Open University Malaysia

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of two pivotal brand stimulus factors brand personality and brand experience on brand loyalty and brand referral in the Muslim fashion branded garment sector. This study also explores the quasi-moderating roles of brand affection and brand involvement in shaping post-purchase behavioural outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This study used a survey questionnaire distributed offline and online via WhatsApp by using purposive sampling. A total of 252 valid responses were collected from Malaysian consumers who had purchased branded Muslim fashion garments, with the majority being females (69.8%), aged 20–49 years old (91.3%) and bachelor’s degree holders (59.9%). The sample size exceeded the minimum requirement suggested by G*Power analysis. The data were analysed using moderated regression analysis with SPSS version 27. Findings Brand personality positively influences brand loyalty, indicating that human-like brand traits that resonate with consumers’ cultural and religious self-concepts can foster deeper emotional bonds dan sustained loyalty. This highlights the strategic importance of crafting brand identities that reflect modesty, authenticity and self-expression in Muslim fashion. Next, while brand experience positively influenced brand referrals, it unexpectedly reduced brand loyalty, possibly because of heightened customer expectations. Therefore, brands should carefully balance creating memorable, high-impact experiences with setting realistic expectations to preserve loyalty. Both brand affection and brand involvement enhanced brand loyalty and referrals, while also reinforcing the link between brand experience and referral behaviour, signalling that emotional attachment and personal relevance serve as powerful levers for advocacy. Originality/value This study offers a more comprehensive model than previous research by integrating brand personality, experience, affection and involvement to assess their combined effects on post-consumption behaviours. This study offers new theoretical and practical insights, advancing our understanding of consumer–brand dynamics in the Muslim fashion industry.

This article examines how Swapnil Smriti’s poem “Story of Elephant Fig Tree (Kabhra) on Round Platform (Chautari)” employs the Kabhra-Pipal binary to explore plant-human agency. The contrasting symbols of the Kabhra and Pipal trees reflect the socio-political, cultural, religious, and cognitive dimensions of society. The study highlights how Smriti uses these trees to initiate a resistance and a renarrativization movement. The Kabhra tree represents the history, culture, nature, love, communal life, faith, and seasonal markers of the Kirat community in eastern Nepal, while the Pipal tree symbolizes the imperialist, oppressive, and expansionist culture, religion, and politics associated with King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who prioritized territorial expansion over cultural and emotional integration. The paper demonstrates how Smriti boldly challenges marginalized identities, striving to restore the Kirat community's original ethnic identity and advocating for freedom and equity through plant narratives. It argues that the binary sparks a counter-establishment movement, fostering environmental-indigenous citizenship and planting seeds of counter-hegemonic consciousness among culturally displaced groups, particularly the Kirat. To support the claim, the analysis draws on Matthew Hall’s concept of plant agency and Ferdinand de Saussure’s theory of binary opposition. This research offers valuable insights for global movements seeking to revive the politico-cultural identities of ethnic communities through plant-human agency.

Information technology is developing deeply in the field of education. Digital teaching has become an important direction for the reform of English education. The digital teaching ability of English teachers affects classroom efficiency. It concerns students’ learning experience. It also involves educational quality and teachers’ professional development. Refer to relevant research at home and abroad. This article systematically analyzes the connotation, current situation, influencing factors and improvement paths of digital teaching ability of English teachers. The research found that. The digital capabilities of English teachers mainly include technical knowledge, teaching integration ability, digital literacy, and innovative application awareness. Most studies show that. Teachers generally possess certain technical operation capabilities. However, there are still deficiencies in teaching design and innovative application. The key to enhancing the digital teaching ability of English teachers: systematic training, continuous support, and reflective practice. Finally. This article puts forward suggestions. Build a diversified training system. Optimize the school support environment. Strengthen teachers’ awareness of self-growth. These provide references for the digital transformation of English education.

Teacher motivation and satisfaction are commonly acknowledged to be important factors in the improvement of instructional quality and school performance. Yet, there has been scant empirical research exploring how school leadership capacity contributes to these outcomes within culturally distinct school contexts. This article explores the relationships among principal's leadership capacity, teacher motivation and job satisfaction in Tamil national-type primary schools (SJKT) in Malaysia. Utilizing a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, responses were received from 152 teachers through structured questionnaires that assessed perceptions of leadership ability, motivation and satisfaction with job. Variable levels and interrelations were examined using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses. The results reveal that there is a significant and positive relationship between principal leadership capacity and teacher motivation and job satisfaction. Furthermore, teacher motivation is highly associated with job satisfaction, thereby indicating that it does serve as a key relational mechanism between leadership practices and teachers’ professional well-being. The study provides empirical evidence from a less well-researched school setting and demonstrates the importance of leadership capacity in cultivating supportive organizational conditions that serve to increase teacher motivation and satisfaction. Implications for school leader development and policy interventions to enhance teacher well-being and school effectiveness in diverse educational settings are considered.

Penelitian ini membahas mekanisme peralihan penyelesaian sengketa dari arbitrase ke litigasi serta akibat hukumnya melalui studi kasus Putusan Nomor 425 B/Pdt.Sus-Arbt/2016 antara PT Sea World Indonesia dan PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol. Sengketa berawal dari perjanjian Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) yang menimbulkan perbedaan tafsir terkait hak perpanjangan pengelolaan. Hasil pembahasan menunjukkan bahwa peralihan dari arbitrase ke litigasi dimungkinkan apabila terdapat pelanggaran prosedur atau prinsip hukum sebagaimana diatur dalam UU No. 30 Tahun 1999. Akibat hukumnya meliputi hilangnya kekuatan eksekutorial putusan arbitrase dan timbulnya ketidakpastian hukum bagi para pihak.

Personalised learning and adaptive learning are often treated as the same idea in AI-enhanced education, even though they represent different pedagogical purposes. This narrative review examines ten contemporary studies, including work on intelligent tutoring systems, adaptive platforms, multi-agent AI, and human-centred AI frameworks, in order to clarify the distinction between these two concepts. The review shows that personalised learning involves intentional, human-centred customisation based on learner goals, preferences, identity, and context. In contrast, adaptive learning relies on algorithmic, real-time adjustments based on performance data. While AI systems are increasingly sophisticated in adaptivity, they rarely achieve genuine personalisation, often limiting learner agency and overlooking socio-emotional or cultural dimensions. This review also introduces a conceptual model that positions personalisation and adaptivity as related but distinct constructs requiring different pedagogical intentions, data models, and levels of human oversight. Understanding this distinction is essential to prevent misinterpretation, guide responsible AI adoption, and ensure that automation supports rather than replaces human judgement. The paper concludes with recommendations for educators, instructional designers, and AI developers to integrate AI in ways that are transparent, ethical, and centred on meaningful learner autonomy.

Fraudulent financial statements remain a critical challenge to investor confidence and financial market integrity, particularly in emerging economies such as Malaysia. This study examines the relationship between ownership concentration and fraud risk, while analysing the moderating role of board structure. Fraud risk is proxied using the Altman Z-score, which captures financial distress, a common precursor to earnings manipulation. Drawing on agency theory and network perspectives, this study argues that ownership concentration can strengthen monitoring and reduce fraud risk, but its effectiveness may depend on internal governance design, specifically board structure. Using a balanced panel of 578 firms listed on Bursa Malaysia, comprising 2,890 firm-year observations, the study employs panel least squares regression with cross-section and period fixed effects. The findings show that ownership concentration is positively and significantly associated with the Altman Z-score, suggesting that concentrated ownership reduces fraud risk. Board structure also shows a positive and significant relationship with financial health. However, the interaction between ownership concentration and board structure is negative and significant, indicating that large boards weaken the positive monitoring effect of concentrated ownership. These results suggest that while ownership concentration enhances monitoring, excessively large boards can dilute this benefit. The findings contribute to fraud risk and governance research by highlighting the moderating influence of board structure and providing policy insights for regulators and investors to balance ownership control with board efficiency to strengthen financial reporting integrity.

The integration of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools into higher education presents a dual challenge: while offering powerful support for academic tasks, it raises significant concerns about academic integrity.This study provides a comparative analysis of students' awareness, trust, usage patterns, and ethical concerns (ATEU) regarding AI tools for assignment completion across different academic levels.Adopting a quantitative approach, this research utilized a structured survey administered to 508 students at Open University Malaysia, encompassing Diploma (D), Undergraduate (UG), and Postgraduate (PG) programs.Data was collected on the four key dimensions-Awareness, Usage, Trust, and Ethical Concerns-and analyzed using nonparametric statistical tests.The findings reveal statistically significant differences across the academic cohorts.Postgraduate students demonstrated markedly higher levels of AI awareness, greater trust in AI-generated outputs, and more pronounced ethical concerns compared to their undergraduate and diploma counterparts (p < 0.05).Conversely, AI usage patterns for assignment completion showed no significant variation among the groups, suggesting that while adoption is widespread, the depth of understanding and critical perspective differs.The results indicate that the research-intensive nature of postgraduate studies likely cultivates a more sophisticated engagement with AI, fostering both confidence and critical reflection.This study underscores the necessity for higher education institutions to move beyond uniform policies and develop tailored, level-specific AI literacy programs.Interventions should focus on building foundational awareness at the diploma level while addressing nuanced ethical considerations and critical evaluation skills for advanced learners.Such data-driven insights are crucial for creating institutional guidelines that promote the responsible and ethical integration of AI into academic practice.