Pendidikan bukan formal (PBF) di Malaysia: cabaran dan hala tuju Wawasan 2020

Pendidikan Bukan Formal (PBF) adalah pelengkap kepada pendidikan formal dan tidak formal. Justeru itu, ia amat penting dan bermakna kepada pembangunan manusia secara menyeluruh; selain membantu dalam proses pembangunan sesebuah negara. Pendidikan Bukan Formal amat penting kepada sesebuah negara yang sedang pesat membangun seperti Malaysia. Oleh yang demikian, pendidikan seumpama ini secara langsung atau tidak langsung mampu membangunkan literasi masyarakat dalam pelbagai disiplin ilmu seperti teknologi maklumat, pengurusan, kemanusiaa dan kemasyarakatan, keusahawanan, kenegaraan dan sebagainya. Pengayaan dan penguasaan ilmu pengetahuan amat penting dalam membina masyarakat yang berilmu dan bertamadun. Tentu sekali, dalam konteks Malaysia ia dapat dicapai menerusi minat dan ketekunan masyarakat dan galakan yang diberikan oleh pelbagai pihak termasuk kerajaan untuk belajar terus menerus sepanjang hayat. Justeru itu, kertas kerja ini akan memerihalkan bagaimana Pendidikan Bukan Formal boleh menjadi katalis kepada Pendidikan Sepanjang Hayat di Malaysia. Secara konseptual, kertas kerja ini akan dimulai dengan definisi konsep, jenis dan bentuk Pendidikan Bukan Formal. Selanjutnya, kertas kerja ini akan menjelaskan tentang faktor penarik dan penolak yang secara tidak langsung memberi kesan terhadap penglibatan masyarakat dan peranan yang dimainkan oleh pihak kerajaan, Pertubuhan Bukan Kerajaan mahu pun swasta. Paling penting, Pendidikan Bukan Formal ini akan disorot dalam pelbagai perspektif seperti pelan perancangan dan pembangunan negara, modenisasi dan pembangunan sosioekonomi. Selain itu, kertas kerja ini turut mengupas isu permasalahan yang timbul dalam perancangan dan pelaksanaan Pendidikan Bukan Formal Di Malaysia. Akhirnya, kertas kerja ini akan merumuskan akan harapan dan cabaran Wawasan 2020 dan Pendidikan Bukan Formal di Malaysia

Wajah moral masyarakat Melayu pascamoden: Antara realiti, harapan dan gagasan pendidikan moral tinggi

Dewasa ini dunia telah dilakari oleh pelbagai trend dan paradigma kehidupan bentuk baru. Pascamodenisme yang ditandai arus gelombang peringkat ketiga telah memberi impak yang bukan sedikit dalam kehidupan moral masyarakat khususnya masyarakat Melayu. Nilai-nilai yang dibawah oleh ideologi pascamodenisme menerusi pelbagai medium telah memberi dampak moral-sosial yang amat menakutkan. Hal ini tidak terkecuali meresapi ke dalam jiwa dan jatidiri masyarakat Melayu samada di Bandar mahu pun di luar Bandar. Statistik kebejatan social membuktikan hal ini. Sebut apa jua bentuk perlakuan tidak bermoral – pembunuhan, sumbang muhrim, pelacuran, gangsterisme, alkoholisme, perjudian, vandalisme dan sebagainya – setiap satu daripada amat ramai melibatkan masyarakat Melayu. Justeru itu, generalisasi dapat dibuat bahawa wajah moral masyarakat Melayu berada pada tahap yang amat kronik dan kritikal. Justeru itu, kertas kerja konseptual ini akan dibahagikan kepada tiga bahagian. Pada bahagian pertama kami akan menghuraikan secara konsep-konsep asas kertas kerja ini selain memaparkan hujah ‘rupa bentuk wajah’ moral masyarakat Melayu dulu dan kini. Kami juga akan memberikan justifikasi sebab-sebab munculnya wajah moral masyarakat Melayu masa kini pada bahagian kedua kertas kerja ini, kami akan mengagaskan usaha-usaha yang telah dan sedang dibuat bagi ‘mencantikkan’ wajah moral masyarakat Melayu. Dalam hal ini, kami turut melontarkan idea dan kritikan pendekatan-pendekatan yang dibuat selain mengagaskan suatu pendekatan yang lebih bersepadu. Pada bahagian akhir kertas kerja ini, kami menampilkan suatu pendekatan pendidikan moral tinggi yang mampu mengembalikan semula wajah moral yang indah dan bersih itu

Wajah moral masyarakat Melayu pasca moden: Antara realiti, harapan dan gagasan pendidikan moral tinggi

Dewasa ini dunia telah dilakari oleh pelbagai trend dan paradigma kehidupan bentuk baru. Pascamodenisme yang ditandai arus gelombang peringkat ketiga telah memberi impak yang bukan sedikit dalam kehidupan moral masyarakat khususnya masyarakat Melayu. Nilai-nilai yang dibawah oleh ideologi pascamodenisme menerusi pelbagai medium telah memberi dampak moral-sosial yang amat menakutkan. Hal ini tidak terkecuali meresapi ke dalam jiwa dan jatidiri masyarakat Melayu samada di Bandar mahu pun di luar Bandar. Statistik kebejatan sosial membuktikan hal ini. Sebut apa jua bentuk perlakuan tidak bermoral – pembunuhan, sumbang muhrim, pelacuran, gangsterisme, alkoholisme, perjudian, vandalisme dan sebagainya – setiap satu daripada amat ramai melibatkan masyarakat Melayu. Justeru itu, generalisasi dapat dibuat bahawa wajah moral masyarakat Melayu berada pada tahap yang amat kronik dan kritikal. Justeru itu, kertas kerja konseptual ini akan dibahagikan kepada tiga bahagian. Pada bahagian pertama kami akan menghuraikan secara konsep-konsep asas kertas kerja ini selain memaparkan hujah ‘rupa bentuk wajah’ moral masyarakat Melayu dulu dan kini. Kami juga akan memberikan justifikasi sebab-sebab munculnya wajah moral masyarakat Melayu masa kini Pada bahagian kedua kertas kerja ini, kami akan mengagaskan usaha-usaha yang telah dan sedang dibuat bagi ‘mencantikkan’ wajah moral masyarakat Melayu. Dalam hal ini, kami turut melontarkan idea dan kritikan pendekatan-pendekatan yang dibuat selain mengagaskan suatu pendekatan yang lebih bersepadu. Pada bahagian akhir kertas kerja ini, kami menampilkan suatu pendekatan pendidikan moral tinggi yang mampu mengembalikan semula wajah moral yang indah dan bersih itu

Research Article Countering Recommendation from CICR on Social Impact of FDI in Liberia: Strategies for Sime Darby to Overcome the Problems

Abstract: Liberia has initiated a paradigm shift to develop its agriculture sector through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). An investment from Sime Darby Plantations has created social impact towards the local, culture and land use. Center for International Conflict Resolution or CICR has seen these problems as a threat to social development in Liberia. Eleven recommendations have been delivered to Sime Darby as a solution to cater all problems that should conserve the local, culture and the land use. In order to assist Sime Darby, this study aims to highlight a strategy for Sime Darby to counter all recommendations from CICR. This study was conducted over a period of three months with several documents and files being investigated. Documents from CICR and Sime Darby have been analyzed thoroughly in order to propose a promising resolution. Three factors have been seen as solutions to Sime Darby to overcome the problems whilst it will assist them on their investment in Liberia. Sime Darby has to execute all strategies that will promise a long run investment in Liberia whilst building their own image as a people-friendly company

The effect of motorcycle helmet type on head response in oblique impact

In Malaysia, riding motorcycles is a popular mode of transportation, particularly in urban areas where traffic congestion is prevalent. Additionally, motorcycles are relatively affordable and have low fuel consumption, which makes them an attractive option for many. Per Malaysian traffic laws, riders must wear helmets while riding. As a result, various brands and types of helmets are available for purchase. However, with the increasing popularity of online shopping platforms, many individuals opt to purchase helmets online despite the uncertain quality control of these products. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of three different types of motorcycle helmets in protecting the head from injury. The helmet types evaluated in this unbiased study include full-face, open-face, and half-coverage helmets. The head injury predictors used in this study include Peak Linear Acceleration (PLA), Peak Rotational Acceleration (PRA), Head Injury Criterion (HIC), and Brain Injury Criterion (BrIC). Each helmet was subjected to an impact in a controlled environment using a 6-kg cylinder attached to a pendulum arm, with the impact directed at the front of the helmet at a speed of approximately 6 m/s. Full-face and open-face helmets performed exceptionally well in terms of linear parameters (PLA and HIC). The PLA and HIC of half-coverage helmets are nearly 70% and 50% higher than full-face and open-face helmets. All helmets perform poorly against rotational impact (PRA and BrIC). This shows that helmet design needs to be improved to enhance protection against rotational impact. This study represents the first case study in Malaysia to gather mechanical head injury data comparing the protective performance of different helmet types under both linear and rotational impact. These findings may provide a more accurate understanding of helmet performance in protecting against head injuries

The analysis of road traffic fatality pattern for Selangor, Malaysia case study

Road traffic fatality is a burden towards low- and middle-income countries including Malaysia. Seeing that Selangor has the highest number of road traffic fatalities in Malaysia for the year 2019, therefore the state is selected as a case study. The aim of the article is 1) to understand the road traffic crash pattern and road traffic fatality pattern in Selangor 2) to determine the ability of 16 road traffic features in classifying road traffic fatality occurrence. The preliminary data screening shows that road traffic crash patterns and road traffic fatality patterns in Selangor have many similarities. However, both of them also have few dissimilarities such as crash time of occurrence, day of occurrence, number of vehicles involved in a crash, and type of vehicle first hit for the crash. Supervised machine learning algorithm in Orange data mining software was considered in this analysis. The analysed algorithms among others are neural network, random forest, decision tree, logistic regression, naïve Bayes, and support vector machine. Neural network was seen as the best algorithm to classify road traffic fatality occurrence with 97.0% classification accuracy outperform other algorithms. The result of the article can be used by the relevant traffic stakeholders to execute safety intervention in a more focused manner in Selangor to reduce the number of road traffic fatalities

Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, ventilation management, and outcomes in invasively ventilated intensive care unit patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome: a pooled analysis of four observational studies

Background: Geoeconomic variations in epidemiology, the practice of ventilation, and outcome in invasively ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain unexplored. In this analysis we aim to address these gaps using individual patient data of four large observational studies. Methods: In this pooled analysis we harmonised individual patient data from the ERICC, LUNG SAFE, PRoVENT, and PRoVENT-iMiC prospective observational studies, which were conducted from June, 2011, to December, 2018, in 534 ICUs in 54 countries. We used the 2016 World Bank classification to define two geoeconomic regions: middle-income countries (MICs) and high-income countries (HICs). ARDS was defined according to the Berlin criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patients in MICs versus HICs. The primary outcome was the use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) for the first 3 days of mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were key ventilation parameters (tidal volume size, positive end-expiratory pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen, peak pressure, plateau pressure, driving pressure, and respiratory rate), patient characteristics, the risk for and actual development of acute respiratory distress syndrome after the first day of ventilation, duration of ventilation, ICU length of stay, and ICU mortality. Findings: Of the 7608 patients included in the original studies, this analysis included 3852 patients without ARDS, of whom 2345 were from MICs and 1507 were from HICs. Patients in MICs were younger, shorter and with a slightly lower body-mass index, more often had diabetes and active cancer, but less often chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure than patients from HICs. Sequential organ failure assessment scores were similar in MICs and HICs. Use of LTVV in MICs and HICs was comparable (42\ub74% vs 44\ub72%; absolute difference \u20131\ub769 [\u20139\ub758 to 6\ub711] p=0\ub767; data available in 3174 [82%] of 3852 patients). The median applied positive end expiratory pressure was lower in MICs than in HICs (5 [IQR 5\u20138] vs 6 [5\u20138] cm H2O; p=0\ub70011). ICU mortality was higher in MICs than in HICs (30\ub75% vs 19\ub79%; p=0\ub70004; adjusted effect 16\ub741% [95% CI 9\ub752\u201323\ub752]; p<0\ub70001) and was inversely associated with gross domestic product (adjusted odds ratio for a US$10 000 increase per capita 0\ub780 [95% CI 0\ub775\u20130\ub786]; p<0\ub70001). Interpretation: Despite similar disease severity and ventilation management, ICU mortality in patients without ARDS is higher in MICs than in HICs, with a strong association with country-level economic status. Funding: No funding

African Genomic Medicine Portal: A Web Portal for Biomedical Applications

Genomics data are currently being produced at unprecedented rates, resulting in increased knowledge discovery and submission to public data repositories. Despite these advances, genomic information on African-ancestry populations remains significantly low compared with European- and Asian-ancestry populations. This information is typically segmented across several different biomedical data repositories, which often lack sufficient fine-grained structure and annotation to account for the diversity of African populations, leading to many challenges related to the retrieval, representation and findability of such information. To overcome these challenges, we developed the African Genomic Medicine Portal (AGMP), a database that contains metadata on genomic medicine studies conducted on African-ancestry populations. The metadata is curated from two public databases related to genomic medicine, PharmGKB and DisGeNET. The metadata retrieved from these source databases were limited to genomic variants that were associated with disease aetiology or treatment in the context of African-ancestry populations. Over 2000 variants relevant to populations of African ancestry were retrieved. Subsequently, domain experts curated and annotated additional information associated with the studies that reported the variants, including geographical origin, ethnolinguistic group, level of association significance and other relevant study information, such as study design and sample size, where available. The AGMP functions as a dedicated resource through which to access African-specific information on genomics as applied to health research, through querying variants, genes, diseases and drugs. The portal and its corresponding technical documentation, implementation code and content are publicly available

African Genomic Medicine Portal: A Web Portal for Biomedical Applications

Genomics data are currently being produced at unprecedented rates, resulting in increased knowledge discovery and submission to public data repositories. Despite these advances, genomic information on African-ancestry populations remains significantly low compared with European- and Asian-ancestry populations. This information is typically segmented across several different biomedical data repositories, which often lack sufficient fine-grained structure and annotation to account for the diversity of African populations, leading to many challenges related to the retrieval, representation and findability of such information. To overcome these challenges, we developed the African Genomic Medicine Portal (AGMP), a database that contains metadata on genomic medicine studies conducted on African-ancestry populations. The metadata is curated from two public databases related to genomic medicine, PharmGKB and DisGeNET. The metadata retrieved from these source databases were limited to genomic variants that were associated with disease aetiology or treatment in the context of African-ancestry populations. Over 2000 variants relevant to populations of African ancestry were retrieved. Subsequently, domain experts curated and annotated additional information associated with the studies that reported the variants, including geographical origin, ethnolinguistic group, level of association significance and other relevant study information, such as study design and sample size, where available. The AGMP functions as a dedicated resource through which to access African-specific information on genomics as applied to health research, through querying variants, genes, diseases and drugs. The portal and its corresponding technical documentation, implementation code and content are publicly available