Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 68 in total

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  1. Fulltext Measuring and mapping urban growth patterns using remote sensing and GIS techniques
    Aburas, Maher Milad, Sabrina Ho Abdullah, Mohammad Firuz Ramli, Zulfa Hanan Ash'aari
    The Pertanika Journal of Scholarly Research Reviews, 2017;3(1):55-69.
    MyJurnal
    Remote sensing and geographic information system techniques are significant and popular approaches that have been used in recent years to measure and map urban growth patterns. This paper primarily aims to provide a basis for a literature review of urban growth measurement and mapping by using different methods. For this purpose, the general characteristics of measuring and mapping urban growth patterns are described and classified. The strengths and weaknesses of the various methods have been identified from an analysis and discussion of the characteristics of the techniques. Results of reviews confirm that combining quantitative and qualitative techniques, such as Shannon approach and change detection, to measure and map urban growth patterns will improve understanding of the phenomenon of urban growth. Moreover, using social and economic data such as population and income data will improve understanding of the relationships between causes and effects. The integration of social and economic factors with quantitative and qualitative techniques will contribute to a perfect evaluation of urban growth patterns and land use changes, taking technical, social, economic, spatial, and temporal factors into account.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  2. Human factors for a sustainable future
    Thatcher A, Yeow PH
    Appl Ergon, 2016 May 24.
    PMID: 27234806 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.05.007
    Current human activities are seriously eroding the ability of natural and social systems to cope. Clearly we cannot continue along our current path without seriously damaging our own ability to survive as a species. This problem is usually framed as one of sustainability. As concerned professionals, citizens, and humans there is a strong collective will to address what we see as a failure to protect the natural and social environments that supports us. While acknowledging that we cannot do this alone, human factors and ergonomics needs to apply its relevant skills and knowledge to assist where it can in addressing the commonly identified problem areas. These problems include pollution, climate change, renewable energy, land transformation, and social unrest amongst numerous other emerging global problems. The issue of sustainability raises two fundamental questions for human factors and ergonomics: which system requires sustaining and what length of time is considered sustainable? In this paper we apply Wilson (2014) parent-sibling-child model to understanding what is required of an HFE sustainability response. This model is used to frame the papers that appear in this Special Issue.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  3. Need for developing a security robot-based risk management for emerging practices in the workplace using the Advanced Human-Robot Collaboration Model
    Zheyuan C, Rahman MA, Tao H, Liu Y, Pengxuan D, Yaseen ZM
    Work, 2021;68(3):825-834.
    PMID: 33612525 DOI: 10.3233/WOR-203416
    BACKGROUND: The increasing use of robotics in the work of co-workers poses some new problems in terms of occupational safety and health. In the workplace, industrial robots are being used increasingly. During operations such as repairs, unmanageable, adjustment, and set-up, robots can cause serious and fatal injuries to workers. Collaborative robotics recently plays a rising role in the manufacturing filed, warehouses, mining agriculture, and much more in modern industrial environments. This development advances with many benefits, like higher efficiency, increased productivity, and new challenges like new hazards and risks from the elimination of human and robotic barriers.

    OBJECTIVES: In this paper, the Advanced Human-Robot Collaboration Model (AHRCM) approach is to enhance the risk assessment and to make the workplace involving security robots. The robots use perception cameras and generate scene diagrams for semantic depictions of their environment. Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have utilized to develop a highly protected security robot based risk management system in the workplace.

    RESULTS: The experimental results show that the proposed AHRCM method achieves high performance in human-robot mutual adaption and reduce the risk.

    CONCLUSION: Through an experiment in the field of human subjects, demonstrated that policies based on the proposed model improved the efficiency of the human-robot team significantly compared with policies assuming complete human-robot adaptation.

    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  4. Fulltext Learning environment assessments of a single curriculum being taught at two medical schools 10,000 miles apart
    Tackett S, Shochet R, Shilkofski NA, Colbert-Getz J, Rampal K, Abu Bakar H, et al.
    BMC Med Educ, 2015;15:105.
    PMID: 26081751 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-015-0388-0
    Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine (PUGSOM), the first graduate-entry medical school in Malaysia, was established in 2011 in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), an American medical school. This study compared learning environments (LE) at these two schools, which shared the same overarching curriculum, along with a comparator Malaysian medical school, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS). As a secondary aim, we compared 2 LE assessment tools - the widely-used Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) and the newer Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale (JHLES).
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  5. Fulltext Range Measurement and a Habitat Suitability Map for the Norway Rat in a Highly Developed Urban Environment
    Oyedele DT, Sah SA, Kairuddinand L, Wan Ibrahim WM
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2015 Dec;26(2):27-44.
    PMID: 26868708 MyJurnal
    Studies of habitat suitability (HS) are essential when animals' habitats have been altered or when animals migrate to a habitat different from their natural habitat. This study assessed HS and used an integrated geographic information system in the assessment of Rattus norvegicus in a highly developed urban environment. Using data from the Campbell market and the police quarters of George Town, Malaysia, home range (through the use of 100% Minimum Convex Polygon [MCP], 95% MCP and 95% Harmonic Mean [HM]) was estimated. Home range for male rats at Campbell market reached an asymptote, with a slight increase, at 96 radio fixes (home range = 133.52 m(2); core area = 29.39 m(2)). Female rats reached an asymptote at 62 radio fixes (home range = 13.38 m(2); core area = 9.17 m(2)). At Campbell market, male rats emerged at 1900 hours every day, whereas females emerged at 2000 hours; at police quarters, the most common time of emergence for males was 2000 hours and for females was 2200. Raster charts of R. norvegicus showed that rat hot spots can be grouped into 4 zones (market, shop houses, settlement and general places). The standardised raster chart isolated the market as the major rallying points of the rats (hot spots) by producing the highest rats frequencies of 255. All of the habitat suitability thresholds, including the built-up points, skip bins, water source and nature of the site explored in this study, produced a structural pattern (monotonic increase or decrease) of habitat suitability.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  6. Tropical medicine and industrial development
    Waddy BB
    J Trop Med Hyg, 1974 Apr;77(4):s:19-21.
    PMID: 4841357
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  7. Fulltext Geographical and social isolation drive the evolution of Austronesian languages
    Padilla-Iglesias C, Gjesfjeld E, Vinicius L
    PLoS One, 2020;15(12):e0243171.
    PMID: 33259529 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243171
    The origins of linguistic diversity remain controversial. Studies disagree on whether group features such as population size or social structure accelerate or decelerate linguistic differentiation. While some analyses of between-group factors highlight the role of geographical isolation and reduced linguistic exchange in differentiation, others suggest that linguistic divergence is driven primarily by warfare among neighbouring groups and the use of language as marker of group identity. Here we provide the first integrated test of the effects of five historical sociodemographic and geographic variables on three measures of linguistic diversification among 50 Austronesian languages: rates of word gain, loss and overall lexical turnover. We control for their shared evolutionary histories through a time-calibrated phylogenetic sister-pairs approach. Results show that languages spoken in larger communities create new words at a faster pace. Within-group conflict promotes linguistic differentiation by increasing word loss, while warfare hinders linguistic differentiation by decreasing both rates of word gain and loss. Finally, we show that geographical isolation is a strong driver of lexical evolution mainly due to a considerable drift-driven acceleration in rates of word loss. We conclude that the motor of extreme linguistic diversity in Austronesia may have been the dispersal of populations across relatively isolated islands, favouring strong cultural ties amongst societies instead of warfare and cultural group marking.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  8. Fulltext Do Differences in Social Environments Explain Gender Differences in Recreational Walking across Neighbourhoods?
    Ghani F, Rachele JN, Loh VH, Washington S, Turrell G
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2019 06 04;16(11).
    PMID: 31167430 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16111980
    Within a city, gender differences in walking for recreation (WfR) vary significantly across neighbourhoods, although the reasons remain unknown. This cross-sectional study investigated the contribution of the social environment (SE) to explaining such variation, using 2009 data from the How Areas in Brisbane Influence healTh and AcTivity (HABITAT) study, including 7866 residents aged 42-67 years within 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia (72.6% response rate). The analytical sample comprised 200 neighbourhoods and 6643 participants (mean 33 per neighbourhood, range 8-99, 95% CI 30.6-35.8). Self-reported weekly minutes of WfR were categorised into 0 and 1-840 mins. The SE was conceptualised through neighbourhood-level perceptions of social cohesion, incivilities and safety from crime. Analyses included multilevel binomial logistic regression with gender as main predictor, adjusting for age, socioeconomic position, residential self-selection and neighbourhood disadvantage. On average, women walked more for recreation than men prior to adjustment for covariates. Gender differences in WfR varied significantly across neighbourhoods, and the magnitude of the variation for women was twice that of men. The SE did not explain neighbourhood differences in the gender-WfR relationship, nor the between-neighbourhood variation in WfR for men or women. Neighbourhood-level factors seem to influence the WfR of men and women differently, with women being more sensitive to their environment, although Brisbane's SE did not seem such a factor.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  9. Smoking among urban Malaysian school children
    Thambypillai V
    Soc Sci Med, 1985;21(7):819-23.
    PMID: 4071118 DOI: 10.1016/0277-9536(85)90130-3
    A questionnaire on smoking habits was administered to 4106 Form IV school children in Kuala Lumpur. The period of survey was from 9 to 20 April 1984. 2099 boys and 2007 girls were studied and their mean age was 16.1 years. 32.8% of the students had been initiated to smoking and the mean age of initiation was 13.3 years. The prevalence of smoking was found to be 9.8% and the mean duration of smoking was 2.5 years. Most of the smokers and occasional smokers were boys. About 42% of the smokers wished to stop smoking and only 1% of the non-smokers intended to smoke in the future. The study recommended that health education programmes should be started earlier in school.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  10. Taboo and Malay tradition
    Teoh JI
    Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 1976 Mar;10(1A):105-10.
    PMID: 1065321
    According to Malinowski there are no peoples, however primitive, without religion and magic; nor are there any societies lacking either in the scientific attitude or in science (Blumberg 1963). Magic and taboo are resorted to when through the normal use of science, or rational techniques, man is unable to control unpredictable events important to him. Where there is difficulty in predicting the outcome of behaviour, where the results of action are not consonant with effort, where there are great limitions on man's knowledge of vital issues, magical techniques are employed--in short, where circumstances of life are uncertain, uncontrolled and unknown. Magic and animism are systems of thought which give not only the explanation of a single phenomenon, but make it possible to comprehend the totality of the world from one point, as a continuity. Of the three systems of thought--animistic, religious and scientific--animism is perhaps the most consistent and the most exhaustive, the one which explains the world in its entirety.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  11. Normative beliefs about aggression as a mediator of narcissistic exploitativeness and cyberbullying
    Ang RP, Tan KA, Talib Mansor A
    J Interpers Violence, 2011 Sep;26(13):2619-34.
    PMID: 21156699 DOI: 10.1177/0886260510388286
    The current study examined normative beliefs about aggression as a mediator between narcissistic exploitativeness and cyberbullying using two Asian adolescent samples from Singapore and Malaysia. Narcissistic exploitativeness was significantly and positively associated with cyberbullying and normative beliefs about aggression and normative beliefs about aggression were significantly and positively associated with cyberbullying. Normative beliefs about aggression were a significant partial mediator in both samples; these beliefs about aggression served as one possible mechanism of action by which narcissistic exploitativeness could exert its influence on cyberbullying. Findings extended previous empirical research by showing that such beliefs can be the mechanism of action not only in offline but also in online contexts and across cultures. Cyberbullying prevention and intervention efforts should include modification of norms and beliefs supportive of the legitimacy and acceptability of cyberbullying.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  12. Body image and personality among British men: associations between the Big Five personality domains, drive for muscularity, and body appreciation
    Benford K, Swami V
    Body Image, 2014 Sep;11(4):454-7.
    PMID: 25113287 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.07.004
    The present study examined associations between the Big Five personality domains and measures of men's body image. A total of 509 men from the community in London, UK, completed measures of drive for muscularity, body appreciation, the Big Five domains, and subjective social status, and provided their demographic details. The results of a hierarchical regression showed that, once the effects of participant body mass index (BMI) and subjective social status had been accounted for, men's drive for muscularity was significantly predicted by Neuroticism (β=.29). In addition, taking into account the effects of BMI and subjective social status, men's body appreciation was significantly predicted by Neuroticism (β=-.35) and Extraversion (β=.12). These findings highlight potential avenues for the development of intervention approaches based on the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and body image.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  13. An examination of the factor structure of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 in Malaysia
    Swami V
    Body Image, 2009 Mar;6(2):129-32.
    PMID: 19249260 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.01.003
    The present study examined the factor structure of a Malay translation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 among a community sample of 554 Malaysian women. Results of an exploratory factor analysis revealed the existence of four factors, two of which (Information and Internalization-Athlete) mirrored those found among Western samples. An additional factor was an amalgamation of two factors reported in the West, namely Pressure and Internalization-General. A fourth factor consisted of six items, four of which cross-loaded onto previous factors, and was consequently dropped from analyses. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the three retained factors were all above .82, and the three factors were significantly correlated with each other and with participants' body mass index. The results of this study stress the need for locally developed scales in the study of body image and a shift away from reliance on scales developed in the West.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  14. Fulltext What's in a Surname? Physique, Aptitude, and Sports Type Comparisons between Tailors and Smiths
    Voracek M, Rieder S, Stieger S, Swami V
    PLoS One, 2015;10(7):e0131795.
    PMID: 26161803 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131795
    Combined heredity of surnames and physique, coupled with past marriage patterns and trade-specific physical aptitude and selection factors, may have led to differential assortment of bodily characteristics among present-day men with specific trade-reflecting surnames (Tailor vs. Smith). Two studies reported here were partially consistent with this genetic-social hypothesis, first proposed by Bäumler (1980). Study 1 (N = 224) indicated significantly higher self-rated physical aptitude for prototypically strength-related activities (professions, sports, hobbies) in a random sample of Smiths. The counterpart effect (higher aptitude for dexterity-related activities among Tailors) was directionally correct, but not significant, and Tailor-Smith differences in basic physique variables were nil. Study 2 examined two large total-population-of-interest datasets (Austria/Germany combined, and UK: N = 7001 and 20,532) of men's national high-score lists for track-and-field events requiring different physiques. In both datasets, proportions of Smiths significantly increased from light-stature over medium-stature to heavy-stature sports categories. The predicted counterpart effect (decreasing prevalences of Tailors along these categories) was not supported. Related prior findings, the viability of possible alternative interpretations of the evidence (differential positive selection for trades and occupations, differential endogamy and assortative mating patterns, implicit egotism effects), and directions for further inquiry are discussed in conclusion.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  15. A psychometric investigation of Brazilian Portuguese versions of the Caregiver Eating Messages Scale and Intuitive Eating Scale-2
    da Silva WR, Neves AN, Ferreira L, Campos JADB, Swami V
    Eat Weight Disord, 2020 Feb;25(1):221-230.
    PMID: 30076529 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-018-0557-3
    The Caregiver Eating Messages Scale (CEMS) was developed to assess perceived restrictive or critical caregiver messages in relation to food intake and pressure to eat, whereas the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2) measures one's tendency to follow internal cues of hunger and satiety when making eating-related decisions. Both scales are useful in the arsenal of eating behaviour scholars. Here, we developed Brazilian Portuguese translations of both scales and assessed their psychometric properties in Brazilian adults. A total of 288 participants (men = 52.8%) completed the CEMS, IES-2, Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), and a demographic questionnaire. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the factor structure of both scales had adequate fit following the elimination of items and addition of covariances. Evidence of adequate factorial, convergent and discriminant validity, as well as reliability was identified. Furthermore, correlations of CEMS and IES-2 with BAS scores and body mass index were obtained. Both instruments' models were found to be invariant across sex, with men having significantly higher scores on three subscales of the IES-2 only. These results provide evidence for the psychometric properties of the CEMS and IES-2 in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking adults.Level of Evidence: V, cross-sectional descriptive study.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  16. Rarity of cancer of the cervix in the Malaysian Orang Asli despite the presence of known risk factors
    Sumithran E
    Cancer, 1977 Apr;39(4):1570-2.
    PMID: 856445
    Cancer of the cervix is exceedingly uncommon in the Malaysian Orang Asli (aborigine), despite the presence of factors associated with an increased risk of developing this malignancy. In only three patients was the diagnosis of carcinoma of the cervix established, out of a total of nearly 18,000 female inpatients, admitted to the Gombak Orang Asli Hospital over a 13-year period. Over this same period, 81 female patients were diagnosed as having cancer. Interviews with female Orang Asli patients show the presence of alleged risk factors for cervical cancer, including early age of first intercourse, multiparity and non-circumcision of husbands. The low incidence of cancer of the cervix in this aborigine community may be due to the strict moral code of the Orang Asli, limiting extramarital sexual activity and associated venereal infection.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  17. The relationship between work-life balance, the need for achievement, and intention to leave: Mixed-method study
    Dousin O, Collins N, Bartram T, Stanton P
    J Adv Nurs, 2021 Mar;77(3):1478-1489.
    PMID: 33314305 DOI: 10.1111/jan.14724
    AIMS: To examine the mediating role of employee well-being on the relationship between work-life balance practices, the need for achievement and intention to leave among nurses in Malaysia.

    BACKGROUND: Work-life balance practices are associated with employee perceptions of the need for achievement and well-being which subsequently influence their intention to leave the organization. This study contributes new knowledge to nursing studies on work-life balance in an Asian and Islamic society where the expectations for women are to focus on family rather than career.

    DESIGN: A cross-sectional, explanatory mixed methodology.

    METHODS: This is a two-phase study conducted between 2015-2017 with 401 nurses in East Malaysia. In Phase 1, researchers surveyed 379 nurses to test eight hypotheses and in Phase 2 researchers interviewed 22 nurses to explore the results of Phase 1.

    RESULTS: Phase 1 revealed job satisfaction mediates the relationship between work-life balance practices (e.g. flexibility and choice in working hours, supportive supervision), financial success, and intention to leave. However, life satisfaction and money as a motivator did not mediate such relationships. Phase 2 identified four important factors that cast light on survey results: working conditions of Malaysian nurses; inadequate compensation in the public healthcare sector; team-based practices; and pressure on senior nurses in both administrative and clinical roles.

    CONCLUSION: This is one of the first studies to investigate work-life balance issues among nurses in Malaysia. Outcomes of this study extend the debates on work-life balance and employee well-being in an Asian Islamic social context.

    IMPACT: The use of flexible working arrangements and collectivist teamwork approaches, improving compensation and employment benefits and eliminating the 'time-based job promotion' policy may help to mitigate work-life balance issues and intention to leave among nurses in Malaysia.

    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  18. Tradition, cultural patterns and drug availability as predictors of youthful drug abuse: a comparison of Malaysia with post-revolutionary Iran
    Spencer C
    J Psychoactive Drugs, 1985 Jan-Mar;17(1):19-24.
    PMID: 3981302
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  19. Beliefs about schizophrenia and its treatment in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
    Swami V, Furnham A, Kannan K, Sinniah D
    Int J Soc Psychiatry, 2008 Mar;54(2):164-79.
    PMID: 18488409
    Lay beliefs about schizophrenia have been extensively studied in cross-cultural settings, but research on ethnic differences are currently lacking.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  20. Epidemic hysteria in Malaysian schools: an illustrative episode
    Teoh JI, Soewondo S, Sidharta M
    Psychiatry, 1975 Aug;38(3):258-68.
    PMID: 1197502
    This paper discusses the prevalence and characteristics of epidemic hysteria among predominantly rural Malay schools in Malaysia. An illustrative episode in a Malay residential girls' school is described, and contributory factors to this outbreak are elaborated. An attempt is made to analyze the complex interweaving of psychological, religious, cultural, and sociological factors in the precipitation of the outbreak.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
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