Psychological stress and coping strategies among nursing students during the Covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Nursing students encountered distinctive obstacles during their academic careers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An increase in mental health concerns was the consequence of the pandemic, which necessitated numerous modifications to their daily routines. Subsequently, students have implemented distinct stress-management strategies that are contingent upon their individual perspectives. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the psychological stress levels and coping strategies employed by nursing students during this time. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional investigation was implemented online. The data were gathered through online surveys, which encompassed assessments of stress perception and coping strategies. The survey was divided into three sections: Part A collected demographic data, Part B employed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Part C employed the Coping Strategies Scale. Results: The study included a total of 220 respondents, who were between the ages of 18 and 25. Among undergraduate students, Year 4 had the maximum representation (35%), followed by Year 1 (22.2%), Years 2 and 3 (21.4%), and so forth. Moderate worry was reported by the majority of students (70.9%). The mean (±SD) score on the Perceived Stress Scale was 20.54 (±6.062), and the mean (±SD) score on the Coping Strategies Scale was 39.47 (±5.848). Conclusion: The study did not identify any correlation or impact between the perceived stress scale, coping strategies, or any of the sociodemographic factors among nursing students. The examination of these factors will enhance comprehension of the mental health obstacles encountered by nursing students during the pandemic. This information can guide the development of targeted interventions by healthcare providers and educational institutions, including stress management workshops, enhanced access to mental health resources, and modifications to curriculum delivery to more effectively support student well-being during future crises

Competency and self-efficacy among trainee teachers in teaching Arabic language

School teaching practicum is an important place in teacher training, it is the theoretical part of teacher training. The requirement of enhancing teaching skills among undergraduate educational students has initiated universities to conduct school teaching practicum programme as part of study plan in the final semester. Hence, there is a need to train the students with the important pedagogical knowledge and skills related to the school workplace and their gained knowledge. This mixed method study was conducted to investigate level of competency and self-efficacy among students in teaching Arabic during school practicum in the Kulliyyah of Education, IIUM among students in the Bachelor of Teaching Arabic Language as a Second Language. A sample of 39 final year students. The main elements were investigated in this study: perceived teaching competency in content knowledge, and competency in instructional strategies, perceived teaching self-efficacy in teaching and self-efficacy in classroom. The study indicates that most Teaching of Arabic Language students show high competency and self-efficacy during teaching practicum in general. The students also expressed their suggestions for further improvement for the teaching practices in IIUM through open-ended responses

A study of oil and gas producers subsector portfolio using the trade-off ranking method

In the topic of stock selection, numerous multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques have been applied to handle selection difficulties. This paper proposes a compromise approach for the subsector stocks of oil and gas companies, motivated by the pandemic crisis and the political issue in Malaysia. The paper presents a novel analysis of the existing trade-off ranking (TOR) method for ranking the stocks of oil and gas producers in conflicting multi-criteria problems. As a result, the TOR technique ranks the subsector stocks effectively for two criteria weights. Comparison with TOPSIS shows that both methods exhibit similar performance

A methodology to investigate university building condition for life cycle cost of maintenance

Education buildings are important assets in the universities that are purposely built to provide a conducive and secure environment to the staff and students in facilitating them to execute teaching, learning and academic programmes, research, consultancies, and administrative activities for the development of knowledge, skills, culture, and personality. Nonetheless, in the face of multiple effects of inflation on the economy, the maintenance work for the facilities in university education buildings has become very complex and a thorny issue. There has been a demand to re-examine and improve the practice of university building maintenance methodology by emphasising the optimisation of maintenance life cycle cost to facilitate the university agencies in measuring their longterm financial capability to pay maintenance costs based on the efficient use of capital and resources throughout the service life. This paper is prepared to present the methodology to investigate the university building maintenance condition and operational performance as inputs for developing a life cycle cost of maintenance database prototype. The methods designed for the study are a qualitative research strategy incorporating three fieldwork approaches, i.e., the semistructured interview, building condition assessment (BCA), and quick response codes (QR) approaches. The methodology is proposed to investigate the operational performance and maintenance condition of teaching and learning facilities in the chosen university building case study to produce outputs for the development of prototype of life cycle cost database requirements of university building, which would add value to the core services of the university and in line with the key drivers of Malaysian Science, Technology, Innovation, and Economy (MySTIE) framework

Formulation and characterization of sertu kaolin clay paste for cleaning of medical equipment and wound treatment

The treatment of the wounds inflicted by dogs and wild boars becoming a significant public concern. From Islamic contexts, it demands effective and Shariah-compliant cleaning methods. Current practices predominantly employ soil-based soap, raising questions about its scientific efficacy and safety for wound treatment and medical equipment cleansing. This study is executed to formulate and characterize a Shariah-compliant kaolin clay paste designed for sertu applications in the medical field, for both wound areas and medical equipment cleansing. Kaolin clay was selected as the soil medium in the formulated sertu clay paste and underwent various characterizations, including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analyses. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of kaolinite in the kaolin clay. This is also further evidenced by the presence of bonds between Al and Mg ions and hydroxyl groups in the FTIR spectra. The irregular morphology of the kaolin particles observed through SEM, contributed to an increase in surface area, thereby enhancing the interaction between clay and other components. The formulated clay paste was further evaluated through pH measurement, irritation analysis, antimicrobial testing, and corrosion testing to assess its performance. The results indicated that the formulation produced a stable sertu clay paste, with pH values ranging from 8.34 to 9.52 and a primary irritation index (PII) of 4.38 which is within acceptable range for wound treatment. Additionally, the paste proved suitable for cleansing medical instruments, as no significant corrosion or bacterial growth was observe

Role of social meedia and behavioral finance on gen Z travel behaviour

Travel decisions among Gen Z are largely shaped by social media engagement, financial literacy, and economic stability, yet the extent to which these factors contribute to travel behaviour remains underexplored. While social media provides real-time travel recommendations and personalized experiences, it also promotes aspirational lifestyles that may lead to impulsive spending. This study aims to identify the key predictors of Gen Z travel behaviour by examining the role of social media use, social media influence, financial literacy, and financial security. The findings provide important insights for tourism stakeholders, policymakers, and educators in designing travel-related initiatives targeted at Gen

Determinants of caregiver burden in community-dwelling caregivers of patients with severe and persistent mental illness

Loss of independence due to cognitive and functional ability is the main challenge experienced by individuals with severe mental illness. This study aimed to investigate the associated factors of caregiver burden among caregivers of individuals with severe and persistent mental illness living in the community. We used a cross-sectional design with open-ended questions to determine the contributing factors to caregiver burden. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure caregiver burden and resilience (n=201). Caregiver burden and resilience were operationalized using the caregiver burden inventory scale (CBI) and Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RS), respectively. The findings showed that the caregivers were experiencing a moderate level of caregiver burden (M=30.7, SD=20.3). Caregiving-related stressors are the most important predictor of caregiver burden, explaining 28.3% of the variance in caregiver burden. Finally, the hierarchical analysis found that resilience, caregiver-related stressors, and socio-demographic factors contributed to 52.4% of the variance in caregiver burden. New factors that contributed to the burden, such as lack of support and knowledge deficit, emerged from the qualitative findings. The results highlighted the growing evidence of the role of caregivers' socio-demographic variables, caregiving-related stressors, and resilience to caregiver burden

Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: a preliminary usability study

Introduction: Virtual reality (VR) has been widely used in medical and health sciences education since the late twentieth century. VR complements the conventional teaching and learning (T&L) approach by providing an engaging and immersive 3D spatial learning environment, especially for understanding the orientation of anatomical structures. Despite these advantages, the usability and student preference of highly immersive head-mounted display-based (HMD) and less immersive desktop-based (DB) VR in human anatomy courses have yet to be determined. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 49 Year-2 medical students were recruited through a convenient sampling. The participants were asked to identify 15 skeletal system components using the HMD and DB platform with human anatomy VR application. Both applications’ System Usability Scale (SUS) and preference scores were obtained via a self-administered questionnaire. The data were expressed as median [IQR] and statistically analysed using MATLAB R2022b. Results: Most participants preferred the HMD over the DB platform (p=0.04), especially the male participants (p=0.01). There was no significant difference in overall SUS scores between both platforms (p=0.14). However, when compared within and between genders, females scored significantly higher in the DB than HMD (p=0.02) and higher than males’ DB SUS scores (p=0.03). Conclusion: The overall usability of HMD was comparable with the DB platform for learning human anatomy. Although most participants prefer to use the HMD, further exploration of why females prefer the DB is needed. Subsequently, VR application developers must consider gender-related adaptions to promote the equitability and inclusivity of the technology for all users