An analysis of ethnic relationship in Sabah based on the concept of Mikorot (Bloodbrothers) among Dusun community

Many countries with various ethnicities often encountering the issue of ethnic conflicts. This issue generally linked with social relationship among members of the different ethnic groups and that this situation can be seen in Malaysia. For this reason, numbers of efforts have been made by the government to ensure that ethnic relations in Malaysia continues to be harmonious. Such efforts have been implemented through various programs, including the implementation of the Malaysian education policy. Nevertheless, the government's efforts to ensure harmonious ethnic relations are not new within the Dusun community in Sabah. This especially true following the practice of ‘mikorot’ among the Dusun community. By employing a qualitative approach, this paper explains the meanings and concepts of ‘mikorot’ in the culture of the Dusun community as well as to explain the ritual implementation of ‘mikorot’ and to understand the implications and challenges of ‘mikorot’ in the society

Ethnic Tolerance in Sabah: An Analysis of the Factors Affecting the Harmony of the People in Sabah

This paper explains the factors influencing the level of tolerance that exist among the various ethnics and religions in Sabah. It also analyses, at the macro level, the social cohesion of the societies in Sabah from the aspect of structural social relations as they relate to several micro-level studies made by researchers in Sabah, particularly in relation to issues of ethnic tolerance in the state. It therefore, appeared that the various ethnic and religious communities in Sabah are at a good ethnic tolerance level compared to other states in Peninsular Malaysia; this must be understood within a different context. This understanding must take into account the history of the various ethnic communities in Sabah as well as explain the cultural openness that causes the relaxation of cultural identity that is present among the population. Hence, it must be understood that the high ethnic tolerance level in Sabah is not something new, but have existed long before the arrival of the colonialists where the situation has manifested itself through the various forms of social relations, including the most intimate family relations (marriage)

A Case Study on Challenges of Students' Willingness to Orally Respond in English during Class Sessions in Sabah

Students’ willingness to respond in class is an important factor to ensure language usage and language acquisition. Literature reviews reveal that learners' levels of anxiety and self-confidence are predictors of students’ willingness to communicate in class. However, there has been a lack of studies conducted in the local context regarding anxiety as a predictor of willingness to respond in English. This study looked into students’ anxiety levels while communicating in English during Occupational Purpose class and the reasons for not being willing to respond in the online class orally. The class consisted of students from Malaysia and China studying in a local Malaysian university. During class, the instructor had to call out names to get students to answer questions asked. Classes were entirely conducted online and the assessments cover both written and oral aspects. Horwitz’s Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was adapted and Baharuddin’s three levels of anxiety mean measurement was used in this study. The FLCAS scale included 33 items of a five-point Likert scale which in this study was reversed with 1 “Strongly disagree” to 5 “Strongly agree” to measure the level of anxiety. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive analysis to include percentages and mean. The finding indicates that level of anxiety is not a predictor of WTC

Bichronous online learning l2 learners’ perceptions

English educators worldwide have been implementing multifarious online learning tools to teach students English, especially since the Covid-19 arrival. Researches on and adoption of online learning have vigorously increased since then to explore the effectiveness of umpteen online learning tools to ensure students get the best of education. With this regard, this paper looked into L2 learners’ perceptions towards bichronous online learning - a mixed mode of online learning in tertiary education and employed a quantitative method via questionnaire focusing on eliciting respondents’ perceptions on bichronous online learning, the challenges they faced while learning bichronously and the suggestions they proposed to improve bichronous online learning. The respondents involved were 30 first-year students taking the Essential Communication Skills course at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. In recapitulation, the findings portrayed positive perceptions of L2 learners towards bichronous online learning. It was also highlighted that poor internet connection, poor time management and lack of motivation were the core challenges of the blended mode while suggestions to enhance it were mainly on the use of multitudinous learning methods, more interactive platforms and creation of a conducive learning environment. These findings served as a foundation for devising suitable bichronous online learning materials for learning English effectively

Languaging and written corrective feedback in L2 writing

The aim of this article is to introduce the application of languaging as the mediational tool to enhance the written corrective feedback’s effectiveness in L2 writing. Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) shows L2 learners their grammatical and ungrammatical errors in writing. It is a form of feedback that is commonly applied pedagogically in writing class. With WCF, L2 learners can improve their ability to write without errors. Nevertheless, providing WCF alone without engaging L2 learners will make the L2 learners become passive learners. They merely copy their teachers’ WCF where they can neither identify nor correct their errors. Therefore, it is recommended that L2 learners are given the opportunity to engage (to notice and understand) with the WCF. Languaging creates the opportunity for L2 learners to engage with the teachers’ WCF. Languaging is a process where L2 learners make meaning, shape knowledge and experience through language. L2 learners use language (languaging) to solve difficult task like L2 writing. When L2 learners languaging the teachers’ WCF, they should be able to improve their writing skills. This paper has pedagogical implications in L2 writing

Post-covid 19 education landscape: A study on students’ perceptions on the impact of synchronous learning in oral communication course

Asynchronous mode in teaching and learning for oral communication is one way practiced by language instructors and students during the pandemic Covid-19.However, administering and learning through this mode have proven to bequite a challenge considering the lack of resources and knowledge theyexperienced now. This is a pilot study conducted to investigate the challengesor issues students faced in learning the oral skills online during the MovementControl Order (MCO) period. This pilot study utilised a questionnaire surveymethod for data collection. Recruitment of research participants was performedthrough purposive sampling. There were 80 participants that were involved inthe study who have taken the Oral Communication in English (OCE) course ina public university in Malaysia. The participants were between 21 to 24 yearsold, with 60 females and 20 males. The data was analysed using SPSS version27.Generally, participants felt that learning oral communication inasynchronous mode have helped them improve their oral communicationskills. It is hoped that this study’s findings will contribute to the developmentof an oral communication instructional framework in asynchronous mode tomeet the literacy needs of students

Tahap literasi ICT masyarakat di Sabah: Analisis dalam konteks literasi internet

Kepesatan pembangunan teknologi komunikasi telah mengubah cara hidup dan perhubungan manusia di seluruh dunia. Penggunaan teknologi komunikasi khususnya komputer atau telefon bimbit dengan kemudahan internet telah memudahkan perhubungan manusia dan mampu menjimatkan masa tanpa perlu melibatkan pertemuan fizikal dan perjalanan yang panjang. Ancaman virus COVID-19 yang telah mengganggu dan membatasi pergerakan manusia telah menyebabkan kebergantungan terhadap teknologi komunikasi yang melibatkan penggunaan komputer dan telefon dengan kemudahan internet semakin penting dalam urusan seharian. Kajian ini bertujuan mengukur tahap literasi internet menggunakan instrumen yang dibangunkan oleh Lau dan Yuen (2014) yang melibatkan seramai 1228 orang responden dari daerah Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan dan Tawau. Hasil kajian menunjukkan tahap literasi internet penduduk di Sabah adalah tinggi. Faktor-faktor seperti jantina, umur, pendidikan, status perkahwinan, pekerjaan dan pendapatan didapati mempunyai pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap tahap literasi internet dalam masyarakat. Sebaliknya faktor daerah dan strata luar bandar dan bandar didapati tidak mempengaruhi

Problems in the use of information communication technology (ICT) faced by the community in Sabah

The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted human life worldwide. The entire global community demands lifestyle changes to adapt to new norms. In Malaysia, the increasing spread of the Covid-19 virus has led the government to implement the Movement Control Order (MCO). As a result, routine activities become limited and controlled. In contrast, applications based on technology, information and communication (ICT) have become the main communication platform, especially in using the internet and online transactions. This article identifies the community's problems in Sabah, specifically on the use of ICT in their daily routines. Using a quantitative approach, data was obtained through a Google form survey, with a sample size of 1,128 involving three main districts: Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, and Tawau. This article found three main problems faced: infrastructure, costing, and security. These problems are interrelated; therefore, the government is advised to improve the existing and future infrastructure development policies to suit current needs

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales.

Correction to: 2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales. Archives of Virology (2021) 166:3567–3579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-021-05266-wIn March 2021, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by four families (Aliusviridae, Crepuscuviridae, Myriaviridae, and Natareviridae), three subfamilies (Alpharhabdovirinae, Betarhabdovirinae, and Gammarhabdovirinae), 42 genera, and 200 species. Thirty-nine species were renamed and/or moved and seven species were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV.This work was supported in part through Laulima Government Solutions, LLC prime contract with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. J.H.K. performed this work as an employee of Tunnell Government Services (TGS), a subcontractor of Laulima Government Solutions, LLC under Contract No. HHSN272201800013C. This work was also supported in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), under Contract No. 75N91019D00024, Task Order No. 75N91019F00130 to I.C., who was supported by the Clinical Monitoring Research Program Directorate, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research. This work was also funded in part by Contract No. HSHQDC-15-C-00064 awarded by DHS S&T for the management and operation of The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, a federally funded research and development center operated by the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (V.W.); and NIH contract HHSN272201000040I/HHSN27200004/D04 and grant R24AI120942 (N.V., R.B.T.). S.S. acknowledges partial support from the Special Research Initiative of Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES), Mississippi State University, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, Hatch Project 1021494. Part of this work was supported by the Francis Crick Institute which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001030), the UK Medical Research Council (FC001030), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001030).S

2021 Taxonomic update of phylum Negarnaviricota (Riboviria: Orthornavirae), including the large orders Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales.

In March 2021, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. The phylum was expanded by four families (Aliusviridae, Crepuscuviridae, Myriaviridae, and Natareviridae), three subfamilies (Alpharhabdovirinae, Betarhabdovirinae, and Gammarhabdovirinae), 42 genera, and 200 species. Thirty-nine species were renamed and/or moved and seven species were abolished. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV