Improving Visual Style Classification in Digital Games Using Intercoder Reliability Assessment

The digital gaming community appreciates visual style information in digital games as it facilitates information seeking. Nevertheless, learned scholars have discovered that the digital game visual style classification is inconsistent and easily modified, potentially limiting the information and leading to inaccurate visual terminologies during information discovery. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was performed to assess multiple visual style classification terms and their definitions among Malaysian game developers using the closed card sorting exercise. A total of seven professional game developers participated in an online survey that comprised thirty-five digital game case studies using a card sorting technique. They were asked to classify nineteen visual style classification terms, including psychedelic, text, illusionism, photorealism, televisualism, handicraft, caricature, celshaded, comic book (anime), watercolour, Lego, minimalism, pixel art, silhouette, bright, dark, maplike, colourful, and black and white. The Fleiss’ kappa intercoder reliability assessment was performed to measure the coders’ agreement on visual style classification, followed by the think-aloud protocol descriptive analysis to gather assessment insights into the visual style descriptions. The intercoder reliability test achieved a significantly moderate agreement based on the results. The professional game developers agreed on eighteen visual styles and rejected the bright visual style classification due to its overlapping description with the colourful visual style. The definition of ten visual style classifications was improved from the existing Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) description, contributing to the digital game’s coherence and consistency. This improvement will enhance visual style classification information for machine-learning-based recommendation systems for digital game distribution platforms and digital archiving

"I employed my own strategy": Exploring primary headteachers' organisational and professional socialisations

Purpose - The main purpose of this study was to explore primary headteachers' perceptions of their professional and organisational socialisation within their novice years as school leaders. There is a lack of studies exploring primary headteachers' socialisation within the Malaysian primary education context. Methodology - A total of nine primary headteachers from three states were purposely selected and interviewed to obtain their perceptions on the professional socialisation they received before and after their appointment and the strategies that they employed within their organisational socialisation process. Findings - The study revealed that the primary headteachers employed their own organisational socialisation strategies in order to be accepted as a new member of the school. These were relatively diverse but accorded with their school's values and culture. However, in terms of their professional socialisation, there were various findings: some mentioned the lack of support programs while others acknowledged receiving quite helpful programmes within their initial years of headship. The findings and the implications for the improvement of primary headteachers' socialisation are discussed. Significance - This study provides supplementary literature that explores primary headteachers' organisational and professional socialisation within the Malaysian schooling context. This study notes some practical and theoretical implications for improving the prospective headteachers' training and their leadership development which aim to enhance the leadership qualities of future primary school leaders

Hyaluronatelyase production by Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from patients and carriers

Hyaluronatelyase produced by various microorganisms are capable of degrading hyaluronic acid in connective tissues and initiating the spread of infection by opening an access for the pathogen into host tissues. The present study attempts to determine the distribution of hyaluronatelyase-producing Streptococcus pneumoniae among invasive, non invasive and carriage isolates, and correlate it with the clinical sources, year of isolation, colonial morphology and their serotypes. A total of 100 isolates from various clinical samples were selected and screened for hyaluronatelyase production and presence of the encoding SpnHyl gene. All isolates possessed SpnHyl gene. Ninety-six isolates including 34 carriage isolates were positive for production of hyaluronatelyase. Four hyaluronatelyase-negative isolates were from blood (2 isolates) and sputum (2 isolates). No significant association was detected among hyaluronatelyase production and bacterial characteristics except for colonial morphology (p = 0.040). High percentages of hyaluronatelyase production in these isolates suggest their possible role as human pathogens

Keadilan penilaian prestasi dalam kalangan guru dan hubungannya dengan kepuasan kerja dan pencapaian akademik

Kajian ini bertujuan meninjau persepsi guru terhadap keadilan penilaian prestasi dari segi keadilan pengagihan dan keadilan prosedur. Di samping itu, kajian ini juga meninjau hubungan antara kedua-dua keadilan penilaian prestasi dengan prestasi organisasi sekolah yang diukur melalui kepuasan kerja guru dan pencapaian akademik sekolah. Daripada 110 buah sekolah yang disampelkan dalam kajian ini, sebanyak 86 buah sekolah telah mengembalikan set borang soal selidik yang lengkap dan mencukupi untuk kajian ini, iaitu sebanyak 78% kadar respon. Hasil kajian mendapati aspek keadilan penilaian prestasi berada pada tahap yang sederhana. Sebaliknya dari aspek kepuasan kerja pula didapati responden guru tidak begitu mempunyai kepuasan kerja yang tinggi. Dari segi perkaitaan antara keadilan penilaian prestasi dengan pencapaian akademik, didapati secara keseluruhannya kedua-dua aspek adalah berkait secara positif dan signifikan. Secara keseluruhannya, keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa keadilan penilaian prestasi boleh menyumbang kepada usaha organisasi pendidikan dalam meningkatkan kepuasan kerja dalam kalangan guru serta pencapaian akademik sekolah

Keadilan penilaian prestasi dalam kalangan guru dan hubungannya dengan motivasi kerja dan prestasi akademik sekolah

Purpose - This study investigated teachers’ perception on fairness of performance appraisal with respect to procedural justice and distributive justice. This study also explored the possible relationship between both aspects of justice and their impact on school achievement measured by teacher work motivation and school academic performance. Design/Methodology/Approach - The survey was carried out in 110 secondary schools selected randomly from a listing of secondary schools in Kedah and Perlis. The final number of participants for this study was 86 schools, with a response rate of 78%. Findings - Correlation analysis indicated that (a) procedural justice has significant positive correlation with distributive justice; (b) work motivation has significant positive correlation with distributive justice; and(c) school academic performance has significant positive correlation with both procedural and distributive justice. Furthermore, results of regression analysis also indicated that both aspects of justice have a significant positive relationship with work motivation and school academic performance. Originality/Value - Findings of this study demonstrated that fairness of performance appraisal could contribute to the effort of educational organisations in enhancing work motivation and academic performance. Paper type - Research Paper

Hyaluronate lyase activity in Malaysian Isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important pathogen cause various severe illness in human particularly pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis. One of its virulence factors is hyaluronate lyase, an enzyme which degrades hyaluronic acid (HA), a major component in extracellular matrix of human connective tissues. Degradation of HA decrease host tissue viscosity and eventually increase tissue permeability to allow migration of pneumococcus or its product into human tissues. The study attempted to screen production of hyaluronate lyase in 100 isolates of S. pneumoniae from various sites and year of isolation, and other bacterial characteristics. Ninety-six isolates (96%) showed positive hyaluronate lyase through hyaluronic acid diffusion agar method. Few positive hyaluronate lyase isolates were selected and proceed to enzymatic activity determination through hyaluronic acid turbidity reduction assay. The study found that non-vaccine serotypes and carriage isolates showed high hyaluronate lyase activity than invasive isolates. This finding suggest that hyaluronate lyase in S. pneumoniae might play more important role in pneumococcal colonization than invasion

“I Employed My Own Strategy”: Exploring Primary Headteachers’ Organisational and Professional Socialisation

Purpose – The main purpose of this study was to explore primary headteachers’ perceptions of their professional and organisational socialisation within their novice years as school leaders.There is a lack of studies exploring primary headteachers’ socialisation within the Malaysian primary education context.Methodology – A total of nine primary headteachers from three states were purposely selected and interviewed to obtain their perceptions on the professional socialisation they received before and after their appointment and the strategies that they employed within their organisational socialisation process.Findings – The study revealed that the primary headteachers employed their own organisational socialisation strategies in order to be accepted as a new member of the school. These were relatively diverse but accorded with their school’s values and culture. However, in terms of their professional socialisation, there were various findings: some mentioned the lack of support programs while others acknowledged receiving quite helpful programmes within their initial years of headship. The findings and the implications for the improvement of primary headteachers’ socialisation are discussed.Significance – This study provides supplementary literature that explores primary headteachers’ organisational and professional socialisation within the Malaysian schooling context. This study notes some practical and theoretical implications for improving the prospective headteachers’ training and their leadership development which aim to enhance the leadership qualities of future primary school leaders

Factors influencing the adoption of E-Payment: An empirical study in Malaysia / Intan Syafinaz Mat Shafie ... [et al.]

This study examines the antecedents of the factors that influence customers to adopt the electronic payment system while making payments. Payment is the one of the element to complete the transaction while making payment. Due to the development of E-commerce, e-payment systems have been introducing. So, the use of electronic payment systems is being increasing day by day for people to complete their task quickly ineffective way. The result of the study shows that there is a relationship between dependent variables (effort expectancy and social influence) and independent variable (Adopton of e-payment). However, other variables (culture, perceived security and performance expectancy) were not significant with adoption of e-payment. Therefore, the study approves effort expectancy and social influence has a significant relationship with adoption of e-payment. Therefore, companies today that do business using electronic payment system as the medium to complete the transaction must focus more on this two variable to increase the number of people use this payment system. The increasing the number of people use this payment system will contribute to excellent result for e-commerce because e-payment system is one of the factor e-commerce becomes successful and it will give good impact to our nation’s economy

METABOLITES PROFILE OF COLORECTAL CANCER CELLS AT DIFFERENT STAGES

Objective: The aim of this study is to characterize the metabolite profiles of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells of different stages of the disease to understandthe pathophysiological changes that may help to identify prevention strategies as well as the sites for potential therapeutic drug actions.Methods: Six CRC cell lines of different stages (classified using the Dukes classification) were used, and they are SW 1116 (stage A), HT 29 and SW480 (stage B), HCT 15 and DLD-1 (stage C), and HCT 116 (stage D). Metabolites were extracted using methanol and water, and metabolic profiling wasperformed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Mass profiler professional software was used for statistical analysis.Results: There were 111,096 compounds detected across the samples, and 24 metabolites were identified to be significantly different betweenthe CRC stages. Most notably, there were eight metabolites that were significantly upregulated in the more advanced stages (B, C, and D) comparedwith Stage A. These metabolites include flavin mononucleotide, l-methionine, muricatacin, amillaripin, 2-methylbutyroylcarnitine, lumichrome,hexadeconoic acid, and lysoPE (0:0/16:0).Conclusion: This study showed that the expressions of metabolites at different stages of CRC were different, which represent the metabolic changesoccurring as CRC advances. The knowledge may help identify biomarkers for the staging of CRC, which could improve its prognosis as well as providea basis for the development of therapeutic interventions

Food consumption patterns: findings from the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey(MANS)

This study reports the food consumption patterns of adults aged 18 to 59 years in the Malaysian Adults Nutrition Survey (MANS) carried out between October 2002 and December 2003. A total of 6,742 subjects comprising 3,274 men and 3,468 women representing the northern, central , southern and east coast of Peninsular Malaysia as well as Sabah and Sarawak were interviewed. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) which consisted of 126 food items was used to evaluate the food consumption pattern (habitual food intake) of the respondents during the previous one-year period. The results demonstrate that nasi putih (cooked rice) was consumed by 97% of the population twice daily (average 2½ plates per day). Other food items consumed daily were marine fish, (one medium fish per day), green leafy vegetables (one cup per day) and sweetened condensed milk (three teaspoons per day. The mean frequencies for daily intake of rice, leafy vegetables, marine fish, local kuih, anchovy (ikan bilis) and biscuits were significantly higher among the rural compared to the urban adults. In contrast, more urban dwellers consumed chicken and eggs more frequently than their rural counterparts. More men than women consumed chicken and eggs more frequently. Malaysian adults showed a satisfactory habit of drinking plain water, with 99% drinking at least six glasses of plain water daily. Other beverages such as tea (47%), coffee (28%), chocolate-based drinks (23%) and cordial syrup (11%) were also consumed on daily basis, however, in a smaller proportion of the population. There were differences in the prevalence of daily consumption of foods when comparing urban and rural population, and also between men and women. The prevalence of daily consumption of marine fish among rural and urban adults was 51% and 34% respectively. For sweetened condensed milk, men and women consumed 43% and 28% respectively; however, more women drank full cream milk than men. Between the age groups, 21% of adults below 20 years old consumed chicken at least once a day, while this pattern of intake was not shown in the older age groups. Our findings show that adults, aged 50 to 59 years old, had the highest prevalence of daily consumption of full cream milk with 24% while those aged 18 to 19 years old had the lowest prevalence of daily consumption at 15%. The food consumption pattern of Malaysian adults appears to be satisfactory. However, some changes in food habits are recommended especially in substituting the less wholesome sweetened condensed milk with the more nutritious full cream or skimmed milk