The COVID-19 pandemic has had a remarkable economic impact worldwide, including in Pakistan, and was soon declared an international public health issue. The education sector in Pakistan, specifically school (K-12) education, has seen a staggering impact due to obstacles in delivering alternative forms of education during the pandemic. Educational institutions in Pakistan closed on March 13, 2020, and then, on April 13, 2020, the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, announced the launch of a “tele-schooling” initiative. Teaching staff, who are arguably the most vital resource in any schooling system, faced considerable physical, mental, and financial challenges due to an overnight shift to an online mode of teaching, with issues concerning inadequate digital pedagogical knowledge and infrastructure limitations relating mostly to power connectivity. The current study investigated the perception of Pakistani school teachers regarding their online teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the study, a qualitative research strategy was adopted, with semi-structured interviews conducted via Skype with 10 school teachers from Pakistan’s renowned Army Public School and College System (APSACS) schools located in the Rawalpindi and Islamabad regions of the country. Saldana’s (2016) structured inductive data analysis method was used in analyzing the collected data. The study’s results highlighted the issues and challenges confronted by school teachers in delivering online lessons via Google Classroom, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams such as high-cost Internet packages, uncooperative learners, low attendance of learners, teachers’ technology confidence, limited availability of educational resources, lack of ICT knowledge, and poor network infrastructure. However, the creativity, dedication, and community spirit which the school teachers demonstrated in working with very limited facilities were exemplary. Hence, based on the study’s findings, changes were proposed as a way forward. It is hoped that the study’s findings will help policymakers and the Ministry of Education in Pakistan to focus more on human capital development, interpersonal development, communication and technology management training, and support programs, especially for school teachers as the foundation of the next and future generations.

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Malaysia is a developing country and a drastic increase in the elderly population is recorded from the year 2005, ageing population age 60 and above recorded as 7 %, which is predicted to be doubled to 14 % until the year 2028. Thus, the ageing care industry in Malaysia needs to grow for healthy ageing. The growth of the ageing care industry will help the government to control the issues, especially in elderly care service and residency. Malaysia is still young in elderly care as compared to older countries. There are 365 registered ageing care centres, and women run very few of them. However, women personality attributes such as soft nature, politeness, care, patience fit to the requirement of the ageing care industry. Among Malaysian women, entrepreneurship is on the rise due to governmental support, whereas; women entrepreneurship in the service industry is limited. However, women entry in the ageing care industry will open new avenues to cater to the demand of the ageing population and help to control the issues of the older population. The service industry also carries immense potential for women entrepreneurship. This study is conducted to understand the entrepreneurial opportunities for women in the ageing care industry. The study adopts the qualitative research strategy and focus group conducted with ten women entrepreneurs in the ageing care industry and five experts. The results highlight that initiative should take for the promotion and encouragement of women entry in the ageing care industry. The study recommends the validation and promotion of Malaysian women entrepreneurial activities in the ageing care industry. Keywords: entrepreneurship, women, ageing, industry, opportunities

An ageing population is a global problem, and it affects all aspects of life. Globally, a drastic increase in the elderly population has been recorded, which is almost three times from the year 1980 (259 million) to 2025 (761 million). Similar trend also takes place in Malaysia, even though Malaysia is categorized as a developing country. Its population census reported an intense increase in ageing population from the year 2005 (7%), which is expected to be double (14%) by the year 2028. In addition, women comprise about half of the population in Malaysia. Thus, the Malaysian Government has acknowledged the importance of women entrepreneurs in the country’s economic growth. The report estimates that 20% of the entire registered business in Malaysia run by women, and about 650,000 women are engaged in various business activities. Currently, there are about 365 ageing care centres in Malaysia, and women entrepreneurs run a few of them, as sole ownership or partnership. The Malaysian Government is gradually facing the worrisome situation of dealing with the ageing population, as until the year 2030, Malaysia will be in the line of ageing group countries. Due to ageing population importance, this study inquires the situation of Malaysian women as ageing care centre entrepreneur, and ageing population issues in Malaysia. To gather the information, the qualitative research strategy, and semi-structured interviews technique was chosen for data collection. The target population of this study are five women entrepreneurs of ageing care centres in Malaysia. The findings highlight the social problems of elderly and difficulties of Malaysian women entrepreneur in care centre business such as funding, licensing issues, less technology, staff retention, and lack of trained staff. The results show that successful entry of womenfolk in ageing care centres business will bring significant social change and will help the government to overcome the challenge of the ageing population. This study will help the policymakers to formulate strategies for women entrepreneurship in Malaysia, especially the care centres entrepreneurs. Hence, the women can act as a silver bullet to subside the ageing tsunami that will crash Malaysians’ social life comfort.

The aging population has become a significant concern in many countries, including Malaysia. As a developing country, Malaysia is still struggling to provide better care for the elderly segment, which is increasing in number and demands distinctive attention, care, and treatment from both family and society. This study aims to examine the relationship between Perception of Health and Happiness, Behavioral Attitude, Health Promotion, and Education, Quality Care, Proactive Environment, and Elderly Care Services in Aging care centers in Malaysia. A probability simple random sampling technique was utilized in distributing a survey-based questionnaire, and 328 responses were collected from entrepreneurs of both registered and non-registered aging care centers. The research model was assessed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling. The remarkable results of the research are: (1) Perception of Health and Happiness do not affect Quality Care and Proactive Environment. (2) Behavioral Attitude, Health Promotion, and Education significantly affect the quality care and Proactive Environment. (3) Quality Care and Proactive Environment significantly mediate the relationship between Behavioral Attitudes, Health Promotion, and Education. (4) Quality Care insignificantly mediates the relationship between Proactive Environment and Perception of Health and Happiness. The findings revealed that Behavioral Attitude, Health Promotion, and Education have a significant effect. Hence, the present study should further be strengthened to enhance the aging care of elderly care center services for the betterment of elderly care centers, especially those that are operated by entrepreneurs. The implication of the study is discussed in the paper.

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Purpose Malaysia is considered to be a relatively young country as compared to other older countries such as Japan, China and Australia in terms of the ageing population. However, until 2035, Malaysia will be in the ageing group countries as 15% of the entire population will be above 60 years of age. This situation is quite alarming as more and more ageing care centres will be required to fulfill the ongoing demands of the ageing population. The elderly care centres in Malaysia are categorised as public (sponsored by the government), private, and charity based that comes under religious centres. Currently, there are about 365 registered elderly care centres working in the main states of Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, two states of the East Malaysia. Due to the importance of ageing population issues, the present study is conducted to explore the demographics facet of Malaysian’s elderly care centres. The main reason behind that lies on the fact that many of these centres are still labelled as being not well equipped and lacking behind in trained staff, equipment and also suffering from severe financial constraints but some still capable of working on a sustainability basis. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative Research Strategy has been adopted, and 28 centres throughout Malaysia are included in this study. About 18 Operators from different centres and 15 caregivers were interviewed to get the holistic view of ageing care and facilities in their respective centres. Findings The results highlight that the majority of centres are not receiving any financial help from the government, and few centres are doing small business such as supplying consumable medical and non-medical items and providing renting and rehabilitation centres facilities to sustain. The caregivers are facing issues such as excess workload, less salary, peer conflicts and non-cooperative centre leadership. Originality/value The present study may help to provide useful information to the policymakers, which enables them to formulate the strategies for ageing care centres in Malaysia. As this study provides insight of components that have an impact on the overall wellbeing of elderly care centres, hence, it could help the care services providers to act as a rising star for Malaysian’s social life comfort.

IJBG proposes and fosters discussion on various aspects of business and globalisation, including the physical environment and poverty. Objectives: The objectives of IJBG are to establish an effective channel of communication between policy makers, government agencies, academic and research institutions and persons concerned with the complex role of business and globalisation. The international dimension is emphasised in order to overcome cultural and national barriers and to meet the needs of accelerating technological and ecological change and changes in the global economy. Readership: IJBG provides a vehicle to help academics, researchers, policy makers, managers and entrepreneurs, working in business, to disseminate information and to learn from each other's work. Contents: IJBG publishes original empirical research, conceptual papers, and book reviews.