ABSTRACT
Since December 2019, COVID-19 infection rates have risen considerably, and the virus is currently widespread around the world. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the production of medical waste has skyrocketed. Disposable face masks are considered medical waste. Alternative measures must be implemented to assist in reducing medical waste disposal, which can result in serious public health problems and have a negative influence on the environment. In this regard, this research was conducted to investigate the effect of disposable face mask (DFM) ash with varied rates ranging from 5% to 20% by weight on bitumen with a 5% increment to be utilised as an alternative material in asphalt pavement. A series of physical and rheological tests were conducted on the bitumen samples to study the behavior of the DFM ash in bituminous material. Overall, the physical and rheological test results revealed that introducing 20% DFM ash to the modified bitumen was unable to achieve the same properties as with the conventional SMA14 asphalt binder. However, the modified bitumen penetration grade PEN 60/70 has improved the properties and quality of the asphalt in the flexible pavement. In addition, utilising the DFM waste in road construction would be a sustainable technique for protecting the environment by minimising face mask waste caused by the COVID-19 epidemic while lowering the pavement's construction cost. These research findings may be commercialised to generate revenue in the construction industry for sustainable transportation pathways.
ABSTRACT
The whole world is alerted with the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak as it is lethal and spread easily. The government have to take quick and effective action for the crisis management and Malaysia is not excluding in taking its own action to ensure the crisis is managed well. In Malaysia, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, health director-general stated the international standards and World Health Organization (WHO) satisfied with the way of Malaysia's management and preparedness by enforcing the movement control order (MCO), identifying patients for testing, isolation and treatment in handling the Covid-19 outbreak. Therefore, this study is done to study on satisfaction level of Malaysians towards government's crisis management during Covid-19. This study was conducted by using random sampling technique where it involves 200 respondents from Malaysia. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire of the research were divided into 4 sections consists of demographic profile, daily press conference and enforcement of Movement Control Order. For the ordinal measurement questions, Liken Scale from strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree were used. The questions, an online survey, were created in Google Forms and distributed through social media. (C) 2021 Published by European Publisher.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 is a novel virus that emerged from the discovery of a new coronavirus. People who have been infected with the disease may experience mild to moderate respiratory illness, but they will recover without the need for medical attention. Since the COVID-19 has affected millions of people around the world, social media has been doing much to keep societies informed about personal hygiene and public Movement Control Order (MCO) facts. Via numerous platforms such like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, social media plays a critical role in spreading the news. The study aims to identify the effectiveness of social media in promoting self-care during COVID-19. The study involves 440 respondents from different backgrounds across Malaysia. The data are collected using version 23 of the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS). According to the SPSS results, social media has an important effect on encouraging respondents to practise self-care. Therefore, the Ministry of Health should actively be using social media in promoting self-care. (C) 2021 Published by European Publisher.
ABSTRACT
Free speech is not a licence for racists to spread racist propaganda. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 and its subsequent dissemination through social media has left a shock wave of disbelief resulting xenophobia in society. By looking from the lens of 'Othering,' this study tries to delve into revealing the representation of xenophobia resulting otherness amidst Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study considers a set of tweets related to #clustertabligh and several types related to the tabligh cluster to represent the otherness. The data were collected through a random sampling technique using machine learning tools Twitter API and processed using JSON format. The results lead to a discussion of power between social networks by intertwining the machine learning tools in social science and humanities studies. This study also looks at blame allotting, a typical social reaction to an outbreak, and an even more typical general media system. Malaysia needs to take actions by recognizing the distinctive levels of hateful racial online content brewing and addressing it systematically and proportionately. (C) 2021 Published by European Publisher.
ABSTRACT
The media plays many important roles in providing information to the public through various platforms, both in traditional and digital forms. In March 2020, the Malaysian government announced the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the outbreak of COVID-19. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus which continues to affect millions of people across the world. Social media platforms have been working diligently in making sure that communities are updated with news regarding personal safety and information on the MCO. The study aims to identify the effectiveness of social media in promoting awareness of the MCO. The study involved 440 respondents from different backgrounds across Malaysia and the data collected was analysed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) Version 23. Findings indicate that social media has a significant impact in promoting MCO awareness with 34.9% of the variance of MCO awareness explained by the proposed model.
ABSTRACT
Free speech is not a license for racists to spread propaganda. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 and its subsequent spread across the globe has left a shocking wave of disbelief resulting in an upsurge of xenophobia in the society. Racism is a system of dominance and power designed to uphold the racially privileged. This study delves into the consciousness of Twitter postings during the COVID-19 pandemic and deconstructs the power dynamics in the hashtags used. The study's data was analysed using Twitter Application Programming Interface (API) to identify the representation within tweet sample sets. The study concludes that social interactions on Twitter constructs power dynamics and these shared values create a new form of power resistance and subjugated knowledge. This leads to a discussion of power between social media intertwined with the machine learning tools in social science and humanities studies. This study contributes to the academic debates about the public sphere and social media's role in constructing meaning in cultural and social change. It also suggests that Twitter develops policies to prohibit hate speech and impose regulations to ensure that online spaces remain civil, safe, and democratic.
ABSTRACT
In March 2020, the government had announced for the Movement Control Order due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in Malaysia. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. People that infected with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. As the covid-19 had affected over millions of people across the world, the media have been working overtime in make sure the communities are updated with the news regarding Movement Control Order information to the public. The study aims to identify the effectiveness of media in creating awareness towards the understanding of Movement Control Order (MCO) during Covid-19. The study involves 440 respondents from different backgrounds across Malaysia. The data are collected through Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) Version 23. Findings from the SPSS indicated that television has significantly impact on promoting Movement Control Order awareness. © 2021 Author(s).
ABSTRACT
One of Covid-19 side effects was movement control order (MCO). Panic buying can be defined as the action of buying large quantities of a particular product or commodity due to sudden fears and a lockdown announcement from the government just adds fuel to the flames. This study has been done to identify the level of panic buying during movement restricted order (MCO). Panic buying is chosen as the research's topic because it is the most obvious reaction that was shown from the public when MCO was announced and wanted to know did they practice this behavior or not. The researcher used questionnaire form to survey the level of panic buying during MCO. Google form was also used to determine the survey and the link was distributed to all social media platforms. From the survey, we gained 411 respondents, starting from age 18 and above that involved various ethnic in Malaysia. The findings show that the level of panic buying among Malaysian is very low (m=2.13). © 2021 Author(s).