A survey on integrated framework interpreting environmental awareness and marketing effectiveness on green product buying behavior

Green issue was not a forefront customer concern in the 1970s and 1980s due to the limited knowledge pertaining to its importance to protect the environment. However, of late the need for enhancing the green concept is an essential to avoid environmental uncertainties. Thus, creating environmental awareness or concern through appropriate channels of communication that easily reach to the public would provide favourable results. However, this green environmental issue requires further investigation in order to generate more knowledge and inputs in tackling this issue. Thus, this study was conducted among university students assuming they have more exposure regarding this environmental or green issue. The purpose of present study is to determine green buying behaviour among Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) undergraduate students using environmental awareness or concern and marketing effectiveness as independent variables and intention as a mediator. A questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of 375 UUM undergraduates. The data collected was then analysed using the multiple regression method. This study showed that there were environmental awareness or concern among UUM undergraduates, which in turn mediated their buying behaviour. Thus, the findings explain that environmental awareness or concern, marketing effectiveness and intention had significant impact on green buying behaviour. In addition, the findings of his study can be used by the public and marketers to encourage proenvironmental behaviours and also by producing effective marketing techniques for green products. This study has improved the understanding of pro-environmental buying behaviour and its antecedents from individual approach. In addition this study confirms suitability of Theory of Reason Action (TRA) as theoretical grounding green buying behaviour studies by employing multiple regression techniqu

Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using plants extract and analysis of their antimicrobial property

AbstractPlants extract from Ocimum tenuiflorum, Solanum tricobatum, Syzygium cumini, Centella asiatica and Citrus sinensis was used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) from silver nitrate solution. Ag NPs were characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometer, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The formation and stability of the reduced silver nanoparticles in the colloidal solution were monitored by UV–vis spectrophotometer analysis. The mean particle diameter of silver nanoparticles was calculated from the XRD pattern according to the line width of the plane, refraction peak using the Scherrer’s equation. AFM showed the formation of silver nanoparticle with an average size of 28 nm, 26.5 nm, 65 nm, 22.3 nm and 28.4 nm corresponding to O. tenuiflorum, S. cumini, C. sinensis, S. tricobatum and C. asiatica, respectively. SEM determination of the brown color stable samples showed the formation of silver nanoparticles and well dispersed nanoparticles could be seen in the samples treated with silver nitrate. Antimicrobial activity of the silver bio-nanoparticles was performed by well diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The highest antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized by S. tricobatum, O. tenuiflorum extracts was found against S. aureus (30 mm) and E. coli (30 mm) respectively. The Ag NPs synthesized in this process has the efficient antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria. Of these, silver nanoparticles are playing a major role in the field of nanotechnology and nanomedicine

Effect of school based health education regarding menstrual hygiene: An intervention study among adolescent girls of Perambalur District

BACKGROUND & INTRODUCTION: Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to adult life. During this period, pubertal development and sexual maturation take place. There is a substantial lacuna in the knowledge towards menstruation and menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. Adolescent girls are often reluctant to discuss this topic with their parents, friends or anyone. This in turn leads to ignorance of the scientific facts and hygienic health practices among adolescent girls. Better knowledge and safe menstrual practices will avoid risk against reproductive tract infections and its consequences. With this scenario, it would be appropriate to give educational intervention to girls at school level itself. Therefore, increased knowledge about menstruation right from childhood may escalate safe practices and may help in mitigating the suffering of millions of women. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To assess the effects of health education on knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among study population. 2. To compare the relative effects of Peer led intervention and Direct intervention among the study population METHODOLOGY: An intervention study was conducted from June 2015 to October 2017. A sample size of 486 was calculated based on previous studies and was selected by cluster random sampling. A total of nine schools were selected and randomly allocated into three groups Peer-led intervention, Direct intervention and control group. A Pre-tested, Semi structured Questionnaire was used for pre and post-test. Intervention sessions were given for three months. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16. RESULTS: The pre-test results were similar among all three groups. While comparing the results of pre and post-test, it was found that both Peer-led and Direct intervention group showed increase in knowledge and practice scores compared to control group and it was statistically significant (p<0.05). Direct intervention showed relatively better scores than Peer-led group. CONCLUSION: The study has highlighted that intervention in the form of Health education can significantly improve knowledge and Menstrual Hygienic practices among adolescent girls. It is important to have this health education at early stages of reproductive life to mitigate the sufferings of womenfolk

Determinants of Key Supplier Retention in Electric and Electronics (E&E) Industry of Malaysia

Industri Elektrik dan Elektronik (E&E) di Malaysia adalah salah satu penyumbang besar kepada pergerakan rantaian bekalan di seluruh dunia. Electric & Electronics industry (E&E) in Malaysia is one of the major contributors to supply chain movements around the world

Revisiting influence of marketing effectiveness and environmental awareness on buying behaviour of green product: a SEM approach

Environmental sustainability become a prominent and unending issue in the third world economic countries such as Malaysia. Although, “green” and “go green” concepts were emphasized by academicians and practitioners to explain the need to save the earth but environmental consciousness is remain at beginning stage. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine green buying behaviour among undergraduate students using environmental awareness or concern and marketing effectiveness as independent variables and intention as a mediator. Total 375 usable questionnaires were used for the purpose of analysis. Our findings support the influence of environmental awareness and marketing effectiveness on the intention and influence of intention on buying behaviour. Similarly, environmental awareness and marketing effectiveness mediated by intention on buying behaviour. The results of this study can be used by public and marketers to encourage pro-environmental behaviours. The recommendation, limitation and conclusion are then discussed at the end of the pape

The school leaders environmental responsive behaviour in Malaysia and the mediating effect of environmental intention

The Malaysian school leaders’ environmental responsive behaviour is still not impressive in its fullest potential to mitigate their behaviour to overcome the negative consequences caused by the environmental degradation and overconsumption of natural resources. Hence, there is a need to determine the factors that contribute to environmental responsive behaviour among school leaders in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the possible variables that could better explain the school leaders’ environmental responsive behaviour by investigating the relationship between emotional affinity toward nature, environmental attitude, environmental subjective norm, environmental perceived behavioural control, and institutional support on environmental responsive behaviour. Additionally, environmental intention was examined as a mediator. The triangulation theory approach, which integrates the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Attention Restoration Theory, and the Social Capital Theory were used to explain the relationships between the variables. A total of 503 school leaders, representing 70.23 percent, participated in this study. The data was collected via an online survey, and PLS-SEM was used to analyze it and test the hypotheses. The statistical results indicated that emotional affinity toward nature, environmental attitude, and environmental perceived behavioural control are positively related to environmental intention. Conversely, environmental subjective norm and institutional support are not related to environmental intention. Environmental intention was found to be positively related to environmental responsive behaviour. Moreover, the results revealed that no empirical support was found for the mediating effect of environmental subjective norm, institutional support and environmental responsive behaviour. Finally, theoretical contributions, practical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed

Determinants for ICT Adoption and Problems: Evidence from Rural Based Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to investigate the information and communication technology adoption among rural based SMEs in Malaysia and identify the problems facing these SMEs in the implementation and usage of ICT. In addition, the study also attempts to determine whether significant relationships exist between owners’ attitude, knowledge and innovativeness, and the ICT adoption. Questionnaire survey was used to obtain data from rural based SMEs in Malaysia. A total of 1000 questionnaires were distributed and 167 usable responses were received. The findings reveal a relatively high adoption of ICT among rural based SMEs while lack of funds and financing were the main problems to the success of its adoption and implementation. It was also found that only attitude had significant positive relationship with the ICT adoption. The findings of this study assist to owner/managers of rural based SMEs and also policy makers in Malaysia in finding strategies to cultivate culture of adopting and implementing of ICT for betterment of SMEs in Malaysia

Nanotechnology and global energy demand: challenges and prospects for a paradigm shift in the oil and gas industry.

The exploitation of new hydrocarbon discoveries in meeting the present global energy demand is a function of the availability and application of new technologies. The relevance of new technologies is borne out of the complex subsurface architecture and conditions of offshore petroleum plays. Conventional techniques, from drilling to production, for exploiting these discoveries may require adaption for such subsurface conditions as they fail under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. The oil and gas industry over the past decades has witnessed increased research into the use of nanotechnology with great promise for drilling operations, enhanced oil recovery, reservoir characterization, production, etc. The prospect for a paradigm shift towards the application of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry is constrained by evolving challenges with its progression. This paper gave a review of developments from nano-research in the oil and gas industry, challenges and recommendations

Bio-inspired computation: where we stand and what's next

In recent years, the research community has witnessed an explosion of literature dealing with the adaptation of behavioral patterns and social phenomena observed in nature towards efficiently solving complex computational tasks. This trend has been especially dramatic in what relates to optimization problems, mainly due to the unprecedented complexity of problem instances, arising from a diverse spectrum of domains such as transportation, logistics, energy, climate, social networks, health and industry 4.0, among many others. Notwithstanding this upsurge of activity, research in this vibrant topic should be steered towards certain areas that, despite their eventual value and impact on the field of bio-inspired computation, still remain insufficiently explored to date. The main purpose of this paper is to outline the state of the art and to identify open challenges concerning the most relevant areas within bio-inspired optimization. An analysis and discussion are also carried out over the general trajectory followed in recent years by the community working in this field, thereby highlighting the need for reaching a consensus and joining forces towards achieving valuable insights into the understanding of this family of optimization techniques