A new privacy-preserving protocol for academic certificates on hyperledger fabric

Academic certificates are integral to an individual's education and career prospects, yet conventional paper-based certificates pose challenges with their transport and vulnerability to forgery. In response to this predicament, institutions have taken measures to release e-certificates, though ensuring authenticity remains a pressing concern. Blockchain technology, recognised for its attributes of security, transparency, and decentralisation, presents a resolution to this problem and has garnered attention from various sectors. While blockchain-based academic certificate management systems have been proposed, current systems exhibit some security and privacy limitations. To address these issues, this research proposes a new Decentralised Control Verification Privacy-Centered (DCVPC) protocol based on Hyperledger Fabric blockchain for preserving the privacy of academic certificates. The proposed protocol aims to protect academic certificates' privacy by granting complete authority over all network nodes, creating channels for universities to have their private environment, and limiting access to the ledger. The protocol is highly secure, resistant to attacks, and allows improved interoperability and automation of the certificate verification process. A proof-of-concept was developed to demonstrate the protocol's functionality and performance. The proposed protocol presents a promising solution for enhancing security, transparency, and privacy of academic certificates. It guarantees that the certificate's rightful owner is correctly identified, and the issuer is widely recognised. This research makes a valuable contribution to the area of blockchain-based academic certificate management systems by introducing a new protocol that addresses the present security and privacy limitations

A privacy-centered protocol for enhancing security and authentication of academic certificates

Academic certificate authentication is crucial in safeguarding the rights and opportunities of individuals who have earned academic credentials. This authentication helps prevent fraud and forgery, ensuring that only those who have genuinely earned certificates can use them for education and career opportunities. With the increased use of online education and digital credentials in the digital age, the importance of academic certificate authentication has significantly grown. However, traditional techniques for authentication, such as QR code, barcode, and watermarking, have limitations regarding security and privacy. Therefore, proposing a privacy-centred protocol to enhance the security and authentication of academic certificates is vital to improve the trust and credibility of digital academic certificates, ensuring that individuals' rights and opportunities are protected. In this context, we adopted the Challenge Handshake Authentication (CHA) protocol to propose the Certificate Verification Privacy Control Protocol (CVPC). We implemented it using Python and Flask with a Postgres database and an MVT structure for the application. The results of the implementation demonstrate that the proposed protocol effectively preserves privacy during the academic certificate issuance and verification process. Additionally, we developed a proof of concept to evaluate the proposed protocol, demonstrating its functionality and performance. The PoC provided insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed protocol and highlighted its potential to prevent forgery and unauthorised access to academic certificates. Overall, the proposed protocol has the potential to significantly enhance the security and authenticity of academic certificates, improving the overall trust and credibility of the academic credentialing system

Factors that influence frontline employee behavior towards guest satisfaction in hotel / Aida Khalida Mohamed Idris... [et al.]

This study seeks to analyse the factors that influence frontline employee behaviour towards guest satisfaction as frontline employee is the first person that any hotel guest would refer to should there be any queries. Thus, being a frontline employee will have an impact on guest approach and overall satisfaction. For this paper, in order to achieve the objective of the study, a review on data collected from secondary data such as journals, articles and websites were carried out. The finding of the study has proven that there is a relationship between the variables and has an impact on the service encounter. In conclusion, frontline employee behaviour is a vital factor to focus as they can give great effect on overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction for guest in their experience during their stay in the hotel

Parental refusal to diphtheria vaccine: a fatal outcome

We present a case of a four-year-old boy who succumbed to diphtheria following incomplete course of immunisation, which included diphtheria vaccine. This case report focuses on the issues of parental refusal to vaccines and the development of "halal" vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases

The outcome of the seminal fluid parameter collected via coitus interruptus versus mastubation

A one year study was carried out to determine the outcome of the seminal fluid parameters collected via masturbation and coitus interruptus in 151 patients who were undergoing intrauterine insermination (IUI) and patients who came for seminal analysis. There were no statistically significant difference in terms of volume, concentration, progressive motility and normal morphology from specimens collected via coitus interruptus compared to specimens collected via masturbation. Pregnancy outcomes were also comparable

Optimization study on sewage sludge conditioning using Moringa oleifera seeds

Disposal of sewage sludge is a main problem faced by local municipalities in Malaysia. Sludge conditioned with chemical polymer often termed as undesirable use for land application. However, using natural polymer will help to reduce the impact of this problem. In this study, optimization using Moringa oleifera seeds as a natural polymer in sewage sludge conditioning is highlighted. An earlier sludge conditioning using jar test apparatus was conducted using Moringa oleifera seeds in three different forms; dry powder, distilled water extracted and salt extracted (1 N NaCl). Results from the study indicate that Moringa oleifera in distilled water extracted form shows the most optimum reduction in Capillary Suction Time (CST) value. Optimization of three important factors namely mixing speed, mixing duration and Moringa oleifera dosage for distilled water extracted form was done using Design of Experiments (DOE). Optimum values for the selected factors were obtained using Box-Behnken design, Response Surface Design Method (RSM). There was a total of seven set of optimized solutions produced. The best solution generated showed lowest CST and Specific Resistance to Filtration (SRF) was obtained at 4.5 s and 1.22 x 1011 m/kg respectively. These values were obtained under the optimum conditions of mixing speed at 100 rpm, mixing duration of 1 min and Moringa oleifera dosage of 4695 mg/L. The desirability index for the optimized solution was 1.000

DIVERSITY OF MACROMOTHS (LEPIDOPTERA: HETEROCERA) IN PERLIS STATE PARK, KEDAWI REGION, MALAYSIA: NEW DISTRIBUTIONAL RECORD OF NOCTUID

This study aimed to determine the macromoths species diversity in Perlis State Park, Kedawi Region, Malaysia. Two sampling series were conducted on 17th - 21st April 2015 and 12th - 16th November 2015. Modified Pennsylvanian light trap with 160 W mercury vapor bulb was used to attract the macromoths in ground (≤ 2m) and lower canopy (≥ 20m) levels. A total of 386 individuals comprising 182 species from 13 families were recorded in 10 nights of sampling. The macromoths diversity was considerably high with Fisher’s alpha diversity index of α= 134.5 and Shannon’s diversity index, H’ = 4.777. Noctuidae was the highest family recorded in terms of species number, while family Arctiidae was the highest for the number of individuals collected

Estimated relative permittivity of contaminated laterite soil: An empirical model for GPR waves

Estimated relative permittivity performed on soil is essential for forecasting the performance of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) in an in-depth manner. This study investigated and verified the empirical relationship model between relative permittivity and volumetric water content in soil to predict the relative permittivity of contaminated laterite soil. In this study, a 24-hour measurement involving 800 MHz shielded antenna GPR was carried out in a concrete simulation field tank filled with Terap Red soil (1.5 m x 2.6 m x 1.5 m) at UiTM Perlis, Malaysia. Embedded moisture content probe was simultaneously measured to monitor the response of volumetric water content in contaminated soil in order to formulate an empirical relationship between relative permittivity and moisture content. The GPR data were pre-processed and filtered with Reflexw 7.5, while regression analysis was performed to evaluate the empirical relationship model. The model outcomes were retrieved from a number of cross-validation schemes, including correlation analysis (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and calibrated Agilent Technologies Automated Vector Analyser (VNA). A third-order polynomial for analysis of variance (ANOVA) best fitted the model with positively strong correlation (R2=0.989, N=24, P < 0.01) and RMSE 0.003< RMSEpredicted < 0.19. Verification of the proposed model using calibrated VNA displayed exceptional agreement between 0.06% comparisons

Vaccine Refusals among Malaysian Facebook Users: The Self-Presentation

Vaccinations have been successful in eradicating infectious diseases like smallpox, diphtheria, and many others. However, the distrust towards vaccines on social media has led to an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment and vaccine hesitancy around the globe, including Malaysia. Facebook is known to provide a space for anti-vaxxers to engage and share distorted or unfounded views about vaccination. However, little data on who are the anti-vaxxers among Malaysian Facebook users. This study aims to identify the types of anti-vaxxers and how they portray themselves on Facebook to engage with other online users. A study was conducted to profile these Facebook users and the information used by them in constructing their online identities. This study only analysed the publicly available content on Facebook which was argued ethically acceptable. A total of 456 Facebook users who claimed to reject vaccines publicly on a selected Facebook page, Malaysia Kene Tahu (MKT), were quantitatively profiled. The results showed that the majority maintained genuine profile accounts using real photos and names. While Facebook allows users to disclose a variety of information, users mainly revealed gender and location which are perceived to enhance the trustworthiness of an online identity. The study argued that personal information disclosure on Facebook could build trust among users to further exchange disapproval towards vaccination and confirm each other’s viewpoints. In conclusion, this study affirmed that Facebook is a platform that nurtures anti-vaccination sentiments. Hence, approaches regulating discussion among Malaysian Facebook users is needed and involvement of different stakeholders is required to address the vaccine hesitancy phenomenon specific to the Malaysian context