Cabaran pembelajaran era pandemik : simptom stres di kalangan pelajar program Kejuruteraan Mekanikal UKM

Keadaan pandemik yang melanda dunia sejak penghujung 2019 telah mengubah landskap pembelajaran di universiti. Dengan perubahan pembelajaran secara dalam talian, masa yang perlu diluangkan oleh pelajar di depan komputer adalah lama. Tuntutan menghadiri kuliah secara dalam talian adalah hampir sepanjang hari. Manakala komponen pentaksiran seperti kuiz, tugasan, projek dan makmal telah diubah mengikut kesesuaian era pandemik bagi menepati kaedah pembelajaran baru ini. Walau bagaimanapun, perubahan pembelajaran dan beban pentaksiran ketika musim pandemik dilihat memberi impak kepada kesihatan mental pelajar. Oleh demikian, kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenalpasti simptom stres yang dihadapi oleh pelajar ketika musim pandemik. Satu kaji selidik secara atas talian telah dijalankan yang melibatkan 173 pelajar Tahun 1 hingga 4 program Kejuruteraan Mekanikal di Jabatan Kejuruteraan Mekanikal dan Pembuatan (JKMP), UKM. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk melihat hubungkait antara simptom stres dengan tahap beban pentaksiran atau beban pembelajaran yang dialami oleh pelajar semasa pembelajaran dalam era pandemik ini. Kajian ini juga telah mengaitkan dan mengembangkan model kegagalan bahan menurut bidang kejuruteraan khususnya sifat mekanik dan tingkah laku bahan. Kefahaman terhadap 4 keadaan di mana stres yang dikenakan boleh dikategorikan sebagai keadaan kompleks yang mampu memberi implikasi kepada kegagalan bahan kejuruteraan, telah dikembangkan untuk mengenalpasti stres terhadap pelajar. Kajian menunjukkan 78% pelajar berpandangan bahawa bebanan aktiviti pembelajaran adalah antara faktor penyebab stres mereka. Namun, hanya 6.9% pelajar merasakan akviti pentaksiran yang diberikan adalah sangat membebankan. Simptom stres yang dihadapi oleh pelajar telah ditunjukkan pada pemikiran, emosi dan fizikal pelajar. Hasil kajian ini memberi implikasi terhadap keperluan kepada program untuk mewujudkan kalendar pentaksiran yang lebih bersifat holistik, melaksanakan program perkongsian mentalsihat dan program jom senaman yang boleh membantu mengurangkan stres dan meningkatkan motivasi pelajar. Kajian ini diharapkan mampu memberi maklumbalas yang lebih tepat terhadap isu stres dari persepektif pelajar dengan lebih jelas

A survey on engineering ethics and technological advancement among Malaysian public university students

A survey at five public universities in the Peninsular Malaysia has been conducted to get a clearer statistics of students' understanding of engineering ethics, technological advancement and safety. Ethical issues, sometimes rampant, occur in the public and private sectors as well as in the society, these have caused poverty in the long run and to some extent the environment. The survey has been conducted over a period of almost one year with the respondents being the third and fourth year engineering and other technical equivalent students. Very significant number of participants i.e. 92.1% indicated their agreements that there exist ethical issues in the country and there are tremendous rooms for improvement. 89.0% respondents indicated that our ambitions towards a developed nation is possible if engineers and technical expertise in the government and private sectors embrace ethics awareness in their dealings. Responses of similar magnitudes also reveal that a lot of man-made accidents and disasters are avoidable i.e. if ethical awareness are put into actions

Basic needs in online learning during covid-19 : a Malaysian students’ survey

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged many nations economically and socially. This survey study involved Malaysian students in the tertiary level on their perspectives of online learning - their only possible method of learning throughout almost two-year of the lockdown. The online survey involved 1410 students in science, technology and engineering programmes throughout public and private universities in Malaysia. This study involves perceptions such as an increase in the level of difficulties in technical courses and compared with humanities course and students’ thoughts had they been in different scenarios. Some statistical tests on correlations of important parameters are performed. Despite a well-perceived success in online education, in a contrasting student perspective, there were many challenges faced by students from access to decent device and internet connection to a more mental-related issue such as their study environments. It is possible that the basic expectations in Maslow's hierarchy of needs model in online education are not met. More than 80% of students reported that technical-based courses such as computer programming or material science were harderin online learning. Again, more than 80% of students reported that it would be easier to understand the subject if they had a peer around. To stay current, universities will need to find ways to offer online education with a local blend to their current and prospective students

The effect of physical and biological pre-treatments of oil palm fronds on in vitro ruminal degradability

Physical pre-treatment of the oil palm frond (OPF) is known to loosen the lignocellulose while the biological pre-treatment is capable in degrading the lignin, making the substrates more accessible for rumen microbes. This study aimed at assessing the efficacy of physical, biological and combination of both pre-treatments of OPF on the in vitro ruminal degradability. Five different samples of OPF pre-treatments were used in this study; OPF was subjected to the physical pre-treatment (POPF), OPF to the biological pre-treatments using an enzyme extract of each Ganoderma lucidum (BGL) and Lentinula edodes (BLE), respectively. Another two samples were subjected to a combination of physical and biological pre-treatments of G. lucidum (CGL) and L. edodes (CLE) respectively. The control was non-treated OPF. Two fistulated Katjang goats consuming 440 g/kg OPF and 897 g/ kg commercial pellet daily on dry matter basis were used as rumen fluid donors. In vitro incubation was carried out at 39°C for 24 hours. Proportions of volatile fatty acid were measured at the end of incubation by gas chromatography. Results showed that concentrations of lignin following all pre-treatment methods were significantly lower (p<0.05) at 150(POPF), 90(BGL), 119(BLE), 100(CGL) and 120(CLE) g/ kg DM as compared to the FOPF (190 g/kg). After 24 hours of incubation, the cumulative gas of all treatment groups differed significantly from FOPF. Both BGL and CGL showed significantly higher propionate and butyrate concentrations as well as apparent rumen degradable carbohydrate with 6.57 mg and 6.54 mg, respectively as compared to the FOPF. It appeared that BGL and CGL resulted in higher lignin degradation that increased the in vitro rumen degradability. In conclusion, biological pre-treatment with enzyme extract of WRF, either alone or in combination are promising to improve the quality of OPF

Decoding the future: genomic sequencing's vital role in communicable disease prevention within public health practice - a scoping review

Precision public health using genomic sequencing is a new field that has been gained interest by public health practitioner for prevention and control measures. The objective of this study is to identify the various applications of genomic sequencing for prevention of communicable disease in public health practice. Articles containing relevant keywords were identified using a systematic search strategy applied in Medline, Scopus, and Springer electronic databases. Full text of included in the study were retrieved and categorized. A total of 24 articles were included in the final review. The main themes regarding application of genomic sequencing in the prevention of communicable disease that was found in the articles were describing transmission patterns, investigating outbreaks, diagnosing infection, developing and evaluating interventions including vaccines, outcomes response treatment and monitoring antimicrobial resistance. In conclusion, genomic sequencing has the potential to enhance the prevention and control of communicable diseases globally

The Emerging Widespread Debris Flow Disasters in Tropical Terrain of Peninsular Malaysia: Understanding the Risk and Policy Intervention

Several widespread debris flow disasters stroke Peninsular Malaysia in between 2021 and 2022, scattered across the country. It was the first time for this hazard being nationally recognised as a type of geological disaster in the country. Debris flow disaster is not a new phenomenon. It had been recorded since 1995, however, in the past they were isolated incidents and did not attract much attention. The recent widespread debris flow disasters started in Gunung Jerai, Kedah on 18 August 2021; followed by similar incidents but in 3 different states concurrently in (1) Bentong, Pahang, (2) Hulu Langat, Selangor, and (3) Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan on 18 December 2021; Kenyir, Terengganu on 27 February 2022; and finally at Gunung Inas, Kedah on 4 July 2022. These disasters sparked numerous technical and social issues where heated debates on whether they were purely due to natural processes or caused anthropogenic activities. Previously, debris flow phenomena in Malaysia were so rare, that the term ‘debris flow’ was not familiar to the lay public. The term of “debris flow” was often disregard or used interchangeable with ‘water surge’ phenomena by the media and public, especially for sudden sediment water surge from hilly upstream after intense rainfall at hillside river catchment areas, normally occurs during the monsoon season. The ordinary water surge has significantly lesser level of destruction and momentum as compared to a debris flow with higher debris-type sediments. This paper discusses the emerging issues of debris flow in Malaysia and some initiatives being carried out in in facing the geohazard. The Department of Mineral and Geoscience Malaysia and a team of local geohazard experts have taken the lead to carry out studies to understand the sudden emergence of widespread and cascading debris flow events in Malaysia. As a result, proposal on policy intervention was put forward to the relevant government ministries; post-disaster programme has been continuously carried out to educate the communities on the geological disaster risks through community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM)

The Contributions of Professional Engineers at the Instituitions of Higher Learning

This paper discusses the current contributions of professional engineers (P.Es.) who have obtained their competency qualifications prior to assuming their new careers at the institutions of higher learning (IHLs). Recent surveys conducted by recruitment agencies show a wide gap between engineering graduates’ abilities and emplo yers’ expectations. This gap simply means a longer learning curve for trainee engineers expected by employers. However, most importantly, it seems that employers have to take on the job to bridge the gap. Providing training means incurring costs and resources. There are many schemes provided by multi-national company (MNC) however such schemes may not be options by small and medium enterprise (SME). Based on experience, discussion and observations, P.E.s contribute positively in the three core areas: 1) teaching and learning 2) research and publication and 3) industrial linkage

Tahap sebutan huruf konsonan Arab dalam kalangan murid prasekolah

The aim of this study is to evaluate the pronunciation of Arabic language consonants among preschool children. The objectives of this study are to identify the level of pronunciation of Arabic Language consonants; and to identify the fluency level of Arabic consonants. This study was carried out at five preschool centers and the samples consist of 108 preschool students at the age of six. The data were collected from one set of pronunciation test based on al-Khalil Methodology. From the study, 15 consonants were found to be at the high level of fluency, 12 consonants at the moderate level, and one at the weak level

The Roles of Professional Engineers at the Institutions of Higher Learning in Nation-Building

This paper discusses the roles of professional engineers (PEs) who are attached to the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) and how their contributions are as important as their counterparts in the industry. This paper highlights the roles for PEs at IHLs based on a survey conducted at selected IHLs in Malaysia. Academician-professional engineers have crucial responsibilities to develop graduates who later promote safer and cutting-edge engineering solutions. These new technologies will make Malaysia an environmentally healthier place and further prepare Malaysia towards a developed nation at the end of the decade. From the survey, we conclude that PEs at IHLs make use of their professional qualifications to enhance their knowledge therefore provide better work quality. We also found that lecturers with these qualifications have higher confidence in their own ability to success in their careers and to face and help the publi