Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 41 in total

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  1. Mustafar F, Harvey MA, Khani A, Arató J, Rainer G
    eNeuro, 2018 07 11;5(4).
    PMID: 30073190 DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0167-18.2018
    Our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of learning and behavior relies on the use of invasive techniques, which necessitate the use of animal models. However, when different species learn the same task, to what degree are they actually producing the same behavior and engaging homologous neural circuitry? This question has received virtually no recent attention, even as the most powerful new methodologies for measuring and perturbing the nervous system have become increasingly dependent on the use of murine species. Here, we test humans, rats, monkeys, and an evolutionarily intermediate species, tree shrews, on a three alternative, forced choice, visual contrast discrimination task. As anticipated, learning rate, peak performance, and transfer across contrasts was lower in the rat compared to the other species. More interestingly, rats exhibited two major behavioral peculiarities: while monkeys and tree shrews based their choices largely on visual information, rats tended to base their choices on past reward history. Furthermore, as the task became more difficult, rats largely disengaged from the visual stimulus, reverting to innate spatial predispositions in order to collect rewards near chance probability. Our findings highlight the limitation of muridae as models for translational research, at least in the area of visually based decision making.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  2. Sharifat H, Suppiah S
    Med J Malaysia, 2021 05;76(3):401-413.
    PMID: 34031341
    INTRODUCTION: Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is an umbrella term for various types of Internet-based behavioural addiction, whereas Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) addresses a specific type of IAD that is postulated to be due to a lack of control in impulse inhibition. IGD is an area of concern in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which can be objectively assessed by dysfunctional behaviour and the increasing time of being online, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Electroencephalography (EEG) identifies amplitude changes in the evoked response potential (ERP) among IGDs, correlated with underlying comorbidities.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A scoping review was performed to elaborate on the research regarding resting-state EEG and task-based EEG, particularly for Go/No-go paradigms pertaining to subjects with IAD or specifically IGD. The role of EEG was identified in its diagnostic capability to identify the salient changes that occurred in the response to reward network and the executive control network, using restingstate and task-based EEG. The implication of using EEG in monitoring the therapy for IAD and IGD was also reviewed.

    RESULTS: EEG generally revealed reduced beta waves and increased theta waves in addicts. IGD with depression demonstrated increased theta and decreased alpha waves. Whereas increased P300, a late cognitive ERP component, was frequently associated with impaired excessive allocation of attentional resources of the IAD towards addiction-specific cues. IGD had increased whole brain delta waves at baseline, which showed significant reduction post therapy.

    CONCLUSION: EEG can identify distinct neurophysiological changes among Internet Addiction Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder that are akin to substance abuse disorders.

    Matched MeSH terms: Reward*
  3. Wan Nasru WN, Ab Razak A, Yaacob NM, Wan Azman WN
    Malays J Pathol, 2021 Apr;43(1):25-32.
    PMID: 33903302
    INTRODUCTION: The amino acids that function as co-agonists at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor have been investigated in bipolar disorder (BD). However, studies comparing amino acid levels in the plasma of BD patients with healthy controls have yielded inconsistent results. We, therefore, conducted a study in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia to determine the plasma levels of glutamate, glycine, and alanine in BD patients and compared them with the healthy controls.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: An overnight fast of 10-hour plasma levels of glutamate, glycine, alanine, and tryptophan were measured in 83 bipolar patients, and were compared to a group of 82 healthy controls.

    RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of bipolar patients was 40.9 (12.1), while the mean (SD) age for control groups was 35.6 (7.7) years. The median (25th, 75th percentile) of glutamate and alanine levels in bipolar patients was 111.0 (65.0,176.0) and 530.0 (446.0,629.0), respectively, while the mean (SD) of glycine level in bipolar patients was 304.0 (98.1). Significant higher glutamate, glycine, and alanine levels were found in bipolar disorder patients in the manic episode as compared to the healthy controls.

    CONCLUSION: Although the exact relationship between peripheral NMDA receptor co-agonist levels in the pathogenesis of BD is not well understood, these findings should be explored and may enlighten some new paths for BD therapy which could reward the patients also clinicians.

    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  4. Rakhshani F, Moghaddam AA, Shahraki-Sanavi F, Mohammadi M, Fakhrerahimi S
    Malays J Med Sci, 2018 Mar;25(2):82-94.
    PMID: 30918458 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2018.25.2.9
    Background: This study was carried out on Iranian female adolescents to understand health needs for the purpose of designing health promoting intervention in schools.

    Methods: In this exploratory qualitative study, two focus group discussion (15 teachers) and 30 individual in-depth interviews were conducted among female adolescents in the eighth grade in Zahedan, Iran. Qualitative content analysis was used for data evaluation.

    Results: The views of students and teachers demonstrated nine of needs including: informing students about the schools' health project aims, education and training all dimensions of health with an emphasis on mental health, use of experts in various fields for education from other organisations, employing capable and trusted counselors in schools, utilisation of a variety of teaching methods, activating reward systems for encouraging students' participation in group activities, teaching communication and the ability to establish good relationships with parents and strategies for resolving family conflict, teaching parents and students high-risk behaviours and strategies for handling them as well as reforming wrong attitudes and indigenous sub-culture.

    Conclusion: This study found the different needs of Iranian female students compared to other cultures about a health promoting school programme. Therefore, their contribution can provide an insight for formulating policies and intervention in schools.

    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  5. Babu MGR, Kadavigere R, Koteshwara P, Sathian B, Rai KS
    Sci Rep, 2020 09 30;10(1):16177.
    PMID: 32999361 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73221-x
    Studies provide evidence that practicing meditation enhances neural plasticity in reward processing areas of brain. No studies till date, provide evidence of such changes in Rajyoga meditation (RM) practitioners. The present study aimed to identify grey matter volume (GMV) changes in reward processing areas of brain and its association with happiness scores in RM practitioners compared to non-meditators. Structural MRI of selected participants matched for age, gender and handedness (n = 40/group) were analyzed using voxel-based morphometric method and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) scores were correlated. Significant increase in OHQ happiness scores were observed in RM practitioners compared to non-meditators. Whereas, a trend towards significance was observed in more experienced RM practitioners, on correlating OHQ scores with hours of meditation experience. Additionally, in RM practitioners, higher GMV were observed in reward processing centers-right superior frontal gyrus, left inferior orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and bilateral precuneus. Multiple regression analysis showed significant association between OHQ scores of RM practitioners and reward processing regions right superior frontal gyrus, left middle OFC, right insula and left anterior cingulate cortex. Further, with increasing hours of RM practice, a significant positive association was observed in bilateral ventral pallidum. These findings indicate that RM practice enhances GMV in reward processing regions associated with happiness.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward*
  6. Chin WC, Zaidi Isa, Abu Hassan Shaari Mohd Nor
    This study investigates the value-at-risk (VaR) using nonlinear time-varying volatility (ARCH model) and extreme-value-theory (EVT) methodologies. Similar VaR estimation and prediction are observes under the EVT and heavy-tailed long-memory ARCH approaches. The empirical results evidence the EVT-based VaR are more accurate but only at higher quantiles. It is also found that EVT approach is able to provide a convenient framework for asymmetric properties in both the lower and upper tails which implies that the risk and reward are not equally likely for the short- and long-trading positions in Malaysian stock market.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  7. De Meyer H, Tripp G, Beckers T, van der Oord S
    Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol, 2021 09;49(9):1165-1178.
    PMID: 33792820 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-021-00781-5
    When children with ADHD are presented with behavioral choices, they struggle more than Typically Developing [TD] children to take into account contextual information necessary for making adaptive choices. The challenge presented by this type of behavioral decision making can be operationalized as a Conditional Discrimination Learning [CDL] task. We previously showed that CDL is impaired in children with ADHD. The present study explores whether this impairment can be remediated by increasing reward for correct responding or by reinforcing correct conditional choice behavior with situationally specific outcomes (Differential Outcomes). An arbitrary Delayed Matching-To-Sample [aDMTS] procedure was used, in which children had to learn to select the correct response given the sample stimulus presented (CDL). We compared children with ADHD (N = 45) and TD children (N = 49) on a baseline aDMTS task and sequentially adapted the aDMTS task so that correct choice behavior was rewarded with a more potent reinforcer (reward manipulation) or with sample-specific (and hence response-specific) reinforcers (Differential Outcomes manipulation). At baseline, children with ADHD performed significantly worse than TD children. Both manipulations (reward optimization and Differential Outcomes) improved performance in the ADHD group, resulting in a similar level of performance to the TD group. Increasing the reward value or the response-specificity of reinforcement enhances Conditional Discrimination Learning in children with ADHD. These behavioral techniques may be effective in promoting the learning of adaptive behavioral choices in children with ADHD.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  8. Sirageldin, Abubakr, Baharum Baharudin, Low, Tang Jung
    MyJurnal
    Developing a trust management scheme in mobile computing environment is increasingly important,
    and the effective trust management model is a challenging task. Business, education, military, and
    entertainment have motivated the growth of ubiquitous and pervasive computing environments, which are always available due to the widespread of portable and embedded devices. Wireless and mobile computing are good example of ubiquitous and pervasive computing environments. Due to the uncertainty and mobility in such environments, the issue of trust has been regarded as an important security problem. Malicious nodes are a major threat to these networks; the trust system can monitor the behaviour of nodes and accordingly rewards well-behaved nodes and punishes misbehaving ones. At present, there are a lot of endeavours on the trust model of the pervasive computing environment. In this paper, a trust management framework for mobile computing is presented. The hybrid framework is based on a fusion of the support vector machine (SVM) and fuzzy logic system. From the results, it can be stated that the framework is effective, dynamic, lightweight, and applicable.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  9. Masum AK, Azad MA, Hoque KE, Beh LS, Wanke P, Arslan Ö
    PeerJ, 2016;4:e1896.
    PMID: 27168960 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1896
    The aim of this study was to identify the facets influencing job satisfaction and intention to quit of nurses employed in Turkey. Using a non-probability sampling technique, 417 nurses from six large private hospitals were surveyed from March 2014 to June 2014. The nurses' demographic data, their job-related satisfaction and turnover intentions were recorded through a self-administered questionnaire. In this study, descriptive and bivariate analyses were used to explore data, and multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression. Nurses' job satisfaction was found at a moderate level with 61% of the nurses intended to quit. Nevertheless, nurses reported a high satisfaction level with work environment, supervisor support, and co-workers among the selected nine facets of job satisfaction. They also reported a low satisfaction level with contingent reward, fringe benefits, and pay. The impact of demographic characteristics on job satisfaction and intention to quit was also examined. The study revealed a negative relationship between job satisfaction and intention to quit the existing employment. Moreover, satisfaction with supervisor support was the only facet that significantly explained turnover intent when controlling for gender, age, marital status, education, and experience. The implications for nurse management were also described for increasing nurses' job satisfaction and retention. This study is beneficial for hospital management to ensure proper nursing care that would lead to a better quality healthcare service.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  10. Effendy MA, Yunusa S, Zain ZM, Hassan Z
    Neurosci Lett, 2021 10 15;763:136183.
    PMID: 34418508 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.136183
    BACKGROUND: Mitragynine, the major indole alkaloid from Mitragyna speciosa has been reported previously to possess abuse liability. However, there are insufficient data suggesting the mechanism through which this pharmacological agent causes addiction.

    AIMS: In this study, we investigated the effects of mitragynine on dopamine (DA) level and dopamine transporter (DAT) expression from the rat's frontal cortex.

    METHODS: DA level was recorded in the brain samples of animals treated with acute or repeated exposure for 4 consecutive days with either vehicle or mitragynine (1 and 30 mg/kg) using electrochemical sensor. Animals were then decapitated and the brain regions were removed, snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and immediately stored at -80 °C. DA level was quantified using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits and DAT gene expression was determined using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

    RESULTS/OUTCOME: Mitragynine (1 and 30 mg/kg) did not increase DA release following acute treatment, however, after repeated exposure at day 4, mitragynine significantly and dose dependently increased DA release in the frontal cortex. In this study, we also observed a significant increase in DAT mRNA expression at day 4 in group treated with mitragynine (30 mg/kg).

    CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: Data from this study indicates that mitragynine significantly increased DA release when administered repeatedly, increased in DAT mRNA expression with the highest tested dose (30 mg/kg). Therefore, the rewarding effects observed after mitragynine administration could be due to its ability to increase DA content in certain areas of the brain especially the frontal cortex.

    Matched MeSH terms: Reward*
  11. Loganathan K, Lv J, Cropley V, Ho ETW, Zalesky A
    Neuroscience, 2021 01 01;452:295-310.
    PMID: 33242540 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.026
    The process of valuation assists in determining if an object or course of action is rewarding. Delay discounting is the observed decay of a rewards' subjective value over time. Encoding the subjective value of rewards across a spectrum has been attributed to brain regions belonging to the valuation and executive control systems. The valuation system (VS) encodes reward value over short and long delays, influencing reinforcement learning and reward representation. The executive control system (ECS) becomes more active as choice difficulty increases, integrating contextual and mnemonic information with salience signals in the modulation of decision-making. Here, we aimed to identify resting-state functional connectivity-based patterns of the VS and ECS correlated with value-setting and delay discounting (outside-scanner paradigm) in a large (n = 992) cohort of healthy young adults from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). Results suggest the VS may be involved in value-setting of small, immediate rewards while the ECS may be involved in value-setting and delay discounting for large and small rewards over a range of delays. We observed magnitude sensitive connections involving the posterior cingulate cortex, time-sensitive connections with the ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortex while connections involving the posterior parietal cortex appeared both magnitude- and time-sensitive. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex could act as "comparator" regions, weighing the value of small rewards against large rewards across various delay duration to aid in decision-making.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  12. Singh R, Bansal Y, Parhar I, Kuhad A, Soga T
    Neurochem Int, 2019 12;131:104545.
    PMID: 31494132 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2019.104545
    Neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) exert a devastating impact on an individual's personal and social well-being, encompassing various conditions and brain anomalies that influence affect, cognition, and behavior. Because the pathophysiology of NPDs is multifactorial, the precise mechanisms underlying the development of such disorders remain unclear, representing a unique challenge in current neuropsychopharmacotherapy. Transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) type channels are a family of ligand-gated ion channels that mainly include sensory receptors that respond to thermal, mechanical and chemical stimuli. TRPV channels are abundantly present in dopaminergic neurons, thus playing a pivotal role in the modulation of the reward system and in pathophysiology of diseases such as stress, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, neurodegenerative disorders and substance abuse/addiction. Recent evidence has highlighted TRPV channels as potential targets for understanding modulation of the reward system and various forms of addiction (opioids, cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, nicotine, cannabis). In this review, we discuss the distribution, physiological roles, ligands and therapeutic importance of TRPV channels with regard to NPDs and addiction biology.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  13. Mushtaq F, Wilkie RM, Mon-Williams MA, Schaefer A
    Neuroimage, 2016 Jan 15;125:868-879.
    PMID: 26497268 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.046
    Substantial evidence indicates that decision outcomes are typically evaluated relative to expectations learned from relatively long sequences of previous outcomes. This mechanism is thought to play a key role in general learning and adaptation processes but relatively little is known about the determinants of outcome evaluation when the capacity to learn from series of prior events is difficult or impossible. To investigate this issue, we examined how the feedback-related negativity (FRN) is modulated by information briefly presented before outcome evaluation. The FRN is a brain potential time-locked to the delivery of decision feedback and it is widely thought to be sensitive to prior expectations. We conducted a multi-trial gambling task in which outcomes at each trial were fully randomised to minimise the capacity to learn from long sequences of prior outcomes. Event-related potentials for outcomes (Win/Loss) in the current trial (Outcomet) were separated according to the type of outcomes that occurred in the preceding two trials (Outcomet-1 and Outcomet-2). We found that FRN voltage was more positive during the processing of win feedback when it was preceded by wins at Outcomet-1 compared to win feedback preceded by losses at Outcomet-1. However, no influence of preceding outcomes was found on FRN activity relative to the processing of loss feedback. We also found no effects of Outcomet-2 on FRN amplitude relative to current feedback. Additional analyses indicated that this effect was largest for trials in which participants selected a decision different to the gamble chosen in the previous trial. These findings are inconsistent with models that solely relate the FRN to prediction error computation. Instead, our results suggest that if stable predictions about future events are weak or non-existent, then outcome processing can be determined by affective systems. More specifically, our results indicate that the FRN is likely to reflect the activity of positive affective systems in these contexts. Importantly, our findings indicate that a multifactorial explanation of the nature of the FRN is necessary and such an account must incorporate affective and motivational factors in outcome processing.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward*
  14. Vijeepallam K, Pandy V, Murugan DD, Naidu M
    Metab Brain Dis, 2019 12;34(6):1713-1722.
    PMID: 31396844 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-019-00477-2
    In the current study, the effect of methanolic extract of Mitragyna speciosa leaf (MMS) against the rewarding and reinforcing properties of ethanol using a mouse model of conditioned place preference (CPP) and runway model of drug self-administration was studied. Subsequently, the effect of MMS on dopamine level in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of the mouse brain was further investigated. From the data obtained, MMS (50 and 75 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly reversed the ethanol-place preference in mice, which is similar to the effect observed in the reference drugs acamprosate (300 mg/kg, p.o.) and clozapine (1 mg/kg, p.o.) treatment groups in CPP test. Likewise, the escalating doses of ethanol-conditioned mice reduced the runtime to reach goal box, infers the positive reinforcing effects of alcohol. Interestingly, MMS (50, 75 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly prolonged the runtime in ethanol-conditioned mice. Besides, MMS (50 and 75 mg/kg, p.o.) and reference drugs; acamprosate (300 mg/kg, p.o.) and clozapine (1 mg/kg, p.o.) treated mice significantly decreased the alcohol-induced elevated dopamine level in the NAc region of the brain. Overall, this study provides first evidence that MMS inhibits ethanol seeking behaviour in mice. Based on these findings, we suggest that Mitragyna speciosa may well be utilized for novel drug development to combat alcohol dependence.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward*
  15. Adlina, S., Narimah, A.H.H., Hakimi, Z.A., N Adilah, H., N Syuhada, Y.
    MyJurnal
    Employee satnfaction surveys can provide the information needed to improved levek of productivity, job and loyalty. Management can identify the factors of job issues and provide solutions to improve the working environment. A cross sectional descriptive study on employee satisfaction among a health care district office’s staff was conducted in Perak in March - April 2006. A total of 19 staff were randomly picked and interviewed in the data collection process. Almost all understand the objectives of the administration unit (94%) and were satisfied with the management leadership’s style (78%- l 00%) . Majority agreed that their relationship with immediate superior and within the group was harmonious and professional (89%) and they preferred an open problem solving method in handling conflict (72 %). The most common type of incentive rewarded by the administration to express gratitude to their staff was certificate (56%); bonus and medal (33%); and informal gesture (28%). Majority (83%) were also satisfied by the method used to disseminate the information in their units. Majority agreed that the working environment in the administration unit were conducive (72%), their ideas were equally considered during decision making sessions (89%) and training opportunities were similarly given to them by the management (72%). This study revealed that employee satisfaction was determined by several factors such as management leadership's style, opportunity to contribute skills and idea; reward and incentive; and conducive king environment.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  16. Sharifa Ezat, A., Aljunid, S.M.
    MyJurnal
    A cross·sectional study was done to determine the capacity of Public Health Inspectors in Selangor using a seh administered questionnaire and universal sampling, to determine the enforcement of public health legislation and its influencing factors. A total of 99 respondents from the District Health Offices and 100 respondents from the Local Health Departments participated. The level of enforcement is generally low in all the units except for the Food Unit and Sanitary and Hygiene Units. Factors influencing enforcement of Public Health Legislations are the unit where the respondents worlc and the length of service with the unit. Further analysis using multiple logistic regression, found that respondents from the Food Unit (OR ZZ; 95% C1: 7 .9-58.9 ) , being in the
    U8 category (OR 5; 95% C1: l.4» 17.6), service offour years and above in the same unit (OR 6; 95% C1: 2.2»13.8) , received service rewards (OR 3; 95% C1 : 1.2· 6.9); low exposure to bribery (OR 46; 95% C1: 2.3·100.0) and offered bribes while on the field (OR 3; 95% C1: 1.02» 4.8) have higher kvel enforcement performance. Attention must be given to the enforcement organization with respect to duration of service, service awards and monitoring of bribes exposure to help develop the enforcement of public health legislations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  17. Rakesh, S., Hazli, Z., Ahmad Nabil, M.R.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: Individuals with ADHD are known to have more risk of developing substance use disorder (SUD). However the underlying mechanisms behind it are not straightforward. Method: We report a case of an adult with ADHD, who has a long standing history of polysubstance use, since the age of 10. He had multiple relapses, even after numerous efforts undertaken to keep him drug-free. Result: ADHD symptoms were not optimally treated during admission. He had preference towards opioid-based and amphetamine-type substances in order to attain euphoria. Conclusion: Taking into account the biological and psycho-social condition of this man, we discussed the role of ADHD from the perspective of dysfunctional rewards system and other possible factors in explaining his drug-craving behavior.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  18. Nurul Izzah Wahidul Azam, Amir Muhriz Abdul Latiff, Chandra Kannan Thanapalan, Raja Mohamad Alif Raja Adnan
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) is one of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) core criteria. Exhibitions of RRBs produce profound implications on the functional aspect of these children and family. Evidence found that RRBs is related to the reward system dysfunction in the basal ganglia of these children. RRBs induces intrinsically rewarding effects on children with ASD. Listening to music was found to influence the reward system on the typical population and also discover to be promising as complementary strategies for ASD. A study found that high functioning adolescents with ASD cognitively stimulated through listening to happy music. Planning inter-vention for RRBs by looking towards the mechanism of reward system function remained unexplored. The primary objectives of this study is to examine the effect of happy music on RRBs symptoms. Methods: This study will use a randomised control trial research design with pre-test and post-test assessments in 20 children with ASD. Two parallel randomly assigned group will undergo twelve weeks of intervention sessions. The experimental group will listen to happy music and engage in free play sessions. For the control group, they will engage in free play session only without the music. Parents will complete the Repetitive Behaviour Scale-Revised, which consists of 6 subscales on RRBs to measure the outcome of the study. Results: The study will compare the RRBs between two groups. Con-clusion: Outcome of this study may set forth further investigation on the management of RRB using non-aversive contemporary approach.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  19. Shaiful Ehsan Shalihin, Mohd Aznan MA, Mohamad Haniki NM
    MyJurnal
    Number of active smokers in Malaysia is increasing despite availability of stop smoking clinics and smoking cessation medications. Thus, the practice of the healthcare professionals involved in providing smoking cessation intervention using evidence-based guidelines needs to be assessed using validated assessment tool. Newly invented reliable and valid questionnaire locally is needed. This study aimed to develop and validate a newly modified questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical doctors based on national smoking cessation guidelines and factors contributing to the score. The 22 items consists of true/false questions and Likert scaling response based on domain of 5A’s (ask, assess, advice, assist, arrange) and 5R’s (relevant, risks, rewards, roadblocks, repetitions) of the national stop-smoking guideline. Sample size is calculated based on five respondents to one item ratio. The questionnaires were distributed to 131 primary care doctors. Reliability was determined using Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency while construct validity was assessed using factor analysis. A high degree of internal consistency was observed (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87), with good knowledge subscale (0.72), attitude subscale (0.58) and practice subscale (0.92). Factor analysis showed three meaningful finalized components (knowledge, attitude and practice) which represent the smoking cessation framework. This study indicates that this revised questionnaire is more reliable and valid tool to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice on stop smoking guidelines compared to previous questionnaire.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
  20. Oleksandr Krasilshchikov
    MyJurnal
    Sports coaching and especially high performance coaching has long existed in some sort of duality. On one hand, sport coaching has been regarded by many as a prestigious and rewarding job, whereas on the other, sport coaching still lacks a reputation as a career opportunity mostly due to the fact that coaching is yet to receive its full professional recognition in the society. Given the vast variety of coaching qualifications, coaching roles and coaching occupations available within sport infrastructure in the society, the situation has got progressively complicated with the recognition of coaching qualifications. In addition, the growing popularity of high performance and participation sports in the society started drawing more attention from the public to the issues of coach education, competence and qualifications. Malaysian scenario on the issue is quite complicated as well, and growing demand to uplift the country’s performance in SEA, Asian, Commonwealth and Olympic Games requires interference from the higher education institutions and NGOs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Reward
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