SOCIAL MEDIA AND AGENDA SETTING: IMPLICATIONS ON POLITICAL AGENDA

Political Engagement on Social Media as Antecedent for Political Support among Voters in Malaysia

The Internet is considered a huge development in human civilization. It is literally considered as a practical key or essential to human development and social advancement causing massive innovation in the world. Over the years, the advent of new media has permeated most aspects of our lives, especially that of the young generation. It is against this background that this paper aims to analyse the present use of the new media by youth to gauge their usage in relation to political participation. This study is a country wide survey covering Peninsula and East Malaysia. For sampling purposes the country is divided into six zones. A survey research using questionnaire as instrument was used to obtain data. Prior to the actual survey, a pilot study was first conducted. Some 1182 respondents age between 18 and 25 were randomly sampled from the six zones and selection of samples was based on ethnic ratio. The data was analysed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS 20.0 From the results, majority of the respondents, 89% are social media users having a social media account. A discouraging trend with regard to participation is the very low level of giving comments on general societal issues ranging from social issues, the environment to politics. The youth are more inclined to using the new media for entertainment and social networking. It is time to use the new media to engage with community leaders and politicians and comment on issues related to political issues. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s3p88

Hubungan antara peribadi yang baik di antara masyarakat dengan Polis DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) mampu menterjemahkan senario kolaborasi yang jitu untuk mengekalkan kedaulatan negara. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti sejauh mana penggunaan aplikasi WhatsApp memberi pengaruh kepada hubungan antara peribadi masyarakat dengan PDRM Daerah Seremban. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah kuantitatif melalui borang soal selidik yang diedarkan kepada 250 orang awam di sekitar Daerah Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Responden kajian terdiri dari mereka berumur 18 tahun ke atas dan berkomunikasi melalui WhatsApp dengan mana-mana Pegawai Polis Daerah Seremban. Hasil kajian menunjukkan mudah guna dan manfaat penggunaan WhatsApp penting dalam membina hubungan antara peribadi yang baik di antara masyarakat dan polis. Kajian juga menunjukkan bahawa masyarakat sebenarnya amat memerlukan interaksi dan hubungan dengan PDRM. Interaksi di antara masyarakat dan polis amat penting memandangkan ikatan hubungan adalah kunci utama dalam membina masyarakat yang harmoni. Kajian ini menunjukkan penciptaan aplikasi media sosial meluaskan lagi landskap penggunaan sistem dalam talian bagi merapatkan jurang di antara pengguna. Kajian ini juga mencadangkan kaedah kualitatif seperti temubual mendalam dan perbincangan kumpulan fokus dilakukan pada masa akan datang. Pendekatan ini bertujuan untuk meneroka secara lebih mendalam lagi isu berkaitan dengan hubungan antara peribadi melalui aplikasi media sosial.   Kata kunci: Mudah guna, manfaat, media sosial, WhatsApp, antara peribadi.

THE IMPORTANCE OF USABILITY FEATURES IN ENHANCING ONLINE COMMUNICATION SATISFACTION

Malaysia is undergoing tremendous development programs towards a developed nation. ICT initiative is one of the strategies to facilitate the implementation of economic, social and cultural development in the society. The embrace (adoption) of ICT among the people depends on many factors which facilitate or inhibit the use of ICT. The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that facilitate internet usage among urban dwellers living in the Klang Valley, an area comprising the capital city, Kuala Lumpur and parts of the state of Selangor. This is crucial in order to trace the impact of various public sector ICT initiatives like the High Speed Broadband (HSBB). The study distributed 303 questionnaires to respondents who were sampled from internet users. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to analyse the data. The descriptive statistics included frequency, percentages, means and standard deviation while the inferential statistics included reliability test, means and multiple regressions. The results of the study showed that factors such as interpersonal and social network, perceived and realized benefits and communication channels facilitate internet usage. Implication of this usage is expected to reflect on urban living with regard to the use of Internet.