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While there are research studies into students' affective perspectives revolving around science and science education over the last five decades, there are few studies on students' attitudes and beliefs in these areas in developing countries in South East Asia, particularly those that do not participate in international assessment programs. This quantitative study investigated the affective profiles of Year 9/10 students in science/science learning from seven South East Asian countries and Australia to understand the similarities and differences in students' attitudes and the implications in advancing the STEM education agenda in these countries. Comparative studies perform several important functions that are closely interlinked and this study heightens our awareness of the impact of systems and cultures on students' emotional views in the areas of science/science education, allowing country coordinators and policy makers to compare and review teaching practices to enhance student engagement and performance. The implications of the study are discussed.

In this study, the levels of knowledge, awareness, and acceptance of research misconduct were investigated among the Pharmacy academics and students in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was carried out. A total of 393 pharmacy academics and students in Malaysia were involved. Perceived research misconduct, as defined in this study as the perception of any research misconduct performed or observed by the respondents at their institution, was captured and further analyzed. The data was analysed using PLS-SEM to assess the hypotheses which were formulated prior to the survey. The findings show that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the awareness of terminologies regarding research misconduct and perceived research misconduct in the workplace of respondents. However, the acceptance of unethical practices in research demonstrates a negative correlation with perceived research misconduct. Knowledge and awareness regarding research misconduct have no statistically significant relationship with perceived research misconduct in this study. Both awareness of terminologies and acceptance of unethical practices explained a 10.8% variance in perceived research misconduct. Therefore, our study indicates that the awareness, knowledge, and acceptance of research misconduct might not be the main predictors of questionable conduct of research among pharmacy academics and students. Future study on the relationship between other factors which might contribute to research misconduct is highly recommended to investigate the significant contributing factors of irresponsible conduct of research among the Pharmacy academics and students in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a case study of a group of ten 14-year-old students who engaged with an online extended-learning project as an extracurricular activity for about 6 months. The students were physically located in Australia, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. The facilitation and online learning made use of a progressive pedagogy that moved from structured, whole group online participation to a more individual, open approach to learning. The study investigated students' motivation to participate in the online learning and explored the nature of the interactions in an online learning environment. The findings show that students interacted differently online, depending on the task at hand. Seven of the 10 students completed the final task of creating learning products. The implications of the study for online learning with high-ability school students are discussed. Putting the Research to Use: This research demonstrates that online support for high ability students is both possible and practical. Implementing this approach requires a structured approach to move the students progressively to more open-ended enquiry. This incremental approach reduces the extent of student drop-out and increases task completion when compared to more challenging open-ended tasks. Teachers or schools seeking to provide this kind of support to overcome geographic isolation of high ability students need to (a) plan carefully for the structured engagement with topics and with other students (b) remain closely involved in the initial stages of engagement and (c) only gradually remove their scaffolding as students demonstrate capacity to sustain independent interactions. Having a public purpose for the activity is also important. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 2 notes.)

Aim: Empathy is an essential aspect in the delivery of quality nutrition care and promoting better outcomes in patients. With an increased emphasis of patient‐centred care in dietetic practice, empathy should underpin the construct of the curriculum in dietetic education. The present study investigated the empathy level of dietetic interns through self‐reporting measures and patients' perception. Methods: This cross‐sectional study was conducted on a total of 57 dietetic interns and 99 patients from primary and tertiary health care settings. The dietetic interns completed the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) while the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure was self‐administered by patients. Socio‐demographic information of participants was collected. Results: The dietetic interns' mean (standard deviation [SD]) TEQ scores were 46.90 ± 5.28 and 47.78 ± 5.34 in primary and tertiary care, respectively. CARE measure scores rated by patients in the primary care were 38.61 ± 8.38 and for tertiary setting, the scores were slightly higher (39.47 ± 7.65). The settings, gender, ethnicity and period of internship did not affect dietetic interns' empathy level. In primary care, CARE scores were significantly different between patients' age grouping (P = 0.007). Conclusions: Findings from the present study showed that patients' age significantly affected their perception of dietetic interns' empathy in primary health care. These preliminary findings could facilitate an understanding of the level of empathy amongst interns for consideration in the future design of dietetic training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia has begun to locally mass-cultivate grain corn to reduce import dependency for animal feed industries. Since the Malaysian tropical climate constantly exposes grain corn to fungal colonization and mycotoxin production by mycotoxigenic species, it is, therefore, important to investigate the presence of fungal species, especially the mycotoxigenic strains in the Malaysian grain corn agroecosystem. In the present work, corn kernel, tassel, plant debris, and soil were collected from two pioneer grain corn farms (Kampong Dadong, KD; Rhu Tapai, RT), and morphological and molecular identifications were conducted. A total of 131 fungal isolates from 30 fungal species were recovered. Both KD and RT yielded log 4.7–6.7 CFU/g total fungal loads. Fusarium verticillioides was predominant in both farms, followed by the phytopathogenic Lasiodiplodia theobromae and the mycotoxigenic Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, F. incarnatum, and F. proliferatum. Mycotoxin analyses by high-performance liquid chromatography revealed that among 30 mycotoxigenic isolates tested for aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, HT-2, T-2, ochratoxins A, and zearalenone, approximately 25 of the isolates could produce at least one mycotoxin in vitro. The present work serves as a baseline for more comprehensive research to better predict and control fungal contamination and the subsequent mycotoxin accumulation in Malaysian grain corn agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Malaysia, advance care planning is still in its infancy. There is no national implementation of Advance Care Planning., Aims: To describe the national state of advance care planning development in Malaysia METHODS: Review of relevant advance care planning literature locally and internationally was undertaken., Results: Positive development in Malaysia includes implementation of advance care planning at institutional level, initiatives to develop educational programmes as well as research activities to understand the attitude and perception of patients on advance care planning. However, there remain challenges, including lack of knowledge and awareness, lack of legislative framework to guide advance care planning implementation and lack of strong initiatives at a national level., Conclusions: It is evident that there is much to learn nationally and internationally about ACP before any decision on implementation of ACP is made in Malaysia. ACP is a public health issue and requires concerted effort of all stakeholders, including Government agencies, academic institutions, and non-government organizations to raise public awareness. More research is needed to shape the future direction of ACP development in Malaysia., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)