Play Therapy With Children Survivors Of Tsunami: Malaysia Experience.

Play is the most complete form- of self-expression' developed by,the humanorganism (Landreth, 1991). Play is a child's medium for expression. Play provides a non-threatening and comfortable environment for children to express their unpleasant thoughts and feelings that might become overwhelming

The internet milieu: individualization within a globalised community

Communication technologies have become deeply embedded in our lives, mediating the ways in which information is presented. Due to the global nature of this channel of communication, the world has shrunk and members of the internet may share similar cultural norms of thinking and behaving. Yet, paradoxically, the Internet is personal in that each individual has an interactive opportunity in choosing the options that can expand the breadth and depth of the information they are reading, who they interact with, and the means to achieve that interaction. These options can be expressed through a variety of media techniques. This paper is based on a study of selected websites hosted in English. It looks at language use in the Internet and illustrates the paradoxes between global and individual mediations of meanin

Preparation and Characterization of Bi2-O3-M2o5 (M =P,As, V) Oxide Ion Conductors

Bi203-M205, M = P, AS, V systems and related materials were prepared by solid state reactions. The phase purity of the materials was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Further characterization using ac impedance spectroscopy and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were carried out on single phase materials. Besides, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), density measurement, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform i n h e d (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Rarnan spectroscopy were also performed on selected materials. The crystal system and space group of the single phase materials were determined. Two narrow solid solution series were formed in xBi2O3-P205: 5.5 I x I 6 and 7 I x 5 7.25. In DTA study, a phase transition was clearly seen in Bi7P013 and Bi~gP40~a~t .-856 0°C.XRD shows that single phase materials were formed in xBi203-As205 binary system when x = 5, 5.5, 5.667, 5.75, 6 and 7. Among these, materials in the composition range of 5 5 x 5 6.25 appeared to be solid solutions. Attempts to synthesize materials of composition of xBi203-As2051, I x I 4 were unsuccesshl. Single phase materials were formed in xBi203-V205 binary system, 5 I x I 6 and x = 7. A phase transition was observed in Bi17V303a3n d Bi23V404.5 at -180°C. However, its origin is unknown. Materials of composition xBi203-M205, 5.5 I x I 6 (M = P) and 5 I x I 6 (M = As, V) are refined in triclinic symmetry with space group of P-I. Meanwhile, monoclinic symmetry was found in materials where x = 7, 7.25 (M = P) and x = 7(M = As, V). The XRD and IR patterns of both series of xBi203-As205, 5 I x I 6.25 and xBi203-V205, 5.5 5 x I 6 solid solutions are very similar since these materials are isostructural. Generally, lattice parameters, volumes and densities of the materials in xBi203-M205 system, M = P, As, V increased with the increase of Bi content. A complete solid solution series was formed in the Bi22P4043-Bi22As4043, Bi22P4043- Bi22V4043, Bi22As4043-Bi22V4043, Bi23P40~.5-Bi23As4044.5, Bi23P404.5-Bi23V4044.5, Bi23A~4044.5-Bi23V4044B.5i1, 2P2023-Bi 12A~2023, Bi 12P2023-Bi12V2023, Bi12As20~- Bi12V202a3n d Bi7AsO13-Bi7V013s ystems. In Bi7PO13-Bi7AsO1a3n d Bi7PO13-Bi7V013 systems a two-phase region was seen. All the single phase materials studied above appeared to be oxide-ion conductors. Conductivity increased with increasing vanadium content, followed by arsenic and phosphorus. Among the materials prepared, the highest conductivity is obtained in Bi23V4044.5w ith a 0 value of 1.34 x lo4 ohm" cm" at 300°C. In an attempt to optimize oxide ion conductivity, chemical doping using PbO, S@O3)2, A1203, Ga203, La203, Fe203 etc. was carried out in selected materials, resulting in the formation of limited solid solutions. These materials, however, exhibit conductivity slightly lower than that of the parent materials. Ball milling process has been carried out in the preparation of Bi23V4044.5a nd Bi14P06 in addition to manual grinding prior to fihg of the samples. In ball milling process, high-density, fine-grained powders with uniform grain-size distribution were obtained, resulting in an increase in conductivity and dielectric constants. Sillenite compounds in the Bi203-P205b inary system with Bi:P ratios of 13:l to 16:1 have been synthesized and found to be solid solutions. Substitution of P by V and As in the material where Bi:P = 14:l results in partial and complete solid solutions, respectively. Enhancement in conductivity was observed in these solid solutions with Vdoped materials exhibiting the highest conductivity. Substitution of P by elements such as pb2+, s?+,~ 1 ~~+a,~ ~+e,~ si+4+,,~ e ~an+d ,~ ile~ads +to f ormation of limited solid solutions. Most of these materials have conductivity similar to or slightly higher than that of the parent compound. These materials appeared to be predominantly oxide ion conductors especially at temperatures above 800°C where y + 6' polymorphic transformation occurred

Consumption Of Health Products By Older Consumers In Peninsular Malaysia

The purpose of the study are (i) to identify older consumers’ purchasing behavior, (ii) to determine the monthly expenditure on health products by older consumers, and (iii) to investigate factors affecting the consumption behavior of health products by older consumers in Peninsular Malaysia. The data was obtained from secondary data entitled Consumer Behavior of Older Consumers in Malaysia, funded through the Intensification of Research in Priority Areas (IRPA, Project code 06-02-03-0136-PR) by Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. A total of 1,356 respondents were chosen using the non-probability quota sampling. The dependent variable of this study, consumption behaviors was measured by total amount spent on health products. While, purchasing behavior was assessed by the pre-purchasing behavior, behavior during purchasing and post-purchasing behavior. Multiple linear regressions were used to identify the factors that affect the consumption behavior of health products by older consumers in Peninsular Malaysia. More than half (57.30%), of the respondents were male respondents, and that 42.70% were female respondents. There 56.19% were Malays, 29.42% Chinese, and 11.21% Indians respondents in the study, while the remaining respondents were from other ethnicities. Eight market outlets were identified where respondents had access to health products. These outlets were sundry shops, mini market, convenience store, super market, hypermarkets, pharmacies, Chinese medical halls, and traditional healers. The finding showed that 71% of the respondents (n=963) had spent less than RM114.00 per month on health products. Independent T-test showed that there were significant differences in amount of money spent on health by certain social demographic groups and that those who spent more than RM114.00 (mean) tended to be urban, female and non-working respondents (p<0.05). Pharmacies, Chinese medical halls and sundry shops are those places that the respondents normally had access to health products.There were 14 variables used in this regression model, which explained about 16% variance of monthly expenditure on health products. Of the 14 variables, eight variables significantly contributed to the model. The model showed that these eight variables were: gender, stratum, number of years education, estimated monthly household income, number of annoyances faced during purchasing, number of chronic illnesses experienced, number of prescription drugs taken, and age. Out f these eight variables number of years education and number of prescription drugs taken are the two variables that most influence respondents’ monthly expenditure on health products. In conclusion, the majority of the respondents needed health products and this need increases the cost of living for older Malaysians. In order to maintain and increase their overall quality of life, the need for a healthy lifestyle for this older population as well as for the coming generation should be addressed. Ministry of Health should provide a special scheme to help those older consumers who are receiving lower income and can not afford to purchase the health products to maintain their health. Attention must be given to proper labelling, disclosures that are easy to understand, comprehensive, accurate, and more useful in enabling consumers to understand risks and costs and to compare products. Hence, the government should fully enforce and use Labelling Acts. The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs should ensure that all the market outlets follow the rules stated in the Labelling Acts

Nanostructured bimettalic oxide modified silica as oxidative-acidic bifunctional catalysts for alikene epoxidation

This project focuses on synthes is of nanostructured bimetallic oxide modified silica as bifunctional catalysts. Silica gel which possesses large surface area will be synthesized via sol-qel method, It will be used as support of the designed catalysts. Bimeta llic oxides will be introduced into/onto silica via impregnation method. Ratio of the bimeta llic oxides to silica will be varied in the synthes is process. All the synth esized materials will be characterized and the ir catalytic activity will be evaluated through epoxidat ion reaction. Lastly. the structurakatalytic act ivity relationship of the prepared materials will be investigated. The role of bimetall ic oxides and their interaction with silica in formation of acidity in the catalyst will also be explored . It will contribute to the basic understanding of th e effect physico-chemica l prope rties such as parti cle size, functional groups. surface area , porosity , surface morphology to th e response cata lytic activity. The fundamental knowledge acquired will lead to novel nanostructured bifunctional catalyst in epoxidation reaction. With better unders ta nding of physic-chemical interaction among niobium. phosphate , titanium and silica, the degree of control in response can be increased. which eventually leads to bifunctional catalyst of improved catalytic performance and subsequently contributes to th e development of an excellent cata lyst in fine chemical indust ry. Recently, high surface area nanostruetured vanadium-phosphate modified silica-titan ia was reported as potential bifunctiona l cata lyst in epoxidation. The inte raction of vanadium-phosphate was crucia l for the formation of Bronsted acidity, while both vanadium titanium species played importa nt as oxidative sites. leading to an excellent bifunctional catalytic performance in alkene epoxidation reaction. Thus, it leads to an intensive research on synthesis of nanostructured bifunctional catalyst of bimetall ic oxides modified silica. The resu lted nanostructured materials could be excellent bifunctiona l cata lysts in alkene epoxidation reaction

Intelligent Lighting System: An Education Kit to Increase the Awareness of Energy-Saving for Primary School Children.

High energy consumption per capita reported in our country has shown a significant issue pertaining to the overconsumption of electricity. This issue has become a problem when the negative effects of climate change are felt by citizens. Thus, public must be taught to be energy-saving conscious, especially from their young age. However, there is a lack of such education material to teach the young generations. Thus, this report presents an education kit, which consists of an education website, a prototype and a case study, which aims to increase the awareness of energy-saving in the young minds of the primary school students. The website acts as an interactive tool for students to learn about energy-saving and how the prototype works. The prototype consists of an intelligent lighting device that uses a combination of sensors, or dual-technology to reduce unnecessary electricity consumption of lighting in a target building. The case study focuses on academic building Academic Building 2 in Univerisiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), where the lighting consumption pattern is studied, and how the intelligent lighting system can help to reduce the unnecessary electricity wastage within lecture room in the campus. The methodology used is Rapid Application Development (RAD) cycle and prototyping, where the website and the prototype are developed and tested on a regular basis. Findings have shown that UTP is consuming a very high amount of electricity, and the intelligent lighting system is estimated to reduce up to 36.58% of electricity spent on lighting in Academic Building 2. In short, the whole package is interactive and educative to the primary school students to learn about energy-saving in an unprecedented way

Ready for Business: An Anthropology Graduate as Change Management Consultant

This paper is a historical, confessional and ethnographic account of a former change management consultant in a global consulting firm who later went on to complete a PhD in social anthropology. Locating herself as both the researcher and informant, the writer gives her ‘native’ account of one model of management consulting that was based on a proprietary ‘method’. She notes how her undergraduate training in anthropology made her a more effective consultant as she tried to make sense of the culture of various client organizations for the specific purpose of designing and developing training materials. By mapping the ways in which anthropological theory and methodology could be aligned to meet the business goals of her clients, the paper aims to persuade both prospective employers and students alike to see how anthropology can be applied effectively in the business world

The Relationship Between Job Characteristics And Job Satisfaction Toward Affective Commitment: The Case Of Engineers In Sepakat Setia Perunding Sdn Bhd.

Komitmen Organisasi telah dikaji dengan meluas sebagai satu factor penting dalam pengekalan dan motivasi pekerja. Organizational commitment has been extensively researched as an important factor in employee retention and motivation

Preparing, Characterizing, On-Line Digital Image Processing of Residence Time Distribution and Modeling of Mechanical Properties of Nanocomposite Foams

The objectives of this research were to prepare, characterize and to study the effects of organoclay and extrusion variables on the physical, mechanical, structural, thermal and functional properties of tapioca starch (TS)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposite foams. On-line digital imaging processing was used to determine residence time distribution (RTD). Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was used to model the mechanical properties of nanocomposite foams. Four different organoclays (Cloisite 10A, 25A, 93A, 15A) were used to produce nanocomposite foams by melt-intercalation. The properties were characterized using Xray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetric, and Instron universal testing machine. The properties were influenced significantly with the addition of different organoclays. TS/PLA/Cloisite 30B nanocomposite foams, with four clay contents of 1, 3, 5, 7 wt%, were prepared by a melt-intercalation method. Among the four nanocomposites, 3 wt% clay content produced significantly different properties. Screw speed, screw configuration, die nozzle diameter and moisture content were varied to determine their effects on organoclay intercalation. These extrusion variables had significant effects on the properties of TS/PLA /Cloisite 10A nanocomposite foams due to the intercalation of organoclay. Multiple inputs single output (MISO) models were developed to predict mechanical properties of nanocomposite foams. Four individual ANFIS models were developed. All models preformed well with R2 values \u3e 0.71 and had very low root mean squared errors (RMSE). Effects of screw configurations and barrel temperatures on the RTD and MISO models were developed to predict mechanical properties. The influence of the extrusion variables had a significant effect on the mean residence time (MTR). On-line digital image processing (DIP) technique was developed to measure the RTD as compared to the colorimeter method. R2 showed a correlation of 0.88 of a* values from both methods. The influence of screw configuration and temperature on RTD were analyzed by the MRT and variance for both methods. Mixing screws and lower temperature resulted in higher MRT and variance for both methods

Night Eating Syndrome and Its Association with Sleep Quality and Body Mass Index Among University Students During the Covid-19

Night eating syndrome (NES) is a disordered eating behaviour characterized by hyperphagia at night and is often accompanied by a sleep disturbance. This study aims to determine the prevalence of NES and its association between sleep quality and body mass index (BMI) among the private university students during the Covid-19. A total of 166 students from a private university participated in this cross-sectional study. Online self-administered questionnaires were used to collect and determine socio-demographic data, BMI, NES, and sleep quality. NES was assessed using Night Eating Diagnostic Questionnaire (NEDQ) while sleep quality was assessed using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Questionnaire (PSQI). The results showed that 38.6% of the participants were engaging with NES, 45.2% were having poor sleep quality and 25.9% were overweight or obese during the Covid-19. There were significant associations between NES with sleep quality and BMI, which students with NES were found to have poorer sleep quality (r=0.306, p&lt;0.001) and higher BMI (r=0.024, p=0.763). In addition, poor sleep quality was found to be positively associated with BMI (r=0.161, p=0.038). Males (AOR=2.198, 95% CI=1.005-4.808) and poor sleepers (AOR=1.176, 95% CI=1.028-1.346) were the risk factors of NES. In conclusion, the prevalence of NES, poor sleep quality, and overweight and obesity were at an alarming rate. NES was found to be related to both poorer sleep quality and higher BMI among the students. Therefore, interventions such as behavioural and cognitive therapy should be implemented to promote healthy eating behaviour among university students