Perancangan kewangan dan aplikasi teori tingkah laku kewangan dan teori keperluan Maslow: kajian kes KWSP di Malaysia

Tingkah laku membuat keputusan merupakan proses yang kompleks dan memerlukan analisis pelbagai faktor. Tingkah laku kewangan juga bergantung kepada objektif perancangan kewangan. Maka, permahaman dan perbincangan aplikasi teori tingkah laku kewangan dan teori keperluan dalam perancangan kewangan adalah penting. Perbincangan ini dijalankan kerana kurang perbincangan formal dalam aspek perancangan kewangan. Perbincangan ini focus dalam tingkah laku kewangan di kalangan ahli-ahli skim Kumpulan Wang Skim Persaraan (KWSP). Perbincangan kajian ini terdiri daripada tiga bahagian, iaitu perancangan kewangan, aplikasi teori-teori tingkah laku kewangan, dan Teori Keperluan Maslow (TKM). Pertama, perancangan kewangan dibincang dari aspek pengeluaran pra-persaraan skim KWSP. Pengeluaran pra-persaraan yang berkaitan ialah perancangan pelaburan dan pembiayaan perumahan. Kedua, Teori Jangkaan-Utiliti (TJU) dan Teori Prospek (TP) merupakan teori tingkah laku yang berlainan dalam pemilihan individu. TJU menyifatkan pemilihan rasional, manakala TP menyifatkan pemilihan alternatif. Kemudian, pemilihan pengeluaran pra-persaraan dibincangkan dalam aplikasi dalam kedua-dua perancangan ini dalam TJU dan TP. Ketiga, pemilihan pengeluaran pra-persaraan tersebut dibahagikan kepada empat pilihan, iaitu terus kekal skim KWSP, pembiayaan perumahan, pelaburan dan kedua-dua. Kemudian, keempat-empat pemilihan dibincangkan dalam TKM. Kajian terhadap implikasi teori menunjukkan bukti aplikasi teori-teori tingkah laku kewangan wujud dalam perancangan kewangan. Dengan pemahanan ini, mampu membantu institusi kewangan lebih memahami tingkah laku individual. Seterusnya, membentuk model pemasaran yang lebih cekap

State practitioner insights into local public health challenges and opportunities in obesity prevention: a qualitative study.

IntroductionThe extent of obesity prevention activities conducted by local health departments (LHDs) varies widely. The purpose of this qualitative study was to characterize how state obesity prevention program directors perceived the role of LHDs in obesity prevention and factors that impact LHDs' success in obesity prevention.MethodsFrom June 2011 through August 2011, we conducted 28 semistructured interviews with directors of federally funded obesity prevention programs at 22 state and regional health departments. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed to identify recurring themes and key quotations.ResultsMain themes focused on the roles of LHDs in local policy and environmental change and on the barriers and facilitators to LHD success. The role LHDs play in obesity prevention varied across states but generally reflected governance structure (decentralized vs centralized). Barriers to local prevention efforts included competing priorities, lack of local capacity, siloed public health structures, and a lack of local engagement in policy and environmental change. Structures and processes that facilitated prevention were having state support (eg, resources, technical assistance), dedicated staff, strong communication networks, and a robust community health assessment and planning process.ConclusionsThese findings provide insight into successful strategies state and local practitioners are using to implement innovative (and evidence-informed) community-based interventions. The change in the nature of obesity prevention requires a rethinking of the state-local relationship, especially in centralized states

The Politics of Union and Citizenship: The Evolution of British Constitutional Policy Towards Malaya and Singapore 1942-1948.

World War II, by unleashing new forces, had precipitated a reappraisal of British policy towards Malaya; it also afforded British planners an opportunity to rationalise the pre-war structures which had kept Malaya constitutionally disunited and racially divided. Isolated in their offices in Whitehall, Colonial Office officials devised the Malayan Union policy, embracing in a "union" all the Malay States and including, from the Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca but excluding Singapore, which developed as a separate constitutional entity although the possibility of a future "fusion" with the proposed Malayan Union was not discounted; the new arrangements envisaged also the creation of a form of "common citizenship" that would confer political rights to Malaya's non-Malay population. When the war ended, the British proceeded, as planned, to implement the Malayan Union scheme in April 1946 only to replace it with the Federation of Malaya in February 1948; the provisions for citizenship were also significantly "tightened" by 1948 to include only a smaller number of non-Malays. The decision to scrap the Malayan Union, however, was taken by early July 1946, barely three months after its inception. This study traces the origins of the Colonial Office's plans for "union" and "citizenship", examines the assumptions which had guided British planners and how these had been overturned by post-war developments, and discusses the interaction of historical forces which led eventually to the demise of the Malayan Union and the creation of the Federation in 1948. It analyses also the separate political development of Singapore and the attempts to unite the Island with the Mainland, a process which succeeded, in retrospect, only briefly in 1963 and only then to result in separation again in 1965

Efficiency, Efficacy, and Power in the Implementation of a Medication Adherence Aid.

Nonadherence to medication regimens is common, with approximately 50% of patients not taking their medications as prescribed. The Universal Medication Schedule (UMS) is a set of standardized, evidence-based, and patient-centered instructions for pill-form medications that has demonstrated improvements in adherence by promoting patient comprehension. An urban, publicly funded, integrated health care system attempted to adopt UMS labeling but had limited success at its largest pilot site, which was a safety-net health care system's outpatient pharmacy. To assess barriers to implementation, we engaged pharmacists at this site in group interviews. We thematically analyzed transcripts by integrating sociological work on standardization with grounded theory methodologies. In addition to lacking technological infrastructure, tensions among efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness, and tension between individual/biomedical versus population health perspectives emerged as barriers to implementation. Additionally, we discovered that hierarchies of professional power impeded uptake. For successful implementation of evidence-based practices for vulnerable populations in resource-poor settings, efforts must anticipate and reconcile the tensions among conflicting demands, professional hierarchies, and divergent orientations to patient care. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2018;2(3):e128-e131.]

van der Waals Bonded Co/h-BN Contacts to Ultrathin Black Phosphorus Devices

Due to the chemical inertness of 2D hexagonal-Boron Nitride (h-BN), few atomic-layer h-BN is often used to encapsulate air-sensitive 2D crystals such as Black Phosphorus (BP). However, the effects of h-BN on Schottky barrier height, doping and contact resistance are not well known. Here, we investigate these effects by fabricating h-BN encapsulated BP transistors with cobalt (Co) contacts. In sharp contrast to directly Co contacted p-type BP devices, we observe strong n-type conduction upon insertion of the h-BN at the Co/BP interface. First principles calculations show that this difference arises from the much larger interface dipole at the Co/h-BN interface compared to the Co/BP interface, which reduces the work function of the Co/h-BN contact. The Co/h-BN contacts exhibit low contact resistances (~ 4.5 k-ohm), and are Schottky barrier free. This allows us to probe high electron mobilities (4,200 cm2/Vs) and observe insulator-metal transitions even under two-terminal measurement geometry

Models in dissemination and implementation research: useful tools in public health services and systems research

Dissemination and implementation (D&I) science seeks to understand how to systematically facilitate utilization of evidence. Theories and frameworks (hereafter called models) augment D&I research by enhancing efforts to spread evidence-based interventions (EBIs). D&I models are relevant for public health services and systems research, which also explores the uses of evidence. This report: 1) develops an inventory of models; 2) synthesizes this information; and 3) provides guidance on how to select a model. The research team used snowball sampling to collect models. This article uses three author-defined variables: construct flexibility, focus on dissemination and/or implementation activities, and socio-ecological framework level to categorize models. Models that addressed policy are noted. Public health researchers and practitioners can use this inventory to identify models to guide D&I research and/or efforts