SUNWAY ACADEMIC JOURNAL

KDN No. PP 14193/6/2006

(Formerly known as Sunway College Journal)

Volume 2 ISSN 1823-500X 2005

Note from the Editor-in-Chief iii

A Comparison of Forecasting Models for ASEAN Equity Markets 1
Wong Yoke Chen & Kok Kim Lian
Export-led Growth Hypothesis in Malaysia: An Investigation Using Bounds 13
Test
Choong Chee Keong, Zulkornain Yusop & Venus Liew Khim Sen
The Effects of the Interaction of Technology, Structure, and Organizational 23
Climate on Job Satisfaction
Ibrahim Ali & Juhary Haji Ali
In Electronic Education, Does Total Quality Exist in the Experiences of the 33
Customer Rather Than the Aspirations of the Supplier?
Ratna Malar Selvaratnam
The Effects of Mobile Devices and Wireless Technology on E-Learning 45
B. Sasidhar & B. V. Durga Kumar
Issues in E-Learning Standards 55
Kanendran T. A., Johnny Savarimuthu & B. V. Durga Kumar
Simulation of Implant Fitting in the Femur Bone 67
Mangalam Sankupellay, Selvanathan N. & Nadia Mohd. Ismail
Search of Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Images Using Active Shape Model 77
Jayanthy Maniam & Selvanathan N.
The Effects of Owning a Pet on Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy of 85
Malaysian Pet Owners
Cheong Sau Kuan, Teoh Hsien-Jin & Ng Lai Oon
English Language Use among EFL Learners in Sunway University College 93
Juliana Othman
Comment
Are Malaysian Exports and Imports Cointegrated? A Comment 101
Tang Tuck Cheong
 iii

Note from the Editor-in-Chief

The publication of Volume 2 of Sunway Academic Journal (formerly known as Sunway

College Journal) represents a step in the journal’s quest of becoming a highly recognized
forum for academic discourse. This pursuit is in line with the change of status from Sunway
College to Sunway University College, the publisher of the journal.

The Sunway Academic Journal is a multidisciplinary journal. The current volume contains
eleven articles covering topics from economics to computer technology to psychology and
language learning.

The first paper is by Wong and Kok. Comparing six models for forecasting the performance
of six ASEAN equity markets before, during and after the Asian financial crisis, the authors
discuss the efficacy of different models for forecasting performance at different stages of the
crisis.

Next, Choong, Zulkornain Yusop and Liew use a comprehensive sample period and the
bounds testing approach to examine the validity of the export-led growth hypothesis in the
Malaysian economy. They observed a cointegrated relationship between exports and
economic growth in the short- and long-run, which provides support for the export-led
growth hypothesis in the Malaysian economy.

Ibrahim and Juhary examined employees’ job satisfaction in relation to the effects of
technology, structure and organizational climate in power-generation plants. Based on their
survey of 345 respondents, they found several significant correlations among the three
organizational contexts and with job satisfaction. They suggest that managers take into
account the role of organizational climate to improve the performance of their organizations.

Ratna raises the question as to whether total quality exists in the experiences of the
customers rather than the aspirations of the supplier, particularly in the context of e-
education. She points out that universities need to transform for successful implementation
of total quality management programmes.

The next four articles explore the role of technology in e-learning and medical fields.

Sasidhar and Durga Kumar found that wireless technology and mobile devices were
positively correlated with effectiveness of e-learning, while Kanendran, Johnny
Savarimuthu and Durga Kumar provide guidelines for choosing appropriate standards for e-
learning applications.

Mangalam Sankupellay, Selvanathan and Nadia Mohd. Ismail discuss the application of
technology in the field of medicine. They describe their work on computer-simulated femur
bone implant fitting surgery. They note that their procedure can lead to better fitting, hence,
reducing the cost of surgery and length of hospital stay.
iv

Jayanthy Maniam and Selvanathan discuss the approach of segmenting the dynamic
magnetic resonance (MR) images of the heart stored in a database. They suggest that the
approach can be used to study the MR images of other dynamic organs.

In the next paper, Cheong, Teoh and Ng look at the effect of owning a pet on the self-esteem
and self-efficacy of pet owners. While the results showed no significant differences between
pet owners and non-pet owners, it was found that higher self-esteem was predictive of
higher self-efficacy.

Juliana provides empirical data showing students regard speaking and writing in English as
the most important language skills that they would like to master. Hence, the author
suggests that emphasis should be given to these skills in the curriculum.

In his comment, Tang presents an empirical illustration with findings that are contrary to
those provided in a study by Choong, Soo and Zulkornain Yusop. The author concludes
with suggestions of more powerful techniques to test cointegration between Malaysian
exports and imports.

The publication of this volume was made possible by the support of various individuals.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Lee Weng Keng, CEO, Education and
Healthcare Division, Sunway Group; Ms. Elizabeth Lee, the Executive Director; Professor
Jarlath Ronayne, the Director; Dr. Leong Yin Ching, the Director of Academic Affairs; and
Dr. Khatijah Khalid, the Registrar, Sunway University College, for their continued
encouragement and guidance.

I also wish to thank the contributors of the articles and the associate editors for the excellent
work that they have done.

My sincere appreciation goes to the members of the Editorial Board for the effort they put in
to make the journal a success. It has been a learning and an enjoyable experience working
with them.

Finally, I would like to thank the School of Computer Technology for partially financing the
publication of this journal.

Thank you again.

Dr. Maznah Ismail

Editor-in-Chief
Sunway Academic Journal
 ADVISORY BOARD
Ms. Elizabeth Lee
Executive Director, Sunway University College
Professor Jarlath Ronayne
Director, Sunway University College
Dr. Leong Yin Ching
Director of Academic Affairs, Sunway University College
Dr. Khatijah Khalid
Registrar, Sunway University College

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Dr. Maznah Ismail

EDITORIAL BOARD
Mr. Nicholas Lum
Dr. Cheam Toon Chee
Dr. Anindita Dasgupta
Dr. M. V. N. Sankaram
Dr. Uthaya Kumari
Mr. Peter Pang
Ms. Santhi Suppiah
Mr. Sudesh Nicholas
Mr. Johnny Y. Savarimuthu
Ms. Vanitha Satchithanadan
Ms. Wong Yoke Chen

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Professor Dr. Kok Kim Lian, University of Malaya
Professor Dr. Lindsay W. Turner, Victoria University, Australia
Professor Dr. Mohammad Haji Alias, Islamic University College, Malaysia
Professor Dr. Peter Charles Woods, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Professor Dr. Zainab Awang Ngah, University of Malaya
Associate Professor Dr. Abdullah Zawawi Hj. Talib, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Associate Professor Dr. Foo Say Wei, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Associate Professor Dr. Khatijah Zon, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Associate Professor Dr. Mildred Nalliah, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Associate Professor Dr. Olga Sourina, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Associate Professor Dr. Yoong Suan, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Associate Professor Dr. Zainal Ariffin Ahmad, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Associate Professor Dr. Zaitun Abu Bakar, University of Malaya
Dr. Divisekara Sarath, Victoria University, Australia
Dr. Mohd. Azman Idris, SIRIM, Malaysia
Dr. Toh Seong Chong, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Dr. Velappa Ganapathy, Monash University Malaysia
Dr. Wan Sabri Wan Hussin, University of Malaya
Ms. Yazilmiwati Yaacob, Sunway University College
Mr. Zain Augustin, Sunway University College
AIMS AND SCOPE

The Sunway Academic Journal provides a forum for educators and researchers to
discuss issues, exchange ideas, disseminate and share research findings related to
their areas of specialization.

The Journal publishes refereed and invited articles related to any of the following
categories:

• Research-based articles
• Issues-oriented articles
• Reviews of printed and non-printed materials

The Journal is an annual publication. Contributors should refer to the Information

For Authors when preparing their manuscripts. It is the responsibility of the
contributors to obtain permission from authors for data or quotations attributed to
the latter. Views expressed in the articles are the sole responsibility of the
contributors.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, the contributor will be required to transfer copyright

of the article to the Publisher.

Copyright © 2005 by Sunway University College. All rights reserved. No part of

this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise,
without the permission of the publisher.
 INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

Format
Manuscripts of papers should not exceed 15 pages inclusive of tables, charts, diagrams and references, and
should be printed single-spaced in Times New Roman on A4 paper. The text area should be B5 (JIS) size (7.17 ×
10.12 inches), with 1-inch top and bottom margins, and 0.75-inch left and right margins. Microsoft Word format
is preferred. Please refer to the American Psychological Association (APA) publication manual for instructions
on manuscript preparation. The decision of the Editorial Board is final.
Title
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required, single-spacing should be used. Leave two blank lines (font size 11) after the title, then type the name(s)
of the author(s) in capital letters using font size 12. Immediately below, the affiliated institution(s) and
address(es) should be given, single-spaced, font size 11, capitalizing the first letter of all main words. An address
of correspondence with telephone, fax numbers and e-mail address should be given.
Abstract and key words
Leave two blank lines (font size 11) after the address(es). Then type the word ABSTRACT capitalized, font size
9, centered and bold. The abstract (font size 9, nonbold, fully justified) should be factual and contain the main
results and conclusions of the paper. It should not exceed about 150 words. Up to six key words (font size 9)
may be included in a separate line below the abstract.
Text
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heading. Text should be clear and concise. Use font size 11 throughout for text and blank lines. Section headings
(left-aligned, bold, font size 11) have two spaces above and one space below. Main section headings are all
capitals; for secondary section headings, the first letter of each major word is capitalized. The first sentence of
the first paragraph should start at the margin. First sentences of subsequent paragraphs should start at 0.25 inch
from the margin. Tables, figures and footnotes should be cited in an orderly sequence.
Tables and figures
Tables should carry an Arabic numeral followed by a period (full stop). Each major word in the table heading
(font size 11) should be capitalized; the heading is placed above the table. Tables, when they are part of the text,
should have two spaces above and below the table. Tables should be self-explanatory and footnotes (font size 9)
may be added using symbols. Please distinguish minus signs (accessed from the Symbol font) from hyphens.
Figures should carry an Arabic numeral followed by a period; the caption (font size 11) is placed below the
figure. Figures and graphs should be self-explanatory.
References
References should be listed at the end of the text and arranged in alphabetical order by the surnames of the
authors. Only references cited in the text should be listed. Use font size 10. Please distinguish the hyphen from
the en dash (accessed using ALT-0150 on the numeric keypad), which is used for a range of numbers, as in
1995–2002. Examples of APA format for references:

Fiedler, F. E. (1967). A theory of leadership effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Porter, M. E., & Scott, S. (2001). Innovation: Location matters. Review of Management, 42(4), 28–36.

Manuscripts should be sent in the form of 2 hard copies and a diskette, or by electronic mail to:

The Editor, Sunway Academic Journal

Sunway University College
No. 5, Jalan Kolej, Bandar Sunway
46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Tel: 603-7491-8622 Fax: 603-5635-8633
E-mail: journal@sunway.edu.my