Occupational Participation of Persons with Schizophrenia: Exploring Issues of Job-Termination in Supported-Employment

Occupational participation in a supported-employment is a rehabilitation strategy to improve both vocational and non-vocational domains of people with psychiatric disabilities, enabling them to access and/or re-enter employment. This study aims to identify the factors associated with unsatisfactory job-termination among the participants of supported-employment to inform future intervention. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a group (with a diagnosis of schizophrenia) who participated in a supported-employment program in a large psychiatry institution in Malaysia. Within the first week of job termination, interviews were conducted with three subgroups independently - the participants, the employers and the hospital employment specialists, using the Job-Termination Interview. Factors linked to job-termination and job-accommodation were analysed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression.Key reasons for job termination were- poor job performance (n = 32; 47.1%), interpersonal issue (n = 31; 45.6%), medical illnesses (n = 30, 44.1%), incompatibilities between work-schedule and environment (n = 30; 44.1%), and job-dissatisfaction (n = 29, 42.6%). Key factor for sustaining job/ job-accommodation was “higher pay” (n = 4; 33.3%). Overall, an unsatisfactory trend of job terminations was observed where many (n = 53; 77.9%) quit their job without a ready job at hand. Unsatisfactory job-terminations were associated with three factors -(i). Enrolment in the Individual Placement-Support (IPS) (Adj. OR = 10.70, 95% CI 1.32-86.98, p = 0.012), (ii). Unstable medical issues (Adj. OR = 22.51, 95% CI 1.74-291.08, p = 0.003), (iii). Interpersonal issues (OR = 18.26, 95% CI: 2.24-149.15, p < 0.001).Most participants terminated their jobs in an unsatisfactory manner (77.9%). A high 63.2 percent quit their job without another ready-job at hand, while 14.7 percent were fired. Unsatisfactory job-endings were correlated to, poor job-performance, interpersonal problems and medical illnesses. Occupational re-entry intervention program must be tailored to the individual levels and needs, and be fully integrated within the clinical system to ensure job-person-environment fit, in order to improve job-experience and to lower unfavourable job terminations

Using Nintendo Wii to improve Cognition in Traumatic Brain Injury

The unfortunate accident of Michael Schumacher had highlighted the fact that Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can happen unexpectedly. Those who survive have to grapple with physical and cognitive disabilities. Hence it is important to investigate all possible treatment approaches to curtail TBI-related morbidity. This paper explores and evaluates the research evidence pertaining to treatment approaches relating to cognitive remediation and the use of electronic virtual reality. It describes a study whose objective was to identify improvement of cognition among Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients by using Nintendo Wii Sports (NWS) as the intervention tool and to determine if months since injury, virtual reality experience and Glasgow Coma Scale affect Mini Mental State Examination Score after intervention. The experiment can be easily repeated in Neuro Clinics &amp; Wards and Occupational Therapy Centres to test for improvements in cognition in the treatment of other ailments or injuries which have resulted in brain impairments. Thirty (30) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients with Mild Glasgow Coma scale (GCS) 33.3% (10) and Moderate Glasgow Coma scale (GCS) 66.7% (20) were selected.They were ? 16 years old and the number of months after injury was calculated at the time when GCS test was conducted.This is not to be confused with the work done at UCLA (Babikian et al., 2011) where the studies were on a  sample of children with mild TBI . The number of months was longitudinal time points of the study. The main outcome measures used was the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). It was observed that there was significant improvement in cognitive functions from purposeful use of NWS. Even patients with moderate traumatic brain injury improved MMSE score after intervention. Mean MMSE result increased from 19.8 to 26.4. NWS intervention did show significant improvement in cognition among Traumatic Brain Injury patients with mild or moderate score of GCS independent of VR experience. Keywords Nintendo Wii Game Sports (NWS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI

Factors influencing young adults’ debt in Malaysia

This study explores factors affecting debt level among young adults in Malaysia. Previous studies have linked material values, money management skills, and economic factors to credit card debt and student debt, but this study extends the previous research by investigating various forms of consumers’ debt in an emerging market where vulnerable youths are frequently bombarded with materialistic media messages that trigger their spending behaviour. In particular, variables such as pursuits of materialistic attitudes, money management attributes, and income level are examined in this study to see whether they are predictors of youth debt in Malaysia. A self-administered survey on 629 respondents centered around northern part of Malaysia was conducted based on convenience and judgmental sampling techniques. The findings suggest that money management skills and income level significantly influence the debt level of Malaysian young adults. Interestingly, materialism variable is insignificant, implying that young Malaysians represented in this sample do not possess materialistic attitude that lead to indebtness. The findings provide insights to the policy maker and the government to inculcate awareness of basic money management skills to ensure that the younger generation does not fall into the state of excessive debt which could lead to financial insolvency

Effects of mulching and fertilizer on nutrient dynamics of sand tailings growth with acacia hybrid.

Studies on the contribution of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) mulch mat and its impact on fertiliser loss through leaching on sand tailings are lacking. Sand tailings in Malaysia formed through tin mining activities are problematic soils for agriculture and forestry. An experiment with two types of EFB mulch mat applied in combination with NPK (nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium) fertiliser was established in pots containing sandy tin tailing soil to assess their effects on soil nutrient enrichment and leaching. Application of mulch mat reduced leaching of fertiliser compared with treatments without mulch mats. Incorporating fertiliser inside the mulch mat at the production stage could be the best way of applying inorganic fertiliser on sandy soils as the amounts of N, P and K loss was reduced significantly compared with treatments without mulch. There was poor synchronisation between fertiliser input and plant nutrient demand. The amount of fertiliser applied seemed to be in excess of the uptake capacity by roots especially for highly mobile nutrients N and K. Application of mulch mat on sand tailings however did not ameliorate the soil nutrient properties after 16 weeks. This could be due to the porous nature of the sand tailings

Graduate qualities and selection criteria in Malaysian financial institutions

The issue of unemployed graduates in Malaysia has triggered a widely concern not only to the government but also to the higher education institutions and employers.In response to this issue, this research attempts to investigate what are the criteria that financial institutions in Malaysia actually seek from graduates to fill job vacancies in their organisation, and what are the shortcomings that they usually find in local university graduates particularly Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) graduates.A total of 167 questionnaires have been sent to the human resource manager of each financial institution.The results show that the foremost criterion that financial institutions seek from graduates is pleasant appearance, followed by good CGPA and lastly relevant experience.This research also attempts to identify major skills needed from graduate to be the respondents’ employee.The findings highlight that good communication skills in English, interpersonal skills, teamwork skills, critical thinking skills, and English writing skills are indeed the essential skills needed from graduates.This research finding also discovered that the main weaknesses of UUM graduates are poor in English communication skills and English writing skills

The Role of Belt Wall in Minimizing The Response Due To Wind Load

Outrigger is one of the tall building structural systems that are used to reduce the building responses due to the wind. Outrigger is a stiff beam that connects the core wall to exterior columns and this enables the vertical shear to be transferred from the core to the external columns, thereby forcing the perimeter columns to participate in carrying the overturning moment due to the wind. Belt wall is often added to a building with outrigger system to further reduce the displacement and acceleration of a tall building having an outrigger system. However, it is not known how effective the belt wall is in further reducing the building responses. Thus, 64 story reinforced concrete buildings are studied in order to determine how the belt wall improves the building responses due to the wind. Buildings with an outrigger system and buildings with a combination of the outrigger and belt wall system are analysed by a structural engineering software in order to determine the natural frequencies and eigenvectors in the along-wind, across-wind and torsional direction. The along-wind responses are determined by employing the procedures from the ASCE 7-16 while the across-wind responses of the buildings are calculated based on the procedures and wind tunnel data available in a database of aerodynamic load. Results from the analysis show that the belt wall reduces the along-wind and across-wind responses slightly. However, belt wall reduces the torsional acceleration of the buildings significantly, which otherwise cannot be reduced by the outrigger system

Development of bimetallic and trimetallic oxides doped on molybdenum oxide based material on oxidative desulfurization of diesel

Catalytic oxidative desulfurization (Cat-ODS) activities of thiophenic sulfur were compared using alumina supported of mono-, bi- and trimetallic oxide molybdena based catalysts, prepared by incipient wetness impregnation. The aim of this study was to inquire on the possibility of supported trimetallic oxide catalysts for deep Cat-ODS process. The prepared catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and tested in the ODS of model thiophene, dibenzothiophene and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiphene, as well as on commercial and crude diesel. It was found that the addition of dopant and co-dopant toward MoO3/Al2O3 catalysts increased significantly the selectivity of catalytic performance in the order: mono-90% of sulfur was removed in both commercial and crude diesel under similar reaction conditions. Reproducibility test showed that the catalyst has higher catalytic activity and could be repeatedly used with little change after five cycles

Application of raw and composted recycled paper mill sludge on the growth of Khaya senegalensis and their effects on soil nutrients and heavy metals

The paper industry performs an essential role in the global economy of the world. A study was conducted on the paper mill sludge that is applied on the Khaya senegalensis for 4 crop cycle for 1 year growth at glasshouse, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Paper Mill Sludge (PMS) and composted Recycled Paper Mill Sludge (RPMS) was used with nitrogen (0, 150, 300 and 600 kg ha-1) at the ratio of 1:1 (Recycled Paper Mill Sludge (RPMS): Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB). The growth parameters were measured twice a month for 6 months. Plant nutrients and heavy metal uptake were determined. The paper mill sludge has the potential to be a supplementary N fertilizer as well as a soil amendment. The application of RPMS with N, significantly contributed to the improvement in plant growth parameters such as plant height (193 cm), basal diameter (27.00 mm), total plant biomass and improved soil physical and chemical properties. Total concentrations of heavy metals in soils were below the critical values. Hence, the paper mill sludge can be successfully used as soil amendment in acidic soil without any serious threat. The use of paper mill sludge for soil fertility, shows improvement in land application and signifies a unique opportunity to recycle sludge back to the land to alleviate the potential waste management problem

Development of bimetallic and trimetallic oxides doped on molybdenum oxide based material on oxidative desulfurization of diesel

Catalytic oxidative desulfurization (Cat-ODS) activities of thiophenic sulfur were compared using alumina supported of mono-, bi- and trimetallic oxide molybdena based catalysts, prepared by incipient wetness impregnation. The aim of this study was to inquire on the possibility of supported trimetallic oxide catalysts for deep Cat-ODS process. The prepared catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and tested in the ODS of model thiophene, dibenzothiophene and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiphene, as well as on commercial and crude diesel. It was found that the addition of dopant and co-dopant toward MoO3/Al2O3 catalysts increased significantly the selectivity of catalytic performance in the order: mono- 90% of sulfur was removed in both commercial and crude diesel under similar reaction conditions. Reproducibility test showed that the catalyst has higher catalytic activity and could be repeatedly used with little change after five cycles

Robotic exoskeleton control for lower limb rehabilitation of knee joint

Wearable devices such as exoskeletons are being opted frequently during rehabilitation processes for the post stroke recovery. Such de-vices are playing important role in the development of assistive rehabilitation robotic systems. In this paper three control strategies MPC and LQR and PID are introduced which were applied to knee joint of lower limb exoskeleton model for passive exercise. The two con-trols MPC and LQR are model based control which empowers them for stable responses. In this paper the analysis of robustness of con-trol is done under the noisy and disturbance conditions. The results showed good performance of the exoskeleton model with the applied controls in the provided condition. In the future work the applied controls will be implemented on hardware