Factors affecting the subjective financial well-being of emerging adults in Malaysia

Emerging adults in Malaysia are facing financial stress which can lead to a low subjective financial well-being. The subjective financial well-being is very personal and difference for each individual. The subjective financial well-being is usually lower for emerging adulthood because they are experiencing a change of life stage from dependent to independent. Many uncertainties make them worry about their financial conditions. The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that affect subjective financial well-being of emerging adults in Malaysia. The independent variable including financial stress, financial attitude, internal locus of control and financial knowledge. In order to conduct informative research during this Covid-19 pandemic, questionnaire is constructed online through Google Form and distributed electronically to 364 emerging adults in Klang Valley. The data are then collected and reclassify in order for the analysis can be done. The analysis that done by using SPSS software including the consistency, significance and relationship between variables. The results from SPSS show financial stress, financial attitude and internal locus of control have a significant relationship with subjective financial well-being. However, financial knowledge shows an insignificant relationship on subjective financial well-being. The research findings contribute to academia, government and society

Don't Puff, Pal

Don’t Puff, Pal is a youth-centric health communication campaign aimed at raising awareness about the harmful health effects of vaping among university students aged 21 to 27 years old. It was aimed at increasing their willingness to share about the harmful effects of vaping with peers, in order to shape negative perceptions and social norms around vaping in Singapore. E-cigarettes, also commonly known as vapes, have been increasingly popularised in recent years, especially among the younger Singaporeans. Despite the ban in Singapore, almost 5,000 users were caught purchasing, using or possessing vapes in 2021, with the numbers spiking prominently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognising the significant impact of peer influence on youths, the campaign sought to use peer pressure for good and empower university students with the necessary knowledge they can share with their fellow peers. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the campaign employed a comprehensive approach which consisted of posting trendy and relatable social content such as short-form videos and shareable bite-sized infographics. The campaign culminated with an on-ground campus roadshow to interact with our audience. This paper seeks to examine the underlying factors motivating vape usage among local youths and vape-related information sharing, using the three constructs of the TPB as a guiding framework. The paper also delves into the post-campaign evaluation of impact and output objectives, limitations and future recommendations.Bachelor of Communication Studie

#StudyWithMe and buy this: antecedents of effective StudyTuber marketing

StudyTube is a YouTube genre about the student experience led by student influencers who share study tips and review study-related paraphernalia through vlogs and streams. Extant StudyTube-related academia focuses on the movement’s pedagogical and social functions, overlooking the StudyTuber-influencer’s persuasive power and marketing potential. Drawing on concepts and literature underpinning self-disclosure and interactivity, this study conducted a 2 x 2 between-subjects online experiment to investigate the effects of StudyTubers’ self-disclosure valence and interactivity levels, on audience’s product attitude and purchase intentions towards advertised education products. We found the interaction between StudyTubers’ self-disclosure valence and interactivity to have a significant effect on both product attitudes and purchase intentions. StudyTubers’ lack of interactivity with followers (vs. with interactivity) led to increased purchase intentions, and negative self-disclosures led to more favourable product attitudes and higher purchase intentions; however, these effects were not significant when StudyTubers engaged in positive self-disclosure. Mediation analysis revealed participants exposed to noninteractivity perceived the StudyTuber to have higher social presence, leading to increased product attitude and purchase intentions. Results contribute to the under-researched field of study influencer-marketing while enriching existing conceptualisations of self-disclosure valences and interactivity. Our findings also offer practical implications to StudyTubers and marketers.Bachelor's degre

A Piezoelectric Wave-Energy Converter Equipped with a Geared-Linkage-Based Frequency Up-Conversion Mechanism

In this paper, a piezoelectric wave-energy converter (PWEC), consisting of a buoy, a frequency up-conversion mechanism, and a piezoelectric power-generator component, is developed. The frequency up-conversion mechanism consists of a gear train and geared-linkage mechanism, which converted lower frequencies of wave motion into higher frequencies of mechanical motion. The slider had a six-period displacement compared to the wave motion and was used to excite the piezoelectric power-generation component. Therefore, the operating frequency of the piezoelectric power-generation component was six times the frequency of the wave motion. The developed, flexible piezoelectric composite films of the generator component were used to generate electrical voltage. The piezoelectric film was composed of a copper/nickel foil as the substrate, lead–zirconium–titanium (PZT) material as the piezoelectric layer, and silver material as an upper-electrode layer. The sol-gel process was used to fabricate the PZT layer. The developed PWEC was tested in the wave flume at the Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, Taiwan (THL). The maximum height and the minimum period were set to 100 mm and 1 s, respectively. The maximum voltage of the measured value was 2.8 V. The root-mean-square (RMS) voltage was 824 mV, which was measured through connection to an external 495 kΩ resistive load. The average electric power was 1.37 μW

A Piezoelectric Wave Energy Harvester Using Plucking-Driven and Frequency Up-Conversion Mechanism

In this study, a plucking-driven piezoelectric wave energy harvester (PDPWEH) consisted of a buoy, a gear train frequency up-conversion mechanism, and an array of piezoelectric cantilever beams was developed. The gear train frequency up-conversion mechanism with compact components included a rack, three gears, and a geared cam provide less energy loss to improve electrical output. Six individual piezoelectric composite beams were plucked by geared cam to generate electrical power in the array of piezoelectric cantilever beams. A sol-gel method was used to create the piezoelectric composite beams. To investigate PDPWEH, a mathematical model based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory was derived. The developed PDPWEH was tested in a wave flume. The wave heights were set to 100 and 75 mm, the wave periods were set to 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 s. The maximum output voltage of the measured value was 12.4 V. The maximum RMS voltage was 5.01 V, which was measured by connecting to an external 200 kΩ resistive load. The maximum average electrical power was 125.5 μw.</jats:p

A Piezoelectric Wave Energy Harvester Using Plucking-Driven and Frequency Up-Conversion Mechanism

In this study, a plucking-driven piezoelectric wave energy harvester (PDPWEH) consisted of a buoy, a gear train frequency up-conversion mechanism, and an array of piezoelectric cantilever beams was developed. The gear train frequency up-conversion mechanism with compact components included a rack, three gears, and a geared cam provide less energy loss to improve electrical output. Six individual piezoelectric composite beams were plucked by geared cam to generate electrical power in the array of piezoelectric cantilever beams. A sol-gel method was used to create the piezoelectric composite beams. To investigate PDPWEH, a mathematical model based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory was derived. The developed PDPWEH was tested in a wave flume. The wave heights were set to 100 and 75 mm, the wave periods were set to 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 s. The maximum output voltage of the measured value was 12.4 V. The maximum RMS voltage was 5.01 V, which was measured by connecting to an external 200 kΩ resistive load. The maximum average electrical power was 125.5 μw