The Expenditure Pattern on Ecotourism Resources in Taman Negara: The Case for International Tourists

National Parks are under increasing pressure to provide economic justification for their existence, particularly in developing countries where demand for land and natural resources is high. Ecotourism offers a mechanism to generate substantial benefits from protected areas for governments and local communities, as well as the private investors. Also, ecotourism is increasingly promoted as a sustainable use of such protected areas through generation of income and revenue for the nation. This study was aimed at (1) analyzing international tourists' expenditure patterns in Taman Negara using model comparison for individual total expenditure, average group expenditure and individual daily expenditure. (2) examining the consumer preferences and tastes for nature-based outdoor recreation activities (3) find out the international tourists' feedback on the recreational attributes, current status of recreational facilities and services provided. (4) determining the international tourists' socio-economic characteristics and their distribution. A total of 384 respondents were interviewed using close-ended questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, index analysis, factor analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, F statistic test and t-test. The findings identified Europeans as having the highest percentage of respondents whose age were between 21-30 years old. Most of the respondents were university graduates and earn between USD 1001 to 2000 per month. Male participation is higher when compared to female and most of the respondents led a single life. More than half of the respondents agreed with the recreational attributes in Taman Negara. Meanwhile, more than 600/0 of the respondents thought that little improvement is needed for all the current services and facilities provided except for road transportation, information and access to recreational facilities such as jungle tracks and canopy walkway within the park which were highly recommended for improvement. Our result indicated that there were five recreational activities namely canopy walkway, jungle trekking, night walk, wildlife observation and visiting Lata Berkoh that were highly participated, preferred and popular among the international tourists. There were various price levels that the international tourists spent for the three basic important elements namely: accommodation , food and recreational activity during their stay in the park. The highest price that they paid for accommodation was between RM61 to RM80 per day per person. Respondents also revealed their expenditure for recreational activities participated in the park. Meanwhile, they spent less for food, which was about RM2 1 to RM40 per day per person. Eight independent variables were chosen to explain the tourist expenditures. These eight independent variables consisted of income, age, education level, region, satisfaction level for the top five recreation activities, length of stay, marital status and travelling pattern. The dependent variables were individual total expenditure, average group expenditure and individual daily expenditure. Although all independent variables showed different influences in the three different functional forms, some similarities were observed in this study. For example, region, income, satisfaction level for top five recreation activities and travelling pattern were found significant but inelastic. The explanation from the result indicate that although these variables do influenced the dependent variables but the impact is very small in affecting the respondents' decision making for their expenditure pattern in the park. Meanwhile, age, education level, length of stay and marital status were statistically insignificant. Besides that, log-linear form model was selected as the basis for further evaluation and analysis focusing on the international tourists expenditure pattern in Taman Negara

Religious Alternation, Spiritual Humanism: Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation in Singapore

Master'sMASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Vitamin D attenuates sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)-mediated inhibition of extravillous trophoblast migration.

Failure of trophoblast invasion and remodelling of maternal blood vessels leads to the pregnancy complication pre-eclampsia (PE). In other systems, the sphingolipid, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), controls cell migration therefore this study determined its effect on extravillous trophoblast (EVT) function.A transwell migration system was used to assess the behaviour of three trophoblast cell lines, Swan-71, SGHPL-4, and JEG3, and primary human trophoblasts in the presence or absence of S1P, S1P pathway inhibitors and 1,25(OH)2D3. QPCR and immunolocalisation were used to demonstrate EVT S1P receptor expression.EVTs express S1P receptors 1, 2 and 3. S1P inhibited EVT migration. This effect was abolished in the presence of the specific S1PR2 inhibitor, JTE-013 (p < 0.05 versus S1P alone) whereas treatment with the S1R1/3 inhibitor, FTY720, had no effect. In other cell types S1PR2 is regulated by vitamin D; here we found that treatment with 1,25(OH)2D3 for 48 or 72 h reduces S1PR2 (4-fold; <0.05), but not R1 and R3, expression. Moreover, S1P did not inhibit the migration of cells exposed to 1,25(OH)2D3 (p < 0.05).This study demonstrates that although EVT express three S1P receptor isoforms, S1P predominantly signals through S1PR2/Gα12/13 to activate Rho and thereby acts as potent inhibitor of EVT migration. Importantly, expression of S1PR2, and therefore S1P function, can be down-regulated by vitamin D. Our data suggest that vitamin D deficiency, which is known to be associated with PE, may contribute to the impaired trophoblast migration that underlies this condition

A Simulation Model of Periarterial Clearance of Amyloid-β from the Brain

The accumulation of soluble and insoluble amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain indicates failure of elimination of Aβ from the brain with age and Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is a variety of mechanisms for elimination of Aβ from the brain. They include the action of microglia and enzymes together with receptor-mediated absorption of Aβ into the blood and periarterial lymphatic drainage of Aβ. Although the brain possesses no conventional lymphatics, experimental studies have shown that fluid and solutes, such as Aβ, are eliminated from the brain along 100 nm wide basement membranes in the walls of cerebral capillaries and arteries. This lymphatic drainage pathway is reflected in the deposition of Aβ in the walls of human arteries with age and AD as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Initially, Aβ diffuses through the extracellular spaces of gray matter in the brain and then enters basement membranes in capillaries and arteries to flow out of the brain. Although diffusion through the extracellular spaces of the brain has been well characterized, the exact mechanism whereby perivascular elimination of Aβ occurs has not been resolved. Here we use a computational model to describe the process of periarterial drainage in the context of diffusion in the brain, demonstrating that periarterial drainage along basement membranes is very rapid compared with diffusion. Our results are a validation of experimental data and are significant in the context of failure of periarterial drainage as a mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of AD as well as complications associated with its immunotherapy

Workload, achievement motivation, and mental fatigue: a mediation study among white-collar workers

Workplace fatigue has long been a plague in most countries as the expectation of employee performances is overstretching. Fatigue is attributed by job demand as workload depletes energy. However, job resources such as organizational, physical, or social characteristic as well as work motivation tend to buffer fatigue. The aim of this paper is to analyse the mediation effects of achievement motivation in the relationship between workload and mental fatigue among white-collared workers, by using Mc Clelland’s theory of motivation and Job DemandResources model. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Total of 117 males and 201 females responded to a self-report questionnaire consisting of the Workload subscale from Job Demands-Resources Scale, the Achievement Motivation subscale from Manifest Needs Questionnaire, and the Mental Fatigue Scale. Mediation model was employed. Results revealed that workload significantly predicts mental fatigue, and that achievement motivation is a significant partial mediator in the relationship between mental fatigue and achievement motivation. Findings imply that organizations would benefit from investing in higher levels of achievement motivation aiding in reducing levels of mental fatigue. Avoid compelling employees in handling extremely high workload, as achievement motivation only buffers the impact of mental fatigue

Enhancing Mentoring in Palliative Care: An Evidence Based Mentoring Framework

Background: Growing concerns over ethical issues in mentoring in medicine and surgery have hindered efforts to reinitiate mentoring for Palliative Care (PC) physicians following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Ranging from the misappropriation of mentee’s work to bullying, ethical issues in mentoring are attributed to poor understanding and structuring of mentoring programs, underlining the need for a consistent approach to mentoring practices. Methods: Given diverse practices across different settings and the employ of various methodologies, a novel approach to narrative reviews (NR)s is proposed to summarize, interpret, and critique prevailing data on novice mentoring. To overcome prevailing concerns surrounding the reproducibility and transparency of narrative reviews, the Systematic Evidenced Based Approach (SEBA) adopts a structured approach to searching and summarizing the included articles and employed concurrent content and thematic analysis that was overseen by a team of experts. Results: A total of 18 915 abstracts were reviewed, 62 full text articles evaluated and 41 articles included. Ten themes/categories were ascertained identified including Nature; Stakeholders; Relationship; Approach; Environment; Benefits; Barriers; Assessments; Theories and Definitions. Conclusion: By compiling and scrutinizing prevailing practice it is possible to appreciate the notion of the mentoring ecosystem which sees each mentee, mentor, and host organization brings with them their own microenvironment that contains their respective goals, abilities, and contextual considerations. Built around competency based mentoring stages, it is possible to advance a flexible yet consistent novice mentoring framework. </jats:sec