Search results for: Malaysia facility

Authors: Eren Özceylan, Cihan Çetinkaya

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Quality function deployment (QFD) is a technique to assist transform the voice of the customer into engineering characteristics for a product/service. With the difference of existing studies, QFD is applied to an educational area that is a service sector which is not a manufacturing firm. The objective of the study is to design the undergraduate program according to students’ desire and expectations. To do so, third and fourth year students of industrial engineering department of Gaziantep University are considered as customers. Some suggestions about lecturers, courses, exams and facility for how to satisfy students’ demands are presented and as a result, sharing the materials of courses is the most important requirement among others.

Keywords: higher education, quality function deployment, quality house, voice of customer

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Authors: Atucungwiire Rwebiita

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Introduction: In Uganda, provision of adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services for key population is still hindered by negative attitudes, stigma and discrimination (S&D) at both the community and facility levels. To address this barrier, Integrated Community Based Initiatives (ICOBI) with support from SIDA is currently implementing a quality improvement (QI) innovative approach for strengthening the capacity of key population (KP) peer leaders and health workers to deliver friendly SRHR services without S&D. Methods: Our innovative approach involves continuous mentorship and coaching of 8 QI teams at 8 health facilities and their catchment areas. Each of the 8 teams (comprised of 5 health workers and 5 KP peer leaders) are facilitated twice a month by two QI Mentors in a 2-hour mentorship session over a period of 4 months. The QI mentors were provided a 2-weeks training on QI approaches for reducing S&D against young key populations in the delivery of SRHR Services. The mentorship sessions are guided by a manual where teams base to analyse root causes of S&D and develop key performance indicators (KPIs) in the 1st and 2nd second sessions respectively. The teams then develop action plans in the 3rd session and review implementation progress on KPIs at the end of subsequent sessions. The KPIs capture information on the attitude of health workers and peer leaders and the general service delivery setting as well as clients’ experience. A dashboard is developed to routinely track the KPIs for S&D across all the supported health facilities and catchment areas. After 4 months, QI teams share documented QI best practices and tested change packages on S&D in a learning and exchange session involving all the teams. Findings: The implementation of this approach is showing positive results. So far, QI teams have already identified the root causes of S&D against key populations including: poor information among health workers, fear of a perceived risk of infection, perceived links between HIV and disreputable behaviour. Others are perceptions that HIV & STIs are divine punishment, sex work and homosexuality are against religion and cultural values. They have also noted the perception that MSM are mentally sick and a danger to everyone. Eight QI teams have developed action plans to address the root causes of S&D. Conclusion: This approach is promising, offers a novel and scalable means to implement stigma-reduction interventions in facility and community settings.

Keywords: key populations, sexual reproductive health and rights, stigma and discrimination , quality improvement approach

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Authors: Sedigheh Abbasnasab Sardareh

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The current study investigates ESL teachers' voices in order to formulate further research on the effectiveness of the SBOA practices. It is an attempt to find out (1) what are ESL experienced teachers’ perceptions, experiences, attitudes, and beliefs of SBOA; (2) what teaching and learning aspects of SBOA needs focus to enhance its effectiveness; (3) external issues related to the implementation of SBOA; (4) internal issues related to the implementation of SBOA; and also (5) perceived recommendations on SBOA. The study utilized focus group discussion sessions. 9 experienced ESL (5 females and 4 males) teachers were selected based on the consent letters sent to them. These teachers had over 20 years experience in both traditional and SBOA-type assessment and the train-the-trainer experts recommended by the Ministry of Education. Respondents were guided with open-ended questions to extracts their perceived experiences implementing SBOA guided structurally by the author as the moderator. Data were first discussed with the respondents for further clarifications and then only analyzed and re-confirmed with some recommendations before the final presentation of this preliminary results were presented here. The focus group discussions yielded some important perceived views on the SBOA implementation. Some of the themes were discussed and some recommendations were proposed for further in-depth study by the Ministry of Education. Some of the future directions based on the results were also put forward. Some external and internal variables were important in order for successful implementation of SBOA. Mere implementing a policy should be taken into consideration because this might impede some of the teaching and learning processes both by the classroom stakeholders such as teachers and student. More research methods such as the use of questionnaires could be utilized to further investigate to large populations of teacher educators in Malaysia.

Keywords: school based oral assessment, Malaysia, ESL, focus group discussion

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Authors: Ke Guek Nee, Wong Siew Fan, Nigel V. Marsh

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Excessive use of the Internet has become a cause for concern in many countries, including Malaysia. Such behaviour is reported to be more prevalent amongst young adults who are reported to be spending large amount of time on the Internet. The present study has three objectives. First one is designing a manual-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) programme to reduce problematic Internet use among young adults in Malaysia. Second one is examining the effectiveness of a manual-based CBT programme at the pilot study stage. Thirdly, the programme focuses on reducing the level of stress and anxiety in problematic Internet users. We adopted CBT with single subject experimental design method. A total of six participants completed the entire program. They were asked to report their daily Internet use and software was installed on their devices to record actual use. The data collection involved three time frame measurements: T1 (baseline), T2 (immediately during the last session of the intervention sessions), and T3 (follow-up). Three scales were used to measure the effectiveness of the program: Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), and Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ). The results revealed that the intervention programme has significantly improved two dimensions of problematic Internet use which were obsession and control disorder. The participants’ mental health also showed a deduction in means scores for depression, anxiety and stress with depression showing the greatest improvement after the intervention programme. The participants’ social anxiety showed a slight deduction in means scores. We concluded that the intervention programme designed was effective. However, its limitations need to be addressed in future research.

Keywords: excessive internet use, cognitive behavioral thearapy (CBT), psychological well-being, young adults

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Authors: Ebenezer Kwesi Armah-Ansah, Kenneth Fosu Oteng, Esther Selasi Avinu, Eugene Budu, Edward Kwabena Ameyaw

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Background: Maternal mortality, particularly in Benin, is a major public health concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. To provide a positive pregnancy experience and reduce maternal morbidities, all pregnant women must get appropriate and timely prenatal support. However, many pregnant women in developing countries, including Benin, begin antenatal care late. There is a paucity of empirical literature on the prevalence and predictors of early antenatal care visits in Benin. As a result, the purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence and predictors of early antenatal care visits among women of productive age in Benin. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the 2017/2018 Benin Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) data. The study involved 6,919 eligible women. Data analysis was conducted using Stata version 14.2 for Mac OS. We adopted a multilevel logistic regression to examine the predictors of early ANC visits in Benin. The results were presented as odds ratios (ORs) associated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and p-value <0.05 to determine the significant associations. Results: The prevalence of early ANC visits among pregnant women in Benin was 57.03% [95% CI: 55.41-58.64]. In the final multilevel logistic regression, early ANC visit was higher among women aged 30-34 [aOR=1.60, 95% CI=1.17-2.18] compared to those aged 15-19, women with primary education [aOR=1.22, 95% CI=1.06-142] compared to the non-educated women, women who were covered by health insurance [aOR=3.03, 95% CI=1.35-6.76], women without a big problem in getting the money needed for treatment [aOR=1.31, 95% CI=1.16-1.49], distance to the health facility, not a big problem [aOR=1.23, 95% CI=1.08-1.41], and women whose partners had secondary/higher education [aOR=1.35, 95% CI=1.15-1.57] compared with those who were not covered by health insurance, had big problem in getting money needed for treatment, distance to health facility is a big problem and whose partners had no education respectively. However, women who had four or more births [aOR=0.60, 95% CI=0.48-0.74] and those in Atacora Region [aOR=0.50, 95% CI=0.37-0.68] had lower odds of early ANC visit. Conclusion: This study revealed a relatively high prevalence of early ANC visits among women of reproductive age in Benin. Women's age, educational status of women and their partners, parity, health insurance coverage, distance to health facilities, and region were all associated with early ANC visits among women of reproductive in Benin. These factors ought to be taken into account when developing ANC policies and strategies in order to boost early ANC visits among women in Benin. This will significantly reduce maternal and newborn mortality and help achieve the World Health Organization’s recommendation that all pregnant women should initiate early ANC visits within the first three months of pregnancy.

Keywords: antenatal care, Benin, maternal health, pregnancy, DHS, public health

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Authors: A.Halim Sahelan, Mohd Halid Abu, Jamaluddin Hashim, Zulisman Maksom, Mohd Afif Md Nasir

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This study aims to assess the students' needs for the tour planning e-guide. The study is developing on the contribution and importance of the Educational Tour Planning Guide (ETP) is a multimedia courseware as one of the effective methods in teaching and learning of environmental science among the students in primary schools of the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. It is to provide the student with knowledge and experience about tourism, environmental science activities and process. E-guide to ETP also hopes to strengthen the student understanding toward the subject learns in the tourism environmental science. In order to assess the student's needs on the e-Guide to Educational Tour Planning in Environmental Science, the study has produced a similar e-Guide to ETP in the form as a courseware to be tested during the study. The study has involved several steps in order to be completed. It is such as the formulation of the problem, the review of the literature, the formulation of the study methodology, the production of the e-Guide to ETP, field survey and finally the analyses and discussion made on the data gathered during the study. The survey has involved 100 respondents among the students in standard six primary schools in Kluang Johor. Through the findings, the study indicates that the currently tested product is acceptable among the students in learning environmental science as a guide to plan for the tour. The findings also show a slight difference between the respondents who are using the e-Guide to ETP, and those who are not on the basis of the e-Guide to ETP results. Due the important for the study, the researcher hopes to be having a fair discussion and excellence, recommendation for the development of the product of the current study. This report is written also important to provide a written reference for the future related study.

Keywords: the tour planning e-guide, the Educational Tour Planning Guide, environmental science, multimedia course ware

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Authors: Mohamed A. Hammad, Dzul Azri Mohamed Noor, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman, Ahmed A. Khamis, Abeer Kharshid, Nor Azizah Aziz

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The effect of statins dose intensity (SDI) on glycemic control in patients with existing diabetes is unclear. Also, there are many contradictory findings were reported in the literature; thus, it is limiting the possibility to draw conclusions. This project was designed to compare the effect of SDI on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c%) control in outpatients with Type 2 diabetes in the endocrine clinic at Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, between July 2015 and August 2016. A prospective cohort study was conducted, where records of 345 patients with Type 2 diabetes (Moderate-SDI group 289 patients and high-SDI cohort 56 patients) were reviewed to identify demographics and laboratory tests. The target of glycemic control (HbA1c < 7% for patient < 65 years, and < 8% for patient ≥ 65 years) was estimated, and the results were presented as descriptive statistics. From 289 moderate-SDI cohorts with a mean age of 57.3 ± 12.4 years, only 86 (29.8%) cases were shown to have controlled glycemia, while there were 203 (70.2%) cases with uncontrolled glycemia with confidence interval (CI) of 95% (6.2–10.8). On the other hand, the high-SDI group of 56 patients with Type 2 diabetes with a mean age 57.7±12.4 years is distributed among 11 (19.6%) patients with controlled diabetes, and 45 (80.4%) of them had uncontrolled glycemia, CI: 95% (7.1–11.9). The study has demonstrated that the relative risk (RR) of uncontrolled glycemia in patients with Type 2 diabetes that used high-SDI is 1.15, and the excessive relative risk (ERR) is 15%. The absolute risk (AR) is 10.2%, and the number needed to harm (NNH) is 10. Outpatients with Type 2 diabetes who use high-SDI of statin have a higher risk of uncontrolled glycemia than outpatients who had been treated with a moderate-SDI.

Keywords: cohort study, diabetes control, dose intensity, HbA1c, Malaysia, statin, type 2 diabetes mellitus, uncontrolled glycemia

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Authors: John Kosmeh

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Introduction – For years, senior health care and skilled nursing facilities have been plagued with the dilemma of not having the necessary tools and equipment to adequately care for senior residents in their communities. This has led to high transport rates to emergency departments and high 30-day readmission rates, costing billions of unnecessary dollars each year, as well as quality assurance issues. Our Senior care telemedicine program is designed to solve this issue. Methods – We conducted a 1-year pilot program using our technology coupled with our 24/7 telemedicine program with skilled nursing facilities in different parts of the United States. We then compared transports rates and 30-day readmission rates to previous years before the use of our program, as well as transport rates of other communities of similar size not using our program. This data was able to give us a clear and concise look at the success rate of reducing unnecessary transport and readmissions as well as cost savings. Results – A 94% reduction nationally of unnecessary out-of-facility transports, and to date, complete elimination of 30-day readmissions. Our virtual platform allowed us to instruct facility staff on the utilization of our tools and system as well as deliver treatment by our ER-trained providers. Delay waiting for PCP callbacks was eliminated. We were able to obtain lung, heart, and abdominal ultrasound imaging, 12 lead EKG, blood labs, auscultate lung and heart sounds, and collect other diagnostic tests at the bedside within minutes, providing immediate care and allowing us to treat residents within the SNF. Are virtual capabilities allowed for loved ones, family members, and others who had medical power of attorney to virtually connect with us at the time of visit, to speak directly with the medical provider, providing increased confidence in the decision to treat the resident in-house. The decline in transports and readmissions will greatly reduce governmental cost burdens, as well as fines imposed on SNF for high 30-day readmissions, reduce the cost of Medicare A readmissions, and significantly impact the number of patients visiting overcrowded ERs. Discussion – By utilizing our program, SNF can effectively reduce the number of unnecessary transports of residents, as well as create significant savings from loss of day rates, transportation costs, and high CMS fines. The cost saving is in the thousands monthly, but more importantly, these facilities can create a higher quality of life and medical care for residents by providing definitive care instantly with ER-trained personnel.

Keywords: senior care, long term care, telemedicine, technology, senior care communities

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Authors: Meenal Kumar

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The structure of a questionnaire becomes critical in gathering accurate feedback in a post-occupancy evaluation of a building. A survey instrument like this one consists of questions based on various aspects of a constructed facility. The questions and the qualities reflect the goals and determine the nature of the survey, which can be classified into several types. Therefore, a survey instrument uses appropriately described attributes. This ongoing research aims to provide an appropriate technique for framing the Questionnaire, taking into account the relevant aspects of the study and its defining features that analyze building performance from the user's perspective, which can further benefit the architects, planners, and designers in designing user-friendly spaces.

Keywords: post occupancy evaluations, satisfaction, attributes, survey, building performance evaluations

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Authors: Malay Niraj, Praveen Kumar

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The present study is a new approach for improving equipment life and Overall Equipment Efficiency (O.E.E.) through suitable maintenance practice with the help of value engineering. Value engineering is a one of the most powerful decision-making techniques which depend on many factors. The improvements are the result of recommendations made by multidisciplinary teams representing all parties involved. VE is a rigorous, systematic effort to improve the OEE and optimize the life cycle cost of a facility. The study describes problems in maintenance arising due to the absence of having clear criteria and strong decision constrain how to maintain failing equipment. Using factor comparisons, the study has been made between different maintenance practices and finally best maintenance practice based on value engineering technique has been selected.

Keywords: maintenance strategy, overall equipment efficiency, value engineering, decision-making

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Authors: Maria Vueba, Tchilissila A. Simoes

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Angola has a deficient health system characterized by reduced human and material resources. Nurses are the main actors combating different types of diseases simultaneously dealing with a lack of essentials tools and means. In this study, we aimed to assess the organizational commitment and job satisfaction of 51 health professionals from a maternity ward in Lubango, Angola. Participants completed the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and the Job Satisfaction Scale and demonstrated a strong commitment towards the maternal facility, despite the majority of them were not satisfied with their work. Moreover, the gender and years of service seemed to not influence the level of commitment and satisfaction among the professionals. These results show the need for organizational restructuration (i.e., wages, career progression, supervision) to increase job satisfaction in this institution.

Keywords: Africa, health professionals, organizational commitment, work satisfaction

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Authors: Stephanie Gracelyn Rahaman, Chew Yin Teng, Manjit Singh Sandhu

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Corporate scandals have made stakeholders apprehensive of large companies and expect greater transparency in CSR matters. However, companies find it challenging to strategically communicate CSR to intended stakeholders and in the process may fall short on maximizing on CSR efforts. Given that stakeholders have the ability to either reward good companies or take legal action or boycott against corporate brands who do not act socially responsible, companies must create shared understanding of their CSR activities. As a result, communication has become a strategy for many companies to demonstrate CSR engagement and to minimize stakeholder skepticism. The main objective of this research is to examine the types of CSR communication strategies and predictors that guide CSR communication strategies. Employing Morsing & Schultz’s guide on CSR communication strategies, the study integrates stakeholder and institutional theory to develop a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework hypothesized that stakeholder (instrumental and normative) and institutional (regulatory environment, nature of business, mimetic intention, CSR focus and corporate objectives) dimensions would drive CSR communication strategies. Preliminary findings from semi-structured interviews in Malaysia are consistent with the conceptual model in that stakeholder and institutional expectations guide CSR communication strategies. Findings show that most companies use two-way communication strategies. Companies that identified employees, the public or customers as key stakeholders have started to embrace social media to be in-sync with new trends of communication. This is especially with the Gen Y which is their priority. Some companies creatively use multiple communication channels because they recognize different stakeholders favor different communication channels. Therefore, it appears that companies use two-way communication strategies to complement the perceived limitation of one-way communication strategies as some companies prefer a more interactive platform to strategically engage stakeholders in CSR communication. In addition to stakeholders, institutional expectations also play a vital role in influencing CSR communication. Due to industry peer pressures, corporate objectives (attract international investors and customers), companies may be more driven to excel in social performance. For these reasons companies tend to go beyond the basic mandatory requirement, excel in CSR activities and be known as companies that champion CSR. In conclusion, companies use more two-way than one-way communication and companies use a combination of one and two-way communication to target different stakeholders resulting from stakeholder and institutional dimensions. Finally, in order to find out if the conceptual framework actually fits the Malaysian context, companies’ responses for expected organizational outcomes from communicating CSR were gathered from the interview transcripts. Thereafter, findings are presented to show some of the key organizational outcomes (visibility and brand recognition, portray responsible image, attract prospective employees, positive word-of-mouth, etc.) that companies in Malaysia expect from CSR communication. Based on these findings the conceptual framework has been refined to show the new identified organizational outcomes.

Keywords: CSR communication, CSR communication strategies, stakeholder theory, institutional theory, conceptual framework, Malaysia

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Authors: Ronald Blough

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Hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities are the core of the Health Services sector providing 24/7 medical care to those in need. Any disruption of these important medical services highlights the vulnerabilities in the medical system. An internal or external event can create a catastrophic incident paralyzing the medical services causing the facility to shift into emergency operations with the possibility of evacuation. The hospital administrator and government officials must decide in a very short amount of time whether to shelter in place or evacuate. This presentation will identify best practice recommendations regarding the hospital evacuation decision and response analyzing previous hospital evacuations to encourage hospitals in the region to review or develop their own emergency evacuation plans.

Keywords: disaster preparedness, hospital evacuation, shelter-in-place, incident containment, health services vulnerability, hospital resources

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Authors: Daniel Alati

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Recent high-profile terrorist events in Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe – the London Bridge attacks, the terrorist attacks in Nice, France and Barcelona, Spain, the 2014 Ottawa Parliament attacks and the 2017 attacks in Edmonton – have all raised levels of public and academic concern with so-called “lone-wolf” and “radicalized” terrorism. Similarly, several countries outside of the “Western” world have been dealing with radicalization to violent extremism for several years. Many South East Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have all had experience with what might be described as ISIS or extremist-inspired acts of terrorism. Indeed, it appears the greatest strength of groups such as ISIS has been their ability to spread a global message of violent extremism that has led to radicalization in markedly different jurisdictions throughout the world. These markedly different jurisdictions have responded with counter-radicalization strategies that warrant further comparative analysis. This paper utilizes an inter-disciplinary legal methodology. In doing so, it compares legal, political, cultural and historical aspects of the counter-radicalization strategies employed by Canada, the United Kingdom and several South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines). Whilst acknowledging significant legal and political differences between these jurisdictions, the paper engages in these analyses with an eye towards understanding which best practices might be shared between the jurisdictions. In doing so, it presents valuable findings of a comparative nature that are useful to both academic and practitioner audiences in several jurisdictions.

Keywords: Canada, United Kingdom and South East Asia, comparative law and politics, radicalization to violent extremism, terrorism

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Authors: Kalaashini Ramachandran, Maznah Dahlui, Nik Daliana Nik Farid

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WHO recommends all babies to be exclusively breastfed and donor milk is the next best alternative in the absence of mother’s own milk. The establishment of a human milk bank (HMB) is still being debated due to religious concerns in Malaysia leading to informal milk sharing practices, but little is known on the knowledge, attitude and perception of women towards HMB and its benefits. This study hypothesizes that there is no association between knowledge and attitude and the acceptance towards the establishment of human milk bank among Malaysian women and healthcare providers. The aim of this study is to determine the drivers and barriers among Malaysian towards the acceptance of an HMB. A cross-sectional study with 367 participants was enrolled within a period of 3 months to answer an online self-administered questionnaire. Data on sociodemographic, knowledge on breastfeeding benefits, knowledge and attitude on HMB and its specific issues were analyzed in terms of frequency and then proceed to multiple logistic regression. Majority of the respondents are of Islamis religion (73.3%), have succeesfully completed their tertiary education (82.8%), and are employed (70.8%). Only 55.9% of respondents have heard of an HMB stating internet as their main source of information but a higher prevalence is agreeable to the establishment of a human milk bank (67.8%). Most respondents have a good score on knowledge of breastfeeding benefits and on HMB specific issues (70% and 54.2% respectively) while 63.8% of them have a positive attitude towards HMB. In the multivariate analysis, mothers with a good score on general knowledge of breastfeeding (AOR: 1.715) were more likely to accept the establishment of an HMB while Islamic religion was negatively associated with its establishment (AOR:0.113). This study has found a high prevalence rate of mothers who are willing to accept the establishment of an HMB. This action can be potentially shaped by educating mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding as well as addressing their religious concerns so the establishment of a religiously abiding HMB in Malaysia may be accepted without compromising their belief or the health benefit of donor milk.

Keywords: acceptability, attitude, human milk bank, knowledge

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Authors: Arawati Agus, Rahmah Ismail

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An effective training has been increasingly recognized as critical factors in enhancing the skills and knowledge of employee or personnel in the organization. More and more manufacturing companies in Malaysia are increasingly incorporating training as an important element in supply chain management (SCM) to improve their employee skills and knowledge and ultimately organizational performances. In order to understand the connection of training in SCM and the performance of an organization, this paper considers of many arguments from various research papers. This paper presents the findings of a research which examines the relationship between training in SCM, personnel differentiation and business performance of manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The study measures perception of senior management regarding the incorporation of training in SCM and the level of personnel differentiation and business performance measurements in their companies. The associations between training in SCM, personnel differentiation and business performance dimensions are analyzed through methods such as Pearson’s correlations and Smart partial least squares (smart PLS) using 126 respondents’ data. The correlation results demonstrate that training in SCM has significant correlations with personnel differentiation determinants (comprises of variables namely employee differentiation and service differentiation). The findings also suggest that training in SCM has significant correlations with business performance determinants (comprises of indicators, namely market share, profitability, ROA and ROS). Specifically, both personnel differentiation and business performance have high correlations with training in SCM, namely ‘Employee training on production skills’, ‘On the job production employee training’ and ‘Management training on supply chain effectiveness’ and ‘Employee training on supply chain technologies’. The smart PLS result also reveals that training in SCM exhibits significant impact on both personnel differentiation (directly) and business performance (indirectly mediated by personnel differentiation). The findings of the study provide a demonstration of the importance of training in SCM in enhancing competitive performances in Malaysian manufacturing companies.

Keywords: training in SCM, personnel differentiation, business performance, Pearson’s correlation, Smart PLS

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Authors: H. Z. M. Chong, M. E. Y. Leong, G. L. Khor, S. C. Loke

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Vitamin D insufficiency is reported to be prevalent among women living in different altitudes including the equator where sunshine is available throughout the year. Multiple factors for vitamin D insufficiency include poor intake of vitamin D rich food and inadequate sun exposure, especially among women working indoor with a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, Muslim women in Malaysia whose attire covers the entire body are likely to receive poor sun exposure. This research determined serum vitamin D status, vitamin D intake and sun exposure of women aged 20-45 years of different ethnicity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Blood samples were collected from 106 women for determination of serum 25(OH)D levels. Information about vitamin D intake and sun exposure were obtained by interviewing the subjects using pre-tested questionnaires. The overall mean serum 25(OH)D was found to be 29.9 ± 14 nmol/L. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was prevalent and highest among the Malay women. Less than ten percent of the subjects in this study met the sufficient vitamin D level recommendation of ≥50 nmol/L. Intake of vitamin D rich food such as oily fishes was poor across the different ethnicity. Other dietary sources of vitamin D in the diet were fortified bread and skim milk. On the other hand, the median sunlight exposure of the subjects was 3.9 hours per week. The Malay women reported to have the highest duration being exposed to the sun. Nevertheless, due to cultural clothing practices, these women had the least body surface area exposed to sunlight, resulting in the lowest calculated sun index score compared to the Chinese and the Indians. Low intake of vitamin D rich foods and sun exposure were negatively correlated with serum 25(OH)D level. In conclusion, intake of food sources rich in vitamin D and adequate body surface area exposed to the sun are essential to ensure healthy vitamin D level. Supplementation of vitamin D may be recommended to women whom unable to meet these recommendations.

Keywords: serum 25-OH, sun exposure, vitamin D food frequency, vitamin D deficiency

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Authors: Mark Ivan Roblas

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The Science Explorer is a mobile learning science facility in the Philippines. It is a bus that travels to different provinces in the country bringing interactive science modules facilitated by scientists from the industry and academe. The project aims to entice students to get into careers in science through interactive science modules and interaction with real-life scientists. This article looks into the effectiveness of its modules as a communication source and message to encourage high school students to get into careers in the future. The study revealed that as the Science Explorer modules are able to retain students to stay in science careers of their choice and even convert some to choose from non-science to a science degree, it still lacks in penetrating the belief system of the students and influencing them to take a scientific career path.

Keywords: informal science, mobile science, science careers, science education

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Authors: Folajinmi Oluwasina, Towolawi Adetayo, Kate Ssamula, Penninah Iutung, Daniel Reijer

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Objective: Routine HIV screening has been promoted as an essential component of efforts to reduce incidence, morbidity, and mortality. The objectives of this study were to identify the optimal annual volume needed to realize the public health goals of HIV screening in the AIDS Healthcare Foundation supported hospitals and establish an implementation process to realize that optimal annual volume. Methods: Starting in 2011 a program was established to routinize HIV screening within communities and government hospitals. In 2016 Five-years of HIV screening data were reviewed to identify the optimal annual proportions of age-eligible patients screened to realize the public health goals of reducing new diagnoses and ending late-stage diagnosis (tracked as concurrent HIV/AIDS diagnosis). Analysis demonstrated that rates of new diagnoses level off when 42% of age-eligible patients were screened, providing a baseline for routine screening efforts; and concurrent HIV/AIDS diagnoses reached statistical zero at screening rates of 70%. Annual facility based targets were re-structured to meet these new target volumes. Restructuring efforts focused on right-sizing HIV screening programs to align and transition programs to integrated HIV screening within standard medical care and treatment. Results: Over one million patients were screened for HIV during the five years; 16, 033 new HIV diagnoses and access to care and treatment made successfully for 82 % (13,206), and concurrent diagnosis rates went from 32.26% to 25.27%. While screening rates increased by 104.7% over the 5-years, volume analysis demonstrated that rates need to further increase by 62.52% to reach desired 20% baseline and more than double to reach optimal annual screening volume. In 2011 facility targets for HIV screening were increased to reflect volume analysis, and in that third year, 12 of the 19 facilities reached or exceeded new baseline targets. Conclusions and Recommendation: Quantifying targets against routine HIV screening goals identified optimal annual screening volume and allowed facilities to scale their program size and allocate resources accordingly. The program transitioned from utilizing non-evidence based annual volume increases to establishing annual targets based on optimal volume analysis. This has allowed efforts to be evaluated on the ability to realize quantified goals related to the public health value of HIV screening. Optimal volume analysis helps to determine the size of an HIV screening program. It is a public health tool, not a tool to determine if an individual patient should receive screening.

Keywords: HIV screening, optimal volume, HIV diagnosis, routine

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Authors: Nattapol Pourprasert

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This study has an objective to analyze foreign policy of member states in globalization current, aiming to answer that the foreign policy of member states have been changed or remained the same and there are any factors affecting changing of foreign policy of the member states. From the study results, it is found that the foreign policy of Thailand is a friendly foreign policy with all states. The policy of Indonesia is more opened because of a change in leader, allowing more democratic development in the country; the government has proceeded with friendly foreign policy with the states in order to bring funds into the state. The foreign policy of Malaysia is not much changed as there is no changing in the leader; the policy of Malaysia has reconciled relations with main city of Indian and Chinese residing in the country in order to bring investments into the country and to relieve tensions in the country. The foreign policy of the Philippines has proceeded with policy under the ASEAN framework and emphasized on international Islam communities. The foreign policy of Singapore has the least changed as the Singapore's policy focuses on internal trade since the state was found. As for the foreign policy of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei has a little role in the international stage; the state having closest relationship as from the view of history is Singapore as the Singaporean has invested in retailing business in Brunei. The foreign policy of Vietnam has emphasized on an omnidirectional foreign policy in order to compete with several states in global stage. The foreign policy of Myanmar has proceeded with a friendly foreign policy with all ASEAN member states, the East-west Corridor transportation line from Myanmar through Thailand and Lao to Vietnam has been developed. As for the foreign policy of Lao, In 2001, the Thai government and Lao government held a discussion which Thailand reaffirmed the position not to support the anti-Lao group. The foreign policy of Cambodia has proceeded with more openness, having good relation with China, Russia and USA as these states has invested in the state, especially the US company.

Keywords: globalization, public policy analysis, foreign policy, ASEAN member states

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Authors: Abbas Mirakhorli

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A hub covering problem is a type of hub location problem that tries to maximize the coverage area with the least amount of installed hubs. There have not been many studies in the literature about multi-objective hubs covering location problems. Thus, in this paper, a bi-objective model for the hub covering problem is presented. The two objectives that are considered in this paper are the minimization of total transportation costs and the maximization of coverage of origin-destination nodes. A genetic algorithm is presented to solve the model when the number of nodes is increased. The genetic algorithm is capable of solving the model when the number of nodes increases by more than 20. Moreover, the genetic algorithm solves the model in less amount of time.

Keywords: facility location, hub covering, multi-objective optimization, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Zahrul Faizi M. S., Ali A., Norhuda A. M.

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Emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) from solid waste treatment and dependency on fossil fuel to produce electricity are the major concern in Malaysia as well as global. Innovation in downdraft gasification with combined heat and power (CHP) systems has the potential to minimize solid waste and reduce the emission of anthropogenic GHG from conventional fossil fuel power plants. However, the efficiency and capability of downdraft gasification to generate electricity from various alternative fuels, for instance, agriculture residues (i.e., woodchip, coconut shell) and municipal solid waste (MSW), are still controversial, on top of the toxicity level from the produced bottom ash. Thus this study evaluates the adaptability and reliability of the 20 kW downdraft gasification system to generate electricity (while considering environmental sustainability from the bottom ash) using flexible local feedstock at 20, 40, and 60% mixed ratio of MSW: agriculture residues. Feedstock properties such as feed particle size, moisture, and ash contents are also analyzed to identify optimal characteristics for the combination of feedstock (feedstock flexibility) to obtain maximum energy generation. Results show that the gasification system is capable to flexibly accommodate different feedstock compositions subjected to specific particle size (less than 2 inches) at a moisture content between 15 to 20%. These values exhibit enhance gasifier performance and provide a significant effect to the syngas composition utilizes by the internal combustion engine, which reflects energy production. The result obtained in this study is able to provide a new perspective on the transition of the conventional gasification system to a future reliable carbon-negative energy technology. Subsequently, promoting commercial scale-up of the downdraft gasification system.

Keywords: carbon-negative energy, feedstock flexibility, gasification, renewable energy

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Authors: Chansiri Singhtaun

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This paper proposes a mathematical model and examines the performance of an exact algorithm for a location–transportation problems in humanitarian relief. The model determines the number and location of distribution centers in a relief network, the amount of relief supplies to be stocked at each distribution center and the vehicles to take the supplies to meet the needs of disaster victims under capacity restriction, transportation and budgetary constraints. The computational experiments are conducted on the various sizes of problems that are generated. Branch and bound algorithm is applied for these problems. The results show that this algorithm can solve problem sizes of up to three candidate locations with five demand points and one candidate location with up to twenty demand points without premature termination.

Keywords: disaster response, facility location, humanitarian relief, transportation

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Authors: Stoyan Nedeltchev, Markus Schubert

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By means of the ultrafast X-ray tomography facility, data were obtained at different superficial gas velocities U_G in a bubble column (0.1 m in ID) operated with an air-deionized water system at ambient conditions. Raw reconstructed images were treated by both the information entropy (IE) and the reconstruction entropy (RE) algorithms in order to identify the main transition velocities in a bubble column. The IE values exhibited two well-pronounced minima at U_G=0.025 m/s and U_G=0.085 m/s identifying the boundaries of the homogeneous, transition and heterogeneous regimes. The RE extracted from the central region of the column’s cross-section exhibited only one characteristic peak at U_G=0.03 m/s, which was attributed to the transition from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous flow regime. This result implies that the transition regime is non-existent in the core of the column.

Keywords: bubble column, ultrafast X-ray tomography, information entropy, reconstruction entropy

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Authors: Ahmad Zulfahmi Mohd Kamaruzaman, Mohd Ismail Ibrahim, Ariffin Marzuki Mokhtar, Maizun Mohd Zain, Saiful Nazri Satiman, Mohd Najib Majdi Yaacob

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Background: Aftermath any patient safety incidents, the involved healthcare providers possibly sustained second victim-related distress (second victim distress and reduced their professional efficacy), with subsequent negative work-related outcomes or vice versa cultivating resilience. This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting negative work-related outcomes and resilience, with the triad of support; colleague, supervisor, and institutional support as the hypothetical mediators. Methods: This was a cross sectional study recruiting a total of 733 healthcare providers from three tertiary care in Kelantan, Malaysia. Three steps of hierarchical linear regression were developed for each outcome; negative work-related outcomes and resilience. Then, four multiple mediator models of support triad were analyzed. Results: Second victim distress, professional efficacy, and the support triad contributed significantly for each regression model. In the pathway of professional efficacy on each negative work-related outcomes and resilience, colleague support partially mediated the relationship. As for second victim distress on negative work related outcomes, colleague and supervisor support were the partial mediator, and on resilience; all support triad also produced a similar effect. Conclusion: Second victim distress, professional efficacy, and the support triad influenced the relationship with the negative work-related outcomes and resilience. Support triad as the mediators ameliorated the effect in between and explained the urgency of having good support for recovery post encountering patient safety incidents.

Keywords: second victims, patient safety incidents, hierarchical linear regression, mediation, support

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Authors: Mohamad Khairi Haji Othman, Mohd Zailani Mohd Yusoff, Rozalina Khalid

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The inculcation of noble values in teaching and learning is very important, especially to build students with good characters and values. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the challenges of implementing the inculcation of noble values in teaching in primary schools. This study was conducted at four North Zone Peninsular Malaysia schools. This study was used a qualitative approach in the form of case studies. The qualitative approach aims at gaining meaning and a deep understanding of the phenomenon studied from the perspectives of the study participants and not intended to make the generalization. The sample in this study consists of eight teachers who teach in four types of schools that have been chosen purposively. The method of data collection is through semi-structured interviews used in this study. The comparative method is continuously used in this study to analyze the primary data collected. The study found that the main challenges faced by teachers were students' problems and class control so that teachers felt difficult to the inculcation of noble values in teaching. In addition, the language challenge is difficult for students to understand. Similarly, peers are also challenging because students are more easily influenced by friends rather than listening to teachers' instructions. The last challenge was the influence of technology and mass media electronic more widespread. The findings suggest that teachers need to innovate in order to assist the school in inculcating religious and moral education towards the students. The school through guidance and counseling teachers can also plan some activities that are appropriate to the student's present condition. Through this study, teachers and the school should work together to develop the values of students in line with the needs of the National Education Philosophy that wishes to produce intelligent, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and social human capital.

Keywords: challenges, implementation, inculcation, noble values

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Authors: Vanessa Matias Leite, Jandira Guenka Palma, Flávio Henrique de Oliveira

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This paper presents a model-oriented development approach to software development in the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural standard. This approach aims to expose a process of extractions of information from the models, in which through rules and syntax defined in this work, assists in the design of the initial model and its future conversions. The proposed paper presents a syntax based on the natural language, according to the rules agreed in the classic grammar of the Portuguese language, added to the rules of conversions generating models that follow the norms of the Object Management Group (OMG) and the Meta-Object Facility MOF.

Keywords: BNF Syntax, model driven architecture, model-view-controller, transformation, UML

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Authors: Macdalyna Esther Ronie, Hasmadi Mamat, Ahmad Hazim Abdul Aziz, Mohamad Khairi Zainol

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Current trends in gluten-free food development are increasingly leaning towards the utilization of pigmented rice flour, with a particular focus on Bario Merah Sederhana (BMS), a red-pigmented rice native to Sarawak, Malaysia. This study delves into the evaluation of the nutritional, textural, and sensory attributes of gluten-free rice bread produced from a blend of BMS rice flour and potato starch. The resulting samples are denoted as F1 (100% BMS rice flour), F2 (90% BMS rice flour and 10% potato starch), F3 (80% BMS rice flour and 20% potato starch), and F4 (70% BMS rice flour and 30% potato starch). Comparatively, these gluten-free rice bread formulations exhibit higher levels of ash and crude fiber, along with lower carbohydrate content when juxtaposed with conventional wheat bread. Notably, the crude protein content of the rice bread diminishes significantly (p<0.05) as the proportion of rice flour decreases, primarily due to the higher protein content found in wheat flour. The crumb of the rice bread appears darker owing to the red pigment in the rice flour, while the crust is lighter than that of the control sample, possibly attributable to a reduced Maillard reaction. Among the various rice bread formulations, F4 stands out with the least dough and bread hardness, accompanied by the highest levels of stickiness and springiness in both dough and bread, respectively. In sensory evaluations, wheat bread garners the highest rating (p<0.05). However, within the realm of rice breads, F4 emerges as a viable and acceptable formulation, as indicated by its commendable scores in color (7.03), flavor (5.73), texture (6.03), and overall acceptability (6.18). These findings underscore the potential of BMS in the creation of gluten-free rice breads, with the formulation consisting of 70% rice flour and 30% potato starch emerging as a well-received and suitable option.

Keywords: gluten-free bread, bario rice, proximate composition, sensory evaluation

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Authors: Mohamed Roudane

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to know the dynamic behavior of a multi swirling jet used for air conditioning inside a room. To conduct this study, we designed a facility to ensure proper conditions of confinement in which we placed five air blowing devices with adjustable vanes, providing multiple swirling turbulent jets. The jets were issued in the same direction and the same spacing defined between them. This study concerned the numerical simulation of the dynamic mixing of confined swirling multi-jets, and examined the influence of important parameters of a swirl diffuser system on the dynamic performance characteristics. The CFD investigations are carried out by a hybrid mesh to discretize the computational domain. In this work, the simulations have been performed using the finite volume method and FLUENT solver, in which the standard k-ε RNG turbulence model was used for turbulence computations.

Keywords: simulation, dynamic behavior, swirl, turbulent jet

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Authors: Syahrul Bariah Abdul Hamid, Colin W. Binns, Jun Hui Chih

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The total of obese mothers is growing throughout Asia. Breastfeeding provides the perfect nutrition for infants, by promoting a higher IQ and protecting against childhood and adult diseases. A prospective cohort study was carried out of mothers attending eight antenatal clinics run by the Ministry of Health in Selangor, Malaysia to document the prevalence of obesity and its relationship with breastfeeding outcomes. Mothers were enrolled during the antenatal period and followed up until 6 months postpartum to document breastfeeding outcomes. A total of 652 Malay mothers were recruited for the study a response rate of 93.1 %. The pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of the mothers showed that 36.5% of the mothers were overweight or obese. There were a total of 78 obese mothers in the sample and 41 (52.6%) of these mothers were able to initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth compared to 238/337 (70.6 %, χ² 9.35, p<0.001) of those with a normal BMI. At 6 months, 23.1 % of obese mothers were exclusively breastfeeding their infants, compared to 56.0 % of the normal BMI mothers. On the other hand, the rate of infant formula feeding was higher in the obese mothers by 53.8 % compared to 19.0 % among normal weight mothers, χ² 37.6, p<0.001). Further analysis suggested these factors were found to be positively associated with discontinued exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months among obese mothers; mothers whom delayed breastfeeding initiation, had health problems during pregnancy, caesarean delivery, reported had insufficient colostrum/milk and babies had sucking problems at or before 4 weeks. Besides that, mothers who perceived their biological mothers had preference towards formula feeding or were ambivalent about the feeding method and had biological mothers without experience in breastfeeding for more than 1 month also were more likely to discontinue exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months. These findings suggested that the greater the pre-pregnant BMI, the earlier the cessation of exclusive breastfeeding and they were also less likely to initiate breastfeeding and have less adequate milk supply. Future investigations of the effects of maternal obesity on breastfeeding outcomes should be conducted along with effective interventions to advance the care of obese women at reproductive age and their children.

Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, body mass index (BMI), breastfeeding discontinuation, maternal obesity

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