Abstract: Microbes have been used to solve environmental
problems for many years. The role of microorganism to sequester,
precipitate or alter the oxidation state of various heavy metals has
been extensively studied. Treatment using microorganism interacts
with toxic metal are very diverse. The purpose of this research is to
remove the mercury using Pseudomonas putida (P. putida), pure
culture ATTC 49128 at optimum growth parameters such as
techniques of culture, acclimatization time and speed of incubator
shaker. Thus, in this study, the optimum growth parameters of P.
putida were obtained to achieve the maximum of mercury removal.
Based on the optimum parameters of P. putida for specific growth
rate, the removal of two different mercury concentration, 1 ppm and
4 ppm were studied. From mercury nitrate solution, a mercuryresistant
bacterial strain which is able to reduce from ionic mercury
to metallic mercury was used to reduce ionic mercury. The overall
levels of mercury removal in this study were between 80% and 89%.
The information obtained in this study is of fundamental for
understanding of the survival of P. putida ATTC 49128 in mercury
solution. Thus, microbial mercury removal is a potential
bioremediation for wastewater especially in petrochemical industries
in Malaysia.
Abstract: This paper investigates and compares the community
support for tourism development between two groups of minority
ethnic descendants in Malacca, Malaysia, namely the Baba-Nyonya
and Portuguese. A descriptive research design using a quantitative
method with self-reported and self-administered questionnaires
through across-sectional approach was applied. Through the
descriptive and inferential statistics, some significantly useful
insights pertaining to the issue investigated were obtained. The
research outcomes indicate that the sense of community is somewhat
more effective in small communities in terms of togetherness,
closeness and a sense of belonging compared to the slightly bigger
minority group. In addition, the sense of community attributes
through membership, influence, integration and shared emotional
connections contributes to community participation in tourism
development regardless of which ethnic group one belongs to.
Abstract: Networking is important among students to achieve
better understanding. Social networking plays an important role in the
education. Realizing its huge potential, various organizations,
including institutions of higher learning have moved to the area of
social networks to interact with their students especially through
Facebook. Therefore, measuring the effectiveness of Facebook as a
learning tool has become an area of interest to academicians and
researchers. Therefore, this study tried to integrate and propose new
theoretical and empirical evidences by linking the western idea of
adopting Facebook as an alternative learning platform from a
Malaysian perspective. This study, thus, aimed to fill a gap by being
among the pioneering research that tries to study the effectiveness of
adopting Facebook as a learning platform across other cultural
settings, namely Malaysia. Structural equation modeling was
employed for data analysis and hypothesis testing. This study finding
has provided some insights that would likely affect students’
awareness towards using Facebook as an alternative learning
platform in the Malaysian higher learning institutions. At the end,
future direction is proposed.
Abstract: Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test
a hypothesized model explaining Malaysian hypermarket customers’
perceptions of brand trust (BT), customer perceived value (CPV) and
perceived service quality (PSQ) on building their brand loyalty
(CBL) and generating positive word-of-mouth communication
(WOM). Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data
from 374 Malaysian hypermarket customers from Mydin, Tesco,
Aeon Big and Giant in Kuala Lumpur, a metropolitan city of
Malaysia. The data strongly supported the model exhibiting that BT,
CPV and PSQ are prerequisite factors in building customer brand
loyalty, while PSQ has the strongest effect on prediction of customer
brand loyalty compared to other factors. Besides, the present study
suggests the effect of the aforementioned factors via customer brand
loyalty strongly contributes to generate positive word of mouth
communication.
Abstract: The aims of this study were to determine the factor
structure and psychometric properties (i.e., reliability and convergent
validity) of the Malaysian Multi-Ethnic Discrimination Scale
(MMEDS). It consists of 71-items measure experience, strategies
used and consequences of ethnic discrimination. A sample of 649
university students from one of the higher education institution in
Malaysia was asked to complete MMEDS, as well as Perceived
Ethnic and Racial Discrimination. The exploratory factor analysis on
ethnic discrimination experience extracted two factors labeled ‘unfair
treatment’ (15 items) and ‘Denial of the ethnic right’ (12 items)
which accounted for 60.92% of the total variance. The two sub scales
demonstrated clear reliability with internal consistency above .70.
The convergent validity of the Scale was supported by an expected
pattern of correlations (positive and significant correlation) between
the score of unfair treatment and denial of the ethnic right and the
score of Perceived Ethnic and Racial Discrimination by Peers Scale.
The results suggest that the MMEDS is a reliable and valid measure.
However, further studies need to be carried out in other groups of
sample as to validate the Scale.
Abstract: Availability of different genetic tests after completion
of Human Genome Project increases the physicians’ responsibility to
keep themselves update on the potential implementation of these
genetic tests in their daily practice. However, due to numbers of
barriers, still many of physicians are not either aware of these tests or
are not willing to offer or refer their patients for genetic tests. This
study was conducted an anonymous, cross-sectional, mailed-based
survey to develop a primary data of Malaysian physicians’ level of
knowledge and perception of gene profiling. Questionnaire had 29
questions. Total scores on selected questions were used to assess the
level of knowledge. The highest possible score was 11. Descriptive
statistics, one way ANOVA and chi-squared test was used for
statistical analysis. Sixty three completed questionnaires were
returned by 27 general practitioners (GPs) and 36 medical specialists.
Responders’ age ranges from 24 to 55 years old (mean 30.2 ± 6.4).
About 40% of the participants rated themselves as having poor level
of knowledge in genetics in general whilst 60% believed that they
have fair level of knowledge; however, almost half (46%) of the
respondents felt that they were not knowledgeable about available
genetic tests. A majority (94%) of the responders were not aware of
any lab or company which is offering gene profiling services in
Malaysia. Only 4% of participants were aware of using gene profiling
for detection of dosage of some drugs. Respondents perceived greater
utility of gene profiling for breast cancer (38%) compared to the
colorectal familial cancer (3%). The score of knowledge ranged from
2 to 8 (mean 4.38 ± 1.67). Non- significant differences between score
of knowledge of GPs and specialists were observed, with score of
4.19 and 4.58 respectively. There was no significant association
between any demographic factors and level of knowledge. However,
those who graduated between years 2001 to 2005 had higher level of
knowledge. Overall, 83% of participants showed relatively high level
of perception on value of gene profiling to detect patient’s risk of
disease. However, low perception was observed for both statements
of using gene profiling for general population in order to alter their
lifestyle (25%) as well as having the full sequence of a patient
genome for the purpose of determining a patient’s best match for
treatment (18%). The lack of clinical guidelines, limited provider
knowledge and awareness, lack of time and resources to educate
patients, lack of evidence-based clinical information and cost of tests
were the most barriers of ordering gene profiling mentioned by
physicians. In conclusion Malaysian physicians who participate in
this study had mediocre level of knowledge and awareness in gene
profiling. The low exposure to the genetic questions and problems
might be a key predictor of lack of awareness and knowledge on
available genetic tests. Educational and training workshop might be useful in helping Malaysian physicians incorporate genetic profiling
into practice for eligible patients.
Abstract: This study was carried out to investigate the adverse
effect of industrial wastewater on surface water quality in Gebeng
industrial estate, Pahang, Malaysia. Surface water was collected from
six sampling stations. Physicochemical parameters were
characterized based on in-situ and ex-situ analysis according to
standard methods by American Public Health Association (APHA).
Selected heavy metals were determined by using Inductively Coupled
Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP MS). The results revealed that the
concentration of heavy metals such as Pb, Cu, Cd, Cr and Hg were
high in samples. The results also showed that the value of Pb and Hg
were higher in the wet season in comparison to dry season.
According to Malaysia National Water Quality Standard (NWQS)
and Water Quality Index (WQI) all the sampling station were
categorized as class IV (highly polluted). The present study revealed
that the adverse effects of careless disposal of wastes and directly
discharge of effluents affected on surface water quality. Therefore,
the authorities should implement the laws to ensure the proper
practices of wastewater management for environmental sustainability
around the study area.
Abstract: The safety and health performances aspects of a building are the most challenging aspect of facility management. It requires a deep understanding by the building managers on the factors that contribute to health and safety performances. This study attempted to develop an explanatory architectural safety performance model for stratified low-cost housing in Malaysia. The proposed Building Safety and Health Performance (BSHP) model was tested empirically through a survey on 308 construction practitioners using partial least squares (PLS) and structural equation modelling (SEM) tool. Statistical analysis results supports the conclusion that architecture, building services, external environment, management approaches and maintenance management have positive influence on safety and health performance of stratified low-cost housing in Malaysia. The findings provide valuable insights for construction industry to introduce BSHP model in the future where the model could be used as a guideline for training purposes of managers and better planning and implementation of building management.
Abstract: This study examined how individuals in their
respective teams contributed to innovation performance besides
defining the term of innovation in their own respective views. This
study also identified factors that motivated University staff to
contribute to the innovation products. In addition, it examined
whether there is a significant relationship between professional
training level and the length of service among university staff
towards innovation and to what extent do the two variables
contributed towards innovative products. The significance of this
study is that it revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the
university staff when contributing to innovation performance.
Stratified-random sampling was employed to determine the samples
representing the population of lecturers in the study, involving 123
lecturers in one of the local universities in Malaysia. The method
employed to analyze the data is through categorizing into themes for
the open-ended questions besides using descriptive and inferential
statistics for the quantitative data. This study revealed that two types
of definition for the term “innovation” exist among the university
staff, namely, creation of new product or new approach to do things
as well as value-added creative way to upgrade or improve existing
process and service to be more efficient. This study found that the
most prominent factor that propels them towards innovation is to
improve the product in order to benefit users, followed by selfsatisfaction
and recognition. This implies that the staff in the
organization viewed the creation of innovative products as a process
of growth to fulfill the needs of others and also to realize their
personal potential. This study also found that there was only a
significant relationship between the professional training level and
the length of service of 4 - 6 years among the university staff. The
rest of the groups based on the length of service showed that there
was no significant relationship with the professional training level
towards innovation. Moreover, results of the study on directional
measures depicted that the relationship for the length of service of 4-
6 years with professional training level among the university staff is
quite weak. This implies that good organization management lies on
the shoulders of the key leaders who enlighten the path to be
followed by the staff.
Abstract: This paper describes the issues relating to the role of
the flash flood early warning system provided by the Malaysian
Government to the communities in Malaysia, specifically during the
flash flood disaster in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Normally,
flash flood disasters can occur as a result of heavy rainfall in an area,
and that water may possibly cause flooding via streams or narrow
channels. The focus of this study is the flash flood disaster which
occurred on 23 October 2013 in the Cameron Highlands, and as a
result the Sungai Bertam overflowed after the release of water from
the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam. This release of water from the dam
caused flash flooding which led to damage to properties and also the
death of residents and livestock in the area. Therefore, the effort of
this study is to identify the perceptions of the flash flood victims on
the role of the flash flood early warning system. For the purposes of
this study, data were gathered through face-to-face interviews from
those flood victims who were willing to participate in this study. This
approach helped the researcher to glean in-depth information about
their feelings and perceptions of the role of the flash flood early
warning system offered by the government. The data were analysed
descriptively and the findings show that the respondents of 22 flood
victims believe strongly that the flash flood early warning system was
confusing and dysfunctional, and communities had failed to response
positively to it. Therefore, most of the communities were not well
prepared for the releasing of water from the dam which caused
property damage, and 3 people were killed in the Cameron Highland
flash flood disaster.
Abstract: Most people today are aware that global climate
change is not just a scientific theory but also a fact with worldwide
consequences. Global climate change is due to rapid urbanization,
industrialization, high population growth and current vulnerability of
the climatic condition. Water is becoming scarce as a result of global
climate change. To mitigate the problem arising due to global climate
change and its drought effect, harvesting rainwater from green roofs,
an environmentally-friendly and versatile technology, is becoming
one of the best assessment criteria and gaining attention in Malaysia.
This paper addresses the sustainability of green roofs and examines
the quality of water harvested from green roofs in comparison to
rainwater. The factors that affect the quality of such water, taking
into account, for example, roofing materials, climatic conditions, the
frequency of rainfall frequency and the first flush. A green roof was
installed on the Humid Tropic Centre (HTC) is a place of the study
on monitoring program for urban Stormwater Management Manual
for Malaysia (MSMA), Eco-Hydrological Project in Kuala Lumpur,
and the rainwater was harvested and evaluated on the basis of four
parameters i.e., conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and
temperature. These parameters were found to fall between Class I and
Class III of the Interim National Water Quality Standards (INWQS)
and the Water Quality Index (WQI). Some preliminary treatment
such as disinfection and filtration could likely to improve the value of
these parameters to class I. This review paper clearly indicates that
there is a need for more research to address other microbiological and
chemical quality parameters to ensure that the harvested water is
suitable for use potable water for domestic purposes. The change in
all physical, chemical and microbiological parameters with respect to
storage time will be a major focus of future studies in this field.
Abstract: This study aimed to identify the alignment of
understanding and assessment practices among secondary school
teachers. The study was carried out using quantitative descriptive
study. The sample consisted of 164 teachers who taught Form 1 and 2
from 11 secondary schools in the district of North Kinta, Perak,
Malaysia. Data were obtained from 164 respondents who answered
Expectation Alignment Understanding and Practices of School
Assessment (PEKDAPS) questionnaire. The data were analysed
using SPSS 17.0+. The Cronbach’s alpha value obtained through
PEKDAPS questionnaire pilot study was 0.86. The results showed
that teachers' performance in PEKDAPS based on the mean value
was less than 3, which means that perfect alignment does not occur
between the understanding and practices of school assessment. Two
major PEKDAPS sub-constructs of articulation across grade and age
and usability of the system were higher than the moderate alignment
of the understanding and practices of school assessment (Min=2.0).
The content focused of PEKDAPs sub-constructs which showed
lower than the moderate alignment of the understanding and practices
of school assessment (Min=2.0). Another two PEKDAPS subconstructs
of transparency and fairness and the pedagogical
implications showed moderate alignment (2.0). The implications of
the study is that teachers need to fully understand the importance of
alignment among components of assessment, learning and teaching
and learning objectives as strategies to achieve quality assessment
process.
Abstract: Background: The objectives of this study were to
assess patient’s knowledge of appropriate sublingual glyceryl
trinitrate (GTN) use as well as to investigate how patients commonly
store and carry their sublingual GTN tablets. Methodology: This was
a cross-sectional survey, using a validated researcher-administered
questionnaire. The study involved cardiac patients receiving
sublingual GTN attending the outpatient and inpatient departments of
Taiping Hospital, a non-academic public care hospital. The minimum
calculated sample size was 92, but 100 patients were conveniently
sampled. Respondents were interviewed on 3 areas, including
demographic data, knowledge and use of sublingual GTN. Eight
items were used to calculate each subject’s knowledge score and six
items were used to calculate use score. Results: Of the 96 patients
who consented to participate, majority (96.9%) were well aware of
the indication of sublingual GTN. With regards to the mechanism of
action of sublingual GTN, 73 (76%) patients did not know how the
medication works. Majority of the patients (66.7%) knew about the
proper storage of the tablet. In relation to the maximum number of
sublingual GTN tablets that can be taken during each angina episode,
36.5% did not know that up to 3 tablets of sublingual GTN can be
taken during each episode of angina. Fifty four (56.2%) patients were
not aware that they need to replace sublingual GTN every 8 weeks
after receiving the tablets. Majority (69.8%) of the patients
demonstrated lack of knowledge with regards to the use of sublingual
GTN as prevention of chest pain. Conclusion: Overall, patients’
knowledge regarding the self-administration of sublingual GTN is
still inadequate. The findings support the need for more frequent
reinforcement of patient education, especially in the areas of
preventive use, storage and drug stability.
Abstract: The Malaysian government had consistently revived
its campaign for “Buy Malaysian Goods” from time to time. The
purpose of the campaign is to remind consumers to be ethnocentric
and patriotic when purchasing product and services. This is necessary
to ensure high demand for local products and services compared to
foreign products. However, the decline of domestic investment in
2012 has triggered concern for the Malaysian economy. Hence, this
study attempts to determine the drivers of actual purchasing behavior,
intention to purchase domestic products and ethnocentrism. The
study employs the cross-sectional primary data, self-administered on
household, selected using stratified random sampling in four
Malaysian regions. A nine factor driver of actual domestic purchasing
behavior (culture openness, conservatism, collectivism, patriotism,
control belief, interest in foreign travel, attitude, ethnocentrism and
intention) were measured utilizing 60 items, using 7-point Likertscale.
From 1000 questionnaires distributed, a sample of 486 were
returned representing 48.6 percent response rate. From the fit
generated structural model (SEM analysis), it was found that the
drivers of actual purchase behavior are collectivism, cultural
openness and patriotism; the drivers of intention to purchase
domestic product are attitude, control belief, collectivism and
conservatism; and drivers of ethnocentrism are cultural openness,
control belief, foreign travel and patriotism. It also shows that
Malaysian consumers scored high in ethnocentrism and patriotism.
The findings are discussed in the perspective of its implication to
Malaysian National Agenda.
Abstract: Part and parcel of building green homes (GHs) with
favorable thermal comfort (TC) is to design and build with reduced
carbon footprint (CF) from embodied energy in the building envelope
and reduced operational CF overall. Together, the environmental
impact of GHs can be reduced significantly. Nevertheless, there is
still a need to identify the base CF value for Malaysian GHs and this
can be done by assessing existing ones which can then be compared
to conventional and vernacular houses which are built differently
with different building materials. This paper underlines the research
design and introduces the case studies. For now, the operational CF
of the case studies is beyond the scope of this study. Findings from
this research could identify the best building material and
construction technique combination to build GHs depending on the
available skills, financial constraints and the condition of the
immediate environment.
Abstract: Diminished antioxidant defense or increased
production of reactive oxygen species in the biological system can
result in oxidative stress which may lead to various
neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Microglial activation also contributes to the progression of AD by
producing several proinflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide (NO) and
prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Oxidative stress and inflammation have
been reported to be possible pathophysiological mechanisms
underlying AD. In addition, the cholinergic hypothesis postulates that
memory impairment in patient with AD is also associated with the
deficit of cholinergic function in the brain. Although a number of
drugs have been approved for the treatment of AD, most of these
synthetic drugs have diverse side effects and yield relatively modest
benefits. Marine algae have great potential in pharmaceutical and
biomedical applications as they are valuable sources of bioactive
properties such as anticoagulation, antimicrobial, antioxidative,
anticancer and anti-inflammatory. Hence, this study aimed to provide
an overview of the properties of Malaysian seaweeds (Padina
australis, Sargassum polycystum and Caulerpa racemosa) in
inhibiting oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and cholinesterase
enzymes. These seaweeds significantly exhibited potent DPPH and
moderate superoxide anion radical scavenging ability (P
Abstract: The goal of this study is to identify success factors
that could influence the ISMS self-implementation in government
sector from qualitative perspective. This study is based on a case
study in one of the Malaysian government agency. Semi-structured
interviews involving five key informants were conducted to examine
factors addressed in the conceptual framework. Subsequently,
thematic analysis was executed to describe the influence of each
factor on the success implementation of ISMS. The result of this
study indicates that management commitment, implementer
commitment and implementer competency are part of the success
factors for ISMS self-implementation in Malaysian Government
Sector.
Abstract: This experimental study evaluates the effect of using
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Multidimensional Self-
Concept Model (MSCM) in a drug prevention programme to increase
resiliency and reduce aggression among at-risk youth in Malaysia. A
number of 60 (N=60) university students who were at-risk of taking
drugs were involved in this study. Participants were identified with
self-rating scales, Adolescent Resilience Attitude Scale (ARAS) and
Aggression Questionnaire. Based on the mean score of these
instruments, the participants were divided into the treatment group,
and the control group. Data were analyzed using t-test. The finding
showed that the mean score of resiliency was increased in the
treatment group compared to the control group. It also shows that the
mean score of aggression was reduced in the treatment group
compared to the control group. Drug Prevention Programme was
found to help in enhancing resiliency and reducing aggression among
participants in the treatment group compared to the controlled group.
Implications were given regarding the preventive actions on drug
abuse among youth in Malaysia.
Abstract: Conservation works in Malaysia that is procured by
public organisation usually follow the traditional approach where the
works are tendered based on Bills of Quantities (BQ). One of the
purposes of tendering is to enable the selection of a competent
contractor that offers a competitive price. While competency of the
contractors are assessed by their technical knowledge, experience and
track records, the assessment of pricing will be dependent on the
tender amount. However, the issue currently faced by the
conservation works sector is the difficulty in assessing the
competitiveness and reasonableness of the tender amount due to the
high variance between the tenders amount. Thus, this paper discusses
the factors that cause difficulty to the tenderers in pricing
competitively in a bidding exercise for conservation tenders. Data on
tendering is collected from interviews with conservation works
contractors to gain in-depth understanding of the barriers faced in
pricing tenders of conservation works. Findings from the study lent
support to the contention that the variance of tender amount is very
high amongst tenderers. The factors identified in the survey are the
format of BQ, hidden works, experience and labour and material
costs.
Abstract: Recently, universities are increasingly consuming
energy to support various activities. A large population of staff and
students in Malaysian universities has led to excessive energy
consumption which directly gives an impact to the environment. The
key question then ascended “How well is an energy management
(EM) been practiced in universities without taking the Critical
Success Factors (CSFs) into consideration to ensure the management
of university achieves the goals in reducing energy consumption.
Review on past literature is carried out to establish CSFs for EM best
practices. Thus, this paper highlighted the CSFs which have to be
focused on by management of university to successfully measure the
EM implementation and its performance. At the end of this paper, a
theoretical framework is developed for EM success factors towards
sustainable university.