BUKU ABSTRAK - Universiti Putra Malaysia

Social Sciences
Understanding Psychosocial Behavioural Patterns: Factors and Problems in
School to University Transition
Prof. Dr. Habibah Elias
Rahil Mahyuddin and Nooreen Noordin
Faculty of Educational Studies, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 8208; hbe@educ.upm.edu
Psychosocial profiling can help deduce an individual’s profile. It can include various behaviours, preferences,
personal traits and special talents. Profiles deduced from background information have the potential to surpass
conventional psychological testing methods as they consider more factors than what people say. Based on this
premise, this study aims to identify levels of achievement motivation, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and
self-efficacy among students in local and private universities. The study examines the number of items that
reflects Malaysian university students’ behaviour profile based on psychosocial variables such as adjustment,
self-efficacy, achievement motivation, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and academic adjustment. By looking
for patterns in the available data and inferring possible outcomes, educators and the authorities concerned will
be able to determine the relationship between the psychosocial variables mentioned with university students’
academic achievement. In addition, findings of the study will help to determine the relationship between the
psychosocial variables mentioned with university students’ level of adjustment. The implications are discussed in
terms of teaching and learning in tertiary education.
Keywords: Psychosocial profile, achievement motivation, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, academic
achievement, adjustment
Complexity Advantage of MSC Malaysia for Transformation
Prof. Dr. Han Chun Kwong
Faculty of Economics and Management, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8946 7717; han@putra.upm.edu.my
The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC Malaysia) has been the key engine for knowledge and information
communications technology (K+ICT) development in Malaysia. Given the increasingly dynamic and complex
national and international environment which the MSC Malaysia has been undergoing, major changes to its
approaches, policies and practices have occurred over the past decade. Academicians, consultants and the press
have been advocating and debating about the impacts and contributions of the national project. But what is
required is a more sophisticated lens for seeing and explaining what had happened and prescribing positively
what should happen. We apply a combination of concepts from complexity, critical and structuration theories, to
provide a better description of the complex organisational, social and technological realities of the MSC Malaysia.
Next, we develop critical accounts on policy and practice. Finally we elucidate on the potential to inform and
improve practice, and conclude positively that the MSC Malaysia and the government could apply and fruitfully
translate the complexity advantage to greatly enhance the next level of successes and impacts of MSC Malaysia
in driving the transformation to a developed nation.
Keywords: Complexity theory, information communications technology, knowledge for understanding and action, critical
theory, structuration theory
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