A Conceptual Framework of Service Quality and Patient Loyalty in Muslim Friendly Healthcare

The purpose of this research is to investigate equalize of service quality in friendly Muslim hospitals and establish a conceptual framework that shows the relationship between service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty. This research is founded on a comprehensive study of current literature on quality of hospital care, patient satisfaction, and patient loyalty. Important reviews of these literature studies have resulted in the determination and interpretation of service quality dimensions and the development of a relationship between service quality, patient satisfaction and patient loyalty. This paper determined five main aspects through which patients service quality in Muslim friendly hospitals.Thesefiveareasaretangibles,empathy, assurance, reliability and responsiveness. The framework indicates a direct link between quality of care, patient satisfaction and patient loyalty. Although many studies have been carried out on thestandardofhospitalservices,neitherofthem would do project all the possible dimensions to calculate the same in a friendly hospital in Malaysia. The SERVQUAL Model adopted by this study determines all the potential dimensions of service quality in Muslim friendly healthcare

Research Productivity of Returnees from Study Abroad in Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong

This study analyzes whether academics with advanced degrees from foreign universities are more research productive than their domestic counterparts in the three selected East Asian higher education systems – Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. The three systems have relatively large proportions of foreign degree holders among their professoriates. The data for this study is drawn from the Changing Academic Profession survey. In our negative binominal regression analysis, we found that foreign degree holders are not more research productive than their colleagues with domestic degrees, and even slightly less productive than domestic degree holders in soft disciplines (arts, humanities, and social sciences) in Korea unless they have further foreign post-doc experience after their PhD. Furthermore, foreign degree holders are less productive in hard disciplines (natural sciences, engineering, and bio-medical sciences) in Malaysia. Finally, we discuss the findings and attribute them to contextual differences between the three localities.postprin

Formulation of refined, bleached and deodorised palm stearin with zinc dialkyl-dithiophosphate additive and its tribological performance

Vegetable oils have recently received worldwide attention for their use as a lubricant base stock that has numerous advantages, including their environmental friendliness. In this study, a refined, bleached and deodorised palm stearin was selected as the base lubricant, and its friction and wear performance were investigated with a pin-on-disk tribotester. The effect of zinc dialkyl-dithiophosphate (ZDDP) additive in concentrations of 1wt%, 3wt% and 5wt% on friction and wear performance were evaluated. Commercial semi-synthetic oil SAE 15W50 was used for comparison purposes. The experiments were conducted at a sliding speed of 1.5 m/s under a normal force of 9.81 N for 60 min. Results show that an increase in ZDDP concentrations improved both friction reduction and wear performance of the lubricant. The coefficient of friction (COF) of RBD palm stearin was reduced approximately at 71% when 5wt% of ZDDP was added and it shows that the friction reduction performance of PS+5wt% (COF=0.039) was comparable to SAE 15W50 (COF=0.035). While, wear coefficient of RBD palm stearin was reduced significantly from 2.08 × 10−3 to 8.89 × 10−5 when 5wt% ZDDP additive was added and it shows that the wear performance of PS+5wt% was better than that of SAE 15W50, 1.94 × 10−4. Further analysis of the wear worn surface with a high-resolution optical microscope was also conducted with a surface profilometer to examine the metallurgy of the pin surface and the roughness of the pin

Characterisation of micro-sized and nano-sized tungsten oxide-epoxy composites for radiation shielding of diagnostic X-rays

Characteristics of X-ray transmissions were investigated for epoxy composites filled with 2–10 vol% WO3 loadings using synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at 10–40 keV. The results obtained were used to determine the equivalent X-ray energies for the operating X-ray tube voltages of mammography and radiology machines. The results confirmed the superior attenuation ability of nano-sized WO3-epoxy composites in the energy range of 10–25 keV when compared to their micro-sized counterparts. However, at higher synchrotron radiation energies (i.e., 30–40 keV), the X-ray transmission characteristics were similar with no apparent size effect for both nano-sized and micro-sized WO3-epoxy composites. The equivalent X-ray energies for the operating X-ray tube voltages of the mammography unit (25–49 kV) were in the range of 15–25 keV. Similarly, for a radiology unit operating at 40–60 kV, the equivalent energy range was 25–40 keV, and for operating voltages greater than 60 kV (i.e., 70–100 kV), the equivalent energy was in excess of 40 keV. The mechanical properties of epoxy composites increased initially with an increase in the filler loading but a further increase in the WO3 loading resulted in deterioration of flexural strength, modulus and hardness

Trust Level and Routing Selection for Mobile Agents in a Smart Home (Extended version)

The central security concern for systems where agents roam is how to establish trust in the agent. We present a Fuzzy Logic mechanism to calculate a level of trust and an optimal route for a mobile agent system in a smart home. The mechanism consists of two parts. The first part calculates a trust level at the platform side to decide which actions should be allowed by a visiting mobile agent. The second part calculates an optimal route at the mobile agent side to decide an alternative destination in the case of rejection by a platform. Examples are provided from smart home scenarios, showing how flexible the proposed mechanism is

Urban Cholera transmission hotspots and their implications for Reactive Vaccination: evidence from Bissau city, Guinea Bissau

Use of cholera vaccines in response to epidemics (reactive vaccination) may provide an effective supplement to traditional control measures. In Haiti, reactive vaccination was considered but, until recently, rejected in part due to limited global supply of vaccine. Using Bissau City, Guinea-Bissau as a case study, we explore neighborhood-level transmission dynamics to understand if, with limited vaccine and likely delays, reactive vaccination can significantly change the course of a cholera epidemic

A comparative study of x-ray shielding capability in ion-implanted acrylic and glass

Samples of acrylic and glass were implanted with tungsten (W) and lead (Pb) to investigate their X-ray attenuation characteristics. The near-surface composition depth profiles of ion-implanted acrylic and glass samples were studied using ion-beam analysis (Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy—RBS). The effect of implanted ions on the X-ray attenuation ability was studied using a conventional laboratory X-ray machine with X-ray tube voltages ranging from 40 to 100 kV at constant exposure 10 mAs. The results were compared with previous work on ion-implanted epoxy. As predicted, the RBS results and X-ray attenuation for both ion-implanted acrylic and glass increase with the type of implanted ions when compared to the controls. However, since the glass is denser than epoxy or acrylic, it has provided the higher X-ray attenuation property and higher RBS ion concentration implanted with a shorter range of the ion depth profile when compared to epoxy and acrylic. A prolonged time is necessary for implanting acrylic with a very high nominal dose to minimize a high possibility of acrylic to melt during the process

The impact of banking concentration on firm leverage in emerging markets

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of banking concentration on firm leverage in 21 major emerging countries from different geographical regions, controlling for firm determinant and macroeconomic determinant of firm leverage. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a relatively large sample of 5,779 enterprises with total 48,280 numbers of observations over the period from 2006 to 2013 and the regression model is performed by applying two-step system general method of moment estimator methodology. Findings This study finds a positive and significant relationship between banking concentration and firm leverage. Therefore, the overall results follow the information-based theory which indicates lower firms financing obstacles as banks are more concentrated. Research limitations/implications Bank-level data of all the countries to measure banking concentration is until 2013, which restrict the empirical analysis until 2013. Also, the study conducts the analysis. Practical implications The study enables policymakers, society, and academics to have better understanding on the beneficial effects of alternative banking market structure on firms’access to credit and therefore, in determining the level of firm leverage in emerging countries. Originality/value The study represents one of the limited available empirical researches to examine the beneficial effect of alternative banking market structures of firm leverage in emerging countries