Acanthamoeba spp. adalah patogenik dan berpotensi menyebabkan kebutaan melalui penyakit yang dikenali sebagai keratitis Acanthamoeba (AK) khususnya dalam kalangan pemakai kanta sentuh. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menilai kerentanan sista Acanthamoeba terhadap larutan disinfektan pelbagai guna kanta sentuh dengan menggunakan empat isolat Acanthamoeba iaitu dua isolat klinikal; HUKM 38, HKL 10 dan dua persekitaran; PBA 46 dan PBA 42. Lima jenis larutan disinfektan pelbagai guna; Complete®, Renu® fresh™, RevitaLens OcuTec®, Opti-Free® Express® dan Solo Care Aqua® telah diuji ke atas sista Acanthamoeba tersebut. Masa rendaman adalah berdasarkan masa yang disyorkan oleh pengeluar (4 jam dan 6 jam), 8 jam dan 24 jam. Setiap campuran sista dan larutan disinfektan kanta sentuh dipindahkan ke atas agar tanpa nutrien yang dilapisi Escherichia coli. Plat agar diperhatikan di bawah mikroskop songsang setiap hari sehingga hari ke-14 untuk melihat kehadiran trofozoit. Kelima-lima larutan disinfektan pelbagai guna kanta sentuh tidak efektif membunuh kesemua isolat sista Acanthamoeba yang diuji. Ini menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan larutan disinfektan pelbagai guna kanta sentuh tidak mempunyai aktiviti anti-Acanthamoeba yang sangat diperlukan bagi mencegah jangkitan keratitis Acanthamoeba dalam kalangan pengguna kanta sentuh.
Kedatangan spesies burung hijrah ke Hutan Paya Laut Matang, Perak merupakan suatu fenomena unik dan amat berpotensi untuk dikomersialkan. Namun begitu sejak sepuluh tahun kebelakangan ini kedatangan spesies burung hijrah ke kawasan ini mencatatkan penurunan yang membimbangkan. Pembangunan di sekitar kawasan Hutan Paya Laut Matang dikenal pasti menjadi faktor utama penurunan ini. Selain itu, pengurusan dan pemantauan terhadap spesies burung hijrah yang tidak bersistematik juga menyumbang kepada permasalahan ini. Kaedah pengurusan dan pemantauan burung hijrah secara konvensional masih diamalkan oleh Jabatan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (PERHILITAN) dalam merekod data dan maklumat yang diperoleh. Oleh itu kajian ini dilakukan dengan memperkenalkan pendekatan teknologi Sistem Maklumat Geografi (GIS) dan Penderiaan Jauh sebagai aplikasi utama yang dapat membantu dalam memperbaiki pengurusan dan pemantauan burung hijrah. Aplikasi GIS digunakan dalam memetakan data parameter kajian yang diperoleh menggunakan perisian yang bersesuaian iaitu ArcGIS 10.1 dan Penderiaan Jauh digunakan untuk memodelkan parameter kajian menggunakan aplikasi dalam perisian ERDAS Imagine 8.5. Sebanyak enam parameter kajian digunakan dalam kajian ini iaitu suhu, taburan hujan, makanan, ketinggian, gunatanah dan liputan tanah. Pemodelan setiap parameter kajian ini membolehkan kesan setiap parameter kajian terhadap taburan burung hijrah dalam suatu kawasan ditunjukkan dalam bentuk pemetaan. Hasil pemodelan ini juga membolehkan parameter yang terpenting dan paling mempengaruhi taburan burung hijrah bagi kawasan Hutan Paya Laut Matang dikenal pasti. Maklumat ini membolehkan DWNP lebih memahami keperluan burung hijrah dalam pemilihan habitat mereka. Selain itu, hasil pemodelan ini membantu DWNP dalam mengatur strategi pelaksanaan program pemeliharaan dan pemuliharaan di kawasan sekitar Hutan Paya Laut Matang bagi memastikan kedatangan spesies burung hijrah secara berterusan.
MeSH terms: Animals; Color; Imagination; Ecosystem; Geographic Information Systems; Gastropoda
Generic skills can be defined as “core skillsâ€, â€key competenciesâ€, â€underpinning skills†as well as “capabilitiesâ€. More recently, generic skills also include personal attributes that are linked with values and identity. The commonly accepted definition of generic skills is “those transferable skills which are essential for employability at some level for most†and the phrase “generic skills for employability†is now emerging as a common usage in public policy and research. This paper will discuss generic skills acquired by the students of one selected private university after they have undergone courses related in developing those skills. The findings from the research will be cross-related to generic skills from the Islamic perspectives. This is in line with views from Islamic scholars such as Imam as-Shafi’i whom had proposed that interpersonal skills will develop generic skills that could inculcate a holistic individual comprising of Self Concept and Personality, Communication, Conflict resolution and Leadership. These skills are vital in carving human capital to be an important asset for an organization to achieve its goal. The paper will also discuss the findings and its relation from Islamic perspectives in fulfilling every individual’s attributes and values so as to be compatible with Islamic values.
This study investigates the moderating role of individual-level cultural orientation and integrating style of conflict management on the relationship between subordinates’ depressive symptoms and job satisfaction in a collectivistic culture. The results from 390 Malaysian respondents revealed that subordinates with lower levels of depressive symptoms display higher job satisfaction, strengthening the Affective Events Theory. Horizontal collectivism, vertical collectivism, and integrating (as a style of conflict management) are hypothesized to buffer the negative consequences of depressive symptoms. Using the Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) analysis, results suggested a negative relationship between depressive symptoms and job satisfaction. Supporting our moderating hypothesis, integrating style had an impact on the level of job satisfaction, in which higher job satisfaction was reported for high rather than low use of integrating style. The results provide new insights into the influence of interpersonal relationships in the shaping of a subordinate’s well-being and in relation to the culture in which they are embedded. From a managerial standpoint, intervention and training designed to enhance subordinates’ job satisfaction focusing on interpersonal skills are recommended. This paper describes what is considered to be the first study to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and job satisfaction in investigating the role of Malaysia as a collectivistic country at the individual level.
Emotion regulation and academic performance are two important domains in achieving students’ life’s goals and objectives. It is crucial for students to have the right attitude and be fortified with effective emotion regulation strategies to handle the difficulties of daily life. Thus, a study to investigate the relationship between emotion regulations strategies, namely cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, and academic performance was carried out. Participants of the study comprised of 127 Psychology students, between the age of 21 to 25 years old, from international Islamic University Malaysia. A survey adapted from Emotion Regulation Questionnaires (ERQ) by Gross (2011) was distributed to the participants.Academic performance measures was derived from demographic background and students’ CGPA. Results revealed that there are different findings between the two emotion regulation strategies. This study found there is a significant relationship between Expressive Suppression and CGPA ; however, no significant relationship existed between Cognitive reappraisal and CGPA. Regression model revealed that both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression did not predict students’ academic performance.
Peningkatan jumlah kehamilan luar nikah dalam kalangan remaja perempuan sehingga awal dewasa membimbangkan ramai pihak. Kemahilan luar nikah bukan sahaja boleh mengundang kepada risiko jangkitan HIV/AIDS, malah ia juga boleh membawa kepada masalah lain seperti pembuangan bayi dan pengguguran. Kajian ini dilakukan adalah untuk melihat sejauhmana tahap ganguan kognitif, kemurungan, kesunyian, penghargaan kendiri dan sokongan sosial dalam kalangan wanita hamil tanpa nikah. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa subjek kajian mempunyai tahap sokongan sosial yang sederhana, gangguan kognitif yang rendah; kemurungan, kesunyian dan penghargaan kendiri yang sederhana. Hal ini menunjukkan bahawa wanita hamil tanpa nikah ini masih kurang mendapat sokongan sosial yang sewajarnya dan cenderung untuk mengalami kemurungan dan kesunyian yang berpanjangan. Cadangan intervensi turut dibincangkan di akhir perbincangan kajian.
Love and compassion is the most persuasive emotional attachment in the family. Mothers true love empower children survival in the world and hereafter. Thus, the research aims to understand on how the Malaysian exemplary mothers award winner (Ibu MithÄlÄ«) show their love and mercy to their children in order to develop parent-child attachment. To answer the research question, research was done using Grounded Theory approach. As a result, three main themes were emerged: physical touch, emotional touch and spiritual touch. Love and mercy from mothers are pertinent in child development. Therefore, mothers should nurture their children with love and compassion to balance firm discipline and strict rules in the family.
Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti adakah latihan kecerdasan emosi sosial yang dibentuk ini dapat meningkatkan tahap interpersonal. kajian reka bentuk kuasi eksperimental ini menggunakan laporan penilaian kendiri yang diberikan ketika ujian pra dan pasca setelah 14 minggu latihan. Setiap latihan adalah selama 2 jam seminggu. Pelajar tahun 2 daripada Psikologi, Universiti Malaysia Sabah menjadi peserta dalam kajian ini dan 19 orang pelajar dipilih masuk dalam kumpulan eksperimen dan menerima intervensi sementara 22 orang lagi pelajar dipilih untuk kumpulan kawalan. Pemilihan peserta adalah berdasarkan pelajar yang mendapat nilai rendah tahap kecerdasan emosi sosial menggunakan Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) yang mengandungi 133 item, dibahagikan kepada 5 komponen dan 15 sub skala. Ujian pra diberikan pada awal semester yang bertujuan untuk mendapatkan skor asas dan perbandingan untuk hasil selepas peserta menerima latihan menggunakan Modul Latihan Kecerdasan Emosi Sosial yang dibina sendiri oleh pengkaji. Analisis Wilcoxon dan juga mann-whitney digunakan untuk melihat perbezaan sebelum dan selepas Latihan Kecerdasan Emosi Sosial dalam kumpulan dan juga di antara kumpulan. Hasil kajian melaporkan kemahiran kecerdasan emosi sosial interpersonal telah meningkat selepas latihan diberikan kepada kumpulan rawatan. Manakala tiada terdapat peningkatan skor dalam kumpulan kawalan. Perbandingan di antara kumpulan kawalan dan kumpulan rawatan pula melaporkan terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan di antara kumpulan rawatan dan kumpulan kawalan. Secara kesimpulannya, latihan kecerdasan emosi sosial (interpersonal) telah memberikan kesan yang positif kepada peserta dalam kumpulan rawatan.
A board game has been designed in order to improve entrepreneurship among teenagers. This paper discusses about the development of the game and a preliminary study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a playing the board game in improving elements of entrepreneurship among the participants. Because entrepreneurship skill can be defined as skills in pursuing opportunities, a success in entrepreneurship is defined as success in pursuing opportunities, both Kirnzerian (discovery, exploitation) and Schumpeterian (creation, innovation) type. Features in the game is designed to represent the following psychological traits that literature suggested as elements of successful opportunity pursuing namely (1) self-esteem, (2) competitiveness, (3) resilience, (4) self-efficacy, (5) practical intelligence and (6) experience. In the preliminary study, a group of participants between 11 to 15 years old played the game twice a week for four weeks, where their behavior are observed during the game, and the collected data is analyzed in two cycles, namely in vivo and thematic analyses. At the moment this abstract is written, the participants had only been played twice; however some qualitative improvement can be seen in terms of competitiveness, resilience, and practical intelligence. It is suggested that the research be done on larger samples, conducted in mixed methods, and the game to be introduced to public in order to arouse entrepreneurship in early ages.
The indigenous personality dimensions of the Malaysian people were investigated by examining: (a) the trait adjective nouns provided by the cultural informants; (b) factor analyses of the items and factors capturing the personality trait adjectives. University undergraduate students of different racial background (N= 250) completed an open ended questionnaire about common personality trait adjectives and their associated behavioral exemplars. More than 20 desirable and non-desirable personality trait adjectives were identified through the open-ended questionnaire After selecting and refining the most frequently cited personality trait adjectives, items were developed based on the given behavioral and situational examples. In the following study, 1087 other university students completed the personality questionnaire. We combined the items of desirable and undesirable traits and factor analyze the 419 items in a series of incremental factor rotations. Congruence indices suggest the existence 4 factors of personality dimension. Good reliability and interpretable factors provide sufficient support for the indigenous dimensions of personality traits among Malaysians. Further comprehensive study involving relating the dimensions to the universal model of personality is recommended.
MeSH terms: Factor Analysis, Statistical; Personality; Personality Disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires; Rotation; Students; Universities; Reproducibility of Results
Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menguji kesahan dan kebolehpercayaan instrumen Inventori Stereotaip Multi Etnik Malaysia (ISMEM) menggunakan analisis faktor eksploratori (EFA). Fasa kualitatif menggunakan kaedah temu bual mendalam dan kaedah perbincangan kumpulan berfokus. Kaedah kualitatif adalah untuk meneroka konsep stereotaip dalam kalangan etnik. Fasa kuantitatif melibatkan pembentukan item berdasarkan tema dan kategori yang telah dibina daripada fasa kualitatif. Seramai 1,000 orang pelajar universiti terlibat dalam fasa kuantitatif. Instrumen ISMEM telah membentuk dua komponen utama iaitu Anteseden Stereotaip dan Fenomena Stereotaip. Penilaian psikometrik ISMEM melibatkan i) pengujian kesahan konstruk Komponen Anteseden Stereotaip dan Komponen Fenomena Stereotaip; (ii) menentukan kesahan konvergen antara Komponen Anteseden Stereotaip dan Komponen Fenomena Stereotaip; (iii) menguji kebolehpercayaan pekali Cronbach Alpha Komponen Anteseden Stereotaip dan Komponen Fenomena Stereotaip dan (iv) meneliti kualiti item Komponen Anteseden Stereotaip dan Komponen Fenomena Stereotaip. Penilaian terhadap kesesuaian data untuk analisis faktor dilakukan dahulu sebelum penilaian psikometri dilakukan. Nilai korelasi (r≥.30) antara item bagi komponen anteseden stereotaip dan fenomena stereotaip mencadangkan pemfaktoran yang munasabah. Hasil pengujian kesahan konstruk seperti Ujian Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin, Bartlettt’s Test of Sphereity, nilai komunaliti, nilai muatan faktor , nilai Eigen faktor dan peratusan varians pada kedua-dua Komponen Anteseden Stereotaip dan Komponen Fenomena Stereotaip adalah munasabah. Nilai kebolehpercayaan Cronbach Alpha bagi Komponen Anteseden Stereotaip (α = .897 -.933) dan Komponen Fenomena Stereotaip (α = .706 -.821) juga adalah baik. Oleh itu, hasil kajian mencadangkan bahawa instrumen ISMEM adalah alat ukur yang boleh dipercayai dan sah. Walau bagaimanapun, kajian lanjutan perlu dilakukan ke atas sampel lain untuk mengesahkan lagi instrumen.
The current era of globalization has seen a pandemic rise in the number of patients with chronic diseases including end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This led to the study of various factors that affect patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). One of the factors that is getting attention lately is the role of religious coping strategies and how it affects the quality of life of patients with chronic patients. Therefore, the present study examined the role of religious coping strategies (RCS) as a mediator between depression and HRQoL of ESRD patients. It was a cross sectional study, involved 274 ESRD patients who is undergoing dialysis treatment at dialysis centre in the Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Instruments used were the Short Form-36 (SF-36), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II), and Religious Coping Strategies (RCS). Results showed that there were significant correlations between depression and RCS with HRQoL (Physical component summary PCS] and Mental Component Summary MCS]). Meanwhile, religious coping was a partial mediator between depression with PCS and MCS. The results of this study will facilitate health practitioners in developing appropriate interventions that take into account the role of religion to improve patient quality of life towards a more positive and effective manner.
MeSH terms: Adult; China/ethnology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Female; Humans; India/ethnology; Malaysia/ethnology; Male; Quality of Life
The purpose of this study was to examine and identify whether factors such as previous academic result (SPM), gender and time management could determine differences among students, based on academic performance or grade point average (GPA). A total of 551 undergraduate students from four universities participated in the study. Students with a GPA of 3.50 or greater significantly differed in their level of time management than those with a GPA of less than 2.50. In terms of gender, female students were found to have higher GPA than male students. However, students enrolled with excellent SPM result did not differ significantly in term of their GPA from students enrolled with low SPM result. Results from ANOVA and t-test showed that time management and gender, not previous academic result, were the important factors to distinguish students with low or high academic performance. The implication of this study showed that academic excellence among undergraduates did not rely solely on previous academic result, but the role of time management and gender did play significant factors in distinguishing high achievers vs low achievers.
MeSH terms: Achievement; Analysis of Variance; Female; Male; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Students; Universities; RNA-Binding Proteins; Time Management
The main foundation in the strategic transformational framework of Malaysian Public Services 2009-2015 is to make certain more transformational leaders were born and having noble values and integrity. Dilpomatic Officer (PTD) are among the higher leaders in public services responsible for making sure that the strategies were successfully implemented. The question here is do the PTD sucessfully strengthen their personality and personal value matched with the strategic transformation foundation of the public sector. Using the Big Five Personality Model and the basic personal values of the public sector, the aim of this research is to identify the persoanlity factors and basic personal values of PTD after going through the transformation since 2009. The personality measurement IPIP by Goldberg was used to measure the five personality factors. The basic personal values questionnaire was developed by the researchers. Two hunderd sixty five PTD were chosen as respondents using purposive sampling. Data collected were then analyzed using CFA and SEM with the SPSS.15 and AMOS 5.0. Findings showed that the PTDs have matched personality factors and basic personal values with strategic foundation transformation demand that is transformational leadership and having noble values and integrity. The personality factors conscientiousness, openess and not easily agreeable influence 34% of the variance for basic personal values. The findings confirmed that the factor personality and basic personal values need to be paid attention in the development of PTD so that the transformational leadership can be sustained.
This qualitative study has been done to 24 teachers and 72 students from various secondary schools in Penang, Malaysia, related to the effect of between class ability grouping (BCAG). Studies reported that BCAG triggered correspondence bias among teachers, which eventually affect them to show different perception and expectations towards high achiever classes (HAC) and low achiever classes (LAC) students. However, even teachers tend to expect HAC students not to be significantly involved in disciplinary problems; they still do, such as distrusting schoolteachers, paying less attention to in the classroom, doing external work during classes at school, and being blatantly arrogant to the teachers. Semi-structured interview have been utilized in order to collect the data, and two-cycled analyses method, namely In-Vivo and Thematic Analyses has been operated in order to analyze the massive amount of qualitative data. Findings of this study showed that the disciplinary problems among HAC are related to their self-esteem types due to locus of control difference, as well as bigger issues apart from the competition among themselves. School management system, BCAG itself, and reciprocal envy between HAC and LAC students, as well as their inclination towards tuition centers contributed to disciplinary problems among HAC students.
Equity theory suggests that perceiving equity leads to better relationship outcomes than perceiving inequity. However, cultural and relationship differences in tolerance for inequity have been found, suggesting that those from more individualistic cultures may have less tolerance for inequity with friends than those from more collectivistic cultures, with the latter group discriminating more clearly in their reactions to friends and strangers. In our first study, Kadazandusun (N=282) and Australian (N=255) participants evaluated their actual reciprocity in social support with a close friend. In our second study, 103 South East Asians and 128 Australians were randomly assigned to respond to a scenario presenting equity or inequity (underbenefit or overbenefit) with either a close friend or stranger. Study 1 found that participants from both cultures reported reduced desires for future interaction, positive feelings and closeness when they experienced under-benefit as compared to over-benefit or equity. In Study 2, participants from both cultures also reported reduced desires for future interaction, positive feelings and trust when there was inequity and reported a more negative reaction to a stranger than a close friend. These findings are consistent with equity theory and support its cross-cultural applicability.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the types of coping strategies to overcome daily obstacles and depression which are practicing by secondary school students in Sabah. Specifically, this survey study is conducted to 1) compare the types of coping strategies and depression based on the gender and the educational level of students, 2) the relationship between the types of coping strategies and depression levels. A total of 2746 students ranging from 13 to 19 years old from 18 secondary schools in Sabah had been chosen as respondents. The Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS) (1993) is used to measure the coping strategies of students and the Beck Depression Index-II (BDI-II) (1996) is to measure the students’ level of depression. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentage, mean and standard deviation) while the independent sample t-test and Pearson correlation were used to test the inferential statistics. The result indicated that there were differences in types of coping strategies between gender and educational level (i.e. lower secondary and upper secondary). Result also showed that there was a significant relationship between coping strategies with the students’ level of depression. Hence, several implications and suggestions are highlighted in this paper.
Kemahiran keibubapaan, kefungsian keluarga dan kesejahteraan psikologi dalam kalangan ibubapa adalah tiga aspek yang sangat penting untuk menjamin kesejahteraan sesebuah keluarga. Kajian dalam kalangan 187 orang ibu dan bapa ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti tahap kemahiran keibubapaan dan kefungsian keluarga serta hubungan antara kedua pemboleh ubah ini. Selain daripada itu hubungan antara kefungsian keluarga dengan kesejahteraan psikologi juga dikaji. Perbezaan antara jantina bagi ketiga-tiga pemboleh ubah tersebut juga dikaji. Dapatan menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara kemahiran keibubapaan dengan kefungsian keluarga, serta kefungsian keluarga dengan kesejahteraan psikologi. Manakala ujian t pula menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan kemahiran keibubapaan antara lelaki dengan wanita, tetapi tidak terdapat perbezaan dari aspek kefungsian keluarga dan kesejahteraan psikologi. Implikasi kajian ini menunjukkan kepentingan kemahiran keibubapaan dan kefungsian keluarga dalam mencapai kesejahteraan psikologi.
Citation: National Health Morbidity Survey 2015: Kuala Lumpur: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, 2015
Study name: National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-2015)
Volume I - Methodology & General Findings
http://iku.gov.my/images/IKU/Document/REPORT/nhmsreport2015vol1.pdf
Volume II. Non-Communicable Diseases, Risk Factors & Other Health Problems
http://iku.gov.my/images/IKU/Document/REPORT/nhmsreport2015vol2.pdf
Volume III. Healthcare Demand
http://iku.gov.my/images/IKU/Document/REPORT/NHMS2015-VolumeIII.pdf
Volume IV. Traditional and Complementary Medicine
http://iku.gov.my/images/IKU/Document/REPORT/NHMS2015-VolumeIV.pdf
Volume V. Report on Smoking Among Malaysian Adults
http://iku.gov.my/images/IKU/Document/REPORT/NHMS2015-VolumeV.pdf
MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Health Surveys; Humans; Malaysia