Purpose Various studies around the globe indicate lack of soft skills in engineering students, graduating from universities, although the bulk of studies in various disciplines indicate an improvement in various skills through implementation of a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. The purpose of this paper is therefore to identify and determine the effects of PBL in improving and developing soft skills, conflict resolution traits and aspects of enhancing group learning in undergraduates. Design/methodology/approach A study with mixed methods was used, involving questionnaire, observation and document analysis. A total of 57 students from different faculties participated in the semester-long study. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered at the beginning and end of the study. The researcher attended all the classes to observe systematically the teaching-learning process and its outcomes. Findings The findings revealed that PBL has a significant effect on improving students’ soft skills and enhancing group learning, including overcoming communication conflicts. Practical implications Practical implications of the study involve the enhancement of generic skills of the engineering graduates with the student-centered and interactive methodologies like PBL and e-learning applications. Originality/value This research endeavor stands unique due to its usage of e-learning tools in the PBL classroom learning such as Schoology, Padlet, videos, internet surfing. Another unique feature of this research is the holistic nature of the study, i.e. the measurement of a number of soft skills, traits and group learning skills that are not focused in other studies of engineering.

A bulk of studies indicates an improvement of various soft skills through applying problem-based learning (PBL) approach but there is still a dearth of such pedagogies in the Asia region. The core objective of this study was, therefore, to identify the effects of electronic PBL on the soft skills, conflict resolution traits, and aspects of enhancing group learning among undergraduate. Through a mixed method approach, a total 57 students from different faculties at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia participated in the semester-long research study. Pre-test and post-test were administered at the beginning and end of the semester along with observing the sessions and analysing the documents. The computation of mean compared with the standard value of the mean of the pre and post-test revealed the significant effect of PBL on improving the soft skills of the students and enhancing group learning including overcoming communication conflicts. The observation and document analysis supported the findings obtained from the questionnaire.

Sejarah mencatatkan perkembangan tulisan Jawi sinonim dengan kedatangan Islam ke Alam Melayu sekaligus menjadi lambang dan simbol yang mewakili bahasa dan bangsa Melayu. Ia telah memainkan peranan yang penting dalam masyarakat Melayu sama ada sebagai alat komunikasi mahupun médium pengembangan ilmu terutamanya selepas kedatangan Islam di Alam Melayu. Tidak menjadi asing dalam kehidupan masyarakat pada masa itu bermula dari raja, pembesar negara, ulama, saudagar sehinggalah kepada rakyat jelata. Walaupun tulisan Jawi didapati mempunyai perkaitan yang amat rapat dengan skrip Arab terutamanya pada bentuk abjad, namun terdapat beberapa perbezaan yang ketara terutamanya pada pertambahan abjad yang menjadikan jumlah bilangan abjad Jawi berbeza

Previous studies have reported lack of collocational competence and difficulties among English as a second language (ESL) learners. However, collocation is crucial in second language acquisition. This research examined the receptive and productive knowledge of collocations among the business students of COMSATS University Islamabad Vehari Campus who studied ESL. It also investigated the gap in the use of collocations at a receptive and productive level. The sample included 61 males and 39 females out of the total sample size of 100. Employing a quantitative approach, we gathered the data through a questionnaire and two collocations tests, and we analysed them via SPSS version 20. The overall result of the collocation test indicated that 66.4% of the respondents had the correct answer at the receptive level compared with only 33.7% at the productive level. Moreover, the statistical result presented a great gap in the ability to utilise collocations at the productive and receptive levels. This result also affirmed that despite their ability to understand the collocations, the students had difficulties in identifying proper English collocations confidently. Local and native language experiences might be one of the reasons that caught the students from being more confident in identifying the English collocations.

The aspect of leadership has existed since the dawn of time, with scholars conducting extensive studies from various angles and views, which were then produced into literary works. In the Malay Archipelago, Taj al-Salatin manuscript (1603M) is widely known as a masterpiece which highlighted leadership qualities from the Islamic perspective. This study was conducted to identify the author’s ideas on Islamic leadership in the context of Malay Archipelago, using descriptive method by analysing the manuscript. The findings showed that leaders and leadership are considered as a mandate from Allah S.W.T. Good leaders must be qualified, with higher knowledge and morals than their subjects. Taj al-Salatin introduces the idea that leaders should practice Tasawwuf, which among its practises include constant self reminder of death, rejecting lust and desires, and prioritising remembrance to Allah. In his manuscript, Bukhari al-Jauhari presents the vision, idealism and the idea of "leaders are perfect beings", which embodies the concept of Tauhid and upholds noble character for universal humanity. A leader of a nation should always stand on the grounds of good moral values and the people are led towards creating a peaceful, prosperous and happy nation.