Mohd Hisham Ariffin | Universiti Teknologi Mara (original) (raw)

Papers by Mohd Hisham Ariffin

Malaysian public universities offer co-curricular programs to their students. These programs are ... more Malaysian public universities offer co-curricular programs to their students. These programs are either mandatory or voluntary, and are offered to all university students or are specific to hostel students or to students of a faculty or an academic program. This study describes the findings of a questionnaire survey designed toassess the reasons for and deterrents to student participation in a series of voluntary co-curricular activities organized by faculty at a Malaysian university. The study cohorts consisted of full-time students enrolled in the Building diploma and Construction Management degree programs. Factor analysis indicated that the study respondents attended the co-curricular activities for instrumental and social influence-related reasons. They were deterred from participating in these activities by factors related to discomfort, autonomy, disengagement, and academic obligations.
doi: 10.1080/15578770701238907

To cite: Shariffudin, M.F.B.M. and Ariffin, M.H. (2009) Factors influencing the adoption of waste... more To cite: Shariffudin, M.F.B.M. and Ariffin, M.H. (2009) Factors influencing the adoption of waste minimisation features in construction design. The Malaysian Surveyor, 44(4), 15-21.

This paper describes the findings of an interviewer administered survey of public preferences tow... more This paper describes the findings of an interviewer administered survey of public preferences towards a Malaysian urban park that is located in Kepong, Selangor State, Malaysia. The results confirmed that the public preferred safe and high aesthetic views. They less preferred to landscape elements that looked unsafe and low maintained in the park. It is hoped that the preferred scenes by the respondents can be maintained and the ones not preferred can be improved upon in future.

Typescript. Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 1994. Vita. Includes bibliographical references... more Typescript. Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 1994. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-194).

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is aimed at continually updating Malaysian quantity sur... more Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is aimed at continually updating Malaysian quantity surveying professionals' knowledge to help them adapt to changes and challenges in the Malaysian construction industry. Proof of such participation is now a condition for the renewal of quantity surveying practice licences with the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia. This article describes the findings of the qualitative research phase of a research into CPD entry participation motivations of Malaysian registered quantity surveyors. The analysis method of the interview transcripts of 31 registered quantity surveyors combined content analysis and grounded theory analysis. This analysis generated seven motivation themes regarding participation in CPD activities. The influence of the social group underlie five of these motivation themes, that are professional and geographical isolation, professional belonging, ''balancing'' of obligations, racial group orientations, and social participation in voluntary associations. It is proposed that further research in group influences on entry participation motivations for CPD activities be done.

Malaysian Registered Quantity Surveyors are being mandated by the Board of Quantity Surveyors Mal... more Malaysian Registered Quantity Surveyors are being mandated by the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysian to participate in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities beginning from year 2001. At the root of CPD is the process of learning and Registered Quantity Surveyors are required to be learning participants. Understanding the learning preferences of the Registered Quantity Surveyors is one of the ways to ensure optimum participation in CPD activities. This paper examines the theoretical models of professional learning and focuses on formal, non-formal and informal learning. The findings of three surveys on Malaysian Registered Quantity Surveyors CPD in relation to their learning preferences and actual participation. are described and discussed. Registered Quantity Surveyors prefer CPD activities that are conducted either in formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts. There were no specific preferences for the three types of learning contexts. Actual types of participation by Registered Quantity Surveyors in CPD activities were mostly in non-formal and informal learning activities.

The potential of Urban Forest Park and publics' views are clearly pertinent in urban greening and... more The potential of Urban Forest Park and publics' views are clearly pertinent in urban greening and sustainability, yet they are often ignored by certain countries. In line with this, the Town and Country Planning Department and National Landscape Department had taken steps by developing more urban parks and urban forest parks to enhance the quality and sustainability in urban environment. The study was conducted at FRIM (Forest Research Institution of Malaysia) with 375 respondents participated in this study. It is found that the respondents' evaluation on environmental, social and physical contribution at study area is associated with great and intense values for city sustainability. Public opinion and reason to come to the study area should be taken into account by professionals since they are the users and responsible to ensure the sustainability of urban forest for future generation. Even though the overall percentage of survey showed that public gave good expectation, however, the small percentage could be an eye opener as they assumed the existing setting will face big challenge to sustain in the future.

There is a discrepancy between the total number of Malaysian female graduates with construction-r... more There is a discrepancy between the total number of Malaysian female graduates with construction-related degrees and the actual number of females who hold construction-related degrees working in the construction industry. This implies that many women graduates have either not proceeded to work in the industry or have prematurely left the industry. This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated the reasons why technical female graduates either refrain from entering or wanting to leave the construction industry. Data was collected via a questionnaire survey on Malaysian female graduates with construction-related technical qualifications. Findings revealed that the main problems faced by female graduates in entering and remaining in the construction industry are their negative perceptions toward the construction industry and the barriers they face working in the industry. The top negative perceptions are the 'harsh' working conditions, the maleoriented working culture and the 'glass ceiling' to job advancement. The top barriers are the long working hours, the lack of child-care facilities and the work conflict with family obligations. The top three recommendations by respondents for retaining females in the construction industry are the provision of a harassment-free work environment, training for career enhancement and equal opportunity policy.

Conference Presentations by Mohd Hisham Ariffin

Interest in recreational activities such as visiting the trail, observe nature and meditation has... more Interest in recreational activities such as visiting the trail, observe nature and meditation has increased in the Rainforest Trail of Penang Botanical Garden recently. Previous research found that the landscape visual quality is the main reason why people visit the place. A survey was undertaken on visitors to the Rainforest Trail for this purpose. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlations and significant differences tests. This study found that the man-made landscape can be considered contrary to the intended natural characteristic of the Rainforest Trail even despite, attempts to blend in the man made changes with original natural appearance.

Increasing number of botanic gardens in Malaysia shows that botanic gardens are important to the ... more Increasing number of botanic gardens in Malaysia shows that botanic gardens are important to the urban citizens. Visitors are motivated to visit these gardens for many reasons. The reasons were appreciation of plant aesthetics values, design of the gardens, visual qualities and recreational purposes. Other reasons were social interaction, psychological, health and ecological function. This study focused on factors that motivate the visitors to visit Penang Botanic Gardens and their profile. One of the factors that contributed to visitation is the visual elements in the gardens.

Natural outdoor environment that is aesthetically pleasing, flexible and functional will motivate... more Natural outdoor environment that is aesthetically pleasing, flexible and functional will motivates people to visit those places. Visiting performance to a place is supported by landscape aesthetic values that can promote better participation and social engagement among visitors. Aesthetic values of landscape are due to a range of landscape attributes. Natural elements are known to function as " natural tranquillizers " that is beneficial in urban areas where stress is a common in daily living. Therefore, this study is aimed to discover the role of landscape aesthetic values in influencing the visiting performance at National Botanical Garden Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Completing project on specified budget is a very important factor in the government project. Ofte... more Completing project on specified budget is a very important factor in the government project. Often a number of unexpected problems arise during planning, design and construction phase. The main objectives of the study are to investigate the construction projects risk factors and the impact to the cost overruns (COR). The paper describes part of the findings from a preliminary study of construction risk factors affecting the cost overruns of public project in Malaysia. Semi structure interviews were conducted amongst clients, consultants and contractors involved in the Federal Government Technical Agencies (FGTAs) road and flood mitigation projects. A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive thematic analysis will be used to search for themes that describe the phenomenon. This paper describes interim findings of the exploratory study. The qualitative analysis generated eight categories of risk contributors to the project cost overruns. The most preferred category of activities used to reduce the chances of construction project risk factors creating cost overruns was controlling and monitoring activities. Most of the participants cited the planning and design stage as vital for the project team to prepare for the occurrence of the risk factors that could lead to cost overruns. The barrier caegorymost cited as hindering the implementation of attempts to avoid the occurrences of factors leading to cost overruns in the project were the human and physical barriers..

Proof of participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities is now part of the... more Proof of participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities is now part of the requirements for the re-licensing of a number of construction professionals (architects, quantity surveyors, engineers and surveyors) with their relevant Registration Boards (e.g. Board of Engineers, Board of Architects, Board of Quantity Surveyors) in many countries including Malaysia. Other professional groups do not need to licensed to offer their relevant consulting services but are required by their respective professional associations to engage in CPD activities. This is a report of a study on group-related entry motivations of consultant professionals towards participating in CPD activities. A survey was done on Malaysian licensed architects and professionals in 2133 consultant companies from various fields that were listed in the Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia Directory 2007/2008. The respondents to this survey numbered 308 (14.4%) but only 292 were usable for analysis. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis was conducted on the responses to 3 scale adapted from the Participation Reason Scale (Cervero, 1981), Darkenwald's Deterrents to Participation Scale (DPS)(Scalan and Darkenwald,1984) and a self developed Negotiation Strategy Scale (NSS). These factors underwent Structural Equation Modelling to derive a model that can predict the amount of time spent in CPD. The findings are as follows. The entry participation of licenced construction professionals in continuing professional development activities are due to the Workplace reason factor, Professional Group reason factor and Family-and-Friendship Group reason factor. Their participation deterrent factors are Family, Work, Cost, and Attitude. Compromise, Help from Others, and Compensation are the factors for negotiating the deterrents to participate in continuing professional development activities. The hierarchy (descending popularity) of the types of continuing professional development activities that are participated by licenced construction professionals are (1) informal learning through discussions with businessmen, government servants, fellow professionals, other professionals, student trainee, junior staff, etc. (2) learning informally from books, technical journals, videos, audiotapes, Internet, (3) audience at non-formal education activities (e.g. conferences, seminars, short courses), (4) participating in professional societies' committees, (5) researching, writing articles and cost indices for technical journals, books and presenting papers at non-formal education activities and (6) formal learning in full time, part time or distance learning programmes at a university or college that would result in accredited qualifications. The categorical amount of CPD participation (dependent variable) and, participation deterrent factor and negotiation of participation deterrents strategy factor (independent variables) in a model having moderate fit constitute the best sequential equation model to explain the amount of CPD participation. A followup study was done on the 292 respondents of the first survey who requested the findings of the first survey. Of the 63 questionnaires returned, only 55 were suitable for analysis. Factor analysis of the two self developed scales were the Ways of Knowledge Transfer Scale (WKTS) and the Deterrents to Knowledge Transfer Scale (DKTS) produced the following. The way of transferring knowledge obtained from CPD activities by the participant to his/her peers and/or subordinates at the company are through Experiential Transfer, Academic Transfer, and Transfer through Access Enablers. The deterrents to the transferring knowledge obtained from CPD activities by the participant to his/her peers and/or subordinates at the company are Inadequacies and Irrelevance.

Introduction Proof of participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities is no... more Introduction Proof of participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities is now part of the requirements for the relicencing of construction professionals (architects, quantity surveyors, landscape architects, engineers and general surveyors) with their relevant Registration Boards (e.g. Board of Engineers, Board of Architects) in many countries including Malaysia (Ariffin, 2005). The regulations are intended to keep Malaysian consultants continuously up-to-date and relevant to the needs of the construction industry both locally and overseas. Yet, professional practice is a team effort. A licenced professional is either an owner/manager of a consultant firm or a manager employed by an organization. He either leads or is part of a team who consists of professional peers and lesser qualified subordinates. The licenced professional who participates in CPD may have gained new knowledge and insights but those non participants who are mostly his subordinates or peers do not. If there is no or little transfer of that knowledge or insight to others in the organization, CPD participation would have very limited effect on the firm to which the professional probably own. Surely these professionals are aware of the collective nature of their practice and the benefits of sharing the knowledge. Yet, anecdotal evidence indicate such transfer of knowledge is not widespread among licenced professionals. Professional development is also equated as personal development. Training is different from professional development because the former is more focused and meets immediate needs while professional development is more generalised and geared to the long term. Yet, both involve the use of valuable resources and takes away the participantsfrom work. Benefits of participating in the training or CPD activities can be optimised if a firm’s organization benefit from the training. One of the benefits is knowledge sharing. Hence, this paper emphasizes the relevance of training evaluation with the report of a study on knowledge sharing construction professionals attending CPD activities with non-participants in their respective firms.

The paper describes part of the findings on a study of reasons for, barriers to and negotiating a... more The paper describes part of the findings on a study of reasons for, barriers to and negotiating actions (negotiators) for software adoption by Malaysian construction firms. A postal survey was conducted on 1190 construction firms randomly selected from the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board directory 2004-2005, from which 250 usable completed questionnaires were obtained. Principal component analysis reduced the reason, barrier and negotiator of the respondents into 2 reason factors, 3 barrier factors and 2 negotiator factors. The reason factors were competitiveness and influence. The barrier factors were cost, lack of trust and lack of support. The negotiator factors were cost reduction and vendors " added value. T-tests indicated that there were significant differences between adopters and non-adopters with regard to their cost reduction negotiator factor (p<0.10).

The format and information of the Bill of Quantities are not user-friendly for site management. T... more The format and information of the Bill of Quantities are not user-friendly for site management. The sixties saw the introduction of the Operational Bills of Quantities and then the Bills of Quantities (Operational Format) by Skoyles of the Building Research Station in United Kingdom, This paper describes the formats of both Bills and delves into the reasons behind their subsequent demise. Next, it proposes an approach whereby the contemporary Bills of Quantities is only changed slightly to enable its integration with computerized project schedules. Such integration is suggested to enable the Bill of Quantities to be more useful in the production processes in construction work

This paper reports the findings of a follow-up survey that among others aims to identify the stre... more This paper reports the findings of a follow-up survey that among others aims to identify the strength of and categories (factors) of deterrents to the sharing of the professionals’ knowledge gained from Continuing Professional Development activities with non-participants in their consultant firms. Licensed and principal professionals from Malaysian consultant firms from various professions listed in the Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia Directory 2007/2008 were surveyed by mail on CPD and resulted in 308 respondents. Of these respondents, 225 provided follow-up contact addresses to receive summarized findings. The 225 respondents were surveyed further by mail for the findings of this paper. Of the 63 questionnaires returned, only 55 were suitable for analysis.
The top three deterrents (mean scores) are disinterest by others, task irrelevance, and firm’s work direction irrelevance. Factor analysis of the deterrents generated two categories (factors) of deterrents to the sharing of the professionals’ CPD knowledge with subordinates and peers in their consultant firms which are Inadequacies and Irrelevance.
These findings will help Malaysian construction consultant firms to determine ways to overcome these deterrents and thus enable them to maximize benefits of CPD participation to the firm in general.

Keywords: Deterrents, Continuing Professional Development, Malaysia, professionals, construction industry

The lack of soft skills in Malaysian university graduates has become an issue of concern. However... more The lack of soft skills in Malaysian university graduates has become an issue of concern. However, universities do provide co-curriculum and extra-curriculum activities that are meant to enhance their students’ soft skills. This paper provides the findings of a case study into the entry participation of students of a northern Peninsular Malaysia university into activities organized by such societies. Four participation motive factors, six participation deterrent factors and two participation negotiation strategy factors were obtained from the responses to the Mohd Hisham’s Participation Reason Scale (PRS), Participation Deterrent Scale (PDS) and Participation Negotiation Strategies Scale (PNSS) by a sample of the students in this university. Binomial logistic regression equations using these twelve factors was obtained to predict participation in three types of activities. Implications of these findings on the organization of the activities of student societies are discussed.

Keywords: Participation motives, participation barriers, participation negotiators, university students societies.

Today, the functions of botanical gardens have greatly expanded from just preserving the plant bi... more Today, the functions of botanical gardens have greatly expanded from just preserving the plant biodiversity to creating aesthetically pleasing refuges from modern life. A study is carried out to investigate human oriented design of the landscape of two prominent botanical gardens in Malaysia. The objectives of this paper are 1) to analyse the users’ references to some selected landscape design in both botanical gardens, 2) to study the benefits of human oriented design to the users. The natural elements blending together with the man-made elements increased the preferences of users.

Keywords: Deterrents, Continuing Professional Development, Malaysia, professionals, construction industry

Keywords: Participation motives, participation barriers, participation negotiators, university students societies.

This paper describes the findings of one of the objectives of a study which is to identify the br... more This paper describes the findings of one of the objectives of a study which is to identify the bribery motives of consultants and contractors in the construction industry in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Interviews of 16 civil engineering consultants and 18 contractors in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur had been audio-recorded and transcribed by students of the Construction Management degree programme as part of their coursework assignment in people management. Content analysis of the transcripts generated the findings in the form of four categories of motives for participating in bribery. The categories were instrumental, attitudinal, institutional and social motives for engaging in bribery. The instrumental motives refer to bribery as an instrument to achieve a certain outcome. Institutional motives refer to the government policies or legal regulations that unintentionally encourage bribery. Social motives refer to interpersonal norms, practices, pressure and social rules that drive a person to engage in bribery. Attitudinal motives refer to the individual’s work temperament that leads to an inclination towards practicing bribery.

After their initial professional education, professionals strive to develop their competence and ... more After their initial professional education, professionals strive to develop their competence and performance in order to achieve expert status. Certain socioeconomic trends and developments have underscored the importance of lifelong learning to the professional occupations. One manifestation of this trend is the emergence of programmes of compulsory continuing professional development by the respective professional associations and licensing bodies. The paper examines the concept of professional occupations. The nature of professional knowledge, and its influence on the existence and practice of the professional are explained. It then reviews the continuing professional development practices in Malaysia. Finally the roles to be played by the academia, researchers, providers and practitioners in optimizing the benefits of continuing professional development in Malaysia are discussed.