Effects of Cognitive Stress on the Temporal Anticipation of a Timing Motor Task

The study was designed to investigate the effects of cognitive stress on the temporal anticipation of a timing motor task. The experimental design applied was a repeated measures design with two independent variables (cognitive stress and levels of difficulty - easy, intermediate and difficult). The participants of this study consist of 18 male and 19 female undergraduates of the Physical Education programme of University Putra Malaysia. The participants were required to perform a timing motor across three levels of difficulty and under two conditions i.e. without cognitive stress and under cognitive stress. Cognitive stress was induced via the continuous subtraction of two from a two-digit number. Participants performed the task individually and the sequence of the experimental task was counterbalanced. A two-way within subject's ANOVA was performed to ascertain the effects of cognitive stress on the temporal anticipation of the timing motor task. The data analysis revealed a significant difference in means for the stress main effect (A = 64, E (1.35) = 19.89, P = .00); and the task main effect (A = .84, E (2,34) = 3.35, p < .05). Post hoc comparisons produced a significant difference in the means of the performance of the timing motor task at all three levels of difficulty. This showed that cognitive stress had an effect on the temporal anticipation of the timing motor task. A two way mixed design ANOVA was conducted was performed to ascertain the effects of cognitive stress on the temporal anticipation of the timing motor task with regard to gender. The task main effect was significant (A = .59, E (5, 170) = 6.70, P = .01). Follow up comparisons revealed significant difference in the performance of the experimental task at the easy level without cognitive stress, intermediate level without cognitive stress and the easy level under cognitive stress. This showed that there was a significant difference in the performance of the timing motor at the three levels mentioned

Lack of Processing of the Expressed ORF1 Gene Product of Hepatitis E Virus

Background: Proteolytic processing is a common mechanism among plus strand RNA viruses and the replicases of all plus strand RNA viruses of animals thus far characterized undergo such processing. The replicase proteins of hepatitis E virus (HEV) are encoded by ORF1. A previous report published by our group [1] provided data that processing potentially occurred when ORF1 (Burma strain; genotype 1) was expressed using a vaccinia virus-based expression system. Findings: To further test for processing and to rule out artifacts associated with the expression system, ORF1 was re-expressed using a plasmid-based expression vector with the result that the previous processing profile could not be confirmed. When ORF1 from an HEV infectious cDNA clone (US swine strain; genotype 3) was expressed using the plasmid-based system, the only species detected was the 185 kDa precursor of ORF1. A putative papain-like cysteine protease [2] had been predicted within ORF1 using the original HEV genomic sequence. However, analysis of subsequent ORF1 sequences from a large number of HEV isolates reveals that this protease motif is not conserved. Conclusions: The expressed HEV ORF1 gene product does not undergo proteolytic processing, indicating that the replicase precursor of HEV is potentially unique in this regard

Comparison study of different value at risk models and their effectiveness on the Malaysian palm oil futures (FCPO) market

Market risk is an important element of derivatives trading and can cause derivatives market participants to suffer substantial amount of loss if not managed properly. Value at Risk (VaR) is a tool that has been used to manage market risk particularly in the developed markets. This research tries to identify which VaR model out of three models namely Historical Simulation, Delta Normal and Age Weighted Historical Simulation that can be effectively used as risk management tool for Malaysian derivatives market particularly the Malaysian Palm Oil Futures (FCPO) market. The back testing process was conducted to study the number of violations of each models produced and the exceptions were tested using Kupiec Proportion of Failure (POF) test to find the most accurate model. The study revealed that the Age Weighted Model was the most effective and robust compared to the other two models. Age Weighted potentially can be a viable alternative method of market assessment along with more complex models such as Monte Carlo Simulation and GARC

Customer Satisfaction In An Ems Company

Increasing competition in an increasingly globalized world drives the need of companies’ to retain their customers. Ensuring Customer Satisfaction is a key strategic imperative for any company in this battle to retain customer

Women board members as a diversity tool for enhancing corporate governance and stakeholder value.

The continued failure of companies mainly with the majority of male board members prompted this research to establish the importance of board heterogeneity, the role of women board members, their characteristics and how their board presence can be utilised for improving corporate governance and stakeholder value.  This study derives from board composition which dictates that directors of substance should populate boards.  The debate on the utility value of women on boards was investigated using an interpretive enquiry.  Document review coupled with a semi-structured interview was administered to forty-two (42) respondents.  Purposive and snowball sampling were used to select respondents.  Results of the research showed that women are thinly populated in boards yet they are risk averse, prepare for meetings diligently, are objective, have integrity and are protective of the organisation.  The research recommends that bursaries and scholarships should be availed to women and girls so that they get chances to go through all levels of education and end up as managers, a step towards board membership.  The government of Zimbabwe should make sure that steps are taken to enforce the 50:50 principle in management and that to cascade to boards.  There should be advocacy for the need to infuse women leadership in all walks of life. Key words: Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, Women on Boards, NVivo, qualitative and Stakeholder Satisfaction

Big Data Analytics and Auditing: A Review and Synthesis of Literature

The use of data analytics in auditing is increasingly growing. The application of common data analytics to audit engagements appears to be lagging behind other areas of practice, even though data analytics is thought to represent the future of audit, and there are still few publications that have examined this influence. This article reviews data analytics in audits and its potential for future audit engagements to describe the evolution of this research trend and picture its future growth directions. Future audit research potential and difficulties are also discussed. Data analytics application in auditing has enormous potential for refining audit quality, decreasing errors, increasing process transparency, and enhancing stakeholders’ confidence. We conducted a systematic literature review using the PRISMA approach. A total of 100 articles published in English from January 2011 to November 2021 were identified through a systematic search of reputed databases, including Web of Science and Scopus and many others. Our analysis reveals that data analytics is a promising domain for the auditing practice as it improves audit efficiency and promotes audit work digital transformation. While reviewing the most pertinent literature in the context of data analytics in auditing, this study offers insights on potential new directions and waning views on big data analytics in auditing. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-02-023 Full Text: PD

The differences between gross motor performance amongst children according to ethnic and age chronology

Gross motor skills are important elements that are often associated with the activeness of children in sports and physical activity. The better motor performance level amongst children is reflected by the higher level of involvement in sports and physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the level of gross motor performance amongst children based on ethnic and chronological age. The subjects of the study consist of two different ethnic groups namely, Malays (n=38) and Indians (n=34), respectively. A total of 72 subjects aged between 8 and 9 years old (8.51 ± 50 years) volunteered for this study. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2) is the instrument used in order to assess the gross motor performance amongst the children. Two gross motor components assessed were locomotor and object manipulation. The t-test analysis found that there was no significant difference on the level of motor performance between the ethnicities either in locomotor [t (70) = .31, p (.75)> .05] or object manipulation [t (70) = 1.65, p (.10)> .05]. Meanwhile, the results attained from the Gross Motor Quotient (GMQ) score demonstrated that all the participants regardless of their ethnicity, exhibited a lower level of gross motor performance compared to age equivalent standard score. In conclusion, ethnic differences do not affect the level of gross motor performance either in locomotor or object manipulation

Psychological skills assessment and referee rugby sevens performance

This study aims to examine the psychological skills that are commonly used among referees rugby sevens and their relationship with referees’ performance. The Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987) was adapted and modified specifically for use by rugby sevens referees. It was administered to 132 rugby sevens referee (mean age 33.4 + 1.5 years; 132 males) of the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) which has been refereed in 10 rugby sevens tournament in Malaysia. The psychological skills variables employed in the questionnaire included confidence, anxiety management, mental preparation, motivation and concentration. The IRB Referee Sevens Performance Evaluation Form (r=0.94) was used to evaluate referee performance. These instruments measure the performance variable that contains the dimensions of control, communication, application of the law and the positioning. The descriptive statistics of the variables are Psychological skills (M= 120.14, SD= 6.97) and performance (M= 136.45, SD= 4.47) identified at a moderate level. Findings indicated no significant differences [F= (3, 72) =.636, p>0.05] in psychological skills across age levels but there are significant differences [F= (3, 128) =57.616, p<0.05] across experience levels. Highly experienced referees scored significantly higher in all psychological constructs compared to less experienced referees. Variables that showed strong and positive relationships with performance were anxiety management (r= .61), concentration (r= .57), confidence(r= .54) and motivation (r= .50). In conclusion, the psychological skills assessment can improve the efficacy of rugby referees and recommends that referee coaches increase the use of psychological skills in competitions and future training. Researchers should investigate the effectiveness of applied sport psychology interventions in enhancing referee performance in the future

Role of psychological factors on the performance of elite soccer players

The application of psychological strategies to improve performance in sports has developed significantly over the past few decades. Nowadays, coaches are beginning to realize the significance of psychological factors in enhancing player’s performance. However, determining the magnitude of the impact of psychological factors in a soccer game may assist in developing player’s capacity to perform. This study aims to determine the role of psychological factors on the performance of elite soccer players. We enrolled elite players competing in the Malaysian Super League with a mean age of ± 25 years. Psychological constructs questionnaire proposed by PSIS-R-5 was administered to the players, and the scores of each player were recorded. We analyzed the performances of the players for eight weeks. A standard multiple regression was performed at p = 0.05 alpha levels with the motivation, confidence, anxiety control, mental preparation, team emphasis, concentration and cognition as (IVs) to predict performance (DV). A Noteworthy regression equation was found (F (7, 12) = 15.109, P < .001) with R² of .90 indicating that the model has approximately accounted for the total of 90% variability. Although correlations were found.57, .14, .88, .71, .65, .76 and .42 respectively between the (IVs) and the (DV), none of the (IVs) is a predictor of the (DV) (P > 0.05). Based on the results of this analysis, it is tempting to conclude that, despite the correlation between psychological factors and performance, psychological factors alone could not determine the performance of elite soccer players