Shuhaida Md Noor

Knowledge management enablers, knowledge sharing and research collaboration: a study of knowledge management at research universities in Malaysia

Universities need to be aware of the impact of knowledge management (KM) in order to become world-class academic institutions. This research fills an unexplored gap in regards to the impact of KM enablers (i.e. trust, knowledge self-efficacy, reciprocal benefits, top management support, organizational rewards, organizational culture, KM system infrastructure and KM system quality, openness in communication, and face-to-face (F2F) interactive communication) on knowledge sharing (KS) that supports research collaboration by faculty members. No prior research has focused on the impact of KM enablers that influence research university members to share knowledge. A self-administered questionnaire was employed on members of five research universities in Malaysia to collect data; subsequently, 421 usable responses were analysed using partial least squares path modelling. KS by members was influenced by trust, organizational rewards, organizational culture, KM system quality, openness in communication, and F2F interactive communication; in addition, research collaboration was strongly influenced by KS. The KM–KS–collaboration model shows a KM influence of individual–organizational–technological–communication constructs that encourages KS by members to support research collaboration.

Creating Mindful Tourists at Heritage Sites through Tour Guide’s Interpretation: A Case of Georgetown World Heritage Sites

When planned and managed effectively heritage tourism can realize positive impacts but when poorly managed heritage tourism can be devastating and cause damage to resources due to unethical conducts and uncontrolled visitations. Tour guide’s interpretation at heritage sites has been considered to be one of the most important factors in creating mindful tourists and is part of good management practise at sites. In this study, the relationship between three factors of interpretations namely knowledge of audience, knowledge of resources and appropriate techniques, and mindfulness of tourists are investigated. A survey questionnaire was distributed to tourists who were visiting the George Town Heritage Sites in the presence of a tour guide. The findings indicate that knowledge of audience, knowledge of resources and appropriate techniques significantly contribute to creating mindful tourists. Of the three factors, knowledge of resources was found to contribute the highest to tourist’s mindfulness.

Effective interpretation using various media toward mindfulness: a case study of Malacca.

Effective interpretation among visitors to heritage sites contributes towards achieving sustainable tourism. Mindful visitors are more likely to be interested in being educated and learning about a site; therefore, mindfulness can play a key role in the formation of effective interpretations. Diverse media communicates with visitors in different ways and has various effects which can improve mindfulness among heritage site visitors. This study aims to investigate the effects of three different media, namely exhibitions, guided tours (GT) and printed materials (PM) on enhancing mindfulness. A questionnaire was developed and administered to approximately 200 visitors at 6 heritage sites across Malacca City in Malaysia, which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that PM were the most effective medium in improving mindfulness among visitors to the selected heritage sites, followed by exhibitions. The results also indicated that GT did not have any significant effect on improving visitor mindfulness. These findings can assist organisations responsible for the management of heritage sites to improve the mindfulness of visitors by identifying the most efficacious forms of media.

An investigation of the effects of an awareness campaign on young residents’ perceptions: a case study of the Lenggong World Heritage Site

ABSTRACT This paper investigates three issues concerning younger residents of the Lenggong Valley World Heritage Site (WHS) in Malaysia: their perceptions of tourism development, their perceptions and attitudes regarding their contribution to and promotion of the WHS, and the effects of an awareness campaign regarding the benefits of tourism development and WHS recognition on their perceptions. The awareness campaign was based on social exchange theory. A questionnaire was administered to secondary school students in Lenggong before and after the campaign. Responses revealed that younger residents have overall positive perceptions of tourism development and WHS recognition, and that they want to contribute towards promoting and supporting the WHS. Significant pre- and post-campaign differences in perceptions of younger residents demonstrate the importance of awareness regarding the benefits of tourism development and WHS recognition. The findings have implications for key stakeholders in the promotion of sustainable tourism development and conservation programmes in Lenggong.

The Effects of a Campaign on Awareness and Participation Among Local Youth at the Lenggong Valley World Heritage Site, Malaysia

The capacity of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site (WHS) to sustain its designated criteria into the future is a function of how valuable local residents perceive the WHS to be, and how motivated they are to contribute toward efforts to maintain its status. In June 2012, Malaysia’s Lenggong Valley became a WHS. We investigate the effectiveness of a campaign targeting young local residents to increase their awareness of the importance of preserving the heritage of Lenggong. We undertook a questionnaire — designed to assess participants’ awareness of the value of the WHS and their willingness to participate in efforts to maintain the WHS — aimed at students from all three secondary schools in Lenggong before and after the campaign. In all, 175 completed questionnaires were analysed: the data revealed that the campaign had a significant effect on improving participants’ awareness of the value of the WHS and on improving their willingness to participate in WHS conservation activities.