A Study of Literature and Practical Gaps in e-Wallet Acceptance: The Case of Malaysia

The purpose of this article is to identify the existing research gaps in the literature and the practicality of e-wallet acceptance studies in Malaysia. A systematic literature review (SLR) of peer-reviewed journal articles was carried out by the researchers, based on two major databases, namely, Scopus and Web of Science. In total, 60 articles published from January 2017 to April 2021 were reviewed which revealed the research gaps. Several research gaps are identified in the literature and practicality. The article offers suggestions for future research, including how to prioritize understudied subjects and incorporate other points of view. As a result, this study offers new researchers to learn more about the rapidly growing acceptance of e-wallets. Future research can also address these gaps and enhance the level of acceptance for e-wallets globally for a sustainable future. By identifying the factors that influence people's decision to accept e-wallets, researchers can help companies design better services and marketing campaigns. This will require some practical and theoretical implications, primarily demonstrating some nourishment in realizing the cashless society vision

Generation of semantic document model for Quran using ontology domain / Mohd Yunus Mohd Yussof and Hayati Abd Rahman

Ontology has become an important means for structuring knowledge. Based on the methodology, Quran text has been chosen as a case study to carry out the Islamic knowledge through the keywords of English version domain. From the proposed framework, this project able to present on ontology using text based on natural language text for Quran text using Protege 4

Prevalence, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of G6PD deficient blood donors in Terengganu and the effects of storage on their donated blood

Introduction: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency causes red blood cell destruction due to oxidative stress. G6PD is essential for NADPH conversion; which is critical for glutathione reductase to prevent damage to cellular structures. In Malaysia, blood donors are not routinely screened for G6PD deficiency. We hypothesise that G6PD-deficient red blood cells are more likely to haemolyse during storage due to increased oxidative molecules. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of G6PD deficiency among blood donors, describe their characteristics and to evaluate the effects of storage on G6PD-deficient donated blood. Methods: This study was conducted at selected mobile donation centres in Terengganu. Consented blood donors were screened for G6PD status using fluorescent spot tests (FST). G6PD enzyme activities were measured for donors who were G6PD deficient. Effects of storage on haemolysis from G6PD-deficient donors were compared with non G6PD-deficient group. Sixty ml of blood was collected from blood unit to transfer pouch for estimation of haemoglobin (Hb), plasma Hb, percentage of haemolysis and plasma potassium. Serial sampling with a 7-day interval was done from Day 1 to Day 35. Statistical analysis was considered significant if p ≤0.05. Results: A total of 440 blood donors were screened and 12 male donors were found to be G6PD deficient by FST. Enzymatic activities were measured in 11 donors as one donor sample failed to be sent to the centre due to logistic problem. Their enzymatic activities ranged from 1.66-2.93 U/g Hb whereby 6 have severe deficiency and the other 5 were categorised as partial deficiency. Donors were asymptomatic for haemolytic episode. Serial sampling showed there was no significant difference of haemolytic parameters in blood units of G6PD-deficient donors as compared to control (p>0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of G6PD blood donors in Terengganu mobile centres was 2.7%. G6PD enzyme activities did not correlate with clinical symptoms. Haemolytic parameters were not affected in blood units which were G6PD-deficient

Conceptualising the term of Islamic in Islamic schools: the Tanzanian experience

Conceptualising the term Islamic means the process of reconciling the different uses of the adjective Islamic. There have been attempts to conceptualize the role of Islam in different levels of educational institutions by documenting the applicability of its epistemology and institutional value to the development of holistic human beings. Following privatization in the early 1990s, Tanzania incorporated religious institutions, including Islamic schools, in the mainstream education system. This conceptual paper aims to reflect the use of the adjective Islamic in Islamic schools in Tanzania. The paper reflects its various classifications and suggests key questions to reconcile the incoherent use of the adjective Islamic in Islamic schools. It is hoped that the paper will further contribute to the scholarly discourse on educating students through its provision of a philosophically comprehensive Tawhidic paradigm and integrated knowledge. The literature search conducted through ERIC, ProQuest, PsycArticles and PsycINFO and Islamic electronic journals and texts provided valuable and reliable information for this paper. The results show that the adjective Islamic in Islamic schools can mean education for Muslims, education of Muslims, education about Muslims and education in the Islamic spirit. It is concluded that sustained intellectual and spiritual commitment and reflection is needed by intellectuals and parents to realize the essence of the term Islamic of Islamic schools

STORYTELLING APPLICATION BASED ON INTERACTIVE STORY GRAPH STRUCTURE (ISGS)

Storytelling is a process of conveying series of events and information in words, images, and sound. Conventionally, storytelling developers/writers will apply the linear narrative structure approach to deliver the stories. However, that approach has some limitations; users cannot determine the path to end the story. They have no option to choose how to end the story based on their way of storytelling. Therefore, this study is about applying an Interactive Story Graph Structure (ISGS) approach to storytelling. ISGS approach is a structure used in storytelling in which users can revert their decision when going through the storytelling application implemented during the development. After completing the storytelling prototype development, a survey was conducted to test users’ enjoyment level when using the prototype. The survey was divided into four constructs: expectation, ease of navigation, understanding, and satisfaction. There were 36 respondents, and the data were collected on a random basis. Based on the survey’s result, most users (90.28%) enjoyed the storytelling application. The storytelling prototype was developed using Adobe Animate Creative Cloud and has been distributed among the respondents randomly. The analysis was conducted to determine the findings, limitations, and recommendations for future project improvement based on the results obtained. This study’s outcome is the complete production of storytelling application, which is creative and interactive with ISGS

Modelling the recommendation technique for achieving awareness in serious game for obesity

Obesity among children is increasing alarmingly. Therefore it is crucial to instill the awareness about the danger of being obese to the children. To instill the awareness is a challenge. A good approach is required for the message to be accepted and conceptualized by the children. Serious game has been an important mechanism to assist the achievement of many serious purposes other than for entertainment and enjoyment. This paper proposes the implementation of content-based recommendation technique in serious game for obesity awareness among children. Several recommendation techniques for awareness had been studied and the content-based recommendation technique is found to be suitable to be implemented in games. The game was developed according to game development approach and fulfilled the game characteristics. For this preliminary study, 10 children participated in the experiment to determine the effectiveness of the game. The participants were given a pre-and post test to answer before and after playing the game. The result of the test shows that participants achieved the obesity awareness after playing the game. The content-based recommendation technique is applicable to be adopted in serious games to instill awareness in the players

Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation on the performance of ferrofluid for microplastic removal from synthetic and actual wastewater

Synthesis of ferrofluid without the addition of stabilizing agents or surfactants is an innovation of new method for microplastic removal. This study focuses on the ability of several types of oils as carriers and how they may improve the removal efficiency of the microplastic. The method is relatively low cost, simple and sustainable. The formation of ferrofluid involved the mixing of oil and iron oxide powder. The experimental work was commenced by adding 2 mm polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics into synthetic ferrofluid. Then, the removal efficiency of microplastics was examined by varying the elements of ferrofluid based on three specific parameters, namely type of oil, volume of oil and dosage of iron oxide to obtain a standard formulation of the optimum results. Overall findings of the study indicated that the optimum formulation for ferrofluid preparation was at a ratio of 1:2.5 (volume of oil: dosage of magnetite) using lubricating oil which has successfully removed 99% of microplastic from water media. Subsequently, the physical and chemical properties of the prepared ferrofluid were also analysed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Performance evaluation of the prepared ferrofluid on actual wastewater (laundry wastewater) revealed that 64% of microplastics were removed after treatment

Financial Distress Prediction of Islamic Banks in Top Sukuk-Issuing Countries: An Application of Altman’s Z-Score Model

Financial stability and solvency are essential for manufacturing and service businesses driven by profit, especially the banking sector. As a service sector organization, the banking industry is vital to economic growth. Along with the financial market, both achieved significant progression, particularly in the sukuk market. Despite the possibility of complementary interaction between the sukuk market and Islamic banking institutions, there are also concerns about competitive likelihood. Thus, the study of the finance scope of these Islamic banks in top sukuk issuing countries is crucial. This study applies the Altman Z-score model to measure private-sector banks’ financial health from 2018 to 2022. The sample comprises of Islamic banks in the top sukuk-issuing countries (i.e. Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkiye, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Pakistan). It concludes that UAE, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia are experiencing financial distress since these banks fall into the “Distress Zone” according to Z-score criteria. Meanwhile, Turkiye, Bahrain, and Pakistan are categorized under the “Grey Zone” and require further improvement on specific financial ratios. Lastly,  Malaysia is the only country under the top sukuk-issuing countries that merely achieved the “Safe Zone” criteria, implying that the Islamic banks in this country have greater financial stability rather than others

Policies Improving the Well-Being of Gig Workers in Malaysia

Very scarce research has assessed the extent of adverse effects on the well-being of gig workers, particularly in Malaysia. So, the study aims to examine the policies favoring the well-being of gig workers using qualitative methodology of secondary materials examination and semi-structured interviews with policymakers. One of the key findings is that the Malaysian government is very supportive in welcoming the new era of flexibility and freedom of work, such as gig workers. This is particularly relevant to the gig economy, which is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and variability. The emergent issues significantly call for government and policymakers to design the right policies to enhance gig workers' welfare

Conceptualising the term Islamic in Islamic schools: the Tanzanian experience

Conceptualizing the term Islamic means the process of reconciling the different uses of the adjective Islamic. There have been attempts to conceptualize the role of Islam in different levels of educational institutions by documenting the applicability of its epistemology and institutional value to the development of holistic human beings. Following privatization in the early 1990s, Tanzania incorporated religious institutions, including Islamic schools, in the mainstream education system. This conceptual paper aims to reflect the use of the adjective Islamic in Islamic schools in Tanzania. The paper reflects its various classifications and suggests key questions to reconcile the incoherent use of the adjective Islamic in Islamic schools. It is hoped that the paper will further contribute to the scholarly discourse on educating students through its provision of a philosophically comprehensive Tawhidic paradigm and integrated knowledge. The literature search conducted through ERIC, ProQuest, PsycArticles and PsycINFO and Islamic electronic journals and texts provided valuable and reliable information for this paper. The results show that the adjective Islamic in Islamic schools can mean education for Muslims, education of Muslims, education about Muslims and education in the Islamic spirit. It is concluded that sustained intellectual and spiritual commitment and reflection is needed by intellectuals and parents to realize the essence of the term Islamic of Islamic schools