Comparison between Islamic insurance and conventional insurance on construction project / Khairul Ammar Muhammad Ali

This research is focusing to the application of insurance on construction project. Two different concept of insurance considered on this research are Islamic Insurance and Conventional Insurance. The objective of this research is to find the commonly used of insurance on the construction project and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of Conventional Insurance and Islamic Insurances on construction project. The scope location is for the contractor that registered at Penang and Klang Valley only. Sometimes, there were a contractor that did not know the advantage and disadvantage of the insurance they used. For them, there was nothing different for any insurance product. Actually, these attitudes give various impacts to their protection of right. The insurance problem is being compounded because many people working in the construction industry have never experienced an unfavorable insurance cycle. The lack of understanding about the insurance also be the factor of the problem occur among the contractor. This research has done through interviews with the person that conducting or working with the Islamic Insurance company or conventional insurance company such Takaful Nasional Berhad and Takaful Malaysia Berhad. Beside, some questionnaires will be distributed among contractors. This research has been conducted by smart planning and proper implementation. It is because we need to handle human that more difficult than handling a machines. From the research it showed that Conventional Insurance is still dominant in the market of construction project. Thus, it is expect that in the future, employers or contractors will realize the benefit of choosing insurance product by considering many aspects including the financial of insurance company, performance of services, fairness in processing claim and others. Proper construction records also necessary to demonstrate cause, effect, entitlement, and quantification of damages incurred by the contractor

Identification of Source Contributions to Air Pollution in Penang Using Factor Analysis

Penang is one of the rapidly developed states in Malaysia with large numbers of population industrial activities, motor vehicles density and development projects.  The concentrations of air pollution parameters in Penang were investigated and analyzed together with meteorological parameters in order to determine their characteristics and contributions to air pollution in Penang using factor analysis (FA).  The air pollution parameters include ground level ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matters of less than 10 microns in size (PM10) while the meteorological parameters include relative humidity, wind speed and temperature.  The data was obtained from the Department of Environment (DOE) for the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) monitoring station for the period of 10 years from 2004 to 2013.  In this study, concentrations of PM10 was found to be the highest among the air pollutants and the concentrations was at its highest between the months of June to September for almost all years of observation due to the southwest monsoon.  As for the source contributions of air pollutions, O3 and meteorological parameters were found to be the largest contributor to air pollutions in Penang, followed by the traffic emissions and industrial activities

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with paediatric cancer in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Paediatric cancer is a leading cause of death for children. Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were four times more likely to die than children in high-income countries (HICs). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the delivery of healthcare services worldwide, and exacerbated the disparity in paediatric cancer outcomes between LMICs and HICs. DESIGN: A multicentre, international, collaborative cohort study. SETTING: 91 hospitals and cancer centres in 39 countries providing cancer treatment to paediatric patients between March and December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were included if they were under the age of 18 years, and newly diagnosed with or undergoing active cancer treatment for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms' tumour, sarcoma, retinoblastoma, gliomas, medulloblastomas or neuroblastomas, in keeping with the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause mortality at 30 days and 90 days. RESULTS: 1660 patients were recruited. 219 children had changes to their treatment due to the pandemic. Patients in LMICs were primarily affected (n=182/219, 83.1%). Relative to patients with paediatric cancer in HICs, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 12.1 (95% CI 2.93 to 50.3) and 7.9 (95% CI 3.2 to 19.7) times the odds of death at 30 days and 90 days, respectively, after presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 15.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 65.8) times the odds of death at 30 days (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected paediatric oncology service provision. It has disproportionately affected patients in LMICs, highlighting and compounding existing disparities in healthcare systems globally that need addressing urgently. However, many patients with paediatric cancer continued to receive their normal standard of care. This speaks to the adaptability and resilience of healthcare systems and healthcare workers globally

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality