A study on the factors influence teachers’ attitude toward organizational change: A case study of secondary school, Kota Setar

This study aims to identify the factors that influence teachers’ attitudes towards organizational change in secondary school, Kota Setar. The objective of this study is to find an answer accurately and concrete about the relationship between the five independent variables; quickness acceptance of change, readiness to change, commitment in the organization, trust in management and communication in the organization that's influence the teachers' attitude toward organizational change for secondary school. In order to find out the relationship, 335 questionnaires have been distributed to teachers in secondary schools, Kota Setar, and found that 80.3% of respondents have returned their questionnaires. The method used in this study is a quantitative method. The study found that five of the eight key variables; readiness for change, quickness acceptance of change, commitment in the organization, belief in management and communication in the organization have significant impact on the attitude towards organizational change. This research is expected to provide benefits and improvements to at least two areas, management and practical implications. Quickness acceptance to change was found to be the most important factor in explaining the attitude towards organizational change that has the highest beta value of .46

Designing Prototype Model of an Online Collaborative Learning System for Introductory Computer Programming Course

AbstractThis paper discusses the design of the prototype model of the online collaborative learning system for introductory computer programming course. The methodology used involves three phases which are the data collection, analysis and design and the implementation phase. Initially, fifty respondents from the first year students of the Diploma in Computer Science in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perlis, Malaysia have been randomly selected to participate in the data collection phase in order to investigate the students’ interests, learning styles as well as their learning preferences. The results have shown the need for the development of online small group discussions that could facilitate online communication and collaboration from dispersed location, hence encouraging distance learning education. A design of a structure model for an online collaborative learning system has been constructed in order to support the online collaborative learning activities in a virtual environment. The logical designs of the Online Collaborative Learning System or OCLS are being designed using the object-oriented models which are the use-case model and class diagram in order to show the concise processes of virtual “Think-Pair-Share” collaborative activities. The “Think-Pair-Share” collaborative learning technique that is being used in the design structures has been chosen because of its simplicity and relatively low-risk. Later, the physical design of the prototype model is being constructed using the Web-based technologies which are the MySQL database, PHP and Apache web server. This paper also discusses the impact of the online collaborative learning system towards the students’ performance where analysis has shown that the t-test result had a significant value of 0.01, which is less than 0.05 (sig. 2-tailed)

A preliminary study on teaching programming at Malaysian school

This paper presents a study on teaching and learning programming in a Malaysian school.The study attempts to identify all possible relations of student’s background and attitudes towards learning programming.The motivations for this study comes from the fact that introductory programming in Higher Learning Institutes face a high rate of under achievers.Since the feeder to these institutions are schools, it is felt that if the teaching and learning of programming in schools are strengthen the above mentioned problem can too be greatly reduced. This study attempts to find all possible relations that would help in proposing a more effective method of teaching and learning programming in school and at Higher Learning Institution

User perceptions of Islamic website (I-webs)

Despite attending face-to-face meetings with the Muslim scholars, the Islamic Websites (I-webs) has been one of the most influential mediums of communication for Muslims across the globe to find information about Islam, and to share the knowledge they learned to both Muslims and non-Muslims. Realizing the significant impact of I-webs in spreading da'wah, it is imperative for the researchers understand the perception of our younger generation about I-webs as the source of information. This paper explores the Muslim Youths' perception of I-webs among undergraduate students aged between 19 to 22 years old. I-webs were evaluated using Islamic Website Evaluation Guidelines (IWEG) survey instrument. The outcome of this research will be used to further improve the design of I-webs to attract more users, particularly among the younger generation to deliver messages on the beauty of Islam

Proseal laryngeal mask airway versus endotracheal tube for delivering positive pressure ventilation during laparoscopic surgery

The purpose of our study is to assess whether the new Proseal Laryngeal Mask airway (PLMA) can be a suitable alternative to the standard use of Endotracheal Tube (ETT) as an airway adjunct to deliver positive pressure ventilation during laparoscopic surgeries. We compared haemodynamic changes (by measuring heart rates, systolic blood pressures, diastolic blood pressures and mean arterial pressures at different time intervals) throughout the surgery, the quality of airway maintenance by measuring Sp02 and ETC02 and recorded intra operative as well as post operative complications related to use of both airway devices. We performed a prospective single blinded study on 64 patients undergoing laparoscopic surgical procedures. These patients were randomized using block randomization and divided into two groups; PLMA and ETT group. Both groups have 32 patients. After standardized induction of anaesthesia, PLMA or ETT was inserted and the patient was connected to ventilator that delivered positive pressure ventilation at set tidal volume and rate. Anaesthesia was maintained with Nitrous oxide, Oxygen and Isoflurane. Both airway devices were removed at the end of surgery with the patients fully awake. The haemodynamic changes were recorded at different time intervals, together with Sp02 and ETC02 changes. The incidences of intra operative complications (coughing, regurgitation, bronchospasm, desaturation and gas leaking) were recorded if present. The presence of blood upon airway device removal that indicates airway trauma was also recorded. Then we recorded post operative complications if present (persistent cough, vomiting and sore throat). We found that there were no statistical differences in HR changes measured at different time intervals between PLMA and ETT. However there were statistically significant decrease in systolic blood pressures and mean arterial pressures for PLMA group at 1 minute, 5 minute, 10 minute and 15 minute post intubation. For diastolic blood pressures, the lower values in PLMA group were only significant at 10 and 15 minutes post intubations. Comparing Sp02 and ETC02 monitoring, generally there were no significant statistical differences for both groups studied. Our findings on intra operative complications were that both groups have no statistical difference in the incidence of coughing, regurgitation, desaturation, bronchospasm and gas leaking. For presence of blood upon airway devices removal, we found no statistical difference between PLMA and ETT groups. The incidence of post operative persistent coughing and vomiting were also found to be statistically insignificant for both groups, however incidence of post operative sore throat was significantly higher in ETT group compared to PLMA with p value ofO.OOl. Therefore we concluded that for laparoscopic surgery with positive pressure ventilation, PLMA is a suitable alternative to standard ETI use and may offer advantages in terms of haemodynamic changes, with lower incidences or no statistically significant peri operative complications related to its use

Managing Flood in the Context of Education, Research and Partnership in Malaysia

Several structural and non-structural measures and approaches have been implemented by the Malaysian government in order to overcome and alleviate the flood disaster. To date, Education, Partnership and Research have been identified as crucial components in forming an effective Flood Management system in Malaysia. This argument has been supported by many public and private institutions worldwide. As such, the standards and plans can be developed and implemented at district, state and federal levels. The spirits of Hyogo and Sendai were used as the guiding principles. Semi-structured interviews with several responding agencies were conducted for data collection. The findings indicated that less emphasis was given to the roles of components such as Education, Partnership and Research in Flood Management. The aim of this paper is to propose an integrated system for storing, disseminating and analyzing information pertaining to Education, Partnership and Research

Knowledge management adoption: A case study of Malaysian electricity supply industry

This paper discusses the current approach adopted by electricity companies in Malaysia in managing organizational knowledge, which was investigated using a mixed method research approach.The analysis reveals that there are a number of inefficiencies in the method currently adopted by electricity companies in Malaysia in managing their organizational knowledge.These companies are recommended to improve the approach undertaken in their knowledge management, in the hope of leveraging the organizational knowledge in attainment of advantage over other players in the industry

Formulation of a knowledge transfer framework for university student organizations

This paper discusses the challenges faced by the new office bearers of university student organizations. A qualitative research approach was adopted, where the data was collected using semi-structured interviews with participants representing several student organizations.A formal structured knowledge transfer mechanism to equip the new office bearers of the student organizations was observed to be lacking. This paper presents a knowledge transfer framework that can be adopted by the relevant entities in preparing the newly elected office bearers of student organizations in executing their roles and responsibilities

Prediction of ADHD from a small dataset using an adaptive EEG Theta/Beta Ratio and PCA feature extraction

EEG Theta/beta ratio (TBR) is conventionally used as a biomarker in childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) prediction and treatment. Due to the heterogeneity of ADHD symptoms, several studies have applied machine learning algorithms for enhancing the recognition of ADHD. These methods, however, have limited performance in a small dataset. In this paper, we propose an adaptive EEG feature extraction approach using TBR and PCA. Repeated TBR-PCA feature extraction, SVM classification and statistical testing were applied on a small EEG sample with ADHD/typically developing (TD) labels. The steps were repeated with an update of the feature extraction technique until a high accuracy is achieved, allowing the small samples to be correctly identified (r = 0.833, one-sided, Bonferroni-corrected p < 0.0166). Within subjects EEG samples analyses performed better compared to between subject analyses, with accuracy getting worse with the increase of EEG segments. The contribution of this work is two-fold: the practical application allows for a reliable adoption of machine learning in non-invasive EEG screening of small ADHD dataset, while the theoretical contribution extends beyond the eyes closed resting state condition considered in this study and provides a methodological approach when working with limited sample

Telehealth in Yemen: An overview and a proposed model

Yemen’s Health sector has grown significantly gauged from the increasing number of hospitals, health units, health centers, beds and medical staff. Despite the country's direction towards the health sector development and improvement, Yemen ranked poorly in all central factors of health services and access.This paper aims to propose a high level telehealth model which is peculiar to Yemen in terms of its existing health services, culture, geography and ICT readiness.In achieving the aim, a series of interview and document study were conducted to access its ICT potential-infrastructure;rural communication; and available manpower and skill set. It is hoped that implementation of the framework will be able to address the issue