bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship between Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorder of University Students
Authors: Tuan Nor Atiqah Syafiqah Tuan Abd Aziz  , Madihah Shukri
Published: December 2021

This study examined the relationship between body dissatisfaction and eating disorder of undergraduate students in University Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). Using stratified random sampling technique, data from 299 respondents was gathered. Body dissatisfaction was measured using Body Shape Questionnaire while eating disorders were assessed using Eating Attitudes Test. Descriptive statistics showed that the majority of the respondents reported no symptom of body dissatisfaction. With regard to eating disorders, respondents reported low levels of dieting, bulimia and oral control, indicating that an eating disorder in this sample was somewhat low. T-test analyses showed that there were no significant gender differences in body dissatisfaction as well as in eating disorders. However, there was evidence to suggest that female respondents had slightly higher level of eating disorder than males. Results of Pearson correlations showed there was significant relationship between body dissatisfaction and total score of eating disorders, dieting, bulimia and oral control subtypes (r = .58, p <.001; r = .64, p<.001; r = .39, p<.001; r = .18, p<.001; respectively)  in that, higher level of body dissatisfaction was significantly related to increased risk of eating disorders.
Modified Screen-Printed Electrode for Determination of Imidacloprid in Water Samples: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Azrilawani Ahmad  , Nur Anis Zafirah Zainordin  , Nur Amira Jaafar
Published: December 2021

A preliminary assessment of a simple and rapid electrochemical method was carried out to analyse imidacloprid (IMI) in water samples using cyclic voltammetry (CV) based on modified screen-printed gold electrode (SPGE). Self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was optimized using 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11-MUA) with several parameters such as scan rates, type of supporting electrolyte, and pH of the supporting electrolyte. The modified SPGE showed high suppressed current against the potential due to the formation of a monolayer on the electrode surface. Surface morphology of the electrode was analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) confirming that 11-MUA was present on the modified SPGE. The water samples were collected from GM Peladang, Kuala Terengganu and two locations at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. Method detection limit was expressed as limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for modified SPGE which were calculated at 3.784 and 12.613 mg/L in water samples, respectively. This study showed that the reduction peak current observed on the modified electrode was lower compared with oxidation peak current. Hence, gold is unsuitable for IMI detection.
Preliminary Assessment of the Distribution of PM2.5-Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Primary School Environments in Kuala Lumpur
Authors: Mohamad Firdaus Ismail  , Muhammad Fais Fadzil  , Norhayati Mohd Tahir  , Mohd Talib Latif  , Noorlin Mohamad
Published: December 2021

Fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm) (PM2.5) has become a major concern because it can adsorb chemicals e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) onto its surface. Although PAHs are priority pollutants that can cause adverse health effect, there is still limited information concerning indoor exposures to PAHs in Malaysia. This study aimed to characterise the distribution of PAHs bounded to PM2.5 in primary school environments. Indoor and outdoor PM2.5 were collected between May and July 2017 using low volume samplers (LVS) at three public primary schools in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. PAHs were extracted by ultrasonic extraction with Dichloromethane:n-Hexane (1:1, v/v) as the extraction solvent and analysed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Based on the results, the average total concentration of PAHs (∑PAHs) ranged from 3.8 to 10.1 ng m-3 and 1.6 to 8.0 ng m-3 for outdoors and indoors, respectively. PAHs in PM2.5 samples indicated the potential contribution of combustion at high temperature and indoor sources, and the infiltration of outdoor PAHs were the important sources for outdoor and indoor, respectively. In addition, the diagnostic ratio analysis showed that vehicular emissions were the most predominant sources of PAHs in school environments.
Application of MFRS 141: Insights from Financial Statements of Companies in Malaysia
Authors: Siti Nurizzati Jamil  , Shahnaz Ismail  , Akmalia Mohamad Arif
Published: December 2021

This study examined biological asset information that has been reported by companies in Malaysia and the methods of valuation used in reporting the biological assets. It aimed to provide useful information to the regulators about the application of MFRS 141, the accounting standards for agriculture, in corporate reporting. This study employed the data derived from the 2016 annual reports of plantation companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the biological asset information that has been reported and the characteristics of the companies such as age, size, and leverage. The results of this study showed that most of the plantation companies believed that fair value and historical cost could be the best way to measure their biological assets. The findings of this study provide input towards identifying the gap in corporate reporting practices and the challenges faced by companies in the application of MFRS 141. The findings are expected to contribute to the regulatory improvement towards increasing the full adoption of MFRS 141 by companies in Malaysia.
Influences of Hygiene Practices, Awareness and Involvement Levels on Environmental Hygiene among UMT Students
Authors: Nur Syuhada Ibrahim  , Zikri Muhammad  , Jumadil Saputra
Published: December 2021

Industrial development plays the most important role in the degradation of the global environment. In line with this issue, most universities in the world have introduced environmental management to increase awareness among young generation towards the environment. Therefore, this study is employed to examine the influences of hygiene practices, awareness and involvement levels towards environmental hygiene among UMT students. The design of this study is quantitative using cross-sectional data collected from students at residential colleges in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. A total of 120 respondents participated but only data from 100 students could be used for further analysis after the data screening process. The result of this study showed that the level of awareness of UMT students on environmental issues could be categorized as moderate. Besides that, this study found that the level of awareness had significant positive influences on environmental hygiene. Meanwhile, hygiene practices and the level of involvement did not have significant influences on environmental hygiene.  In addition, using the findings of this study, we suggest that the stakeholders of UMT increase the hygiene practice and involvement among young generation to increase the level of awareness regarding environmental hygiene.
Factors Determining Gold Prices in Malaysia
Authors: Anis Mat Dalam  , Noorhaslinda Kulub Abd Rashid  , Jaharudin Padli
Published: December 2021

Gold is a valuable asset to a country because of its liquidity. Gold reserve can stabilize the currency in a country. The objective of this paper is to identify the factors contributing to the volatility of gold prices, such as Real Malaysia GDP, inflation rates, crude oil prices and exchange rates. The data was analysed using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach with time series data, with 30-year coverage from 1987 to 2016. Findings showed that only Real Malaysia GDP and crude oil prices were significantly related to gold prices. As a conclusion, this study can be used as reference by other investors. The author suggests to other researchers to further improve upon this study by adding more variables or diversifying the variables that relate to volatility of gold prices.
Effect of Economic Recession on Development Expenditure, Domestic Investment and Foreign Direct Investments In Malaysia
Authors: Aainaa Izzati Azman  , Nor Ermawati Hussain  , Jaharudin Padli
Published: December 2021

Malaysia is also affected by the economic crisis as it applies the door-to-door policy economy even though the crisis has started on a global platform. Therefore, the objective of this study is to see how far economic recession affects development expenditure, domestic investment, and foreign direct investment in Malaysia. Using secondary data from 1980 to 2015, unit root tests, Johansen co-integration test, Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), and Granger-causality test were carried out. The findings showed that there was a long run relationship between the economic recession and at least one independent variable while there was no short run relationship between the variables. For causal relationships, the economic recession was the cause of domestic development and investment expenditure while foreign direct investment was the cause of the recession, domestic development, and investment spending. Hence, the government must ensure economic stability by implementing various policies.
Consumers’ Knowledge, Perception, and Attitude towards Nutrition and Health Claims on Dairy Products and Purchase Intention in Johor Bahru
Authors: Yap Hui Yee  , Siti Nur'Afifah Jaafar
Published: December 2021

Nowadays the increasing prevalence of dietary disease has raised consumers’ awareness of healthy diet and lifestyle. The rise in the use of nutrition and health claims to promote health benefits in food products help consumers make effective food choices. There is very limited research regarding nutrition and health claims in Malaysia. This research focused on consumers’ knowledge, perception (i.e. perceived quality, perceived healthiness, perceived value, perceived importance, trust and perceived familiarity), and attitude towards nutrition and health claims on dairy products as well as their purchase intention towards the products, and examine the relationship between these variables in Johor Bahru, Johor. All responses were collected by distributing questionnaire to convenience and quota sample (n=200). Data was analysed to obtain descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results showed that most of the consumers (46%) had moderate knowledge of nutrition and health claims on dairy products. Consumers generally had almost positive perception and attitude towards nutrition and health claims on dairy products and positive purchase intention towards dairy products. Almost all independent variables correlated with purchase intention towards dairy products. Consumer attitude had the strongest positive relationship with purchase intention (r=0.722), followed by moderate positive correlation between consumer perception and purchase intention (r=0.671), while consumer knowledge only had low relationship with purchase intention (r=0.299). This study added new knowledge regarding public purchasing behaviour towards dairy products with nutrition and health claims. This research also provided valuable information for both food manufacturers and companies to help them make effective decisions to improve the presentation of nutrition and health claims for better expression of information as well as the goodness of food products in order to attract the attention of health-conscious consumers.
Techno-Economic Feasibility Study of An Off-Grid Hybrid Power System for An Aqua-Tourism Resort in Terengganu, Malaysia
Authors: Muhammad Fakhrurazi Md Yunos  , Wan Mariam Wan Muda  , Nur Farizan Munajat
Published: December 2021

This study focused on feasibility analysis of hybrid electrification system for an aqua-tourism resort located remotely from the grid connection in Terengganu. There were four standalone systems used in this study: diesel/PV/biomass/battery, diesel/PV/battery, biomass/diesel/battery, and diesel only. The design and analysis of these systems were done using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software. The results showed that the diesel/PV/battery system was the optimum solution in terms of net present cost (NPC) and cost of energy (COE). This system comprises 20 % of PV penetration with NPC and COE of USD 57,823 (RM 241, 729.90) and 0.428 USD/kWh (1.79 RM/kWh), respectively. Meanwhile, the diesel/PV/biomass/battery system with NPC of USD 65,388 (RM 273, 355.49) and COE of 0.484 USD/kWh (2.02 RM/kWh) was found to be the best among all systems in terms of greenhouse emissions. This system was able to reduce almost 70 % of carbon dioxide if compared with diesel only system and about 15 % lower than the diesel/PV/battery system with a renewable energy fraction of 44 %.
The Effect of Audit Knowledge, Audit Document Complexity and Auditor Experience towards Audit Judgement of Internal Auditor in West Aceh Inspectorate Office, Indonesia
Authors: Wardah Muharriyanti Siregar  , Jumadil Saputra  , Mursyidin  , Zikri Muhammad
Published: December 2021

The audit is a process of overseeing financial reporting and disclosure by evaluating a relatively large amount of alternative information and determining whether it meets accounting standards. Auditors are responsible for issuing audit judgements. The quality of the audit judgement indicates how well the auditors performed their duties. This study examines the effect of audit knowledge, audit document complexity and auditor’s experience on the audit judgements of the internal auditor in the Inspectorate office West Aceh, Indonesia. A quantitative analysis through cross-sectional data was performed to achieve the objective of this study. The primary data were collected through questionnaires administered to 40 auditors comprising 28 auditors with structural positions and 12 auditors with functional positions and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics involving multiple regression analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences-22. The result of this study showed that the audit knowledge, audit document complexity and auditor experience have a significant effect on the audit judgement of the internal auditor in the Inspectorate office West Aceh, Indonesia. Further, this study found that audit knowledge is the most influential factors affecting the audit judgement of the internal auditor.
Markowitz Theory in Portfolio Optimization for Heavy Tailed Assets
Authors: Wong Ghee Ching  , Che Mohd Imran Che Taib
Published: December 2021

This paper aims at solving an optimization problem in the presence of heavy tail behavior of financial assets. The question of minimizing risk subjected to a certain expected return or maximizing return for a given expected risk are two objective functions to be solved using Markowitz model. The Markowitz based strategies namely the mean variance portfolio, minimum variance portfolio and equally weighted portfolio are proposed in conjunction with mean and variance analysis of the portfolio. The historical prices of stocks traded at Bursa Malaysia are used for empirical analysis. We employed CAPM in order to investigate the performance of the Markowitz model which was benchmarked with risk adjusted KLSE Composite Index. We performed a backtesting study of portfolio optimization techniques defined under modern portfolio theory in order to find the optimal portfolio. Our findings showed that the mean variance portfolio outperformed the other two strategies in terms of performance of investment for heavy tailed assets.
Gold Price Forecasting using Box-Jenkins Method
Authors: Nur Atikah Khalid  , Nurfadhlina Abdul Halim
Published: December 2021

In general, the nature of gold that acts as a hedge against inflation and its stable price over the course of the financial crisis has made it a unique commodity. Price forecasts are a must for gold producers, investors and central bank to know the current trends in gold prices. Forecasting the future value of a variable is often done with time series analysis method. This study was conducted to determine the best model for forecasting gold commodity prices as well as forecasting world gold commodity prices in 2018 using Box-Jenkins approach. The data used in this study was obtained from Investing.com from 2015 until 2017. This study shows that ARIMA (1,1,1) is the best model to predict gold commodity prices based on Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). MAPE value for ARIMA (1,1,1) is 0.02%, where this value proves that forecasting using ARIMA (1,1,1) is the best forecasting because MAPE value is less than 10%.
Boosting Students’ Performance with the Aid of Social Network Analysis
Authors: Gobithaasan Rudrusamy  , Nurul Syaheera Din  , Lingeswaran Ramachandran  , Roslan Hasni
Published: December 2021

There are various teaching methods developed in order to attain successful delivery of a subject without prior knowledge of the interaction among the students in a class. Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to identify individual, intermediate and group measures of interaction in a classroom. The idea is on identifying ways to boost the students’ performance by means of lecturer’s intervention based on their interaction. The case study was conducted involving third year batch that consisted of 76 female and 24 male students. A friendship network was drawn based on the information obtained at the end of semester 5 and it was investigated based on two metrics – centrality measures and Girvan-Newman algorithm. At the end of semester 5, grades were added as the attributes of the network. 12 clusters were found in this batch and a distinct pattern was identified between performing and poor achieving students. At the beginning of the 6th semester, the students were given the option to choose between 2 groups. Group 1 was unperturbed without any lecturer’s intervention whereas the performing students’ clusters in Group 1 were preserved but the students in poor performing clusters were distributed among performing clusters.  The students were then asked to carry out assignments/quizzes in their respective groups. The final grades indicated that the performance of the students of Group 1 was much superior and there was clear evidence that those poor performing students in the 5th semester performed much better in semester 6. This shows that by understanding the students’ interaction and incorporating instructor’s minimal intervention, the performance of the students can be improved by creating a social contagion effect through group assignment clustering.
GrabCar: Opportunities and Challenges for Taxi Operators
Authors: Mohana Divasini Jayaraj  , Zuha Rosufila Abu Hasan  , Nina Marlini Ahmad
Published: December 2021

Taxis, being a significant element of mobility, play a sufficiently great role in public transportation. However, the issues towards taxi services have gradually increased due to the poor services given to passengers by taxi operators, leading to the demand for other ride service alternatives. With the development of technology, GrabCar was developed and launched as an online taxi booking through smartphone application which can easily connect passengers and drivers. The main purpose of this study is to find out the perception of taxi operators towards GrabCar service and vice versa so that there will be a clear point of view to identify opportunities and challenges for taxi operators. Standardized open-ended interviews were conducted with 5 taxi and 5 GrabCar operators in Kuala Terengganu and Kuala Nerus. Interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. The findings showed that there were more challenges than opportunities for the taxi operators. This study could help the government to improve taxi services in general and GrabCar services in sharing economy.
Effects of Exogenous Arachidonic Acid on Morphological Traits and Fatty Acid Profile of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Grown on Saline Soil
Authors: Puteri Afiqah Abdul Wahab  , Aziz Ahmad
Published: December 2021

Salinity is one of the major constraints in the rice production worldwide. Rice plants have moderate tolerance towards salinity. Salinity changes cell membrane permeability and fatty acid compositions by releasing the free fatty acids. Nonetheless, the effect of exogenous fatty acid such as arachidonic acid (AA) on rice grown on saline soil is yet unknown. The objective of the current study is to determine the effect of AA on the morphological traits and free fatty acids of rice plant grown under saline conditions. Rice plants grown on saline soil (EC=12 ds/m) were treated with 50 mM AA on day 45 after transplant. Leaves and panicles were sampled after two weeks of treatment and analysed for fatty acid profile using GC-MS. The morphological traits were observed at the maturity stage. Results showed that AA treatment improved the grain fill-in of the saline stress rice and reduced the accumulation of free fatty acids in the cell. The AA treatment also increased the linoleic acid (18:2), linolenic acid (18:3) in panicles and, dihomo-y-linolenic acid (20:3) and nervonic acid (24:1) in leaves. The finding suggests that exogenous AA regulates salinity stress in rice by reducing the accumulation of free fatty acids.
Removal of Eriochrome Black T DYE from Aqueous Solution by Nickel/Aluminium Layered Double Hydroxide
Authors: Nurdiyana Roslan  , Mazidah Mamat  , Ku Halim Ku Bulat
Published: December 2021

Batik industry is well known in the East Coast of Malaysia, particularly in Terengganu and Kelantan. This industry consumes a lot of water for the batik making process which contributes to high discharge of wastewater containing excess dye pollutants. Hence, in this study, an anionic clay of nickel/aluminium-layered double hydroxide (NiAL) was investigated as a potential adsorbent for the removal of anionic dye of Eriochrome Black T (EBT). The NiAL was synthesized via self-assembly method and characterization of NiAL was carried out using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). The composition and morphology of NiAL was further analyzed using carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur elemental analyzer (CHNS), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The potential of NiAL as an adsorbent for the removal of EBT in aqueous solution was tested at different dosages of NiAL. The adsorption ability was analyzed by using two common adsorption isotherms, which were Langmuir and Freundlich models. The adsorption of EBT onto NiAL was governed by Freundlich isotherm model indicating that the adsorption occurs in heterogeneous system.
Malay Single Sentence Parser
Authors: Muhammad Iqbal Nordin  , Noor Hafhizah Abd Rahim
Published: December 2021

Parser is a process of classifying sentence structures of a language. Parser receives a sentence and breaks it up into correct phrases. The purpose of this research is to develop a Malay single sentence parser that can help primary school students to learn Malay language according to the correct phrases. This is because research in Malay sentence parsing has not gotten enough attention from researchers to the extent of building parser prototypes. This research used top-down parsing technique, and grammar chosen was context-free grammar (CFG) for Malay language. However, to parse a sentence with correct phrase was a difficult task due to lack of resources for obtaining Malay lexicon. Malay lexicon is a database that stores thousands of words with their correct phrases. Therefore, this research developed a Malay lexicon based on an article from Dewan Masyarakat magazine. In conclusion, this research can provide help to the primary school students to organize correct Malay single sentences.
Estimation of Sand Distribution in Coral Reef Environment using Colour Segmentation and Colour Thresholding Methods
Authors: Pauleen Ong  , Muhammad Suzuri Hitam  , Zainuddin Bachok  , Mohd Safuan Che Din
Published: December 2021

At present, marine scientists employ manual method to estimate the components in coral reef environment, where Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe) software is used to determine the coral reef components and substrate coverage. This manual process is laborious and time consuming, and needs experts to conduct the survey. In this paper, a prototype for estimating the distribution of sand cover in coral reef environment from still images by using colour extraction methods was introduced. The colour segmentation called delta E was used to calculate the colour difference between two colour samples. Another method used was colour threshold by setting the range of sand colour pixels. The system was developed by using a MATLAB software with image processing toolbox. The developed system was semi-automatic computer-based system that can be used by researchers even with little knowledge and experience to estimate the percentage of sand coverage in coral reef still images.
Estimation of Coral Rubble Quantity using Edge Detection and Morphological- Based Methods
Authors: Nursyahirah Hafiz  , Muhammad Suzuri Hitam  , Zainuddin Bachok  , Mohd Safuan Che Din
Published: December 2021

Reef rubble represents the broken components of the coral and reef structure which could be in the form of dead, broken or other fragmented coral. The process to estimate the distribution of reef rubble is currently done manually and thus takes a long time to complete and is laborious. This paper presents an image-processing-based method to estimate the distribution of reef rubbles in a coral reef environment from a still image. The method is basically a series of image processing steps including image complement, image binarization, edge detection, smoothing by Weiner filter and followed by erosion and dilation process. The experimental results showed that the system was able to roughly estimate the distribution of reef rubble.
On Numerical Methods for Second-Order Nonlinear Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs): A Reduction To A System Of First-Order ODEs
Authors: Loy Kak Choon  , Puteri Nurul Fatihah binti Mohamad Azli
Published: December 2021

2nd-order ODEs can be found in many applications, e.g., motion of pendulum, vibrating springs, etc. We first convert the 2nd-order nonlinear ODEs to a system of 1st-order ODEs which is easier to deal with. Then, Adams-Bashforth (AB) methods are used to solve the resulting system of 1st-order ODE. AB methods are chosen since they are the explicit schemes and more efficient in terms of shorter computational time. However, the step size  is more restrictive since these methods are conditionally stable. We find two test cases (one test problem and one manufactured solution) to be used to validate the AB methods. The exact solution for both test cases are available for the error and convergence analysis later on. The implementation of 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-order AB methods are done using Octave. The error was computed to retrieve the order of convergence numerically and the CPU time was recorded to analyze their efficiency.
The Potential of Local Earthworms in Vermicomposting Goat Manure (GM) and Spent Coconut Flakes (SCF)
Authors: Muhammad Faris bin Md Yusoff  , Suhaizan binti Lob  , Nurul Faziha Ibrahim
Published: December 2021

Vermicomposting is a process that involves biological, chemical and physical transformations of solid organic materials such as agricultural residues of plant and animal through the use of microorganisms and earthworms. There are three main classes of earthworms, and only those from one class are usually used for vermicomposting. However, mostly foreign earthworms are used in the setup. Foreign earthworms are more expensive and harder to obtain than local earthworms. This makes the local farmers reluctant to try since they are expensive. The difference in vermicompost using two species of epigeic earthworms, a local earthworm and a foreign earthworm (Eisenia fetida), and normal compost without any earthworms was measured in this study. Both species of earthworms were placed in identical vermibeds consisting of partially composted goat manure and partially composted spent coconut flakes (SCF) with the ratio of 5:1 respectively in terms of weight. The vermibed moisture content was maintained at 60 – 70% throughout the whole process. The end products showed a difference from one another. The E. fetida showed a better result compared to the local earthworms in terms of the nutrient content presence and the adaptability of the earthworms during the whole process. However, the end product from the local earthworms was still better compared to the normal compost without any earthworms.
Screening of Rhamnolipid Produced by Marine Bacterium for Heavy Metal Removal in Mangrove Soil
Authors: Raveena, K.  , Arularasu, M.  , Ganesan, S.S. K.  , Amelia, T.S.M.  , Ong, M.C.  , Bhubalan, K.
Published: December 2021

Mangrove located near urban area is exposed to various industrial discharge including heavy metals. Mangrove soil is capable of accumulating and storing these heavy metals. Heavy metals are toxic and non-biodegradable, so their accumulations affect water quality, while bioaccumulation and bio-assimilation of heavy metals in mangrove organisms negatively impact the food chain. Bacteria-derived biosurfactants are compounds capable of removing heavy metals from soil and sediment. Furthermore, environmentally friendly properties, such as biodegradability and low toxicity, exhibited by biosurfactants make them a suitable replacement for chemical surfactants for remediation efforts. This study was conducted to investigate the lead- (Pb) and zinc- (Zn) removing capability of rhamnolipid (RL), a type of biosurfactant produced by marine bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa UMTKB-5. Rhamnolipid solutions of three different concentrations (25 mg/L, 50 mg/L and 75 mg/L) were added to mangrove soil and incubated for 7 days. The removal of Pb from soils was up to 18.3% using 25 mg/L RL solution, while 50 mg/L RL solution removed 48.3%, and 75 mg/L RL solution removed 75.9% Pb over time. Meanwhile, zinc removal of 25 mg/L RL solution was up to 24.9%, while 50 mg/L removed 16.5%, and 75 mg/L RL removed 30.5% of Zn. The results showed that RL from P. aeruginosa UMTKB-5 could be a potential biomaterial to use to remediate heavy metals in sediment.
Plant Conservation Status and Species Diversity of Hutan Lipur Jeram Linang, Kelantan
Authors: Siti Mariam, M.N  , Jivitra, B.
Published: December 2021

A study to determine plant species diversity and the conservation status of a hilly lowland forest of Hutan Lipur Jeram Linang in Kelantan was carried out within 0.1 ha plot. All vascular plants (except lianas and epiphytes) were enumerated and identified. A total of 255 taxa representing 121 species belonging to 87 genera in 47 families were identified.  Among these were 24 species endemic to Peninsular Malaysia and 47 species with medicinal values. Plants were categorized according to growth forms as follows: 67% trees, 17% shrubs, 7% palms, 6% herbs, and 3% ferns. Based on Important value index (IVI), Elateriospermum tapos, Goniothalamus umbrosus, and Monocarpia marginalis were the most dominant species whilst Rubiaceae, Arecaceae and Fabaceae were the three most diverse families. Species diversity was high based on the Shannon-Weiner index with the value of 4.38. In this study, two species from Dipterocarpaceae, which were Dipterocarpus grandiflorus and Shorea collina, were listed as Endangered (E) and Critically Endangered (CE) species respectively according to IUCN Red List. Information gained from this study showed that the forest harbored high plant diversity and endemism, so proper management is needed to protect and conserve this forest for sustainability and development.
The Effectiveness of Adsorbent Derived from Moringa Oleifera as A Water Treatment Agent
Authors: Farasyahida A. Samad  , Wan Salida Wan Mansor  , Hidayatul Aini Zakaria
Published: December 2021

Clean, safe and readily available water is very crucial in everyday life, especially for health, hygiene, and the productivity of the community. Unfortunately, increase in contaminants in water supplies from human activities and industrialization is very worrying. Conventional wastewater treatment includes the usage of alum that will affect health with prolonged consumption. This research was carried out to focus on the development of wastewater treatment system using adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds. Adsorbent was successfully synthesized from the seeds of Moringa oleifera. Characterization of the sample was made using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), while the effectiveness of water treatment was analyzed using Turbidity Meter. Then, all samples were tested against kaolin wastewater. XRD results showed that all the adsorbent samples were amorphous in nature. FTIR results indicated that there were hydroxyl group and carboxylic group in the sample representing numerous oxygen-riddled functional groups on the surface. From SEM results, it was clearly shown that the pore structure and size of Moringa oleifera affected the capability of adsorption where the smaller the size, the more effective the sample. Turbidity test showed that the sample that worked best for wastewater treatment was adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds in size of 125µm that was heated for 4 hours with 93.76% turbidity removal. Therefore, this study proved that the adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds is very suitable for high turbidity wastewater treatment. Further studies investigating the combination of conventional activated carbon with adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds should be conducted before these samples are made available for further use so that we can compare which sample works best for wastewater treatment.
Methyl Orange Degradation using TiO2 Powder and Immobilized TiO2 Photocatalysts
Authors: Nadhra Hidayah binti Mohd Halim  , Mohd Hasmizam Razali
Published: December 2021

Methyl orange is one of the anionic dyes and is a major pollutant from textile industry that enters both aquatic and atmospheric systems. In this research, methyl orange was degraded using TiO2 powder and immobilized TiO2 on glass. Titanium tetra-isopropoxide (TTIP) was used for preparation of TiO2 powder using soft chemistry method, and it was immobilized on glass via paste-gel coating method. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by XRD and SEM.  Highly crystalline anatase TiO2 powder photocatalyst was obtained. Meanwhile, immobilized TiO2 was less crystalline and agglomerated onto the glass surface. TiO2 powder had higher degradation rate (71%) compared to immobilized TiO2 (52%) due to its chemical stability and larger amount of photocatalyst contacted with methyl orange during the degradation process.
Expert System to Diagnose Dengue Fever
Authors: Mohd Zulhilmi Aqil Muhamad  , Noor Hafhizah Abd Rahim
Published: December 2021

Expert system is a system that emulates experts to aid in decision making. This system can be applied in various categories such as diagnosis, prediction, interpretation, and others.  Expert System to Diagnose Dengue Fever is a web-based system which is integrated with prolog language in order to provide rules for dengue fever detection.  The aims of this research are to study dengue fever symptoms and other illnesses related to the fever, to design an inference engine, and to build an expert system.  The challenges faced while developing this expert system were the complexity of prolog codes and their integration with the web development.  In this system, rules were developed by prolog language which define dengue fever and accuracy based on input from the user.  This system is expected to aid users in self-detecting early symptoms of dengue fever before seeing the doctors.
Cyber Bully: Emotional Impact among UKM students
Authors: Suriana binti Che Awang  , Khadijah Alavi
Published: December 2021

The use of social media without civic culture among students has plagued many IPTA students in cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can be done in the uploading of cruel words, photographs and videos of the victim to hoax, incite, defame, revenge until the predators feel great and powerful. The fastest duration of all information can be disseminated in fast pace with worldwide reach. Among the factors of cyberbullying occurred in early adulthood are jealousy, discovering social media friends' attention, 'jaguar' capacity or gangster in social media. Previous studies focus more on bullying phenomena among adolescents, school students and mass media users. While, there are very few studies on the issue of cyberbullying among university students. The main objective of this study is to explore the impact of cyber bullying on UKM students. This study was conducted using a qualitative approach based on case study. Techniques of collecting research data through structured interviews in writing. 6 respondents were selected for this study using purposive sampling technique. The location of the study chosen was Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Structured interview data were analyzed in a thematic manner and the findings found that there were five major implications of emotional, depression, suicidal desire, overwhelming sadness, uncertainty and uncontrolled feelings found in transcripts of study informants. Implications of this study are expected to suggest appropriate intervention and advocacy programs to social workers in handling cyber bullying cases at the Student Counseling Division, UKM.
Exploring Stress Impact and Social Support towards Parenting Responsibilit among Single Fathers
Authors: Ainnur Erwana Saharudin  , Khadijah Alavi
Published: December 2021

Single father is a group that is less concerned by society including agencies and NGOs that focusing on community welfare rather than single mothers. This is because most people think that this group has a high physical and mental strength as the single father is a male. However, it is undeniable that these single fathers are also experiencing serious pressure because they have lost their support or spirit of life. Previous study are more focused on single mothers that earn social support from various agencies. Meanwhile, there is a lack of research on the social support of single fathers. The main objective of this study is to explore the pressure and social support among the single fathers. This study was conducted using a qualitative approach based on case study. The technique of collecting data through a structured interview. Seven informants were selected for this study using purposive sampling technique. The location of the study chosen is in the district of Kuala Selangor, Selangor. Structured interview data was analyzed in a thematic manner and the results of the study found that there were three main factors affected stress on single fathers namely emotion, household management and work were found through informants’ transcript of study. Meanwhile, social support required by single fathers are finance, moral support and a place to have a chit-chat. The implication of this study is expected to suggest an appropriate intervention and advocacy programs to social workers in handling single fathers’ cases in communities and institutions.
Differences Between Schools of Choice and Traditional Comprehensive Schools in Their Grade 9 Academic Performance
Authors: Browne Divina , Slate John R
Published: December 2021

This study was conducted to determine the differences between schools of choice and traditional comprehensive high schools in terms of their Grade 9 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) End-of-Course (EOC) exams in Biology, English 1, and Algebra 1 during the 2017-2018 school year. Inferential statistical analyses revealed the presence of a statistically significant difference between the two types of schools on their EOC exam passing rates in all three content areas for students who were not at-risk and for students who were not in poverty. In contrast, statistically significant differences were not revealed between the two types of schools in terms of the EOC exam passing rates of their CATE and Non-CATE students. Knowing that students who have choice appear to perform better academically, policymakers are encouraged to study the feasibility of channeling more funding to help school districts expand their school choice programs to (a) motivate more students to find the school that fit their needs and their future college and career aspirations, and (b) to solicit more support from parents and community businesses to invest in their communities to improve schools through taxes.  Given that the data for this research were gathered for only 16 school districts in South Texas, researchers are encouraged to conduct a study that will involve all school districts in the whole state and possibly the whole nation to reach more conclusive evidence on the differences between schools of choice and neighborhood schools.
Differences in Reading by the Economic Status of Texas Grade 4 Boys and Girls in Special Education: A Multiyear Statewide Investigation
Authors: Pariseau Matthew M. , Slate John R , Lunenburg Frederick C.
Published: December 2021

In this investigation, the degree to which the economic status (i.e., Not Economically Disadvantaged, Economically Disadvantaged) of Texas Grade 4 boys and girls in special education was related to their reading performance was addressed.  Archival data from the Texas Education Agency Public Education Information Management System were analyzed for 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 school years on the Texas state-mandated reading assessment for Grade 4 students.  Inferential statistical analyses, conducted separately for boys and girls in special education, revealed that boys and girls in poverty had statistically significantly lower reading test scores than boys and girls who were not in poverty.  Results in all four school years were consistent with the existing research literature in that poverty negatively affects reading performance. Implications for policy and practice were provided, as well as recommendations for future research.
Thriving Amidst the Pandemic: Examining the Lived Experiences of Work from Home Filipino Teachers
Authors: Rosario Agnes G. del , Galang Cynthia P.
Published: December 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual experiences of work-from-home (WFH) Filipino teachers. It also provides descriptions of the positive and negative aspects of working from home and how they adapt to the new culture. This study describes exceptional or new thoughts and feelings of WFH Filipino teachers. Using a qualitative phenomenological methodology, the researchers explored teachers’ lived experiences in teaching in a work-from-home environment. This study included ten (10) teachers from both public and private schools in Metro Manila.   Analyses of the data revealed key themes from the teachers’ perspectives of the work-from-home environment. Respondents accepted the new culture of working from home, opened their minds to all possibilities, and were eager to learn new things to adapt to changes. Online teaching-learning is not possible without the respondents' participation in training and seminars. Technical issues, communication concerns, student learning conditions, family concerns, household issues, and health conditions are some of the challenges in teaching and working at home based on the research.  Teacher participants expressed that WFH experiences were challenging and exhausting but they found it fulfilling as well. They cultivated the teachers’ traits of being flexible, innovative, dynamic, and sociable despite the many challenges that they have encountered in the intricate setup to enhance success and effectiveness in the teaching and learning process.
Higher Education Institutions and Post-Covid In-Demand Employability Skills: Responding Through Curriculum that Works
Authors: Babalola Samuel O. , Kolawole Clement O. O.
Published: December 2021

This study explained that the post-Covid world of work would demand a new set of employability skills. Higher education institutions need to respond by preparing graduates with manifest post-COVID-19 employability skills through innovatively delivered curricula. Through literature review, the study identified post-Covid-19 in-demands employability skills and ways of innovatively fostering them. The study adopted the descriptive survey method and canvassed (104) faculty members’ (from 9 public universities) opinions through an online poll on the skills they considered relevant for post-pandemic graduate employability and integrating them into universities curricula. Data collected were descriptively analyzed using frequency count and percentage. Findings showed that when universities commit to innovative curriculum delivery, students can easily acquire skills and competencies required to effective security and create jobs in the post-Covid job market effectively recommended that universities should innovate their curricula by integrating post-Covid in-demands skills needed for students’ post-Covid job market.
Combining Active Learning Strategies: Performances and Experiences of Grade School Filipino Students
Authors: Pacala Frank Angelo A.
Published: December 2021

This study combined computer simulation and predict-observe-explain as a new strategy known as Computer Simulation Supported Predict-Observe-Explain (CSSPOE) to explore other ways to facilitate the teaching and learning in physics. This strategy was tested in determining the conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning among grade school Filipino students. A quasi-experimental method was used to gather quantitative data from 38 participants then a case study was used to acquire information from the students. After the CSSPOE intervention, post-test results showed that students had positive conceptual changes, and this increase was significant. The interview data showed that participants pointed out the affordances of CSSPOE, such as visualization, autonomy, recognition of alternative conceptions, and consequently accommodating the scientific notions, and noticing the departure of the strategy from the usual lecture method. The recommendation is to adapt CSSPOE in the K to 12 science curriculum or even in college Physics classes. Physics teachers should strive to utilize constructivist and active learning approaches like CSSPOE.
Exploring the Relationship between Interest in Higher Education and 12th Grade Mathematics NAEP Scores
Authors: Kolhoff Caitlyn , Zhang Mingyuan
Published: December 2021

This study presented a secondary analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) dataset. The paper examined if a gap exists between the mathematics scores of 12th-grade public school students who have different levels of interest in higher education. - This study used a quantitative descriptive research design to analyze data from the 2013, 2015, and 2019 NAEP data sets. The findings include (1) the average mathematics scale score of students who complete college entrance exams, ACT/SAT, is higher than those who do not complete these exams. (2) The average mathematics scale score of students who complete the FAFSA is higher than those who do not complete the FAFSA. (3) Students who applied to four-year colleges performed significantly higher on the 12th-grade mathematics NAEP than those who did not. (4) Students who applied to two-year colleges performed significantly lower on the 12th-grade mathematics NAEP than those who did not. (5) Students who perceived a future benefit to mathematics scored higher on the mathematics NAEP. These findings indicate that students who are interested in higher education, particularly four-year education, do have higher 12th NAEP mathematics scores. These findings may provide insight into college preparation and guidance at the high school level.