed and named as the Adaptation to Life Index, which consisted of two scales - ‘missing experience’ and ‘enjoyment experience’. A longitudinal survey was carried out using Malaysian students in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Ireland, and Canada as well as students who remained in Malaysia. At Time 1, data were collected from 1118 students who were enrolling at various overseas preparatory studying programmes and 972 first year students in one of the public university in Malaysia who were continuing their education in Malaysia. Measurements used were the Big Five Personality Inventory (John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991), Schwartz’s Short Value Scale (SSVS) (Lindeman & Verkasalo, 2005; Schwartz, 1992), Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS) (Watson, et al, 1988), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) (Diener, et al., 1985), perceived stress scale (based on the results of Malaysian Certificate of Education and perceived English language fluency), and a section on socio-demographic background. At time 2, 30 % of the participants (N= 628) were retained. Life satisfaction for home students remained constant over time. However, life satisfaction for overseas students started much lower at Time 1 but increased at Time 2. Results showed that life satisfaction at time 1 strongly predicted life satisfaction at Time 2, but neither personality nor values were predicted life satisfaction at Time 2. Personality and values at Time 1 predicted ‘missing experience at Time 2 and in the overseas students, being fluent in English predicted less ‘missing experience’. There were few predictors of Time 1 for ‘enjoyment’ at Time 2, but fluency with English predicted better enjoyment.

Cette recherche analyse des productions orales en français d’apprenants malaisiens. L’objectif est de proposer une meilleure approche à l’enseignement du passé en cours de français en Malaisie. Pour ce faire, nous analysons l’importance de l’influence translinguistique sur l’apprentissage du passé en français langue étrangère. La base de données est constituée de deux corpus : d’une part des apprenants malaisiens apprenant le français en Malaisie et d’autre part des apprenants anglais. En comparant les deux corpus, nous souhaitons déceler le degré de l’influence translinguistique sur les deux types de population. Nous analysons leurs productions verbales et plus particulièrement l’expression du passé (passé composé / imparfait) et les traces d’influences translinguistiques qui pourraient provenir des langues connues (soit anglais, malais, mandarin pour les malaisiens, soit anglais pour les apprenants anglais) à travers les modalités d’expression du temps et de l’aspect. La comparaison des données, à la lumière de l’analyse des langues connues par les apprenants, montre que statistiquement les apprenants malaisiens sont plus enclins à élider le verbe et à utiliser des formes verbales neutres que les apprenants anglais. L’analyse des deux corpus montre également que les apprenants malaisiens produisent plus d’occurrences verbales non-conformes dues à une confusion entre les différents tiroirs verbaux français que les apprenants anglais dont les occurrences non-conformes découlent en majorité d’une non-conformité morphologique ou grammaticale. Si certaines différences ont en effet été notées, des similarités se dégagent des deux corpus et contribuent à dégager certaines hypothèses concernant l’acquisition du français langue seconde : d’une part, l’ellipse verbale concerne principalement des verbes d’état et d’autre part, l’aspect lexical du verbe influence le choix de l’aspect grammatical. / This study analyses oral productions in French of Malaysian beginner learners. The objective is to offer an improved approach to the teaching of past tenses in French language classes. In order to do so, we analyse the importance of translinguistic influence in past tense learning in French as a second language. The data are made of two corpora : on the first hand, 17 Malaysian learners in Year 10 preparing their IGCSE oral exam which represent 6 hours of recording and on the second hand, 4 English learners preparing their IGCSE oral exam which represent 45 minutes of recording. The Malaysian learners study French in Penang, Malaysia at the Prince of Wales Island International School. The comparison of both corpora leads to underlining the translinguistic influence on each type of population. We pay special attention to oral production and especially the expression of the past (passé compose / imparfait) and traces of translinguistic influence that could derive from the learners’ known languages (English, Mandarin and Malay for the Malaysian corpus and English for the English corpus). The study will also present the expression of time and aspect in each relevant language. The comparison of data, viewed from the known languages perspective, shows that statistically Malaysian learners are more prone to omitting the verb and to using neutral verbal forms than the English learners. The analysis of both corpora also confirms that Malaysian learners produce more non-conform occurrences due to a confusion between different French tenses than the English learners whose non-conform occurrences are mostly due to grammatical or morphological non-conformity. If indeed, major differences were found, certain similarities stick out and allow us to highlight French second language learning hypotheses. Firstly, French second language learners seem to omit state verbs mostly when omitting verbs and secondly, the close link between lexical and grammatical aspect for the learners.

This study investigates the effects of clustering or format of presentation (categorized and uncategorized lists), level of color realism of graphics (color pictures, black and white pictures and line drawings), and age (10 year old, 16 year old and adults) on the pictorial recall memory among students in Malaysia. Three hundred sixty students of three age groups were randomly assigned to one of the six stimulus treatments (categorized color, uncategorized color, categorized black and white, uncategorized black and white, categorized line drawing, and uncategorized line drawing). There was a significant interaction effect between age and cluster, F (2, 342) = 9.07, p < 0.0001). Simple main effects test shows that among 10-year olds, significant difference exists between the mean recall of pictures in categorized lists and uncategorized lists. More pictures in the categorized lists were recalled than in the uncategorized ones. However, the mean recall of pictures between the categorized and uncategorized lists among 16-year olds and adults did not differ significantly. Interaction between age and color realism was also significant, F (4, 342) = 2.93, p < 0.021). Simple main effects test indicates that among 10-year olds and adults, the mean number of items recalled differed significantly under each level of color realism. Pairwise comparison shows that among 10-year olds and adults, color pictures were recalled significantly better than both black and white pictures and line drawings. The mean number of items recalled between black and white pictures and line drawings however, was not significantly different. It was concluded that color pictures or illustrations are recalled better than black and white pictures and line drawings, and that categorized lists of pictures are recalled better than the uncategorized lists. / Ph. D.

Computer technology has been introduced into the field of language education for more than three decades. However, how individual learners interact with language learning multimedia programmes in different ways is not yet understood. A possible explanation is related to the learners� variables. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of cognitive style, one of these variables, on the language learning process. The participants of this study were a group of ESL university students from Malaysia, who interacted with a language instruction CD-ROM. This study focuses on investigating the interaction process from the students� perspective. Riding�s Cognitive Style Analysis, a computer software that measures individual�s cognitive style, was used to assist in identifying and categorizing students� cognitive style. Thirty students� cognitive style was measured before each student spent an average of three hours interacting with a language instruction CD-ROM. This study adopts the case study approach. The primary method of collecting data involved semi-structured interviews with students that focused on their experiences and preferences while interacting with language instruction CD-ROM. Factors that affected the interaction process were then examined to detect whether they were linked to the differences of students� cognitive orientation. The findings of this study reflect the mixed results that previous researchers have found regarding the effect of cognitive style on students� language learning experiences. Although responses toward the content, graphics and vocabulary items did partially reflect their cognitive orientation, cognitive style was not the only factor that influenced these students� behaviours or preferences as they interacted with the language instruction CD-ROM. The study found factors that were not linked to the students� cognitive styles, yet these also influenced the interaction process. These non-cognitive-style factors consisted of students� language learning motivation, social presence, and their conception of language learning and cultural influence, which resulted in teacher-centeredness. As a result of these findings, theoretical, research and pedagogical implications are discussed. Recommendations and limitations of the study are also presented.

Computer technology has been introduced into the field of language education for more than three decades. However, how individual learners interact with language learning multimedia programmes in different ways is not yet understood. A possible explanation is related to the learners� variables. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of cognitive style, one of these variables, on the language learning process. The participants of this study were a group of ESL university students from Malaysia, who interacted with a language instruction CD-ROM. This study focuses on investigating the interaction process from the students� perspective. Riding�s Cognitive Style Analysis, a computer software that measures individual�s cognitive style, was used to assist in identifying and categorizing students� cognitive style. Thirty students� cognitive style was measured before each student spent an average of three hours interacting with a language instruction CD-ROM. This study adopts the case study approach. The primary method of collecting data involved semi-structured interviews with students that focused on their experiences and preferences while interacting with language instruction CD-ROM. Factors that affected the interaction process were then examined to detect whether they were linked to the differences of students� cognitive orientation. The findings of this study reflect the mixed results that previous researchers have found regarding the effect of cognitive style on students� language learning experiences. Although responses toward the content, graphics and vocabulary items did partially reflect their cognitive orientation, cognitive style was not the only factor that influenced these students� behaviours or preferences as they interacted with the language instruction CD-ROM. The study found factors that were not linked to the students� cognitive styles, yet these also influenced the interaction process. These non-cognitive-style factors consisted of students� language learning motivation, social presence, and their conception of language learning and cultural influence, which resulted in teacher-centeredness. As a result of these findings, theoretical, research and pedagogical implications are discussed. Recommendations and limitations of the study are also presented.

This thesis examines Malay identity construction by focusing on the complex processes of self-identification among queer-identified Malays living in Malaysia and beyond. By analysing representations of queer Malays in the works of contemporary Malaysian Malay writers, scholars, and filmmakers, as well as queer Malays on the internet and in the diaspora, the thesis demonstrates how self-identifying gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Malays create and express their identities, and the ways in which hegemonic Malay culture, religion, and the state affect their creation and expression. This is especially true when queer-identified Malays are officially conflated with being “un-Malay” and “un-Islamic” because queer sexualities contravene Malay cultural and religious values. This thesis begins by discussing the politics of Malay identity, particularly the tension between “authority-defined” and “everyday-defined” notions of being Malay that opens up a space for queer-identified Malays to formulate narratives of Malayness marked by sexual difference. The thesis then discusses how queer-identified Malays specifically construct their identities via various strategies, including strategic renegotiations of ethnicity, religiosity, and queer sexuality, and selective reappropriations of local and western forms of queerness. The ways in which “gay Melayu” identity is a hybrid cultural construction, produced through transnational and transcultural interactions between local and western forms of gayness under current conditions of globalization is also examined, as well as the material articulation of queer narratives of Malayness and its diverse implications on queer-identified Malays' everyday lives and sense of belonging. The thesis concludes with a critical reflection on the possibilities and limitations of queerness in the context of queer Malay identity creation. Such reflection is crucial in thinking about the future directions for research on queerness and the politics of queer Malay identity. It is hoped that this study will show that queer-identified Malays reshape and transform received ideas about “Malayness” and “queerness” through their own invention of new and more nuanced ways of being “queer” and “Malay.” This study also fills up the lacunae in the scholarship on Malay identity and queer Malays by addressing the productions of Malay ethnicity and sexual identity among queer-identified Malays within and beyond Malaysia's borders.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosphy (PhD) / Over the last three decades there has been increasing pressure from stakeholders on businesses to be environmentally responsible. Business organisations cannot help but take this consideration seriously because it has a far-reaching impact on their very survival. This research is intended to bring insights into how and why a business’s management responds to environmental pressure from stakeholders. How a business responds to its stakeholders is known as environmental strategy. In addition, this study also investigates how proactiveness in implementation of each type of environmental strategy impacts on a business’s environmental effectiveness and competitive advantage. In Malaysia palm oil is the most important agricultural commodity in the country, and contributes substantially to the economy. Unfortunately, its activities are not without environmental costs. Deforestation, depletion of flora and fauna, excessive use of chemicals, air and water pollution are the results of the industry’s activity. But due to stakeholders’ pressures, the industry has embraced environmental management in its activities, albeit at a slow pace. Against this background, this study seeks to investigate the efficacy of corporate environmentalism, using a number of palm oil companies as case studies. This study is paramount as no such study has previously been conducted in Malaysia. The Malaysian palm oil industry offers an interesting case for studying corporate environmentalism in developing countries. Using a mixed-methods or triangulation of analysis of nine palm oil companies, which are listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, as case studies, this research investigates the environmental practices of the palm oil companies, and the relationship of these practices with stakeholders’ pressures, environmental effectiveness and competitive advantages. The results of the study reveal that three levels of overall environmental strategy are adopted by the participating palm oil companies. They are labelled by the researcher as minimalists - four companies; intermediators - two companies; and proactivists - three companies. The minimalists refer to companies that exercised the lowest environmental strategy, while the proactivists are those who exercised the highest environmental strategy. The intermediators are in the middle, that is, those companies that seem to be in the early stage of becoming proactivists, but have yet to achieve such a level. The proactivists were classified as those who exercised a proactive strategy, but both intermediators and minimalists exercised a reactive environmental strategy. In terms of the relationship between environmental proactiveness and stakeholders’ pressure it was found that the management of the more proactive companies tended to perceive a wider range of threats from environmental stakeholders compared with reactive companies. Apart from regulatory stakeholders, they also perceived pressure from primary stakeholders, especially their top management, as well as secondary stakeholders including ENGOs, competitors, and the media. On the contrary, reactive companies only perceived threats from regulatory stakeholders. Not only did proactivists differ in terms of stakeholders’ pressure, they were at the same time perceived to be more environmentally effective and to gain more competitive advantages than less proactive companies. Based on the research findings it seems there is a significant positive correlation between a proactive environmental strategy and both environmental effectiveness and competitive advantage among Malaysian palm oil companies. In this study measurement of the environmental strategies and environmental effectiveness was solely based on a triangulation of surveys (seven-point scale items) and in-depth interviews. In order to increase the validity of the study, future researchers need to triangulate these data with other quantitative data. For instance, at a company level, a company’s resources can be measured based on its financial statistics such as sales, net profit, return on investment, and the amount spend on research and development. Moreover, the environmental effectiveness of a mill can be measured in terms of monthly data of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), of palm oil mill effluents and Ringelmann Chart of air emissions, and the amount of money expended on de-sludging for certain periods of time. In both plantations and mills, future researchers can gather data related to environmental accidents, fines and court cases. The key findings of this research are instructive. The majority of the participating palm oil companies in Malaysia adopted reactive environmental strategies. Only a few adopted proactive environmental strategies, and they were more likely to exercise environmental practices at strategic and tactical levels such as top management involvement in environmental issues as well as deploying environmental management systems which mostly related to the bottom line of their businesses. Serious attention towards the destruction of the tropical rainforest as a result of their activities is lacking among participating companies.

This dissertation examines the trace of circumcision in modern Malay/sian art. The term ‘Malay/sian’ is used in this dissertation to refer to Malaysians of Malay descent with Islamic affiliation. This research is premised on the hypothesis that the cultural politics that defines the works produced by artists of Malay-Muslim affiliation is constituted by the discourse of the body. This research takes the task of locating this hypothesis in a selection of paintings by these artists. I argue that circumcision, which in Malaysia is understood as the obligatory and identifying mark of the Malay-Muslim (male and female, to varying degrees), is a significant trope underlying the themes of the graphic mark, the body and social power in the production of personal, ethno-religious and national identities.

National culture is deeply rooted in values, which are learned and acquired when we are young (2007, p. 6), and „embedded deeply in everyday life. (Newman & Nollen, 1996, p. 754). Values have helped to shape us into who we are today. In other words, as we grow older, the cultural values we have learned and adapted to will mould our daily practices. This is reflected in our actions, behaviours, and the ways in which we communicate. Based on the previous assertion, it can be suggested that national culture may also influence organisational culture, as our „behaviour at work is a continuation of behaviour learned earlier. (Hofstede, 1991, p. 4). Cultural influence in an organisation could be evidenced by looking at communication practices: how employees interact with one another as they communicate in their daily practices. Earlier studies in organisational communication see communication as the heart of an organisation in which it serves, and as „the essence of organised activity and the basic process out of which all other functions derive. (Bavelas and Barret, cited in Redding, 1985, p. 7). Hence, understanding how culture influences communication will help with understanding organisational behaviour. This study was conducted to look at how culture values, which are referred to as culture dimensions in this thesis, influenced communication practices in an organisation that was going through a change process. A single case study was held in a Malaysian organisation, to investigate how Malaysian culture dimensions of respect, collectivism, and harmony were evidenced in the communication practices. Data was collected from twelve semi-structured interviews and five observation sessions. Guided by six attributes identified in the literature, (1) acknowledging seniority, knowledge and experience, 2) saving face, 3) showing loyalty to organisation and leaders, 4) demonstrating cohesiveness among members, 5) prioritising group interests over personal interests, and 6) avoiding confrontations of Malaysian culture dimensions, this study found eighteen communication practices performed by employees of the organisation. This research contributes to the previous cultural work, especially in the Malaysian context, in which evidence of Malaysian culture dimensions of respect, collectivism, and harmony were displayed in communication practices: 1) acknowledging the status quo, 2) obeying orders and directions, 3) name dropping, 4) keeping silent, 5) avoiding questioning, 6) having separate conversations, 7) adding, not criticising, 8) sugar coating, 9) instilling a sense of belonging, 10) taking sides, 11) cooperating, 12) sacrificing personal interest, 13) protecting identity, 14) negotiating, 15) saying „yes. instead of „no., 16) giving politically correct answers, 17) apologising, and 18) tolerating errors. Insights from this finding will help us to understand the organisational challenges that rely on communication, such as during organisational change. Therefore, data findings will be relevant to practitioners to understand the impact of culture on communication practices across countries.

This dissertation examines the trace of circumcision in modern Malay/sian art. The term ‘Malay/sian’ is used in this dissertation to refer to Malaysians of Malay descent with Islamic affiliation. This research is premised on the hypothesis that the cultural politics that defines the works produced by artists of Malay-Muslim affiliation is constituted by the discourse of the body. This research takes the task of locating this hypothesis in a selection of paintings by these artists. I argue that circumcision, which in Malaysia is understood as the obligatory and identifying mark of the Malay-Muslim (male and female, to varying degrees), is a significant trope underlying the themes of the graphic mark, the body and social power in the production of personal, ethno-religious and national identities.