REDEFINING URBAN-RURAL BOUNDARIES FROM THE DIGITAL DISPARITY PERSPECTIVE

There is no international consensus on a comprehensive criterion to classify human settlements into urban and rural settlements. Different national criteria are used for delineating the borders between the two types of settlements. The main components of the criteria are population size, population density, population economic activity, administrative and legal and services and facilities. Whether all these criteria have been used or some of them, an outright socio-cultural and economic distinction between the two categories of settlements have developed over years around the world. The widely used virtual space during the pandemic provided people with access to facilities and services and enabled them to work for places that usually require their physical presence. The literature has not yet covered this point. Therefore, this paper aims at revisiting the classification of urban and rural areas in the COVID-19 aftermath. Through desk work and employing qualitative and quantitative research approaches, secondary data was collected from published relevant journals, reports, books, and websites. Content and comparative analysis for analysing qualitative data and content and quantitative comparative analysis and tabulation were used to carry out the research. This paper suggested that the world is in a transitional period towards full urban status. During this period, accessibility to virtual space can be used as a comprehensive criterion for calcifying human settlements into urban and rural. © 2022 by MIP.

THROWN INTO THE DEEP END: EXPERIENCES OF REAL ESTATE AND URBAN PLANNING STUDENTS IN NAVIGATING E-LEARNING DURING COVID-19

Built environment undergraduates are future professionals who will shape cities in the future. Normally, they acquire adequate, relevant and current industry-related knowledge during their study. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic has replaced their normal learning process with emergency online learning that must be navigated by educators and students alike. Under normal circumstances, the programme syllabi and materials are designed for conventional face-to-face learning specific to the future profession. The physical and social restrictions related to COVID-19 prevention have thrusted upon the built environment students learning limitations that are specific to their field. This paper aims to explore the experiences of real estate and urban planning students during the emergency online learning period not only to document the students' experiences but also to inform on future curricula development. A constructivist-based qualitative approach was adopted, with qualitative data collected from an online open-ended questionnaire on real estate and urban planning students. Using the framework by Khalil et al. (2020), a thematic content analysis was conducted around four core themes: (1) educational impact, (2) time management, (3) challenges encountered, and (4) preferences for the future. The findings support future syllabi that are emergency-resilient and can ensure professional education that is highly adaptable in emergency situations. © 2022 by MIP.

Learning about English language lecturers' resilience: Identification of stress and coping strategies of open and distance learning (ODL)

The sudden shift of tertiary teaching and learning environment due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak has provided great challenges to educators globally. The purpose of this case study is to identify the source of stress and its consequences among English language lecturers of a Malaysian public university teaching in the ODL environment during the Movement Control Order period as well as their coping strategies to overcome occupational stress. The lived experiences of the participants were explored through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The data gleaned were thematically analysed for gaining insights into the phenomenon under study. Results indicate that even though the participants are familiar with the integration of technology in blended learning model, the stress is sourced from inadequate preparation time and teaching materials for the full implementation of ODL, and the struggle of maintaining work-life balance due to managing other commitments in work-from-home mode. The present study identified personal, social and professional coping strategies were utilised by participants to cope with the stress and solve arisen issues during ODL sessions. The results have given insights into the participants' resilience in ODL practices and could offer recommendations to in-service professional development programmes, training and stress management courses for lecturers. The limitations and recommendations for future studies were also discussed. © 2021 Author(s).

English lecturers' self-efficacy beliefs in open and distance learning (ODL): Substantive implications

The enforcement of Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia due to COVID-19 pandemic has affected the education sector where the teaching and learning process is instructed to practice open and online distance learning (ODL). The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore the English language lecturers in one Malaysian public university describe their self-efficacy beliefs in ODL practice. Purposive sampling method was used to recruit prospective participants. Semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data collection method. The data gathered were then analysed using thematic data analysis. The results indicate that despite having the compulsory implementation of ODL within a short notice, the participants disclosed that their sense of self-efficacy beliefs varied depending on context-specific nature based on several domains including self-assurance, technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), teaching preparation, intrinsic motivation and administration support. The present study also reveals that participants utilised emotion-driven self-efficacy beliefs to overcome ODL challenges and eventually developed social-emotional rewards for staying positive in ODL practices. It was also found that self-efficacy beliefs contributed to students' positive performance, and this has become a factor in heightening participants' self-efficacy beliefs. The results have provided enlightenment on participants' self-efficacy beliefs in ODL practices and offer recommendations for improvement in tertiary educational practices to bring positive impacts on teaching and learning. © 2021 Author(s).

Potential application of biomass derived graphene for COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, intense research has been carried out to find the effective vaccine. However, this issue remains as a global challenge. Graphene has captured various attention due to promising antimicrobial and antiviral applications, hydrophobic characteristic and superior electrical conductivity. Recently, biomass derived graphene also promises great opportunity to combat the spread COVID-19. In this paper, we demonstrated the ability and role of biomass derived graphene as superhydrophobic coating, biosensors and disinfectant in the fight against COVID-19.