Malay Language Research Articles

HUBUNGAN ANTARA GAYA PEMBELAJARAN DAN TEMPOH WAKTU FOKUS: IMPLIKASI TERHADAP PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA MELAYU SEBAGAI BAHASA ANTARABANGSA

Learning a new language can be a challenging experience for students. In today's world, being able to communicate successfully in Bahasa Melayu is becoming more crucial, particularly for foreign students interacting with local students. However, learning a new language requires time and effort, and students struggle to balance language learning with academic and personal commitments. In addition, there is a viewpoint that the implementation of classes for a long period of time can lower students' interest and attentiveness in class. This due to a long period of time which can cause students to become tired and bored, and this situation will also lead to a lack of understanding of the learning content which will have a negative impact on the students themselves. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between the focus time period and the learning style of international students in learning Malay language. This study is based on Dunn & Dunn's Theory (1992) and the ARCS Model (Keller, 1984). Data was collected through a questionnaire distributed to international students at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). The questionnaire contains questions related to the duration of the student's focus during the Malay language learning session and learning style. The analysis of the study is using a quantitative approach, which is data collection using an online questionnaire instrument (Google form). In conclusion, an understanding of the focus period and learning style of international students can help educators and counselors in planning more effective teaching strategies that suit the individual needs of students. This also has important implications in designing a more inclusive and effective Malay language curriculum in the context of higher education in Malaysia.

Development and validation of a video-based intervention on self-care practices for patients with hypertension in Malaysian primary care settings.

Self-care practices among patients with hypertension have been shown to improve blood pressure control. Video-based interventions (VBIs) are helpful in enhancing patients' selfcare practices. However, validated VBIs in the Malay language for patients in primary care settings are scarce. This study aimed to develop and validate a VBI series in the Malay language to educate patients with hypertension on self-care practices in primary care settings. This study was conducted in three phases: (1) pre-production, (2) production and (3) post-production. The pre-production phase involved designing the storyboard and scripts, which underwent content validation by content experts and subsequently by patients with hypertension. Once the storyboards and scripts achieved acceptable consensus, the videos were recorded (production phase). The post-production phase included video editing and face validation among patients with hypertension. Statistical analysis included the calculation of the item-level content validation index (I-CVI) and item-level face validation index (I-FVI) during content and face validation, respectively. The storyboards and scripts for five videos were developed. The I-CVI of all videos was 1.0 after two rounds of content validation among six content experts. The I-CVI of all videos was 1.0 among five patients with hypertension. Five videos were recorded and edited, achieving an I-FVI of 1.0 during face validation among 10 patients. A VBI series consisting of five videos was developed and validated for use among patients with hypertension in primary care settings to improve their knowledge of self-care practices.

Psychometric Properties of the Teleprimary Care Oral Health Clinical Information System (TPC-OHCIS) Questionnaire Using the Rasch Model.

Background The Tele Primary Care Oral Health Clinical Information System (TPC-OHCIS) was implemented in Malaysia to digitalize health care and reduce numerous ground-level manual tasks. This study measures the psychometric properties of the TPC-OHCIS questionnaire among healthcare workers (HCWs) at primary healthcare clinics (PHC). Method A pilot study was conducted at PHC, which implemented the TPC-OHCIS application for service delivery. The questionnaire contained 65 items with four response categories, grouped into four scales: technology, organization, external support, and human resource. The questionnaire items were analyzed using the Rasch model in Winsteps 3.72.3. Results There were 319 respondents who participated (98.8%). The Cronbach alpha was 0.93. The construct validity was determined by a positive point measure correlation (PMC) value, with an infit and outfit mean square (MNSQ) range of 0.4-1.5 and a Z-standardized (ZSTD) range of -2.0 to 2.0. The person and item reliability were 0.93 and 0.97, respectively, indicating excellent reliability. The questionnaire was unidimensional, where the raw variance explained by measures was >40%. Conclusion The questionnaire was deemed fit for an actual survey after 18 items had been deleted. It has good psychometric properties and is practically applicable for evaluating HCWs on the TPC-OHCIS application implementation process monitoring using the local Malay language. High reliability and unidimensionality were achieved, supporting its use in digital healthcare. With this validated questionnaire, it will enhance digital healthcare implementation and streamline manual tasks.

Cultural Adaptation and Validation of a Malay Version of the Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors (CHIEF) Among Older Adults in Malaysia.

The Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors (CHIEF) is a tool designed to assess and quantify the impact of environmental factors on an individual's functioning and social participation. In this study, we aim to culturally adapt the CHIEF from its original English version into the Malay language (M-CHIEF) and examine its validity and reliability among older adults in Malaysia. The original CHIEF was cross-culturally adapted into the Malay language following the published guidelines on cross-cultural adaptation of health questionnaires. Its content and convergent validity were assessed using the content validity index and correlation with participants' gait speed, respectively. The reliability of M-CHIEF was assessed for its internal consistency using Cronbach's coefficient alpha and Cohen's kappa and its test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The M-CHIEF was rated with excellent content validity with a scale-level content validity index (S-CVI) of 0.86. Its internal consistency was demonstrated to be high with Cronbach's alpha of 0.84. The test-retest reliability at a two-week interval showed a stable score of the M-CHIEF and its subscales with an ICC value of 0.89. The M-CHIEF is deemed relevant for use among Malay speakers. It can function as an instrument to quantify the environmental barriers of an individual while considering broad environmental factors including policy, physical/ structural, work/school, attitude/support, and services/assistance.

The Malaysian Social Contract: A Historical Perspective

This paper delves into the concept of social contract, a framework rooted in the diverse theories pioneered by Western philosophers, to expound on the unique facets of the Malaysian social contract. This concept elucidates different forms of agreement between the people and the ruler in establishing an organised society. Unique and central to Malaysia, this contract involves traditional elements integral to the Malay establishment, encompassing Islam, the Malay language, the special position of the natives and the institution of Malay rulers in addition to citizenship rights for qualified individuals. To comprehend the distinctiveness of the Malaysian social contract, it is imperative to explore its historical context, tracing back the compromise forged among the inter-ethnic groups towards the independence of the Federation of Malaya. This historical narrative reveals that the post-World War II is Malaysia’s state of nature. However, the Malaysian social contract extends beyond understanding and consensus of inter-ethnic groups namely the Malays and the non-Malays. It also incorporates the agreement between the populace as a whole and the sovereign Malay rulers. Enshrined in the Federal Constitution, traditional elements and balancing provisions ensure compliance with the mutually agreed-upon social contract for both the Malays and the non-Malays.

PEMAKNAAN KOMPARATIF TERHADAP KATA WARNA DALAM BAHASA MANDARIN DAN BAHASA MELAYU

Colour words can reflect the cultural heritage and emotional nuances implicit in Mandarin and Malay. However, the meaning of the word colour is subjective and may have similarities and differences influenced by historical factors, geography and traditions of the Chinese and Malay communities. With this, the writer uses the word colour in Mandarin and Malay as an example, discusses the use and connotation of the colours white, black, red, yellow and green in both languages and explores the cultural and emotional characteristics of the word colour in both languages.

Are Poor Readers Also Poor Spellers: An Investigation Into the Malay and English Languages Among Young Multilingual Malaysians

Children with reading difficulties typically experience difficulties in both reading and spelling. Little is known about the use of spelling for identifying reading difficulties across languages that possess different orthographic depths, among multilingual readers. In the current study, we investigated whether multilingual Primary 1 poor readers were also poor spellers in two different orthographies, namely Malay and English. The sample comprised 866 Primary 1 Malaysian public school students from diverse backgrounds. A cut-off point of 25th percentile and below was used to operationalise students with deficits in word reading accuracy and spelling across both languages. A majority of the students who were poor readers in Malay and English, correspondingly, were also poor spellers in both languages. Spelling and word reading accuracy were highly correlated and considered as good indicators for identifying struggling young multilingual readers. These results indicate the importance of assessing spelling in both Malay and English for identifying reading difficulties, especially among young multilingual Malaysian learners. Implications for practice and future directions are addressed.

Interprofessional Comparisons in Patient Safety Culture at a Teaching Hospital Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges with its impact on patient safety culture and staff well-being. This study was to identify potential changes in safety culture among health care workers from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine the differences across occupational groups. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was administered electronically in both English and Malay languages using the Google Forms platform in 2018 and was repeated in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparisons were made between 2018 and 2021 to determine changes in patient safety culture for the overall staff population and by occupational groups. A total of 3175 health care workers completed the questionnaire in 2021. Overall, a comparable percentage agreement was found for all SAQ domains in 2018 and 2021 with visible improvements for doctors and support staff. Safety Attitudes Questionnaire domain scores differed in teamwork, safety climate, perception of hospital management, and working condition domains across occupational groups. Self-isolation and COVID-19 were associated with poorer SAQ domain scores, while redeployment was associated with improvements in SAQ domain scores. Interventions targeting areas of weakness as well as utilizing positive experiences such as redeployment should be explored to enhance patient safety in hospitals settings postpandemic.

Evaluating the Malay version of NIOSH WellBQ: A study on reliability and construct validity for enhanced workplace well-being assessment

This study aimed to validate the Worker Well-Being Questionnaire, originally developed by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in the Malay language. The translation process involved an initial independent translation by a professional translator, followed by a comparison of translations to synthesize a unified version, which was subsequently back-translated. The back-translations were then reviewed by an expert committee to create a finalized questionnaire version. The results of this validation study indicate a high level of satisfaction, demonstrating an excellent fit with confirmatory factor analysis (CFI and TLI values ranging from 0.96 to 0.99) and a low root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA values ranging from 0.03 to 0.07). Moreover, the questionnaire exhibits sound internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values exceeding 0.7, and the factor structures align with theoretical expectations. In conclusion, the Malay version of the questionnaire faithfully reproduces the original instrument, enabling a robust and efficient assessment of workers’ well.

A comparison of narrative abilities in Malay school-age typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder

ABSTRACT Research on narrative skills in the Malay language is scarce for both typically developing (TD) and children with Developmental Language Disorders (DLD). This study examines the differences in narrative abilities of Malay-speaking school-age children with and without DLD. Fifteen Malay-speaking TD children and 15 children with DLD told four stories elicited using the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narrative (MAIN). Group comparisons were conducted in narrative production (story retelling and story generation) as well as in comprehension. We also examined the differences in both groups’ story complexity (e.g. the combination of goals (G), attempts (A) and outcomes (O)). General microstructure features such as the total number of words (TNW), total number of sentences (TNS) and total number of different words (NDW) were also investigated. TD children outperformed children with DLD in both narrative production and comprehension performances. TD children constructed a higher combination of G, A, and O components than children with DLD. Children with DLD frequently produced G, A, and O in isolation in comparison to TD children. In language productivity and lexical complexity, TD children had a significantly higher frequency in TNW and NDW than children with DLD, resulting in longer narratives and higher uses of different words than children with DLD. Distinct differences are found in the narrative profile of TD children and children with DLD. The results are relatively consistent with the findings of similar studies that utilised and adapted the MAIN in other languages. Clinical implications and recommendations are discussed.

Alih Aksara dan Alih Bahasa Manuskrip Hikayat Raja Handak

The objectives of this study are to provide a physical description of the Hikayat Raja Handak manuscript, to present the transliteration of the Hikayat Raja Handak manuscript, and to present the translation of the Hikayat Raja Handak manuscript. This research belongs to the field of philological research. The research method used is the philological method, which involves several stages. The data collection stage utilizes the data inventory method, the manuscript description stage employs the descriptive method, the transliteration stage utilizes the script transfer method, and the translation stage employs the language transfer method. The results of this study include: a description of the Hikayat Raja Handak manuscript, which has been described based on the necessary considerations for manuscript identification and description; the presentation of the transliteration in the Hikayat Raja Handak manuscript. The transcription is carried out following the researcher's transcription guidelines without altering the content or word order of the manuscript; (c) the presentation of the translation of the Hikayat Raja Handak manuscript, which is transliterated from Malay into Indonesian. The translation is done to facilitate readers' comprehension of the Malay language, enabling them to understand and comprehend the contents of the manuscript. The Hikayat Raja Handak manuscript narrates a war between Prophet Muhammad and King Handak, the grandson of Prophet Solomon. King Handak was killed in battle by Ali's sword, known as Zulfikar. Ultimately, King Handak's people were conquered by the Islamic army, thanks to Ali's prowess.

Cross-cultural validation of Malay version of perceived professionalism among dental patients

BackgroundProfessionalism is a dynamic construct that requires constant revision based on contemporary practices and attitudes.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to cross-culturally adapt an already validated English questionnaire assessing patient perceptions of professionalism among dentists, into the Malay language.MethodsAn original 24-item questionnaire was cross-cultural adapted in the Malaysian context through two phases. Phase I included content and face validity from experts’ evaluation which was followed by translation into the Malay language. Phase II involved psychometric assessment including construct validity and reliability analysis.ResultsExpert evaluation indicated that all items demonstrated excellent content validity for the characteristics of relevance (CVI = 0.75–1.00 Kappa = 0.72–1.00) and clarity (CVI = 0.75–1.00 and Kappa= 0.72–1.00). A total of 300 dental patients completed the questionnaire. EFA was done on the first dataset and the second dataset was subjected to CFA which showed composite reliability (CR) ranging between 0.741 and 0.897 indicating acceptable reliability among items. The final questionnaire had 20 items with 3 domains; Patient expectation of a dental care provider, Ethics and Dentist’s professional responsibilities, Patient communication and confidentiality.ConclusionThis study has successfully validated the questionnaire for patient perception of professionalism in the Malaysian context.

Editorial Information

CHIEF EDITOR Prof. Dr. Amir Akramin Shafie, IIUM, Malaysia DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & TECHNICAL EDITOR Prof. Dr. Ahmad Fadzil Ismail IIUM, Malaysia DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Prof. Dr. AHM Zahirul Alam, IIUM, Malaysia Asst. Prof. Dr. Norhanis Diyana Binti Nizarudin, IIUM, Malaysia EDITORS (IIUM, Malaysia) Prof. Dr. Gairuazmi Mat Ghani Prof. Dr. Farid Sufian Shuaib Prof. Dr. Shukran Abd. Rahman Prof. Dr Jamalludin Ab Rahman Prof. Dr. Noor Lide Abu Kassim Prof. Ar. Dr. Abdul Razak Sapian Prof Dr Abd Rahman Ahlan Prof. Dr. Zainul Ahmad Rajion Prof. Dr. Rusni Hassan Prof. Dr. Ida Madieha Abdul Ghani Azmi Prof. Hamzah Mohd. Salleh Prof Dr AbdelAziz Berghout Prof Dr Ahmad Aidil Arafat bin Dzulkarnain Assoc. Prof. Dr. Badri Najib bin Zubir Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sany Izan Ihsan Assoc. Prof Dr Jesni Shamsul Shaari Asst. Prof. Dr. Mohd Azrul Azlen Abd Hamid Asst. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kamil Che Hasan Asst. Prof. Dr. Juliana binti Md. Jaffri LANGUAGE EDITORS (IIUM, Malaysia) English Language Division Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Engku Haliza Engku Ibrahim Dr. Faridah Abdul Malik Bahasa Melayu Division Nurma bintiAbd Karim Nurul Husni binti Zawawil Anwar Quranic Language Division Dr. Zakaria Omar Dr. Nordin Ahmad ADVISORY COMMITTEE Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri. Dr. Mohd Kamal Bin Hassan Prof. Datuk Dr. Asma binti Ismail EDITORIAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS Prof. Dr. Nasser Mohammad Amjad AIMS & SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE (IJIoK) The International Journal on Integration of Knowledge aims to promote excellence by providing avenues for academics and professionals to publish current and significant research in integrating knowledge that tests, extends, or builds theories. This multidisciplinary journal considers review and research articles related to Social Sciences and Humanities, Science and Technology, Health and Life Science, Finance and Commerce, and Language and Literature. IJIoK accepts submissions from all fields and any source for fundamental and applied investigations related to the Integration of Knowledge with peer review, ensuring high-quality articles. REFEREES’ NETWORK All papers submitted to the International Journal on Integration of Knowledge will be subjected to rigorous review through a worldwide network of specialized and competent referees. Each accepted paper should have at least two positive referees’ assessments. SUBMISSION OF A MANUSCRIPT A manuscript should be submitted online to the IIUM Journal website at https://journals.iium.edu.my/ij/index.php/iok. The journal website can also be used for further correspondence on the paper's status. Published by: IIUM Press, International Islamic University Malaysia Jalan Gombak, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Phone (+603) 6421-5014, Fax: (+603) 6421-6298 Whilst the publisher and editorial board make every effort to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement appears in this Journal, they wish to make it clear that the data and opinions appearing in the articles and advertisement herein are the responsibility of the contributor or advertiser concerned. Accordingly, the publisher and the editorial committee accept no liability whatsoever for the consequence of any such inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement.

Comparative Analysis of Deep Learning Models for Part of Speech Tagging in the Malay Language

Despite the widespread use of Malay, under-resourced languages like Malay face challenges in Natural Language Processing (NLP), particularly in Part-of-Speech (POS) tagging. The scarcity of annotated corpora poses a primary obstacle to POS tagging in Malay. This study aims to enhance the effectiveness and reliability of POS tagging models explicitly tailored for under-resourced languages within the field of NLP, focusing on Malay. Existing models, which rely on Conditional Random Fields and Hidden Markov Models, exhibit limitations, underscoring the need for more robust approaches. The research conducts a comparative analysis of various deep-learning models with different encoders for POS tagging in Malay sentences. The experimental analysis demonstrates that the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM) model, leveraging a pre-trained Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) embedding model, achieves exceptional accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores in predicting tags. Notably, the BERT + Bi-LSTM model, boasting an accuracy of 98.82%, outperforms other models, showcasing superior performance across all evaluated metrics. Additionally, this combined model effectively handles known and unknown words, yielding highly accurate POS tagging results for Malay sentences. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2024-05-02-04 Full Text: PDF

Colour Reading Speech Kit (Tubana Kit) as a Therapy Tool for Students with Special Needs at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seremban 2, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan

The Color Reading Speech Kit (Tubana Kit) is provided to improve the skills of listening, speaking, reading, observation, concentration, and interest and reduce the stress of students in special education schools. This kit consists of two items, namely activities for tongue twister training in the form of software and English and Malay activities and coloring books. This study was conducted through collaboration with the Mobile Book Café as the industry collaborator and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seremban 2, as the community collaborator. The respondents comprised 14 special needs students, i.e. 7 students from the Malay Language class and 7 students from the English Language Class. Despite having learning disabilities, these special needs students are still able to read and write. All the students in the Malay Language and English class have profited from the Tubana Kit's knowledge transfer, according to the results obtained after utilizing it. The pupil now speaks and behaves better, with better pronunciation. Their vocabulary and articulation in both Malay and English are also on par. The use of coloring books and activities in both Malay and English has improved vocabulary usage among students who typically have low vocabulary. Indeed, SMK Seremban 2 children with special needs have demonstrated the effectiveness of the Tubana Kit as a therapy tool in both Malay and English languages.

RENDERING AL-MAFUL AL-MUTLAQ IN QURANIC TRANSLATION:A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THREE MALAY VERSIONS

The maintenance or modification of the language style of a source text in its translated version is one of the aspects that is often observed in the study of style analysis or translation strategy. Al-Quran as a holy book that is rich and loaded with its own styles of language has caused polemics among scholars of translation of sacred texts from time to time such as differences of opinion and approach between them regarding strategies, methods, styles or techniques of translating the diversity of language styles of this holy book of all Muslims. Al-Maful al-Mutlaq which is one of the aspects of language style in the syntax of the Arabic language has seen a variety of strategies and ways of translation in its translation versions. Starting from that, this study aims to identify the holy verses of the Quran that contain the language style of al-Maful al-Mutlaq, analyze the verses containing al-Maful al-Mutlaq from morphological and syntactic aspects.and compare the translation strategies used when translating the three types of al-Maful al-Mutlaqin the three versions of the Malay translation of the Quran which is the sample of this study Terjemahan Al-Hidayah, Terjemahan Pimpinan Ar-Rahman Kepada Pengertian Al-Quran and Terjemahan Kompleks Percetakan al-Quran Raja Fahad. This study uses a qualitative approach by means of contrastive content analysis by comparing the syntax of Arabic and Malay regarding the concept and structure of al-Maful al-Mutlaq through the texts of selected verses of the Holy Quran. This study finally concludes that there are several discourse markers used by translators when translating al-Maful al-Mutlaq into Malay. This study is expected to be able to provide understanding and guidance to students of the Quranic language to recognize the style and strategy of translating al-Maful al-Mutlaq found in the Quran into the Malay language.

Alih Aksara dan Alih Bahasa Manuskrip Teks Hikayat Nabi Ada

This article aims to: (a) present a manuscript description of Hikayat Nabi Ada, (b) present the script translation of the teks of Hikayat Nabi Ada, (c) presents the script translation of the teks Hikayat Nabi Ada. The type of this study is philological research, this study aims to generate transcription and translation of a manuscript based on the stages and method of philological study. The focus of this are manuscripts and texts namely Hikayat Nabi Ada. This research used philological method which consisting of several stages of research. At the stage of data collection, this research used library research. After that, the stage of manuscript description, the researcher used descriptive method, then used transcription and translation method at the last stage. There are three findings of this research, that is ; (a) the form of description of the manuscript Hikayat Nabi Ada which is described based on things that have been determined in describing or identifying the manuscript; (b) the transcription of the text Hikayat Nabi Ada are from Arabic-Malay script to Latin script, the language in the text of Hikayat Nabi Ada is Malay; (c) translation of Hikayat Nabi Ada text is translated from Malay to Indonesian. The purpose of the translation is to facilitate readers who cannot understand the Malay language, so that the contents contained in the manuscript can be understood by the reader. The Hikayat Nabi Ada text tells the story of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad from the womb of his mother until marriage.

Pendekatan Formula: Strategi Peningkatan Kemahiran Penulisan Karangan Bahasa Melayu Pelajar Kolej Vokasional

The acquisition of essay writing skills holds compulsory significance for all Malaysian Vocational Certificate (SVM) students at Vocational Colleges (KV), as these skills are embedded within the SVM Malay language course curriculum. Generally, students at KV exhibit a range of weak to moderate mastery levels in essay writing, particularly in terms of structuring and organizing essays in a systematic manner. Evidently, lackluster student performance was accentuated when a subset of students failed to respond adequately to essay prompts during the End of Semester Assessment, emerging as a substantial contributor to the failure rates within the Malay language subject. A survey unveiled a deficiency in systematic essay writing proficiency, resulting in student hesitancy and disinterest in addressing essay-related queries. In response, the researcher introduced a formulaic approach to essay writing with the aim of elevating student performance. A sample of 24 students from the Electronics Technology Program was selected randomly to participate in this study. Consequently, a study was conducted employing pre-test and post-test assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of the introduced formulaic approach within the study sample. The gathered data revealed a notable shift in student achievement levels, evidenced byimprovements in grades post-intervention and alignment with the prescribed scoring criteria. Initially absent in pre-test outcomes, the attainment of an 'A' grade by the study sample became evident following the post-test, wherein the formulaic approach was integrated into the teaching and learning process. This study establishes that students are capable of proficiently and systematically honing their Malay essay writing skills. Through the implementation of a structured methodology, it becomes apparent that learners can effectively bridge identified gaps, thereby enhancing their overall mastery of the subject matter. Consequently, this research holds implications for pedagogical practices geared towards fostering heightened competency in essay writing among SVM students

Validity study of the EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being in Malaysian samples

The EPOCH (Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness, Happiness) Measure of Adolescent Well-being is a newly developed scale designed to evaluate adolescent well-being and positive functioning. This study assesses its validity and reliability in a Malay language version. A total of 444 participants (189 boys and 255 girls) aged 13 and 14 were recruited from public schools in Malaysia. The EPOCH measure demonstrated excellent construct, convergent, concurrent, and discriminant validity, as well as reliability, in the sample. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate model fit (CMIN/df = 2.99, RMSEA = .07, CFI = .91, GFI = .90, TLI = .89), while all the subscales had composite reliability above .70, indicating satisfactory convergent validity. The measure and its subscales exhibited significant positive correlations with cognitive reappraisal (CR), ranging from .21 to .31 (p .01), and negative correlations with expressive suppression (ES), ranging from .04 to .18 (p .01). Two subscales (engagement and perseverance) showed non-significant correlations with ES, while discriminant validity showed negative correlations with depression, anxiety and stress (r = .14 to .54, p .01), except for the engagement subscale. It is concluded that the EPOCH measure is valid and reliable for assessing adolescent well-being in Malaysia, providing culturally relevant instruments for such assessment.

Tracing the Linguistic Roots of Malay and Batak Languages in Sumatra Island: A Historical Comparative Study

Previous research in comparative historical linguistics has traditionally focused on languages within a single region, overlooking cognate languages in other areas. This study seeks to rectify this by quantitatively and qualitatively describing the kinship between Rejang, Serawai, Lembak (Bengkulu), and Toba, Mandailing, and Nias (North Sumatra) languages. It aims to unearth empirical evidence regarding the timing of divergence between Malay and Batak languages, as well as the grouping of languages and the percentage of kinship between Bengkulu Province and North Sumatra Province. Utilizing Morris Swadesh's lexicostatistics and glottochronology methods, the research evaluates word kinship based on a fundamental 150-word list. Results indicate significant differences among the six languages, particularly with Rejang and Nias displaying low similarity levels, falling below 30% and not even reaching 10%, respectively. The percentage of kinship between local language pairs in Bengkulu and North Sumatra Province averages at 22.66%, classifying them under the "Family stock" category, indicating identical word correlations despite differing phonetic elements. Glottochronological calculations estimate the separation time between Malay and Batak languages to range from 419 to 3,289 BC. This research significantly enhances understanding of regional language kinship and linguistic diversity.