The socialization spectrum: Malay students and interethnic engagement

Malaysia’s multicultural society offers both challenges and opportunities for fostering interethnic engagement. This study explores the role of socialization among Malay students across three critical domains: family, peers, and media. Within families, cultural incongruence may limit exposure to diverse perspectives, while ethnically homogeneous peer groups often reinforce in-group norms, reducing opportunities for meaningful interethnic interactions. Similarly, biased media narratives can perpetuate stereotypes and hinder inclusive attitudes. These barriers illustrate the complex interplay between socialization domains in shaping Malay students’ attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors toward interethnic relations. By understanding these dynamics, this research sheds light on the factors influencing interethnic engagement and their implications for social cohesion. Addressing these challenges can help foster stronger bonds between ethnic groups, promoting a more inclusive and harmonious society. Ultimately, this study contributes to ongoing efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s social fabric through targeted interventions and policies that enhance interethnic understanding and cooperation

The Chinese adaptation of turnover intention scale in early childhood pre-service teachers

The issue of teacher turnover is a global concern, with particularly devastating impacts on early childhood education. Turnover intention (TI) is the most powerful predictor of actual turnover behavior, making early identification of TI crucial for reducing attrition among early childhood preservice teachers (PSTs). Despite this, no measurement tool exists in China to assess the TI of early childhood PSTs. This study aimed to provide a Chinese version of turnover intention scale for student teachers (TIS-ST) and evaluate its psychometric properties for assessing the TI of Chinese early childhood PSTs. A stratified random sampling method was used to select a sample of 537 early childhood PSTs. The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of TIS-ST were assessed through construct validity, measurement invariance, convergent validity, internal consistency reliability, item analysis, and composite reliability analyses. The results demonstrated that the Chinese version of TIS-ST has adequate validity, reliability, and measurement invariance across age. The Chinese version of TIS-ST can facilitate the dynamic identification and understanding of Chinese early childhood PSTs’ TI across different ages and can lead to targeted interventions that address the root causes of attrition among early childhood PSTs. This can ultimately result in more stable and effective early childhood education systems

Effectiveness of online project-based learning on Chinese EFL learners’ critical thinking skills and reading comprehension ability

Critical thinking skills (CTS) and reading comprehension ability (RCA) are crucial for academic success among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. However, many Chinese college EFL learners face challenges in developing these skills due to traditional instructional methods that prioritize teacher-centered learning and rote memorization. Grounded in sociocultural theory (SCT) and Critical Thinking Framework, this study investigates the effectiveness of an online Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach integrated with critical thinking (hereafter referred to as “online PBL”) in enhancing CTS and RCA among Chinese college EFL learners. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the PBL teaching steps and the reliability of the measurement instruments. Following this, an 11-week quasi-experiment was implemented. The experimental group participated in online PBL, emphasizing student-driven projects, problem solving, and the explicit application of CTS. In contrast, the comparison group followed the traditional Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) method, which focuses on structured, teacher led presentations and practice. Pre- and post-tests using the International Critical Thinking Reading and Writing Test (ICTRWT) were employed to assess learners’ CTS and RCA. Data analysis through multivariate repeated measures ANOVA indicated statistically significant improvements in the experimental group’s CTS and RCA compared to the comparison group, with moderate to large effect sizes. These findings support the effectiveness of integrating online tools with critical thinking and PBL methodologies in EFL contexts, although the study is limited by its small sample size and single post-test assessment

A clinical case of acute scrotal syndrome on the background of primary scrotal lipoma and literature review

Background: Primary scrotal lipomas are exceptionally uncommon entities within the scrotal sac frequently occur in younger males under 40. It usually painless and found incidentally during imaging. They are generally categorized based on their site of origin. Case presentation: A 36-year-old man presented with an acute onset of severe left scrotal pain at midnight. Clinical examination revealed two scrotal masses in the left hemiscrotum associated with excruciating tenderness on palpation and loss of cremasteric reflex. Ultrasonography showed a well-defined, oval-shaped, isoechoic lesion underlying the median raphe of scrotum alongside bilateral normal testes. Given the intensity of unexplained pain despite high dose of analgesia, urgent scrotal exploration was done. Intra-operatively, a yellowish, firm mass was identified at the upper pole of the left main testis which was excised. Histopathological examination revealed a primary scrotal lipoma with no necrotic area seen. Conclusions: Ultrasound is typically the first-line imaging technique to exclude more sinister pathology. The atypical presentation of excruciating pain mimicking testicular torsion in our case complicates the diagnostic process. Scrotal lipoma can be and should be excised as the standard treatment albeit found incidentally

Enhancing secure QR code steganography through artificial intelligence: a conceptual framework

The incorporation of modern barcode decoding technology into smartphones allows for the extraction of data contained inside QR codes. The use of QR codes for transmitting confidential information, such as e-tickets, discounts, and other sensitive data, raises worries about potential security risks. It is imperative to employ resilient QR code algorithms to guarantee the security of QR code applications in response to this challenge. This study presents a method for achieving product authentication through data concealing. The strategy involves using user data to generate a QR (Quick Response) code, which is then embedded into the product logo picture. The embedded QR code is not visible to the human eye. QR codes are renowned for their robust error-correcting system and excel in concealing random information. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) are a type of deep neural networks that enable the analysis of visual images and the recognition of patterns. The aim of this article is to employ the CNN method to conceal a QR code within the logo picture of a user's products. The suggested model consists of two Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), namely an encoder CNN and a decoder CNN. The role of the encoder Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is to integrate the QR code into the user's product logo picture and produce an output image that closely resembles the original user image. The job of the decoder convolutional neural network (CNN) is to take the output of the encoder CNN as input and produce the embedded QR code picture as output. Our technique incorporates advanced security measures and conceals sensitive information, thereby preventing the unauthorized replication and misuse of the QR code