WhatsApp and Its Potential to Develop Communication Skills among University Students

Excellent communication skills among graduates are very crucial for their future and career development. WhatsApp application is seen to have the potential to develop these skills since it has robust functions and features, easy to use, and free. However, there are still issues in implementing this application as a tool in developing communication skills by utilizing this application for educational purposes among UTM students. Hence, this study was aiming to investigate the level of WhatsApp usage in education, the level of communication skills by utilizing WhatsApp for educational purposes among students, and their correlations. Student’s perception of using WhatsApp in education was also investigated. This study was based on quantitative research conducted using a survey design, where online questionnaires were distributed randomly among 400 UTM students based on simple random method. Findings showed that there is a high level of WhatsApp usage in education among UTM students and also a high level of communication skills by utilizing this application for educational purposes among UTM students. It was supported by a strong positive linear correlation that existed between these two variables. Students also showed positive perceptions of utilizing WhatsApp in education to develop their communication skills. Therefore, lecturers and students are encouraged to utilize WhatsApp application in education as it can help in fortifying communication skills among students who later become competent graduates that can meet the demand from the industries.

Perceived social trust among educational counselors

Research title: Social trust among educational counselors. The current research aims to identify: The perceived social trust of educational counselors. 1- Statistically significant differences in the perceived social trust of educational counselors according to gender (males, females), length of service (1-5, 6-10, 11 and more) and school (primary, intermediate, preparatory( . To achieve the objectives of the research, the researcher relied on the following: 1- Using the descriptive associative approach to reveal the perceived social trust of educational counselors. 2- Perceived social trust scale based on Rotter’s social learning theory. In its final form, the scale consisted of (36) items after completing the conditions of honesty, stability, discriminatory strength, and internal consistency, which were divided into three areas (predictability, reliability and belief( . To complement this, the researcher applied the scale to a sample of (300) male and female guides in the schools of the center, districts and sub-districts of the General Directorate of Al-Qadisiyah Education, which were selected by the stratified random method according to the proportional method. After collecting the data and processing it statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), the research reached the following results: A - The educational counselors have a perceived social confidence that is statistically significant. B - There are no statistically significant differences in the perceived social confidence of educational counselors according to the gender variable (males, females.( C- There are statistically significant differences in the perceived social confidence of educational counselors according to the variable length of service (1-5 years, 6-10 years, 11 years and more), as the results showed that educational counselors whose service exceeds (11 years) have confidence Perceived social is more than the rest of the counselors, followed by the educational counselors with (5-10 years) and finally the educational counselors with the service (1-5 years). This indicates that the level of perceived social trust increases with the increase in the level of service. And to complement the findings of the research, the researcher recommended several recommendations and suggestions

ENTREPRENEURSHIP-ORIENTED PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' ENTREPRENEURSHIP ATTITUDES

Science learning has potential in the nation's development efforts in terms of process. Applicative science materials can be used to develop the entrepreneurial spirit of students. However, the lack of student awareness in the application of science science has resulted in science education being only seen as science learning materials for junior high schools. Students lack the ability to have a scientific attitude that affects their entrepreneurial abilities. The purpose of this study is to determine the entrepreneurial ability of students by applying the PjBL learning model. This research is a quasi-experimental study with one group pretest-posttest design. The research population is the students of Science Education, Tidar University. Sampling by random method. The instrument used is a student entrepreneur response questionnaire. Data collection techniques through questionnaires. The results showed that the students' pretest results in the very low category were the highest at 43%. However, the posttest results showed progress with the highest percentage, namely the high category with a percentage of 38%. Thus, project-based learning (PjBL) has a good effect on students' interest in entrepreneurship

Adaptive Initialization Method for K-Means Algorithm

The K-means algorithm is a widely used clustering algorithm that offers simplicity and efficiency. However, the traditional K-means algorithm uses a random method to determine the initial cluster centers, which make clustering results prone to local optima and then result in worse clustering performance. In this research, we propose an adaptive initialization method for the K-means algorithm (AIMK) which can adapt to the various characteristics in different datasets and obtain better clustering performance with stable results. For larger or higher-dimensional datasets, we even leverage random sampling in AIMK (name as AIMK-RS) to reduce the time complexity. 22 real-world datasets were applied for performance comparisons. The experimental results show AIMK and AIMK-RS outperform the current initialization methods and several well-known clustering algorithms. Specifically, AIMK-RS can significantly reduce the time complexity to O (n). Moreover, we exploit AIMK to initialize K-medoids and spectral clustering, and better performance is also explored. The above results demonstrate superior performance and good scalability by AIMK or AIMK-RS. In the future, we would like to apply AIMK to more partition-based clustering algorithms to solve real-life practical problems.

Food Security Level of Fisherman Household in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

The condition of fishermen’s households that are less food secure can be triggered by poverty. As a developing country, Indonesia still has a fairly high poverty rate of 34.96 million people, of which 63.47% are people living in coastal areas. According to the Food Consumption Survey of Lampung in 2017, 2018, and 2019 conducted by the Food Security Agency of Lampung Province, it is known that the amount and level of energy consumption of fishery households in Bandar Lampung City has decreased from 1,815.1 kcal/cap/day or by 93, 1% in 2017 to 1,666.4 kcal/cap/year or 84.0% in 2018, and decreased again to 1,568.0 kcal/cap/day or 75.1% in 2019. This study aims to analyze the level of food security of fishermen’s households in and the level of energy and protein adequacy of fishermen’s households in Teluk Betung Selatan District. This research was conducted in Teluk Betung Selatan District, Bandar Lampung. The research was conducted on March to July 2021. The sample of fishermen in this study was 50 fishermen from 1,207 fishermen in Teluk Betung Selatan District. Sampling was done by simple random method. The results of this study are (1) the food security of fishermen’s households in Teluk Betung Selatan District is mostly in the food security category (78%), while the remaining 22% are in the food insecurity category; (2) the level of energy adequacy of fishermen’s households in Teluk Betung Selatan District is mostly in the poor category (52%), but the level of protein adequacy is mostly.

Analysis of organic rice farming contribution to farmer household income in Andong Village, Boyolali Regency

This study was aimed to determine the income of organic rice farming in Andong Village, Boyolali Regency, and find out how much organic rice farming contributes to household income. The location was determined purposively and sampling was done by random method. Data were analyzed on farm income, non-farming income, and the contribution of organic rice farming to family income. The result of this study shows that the contribution of organic rice farming to farmer householf income is 65.45%, while income generated from other job is only contribute to 34.55%. According to the analysis, it can be concluded that rice organic farming is feasible to be applied and resulting better income to the farmer.

Efficacy of mifepristone and GnRH-a in patients with endometriosis after operation

Objective: The effect of mifepristone and GnRH-a on patients with endometriosis after operation. Methods: 100 cases of endometriosis treated by laparoscopic surgery in our hospital from May 2017 to October 2019 were divided into GnRH-a group (34 cases), mifepristone group (33 cases) and non-drug group (33 cases) according to the numerical random method, and the treatment effect of the three groups was compared. Result: After the drug treatment, the cumulative recurrence rate of non misoprostone group and GnRH-a group was 18.18% and 21.21%, P > 0.05 between the two groups, and 33.33% between the two groups, P < 0.05. After treatment, FSH, LH and other hormone indexes in mifepristone group were compared with those before treatment (P > 0.05), while E2 levels were compared with those before treatment (P < 0.05); FSH, LH, E2 levels in GnRH-a group were compared with those before treatment (P < 0.05), and those in mifepristone group were compared with those after treatment (P < 0.05). After treatment, the complete remission rate of the patients in the non misoprostone group and the GnRH-a group were 51.52% and 55.88%, respectively, P > 0.05 for the comparison between the groups, and 36.36% for the comparison between the patients in the non misoprostone group and the GnRH-a group, P < 0.05 for the comparison between the two groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Mifepristone and GnRH-a have good effect on patients with endometriosis after operation. They can effectively reduce the recurrence rate and adverse reactions after EMT.

The role of strategic planning in dealing with educational crises facing government school principals in Jerash Governorate: دور التخطيط الاستراتيجي في التعامل مع الأزمات التربوية التي تواجه مديري المدارس الحكومية في محافظة جرش

The study aimed to identify the role of strategic planning in dealing with educational crises facing government school principals in Jerash Governorate. The researcher used the descriptive survey method, and the tool consisted of a questionnaire consisting of (24) items, which were distributed to a group of principals of public schools affiliated to the Directorate of Education Jerash, which numbered (80) principals, were chosen by a simple random method, and one of the most important findings of the study is that the role of strategic planning in dealing with educational crises facing government school principals in Jerash governorate was given a total average of (3. 23 out of 5), i. e. a degree of approval. (medium), and there were no statistically significant differences between the arithmetic averages of the responses of the sample members on the scale of the role of strategic planning in dealing with educational crises facing government school principals in Jerash governorate due to the variables (gender, years of experience). The researcher recommends the necessity of holding continuous training courses for school principals to encourage them to use strategic planning, and to work to involve all school workers in strategic planning, because of this role in understanding all dimensions and conditions of the work environment in the school.

degree of practicing Islamic administrative thought among Arab school principals in AL- Naqab region from the teachers' point of view

The study aimed to identify the degree of Islamic administrative thought practice among Arab school principals in the Negev region from the teachers' point of view. Male and female teachers and the study sample consisted of male and female teachers who were chosen by the available random method at a rate of (5%). The results revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the degree of practicing Islamic administrative thought among Arab school principals in the Negev region due to the variable (gender, practical qualification), and the presence of statistically significant differences in the variable (experience), which came in favor of (10 years or less). In light of the results of the study, the researcher recommends that the principle of Arab schools in the Negev region should continue to practice Islamic administrative methods because of their positive effects on work.

Attitudes of students of psychology departments in Sudanese universities towards people with disabilities (Psychology male and female students in universities in the state of Gezira as a model)

The level of disability is determined by the environment's ability to create legal conditions, and the concept of disability has carried several connotations throughout history and cultures that have been affected by the moral character sometimes, medical, educational, and rehabilitative at other times, and the material and social that enables the individual to participate, interact and integrate. The study aimed to identify the trends of the departments of psychology Towards people with disabilities, and the research community consisted of male and female students from the psychology departments of universities (Al-Jazeera, Al-Batana, and the Holy Qur’an), from whom the researcher chose (313) male and female students by the stratified random method to represent the study community. For the study, the data were analyzed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The study found several findings, including: the attitudes of students of psychology departments in Sudanese universities towards people with disabilities are positive, there are no differences in the attitudes of psychology students towards people with disabilities according to the gender variable, and there are no differences in the attitudes of psychology students towards people with disabilities according to the Al-Jakea variable, The study recommends the importance of raising the practical training quota for psychology students in Sudanese universities.