Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Research Articles

Investigating the Psychometric Properties of a Personality Questionnaire among University Lecturers in Malaysia

This study investigates the psychometric properties of a personality questionnaire developed for university lecturers in Malaysia, assessing the Big Five personality traits: extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. A sample of 30 lecturers from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) was examined, with the questionnaire showing strong internal consistency, reflected in a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.959. Demographic variables, including gender, age, marital status, and academic qualifications, were analyzed to provide further context for the findings. The results validate the questionnaire as an effective tool for assessing personality traits among Malaysian academics, offering valuable insights into how these traits may influence teaching effectiveness and professional behavior. This study contributes to the development of tailored psychometric tools in the Malaysian academic context and provides a foundation for further research into personality and its role in higher education.

A Multicomponent Workplace Environmental Intervention to Promote Physical Activity among the Staff of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

Physical inactivity is a significant public health issue affecting working adults because it can increase the risk of noncommunicable diseases. The objective is to determine the outcomes of a multi-component workplace environmental intervention that incorporated physical activity self-regulation (PASR) to promote physical activity (PA) among employees. This was a 6-month intervention with a two-group, parallel, quasi-experimental study. A total of 11 workplaces were randomly assigned to intervention group (IG) or control group (CG) using a 1:1 allocation ratio. In each group, 84 eligible participants were recruited. The IG was exposed to the organizational support and the PA support components throughout the study. The PASR Scale, International PA Questionnaire, and pedometer were used to measure the outcome at the baseline, 3rd-month, and 6th-month follow-ups, respectively. The repeated measures-analysis of variance analysis was used to determine the changes in the PASR skills, MET-min/week, and step/week over time. The IG had 75 participants (51 females and 24 males) and the CG had 73 participants (52 females and 21 males) at the 6th-month follow-up. Despite there was no statistically significant difference in the outcomes between groups over time, the IG showed significant improvements in total PASR (ηp2 = 0.021), goal setting (ηp2 = 0.024), total MET-min/week (ηp2 = 0.031), housework-related PA (ηp2 = 0.101), and step/week (ηp2 = 0.827) throughout this intervention. This intervention was found to be effective in improving the PASR skills, MET-min/week, and step/week of IG participants. Meanwhile, because some effect sizes were small, these findings should be interpreted with caution.

Investigation of the Acoustics Performance of the University’s Lecture Rooms by using Economical and Feasible Design Improvement Strategies

Students encounter difficulties in speech comprehension because of unfavorable classroom acoustics conditions, which subsequently affect their cognitive development and academic performance. Therefore, optimal listening conditions are required to ensure that listeners perceive and recognize speech effectively. This invites numerous studies to explore plausible acoustic interventions and treatments as an initiative to remediate the issue. Thus, this study seeks to a) identify the actual acoustic conditions in two (2) classrooms in the Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, and b) establish economical acoustic design strategies for future improvements. This quantitative study embarks on on-site acoustic measurements to evaluate the reverberation time and background noise level of the selected classrooms. The data from the on-site measurement is applied for 3D model verification for the simulation process. The establishment of plausible design treatment alternatives is further analyzed through simulation using ODEON software. The simulation process yielded the effects of a) material surface treatment and b) sound field amplification systems on several acoustic parameters. The findings reveal that the surface treatment using low-cost material and the installation of sound field amplification significantly enhanced the classroom acoustic quality and are feasible to be implemented for future improvements.

Faculty of Applied & Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

The advent of globalised connectivity has intricately linked local communities with worldwide information dissemination, forming a global consciousness among individuals. This essay explores the interplay between globalised connectivity and the “risk society,” analyzing its impact on democracy. Through cases such as Cambridge Analytica, the Arab Spring, and the ICIJ, it reveals the dual nature of globalised connectivity, fostering democratic advancement while compromising data privacy. The essay underscores the need for active democratic participation while managing associated risks. As society navigates this transformative phase, harnessing globalised connectivity’s potential to amplify voices and ensure accountability is crucial for a balanced future of enhanced global democracy and personal information security.

Human Activity Recognition System

Abstract: Almost every university has its management system to manage the students' records. Currently, even though there is a student management system that manages the students' records in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), no permission is provided for lecturers to access the system. This is because the access permission is only to top management such as Deans and Deputy Deans of Undergraduate and Student Development due to its privacy setting. Thus, this project proposes a system named Student Performance Analysis System (SPAS) to keep track of students' results in the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (FCSIT). The proposed system offers a predictive system that can predict the student's performance in the course "TMC1013 System Analysis and Design", which in turn assists the lecturers from the Information System department to identify students that are predicted to have bad performance in the course "TMC1013 System Analysis and Design". The proposed system offers student performance prediction through the rules generated via the data mining technique. The data mining technique used in this project is classification, which classifies the students based on students' grades. Keywords- Student performance; student analysis; data mining; student performance analysis; classification; prediction; system

A UNIQUE REVOLUTIONARY JOURNEY ACROSS THE GLOBE TO DISCOVER THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS

The discovery of novel coronavirus through technology is undoubtedly a breakthrough and unique research in the world. A mysterious name with scientific obscurity is the coronavirus. The coronavirus is the most enduring systemic puzzle to plague world history. Dr Miah first discovered this virus called ISNAH in 2018 from his PhD research work at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia. His experiment continued with advanced wireless sensors tracking on cats and dogs to a specific GPS location. As the coronavirus disease spreads rapidly across the globe, panic prevails among people from all walks of life. Symptoms include frequent sneezing, yawning, hiccups, runny nose, teeth grinding, and flatus at specific GPS locations due to the person's active open eyes, sudden body noises, and proximity sensor devices. Due to its similar symptoms to ISNAH, the World Health Organization named it COVID-19. After his PhD graduation, Dr. Miah lectured on his ISNAH credentials at various institutions through seminars, conferences, academic talks, workshops, and round table discussions at national and international levels. Dr. Miah has several publications related to his discovery, which were published in the Indexed journals. It was a hapless researcher's journey to reach the top of the target by swimming in strong currents in a ferocious crocodile-infested sea, but the research journey was successful as it received national and international recognition.

DENSITY AND NEST-SITE SELECTION OF INVASIVE MYNAS AND STARLINGS IN URBAN AND SUB-URBAN AREAS IN WESTERN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA

Urban pest bird species, such as the Asian Glossy Starling, Javan Myna, and Common Myna have been a persistent menace to urban properties. This study compares the population densities of each species within urban and sub-urban areas between Kuching and Kota Samarahan. It was found that Javan Myna and Common Myna populations are concentrated in Pending with population densities of 12.9 ind/ha and 13.3 ind/ha, respectively. The Asian Glossy Starling was found to occupy heavily populated areas in Waterfront and the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak campus, with a population density of 15.0 ind/ha at both sites. We also studied the nesting density and habitat requirements of these species. The highest record of nesting density for the Common Myna (0.8 nests/ha) and Javan Myna (0.7 nests/ha) is in Pending, while the Asian Glossy Starling (2.6 nests/ha) is in Waterfront. The following microhabitat variables influenced the birds’ nest site selection: i) nest distance from garbage bins; ii) nest distance from shrubs and grass; and iii) nest distance from trees. Additionally, the data indicated that the birds had a strong preference for nesting in artificial structures. The Common Myna (25%) chose to nest inside air vents, whereas the Javan Myna (29.63%) and Asian Glossy Starling (51.95%) preferred to nest in holes and cavities.

Prevalence of haemosporidia in Asian Glossy Starling with discovery of misbinding of Haemoproteus-specific primer to Plasmodium genera in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

BackgroundPlasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon are three mainly studied blood parasites known to cause malarial and pseudomalarial infections in avian worldwide. Although Sarawak is a biodiversity hotspot, molecular data on blood parasite diversity in birds are absent. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of blood parasite in Asian Glossy Starlings (AGS), an urban bird with high population density in Sarawak and to elucidate the phylogenetic relationship with other blood parasite.MethodsTwenty-nine carcasses of juvenile AGS that were succumbed to death due to window collision were collected around the vicinity of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Nested-multiplex and nested PCR targeting the Cytochrome B gene were used to detect Plasmodium and Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon respectively. Two primer sets were used for Haemoproteus detection to increase detection sensitivity, with one being a genus-specific primer.ResultsFourteen samples (prevalence rate: 48.28%) were found positive for avian Plasmodium. Phylogenetic analysis divided our sequences into five lineages, pFANTAIL01, pCOLL4, pACCBAD01, pALPSIS01 and pALPSIS02, with two lineages being novel. No Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon was found in this study. However, Haemoproteus-specific primer used amplified our Plasmodium samples, making the primer non-specific to Haemoproteus only.ConclusionThis is the first blood parasite detection study on AGS using carcasses and blood clot as sample source in Sarawak. Due to the scarcity of longer sequences from regions with high genetic plasticity, usage of genus-specific primers should be validated with sequencing to ensure correct prevalence interpretation.

Time to Flip? Feedback from UNIMAS Medical Students Towards Implementation of Flipped Pathology Classroom

This study aimed to explore the perception of year two preclinical medical students towards flipped classroom over conventional teaching method through qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study involved 110 year two preclinical medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak from October 2020 to January 2021. Five one-hour pathology lectures were divided into two parts covering different topics of the lecture. The first half hour used conventional teaching, while the second half hour used flipped classroom. Student feedback was collected through a 19-item, self-administered questionnaire comprising 15 quantitative questions in three structured instruments and four qualitative open-ended questions. The score for mean perception of flipped classroom was significantly different according to place of residence while the mean knowledge acquisition score was significantly different among students using different internet sources. In addition, for examination preparation, slightly more than one third preferred traditional classroom. Six aspects of improvement on flipped classroom were identified: learning materials; teaching methods; quality of resource materials; class activity and interaction; choices of topics for flipped classroom; and time, pace, and atmosphere of lessons. Three aspects of significance of flipped classroom were captured, which included facilitating understanding and revision; flexible time, ability to ask and answer; and ability to share, focus and identify mistakes. A flipped classroom shows much potential in medical education. Future studies on feedback from students are needed to improve the flipped classroom to suit the Malaysian context.

Challenges of online and face-to-face learning and its relationship with learner’s motivation among undergraduate students during the post-COVID era

Background: Online and face-to-face learning challenges influence students’ motivation. However, limited studies have yet been conducted to correlate students’ motivation with online and face-to-face learning challenges, especially in Malaysia. This study examined the challenges faced by learners during face-to-face and online learning and its relationship with learners’ motivation. Methods: This cross-sectional- correlation study was conducted among year-3 to year-5 undergraduate students at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak irrespective of gender and nationality. A total of 475 students’ data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Collected data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 27.0. Pearson’s moment correlation was used to examine the association between students’ motivation and online and face-to-face learning. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Technological challenge was weakly positively correlated with age (p<0.05), gender (p<0.05) and amotivation (p<0.01). However, no statistically significant correlation was found with extrinsic, intrinsic motivation and CGPA (p>0.05). Among the domains of challenges, the technological challenges were strongly positively correlated with the individual (p<0.001), domestic (p<0.001), institutional (p<0.001) and community (p<0.001) challenges. This study found that extrinsic motivation was positively correlated with intrinsic motivation, but both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation were negatively correlated with amotivation. All domains of challenges were positively correlated with amotivation of students. Conclusions: Universities could organise strategies to improve the current teaching and learning methods to boost students’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Subjective and Objective Needs Analysis of Mandarin Learners

Needs analysis for language courses has to be carried out continuously to keep up with global changes and the needs of learners. This mixed-method study aims to describe the subjective and objective needs of the Mandarin learners in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Malaysia, and to check if these needs correspond with each other. Targetting at 120 learners and two instructors, a questionnaire survey was distributed, and complemented by qualitative data derived from focus group interviews. Result shows that learners’ subjective needs correspond with objective needs for motivational orientation, textbook, and cultural exposure. Statistically insignificant differences were found in the expected skills to learn, lecture-activities ratio, and teaching-learning activities. The study concludes that flexibility, student-centeredness and practicality are elements to look into for course improvement. Future research can explore learners’ needs in mastering writing skill, as well as the needs differences among learners across different levels. The study complements the understanding and knowledge of needs analysis in regard to Mandarin learning outside of China.

Development of Web-Based Industrial Revolution 4.0 Implementation Monitoring System Prototype for Academic Programmes

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak has moved forward to transform the conventional academic curriculum in line with Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the Ministry of Education’s aspiration for future-ready curriculum transformation in academic programmes. The process of monitoring the implementation of Curriculum 4.0 in UNIMAS academic programmes involved a significant number of documents that are done manually due to records being kept in writing, printed using files and manual form. Thus, access to information is less organised, time consumed and require storage space. Furthermore, unsystematic, ununiform reporting on transformative teaching and learning with different formatting. A proposed system is developed by using Unified Modelling Language that consists of Use–Case Diagrams, Activity Diagram and Sequence Diagrams to interact between the users. In this prototype, all lecturers are required to fill in 14 criteria covering future-ready curricula such as curriculum structure, transformative learning teaching delivery, and alternative assessments. This system replaced the manual way of managing to monitoring, recording, analysing, and reporting the implementation of curriculum 4.0 elements and criteria in academic programmes including the transformative learning and teaching delivery practices. Furthermore, this proposed system is more efficient, accurate and user-friendly compared to manual implementation.

A pragmatic approach to ethical research collaboration with Indigenous communities: A case study with the Penan people of Long Lamai, Malaysia

It is paramount that research relevant to Indigenous communities be conducted in partnership with them through free and prior informed consent. Historically, much research was extractive in nature, performed without Indigenous community consent, and often applied a deficit-framing. Some academic professional societies have developed guidelines for ethically conducting research with Indigenous communities to avoid these unethical practices. However, missing from these ethical research declarations are the specifics on research implementation or how research can be enriched through an ethical research approach. In 2010, the Association of American Geographers’ (AAG, now known as the American Association of Geographers) Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group (IPSG) wrote a Declaration of Key Questions About Research Ethics with Indigenous Communities outlining several questions that researchers should ask themselves when collaborating with Indigenous communities. We selected the AAG’s ethical principles for this study as it was one of the first environmentally oriented professional societies to make such a declaration. It is also among the world’s largest professional societies with over 10,000 members across 100 countries, with nearly upward of 7000 in attendance at its annual conference. The IPSG’s Declaration organizes their key questions around several elements: (1) Formulating the Project, (2) Identities of the Researchers, (3) Partnerships, (4) Benefits, (5) Findings, and (6) Deepening Relationships. This article discusses how each of the elements in the IPSG’s Declaration can be addressed for a wide range of research projects, providing specific examples from the Global Citizenship and Sustainability (GCS) program, a community-based partnership between Cornell University, the Institute of Social Informatics and Technological Innovations at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, and Penan village leaders in Long Lamai, Malaysia. This article argues that GCS’ research was enhanced through a non-extractive, community-based, and collaborative research mindset and further describes questions based on the IPSG’s Declaration that researchers can ask themselves throughout their research processes. This article serves as a foundation for researchers collaborating with Indigenous communities to think about their research to give agency to those communities while conducting innovative research. This article has been written in consultation with a community-chosen representative of Long Lamai, Borneo.

Preface

The 2022 2nd International Conference on Energy, Power and Advanced Thermodynamic Systems (EPATS 2022) was successfully held in Nanjing, China in July 22-24, 2022 in the form of online conference. Energy, along with electricity, has become an indispensable part of our life, and they change the way we live. Under such a background, EPATS 2022 focused on the latest innovations and knowledge in energy and power engineering, stimulated new ideas and promoted collaborations in these areas.We had the honor of inviting both Prof. Lim Yun Seng from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia and Prof. M.Shahidul Islam from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia to serve as our Conference Chairmen. 120 individuals and enterprises all over the world attended the conference. Divided into three parts, the conference agenda covered keynote speeches, oral presentations, and online Q&A discussion. Firstly, keynote speakers were each allocated 30-45 minutes to hold their speeches. Then in the oral presentations, the excellent papers selected were presented by their authors one by one.During the conference, we were greatly honored to invite four sophisticated keynote speakers to address their speeches. Among them, Assoc. Prof. Sen Guo from North China Electric Power University delivered a thought-provoking speech on the topic: Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of Pumped Storage Power Station in China. In this research, a hybrid novel fuzzy multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) method combining the fuzzy best worst method (BWM) and fuzzy TOPSIS was proposed for the comprehensive performance evaluation of pumped storage power stations in China. Additionally, Prof. Zhenbin Zhang from Shandong University, China presented us his report: Cooperative-Predictive Control of Hybrid Microgrids. This report provided possible control solutions for further MG-based power grid, and presented the latest progress and contribution of his team in this field. Three research aspects were discussed, including predictive control of power converters in the primary layer, cooperative control of multiple distributed generators in the secondary layer as well as cooperative control between the AC and DC heterogeneous sub-grids. The wonderful and dramatic speeches of each keynote speaker had triggered heated discussion. Moreover, every participant praised this conference for disseminating useful and insightful knowledge.We are glad to share with you that we received lots of submissions from the conference and we selected a bunch of high-quality papers and compiled them into the proceedings after rigorously reviewing them. These papers feature but are not limited to the following topics: Energy Storage Technology, Self-Healing of the Power Grid, Power Grid Coordination, Engineering Thermodynamics, etc. All the papers have been checked through rigorous review and processes to meet the requirements of publication.On behalf of the conference organizing committee, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to all the keynote speakers, peer reviewers, and all the participants. Especially, we would like to acknowledge the Journal of Physics: Conference Series, for the efforts of all the colleagues in publishing this paper volume. We firmly believe that all the attendees have had fruitful discussions and gained valuable knowledge, and will enjoy the opportunity for future collaborations.Committee of EPATS 2022List of Committee member is available in this Pdf.

Socioeconomic Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic with Multiple Factors on Global Healthcare Policy

Today's world is in turmoil due to the misdeeds of cyber criminals. Cybercriminals at national, regional and international levels are misusing wireless sensor technology to cause serious damage to socioeconomic conditions. Due to the misuse of sensor technology, pandemic diseases, war-conflicts, gender violence, child abuse, climate crisis, heat wave, energy crisis, social unrest, political instability etc. are increasing, which have serious impact on healthcare. The coronavirus pandemic is a non-infectious disease, spread by cybercriminals through advanced wireless sensor technology at certain distances - no doubt about it. Digital tracking, poisoning and extrajudicial killings by this coronavirus around the world are currently a top research concept for scientists, researchers, technologists and medical professionals. Social distancing, wearing masks, self-isolation, handshakes and travel bans have all reduced the workforce in the household, education, economic and technical sectors. The study was conducted as part of the ISNAH examination of higher studies at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia from October 8, 2014 to May 21, 2018 to evaluate with primary and secondary data. Research shows that cybercriminals are misusing advanced wireless sensor technology to hold people, animals and others hostage around the world. Research also shows that cybercriminals are sickening hostages, killing others and even digitally destroying objects by burning them at specific GPS locations. This study shows that the coronavirus was created by cybercriminals for a political agenda and to present the uncertainty of the world's socioeconomic situation and its impact on human society. The socioeconomic situation of different countries is changing abnormally due to the impact of this pandemic. Existing health care policies are inadequate to combat the global pandemic. Vaccines cannot completely cure pandemics, but following the PDRAST top ten principles cures all types of pandemic diseases, which positively enhances socioeconomic conditions. The study helps thinkers develop new ideas and more innovative research. This research is a unique concept, which will encourage applied research to dispel all misconceptions and discover innovations. A coherent global public health protection and safe technology linked to national policies and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 are essential for a peaceful world against these impacts.

Response Towards Timang Xekory

Music is a form of entertainment that is enjoyed by people of all ages from every culture. It does not require any formal education to be understood or appreciated by the listeners. However, music is divided into several categories, and one of them is avant garde music which can be fully appreciated through a specific approach because it contains elements, motifs and beats that are inconsistent. It is also known for its complex and abstract music and has its own group of fans. A study of avant garde music composition, Timang XekorY was conducted at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The respondents were categorised into two groups, the first was a group of musicians of music background and the second group is not of music background. Timang XekorY was inspired by the timang tuah ritual, which is commonly observed in Kapit, Sarawak. The research which was done against the backdrop of the rituals of the Iban community has yielded several findings. Firstly, a respondent said that a detailed explanation of the storyline of the ancient Iban singing text is needed. In addition, listeners or viewers who read of the programme book before the Timang XekorY show were found to have a better understanding of the storyline compared to those who have not been given the programme book or explanation of the original work.

TOWARDS CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY: ESTIMATING ON-CAMPUS VEHICLE CO2 EMISSIONS IN UNIMAS

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from motor vehicles is a one of major contributing factors to global warming. Efforts to reduce CO2 emissions should involve all parties including universities. In 2017, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) has committed to reduce CO2 emissions from its campus upon joining the low-carbon campus initiative. Thus, the current study aims to estimate the baseline of on-campus vehicle CO2 emissions by using mobility analysis of 5,294 entry vehicle data from two main gates (West and East) and 15 parking zones in the campus. Parking volume observations and traffic assignment analysis using the Bureau of Public Roads functions were undertaken to determine the links’ volumes. Subsequently, vehicle CO2 emissions were derived from the estimated vehicle fuel consumption. The results reveal that a total of 1,333.4 kg of CO2 emissions were expelled by on-campus motorised vehicle movements (which were predominantly petrol cars that comprised 80% of the observed vehicle trips). Additionally, the study discovered that the average on-campus vehicle CO2 emission was 12.4 kg per kilometre which far exceeds the European Standard for road traffic CO2 emissions. Thus, to achieve the status of a low-carbon campus, it is imperative for the university management to properly address Sector 3 CO2 emissions from the transportation segment by employing effective strategies and policies to significantly reduce private vehicle dependency among university staff and students.

Factors Contributing to Physical Activity among University Employees in East Malaysia: A Crosssectional Study

Physical activity (PA) is known to have numerous health benefits. However, despite the frequent emphasis on the importance and benefits of being physically active, the number of people engaged in regular physical activity is still on the low side. This study aims to identify the factors that can influence physical activity levels among staffs from a public university staff in Sarawak, Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire distributed online. A total of 163 of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) staffs comprising of 37.4% academician and 62.2% non-academician participated in this study. The participants were selected using a multistage sampling method. Multiple logistic regression (MLR) was performed to examine the factors associated with physical activity level. Majority of the respondents were female (74.2%), Malays (60.1%), married (65.5%), non-academic staffs (62.6%), had tertiary education (85.9%) with mean working hours per day of 8.25 hours. Physical activity (PA) level measured by International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) showed the majority of respondents had a moderate PA level (56.4%), followed by a high PA level (33.7%) and a low PA level (9.8%). There were significant findings on the association between exercise attitude barrier (p=0.003) and self-efficacy (p=0.009) with physical activity level. Multiple Logistic Regression analysis showed that exercise attitude barrier (OR=1.170, 95% CI=1.027, 1.334, p=0.019) and self-efficacy (OR= 1.091, 95% CI= 1.015, 1.172, p=0.017) was associated with low and moderate PA level. The findings indicated that exercise attitude barrier and self-efficacy influence the outcome of physical activity level among the respondents.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Compliance to Standard Precautions Among UNIMAS Nursing Students

Standard precautions pertain to the minimum standards of infection prevention practices that apply to patient care, regardless of confirmed or suspected infection status among patients in any setting where medical care is given. These practice guidelines not only help to minimize the spread of infection among patients but also help to avoid healthcare workers from contracting infections when caring for patients. Nursing students are equally at risk to exposure to infections during their clinical attachments in the healthcare setting. Hence, this study aims to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and compliance toward standard precautions among undergraduate nursing students in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). It also aims to identify the associations between knowledge, attitude, and compliance toward standard precautions among UNIMAS nursing students. Data was collected from a total of 167 participants using a self-administered questionnaire which was disseminated online via Google Forms. The data collection tool consisted of a 46-item structured questionnaire in 4-parts investigating participant’s sociodemographic profile, knowledge, attitude and compliance towards standard precautions. Study participants consisted of students from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (with honours) Programme in UNIMAS. Data collected were entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and was further analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26. Majority of participants in the study demonstrated very good (46.7%, n=78) and good knowledge (50.9%, n=85) levels while only a minority demonstrated fair knowledge (2.4%, n=4) with none exhibiting low knowledge levels toward standard precautions. Most nursing students (97.6%, n=163) investigated in this study showed positive attitudes toward standard precautions practices. Most study participants self-reported their compliance toward standard precaution practices as high (89.8%, n=150) with a minority reporting average (7.8%, n=13), low (0.6%, n=1) and very low (1.8%, n=3) compliance respectively. Further analyses revealed significant correlations between knowledge and attitude (r= .165, p=.033, p< .05); and attitude and compliance (r= -.505, p=.000, p< .05) with no significant correlations between knowledge and compliance (r= -.036, p=.645, p> .05). Undergraduate nursing students of UNIMAS in this study demonstrated desirably good knowledge levels and positive attitudes with a high level of compliance toward standard precautions practices. Despite the overall desirable findings, there is still room for targeted improvements in the undergraduate programme delivery specifically aimed at misconceptions regarding the use of personal protection equipment (PPE) to maintain and further enhance student’s knowledge, attitudes and compliance toward standard precautions.

The Knowledge, Perception and Attitude of Year 1 Undergraduate Students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) on Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a cardiovascular disease where there is plaque buildup in the wall of the coronary artery, an artery that supplies the heart. This disease is also often referred to as coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease. Globally, CAD has been known as the most common type of heart disease and the leading cause of death. In Malaysia, CAD is also known to be the leading cause of death. Hence, this study aims to determine the knowledge, attitude, and perception of CAD among the students of the University of Malaysia, Sarawak (UNIMAS). The minimum number of Year 1 FMHS students involved in this study was calculated by using Raosoft Sample Size Calculator software. A Google online form (self- administered questionnaire) that consisted of respondent’s characteristics, perception of CAD, knowledge on risk factors and clinical presentation of CAD, and attitude towards the preventive measure of CAD was used to collect the data of the students. The data collected was analyzed by using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 27 while the frequencies, means, standard deviation, and p-value were calculated to achieve the specific objectives of this study. According to the results, out of 200 respondents, most of the respondents were female (76.5%) and participation from medical students (66.5%) is more than the nursing students (33.5%). Overall, females have a better level of knowledge on CAD compared to males. Nursing students have a better level of attitude towards the preventive measure of CAD than medical students while medical students have a higher level of knowledge on other parts of the questionnaire compared to nursing students. There is a significant correlation between the perception of CAD, its risk factors, clinical presentation, and the attitude towards the preventive measure of CAD. Knowledge of CAD clinical presentation and preventive measures has a significant correlation with the gender of the respondents. Meanwhile, the knowledge of risk factors of CAD has a significant correlation with the courses of the students. However, the perception of CAD does not have a significant correlation with both gender and the courses of the students. Furthermore, the results obtained from the study may not represent the level of knowledge regarding CAD on a large scale. Therefore, more research regarding this issue should be conducted more often as it will help to give an even better overview of the level of knowledge about CAD and its association with the attitude on CAD preventive measures among the community.