Nurzali Ismail | Universiti Sains Malaysia (original) (raw)

Papers by Nurzali Ismail

This study explored young people's use of new media and the learning that they experience through... more This study explored young people's use of new media and the learning that they experience through participation in shared online practices such as web browsing, using social media and gaming. The findings of this study revealed that the research participants have rich new media access and they engage in a variety of digital practices at an extended period of time at home. Their use of new media often involves other associates. The research participants' mutual engagement with other associates based on the shared digital practices that they participate in, the joint enterprise and shared repertoire indicate their belonging to communities of practice (COPs). Learning occurs as result of the research participants' active participation in shared new media practices with their associates. This kind of learning is social, and it takes place with or without them noticing it.

Beyond policy, this paper investigates the actual practice related to the integration of new medi... more Beyond policy, this paper investigates the actual practice related to the integration of new media in schools. Despite continuous government effort to integrate new media in schools, the use of digital technologies for teaching and learning in the classroom remains limited. This study suggests that, apart from the issue related to the state of technological infrastructure, other related factors, including school’s leadership and policy, and teachers’ attitude and knowledge of new media, can also influence the integration of digital technologies into the classroom. Hence, it is important for schools to develop a comprehensive policy of new media, to ensure that the technological infrastructure is carefully managed and maintained. Schools also should provide teachers with continuous professional development opportunities, to ensure that their knowledge and skills of new media remain relevant in the constantly changing digital environment.

Asian Social Science

This study investigated the relationship between students’ knowledge, attitude and practice of th... more This study investigated the relationship between students’ knowledge, attitude and practice of the environment and effective communication of environmental messages. For this purpose, a knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey was conducted, involving 895 students from 16 higher learning institutions in Malaysia. The findings revealed that students in general, have a good level of environmental knowledge. However, knowledge does not necessarily lead to practice. There was a weak relationship between students’ level of knowledge and sustainable environment practices. Similarly, there was a weak relationship between students’ attitude and
sustainable environment practices. Hence, attitude is not a good predictor for sustainable environment practices. These findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between students’ knowledge, attitude and sustainable environment practice. The findings of this study also suggested that, the internet is regarded as students preferred choice of media which can be utilised to disseminate environmental information. It is important, however, not to disregard the roles of more traditional media such as television and newspapers, as they can also be effectively used to deliver environmental information. Besides media, educational institutions and family also have crucial roles to disseminate environmental information and encourage good practice. Since many of the earlier studies of this nature have been conducted in at other places, particularly in the first world countries, this study is expected to contribute to the knowledge based on Malaysia’s own experience as a developing nation that aspire to champion sustainable environment.

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

This study investigated the role of parental and peer mediation in young adolescents' engagement ... more This study investigated the role of parental and peer mediation in young adolescents' engagement in risk-taking in social networking sites (SNSs). A survey conducted in Malaysia with 469 SNS users aged 13–14 revealed that control-based parental mediation can cause boomerang effects, making young adolescents more inclined to taking risks in SNSs. While discussion-based parental mediation was found to be negatively related to young adolescents' befriending strangers in SNSs, it did not reduce privacy risks. Findings also suggested that peer influence could result in undesirable outcomes. In particular, the more young adolescents talked about Internet-related issues with peers, the more likely they were to disclose personally identifiable information on SNSs.

Malaysian Journal of Communication, Jul 2013

The integration of new media technologies into the school curriculum continues to be an important... more The integration of new media technologies into the school curriculum continues to be an important goal for Malaysia. However, despite continuous efforts to integrate digital technologies in schools, students’ use of the media within the formal school context continues to be very limited. Malaysian students’ use of digital technologies out of school also remains unclear. This is due to lack of studies being conducted in this area. Thus, this paper argues that an in depth study should be conducted during school and out of school in order to understand how Malaysian youths use digital media. Such a study can be carried out by using communities of practice (COP) theoretical perspective. COP enables thorough analysis to be conducted pertaining to young people’s technological practices, the communities that they belong to and how practices move and
influence one another across the boundary of during school and out of school communities.

Unitar e-journal, Jan 2009

the effects it has on the students' academic performance. The findings of the study show that bot... more the effects it has on the students' academic performance. The findings of the study show that both lecturers are equally good in their classroom communication practice. There were no significant effects of classroom communication and students' academic performances in the two sections involved. However, students in both sections agreed that effective classroom communication is important in ensuring that teaching and learning take place.

Thesis Chapters by Nurzali Ismail

This thesis explores how young people use new media in and out of school, in the Malaysian contex... more This thesis explores how young people use new media in and out of school, in the Malaysian context, through communities of practice (COPs). A case study approach was used to investigate young people’s digital practices in and out of school. This includes the relationships that are established between the contexts of in and out of school, and the identity formation that young people experience as they use new media in their everyday lives. In an attempt to unravel the complexity surrounding young people’s use of new media in and out of school, this study captures insights from different groups of participants including the students, their peers, family members, as well as other individuals who use new media with them such as school leaders and teachers. Despite the Malaysian government’s continuous efforts to integrate technologies such as computers and the internet into teaching and learning, this study investigates why young people’s use of new media in schools remains limited. The study found that teachers’ attitudes and knowledge of new media influence the way digital technologies are integrated in the classroom. For this reason, it is essential to provide teachers with continuous professional development opportunities in order to ensure that their knowledge and skills in the use of new media are up-to-date and relevant in the constantly changing digital world. It is also important for the policy makers to reform the existing curriculum and, for educators to change their pedagogical approaches from teacher-centred classroom strategies to learner-centred approaches, for teachers and students to be able to fully optimise the potential of new media in teaching and learning. Out of school, I found that the student participants’ use of new media is generally richer, more varied and more frequent compared with their usage in school. The student participants generally have more frequent access to new media out of school as they engage in different practices such as playing computer games and using social media for an extended period of time. Even though the study found that the importance of the student participants’ use of new media is often disregarded by their teachers, it revealed that they not only use digital technologies for leisure, but they also use these technologies to serve other important purposes including communication and socialising to meet personal needs, and to support their learning through communities of practice. Through using the critical lens of Wenger’s (1998) ‘communities of practice’ (COPs) as a theoretical frame, I found that there is a huge difference in terms of access to new media in school in comparison with out of school, as well as differences in the way new media is used. There is a relationship established between in and out of school contexts regarding student participants’ use of digital media. This relationship is established through the use of digital technologies that are considered as boundary objects and through brokering, as the student participants share their knowledge and, influence practices based on the new media experiences they gain from their participation in COPs. Relationships are also established across the boundaries of in and out of school through similar new media practices involving the student participants. The findings from this study reaffirm Wenger’s (1998) conception of identity, as the student participants’ active participation in new media based communities, in and out of school, leads to the formation of their identities. For example, some students see themselves as ‘geeks’ and ‘experts’ in new media, as they frequently engage in practices such as gaming, downloading applications, music and videos and using social media. More importantly, it is through their active participation in shared new media practices, in and out of school, that student participants develop an understanding of the important roles of digital media in their everyday lives.

This study aims to explore instructors’ classroom communication and students’ academic performanc... more This study aims to explore instructors’ classroom communication and students’ academic performance at Kulliyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Previous studies conducted concentrated on classroom communication practices in schools and higher institutions. On the other hand, this study particularly explores relationship between instructors’ classroom communication practices and students’ academic performance. Two different lecturers (excellent and average) together with their respective sections were observed in this study. This is done to get thorough insight of the classroom communication practices in the two sections involved. Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) was used as the main instrument during the observations. A survey involving students from the two sections were conducted at the end of the study. Interviews with the two lecturers were also conducted. T-tests and correlations were deployed to analyze the data collected from the observations and survey. The result of the study showed that both lecturers were equal in relation to their classroom communication practices. Both sections were also equal in their communication during class lectures. However, t-test conducted showed that students inclined to respond positively to lecturers’ questions. This indicates that lecturers should be able to stimulate students’ interactions during class lectures. There was no direct relationship between classroom communication practices and students’ academic performance in the two sections involved. However, lecturers and students involved in the study agreed that classroom communication is integral in ensuring learning take place.

Conference Presentations by Nurzali Ismail

According to the statistics, majority of social media users in Malaysia are youth aged 13-34. The... more According to the statistics, majority of social media users in Malaysia are youth aged 13-34. They use the medium on a frequent basis and at an extended period of time to serve different important functions including for communication, socialisation, building and maintaining relationship, overcoming loneliness, sharing of information, learning and entertainment. There is no doubt of the usefulness of social media, but, the medium also presents risks to youth. On the social media sphere, youth are exposed to risks such as scam, sexual harassment, pedophile, pornography and cyberbullying. Earlier studies also reported that the number of crime cases reported involving youth's social media practices are on the rise in Malaysia. One way to reduce threat of committing high-risk behaviours and becoming victim on social media is by having adequate level of social media competencies. Such competencies also enable youth to effectively use social media to help the authority in preventing crime. But the question is; what is the level of Malaysian youth's competencies of social media? Do they use social media to help the authority in preventing crime? In order to answer these questions, a survey involving 500 respondents was conducted to investigate Malaysian youth's social media usage, competencies and practice with regard to crime prevention.

Books by Nurzali Ismail

The rising crime rate in Malaysia is often associated with youth. This is due to the fact that ea... more The rising crime rate in Malaysia is often associated with youth. This is due to the fact that each year, there is an increase in criminal cases involving youth. They indulge in different kinds of criminal activities including involvement in gangsterism activities, sexual related offences and drug abuse. This is worrying, considering that youth that consist of 45% of the country’s population is highly regarded as the future of the nation. One way to overcome youth’s involvement in crime is by engaging them in crime prevention efforts. This can be performed by using social media as Malaysian youth are identified as avid users of the medium. According to the statistics, youth, aged 13-34 make up more than 80% of the total percentage of social media users in Malaysia. They use social media for different purposes, including for communication, entertainment, sharing of information, overcoming loneliness, developing new relationships and maintaining existing ones. This indicates how social media is ingrained in youth’s everyday lives. However, are they using it to prevent crime? Based on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice model (KAP), this study attempts to unravel youth’s usage of social media, their awareness and attitude towards crime as well as practices in assisting the authority to prevent crime.

This study explored young people's use of new media and the learning that they experience through... more This study explored young people's use of new media and the learning that they experience through participation in shared online practices such as web browsing, using social media and gaming. The findings of this study revealed that the research participants have rich new media access and they engage in a variety of digital practices at an extended period of time at home. Their use of new media often involves other associates. The research participants' mutual engagement with other associates based on the shared digital practices that they participate in, the joint enterprise and shared repertoire indicate their belonging to communities of practice (COPs). Learning occurs as result of the research participants' active participation in shared new media practices with their associates. This kind of learning is social, and it takes place with or without them noticing it.

Beyond policy, this paper investigates the actual practice related to the integration of new medi... more Beyond policy, this paper investigates the actual practice related to the integration of new media in schools. Despite continuous government effort to integrate new media in schools, the use of digital technologies for teaching and learning in the classroom remains limited. This study suggests that, apart from the issue related to the state of technological infrastructure, other related factors, including school’s leadership and policy, and teachers’ attitude and knowledge of new media, can also influence the integration of digital technologies into the classroom. Hence, it is important for schools to develop a comprehensive policy of new media, to ensure that the technological infrastructure is carefully managed and maintained. Schools also should provide teachers with continuous professional development opportunities, to ensure that their knowledge and skills of new media remain relevant in the constantly changing digital environment.

Asian Social Science

This study investigated the relationship between students’ knowledge, attitude and practice of th... more This study investigated the relationship between students’ knowledge, attitude and practice of the environment and effective communication of environmental messages. For this purpose, a knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey was conducted, involving 895 students from 16 higher learning institutions in Malaysia. The findings revealed that students in general, have a good level of environmental knowledge. However, knowledge does not necessarily lead to practice. There was a weak relationship between students’ level of knowledge and sustainable environment practices. Similarly, there was a weak relationship between students’ attitude and
sustainable environment practices. Hence, attitude is not a good predictor for sustainable environment practices. These findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between students’ knowledge, attitude and sustainable environment practice. The findings of this study also suggested that, the internet is regarded as students preferred choice of media which can be utilised to disseminate environmental information. It is important, however, not to disregard the roles of more traditional media such as television and newspapers, as they can also be effectively used to deliver environmental information. Besides media, educational institutions and family also have crucial roles to disseminate environmental information and encourage good practice. Since many of the earlier studies of this nature have been conducted in at other places, particularly in the first world countries, this study is expected to contribute to the knowledge based on Malaysia’s own experience as a developing nation that aspire to champion sustainable environment.

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

This study investigated the role of parental and peer mediation in young adolescents' engagement ... more This study investigated the role of parental and peer mediation in young adolescents' engagement in risk-taking in social networking sites (SNSs). A survey conducted in Malaysia with 469 SNS users aged 13–14 revealed that control-based parental mediation can cause boomerang effects, making young adolescents more inclined to taking risks in SNSs. While discussion-based parental mediation was found to be negatively related to young adolescents' befriending strangers in SNSs, it did not reduce privacy risks. Findings also suggested that peer influence could result in undesirable outcomes. In particular, the more young adolescents talked about Internet-related issues with peers, the more likely they were to disclose personally identifiable information on SNSs.

Malaysian Journal of Communication, Jul 2013

The integration of new media technologies into the school curriculum continues to be an important... more The integration of new media technologies into the school curriculum continues to be an important goal for Malaysia. However, despite continuous efforts to integrate digital technologies in schools, students’ use of the media within the formal school context continues to be very limited. Malaysian students’ use of digital technologies out of school also remains unclear. This is due to lack of studies being conducted in this area. Thus, this paper argues that an in depth study should be conducted during school and out of school in order to understand how Malaysian youths use digital media. Such a study can be carried out by using communities of practice (COP) theoretical perspective. COP enables thorough analysis to be conducted pertaining to young people’s technological practices, the communities that they belong to and how practices move and
influence one another across the boundary of during school and out of school communities.

Unitar e-journal, Jan 2009

the effects it has on the students' academic performance. The findings of the study show that bot... more the effects it has on the students' academic performance. The findings of the study show that both lecturers are equally good in their classroom communication practice. There were no significant effects of classroom communication and students' academic performances in the two sections involved. However, students in both sections agreed that effective classroom communication is important in ensuring that teaching and learning take place.

This thesis explores how young people use new media in and out of school, in the Malaysian contex... more This thesis explores how young people use new media in and out of school, in the Malaysian context, through communities of practice (COPs). A case study approach was used to investigate young people’s digital practices in and out of school. This includes the relationships that are established between the contexts of in and out of school, and the identity formation that young people experience as they use new media in their everyday lives. In an attempt to unravel the complexity surrounding young people’s use of new media in and out of school, this study captures insights from different groups of participants including the students, their peers, family members, as well as other individuals who use new media with them such as school leaders and teachers. Despite the Malaysian government’s continuous efforts to integrate technologies such as computers and the internet into teaching and learning, this study investigates why young people’s use of new media in schools remains limited. The study found that teachers’ attitudes and knowledge of new media influence the way digital technologies are integrated in the classroom. For this reason, it is essential to provide teachers with continuous professional development opportunities in order to ensure that their knowledge and skills in the use of new media are up-to-date and relevant in the constantly changing digital world. It is also important for the policy makers to reform the existing curriculum and, for educators to change their pedagogical approaches from teacher-centred classroom strategies to learner-centred approaches, for teachers and students to be able to fully optimise the potential of new media in teaching and learning. Out of school, I found that the student participants’ use of new media is generally richer, more varied and more frequent compared with their usage in school. The student participants generally have more frequent access to new media out of school as they engage in different practices such as playing computer games and using social media for an extended period of time. Even though the study found that the importance of the student participants’ use of new media is often disregarded by their teachers, it revealed that they not only use digital technologies for leisure, but they also use these technologies to serve other important purposes including communication and socialising to meet personal needs, and to support their learning through communities of practice. Through using the critical lens of Wenger’s (1998) ‘communities of practice’ (COPs) as a theoretical frame, I found that there is a huge difference in terms of access to new media in school in comparison with out of school, as well as differences in the way new media is used. There is a relationship established between in and out of school contexts regarding student participants’ use of digital media. This relationship is established through the use of digital technologies that are considered as boundary objects and through brokering, as the student participants share their knowledge and, influence practices based on the new media experiences they gain from their participation in COPs. Relationships are also established across the boundaries of in and out of school through similar new media practices involving the student participants. The findings from this study reaffirm Wenger’s (1998) conception of identity, as the student participants’ active participation in new media based communities, in and out of school, leads to the formation of their identities. For example, some students see themselves as ‘geeks’ and ‘experts’ in new media, as they frequently engage in practices such as gaming, downloading applications, music and videos and using social media. More importantly, it is through their active participation in shared new media practices, in and out of school, that student participants develop an understanding of the important roles of digital media in their everyday lives.

This study aims to explore instructors’ classroom communication and students’ academic performanc... more This study aims to explore instructors’ classroom communication and students’ academic performance at Kulliyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Previous studies conducted concentrated on classroom communication practices in schools and higher institutions. On the other hand, this study particularly explores relationship between instructors’ classroom communication practices and students’ academic performance. Two different lecturers (excellent and average) together with their respective sections were observed in this study. This is done to get thorough insight of the classroom communication practices in the two sections involved. Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) was used as the main instrument during the observations. A survey involving students from the two sections were conducted at the end of the study. Interviews with the two lecturers were also conducted. T-tests and correlations were deployed to analyze the data collected from the observations and survey. The result of the study showed that both lecturers were equal in relation to their classroom communication practices. Both sections were also equal in their communication during class lectures. However, t-test conducted showed that students inclined to respond positively to lecturers’ questions. This indicates that lecturers should be able to stimulate students’ interactions during class lectures. There was no direct relationship between classroom communication practices and students’ academic performance in the two sections involved. However, lecturers and students involved in the study agreed that classroom communication is integral in ensuring learning take place.

According to the statistics, majority of social media users in Malaysia are youth aged 13-34. The... more According to the statistics, majority of social media users in Malaysia are youth aged 13-34. They use the medium on a frequent basis and at an extended period of time to serve different important functions including for communication, socialisation, building and maintaining relationship, overcoming loneliness, sharing of information, learning and entertainment. There is no doubt of the usefulness of social media, but, the medium also presents risks to youth. On the social media sphere, youth are exposed to risks such as scam, sexual harassment, pedophile, pornography and cyberbullying. Earlier studies also reported that the number of crime cases reported involving youth's social media practices are on the rise in Malaysia. One way to reduce threat of committing high-risk behaviours and becoming victim on social media is by having adequate level of social media competencies. Such competencies also enable youth to effectively use social media to help the authority in preventing crime. But the question is; what is the level of Malaysian youth's competencies of social media? Do they use social media to help the authority in preventing crime? In order to answer these questions, a survey involving 500 respondents was conducted to investigate Malaysian youth's social media usage, competencies and practice with regard to crime prevention.

The rising crime rate in Malaysia is often associated with youth. This is due to the fact that ea... more The rising crime rate in Malaysia is often associated with youth. This is due to the fact that each year, there is an increase in criminal cases involving youth. They indulge in different kinds of criminal activities including involvement in gangsterism activities, sexual related offences and drug abuse. This is worrying, considering that youth that consist of 45% of the country’s population is highly regarded as the future of the nation. One way to overcome youth’s involvement in crime is by engaging them in crime prevention efforts. This can be performed by using social media as Malaysian youth are identified as avid users of the medium. According to the statistics, youth, aged 13-34 make up more than 80% of the total percentage of social media users in Malaysia. They use social media for different purposes, including for communication, entertainment, sharing of information, overcoming loneliness, developing new relationships and maintaining existing ones. This indicates how social media is ingrained in youth’s everyday lives. However, are they using it to prevent crime? Based on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice model (KAP), this study attempts to unravel youth’s usage of social media, their awareness and attitude towards crime as well as practices in assisting the authority to prevent crime.