In this article, the concept of “distributed capitalism” (Rifkin, 2011) is used to shift power among administrators, performers and audiences to problematise the homogeneity of unsustainable instrument materials. This shift involves adopting a participatory approach where musicians as key stakeholders get to choose their materials and self-construct their instruments. Instruments, society and ecosystems have intersecting and overlapping relationships that should be studied interdependently through eco-organology (Guy, 2009; Titon, 2013; Allen, 2013; Dawe, 2016), especially when mainstream culture consumption plays a crucial role in the struggle between sustainable materials for instruments and the ecosystem. As an example, mainstream production companies such as Yamaha, Aulos and Fender have standardised the industry and cornered the market for consumers in a top-down consumption model. Educators, artists, and retailers promote the consumption of mainstream instruments, further rei.....

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The present study employed experience sampling methodology (ESM) to examine the role of music in regulating emotions and the potential differences in music usage for emotion regulation between men and women in everyday life. The study spanned over seven days, including both weekdays and weekends, during which 28 participants (14 men and 14 women) were asked to complete a brief questionnaire 21 times a day. The questionnaire aimed to document instances of music listening in the past three hours, resulting in a total of 588 questionnaires being sent and 264 instances of music listening being analysed. Results indicate that listening to music in daily life may have a positive impact on emotion regulation and suggest possible differences in music usage between men and women for this purpose. The study's primary findings include: (1) Relaxation was the most commonly used strategy for regulating emotions with music; (2) Four primary mechanisms of music usage for emotion regulation, includin.....

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The music of the Banyumas region in west Central Java contains a complex blend of cultural influences, spurred on by the influence of neighbouring regions, the institutionalisation of Javanese classical music and the spread of recording technology. The bamboo calung ensemble is viewed as traditional; however, most of the standard techniques, instruments and forms are relatively modern. Specifically due to this artificiality and resultant flexibility, the musical techniques that have become standard practice in calung can be used as a lens through which to view local identity and representation in a borderland culture. The music played by the calung ensemble distinguishes itself from the court music of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, while drawing on its techniques as a means for development. Elements of Sundanese music become forces for inspiration in the context of entertainment and commercialism, with expert musicians preferring incorporation above imitation. Calung thus acts as a site for.....

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This article explores the transformative power of musical instruments on pedagogical strategies within music ensembles, with a focus on world music ensembles at the tertiary level. Drawing from my unique perspective as an international graduate student in the U.S. and having had no prior exposure to world music ensembles, I share my experiences with the saron metallophone from the Javanese gamelan and the mṛdaṅgam, the principal rhythmic instrument of South Indian Karṇāṭak music ensemble. I argue that the interaction of sound between instruments and learners offers a deeply enriching, immersive educational journey. Recognizing this sonic interaction broadens our understanding of world music education and suggests that instruments inherently carry pedagogical value. By embracing this notion, educators can cultivate a more holistic teaching methodology, enhancing the pedagogical landscape within and beyond world music ensembles. Keywords: Javanese gamelan, mṛdaṅgam, music e.....

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of teacher transformational leadership style on student satisfaction, mediated through teacher effectiveness and school climate in selected Chinese universities. The aims of this study include examining the relationship between teacher transformational leadership style and student satisfaction, determining the mediating role of teacher effectiveness and school climate, and exploring the potential moderating effects of demographic variables. This study utilized a quantitative research method, with a cross-sectional survey design to collect data to answer the research questions and hypotheses developed. The data was collected through three sets of questionnaires from 260 teachers selected through the stratified random sampling from the selected Chinese universities and was analysed using the Simple Linear Regression and Sobel-test, hence answering the seven research questions and hypotheses. The findings revealed that teac.....

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Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role across all industries and are the key contributor to the achievements in the national and global economies. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of risk management awareness on financial performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Oman by focusing on the relationship between the factors of risk management awareness towards the impact on financial performance in Oman. The study adopts a quantitative research approach using primary survey. Data in this study were collected via questionnaire which was administered to 400 respondents drawn from among Oman-based SMEs. The data analysis was conducted through a quantitative analysis involving descriptive analysis and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings of regression analysis showed significant effect of risk management decision on financial performance in Oman. The findings further showed a significant effect of risk management st.....

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The objective of this research is to test the effectiveness of visual-spatial intelligence teaching  courseware to teach "equivalent fraction" topic for fom1 1 weak students. This courseware uses  visual-spatial intelligence which is one of the eight multiple intelligences in multiple  intelligence theory by Howard Gardner. The design of this research is pretest and posttest  nonequivalent groups design. The sample for this research is fifty seven students from form l,  comprising of twenty nme for the treatment group and twenty eight for the control group. This  research also tests whether the use of the courseware can increase visual-spatial intelligence in  the Multiple Intelligence (MI) test. Students' perspective towards the courseware in terms courseware  objectives, courseware  content, interface design,  motivation,  and assistance m learning the topic is measured using questionnaire. ANCOV A test, F(l,55)=5.29, p=.03,  had shown that there was a significa.....

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This study was undertaken  to investigate the effectiveness of retelling strategy in enhancing  reading comprehension. The study intended to find out if the use of Retelling Strategy can bring  about improvement in the post-test scores after treatment as compared to the pre-test scores. The  two-group pre-test post-test experimental design was adopted in this study in order to discover the  effectiveness of Retelling Strategy in improving reading comprehension. Sixty four Form Three  students of a National Secondary school served as samples in this study. Data in the form of scores  from the pre-test and post-test were collected to be analyzed. A comparison of mean scores between  the pre-test and post-test for both the experimental and control group showed an increment but  the  experimental group  showed that the students have improved their test scores slightly higher  after  they were subjected to treatments using Retelling Strategy as compared to test scores .....

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Examination orientation and hierarchical relationships are highly dominating evaluation and assessing system in China, hence the practical implementation of assessment reform in traditionally hierarchical societies is beset with difficulties. On the other hand, ePortfolio assessment is claimed potentially transformative to affect student learning and teacher instruction. To the end, this research then aims at investigating the implementation of ePortfolio-based assessment in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context and form a framework conceptualised in specific context, in order to obtain students and lecturers’ holistic and in-depth experiences in implementing ePortfolio contextually. The qualitative case study approach to obtain lecturers’ holistic and in-depth experiences in implementing ePortfolio were utilised. Data were collected through classroom observations, document analysis and interviews of two EFL lecturers. Fourteen lessons of the English course involving two .....

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This research intended to compare the impact of service quality, particularly reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, responsiveness, waiting time, and valence, towards customer satisfaction between taxi and Grab Car services in Malaysia. The research also aimed at comparing significant difference in service quality and customer satisfaction between both. Development of the research framework is based on adaptation of the Parasuraman‟s SERVQUAL model and Grönroos‟s Two- Dimensional model. Quantitative research via self-administrated questionnaire survey was adopted in this research. A total of 384 surveys were collected from local tourists who had used local taxi and Grab Car in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang, and Perak. The target respondents were screened using quota sampling technique where location is used as the control category in the first stage and the second stage is based on judgment. Measurement and structural model are incorporated in the data ana.....

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