Discriminatory attitude toward vulnerable groups in Singapore: Prevalence, predictors, and pattern

Presently, there is a lack of psychological and quantitative studies in Singapore about discriminatory attitudes. This paper aimed to contribute to this aspect. However, to examine actual behavior can be difficult due to the sensitive nature of the needed data. Hence, this study approached discrimination at an attitudinal level. Six vulnerable groups were examined in this study. They consisted of people of a different race, immigrants or foreign workers, homosexuals, people living with HIV/AIDS, people of a different religion, and unmarried couples living together. Two research questions were posed: 1) What is the prevalence of having discriminatory attitude toward vulnerable groups? and 2) What are the predictors of these discriminatory attitudes? Using a sample population of 1,972 Singaporeans, descriptive analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis were conducted. Firstly, based on the results, the prevalence ranged between 10.76% to 42.46%. Singaporeans have discriminatory attitude toward vulnerable groups who can be categorized into two: the least discriminated (three groups ranging between 10.76% to 15.48%) and the highly discriminated (three groups ranging between 30.86% to 42.46%). Secondly, binomial logistic regression showed support for several significant predictors such as emphasis on the importance of religion and tradition, and employment status, depending on the model assessed. However, one pattern was observed in all the models, that a person who discriminates one group is more likely to discriminate another group. The findings were then discussed and explained within the context of Singapore

FORECASTING WITH WEIGHTED MOVING AVERAGE METHOD FOR PRODUCT PROCUREMENT STOCK

ABSTRACTDhanty Store is a family start-up located in East Jakarta. It was initiated in 2018, engaged in retail with the main product in the form of women's clothing and accessories. One of the important processes in Dhanty Store operations is the product procurement process. Currently, Dhanty Store request products according to their wishes without looking at their sales data. This causes their product stock is not well controlled. When there is a lot of demand, sometimes Dhanty Shops run out of stock so their customers will move to other stores. In addition, the process of requesting and procuring products to suppliers also takes a long time so that it can further disrupt the operations of Dhanty Store. This study develops a forecasting application prototype with the Weighted Moving Average method to assist Dhanty Store in the process of requesting and procuring their products. Forecasting results in the period (t) of the 1st week of January were 275 products. In addition, this study predicts product stock with a 4-week moving average and the MAD tracking signal value is ranged from -1.51 to 3.86 and the MAPE value is 35.4%. As for the reliability and level of user acceptance of the prototype model in this study, tested using the System Usability Scale (SUS) method and it is known that the average value given by respondents was 82 with details 0% considered inappropriate, 40% considered neutral and 60% rated it according to need.                                                                                                                                                        Keywords: data mining, forecasting, weighted moving average, MAD, MAPE, SU

Gazing into the future of Sri Lankan higher education: capacity building for the future

This paper reports on an investigation into capacity building processes in relation to e-learning resource development and delivery (RDD) in a Sri Lankan higher education institution. The capacity building was investigated in three main areas: strategic planning, institutional capacity building, and the resources acquisition processes. The project investigated the embedding of e-learning into the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE). Like many other higher education institutes SLIATE aspires to excel in providing quality teaching and learning facilities and quality learning experiences. The research project concentrated on the exploration of areas of capacity building within the academic community at SLIATE by identifying possible improvements to the management of e-learning RDD. The paper focuses on the findings in relation to the effectiveness of the capacity building process in e-learning resource development and delivery, and how this could assist SLIATE students with their learning

Detection of Bordetella Infection in a Paediatric Population at CHW

Detection of Bordetella Infection in a Paediatric Population at CHW Hettiarachchige ANP1*, Kesson AM1, Leung KC2 Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Discipline of Paediatrics and Child health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Introduction The Bordetella bacteria, such as B. pertussis, B. parapertussis and B. holmesii, are causative agents of whooping cough in humans. While B. pertussis is well documented to be an important agent of this disease in Australia, the roles of B. parapertussis and B. holmesii are unknown. To address this question the present project aims: To develop specific and sensitive PCR tests for B. parapertussis and B. holmesii, and to investigate the incidence of infection of B. parapertussis and B. holmesii compared to that of B. pertussis in patients of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Methods PCR assays for B. parapertussis and B. holmesii were developed and combined with the existing in-house PCR test for B. pertussis to form a multiplex assay. The insertion sequences IS481, pIS1001 and hIS1001 were used as targets for B. pertussis, B. parapertussis and B. holmesii, respectively. Inhibitor control for each target was also synthesized and included in the multiplex PCR assay to detect false negative results. In this project, mainly nasopharyngeal aspirates and swabs were tested using the multiplex PCR during the year of 2013. Results The specificities and sensitivities of the multiplex PCR assay for the three Bordetella species were confirmed. A total of 464 specimens were tested by multiplex PCR assay, in the period of January to December 2013. Among 25 positive cases of Bordetella, 12 (48%) were positive for B. pertussis, 12 (48%) for B. parapertussis and none for B. holmesii. One (4%) case of co-infection with B. pertussis and B. parapertussis was detected in these specimens. Conclusion We have developed a highly specific and sensitive multiplex PCR assay for the three Bordetella species causing whooping cough in humans. Using this assay, we show that the infection rates of B. pertussis and B. parapertussis to be similar in children with respiratory disease. B. holmesii infection is rare in this study group

Herbicide application strategies for wild radish management in Imidazolinone tolerant faba bean

The extensive and continual use of herbicides in cropping situations has inevitably led to the phenomenon of "herbicide-resistance" in weeds and this has become one of the most challenging issues in modern agriculture. Herbicide-tolerant crops (HTC) were introduced to diversify weed management practices, but the lack of integrated weed management strategies, along with the continuous use of the same herbicide mode of action (MOA) demanded by the HTC has continued to impose selection pressure on weeds to evolve with herbicide resistance. Consequently, this thesis has been focused on the introduction of herbicide MOA combinations into HTC systems in an attempt to reduce the rate of herbicide resistance evolution in weeds. Raphanus raphanistrum is the number one broadleaf weed in Australia, and for this case study, the newly released ALS-inhibiting imidazolinone tolerant faba bean cultivar PBA Bendoc with its conventional cultivar, PBA Samira, were selected as the study species. ALS-inhibiting (imazamox + imazapyr and imazethapyr) and PSII-inhibiting (metribuzin) herbicides were used as the two herbicide MOAs. The herbicide sensitivity of R. raphanistrum was initially evaluated at different growth stages, in glasshouse studies using herbicide-resistant and susceptible biotypes to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. The highest susceptibility was observed at the earliest growth stage regardless of the biotype and Imazamox + imazapyr proved to be more effective in controlling both biotypes compared to imazethapyr. The same two herbicides were tested on faba bean cultivars at different growth stages to assess crop tolerance and identify the herbicide application window. The field trials conducted in 2018 and 2019 showed increased ALS-inhibiting herbicide tolerance in PBA Bendoc compared to PBA Samira even at the most advanced growth stage. Both faba bean cultivars were then evaluated for their tolerance to metribuzin in-crop application at different herbicide rates. Both cultivars responded similarly, showing progressive herbicide damage with increasing application rates. However, the reduced pod number, even at the lowest rate used, flagged the possible yield penalties that may result in using in-crop metribuzin applications. It is thus suggested that metribuzin must be used post sowing pre-emergent (PSPE) respecting the label recommendations. The potential herbicide combinations were then tested on herbicide-resistant R. raphanistrum and PBA Bendoc to evaluate their efficacies. Metribuzin was initially used as PSPE in all combinations, and was to be followed by imazamox + imazapyr applications at the same growth stages of the weed and the crop as in previous experiments. However, 100% control of R. raphanistrum was achieved using metribuzin alone, and thus no second herbicide was required. All the assessed herbicide combinations were tolerated by PBA Bendoc, proving the suitability of these herbicide combinations for incorporation into the PBA Bendoc cropping system. These results led to two potential herbicide combination strategies: (i) herbicide rotations, with metribuzin as PSPE in one year along with another potential herbicide MOA in the following year, (ii) herbicide sequential application, with metribuzin applied at PSPE and imazamox + imazapyr applied at the 2-4 leaf stage if R. raphanistrum plants survived the metribuzin treatment. A seed germination study was conducted under different temperature/photoperiods, pH levels, osmotic potentials, salinity and burial depths to identify the optimal germination conditions for R. raphanistrum. The optimum germination conditions for both herbicide-resistant and susceptible biotypes of R. raphanistrum were found to be 25ºC/15ºC temperature range under 24 hours complete dark. However, the significant interaction between photoperiod and temperature indicated that the seed germination under higher temperatures is less favoured by 24 hours dark conditions regardless of the biotype. An increased moisture stress tolerance in herbicide-resistant seeds was observed, whilst both biotypes reacted similarly to different pH levels and burial depths. In summary, this thesis has elucidated the effectiveness of two herbicide MOAs in controlling R. raphanistrum while addressing the crop tolerance to these herbicide MOA combinations. These findings will help in setting up stewardship guidelines to be used with the PBA Bendoc faba bean cultivar to mitigate the misuse of herbicides, thus ensuring their sustainable application. In addition, the demonstration of differential seed germination requirements of resistant and susceptible R. raphanistrum seeds has provided further information to help with its systematic management. Overall, this study can be used as a case study to investigate herbicide options that can be used in different HT crop cultivars to control a range of weed species.Doctor of Philosoph

Analisis Normatif Penetapan Tersangka pada Proses Penyidikan dalam Pasal 5 Ayat (1) Undang Undang Nomor 8 Tahun 2010 Tentang Pencegahan dan Pemberantasan Tindak Pidana Pencucian Uang

Berdasarkan uraian yang telah dianalisa oleh penulis tentang klasifikasi penetapan tersangka pada proses penyidikan dalam pasal 5 ayat 1 UU no 8 tahun 2010, maka dengan ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa unsur patut diduga dipasal ini adalah Kealpaan. Seseorang dapat ditetapkan sebagai tersangka bilamana tidak sengaja melakukan tindak pidana, tetapi tidak melakukan yang seharusnya dilakukan sehingga terjadilah tindak pidana. Seseorang ini tidak atau kurang hati-hati dalam menilai asal usul harta kekayaan yang ditempatkannya itu meskipun tidak mengetahui berasal dari kejahatan, maka perbuatan tersebut menjadi lalai (culpa). Dalam rumusan Pasal 5 ayat 1 UU no 8 tahun 2010 diatas, adalah perbuatan pelaku dapat diliputi oleh Kesengajaan (diketahui) tetapi dapat juga diliputi Kealpaan (patut diduga), dengan demikian berlakulah asas pro parte dolus pro parte culpa (setengah sengaja setengah lalai).Kata Kunci : Klasifikasi penetapan tersangka, Penyidikan, Kesengajaan, Kealpaa