Measuring Organizational Readiness in Information Systems Adoption

Organizational change is vital for an organization to survive and stay competitive. A collective organizational member’s cooperation and commitment are needed in the successful implementation to provide a better service delivery to customers. Measuring organizational readiness for change at an organizational-level is more advantageous because the collective organizational members will more capable of learning new methods and tools and confident the change will success. There are five classes of antecedents that have direct effects on organizational readiness in IS adoption: attributes of change, leadership support, internal context, attributes of change target and IT support. By understanding readiness, organizational leaders may improve their ability to implement planned changes and with that the proximal outcome of organizational readiness will improve efficiencies and productivities

Evaluation of organizational readiness in information systems adoption: a case study

Most ICT projects failed due to various factors including organizational issues and leaders who did not sufficiently assess organizational readiness for change. Although various perspectives and criteria have been used by researchers to measure organizational readiness, reported evidence on its measurement in information systems (IS) adoption is still limited and unclear, which calls for clarification and further studies. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the evaluation of IS adoption in organizational readiness using an extended organizational readiness framework and to identify the factors that influence organizational readiness in IS adoption. A case study was conducted on the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) based on the Framework of Organizational Readiness at the Public Service Department (PSD) of Malaysia. This qualitative study involved interviews, observations and document analysis. The study found that the PSD is set to implement the HRMIS but the issues and problems identified as pertaining to the HRMIS must be addressed and dealt with immediately in order to achieve the system objectives. A number of factors influencing organizational readiness were identified in the adoption of the HRMIS: Attributes of the Change (vision clarity, change appropriateness and change efficacy), Leadership Support (top management support, presence of an effective champion, and IT support), Internal Context (organizational history of change, organizational conflicts and policies, and organizational flexibility) and Attributes of the Change Targets (collective self-efficacy and user training). Although our case study focused on a specific setting, the identified factors and proposed framework extension is potentially useful for assessing other information systems in different settings; the findings could act as a guide for assessing organizational readiness prior to the adoption of information systems

PEWARNAAN α-ACTININ SEBAGAI METODE PENGUKURAN LUAS PERMUKAAN SEL MODEL KARDIOMIOBLAS (H9C2) YANG DIINDUKSI DENGAN ANGIOTENSIN II

ABSTRAKPendahuluan: Hipertrofi kardiomioblas sebagai karakteristik gagal jantung dapat direplikasi secara in vitromenggunakan sel H9C2 yang diinduksi dengan Angiotensin II (Ang-II). Namun pengukuran luas sel sulitdilakukan apabila tanpa pewarnaan khusus. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menilai luas permukaan sel dengan dantanpa pewarnaan α-Actinin pada sel model kardiomioblas H9C2 yang diinduksi dengan Ang II.Metode: Sel H9C2 ditumbuhkan pada media Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) dan disubkulturasisetiap 2-3 hari sampai kepadatan populasi sel 80% sebelum dipindahkan ke T-25 flasks. Sel kemudian diinkubasidengan 600nM Ang II selama 24 jam. Pewarnaan α-actinin dilakukan dengan 4% paraformaldehyde, 0.5% TritonX-100, antibodi primer dan sekunder . Kultur yang telah diwarna kemudian diobservasi menggunakan mikroskopdan diukur luas permukaan selnya menggunakan Image-J. Hasil dianalisa dengan uji T-test dan p <0.05 dianggapsignifikan.Hasil: Sel H9C2 tanpa pewarnaan α-actinin tidak menunjukkan perbedaan signifikan pada penghitungan luaspermukaan sel pasca induksi Ang-II dibanding kontrol (3x10!"µm + SD). Pewarnaan α-actinin membantuvisualisasi sel H9C2 oleh adanya fluoresensi hijau sehingga memperbaiki akurasi pengukuran luas permukaan selH9C2 yang diinduksi dengan Ang II. Hal ini ditunjukkan oleh perbedaan yang signifikan antara kontrol vs induksiAng II (4x10!"µm + SD vs 9x10!"µm + SD) pasca pewarnaan α-actinin.Kesimpulan: Pemberian angiotensin II dapat menyebabkan kondisi hipertrofik kardiomioblas dan pewarnaan α-actinin dapat membantu akurasi evaluasi pengukuran luas sel model kardiomioblas (H9C2).Kata Kunci: Cardiomyoblast hypertrophy; H9C2; Angiotensin II; α-Actinin Staining

Assessment of Teratogenic Effects of Sappan Wood (Caesalpinia Sappan L.) Extract In Rats (Rattus novergicus)

Treatment using plant materials has been widely researched and observed to assist in curing a disease. Medicinal products derived from herbal plants are proven useful as drugs must follow guidelines not to cause acute or chronic toxicity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the teratogenic potential of an ethanolic sappan wood extract on the growth of unborn rats. Six groups of pregnant rats are created: Aquadest was administered to the Control group, whereas the Treatment groups received 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 mg.kg-1 BW of an ethanolic extract of Sappan wood. On the twenty-first day of gestation, pregnant rats were CO2-euthanized and delivered vaginally. Rats' body weight during pregnancy was observed, along with fetal growth measurements, viscoelastic examination, and skeletal development. Wistar rats' reproductive systems, fetal body weight, body length, and tail length were all unaffected by ethanol extract of Sappan wood at doses from 100 mg/kg to 500 mg/kg. In fetuse rat from the control group and the five dosage groups, no skeletal development had taken place and there were no obvious external abnormalities. Even at the maximum dose of 500 mg, sappan wood extract demonstrated no teratogenic effects on the development of fetal rats.kg-1 BW

Penghasilan model 3D tapak parking menggunakan Terrestrial Laser Scanner

Teknologi Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) kini telah berkembang dalam bidang pemetaan dan pemodelan di mana kelebihan yang dihasilkan oleh alat ini antaranya adalah kelajuan pengambilan data, ketepatan tinggi dan menjimatkan masa. Salah satu penggunaan teknologi TLS ini adalah untuk menganalisis objek real world yang tepat pada permukaan serta bentuk objek kemudiannya dipersembahkan dalam bentuk 3 Dimensi. TLS sering digunakan dalam berbagai bidang seperti Kejuruteraan Awam atau Arkeologi untuk pemodelan objek, tinjauan volume terowong, Sistem Maklumat Geografi (GIS), dan juga untuk mempertahankan bentuk perincian warisan budaya. Walau bagaimanapun TLS ini masih belum diuji keupayaannya bagi menghasilakan 3 Dimensi (3D) untuk tapak letak kenderaan (parking). Dalam projek ini, penghasilan model 3D tapak parking menggunakan TLS dijalankan bagi membuktikan keupayaan TLS dalam menghasilkan dan menganalisis objek real world. Projek ini telah dijalankan di tapak parking Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan Malaysia (JUPEM), Kuala Lumpur. Kaedah yang digunakan bagi penghasilan model 3D tapak parking JUPEM adalah menggunakan peralatan 3D Terrestrial Laser scanner (TLS) jenis Leica ScanStation C10, pendaftaran imej point cloud, permodelan primitif 3D menggunakan perisian Cyclone dan permodelan pamertrik 3D menggunakan perisian Autodesk Revit. Dengan penghasilan model 3D tapak parking ini dapat membantu pihak JUPEM dalam menhasilkan pelan butiran secara 3D dan kaedah terbaru dapat mempercepatkan hasil kerja pengambilan butiran bagi sesuatu objek dan dapat dipersembahkan dalam bentuk yang nyata tanpa perlu turun ke tapak projek dan sebagainya. Selain daripada itu, dengan wujudnya penggunaan permodelan 3D menggunakan laser scanner ini diharap dapat membantu orang awam, jurutera, dan para pengguna yang lain untuk mengetahui kedudukan dan infrastruktur dalaman setiap bangunan dengan mudah

Heated vegetable oils and cardiovascular disease risk factors

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It may result from the interactions between multiple genetic and environmental factors including sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits. The quality of dietary oils and fats has been widely recognised to be inextricably linked to the pathogenesis of CVD. Vegetable oil is one of the essential dietary components in daily food consumption. However, the benefits of vegetable oil can be deteriorated by repeated heating that leads to lipid oxidation. The practice of using repeatedly heated cooking oil is not uncommon as it will reduce the cost of food preparation. Thermal oxidation yields new functional groups which may be potentially hazardous to cardiovascular health. Prolonged consumption of the repeatedly heated oil has been shown to increase blood pressure and total cholesterol, cause vascular inflammation as well as vascular changes which predispose to atherosclerosis. The harmful effect of heated oils is attributed to products generated from lipid oxidation during heating process. In view of the potential hazard of oxidation products, therefore this review article will provide an insight and awareness to the general public on the consumption of repeatedly heated oils which is detrimental to health

Tocotrienol Attenuates Stress-Induced Gastric Lesions via Activation of Prostaglandin and Upregulation of COX-1 mRNA

The present study aims to distinguish the effect of tocotrienol on an important gastric protective factor, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), in stress-induced gastric injury. Twenty-eight Wistar rats were divided into four groups of seven rats each. Two control groups were fed commercial rat diet, and two treatment groups were fed the same diet but with additional dose of omeprazole (20 mg/kg) or tocotrienol (60 mg/kg). After 28 days, rats from one control group and both treated groups were subjected to water-immersion restraint stress for 3.5 hours once. The rats were then sacrificed, their stomach isolated and gastric juice collected, lesions examined, and gastric PGE2 content and cyclooxygenase (COX) mRNA expression were determined. Both the regimes significantly attenuated the total lesion area in the stomach compared to the control. Gastric acidity, which was increased in stress, was significantly reduced in rats supplemented with omeprazole and tocotrienol. The PGE2 content was also significantly higher in the rats given tocotrienol supplementation compared to the control followed by an increase in COX-1 mRNA expression. We conclude that tocotrienol supplementation protected rat gastric mucosa against stress-induced lesions possibly by reducing gastric acidity and preserving gastric PGE2 by increasing COX-1 mRNA