The Global Research Network for Verified Scholars

All higher education institutions around the world now utilize virtual learning as their main learning method to protect their educational operations. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major concern for many scholars regarding student engagement, as students struggle to adapt to online teaching and learning environments. The research team examined how virtual learning affects student engagement, leading them to develop methods to enhance student participation in virtual learning activities across Malaysian higher education institutions. The research team gathered data from Malaysian public and private universities, which appeared in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021. The researchers distributed 389 questionnaires using simple random sampling, and respondents agreed to participate in the study. The research results demonstrate that virtual learning, which is essential for virtual classrooms, positively correlates with student engagement. The research results show new methods to encourage student participation in virtual learning activities, developed through three main themes: You Talk, Resource Pool, and Classroom Meet. The research results provide material that the Ministry of Higher Education and higher education institutions can use for their purposes.

The emergence of sophisticated machine learning models like ChatGPT has brought about notable progress in several fields, including education. ChatGPT, a Generative Pre-trained Transformer, has become popular among university students worldwide. This study aims to investigate the impact of ChatGPT on Malaysian higher education. The goal of this essay is to assess whether ChatGPT is an opportunity or a threat to the education system, particularly in terms of quality, for students, educators, and institutions. This study utilized a critical literature review methodology. The data suggested that ChatGPT could pose a danger to the quality of the education system, despite its undeniable benefits. Privacy, academic integrity, bias, and quality are potential threats. The report emphasizes the significance of the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) in overseeing the utilization of ChatGPT and offers recommendations for educators and policymakers

Values and education are highly interrelated and amalgamative. Values are nourished by visions and education to equip individuals with knowledge, beliefs, ethics, and behaviours that influence their lives. In today’s rapidly evolving society, ethical and moral dilemmas frequently surface, making the exploration of values education more crucial than ever. The purpose of value-based education (VBE) is to cultivate moral integrity, ethical awareness, and responsible citizenship among learners. Despite its growing significance in the global educational discourse, the practical implementation of VBE is confronted by numerous issues, challenges and obstacles. This chapter explores the multifaceted obstacles hindering effective integration of VBE in educational systems, including curriculum rigidity, lack of trained educators, cultural diversity, and limited institutional support. Discussion of this chapter is mainly focused on the concept of the VBE, critical issues related to the VBE, challenges and obstacles based on a real case study on the VBE implementation. Information is gathered from several resources, especially from past studies, in order to have a clear understanding of the VBE. Research has been carried out to gather data from educators’ viewpoints on the issues and challenges faced by the selected institution in implementing VBE. The information and facts in this chapter have been presented in a logical order, with simple language, convincing evidence from a real case study, and easy-to-understand explanations, especially for those who are at the beginner stage of understanding the concept of value-based education.

There have been plenty of studies on translation accuracy, but that focusing on cultural words under-investigated. The current study investigated the translation accuracy of The Maze Runner Novel in English by James Dashner into Indonesian by Yunita Candra. As many as 11 cultural words were collected. To measure the accuracy, questionnaires were distributed to 12 translators of at least 1 year of professional experience. The taxonomy developed by Pelawi (2014) covering categories of accurate (Ak), less accurate (KAk), and not accurate (TAk) was applied. Results show that (Ak) occurs 7/64%, (KAk) does 3/27%, and (TAk) does 1/9%. That a number of the data fall into the category of (KAk) and (TAk) indicate that while cultures share common features (universal), at the same time they contain characteristic features that are unique. It goes, therefore, no cultural expressions can be in total accuracy if they are transplanted into other cultures.

The study which is descriptive qualitative in nature, aims to investigate preference of politeness strategies by American and Japanese characters in “The Last Samurai movie and explain it in terms the national culture. Results show that the order of preference by Americans is: 1) BoP (11/50%), 2) PoP (7/31.8%), 3) NeP (3/13.6%), and 4) OfR (1/4.5%). That by the Japanese is: 1) OfR (18/60%), 2) BoR (6/20%), 3). NeP (6/20%), 4) PoP (0). American national culture and that of Japan which are different affect their preference of politeness strategies shown in “The Last Samurai” movie. In conclusion, language and culture affect each other. People coming from different language and culture communicate differently.

Th act of complimenting (CP) and responding (CR) to compliments is an interesting topic of research and is among the most investigated speech acts, along with apologies, requests, and refusals. The current study focuses on investigating the Javanese CPs and CRs and explaining the cultural works that affect the CP and CR realizations. The CP is purposed to uncover: 1) the semantic features, and 2) the topic preference. The CRs seek to reveal: 1) the preferred and dispreferred patterns of Macro-Strategies and 2) the micro-strategies. Data are 745 audio- recorded exchanges of compliments in naturally occurring from talks in interactions covering a wide variety of everyday speech situations. Participants are male and female children, teenagers, young adults and adults in East Javas Mataraman cultural enclave covering Madiun, Ngawi, Magetan, and Ponorogo regencies. Data collected are coded and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in tallies for cross- cultural comparison. CP topics are coded into: 1) Ability (AB), 2) Appearance (AP), 3) Possession (PO), 4) Personality (PS), and 5) Others (OT). CRs Macro-Strategies are coded into Acceptance (ACC), Rejection (RJC), and Evasion (EVS). Findings show that Javanese CPs are formulaic and corroborate with previous studies. Semantically, they are centered on few words i.e. adjectives (ADJ), amplifiers (AMP), and interjections (INT). The ADJ apik (good/nice) is predominant and shows universality. Positive degree adjective is predominant indicating the work of the Javanese mind sak madya (in between) and selaras (harmony) which avoids extremities. CR macro-strategies of ACC, RJC and EVS are nearly equally distributed also reveals the Javanese mind sak madya, selaras and andhap asor which prevents Javanese to restrain from outward expressions of joy being complimented. The topic PO is predominant and specific to Javanese. The Javanese concept of possession which covers wide range of life wanita, wisma, curiga, turangga, and kuk

This research aims to examine how verbal modes (words) and visual (images) are used to build e-branding, brand design and brand communication in specific, of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta/ DIY) as a tourist destination for foreigners in the travel agent websites. This is a qualitative study with a netnography and computer mediated multimodal discourse analysis (CM-MDA) approach. The first approach is applied since it is a specific method to analyse computer-based communication, while the latter is used for investigating elements in establishing place branding of the websites. In addition, the writers employed the theory of brand design and communication proposed by Florek, Insch, and Gnoth [1]. The data were collected and selected based on their contents which promote DIY as a main tourist destination, and their offices are located and confirmed in that area as well. A semi-structured interview to the owner, manager, and head of DIY travel agent association was also conducted. There were 12 websites and 3 participants interviewed in total. The results show that the websites tended to use the keywords “tour/ tours” and the name of the area as their website names in order to be remembered easily, and they mostly had domain suffix.com which shows the seriousness in operating the business and maintaining professionalism. Indonesian was the first language option, and to attract foreign market these websites provided English which considered as one of international languages. The websites were carefully designed so that they were attractive and informative at the same time. Based on the analysis of brand communication, DIY has portrayed as the central of Javanese culture and offered natural landscapes. This picture means that the websites relied significantly on DIY pull factors to draw audiences’ attention. The studies discussing a specific element which contributes most to persuade tourists are highly recommended.

This study aims to uncover how Luke Combs uses linguistic devices in the lyrics of "Six Feet Apart" to take stance on the COVID-19 pandemic. A thorough study of the data's content was done within the constraints of the "Appraisal" analytical methodology. The results show that positive values are preferred over negative ones. The data recorded under "affect," which totaled 42 and contributed 84 percent, was higher than the data under "appreciation," which totaled 10 and contributed just 20%, and the data under "judgment," which were both zero. All data was obtained from a single monogloss source. The results suggest that Luke Combs’ stance is seeing the silver line in the dark cllouds of the pandemic COVID-19 during lockdowns and physical distancing.

“Us” and “them” or othering often brings about world’s most feared phenomenon, xenophobia. This qualitative study purposes to disclose attitudinal strategies used in Chinua Achebe’s “things Fall Apart”. An excerpt from it was analysed through the “APPRAISAL”, especially the “ATTITUDE”, and ‘PERIODICITY” theories. Results reveal that “us” is framed with 4 (+) values and only 2 in (-) while “them” is constructed through only 1 (+) value and 3 (-). The vast majority of the attitudinal strategies used is “Jdg.”, occurring 7 times making up 70%. The other which emerges is “Apr.” which appears only 3 times and contributes 30%. As commonly held, “us” is narrated in more favors and fewer negatives and “them” in the opposite way to achieve planned hidden goals of persuasion.