The Effectiveness of the Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Rural Secondary Schools in Malaysia

The Ministry of Education has established viable educational ecosystems in order to ensure the equality of rural education. There are three aspects that have been outlined, namely value-based education, quality improvement, and autonomy and accountability of schools and universities. Hence, a study in the form of a survey was conducted to identify the issues surrounding information technology faced by students and teachers in rural secondary schools, and to provide an overview of the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as students’ knowledge and teachers’ skills in the teaching and learning process. A total of 49 respondents were involved, comprising 21 students and 28 teachers from nine secondary schools located in one rural area of Kelantan. The findings revealed that a majority of the respondents perceived the use of ICT positively, despite the lack of facilities and expertise. Thus, a need for relevant ICT training was raised by the teachers. Recommendations are also discussed to guide the authorities in planning and preparing appropriate equipment and facilities for the schools, as well as adequate training for teachers and facilitators, before a new policy is introduced to the students. Further research is also recommended to examine the rural students' acceptance of the use of technology

Framework for benchmarking online retailing performance using fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS method

Due to increasing penetration of internet connectivity, on-line retail is growing from the pioneer phase to increasing integration within people's lives and companies' normal business practices. In the increasingly competitive environment, on-line retail service providers require systematic and structured approach to have cutting edge over the rival. Thus, the use of benchmarking has become indispensable to accomplish superior performance to support the on-line retail service providers. This paper uses the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach to support a generic on-line retail benchmarking process. Critical success factors for on-line retail service have been identified from a structured questionnaire and literature and prioritized using fuzzy AHP. Using these critical success factors, performance levels of the ORENET an on-line retail service provider is benchmarked along with four other on-line service providers using TOPSIS method. Based on the benchmark, their relative ranking has also been illustrated

Improvement in Weighting Assignment Process in Analytic Hierarchy Process by Introducing Suggestion Matrix and Likert Scale

Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been widely used in varieties of decision making processes among several alternatives, where data on pair-wise comparisons are aggregated and the degree of importance of each alternative is quantified. The process of assigning importance or priorities against the alternatives has inherent limitations, which lead to higher possibility of inconsistency. This paper focuses on two basic limitations of the AHP, first one is its inconsistency generated from huge comparisons in judgment matrix and the second one is the use of ranking weightages given by AHP. To eliminate these limitations, this research paper recommends to calculate relative importance among alternatives from the ratings assigned from Likert scale to form a suggestion matrix with zero percent CR before judgment matrix which gives privilege to decision makers to change relative importance within the range of CR. This process intensifies the effectiveness of AHP by reducing time consumption through optimizing inconsistency

DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorders: recommendations and rationale.

Since DSM-IV was published in 1994, its approach to substance use disorders has come under scrutiny. Strengths were identified (notably, reliability and validity of dependence), but concerns have also arisen. The DSM-5 Substance-Related Disorders Work Group considered these issues and recommended revisions for DSM-5. General concerns included whether to retain the division into two main disorders (dependence and abuse), whether substance use disorder criteria should be added or removed, and whether an appropriate substance use disorder severity indicator could be identified. Specific issues included possible addition of withdrawal syndromes for several substances, alignment of nicotine criteria with those for other substances, addition of biomarkers, and inclusion of nonsubstance, behavioral addictions.This article presents the major issues and evidence considered by the work group, which included literature reviews and extensive new data analyses. The work group recommendations for DSM-5 revisions included combining abuse and dependence criteria into a single substance use disorder based on consistent findings from over 200,000 study participants, dropping legal problems and adding craving as criteria, adding cannabis and caffeine withdrawal syndromes, aligning tobacco use disorder criteria with other substance use disorders, and moving gambling disorders to the chapter formerly reserved for substance-related disorders. The proposed changes overcome many problems, while further studies will be needed to address issues for which less data were available

Inclusive sanitation: breaking down barriers

During implementation of WaterAid Bangladesh’s current project it became evident that certain populations were unintentionally being excluded – people with disabilities were one of these groups. Social stigmas and access difficulties meant that they were not present in CBOs or hygiene promotional sessions and excluded from decision making activities, resulting in continued open defecation and other unhygienic behaviours. The linkages between poverty and disability are strong, with disability being both the cause and effect of poverty. Without specific activities to address the requirements of people with disabilities the cycle of poverty remains, further exacerbated by continued exclusion from services such as health care, education and water and sanitation. This paper concentrates on the barriers faced by people with disabilities in accessing water and sanitation services and explains how through WaterAid Bangladesh’s recent initiative, a greater understanding on breaking these barriers is strengthening the future interventions

Trends in Marijuana Use Among Pregnant and Nonpregnant Reproductive-Aged Women, 2002-2014

Between 2001 and 2013, marijuana use among US adults more than doubled, many states legalized marijuana use, and attitudes toward marijuana became more permissive. In aggregated 2007-2012 data, 3.9% of pregnant women and 7.6% of nonpregnant reproductive-aged women reported past-month marijuana use. Although the evidence is mixed, human and animal studies suggest that prenatal marijuana exposure may be associated with poor offspring outcomes (eg, low birth weight, impaired neurodevelopment). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women and women contemplating pregnancy be screened for and discouraged from using marijuana and other substances. Whether marijuana use has changed over time among pregnant and nonpregnant reproductive-aged women is unknown

Penyuluhan Bahaya Penyalahgunaan Napza Bagi Pelajar dan Remaja

Penyalahgunaan NAPZA (Narkotika, Psikotropika, dan Zat-zat Adiktif) merupakan suatu pola perilaku yang bersifat patologik, dan biasanya dilakukan oleh individu yang mempunyai kepribadian rentan atau mempunyai resiko tinggi, dan jika dilakukan dalam jangka waktu tertentu akan menimbulkan gangguan bio-psiko-sosial-spiritual. NAPZA bersifat psikotropika dan psikoaktif yang mempunyai pengaruh terhadap sistem syaraf dan biasanya digunakan sebagai analgetika (pengurang rasa sakit) dan memberikan pengaruh pada aktifitas mental dan perilaku serta digunakan sebagai terapi gangguan psikiatrik pada dunia kedokteran. Secara farmakologik, yang termasuk NAPZA antara lain ganja, morfin, sabu, ekstasi, marijuana, putau, kokain, pil koplo, dan sebagainya. Obat-obatan ini termasuk dalam daftar obat G yang artinya dalam penggunaannya harus disertai dengan kontrol dosis yang sangat ketat oleh dokter. Pelajar (siswi) adalah istilah bagi peserta didik pada jenjang pendidikan menengah pertama dan menengah atas. Siswa adalah komponen dalam sistem pendidikan, yang selanjutnya menjalani proses pendidikan, sehingga menjadi manusia yang berkualitas sesuai dengan tujuan pendidikan nasional. Penyuluhan ini menempatkan pelajar sebagai suatu komponen ditinjau dari pendekatan sosial, dan psikologis

PEMBUATAN SISTEM MONITORING SUHU RUANGAN DAN ARUS LISTRIK DI RUANGAN PENYIMPANAN MAKANAN

Kerusakan Pangan dapat terjadi dimanapun, salah satunya adalah pada ruangan penyimpan pangan yang tertutup dan menyimpan banyak Bahan pangan yang bersifat sangat penting. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membuat desain dan rancang bangun monitoring suhu ruangan serta penyimpan pangan yang didalamnya terdapat sensor monitoring suhu dan juga sensor monitoring arus listrik pada sistem pendingin ruangan yang ada pada rangan ruangan penyimpan pangan. Sistem juga akan dibuat dengan sumber daya yang berdiri sendiri serta menggunakan Raspberry-pi sebagai mikrokontroler. Tahapan yang dilakukan dalam pembangunan sistem dimulai dengan pembangunan hardware dari alat monitoring suhu ruangan dan arus listrik. Batasan suhu serta keperluan lain berkaitan dengan standar sebuah sistem dalam penelitian ini menggunakan Offshore Food Essential yang dikeluarkan oleh Health an Safety Executive. Sensor arus diuji untuk mengetahui error alat dilakukan tiga kali di hari yang berbeda serta dengan masukan arus yang berbeda pula, didapatkan presentase eror untuk sensor arus sebesar 2.69%. sensor suhu juga dilakukan perhitungan eror, didapatkan presentase eror sebesar 3.99%. Integrasi sensor dengan sistem juga di uji dengan memberi lingkungan yang akan memicu alarm, serta website yang di uji kemampuanya untuk mengendalikan sistem dari jarak jauh didapatkan bahwa sistem berhasil berfungsi. Kata Kunci: food safety, sensor suhu, sensor arus, raspberry-pi

How does state marijuana policy affect US youth? Medical marijuana laws, marijuana use and perceived harmfulness: 1991–2014

AimsTo test, among US students: (1) whether perceived harmfulness of marijuana has changed over time, (2) whether perceived harmfulness of marijuana changed post‐passage of state medical marijuana laws (MML) compared with pre‐passage; and (3) whether perceived harmfulness of marijuana statistically mediates and/or modifies the relation between MML and marijuana use as a function of grade level.DesignCross‐sectional nationally representative surveys of US students, conducted annually, 1991–2014, in the Monitoring the Future study.SettingSurveys conducted in schools in all coterminous states; 21 states passed MML between 1996 and 2014.ParticipantsThe sample included 1 134 734 adolescents in 8th, 10th and 12th grades.MeasurementsState passage of MML; perceived harmfulness of marijuana use (perceiving great or moderate risk to health from smoking marijuana occasionally versus slight or no risk); and marijuana use (prior 30 days). Data were analyzed using time‐varying multi‐level regression modeling.FindingsThe perceived harmfulness of marijuana has decreased significantly since 1991 (from an estimated 84.0% in 1991 to 53.8% in 2014, P < 0.01) and, across time, perceived harmfulness was lower in states that passed MML [odds ratio (OR) = 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.75–0.97]. In states with MML, perceived harmfulness of marijuana increased among 8th graders after MML passage (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.08–1.36), while marijuana use decreased (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.72–0.92). Results were null for other grades, and for all grades combined. Increases in perceived harmfulness among 8th graders after MML passage was associated with ~33% of the decrease in use. When adolescents were stratified by perceived harmfulness, use in 8th graders decreased to a greater extent among those who perceived marijuana as harmful.ConclusionsWhile perceived harmfulness of marijuana use appears to be decreasing nationally among adolescents in the United States, the passage of medical marijuana laws (MML) is associated with increases in perceived harmfulness among young adolescents and marijuana use has decreased among those who perceive marijuana to be harmful after passage of MML.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134418/1/add13523_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134418/2/add13523.pd