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Professional Learning Community (PLC) is embedded in one of the Malaysian educational policies with the aim of improving teachers' effectiveness. However, the robust empirical evidence upon this matter is scarce, especially in terms of the relationship between school culture and PLC. Therefore, a correlational design study conducted to examine the relationships between the school culture dimensions (Collaboration, Collegiality, Emphasis on Learning, Professional Value, Sharing Planning, Transformational Leadership) and PLC. A randomized controlled trial cluster involving 612 teachers has been conducted. The Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS version 3 was applied to analyze the data. The result from SEM path analysis shows that only three constructs have significant influences on PLC, which are Professional Value ([beta] :0.045); Sharing Planning ([beta] :0.071), and Transformational Leadership ([beta] :0.040). This study has gone some way towards enhancing the understanding of the importance of school culture in promoting teachers' professional development through PLC.

The quality of beauty treatment services will be evaluated by the clients subjectively whether they are satisfied or otherwise with the services provided. However, the reports and complaints related to customer dissatisfaction when receiving beauty treatment services at beauty centers are increasing. Unfortunately, the suggestions for improvement from the previous studies are still insufficient. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the importance of proficiency in communication skills and the need for training modules in the teaching and learning process (T&L). It is required to improve communication skills among cosmetology students for Upper Secondary Vocational Education Program (USVEP) in beauty arts course. The data were collected through the interview method on six USVEP teachers and a beauty salon entrepreneur. The findings of the study found that the proficiency in communication skills among the cosmetology students is an important requirement for employers in selecting their employees, increasing customer loyalty and the customer's frequency to visit beauty salons, and maintaining the excellent performance of cosmetology students in the workplace. In addition, there is also a high demand for the development of communication skills training modules in helping cosmetology students to constantly updated with new knowledge and skills needed from time to time. Therefore, adequate training is required to improve the competency in communication skills among the cosmetology students.

This research was aimed to determine the level of knowledge, skills and attitude of pre-service Mathematics teachers in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) towards higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) and whether the elements of HOTS were translated into the teaching courses. The research was also designed to analyze the relationship between the pre-service Mathematics teachers' exposure to HOTS through the teaching courses and their level of knowledge, skills and attitude towards HOTS. The study utilized a quantitative approach by administration of a survey to a simple random sample of 110 pre-service Mathematics teachers from UPSI. A questionnaire with five different parts was used as the research instrument with a reliability value of 0.979. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics were used to determine the mean scores of the level of knowledge, skills and attitude among the pre-service Mathematics teachers, whereas inferential statistics using Pearson-r correlation was implemented to describe the relationship between the studied variables. The findings demonstrated that the knowledge and skills of pre-service Mathematics teachers towards HOTS were at a moderate level as opposed to their attitude and exposure to HOTS which were found to be at a high level. The data analysis using Pearson correlation illustrated a significant positive relationship with r = 0.727, r = 0.757 and r = 0.667 between the exposure to HOTS through the teaching courses and the level of knowledge, skills and attitude regarding HOTS of pre-service Mathematics teachers at UPSI, respectively. In conclusion, the research here indicates that pre-service Mathematics teachers in general, are positive towards the implementation of HOTS but they are lacking in terms of knowledge and skills. This research is useful in the field of Mathematics education as it can serve as a guidance to further enhance the knowledge, skills and attitudes especially for future Mathematics teachers in implementing HOTS effectively and improving the quality of the teaching program offered by the university indirectly.

Criticisms on multiple choice questions (MCQs) include the possibility of students answering MCQs correctly by guessing, and MCQs generally are said to fall short in cultivating independent learning skills, such as taking charge of their learning goals. Countering these common concerns, this research used online MCQ exercises with multiple attempts to investigate the experiences that drove students to become self-directed learners. In this research, 60 students completed two sets of online MCQ exercises with multiple attempts outside of classroom time for six weeks consecutively. Both focus group interviews and an online survey were conducted to investigate the experiences of using online MCQ exercise with multiple attempts in relation to the development of self-directed learning (SDL). The findings of the study showed that the criticisms may be unfounded. Data leads to the conclusion that the majority of the students do not just try to guess at the correct answers. Rather, many of them attempted the online MCQ exercises more than once to improve themselves indicating that they were interested in self-learning. Students also reported that they utilised search and inquiry skills that clearly showed motivated initiatives to plan how to overcome their weaknesses by independently looking for relevant resources, determine their own learning goals, and evaluate their own learning performance as a firm indicator of SDL development. Based on the findings, this study is able to refute the claim that MCQs are unable to cultivate independent learning skills.

For many students, mathematics is regarded as a challenging subject to learn and master in class. One of the significant factors contributing to the students' difficulties in learning mathematics is caused by a phenomenon called mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety is a feeling of unease and anxiety toward mathematics and it can be different from person-to-person. Understanding the effects of mathematics anxiety levels on students' mathematics performances in class can be the key to help students' mastery of mathematics. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between mathematics anxiety levels and students' mathematics performances at the foundation level. A sample of 545 students from a local foundation centre was chosen for this study. Data collection via questionnaire was used where quantitative data were analysed using correlation, t-test, and descriptive analyses. The results showed that there was a weak positive correlation between students' anxiety levels and the students' mathematics performance in their final examination. Recommendations and future potential for this study were further discussed in this paper.

Education has undergone unregulated changes in terms of learning and teaching in this Industrial Revolution 4.0. Along with this, technological advancement has unlocked multiple ways for educators and learners to apply online resources in their teaching and learning process. It is vital to get more attention in the expansion of learners' skills, especially in speaking. However, learners appeared to be lacking in speaking skills and as well as lacking the confidence to utilize the target language (English). The use of traditional teaching approaches also contributes to the reason why learners feel bored and perform badly in speaking. In order to tackle these problems, using "MyScene Tube" is a promising solution to expand learners' confidence and English-speaking skills. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate learners' confidence in utilizing the English language through the implementation of the "MyScene Tube" web channel. In this mixed-method research, survey questionnaires and YouTube Analysis were used to collect data from 118 Senior 2 learners of a secondary school in Klang, Selangor. Then, the questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive analysis. In brief, the research finding shows that "MyScene Tube" could assist learners to perform better in speaking activities. It is recommended that this study could be used by future researchers to explore the effectiveness of this innovation in enhancing learners' ability in different skills of the English Language.

The Best Student Award is one of the incentives initiated by an institution to identify potential students who are not only excellent academically, but also possess great leadership skills. Moreover, these skills may also be enhanced which subsequently contribute to the future of society. Nonetheless, one of the greatest challenges faced by evaluators in the selection process include uncertainty and imprecise data in measuring the students' leadership competencies. Thus, this paper proposes the development of Initiative-Systematic Performance Evaluation (I-SPE) as an initiative tool to measure students' competencies based on Fuzzy Logic Approach. The study focuses on the selection of the best student based on data collected from a leadership programme -- Program Kepimpinan Pewaris Bangsa (PKPB) conducted at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Sarawak, Mukah Campus. In the current practice, tie and time-consuming challenges due to the subjectivity and complexity of measurement criteria are involved. Therefore, I-SPE will assist to provide an improved decision-making solution to evaluators during the evaluation process. Fuzzy logic tools used to develop I-SPE allow the experts to introduce any uncertainty and subjectivity into the evaluation system. The development of fuzzy rules in this model is based on five selected attributes, which include leadership, communication, teamwork, discipline and CGPA. Results obtained indicate that the proposed model I-SPE is able to improve decision-making efficiency that would lead to fairness in selecting the best candidate as compared to the conventional method.

The aim of this study is to examine the factors that influenced the use of Edmodo content management system to support the teaching and learning in a flipped classroom context. Using an extended technology acceptance model (TAM), we adopted a revised model consisting of two external factors (Content Quality and Motivation) that may influence students' perceptions and acceptance of the system. A total of 42 students were involved in this study. The students attended a course in a flipped classroom environment. The findings of the study utilizing the multiple regression analysis revealed that the Edmodo content management system was well accepted where the Content Quality acted as a good external factor and able to predict the students Perception of Usefulness and Perception Ease of Use. As for Motivation, it was found that there was no positive relationship with the Perception of Usefulness.

Students' attitudes towards learning English as a second language is not a new issue, yet much is to be known about the factors that actually affect the students' attitudes, especially those who live in rural areas that are known to have poor perceptions towards as well as poor performance in learning the English language as compared to Malaysian students who live in urban areas. Using Spolsky's (1989) Model of Second Language Learning and Gardner's (1985) Second Language Acquisition Theory, this study examines rural Malaysian students' attitudes towards learning English as a second language. The main objective is to investigate the individual elements or factors influencing rural secondary school students' attitude towards learning the English language. By employing a case study approach, four students from two different grade levels in a rural secondary school were purposely selected and individually interviewed and observed in their learning environments. The data were analysed using within and cross case analyses as well as thematic analysis, in which the authors read and annotated interview transcripts, identified themes, developed a coding scheme and coded the data. The findings suggest that there were two most significant factors influencing the students' attitudes towards the learning of English; i) lessons not catered to students' proficiency levels and interests, and ii) students' individual reactions to negative and positive experiences.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of ICT policies in investigating o Behavioral Intention (BI) and Use Behavior (UB) factors by employing experience and workload of teachers as moderator. The identified factors were Use Expectancy (UE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions (FC) and Teacher Efficacy (TE). Experience and workload are defined as moderator variables, and integrated into the study model. The data were collected through a questionnaire among 720 teachers in Malaysia. The findings showed UE, SI, FC, and TE were significant factors affecting BI and UB. The findings of empirical analysis also revealed that experience factors moderate the relationship between FC and UB. Meanwhile, workload factors moderate (1) UE and BI relationships, and (2) TE and BI relationships. This study also provided positive implications for efforts to promote learning practices using a blended learning approach through constructive guidance to policymakers and planning for professional development of teaching.

Purpose: The present study investigates the predicting role of institutional leadership competencies (namely, achieving goals and outcomes, leadership and leading change, and integrity and justice) in influencing job performance. It also seeks to examine whether proactive personality moderates the purported relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 103 institutional leaders in various higher education institutions in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique via Smart PLS 2.0 was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. Findings: The findings indicate that competencies of leadership and leading change and integrity and justice significantly and positively influenced job performance. Proactive personality was found to significantly moderate the relationship between leadership and leading change dimension and job performance. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to the literature by assessing leadership competencies as the predictors of job performance. The moderating role of proactive personality is also substantiated in the leadership and leading change dimension and job performance linkage. Practical implications: The significant and positive impact of leadership and leading change as well as integrity and justice on job performance suggests the importance of these leadership competencies in promoting high level of job performance among institutional leaders. Furthermore, in ensuring high job performance among institutional leaders, proactive personality is a crucial attribute that is worth to be given attention by higher education institution (HEI) administrators. Originality/value: This study aims to provide additional empirical evidence in the leadership competencies domain. The research framework of this study managed to substantiate empirical evidence in partial support on the importance of leadership competencies and proactive personality in predicting job performance.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of free rotate gesture used in multi-touch screen design on pre-school children's achievement in learning shape. Multi-touch screen design enables users to perform multiple finger gestures such as free rotate, pinch and spread. The gestures are often selected because it is similar to real-life movements. Free rotate gesture enables users to rotate the objects on screen which can enhance the interaction between users and virtual objects. As the actions are natural, spontaneous and easy to learn, it has been widely used in learning purposes. Therefore, it is important to investigate how these free rotate gesture affect children's achievement in learning shape as the children can interact with the virtual shape naturally. The study involves 20 children aged 5 to 6 years old from National Children Development Research Centre (NCDRC). The samples had been given a pre-test and post-test about shapes before and after they used the mobile application of Learning Shape which include the free rotate gestures. Then the pre-test and post-test score had been analyzed by using Paired Samples T-Test in SPSS by comparing its means. The results indicated that the post-test mean is higher than the pre-test mean with significant value is less than 0.05. It shows that the free rotate gestures can effects children's achievement in learning shape. The study also observes children's interaction while using the mobile application. The results shows that the children are happy and can understand the topic more easily because they can interact with the virtual shape naturally. As for conclusion, the free rotate gestures is an important factor that should be be taken into consideration when designing mobile applications for pre-school children.

The academic performance of students is affected by many factors, including effectiveness in teaching, the subjects taught and the environment as well as the facilities provided. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between students' perceptions of the teaching and learning towards the lecturers with their achievements in Mathematics at the Centre for Pre University Studies. The study was a descriptive study in which a survey research design was adopted. A total of 841 students from the centre participated in the study. The data were collected through student's questionnaire. The questionnaires consisted of 26 questions. 5-Likert Scale questionnaires used in this study focused on the five categories of students' perceptions; teaching, evaluations, subjects, guidance and environment dimensions. The findings revealed that there is no significant correlation between the average scores of students' perceptions of teaching and learning towards the Mathematics lecturer with the average scores Mathematics achievement of the students. The study also revealed that there are no significant differences between the average scores of male and female students' perceptions of the effectiveness of teaching and learning of the Mathematics lecturer. The findings of this study show that the lecturer can improve their teaching skills and techniques that are appropriate to the students.

Educators have always highlighted the importance of mathematics mastery in education for many years. With the current emphasis of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEMs) education, mathematics mastery is even more vital because it supports the learning and mastery of science fields such as engineering and science. Furthermore, in higher education, mathematics is essential because majority of the courses require the use of mathematical concepts in their learning. In recent years, many countries including Malaysia have seen an increase in the enrolment number of tertiary students. The increase in student enrolment has resulted in a population of students with diverse abilities, and this creates challenges for educators in providing instruction to the students. Educators need to detect students' mathematical ability at an early stage before teaching them new content. One way to gather information about students' basic mathematics skill is through the use of diagnostic test. Diagnostic test in education is a preliminary assessment mainly used to detect students' strengths and weaknesses in learning. It allows educators to cater their teaching style and content to suit to the students' basic knowledge. With researches indicating the importance and benefits of using diagnostic test in various subjects, it is important to further examine the use of diagnostic test in the local context of pre-university studies. This study investigated the relationship between students' mathematics diagnostic test results and final mathematics examination performances at a public pre-university programme. The samples of the study consisted of 250 pre-university students and the data of the study were collected through a mathematics diagnostic test paper, a questionnaire and a final mathematics examination. The outcomes of the study show that there was a strong positive correlation between mathematics diagnostic test results and students' mathematics achievement in pre-university.

In the Malaysian education system, English has always played an important role. In acknowledging its importance, Malaysian University English Test (MUET) has been introduced to enable continued emphasis on this role. MUET has been made compulsory for those who wish to pursue a first degree programme in local universities. This study aims to examine the relationship between English language proficiency test (as measured by MUET bands) to predict the undergraduates academic achievement (as measured by Cumulative Grade Point Average score). It also aims to determine the recommended MUET band as an entry requirement for prospective technical programme undergraduates in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The study was carried out among 225 final year undergraduates of five different faculties in UPM, namely Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The data used were obtained by administering a brief questionnaire and were quantitatively analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 19. The study revealed that there is a medium positive correlation between English language proficiency and academic achievement where students who have scored higher bands for MUET are the ones who obtained higher CGPA in their study. Based on the findings, it is recommended that UPM and other local universities make changes towards the minimum MUET entry requirement to help prospective undergraduates excel in their academic study.

Learning style is an individual's natural or habitual pattern of acquiring and processing information in learning situations. A core concept is that individuals differ in how they learn. This study focused on to look at a group of TESL undergraduates' preference in learning styles. The finding showed that the students have different kind learning styles in language learning. Most of them seem to have moderate preference on the active, sensing and global learning, mild preference on the reflective, intuitive, verbal and sequential learning and quite strong preferences for visual learning style. The finding of this study might help both educator and students in developing the pedagogical process and at the same time enhancing the effective learning and finally to improve themselves in the future.

Environmental health (EH) is the study of environment and environmental factors affecting the health of human. Identifying the most relevant and up-to-date and updated teaching topics of EH programs is vital to ensure competent practitioners are nurtured. Thus, this study aimed to attain the view of current content of EH programs for EH professionals and intended to recommend topics necessary for education and practice. The level of importance of current and newly proposed topics for EH courses at diploma and bachelor's level was assessed using a cross-sectional survey design. Practicing EH programs graduates were invited via social media and e-mails to participate in the survey. The respondents were asked to rank the importance of different EH topics based on 5-point Likert-type scale. Descriptive statistics were employed to report the importance of EH curricula at Malaysian tertiary institutions. It was found that between diploma's and bachelor's level, the bachelor's graduates were expected to have high exposure in existing topics such as vector control management, legislation for EH and safety, health and safety risk assessment, as well as newly proposed topics including critical literature evaluation and innovation in creating awareness activities. The findings from this survey could serve as a guide to improvise EH curricula to ensure the EH programs continue to produce students with the necessary skills, knowledge, and competencies.

Lazada is one of the famous online e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia. Even though it is the same organization, but the operation, and mechanism in every country is not 100% the same, because it will localize the user experiences and user interface for every country. In this study, Malaysia and Thailand is chosen to determine if the localization of user experience and user interface will affect on the security mechanism. Due to the large amount of online transaction, it is needed to have a strong security mechanism to protect the users from the internet hackers and scam. Hence, in this research, the security mechanism from users' perspective will be studied. The most used security constructs such as Transaction Procedure, Technical Protection, Security Statements, Perceived Security and Perceived Trust are studied to identify the difference in the extent of the electronic payment system (EPS) used in Lazada between Malaysian and Thai users. Quantitative research method is applied with total of 250 samples collected from Malaysian and Thai users. The collected data is analysed through SPSS with Pearson Correlation Analysis to determine the hypothesis. The results of the data analysis indicate that Malaysians and Thais have different perceptions of the security mechanisms on Lazada, with Malaysians placing greater emphasis on Security Statements and Technical Protection and Thais on Security Statements and Perceived Trust. It proved that the localization of user interface and user experiences from the perspective of security mechanism will bring different perspectives for the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various techniques have been introduced among educators to relate concepts to application, from inductive learning, discovery learning, and student-centred learning (SCL). Mathematics has always been taught the traditional way--teacher is the main person to teach through lectures and activities, with students mostly in the passive receiver mode (O'Neill & Mc Mahon, 2005). Students in Malaysia are very exam-oriented and adamant to the end grade, the score they must achieve to secure a good Grade Point Average through memorising and regurgitating facts. Those who dislike mathematics have to undergo remedial sessions and repeat the course, yet still only manage a low passing grade. This study explored the effects of the student-centred learning (SCL) approach in Mathematics on learning skills among pre-university students and teachers; and their perceptions of the SCL technique in the course. Through a quantitative approach and interviews with the selected samples, the data was analysed and discussed against the Constructivist theory as the theoretical framework. Results revealed that the learning skills were demonstrated in SCL through students' heightened interaction and cooperation, in and outside of the classroom, better planning of the lesson and their learning, with some elements of analytic skills being portrayed. These students are less passive receivers of knowledge; more responsive, and able to relate to their experiences. The study also highlighted the gap which existed between what students expected in their learning and what teachers have taught; in terms of curriculum design as well as assessment. (Contains 5 tables.)

Forest management practices have been addressed widely in the forestry discipline but are rarely considered from a linguistic perspective. Linguistic exploration of the construction of meaning in forest discourses helps provide greater detail on how forest resources are governed through the forest management practices carried out by forestry professionals. This study adopted the approach from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and Halliday's Introduction to Functional Grammar to examine how lexicogrammatical resources are used by forestry professionals to institutionalise their narrative on sustainable forest management practices. Six field inspection reports issued by the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia were selected as data for analysis. The reports were examined as a genre to ascertain their generic structure and the elements they contained. The findings show that the reports provide essential information concerning various aspects of forest management best practices, including technical information of the forest areas, their geographical and topographical conditions within and around the areas, the distribution of tree stands and other equally important aspects including their environmental, socio-economic and economic values. This paper suggests that a linguistic orientation employed in uncovering forestry matters such as the field inspection report allows concrete evidence of how forest management practices are communicated, especially in written reports and whether these practices are aptly represented through their language use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia has seen the third wave of infection since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with approximately 103 construction sites involving over 14,677 workers reported from April 2020 to February 2021. This has led to limited progress in construction projects or a complete halt, resulting in late project delivery. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the spread of COVID-19 and the strategies taken by the affected construction sites to mitigate the spread of the outbreak. The researchers adopted a case study approach with a multiple-case design and discusses the use of an in-depth interviewing method to collect rich data on the studied phenomenon. Data collected from three construction sites. The sites were mixed development projects in nature and provided in-depth, rigorous, and robust information. Based on the results, two categories of factors influencing the spread of COVID-19 were established. These are primary and secondary factors, such as workers' mobilisation, uncontrolled movement of workers, and the limited practice of social distancing. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the strategies adopted to control the effects of the pandemic were a combination of government enforcement and initiatives taken by construction companies. This paper concludes that an early identification of the causes of the spread will enable appropriate implementation strategies to control the outbreak. This study is an attempt to present the experiences of one developing country as an example of a means of dealing with unexpected pandemics or other intractable diseases that can affect project delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rat bocavirus (RBoV) and rodent bocavirus (RoBoV) have previously been detected in Rattus norvegicus; however, these viruses have not been reported in rodent populations in Malaysia. We investigated the presence of RBoV and RoBoV in archived rodent specimens. DNA barcoding of the rodent cytochrome c oxidase gene identified five different species: Rattus tanezumi R3 mitotype, Rattus tiomanicus, Rattus exulans, Rattus argentiventer, and Rattus tanezumi sensu stricto. Three spleens were positive for RBoV (1.84%; 3/163), but no RoBoV was detected. Phylogenetic analyzes of the partial non-structural protein 1 gene grouped Malaysian RBoV strains with RBoV strains from China. Further studies among rats from different geographical locations are warranted for this relatively new virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of augmented reality as a teaching aid among teachers is becoming more widespread. So, it is a must to create a holistic framework of augmented reality in order to enhance the teaching and learning context. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop an augmented reality immersive learning design (AILeaD) framework by using the Fuzzy Delphi Technique. The objective of this research is to gain experts' consensus in building and identifying constructs and elements as well as their place in the AILeaD framework. The Fuzzy Delphi Technique is used as a systematic method to evaluate, verify as well as to make a decision in modifying all needed constructs and elements in order to create the AILeaD framework through the consensus of the experts. The research questionnaire is divided into three sections which are technology skills, instructional designs and type of augmented reality applications in a total of 36 items and using the Likert-7 point scale. The sample of this research consists of 10 experts from educational technology, teaching technology, augmented reality and model development. The finding showed that the experts agreed and approved all of the constructs and elements where the three conditions were fulfilled which are the item value is less than or same with the threshold value (d) < 0.2, experts' consensus percentage exceeded 75% and defuzzification value per item exceeded α-cut = 0.5. This study could contribute to the educational policy that focuses on the development of teaching quality with the improvement of existing skills among educators through the innovation and utilization of technology in the teaching and learning context. This is in line with Malaysia Education Blueprint known as Shift 7 (2013-2025) where it leverages the utilization of ICT to enhance the quality of education in Malaysia. The implication of this study is to make the AILeaD framework as a guideline for teachers, lecturers and instructional designers in producing the teaching aids in accordance with augmented reality and taking Gagne Nine Events, Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning dan Revised Bloom Taxonomy into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Malaysia, the use of intravenous sedation for dental treatment is not well-practiced by dentists as majority of them do not have the experience and training in giving intravenous (IV) sedation for their patients. We describe 2 cases of adult patients with Down syndrome successfully underwent IV sedation for dental treatment using midazolam and the procedure's benefit is discussed. The aim of this case report is to show that intravenous sedation using midazolam can be successfully performed by a well-trained dental specialist in Malaysia with a proper protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to identify the needs for the development of communication skills based on the learning style module for vocational college students. This study employed a quantitative approach of the survey study design. The respondents consisted of 109 communication skills lecturers at vocational colleges throughout Malaysia. Analysis of the study showed that the overall mean value for all three constructs; the problem (M=3.8441), knowledge (M=4.2058), and need (4.5811), were high. Meanwhile, the results of t-test showed no significant difference for all three constructs; problem [t (109) = 0.279; p = 0.718, (p> 0.05)], knowledge [t (109) = 1.222; p = 0.224, (p> 0.05)], and need [t (109) = 0.812; p = 0.419, (p> 0.05)] for gender. In conclusion, the development of this Communication Skills Based on Learning Style Module is proposed as a teaching aid to improve students' mastery of communication skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though listening comprehension is an important language skill in second language learning, it is considered to be the most difficult skill to learn. Besides, the teaching of listening comprehension among primary pupils is often neglected even though the role of listening comprehension in language teaching has been repeatedly emphasized. Using an action research design, this study explores the teaching of listening comprehension utilizing YouTube and Video-Podcast involving 40 Primary Year 4 pupils from one of the cluster schools of excellence in the northern region of Malaysia. This study attempts to investigate to what extent did the use of YouTube and Video-Podcast enhance Primary Year 4 pupils' listening comprehension. This study adopted multiple data collection methods including pre-post tests, reflection, observation, and focused group interviews. However, the data analysis section was mostly pre and post tests data and observation. Only these data collection and analysis tools will be expanded in this study, and not the reflection and focus group interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed statistically using paired sample t-test while thematic analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative data. The findings revealed that YouTube and Video-Podcast yielded positive significant impact on listening comprehension skills among Primary ESL pupils. There was statistically significant increase in listening comprehension scores from pre-test and post-test. Four themes emerged from the observation data. It increased learners' participation and understanding, developed team spirit as well as enhanced interest and motivation of the young learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of dental anxiety among transgender women (TGW) in Malaysia is still unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental anxiety among TGW and its associated factors. A cross sectional study was conducted among 100 TGW from 16th-18th August 2019 during a medical camp in Terengganu, Malaysia using universal sampling. A validated Malay version of Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) was used to assess the prevalence of dental anxiety among TGW. Bivariate (Chi-square and Mann Whitney tests) and multivariate analysis (Multiple logistic regression) were used to assess the association between dental anxiety and sociodemographic profile. P value of <0.05 was set as statistically significant. One hundred participants included in the study. A fifth of them had history of being discriminated when seeking dental treatments. Eighty-seven percent of the respondents had dental anxiety with a quarter of them had extreme dental anxiety (dental phobia). The percentage of MDAS anxiety scores associated with the use of the drill and intraoral local anaesthetic injection was found to be the highest among other items. However, bivariate and multivariate analysis performed failed to find any significant association between dental anxiety and sociodemographic profile. It is foreseeable that majority of TGW have dental anxiety. Therefore, it is crucial for the dental practitioner to acknowledge this finding and offer appropriate dental management in overcoming dental anxiety among TGW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study on the implementation of the construction and demolition waste management practices in the Malaysian construction sector. The scope was limited to the housing and high-rise buildings. Characterization of reuse and recycling potential was done using descriptive statistics. It is estimated that the waste generated by the housing sector is approximately 16% of the gross materials used, which is about 8.8 million tons/year, and 32% of such waste (approximately 2.8 million tons/year) has the potential for reuse and recycling. However, the high-rise building construction generates construction waste in a large quantity of more than 10 million tons/years (about 70% of the building construction waste), which shows a high potential for reusability and recycling. The reasons behind the low recycling potential for the construction and demolition (C&D) waste generates by the housing sector are found that its quality is low and contains some types of contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There was lack of local study assessing the oral health related quality of life (OHRQOL) of patients with periodontal diseases. Hence, this study aims to assess the OHRQOL and its associated factors in adult patients who were diagnosed with gingivitis and periodontitis. This was a cross sectional study conducted from May to December 2018 among 100 participants attended Periodontal Clinic, Kulliyyah of Dentistry of International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) using purposive sampling methods. Clinical parameters of participants were recorded by a single examiner then followed by a self-administered questionnaire using the validated short version of Oral Health Impact Profile(S-OHIP) (Malay) to assess the OHRQOL and its associated factors. The OHRQOL of participants were reported using mean and standard deviation. The factors associated with OHRQOL were determined using independent t-test and Spearman correlation test. The mean score for S-OHIP was 14.73 ± 9.24. Participants with periodontitis have higher SOHIP score compared to those with gingivitis. There were significant association between OHRQOL and underlying diabetes mellitus, self-perceived oral health status and self-perceived oral health satisfaction with p value < 0.05. This shows that those with underlying diabetes mellitus have higher S-OHIP score indicated poorer OHRQOL. Meanwhile, those who perceived they have either good or very good oral hygiene and satisfied with their oral health have lower S-OHIP score indicated better OHRQOL. This study found that periodontal diseases have significant association with the OHRQOL. Therefore, reinforcement of oral health education by the dentists is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illness experience which was very much a private matter is now increasingly becoming a shared public experience on different public spaces including social media, and other interactive online platform such as personal blogs. Past research has shown that sharing illness experience provides emotional support which surpasses traditional face to face support. In addition, studies also suggest that online sharing of illness experience can be both therapeutic as well as beneficial for cancer patients. Thus, exploring cancer discourse on media is important in enhancing understanding of the nature and characteristics of cancer discourse as constructed on social media. This is especially important in breast cancer illness, in the Malaysian context in which survival rate remains low due to lack of awareness and reluctance to perform screening. Hence, a total of three personal blogs written by breast cancer survivors from Malaysia were examined in this study. Taking a discourse analytic perspective, this study explored the positions taken by bloggers when constructing their illness experience and how these positions are realised through the different discursive strategies and linguistic devices. The findings provide insights into how breast cancer patients position themselves when they share their illness experience online. Understanding this new form of illness sharing provides an avenue to better understand breast cancer patients' journey and their struggles, and the different roles relevant parties can play in their own health care management and information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the perceptions among Muslims in Malaysia on common dental procedures during fasting. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the perception about common dental procedures during fasting on 377 Muslim adults in Kuantan, Malaysia. The total cumulative score derived from the perception section was categorized into good and poor perception based on the median score, where a score less than median score was categorized as poor perception and a score equal to or more than median score was categorized as good perception. We further examined association between perception score with sociodemographic data. Majority respondents perceived that most of the dental procedures will not nullify their fast with 50.9% of them categorized as having good perception based on median score. There was significant association between perception with education level (p=0.04) and Islamic education level (p<0.001). Majority of the Muslims perceived that most dental procedures did not nullify their fast. Hence, further research is necessary to explore the reason for reduced dental attendance among Muslim patients during fasting month despite their good perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of ICT policies in investigating o Behavioral Intention (BI) and Use Behavior (UB) factors by employing experience and workload of teachers as moderator. The identified factors were Use Expectancy (UE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions (FC) and Teacher Efficacy (TE). Experience and workload are defined as moderator variables, and integrated into the study model. The data were collected through a questionnaire among 720 teachers in Malaysia. The findings showed UE, SI, FC, and TE were significant factors affecting BI and UB. The findings of empirical analysis also revealed that experience factors moderate the relationship between FC and UB. Meanwhile, workload factors moderate (1) UE and BI relationships, and (2) TE and BI relationships. This study also provided positive implications for efforts to promote learning practices using a blended learning approach through constructive guidance to policymakers and planning for professional development of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy is one of the treatment options in cancer treatment by using high-energy radiation to damage the cancer cells and abstain from continuously dividing. The side-effects of radiotherapy can be seen in terms of physical, emotional, and psychological aspects. Radiation therapists (RTTs) are responsible for delivering radiotherapy for cancer patients and can potentially deliver psychosocial and supportive care (PSOSC). Therefore, a study was conducted to identify radiation therapists' knowledge and perception of Psychosocial and supportive care (PSOSC). The survey consisted of eight-point Likert scale considered a close-ended question and questions that needed the answer in statement form categorized as open-ended questions, randomly arranged, and a few negatively worded. Every statement is divided into three themes: personal convictions and motivations, professional preparedness and execution, and environmental resources and facilitators. The audience was asked to answer the questionnaires representing their opinion (1 = "strongly disagree" to 8 "strongly agree"). A total of 52 radiation therapists have responded, and results were analyzed using descriptive and Spearman correlation tests in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. The questionnaire showed a firm agreement on theme 1 and moderate agreement on themes 2 and 3. The median number of hours spent by a radiation therapist for PSOSC was 5 hours per week. The median percentage rate for referring patients to other professionals (e.g., dieticians, doctors and nutritionists) was 80%. A descriptive test was performed for 34 statements and the mean and standard deviation outcomes. A solid SD of 1.48 shows the homogeneity of agreement among RTTs towards providing helpful advice and help for cancer patients, which relies on the sufficiency of understanding of a person's inner life. Radiation therapists could recognize the effectiveness of delivering the service to patients' emotions and psychology. The knowledge on mastering specific skills can be improvised by attending specific courses such as management of emotional distress. Based on the data, the confidence level to attend a PSOSC session is still moderate, and advanced professional training can help overcome this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robots are now widely used for psychological intervention in the mental care sector. The enormous of technology changes has become incredibly important to the industry. Through innovation, industry offers treatment or solution for those who suffered with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). From the literature reviewed, physically pleasing robots or humanoids have replaced humans to assist with brain-impaired children. Since this is a new area in Malaysia, literature has been scarce. Thus, this article will examine the provision of relevant theories supported the use of humanoid in autism and their impacts on society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Paediatric palliative care in Malaysia is underdeveloped, but there is recent increasing awareness and interest in this speciality. In September 2012, the Health Minister of Malaysia launched an initiative to support a nationwide provision of this service. Aim This study aims to explore the knowledge and practice of healthcare providers and their barriers to referral for palliative care prior to development of a nationwide service. Design Self-administered questionnaire survey. Participants Hospital-based paediatricians and paediatric nurses. Results There were 292 participants (69 paediatricians). The majority (92.7%) were females and the median age for the paediatricians and nurses was 37 years (range 27–60) and 31 years (range 21–58), respectively. General paediatrics was the predominant speciality of the respondents (61.3%) and 59.3% had more than 5 years paediatric experience. Of the 28.8% of the responders who thought they have basic palliative care knowledge, 40.5% believed morphine used in palliative care is addictive, 34.9% thought palliative care hastens death, and 44.3% were neutral or agreed that palliative care is associated with euthanasia. Over a quarter of all respondents (28.2%) professed to be confident in providing palliative care and 30.1% were confident in providing bereavement support. Of the 29% paediatricians confident in providing palliative care, less than half were confident of controlling pain or dyspnoea at end-of-life. The most common perceived barrier to referral by paediatricians (79.4%) was the lack of accessible palliative care services. Conclusion There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of palliative care among healthcare providers. Focused training and supportive policies are necessary to develop this service in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Identification of pineapple cultivar solely based upon traditional method which only based on morphology. However, this approach could results in inaccurate cultivar identification and inconsistent. In this study, we conducted phenetic analysis of 9 Malaysian pineapple cultivars based on DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region to evaluate utility of the region as a barcode in identification of pineapple cultivars and to determine phenetic relationships among cultivar. Genomic DNA was directly extracted, and ITS region was amplified and sequenced. Phenetic analysis revealed that the pineapple cultivars used in this study were classified into three groups with high sequence similarity among them. This clearly showed that the DNA barcode from ITS region have good discrimination power to distinguish the pineapple cultivar. Since the tree distinctly separated into three group of cultivar, consensus sequences served as DNA barcode for Malaysian pineapple cultivar can be constructed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A study was done to determine the concentrations of surfactants on the sea-surface microlayer and in atmospheric aerosols in several coastal areas around the Malaysian peninsula. The concentrations of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer (collected using rotation drum) and from aerosols (collected using HVS) were analyzed as methylene blue active substances and disulphine blue active substances through the colorimetric method using a UV–vis spectrophotometer. The results of this study showed that the average concentrations of surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer ranged between undetected and 0.36±0.34μmolL−1 for MBAS and between 0.11±0.02 and 0.21±0.13μmolL−1 for DBAS. The contribution of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer to the composition of surfactants in atmospheric aerosols appears to be very minimal and more dominant in fine mode aerosols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrations, sources and interactions between black carbon (BC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in 42 sediment samples collected from riverine, coastal and shelf areas in Peninsular Malaysia. The concentrations of BC measured by benzene polycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method and PAHs showed broad spatial variations between the relatively pristine environment of the East coast and developed environment of the West and South coast ranging from 0.02 to 0.36% dw and 57.7 ng g-1 dw to 19,300 ng g-1 dw, respectively. Among diagnostic ratios of PAHs, the ratios of Ant/(Ant+Phe) and LMW/HMW drew the clearest distinctions between the East coast versus the West and South coast sediments indicating the predominance of petrogenic sources in the former versus pyrogenic sources in the latter. PAHs significantly correlated with BC and total organic carbon (TOC) in the sediments (p < 0.05) having similar correlation coefficients. BC accounted for 6.06 to 30.6% of TOC in sediments. [Display omitted] • BC and PAHs were investigated in riverine, coastal and shelf sediments of Malaysia. • Elevated levels of BC and PAHs were detected in the developed environments. • Petrogenic vs. pyrogenic PAHs dominated the East vs. the West and South coasts. • BC and TOC showed almost similar correlation coefficients with PAHs. • BC accounted for 6.06 to 30.6% of TOC in sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates bacterial diversity and potential pathogens in the international ships' ballast water at Tanjung Pelepas Port, Malaysia, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Thirty-four bacterial phylum, 305 families, 577 genera, and 941 species were detected in eight ballast water samples of different origins. The similarity of the bacterial composition between samples was found to be random and not tied to geographical locations. The bacterial abundance did not seem to be affected by related physicochemical except for temperature. Ballast water samples with a temperature lower than 25 °C showed a relatively lower bacterial abundance. A total of 33 potential pathogens were detected from all ballast water samples. Pseudomonas spp., Tenacibaculum spp., Flavobacteriaceae spp., Halomonas spp., and Acinetobacter junii are the potential pathogens with more than 10% OTU prevalence. This study would provide beneficial information for further enhancing ballast water microorganism guidelines in Malaysia. • 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to examine the bacterial microbiome of ballast water • Bacterial diversity between samples was not tied to geographical locations. • Thirty-three species of potential pathogens were detected from ships ballast water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]