Background: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all courses taught in Malaysian schools and universities were conducted entirely virtually, after a movement control order was imposed in Malaysian on 18th March 2020. According to the research by Offir et al., (2007), extroversion-introversion (E-I) personalities have been shown to influence students’ involvement in class, their learning style and their understanding of the course materials. The purpose of this research was to explore how extrovert and introvert personality traits influence the acceptance of virtual learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A case study was conducted, focusing on a group of students taught by one of the researchers in our research team, HR. A total of 31 Diploma students (13 first year students and 18 second year students) taking Grooming and Professional Etiquette  at  Multimedia University, Malaysia (MMU) participated in the study. Open-ended questions were used to learn about the personality of each participant, as well as to provide a better understanding on how the opposing personas differs in their experiences with virtual learning. Results: Our results showed that 54.83% (17) of the students were introverts, 29.03 % (9) were extroverts, and 16.1% (5) were private-public-introvert-extroverts (PPIEs). The results for the acceptance level of virtual learning varied based on the different personality types. Results showed the extroverts expressed that the virtual learning experience was unpleasant, while the introverts and the PPIEs found virtual learning a useful and pleasant experience. Conclusion: This study was mainly descriptive, with open-ended questions used to gain insight on how different personality types differ in their acceptance of fully virtual learning. In future studies, inferential analysis could be carried out to test the hypotheses and assumptions. Future studies could also compare and contrast both students and lecturers’ acceptance of, and engagement in, online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced most classes at the tertiary education level to be held online or in a digital mode. This study investigates Multimedia University (MMU) students’ attitudes and coping strategies in relation to online learning classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis among students at the MMU campus in Malaysia. Student respondents were chosen using simple random sampling. They answered online surveys developed through Google forms with an appended consent form. Two questions were developed inquiring about students' acceptance of online learning courses to gauge their attitudes. The coping strategies questions were adapted from the Brief-COPE questionnaire with 28 items. There are 14 strategies in the Brief-COPE: self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, emotional support, instrumental support, behavioural disengagement, venting, positive reframing, planning, humour, acceptance, religion, and self-blame. We hypothesised that there would be a significant correlation between attitudes and coping strategies among MMU students taking online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Results: 8 out of 14 coping strategies were significantly correlated with students’ attitudes towards online learning. The study showed that those students with a positive or accepting attitude towards online learning were more likely to use positive coping strategies. Those students with negative, less accepting attitudes towards online learning seemed to use more negative coping strategies.   Conclusion: The study focuses on students studying at MMU. Therefore, the outcome cannot be generalised for all university students in Malaysia. The primary goal of the study was to investigate the attitudes and coping strategies of Multimedia University students when confronted with the unexpected outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the study may assist MMU in understanding student behaviour and developing strategies to assist the students.

The study seeks to discover the concurrent mediating effect of self-esteem and social support between personality traits and life satisfaction. A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was performed to determine the model of relationship on personality, social support, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) has achieved the fitness index requirement on the measurement model. The results show that Personality significantly affects Life Satisfaction. The result for Social Support shows it was partially mediated the relationship between Personality and Life Satisfaction. The result also shows that Self-Esteem partially mediates the relationship between Personality and Life Satisfaction. By understanding their life satisfaction; it can forecast and promote longevity, survival and suicide risk prevention; it may accordingly promote good health and greater academic success among the students. In turn, it contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the area of SWB, specifically the life satisfaction among students in Malaysians universities. The administrator, academicians, counsellors, and parents are the group of people that benefit a lot on the outcome of this study.

As technology progresses in education, 21st-century educators need to use impactful instructional methods to ensure that the focus of education is on preparing today's children for the future. However, the biggest challenge for most lecturers in Multimedia University is teaching the non-graded subjects (pass or fail in nature). Since the subjects do not affect the CGPA, students were found not being serious or showing interest in the class. Consequently, it affects the learning outcome of the subject and also the psychosocial and moral of the students and lecturers. Therefore, action research using the Scaffolding method with a group of lecturers teaching non-graded subjects to see the effectiveness and impact on student’s learning. Grooming and Professional Etiquette subjects were chosen to be the focus of this study. The lecturers applied the new role of teachers in education using the scaffolding teaching method. Students were given tasks to organize a grooming and professional etiquette program while they showed groomed behavior.  There were lectures and small discussions in the class before the event. There were peer discussion and collaboration before and during the event with minimum supervision from the lecturers. Survey questionnaires were distributed to the students at the end of the event/class for the particular semester. The results showed that this approach managed to boost up students’ grooming and professional etiquette as well as their class participation. They enjoyed the activities, more attentive, and confident when experiencing the task themselves rather than listening to lectures and watching videos in the class.   Keywords: Education, Professional etiquette, Scaffolding, Teaching strategies

ABSTRAKPeristiwa komunikatif wawancara merupakan suatu peristiwa dua hala yang bersifat interaktif. Dalam peristiwa komunikatif wawancara, pola komunikasi yang diujarkan melalui lakuan bahasa tertentu memberi makna mengikut maksud ujaran daripada pemeran. Komunikasi berkesan dapat mengungkap persoalan siapa, bila, bagaimana, dan apa yang dapat menjelaskan segala keraguan dalam sesuatu pola komunikasi. Ini secara tidak langsung menyentuh kepada penelitian terhadap komponen dalam peraturan interaksi. Justeru, persoalan tentang etiket bahasa perlu diberi penekanan, kerana etiket bahasa memberi perhatian kepada cara-cara bahasa diungkapkan, berteraskan peraturan sosial dan budaya komuniti penuturnya. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk menghuraikan dan menjelaskan peraturan interaksi melalui pola komunikasi yang diujarkan oleh pemeran dalam peristiwa komunikatif. Tumpuan kajian adalah terhadap wawancara dalam akhbar Mingguan Malaysia dan Utusan Malaysia dengan memberi penelitian terhadap peraturan interaksi yang terdapat dalam peristiwa komunikatif wawancara akhbar. Analisis data dilakukan dengan mengikut pendekatan etnografi komunikasi, dengan memberi tumpuan hanya kepada satu komponen, iaitu komponen norma interaksi. Berdasarkan kajian peristiwa komunikatif wawancara dalam akhbar ini didapati peraturan interaksi melalui penggunaan bahasa lisan dalam suasana formal dapat menyumbang kepada keberkesanan komunikasi dalam suatu hubungan sosial yang diseimbangkan dengan pemahaman terhadap latar budaya pemeran. Ini menjelaskan bahawa etiket bahasa amat dititiberatkan dalam mencapai matlamat suatu perbincangan yang interaktif. Kebijaksanaan pemeran dalam mematuhi peraturan interaksi yang menjadi nilai tradisi suatu komuniti dapat dimanfaatkan untuk memastikan komunikasi berkesan dicapai. Bahkan dalam suatu perbincangan interaktif kematangan setiap pemeran memberi hujah dapat dinilai daripada kemampuan pemeran memahami budaya yang melatari komuniti tertentu.Kata Kunci: peristiwa komunikatif; pola komunikasi; peraturan interaksi; etiket bahasa; hubungan sosial