Work-life balance play an important role in influencing employee’s quality of social and working life together with job satisfaction in the organization. Nowadays, teachers are also included in the context of work-life balance due to academic workload and career issues. In
this study, researchers aim to explore work-life balance policies that influence teacher’s job satisfaction in selected Malaysia boarding school. Only 56 school teachers were selected to represent as respondents consist of teachers from language, mathematics, science, social science, counselling unit, and vice principals department. The questionnaires were distributed using convenience sampling. The elements of work-life balance policies such as flexibility policies, welfare policies, job design and leave provisions were included in this study to examine potential influence on teacher’s job satisfaction. Based on statistical analysis using SPSS, Pearson Correlation analysis four elements of work-life balance policies indicated positive and significant relationship with job satisfaction, with flexibility policies showed the strongest relationship toward teacher’s job satisfaction. Most of teachers in selected Malaysian boarding school also demonstrated high level of job satisfaction at the workplace.
This study aims understand microplastics from personal care and cosmetic products in Malaysia via quantification and characterization of microplastics together with emission estimation to marine environment. A total of 214 respondents from all over Malaysia were surveyed with identification of top ten personal care and cosmetic products usage. Particles found in facial cleaner/scrub and toothpaste were colored and colorless with majority of granular shapes. Particles in toothpaste were found between 3 and 145 μm while particles in facial cleaner/scrub were found to be between 10 and 178 μm, stipulating the presence of microplastics. Plastic polymers (LDPE and polypropylene) were found in all facial cleaner/scrub samples while only plastic polymers (LDPE) were present in toothpaste sample G. A total of 0.199 trillion microplastics are expected to be released annually to marine environment in Malaysia. Personal care and cosmetic products are seen as one of the microplastics sources for Malaysia and worldwide.
Background: Respiratory Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic (RMTAC) is an initiative by the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia to improve patients' medication adherence, as an adjunct to the usual physician care (UC). This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of combined strategy of RMTAC and UC (RMTAC + UC) vs. UC alone in asthma patients, from the MOH Malaysia perspective.
Methods: A lifetime horizon dynamic adherence Markov model with monthly cycle was developed, for quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained and hospitalization averted outcomes. Transition probabilities of composite asthma control and medication adherence, utilities, costs, and mortality rates due to all causes were measured from local data sources. Effectiveness, exacerbation rates, and asthma mortality rates were taken from non-local data sources. One-way sensitivity analysis (SA) was conducted for assessing parameter uncertainties, whereas probabilistic SA (PSA) was conducted on a different set of utilities and effectiveness data. Costs were adjusted to 2014 US dollars ($). Both costs and benefits were discounted at a 3% rate annually.
Results: RMTAC + UC was found to be a dominant alternative compared to UC alone; $- 13,639.40 ($- 109,556.90 to $104,445.54) per QALY gained and $- 428.93 ($- 521.27 to ($- 328.69)) per hospitalization averted. These results were found to be robust against changes in all parameters except utilities in the one-way SA, and for both scenarios in PSA.
Conclusions: RMTAC + UC is more effective and yet cheaper than UC alone, from the MOH perspective. For the benefit of both MOH and patients, RMTAC is thus recommended to be remained, and expanded to more healthcare settings where possible.
This social psychology study sought to understand how the inability of former drug addicts controlling
interpersonal conflict that occurs in the community resulted in relapse or back to their addiction. A
qualitative phenomenological approach was taken to conduct interviews with former drug addicts that
are participating in a rehab program in Cure and Care Service Centre, Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia. Eight informants were consented and interviewed. Purposive sampling was used and
responses were analyzed thematically. These themes included the issue of labeling drug addicts as
convicts, isolation from the community and restricted from participating in community-based
programs. Researcher suggests related agencies to work with rehabilitation officers in restructuring the
rehabilitation learning module and improve the interpersonal conflict management module. Therefore,
it is hoped that in the future, former drug addicts would be capable to manage interpersonal conflict
and simultaneously avoid from recidivism in addiction.
Republished in: Republished in: Teng CL, Khoo EM, Ng CJ (editors). Family Medicine, Healthcare and Society: Essays by Dr M K Rajakumar, Second Edition. Kuala Lumpur: Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia, 2019: 23-26
Series of catastrophic floods that we have witnessed over the last decade in Malaysia have necessitated the adoption of reliable early warning system. Ultimate concern during any event of natural or manmade disaster would be information dissemination to lessen the disaster impact on lives and property. The Bertam Valley incident in the wee hours of 23rd October 2013 has been considered as the game changer of how we view the role of vulnerable communities in facing dam-related disasters. Empowerment of local communities has been considered as vital in disaster management, as they are often the first responders to disaster. Local Community-Based Early Warning System (CBEWS) is a smart mechanism operated by the communities. This study revolves around the actual implementation of such system in Cameron Highlands in the effort of increasing human resilience towards damrelated disasters. While establishing the system, the Bertam Valley community has received support from different individuals and organisations. It is paramount that the community develops and maintains close coordination and strong links with these stakeholders. The performance of early warning systems can be evaluated via key parameters such as timeliness, accuracy, reliability, user friendliness, flexibility, and costs & benefits.
A one year follow up was conducted on 87 patients above 60 years of age who sustained a hip fracture following a trivial injury. All patients admitted to the University Malaya Medical Center between October 1995 and September 1996 were screened and treated according following standard treatment protocols. An activity of daily living index i.e. the Barthel Index was administered both at admission and one year later. Information was obtained either through the telephone or directly from the patient at the clinic. The one year mortality rate was 26% while that at six months was 22%, with patients in the above 80 years group showing a 50% mortality. We found no correlation between the mortality rate and the duration of hospital stay, delay before surgery, ASA grade premorbid medical conditions, type of fracture or premorbid activity level. There was no deterioration of dependency after three months following discharge. The mortality rate was similar to other studies. The level of disability following fracture suggests ongoing home is needed and that domiciliary rehabilitation within the first six months of discharge may needed.
The pselaphine genus Sathytes Westwood is represented in Borneo by a single species. In this paper we describe four new species: S. borneoensis sp. nov., S. liuyei sp. nov., S. larifuga sp. nov., and S. shihongliangi sp. nov. All new species were collected by light traps in Sabah, and show unique combinations of male sexual characters that lead to ready species discriminations. A key to Sathytes species from Borneo is appended.
We collected a specimen of a scincid lizard of Larutia Böhme, 1981 from the edge of a primary forest on Gunung Penrissen, Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. The single specimen of the new species differs from all other known congeners by the molecular divergence in the mitochondrial ND1 gene and morphological characters including small adult body size (SVL 84 mm); 22 longitudinal scale rows around midbody; first pair of chinshields contacting second infralabial; second pair of chinshields separated from infralabials by an elongated scale; two subdigital lamellae on second toe; and body without yellow or pale bands or spots. It is the ninth species described in the genus and the second species of Larutia in Borneo.
Larvae of a gall midge were found feeding on the fungal rust Maravalia pterocarpi (Pucciniomycetes: Pucciniales: Chaconiaceae) infesting the economically important sua tree Dalbergia tonkinensis (Fabaceae) on Hainan Island, China. The adults, pupae and larvae were collected, their morphology was studied and a segment of the Cytochrome Oxidase unit I (COI) mitochondrial gene was sequenced. The gall midge proved to be a species new to science that belongs to the genus Mycodiplosis (Diptera: Cecdiomyiidae). Comparison of the sequence to published Cecdiomyiidae sequences revealed that, despite being undescribed and unnamed, it was previously found in east and south-east Asia to feed on several rust species: Puccinia coronata (Pucciniomycetes: Pucciniales: Pucciniaceae) that develops on Lolium multiflorum (Poaceae), Puccinia sp. on Zea mays (Poaceae), Puccinia arachidis on Arachis hypogaea (Fabaceae) and Puccinia allii on Allium fistulosum (Amaryllidaceae). The new species is described and named here Mycodiplosis puccinivora Jiao, Bu Kolesik. It occurs in China, Japan, Thailand, Bangladesh and possibly Malaysia and Australia. In Hainan it has four to five generations per year.
Accurate identification of mosquitoes is crucial for the management and control of vector species. Although Singapore is a tropical country with high mosquito diversity, there are no identification keys specific to its mosquito fauna. An illustrated identification key to the genera of the adult female mosquitoes of Singapore is presented. Twenty genera are characterized and two genera found in Malaysia, Culiseta and Topomyia, are also included. The key will aid non-taxonomically trained operational officers in adult mosquito identification. The key to the genera provides the first crucial step in the process to species identification.
Four new species of Grouvellinus Champion, 1923 with very long median pronotal carina are described from China: G. hongkongensis sp. nov. (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong), G. longiusculus sp. nov. (Jiangxi), G. mediocarinatus sp. nov. (Fujian, Guangdong), and G. robustus sp. nov. (Anhui). These species are obviously closely related to G. bishopi Jäch, 1984 described from Malaysia (Selangor). The latter is here recorded for the first time from Kedah and Perak (Malaysia). Habitus photographs, detailed line drawings of the male genitalia, as well as a key to the males of the species of Grouvellinus with very long median pronotal carina are provided.
Orthoptera from Sandakan, Sabah are relatively understudied compared to some other parts of Borneo, and lack of information of species there can impede our understanding of the origins and biodiversity of orthopterans in Borneo and, in general, Southeast Asia. Based on a recent orthopteran survey in Sandakan, one new species of Lebinthus Stål is described: Lebinthus sandakan sp. nov. The male calling song of this new species is also presented. The calling song of Cardiodactylus borneoe Robillard Gorochov, 2014 is also described for the first time.
A comparison is made between atebrin-musonate and quinine bihydrochloride in the treatment of acute malaria. 286 cases of acute malaria due to Malayan strains of P. falciparum, P. vivax, and P. malariae, were treated in alternating sequence with one or other of these drugs. The rates at which the atebrin-musonate and the quinine case groups became trophozoite-free and fever-free are contrasted in a series of graphs. It is shown that there was a tendency for trophozoites to disappear from the peripheral blood and for temperatures to fall to normal somewhat earlier among cases treated with atebrin-musonate. No toxic effects of any importance were observed (but see footnote p. 657). Evidence is recorded which suggests that the minimal effective daily dose for an adult is 0·375 gramme (= atebrin 0·3 gramme). This dose when given either intramuscularly or intravenously on two successive days effected a rapid disappearance of parasites and fever. Intramuscular administration is regarded as the method of choice. It is noted that absorption of the drug from the muscles is very rapid, and that atebrin may be demonstrated in the urine within 10 minutes of an intramuscular injection of 0·3 gramme. A method of testing for the presence of atebrin in the urine which is sensitive to over one in a million is described. It was not possible to obtain precise data regarding the permanency of cure but an analysis of cases returning to hospital within 10 weeks of discharge suggests that relapses after atebrin-musonate treatment are probably fairly common.
Rehabilitation of degraded forest is being intensified in Borneo, effort by the INIKEA Rehabilitation Project in Luasong (Sabah) has resulted in healthy growth of native timber species to Borneo. Slow growth rate of Dipterocarps has been attributed to presence of biofoulers on its leaves and herbivory. Therefore, an investigation was conducted to document the coverage and distribution of foliicolous lichens on the leaves of five common timber species Dipterocarpus conformis, Dryobalanops lanceolate, Dryobalanops keithii, Shorea ovalis, and Shorea fallax, planted during this project in 2008. Colonization of foliicolous lichen on timber species was seen to exist in two distinct pattern; leaves of genus Shorea showed surface colonization of 28-29%, while genus Dipterocarpus and Drybalanopsis exhibited a lesser coverage of 15-18%. A total of 32 species belonging to nine families were recorded during the course of this study. Lichen diversity was higher on leaves of Dipterocarpus conformis and Shorea ovalis as compared to the other three species. In addition, nine new records of foliicolous lichens were isolated, identified and their descriptions are presented here.
Micryletta inornata (Boulenger 1890), the type species of the genus Micryletta, was originally described from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Subsequently, this species has been widely reported from Sundaland (Sumatra and Malay Peninsula), Indo-China, Northeast India and South Andaman, up to southern China and Taiwan. However, since the original description there has been no further report of this species from the type locality or the island. During a herpetofaunal survey in Sumatra, several specimens that are morphologically concordant with the original description and the syntypes of M. inornata were found, and thus the species was rediscovered after 125 years. Here, we provide a redescription of the species based on the freshly collected specimens, along with a detailed morphological and molecular comparison with known congeners. Further, using molecular data from the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, our study recovered the Sumatran M. inornata as a phylogenetically distinct lineage from all other populations previously referred to this species. This confirms that all known Micryletta 'inornata' populations from regions outside Sumatra constitute several other lineages representing either new species or previously available names currently considered as synonyms, consequently requiring taxonomic validation in the future.
Asian herminiine moths of the Herminia decipiens complex are revised and five allopatric species are recognized, i.e. Herminia decipiens (Hampson, 1898) in Nilgiri Hills, Khasi Hills, South China, Indochina, Malay Peninsula, H. terminalis (Wileman, 1915) in Taiwan, H. yuksam sp. nov. in East Nepal, Sikkim, H. borneo sp. nov. in Borneo and H. amamioshima sp. nov. in Amami-oshima Is., Shimo-Koshikijima Is. and South Kyushu (Kagoshima). Key to all species is given.
Background: Consistent with other countries, Malaysia suffers from a shortage of nursing faculty. In several studies it has been seen that job satisfaction has been shown to contribute to retention of nurse educators. The majority of these studies are from developed countries and were conducted over ten years ago. As a result these findings may not be relevant to contemporary Malaysia. So, the purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of job satisfaction among nurse lecturers in Malaysia.
Methods: A total of 20 nursing colleges throughout Malaysia were selected for random sampling, of which 30% agreed to participate. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire with additional demographic and organizational characteristics questions was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics was used to examine differences in job satisfaction between demographic and organizational variables. Spearman’s rho was used to test the relationship between each of the demographic / organizational characteristics and overall job satisfaction.
Results: A total of 73 nurse lecturers (73% response rate) returned the completed questionnaire. The findings indicated only a moderate level of job satisfaction. There were no significant correlations between demographic or organizational variables and overall job satisfaction levels with the exception of the number of students (p = 0.017).
Conclusions: An understanding of the factors affecting job satisfaction among nursing faculty could enhance retention and recruitment in this profession. Further research using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches is recommended to provide an in-depth understanding of nursing lecturers’ perceptions of job satisfaction.
Keywords: Nurse Job Satisfaction, Nurse Lecturers, Nurse Job
Stroke is the most important cause of death and foremost cause for dysfunction around the globe. As a result increase in the numberof elderly population the incidence of stroke has emerged as an important public health problem. Major developments have taken place in the field of medication for the prevention and treatment of stroke during the past decade. In spite of major interventions proposed by several organizations and the government, the present scenario of the stroke management facilities is still not promising. This article intends to investigate the health care facilities present for the elderly individuals with high risk of strokereoccurrence through proper analysis of the health system in Malaysia. The objectives are to find out evidence-based, reasonably priced and endurable measures to control the recurrences of stroke and to evaluate the outcomes of these interventions. It was noticed that in Malaysia though there many amenities for stroke patients are available but reorganizing and strengthening of few aspects such as human resource by multidisciplinary input is necessary for proper management of senior stroke patients. Moreover monitoring is essential to support patients after discharge from the hospital. The ethical variations among patient with stroke recurrence and the risk factor associated with stroke is not fully understood by healthcare workers. So, this study attempts to guide the stroke patient, their families and the health care workers to prevent stroke recurrence.
Keywords: Stroke, Stroke Interventions, Stroke in Malaysia
The concept of palliative care is still quite new in Malaysia. Through the experience of delivering palliative care in both the hospital and community settings, the author has realized that there are many false beliefs among the medical and nursing professionals, as well as patients and their caregivers. By exploring and providing factual explanations to these beliefs, the present article highlights the differences in approach between acute and palliative management and the importance of good communication skills, as well as correcting the myths of patients and their caregivers, with the aim of improving the understanding of palliative care., (C) 2003 Blackwell Science Ltd