Throughout the 21st century, economic inequality is predicted to increase as we face new challenges, from changes in the technological landscape to the growing climate crisis. It is crucial we understand how these changes in inequality may affect how people think and behave. We propose that economic inequality threatens the social fabric of society, in turn increasing moralization-that is, the greater tendency to employ or emphasize morality in everyday life-as an attempt to restore order and control. Using longitudinal data from X, formerly known as Twitter, our first study demonstrates that high economic inequality is associated with greater use of moral language online (e.g. the use of words such as "disgust", "hurt", and "respect'). Study 2 then examined data from 41 regions around the world, generally showing that higher inequality has a small association with harsher moral judgments of people's everyday actions. Together these findings demonstrate that economic inequality is linked to the tendency to see the world through a moral lens.

ABSTRACT : The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of gratitude training on reducing depression levels among patients with chronic kidney failure undergoing hemodialysis therapy. The study used a single-subject experimental design with the A-B-A (Baseline A1-Treatment-BaselineA2) format to examine changes in individuals receiving the treatment. Two patients with chronic kidney failure who had undergone hemodialysis therapy for ≤2 years were selected as the participants. The level of depression was measured using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)-42 and qualitatively measured through visual inspection. The hypothesis test results supported the effectiveness of gratitude training in reducing the depression level in patients with chronic kidney failure undergoing hemodialysis therapy.

Relationship standards are beliefs about what is important in high-quality couple relationships. Clarifying standards cross-culturally informs theory about relationship quality and goals for culturally appropriate couple therapy. The current study assessed four standards (Couple Bond, Family Responsibility, Relationship Effort, and Religion) in n = 113 Malay Muslim couples, and the association of those standards with marital satisfaction. All four standards were strongly endorsed, Religion was the most strongly endorsed, and there were minimal sex differences. Separate actor-partner interdependence models showed actor effects of all four standards on own satisfaction for husbands and wives, partner effects of three of the four husbands' standards (not Relationship Effort) on wives' satisfaction, but no partner effects of female standards on male satisfaction. The findings underscore the importance of all four standards in Malay Muslim marriages and that attention to all these standards might need to be part of couple therapy with Malay couples.

Islam is an essential religion for every Muslim because it is the source for forming a value system and giving guidance to help solve all the problems of life that afflict human beings. Attaining religiosity through religious education is vital because through understanding, internalising, and practising the actual Islamic teachings, Muslims will get a worldview based on Islamicity towards this worldly life and in the hereafter. This article aims to review previous studies on the significance of religiosity and morality among reverts. This conceptual and qualitative study used document analysis methods. It found that the previous studies on Muslim reverts only focused on the educational aspect. However, this study found that the practice of reverts' morality is closely related to their religiosity's effectiveness. This study gives a significant implication to an additional reference for the State Islamic Religious Council and other Non-Government organisations involved in providing educational guidance to the Muslim reverts.

Background & Purpose: This study aims to consolidate expert views and validated 371 items for developing spiritual intelligence instrument for Muslim nurses guided by the Spiritual Intelligence Model for Human Excellence (SIMHE). Methods: A Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) was used to validate these items and analyzed with Triangular Fuzzy Numbers and Defuzzification process. Views from 20 experts from three different backgrounds, namely, theology/Sufism, psychology and Islamic counseling, and evaluation and measurement, were also included in the validation process. Results: All items fulfilled the prerequisite of a threshold level of (d) ≤ 0.2, which obtained more than 75% of expert consensus and α-cut value ≥ of 0.5. Conclusion: The FDM analysis results indicated that all items could further validate the instrument using Rasch measurement analysis.

Recent years have witnessed an emerging trend of e-cigarette smoking in Southeast Asia. On the basis of Malaysian perspectives, this cross-sectional study explored the relationship between e-cigarette smoking behaviour and variables such as perceived health benefit, the desire to quit, social acceptance, social impact and product usefulness. Individuals aged 17 years old and older were recruited via purposive convenience sampling, yielding a total sample of 503 respondents. Collected data were analysed via partial least squares-structural equational modelling. The results showed that perceived heath benefit (ß = 0.19, P < 0.01), social acceptance (ß = 0.23, P < 0.01) and social impact (ß = 0.49, P < 0.01) positively influence e-cigarette smoking behaviour. No such effect is exerted by the desire to quit smoking (ß = 0.08, P < 0.05) and product usefulness t (ß = –0. 10, P < 0.05). Future studies should examine whether demographic variables affect e-cigarette smoking behaviour.

While a great deal is known about the individual difference factors associated with conspiracy beliefs, much less is known about the country-level factors that shape people's willingness to believe conspiracy theories. In the current article we discuss the possibility that willingness to believe conspiracy theories might be shaped by the perception (and reality) of poor economic performance at the national level. To test this notion, we surveyed 6723 participants from 36 countries. In line with predictions, propensity to believe conspiracy theories was negatively associated with perceptions of current and future national economic vitality. Furthermore, countries with higher GDP per capita tended to have lower belief in conspiracy theories. The data suggest that conspiracy beliefs are not just caused by intrapsychic factors but are also shaped by difficult economic circumstances for which distrust might have a rational basis.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of anime on the prevalence of Japanese popular culture among Art and Design students. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employed a questionnaire-based quantitative survey of 186 college students enrolled in arts and design programmes at three higher education institutions. Five Likert-scale questionnaires were utilised to collect the data, which was subsequently analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Findings: The majority of respondents had rather limited time to watch anime. This is due to the time constraints for completing their tasks and projects. That was proven by the low average viewing rate of anime among respondents. The findings showed only 39 respondents watched anime for more than 6 hours and above, while the majority of 147 others, or 79%, watched anime for 5 hours and below in a week. Nevertheless, the influence of Japanese popular culture still has a significant impact on this study, even at low and moderate levels. Conclusion: This study found that anime has managed to spread the influence of Japanese popular culture among respondents despite being weak and moderate. This result was also due to the low frequency of watching anime. The data may be different if the average frequency of watching anime is high. Research Limitations: This study is limited to art and design students only. For future studies, it is recommended that studies be conducted on other majors to find the difference in results. Contribution to Literature: This study may add to the literature of relatively understudied anime-related studies, especially in Malaysia.

Development of human capital refers to the changes upon individuals to attain high moral values, be cultured in manners, have healthy mental intellect, be and able to perform their duty as a caliph in this world. In view of this, Islamic education plays an important role in developing the spirituality of the community of our brothers (mu’alaf). Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the real appreciation of the Islamic education of our brothers and to identify the relationship between Islamic education and the development of the human capital of our brothers in Terengganu. This study uses a qualitative method with a purposive sampling technique in focus group discussion. The result of the study shows that the level of understanding and religiosity appreciation among our brothers in Terengganu is still weak. This study suggests that more effective Islamic education must be reinforced by focusing on the teaching methods carried out. This study is important because it conveys real information on the learning situation and religious appreciation of our brothers in Terengganu which will fill the gap of previous studies.

This study aims to examine the relationship between acceptance of the COVID-19 pandemic control measures, emotions and social interaction among Muslims attending congregational prayer at mosques in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted between August and September 2020 among 6690 Muslims using an online questionnaire consisting of three self-developed scales: acceptance of pandemic control measures, emotion and social interaction. Data were analysed using correlation and multiple regression analyses. Acceptance is negatively correlated with emotion ( r = − .247, p < .01), but positively with social interaction ( r = .665, p < .01). Emotion and social interaction are negatively related ( r = − .366, p < .01). In the regression analysis, social interaction is predicted by acceptance ( β = .608) and emotion ( β = − .215). Our findings reveal that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Muslims were receptive to the control measures but felt emptiness and yearned for congregational prayer in the mosque, although their social interaction was not much affected. The acceptance of pandemic control measures determined the social interaction among religious followers who have strong attachments to the places of worship, such as mosques in the Muslim community.

What are the things that we think matter morally, and how do societal factors influence this? To date, research has explored several individual-level and historical factors that influence the size of our ‘moral circles.' There has, however, been less attention focused on which societal factors play a role. We present the first multi-national exploration of moral expansiveness—that is, the size of people’s moral circles across countries. We found low generalized trust, greater perceptions of a breakdown in the social fabric of society, and greater perceived economic inequality were associated with smaller moral circles. Generalized trust also helped explain the effects of perceived inequality on lower levels of moral inclusiveness. Other inequality indicators (i.e., Gini coefficients) were, however, unrelated to moral expansiveness. These findings suggest that societal factors, especially those associated with generalized trust, may influence the size of our moral circles.

People cooperate every day in ways that range from largescale contributions that mitigate climate change to simple actions such as leaving another individual with choice – known as social mindfulness. It is not yet clear whether and how these complex and more simple forms of cooperation relate. Prior work has found that countries with individuals who made more socially mindful choices were linked to a higher country environmental performance – a proxy for complex cooperation. Here we replicated this initial finding in 41 samples around the world, demonstrating the robustness of the association between social mindfulness and environmental performance, and substantially built on it to show this relationship extended to a wide range of complex cooperative indices, tied closely to many current societal issues. We found that greater social mindfulness expressed by an individual was related to living in countries with more social capital, more community participation and reduced prejudice towards immigrants. Our findings speak to the symbiotic relationship between simple and more complex forms of cooperation in societies.

The act of fasting in the month of Sha’ban holds virtues that it may have a positive effect on the behaviour of a Muslim according to religious tradition. Therefore , fasting in Sha’ban is strongly recommended for Muslims before entering the holy month of Ramadhan. To date, there has been no empirical study to investigate this effect. Therefore, the study of this matter is important because it can prove to the community about the advantages and effectiveness of circumcision fasting, including fasting in the month of Sha'ban, on the personal development of a person in a better direction. The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of voluntary fasting in Sha’ban on the behaviour. In completing this study, a short-term longitudinal design methodology was used. A total of 111 participants completed the questionnaire repeatedly throughout the month of Sha’ban. Data analysis was carried out using 7.0 hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) methods. Results showed a positive and significant effects of fasting in Sha’ban on the behaviour changes prior to Ramadan. This finding supports the notion that fasting in Sha’ban has an effect on behaviour reveals the hidden wisdom of voluntary fasting performed during the month of Sha'ban prior to the holy month of Ramadan. The results of the study also found that when a person fasts Sha'ban will increase his positive personality at the beginning of Ramadan which is from a value of 0.36 to 0.40. The findings of this study support the evidence found in the Qur'an and hadith about the advantages of fasting, including the circumcision fasting of Sha'ban. Muslims should therefore strive to perform the voluntary act of fasting during the month of Sha'ban following the positive effects proffered to one’s personality in preparing for a spiritual journey in the holy month of Ramadan. The next study can continue with the study of the relationship between Ramadan fasting and circumcision fasting in the month of Syawal. If the fasting of Sha'ban has a relationship and role in the formation of the personality of students, then it is not impossible that the fasting of Ramadan will also have a positive effect on the personality in the month of Syawal.

Students and the issue of moral decline has become a hot topic for the past centuries. It raises much concern, since students are the asset to the formation of human capital in the future. The sophisticated life that we have today has left an impact to their personality. The expansion of the technology at the fingertips expedites this impact. This is when the influence of the media often leaves an impact to the students. Anime is a popular Japanese animation among teenagers or specifically students. It is part of the mass media broadcasting with an increasing number of fans all over the world. With different moral values, manners and cultures, it is feared that one of the factors for moral decline among students lies in the destructive elements of violence, sex, imagination and superstition found in anime. Thus, this study is conducted to see the influence of anime from both the positive and negative perspectives on the morality of students in Design Arts course at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). The pilot study was conducted on 55 design arts course students as they are very attached to anime in terms of their background education and interest. This study adopts the quantitative method where questionnaires have been distributed. From the finding, it can be concluded that positive attitude formed from anime influence has given a significant impact to the mahmudah moral values, while the negative attitude leaves quite a big impact to the students’ mazmumah moral values. The finding of this study can serve as reference to the Ministry of Communication and Multimedia Malaysia to increase the quality of the broadcasting material guideline for students or teenagers in general, so that the content would be more appropriate for Malaysian practice, religious belief and lifestyle. The finding will also be helpful for local broadcasting companies as they will be more sensitive and can better screen adverse elements in anime that can be demoralizing and are feared to push them further into various issues of morality.

Happiness is a valuable experience, and societies want their citizens to be happy. Although this societal commitment seems laudable, overly emphasizing positivity (versus negativity) may create an unattainable emotion norm that ironically compromises individual well-being. In this multi-national study (40 countries; 7443 participants), we investigate how societal pressure to be happy and not sad predicts emotional, cognitive and clinical indicators of well-being around the world, and examine how these relations differ as a function of countries’ national happiness levels (collected from the World Happiness Report). Although detrimental well-being associations manifest for an average country, the strength of these relations varies across countries. People’s felt societal pressure to be happy and not sad is particularly linked to poor well-being in countries with a higher World Happiness Index. Although the cross-sectional nature of our work prohibits causal conclusions, our findings highlight the correlational link between social emotion valuation and individual well-being, and suggest that high national happiness levels may have downsides for some.

Associations have been found between communal motives to feel warmly connected with others and perceiving similarities between self and others, presumably because perceived self-other similarity helps satisfy those motives. The current research examined the phenomenon in a novel and consequential context: Young adults’ perceived self-parent agreement regarding the values or preferences the young adult should prioritize in making life decisions. First, we describe an unregistered study in which 2,071 undergraduates from eight countries reported the qualities (e.g., attractive, outspoken) they prioritized when evaluating a potential spouse and the qualities they believed their parents would want them to prioritize. Second, we describe a registered study in which 1,141 undergraduates from five countries reported their basic values (e.g., security, hedonism) and the values they believed their parents would want them to prioritize. As hypothesized, stronger communal motives towards parents predicted greater self-parent agreement (regardless of the order in which students completed the measures). We also introduce a method for differentiating sources of individual differences in perceived agreement reflecting covariation between normative (average) and/or distinctive (non-normative) components of participants’ profiles of self- and other-ratings. Analyzing these distinct components of agreement suggested that communal motives were associated more strongly with students projecting their values onto their parents than with students introjecting parents’ values onto themselves, although both mechanisms—projection and introjection—likely played a role.

The Memorization Of The Quran Really Requires High Level Of Interest And Encouragement To Complete The 30 Chapters Of The Quran With Determination, Patience And Persistence To Be An Excellent Hafiz. That Said, We Have Yet To Come Up With Any Specific Studies To Look Into The Factors Of The Interest And Encouragement Of Tahfiz Students Towards The Memorization Of The Quran. Thus, This Study Aims To Identify The Level Of Interest And Encouragement Towards Memorizing The Quran Before The Enrolment In The Tahfiz School And Its Relationship With The Excellence In The Memorization Of Al-Quran After Following Tahfiz Studies. This Study Employs The Mixed Approach Of Qualitative And Quantitative Approaches. A Total Of 64 Tahfiz Students Aged 13 To 21years Old From 8 Tahfiz School Under Persatuan Institut Tahfiz Selangor (Pitas) Were Involved In The Focus Group Interview Or Temubual Kumpulan Berfokus (Fgd) Which Discusses Interest, Encouragement And Excellence In The Memorization Of The Quran. Information About The Interview Was Analyzed And A Set Of Questionnaire Regarding The Interest, Encouragement And Excellence In The Memorization Of The Quran Was Developed, Verified By Experts, Piloted, Improved And Then Distributed To 618 Tahfiz Students (Pitas) In Selangor. The Main Data Was Analyzed Descriptively And Inferentially. The Outcome Of The Analysis Reveals That The Level Of Interest And Encouragement Of The Students In Memorizing The Quran Before They Entered The School Was At A Moderate Level. It Is Also Revealed That The Interest In Memorizing The Quran Among Tahfiz Students Relates Closely With The Encouragement Received By Tahfiz Students Before Entering Tahfiz School. Both Interest And Encouragement Connect Positively With The Excellence In The Memorization Of Al-Quran. The More Profound The Interest And Encouragement In Memorizing The Quran Before Entering The Tahfiz School, The Higher The Excellence In The Memorization After Their Enrolment In The School. This Study Suggests That The Excellence Can Be Achieved Through The Inculcation Of The Interest And Encouragement Even Before They Enrol In The School. Keywords- Interest In Memorizing, Excellence In Memorization, Tahfiz Students, Pitas, Memorization Of The Quran