Pre-school Teachers’ Beliefs towards Their Abilities of Teaching English to Pre-schoolers in Pahang, Malaysia

Recent studies have revealed that English has become a global language that is commonly used, particularly in the education sector, for various purposes. In the education sector, teachers serve as the most important role model in improving learners’ English language competency. Evidently, at the age of 4 to 6 years old, preschoolers are proven to be able to learn a second language sufficiently hence it is critical for pre-school teachers to be able to teach English to the children at this stage precisely. English, however, is not set to become one of the major requirements for pre-school teachers, especially in Pahang, Malaysia. Due to this, the beliefs of the pre-school teachers initiate a critical indicator in deciding if, given the circumstances, pre-school children can receive adequate English inputs and exposure at their age. The aim of this study is to identify the beliefs of pre-school teachers in their ability of teaching English to preschoolers in Pahang, Malaysia. In the study, 60 pre-school teachers in Pahang were given a set of questionnaires consisting of 14 items and all 60 were returned. In the pilot study, the questionnaire showed a 0.9 Cronbach alpha value indicating a high reliability point. The findings of this study suggest a much more positive view of teachers’ beliefs in pre-school English teachings. This can become a stimulus for the growth of English proficiency among Malaysian children and consequently improve the standard of English in Malaysia in the future

Pre-school Teachers’ Beliefs towards Their Abilities of Teaching English to Pre-schoolers in Pahang, Malaysia

In the education sector, teachers serve as the most important role model in improving learners' English language competency. Due to this, the beliefs of the pre-school teachers initiate a critical indicator in deciding if, given the circumstances, pre-school children can receive adequate English inputs and exposure at their age. In this study, 60 private pre-school teachers were given a set of questionnaires consisting of 14 items to investigate their beliefs towards their abilities of teaching English to pre-schoolers in Pahang, Malaysia. The findings of this study revealed a much more positive view of teachers’ beliefs in pre-school English teachings. This can become a stimulus for the growth of English proficiency among Malaysian children and consequently improve the standard of English in Malaysia in the future

[The Issue of Humaliation or Insult Towards Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh): Several Commands on Manners in The Surah of Al-Hujurat] Isu Penghinaan Terhadap Nabi Muhammad Saw: Beberapa Perintah Adab Dalam Surah Al-Hujurat

Lately, cases of insults against the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) are quite common in our country, especially on the social media. Why is this happening when Muslims are the majority population in the country? Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to highlight issues of humiliation against the Prophet (PBUH) and to explain some of the commands of Allah in the form of manners of respect for him in the Quran. This study uses content analysis method with reference to thematic interpretations or tafsir mawdhu'i as method of analysis. The Muslim scholars have stated that Rasulullah (PBUH) is the most glorious being of Allah who should be honored based on what had been commanded by Quranic texts and hadiths. Therefore, in accordance with the height of his dignity and glory, Allah has set forth in this Surah al-Hujurat several manners and ethics toward the Prophet (PBUH) for the believers to obey and practice in life. If the ethics toward Prophet Muhammad were respected and practiced by all Muslims, then the incident of contempt against him would not have happened. Mutakhir ini, kerap kali berlaku kes-kes penghinaan terhadap Nabi Muhammad ﷺ di negara kita terutamanya di media sosial. Mengapakah perkara ini berlaku dengan berleluasa sedangkan umat Islam merupakan penduduk majoriti di negara ini? Justeru tujuan kertas kerja ini ditulis adalah untuk mengetengahkan isu-isu penghinaan terhadap Rasulullah ﷺ serta menjelaskan beberapa perintah Allah ﷻ yang berbentuk adab penghormatan terhadap baginda di dalam al-Quran. Surah yang dikaji ialah Surah al-Hujurat. Tulisan ini menggunakan kaedah analisis kandungan dengan merujuk kepada tafsir tematik atau tafsir mawdhu’i sebagai kaedah analisis. Para ulama’ menyatakan bahawa Nabi Muhammad ﷺ adalah semulia-mulia makhluk Allah yang wajib dimuliakan berdasarkan nas-nas al-Quran dan hadis. Oleh yang demikian, sesuai dengan ketinggian martabat dan kemuliaan baginda ﷺ, maka Allah ﷻ telah menetapkan di dalam Surah al-Hujurat ini beberapa adab dan etika kesopanan terhadap Nabi ﷺ kepada orang mukmin untuk dipatuhi dan diamalkan dalam kehidupan. Sekiranya adab-adab kesopanan terhadap Nabi Muhammad ﷺ tersebut dijunjung tinggi dan diamalkan oleh semua umat Islam, nescaya insiden penghinaan terhadap baginda sudah pasti tidak akan berlaku lagi

16S rRNA Barcoding technique for species identification of processed sea cucumbers from selected Malaysian markets

In food industry, wide-ranging processing of sea cucumbers (Phylum Echinodermata: Class Holothuroidea) including gutting, boiling, roasting, and subsequent preservation procedures are frequently needed prior to marketing. These processes cause body deformation of the sea cucumbers, thus leading to difficulties in species identification and confirmation of the processed sea cucumbers or beche-de-mer. Furthermore, beche-de-mer products in Malaysian markets are often unlabelled or mislabelled. Economic fraud, health hazards, and illegal trade of protected species are the potential major consequences of the issues. Therefore, a reliable, reproducible, and rapid technique for species identification is required. For that reason, this study was conducted to determine species identity of 25 beche-de-mer specimens that were not tagged with species details from four selected Malaysian markets. Five reference samples were also included in the analyses consisting of fresh samples that were morphologically identified as Stichopus horrens and Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota from Pangkor Island, Perak, Malaysia. Phylogenetic analyses of 30 partial sequences of non-protein-coding 16S mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene using five main methods i.e. Neighbour-Joining (NJ), Maximum Likelihood (ML), Minimum Evolution (ME), Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA), and Maximum Parsimony (MP) showed the presence of two main clusters of the beche-demer specimens: Stichopodidae (gamat family) and Holothuriidae (timun laut family). The beche-de-mer specimens of S. horrens, Stichopus herrmanni, and Thelenota anax were the three gamat species that clustered under the family Stichopodidae. Meanwhile, the beche-de-mer specimens of H. leucospilota, Holothuria (Halodeima) edulis, Holothuria (Metriatyla) scabra, and H. scabra var. versicolor were the four timun laut species that clustered under the family Holothuriidae. In fact, the outcomes of this study suggested the potential of 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene sequencing technique to be used by the enforcement agencies in monitoring and overcoming the issues of species substitution and product mislabeling of beche-de-mer products in Malaysian markets

16S rRNA barcoding technique for species identification of processed sea cucumbers from selected Malaysian markets

In food industry, wide-ranging processing of sea cucumbers (Phylum Echinodermata: Class Holothuroidea) including gutting, boiling, roasting, and subsequent preservation procedures are frequently needed prior to marketing. These processes cause body deformation of the sea cucumbers, thus leading to difficulties in species identification and confirmation of the processed sea cucumbers or beche-de-mer. Furthermore, beche-de-mer products in Malaysian markets are often unlabelled or mislabelled. Economic fraud, health hazards, and illegal trade of protected species are the potential major consequences of the issues. Therefore, a reliable, reproducible, and rapid technique for species identification is required. For that reason, this study was conducted to determine species identity of 25 beche-de-mer specimens that were not tagged with species details from four selected Malaysian markets. Five reference samples were also included in the analyses consisting of fresh samples that were morphologically identified as Stichopus horrens and Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota from Pangkor Island, Perak, Malaysia. Phylogenetic analyses of 30 partial sequences of non-protein-coding 16S mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene using five main methods i.e. Neighbour-Joining (NJ), Maximum Likelihood (ML), Minimum Evolution (ME), Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA), and Maximum Parsimony (MP) showed the presence of two main clusters of the beche-demer specimens: Stichopodidae (gamat family) and Holothuriidae (timun laut family). The beche-de-mer specimens of S. horrens, Stichopus herrmanni, and Thelenota anax were the three gamat species that clustered under the family Stichopodidae. Meanwhile, the beche-de-mer specimens of H. leucospilota, Holothuria (Halodeima) edulis, Holothuria (Metriatyla) scabra, and H. scabra var. versicolor were the four timun laut species that clustered under the family Holothuriidae. In fact, the outcomes of this study suggested the potential of 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene sequencing technique to be used by the enforcement agencies in monitoring and overcoming the issues of species substitution and product mislabeling of beche-de-mer products in Malaysian markets

Synthesis and characterization of magnetic properties of hard/soft nanocomposite permanent magnets

We report on an investigation of the magnetic properties of nanocomposite ferrite via different technique. Magnetic hard and soft ferrite, SrFe12O19/ Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanocomposites with mass ratio 4:1 were synthesised by using the mechanical alloying (750 rpm) method, physical mixing and high energy ball milling method. The nanocomposite ferrite was calcined at different temperatures from 500°C to 800°C to study the effect of calcination temperature on the magnetic properties of nanocomposite ferrite. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) result shows the double phase SrFe12O19 and Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 existed. The Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) image shows the particlesize is agglomerated, due to the attractive force. The magnetisation measurement was obtained at room temperature by using a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). For mixing by mechanical alloying, nanocomposite ferrite at 800°C gives the larger value of magnetisation, Ms 46 emu/g which is higher than the Ms of a single phase of SrFe12O19, 37 emu/g. The remanence ratio, Mr/Ms of nanocomposite ferrite at 800°C gives the value more than 0.5, this proves that the exchange coupling exists with the higher value of Ms. For physical mixing, the highest magnetisation obtains are 51 emu/g at a temperature of 750°C. From this simple technique, we are able to attain good magnetic properties of nanocomposite ferrite nanoparticles with a particle size below 50 nm

ARCADIA-Kit with augmented reality application / Roslaili Anuar [et al.]

The purpose of this study is to identify the efficient use of a developed product namely ARCADIA-KIT among Visual Arts Education (VAE) teachers. The study used the ADDIE model as a guideline to develop the product. Virtual Reality (VR) Application has been added to enhance the kit with the technology development to embrace the 21st Century classroom. The VR is the latest trend in teaching and learning in the classroom and is believed to be growing rapidly as is it more robust due to the virtual information embedded with the learning environment to create a realtime performance in the teaching and learning processes. With the growth of the Android and Smartphone among the users, the VR provided such an interesting platform for teaching as it can be accessed anywhere and anytime to ensure the teaching process to be delivered effectively. Quantitative method with questionnaire as a research instrument was used with selected respondents. The samples involved 60 Visual Art Education (VAE) teachers from selected schools in Shah Alam. Correlation analyses were carried out to determine the relationship between the variables studied. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to obtain percentage and frequency. The findings indicate that the ARCADIAKit is efficient and useful for the teachers to use when teaching the Landscape topi

Identification and Characterization of The Causal Agent of Infected Iceberg Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa L.) in Perak, Malaysia

Lack of knowledge about the causal agent of infected crops lead farmers to use wrong treatment on their crops, which is causing negative effects on environment and human’s health. This study was conducted to identify and characterize the causal agent from the infected iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in Perak, Malaysia. The infected iceberg lettuces were sampling from Perak area and the causal agent was isolated by direct plating technique on a nutrient medium. The isolated bacteria were identified by molecular method and biochemical test. Molecular identification was carried out using 16S rRNA sequence and then, several tests such as amylase, catalase, oxidase and others were done for identification of bacterial species based on their biochemical activities. The obtained results showed that Serratia marcescenes and Stenotrophomonas sp. were identified as the causal agents. The pathogenicity has been confirmed by the establishment of Koch’s Postulate, which showed 100% disease infection on them. The environmental effects also have been tested on the bacteria to study the ability of bacteria to grow in different environmental conditions based on different in pH, salinity, and temperature. All the bacterial sample showed that they able to growth on the pH between 4.0 to 9.0, at the temperature 10 °C to 45 °C and at the addition salinity to the medium between 2.5 %, 5.0% and 7.5 %. Keywords: Stenotrophomonas sp., Serratia sp., lettuce, lettuce diseas