Background and Purpose: Coronavirus has posed an unfamiliar threat to the world. Despite such circumstances, Malaysians continue to stay optimistic by keeping abreast with updates and mostly by seeking refuge in hopeful and consoling messages shared by fellow citizens. This study identified Facebook postings with positive messages, posted by Malaysians during the Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the Malaysian government as a form of prosocial behaviour. Methodology: Through an analytic framework consisting of Positive Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis, 15 Facebook postings related to COVID-19 were selected and identified as positive discourse, which were coded and categorised using a thematic analysis. Further analysis was also conducted on the linguistic features identified in the narratives of the postings showing the construction of positive discourse in the Facebook postings. Findings: The findings demonstrate an extensive utilisation of expressions of solidarity primarily through collective pronouns like “we” and “us”, which suggest solidarity and empowerment among Malaysians in dealing with COVID-19. Further analysis reveals the forms and contextual functions of the linguistic strategies as carrying pragmatic devices (e.g. speech acts and figurative language), which contributes to the power enactment in the Facebook postings in creating an overall positive reaction. Contributions: This critical discourse study does not only promote positive discourse for its own sake, but also serves as a pragmatic approach to materialise utilitarian goals. It is therefore hoped to contribute not only to linguistics, but also social, psychological as well as arts and humanities studies through further examinations of the pivotal roles that communication and language play, especially in rising against dire situations. Keywords: COVID-19, Critical Discourse Analysis, media discourse, Positive Discourse Analysis, power and solidarity. Cite as: Azizan, M., Ismail, H. H., & Qaiwer, S. N. (2020). Power and solidarity in positive Facebook postings amidst COVID-19 in Malaysia. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 5(2), 329-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss2pp329-364
The present study aimed at identifying the role of supervisory and training practices in the field education program in achieving course objectives from the perspective of the student teachers in the Faculty of Science and Arts in sharourah, and its relationship to some variables (gender, specialization,estimation). To achieve this, the researcher used the descriptive-analytical method, and the study tool was designed, which consists of (24) items distributed on two axes: the objectives of field education and supervisory and training practices.Then, the study tool was applied to the research sample represented in the entire study community, which consists of (65) male and female students in the Faculty of Sciences and Arts in
... Show MoreThe results shows existence of metals such as copper, iron, Cadmium, lead and zinc in most of examined samples , the highest concentration are up to (2.26, 40.82, 282.5, 31.02, 19.26, 4.34) Part per million) ppm) in pasta hot (Zer brand), Indomie with chicken, granule (Zer brand), brand (Zer brand), and rice (mahmood brand) respectively, with presence nickel in spaghetti( Zer brand), granule, Zer brand with concentration reached to 4.34 ppm and 1.06 ppm respectively.
The results of cereals group and its products show that two kinds of fungi, Aspergillus spp. and Penicillin spp. were found in rice (Mahmood brand) with numbers got to 1.5×103 Colony Forming Unit/ gram (c.f.u./g),while Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus were isola
This study concerned with phytochemical investigation and methods of extraction and separation of active constituents from Valeriana officinalis plant cultivated in Iraq. Due to the large number of active constituents in Valeriana officinalis, it was necessary to make analytical study of its constituents to determine the chemical nature of these constituents and then determine the main classes (terpenes and iridoids) using chemical reagents specific for each class. Different organic solvents like ethanol (70%) used in soxhlet apparatus and hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol were used separately to extract the main active constituents by maceration. Through comparison between these solvents using thin layer chromatograph
... Show MoreThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence of intestinal helminth infections in humans and detect Toxocara spp. in cats, with a focus on assessing the impact of age and gender on infection rates. Traditional diagnostic methods have historically limited the accurate identification of helminth infections in humans. Analysis of 450 human stool samples revealed an overall helminth infection rate of 5.7% using conventional techniques. The specific infection rates were 0.4% for Strongyloides stercoralis, 0.6% for Schistosoma mansoni, 1.7% for Hymenolepis nana, and 2.8% for Ascaris lumbricoides. Notably, no infections were recorded in the 30–39 and ≥40-year age groups, while the highest infection rate (16.3%, P≤0.01) was observed in indi
... Show MoreThe parasite was isolated from a stool sample, cultivated and maintained in vitro using Locke-egg medium (LEM) and Liver infusion agar medium (LIAM) . The culture was maintained for up to 21 months, and the best time to maintain the parasite was every 48 hours, although the growth in the culture media continued for 13 days without a maintenance. Additionally, no cyst formation was observed during cultivation of parasite in the two culture media. Although, was observe young cyst formed in LEM media were deletion of maintained. The diagnosis of bacteria growth in the culture media, bacterial content (Escherichia coli) was an dominance and essential requirement for a successful cultivation of Entamoeba histolytica in the two culture media.
Abiotic stress-induced genes may lead to understand the response of plants and adaptability to salinity and drought stresses. Differential display reverse transcriptase – polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) was used to investigate the differences in gene expression between drought- and salinity-stressed plantlets of Ruta graveolens. Direct and stepwise exposures to drought- or salt-responsive genes were screened in R. graveolens plantlets using the DDRT technique. Gene expression was investigated both in the control and in the salt or drought-stressed plantlets and differential banding patterns with different molecular sizes were observed using the primers OPA-01 (646,770 and 983 pb), OPA-08 (593 and 988 pb), OPA-11 (674 and 831 pb
... Show MoreA theoretical model is developed to determine time evolution of temperature at the surface of an opaque target placed in air for cases characterized by the formation of laser supported absorption waves (LSAW) plasmas. The model takes into account both plasma dynamics and time variation of incident laser pulse (i.e. pulse shape or profile).Shock tube relations were employed in formulating plasma dynamics over target surface. Gaussian function was chosen in formulating the pulse profile in the present modeling
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are of potential interest because of their effective antibacterial and antiviral activities. Capping agents are used for exhibiting a better antibacterial activity than uncapped Ag NPs. There are very few reports that have shown the usage of AgNPs for in-vivo antibacterial therapy. Citrate-capped silver nanoparticles were synthesized chemically by citrate reduction method; the size of Cit-AgNPs was determined by an atomic force microscope (AFM) and was between 15-90 nm. Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) isolates were the only sensitive species to Cit-AgNPs. MICs and MBC of Cit-AgNPs were determined by using A. baumannii. The results showed an additive effect of Cit-AgNPs. Four mice groups were infected with
... Show Morelevel of effectiveness of Glutathione - S - Transferees (GST), Glutathione peroxides (GPX),Malondialdehyde (MDA) the product of lipid peroxidation and some trace elements ( zinc,seleinum,iron ,copper ) had been measured in sera of (50) women with breast disease.which had been divided to : Control group (25),The first group (A) benign breast tumors (25),the second group (B) breast cancer (25). The results showed a clear moral high level of Glutathione - S - Transferees (GST), Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) , and Malondialdehyde (MDA) level in breast cancer group while a slight increase were observed in the levels of these enzymes and(MDA) in benign breast group. A significant reduction was evident in the levels of selenium and zinc
... Show MoreThe objective of this in vivo study is to investigate the effects of 337.1 nm pulsed N2 laser on cellular immune response represented by lymphocyte transformation capacity and phagocytosis activity in laboratory animals. The samples include 60 adult male BALB/c mice, were divided into control group and experimental groups. The experimental groups were divided into two main groups according to the time period after N2 laser irradiation. Each group was divided into 9 subgroups which exposed to N2 laser radiation at different values of pulse repetition rates and exposure times. The results of immunological tests demonstrated that the exposure to 180 J/cm2 of N2 laser radiation induce adverse effect to cellular immune response. The results o
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