A MODEL FOR MEASURING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE RECOVERY AND SERVICE QUALITY: A CASE STUDY AT THE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

The study aimed to investigate the critical success factors of service recovery towards service quality at the National University of Malaysia (UKM) library. The study also proposes a model of systematic complaint management which applied to academic library as a tool of service recovery. The variables included in this research are empowerment, culture and psychology, management system, compensation and speed of recovery as the independent variables and service quality as the dependent variable. A questionnaire was designed and used as the data gathering instrument based on past research. A total of 315 samples were successfully gathered from 377 questionnaires distributed among the regular users of Tun Seri Lanang Library (UKM). Based on the generated results, it’s proven that there is a positive significant relationship between service recovery and service quality (r = 0.632**, p = 0.000) at the 1 per cent significance levelService recovery, Complaint management, Service quality, Library

Digital or Diligent? Web 2.0's challenge to formal schooling

This paper explores the tensions that arise for young people as both 'digital kids' and 'diligent students'. It does so by drawing on a study conducted in an elite private school, where the tensions between 'going digital' and 'being diligent' are exacerbated by the high value the school places on academic achievement, and on learning through digital innovation. At the school under study, high levels of intellectual and technological resourcing bring with them an equally high level of expectation to excel in traditional academic tasks and high-stakes assessment. The students, under constant pressure to perform well in standardised tests, need to make decisions about the extent to which they take up school-sanctioned digitally enhanced learning opportunities that do not explicitly address academic performance. The paper examines this conundrum by investigating student preparedness to engage with a new learning innovation – a student-led media centre – in the context of the traditional pedagogical culture that is relatively untouched by such digital innovation. The paper presents an analysis of findings from a survey of 481 students in the school. The survey results were subjected to quantitative regression tree modelling to flesh out how different student learning dispositions, social and technological factors influence the extent to which students engage with a specific digital learning opportunity in the form of the Web 2.0 Student Media Centre (SMC) designed to engage the senior school community in flexible digital-networked learning. What emerges from the study is that peer support, perceived ease of use and usefulness, learning goals and cognitive playfulness are significant predictors of the choices that students make to negotiate the fundamental tensions of being digital and/or diligent. In scrutinising the tensions around a digital or a diligent student identity in this way, the paper contributes new empirical evidence to understanding the problematic relationship between student-led learning using new digital media tools and formal schooling

Phytochemical Characterization of Xerospermum Noronhianum

Xerospermum noronhianum, locally known as gigi buntal (globe-fish’s teeth) or rambutan pachat (leech’s rambutan) is a species belonging to the Sapindaceae family. The Sapindaceae are generally well known as a prolific source of plant saponins. However, to date, there has been no systematic phytochemical and biological evaluation on this particular species. In the present study, several known compounds have been successfully isolated from various plant parts and solvent fractions of Xerospermum noronhianum. Three new triterpenoid saponins have been purified from the ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions of both stem and leaf of the plant. Through the use of high field NMR and mass spectroscopy, these saponins have been identified to be those of the oleanane-type, i.e 3-O-{α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)-β-D-fucopyranosyl}-28-O-{[α-Lrhamnopyranosyl( 1→2)][α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)]}-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid, 3-O-{α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→3)-β-D-fucopyranosyl}-28-O-{α-Lrhamnopyranosyl( 1→4)}-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid and 3-O-{α-Lrhamnopyranosyl( 1→2)-[3’,4’-diacetoxy-β-D-fucopyranosyl]}-28-O-{α-L rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)}-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid. Several known compounds have also been isolated and identified as the free triterpenes namely lupeol, oleanolic acid, friedelin, 3β-hydroxy-29-nor-20-lupenone, 3β-hydroxy-lup-20(29)en-30-al, mixture of 3β-hydroxyolean-12-en-11-one and 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-11-one; the flavonoid glycosides kampferol-3-O-rhamnoside, quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside; the benzoic acid derivatives 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid; as well as scopoletin, lupeol palmitate, and palmitic acid, mixture of β-sitosterol and stigmasterol and mixture of their glycosides. Oxidation of the major compound, lupeol, successfully yielded lupenone as the product. The crude extracts and isolated pure compounds were also further evaluated for their anti-cholinesterase activity, against two enzymes; acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase, using thin layer chromatography bioautographic method. The inhibition activities of the test samples were expressed as pMIQ values, which represents the negative logarithm of the minimal inhibitory quantity (in moles) that produced the spot with the least observable whiteness. Generally, the crude extracts of stem, leaf and bark parts, all showed inhibition in the preliminary screening by giving white observable inhibition spots against a yellow-coloured background. The enzyme inhibiting constituents were, in part, found to be due to the triterpenoidal saponins, the free triterpenes as well as the sterol and its glycosides. However, the tested compounds were considered to be weakly active due to their low pMIQ values. Compounds with pMIQ values ≥ 10.5 is considered to be bioactive. All of the tested compounds in this study gave pMIQ value in the range of 1.7 to 3.7

Temperature regulation for hydrodistillation of essential oil extraction process from garcinia mangostana linn (GML) pericarp

Garcinia Mangostana Linn (GML), commonly known as mangosteen is an emerging category of novel functional foods sometimes called “the queen of fruit”. It is presumed to have a combination of appealing subjective characteristics such as taste, visual qualities and fragrance, nutrient richness, antioxidant streangth and potential impact for lowering risk of human diseases. GML contains natural antioxidant constituents such as phenolic compounds, which have attracted a great deal of public and scientific interest due to their health-promoting effects as antioxidants. Eight hundreds (800) grams of GML pericarps were used as the raw material to produce essential oil through hydrodistillation. Temperature of distilled water was measured to study the relation between the temperature and the composition in the essential oil. HPLC analysis report shows that the significant amount component contained in GML pericarp is Ferulic Acid. The relation between the temperature and concentration of Ferulic Acid cannot be determined since the mercury thermometer cannot measure a slightly elevation of temperature precisely. Boiling-point elevation occurs due to solute dissolved in the wate

Family Adjustments and Parental Behaviour Among Mixed Marriage Families

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the family adjustments and parental behaviour among mixed marriage families in Malaysia. The study also examined the association between selected factors of parental characteristics (age, sex, level of education, employment status and length of marriage), child personal characteristics (age and sex) and family contexts (number of children, family income, total household size and social support) with family adjustments (oneway selforiented, oneway spouse-oriented and mixed) as well as parental behaviour (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive). In addition, the study investigated factors that uniquely contribute to various family adjustments and parental behaviour. Sample comprised 372 mixed marriage couples with children age 5 to 12 years who were chosen purposively for the study. Data were collected by interviews based on a standardized questionnaire. Family adjustments were assessed using the 'Family Adjustment Scale' by Rozumah and Rumaya (2000), while parental behaviour was measured based on a scale by Edwards (2000). Results showed that there was almost equal distribution (oneway self-oriented=38.9%, oneway spouse-oriented=28.9% and mixed=32.2%) of types of family adjustments adopt by the respondents, with slightly more (38.9%) reporting oneway self-oriented adjustment in daily and customary activities. Majority (40.1%) of the mixed marriage parents also reported to have authoritative parental behaviour. Chi-square test of independence revealed that parent's age (X²=13.07, P≤.05), sex (X²=9.67, P≤.0.1), level of education (X²=8.55, P≤.05), employment status (X²=7.57, P≤.05) and length of marriage (X²=26.35, P≤.001) were significantly associated with family adjustments. On the other hand, education level (X²=9.37, P≤.05), employment status (X²=5.25, P≤.05) and total family income (X²=33.l7, p≤.001) were also dependent on parental behaviour. In the bivariate analyses, it was noted that parents with female target child (r=-0.18, P≤.05) and higher family income (r=0.18, P≤.05) were more self-oriented in their family adjustment. Respondents who were more educated (r=0.23, P≤.05), earned higher income (r=0.35, p≤.001) and perceived more supportive social network (r=0.28, P≤.001) were more likely to exhibit oneway spouse-oriented family adjustment

E-Commerce Catalogue Application For EON (Edaran Otomobil Nasional)

The purpose of this project is to develop a prototype e-commerce catalogue application for EON (Edaran Otomobil Nasional). The EON web page provides online customization and ordering of cars services to customers. The cars available are Proton Waja, Proton Perdana V6, Proton Wira Sedan and Proton Iswara. Other services include on-line booking of time to service cars, information about the cars such as prices, model specifications, pictures of cars etc, links to other homepages such as financial institution, insurance companies and second hand Proton cars dealers. There is also information about the EON sales branches and EON services centers throughout Malaysia. The business module of EON web page consiss of four main funtional modules. They are the view information module, online customization and ordering module, on-line booking module and advertisement module. This project uses the Web Page Development Methodology (WPD) as the development methodology. Finally, this project discusses some flaws, constraints and recommendations for future development

The Legal Saga of Exclusion Clauses in Malaysia

One of the issues that could affect the success or the sustainability of a business organisation is its ability to manage the legal risk of liability that it faces in running its business. One common tool utilised by businesses is to insert an exclusion or limitation clause in their contracts. This would allow them to predict and apportion the possible amount of liability that could arise from breach of contract or negligence. The courts usually exercise caution in allowing such clauses to be enforced in order to prevent unfairness especially to the weaker party. Malaysia is of no exception. The Malaysian courts have display willingness to strike down the validity of an exclusion clause to ensure that a business organisation does not escape liability arising from its own fault. The Federal Court and the Court of Appeal decision in Bourke v CIMB Bank Bhd (2018) are good examples of such an approach. However, the legal reasoning adopted by the courts in this case has led to numerous confusions on the legal principles of contract law in Malaysia. It is therefore necessary to examine the legal position of exclusion clauses in Malaysia today and to determine what is the most appropriate way forward. This research found that there are difficulties with the legal coherency and application of Bourke in future cases

Inter-ethnic and mono-ethnic families: examining the association of parenting and child emotional and behavioural adjustment

Literature suggests that inter-ethnic children are not only one of the fastest growing populations in the last decade, but also show a higher prevalence of risk factor for poor outcomes, including family breakdown, academic underachievement and psychology maladjustment. The present research explores whether ethnicallymixed children are less well psychologically adjusted when compared to children from mono-ethnic families. Findings are reported from a study on the emotional and behavioural adjustments of children from 218 interethnic Malay-Chinese and 214 mono-ethnic Malay and Chinese families in Malaysia. The centrality of familial ethnicity status (inter vs. mono), parental relationships quality, and parenting behaviour were also explored as correlates of children’s psychological adjustment. Mother-child dyads were sampled for the survey and standardized self-administered questionnaires were utilised. In this sample of Malaysian families, multivariate analysis revealed that parental ethnicity mix, the quality of their marital relationships, and parenting behaviour predicted whether or not the children were emotionally and behaviourally adjusted. Overall, children from mixed parentage reported fewer emotional and behavioural problems than those from mono-ethnic minority families. The current study challenges traditional assumptions towards inter-ethnic families and shows that children of mixed-parentage may not be at risk of emotional and behavioural problems, as previously suggested. The findings have important implications for children development and interventions, with children of mixedparentage in today’s changing families

Jacobi Elliptic Monopoleantimonopole Pair Of The Su(2) Yang-Mills-Higgs Theory

Magnetic monopoles and multimonopole are well known three dimensional topological soliton solutions of the non-Abelian SU(2) Georgi-Glashow model. They are remnants of the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the gauge group SU(2) into the group U(1) with net magnetic charge. In this thesis, the SU(2) Georgi-Glashow model or synonymously SU(2) Yang- Mills-Higgs theory is studied to seek for more magnetic monopole configurations along with their properties at the classical level. To find such configurations in the model, one need to substitute a suitable ansatz into the second order equations of motions and look for an analytical or numerical solutions. The axially symmetric Jacobi elliptic one-monopole (Teh et al. 2010) configurations were obtained by generalizing the large distance asymptotic solutions to the Jacobi elliptic functions and solving the second order field equations numerically. We study them numerically by varying its magnetic number and analyze its properties when the Higgs potential is non-vanishing. These are non-BPS, regular solutions which possess the same total energy as the generalized ’t Hooft-Polyakov monopole. Some of these monopoles are distorted and possess magnetic dipole moment