Asian Universities Research Articles

Comparability of reading tasks in high-stakes English proficiency tests and university courses in Korea

With the increased popularity of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education, many East Asian universities are using international English proficiency tests to make admissions and placement decisions. Since these tests were not originally designed for the EMI contexts, validity evidence is needed to support the use of these tests in this new context. To interpret performance on a test as representative of performance in a target language use (TLU) domain, this study investigated (1) the characteristics of English reading tasks in Korean EMI undergraduate and graduate courses, (2) the extent to which they are comparable to the characteristics of reading tasks on TOEFL iBT and IELTS, and (3) the extent to which students perceive EMI reading tasks and the test reading tasks to be comparable. Fifty-four undergraduate and graduate students in EMI content courses at a Korean university completed an online questionnaire. Analyses revealed that EMI reading tasks share several characteristics with USA/UK university reading tasks. Although EMI reading tasks had some key characteristics in common with TOEFL and IELTS reading tasks, the test tasks were much more limited in range. Finally, the extent to which students perceived EMI reading tasks and TOEFL/IELTS reading tasks comparable varied across academic areas.

A Study on the Competitiveness of Asian Universities--Using Different University Rankings as Examples

A Study on the Competitiveness of Asian Universities--Using Different University Rankings as Examples

An investigation into the cognitive flexibility of undergraduate dental hygiene students at two dental schools in Asia

Background/purposeCognitive flexibility is a personality trait, which can influence how effectively a healthcare professional can manage a challenging clinical situation. This study explored the cognitive flexibility of undergraduate dental hygiene students at two universities in Asia to gather baseline information in order to consider whether there was an educational need for pre-clinical students with regards to this personality factor. Materials and methodsParticipants were all undergraduate dental hygiene students in the 2022 academic year at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU; n = 79) and Taipei Medical University (TMU; n = 88). An anonymous questionnaire was distributed, which included questions on demographic information and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI). ResultsThe response rates were 97.5% (TMDU) and 89.8% (TMU). The CFI total scores were 91.77 for TMDU and 95.87 for TMU, and there was no significant difference between the two schools. The Alternatives scores were significantly higher in TMU than TMDU (P = 0.044), but there were no significant differences in the Control scores between the two schools. There were also no significant differences between school years of both universities. ConclusionThe dental hygiene students from both dental schools exhibit moderate cognitive flexibility. The educators in both dental schools may consider whether they should investigate and develop this personality factor further during the undergraduate training of their dental hygiene students.

Association between added sugar consumption in foods and beverages and body mass index among adolescents in university southern Thailand: a cross-sectional study.

Excessive consumption of added sugar is an essential contributing factor to weight gain in adolescence, leading to non-communicable diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the added sugar consumption in foods and beverages and determine the association between free sugar consumption and BMI status. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 adolescents in university (18-22 years) recruited from undergraduate students at different schools. The information was acquired using a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire. Adjusted binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the associations between added sugar consumption in foods and beverages and nutritional status. Half of the participants had a BMI status in the normal range (51.8%). A large percentage of adolescents had eaten staple food only two times and did not have breakfast (49%). Additionally, most of the student did not eat a snack or drink beverages (57.7%). Consumption of vegetables, fruit, meat, and milk was higher in obese subjects than other groups. The results showed that adolescents consumed more added sugar (79.2%) than is recommended by the WHO. The majority of added sugar consumption were beverages (46.5%). The findings revealed that added sugar consumption among undergraduate students did not differ significantly depending on BMI. This study indicated that added sugar consumption in university students exceeded the WHO recommendation, although there was no discernible difference in BMI status. The results would be useful for further study and may help dietitians provide appropriate nutrition education or campaigns to reduce added sugar consumption in Thai and Southeast Asia university students.

Evaluasi Kualitas Portal E-lerning Universitas Mahakarya Asia Menggunakan Metode MCCALL

This research focuses on evaluating the quality of the e-learning system at Universitas Mahakarya Asia using the McCall Method. The study aims to provide insights into the performance of the online learning platform e-learning.unmaha.ac.id. Involving criteria such as correctness, reliability, efficiency, integrity, usability, and maintainability, the research yields an overall score of 79.6%. The evaluation results indicate high reliability and integrity but highlight areas for improvement in the correctness of information and ease of maintenance. Improvement recommendations are provided to enhance content accuracy and improve the user interface for a smoother experience. Special emphasis is given to improving maintainability for the sustainability of the platform. These findings lay the foundation for developing a more user-responsive e-learning system, reinforcing the role of Mahakarya Asia University in providing quality online education

Competitiveness, quality education and universities: the shift to the post-pandemic world

PurposeThis article aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between education for the labor market in the post-pandemic stage and the educational quality of universities, taking as a sample a group of Latin American countries and their main trading partners. Reference is made to the Global Competitiveness Report 2020 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) index, which evaluates the quality of universities.Design/methodology/approachCorrelations, clusters and T-tests were generated to test for significant differences, resulting in two blocks of countries being identified with statistically significant differences in educational efforts to prepare their citizens for the labor market and the quality of their universities.FindingsIt is concluded that there are examples of Latin American countries that, although they are emerging economies, are updating their educational systems at an accelerated pace to meet the needs demanded by the labor market, such as Chile and Argentina. In addition, there are some particular cases of Latin American QS universities that although they are not at a high level in their overall educational quality as a university, compared to North American and Asian universities, their graduates do show a high employability index. This means that in the graduate profile, these universities are also accelerating efforts to position them at a high level of preparedness to respond to the jobs and markets of tomorrow, just as the universities in developed economies do.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the sample size is a limitation of this work, since it is based on secondary information reported by the WEF (2020) and the QS World University Rankings (2021), it contributes value by analyzing specific cases. Despite its limitations, the study yields meaningful results that put the challenges of post-pandemic employment and the role that universities play in a comprehensible framework.Originality/valueThese results put special attention on the work of universities as a crucial entity to prepare citizens to develop the competencies needed for the post-pandemic labor market, especially in terms of critical thinking and digital skills. Human capital formation will drive the post-pandemic recovery process of leading countries and universities.

Penyuluhan dan Pendampingan Guna Peningkatan Promosi Wisata Curup Kereta di Desa Rambang Jaya, Kecamatan Umpu Semenguk Kabupaten Way Kanan Propinsi Lampung

Curup Kereta is in the Rambang Jaya village area, Umpu Semenguk District, Way Kanan Regency, Lampung Province. Curup is a tourist destination with very promising potential because its beauty is stunning and beautiful. So it moved the lecturers at Mahakarya Asia University, Baturaja Campus, to help increase the promotion of the potential of train steeplechase tourism through cyberspace. This activity is carried out using direct counseling and assistance methods to create promotional content, both in the form of videos and images and directly uploading them on various social media platforms. With the increase in promotions through cyberspace, currently train cursing is becoming increasingly well known by the wider community. This is proven by the large number of people who see and watch the results of posts on social media from lecturers, students and the Rambang Jaya village community. So that the train curve is increasingly known to the wider community, not only local residents but also people outside the Way Kanan district, so that it can increase the number of tourists who visit the train curve. By increasing the number of tourists visiting, it can improve the economy of the RambangJaya village community.

Pelatihan Menghasilkan Uang Secara Online dengan Bisnis Afiliasi untuk Siswa Magang SMK di Kampus Universitas Mahakarya Asia

This digital era, the internet has opened up new opportunities in the business world, especially through online business models such as affiliate businesses. These businesses allow individuals to promote other people's products or services and earn commissions from any transactions generated through affiliate links. Affiliate businesses offer potential solutions, but not all internship participants have the understanding and/or skills to take advantage of these opportunities. For this reason, Mahakarya Asia University provides practical training on affiliation. This approach combines theoretical understanding and practical experience, ensuring students increase their knowledge and practical skills.The method of implementing this service involves pre-implementation, implementation and evaluation stages. Identification of problems, interviews with internship supervisors, and socialization of material are carried out at the pre-implementation stage. The training was carried out face-to-face involving 25 vocational school students in the Mahakarya Asia University computer laboratory on September 9 2023. Evaluation is carried out to measure students' success in applying the knowledge and skills acquired during training.The training results show that students are able to register and create a Shopee affiliate account, create affiliate video content, and disseminate affiliate links via social media. Evaluation of participants' understanding showed that most students understood the material and were successful in the practicum. Overall, this affiliate business training is expected to provide additional competency and opportunities to earn income online.

Peningkatan Produktivitas Kinerja pada Universitas XYZ Menggunakan Metode Marvin E Mundel

The development of the world of education requires university institutions to continue to increase innovation and productivity so that they can be highly competitive. Factors that are very influential in improving the quality of the University are lecturers and students. For this reason, XYZ University must be able to adapt to technological developments so that it can respond quickly to global market needs. With this phenomenon, XYZ University, especially the Faculty of Engineering, needs skilled workers in the engineering field so as to produce graduates who have relevant abilities and skills. The current vision of the Faculty of Engineering is "To become a superior and competitive engineering faculty in the Southeast Asia region by 2035". To realize this vision, Engineering is required to always improve the quality of the education process, research and community service accompanied by efforts to increase its relevance in the context of global competition. In the future, FT-XYZ is expected to be able to have quality that is on par with engineering faculties from leading universities in Southeast Asia in terms of the quality of the learning process and graduates, research and community service, so that it can raise the honor and dignity of the Indonesian nation. The steps taken are to increase the productivity of workforce performance. Therefore, the Marvin E Mundel method was used to analyze performance productivity, factors that experienced increases or decreases. The results of these calculations show that the alternative chosen with the highest productivity increase value is alternative 3, namely by increasing input slightly and increasing output more. The value obtained based on alternative 3 is 256.38%, with a drastic increase of 156.38% from the initial productivity.

The Manifesto for Universal Human Values and Rights received support from the Association of African and Asian Universities, to which 200 universities are affiliated

The Manifesto for Universal Human Values and Rights received support from the Association of African and Asian Universities, to which 200 universities are affiliated.

Up Close: Asian University for Women

Up Close: Asian University for Women

Evaluating the Impact of Rapid Multiplex PCR Testing on Meningitis and Encephalitis Diagnosis: a Retrospective Analysis.

Meningitis and encephalitis are life-threatening neurological emergencies requiring prompt diagnosis and treatment. Traditional diagnostic methods often lack the speed and sensitivity needed for rapid clinical decision-making. This study evaluates the effectiveness of rapid multiplex PCR testing in diagnosing meningitis and encephalitis. Between March 28, 2022, and May 31, 2024, we analyzed cerebrospinal fluid collected from a cohort of patients aged 24 to 87 at Asia University Hospital. These specimens were analyzed using the FilmArray Meningitis/Encephalitis (ME) Panel. The study included 19 patients who underwent FilmArray ME panel testing. Of these, 2 (10.5%) tested positive, while 17 (89.5%) tested negative. Among the positive specimens, herpes simplex virus-1 was detected in one patient, and Varicella zoster virus in the other. This study underscores the clinical value of the FilmArray ME panel as a rapid and reliable tool for diagnosing meningitis and encephalitis. Multiplex PCR significantly improves diagnostic accuracy and reduces time to diagnosis, facilitating faster clinical intervention and improved patient outcomes.

ВАН КЫРГЫЗ КОШОКТОРУНА ФОНОСТАТИСТИКАЛЫК ИЛИК

The article provides a phonostatistical analysis of the language of the Kyrgyz tribes who emigrated from the Small Pamir to Turkey and settled on the territory of Van, based on the work of S. Kaipov "Lamentations of the Pamir Kyrgyz living in Turkey". As Linguistic Folklore Source: Research and Text". – Bishkek: Central Asian University, 2015. The studied texts of lamentations contained in the book are devoid of folklore information about from whom, when and where they were written, the text is cleared of additional linguistic signs, the iotized letters were separated, as well as the sounds қ, ғ, к, г are clearly separated by separate letters, the flat slit soft consonant β, pronounced as labial-labial (not labial-dental b), transcribed as a standard letter w, long vowels marked with a colon are represented by double letters in the form of аа, әә, ээ, оо, өө, уу, үү the studied corpus was loaded into a computer with a pure sequence of sounds, processed and analyzed, phonostatistical data confirming the presence of sounds at the beginning, middle and end of the word were obtained. The article considers the classification of sounds used in the texts of lamentations, the general phonostatistics of sounds, as well as the phonostatistics of vowels at the level of their distinctive features, in this regard, the phonostatistics of the texts of lamentations is compared with the text of the epic "Manas" according to the variant of Zhusup Mamai, their common and distinctive features are revealed.

Students’ Perception on the Use of QUILLBOT to Improve Grammar

English structure is one of the most difficult parts of learning grammar. This is because students also have to know when to use it. When students already know the structure of English, it will be easier to master grammar. The easiest way to test students' grammar is by using the quillbot application. However, researchers using the quillbot application are still limited and know little about how students perceive it. This study aims to improve students' grammar skills by using quillbot application to check their grammar writing. The researcher used quantitative method and survey design, and to collect information the researcher used questionnaire. This study was conducted at University in Asia by taking a sample of 35 students majoring in English Department. The findings revealed that these students expressed some positive responses. Some students already know that this quillbot application can be relied upon to check students' grammar writing and make students easier and more practical in checking grammar so that it is free from grammatical errors. Therefore, the researcher said that the use of quillbot application is useful to improve students' grammar skills.

The Utilization of U-Dictionary Application in Pronunciation Practices: Student’s Perspective

This study explores students' perspectives regarding using U-Dictionary in learning pronunciation. The research employed a quantitative approach, utilizing a survey research method. The sample consisted of 32 sixth-semester students majoring in English Education at University in Asia. The selection of participants was conducted through random sampling to ensure a representative sample. A questionnaire was developed as the research instrument to collect the necessary data. The questionnaire was designed to gauge students' perspectives regarding using U-Dictionary in pronunciation practice. It employed a Likert scale format and was administered to students in the English Teaching Department. This research revealed that students hold a highly positive perception of using U-Dictionary in pronunciation practice. The results indicate that U-Dictionary is perceived as an effective tool for enhancing pronunciation skills among students. These findings provide valuable insights into the students' perspectives and highlight the potential benefits of incorporating U-Dictionary into language learning environments.

Digital transformation in engineering education: Exploring the potential of AI-assisted learning

This research explored the potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted learning using ChatGPT in an engineering course at a university in South-east Asia. The study investigated the benefits and challenges that students may encounter when utilising ChatGPT-3.5 as a learning tool. This research developed an AI-assisted learning flow that empowers learners and lecturers to integrate ChatGPT into their teaching and learning processes. The flow was subsequently used to validate and assess a variety of exercises, tutorial tasks and assessment-like questions for the course under study. Introducing a self-rating system allowed the study to facilitate users in assessing the generative responses. The findings indicate that ChatGPT has significant potential to assist students; however, there is a necessity for training and offering guidance to students on effective interactions with ChatGPT. The study contributes to the evidence of the potential of AI-assisted learning and identifies areas for future research in refining the use of AI tools to better support students' educational journey. Implications for practice or policy Educators and administrators could review the usage of ChatGPT in an engineering technology course and study the implications of generative AI tools in higher education. Academics could adapt and modify the proposed AI-assisted learning flow in this paper to suit their classroom. Students can review and adopt the proposed AI-assisted learning flow in this paper for their studies. Researchers could follow up on the application of ChatGPT in teaching and learning: teaching quality and student experience, academic integrity and assessment design.

Problems of Mastering Foreign Educational Programs That Shape Civil Education in The Educational System

The purpose of this study is to study the factors of competitiveness in the formation of an educational hub, to identify priority measures to stimulate the integration of international educational programs and expand the international activities of universities in Uzbekistan. As an empirical base, we used the results of studies of foreign countries that have successfully achieved their goals for the formation of a regional educational hub, as well as open data on leading universities in Central Asia and Uzbekistan's positions in international rankings on certain factors of attractiveness for foreign students

Assessing the triage and efficacy of strategies of SAARC to improve regional integrity of South Asia using multicriteria group decision making under q-rung orthopair hesitant fuzzy environment

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) plays a crucial role in fostering regional integration and cooperation among the countries of South Asia. However, the organization faces various challenges in achieving its objectives due to the complex and dynamic nature of the region. This study aims to assess the triage and efficacy of strategies employed by SAARC in pursuit of regional integrity in South Asia, using a Multi-Criteria Group Decision Making (MCGDM) technique. The assessment process involves several uncertainties which are resolved using q-rung orthopair hesitant fuzzy (q-ROHF) set. A distance measure is developed for q-ROHF sets and is applied to find the best strategy among six well known strategies, viz., SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS), SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Establishment of South Asian University (SAU), SAARC Arbitration Council (SARCO), South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) and South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) through SWARA-TOPSIS based MCGDM technique. The MCGDM method is updated by developing several aggregation operators, viz., Archimedean q-ROHF weighted average, q-ROHF Einstein weighted average, q-ROHF Hamacher weighted average, q-ROHF Frank weighted average along with their geometric forms to combine decision makers’ individual decision. The result shows that the most effective strategy for the economic integration of SAARC is SDF; SATIS comes next as best strategy for economic integration of SAARC. The study reveals that SAU has least impact on the regional economic integration of SAARC. The achieved results reveals the age old proverb that “play on the stomach and sit on the back” – the members of SAARC who are by nature economically poor can afford to take initiative for a successful effective regionalization if it is planned to bring socio economic development of themselves.

Evaluation of dental education during the pandemic of COVID-19-Results from an online survey among dental students.

The aim of this study was to assess the students' experience with education during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to investigate their views moving forward after resumption of face-to-face education. A questionnaire was administered to dental students in clinical dental education at seven dental schools. The questionnaire included 33 items organized in three sections: (a) Demographics, (b) Perceptions/activity during lockdown, and (c) Perceptions/activity upon resumption of face-to-face teaching. A total of 286 students from seven universities in Europe and Asia participated. Students' satisfaction with education during the pandemic varied among universities and ranged between 36%-80%, but students engaged in delivering emergency care had a significantly higher opinion (p = .001). Students who felt that their workload decreased, were commonly 24 years old or older (p = .015), male (p = .05) reported lower concentration and motivation, experienced a more severe disruption and valued lower the efforts of their universities to ensure the continuity of education (p = .009). The majority of the students (80.3%) felt confident to resume clinical training after the lockdown. In general, female students experienced a higher disruption of their education during the pandemic (p = .043) and expressed lower confidence to continue clinical training in comparison to their male colleagues (p = .001). Students' perception of their workload during the COVID-19 lockdown was very diverse, with those experiencing a reduction in workload being more likely to express lower satisfaction as well. Female students experienced a higher level of disruption. Engaging students in the delivery of emergency care had a positive effect on their appreciation of the education.

Medical school dean´s scientific production of the main universities by continent

Introduction: promoting scientific research is one of the main functions of universities. Medical schools should not be an exception; deans should also have appropriate research experience that allows them to have a different perspective on the importance of research in undergraduate medicine.Aim: to determine the medical school dean´s scientific production of the main universities by continent.Methods: an observational, analytical, and transversal study. We identify the medical school dean´s scientific production of the 20 universities with the best position from South America, Central America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, according to the Ranking Webometrics 2022, in the Scopus database.Results: 140 directors or deans of medicine were evaluated, of which 136 (97.1%) had published an article at least once in their life, 128 (91.4%) in the last five years, 103 (73.6%) in the previous year, and 93 (66.4%) in the current year. The total number of published articles was 24.5 (Me=98), receiving a total of 1,251,766 citations (range 0 to 101,868), an H-index 24 (range 0 to 140), and in collaboration with 154,711 coauthors.Conclusions: the medical school dean´s scientific production from the main universities by continent was high, with notable differences between those who came from universities in Asia, North America, and Europe compared to Oceania, Africa, South America, and Central America.