Islamic Faith-Based Content and Religious Social-media Motives

The predominance and use of social media for sacred and secular purposes have made it imperative to understand the role of social media in people’s religious motives and life. Therefore, grounded in gratification theory, the current study examines the impact of social media usage intensity, social media usage frequency, and religious appreciation in developing and strengthening different motives, i.e., ministering, spiritual enlightenment, religious information, relaxing entertainment, and well-being, among the followers of social media pages/accounts/sites for faith-based content. Following a quantitative research methodology, data were collected from the 562 followers of social media, i.e., Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in SmartPLS3 software. The results revealed that social media usage intensity and frequency positively influenced all five motives of individuals with a higher impact on individuals’ motive of gaining religious information followed by spiritual enlightenment and well-being. Likewise, religious appreciation positively impacted all five motives of individuals to assess the faith-based content on social media pages/accounts/sites. However, the intensity of the impact varied from well-being, relaxing entertainment, ministering, religious information to spiritual enlightenment from the highest to lowest level, respectively. Moreover, the unique concept, theoretical and practical implications, and future research insights of the study are major advances to literature in the field.

Using Multi-Group Invariance Analysis in Exploring Cross-Cultural Differences in Mathematics Anxiety: A Comparison of Australia and Russia

Mathematics anxiety is well known and studied concept. Most of the studies have been focused on the effects of mathematical anxiety on students’ academic achievement, especially from the viewpoint of analysing large national and international data sets. We aim to bring a different perspective to the existing research on mathematics anxiety and resilience by considering the measurement equivalence across cultures, so they can be compared fairly. We used Multi Group Invariance analysis with this purpose. Our findings suggested that full metric and partial scalar model invariance were confirmed which advise that the mathematics anxiety scale can be compared across two countries. We also ran multiple regression using Fisher’s Z to understand the reciprocal relationship among the variables across two samples. Preliminary results revealed that the perceived mathematics anxiety and perceived mathematics ability predict the measured mathematics anxiety equally well for both Australia and Russia.

Antecedents of Public Trust in Government During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia: Mediation of Perceived Religious Values

Drawing from social cognitive theory, the current study investigated the direct and indirect relationship of public interaction with government officials on SNS (Social Network Sites), perceived government response on COVID-19, and perceived e-governance effectiveness with the overall public trust in government via an underlying mechanism of the perceived religious value. Using a quantitative field survey at local administration levels, the primary data of 478 individuals were collected from two cities in Indonesia and was then analyzed using SmartPls3. Results revealed positive associations among the study variables. The results also supported the mediatory role of the perceived religious value between the association of interaction with government officials on SNS, perceived government response on COVID-19, perceived e-governance effectiveness with overall public trust in government. Key policy insights regarding the use of e-governance channels via religious networks to enhance public trust are presented in the cultural context of a developing country. This study brings valuable insights into the public trust in government during COVID-19.

Social Work Practices in the Multiethnic Urban Reality of Covid-19 in the Middle East: The Case of UAE

The study developed a set of universal challenges for social workers and investigated the impact thereof on social workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on a qualitative analysis of previous research, a set of 10 universal challenges was developed. A questionnaire was created, and a survey was conducted among 304 respondents currently employed as social workers in the UAE. The survey results showed that most survey respondents selected the risk of infection as the strongest challenge. Emotional burnout, lack of reliable information, limited resources, staff capacity, problems with social distancing, lack of instructions/protocols, remote client service, and inadequate education obtained average scores meaning that they are important but not critical. Scientists and practitioners can use this set of universal challenges to investigate pandemic-related challenges for social workers in various countries and regions.

Views of Adolescent Bhutanese Refugees on Home Learning During School Shutdown Across the Period of COVID-19

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is now a global crisis, resulting in the intermittent closure of many schools, worldwide. The school closures are believed to have affected adolescents’ education, particularly for vulnerable adolescents including those from a refugee-background. The study explores the home learning experiences of adolescent Bhutanese refugees in Tasmania, Australia and draws on social capital theory to interpret findings. Interviews with adolescent Bhutanese refugees revealed four overarching themes: disengagement from learning, the experience of isolation, the complexity of family relationships and motivation through relationships. This article makes an important practical and theoretical contribution to home learning through challenging Putnam’s binary distinction between bonding and bridging and suggesting alternative conceptualisations based on the role of bonding in the creation of bridging social capital. These findings have potential implications for the development of mitigation measures to support refugee-background students under extraordinary circumstances.

Teacher's Strategy for Implementing Multiculturalism Education Based on Local Cultural Values and Character Building for Early Childhood Education

The introduction of multicultural education based on local cultural values and school-level character building in early childhood education is essential so that children can recognize the diversity around them, be it ethnic, ethnic, religious, race, or culture. This field research of early childhood education teachers in Lampung, Indonesia, sought to determine the learning strategies teachers used in implementing multicultural education based on local cultural values and character-building at the level of early childhood education. The study found that teachers in early childhood education used contribution, enrichment, transformation, and problem-based learning strategies. While these four strategies can develop conducive learning conditions that consider students' uniqueness, a teacher needs a clear vision and goals to facilitate multicultural education. Early childhood education must provide knowledge and help develop attitudes and behaviors for all students and school members to foster and implement educational interactions based on multiethnic and multicultural values in the school environment.

Documenting Mexican Folk-art Linguistic Heritage: The Application of the Sets Theory to Determine its Common Terminology

This article shows the application of an ethnographical method (lexical availability method) and diverse strategies for lexical documentation (documentation of terminology in gray literature and other published documents) to the compilation and validation of the terminology of folk-art in Mexico, a knowledge area with scarcely written tradition. As one can foresee, the result obtained from the lexicon through the different methods and strategies of documentation applied allows registering several terminological lists. From these lists and by determining the intersection of two or more lexical sets, principle obtained from the set theory, one can obtain a group that contains the most frequent elements or the common terminology of a domain. In addition to the above, the article explains how a facets system for the basic organization of this terminology can be created from the lexical documentation obtained.

Integrating Canadian Youth: The State of Intergroup Contact, Belonging, and Support for Immigration

This paper reports the results of a survey examining 168 immigrant and non-immigrant youth’s perspectives of intergroup relations, support for immigration, and feelings of belonging in Canada. Using Allport’s (1954) contact theory and the multiculturalism hypothesis (Berry et al., 2021) as a framework, the data is analyzed in the context of relative levels of intergroup contact, friendship, immigration-related knowledgeability, and perceived diversity. This study finds that, overall, the Canadian youth surveyed were more supportive of immigration than older generations and reported high levels of intergroup positivity and frequent intergroup contact. Moreover, intergroup contact and intergroup friendships were positively associated with feelings of belonging, whereas support for immigration was associated with immigration-related knowledgeability and perceptions of diversity.

Interactive Effects of Stoicism and Religious Coping on Psychological Distress, Fatigue and Intercultural Communication: Muslim Health Workers in Bali

The rapid transmission of Covid-19 posed threats and challenges for people all around the world. Based on self-ownership theory, the current study tested the interactive effect of positive religious coping and stoicism in decreasing psychological distress and physical fatigue and increasing intercultural communication among Muslim health workers. This study advances the body of literature regarding coping mechanisms in the form of stoic believes and religion to decrease the stressors during disastrous situations like the COVID-19. Using a longitudinal field survey, data were collected from 243 Muslim health workers performing their duties at various public and private hospitals and medical centers in Bali, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS software. The results revealed that interactive effects of positive religious coping with stoicism helped decrease psychological stress and physical fatigue and increase intercultural communication among Muslim health workers during Covid-19. The study contributed to the body of knowledge regarding the role of religious practices and stoicism in building coping mechanisms among Muslim health workers to sustain themselves in a challenging environment.

Cultural Pluralism and Social Connectedness as Predictors of Immigrant Students’ Social Wellbeing and Achievements

Based on the utmost importance of respecting cultural differences to foster learning among immigrant students from diverse cultures and grounded in Social Psychology Theory, this study investigates the impact of cultural pluralism and social connectedness on immigrant students’ achievement through social wellbeing. Moreover, the contingent impact of perceived discrimination in decreasing the positive influence of students’ social wellbeing has been assessed. This study advances the body of literature regarding cultural diversity as well as the importance of cultural pluralism and social connectedness in promoting social wellbeing to enhance the achievements of immigrant students. Applying a time-lagged survey methodology, data were collected from the 323 immigrant students from the universities located at Kalimantan Island of Indonesia. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS software. The results revealed the positive impact of cultural pluralism and social connectedness on immigrant students’ social wellbeing leading to high achievements. Results also showed that the positive influence of immigrant students’ social wellbeing on their achievements decreases in the presence of perceived discrimination as a moderator.