Does poverty influence prevalence of child labor in developing countries?

The present article examined the impact of poverty on child labour prevalence across 42 developing countries based on system-GMM technique. The main result on the linkage between child labour prevalence and poverty deviated from the popular beliefs in majority of the existing literature that poverty caused child labour prevalence. The finding indicated that poverty is negatively related to child labour prevalence, in the sense that the higher the poverty the lower the child labour prevalence in the sample countries investigated, this finding therefore reconfirmed the wealth paradox of Bhalotra and Heady (2003)

THE EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE DETERMINANTS OF MOSLEM CONSUMERS TO PURCHASE HALAL PRODUCTS

Nowadays, the issue of Halal has been debated and argued by so many parties and Moslem consumers in Malaysia have to select acceptable food products which contain many ingredients in varying quantities, including trace amounts of haram or questionable ingredients. Halal starts from the very beginning of food preparation process until the product reaches the consumer. Thus, it must be prepared, processed, manufactured and storage using equipment untainted by anything unclean (S. Shafie and O. Mohamad, 2002). The primary objective of this study is to identify the determinants of Halal perceived by the Moslem consumer in Malaysia and measuring the consumer perception on the Malaysia Halal certification. This study presents primary data collected by self-administered statements involving 385 responses from the Moslem respondents within concentration in Klang Valley and East Coast region of Malaysia. The factors are analyzed using factor analysis with varimax rotation, to cluster the criteria into several variables to determine the dimensions of Moslem consumers’ perception towards Halal food produce. The result shows that religiosity commitment is a significant determinant for Moslem consumer to purchase Halal products in Malaysia. We also found encouraging result that shopping orientation is among important factor by Muslim consumers in their buying behavior towards Halal products

Smoking behavior among adolescents in rural schools in Malacca, Malaysia - a case-control study

Smoking among rural adolescents in Malaysia is on the rise with a significant difference seen between urban and rural youths. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine a predictive model of smoking among the rural-school adolescents population in Malacca, Malaysia. An unmatched case-control study was conducted in 2010 involving 484 cases and 444 controls of Form Two students in Malacca, Malaysia, using cluster sampling. Smoking was the dependent factor of this study while the independent factors were individual, family, school and environment. Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire. The response rate of the study was 100% whereas the smoking prevalence was 20.9%. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the smoking predictive model. Strong predictors of smoking behavior were: influenced by artistes who smoke (Adjusted OR=8.67, 95% CI 5.53-13.58); the male gender (Adjusted OR=6.7, 95% CI 4.14-10.83); Muslim (Adjusted OR=4.46, 95% CI 2.36-8.44); and the belief that smoking is not dangerous when the teacher is seen smoking as well (Adjusted OR=3.95, 95% CI 2.19-7.10). Other predictors were: being offered cigarettes by friends (Adjusted OR=2.81, 95% CI 1.79-4.42); the belief that smoking will relax the mind (Adjusted OR=2.45, 95% CI 1.33-4.51); having friends who smoke (Adjusted OR=2.32, 95% CI 1.29-4.81); forced by friends to smoke (Adjusted OR=2.17, 95% CI 1.15-4.12); have heard of the national No-Smoking Campaign (Adjusted OR=1.89, 95% CI 1.06-3.37); have problems with the school management (Adjusted OR=1.75, 95% CI 1.07- 2.88); parental consent to watch sexual activities, drug use or violence on television or at the cinema (Adjusted OR=1.73, 95% CI 1.06-2.83); and have lunch in school (Adjusted OR=1.58, 95% CI 1.04- 2.41). This paper ends with the recognition of the need for intervention in dismantling the predictors that can lead to the development of smoking among Malaysian adolescents in rural schools

Malaysia Legislates the Rights of the Child: Challenges, Progress and Impact

Since the adoption by the United Nations in 1989 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all the 196 States including Malaysia have agreed to be bound by the treaty which simultaneously ushers the beginning of the new era in legislating the rights of the child based on binding norms that are now universally applicable.Hence, the paper intends to examine the status of Malaysia`s reservations, the challenges it has been facing in the light of its reservations, reporting requirements, and the international human rights monitoring procedure in implementing legislation concerned with the Child Act 2001. For the research methodology, the study applies International Law, Reservation and Convention and will analyse empirical materials including primary reports from the United Nations, the Malaysian government and non-government agencies. The paper concludes that Malaysia will continue to stride towards a humanely progressive promulgation of all the rights enshrined in the Treat

Does Poverty Influence Prevalence of Child Labour in Developing Countries?

The present article examined the impact of poverty on child labour prevalence across 42 developing countries based on system-GMM technique. The main result on the linkage between child labour prevalence and poverty deviated from the popular beliefs in majority of the existing literature that poverty caused child labour prevalence. The finding indicated that poverty is negatively related to child labour prevalence, in the sense that the higher the poverty the lower the child labour prevalence in the sample countries investigated, this finding therefore reconfirmed the wealth paradox of Bhalotra and Heady (2003). Keywords: Poverty; Remittance; Child labour prevalence; System-GMM; Wealth paradox; developing countries JEL Classifications: F24; P46; Z2

Integration of soft skills in nursing clinical evaluation: a narrative analysis

Introduction: Integration of soft skills components in clinical evaluation is essential for undergraduate nursing students. However, soft skills are a prerequisite for increasing confidence in providing services to patients. As future health professionals, these students must develop a complete set of competencies that go beyond technical competence. This paper is a report of a review conducted to identify, critically analyse and synthesize the integration of soft skills components in clinical evaluation for undergraduate nursing students Methods: A comprehensive literature search was carried out using databases EBSCO, ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, ProQuest Nursing Journal. An inclusion and exclusion criterion were identified. A narrative review of evidence- and non-evidence-based papers was conducted, using a relevant methodological framework with additional scrutiny of secondary data sources in the latter. Results: A total of 787 papers were identified, with 43 fully sourced and 17 included in the final review. There are three themes, which also provide a comprehensive understanding of the definition of soft skills component, the importance of soft skills among nursing students, and the outcomes and implications of soft skills in clinical assessment. Conclusion: Soft skills need to be incorporated into the nursing curriculum. The integration of soft skills elements in clinical skills assessment can improve the quality of nursing graduates and improve the quality of care and safety for patients

Active Sampling Procedure of Indoor Air Quality to Evaluate Airborne Fungi in Dental Building of Higher Education Institution

The study aimed to measure the concentration and composition of airborne fungi in a higher education institution. The temperature and relative humidity were recorded using TSI Q Trak Indoor Air Quality Monitor. The mean concentration of the indoor air fungi was in the range between 17.67–91.28 CFU/m³. The most abundant airborne fungi were Aspergillus (22%), Fusarium (17%), and Penicillium (15%). The highest mean range concentration of airborne fungi was in the evening followed by in the afternoon and in the morning with a value range between 74 to 148 CFU/m³, 18 to 148 CFU/m³, and 5 to 30 CFU/m³, respectively. Keywords: active sampling; airborne fungi; indoor air quality; dental building. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI4.291

The Preliminary Design Of A Nano Satellite Engineering Model For Remote Sensing Expe.

Nanosatellite means small satellites where the total mass are less than 10kg including the main payloads an Small satellite missions was not only driven by reduction of the space budgets but it was also made possible by of the technology and miniaturization of component. The new advancement of technology trends allow the applic sensing, communications and space science to benefit from the development of small satellites

Quantitative and physical evaluation of patchouli essential oils obtained from different sources of Pogostemon cablin.

Patchouli essential oil can be obtained from fresh, dried and fermented plant material. It is a highly valuable product in the fragrance industry and its quality changes depending upon raw material age and oil storage. In this work, patchouli essential oils derived from different treatments have been subjected to GC-FID quantitative analysis using an internal standard (ISTD) method with response factors (RF). Samples were obtained from i) fresh plants; ii) hydrodistillation of one year mature and fermented plants; iii) hydrodistillation of one year mature plants; iv) commercial products from Indonesia and Malaysia. Linear Retention Indices (LRI) for both polar and non-polar GC-MS analyses were also measured as a tool for qualitative analysis towards a homologous series of C7-C30 n-alkanes. The results obtained confirmed that, in all samples, patchouli alcohol was the main volatile constituent, with higher amount in lab-scale produced oils, compared with commercial samples. Other major compounds, in lab oils and commercial samples respectively, were: δ-guaiene, α-guaiene, pogostol, seychellene and α-patchoulene. Another 36 compounds were also found