The entrepreneurial element is one of the aspects emphasized in the primary school mathematics education curriculum in Malaysia. However, previous studies have found that application of entrepreneurial elements in mathematics teaching is still lacking. This study was therefore conducted to identify the real challenges that mathematics teachers face in applying the entrepreneurial element in mathematics teaching. This study is qualitative case study which involved six primary school mathematics teachers. Semi-structured interviews, observation, document analysis and field notes were used for the (...) data collection process in this study. The data obtained was analyzed using the constant comparative analysis method to determine themes and sub-themes. The findings were that a teacher’s knowledge, teaching style, limited time of teaching, and attitudes, and in-service courses and training are among the identified challenges in applying entrepreneurial elements in mathematics teaching. This study expands knowledge and the literature on the challenges faced by school mathematics teachers in applying entrepreneurial elements in mathematics teaching. Various initiatives need to be taken to ensure that all the challenges can be overcome, and ultimately enable the entrepreneurial elements to be applied to students more widely. (shrink)

The release of over 6,000 genetically modified mosquitoes (GMM) into uninhabited Malaysian forests in 2010 was a frantic step on the part of the Malaysian government to combat the spread of dengue fever. The field trial was designed to control and reduce the dengue vector by producing offspring that die in the early developmental stage, thus decreasing the local Aedes aegypti population below the dengue transmission threshold. However, the GMM trials were discontinued in Malaysia despite being technologically feasible. The lack (...) of systematic studies in terms of cost-benefit analysis, questionable research efficacy and safety-related concerns might have contributed to the termination of the field trial. Hence, this research aims to evaluate the feasibility of GMM release in Malaysia by using a holistic approach based on an Islamic ethical-legal assessment under the maslahah-mafsadah (benefit-risk) concept. Three main strategies based on the maslahah-mafsadah concept approach have been applied: 1) an evidence-based approach, 2) an impact-based approach and, 3) a priority approach. The analysis concluded that GMM could be categorised as zanniyyah (probable). GMM is a promising alternative for dengue control, but many issues must be addressed before its widespread adoption. (shrink)

In this volume, Angelika Brodersen examines how elements of Māturīdite tradition and processes of transformation occur in Nūr al-Dīn al-Ṣābūnī’s _Kitāb al-Kifāya fī l-hidāya fī uṣūl ad-dīn_, which contributed to the consolidation of the Māturīdiyya as a Sunni school. Im vorliegenden Band untersucht Angelika Brodersen, wie sich im _Kitāb al-Kifāya fī l-hidāya fī uṣūl ad-dīn_, des māturīditischen Gelehrten Nūr ad-Dīn aṣ-Ṣābūnī sowohl Elemente māturīditischer Tradition als auch Transformationsprozesse verfolgen lassen, die zur Konsolidierung der Māturīdiyya als sunnitische Schulrichtung beitrugen.

El análisis del islam en Sudán muestra la gran variedad de aproximaciones al objeto de estudio, la diversidad de sus lecturas y el reiterado recurso a los principios religiosos para justificar o legitimar las cuestiones políticas y de Estado. El islam sudanés, en sus diferentes manifestaciones, ha traspasado las fronteras nacionales y ha contribuido al islam africano, árabe y mundial. Eso desde el siglo XIX cuando surgió un primer proto-estado islámico de la mano de esa figura mesiánica que fue Muhammad (...) Ahmad Ibn Abdallah, el Mahdi, hasta el pensador y hombre de Estado Hasan al-Turabi en pleno siglo XX. Analizaremos tres dimensiones: el islam reformista de Mahmud Muhammad Taha, el islamismo sudanés conducido por al-Turabi y el papel del sufismo en la religiosidad popular y en la política sudanesa, y su reciente confrontación con las tendencias salafíes activas en el país en lo que parece ser una nueva lucha por el espacio socioreligioso del siglo XXI. (shrink)

As the COVID-19 outbreak remains an ongoing issue, there are concerns about its disruption, the level of its disruption, how long this pandemic is going to last, and how innovative technological solutions like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and expert systems can assist to deal with this pandemic. AI has the potential to provide extremely accurate insights for an organization to make better decisions based on collected data. Despite the numerous advantages that may be achieved by AI, the use of AI can (...) be perceived differently by society, where moral and ethical issues may be raised, especially in regards to accessing and exploiting public data gathered from social media platforms. To better comprehend the concerns and ethical challenges, utilitarianism and deontology were used as business ethics frameworks to explore the aforementioned challenges of AI in society. The framework assists in determining whether the AI’s deployment is ethically acceptable or not. The paper lays forth policy recommendations for public and private organizations to embrace AI-based decision-making processes to avoid data privacy violations and maintain public trust. (shrink)

1. Academics as a profession is traditionally viewed as stress-free due to high levels of academic freedom, clarity of job description and performance indicators, and tenure protected positions (Th...

Abortion is the most common and controversial issue in many parts of the world. Approximately 46 million abortions are performed worldwide every year. The world ratio is 26 induced abortions per 100 known pregnancies. Pakistan has an estimated abortion rate of 29 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age, despite the procedure being illegal except to save a woman’s life. 890,000 abortions are performed annually in Pakistan. Many government and non-government organizations are working on the issue of abortion. Muslim jurists (...) are unanimous in declaring that after the fetus is completely formed and has been given a soul, abortion is haram (forbidden). (shrink)

AimThe current study attempted to assess the effect of positive emotion on post-graduate students’ psychological capital as well as on their academic engagement behavior. Also, the direct relationship between PsyCap and academic engagement behavior was assessed alongside the presence of Stress as a moderating variable between PsyCap and academic engagement behavior amongst post-graduate students in Malaysia.Materials and MethodsA self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection from 373 post-graduate Ph.D. students registered in various universities throughout Malaysia with a non-probabilistic sampling technique. (...) Research respondents belonged to management, humanities, engineering, computer science, and health sciences domains, and they responded through a questionnaire copy. Statistically, structural equation modeling was applied to evaluate confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, validity analysis, measurement model, structural model, and path analysis. Furthermore, the bootstrapping approach was utilized to test the final model.ResultsFor the hypothesized model, our results confirmed that positive emotions had a positive and significant effect on students’ psychological capita as well as on their academic engagement behavior. Further, PsyCap also had a positive and significant effect on academic engagement behavior. Our results also reported that stress as a moderating variable has a negative and deteriorating effect on the relationship between PsyCap and the academic engagement of students.ConclusionThe study’s findings support the theoretical assumption that positive emotions help individuals generate cognitive resources, which in turn help them manage their engagement behavioral requirements. However, the stress caused by their study needs may deplete their psychological resources, consequently influencing their academic engagement behavior. Interventions like personal coaching/counseling, appropriate follow-up, and flexible goal settings with other measures may help post-graduate students in achieving their daunting tasks. (shrink)

In this paper, we utilized triangular conorms. The essence of using S-norm is that the similarity order does not change using different norms. In fact, we are investigating for a new conception for calculating the similarity of two Fermatean fuzzy sets. For this purpose, utilizing an S-norm, we first present a formula for calculating the similarity of two Fermatean fuzzy values, so that they are truthful in similarity properties. Following that, we generalize a formula for calculating the similarity of the (...) two Fermatean fuzzy sets which prove truthful in similarity conditions. Finally, various numerical examples have been presented to elaborate this method. (shrink)

Nūr Muḥammad is one of the teachings in Sufism that studies the beginning of the creation of the universe. The Sufis discussed Nūr Muḥammad through God's tajallī (manifestation), and they believed that only Insan Kamil (Perfect Humans) possessed the perfection of His tajallī. This Sufi theory can be comprehended through the dhawqi approach. This research will deal with Nūr Muḥammad's theory of Sufism through the perspective of Tijaniyah Tarekat. The data for this study was obtained through library research utilizing a (...) documentary technique. The collected data will be analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. This study finds that the Tijaniyah Tarekat is a Sufism institution that bases its teachings and practices on the concept of Nūr Muḥammad in the form of ṣalawāt al-fātiḥ and ṣalawāt jawharah al-kamāl. This Tarekat's elucidation of Nūr Muḥammad is also built on and consistent with the explication of authoritative Sufis in Islam's intellectual and spiritual tradition. (shrink)

The study examines both general and Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) self-efficacy in cyber-victims, cyber-bullies, and cyber bully victims in comparison to un-involved students. Gender differences were also examined. A total of 1115 Pakistani university students from six universities participated in the study. Analyses were conducted on 950 complete cases (371 males, and 579 females). Data were collected on cyberbullying/victimization, general self-efficacy (GSE), ICT self-efficacy, traditional bullying/victimization, ICT usage, social desirability, and demographics. Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that ICT self-efficacy (...) significantly decreased the probability of being a cyber-victim and significantly increased the chances of being a cyber-bully whereas GSE appeared to have no role in predicting participant roles in cyberbullying after controlling for covariates (i.e., age, gender, traditional bullying, traditional victimization, social desirability, Internet usage, time spent on the Internet, and social networking sites (SNS). Findings of the study have important implications for developing and enhancing interventions with respect to the inclusion of ICT related skills in anti-cyberbullying programs. With respect to gender, findings showed that females reported a higher level of victimization while males reported higher perpetration on both traditional and cyberbullying. (shrink)

The Kashmir issue, a principal reason for rivalry between India and Pakistan, has become the atomic flashpoint and a constant threat to the security of South Asia. The aim of this paper is to highlight the root causes of Kashmir disputes and the major events that contributed towards the Indo-Pak rivalry with respect to Kashmir. The paper highlights present political conditions in the Indian-held Kashmir also shows the role of India, Pakistan, and the United Nations in Kashmir Dispute. In the (...) end, a conclusion is presented for the devalued relations of India and Pakistan in the setting of Kashmir and its effects are analyzed. (shrink)

Service workers are more prone to experience customer mistreatment because of their frequent interactions with them. Hence, it compels them to the level where their performance is compromised. Employees who face customer mistreatment feel ill-treated and develop the desire for revenge. Based on the social exchange and displaced revenge perspective, this study examined the relationship between customer mistreatment and coworker undermining, and individual-level resource-based moderator service rule commitment for this relationship. An analysis of time-lagged, dyadic data from the Chinese service (...) industry confirmed that customer mistreatment significantly predicted coworker undermining. In addition, in support of the resource perspective, employees’ SRC effectively restricts an effect of customer mistreatment on coworker undermining. Finally, this study contributes to the customer mistreatment and coworker undermining literature by highlighting their relationship. This study also shows the importance of SRC in restraining the adverse effects of customer mistreatment. (shrink)

Most of the IoT-based smart systems require low latency and crisp response time for their applications. Achieving the demand of this high Quality of Service becomes quite challenging when computationally intensive tasks are offloaded to the cloud for execution. Edge computing therein plays an important role by introducing low network latency, quick response, and high bandwidth. However, offloading computations at a large scale overwhelms the edge server with many requests and the scalability issue originates. To address the above issues, an (...) efficient resource management technique is required to maintain the workload over the edge and ensure the reduction of response time for IoT applications. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce a metaheuristic and nature-inspired Artificial Bee Colony optimization technique that effectively manages the workload over the edge server under the strict constraints of low network latency and quick response time. The numerical results show that the proposed ABC algorithm has outperformed Particle Swarm Optimization, Ant Colony Optimization, and Round-Robin Scheduling algorithms by producing low response time and effectively managing the workload over the edge server. Furthermore, the proposed technique scales the edge server to meet the demand of high QoS for IoT applications. (shrink)

It is evident, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic that has physicians confronting death and dying at unprecedented levels along with growing data suggesting that physicians who care for dying patients face complex emotional, psychological and behavioural effects, that there is a need for their better understanding and the implementation of supportive measures. Taking into account data positing that effects of caring for dying patients may impact a physician’s concept of personhood, or “what makes you, ‘you’”, we adopt Radha (...) Krishna’s Ring Theory of Personhood (RToP) to scrutinise the experiences of physicians working in intensive care units (ICU) using a fictional scenario that was inspired by real events. The impact of death and dying, its catalysts, internal constituents, external factors, dyssynchrony, and buffers, specific to ICU physicians, were identified and explored. Such a framework allows for ramifications to be considered holistically and facilitates the curation of strategies for conflict resolution. This evaluation of the RToP acknowledges the experience and wide-ranging effects it has on ICU physicians. As such, our findings provide insight into their specific needs and highlight the importance of support on a personal and organisational level. Although further research needs to be conducted, the RToP could serve as the basis for a longitudinal assessment tool supported by the use of portfolios or mentorship due to their provision of personalised, appropriate, specific, timely, accessible and long-term support. (shrink)

Letters, speeches, articles and memos written by a pioneer Muslim educationalist.

This article attempts to evaluate emotive meanings across languages and cultures expressed and elicited semiotically from viewers. It investigates the challenges of subtitling emotive feelings in the American filmHomeless to Harvard(2003) into Arabic. It adopts Paul Thibault’s (2000. The multimodal transcription of a television advertisement: Theory and practice. In Anthony Baldry (ed.),Multimodality and multimediality in the distance learning age, 311–385. Campobasso: Palladino Editore) method of multimodal transcription and Feng and O’Halloran’s (2013. The multimodal representation of emotion in film: Integrating cognitive (...) and semiotic approaches.Semiotica197(1/4). 79–100) framework of the multimodal representation of emotion to formulate strategies for subtitling emotion from English into Arabic. Additionally, Feng and O’Halloran’s (2013) framework is adapted to show how stylistic choices (e.g., cinematography, music, soundtracks, etc.) and semiotic expressions can elicit emotion from viewers. The social semiotic model is employed to investigate how emotive representation is realized through verbal and non-verbal items. The findings showed that the filmmakers had properly used stylistic choices and various semiotic techniques to elicit emotion from the viewer derived from the emotion of the film’s heroine. (shrink)

Two sample populations, one refugee and one resident, were studied. The frequencies of consanguineous marriages came out to be 49·8% and 55·4%, respectively, for the refugees and the residents. Caste endogamy was dominant both in the residents and the refugees. The mean coefficient of inbreeding was calculated to be 0·0303 for the refugee population and 0·0332 for the resident population samples. First cousin marriage was the dominant type of marriage in both samples; fathers daughter (FBD) marriage was more frequent among (...) the refugees while mothers daughter (MBD) marriage was more frequent among the residents. Education has no decreasing effect on the incidence of consanguineous marriages. A significant difference in the pattern of marriages in the refugees is observed after the Saur Revolution of 1979. (shrink)

Lifestyle refers to a set of personal and group behaviours related to normative and semantic aspects of social life. Any coherent set of behavioural patterns derived from religious teachings that exist in life can be considered a religious lifestyle. Considering that the dominant religion in Jordan is Islam, the present study focused on the Islamic lifestyle. In addition, given that the correct relationship between couples has been compared to life-giving blood in marriage, and since the quality of marital role plays (...) a determining role, the existence of communication skills in any of the couples can generate satisfaction and compatibility, whereas lack of awareness of these skills could cause misunderstandings and tension. Therefore, the current study aims to study the role of the Islamic lifestyle in communication skills of 250 Muslim couples of Jordan (Amman, Zarqa and Irbid) in 2022. Data were collected using questionnaires during four months, and the validity and reliability was confirmed. In addition, data analysis was performed in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) using mean tests and structural equation modelling. According to the results, Islamic lifestyle had a positive, significant effect on the improvement of communication skills in Muslim couples in Jordan (P-value: 0.76; T-value: 7.92). Therefore, it is recommended that more attention should be paid to this issue by families, researchers and cultural authorities in the country.Contribution: Our findings revealed that Islamic lifestyle improved communication skills in Muslim couples, which demands special attention. By adhering to the Islamic lifestyle, couples can influence each other’s knowledge, emotions, education and growth, and try to have a realistic understanding of each other’s desires, needs, living environment and perceptions that each has in life issues. Furthermore, they can organise their role in the common life in appropriate ways to prevent problems and solve them in the event of problems. (shrink)

The possibility of accomplishing sustainable objectives is largely connected to the management and flourishing of an organizational system which keeps human capital engaged and committed. Our study investigated the association of inspirational leadership and innovative communication with employee engagement and commitment under the lens of leader member exchange theory. Specifically, we emphasized the mediating role of mutual trust in connection to social sustainability facets. A survey of data from employees in the manufacturing sector of Yunnan, China was utilized to test (...) the hypothesized model. The study findings reported a significant association and came to the conclusion that a leader’s inspirational behavior coupled with innovative communication is a significant predictor of engagement and commitment in socially sustainable organizations. Moreover, mutual trust significantly mediated the relationship of innovative communication and inspirational leadership with employee engagement and commitment reaching the social perspective of sustainability. The current study added to the literature of sustainable organization by pointing out the social dimensions of sustainability. (shrink)

This research aimed to show the political stance of the Muslim majority represented by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia (MoRA RI) towards non-Muslim leadership through the translation of the Qur’an. It examined the differences in the translation of the Qur’an based on the theory of translation as a political act. A total of 19 phrases or collocated words ittahaza awliya were found in the corpus of the Qur’an. The researchers approached the study with a critical (...) discourse analysis approach, and conducted contrastive analysis on translations of these collocated words in four editions of translations of the Qur’an published officially by MoRA RI from 1965 to 2019. The results proved that interference in translation of the collocation ittaḥaẓa awliya is caused by the influence of the source text, and that the political situation and ideology influenced the translation of the Qur’an in Indonesia. The political direction of the Indonesian government, especially MoRA RI, tended to provide more opportunities for non-Muslims to become leaders today, as seen in the 2019 edition. While the translation edition published before tended to close the possibility of non-Muslims becoming leaders. This finding shows the government’s stance on democracy for non-Muslims, which according to previous research findings has declined with the rise of Islamic populism in Indonesia.Contribution: This article provides an explanation of one side of the difficulty of translating collocation [ittaḥaẓa awliya] in the Qur’an and at the same time shows the political direction of the government of the Republic of Indonesia regarding the politics of non-Muslim leadership. (shrink)

This article discusses Islam and homo deus as a new agenda for humanity’s future. This article tries to explain the reading of homo deus and the problems of humanity in the future. Likewise, regarding the issue of immortality and human happiness in the future from an Islamic perspective. This article tries to analyze the problem using the library research model in carrying out an analysis of the main problem. Humans to fight death and the problems that humans expect in the (...) future to maintain eternity feel like a god who will live eternally in the world. It is not only immortality in the world that modern humans will achieve, but how humans live in the world and gain happiness. True happiness is difficult for humans to obtain, even though humans use the discoveries of modern science. Humans will truly find happiness if they believe in and draw closer to God. The happiness that modern humans feel is only temporary pseudo-happiness. The immortality that modern humans desire is not directly proportional to happiness. This can be seen from the large number of people dying by suicide in various countries, the majority of which are advanced, and technology is developing rapidly, but it still cannot help their spiritual problems. Modern humans think that everything can be solved with the modern science they have discovered, even though there is God’s intervention in life in this world. (shrink)

Artikel ini berbicara tentang analisis metode dialektika Hegel atas paradigma hukum, yang sebagaimana telah diketahui, problematika pengembangan ilmu hukum, akhir-akhir ini hanya dilihat dari sudut pandang tertentu saja, sehingga tidak sedetail mungkin memberi hasil penyelesaian secara terbuka. Atas faktor paradigma hukum yang telah digunakan tersebut, penulis kemudian menjadikan objek penelitian khusus untuk ditelisik dengan menggunkan metode deskriptif analisis yang diperoleh melalui library research, dengan sumber yang relevan dan realibel seperti buku, jurnal, skripsi, tesis, disertasi, dan sebagainya. Sebelum memperoleh pemahaman implikatif (...) dalam penelitian ini, penulis memaparkan dahulu biografi Hegel, dan metode dialektikanya. Secara implisit, ini begitu reflektif, karena mampu mengungkap dan menghasilkan kebenaran dibalik hakikat pengetahuan yang terkandung di dalam bidang kefilsafatan atau realitas sejarah tentang paradigma hukum. Rangkaian dialektis itu, terdiri dari paradigma hukum post-modernisme, yang merupakan “antitesis” atas paradigma hukum modern sebagai “sintesa”. Hal ini, pada hakikatnya adalah hasil dari perpaduan antara paradigma hukum Yunani kuno sebagai pernyataan “tesis” dan rangkuman terhadap sebuah konsep universal yang abstrak sebagai titik tolak munculnya paradigma hukum yang dikemukakan pada masa abad pertengahan. Lebih tepatnya, paradigma hukum di masa Yunani kuno, sebagai pernyataan “tesis”, sedangkan di masa abad pertengahan, paradigma hukum yang digunakan yakni sebagai pernyataan “antitesis” dari paradigma hukum Yunani kuno. (shrink)

In Islam, a child is commanded to do good to his parents. Doing good is not only limited to outward attitudes but also to all aspects of attitude, words and deeds—including the inner aspect. This study talks about the relevance of Plato’s ethical philosophy to the concept of filial piety in the Qur’an. The background of the research points to the relationship between parents and children as fundamental in consciously shaping virtuous character. The relationship between teachers and students is like (...) the relationship between children and their parents. Therefore, it is important to apply the attitudes of children towards their parents in the context of the relationship between teachers and their students. This research method uses descriptive analysis obtained through library research, which is obtained through relevant sources, such as books, journals, theses, dissertations, etc. The purpose of this study is of course to find out the relevance between Plato’s ethical philosophy and the concept of birr al-wālidayn in the Qur’an. Therefore, before moving on to discussing the relevance of Plato’s ethical philosophy to the concept of birr al-wālidayn in the Qur’an, the author first explains the meaning and classification of ethics, as well as ethical philosophy in Plato’s thought. The results of this research indicate that Plato’s ethical philosophy and the concept of birr al-wālidayn in the Qur’an, are relevant when denying the bad values that are often entrenched. It lies in the realization of ethical action, as stated only based on the value of goodness alone. (shrink)

The hybridization of two or more energy sources into a single power station is one of the widely discussed solutions to address the demand and supply havoc generated by renewable production, heating power, and cooling power) and its energy storage issues. Hybrid energy sources work based on the complementary existence of renewable sources. The combined cooling, heating, and power is one of the significant systems and shows a profit from its low environmental impact, high energy efficiency, low economic investment, and (...) sustainability in the industry. This paper presents an economic model of a microgrid system containing the CCHP system and energy storage considering the energy coupling and conversion characteristics, the effective characteristics of each microsource, and energy storage unit is proposed. The random forest regression model was optimized by the gravitational search algorithm. The test results show that the GSA-RFR model improves prediction accuracy and reduces the generalization error. The detail of the MG network and the energy storage architecture connected to the other renewable energy sources is discussed. The mathematical formulation of energy coupling and energy flow of the MG network including wind turbines, photovoltaic, CCHP system, fuel cell, and energy storage devices are presented. The testing system has been analysed under load peak cutting and valley filling of energy utilization index, energy utilization rate, the heat pump, the natural gas consumption of the microgas turbine, and the energy storage unit. The energy efficiency costs were observed as 88.2% and 86.9% with heat pump and energy storage operation comparing with GSA-RFR-based operation costs as 93.2% and 93% in summer and winter season, respectively. The simulation results extended the rationality and economy of the proposed model. (shrink)

Over the past couple of decades, research on the perks of corporate social responsibility has reported that it is a source of competitive advantage and can increase the bottom-line performance of the organization. However, a somewhat small proportion of this research is focused on the ‘greenwash’ side, which posits that not all CSR would lead to positive impacts. By extending this line of research, the current study is aimed at investigating the differential impacts of CSR by developing a scale for (...) the three-dimensional model of CSR attributions coined by Ahmad in 2017, that is, Embedded, P-Social, and P-Instrumental CSR, and testing the same with counterproductive sustainability behaviors. The attribution theory was used to explain the relationship between the study variables. Data (N = 311) were collected from the tourism and hospitality sectors. It was found that Embedded and P-Social CSR practices would be attributed to more genuine CSR and would lead to a reduction in counterproductive sustainability behaviors. Furthermore, the P-Instrumental CSR would be attributed to more selfish and instrumental practices and hence would be considered as greenwashing, which will consequently lead to enhancing counterproductive sustainability behaviors. The study further tested the mediating role of employees' organizational trust, which was also supported by the results. Several theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

This study is aimed to identify the relative effect of online review ratings and perceived crowding on purchase intentions of a consumer. Our study also investigated the contingent effect of gender and perceived crowding between the relationship of exogenous and endogenous variables. This study was conducted in the Malaysian restaurant industry. We applied the purposive sampling technique to identify respondents, the mall intercept survey method was used for data collection. Smart PLS software was applied for data analysis. This study demonstrates (...) through its results that online review ratings and perceived crowding have a positive effect on purchase intentions of a consumer. Moreover, if a consumer perceives crowding at a restaurant, this has a positive contingent effect on the relationship between review ratings and purchase intentions. This demonstrates that the consumer is more inclined to choose a restaurant with a high online review rating and has high perceived crowding at some unfamiliar place. Lastly, no evidence is found for the gender difference between review rating and purchase intentions; however, gender shows contingent effect and results confirmed that males preferred more crowded restaurants as compared to females. There are theoretical and practical implications for managers in the findings of this study. (shrink)

Using patients as teaching tools raise many ethical issues like informed consent, privacy, confidentiality and beneficence. The current study highlights issues on respecting patient’s choice and acquiring informed consent with its spirit rather than as mere formality. The study was conducted in out-patient department of The Kidney Center Postgraduate Training Institute Karachi Pakistan in May 2008 to July 2008. All patients who had come for the first time to see the author were included in the study. The said study explored (...) the willingness of patients to allow medical students to be present during history taking and physical examination by the consultant. There were 18 male and 03 female patients. Age ranging from 22 to 73 years with mean age of 53.5 ± 13.7 years. There were total of 21 patient–students encounters out of which two encounters were with male students only and two with female students only. So in 17 Patient–students encounters, students of both genders were present. All patients permitted history taking in the presence of medical students except one who had a history of extramarital sexual contact and signs and symptoms suggestive of sexually transmitted disease. Of the male patients 50% (9/18) did not allow intimate examination before medical students. Out of these nine patients who refused, four consented earlier but when enquired again about their true willingness, they expressed their preference not to have medical students in the room while undergoing digital rectal and external genital examinations. Physicians need to develop sensitivity to acquire informed consent in its true essence rather than just as a formality by exploring actual willingness of the patient. One should refrain from being judgmental on the basis of gender, looks, religion or norms. (shrink)

A co-creation values consumers’ input as its primary crust in informing businesses on current consumer needs. More importantly, it would be the next shape in future demands of consumers in business sustainability. This paper addressed this context, narrowing its scope in investigating the voices of stakeholders on what would be the essential aspects of the present and future youth qualities in achieving sustainable well-being in the present trend. The findings would be essentially helpful for the youth and the business world (...) to understand the aspects of good youth development, which would shape the next fabric of consumerism. Self-potential development of the youth is vital in achieving excellent life quality and the youth’s well-being in Malaysia. However, the increase in challenges faced by today’s youth is inconsistent with a decline of the group’s well-being. There are various studies and interventions implemented to overcome the youth situation. However, there is still in need for a model that can guide the holistic development of youth self-potential. The purpose of this study is to build a sustainable and comprehensive model of the self-potential development of the youth, which can be integrated with all of the self-potential indicators of the youth via a co-creation process. This study used the Fuzzy Delphi Method on the proposed elements in the development model and systematically analyzed them using Interpretive Structural Modeling to create the development model. The method capitalized 10 stakeholders from various youth development backgrounds in developing the model. The model consists of 25 sub-indicators that are divided into five indicators. The model findings show that one of the most driving indicators is an entrepreneurial mindset among youth, followed by the other indicators of youth self-potential development. The model also shows that the civic-mindedness indicator is the output of youth self-potential that will surface at an end of the development. The model will guide the authorized body on the priority elements that can systematically and strategically improve youth self-potential to meet future challenges with youth aspirations. (shrink)

Data center technology changes the mode of computing. Traditional DCs consist of a single layer and only have Ethernet connections among switches. Those old-fashioned DCs cannot fulfill the high resource demand compared with today’s DCs. The architectural design of the DCs is getting substantial importance and acting as the backbone of the network because of its essential feature of supporting and maintaining the rapidly increasing Internet-based applications which include search engines and social networking applications. Every application has its parameters, like (...) latency and blocking in the DC network. Every data center network has its specialized architecture. It has a specific arrangement of layers and switches, which increase or decrease the DC network’s efficiency. We develop a simulation tool that comprises two different DC architectures: basic tree architecture and c-Through architecture. Using this simulation, we analyze the traffic behavior and the performance of the simulated DCN. Our main purpose is to focus on mean waiting time, load, and blocking with respect to the traffic within the DCN. (shrink)

Rockburst phenomenon is the primary cause of many fatalities and accidents during deep underground projects constructions. As a result, its prediction at the early design stages plays a significant role in improving safety. The article describes a newly developed model to predict rockburst intensity grade using Adaptive Boosting classifier. A database including 165 rockburst case histories was collected from across the world to achieve a comprehensive representation, in which four key influencing factors such as maximum tangential stress of the excavation (...) boundary, uniaxial compressive strength of rock, tensile rock strength, and elastic energy index were selected as the input variables, and the rockburst intensity grade was selected as the output. The output of the AdaBoost model is evaluated using statistical parameters including accuracy and Cohen's kappa index. The applications for the aforementioned approach for predicting the rockburst intensity grade are compared and discussed. Finally, two real-world applications are used to verify the proposed AdaBoost model. It is found that the prediction results are consistent with the actual conditions of the subsequent construction. (shrink)