A Preliminary Study of the Influence of Social Media Engagement on Information Seeking Behavior among the Secondary School Students

The aim of conducting this research is to examine the influence of social media engagement on information-seeking behavior. There is lack of concern about generalizability and implementation towards emphasizing the effects of social media engagement on information-seeking behavior in Malaysia. A close-ended questionnaire was distributed to the students to conduct the data collection for this research. The data was collected from students and was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Findings show that two hypotheses were accepted; Novelty and Perceived Usability have a positive and significant relationship between information-seeking behavior, while Focus Attention and aesthetics were found insignificant for information-seeking behavior. Keywords: Social media, information-seeking behavior, Social media engagement,  aesthetic, education eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by E-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC  BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behavior Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioral Researchers on Asians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behavior Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

Performance of Microencapsulated Fungicide in Exterior Latex Paint on Wood Substrate

3-iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate (IPBC) was encapsulated by in situ polymerization of urea formaldehyde resin of crosslink (formaldehyde: urea) ratios 1 and 2. The leaching rate of the microcapsules was reduced compared to the free fungicide. Microcapsules prepared at the higher urea formaldehyde cross ink ratio gave a lower leaching rate. Two concentrations based on the weight of the active ingredient per volume of paint (a.i.lv) of 0.3 % and 1 % of microcapsules or free IPBC were incorporated into exterior latex paint and applied onto rubber wood panels. The panels were then exposed to the environment. A longer protection from discoloration was provided by the encapsulated IPBC of 1% concentration

Leaf nutrient status in relation to severity of Ganoderma infection in oil palm seedlings artificially infected with Ganoderma boninense using root inoculation technique

Basal stem rot (BSR) caused by Ganoderma spp., a basidiomycete fungus, is a major devastating disease of oil palm, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. Several factors were reported to influence the outbreak of BSR disease which include nutrient status, age of palm, types of soil, previous crop and replanting techniques. Elemental nutrient is known to have some beneficial effects on plant disease control. Over many years, macro- and micro-nutrient application has been totally overlooked in oil palm fertiliser programmes in relation to outbreak of BSR disease incidence. A study was conducted to determine leaf nutrient concentrations in relation to severity of Ganoderma infection in oil palm seedlings artificially inoculated with G. boninense using root inoculation technique. This study was conducted at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang which involved a total of 210 Durax Pisifera (DXP) oil palm seedlings. After inoculation, external and internal symptoms developing on seedlings and disease severity index (DSI, four disease classes of 0, 1, 2 and 3) were recorded. At 15 months of inoculation, leaf samples were collected and macro-nutrient such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) and micro-nutrient such as Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe) and Boron (B) were analysed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to test the difference between leaf nutrient concentrations in relation to DSI, followed by comparison means using Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at 0.05 significant levels. A total of 25.0% of inoculated seedlings were dead due to G. boninense infection. Significant difference of leaf nutrient concentration in relation to DSI was observed. Leaf macro-nutrient concentration of N, K, and Ca showed significant difference (p<0.05) while P and Mg showed no significant difference in relation to BSR disease development. Meanwhile, leaf micro-nutrient concentration of Cu, Mn and B showed significant difference (p<0.05) while Zn and Fe showed no significant difference. Among significant nutrients, Ca and Cu were found higher in healthy seedlings (DSI - 0) compared to infected seedlings (DSI – 1, 2 or 3). This study suggested that formulation of fertiliser consists mainly of Ca and Cu are needed in order to reduce BSR disease incidence in oil palms

Implementing TOPSIS method in Selecting the Best Bus Transportation Services

Public transportation using express bus services are widely used by the public nowadays and many bus companies offer services to major cities as well as providing additional features and facilities to attract passengers. However, the passengers often face a problem in selecting and choosing the bus companies that give the best services for them according to their preferences. The purpose of this study is to identify the best bus transportation services based on MCDM approach using the TOPSIS method. The web application development follows the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology that contains four phases which are planning, designing, testing and implementing using PHP and MySQL database as tools for development. It enables users who already used the bus services to give the rating and the users who want to use the bus services give their priority for each criterion that they choose either low, high or very high. The web application will generate the result, which is the best bus companies according to TOPSIS rules. The presence of this web application can help the society to choose the best bus services that follow their preferences

Web Performance Testing of Lecturer Evaluation System (e-CEvas) applied with AJAX Technology

Lecturer Evaluation System (e-CEvas) is used to measure lecturers’ strength and weaknesses every end of semester by the students. However, the current lecturer evaluation system had many problems such as slow performance, limited interactivity, loss of states and the data transmission had redundant code that was unnecessary in each page. To overcome those stated problem, AJAX technology is used to make the lecturer evaluation system much faster, easier to use, more reliable and increase the performance. This study applied AJAX technology in the development together with Visual Studio Ultimate 2012 as the editor, ASP.NET C# language for coding and SQL Server as the database. V-model framework approach was used in developing this research study which involves requirement analysis, system design, architectural design, module design, unit testing, integration testing, system testing and acceptance testing. Microsoft Visual Studio Web Performance and Load Testing software is used to measure the performance of AJAX technology and the result shows that differences of response time proved that AJAX is powerful web development technique for programming. User Acceptance Test was carried out to measure the satisfaction of users when using e-CEvas which the result shown that most respondents are agree to all instructions in the system and the organization of information on the screens is clear

Agreement between direct fluorescent microscopy and Ziehl-Neelsen concentration techniques in detection of pulmonary tuberculosis in northwest Ethiopia

Background: The sensitivity of smear microscopy for diagnosis of tuberculosis might be improved through treatment of sputum with sodium hypochlorite and application of fluorescent microscopy. This study aimed to determine the agreement between direct Fluorescent Microscopy and Ziehl-Neelsen concentration technique by their ability of detecting acid fast bacilli in resource poor settings.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at Gondar University Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Three sputum specimens were collected from consecutive TB suspects. Direct and concentrated sputum smears were air-dried, heat-fixed and stained by auramine O and Ziehl-Neelsen staining techniques respectively. The stained slides were examined for acid fast bacilli using direct Fluorescent Microscopy and Ziehl-Neelsen concentration techniques.Results: Of 293 specimens, 4.4% and 2.4 % were AFB positive by direct fluorescent microscopy and Ziehl-Neelsen bleach concentrated techniques respectively. There was high percentage of tuberculosis positivity from early morning sputum samples (2.4%) compared to first spot (1.4%) and second spot (1.7%) sputum samples when using Ziehl-Neelsen sodium hypochlorite concentration technique. A moderate agreement was seen between the two methods (Kappa=0.484, P value&lt;0.001).Conclusion: Direct fluorescent microscopy has shown high positivity rate compared to Ziehl-Neelsen concentration technique. A moderate agreement was seen between the two methods. Thus, Ziehl-Neelsen bleach sedimentation technique is recommended for detection of pulmonary tuberculosis at peripheral health service level when Fluorescent Microscopy is not availableKeywords: Agreement, Direct Fluorescent Microscopy, Ziehl-Neelsen concentration, Tuberculosis, Ethiopi

Community characteristics for self-funding and self sustainable telecenter

The issue of telecenter sustainability has been actively researched.The search for the best formula for telecenter sustainability is important since the establishment of telecenters is usually within the community affair.This study looks into community characteristics of a self-sustainability telecenter.A single-case research design approach with guided questionnaires and informal interview was adopted.The unit of analysis is the community surrounding Masjid As-Syakirin in Kampung Oran.In addition,an informal interview session was held with the management committee of the mosque to gather more in depth information about the telecenter operation.The results show that governance, philanthropy, and socio-economic values are among the characteristics of a self-sustainability telecenter. Therefore, this study contributes strongly in term of the community characteristics for a self-sustainable telecenter

Penggunaan produk kesihatan semulajadi yang selamat: pemerhatian awal dalam kalangan penduduk perumahan awam Sri Kota, Cheras

Pasca pandemik penggunaan produk kesihatan semulajadi semakin meningkat dalam kalangan masyarakat di seluruh dunia, dan juga di Malaysia. Terdapat beberapa tujuan penggunaan produk kesihatan berasaskan bahan semulajadi oleh pengguna iaitu untuk merawat penyakit, mengawal simptom penyakit, mencegah penyakit dan untuk kesihatan umum. Seringkali penggunaan produk kesihatan semulajadi ini merupakan keputusan peribadi pengguna, dan sukar dipantau. Justeru itu, penggunaan produk kesihatan semulajadi yang selamat merupakan satu aspek yang penting untuk ditangani. Kesedaran dan pengetahuan pengguna perlu dipertingkatkan supaya keselamatan pengguna dapat dijaga. Kajian ini merupakan pemerhatian awal di Perumahan Awam Sri Kota, Cheras, dimana seramai 32 orang penduduk ditemubual secara ringkas untuk mendapatkan maklumat awal berkaitan penggunaan produk kesihatan semulajadi yang selamat. Terdapat lima (5) soalan ringkas ditanya untuk mendapatkan maklumat mengenai i) elemen produk yang disemak sebelum membuat pembelian produk, ii) individu yang dirujuk dalam penggunaan produk, iii) Faktor pemilihan/penggunaan produk, iv) logo yang dilihat pada produk dan v) pendaftaran produk melalui Quest 3+. Daripada kelima-lima soalan ini, didapati bahawa majoriti ahli komuniti yang ditemubual di Perumahan Awan Sri Kota, Cheras mempunyai tahap pengetahuan yang sederhana rendah mengenai penggunaan produk kesihatan yang selamat. Oleh yang demikian, inisiatif untuk meningkatkan kesedaran dan pengetahuan mengenai penggunaan produk kesihatan yang selamat perlu dipergiat melalui pelbagai pendekatan agar masyarakat menjadi pengguna produk kesihatan yang bermaklumat dan selamat

An in vivo biocompatible study of antimicrobial biocomposite membrane: preliminary outcome

Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) is a surgical procedure that uses barrier membranes to treat bony defects. The membrane plays an important role in proper bone regeneration. A triple-layered membrane containing poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) matrix with bioactive apatite filling and lauric acid (LA), which is a naturally derived antimicrobial substance is one of the examples of membrane used. Critical Size Defect (CSD) is an experimental method in evaluating the effectiveness of newly developed biomaterials to stimulate bone formation before clinical application. New Zealand White Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are commonly used rabbits for laboratory research and industry toxicology studies. By using the CSD technique in the New Zealand White Rabbit, this study seeks to investigate the biocompatibility and new bone growth potential of the bio composite membrane through in vivo analysis

The roles of a university in sustaining telecentre implementation: The case of Kg. Oran, Perlis

This report is based on a case study of a typical rural village in Malaysia, Kampong Oran in Perlis, with the aim to present and propose numerous roles that can be effectively deployed by institutions of higher learning to the rural areas as part of the initiative to bridge the digital divide. This effort can also be seen as a social responsibility coming from academic institutions in extending their knowledge and expertise to reach the under served communities in the rural and remote areas of the country, in line with the government’s Rural Transformation Program that was launched recently.The idea is to bring the experts and knowledgeable people as well as students in numerous disciplines to be within reach of the less educated, largely poor and less fortunate community using information, communication and technology as a platform.The advent of ICT and pervasiveness of the internet has made it possible for rural communities, including Kampong Oran, to reap the benefits of the information explosion. This is made possible through the implementation of a telecentre within the vicinity of a local mosque, a place of worship and congregations of the largely Malay community in the area.However, despite the ICT access and opportunity to gain information, due to over-abundance of information readily available, it is difficult to fine-tune and focus those information that are of interest to the community. This has made the tasks of getting the IHL support to match against the interests of the community even harder. Therefore the case study in which this report is based on was conducted to identify the community requirements in their implementation of the telecentre, to identify the roles of the IHL in order to make the matching possible, and ultimately to propose a model of IHL collaboration vis-à-vis implementation of the telecentre. Methods of data gathering included the administration of questionnaires in the form of surveys to members of the community by means of a purposive sampling in a community gathering event commemorating an ICT Open Day.Apart from this, interviews were also conducted to members of the village management committee, mosque community, and selected individuals representing members of the community. Students were also deployed to assist the researchers as informants and formed part of their course project.The purpose is to identify the community profile and demography, ICT knowledge and skills, requirements of the telecentre, as well as the community’s information needs. On the roles of the IHL, series of brainstorming sessions were conducted amongst the members of the research team, ITU-UUM officials and fellows to identify the strengths and domain areas of UUM.The intention is to propose the types of info-mediation, content development, and value creation that can be applied to benefit the community of Kampong Oran based on their information needs. In terms of information needs, results of this study found that the top five most popular information needs identified by the community are Education, Healthcare, Current News/Sports, Religion, and Information Sources.A model of IHL Collaboration in Telecentre Implementation was created to represent the interplay between the roles of the IHLs and the community information needs through the implementation of the telecentre.It is the hope that this model would contribute to other similar rural communities in the country that is in need of intellectual engagement in terms of advisory services, local content development, and socio-economic value creation that would enable ever-lasting sustainability of their existing telecentre