Intellectual Capital Reporting and Stock Performance in Malaysia

Recently, many companies have shown interest in reporting intellectual capital to establish an understanding and to provide disclosure of the central growth factors of the company. This is to achieve a more effective management as well as to increase the company's value. The first objective of this study is to examine the extent of voluntary intellectual capital reporting among the Malaysian companies and how such reporting may be associated with certain organisational attributes, such as industry sector, size and profitability. The second objective is to analyse whether the extent of voluntary intellectual capital reporting has any impact on the stock performance of the companies, in respect of market-to-book ratio and abnormal return upon issuance of annual repor

The Wellbeing of the Heterogeneous Older Persons: The Analysis of ‘Going in Style’ Gereontological Comedy Film and Real-life Malaysian Elderly

While ageing has become a global phenomenon and received prominent attention due to the rapid increase in the older population, including Malaysia; There has also been an increase in comedy films focusing on old people. Therefore, this study aims to analyse how older persons represented in a gerontological comedy film ‘Going in Style’. This study also aims to relate how older persons represented in this comedy film with real-life situations of Malaysian older people. In meeting these aims, a qualitative research approach through thematic analysis has been adopted. The findings of this study shows how the older person represented in ‘Going in Style’ is similar to real-life situations experienced by some of Malaysian older people. The comedy highlights that ageing is not a single dimensional concept concentrated on physical aspects but is multidimensional, consisting of social,psychological, spiritual and economic and environmental aspects

Design of Automated Website Phishing Detection using Sequential Mechanism of RCL Algorithm

The phishing outbreaks in internet has become a major problem in web safety in recent years. The phishers will be stealing crucial economic data regarding the web user to perform economic break-in. In order to predict phishing websites, many blacklist-based phishing website recognition methods are used in this study. Traditional methods of detecting phishing websites rely on static features and rule-based schemes, which can be evaded by attackers. Recently, Deep Learning (DL) and Machine Learning (ML) models are employed for automated website phishing detection. With this motivation, this study develops an automated website phishing detection using the sequential mechanism of RCL algorithm. The proposed model employs Long-Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and Random Forest (RF) models for the detection of attacks in the URLs and webpages by the similarity measurement of the decoy contents. The proposed model involves three major components namely, RF for URL phishing detection, CNN based phishing webpage detection, and LSTM based website classification (i.e., legitimate and phishing). The experimental result analysis of the RCL technique is tested on the benchmark dataset of Alexa and PhishTank. A comprehensive comparison study highlighted that the RCL algorithm accomplishes enhanced phishing detection performance over other existing techniques in terms of distinct evaluation metrics

Repellent properties of Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. (Family: Fabaceae) against fi lariasis vector, Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae)

To determine the repellent activity of hexane, ethyl acetate, benzene, chloroform, and methanol extract ofPithecellobium dulce leaf and seed against filariasis vector, Culex quinquefasciatus. Evaluation was carried outin a net cage (45 cm2 × 30 cm2 × 25 cm2) containing 100 blood starved female mosquitoes of three mosquitospecies and were assayed in the laboratory condition by using the protocol of WHO: The plant leaf crude extractsof P. dulce was applied at 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0 mg/cm2 separately in the exposed area of the fore arm. Only ethanolserved as control. In this observation, the plant crude extracts gave protection against mosquito bites withoutany allergic reaction to the test person, and also, the repellent activity is dependent on the strength of the plantextracts. Among the tested solvents, both the leaf and seed methanol extracts showed maximum efficacy. Thehighest concentration of 5.0 mg/cm2 provided over 120 min and 90 min protection for the leaf and seed extracts,respectively. From the results, it can be concluded the crude extract of P. dulce was potential for controllingfilariasis vector, C. quinquefasciatus mosquito

Reviewing Critical Reviews in Postgraduate Teaching in Tertiary Institutions

Critical reviews allow access to the critical thinking abilities of their writers, especially with regard to analyzing and synthesizing ideas. In most institutions of higher learning, critical reviews are assigned as coursework, and the general assumption is that students would know how to produce a ‘good’ review, one that meets its readers’ expectations. Is this a fair assumption? If not, which particular skills and strategies do we, as academics, teach them? This study was undertaken to find the answers to these questions and focused on the critical review writing of postgraduates. A mixed methods approach was adopted incorporating questionnaires, interviews and critical reviews of articles written in English by ESL postgraduate students at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya. The critical reviews were analyzed from two perspectives (contents and presentation) using a checklist devised by the researchers. The findings revealed that most of the students lacked the skills and strategies for writing effective reviews

Bio-chemical studies on the Effect of Melia Azedarach and Piper Longum in Hepatotoxic Liver Diseases

The protective effect of BHE on CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity was evaluated in rats to propose a new insight to the pharmacological action of BHE as hepatoprotective. The BHE is a combined biherbal formulation made up of equal concentrations of Melia azedarach and Piper longum. Generally polyherbal formulations are considered more effective than the single drug and hence the biherbal formulation has been used in the study and compared with the individual plants Melia azedarach and Piper longum. The study has been divided into two parts. In one part of the study the plants have been processed, screened for the phytochemicals and tested for free radical scavenging activities by using standard models in vitro. THE PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF THE PLANTS REVEALED FOLLOWING RESULTS: In the present investigation preliminary phytochemical screening of the ethanolic MAE, PLE and BHE shows the presence of constituents like alkaloid, carbohydrates, phytosterol, tannins, phenol, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenes, lignin. In all these extracts proteins, saponins gums and mucilage were found to be absent. The presence of phytochemicals was confirmed by HPTLC finger printing of individual preparations of different extracts of Melia azedarach and Piper longum. The estimation of the macronutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and micronutrients present in the leaves of Melia azedarach and seeds of the Piper longum showed the nutritive value of the plants. The BHE showed a concentration dependent scavenging activities of the free radicals such as DPPH, super oxide, hydroxyl, nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide and acted as a efficient chelator of ferric and ferrous ions. It was also found to be effective in reducing the formation protein carbonyl groups. BHE contained considerable amount of the flavonoid and phenolic compounds which could be accounted for the free radical scavenging activities. The inhibitory action of the BHE on DNA fragmentation induced by fenton reactants in the hepatic tissue was studied. In the CCl4 intoxicated animals the extent of DNA damage was detected by the increased mobility of the DNA molecule due to the decrease in the molecular weight. On the other hand the BHE at the concentration of 20μg/ml and 40μg/ml protected the DNA from damage was evidenced by the decreased mobility of the DNA molecule suggested that these extracts have compounds which may combat against free radical-mediated degradation to the deoxyribose sugar moiety of DNA. The second part of the study comprises of the evaluation of non-toxic dosage by acute and chronic toxicity on mice and albino Wister strain rat models according to the guidelines of OECD. After assessing the dosage by acute and chronic toxicity studies efficacy of the single and the biherbal drugs have been ascertained by using CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity model in rats. The hepatoprotective nature of the drugs has been assessed by various biochemical estimations and histological observations. Rats treated with standard drug silymarin have also been utilised in this study to compare the hepatoprotective efficacy of the test drugs. In the acute toxicity studies death was recorded during the treatment period in treated groups given 500mg/kg body weight of Biherbal extract orally. So from this the ED50 dose 50 mg/kg was selected for the hepatoprotective efficacy studies. The three month daily oral application of biherbal extract to rats yielded no signs of toxicity. The dosage range and study duration applied in this study are relevant for long-term human use. Male albino rats were pre-treated with 50 mg/kg of BHE intubation for 14 days and intoxicated with CCl4 on days 7 to 14. Normal rats were maintained with the BHE to assess the drug toxicity. Standard drug silymarin was used as positive control for comparison. BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BLOOD AND SERUM REVEALED SOME IMPORTANT RESULTS AS FOLLOWS: In the present investigation a significant reduction in the liver weight, serum urea and bilirubin levels were seen in the BHE pre-treated animals when compared to that of rats intoxicated with CCl4. Decreased level of blood glucose in CCl4 induced rats were found to be normalized on BHE supplementation. The total protein and albumin levels in serum were increased in BHE pretreated, CCl4 insulted animals showing the regeneration of hepatic cells. This increase in the protein level are more pronounced in BHE treated animals, when compared with the group IV and V, which received its individual preparations MAE and PLE. The plasma levels of the liver marker enzymes like AST ALT, ALP, ACP, γGT 5'-NT, ICD and LDH were significantly increased in CCl4 intoxicated animals. BHE treatment reverted the increased levels of these enzymes to near normalcy, which was comparable to that of silymarin a standard drug in the present study. The parallel decrease in the concentration of plasma lipids and lipoproteins along with the increase of these parameters in liver tissues of CCl4 insulted rats were normalized on BHE treatment. The increased serum phospholipids were also brought back to normal levels. The decrease in liver total protein and glycogen in the rats treated with CCl4 were normalized on BHE supplementation. The BHE was effective in reducing the levels of in vivo lipid peroxidation products like MDA, CD, iron, nitric oxides and LOOH in the tissues of CCl4 rats. The in vitro nonenzymatic lipid peroxidation induced by the presence ascorbate, Fe2+/Fe3+ and H2O2 were also significantly reduced by BHE treatment. The oral pretreatment of BHE to CCl4 treated rats increased the activities of SOD, CAT, GPx, GST and GR indicates the enhanced antilipid peroxidative nature of the BHE. Elevated levels non-enzymic antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, Vitamin A, thiols, uric acid, and cereloplasmin in BHE treated animals offer protection against the oxidative injury caused by the free radicals produced by CCl4 in the present study. The decreased level of membrane bound enzymes such Na+/K+- ATPase, Mg2+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase in the liver tissues of CCl4 intoxicated rats may be because of the alteration of membrane lipid composition due to the release of free radicals. The rats which received BHE, MAE, and PLE restored the enzyme levels to near normal levels, which could be due to the ability of plant extracts to protect the membranes from oxidative damage through inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The activity of gluconeogenic enzymes and glycolytic enzymes in liver were found significantly decreased in CCl4 intoxicated rats. The BHE restored the normal levels of these enzymes, indicating that the plant drug has got protective action on the mitochondria from damage enabling them to secreate the enzymes and keeping the blood glucose in normal levels. A significant decrease in the levels of Glycoprotein was observed in CCl4 treated animals due to the increased load of the toxic metabolites. The increase in glycoprotein content of BHE treated animals suggested the cytoprotective nature of the formulation. The histopathological observations which show a faster regeneration of the hepatic cells in rats treated with BHE seems to suggest the possibility of BHE being able to condition the hepatic cells towards accelerated regeneration

Methodology in Seeking Stakeholder Perceptions of Effective Technical Oral Presentations: An Exploratory Pilot Study

Engineering communication studies indicate the importance of oral presentations as an indispensable component of workplace oral communication activities; however, since there is limited literature regarding stakeholder perceptions of effective presentation skills and attributes in technical oral presentations or final year engineering project presentations, the authors conducted a mixed method to seek the perceptions of selected members of the academic and professional engineering community involved in technical oral presentations regarding effective presentation skills and attributes required in these technical oral presentations. The paper describes the quantitative and qualitative research methods employed to seek participant feedback involved in the study

Review of method of preparation of Dhoomvarti

The Importance of Ayurveda in global scenario is because of its holistic approach towards positive life style. It consists of internal as well as external medicine. Dhoompana has significant role in Urdhwa Jatrugat Rogas, respiratory conditions and post operative procedure (Paschat Karma of Samsodhana).[1] Acharya’s have described various types of internal medications in the form of Kashaya, Choorna etc; along with various Nasya and Dhoompana Yoga. Classics explain the different types of Dhoomvarti and their method of preparation. Sirovairechanik Dhoomvarti is one type of Dhoomvarti which have preventive, promotive and curative aspect, frequently given in the form of Post operative procedure (Vamana and Nasya Karma) of Panchakarma. Shirovirechanadi Dravyas mentioned in Charak Samhita Sutrasthana was used for the preparation of Dhoomvarti with bamboo as base.[2] Observations were noted during preparation and burning of the Dhoomvarti

Patriotism among Secondary School Students and Its Relationship with their Interests towards Learning History

In this modern era, students are found to be lacking in their sprit of patriotism. This paper is based on a descriptive study using questionnaires to collect the data. The objective of the study is to identify patriotism among form four students (16 years old) according to gender, race and subject streams. The study also aims to determine the relationship between patriotism and students’ interests towards learning history. The sample of the study consists of 120 students who were chosen randomly from two secondary schools in Penang (40 Malays, 40 Chinese and 40 Indians). The questionnaires using 4 Likert scales consists of 40 items (30 items were on patriotism and 10 items were on students’ interest towards learning history) were distributed to students. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using Independent Samples t- test, one way ANOVA and Pearson correlation. Findings indicated that there was no significant difference in students’ mean score for patriotism according to gender and subject streams. This study revealed that the Malay students’ mean score for patriotism was significantly higher compared with the Chinese and Indian students. In addition, the findings also showed that there was a significant correlation between the students’ mean score for patriotism and their interests towards learning History. These findings have strong theoretical, pedagogical and practical implications. In terms of theoretical implication the findings support constitutional patriotism by Muller. In terms of practical implications teachers should employ the right strategies and use effective teaching materials to enhance students’ interest and understanding of History which will also help to enhance their level of patriotism. In terms of practical implication Ministry of Education, Teachers Training Division and other stake holders should find ways to unite young generation by bridging their gap in patriotism

Oral Self Care Practices, Oral Health status and treatment needs of Diabetic and Non diabetic patients: A Comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia resulting either from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. It affects almost all tissues in the body, including those in the oral cavity and hence the aim of this study is to assess the oral self care practices, oral health status and treatment needs of diabetic and non diabetic patients. METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 350 diabetic patients and a similar number of non diabetic ranging from 18-78 years. Data was collected using a pre tested questionnaire for oral self care practices and WHO proforma (1997) was used for assessing oral health status and treatment needs. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17. RESULTS: The present study revealed that there was not much difference in the oral hygiene practices among diabetic and non diabetic. Percentage of oral mucosal lesions was high among diabetic group (11.8%) when compared to non diabetics (7.4%).The pocket formation of 4-6 mm was seen in 124 (35.4%) diabetics and 100 (28.6%) non diabetics.Loss of attachment of 4-5 mm was found among116(33.1%) and 6-8 mm 40 (11.4%)of diabetic when compared to non diabetics loss of attachment of 4-5 mm was 84 (24.0%)and 6-8 mm was 35 (10.0%). Excluded sextants were found to be high in diabetics (19.5%) when compared to non diabetic group (14.7%).The mean DMFT was high among diabetic (4.014) than non diabetic (3.020). CONCLUSION: Since the prevalence of periodontitis is more among diabetic the oral hygiene practices has to be improved. The oral complications of diabetes can be prevented by combined effect of dentist and the Physician by emphasizing the patients for periodic review to dentist for improving the oral health