Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Research Articles

The Impact of the Ecosystem on Health Literacy Among Rural Communities in Protected Areas: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Protected areas are crucial for the maintenance of human health and well-being. They aim to preserve biodiversity and natural resources to secure various ecosystem services that are beneficial to human health. Their ecological characteristics can influence local health literacy. Typically, communities surrounding protected areas have limited economic opportunities due to restriction policies to protect the ecosystem, resulting in socioeconomic disparities. The local community faces obstacles in gaining access to health care facilities and health information due to these limitations. It is difficult for them to locate, comprehend, and apply information and services to make better health-related decisions for themselves and others. This study protocol examines the impact of the ecosystem on health literacy among rural communities in protected areas. This study comprises 5 phases. In phase 1, we conduct a systematic review to identify the issue of health literacy in protected areas. In phase 2, we will collect data from stakeholders in a protected area of Pahang National Park and analyze the results using Net-Map analysis. In phase 3, we will conduct a survey among the adult community in Pahang National Park related to health literacy, socioeconomic status, health expenditure, and quality of life. In phase 4, informed by the results of the survey, we will determine suitable intervention programs to improve health literacy through a focus group discussion. Finally, in phase 5, we will conduct a costing analysis to analyze which intervention program is the most cost-effective. This study was funded by Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and strategic research partnership grants, and enrollment is ongoing. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2024. This is one of the first studies to explore health literacy among rural communities in protected areas and will provide the first insights into the overall level of health literacy in the protected community, potential determinants, and a suitable intervention program with expected cost analysis. The results can be used to promote health literacy in other protected areas and populations. International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Registry ISRCTN40626062; http://tinyurl.com/4kjxuwk5. PRR1-10.2196/51851.

DIGITAL MARKETING FEATURES IN TIK TOK INFLUENCE PURCHASE DECISION: A STUDY AMONG USIM STUDENTS

Due to the rise of social media, it has become a popular medium for marketers to generate qualified leads, launch new products, communicate with target audiences, and increase brand awareness quickly and effectively. Advancement of technology with the existence of the internet enable globally transmitted information in a faster way and focusing on social media presence as an effective platform for digital marketing. Marketers can use social media to display their products in creative ways, such as by creating videos. TikTok is among the most widely used social media. This study investigated an understanding about the digital marketing features in TikTok influence purchase decisions among students. Due to the fact that the information published on TikTok is short, entertaining, trendy, creative, and highly engaging, these platforms have become well-liked for marketing campaigns. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to study about digital marketing features in TikTok that can influence students in purchasing decisions.
 This research will provide new insights into the reasons and the effect of digital marketing features by using the TikTok platform. For this study, a qualitative research design through the in-depth interview was used, with 6 informants and interview questions were prepared. The interview questions were designed to help researchers accomplish the objectives of the research. Informants for this study mainly focused on students from the Faculty of Leadership and Management (FKP), USIM (Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia) who were selected by purposive sampling. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) has been used in this research to examine how an individual's attitude toward a behaviour can reflect their evaluation or generally feel about that behaviour. It has also been used to measure the subjective norms within a person's perception of social pressure to engage in or avoid from engaging in a specific behaviour, which builds a strong foundation for the consumer purchase decision. This study found that the digital marketing features in TikTok that can influence students’ purchase decisions are TikTok Shop, Short video content, and TikTok’s live sales. Other than that, the effect of the digital marketing features could lead someone to become extravagant and addicted behaviours. This approach will allow current and future researchers to gain a better understanding of the digital marketing features in TikTok that can influence purchase decisions among students and its effect.

Functional Group and Phytochemical Properties Detection of Peperomia Pellucida Leaves Extract

Since prehistoric times, medicinal plants, often known as medicinal herbs, have been identified and employed in traditional healing practises. Because of the existence of phytochemical ingredients, medicinal plants synthesise hundreds of chemical compounds and are a key source of molecules with therapeutic qualities. Wild herb leaves were taken from the green region of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, specifically Peperomia pellucida, also known as 'sireh cina' in Malaysia. The dried wild herb leaves were crushed. For 48 hours, the powdered materials were treated to a solid-liquid extraction method utilising hot water and ethyl acetate as a solvent. For all examined samples, a phytochemical screening test of hot water and ethanolic leaves extract confirmed the presence of antioxidant chemicals such as flavonoid and phenolics. Meanwhile, resins were only found in ethanolic leaves extract, and steroid was not found in any of the studied samples. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to study the organic component in greater depth by evaluating the chemical ingredients in the crude extracted samples of ethyl acetate. The study of FTIR spectra revealed that the hydroxyl group, alkanes, alkyl groups, benzoic compounds, and phenols were the primary functional groups. The identification of functional groups indicates a possible source of antioxidants and highlights a potential prospect for the development of natural products from these wild plants in the drug discovery business. Disc diffusion analysis of antibacterial properties exhibited significant clear zone formation against Gram-positive and Gram-negative tested bacteria.

Focus Group Discussion on Students’ Perception of Gamification in Learning Cohesion in Arabic

Learning languages had been taught as a passive process. But in this era of Information and Communication Technology, a lot of educators use the technology provided on the Internet to attract students to focus on learning. Nowadays, gamification is widely used by educators while teaching online including Arabic language. Thus, this study aims to identify the students’ perception on gamification in learning Arabic cohesive devices. This study employed qualitative approach which the researchers used focus group discussion as a mode of data collection. The sampling method used is convenience sampling which all of them are students at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), 2nd year students, semester 2, 2018/2019 taking Arabic subject. In this study, researchers managed to recruit 14 participants for 3 focus group discussion whereby 5 participants respectively in the first group and 4 participants in another group. From the result of the research, the process of learning Arabic cohesive devices in the Arabic language takes place with all enjoyment which increases the students’ interest for learning.

Association Between the Level of Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude on Post-COVID-19 Syndrome Amongst Medical Students in Four Malaysian Universities

Introduction: COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that is caused by a coronavirus. Infected people will have a chance to develop post-COVID-19 syndrome. The aim of this study is to identify the association of gender, marital status, age and university on knowledge, awareness and attitude of post-COVID-19 syndrome among medical students in four universities in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2021 to July 2022 at four universities in Malaysia which are Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). A self-administered questionnaire was administered to 355 respondents consisted of four sections, assessing socio-demographic data and knowledge, awareness and attitudes of post-COVID-19 syndrome. Results: 54.4% of the respondents had high knowledge, 53.8% had high awareness, and 55.21% had a high attitude towards post-COVID-19 syndrome. In this study, there is a significant association between knowledge on post-COVID-19 syndrome and the age among respondents. Knowledge and awareness, knowledge, and attitude as well as awareness and attitude on post-COVID-19 syndrome was also found to have significant association among respondents. Conclusion: The older age of the respondents have good knowledge towards post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Pembinaan Pangkalan Data Hadis Lengkap Dalam Bahasa Melayu Untuk Data Raya (Big Data): Kajian Kes Terhadap Cabaran Yang Dihadapi Oleh Kumpulan I-Status Hadis

The rapid development of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 has brought significant changes to the information-seeking paradigm among users. This change is observed from the print-based information seeking paradigm to web-based sources seeking. As a result, many parties are giving the creation of digital information priority over conventional information. In the field of Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad), a plethora of digital information has been provided by various parties. Such data, commonly found in various applications, is typically accessed from prepared databases. But the majority of the applications are in other languages. Few Hadith-related applications provide complete data and presentations created in the Malay language. This absence is due to various factors, including a lack of funding, human resources, expertise, and others. This study attempts to discuss the challenges faced by the i-Status Hadith group of USIM (Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia) who are attempting to build a complete Hadith database for digital data purposes. This case study will attempt to examine the problems they encounter and explore potential solutions for resolution.

USIM’s Smart University Blueprint: Advances and Challenges

COVID-19 and the movement control order (MCO) implemented in 2020 and 2021, have had a major impact on Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in all directions. To mitigate these problems, USIM’s top management has taken several initiatives to ensure the operation of the University is upheld to its most so that the student continue their study without any delay or obstruction. By incorporating the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Goal 4 (focused on inclusive and equitable quality education) and with the underlying concept of data-driven and student-centric, this paper presents Smart University Blueprint (Al-Jamiah Al-Mubarakah). It has 5 clusters and 13 initiatives for digital transformation to support inclusive and equitable quality education. The 5 clusters consist of smart governance, smart lifestyle, smart infrastructure, smart learning, and smart services. This smart blueprint is based on 7 principles from USIM’s ICT Strategic Plan (ISP) 2021-2025, which emphasized and are based on the Islamic Laws concept (Maqasid Syariah), Industrial Revolution, Student-Centric, Data-Driven, Open Source, Agile and Mobility, and Prosumers. This paper presents how the blueprint has helped to accelerate stakeholders’ understanding and cooperation in achieving SDGs in higher education during and beyond the pandemic.

International Posture Of Malaysian Learners In Arabic Programme

Language learners with a solid international posture are generally more willing to communicate in the foreign language they learn. However, studies on global posture could have been conducted better, especially for Arabic language learners. Therefore, this study aims to examine the level of readiness of students of Arabic studies programs in terms of international posture. This study uses a quantitative design by distributing online questionnaire instruments to 180 final-year students of the bachelor’s degree from three public universities in Malaysia, namely Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), and International Islamic University (UIA). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. The results showed that students in tertiary Arabic Studies programs in Malaysia report that international posture is in the moderate range but relatively lower. Students need to capitalize on all these aspects, which will directly and indirectly contribute to better achievement in learning Arabic.

The KLiP Mobile: A model of community engagement programme

Background: KLiP Mobile (Klinik pakar bergerak) is a mobile eye specialist clinic initiated by the state government of Negeri Sembilan and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). It is funded by the state of Negeri Sembilan and managed by USIM. Objectives: The four objectives of this programme are: 1) Providing essential eye services, 2) Enhancing public-private partnerships to support the programme, especially among the underprivileged community for cataract surgery, rehabilitation of vision, and glasses for children and elderly 3) Promoting awareness through knowledge transfer programme on eye disease 4) conducting research. This paper aims to describe the prevalence of common eye diseases among our target population in Negeri Sembilan. Method: This is a cross-sectional study consisting of referred or walk-in patients who visited the KLiP Mobile program between January 2016 to June 2022. Results: The result showed the prevalence of common eye diseases among the population and is comparable with our national eye survey. Conclusion: The KLiP Mobile is a model of community engagement programme and is expected to continue benefiting the community especially those who are unable to access specialist services.

Al-Chemy: e-learning platform for foundation students

The unexpected closure of educational institutions as a result of the emergence of COVID-19 prompted the authorities to suggest adopting alternatives to traditional learning methods. E-learning is an innovative approach for delivering electronically mediated, well-designed, learner-centred interactive learning environments by utilizing internet and digital technologies with respect to instructional design principles. This paper presents the implementation and prototyping of an innovative web-based e-learning platform for chemistry course known as Al-Chemy. Al-Chemy was developed for foundation students at Tahmidi Centre, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. The rapid application development (RAD) methods have been used in developing Al-Chemy through website wix.com. Al-Chemy was structured with interactive notes, animation, virtual experiment, quizzes, and games. The combination of these activities helps students in learning basic and advanced concepts of chemistry.

Be Real, Do Not Be Fake: A Pilot Study on Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Students' Fake News Literacy

If nothing is accomplished to stop it, the virality of fake news on social media will continue to grow and become more damaging, particularly among young people. Recognizing false information and verifying sources has become increasingly important as people rely on the Internet and social media for their news. The primary objective of this study is to assess the level of understanding of fake news media literacy among university students. Forty-three Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia students enrolled in the New Media Communication program were polled for this research. This study uses descriptive statistics to analyze the data collected via Google Forms—the results of examining the data generated immediately through a Google form. Young people read the news online but still have limited media literacy when assessing the truth of information. Research suggests that false statement is commonly discovered because young people do not carefully examine online news. Researchers conduct in-depth interviews and studies with this demographic to better understand how young people process information and evaluate its veracity. This research adds to the expanding body of knowledge on student use of social media in Malaysia, especially on how students get their news in light of the results of this pilot study, the main research project will consist of in-depth interviews with students to understand more about their perspectives on how to identify and differentiate between real and fake news.

Perception and prevalence of bullying in Malaysian higher education: A multifaceted analysis

The escalating incidence of bullying cases within Malaysian higher education institutions underscores a disconcerting trend that arises from the confluence of academic pressures, financial strains, relational intricacies, and identity conflicts among students. This unsettling phenomenon engenders not only physical harm and emotional distress but, alarmingly, fatalities as well. In response, the imperative to curtail this deleterious spread through preemptive measures has prompted institutions to engage in student surveys. This research endeavors to illuminate the panorama of bullying perceptions prevailing among students within selected Malaysian higher education institutions. Employing a comprehensive analytical framework encompassing descriptive statistics, crosstabulation, independent samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA, this study scrutinizes the multifaceted dynamics underpinning bullying trends. Employing a combination of convenience sampling and online survey techniques, a cohort of 561 participants was garnered from four distinct higher learning establishments: Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah (USAS), and University of Malaya (UM). The outcomes of this investigation delineate a landscape in which bullying remains a persistent concern within the selected higher education institutions. Of particular significance is the perceptual contrast exhibited by bullies as compared to their peers, with the former demonstrating higher levels of support for bullying behavior. Consequently, institutional administrations are impelled to undertake comprehensive initiatives to comprehensively catalog instances of bullying, spanning both psychological and physical manifestations. These findings underscore the gravity of the issue and underscore the urgency for institutions to adopt proactive strategies to mitigate bullying, thereby cultivating environments conducive to holistic student well-being and nurturing scholastic excellence.

The Impact of Visual Communication on Students’ Learning Experience Towards Memory Recognition and Enhancement

Visual communication is currently one of the most prevalent techniques of human contact. The difficulties facing contemporary education do not decrease its importance. As there is a correlation between good learning and the university environment, the emphasis has switched to better learning tools to guarantee that everyone receives good educations. In education, visual communication is commonly utilised. This is because the use of visual communication can help students retain information more efficiently. This study attempts to determine whether the visual communication elements affect students' performance. This study's primary objective is to determine the impact of visual communication elements on the learning process and memory enhancement. Shape, colour, and orientation of individual graphic elements are among the variables chosen and quantitative data was extracted and explicitly been analyse regarding effects on memory recognition during the learning process. The variable on memory enhancement of the student performance was adopted from the survey questionnaire. The research was conducted using a quantitative method, with a sample of 107 undergraduate students from 9 faculty at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). Data was collected through a survey and been analysed using SPSS. The outcomes of the study show positive correlation and suggest that visual communication elements can assist students in their learning experiences related to memory recognition and memory enhancement. This research contributes to the understanding on enhancing student’s learning engagement and performance and can serve as a reference for educators and instructional designers in implementing visual communication elements in teaching and learning process.

The Impact of New Media Platforms Towards Social Shaping and Culture Interaction Among Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Students

New media platforms have brought huge changes to people and affected almost everything that people do in their daily lives, including towards the aspect of communication and interaction. This can be connected to the impact of new media platforms towards social shaping and culture interaction. The objective of this research is to know if there is any relationship between new media platforms towards social shaping and culture interaction and how it impacted one another. The research will include the aspects of perception, assumption, and influence on the effects of new media platforms. The interconnection relates to the behavior and attitude of people on online platforms through social media. Quantitative study was carried out using random sampling of 111 students at the Faculty of Leadership and Management, USIM. Respondents were given a survey questionnaire form. The age range of the research is from 18 to 26 years and most of the respondents are from 21 to 24 years old. The relationship between new media platforms towards social shaping and culture interaction among respondents shows there is a significant correlation. This research contributes to the understanding of how new media platforms impacted towards social shaping and cultural interaction besides can serve as a reference for educators and instructional designers in understanding communication and interaction are key factors that influence how social media impacts social and intercultural adaptation.

Analysis of The Need for Developing A Module on Writing Skills in Arabic Essays from The Perspective of Models and Teaching Methods of The Module

The purpose of this study was to explore the opinions of Arabic language instructors at the Public University of Malaysia (UAM) regarding the various aspects of teaching the module on essay writing skills. The collected data was used to support the development of the M-KMKBA module for Arabic language essay writing skills. This qualitative study involved 12 participants who were instructors of Arabic language from four different universities: Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). Data was collected using a set of interview protocols and analyzed thematically. The interview transcripts were analyzed based on themes and categories to obtain the findings for the need’s analysis and the development of the M-KMKBA module. The general findings of the study revealed that all instructors agreed on the importance of using a variety of teaching methods and approaches for the module, including communicative, direct, interactive, eclectic, and translation methods.

THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS COVID-19 IMMUNISATION AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS IN PUBLIC MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA

COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease that caused a worldwide pandemic in 2020. Medical students are public advocates for COVID-19 vaccination to achieve herd immunity. Our objective is to ascertain the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 immunisation among medical students in Malaysia. The online study included four public universities in Peninsular Malaysia: Universiti Putra Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia. Data collected include sociodemographic characteristics, history of COVID-19 infection, knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 immunisation. Analytical statistics were analysed with IBM Statistical Package Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) v27.0 using Pearson chi-square or Fisher’s exact test (significant if p < 0.05). From the total of 427 respondents, 60.2% had good knowledge whereby clinical students 67.0% had a higher proportion of good knowledge as compared to preclinical students 53.5% (p = 0.004). Respondents in the age group of 21 to 24 years old (p < 0.001) and 25 to 29 years old (p = 0.016), and Indian ethnicity (p = 0.006) were more likely to have good knowledge. Respondents registered in Malaysia’s National COVID-19 vaccination program were considered as having a positive attitude (n = 264, 61.8%). A vaccination rate of 100% was observed. In conclusion, 60.2% of medical students had good knowledge, 61.8% had a positive attitude and 100% were vaccinated in these four public medical schools in Malaysia. Sociodemographic factors (age group and Indian ethnicity) have an association with only good knowledge but none with the level of attitude and practice towards COVID-19 immunisation.

Strategies in Language Learning: A Survey Among Undergraduate Japa-nese Language Students in USIM

It is crucially important to know what strategies are used by language learners in learning the targeted language, so that teachers will have better insights to prepare classes that equally suit learners’ behaviour. This is a pilot study aiming to identify what are the most and less frequent learning strategies used by Japanese language learners at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). A set of questionnaires adapted from the Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) has been distributed to 259 USIM Japanese learners at the end of semester academic year of 2021/2022. 54 students volunteered to participate and answer the questionnaire. The average frequency for each category in SILL has been identified. As for the results, Japanese language learners at USIM are moderate users of metacognitive categories as the average frequency is at the highest. In contrast, strategies from affective categories have the lowest frequency of usage. It is a hope, that in the future, learners are introduced with a set of learning strategies before or during the classes in order to help them find the best way of acquiring the target language.

A Paradigmatic Shift For Final Undergraduate Medical Students’ Examination: The COVID-19 Pandemic Approach

COVID-19 has made medical education delivery changed around the world. High stakes examinations have to take place despite the ongoing pandemic. Careful planning and considerations are mandatory in order to cater for the physical and social distancing new norms. The safety of everyone involved in the examinations (students, academics, patients and support staff) is put at the utmost priority to prevent further disease transmission. Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) has made a drastic change in the conduct of its final professional examination for the undergraduate medical students. The traditional one long case and three short cases clinical examinations were converted to objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), comprising sixteen manned stations lasting 10 minutes each. The COVID-19 pandemic has become the stimulus for a paradigmatic shift in the final undergraduate medical students’ examination at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, USIM. This paper describes how the paradigmatic shift resulted in a successful conversion of assessment method from the traditional one long case and three short cases clinical examinations to sixteen manned objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) stations. The feedback from the examiners and students were highlighted. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new insight to the faculty members on alternative teaching and learning methodologies as well as how assessments can be conducted in the faculty. When left with not many choices, faculty members who were previously not convinced towards OSCE for summative assessment are now seeing OSCE as the way forward.

Association Between Level of Knowledge Gained, Confidence, Motivation and Flexibility on Types of Learning for Bedside Teaching Among Clinical Students in Four Malaysian Medical Schools During COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: With the arise of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher institutions are forced to change the method of delivery for bedside teaching sessions from face-to-face to online learning. However, online learning was found not effective in delivering practical knowledge and skills to students. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the association between level of knowledge gained, confidence, motivation and flexibility on types of learning for bedside teaching sessions among clinical students in four Malaysian medical schools during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving medical students from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) were conducted from 1st March 2021 until 6th June 2021. An online questionnaire was distributed and it consisted of 5 sections which cover sociodemographic information, level of knowledge gained, confidence, motivation, and flexibility from bedside teaching session. The data was analysed by using SPSS software program. Results: There is a significant association between the level of knowledge gained, level of confidence, level of motivation and level of flexibility with the type of learning (online or face-to-face) during bedside teaching sessions. Results revealed that students gained a higher level of knowledge (84.9%), higher level of confidence in physical examination (93.3%), higher motivation (82.2%) and higher flexibility (64.1%) during face-to-face bedside teaching sessions compared to online learning. Conclusion: Most of the medical students in four Malaysian medical schools prefer face-to-face learning compared to online learning for bedside teaching sessions.

Students’ Perceptions toward The Usage of Technology As Medium For T & L of Qiraat During Covid-19: A Case Study on Undergraduate Students At Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia

Students’ Perceptions toward The Usage of Technology As Medium For T & L of Qiraat During Covid-19: A Case Study on Undergraduate Students At Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia