Purpose-The high unemployment rates among persons with disabilities (PWDs) is nothing new. Many people fail to recognize that the disabled population is a significant but largely untapped source of human resources. Prejudices and misconceptions about PWDs' ability to perform and compete in the open market are likely to be the cause. While the topic of PWDs' employment has been substantially studied, no known research has explored the applicability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the context of hiring PWDs. In addressing the research gap, this paper details a preliminary study which examined the influence of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on managerial intention to hire Malaysians with disabilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

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Employers’ negative attitudes and unfounded concerns about hiring disabled workers are contributing factors to high unemployment rates among the disabled population. Employers view disabled workers are unproductive and consider as liabilities to their companies. The negative perceptions among employers explain why those persons with disabilities (PWDs) are likely not hired by companies in Malaysia although they have sufficient qualifications for the jobs offered. In particular, hiring PWDs is a missing dimension in the employment context in Malaysia. Employers are viewed to practice discrimination in developing their employment policy for those PWDs even those PWDs are significant to their companies’ performance. Hence, employers’ unwillingness to hire PWDs contributes to the untapped pool of labor, leading to high unemployment rates among PWDs. Within a modified theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework, this paper is aimed at validating the claim that employer attitudes towards persons with disabilities (PWDs) are significantly relevant as they can either positively or negatively influence intention to hire the Malaysians with disabilities. The TPB provides the theoretical foundation for the current study. Data were obtained using a survey which garnered the participation of 200 employers in East Malaysia. The modified TPB model was examined using partial least squares (PLS) method. The PLS is chosen because of two main reasons. Firstly, the PLS requires minimal demand on the residual distribution, measurement scales and sample size. Secondly, the PLS is easily conducted using two stages, namely, measurement model and structural analysis. Using PLS, the current study finds that all constructs’ items are valid, reliable and suitable in the current context. At the structural level, this study discovers significant effects of subjective norm and perceived behavioral control on attitudes. Attitudes, in turn, influence intention to hire. Our results suggest that the TPB constructs are adequate to explain the hiring Malaysians with disabilities in the context of Malaysia. Notably, attitudes mediate the relationships between the independent variables (i.e., subjective norm and perceived behavioral control) and the dependent variable (i.e., intention to hire). Considering attitudes as a mediator in the current context provides further refinement to the TPB. In all, the results indicate that all the hypothesized relationship in the core model was confirmed. The results provide valuable insights, which may help, increase PWDs’ employment by addressing negative managerial attitudes towards PWDs. This study offers guidelines on the formation of pro-hiring attitudes towards PWDs and the significance of subjective norm as an attitude-shaping mechanism.

<p>Nowadays, the internet has become an essential part of daily life for most young adult. They mainly use it for <em>education, information searching, entertainment</em>, mail and social interaction purposes. However, extensive use of internet can lead to addiction. This paper presents some preliminary findings on internet use and addiction among Malaysian undergraduate students. A survey questionnaire was used to obtain data from 287 respondents who were business, information technology, and arts majors in four public universities in Sabah and Sarawak, East Malaysia. The findings revealed that facebooking/social networking was the most common internet activity among the respondents, whereas online shopping was the least common activity for them. The study also found that while the majority of the respondents spent a considerable amount of time on the internet, they did not qualify to be regarded as internet addicts. There was evidence of moderate gender effect in terms of internet addiction scores but not with regard to internet experience, frequency, and duration. On the whole, the findings are mixed, suggesting that internet use and addiction among Malaysian university students remains a topic worthy of further investigation. </p>

Article HistoryNumerous reforms in the Malaysian academia in recent years have resulted in academic work intensification which produces work-life balance and turnover intention in the higher education sector. This effect, however, has received limited research. This study aims to examine the relationships between work intensification, work-life balance and turnover intention among academics in Malaysian universities using the theory of Job Demand-Resources. The mediating effect of work-life balance on the relationship between work intensification and turnover intention was also explored. Data were collected through a survey from 190 respondents in public and private universities in Malaysia. As hypothesized, the PLS-SEM results revealed that the path relationships among the constructs were in the expected directions. Work intensification and turnover intention were found to be positively related, whereas work intensification and work-life balance were negatively related. In addition, work-life balance was negatively associated with turnover intention and it partially mediated the relationship between work intensification and turnover intention. Several important implications of the study findings for future research and practice were also discussed Contribution/ Originality: Malaysian academics have experienced work intensification due to various work reforms. Using the JDR framework, this study examines the effects of work intensification on the academics' worklife balance perceptions and turnover intention. The findings confirm the JDR theory that achieving work-life balance is instrumental in decreasing academics' turnover intention.