Linkage Between the Core Service and Academic Achievement

This study investigates the relationship between the core services with academic achievement in private institutions of higher learning. The core service is especially important to the institutions of higher learning in Malaysia as they are gearing themselves to become exporters of premier education services. Aresearch framework was developed and hypothesis was posited and tested. Data was collected using the survey method. Survey questionnaires were hand-delivered to the respondents who volunteered to be participants in this study. A total of 331 representative samples of the population were obtained from the private institutions of higher learning by using the private institutions of higher learning directory as a sampling frame, after dropping numbers of private institutions of higher learning, which had ceased their operations. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. Statistical analyses used were the Pearson correlation and multiple regressions. Descriptive statistics were also employed. The results revealed that the core service has a relationship with academic achievement. Therefore, it deserves to be monitored and tailored appropriately in order to enhance organizational performance through academic performance. In conclusion, this study provides an insight into further understanding on how to enhance organizational performance by implementing excellent the core service management practices and simultaneously gives due emphasis on the academic achievement

Supply chain integration in broiler contract farming and business performance: Knowledge based view perspective

This concept paper aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge sharing practices within and between business partners as a framework for integration, and to examine the effect of these practices on business performance. Data will be collected from broiler contract industry in Malaysia.SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) will be used for data analysis. Three knowledge related constructs (internal knowledge integration, knowledge integration with growers, and knowledge integration with integrators) will be examined towards business performance.Further, these three variables collectively will explain relationship towards business performance.The relationships will be identified to support for the effectiveness of knowledge based collaboration. Managers can use this as a tool to conceptualize how their business can develop internal integration and collaborative relationships with their trading partners

Design and development of dry powder Sulfobutylether-β-Cyclodextrin complex for pulmonary delivery of Fisetin

This study has investigated complexation of fisetin, a natural flavonoid, with three types of cyclodextrins to improve its solubility. Sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD) showed the highest complexation efficiency while maintaining the in vitro antioxidant activity of fisetin. Addition of 20%v/v ethanol in water improved the amount of solubilized fisetin in the complex 5.9-fold compared to the system containing water alone. Spray drying of fisetin-SBE-β-CD complex solution in the presence of ethanol produced a dry powder with improved aerosolization properties when delivered from a dry powder inhaler, indicated by a 2-fold increase in the fine particle fraction (FPF) compared to the powder produced from the complex solution containing water alone. The pitted morphological surface of these particles suggested a more hollow internal structure, indicating a lighter and less dense powder. Incorporation of 20%w/w leucine improved the particle size distribution of the powder and further increased the FPF by 2.3-fold. This formulation also showed an EC50 value equivalent to fisetin alone in the A549 cell line. In conclusion, an inhalable dry powder containing fisetin-SBE-β-CD complex was successfully engineered with an improved aqueous solubility of fisetin. The dry powder may be useful to deliver high amounts of fisetin to the deep lung region for therapeutic purposes

Assessment of food trade impacts on water, food, and land security in the MENA region

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has the largest water deficit in the world. It also has the least food self-sufficiency. Increasing food imports and decreasing domestic food production can contribute to water savings and hence to increased water security. However, increased domestic food production is a better way to achieve food security, even if irrigation demands an increase in accordance with projected climate changes. Accordingly, the trade-off between food security and the savings of water and land through food trade is considered to be a significant factor for resource management, especially in the MENA region. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the impact of food trade on food security and water–land savings in the MENA region. We concluded that the MENA region saved significant amounts of national water and land based on the import of four major crops, namely, barley, maize, rice, and wheat, within the period from 2000 to 2012, even if the food self-sufficiency is still at a low level. For example, Egypt imported 8.3&thinsp;million&thinsp;t&thinsp;yr−1 of wheat that led to 7.5&thinsp;billion&thinsp;m3 of irrigation water and 1.3&thinsp;million&thinsp;ha of land savings. In addition, we estimated the virtual water trade (VWT) that refers to the trade of water embedded in food products and analyzed the structure of VWT in the MENA region using degree and eigenvector centralities. The study revealed that the MENA region focused more on increasing the volume of virtual water imported during the period 2006–2012, yet little attention was paid to the expansion of connections with country exporters based on the VWT network analysis.</p

The Impact of Engineering Design Process in Teaching and Learning to Enhance Students' Science Problem-Solving Skills

This study aimed to determine the impact of the integration of engineering design process (asking, imagining, planning, creating and improving) in an electrical & magnetism module to improve problem-solving skills in physics among secondary school students in Aceh, Indonesia. The quasi-experimental study was carried out with 82 form three (age 15 years old) students of a secondary school in Aceh Besar, Indonesia. The first author had randomly chosen two classes as the experimental group and two other classes as the control group. Independent samples t-test analysis was conducted to determine the difference between the physics teaching and learning module which integrated the five steps of engineering design process and the existing commonly used science “Pudak” teaching and learning module. The results of the independent samples t-test analysis showed that the use of the physics teaching and learning module which integrated the five steps of engineering design process was more effective compared to the use of the existing “Pudak” module in increasing the students' skills in solving physics problems. The findings of the study suggest that the science learning approach is appropriate to be applied in the teaching and learning of science to enhance science problem-solving skills among secondary school students. In addition, it can be used as a guide for teachers on how to implement the integration of the five steps of engineering design process in science teaching and learning practices

Total Quality Management Practices and Technology Transfer in Malaysian Public University

It is widely accepted that the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) as a management philosophy has significantly contributed to good management practice in business organization particularly in the manufacturing and service sectors. The applications of that concepts, techniques and tools have been successfully tailored to non-profit service or government-based organization. In the context of higher education institution, it has been seriously debated by the TQM scholars and academicians on the issue of to what extent TQM can be applied and how relevant its practices are to higher education\u27s core business i.e. teaching and research. Despite having sufficient knowledge and research on TQM implementation in the scope of manufacturing practices and administration-related services, it is hard to find a research on TQM, which focuses on the scope of R&amp;D at a university. This gap has to be filled because the management of research is a critical topic for universities worldwide. For developing countries such as Malaysia the need to have good management practice in R&amp;D is even greater. Without effective research management, the task of becoming significant players in the global knowledge market will become harder. Thus, the first part of this paper will discuss the applicability of TQM and propose a theoretical framework or model of TQM to suit the need of R&amp;D context. The constructs for the TQM framework are based on previous empirical studies and the evaluation criteria of world standard criteria such as MBNQA, EFQM, and QMS ISO 9000. The TQM constructs that will be proposed are leadership, strategic planning, student/stakeholder &amp; industry focus, data &amp; information management, staff management, process &amp; system approach, partnership &amp; resource and continuous improvement. The second part of the paper will discuss the performance indicators of R&amp;D activities particularly in the context of public university. The review of International literatures stressed that the performance of R&amp;D activities have to be measured. The current issue related to research performance at university is the level the research output that can be transferred to the stakeholders. Therefore, this study will use technology transfer framework to measure research performance such as publication, patents, royalty and Spin-off Company. Finally, this paper will conceptually develop a model that would show the relationship between the TQM practices in the area of research and the level of technology transfer

Hubungan Amalan Pergudangan Dengan Prestasi Organisasi Pergudangan : Pengenalan Kepada Kerangka Konsep

Pengurus pergudangan meletakkan harapan besar ke atas amalan-amalan yang diamalkan supaya ia dapat menghasilkan prestasi organisasi yang membanggakan. Kajian mengenai amalan pergudangan dan hubungannya dengan prestasi organisasi kurang diberikan tumpuan padahal permintaan ke atas sektor pergudangan adalah kedua tertinggi selepas pengangkutan dalam industri 3PLs. Oleh itu, kerangka konsep yang diperkenalkan ini sedikit sebanyak dapat membantu memperbanyakkan kajian dalam sektor pergudangan.Dengan menjadikan teori RBV sebagai asas untuk kepada pembangunan kerangka konsep mengenai hubungan amalan pergudangan dengan prestasi organisasi pergudangan amat bertepatan sekali kerana teori tersebut menyokong konsep hubungan sumber-sumber organisasi dengan prestasi. Sumber-sumber organisasi seperti sumber manusia, teknologi maklumat, material pengendalian dan jaringan telah dicadangkan dalam kerangka konsep untuk diuji bagi melihat hubungannya dengan prestasi organisasi. Kerangka konsep ini amat sesuai untuk diuji ke atas syarikat yang menjadikan perkhidmatan pergudangan sebagai teras perniagaan mereka.disebabkan survival perniagaan syarikat ini amat bergantung kepada amalan dan prestasi

Medium Optimization for the Production of Lipidless Biomass By Cunninghamella sp. 2A1 Using Response Surface Methodology

A statistical design approach has been used to optimize the production of biomass by Cunninghamella sp. 2A1, evaluated based on lipidless biomass. A 2^3 full factorial central composite design (CCD) was chosen to study the combined effects of three factors; ammonium tartrate, peptone and glucose concentrations. The p-value for each factor was <0.05 suggesting that these factors have significant effects on the production of lipidless biomass. The production is represented by a linear model with p-value <0.0001. The optimized medium consisting of 3.86g/L ammonium tartrate, 55.84g/L glucose and 7.73g/L peptone predicted a lipidless biomass of 16.83g/L. Results from four replications based on the optimized medium produced an average of 18.48g/L lipidless biomass, which is in close agreement with the predicted value. The coefficient for glucose was the highest indicating it to be the most significant factor affecting lipidless biomass production

Thickness-dependent thermal properties of amorphous insulating thin films measured by photoreflectance microscopy

In this work, we report on the measurement of the thermal conductivity of thin insulating films of SiO2 obtained by thermal oxidation, and Al2O3 grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD), both on Si wafers. We used photoreflectance microscopy to determine the thermal properties of the films as a function of thickness in the 2 nm to 1000 nm range. The effective thermal conductivity of the Al2O3 layer is shown to decrease with thickness down to 70% for the thinnest layers. The data were analyzed upon considering that the change in the effective thermal conductivity corresponds to an intrinsic thermal conductivity associated to an additional interfacial thermal resistance. The intrinsic conductivity and interfacial thermal resistance of SiO2 were found to be equal to 0.95 W/m·K and 5.1 × 10− 9 m2K/W respectively; those of Al2O3 were found to be 1.56 W/m·K and 4.3 × 10− 9 m2K/W

Seasonal variations of harpacticoid copepod and size-fractionated abundances in relation to environmental changes in Setiu Wetland

Aim: Harpaticoid copepods, an important component of fauna in marine environment, play a vital role in aquatic food webs as a source of food for other member of benthic community and the juveniles of predator fish species. Recent data on benthic plankton and nekton composition in coastal wetland of Setiu are useful and important in understanding the interaction between these organisms at different seasons. This maintains the diversity of fish in Setiu Wetland which is a major factor in developing the Wetland as a place for ecotourism and recreational fishing activity. The effort will directly or indirectly benefit the fisheries community living within the wetland which depends on the fisheries sector. Methodology: Meiobenthos samples were collected by Ponar grab. The samples were fixed in 10% formalin and 1% Rose Bengal. Content of each specimen bottle was filtered through 102 µm and 62 µm sieve shaker, respectively. Harpacticoid were individually hand sorted and counted under dissecting microscope. Data obtained for harpacticoid composition were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Seasonal variation of harpacticoid composition for 100 µm sizes recorded the highest number during pre-monsoon with 3591.84 ind 10 cm-2 followed by monsoon, 2569.68 ind 10 cm-2 and post-monsoon 1545.84 ind 10 cm-2, respectively. Salinity is the main physical parameters that can be attributed to the plankton diversity and acts as limiting factor that influences the distribution of plankton community. Significantly, harpacticiod copepod steadily increased during post-monsoon with rising trend of salinity verified the environmental influences on zooplankton abundances. Interpretation: The results of this study indicated that different season demonstrated major impact on harpacticoid composition which may effect the avaibility of food source towards the small fishes as a live feed