Job characteristics and staying engaged in work of nurses: Empirical evidence from Malaysia

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between job characteristics (job autonomy,job feedback,skill variety,task identity,task significance) and work engagement of nurses in Malaysia.Methods: A survey using self-administered questionnaires was used to collect data from a sample of 856 staff nurses working in eight public hospitals in Malaysia.A shortened nine-item version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale(UWES-9) was used to measure work engagement.The UWES-9 comprises three dimensions,which was measured with three items each: vigor,dedication,and absorption.Job characteristics (job autonomy,job feedback,skill variety,task identity,task significance) were measured with the corresponding subscales of the Job Diagnostic Survey.Each subscale consisted of three items.Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis.Results: Findings indicated that all the five demographic variables (age,marital status,education,organizational tenure,job tenure) were unrelated to work engagement.The results further revealed that job autonomy (β=0.19,P < 0.01),job feedback (β=0.10,P < 0.01),task identity (β=0.13,P < 0.01),and task significance (β=0.08,P< 0.05) were positively related to work engagement.Skill variety (β=0.03,P> 0.05),however,did not affect work engagement.Conclusion: Job autonomy,job feedback,task identity,and task significance are important factors in predicting work engagement.The findings of this study highlighted the need to incorporate these core dimensions in nursing management to foster work engagement.

Forensic Accounting and Fraud： Capability and Competence Requirements in Malaysia

The 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey instituted by PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC） confirms the economic crime in Malaysia to be on the increase and, therefore, requires immediate attention to stem the tides. In anticipation of the challenges occasioned due to a shift from the modified cash basis to the accrual basis of accounting, the Malaysian State＇s determination to move from a developing nation to a developed nation, and to be ranked among the first 10 in 2020, this paper presents the need for forensic accountant and auditor capability （i.e., mindset and skills） on forensic accountant and auditor competence （i.e., task performance fraud risk assessment （TPFRA）） in the Malaysian public sector. It also draws the attention of the users of public sector accountants and auditors to the understanding of fraud mechanisms and how to deal with fraudsters. The population of this study comprised the accountants and auditors in the office of the Accountant General and Auditor General of Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to investigate the competence requirements of accountants and auditors in the effective and efficient utilization of capability requirements, which have the potentials to usher in the best global practices in fighting fraud in the Malaysian public sector.

Analysis on Cost and Profit in Farming Activity in Malaysia

There is an excessive dissimilarity between scholars in how to accumulate output costs. Worldwide farming advancement is concerned with yield enhancement instead of a holistic natural source management for food safety. Nevertheless, knowledge regarding the achievement of agriculture systems subject to natural and conventional management in tropical and subtropical areas is insufficient. Why do several farmers record less profit than other farmers？ Cost in agriculture activity influences the volume of profit gained by farmers. The number of respondents was 53. Data analysis was made using linear regression analysis to achieve the objective. The scatter diagram manifested a positive connection in cost and profit in agriculture activity from 2009 to 2013. For each cost increase in 2009-2012, the model forecasts a rise of returns for every year. The rate of profit earned by farmers every year shifts considerably in relation to the rate of cost in agriculture activity. This study recommends common accounting principles practices that exercise bookkeeping and managerial accounting to enhance farmstead management and profit. Future research may be conducted on the use of compost fertilizer in increasing agricultural income.

Audit Committee Attributes on Audit Fees： The Impact of Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance （MCCG） 2007

The evolution of corporate governance has created a competitive environment among the companies to catch the attention of investor＇s confidence. This paper aims to examine the relationship between the audit committee attributes and the audit fees. Specifically, this paper aims to examine the effects of audit committee expertise （number of financial-related director＇s trainings and experience） on audit fees. The data are obtained from annual reports of the population of Bursa Malaysia listed companies for both Main and Ace markets in year 2008. The results show that audit committee size is significant and has a positive association with audit fees. However, audit committee＇s financial related training is significant and has a negative association with audit fees. These results suggest that financial training of audit committee could have an impact on the lower audit fees. However, audit committee expertise is significant and has a positive association with audit fees. This suggests that financial-related training is needed in order to enhance the expertise of audit committee members.

Corporate governance mechanisms and performance： Analysis of Malaysian family and non-family controlled companies

Most study concentrating on family and non-family companies is conducted overseas with little research carried out in Malaysia. This study examined the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on family and non-family controlled companies＇ performance. The sample size of this study is 730 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2003 to 2007. The findings reveal that corporate governance mechanisms influence the family and non-family controlled companies＇ performance. But not all corporate governance mechanisms are significant. The significant variables differ between family and non-family controlled companies. Thus, regulators need to be vigilant that family and non-family controlled companies practise differently and to set different code needed for each type of families.

Physical Activity and Health-Promoting Lifestyle of Student Nurses in Malaysia

Studies have indicated that lack of regular physical exercise and not adhering to a health-promot- ing lifestyle among student nurses are barriers to their encouraging patients to exercise. On the other hand, nurses who personally embrace physical activity are more likely to encourage their patients to improve their health through physical activity or diet. As a result, promoting an active and healthy lifestyle among student nurses is important because this has a crucial role in their subsequently encouraging healthy lifestyles among their patients. The aims of this study were to determine the physical activity levels and health-promoting lifestyles among student nurses in Malaysia, and to investigate whether there was a correlation between the physical activity levels of student nurses and their lifestyle habits. Further investigation was also carried out to correlate lifestyle habits with physical activity during weekdays and at the weekends. This study involved 189 student nurses who were pursuing Diplomas and Bachelor Degrees in local government universities. The Yamax Digi-Walker pedometer was used to measure physical activity, while the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) II questionnaire was used to assess the health-pro- moting lifestyles of the participants. The HPLP II consisted of six sub-scales which included health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, and stress management. According to the results on physical activity, the student nurses had a mean of 8275.97 ± 2210.174 steps per day and were thus categorised as somewhat active. Additionally, the student nurses were found to be more active during weekends (M = 8389.75, SD = 2689.12) as compared to weekdays (M = 8230.46, SD = 2353.97). According to previous studies, both step counts are classified in the “somewhat active” category. Overall, the results for HPLP II showed that student nurses students in Malaysia had a positive health-promoting lifestyle with a score of 2.58 ± 0.34 on a 4-point Likert scale. The highest score was reported in spiritual growth, with a score of 2.92 ± 0.43. Meanwhile, physical activity was observed to be the lowest, with a score of 1.74 ± 0.39. The results found no correlation between physical activity and overall health-promoting lifestyle among student nurses in Malaysia (r = 0.06, n = 189, p < 0.37). However, there was a significant relationship between physical activity (measured by the pedometer) and physical activity habit (measured through the questionnaire) among the student nurses (r = 0.24, n = 189, p < 0.01). According to the findings, when the participants indicated in the questionnaire that they were active physically, the pedometer readings also showed a corresponding similarity in terms of their daily physical activities.

Board independence, ownership structure, audit quality and income smoothing activities： A study on Malaysian market

The 1997 economic crisis faced by many East Asian economies has generated a substantial amount of debate largely focused on issues such as the roles and functions of good corporate governance （CG）. Lack of transparency has been singled out as the major culprit of the crisis and it has been alleged to cause management to indulge themselves in unhealthy activities such as income smoothing （IS） act. The paper extends Nasuhiyah, Hian, Sob and WEI （1994） by incorporating contextual variables that proxy for CG, ownership structure and audit quality. The empirical analysis is conducted on a sample of Bursa Malaysia listed companies for a period between 1991 and 2000. The main intention of taking this time span is to observe to what extend has previous business operations inculcated the feature of CG in the running of their companies＇ activities despite not being obligatory for them to uphold. The results showed that the existence of non-executive directors and the presence of brand name auditors to be significant in hindering the management from indulging in IS. The study opens the way for a richer understanding of the links among CG, ownership structure, audit quality and IS in Malaysia.

Comparative Human Landing Catch and CDC Light Trap in Mosquito Sampling in Knowlesi Malaria Endemic Areas in Peninsula Malaysia

Adult mosquito sampling techniques are essential for monitoring transmission of malaria and other mosquito borne infections. Preference for any sampling technique depends on both its field efficiency and the characteristics of local vector populations. Surveys on adult mosquitoes using Human Landing Catch (HLC) and CO2-baited CDC light trap (CDC-LT) techniques were conducted in several knowlesi malaria endemic areas between the months of March to December 2012 in several states of Peninsula Malaysia. These two techniques were relatively compared to determine the preferences of anopheline mosquitoes towards CO2-baited CDC-LT technique using HLC technique as the reference method. Cx. gelidus, An. maculates and An. introlatus were the main three species collected by HLC technique, whereas the species collected by CO2-baited CDC-LT technique were mostly An. cracens, Ar. durhami and Coquillettidia species. Most of the Anopheles species were collected almost exclusively by the human collectors except for An. cracens and An. introlatus which were collected using both techniques. Anopheles cracens was the most dominant species captured using CO2-baited CDC-LT technique. This is the first report showing An. cracens was caught using CO2-baited CDC-LT technique in Malaysia.

Effectiveness of Oral English Blended Teaching Supported by Digital Technology in Universities

An empirical study of oral English blended teaching was conducted in a university.The experiment class,which was under the blended teaching mode supported by digital technology,made significant improvements in language accuracy and range,discourse length and coherence,as well as flexibility and appropriateness.On the other hand,there was no significant improvement in the scores of the control class.Through the analysis of results by means of independent t-test and paired sample t-test,we drew the following conclusions:the oral performance of university students from the experiment class significantly improved;there was remarkable difference in the total oral English scores between the experiment class and the control class;the improvement in the total score and the score of each module showed that blended teaching had significant effect on the improvement of university students’oral English performance.

DNBP-CCA:A Novel Approach to Enhancing Heterogeneous Data Traffic and Reliable Data Transmission for Body Area Network

The increased adoption of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) technologies has resulted in the widespread use ofBody Area Networks (BANs) in medical and non-medical domains. However, the performance of IEEE 802.15.4-based BANs is impacted by challenges related to heterogeneous data traffic requirements among nodes, includingcontention during finite backoff periods, association delays, and traffic channel access through clear channelassessment (CCA) algorithms. These challenges lead to increased packet collisions, queuing delays, retransmissions,and the neglect of critical traffic, thereby hindering performance indicators such as throughput, packet deliveryratio, packet drop rate, and packet delay. Therefore, we propose Dynamic Next Backoff Period and Clear ChannelAssessment (DNBP-CCA) schemes to address these issues. The DNBP-CCA schemes leverage a combination ofthe Dynamic Next Backoff Period (DNBP) scheme and the Dynamic Next Clear Channel Assessment (DNCCA)scheme. The DNBP scheme employs a fuzzy Takagi, Sugeno, and Kang (TSK) model’s inference system toquantitatively analyze backoff exponent, channel clearance, collision ratio, and data rate as input parameters. Onthe other hand, the DNCCA scheme dynamically adapts the CCA process based on requested data transmission tothe coordinator, considering input parameters such as buffer status ratio and acknowledgement ratio. As a result,simulations demonstrate that our proposed schemes are better than some existing representative approaches andenhance data transmission, reduce node collisions, improve average throughput, and packet delivery ratio, anddecrease average packet drop rate and packet delay.

Research on the Dynamic Volatility Relationship between Chinese and U.S. Stock Markets Based on the DCC-GARCH Model under the Background of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study utilizes the Dynamic Conditional Correlation-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (DCC-GARCH) model to investigate the dynamic relationship between Chinese and U.S. stock markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, a univariate GARCH model is developed to derive residual sequences, which are then used to estimate the DCC model parameters. The research reveals a significant rise in the interconnection between the Chinese and U.S. stock markets during the pandemic. The S&P 500 index displayed higher sensitivity and greater volatility in response to the pandemic, whereas the CSI 300 index showed superior resilience and stability. Analysis and model estimation suggest that the market’s dependence on historical data has intensified and its sensitivity to recent shocks has heightened. Predictions from the model indicate increased market volatility during the pandemic. While the model is proficient in capturing market trends, there remains potential for enhancing the accuracy of specific volatility predictions. The study proposes recommendations for policymakers and investors, highlighting the importance of improved cooperation in international financial market regulation and investor education.

Multiple solutions of Cu-C6H9NaO7 and Ag-C6H9NaO7 nanofluids flow over nonlinear shrinking surface

Model of Casson nanofluid flow over a nonlinear shrinking surface is considered.Model of Tiwari and Das is applied to nanofluid comprising of sodium alginate with copper and silver.The governing nonlinear equations incorporating the effects of the viscous dissipation are transformed into boundary value problems (BVPs) of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by using appropriate similarity transformations.The resulting equations are converted into initial value problems (IVPs) using the shooting method which are then solved by Runge-Kutta method of fourth order.In order to determine the stability of the dual solutions obtained,stability analysis is performed and discovered that the first (second) solution is stable (unstable) and physically realizable (unrealizable).Both the thickness of the thermal boundary layer as well as temperature increase when the Casson parameter (β) is increased in the second solution.

Benchmarking Performance of Document Level Classification and Topic Modeling

Text classification of low resource language is always a trivial and challenging problem.This paper discusses the process of Urdu news classification and Urdu documents similarity.Urdu is one of the most famous spoken languages in Asia.The implementation of computational methodologies for text classification has increased over time.However,Urdu language has not much experimented with research,it does not have readily available datasets,which turn out to be the primary reason behind limited research and applying the latest methodologies to the Urdu.To overcome these obstacles,a mediumsized dataset having six categories is collected from authentic Pakistani news sources.Urdu is a rich but complex language.Text processing can be challenging for Urdu due to its complex features as compared to other languages.Term frequency-inverse document frequency(TFIDF)based term weighting scheme for extracting features,chi-2 for selecting essential features,and Linear discriminant analysis(LDA)for dimensionality reduction have been used.TFIDF matrix and cosine similarity measure have been used to identify similar documents in a collection and find the semantic meaning of words in a document FastText model has been applied.The training-test split evaluation methodology is used for this experimentation,which includes 70%for training data and 30%for testing data.State-of-the-art machine learning and deep dense neural network approaches for Urdu news classification have been used.Finally,we trained Multinomial Naïve Bayes,XGBoost,Bagging,and Deep dense neural network.Bagging and deep dense neural network outperformed the other algorithms.The experimental results show that deep dense achieves 92.0%mean f1 score,and Bagging 95.0%f1 score.

Deep Image Restoration Model: A Defense Method Against Adversarial Attacks

These days,deep learning and computer vision are much-growing fields in this modern world of information technology.Deep learning algorithms and computer vision have achieved great success in different applications like image classification,speech recognition,self-driving vehicles,disease diagnostics,and many more.Despite success in various applications,it is found that these learning algorithms face severe threats due to adversarial attacks.Adversarial examples are inputs like images in the computer vision field,which are intentionally slightly changed or perturbed.These changes are humanly imperceptible.But are misclassified by a model with high probability and severely affects the performance or prediction.In this scenario,we present a deep image restoration model that restores adversarial examples so that the target model is classified correctly again.We proved that our defense method against adversarial attacks based on a deep image restoration model is simple and state-of-the-art by providing strong experimental results evidence.We have used MNIST and CIFAR10 datasets for experiments and analysis of our defense method.In the end,we have compared our method to other state-ofthe-art defense methods and proved that our results are better than other rival methods.

Dual Branches of MHD Three-Dimensional Rotating Flow of Hybrid Nanofluid on Nonlinear Shrinking Sheet

In this study,magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)three-dimensional(3D)flow of alumina(Al2O3)and copper(Cu)nanoparticles of an electrically conducting incompressible fluid in a rotating frame has been investigated.The shrinking surface generates the flow that also has been examined.The single-phase(i.e.,Tiwari and Das)model is implemented for the hybrid nanofluid transport phenomena.Results for alumina and copper nanomaterials in the water base fluid are achieved.Boundary layer approximations are used to reduce governing partial differential(PDEs)system into the system of the ordinary differential equations(ODEs).The three-stage Lobatto IIIa method in bvp4c solver is applied for solutions of the governing model.Graphical results have been shown to examine how velocity and temperature fields are influenced by various applied parameters.It has been found that there are two branches for certain values of the suction/injection parameter b:The rise in copper volumetric concentration improved the velocity of hybrid nanofluid in the upper branch.The heat transfer rate improved for the case of hybrid nanofluid as compared to the viscous fluid and simple nanofluid.

Corruption Typology： A Review of Literature

Corruption is increasingly becoming a global phenomenon virtually affecting every part of the world. The effects have been very devastating particularly in the developing nations, by which to a large extent public service functions thrive in an environment heavily characterized by corruption. This paper reviews the relevant and related literature on corruption and then proposes a classification of the type of corruption based on the review.

The audit expectation gap： A review of the contributing factors

The audit expectation gap is critical to the auditing profession because the greater the unfulfilled expectations from the public, the lower is the credibility, earning potential and prestige associated with the work of auditors. The aim of this paper is to uncover the causes of an audit expectation gap. It is revealed that the existence of an audit expectation gap is due to complicated nature of an audit function; conflicting role of auditors; retrospective evaluation of auditors＇ performance; time lag in responding to changing expectation; and self-regulation process of the auditing profession.

Temporal Stability Analysis of Magnetized Hybrid Nanofluid Propagating through an Unsteady Shrinking Sheet: Partial Slip Conditions

The unsteady magnetohydrodynamic(MHD)flow on a horizontal preamble surface with hybrid nanoparticles in the presence of the first order velocity and thermal slip conditions are investigated.Alumina(Al_(2)O_(3))and copper(Cu)are considered as hybrid nanoparticles that have been dispersed in water in order to make hybrid nanofluid(Cu-Al_(2)O_(3)/water).The system of similarity equations is derived from the system of partial differential equations(PDEs)by using variables of similarity,and their solutions are gotten with shooting method in the Maple software.In certain ranges of unsteadiness and magnetic parameters,the presence of dual solutions can be found.Further,it is examined that layer separation is deferred due to the effect of the hybrid nanoparticles.Moreover,the capacity of the thermal enhancement of Cu-Al_(2)O_(3)/water hybrid nanofluid is higher as compared to Al_(2)O_(3)/water based nanofluid and enhancements inCu are caused to rise the fluid temperature in both solutions.In the last,solutions stability analyzes were also carried out and the first solution was found to be stable.

Designing Bayesian New Group Chain Sampling Plan For Quality Regions

Acceptance sampling is a well-established statistical technique in quality assurance.Acceptance sampling is used to decide,acceptance or rejection of a lot based on the inspection of its random sample.Experts concur that the Bayesian approach is the best approach to make a correct decision,when historical knowledge is available.This paper suggests a Bayesian new group chain sampling plan(BNGChSP)to estimate average probability of acceptance.Binomial distribution function is used to differentiate between defective and non-defective products.Beta distribution is considered as a suitable prior distribution.Derivation is completed for the estimation of the average proportion of defectives.This study includes four quality regions namely:(i)probabilistic quality region(PQR),(ii)quality decision region(QDR),(iii)limiting quality region(LQR),and(iv)indifference quality region(IQR).The estimated values for the BNGChSPare tabulated and the inflection point values are derived,based on different combinations of design parameters including both consumer’s and producer’s risks.For comparison with the existing plan,the operating characteristic curves expose that BNGChSP is a better substitute for industrial practitioners.

Bayesian Group Chain Sampling Plan for Poisson Distribution with Gamma Prior

Acceptance sampling is a statistical quality control technique that consists of procedures for sentencing one or more incoming lots of finished products.Acceptance or rejection is based on the inspection of sampled products drawn randomly from the lot.The theory of previous acceptance sampling was built upon the assumption that the process from which the lots are produced is stable and the process fraction nonconforming is a constant.Process variability is inevitable due to random fluctuations,which may inadvertently lead to quality variation.As an alternative to traditional sampling plans,Bayesian approach can be used by considering prior information of the process.Using different combinations of design parameters,this study introduces a Bayesian group chain sampling plan(BGChSP).For the first time in group chain sampling plan,the probability of lot acceptance is derived by using Poisson distribution to estimate an average number of defectives.Gamma distribution is used as a prior distribution with Poisson distribution.Taking into account both consumer’s and producer’s risks,this research considers two quality regions namely,probabilistic quality region(PQR)and indifference quality region(IQR).By minimizing consumer’s and producer’s risks,BGChSP can be used to minimize the average number of defective products in industry.