Review of hierarchy-of-effects (HOE) models and higher education advertising in Malaysia

The most enduring and controversial models of advertising effectiveness are the Hierarchy-of-effects (HOE) models, which are of particular interest to researchers in marketing and advertising. This paper gives emphasis on the selection of these hierarchical models in the context of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia. The notion of raising awareness and interest, followed by desire and action is very seductive in its simplicity, and provides a clear focus for Higher Education advertising. In light of the criticisms of these models, this conceptual paper compares and contrasts the more important advertising models and reflects on the relevance of these simple models in relations to the advertising focus in HEIs.The authors conclude that HOE models fail to adequately represent the impact of the advertising process on the complex emotional/rational decision-making that takes place when choosing HEIs. Advertising's impact on the choice process is far more complex: developing brand desire through brand image is an important purpose of advertising. The authors are also in agreement with the notion of an essential understanding of other marketing areas such as brand identity, meaning and reputation of higher education institutions through a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to communicate effectively with the stakeholders

Intrinsic anticarcinogenic effects of Piper sarmentosum ethanolic extract on a human hepatoma cell line

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Piper sarmentosum</it>, locally known as kaduk is belonging to the family of Piperaceae. It is our interest to evaluate their effect on human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) for the potential of anticarcinogenic activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The anticarcinogenic activity of an ethanolic extract from <it>Piper sarmentosum </it>in HepG2 and non-malignant Chang's liver cell lines has been previously determined using (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assays, where the IC₅₀value was used as a parameter for cytotoxicity. The ethanolic extract that showed anticarcinogenic properties in HepG2 cells had an IC₅₀of 12.5 μg mL^-1, while IC₅₀values in the non-malignant Chang's liver cell line were greater than 30 μg mL^-1. Apoptotic morphological changes in HepG2 cells were observed using an inverted microscope and showed chromatin condensation, cell shrinkage and apoptotic bodies following May-Grunwald-Giemsa's staining. The percentage of apoptotic cells in the overall population (apoptotic index) showed a continuously significant increase (p < 0.05) in 12.5 μg mL^-1ethanolic extract-treated cells at 24, 48 and 72 hours compared to controls (untreated cells). Following acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining, treatment with 10, 12 and 14 μg mL^-1of ethanolic extracts caused typical apoptotic morphological changes in HepG2 cells. Molecular analysis of DNA fragmentation was used to examine intrinsic apoptosis induced by the ethanolic extracts. These results showed a typical intrinsic apoptotic characterisation, which included fragmentation of nuclear DNA in ethanolic extract-treated HepG2 cells. However, the non-malignant Chang's liver cell line produced no DNA fragmentation. In addition, the DNA genome was similarly intact for both the untreated non-malignant Chang's liver and HepG2 cell lines.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Therefore, our results suggest that the ethanolic extract from <it>P. sarmentosum </it>induced anticarcinogenic activity through an intrinsic apoptosis pathway in HepG2 cells <it>in vitro</it>.</p

Review of Hierarchy-of-Effects (Hoe) models and higher education advertising in Malaysia

The most enduring and controversial models of advertising effectiveness are the Hierarchy-of-effects (HOE) models, which are of particular interest to researchers in marketing and advertising. This paper gives emphasis on the selection of these hierarchical models in the context of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia. The notion of raising awareness and interest, followed by desire and action is very seductive in its simplicity, and provides a clear focus for Higher Education advertising. In light of the criticisms of these models, this conceptual paper compares and contrasts the more important advertising models and reflects on the relevance of these simple models in relations to the advertising focus in HEIs.The authors conclude that HOE models fail to adequately represent the impact of the advertising process on the complex emotional/rational decision-making that takes place when choosing HEIs. Advertising‟s impact on the choice process is far more complex: developing brand desire through brand image is an important purpose of advertising. The authors are also in agreement with the notion of an essential understanding of other marketing areas such as brand identity, meaning and reputation of higher education institutions through a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to communicate effectively with the stakeholders

Service Quality as Drivers of Customer Loyalty and Intention to Switch: Modeling the Mediating Effect of Customer Satisfation

The following study examines relationship of service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and consumers’ intentions to switch among finance and insurances consumers in Klang Valley area. Although many researchers have studied of service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and intention to switch, limited studies explore customer satisfaction as mediating role in the model. The present study proposes SERVQUAL model as indicator to determine the customer satisfaction among finance and insurances consumer. Stratified random sampling technique will be employed in the present study. Data collected also will be analyzed using the Smart PLS (Partial Least Square) to answer the hypothesis. It is believed that the mediating role of customer satisfaction is a promising area to explore and the potential to provide significant benefit to the finance and insurance institution

A study on the wetting behaviour of Al-Si-Zn brazing filler on AA7075 and AR500 surface

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on wetting and spreading of Al-Si-Zn filler metal on AR500 steel and AA7075 aluminium alloy surface. Wetting and spreading conditions of filler metal onto the surface of the metal were analysed by contact angle and spread ratio with different surface conditions. The contact angle is the measured angle between the tangent to the liquid-vapour interface and the surface of the solid. While, spread ratio measured according to the change in diameter of spread shape geometry of filler metal. The use of the low melting temperature of filler metal is increasingly popular since they are able to reduce the effect of heat on metals. However, the low spreading and de-wetting condition have limited the application of filler metal due to the adverse effect of these conditions on the joint ability. However, overall, this study with different surface conditions of these metals is to identify the wetting and spreading behaviour of filler metal. In this work, Al-Si-Zn filler metal heated by torch brazing was applied to AR500 steel and AA7075 aluminium alloy surface with the different type of surface conditions. Experimental results showed that the higher spreading area of filler metal occurred on a smooth surface compared to the rough surface of metals

Korean popular culture: an exploratory examination among Malaysian adolescents

In the early 2010s, there has been an increasing interest in the varieties of products and images of South Korean popular culture around the world, a development led by popular music. The Korean popular culture has influenced youth consumption patterns. Today, information has a great influence on the values and lifestyle of society and also gives consumers a lot more options. Teenagers especially are very fond of American popular music, film and fashion because those are what they often see through broadcasting and entertainment. This opportunity has been used by South Korea to commercialize their culture as a commodity package through Hallyu. There is a need to look to Korea popular culture in every dimension because popular culture has a unique set of dimension. This study identifies the critical dimensions of Korean popular culture among adolescents living in the Klang valley. A study was conducted by an exploratory examination among Malaysian adolescents

Korean popular culture: an exploratory examination among Malaysian adolescents

In the early 2010s, there has been an increasing interest in the varieties of products and images of South Korean popular culture around the world, a development led by popular music. The Korean popular culture has influenced youth consumption patterns. Today, information has a great influence on the values and lifestyle of society and also gives consumers a lot more options. Teenagers especially are very fond of American popular music, film and fashion because those are what they often see through broadcasting and entertainment. This opportunity has been used by South Korea to commercialize their culture as a commodity package through Hallyu. There is a need to look to Korea popular culture in every dimension because popular culture has a unique set of dimension. This study identifies the critical dimensions of Korean popular culture among adolescents living in the Klang valley. A study was conducted by an exploratory examination among Malaysian adolescents

Addressing non-communicable diseases in Malaysia: an integrative process of systems and community

The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and NCD risk factors in Malaysia have risen substantially in the last two decades. The Malaysian Ministry of Health responded by implementing, "The National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases (NSP-NCD) 2010-2014", and the "NCD Prevention 1Malaysia" (NCDP-1M) programme. This paper outlines the primary health system context in which the NCDP-1M is framed. We also discuss the role of community in facilitating the integration of this programme, and outline some of the key challenges in addressing the sustainability of the plan over the next few years. The paper thus provides an analysis of an integration of a programme that involved a multi-sectoral approach with the view to contributing to a broader discourse on the development of responsive health systems

Anticancer screening of ethanol extract from selected piperaceae family and its determination via trypan blue staining

The Piperaceae family comprises about 1000 to 2000 of the species that are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical area. In this study, the ethanol extracts were used to evaluate the cytotoxic activity on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and non-malignant Chang’s liver cell lines by using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Ethanol extracts from eight Piperaceae families were selected randomly. Results showed that all eight spesies (P. sarmentosum, P. ramifilum, P. paucistigmum, P. betle, P. macronatum, P. ridleyi, P. magnibaccum and P. miniatum) showed cytotoxicity activity with Piper sarmentosum exhibit higher cytotoxicity activity with the IC50 value at 12.5 μg/mL. On the other hand, there were no cytotoxicity activity of Chang’s cell that could be induced by the ethanol extracts because the IC50 values for non-malignant Chang’s cell were greater than 30 μg/mL. Viability analysis using trypan blue showed that P. sarmentosum ethanol extract produced significant (p<0.05) decreased of HepG2 cells as compared to control (p<0.05). In conclusion, all ethanol extracts selected randomly from Piperaceae family showed cytotoxic using MTT assay. Viability analysis using trypan blue staining demonstrates that this type of analysis can become an alternative approach in determining cytotoxicity activity of cells in the presence of extracts