An Analytical Study of Weakly Nonlinear Dynamics of a Walters'' Liquid B around a Flexible Sheet undergoing Super Linear Stretching

The paper discusses the boundary layer flow of Walters'' liquid B over a stretching sheet. The stretching is assumed to be a quadratic function of the coordinate along the direction of stretching. The study encompasses within its realm both Walters'' liquid B and second order liquid. The velocity distribution is obtained by solving the nonlinear governing differential equation. Analytical expressions are obtained for stream function and velocity components as functions of the viscoelastic and stretching related parameters. It is shown that the viscoelasticity goes hand in hand with quadratic stretching in enhancing the lifting of the liquid as we go along the sheet

Employers’ perception on important employability skills in the manufacturing industry

Employability skills are among the important soft skills that should be acquired by employees in the industrial sector today. Unfortunately, Malaysian graduates do face obstacles when looking for employment upon graduation due to the absence of employability skills among them. The main aim of this study is to identify employers’ perceptions of the most important employability skills in the manufacturing industry. The study is also aimed to determine the differences between the important employability skills from the perspective of employers based on their gender, their company’s size, and types of companies in the manufacturing industry. In this study, a total of 182 employers from the manufacturing industry in Batu Pahat were chosen randomly. Questionnaires were administered to the employers. The data generated were statistically analysed using descriptive and inferential analyses. The analysis shows that employers’ perception of the most important employability skills in manufacturing industry is communication skills. The independent variables chosen are gender, company size, and types of manufacturing sector, while the dependent variable is the perceptions of important employability skills in the manufacturing industry. Results show that the perceptions of important employability skills in the manufacturing industry have no significant difference according to employers’ gender and type of manufacturing sector, but there is a significant difference for company size. This quantitative study provides key insights that enable future employees to have more understanding of the employment demand in the manufacturing industry nowadays and for employees to develop their employability skills before getting ready to enter the labour market

The Influence of Transformational Leadership on Organization Innovation in Malaysian Manufacturing Industry

In today industry, transformational leadership has become the top influential factor that affects the organization innovation. The aim of this study is to determine the level of transformational leadership (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual, and individual consideration) for employees in the Malaysian manufacturing industry. This study also identifies the influence of transformational leadership on organization innovation in the Malaysian manufacturing industry. This research involved the leaders of admin level in manufacturing industry Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. The survey questionnaire was distributed to 165 respondents. The result indicated that Intellectual Stimulation was the highest level for employees in the manufacturing industry. However, Individual Consideration was the most significant correlation to organization innovation in the manufacturing industry. This quantitative research is important to provide better information relating to the relationship between transformational leadership and the organization innovation so that the admin level leader can obtain a clear understanding of how to guide their followers effectively in an organization

Factors and Barriers Influencing Lean Production System Adoption in Manufacturing Industries

In Lean Production System (LPS), the central idea is the implementation of lean practices will reduce different types of unnecessary wastes. However, LPS implemented without an evaluation of respective organisations may lead to failure. In this study, the purpose is to identify the major factor influencing the adoption of Lean Production System and determine the major barrier that interrupts Lean Production System adoption in the manufacturing industry. The target location in this research is the manufacturing industry in Batu Pahat, Malaysia. This was a quantitative type of study and questionnaires were used to collect the data. In this study, the respondents were from the administrative level of employees. The SPSS software was used to analyse the data. The results of this research showed that the major factor influencing LPS adoption in manufacturing industry was process and the major barrier which interrupted LPS adoption was workers’ attitude or resistance. This research provided some contributions to help the manufacturing industry, especially in production department

Green Procurement Practices and Barriers in Furniture Manufacturing Companies

Lack of awareness is the most significant barrier to implementing green procurement practices among procurement managers. Procurement managers seldom consider the effects of procurement on the environment. This situation will cause many environmental problems such as carbon dioxide emissions, climate change, greenhouse effects, pollution, and deforestation. Hence, the purpose of this study is to identify the current practices of green procurement in furniture manufacturing companies. Additionally, this study intends to determine barriers to green procurement practices in furniture manufacturing companies. In this study, 118 procurement officers and managers were chosen randomly from furniture manufacturing companies in Batu Pahat, Johor. This study applied a quantitative method and utilized the Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) version 20.0 to analyse the data from the responses of questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was employed to achieve the research objectives. The findings of this study have revealed that current practices of green procurement in furniture manufacturing companies include ensuring the safe, incoming movement of product to facilities, followed by ensuring that suppliers locations are operated in a safe manner. Meanwhile, the main barrier to green procurement practices is that procedures for the implementation of green procurement are time-consuming. This study is important for furniture manufacturing companies to use green procurement practices in their operation and production processes

Electronic Health Documentation using Integrated Nursing Education System: Nursing Students’ Experience, Perceptions, Attitudes and Intention to Use

Electronic health record (EHR) systems have been implemented in healthcare organizations in different countries including selected Malaysian hospitals in the last decade. Health professionals including nurses navigate EHR system in relation to patient history, nursing assessment and interventions, progress notes, vital signs, intakes-outputs, incident reports, physicians’ orders and so forth. Preparation of nursing students as the future professional nurses who would accept and utilize the EHR system proficiently for a safe delivery of healthcare practice is imperative. Through a cross-institutional memorandum of academic understanding in year 2015, the web application Integrated Nursing Education System (iNES), a simulated electronic health documentation, web-based application (at https://www.ines.sg) from the National University of Singapore (Kowitlawakul, 2014) has been made accessible to students in the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) of UNIMAS for teaching-learning purpose. This study aims to examine nursing students’ experience with the newly introduced technology and the extent of new learning that they may have gained. Students’ perceptions, attitudes, intention to use iNES and factors influencing their intention to use iNES for simulated EHR was also identified

Comparative Study of Product Quality Perception between Malaysian and Non-Malaysian Electrical Appliance among Tertiary Students

The high quality of a product is much demanded by consumers today. However, it is difficult to understand the perceptions of consumers towards product quality. Thus, this study intends to identify the relationships between brand and nine product quality dimensions as well as to compare the difference in quality perception between Malaysian and Non-Malaysian electrical appliances amongst Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia students. This is a quantitative study. Nine research hypotheses were examined while considering the nine dimensions of product quality (performance, features, conformance, durability, reliability, serviceability, aesthetics, perceived quality, and environmentally friendly) which were believed to affect the consumers' perceptions of product quality. In this study, the respondents were students from the Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. The data were analysed by using SPSS software. The result reveals that only two quality dimensions, i.e. feature and serviceability were significantly correlated with the brand. Besides that, four quality dimensions, i.e. performance, features, aesthetics, and perceived quality had a significant difference in quality perceptions between Malaysian and Non-Malaysian electrical appliances. The result of this study will help to provide guidance and information for future research in the field of electronics