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The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the complete lockdown of almost every part of the world, including all educational institutions, resulting in the prompt implementation of online education to facilitate the students to carry on their learning. These conditions made the researchers study the experiences of online education among students and teachers. The influences of online teaching-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly offered numerous opportunities besides raising some challenges which impacted the overall psychology of students and teachers. So, this paper aims to conduct a systematic review of the research papers focussing on opportunities, challenges and psychological impacts raised due to the sudden shift to online education among students and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To conduct this systematic review, 19 articles published between July 2020 and May 2021 were considered and reported by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).

It was found that online education influenced the interests and experiences of the students and teachers and has immensely impacted their overall psychology. So, for the effective implementation of online and blended education, psychological well-being of students and teachers should be taken care of with properly designed instructions, adequate infrastructure or resources and satisfactory technological skills.

In the present study, the students were not categorised according to their subjects or streams, i.e. science, commerce, humanities, medical, dental, postgraduate or undergraduate. All the students were categorised into two categories only: (1) college students and (2) school students. And also, teachers were not categorised and were presented as a whole, as school, college or university teachers.

The current research identified the abrupt implementation of online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, which raised various challenges and psychological impacts among students and teachers besides offering them many opportunities in times of crisis.

Students and teachers constitute the educational community of society. They should get ample opportunities to develop skills for online education; challenges faced during online education should be identified and tackled, and the issues concerning the psychological well-being during online education for both teachers and students should be addressed to achieve sustained development of online education–blended learning environments.

The paper is the original research work based on the systematic review and concludes with suggestions for the future of online and blended pedagogy while taking care of the psychological needs of students and teachers in online and blended learning environments.

Keberkesanan penyampaian sesuatu maklumat memerlukan individu, alat mahupun saluran yang unggul dan bersesuaian. Usaha ini haruslah dirancang dan dipertimbangkan dengan teliti oleh pihak tertentu agar setiap apa yang ingin disampaikan dan dilaksanakan itu dapat diberigakan dengan mudah dan berkesan. Dari itu, penggunaan bahasa retorik dilihat sebagai batu loncatan yang memberikan keyakinan dan tahap keberkesanan yang tinggi bagi sesebuah wacana yang disampaikan tersebut. Kewibawaan retorik sebagai seni yang mempengaruhi bukan sahaja berperanan untuk memperkukuhkan kekuasaan mahupun mempengaruhi fikiran dan emosi orang lain namun sebaliknya mampu menstimulasikan keseimbangan hubungan sosial yang terbentuk melalui sistem pemerintahan sesebuah negara. Melalui penyelidikan ini, setiap ciri khas retorik dapat diketengahkan dengan menghuraikan peranan dan fungsi-fungsi yang dimainkan oleh jenis-jenis retorik dalam penulisan sesebuah wacana. Hal ini khusus bagi mengilustrasikan idea, gagasan mahupun suatu fakta terhadap sesuatu pendekatan dengan cara yang kreatif dan terbaik. Di samping itu, keutamaan bagi penerapan bahasa retorik dalam perutusan kerajaan seharusnya dapat diperkasakan sewajarnya dengan menjadikannya sebagai anjakan paradigma ke arah perpaduan dan nilai kesaksamaan dalam masyarakat. Justeru, kajian ini memanfaatkan Teori Retorik Moden oleh Enos dan Brown (1993) sebagai landasan utama dalam menganalisis sejumlah 20 perutusan rasmi berkaitan jangkitan covid-19 di Negara Brunei Darussalam. Berdasarkan pemerhatian dan penganalisisan yang dijalankan, hanya empat jenis retorik yang diaplikasikan dalam wacana tersebut. Kesimpulan statistik merangkumi 34% teknik pendedahan, 30% teknik penerangan, 33% teknik pemujukan dan hanya 3% bagi teknik penghujahan. Dapatan penyelidikan ini membuktikan bahawa penggunaan bahasa retorik dalam perutusan rasmi kerajaan adalah amat penting dalam memperkukuhkan sistem pemerintahan negara serta mampu melestarikan cara hidup yang relevan dan berkualiti.

The effectiveness of delivering information requiresindividuals, tools or channels that are superior and appropriate. This effort must be planned and considered carefully so that everything that is to be conveyed and implemented can be conveyed easily and effectively. Therefore, the use of rhetorical language is regarded as a stepping stone that provides confidence and a higher level of effectiveness. `Rhetoric as an influential art not only plays a role in strengthening power or influencing the thoughts and emotions of others but also stimulate sthe balance of social relations. Through this research, each rhetorical feature is highlighted to discuss its role and functions in the discourse. Using Enos and Brown’s Modern Rhetorical Theory (1993), a total of 20 official conferences on the latest developments of the spread of covid-19 infection were discussed. Findings have shown that there were four main types of rhetoric, i.e. Statistical conclusions which include 34% of expository techniques, 30% of descriptive, 33% of persuasion and only 3% for argumentation techniques. This also implies that rhetoric language is very important in ensuring the dissemination of knowledge among the institution and people is effective and and transparent.

This paper attempts to explore the transformations taken by madrasah, especially in preparing students both in religious and academic field. Besides, this paper aims to demonstrate measures taken by madrasah in instilling the religious and racial cohesion far from conservatism and extremism that has always been labeled to their students.

This paper is qualitative in nature. It is a library research and uses historical method in collecting the data. Some relevant literatures and data have been analyzed and presented in this paper.

Madrasah in Singapore has always been perceived in a negative nuance because of its ineffectiveness and irrelevant roles in economic building. The conservative and traditional madrasah education system is also seen to impede Singapore’s religious and racial cohesion. The struggle increases prior to the implementation of compulsory education (CE) policy in 2001, where madrasah was almost forced to closure.

Islamic education in Singapore can be observed evolving through three phases: colonial period where it adopted the secular system, post-colonial with the traditional system and, currently, the transformation period with its integrated syllabus.

The accreditation process of academic programs is being used more to recognize program quality and identify areas for improvement based on rigorous standards. This study aims to use the standards of the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) as a theoretical and analytical framework to examine the effectiveness and areas for improvement of the teacher education program at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.

A multiple case-study design is used to investigate the cases of 16 novice program completers. Data is collected using nonparticipant observation and semistructured interviews with 48 key stakeholders: program completers, their educational supervisors and school principals.

Results show that, overall, the program is effective in preparing future teachers to enter the teaching profession, especially in the subject and pedagogical content knowledge, and that stakeholders are generally satisfied with the program. However, about a third believe the program lacks relevance to the responsibilities teachers face on the job and some “technical” skills needed in practice.

First, the findings are limited by the small number of completers’ cases from one teacher education program. Therefore, the authors recommend that future studies should include larger samples of novice teachers graduating from different teacher education programs. Second, the study is limited by focusing only on stakeholders’ perspectives, and teacher observation through CAEP informed categories related to standards 1, 4 and 5. So future research can tell more to the story by uncovering other CAEP standards to provide a more comprehensive view.

The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the existing pool of knowledge on the utility of using international accreditation frameworks, not only as a means to measure the effectiveness of teacher education programs but also to develop such programs according to an internationally recognized set of quality standards. The results may also contribute to the discourse on whether the Madonlization of CAEP standards is a useless business for Arabic-speaking countries.

As elsewhere in the Arab region, education has been placed at the core of the Oman 2040 vision, which prioritizes the improvement of educational outcomes as Oman’s gateway to becoming a developed country. Therefore, it has become clear that teacher education programs need to be subject to scrutiny to ensure that they produce highly qualified teachers. While reform initiatives have raised concerns about the quality of teacher performance in Omani schools, little attention has been given to the effectiveness of teacher education programs in the country.

These results are discussed through three main themes related to the role of teacher preparation programs in the Arab region from a standards-based perspective: they need to be viewed as a rite of passage for all teachers to provide them with only the threshold competence to commence the professional teaching performance, there is a need for more authentic and safe learning experiences in these programs, and finally, there is a need for continuous adjustment of courses in these programs to perfect the “potion” that makes them more effective and relevant.

This paper aims to evaluate the inhibitive potential of borage flowers’ aqueous extract (BFAE), Borago officinalis L., against the corrosion of mild steel in 1.0 M phosphoric acid.

Evaluation was carried out by chemical hydrogen evolution (HE), mass loss (ML) and electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) measurements. SEM-EDX analysis also was used to confirm the existence of the adsorbed film.

It was found that the inhibition efficiency of BFAE increases with the increase in its concentration, but decreases with the increase in temperature. The potentiodynamic polarization curves indicated that BFAE acts as a mixed-type inhibitor with a predominantly anodic action. The adsorption of BFAE on mild steel surface was found to obey Langmuir and thermodynamic-kinetic adsorption isotherms by forming a thin film on the metal surface. SEM-EDX analysis confirms the corrosion inhibition ability of BFEA in 1.0 M H₃PO₄ by forming a thin film on mild steel surface. In this study, the inhibitive action of BFAE components is discussed on the basis of the physical adsorption mechanism. The same results were obtained for both the freshly prepared extract and the one that kept in a refrigerator for one year.

This paper indicates that BFAE can act as a good inhibitor for the corrosion of mild steel in 1.0 M H₃PO₄ even after one year of preparation.

This paper aims to study waqf practice in Pakistan with regard to its utilisation in funding for higher educational institutions (HEIs) and investigates waqf raising, waqf management and waqf income utilisation.

The paper is based on the views of 11 participants who are actively involved in the waqf, its raising, management and income utilisation, and is divided into three subcategories: personnel of higher educational waqf institution, personnel of waqf regulatory bodies and Shari’ah and legal experts as well as archival records, documents and library sources.

In Pakistan, both public and private awqaf are existing, but the role of private awqaf is greater in higher education funding. However, due to lack of legal supervision private awqaf is considered as a part of the not-for-profit sector and legitimately registered as a society, foundation, trust or a private limited company. Waqf in Pakistan is more focusing on internal financial sources and waqf income. In terms of waqf management, they have firm guidelines for investing in real estate, the Islamic financial sector and various halal businesses. Waqf uses the income for developmental and operational expenditure, and supports academic activities for students and staff. Waqfs are also supporting some other HEIs and research agencies. Thus, it can be revealed that a waqf can cater a sufficient amount for funding higher educational institutions.

In Pakistan, both public and private awqaf are equally serving society in different sectors, but the role of private awqaf is much greater in funding higher education. Nevertheless, the government treats private awqaf as a part of not-for-profit sector in the absence of a specific legal framework and registers such organisations as society, foundation, trust or private limited company. The waqf in Pakistan mostly relies on internal financial resources and income from waqf assets. As the waqf managers have over the time evolved firm guidelines for investment in real estate, Islamic financial sector and various other halal businesses, and utilisation of waqf income on developmental and operational expenditures, academic activities of students and educational staff, other HEIs and research agencies, it can be proved that the waqf can potentially generate sufficient amount for funding HEIs.

The study presents the waqf as a social finance institution and the best alternative fiscal instrument for funding works of public good, including higher education, with the help of three selected waqf cases. Hence, the paper’s findings offer some generalisations, both for the ummah at large and Pakistan.

The paper makes several policy recommendations for policymakers, legislators and academicians, especially the government. As an Islamic social finance institution, the waqf can help finance higher education anywhere around the world in view of the fact that most countries grapple with huge fiscal deficits and are hence financially constrained to meet growing needs of HEIs.

The study confirms that the waqf can be an alternative source for funding higher education institutions whether it is managed by the government or is privately controlled.

This study explored in-service educators' experience of using the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI) for assistive technology (AT) decision-making within Singapore schools.

The study adopted a qualitative design. Eight educators across both mainstream and special education schools were introduced to the WATI framework which they subsequently employed as a trial experience for a student under their care. Written feedback gathered from participants was analysed to identify common issues and themes regarding the use of the WATI framework for AT decision-making.

The comprehensive consideration of a broad scope of different factors, provision of a structured process for AT decision-making, as well as a common language for use by different stakeholders emerged as key benefits of implementing the WATI. Challenges encountered include administrative struggles in gathering different stakeholders together, time and resource constraints and difficulties in loaning AT devices for trial use.

Based on educators' feedback, recommendations to facilitate the adoption of the WATI for AT decision-making within Singapore schools are discussed and considered. This study also highlights the need for greater AT instruction within both preservice and in-service teacher preparation programmes in Singapore.

Schools in Singapore currently rarely adopt any frameworks in place to guide educators through a systematic process of AT consideration. It is anticipated that this study will spearhead and drive the adoption of systematic frameworks such as the WATI for better AT decision-making within Singapore schools.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon 10.1108/JET-03-2021-0015

The study aims to explore the factors that influence Emirati women's career choice in the UAE. This study contributes to the influence of context in career choices by investigating how Emirati women chose information technology (IT) as a profession through the lens of the social cognitive career theory.

This study undertook in-depth interviews with 21 Emirati women working in technology in the UAE. The study considers women's career choices at three levels, i.e. from an individual, organisational and national context perspective.

The key findings include identifying the importance of national context in influencing career choices among other factors such as family centrality, desire to be seen as a role model, company reputation and government policy.

The study has wider implications for women's career choices in other contexts. The findings highlight the challenges women face, such as a lack of role models and family centrality, which need to be considered in recruitment policies and practices in other national contexts.

The originality of the study is its contribution to the literature developing understanding of the influences on women's career choices in the Emirates. While previous studies have identified the role of patriarchal influence on women's careers, we have less understanding of the importance attributed to individual factors such as being perceived as a role model within their family and to society. Similarly, the literature provides limited evidence of the influence of factors such as government sponsorship and company reputation.

Using the notion of sustainable impactful strategies for waqf management, this study examines the governance and best practices on idle waqf management by the Malaysian States Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) in selected states like Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur. The waqf management of the SIRCs is also assessed based on the model framework countries such as Singapore, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings of this chapter indicate that ineffective administration and management on waqf have hindered its development and expansion in Malaysia. Also, an effective and robust governance framework based on Shariah could and should be implemented to ensure that waqf in Malaysia are managed effectively to gain socio-economic sustainability of Muslim communities. The findings of this chapter will fill the research gap on good governance and best practices in waqf administration and management as a way forward for Malaysia by providing a way forward for SIRCs and policymakers in Malaysia, to enhance the performance of waqf entity using selected other countries as model framework of good governance and best practices. Furthermore, an emphasis on good governance and best practices is important to attract waqf donors. It is imperative to note that to date, there is no qualitative study that compare the impact of good governance and best practices on the management of waqf by selected SIRCs in Penang, Perak and Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, Kuwait and UAE as model framework countries.

The aim of the present study is to gain correlation between saffron colours, their antioxidant capacity and the constituents of the secondary metabolites of three different saffron samples commonly available in the Malaysian market.

In this study, saffron samples imported from Iran, Spain and Kashmir were extracted using methanol and the total antioxidant capacity were analysed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging assay. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and electrospray ionization coupled with mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) were then used to identify secondary metabolites present in the saffron crude extracts. The colour variation of the saffron extract was expressed by the CIELAB colorimeter in terms of lightness (L*), greenness (a*), yellowness (b*), chroma (C) and hue angle (H°). Principle component analysis (PCA) was carried out to analyse the similarities and correlation between variables.

This study reveals that antioxidant has a positive correlation with flavanols, especially quercetin and kaempferol. In addition, colour appearance is not necessarily an indicator for the antioxidant level.

The major classes of polyphenolics identified in saffron methanolic crude extract are flavonoids and phenolic acids. Further improvements in the extraction and identification methods may find other compounds that could attribute to the visual factors and antioxidant capacity as a complement for this preliminary study.

This analysis provides comparison basis and valuable information for saffron consumers in Malaysia depending on the consumers’ purpose of whether to have a certain desired colour or health benefits.

A comparative study about saffron product available in Malaysian market is original. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt of evaluation on a saffron product that has been carried out in Malaysia.