Soul treatment

In this chapter various applications of birds will be explored. This chapter discusses birds in three main areas; food, therapy, and treatment. Birds of the same feathers flock together, is the most famous saying about birds

Factors affecting milk consumption among school children in urban and rural areas of Selangor, Malaysia

The aims of this research were to investigate the present beverage choice preference of school children and to examine the most preferred type of milk that is available in the market. As well as to determine the effect of personal and environmental factors on children’s intention to consume milk and its comparison between rural and urban area of Selangor. A total of 389 of 5th grade primary school children were selected in this study. This research was supported by social cognitive theory. Multiple linear regression, Pearson product-moment correlation, and cross-tabulation were used for forecasting the factors affecting to consumption of milk. It was found that the preferred beverages of children were: Mineral water, Milo, fruit juice, milk, yoghurt, Ribena, tea and soft drinks and it was the same amongst children in urban and rural areas. Among different types of milk, children preferred flavored milk rather than plain milk. Based on the findings, personal factors were more effective than environmental factors. To increase milk intake among children, marketers need to focus and strengthen the acceptability of milk and increase consumption by altering perception of milk advertisements. This article also profiled the children who are likely to drink milk based on personal and environmental factors in different areas

Chitty culinary traditions in Melaka, Malaysia.

The article offers information about the culinary traditions of Chitty in Melaka, Malaysia. It mentions that the Chitty are also called Peranakan Indians, thus describing their origin, in the same way as the phrase is used to determine Peranakan Chinese. Moreover, modern Chitty continue to practice Hinduism, although the Chitty women can be easily determined from Indian women by their Nyonya or Malay dress

Information sources on culinary tourism for France,Italy and Thailand.

In the present information age, customers may be overloaded with informa- tion from multiple media sources (Lurie 2004). Information search can be de- fined as “the motivated activation of knowledge stored in memory or acqui- sition of information from the environment” (Engel, Blackwell and Miniard 1995: 494). Based on the definition, information search behavior comprises internal and external sources (Beatty and Smith 1987). Specifically, internal information can be linked to individual, personal and previous experience. On-the-other-hand, external information search can be related to information from other outside sources, for example information in the print and electron- ic media, word-of-mouth, and marketing intermediaries (Beatty and Smith 1987; Engle, Blackwell and Miniard 1995). This study aims to explore the effects of information sources on travelers’ inten- tion to visit culinary destinations. The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of information sources on travelers’ intention to visit three well established culinary destinations, i.e. France, Italy, and Thailand. These desti- nations were selected during the focus group session. Two research questions were developed for this study: a) What sources of information are considered most important to travelers interested in visiting a culinary destination?; and b) What is the moderating effect of demographic characteristics on the rela- tionship between information sources and travelers’ intention to visit

Malaysia as a culinary tourism destination: international tourist's perspective

This study was conducted to determine Malaysia’s current food image and food attribute satisfaction from international tourists’ points of view and subsequently assess their overall satisfaction with the eating experience and behavioral intention. The results indicated that Malaysia possesses clear images of ‘core food value’, ‘Malaysian food specialty’, and ‘Malaysian food uniqueness’ but is rather unclear on the images of ‘food and dining atmosphere’ and ‘features of Malaysian food’. Tourists’ satisfaction with ‘quality and value of food’ and ‘accessibility convenience’ were relatively higher than ‘dining atmosphere’ and ‘culinary tourism products’. Regression analyses revealed that food images and food attributes’ satisfaction significantly predicted tourists’ overall satisfaction, and the overall satisfaction revealed a significant relationship with tourists’ behavioral intentions. Implications for managers who are involved in food tourism are posited

Development of Islamic law: the application of ‘urf in halal animal slaughtering practices

Islamic law is often misunderstood as a rigid and outdated law which is non-compatible to be exercised in this modern day. This is, however, not true due to the recognition of legal reasoning, al-ijtihad, in Islamic legal tradition where Islamic law is adaptable and flexible in line with the changing of times, places and circumstances. Halal industry, particularly the animal slaughtering practices is one of the areas that experience positive developments which lead to the emergence of new practices like stunning and mechanical slaughtering. Indeed, these practices are regarded as a new phenomenon in which there the issue was not clearly discussed in the classical literatures hence needs for further clarification on the status of Shariah legal rulings, hukm, from various sources of Islamic law including ‘urf. This paper is an attempt to discuss the development of Islamic law with special reference to the application of ‘urf in halal animal slaughtering practices. In order to achieve the objective, opinions from both classical and modern literatures are examined and analyzed in order to understand the development of Islamic law in halal industry. The findings show that ‘urf is considered as the most suitable instrument in determining the legal status of modern animal slaughtering practices since it is applicable to all kinds of situations, places and times

Efficiency measurement of a Malaysian hotel chain using DEA

Efficiency evaluation has become an important improvement tool for hotels to sustain in today’s highly competitive environment. This study used DEA approach to evaluate the relative efficiency of a Malaysian hotel chain during the period of 2004 to 2008 in terms of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) change. TFP change is measured using DEA-Malmquist productivity index. DEA is a pragmatic tool which combines multiple inputs and outputs objectively onto an overall measure of organizational efficiency. The Malmquist TFP index measures are decomposed into technical efficiency change and technological change. The decomposition of technical efficiency change into two sub-components, pure technical efficiency change, and scale efficiency change is also discussed in this paper. The actual operating data of five inputs and five outputs were collected from 10 hotels under the chain. Empirical results revealed that the TFP of the hotel chain slightly increased by 0.7% over the time period. Six of the hotels in the chain experienced positive TFP change while the others experienced TFP decline. The quadrant of efficiency was proposed to give a two-dimensional view of the hotel efficiency. Meanwhile, technological change was found to be more important factor of TFP growth as compared to technical efficiency change. Therefore, hotels which faced negative growths of technological change are recommended to improve their efficiency through investment in new technology or by upgrading the necessary skills. Additionally, the paper has also identified the best performing hotel within the chain which can be benchmarked by others who are seeking for performance improvemen

Dimensions of authenticity in Malay cuisine from experts' perspectives

Food authenticity is defined as the originality and genuine of Malay cuisine in various aspects. It is an important element in portraying the family identity, culture and heritage of Malay community in Malaysia. Food experts including professional chefs and cooks are believed the parties that still practising and maintaining the authenticity of Malay cuisine in today’s scenario. Hence, in-depth interviews were individually conducted among the Malay food experts (n=15) in each State in Peninsular Malaysia to seek how an experts interprets the meaning and characteristics of authenticity in Malay cuisine that influenced the taste of the food. Technically, the food experts were chosen based on the diverse understanding, skills and experiences in Malay cuisine. Furthermore, the interview data were strengthened with extensive observation in their food outlets. Consequently, data analysis by using a self determination theory approach revealed that Malay food experts’ personality and motivation were directly accessed them to view the authenticity of Malay cuisine in three dimensions. There were consists of family culture (relational orientation, value, cooking skill, cooking method, cooking utensil and cooking ingredients), self interest (hobby, passion, permanent job, financial and events), and awareness (authentic taste, texture and appearance, modification, and alteration) characteristics. In a nutshell, these empirical findings demonstrated how a model of dimensions of authenticity in Malay cuisine and the characteristics able to influence the authentic taste of the cuisine from the experts’ perspective and served as guidance for future researches and interventions in Malay cuisine authenticity

University foodservice: an overview of factors influencing the customers' dining choice

On-campus foodservices were thought to be the first choice for university students to dine in. However, these seemingly captive consumers have been opting for off-campus foodservice as their preferred outlet. This paper aims to uncover specific factors that motivate undergraduate students to dine-in at university foodservice facilities using Profile Accumulation Technique (PAT). PAT is a semi-quantitative method that provides freedom for informants to answer in their own terms and words, alternatively the data could be analyzed statistically. 115 questionnaires were distributed to students and staff of a local university. Findings include a list of factors (positive perception, negative perception and expectations) that the students considered to be significant in determining their choice of food outlet. These factors are then descriptively analyzed to determine attributes influencing university customer preferences. This paper significantly contributes in providing a deeper insight into factors that influences dining choice of university foodservice’s customers in Malaysia