The Open Market scenario provides high levels of unreliability to culinary arts graduates where they
are no longer promised a place in the hospitality and tourism sectors but rather to compete with
graduates from other fields for employment. Hence, the field of entrepreneurship is seen as an
alternative in building a career that can help in reducing the dumping of graduates in the job market in
line with the government's call encouraging more entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Therefore, this study is
aimed at identifying the tendency to entrepreneurship among students of the final year semester of the Diploma in Culinary Arts, Hospitality School and Tourism Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran Johor
(SHPKYPJ). Measurements for this study were based on surveys using questionnaire and data
collected by Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) Version 21.0. The results of the study
found that overall respondents have a high inclination towards entrepreneurship. If they are more
focused, encouragement and exposure are given to them, the probability that they become
entrepreneurs after graduation will be higher.
BACKGROUND: The demand in biobanking for the collection and maintenance of biological specimens and personal data from civilians to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases has increased notably. Despite the advancement, certain issues, specifically those related to privacy and data protection, have been critically discussed. The purposes of this study are to assess the willingness of stakeholders to participate in biobanking and to determine its predictors.
METHODS: A survey of 469 respondents from various stakeholder groups in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia was carried out. Based on previous research, a multi-dimensional instrument measuring willingness to participate in biobanking, and its predictors, was constructed and validated. A single step Structural Equation Modelling was performed to analyse the measurements and structural model using the International Business Machines Corporation Software Package for Social Sciences, Analysis of Moment Structures (IBM SPSS Amos) version 20 with a maximum likelihood function.
RESULTS: Malaysian stakeholders in the Klang Valley were found to be cautious of biobanks. Although they perceived the biobanks as moderately beneficial (mean score of 4.65) and were moderately willing to participate in biobanking (mean score of 4.10), they professed moderate concern about data and specimen protection issues (mean score of 4.33). Willingness to participate in biobanking was predominantly determined by four direct predictors: specific application-linked perceptions of their benefits (β = 0.35, p
The effectiveness of training is an important aspect in the development of training. After investing a lot of money to organize a training program, the organization often wants to know about the effectiveness of training given to trainee as well as how it can gives impact to the organization. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of training tested through learning performance among trainees that undergo a transition in the Perbadanan Hal Ehwal Bekas Angkatan Tentera (PERHEBAT). In this study, personal characteristics and training program characteristics acted as the independent variables in predicting learning performance. The instrument used in this study was adapted from Trainee Characteristic Scale, Training Program Characteristic Scale and Training Effectiveness Scale by Siti Fardaniah (2013) for personal characteristics, training program characteristics and learning performance. Questionnaires to measure the dimension of training transfer for the training characteristics was adapted from the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) by Holton et al. (2000). Data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The multiple linear regression analysis indicated that extrinsic orientation, self-efficacy and organizational commitment have significant influence on learning performance. Relevance of training content and learning transfer design also affecedt learning performance. Findings in this study can be used as a reference to improve training effectiveness by focusing on personal characteristics and training characteristics conducted in PERHEBAT.
The quality of life is an indicator of well-being that is seen as important in the establishment of policies to improve the welfare of senior citizens. The establishment of the Elderly Activity Center (PAWE) in urban and rural areas throughout Malaysia is one of the government's initiatives in preparation to be an old country by 2030. Nevertheless, since the establishment of PAWE in 2001, there has been scarce research about services provided to senior citizens at PAWE. Therefore, this study is conducted to identify level of quality of life among senior citizens at PAWE in urban and rural areas. The survey was conducted on 156 respondents in four PAWE locations namely PAWE Sungai Buloh, PAWE Cheras, PAWE Jenjarom and PAWE Sabak Bernam. The data were collected by using Older People Quality of Life (OPQOL-35) questionnaire. The data were then analyzed using Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) by using descriptive analysis to identify the quality of life according to the respondents' demographic information. The results showed that the quality of life among urban respondents were higher than rural respondents, quality of life of male respondents were higher than female respondents while the quality of life among Chinese respondents was higher than Malay and Indian respondents. For the quality of life according to age, respondents aged 71 to 80 years were higher in qulity of life level than respondents aged 60 to 70 years and 81 to 90 years. This study is expected to give impact on the awareness to concerned parties about the advantages of community-based activity center which can increase the qualilty of life among elderly.
The study investigated the effects of flipped and conventional classroom teaching approach on performance and retention ability of advance financial accounting students in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Nigeria. The study had three specific objectives and three null hypotheses. Quasiexperimental design of pre-test, post-test I and post-test II was used for the study. The study used an intact class of 76 students that offered advance financial accounting in 2015/2016 academic session in the institution. Three instruments were used for data collection. The instruments were Advance financial accounting Achievement Test (AFAAT), Advance financial accounting Diagnostic Achievement Test I (AFADAT I) and Advance financial accounting Diagnostic Achievement Test II (AFADAT II). The validations of instruments were determined by board of examiners in department of vocational and technology education in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. The reliability of the instruments was established using pilot study. The result of the pilot study gave reliability coefficient of 0.79. Data collected from the study were coded into Statistical Package of Social Sciences. The package was used to run t-test statistics for the test of the three null hypotheses at significance level of 0.05. The results shows improvement in the performance and retention ability of students when flipped teaching technique was adopted. It was recommended among others that financial accounting lecturers in Nigerian universities should adopt the use of flipped classroom approach in teaching students by providing students with pre-class materials and assignments prior their classroom activities.
This is a study on employees’ perception of justice towards performance-based pay and
the effect of these perceptions on their turnover intention. This study aims to examine
the mediating role played by distributive and procedural justice in linking pay distribution
and pay procedure of performance-based pay to employees’ turnover intention. A
review of past literature in this particular area has prompted the researchers to narrow
the gaps in previous studies. Towards that, this study utilized questionnaires which
were administered among 50 non-managerial employees currently working in a private
company located in Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia. Data analysis was done using
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 20.0. Pearson Correlation and
Stepwise Regression were used to examine the relationship between the variables. The
outcomes of Stepwise Regression revealed that distributive justice fully mediated the
relationship between pay distribution and employees’ turnover intention in contrast to
procedural justice which did not have a significant impact in the relationship. The findings
of this study are useful references for organisation management of the pay system
to improve employees’ performance.
Failure to stem trends of ecological disruption and associated loss of ecosystem services worldwide is partly due to the inadequate integration of the human dimension into environmental decision-making. Decision-makers need knowledge of the human dimension of resource systems and of the social consequences of decision-making if environmental management is to be effective and adaptive. Social scientists have a central role to play, but little guidance exists to help them influence decision-making processes. We distil 348 years of cumulative experience shared by 31 environmental experts across three continents into advice for social scientists seeking to increase their influence in the environmental policy arena. Results focus on the importance of process, engagement, empathy and acumen and reveal the importance of understanding and actively participating in policy processes through co-producing knowledge and building trust. The insights gained during this research might empower a science-driven cultural change in science-policy relations for the routine integration of the human dimension in environmental decision making; ultimately for an improved outlook for earth's ecosystems and the billions of people that depend on them.
BACKGROUND: In future, increase in the number of healthcare professionals is dependent on the career interest among present undergraduate medical students. Based on their interest to pursue their specialty, the availability of medical doctors in each specialty could be done.
AIMS: This study was to find out future career interest and factors that influence undergraduate medical students to choose their future specialization.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out among first-year medical students from five countries. The students were asked to complete an 8-item questionnaire. Two thousand one hundred fifty three participants were enrolled in the study. Data were analyzed in Microsoft-Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.
RESULTS: Of the 2153 participants, only 1470 responded. Among the 1470 participants, 169 participants were excluded due to the ambiguity in responses, finally making it to 1301 participants. Among them, Anatomy (49.3%) followed by Biochemistry (26.7%) and Physiology (24%) were the most preferred subjects.
CONCLUSIONS: Anatomy was the most preferred basic science subject among the other subjects and the students were interested to pursuing surgery in future. Furthermore, the most preferred future specialties were surgery, internal medicine and pediatrics with gender variations; males preferring surgery and females in obstetrics and gynecology.
KEYWORDS: China; First year medical students; Malaysia; Medical Education; Post-Graduation; SAARC country
The current study aims to assess the effectiveness of different teaching methods adopted for the practical session of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). CPR training is one of the compulsory modules of the Public Health Pharmacy (PHP) course at Universiti Sains Malaysia. CPR training comprises of 10% of total marks of the PHP course. To test the effectiveness of the different teaching strategies, three groups were defined using a two-stage cohort distribution-i.e. based on grade point average (GPA) and different teaching modalities. Group One was instructed using images and PowerPoint lecture slides. Group Two was instructed using videos and PowerPoint lecture slides. Group Three was instructed using PowerPoint slides with white boards and videos. Students in Group Three were not provided with a hard/soft copy of the PowerPoint slides and were encouraged to write down all the information on their personal notebooks. A 20-item questionnaire was used to assess the students' understanding toward the CPR session. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science Students, SPSS version 13®. Based on the response attained, the comparison of the final score among the groups was undertaken using one way ANOVA. Twenty-seven students have participated in this study. Final evaluation using the questionnaire revealed that student's in Group Three had a better understanding of CPR (18.1 ± 1.5, p <0.001) than the other two. Students' note taking during the lecture and use of traditional chalkboard teaching were found significant to improve the students' understanding and learning in the CPR session.
Introduction: Fewer men were engaged in taking responsibility of their own health. Previous evidence showed that the roles of masculinity, self-rated health status, social support and health literacy level affecting health seeking behaviour among men. However, there is still lack of evidence in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to deter-mine the factors influencing health seeking behaviours among male university students. Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Recommended sample size was 360 respondents. Out of eight faculties, using EXCEL randomization technique, first 4 faculties were selected. The selected faculties were Faculty of Business and Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Language and Communication. Based on the name list given from each faculty, alternate names very selected to participate. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire. Results: 354 male students participated in this study. Total of 259(73.2%) students were reported to have low overall health seeking behaviour. Chi-square analysis showed of all the variables, there was correlation between health literacy level (r = 0.149, n = 354, p
Vocabulary is essential in mastering any languages. However, learning vocabulary is tedious as it requires students to memorize numerous words and perform a lot of exercises. Thus, it is essential to provide fun learning activities for learning vocabulary in order to promote students’ engagement in the learning process. Since the Arabic language is learnt in various levels of learning institutions such as schools and universities, a card game has a great potential to be utilized as a learning tool to enhance the learning of Arabic language vocabulary. This paper investigated perceptions of students on using a card game named as Ahsulu! in learning the Arabic language vocabulary at the intermediate level of Arabic language proficiency. This study involved students of Degree in Biology and Degree in Chemistry at Universiti Teknologi MARA Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Pilah Campus, Malaysia, who were selected based on purposive sampling. The data gathered by using an online survey and were analyzed descriptively by using Social Science Statistical Package (SPSS) Version 23. The findings suggest that using Ahsulu! as a learning tool could promote fun learning, ensure learning to take place and increase communication.
The study was conducted to create specific formulae for stature estimation of adult male population in Malaysia based on measurements of femur, tibia and fibula lengths using radiographic method. A number of thirty two Malaysians from hospitals involved as subjects in this study. The subjects were Malays (14), Chinese (8) and Indians (10) from 25-45 years old. The standing height of the subject was recorded before femur, tibia and fibula were scanned with an x-ray
machine. The bones length was measured on the x-ray film in centimetres (cm) and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0 for Windows. The results showed a significant relationship (p < 0.05) between stature and measurements of length of femur, tibia and fibula. Stature of Malays and Indians were significant (p < 0.05) with measurements of length of femur, tibia and fibula but insignificant in Chinese. Simple Linear Regression Analysis was used to derive regression equation for single bone and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis was used to derive regression equation for combination of femur, tibia and fibula. Six formulae for stature estimation of adult male population in Malaysia were derived. The formulae consist of three formulae for single bone, a formulae for combination bones with unknown race, a formulae for combination bones of Malays population and a formulae for combination bones of Indians population. Formulae for combination bones had the highest correlation coefficient compared to the formula using a single bone. Standard error was found to be high in all the formulae due to small sample size. Extension for this study is essential to provide Malaysia with accurate formulae.
Dengue fever is one of the most dangerous vector-borne diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infection caused by virus serotype DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. In Malaysia, dengue fever cases are on the rise from 6,000 cases in 1995 to over 40,000 in 2010, and this number is still rising. In 2014, the increase of dengue fever cases was alarming. It was reported that up to the end of the year 2014, there were 108,698 notified cases, indicating an increment of 151% compared to the same period of time in 2013 with only 43,346 reported cases. Selangor was the highest contributor of dengue fever cases in 2014. The objective of this paper is to study the relationship between climatic factors namely temperature, rainfall and humidity to the prevalence of dengue fever in Subang Jaya and Sepang district, Selangor. Data on monthly average temperature, precipitation, relative humidity and dengue fever cases for each month in 2014 and 2013 were collected. Data collection was dealt with a few institutions such as Malaysian Meteorological Department, Subang Jaya and Sepang Municipal Council and health district offices. Data were analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) Version 20. General linear model analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the climatic variables and dengue prevalence. Results and Discussion: Based on the general linear model, rainfall and humidity were found to have significant relationships to monthly dengue fever cases (p=
Background of Study: Patients with thyroid disorders were found to have
continued to experience symptoms of depression despite the great of treatment has
been given to the patient to balance the thyroid hormones. Objective: The aim of
this study is to determine the level of depression symptoms among various types
of thyroid disorders patients.
Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out at
one of the government hospital at central region of Peninsular Malaysia from
August to October 2016. Patients were diagnosed as thyroid disorders, Malaysian
citizen, above 18 years old and did not have any psychiatric disorders were
included in this study.Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) was
selected to determine the severity of depression symptoms and interpreted as
follow: less than 9-no depression, between 10 and 13-mild depression, between
14-20-moderate depression, between 21 and 27- severe depression and more than
28-extreme severe depression. Descriptive statistic was analysed by IBM
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0.
Results: About
15% (23) out of 153 thyroid patients had varies degree of depression symptoms
from mild to severe extremely depression. Patients who had hyperthyroid were
found to have more depressed, followed by hypothyroid and thyroid cancer group.
Conclusion: These findings would suggest that the depression score was higher in
the patients who have hyperthyroid. A more detail and thorough study is
recommended to be done, in order to confirm these findings.
The number of relapsing addicts is increasingly worrying from year to year. This study was conducted
to examine at the relationship between defense mechanisms and the level of readiness to change in
relapsing addicts. Although the drug addicts have been treated at the treatment center, however,
repeated cases of drug addicts still occur. Six research questions were developed to see how far the
variables consisting of defense mechanisms could correlate with readiness to change among addicts
who were undergoing treatment. This study was carried out involving 125 addicts in two separate
treatment centers in Melaka and Selangor. The selected sample were addicts who have undergone a
relapse phase at least once in drug addiction. Statistical data analysis using Statistical Packages for
Social Sciences 20 (SPSS-20) were used to analyze the data. Statistical descriptive is used to view the
results of demographic data constructed. T-test and ANOVA are used to see the relationship between
the variables. The regression analysis is used to predict the defense mechanisms with the stage of
readiness to change among relapsing addicts. The results showed that the defense mechanism had a
significant relationship to the stage of readiness to change among samples. The results of this study
provide information on treatment services in the drug rehabilitation to improve the treatment method
appropriately to the drug addicts in preventing relapse.
The purpose of this study was to determine aluminium (Al) concentrations in groundwater used for drinking and cooking and its related health risk among population of 28th Mile Orang Asli village in Jenderam Hilir, Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 100 respondents were recruited, comprising 51 (51.0 %) male and 49 (49.0 %) female residents. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine Al concentration, while the LAMOTTE TRACER ORP PockeTester was used to measure pH levels. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. Results showed that Al concentration ranged from 0.041 - 0.136 mg/L with a mean of 0.136 + SD 0.041 mg/L, hence the values obtained were below the standard value (0.2 mg/L). pH levels ranged from 3.82 to 5.84, with a mean of 4.163 + SD 0.411, which is acidic and below the range permitted by the health authorities. The acidic nature may have an impact on the Al concentration in the water. The Hazard Index (HI) was found to be less than 1, thus there was no health risk of Al exposure in drinking water for the respondents involved. The study area was considered safe from having health risk associated with Al exposure.
Context: Hydrocephalus, due to subarachnoid or intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), meningitis, or tumor compression, is usually transient and may resolve after treatment. There are several temporary methods of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion, none of it is superior to the other, and the decision is based on its various etiologies and factors. Ventriculosubgaleal shunt (VSGS) is one of those temporary measures, which is a simple and rapid CSF decompression method without causing electrolyte and nutritional losses.
Aims: The aim is to study the efficacy of VSGS for temporary CSF diversion, compared to extraventricular drainage (EVD) in adult hydrocephalus patients; to evaluate the outcome in terms of avoiding a permanent shunt, and to look for incidences of their complications.
Settings and Design: This was a retrospective observational study.
Subjects and Methods: The data were acquired from case notes of fifty patients with acute hydrocephalus: 26 secondary to IVH, 10 from aneurysm rupture, 8 posttrauma, and 6 from infection. All these patients had undergone CSF diversion in Hospital Queen Elizabeth II, Sabah, Malaysia, between 2013 and 2015. The patients were followed up from the date of treatment until the resolution of hydrocephalus, where parameters such as shunt dependency and complications were documented.
Statistical Analysis Used: All analyses were carried out using Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences Version 22.0. Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test is used for univariate analysis of categorical variables.
Results: A total of 21 (42%) patients underwent EVD insertion and 29 (58%) underwent VSGS insertion. Thirty-seven (74%) patients did not require a permanent shunt; 24 (64.8%) of them were from the VSGS group (P = 0.097). EVD had more intracranial complications (44.1%) compared with VSGS (23.5%), with a statistically significant P = 0.026.
Conclusions: VSGS is a safe and viable option for adult hydrocephalus patients, with the possibility of continuation of the treatment for such patients in nonneurosurgical centers, as opposed to patients with EVDs. Furthermore, even though this method had no statistical difference in avoiding a permanent ventriculoperitoneal shunt, VSGS has statistically significant less intracranial complications compared with EVD.