Intangible values and tourists’ motivations: the case of the Pahang National Park

Protected areas are fast becoming tourist attractions and as such have contributed increasingly to nature-based tourism , the industry’s fastest growing sector. It is assumed that tourists visiting the protected areas are motivated by intangible values such as recreational, cultural and spiritual, educational, artistic and aesthetic, and existential values. This paper presents the findings of a study aimed at examining the kind of intangible values that had motivated tourists to the Pahang National Park (Taman Negara Pahang, TNP). A total of 341 samples was collected from a questionnaire survey involving both local and international tourists of the TNP. Results of the analyses revealed that tourists to TNP were generally motivated by particular recreational values (‘to exercise’), cultural values (’to understand indigenous people’s lifestyle’), educational values (‘to recognize and gain knowledge about the local flora and fauna ‘), artistic and aesthetic values (‘to show concern with the existence of natural environment’). As for the park existential values, local and international tourists demonstrated different perceptions. Most local tourists were not willing to pay more for park’s entrance fee as compared to the international tourists. Both parties , nevertheless, were willing to pay more if it was to be used for nature conservation purposes

The discovery of Silk Route: cultural and technology communication between China, Korea and Japan

One of the earliest civilizations took place in Asia, particularly the East Asian region. As a main result of war, historical travel, such as trading and pilgrimage, influenced the daily life of most people in the region. The Han Dynasty was traced back as the most significant period that triggered travelling activities during the discovery of the Silk Road. Since then, travelling facilities were developed, which consequently led to the increased interregion movement of people and merchants. This study explores the historical development of travels in Eastern Asia, with a particular focus on the expansion of the Silk Road throughout several dynastic periods of China, as well as its influence on peninsular Korea and Japan. This study concludes that the Silk Road is an important channel for the exchange of tangible and intangible elements between China, Japan, and peninsular Korea as a sinicization process, particularly in the exchange of food, papermaking, and printing technology. An increased understanding of Asia’s travel history helps to assess the travelling patterns in the region by revisiting the influence of tourists’ socio-demographic factors to include the cultural background with historical elements

Experimental Investigation on Thermoelectric Generator for Battery- Charger Based Oven

In this research paper, thermoelectric generator (TEG) module was embedded inside the oven to harvest electrical energy from heat waste of the kitchen oven.  The development of experimental setup was investigated in closed-circuit from room temperature rise to 150°C in 60 min using kitchen oven with custom-made aluminum heatsink with built-in water-cooling tank attached on the TEG module. The maximum voltage output was generated about 1.87V in single TEG module where gradient of TEG was measured about 0.0337V/°C.  The harvested output of voltage was demonstrated by charging a single lithium battery ‘AA’ in 110 mins for full-charged and it was able to power a LED torch light

e-Learning campus in Malaysia: A case study on Multimedia University

This paper aims to discuss the development of e-learning in Malaysia, with Multimedia University (MMU) as the focal point. MMU, the first private university in Malaysia that has emphasized on the usage of Information Communication Technology (ICT) has made some revolutions in Malaysia’s education frontier. Using the state-of-the-art internet-based technologies and instructional facilities, the Internet Based Degree Programme (IBDP) provides flexibility to students to meet their education goals at their own pace and time. All the students need to do is access to a computer and the Internet to take advantage of the high quality, convenient, and cost-effective education and training provided by the MMU e-learning campus. In unison, e-management is widely employed via the in-house developed Integrated Computerized Education Management System (ICEMS) that promotes a paperless-administration environment and dissemination of information electronically between communities in both Cyberjaya campus and Malacca campus. The methodology of this paper will be a qualitative research, which will be based mostly on secondary data

Smart partnership and collaboration: A case study on Multimedia University

This paper aims to discuss the smart partnership between education and industry by using Multimedia University (MMU) as a focal point. Having identified various key niche areas, 25 centres of Excellence have been established in the university where academic staff and students collaborate on various research interests. To enhance research and development activities, MMU collaborates with leading international companies such as NTT, Alcatel, Fujitsu, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and many more. These companies collaborates with MMU in many ways such as joint R & D , joint venture, scholarships and scholarships .As a result, MMU was awarded the Excellence in Research and Development award at Private Education Nite 2003 by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education

The urban women travelling issue in the twenty-first century

Mobility generally refers to the ability or capacity to move. The subject of women's mobility has been well documented and investigated by researchers since the 1970s. Early studies were initially inspired by the issue of gender-based violence encountered by women. At the same time, there is increasing research on women transportation mobility due to the increasing percentage of women working and travelling outside the house. However, there is an absence of studies that adopted a systematic review of studies related to women's mobility. The increase of women working in the 21st century has led to an increase in the percentage of women travelling, thus engendering issues such as safety, security, mobility and accessibility. This paper attempted to identify studies related to women's mobility in the 21st century from the year 2001 until the year of 2020 by using a systematic literature review, guided by Preferred Reporting Materials for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses, also known as the PRISMA Statement, to further understand the scenario of urban women travelling in the global context. This paper reviews previous studies conducted in the 21st century, revealing slight variations of focus among the authors on the urban women travelling issue.Abstrak. Mobilitas umumnya mengacu pada kemampuan atau kapasitas untuk bergerak. Subjek 'Mobilitas Wanita' telah didokumentasikan dan diteliti dengan baik oleh para peneliti sejak tahun 1970-an. Studi terdahulu awalnya terinspirasi dari isu-isu kekerasan berbasis gender yang dihadapi perempuan. Sementara itu, penelitian tentang mobilitas transportasi perempuan semakin meningkat karena meningkatnya persentase perempuan yang bekerja dan pindah ke luar rumah. Namun, belum ada penelitian yang mengadopsi tinjauan sistematis pada artikel terkait studi terkait mobilitas perempuan. Meningkatnya jumlah perempuan yang bekerja di abad ke-21 juga meningkatkan persentase perempuan yang bepergian sehingga menggambarkan banyak masalah antara lain keselamatan, keamanan, mobilitas dan aksesibilitas. Oleh karena itu, tulisan ini mencoba mengidentifikasi kajian-kajian yang berkaitan dengan mobilitas perempuan abad ke-21 dari tahun 2001 hingga tahun 2020 dengan menggunakan Systematic Literature Review yang berpedoman pada Preferred Reporting Materials for Systematic Reviews dan Meta Analysis atau yang lebih dikenal dengan PRISMA Statement untuk memahami lebih jauh skenario perjalanan wanita perkotaan dalam perspektif global. Makalah ini mengulas penelitian sebelumnya yang dilakukan pada abad ke-21 yang telah ditafsirkan dan diuraikan dengan sedikit variasi fokus di antara penulis tentang isu perjalanan wanita perkotaan. Kata kunci. mobilitas wanita, tinjauan literatur sistematis, perjalanan, abad ke-21

UNDERSTANDING FACTORS OF USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AMONG WOMEN IN KUALA LUMPUR

In recent decades, the percentage of women working outside their homes has ascended in many developing countries depicts the needs on the understanding of how women travel daily. Many claims, public transportation facilities, and infrastructure related to it do not consider the needs of women travelers but fit men's standards. As a result, many face difficulties became dependent on men for traveling or facing safety-related issues that deter them to use public transportation independently. Thus, this study is to identify factors of public transportation usage among women users in Kuala Lumpur. The study has able to identify three main attributes in public transportation usage factors that influence women users. Using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) researchers have found that situational attributes have a larger influence on public transportation frequency, in the use of public transportation and surrounding condition of the public transportation in the mode choice decisions of their travel preferences.

Building leaders for the UN Ocean Science Decade : a guide to supporting early career women researchers within academic marine research institutions

Diverse and inclusive marine research is paramount to addressing ocean sustainability challenges in the 21st century, as envisioned by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Despite increasing efforts to diversify ocean science, women continue to face barriers at various stages of their career, which inhibits their progression to leadership within academic institutions. In this perspective, we draw on the collective experiences of thirty-four global women leaders, bolstered by a narrative review, to identify practical strategies and actions that will help empower early career women researchers to become the leaders of tomorrow. We propose five strategies: (i) create a more inclusive culture, (ii) ensure early and equitable career development opportunities for women ECRs, (iii) ensure equitable access to funding for women ECRs, (iv) offer mentoring opportunities and, (v) create flexible, family-friendly environments. Transformational, meaningful, and lasting change will only be achieved through commitment and collaborative action across various scales and by multiple stakeholders.Peer reviewe

A common variant near TGFBR3 is associated with primary open angle glaucoma

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a major cause of blindness worldwide, is a complex disease with a significant genetic contribution.We performed Exome Array (Illumina) analysis on 3504 POAG cases and 9746 controls with replication of the most significant findings in 9173 POAG cases and 26 780 controls across 18 collections of Asian, African and European descent. Apart from confirming strong evidence of association at CDKN2B-AS1 (rs2157719 [G], odds ratio [OR] = 0.71, P = 2.81 × 10−33), we observed one SNP showing significant association to POAG (CDC7–TGFBR3 rs1192415, ORG-allele = 1.13, Pmeta = 1.60 × 10−8). This particular SNP has previously been shown to be strongly associated with optic disc area and vertical cup-to-disc ratio, which are regarded as glaucoma-related quantitative traits. Our study now extends this by directly implicating it in POAG disease pathogenesis

A common variant near TGFBR3 is associated with primary open angle glaucoma

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a major cause of blindness worldwide, is a complex disease with a significant genetic contribution. We performed Exome Array (Illumina) analysis on 3504 POAG cases and 9746 controls with replication of the most significant findings in 9173 POAG cases and 26 780 controls across 18 collections of Asian, African and European descent. Apart from confirming strong evidence of association at CDKN2B-AS1 (rs2157719 [G], odds ratio [OR] = 0.71, P = 2.81 × 10−33), we observed one SNP showing significant association to POAG (CDC7–TGFBR3 rs1192415, ORG-allele = 1.13, Pmeta = 1.60 × 10−8). This particular SNP has previously been shown to be strongly associated with optic disc area and vertical cup-to-disc ratio, which are regarded as glaucoma-related quantitative traits. Our study now extends this by directly implicating it in POAG disease pathogenesis