The study examined the effect of celebrity attractiveness, celebrity trustworthiness, and celebrity cause fit on the attitude toward green cosmetics. This was followed by the effect of brand awareness, brand associations, brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand credibility on brand equity, including the impact of attitude toward green cosmetics and brand equity on the willingness to purchase green cosmetics among of young Chinese consumers. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and collected quantitative data from 301 respondents using a structured questionnaire, which (...) was distributed online using various social media platforms. It was found that celebrity attractiveness, celebrity trustworthiness, and celebrity cause-fit had a significant impact on the attitudes toward green cosmetic, while brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand credibility substantially affected brand equity. Moreover, the attitudes toward green cosmetics and brand equity had a strong impact on the willingness to purchase green cosmetics. To increase the sales for green cosmetics, the advertisements for it should have appeal, trustworthiness, and cause-fit celebrities to improve consumers’ attitudes and willingness to purchase green cosmetics. Finding of this study provide a guideline for green cosmetic manufacturers, to direct their resources to enhance brand loyalty, credibility, and perceived quality of the product they produce by highlighting the difference between conventional and green cosmetics. (shrink)

The smart wearable device is a new breed of mobile device that offers diversified utilities for health, sport, and finance for consumers worldwide. The current study aims to investigate the provocation of the intention to use smart wearable payment devices among Malaysian consumers. The unified theory of technology acceptance and use of technology was employed with the cross-sectional survey-based data to explain the adoption of the smart wearable payment device. Furthermore, the UTAUT model was extended with trust and lifestyle compatibility (...) factors to investigate smart wearable payment device adoption. The survey-based data were collected through the online survey and analyzed through the symmetrical modeling approach of partial least squares structural education modeling to evaluate theoretical associations between the study constructs. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was employed as an asymmetrical approach. As a result, it was found that the ease of use, lifestyle compatibility, and trust significantly impacted the intention to adopt smart wearable payment devices. However, social influence and facilitating conditions did not support the intention of adopting smart wearable payment devices. Adopting these devices requires policy and infrastructure development to harness the adoption of smart wearable payment devices. This paper is concluded with study limitations and future research suggestions. (shrink)

: This article analyses the roles of ‘ulamā’ in propagating the messageof Islam in the Malay world. Islam managed to reach many corners of the Malayworld in the 17th century. Evidence has indicated that ‘ulamā’ were amongthose who had participated actively in propagating the messages of Islam tothe local people. Classical Malay texts served as the best available records tounderstand the roles of these ‘ulamā’ at that time. Hence, analysis are made onselected classical Malay texts in order to understand the (...) actual roles played bythe ‘ulamā’ in the Malay world at that time in transforming the understandingof the local Malay people from the beliefs in Hindu-Buddhist and animism toIslam. Three significant roles of the ‘ulamā’ at that time have been identifiednamely propagating knowledge to the local people, religious advisors to therulers as well as engaging with the non-Muslims. (shrink)

This paper attempts to examine the paradigm shift in ASEAN from a state-based to a people-based organization. We argue that by adopting a people-based organization, ASEAN now enters an era of Neo-Communitarianism replacing the Old Communitarianism of the old generation of ASEAN. By using communitarian perspectives, we look at the continuities and changes in ASEAN with regard to how it deals with issues involving their members. Three important issues namely the debates on intervention principle; the adoption of the three pillars (...) of the ASEAN Community; and the inclusion of human rights are seen as the signposts where ASEAN departs from their Old to a Neo-Communitarianism. Although there have been a lot of challenges to the realization of the people-based organization, we see that the dynamics of debates and the active participation of the community in the debates show good prospects for the new paradigm to realize. In this paper, we use debate on the formation of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (ICHR), to show the involvements of people in setting the agendas for the future ASEAN. (shrink)

Malaysia has developed its own distinct value system that is accommodative to the country’s rich tapestry of different ethnicities and religions. It is no coincidence that previous Malaysian premiers have actively promoted such system. Leading the way is Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s fourth Prime Minister, who was a vocal advocate of “Asian values,” followed by his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who championed the idea of Islam Hadhari. These two sets of values are not entirely incompatible to each other but rather (...) share some similarities. The concepts of “Asian values” and Islam Hadhari are premised on several fundamental tenets, which include: promoting Islamic values, championing the Malay agenda, protecting cultural values, and challenging Western cultural imperialism. Their origin can be traced from the aggressive attempt by the ruling power – the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) – Barisan Nasional (BN) to strengthen and consolidate the political supremacy of the alliance. Inevitably, both of these value systems have been subjected to many criticisms, predominantly under the pretext of misguided and ill-properly constructed values by the ruling regime to justify its autocratic rule. The very nature of such value systems has often triggered political debates in terms of defining Malaysia as a nation. The espoused agenda of Islamisation and possibly assimilation have stirred profound uneasiness among the country’s significantly large population of non-Muslims. The value system brought by “Asian values” and IslamHadhari can lead to one understanding of Mahathir’s and Abdullah’s leadership and administration in governing Islam and politics in Malaysia. (shrink)

The motive of this study is to identify the factors influencing the willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for socially responsible food products (SRFPs) in India. This study is based on primary survey of 398 respondents. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis have been used for data analysis. Further, logistic regression was used to examine the factors affecting the WTP a premium price for SRFPs. Results demonstrate that respondents of higher age are more likely to pay premium prices for SRFPs. (...) Male consumers are two times more likely to have higher WTP for SRFPs. WTP a premium price is significantly influenced by the consumers' reference group, pro‐environmental intention, and concern for the animals. Gender, age, consumers' reference group, pro‐environmental intention, and concern for the animals determine WTP premium prices for SRFPs. There are relatively very limited researches on this topic in emerging economies including India, where the adoption of socially responsible products is in early stage. The practical implications of this study are to help in increasing the sales of the SRFPs and producers to develop appropriate policy design. (shrink)

Stem cell technology is an emerging science field; it is the unique regenerative ability of the pluripotent stem cell which scientists hope would be effective in treating various medical conditions. While it has gained significant advances in research, it is a sensitive subject involving human embryo destruction and human experimentation, which compel governments worldwide to ensure that the related procedures and experiments are conducted ethically. Based on face-to-face interviews with selected Malaysian ethicists, scientists and policymakers, the objectives and effectiveness of (...) the current Guideline for Stem Cell Research and Therapy are examined. The study’s findings show that the guideline is rather ineffective in ensuring good ethical governance of the technology. A greater extent of unethical conduct is likely present in the private medical clinics or laboratories offering stem cell therapies compared with the public medical institutions providing similar services, as the latter are closely monitored by the governmental agencies enforcing the relevant policies and laws. To address concerns over malpractices or unethical conduct, this paper recommends a comprehensive revision of the current stem cell guideline so that adequate provisions exist to regulate the explicit practices of the private and public stem cell sectors, including false advertising and accountability. The newly revised Malaysian stem cell guideline will align with the Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation of the International Society for Stem Cell Research containing secular but universal moral rules. However, a regulatory policy formulated to govern the technology remains the main thrust of empowering the guideline for compliance among the stakeholders. (shrink)

Grasha–Riechmann Teaching Styles have a high potential to be applied in Mathematics especially to help increase teacher educators’ knowledge. However, very little attention has been paid to the study of identifying the teaching style patterns of Mathematics teachers at the primary school National-Type Chinese Primary Schools or Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina SJKC. There is increasing concern about how this teaching style related to the teaching experience. This study aims to identify the patterns of Grasha–Riechmann Teaching Styles among primary school Mathematics (...) teachers and the relationship between Grasha–Riechmann Teaching Styles with teaching experience. The quantitative approach through a survey was applied to 97 Mathematics teachers of SJKC Kepong, Kuala Lumpur using the simple random sampling method. The instrument was adapted from the Grasha–Riechmann Teaching Styles Questionnaire, which measures five teaching styles such as Personal Model Teaching Style, Expert Teaching Style, Formal Authority Teaching Style, Delegator Teaching Style, and Facilitator Teaching Style. The patterns showed that the Personal Model Teaching Style is the most dominant, and the Facilitator Teaching as the least dominant style. The Spearman’s Rho Correlation also reported a very weak significant correlation between Grasha–Riechmann Teaching Styles with the teachers’ Mathematics teaching experience, specifically for Expert, Formal Authority, and Facilitator Teaching Styles. The study provides practical implications for educators’ professional development to diversify the training of teachers by experience and adapt them to the needs of student learning in primary school. These findings trigger ideas to get a better understanding by other demographic variables such as gender, age, and complexity of Mathematics subject. (shrink)

Segmentation of the medical image plays a significant role when it comes to diagnosis using computer aided system. This article focuses on the human corneal endothelium’s health, which is one of the filed research interests, especially in the human cornea. Various pathological environments fasten the extermination of the endothelial cells, which in turn decreases the cell density in an abnormal manner. Dead cells worsen the hexagonal design. The mutilated endothelial cells can no longer revive back and that gives room for (...) neighbouring cells to migrate and expand so that they can fill in the space. The latter results in cell elongation that is unpredictable as well as increase in size and thinning. Cell density and shape are therefore considered major parameters when it comes to explaining the health condition attributed to corneal endothelium. In this study, medical feature extraction was obtained depending on the segmentation of the endothelial cell boundary, and the task of segmentation of such objects especially the thin, transparent, and unclear cell boundary is considered challenging due to the nature of the image capture during endothelium layer examination by ophthalmologists using confocal or specular microscopy. The resulting image suffers from various issues that affect the quality of the image. Low quality is due to non-uniformity of illumination and the presence of a lot of noise and artefacts resulting from high amounts of distortion, and most of these limitations are present because of the nature of the imaging modality. Usually, images contain certain kind of noise and also continuous shadow. Furthermore, the cells are separated by poor border, thereby leading to great difficulty in the segmentation of the images. The irregular shape of cell and also the contrast of such images seem to be low as they possess blurry boundaries with diverse objects existing in addition to the lack of homogeneity. The main aim of the study is to propose and develop a totally automatic, robust, and real-time model for the segmentation of endothelial cells of the human cornea obtained by in vivo microscopy and computation of different clinical features of endothelial cells. To achieve the aim of this study a new scheme of image enhancement was proposed such as the Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalisation technique to enhance contrast. After that, a new image denoising technique called Wavelet Transform Filter and Butterworth Bandpass for Segmentation is used. Subsequently, brightness level correction is applied by using the moving average filter and the CLAHE to reduce the effects of the non-uniform image lighting produced as a result of the previous step. The main aim of this article is the segmentation of endothelial cells, which involves precise detection of the endothelial contours. So a new segmentation model was proposed such that the shape of the cells will be extracted, and the contours were highlighted. This stage is followed by clinical feature extraction and uses the features for diagnosis. In this stage, several relevant clinical features such as pleomorphism mean cell perimeter, mean cell density, mean cell area, and polymegathism are extracted. The role of these clinical features is crucial for the early detection of corneal pathologies as well as the evaluation of the health of the corneal endothelium layer. The findings of this study were promising. (shrink)

The term non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has been well-known for the development of human rights, charity works and organisational developments. On the other hand, some NGOs also have their specialised roles to help the community such as in conflict resolution, cultural preservation, policy analysis and information provision. Apart from that, there are many categories of NGOs: Islamic-oriented non-governmental organisation (IONGOs), faith-based organisation (FBO), humanitarian NGOs (HNGOs) and government organised NGOs (GONGOs). However, in this research, the researchers focus on how IONGOs compare (...) with NGOs in assisting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community based on four hijrah NGOs: Persatuan Islah Movement, Persatuan Insaf Pahang, Hijrah Republique Network and Usrah Iqrak. These four NGOs were chosen because of their roles in assisting the LGBT community. In this research, the researchers adapt the qualitative research by using a case study method; phenomenological approaches and a document analysis have also been applied as well. The result shows that these four IONGOs are different from the NGOs based on the seven typologies applied: intersection, distinct, substantive, subset, co-existing, atomistic grouping and constitutive. The implications of this article highlight the fact that IONGOs are different from the LGBT NGOs in Malaysia as they focus more on spirituality and an Islamic pathway. Hence, future research should include focus group interviews with all the members in NGOs that assist the LGBT hijrah in the community. Contribution: This study contributes to LGBT hijrah community and its relationship towards the establishment of Islamic-oriented non-governmental organisation (IONGOs). (shrink)

Background: This article aims to review research manuscripts in the past 5 years that focus on the effects of debt on depression, anxiety, stress, or suicide ideation in Asian countries.Methods: A search for literature based on the PRISMA guidelines was conducted on Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, resulting in nine manuscripts meeting inclusion criteria. The studies were conducted in Thailand, Korea, Singapore, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, and China.Results: The findings of the studies show that there is evidence to (...) support that being in debt is related to Asian participants experiencing depression, anxiety, stress, or suicide ideation. However, the studies are limited to quantitative studies only. The definition of debt is also unclear in most manuscripts. Few manuscripts also examined how other factors influence the relationship between debt and mental illness.Conclusion: There are limited studies on the psychological effects of debt on the Asian population. Future studies should focus on the relationship between debt and psychological well-being among this population. (shrink)

This paper examines the political and executive leadership in Malaysia, with reference to the fifth Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The Prime Minister is an important autonomous actor, a leader of the government party who also manages public bureaucracy and utmost, Abdullah is seen as the leader of the people. Policy agenda depends on the Prime Minister’s authority to either make an impact or bring changes. This paper will address the leadership style of Abdullah in the executive and policy-making (...) and what kind of influence does he provide in policy-making and its implications in Malaysia’s political environment. (shrink)

Human resources management is essential to ensure the success of any organization which is based on the belief that an organization gains competitive advantage by using its people effectively and efficiently. But HR professionals need organizational support to make the employees more committed and passionate about their work. In this study, the researchers aim to examine the moderating effect of organizational support in the relationship between human resource professionals’ competencies, HR professionals’ willingness, and HR professionals’ effectiveness. HR Professionals’ competencies such (...) as credible activist, talent manager, culture and change steward, strategy architect, business ally, and operational executor nurture HR professionals’ effectiveness. Besides, HR professionals’ willingness is a significant predictor of HR professionals’ effectiveness. To test the relationships, the researcher collected data through survey questionnaire from 183 managers from commercial banks of Pakistan. For statistical analysis, Partial least squares-structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The findings reveal the positive and significant impact of HR professionals’ competencies and HR professionals’ willingness on HR professionals’ effectiveness. Additionally, the moderating impact of organizational support was also significant among HR professionals’ competencies, HR professionals’ willingness, and HR professionals’ effectiveness relationship. The study contributes in the literature of HR professionals’ effectiveness and organizational support in the banking sector of local context. The study also discusses the implications and future directions. One of them is that the research framework provides guidelines for HR professionals about what competencies are needed to enhance HR professional effectiveness. The present study recommends HR professionals of the banking sector to be involved in strategic planning and implementation in their organization. (shrink)

Vaccination is an important tool for handling healthcare programs both in developed and developing countries. The current global scenario calls for a more‐efficacious, acceptable, cost‐effective and reliable method of immunization for many fatal diseases. It is hoped that the adoption of oral vaccines will help to provide an effective vaccination strategy, especially in developing countries. Mucosal immunity generated by oral vaccines can serve as a strong first line of defense against most of the pathogens infecting through the mucosal lining. Advances (...) in elucidating the mechanism of action of oral vaccines will facilitate the design of more effective, new generation vaccines. There are promising developments in the use of different agents to effectively deliver the vaccine candidate. It is hoped that ongoing research may be able to set another cardinal point, after polio vaccine, in eradicating infectious diseases. BioEssays 29:591–604, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Este artículo pretende analizar tanto el nombramiento como el cese de los cadíes desde el punto de vista de sus cualificaciones académicas. Se centra en la práctica del cadiazgo en Egipto durante el período ‛abbāsí. Las fuentes principales son los Ajbār al-quḍāt de Wakī' y el Kitāb wulāt Miṣr de al-Kindī. Ambas obras contienen material de una gran originalidad y son bastante completas, ofreciendo detallada información sobre temas relativos tanto al nombramiento como al cese de los jueces durante los primeros (...) siglos de la historia islámica de Egipto. Se estudia la biografía de cada juez para averiguar cuáles fueron las razones que determinaron su nombramiento y su cese. Los resultados obtenidos son de interés para comprender las prácticas judiciales y su relación con las aptitudes profesionales que se consideraban necesarias en aquella época. (shrink)

: This article is a humble attempt at highlighting the controversiesregarding the legitimacy of popular resistance or revolutionary movement tobring down Muslim political regime that claimed to be despotic, unjust andeven un-Islamic. Having the fact on the existence of another view by majorityscholars that more inclined towards pacifist ideology which stressed onpolitical stability as a prerequisite to prosperity, the article emphasizes moreon the revolutionary school, while the second shall be highlighted when it isnecessary for comparison. Employing qualitative method of study, (...) the articleseeks to examine the arguments provided by both movements. This will bedone by analyzing their textual and rational grounds of evidences used bythe two schools to legitimize their political stance. Associating with what ishappening in Muslims nation nowadays, current study compelled to review theradical revolutionary movement from the perspective of moderate Islam schoolof thought. (shrink)

While heredity is predominantly controlled by what deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences are passed from parents to their offspring, a small but growing number of traits have been shown to be regulated in part by the non‐genetic inheritance of information. Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is defined as heritable information passed from parents to their offspring without changing the DNA sequence. Work of the past seven decades has transitioned what was previously viewed as rare phenomenology, into well‐established paradigms by which numerous traits can (...) be modulated. For the most part, studies in model organisms have correlated transgenerational epigenetic inheritance phenotypes with changes in epigenetic modifications. The next steps for this field will entail transitioning from correlative studies to causal ones. Here, we delineate the major molecules that have been implicated in transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in both mammalian and non‐mammalian models, speculate on additional molecules that could be involved, and highlight some of the tools which might help transition this field from correlation to causation. (shrink)

The concept of knowledge and its implication to national development, with reference to Malaysia; and analysis from Islamic viewpoint.

South Asian regional integration is seemingly confronting many challenges. The aim of this paper is to identify those challenges and also look for prospects. Although regional integration in South Asia has adopted a kind of institutionalization, it is yet to deliver any concrete outcomes. High-politics and the not-so-conducive regional economic structures hinder any effectual culmination. However, constructivism, as a theory, is given due credence in this paper when looking for future prospects. The paper highlights the issues, and attempts to offer (...) certain policy directions by analyzing the challenges and identifying the prospects in the on-going integration/cooperation process. (shrink)

There is a growing demand for information and computational technology for surgeons help with surgical planning as well as prosthetics design. The two-dimensional images are registered to the three-dimensional (3D) model for high efficiency. To reconstruct the 3D model of knee joint including bone structure and main soft tissue structure, the evaluation and analysis of sports injury and rehabilitation treatment are detailed in this study. Mimics 10.0 was used to reconstruct the bone structure, ligament, and meniscus according to the pulse (...) diffusion-weighted imaging sequence (PDWI) and stir sequences of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Excluding congenital malformations and diseases of the skeletal muscle system, MRI scanning was performed on bilateral knee joints. Proton weighted sequence (PDWI sequence) and stir pulse sequence were selected for MRI. The models were imported into Geomagic Studio 11 software for refinement and modification, and 3D registration of bone structure and main soft tissue structure was performed to construct a digital model of knee joint bone structure and accessory cartilage and ligament structure. The 3D knee joint model including bone, meniscus, and collateral ligament was established. Reconstruction and image registration based on mimics and Geomagic Studio can build a 3D model of knee joint with satisfactory morphology, which can meet the requirements of teaching, motion simulation, and biomechanical analysis. (shrink)

An intelligent climate and watering agriculture system is presented that is controlled with Android application for smart water consumption considering small and medium ruler agricultural fields. Data privacy and security as a big challenge in current Internet of Things (IoT) applications, as with the increase in number of connecting devices, these devices are now more vulnerable to security threats. An intelligent fuzzy logic and blockchain technology is implemented for timely analysis and securing the network. The proposed design consists of various (...) sensors that collect real-time data from environment and field such as temperature, soil moisture, light intensity, and humidity. The sensed field information is stored in IoT cloud platform, and after the analysis of entries, watering is scheduled by implementing the intelligent fuzzy logic and blockchain. The intelligent fuzzy logic based on different set of rules for making smart decisions to meet the watering requirements of plant and blockchain technology provides necessary security to the IoT-enabled system. The implementation of blockchain technology allows access only to the trusted devices and manages the network. From the experimentation, it is observed that the proposed system is highly scalable and secure. Multiple users at the same time can monitor and interact with the system remotely by using the proposed intelligent agricultural system. The decisions are taken by applying intelligent fuzzy logic based on input variables, and an alert is transmitted about watering requirements of a field to the user. The proposed system is capable of notifying users for turning water motor on and off. The experimental outcomes of the proposed system also reveal that it is an efficient and highly secure application, which is capable of handling the process of watering the plants. (shrink)

To optimize the weak robustness of traditional face recognition algorithms, the classification accuracy rate is not high, the operation speed is slower, so a face recognition algorithm based on local binary pattern and stacked autoencoder is proposed. The advantage of LBP texture structure feature of the face image as the initial feature of sparse autoencoder learning, use the unified mode LBP operator to extract the histogram of the blocked face image, connect to form the LBP features of the entire image. (...) It is used as input of the stacked AE, feature extraction is done, realize the recognition and classification of face images. Experimental results show that the recognition rate of the algorithm LBP-SAE on the Yale database has achieved 99.05%, and it further shows that the algorithm has a higher recognition rate than the classic face recognition algorithm; it has strong robustness to light changes. Experimental results on the Olivetti Research Laboratory library shows that the developed method is more robust to light changes and has better recognition effects compared to traditional face recognition algorithms and standard stack AEs. (shrink)

On advance medical directives in Malaysia from Islamic bioethics; papers of a seminar.

Israel has always mattered to American Christians. They are among the strongest supporters of the State of Israel in the United States. The paper argues that the support that was extended by American Christians in general and the Christian Right in particular, to Israel and the Jewish people is the continuation of a long tradition in conservative American Christians rooted mainly in their theological doctrine. However, the study shows that the Christian Right is ambivalent in its view on Jews. On (...) the one hand, Jews are considered to be God’s chosen people and to have a special Biblical status and role. On the other hand, the Christian Right is allegedly anti-Semitic, as it views Jews as a condemned nation for their rejection of Christ as the Messiah, the reason for which they are unsaved and need to be converted to Christianity. Interestingly, both views, love and hatred of Jews, are based on the Biblical teachings and grounded in conservative Protestant theology; their paradoxical views on Jews are not a new phenomenon among conservative American Christians. Nevertheless, the study found that the support of the American Christians of the establishment of the State of Israel goes beyond theological doctrines or values. In fact, the humanitarian considerations of the liberal Christian and secular organizations in particular, were significant in contributing to the establishment of the Jewish state. (shrink)

The inconsistency between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, known as the “attitude-behaviour” gap, is exceptionally pronounced in scenarios associated with “green” choice. The current literature offers numerous explanations for the reasons behind the “attitude-behaviour” gap, however, the generalisability of these explanations is complex. In addition, the answer to the question of whether the gap occurs between attitudes and intentions, or intentions and behaviours is also unknown. In this study, we propose the moral dimension as a generalisable driver of the “attitude-behaviour” gap (...) and investigate its effectiveness in predicting attitudes, pro-environmental intentions and subsequent behaviours. We do so by using Hunt–Vitell’s moral philosophy-based framework of ethical decision-making, which conceptualises morality as the central decision-making parameter. The results from 557 US MTurk participants revealed that the manipulation of moral dimensions, specifically deontology and teleology, impacted ethical evaluation of presented dilemmas, however, failed to translate into subsequent intentions and behaviours. This finding suggests (i) that the moral dimension has an effect in shaping attitudes toward environmental issues, and (ii) that gap occurs between attitudes and intentions rather than intentions and behaviours. Further investigation of what strengthens and/or overrides the effects of the moral dimension would help understand the reasons why moral attitudes do not always translate into subsequent intentions and behaviours in the pro-environmental domain. (shrink)

BackgroundThe research shows a growing trend in using an electronic platform to supplement or replace traditional paper-based informed consent processes. Instead of the traditionally written informed consent document, electronic informed consent may be used to assess the research subject’s comprehension of the information presented. By doing so, respect for persons as one of the research ethical principles can be upheld. Furthermore, these electronic methods may reduce potential airborne infection exposures, particularly during the pandemic, thereby adhering to the beneficence and nonmaleficence (...) principle. This scoping review aims to identify the ethics related criteria that have been included in electronic informed consent processes and to synthesize and map these criteria to research ethics principles, in order to identify the gaps, if any, in current electronic informed consent processes.MethodsThe search was performed based on internet search and three main databases: PubMed, SCOPUS and EBSCO. PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews : Checklist and Explanation guideline was used to report this work.ResultsOf 34 studies that met the inclusion criteria, 242 essential original constructs were collated, and 7 concepts were derived. Digital content showed the highest percentage of collated original constructs followed by accessibility, comprehension engagement, autonomy, confidentiality, language, and parental consent. Twenty-five new items were synthesized for eConsent criteria which may provide guidance for ethical review of research involving eConsent.ConclusionThe current study adds significant value to the corpus of knowledge in research ethics by providing ethical criteria on electronic informed consent based on evidence-based data. The new synthesized items in the criteria can be readily used as an initial guide by the IRB/rec members during a review process on electronic informed consent and useful to the future preparation of a checklist. (shrink)

Reproductive medical technology has revolutionized the natural order of human procreation. Accordingly, some have celebrated its advent as a new and liberating determinant of kinship at the global level and advocate it as a right to reproductive health while others have frowned upon it as a vehicle for “guiltless exchange of sexual fluid” and commodification of human gametes. Religious voices from both Christianity and Islam range from unthinking adoption to restrictive use. While utilizing this technology to enable the married couple (...) to have children through the use of their own sexual material is welcome, the use of third party, surrogacy, and reproductive cloning are not in keeping with the sacrosanct principles of kinship, procreation through licit sexual intercourse, and social cohesiveness for building a cohesive family as uphold by both Christianity and Islam. To examine such larger issues emanating from these new ways of human procreation, beyond the question of legality, is a point which legal scholars in both Christianity and Islam, when issuing religious decrees, have not anticipated sufficiently. The article proposes to be an attempt to that end through a qualitative critical content analysis of selected literature written on the subject. (shrink)

The religious rites of Shia remain a mystery to Malaysia’s Sunnite majority. One such rite is the ziyarat (visits to sacred sites). This essay highlights the ritualsconducted and performed by Malaysian Shi’ites during their seasonal pilgrimage to Iran and Iraq. Their rituals and behaviors during these pilgrimages to holy shrines in Iran and Iraq were documented from the standpoint of a cultural anthropologist. Rites from two sites, Mashad and Karbala, are presented in this study. Applying Herbert Blumer’s symbolic interactionism as (...) a conceptual framework, and Charles Brooks’s methodology through social interaction and participant-observation, this essay aims to analyze and understand their rites, and the values and significance of these rites. By doing so, the axiological aspects of the rites were observed and clarified, thus enabling non Shi’ite Muslims to perceive greyest area of Shia rites, as performed by Shi’ites from Malaysia in their pilgrimage to Iran and Iraq. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology Jahrgang: 8 Heft: 2 Seiten: 189-208.

Over the years, there are various research on cultural development seen from socio-historical perspective. The uniqueness of Islam in Malay region as it is diverse and open to outside influences is important to be look at; as it differs greatly from "the Islam" that have been practiced in the Middle East. Based on the discussions, the ulemas or Muslim clerics of this region and the Malays themselves have already practiced the supra-madhhab model as proposed by many contemporary scholars. Using Shia (...) influences in the Malay culture, this paper attempt to show how sectarianism within Islam was never entertained by the Muslims in this region. In fact, Shi'ism was so embedded in Malay culture. Although being dominated by Sunnism, most of the Shia doctrines and pillars were widely accepted and embraced. The axiology of Shi'ism in Malay culture reflected in many religious texts, classical literature and cultural events. However, as sectarianism rising in this region, the Shia influence and its axiology slowly eroded and were victimized by unnecessary foreign interventions. (shrink)

This paper is diagnostic type rather than a solution one. There are claims among certain quarters that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 is a Western mould human rights. However, I will argue that human rights are benchmark for modernization and progress in democracy, and it is traceable within Islam. Using Syed Hussein Alatas‘s Ideal of Excellence as thereotical framework, my attempt is to highlight the memory of Tanzimat during Ottoman empire as one triumph heritage and successful story of (...) human rights modernization within Islam, and not the moment or starting point of failure for the Ottoman. Unfortunately, this modernization does not reflected in the Malay world as it is perceived as the weakening process of Ottoman. Today, similar challenges faced by Ottoman are being faced by the Malay world. Legalistic Islam and Wahhabism are among others that slowing down the modernization of human righs within Malay world. (shrink)

The machines exhibit an intelligence which is artificial intelligence, and it is the design of intelligent agents. A system is represented by an intelligent agent who perceives its environment and the success rate is maximized by taking the action. The AI research is highly specialized and there are two subfields and each communication fails often. The popular AI approaches include the traditional symbolic AI and computational intelligence. In order to optimize the seismic design of the reinforced concrete pier structure, the (...) particle swarm optimization algorithm and the reaction spectrum analysis method are combined; they establish a regular bridge of the design variable with cross-sectional characteristics and reinforcement ratios, with the target function. The seismic optimization design framework of the pier is transformed into a multi-objective optimization problem. Calculations show that the method can quickly obtain the optimal design parameters that meet multi-objective requirements. The improved PSO main program and the calling push-over program run time are 4.32 and 1347.56 s, respectively; the push-over program running time is 99.68% of the run time of the total program. Optimization of the seismic performance of the rear bridge pier is significantly improved and is more in line with the design method; the design method proposed in this article is more practical. (shrink)

In this paper I shall be looking at the state of science before and after the 17th century especially with regard to the question of the nature of scientific knowledge, specifically scientific paradigms. I will argue that some of the major differences between modern science and pre-modern science are due to (i) methodological changes, (ii) the rise of paradigmatic monism in modern science as opposed to paradigmatic pluralism in pre-modern science, (iii) the integration of science with technology after the 17th (...) century. These changes, I maintain, also redefine the role of scientific knowledge in society and culture, and bring in its wake certain problems and challenges, which in turn elicit different types of responses. Pre-modern science, I argue, are admirably suited to play a cultural and religious role, partly because of a lack of a pragmatic criterion of knowledge, and the emphasis on rational coherence. This makes enchantment of nature through science, possible. However, with the further evolution of science, especially the introduction of the experimental method and the emphasis on empiricism in the 17th century, scientific knowledge now has to conform to different criteria of knowledge -pragmatic in partleading to 'paradigmatic monism' and the consequent loss of enchantment in our conception of nature. The rise of the new science beginning in the 17th century thus brings in its wake a new set of epistemological and cultural challenges which were met with in different ways. I will then comment on the different types of responses made against the rise of the new science. (shrink)

In this paper I shall be looking at the state of science before and after the 17th century especially with regard to the question of the nature of scientific knowledge, specifically scientific paradigms. I will argue that some of the major differences between modern science and pre-modern science are due to (i) methodological changes, (ii) the rise of paradigmatic monism in modern science as opposed to paradigmatic pluralism in pre-modern science, (iii) the integration of science with technology after the 17th (...) century. These changes, I maintain, also redefine the role of scientific knowledge in society and culture, and bring in its wake certain problems and challenges, which in turn elicit different types of responses. Pre-modern science, I argue, are admirably suited to play a cultural and religious role, partly because of a lack of a pragmatic criterion of knowledge, and the emphasis on rational coherence. This makes enchantment of nature through science, possible. However, with the further evolution of science, especially the introduction of the experimental method and the emphasis on empiricism in the 17th century, scientific knowledge now has to conform to different criteria of knowledge -pragmatic in partleading to 'paradigmatic monism' and the consequent loss of enchantment in our conception of nature. The rise of the new science beginning in the 17th century thus brings in its wake a new set of epistemological and cultural challenges which were met with in different ways. I will then comment on the different types of responses made against the rise of the new science. (shrink)

Since 2005, Malaysia has established several biobanks to keep in line with the advancement of biomedical research and development of biobanks in other countries such as the UK and the USA. Despite the establishment of several biobanks in Malaysia, little is known about the informed consent approach in biobanking research and its ethical challenges. This study aims to identify the approach in obtaining informed consent in the Malaysian biobanking for research and explore its ethical challenges. Using non-probability purposive sampling, an (...) in-depth interview with the key informants was conducted in Klang Valley. Based on the interviews, broad consent is the main approach used in obtaining informed consent in biobanking for research in Malaysia and five major ethical challenges were identified. These challenges include the informants’ opinion on the current informed consent approach, understanding participants’ rights, the role of the research ethics committee, biobanking governance in Malaysia, and informants’ knowledge and awareness. In summary, there is a lack of understanding among those involved in biobanking on the ethical, legal, and social aspects of biobanking for research in Malaysia. (shrink)

This article presents the Islamic bioethical deliberation on the issue of sex assignment surgery for infants with disorders of sex development or intersexed as a case study. The main objective of this study is to present a different approach in assessing a biomedical issue within the medium of the Maqasid al-Shari’ah. Within the framework of the maqasidic scheme of benefits and harms, any practice where benefits are substantial is considered permissible, while those promoting harms are prohibited. The concept of Maqasid (...) al-Shari’ah which is the mechanistic interpretation of Qur’an and Hadith presents the holistic attention of Islam on many life activities, including healthcare. Indeed, this concept encompasses many aspects of worldly life, both for the human individual and collectively for the whole society. In healthcare, the practice of SAS on DSD newborns has presented an assortment of implications on the future livelihood of the affected individual. The process of decision-making seems to be very multifaceted since every element such as the determination of the ‘correct’ sex and the urgency of early surgery must consider the benefits and harms, as well as the child’s rights and best interest. The application of the concept of Maqasid al-Shari’ah, would convey a pragmatic approach that is often disregarded in Western medicine. This approach considers the right of the individual to live life optimally, individually and socially and practice his faith, precisely, in accordance with the assigned gender. (shrink)

The manufacturing industry is evolving rapidly, becoming more complex, more interconnected, and more geographically distributed. Competitive pressure and diversity of consumer demand are driving manufacturing companies to rely more and more on improved knowledge management practices. As a result, multiple software systems are being created to support the integration of data across the product life cycle. Unfortunately, these systems manifest a low degree of interoperability, and this creates problems, for instance when different enterprises or different branches of an enterprise interact. (...) Common ontologies (consensus-based controlled vocabularies) have proved themselves in various domains as a valuable tool for solving such problems. In this paper, we present a consensus-based Additive Manufacturing Ontology (AMO) and illustrate its application in promoting re-usability in the field of dentistry product manufacturing. (shrink)

With the rapid advancements made in biotechnology, bioethical discourse has become increasingly important. Bioethics is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field that goes beyond the realm of natural sciences, and has involved fields in the domain of the social sciences. One of the important areas in bioethical discourse is religion. In a country like Malaysia, where Muslims make up the majority of the population, Islam plays a crucial role in providing the essential guidelines on the permissibility and acceptability of biotechnological applications (...) in various fields such as medicine, agriculture, and food processing. This article looks at the framework of a complementary model of bioethics derived from the perspective of Islam. The framework is based on ‘maqasid al-shariah’ (purposes or objectives of Islamic law) which aims to protect and preserve mankind’s faith, life, intellect, progeny, and property. It is proposed that ‘maqasid al-shariah’ be used as a pragmatic checklist that can be utilized in tackling bioethical issues and dilemmas. (shrink)

This research examines the complex interplay of religiosity, sexuality, and infidelity. We adopted a case study approach in this research, and discourse was made central to the analysis. There were two participants; both identified as homosexuals. One participant, Fahrin, is married while the other, Muzz, is divorced at the time of the interview. The participants were subjected to an in-depth, semi-structured interview to gauge their experiences, perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and thoughts on their sexuality, Islamic faith as well as relationship with (...) their spouses. The data were then transcribed and analyzed using the Discursive Action Model and Discursive Psychology frameworks. From the analysis, two overarching themes were identified. They are the allocation of blame and accountability and the participants’ attachment to their Islamic identity. The discussion then revolves around the societal role that pressures gay men to marry women and contextualizes the position of Islam on Homosexuality. (shrink)

As with many other countries, Malaysia is also developing and promoting biomedical research to increase the understanding of human diseases and possible interventions. To facilitate this development, there is a significant growth of biobanks in the country to ensure continuous collection of biological samples for future research, which contain extremely important personal information and health data of the participants involved. Given the vast amount of samples and data accumulated by biobanks, they can be considered as reservoirs of precious biomedical big (...) data. It is therefore imperative for biobanks to have in place regulatory measures to ensure ethical use of the biomedical big data. Malaysia has yet to introduce specific legislation for the field of biobanking. However, it can be argued that its existing Personal Data Protection Act 2010 has laid down legal principles that can be enforced to protect biomedical big data generated by the biobanks. Consent is a mechanism to enable data subjects to exercise their autonomy by determining how their data can be used and ensure compliance with legal principles. However, there are two main concerns surrounding the current practice of consent in biomedical big data in Malaysia. First, it is uncertain that the current practice would be able to respect the underlying notion of autonomy, and second, it is not in accordance with the legal principles of the PDPA. Scholars have deliberated on different strategies of informed consent, and a more interactive approach has recently been introduced: dynamic consent. It is argued that a dynamic consent approach would be able to address these concerns. (shrink)