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The present study aims to develop a model illuminating the relationship between student personality traits and motivation towards learning Mandarin as a foreign language. A model framework consisting of five exogenous variables and one endogenous variable of motivation are examined in the present study. Sample of 260 undergraduates taking Mandarin language at public university in East Malaysia was used as respondents for the present work. The path analysis revealed that the big five personality traits significantly influence and explained 52% of the variance in students' motivation. The analysis further indicates that extraversion and conscientiousness produce the strongest correlation with students' motivation. The results inferred that students who enjoy social visibility and self-discipline are also who will be motivated to learn the Mandarin language. Findings also demonstrated that agreeableness positively influence motivation, and neuroticism, as expected, produce negative direct relations with motivation towards learning Mandarin as a foreign language. On the contrary, the present study did not find any correlation between openness and motivation. The implications of this study are also discussed and interpreted within the context of what educators could do to encourage students' motivation.

The experimental investigation of the performance of hydrophobic-treated recycled paper mill sludge (RPMS) incorporated into asphalt mixtures is presented in this paper. This research implements RPMS as a solid waste additive to partially replace the mineral filler in the asphalt mixture while practicing green asphalt technology. The raw RPMS required mechanical pre-treatments and its hydrophilic property was modified chemically. The hydrophobicity was assessed by Hydrophilic Coefficient, Water Contact Angle (WCA) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The ethanol method, which involved the esterification of ethyl esters that utilized 7ml of waste cooking oil (WCO) and 50ml of ethanol, was adopted. In the Marshall mix design, RPMS was incorporated at 0.5% and 1.0% of the weight of aggregates. Conventional 60/70 PEN bitumen and granite aggregates were used. The optimum binder content (OBC) was evaluated and justified by its adsorption strength. The mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures were determined and compared with the Public Work Department (PWD) specifications. All the volumetric properties satisfied the standard specification by PWD for 0.5% modified RPMS asphalt mixture, and thus it is preferable as it also involved lower binder cost due to the lower OBC achieved.

Financial technology (Fintech), characterized as technology-driven financial innovation, has catalyzed significant economic growth across various nations. The Fintech sector has experienced remarkable expansion, boasting vast user numbers. While regions like the United States and China have seen accelerated Fintech development, other areas like Western Europe, Eastern Asia, and the Middle East continue their evolutionary journey with this technology. Our research offers a systematic review of contemporary literature, probing the crucial Fintech metrics affecting bank profitability and identifying the primary factors influencing these profits. This review introduces a holistic methodology for quantitatively assessing the evolving Fintech measures and their interplay with determinants of bank profitability. According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, our study evaluates 28 articles from Web of Science and Scopus databases from August 2019 to August 2023. Findings delineate two principal themes: Fintech measures at both bank and country levels and determinants of profitability, encompassing bank-specific and country-specific variables. We utilize the Theories, Constructs, Contexts, and Methods framework to chart the course for future research. Our insights bear significance for theoretical progression and practical implementation, offering academics, banking professionals, and policymakers a nuanced comprehension of the nexus between Fintech and bank profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the factors affecting the internet giving behaviour among young graduates in Malaysia. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was employed as a baseline theory to examine the effects of altruism, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. The analysis was based on 230 respondents surveyed and the results showed that all factors examined were instrumental in determining the internet giving behaviour. The study contributions are narrowed to the variables studied, specific geographical location and the context as well. The results provide valuable insights for university management to better plan charitable contributions drawn from the platform of internet giving. Similarly, the results help to improve the role of bank managers to stimulate internet banking use among young graduates for charitable giving purposes. This study extends the TPB’s applicability to include internet giving behaviour in a Malaysian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates gold as a hedge or a safe haven against inflation in four countries. We propose two standard and quantile techniques in the volatility models, with a time-varying conditional variance of regression residuals based on TGARCH specifications. Gold exhibits considerable evidence of a strong hedge in the US and China. Nevertheless, gold provides shelter at different times and not consistently across countries. With regards to be a safe haven, gold retains its status as a key investment in China. On the other hand, gold only plays a minor role in the UK and India. These findings indicate that gold can secure Chinese investment during the high inflationary periods, while gold is a profitable asset to hold over a long period of time in the US. In contrast, UK and Indian investors should hold a well-diversified portfolio for sustainable return and protection from purchasing power loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined the potential for diversifying Malaysian Islamic and conventional stock indexes with other commodities, such as crude oil, Bitcoin, and gold, with time-varying differences or investors' varied investment horizons, which researchers had previously overlooked. Methods like the Multivariate GARCH-Dynamic Conditional Correlation (MGARCH-DCC) and the continuous wavelet transformation (CWT) were employed since they are time-varying and time scale-dependent. Crude oil, Bitcoin, and gold are shown to be leading the stock indices in our vector error correction model (VECM) analysis, implying that changes in the price of these commodities influence the stock indices. The findings also indicate that investors exposed to Malaysian stock indexes and investing in Bitcoin may benefit from significant diversification advantages across almost all investment horizons. However, the MGARCH-DCC result shows that Bitcoin is highly unpredictable. As a precaution, Malaysian investors should choose gold as a diversification instrument which is more stable. The wavelet model demonstrates that investors in Malaysia's Islamic and conventional indices may benefit from the gold holding for durations ranging from 1 to 64 days and 128 days beyond. The findings highlight the importance of using contemporary techniques to identify diversification opportunities for investors with varied investment horizons or holding stocks for various times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the characteristics of gold as a diversifier, a hedge or a safe haven against the stock market collapse in five countries. We propose the standard and quantile techniques in the volatility models, with the time-varying conditional variance of the regression residuals based on the TGARCH specifications. Gold exhibits considerable evidence of the strong hedge in India and the US and diversified role in China. With regards to its role as a safe haven, gold retains its status as a key investment particularly in a country where gold has a preeminent cultural role, i.e., India, as well as in the US and the UK. On the contrary, gold only plays a minor role in emerging markets like in Malaysia. Therefore, investors in India and the US can use gold to protect against losses in the stock market at all times, whereas in the UK, gold is only viewed as a profitable asset to own during the stock market collapse. Contrariwise, Chinese investors should hold a well-diversified portfolio to earn sustainable returns and offer protection against the stock market collapse. We conclude that the recent worldwide financial crises have increased the investment demand for gold over the last 17 years at least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]