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Drug substances and excipients must be stored in recommended storage conditions and should comply with their specifications during the retest period for their use in the manufacture of drug products. The ICH (International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use) and WHO (World Health Organization) regulatory guidelines mandate that after the retest period, the drug substances must be retested for compliance with the specification and then used immediately in the manufacture of the finished product. Although these substances can be retested multiple times, an emphasis is placed on immediate use following a retest and compliance with standards. The phrase "used immediately" is ambiguous and is left for interpretation. In this article, we will look at the various processes that must be completed to determine the retest date. In addition, we present a risk-based method for establishing retest dates and the time during which material can be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era where digital platforms shape consumer decisions, this study examines the profound impact of tourism related social media information on consumer travel intentions, with the mediating role of destination trust. For this purpose, purposive sampling technique was used, and data were collected from the 402 consumers in which 68% were male and 31% were female. Additionally, 58% participants revealed that they had gone 1-3 international trips in the past two year. Overall, participants have generally positive attitudes regarding online information, destination trust, and travel intentions. Furthermore, quality of tourism related information had a significant positive effect on consumer travel intentions. Similarly, the quality of tourism related information has a positive effect on trust and destination trust has a positive significant association with consumer travel intentions. Companies and destination marketing agencies can utilize this information to enhance their online reputation and visibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has established a positive link between prosocial behavior (PB) and psychological well-being. However, limited studies have explored the relationship between PB and well-being (WB), particularly among vocational students. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms, including mediating factors, remain understudied in this context. This study aimed to investigate the association between PB and WB among vocational students while examining the mediating role of basic psychological needs. A sample of 221 vocational students (mean age = 19.68 years, SD = 1.57) completed anonymous questionnaires assessing PB, basic psychological needs, and WB. The results revealed a positive correlation between PB and WB in vocational students (r = 0.22, p < 0.01), with basic psychological needs partially mediating this relationship (β = 0.14, t = 10.85, p < 0.001, 95% CI = (0.18, 0.23)). These findings enhance our understanding of the association between PB and vocational students' WB, shed light on the mechanisms involved, and offer insights into promoting the well-being of vocational students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Malaysian adolescents are experiencing stress due to high self-expectations in achieving academic grades. As a result, many adolescents are experiencing suicidal ideation; therefore, it is imperative to find important protective factors to minimize the chances of such adolescents committing suicide. This study aimed to assess whether or not there is a relationship between positive mental health, academic stress and suicidal ideation among Malaysian adolescents residing in Johor Bahru. This study also explored whether or not positive mental health serves to mitigate the relationship between academic stress and suicide suicidal ideation. The participants were a 210 Malaysian adolescents residing in Johor Bahru, aged 15-20 years. The participants Mala completed the Assessing Academic Stress, Positive Mental Health Questionnaire and Suicide Behavior Questionnaire. Data were analysed using correlation, regression, and PLS-SEM. The findings revealed that academic stress does cause suicidal ideation in Malaysian adolescents. The results of the correlation analysis showed that there is a negative association between positive mental health with academic stress and suicide ideation. Furthermore, this study found that positive mental health does serve as a significant mediator between academic stress and suicidal ideation. Academic stress leads to suicidal ideation, but positive mental health could be significant protective factor. Therefore, there is a need for parents, teachers and peers to promote positive mental health at home and in school, which is essential in curbing academic stress and suicidal ideation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It's been documented that the COVID-19 outbreak has heightened fear, anxiety, and apprehension among people during lockdown and economic crisis. In this study, we aim to examine the level of future anxiety and suicide ideation among the general public during the COVID-19 period. The study is cross-sectional and conducted in Pakistan, we were collected data from adults (N = 4589) between 2020 and 2021. We employed multiple logistic regressions to examine the relationships between future anxiety and socio-demographic factors, as well as suicide-related behavioral characteristics. Among the participants, 62% have mild future anxiety, 21% reported moderate anxiety and 16% experienced severe anxiety. In term of suicidal ideation, 60% of participants had just a passing thought of suicide, 30% displayed moderate suicidal thoughts, and (9.1%) acknowledged having had suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide (a total of 233 individuals). Notably, individuals who were divorced and living in urban areas had significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation. Moreover, those falling in the middle and upper income brackets reported having suicidal thoughts. The findings from the scale indicated that women experience higher level of future anxiety and suicidal ideation compared to males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is slowly shifting towards the more reusable energy sources. These include energy harvesting methods such as solar power, windmills, tidal and geothermal energy, and more. The world is also understanding the importance of proper insulation when it comes to design of buildings. One of the problems that is being automatically due to this is global warming, and other natural disasters. Solar panels play a critical role in overcoming this problem. An inverter is usually attached to solar panels to convert the DC source to an AC signal. In this work, a transmitter takes this energy, and then, through the use of Faraday's Law, induces the power into a secondary coil through electromagnetic waves. The receiver then converts these electromagnetic waves to an alternating current, which is then transmitted, rectified, filtered and used. This work covers exactly that, and works on improving the efficiency of such wireless systems, bringing to life the vision one sought by Nikola Tesla, using clean energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) use among bodybuilders in different cities of Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 380 bodybuilders utilizing convenience sampling from different cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Quetta, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. The study was conducted over a period of 6 months from January 2019 to June 2019. The sample included male bodybuilders aged 18 to 50 years. The basic demographic sheet and a self-designed form were used to collect data. SPSS software v. 21 was utilized for statistical analysis. The chi-square test was used to observe any relationship with P<0.05 as significant. Results: The current study showed a prevalence of 109 (28.68%) AAS use in bodybuilders with testosterone being most commonly used. A total of 54 people (49.5%) used self-administration, 38 people (34.9%) used it for the short-term while 27 people (24.8%) used it in long-term. Bodybuilders were mostly inspired by peers 73 (67%) and encouraged by coaches 62 (56.9%) to use AAS. Regarding knowledge of AAS, its usage, benefits, and side effects, the majority (89%) had little or no knowledge. Conclusion: The study concludes that the use of AAS is quite prevalent among bodybuilders in Pakistan with 28.68% of AAS mainly using testosterone preparation, and bodybuilders of age 20 to 40 mainly consuming AAS. Peers were the main inspiration for most (67%) and encouraged by their coaches to use AAS (56.9%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus pandemic of 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly harmed numerous social and economic activities worldwide, drawing researchers and governments' attention to the problem and tackling it via persistent healthcare measures. The study's primary purpose is to examine the effects of total coronavirus cases, total fatalities, total recovered cases, unemployment, and trade openness on stock prices and economic growth in the world's top 39 affected nations. An analysis of the coronavirus outbreaks found that wealthier countries had a well-established healthcare infrastructure, but they were disproportionately affected by the virus. Conversely, the less wealthy nations had inadequate healthcare infrastructures, but they were not as affected as the wealthier countries. Is it possible to buy health with money? That was the question at the heart of the study's money-and-health curve. The robust least square regression results indicate that an increase in coronavirus cases influences economic growth and stock market performance due to massive healthcare funding distributed globally, sustaining economic and financial activities for a shorter period. However, a continuous increase in coronavirus fatalities depresses the stock market, resulting in financial depression worldwide. Additionally, a rise in overall coronavirus recovered cases has a negative effect on the country's economic development and stock market performance because of greater uncertainty in economic and financial activities. Case fatality ratios influence economic growth, whereas case recovery ratios decrease economic and financial performance due to greater healthcare concerns across countries. Finally, trade openness is critical in sustaining the country's economic development and stock market performance in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Philosophy of National Education (FPK) has set a clear direction for the teaching and learning process in Malaysia. The education system implemented in Malaysia is to produce balanced and harmonious human beings in terms of intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical based on obedience to God. This comprehensive goal has been manifested through systematically organized planning and implementation at the primary and secondary school levels. However, when moving to higher levels of education, namely universities and colleges, the appreciation of this great goal is seen as somewhat vague as special focus is given to students to master the fields of study they pursue. As a result, students are seen as 'machines' that are only developed for the purpose of creating success after success in the intellectual aspect of an outward nature. The emptiness of emphasis and filling from the spiritual, emotional and spiritual aspects in an integrated manner at the level of Higher Education Institutions has caused problems in terms of morals and behavior among the ranks who will lead the management and leadership of the country one day. Thus, this study is to identify the methods that can fill the vacuum through the analysis of several models of integrated education practiced by several Public Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTA) in Malaysia. This study uses a qualitative approach that involves document analysis and literature review to gather the necessary information and data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 and the subsequent Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed by the government has deeply impacted the higher education institutions in Malaysia. The new normal has dramaticallytransformed to online learning. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) took the bold move to be among the first universities in Malaysia to start online learning to ensure that students can continue with their education and graduation as anticipated. Whilst academics have done a remarkable job in putting together materials and assessments in preparation for online delivery of courses, the university must ensure quality and fair assessment as well as how well they have fared in the face of a major catastrophe. Accordingly, evaluations should be carried regularly, especially from the perspectives of students. The purpose of this paper is to explore the online learning experience of international undergraduate students on philosophy course. The paper adopted educational action research method by developing and distributing a questionnaire using google forms to collect data from 88 students in two international sections during the academic year 2020/2021. The results showed that although the majority of students rate their overall online experience as "excellent", however, 60% of them think that their learning outcome could have been better if the study was face to face. Regarding the teaching modes, the preferred selection of majority of students was hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous modes respectively. Moreover, the findings indicated that that students are still coping with the new norms working from thehome, but they had dissatisfaction with certain elements such as missing the face-to-face interaction and the challenge to carry out collaborative group projects while dispersed in different places. The findings provide updated insights on online learning after being adopted as a new norm during the COVID-19 pandemic and applied in UTM ever since, as such, can be useful for the university management, educators' best practices, and similar higher education institutions to enhance and develop new online teaching and learning plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a need for and great acceptance of vaccination for COVID-19 has been shown among people in different nations, while anxieties about safety of vaccine might delay the campaign of vaccine acceptance. To increase vaccination exposure, vaccination plans or programs must be considered to eliminate barricades regarding price and accessibility of vaccination, and information from authority are imperative to ease people concerns about safety of vaccine. Along with all these reasons personality traits, decision making, and risk perception are also described as factors influencing vaccination hesitancy and resistance. Though previous researches have recognized factors related to different perceptions of immunization, inadequate attention has been paid to the personality role, risk perception and decision making in individual toward vaccination. This study aimed to review the effect of personality as measured by the Big Five personality traits, perception of risk and decision making toward vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A miniaturized four-port polarization diversity ultra-wide band multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna is presented in this article. Different structures are combined and excited with the tapered transmission line to obtain a reduced symmetric layout with the orthogonal arrangement in compact size. An inverted-c-shape partial ground plane is used to decouple the antenna elements placed in close proximity which reduced the overall size and improved the matched impedance of the MIMO antenna. Further, impedance bandwidth is improved by etching the slots in the ground plane. The overall dimension of the proposed compact MIMO antenna is 40 × 40 × 1.524 mm3. The measured characteristics of a fabricated prototype on the FR4 laminate well matched with the simulated results. The antenna exhibits a quasi-omnidirectional radiation pattern on the H-plane throughout the operational bandwidth, with isolation greater than 16 dB, low envelope correlation, and gain variation. this antenna can efficiently be usedfor diversity applications and portable devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study extended the conventional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model into the lead model, supported with a partial adjustment model and adaptive expectation model. The ARDL‐LEAD modelling is applied to Saudi Arabia's tourism industry to assess the country's environmental sustainability agenda (ESA) by using monthly time series data from 1995M01‐2018M12. The short‐run results confirmed the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis with the lag variables, while the U‐shaped relationship was found between economic growth (EG) and CO2 emissions with the leads variable. The inbound tourism and trade openness (TOP) decrease CO2 emissions at the lead factor in the short‐run. The long‐run relationship verified the U‐shaped relationship between EG and CO2 emissions, while TOP openness increases CO2 emissions to substantiate 'pollution haven hypothesis (PHH)' in a country. The Wald Granger causality shows the different variations at the current period and forecasted estimates. The Granger estimates at the current level confirmed the growth‐led emissions (GLE), tourism‐led emissions (TLE), and tourism‐led growth (TLG) hypotheses, while at forecast estimates, the results substantiate the TLE and emissions‐led growth (ELD) hypotheses in a country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covering 460 annual observations of 124 countries for the period 2010–2013, the unbalanced panel is examined the long-run relationships between the Growth- Inequality-Poverty (GIP) triangle by using the pooled mean group estimator, which allows short-run dynamics, error correction, and error variance that differ across countries. The results show that income inequality increases poverty head counts, whereas average household income decreases poverty. The results show that 75 countries exhibit pro-poor growth (PPG), 8 countries show antipoor growth, and 41 countries show "immiserizing growth," whereas a larger share of pro-poor growth episodes among the cross-sections is found in the aggregated panel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to assess the model of problem solving strategies and marital communication styles among married couple in Nigerian. To achieve the purpose a cross-sectional survey design was adopted with a sample of 385 married couple in Kwara state Nigeria. The instruments used are tagged ‘problem solving strategies and marital communication styles Scales’ contained 40 items spread among the 8 sub-constructs, 4 Likert’s type was adopted throughout the scale. The data collected was entered into Microsoft Excel 2016 and SPSS 20 for data cleaning and were filtered to the SmartPLS 3. The data was check for normality using two indicators of as Skewness and Kurtosis. The data analysis was conducted using Partial least square structural equation modeling approaches with SmartPLS 3 software. The measurement models were evaluated by items loading, composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE). The results revealed that, the measurement model assessed in this study showed acceptability with validity and reliability tests results presented in the preceding sections. The convergent validity examined through the factor loadings, composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE). Thus with the satisfaction of all the measurement requirements, it can be concluded that, the developed problem solving strategies and marital communication styles Scales validated in this study can be used to assess the problem solving strategies and marital communication styles Scales among married teachers in kwara state Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to assess the validity of Anxiety, Life Satisfaction and Social Media Addiction scales (TELSMAS). To achieve the purpose a cross-sectional survey design was adopted with a sample of 150. Rasch Measurement was adopted to validate the items. The instruments contained 56 items spread among the 3 constructs. The data collected was entered into Microsoft Excel 2016 and Winsteps for the Rasch Analysis. The scale was evaluated through content validity with experts, construct validity with Rasch infit and outfit statistics and Reliability. The results revealed that, the scale has substantial content validity with Kappa value of 0.86, and acceptable reliability values of 0.99 (Anxiety), 0.95 (life Satisfaction) and 0.96 (social media addition). Similarly, the scale satisfied the condition of unidimensional for the Rasch validation. However,14 items overall failed to satisfied the condition to be certified as valid and therefore completely deleted form the scale (5 in Anxiety and 9 in Social Media Scale). Thus, with the satisfaction of measurement requirements by 42 items, it can be concluded that, the developed TELSMAS validated in this study can be used to assess the level of anxiety, life-satisfaction and social-media addiction among school students and other vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of menu variety from the perspective of public health has lacked of discussion in the literature in comparison to the profit perspective of a foodservice business. This paper reports finding of a research on the importance of menu variety for the sustainability of public health at higher education institution (HEI) from students perspective. Direct observation towards food displayed on the buffet counter of the cafeterias and interview sessions with students were conducted to identify attributes of menu variety as constructs for a survey research. Complete set of 375 questionnaires were collected among students as customer of 20 food outlets at 11 cafeterias of the HEI. Validity value of the questionnaire was 0.98, that analysed by Rasch Development Model. Survey data was analysed using discriptive statistics. Overall mean value for menu variety attributes was 1.97 and standard devition, 0.656, which at the moderate level. This study suggested for the cafeteria food providers, customers and the HEI food autorithy to ensure high level of menu variety is offered to sustain public health of the HEI, customer satisfaction and long tender period of the cafeterias as a food provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian school students are multiracial and multicultural; thus, guidance and counseling services provided should be tailored to the needs of diverse clients. This circumstance requires school counselors to be competent for multicultural client’s psychological health in counseling sessions. The study attempted to obtain feedback from school counselors on the training of multicultural counseling competencies. The findings shows, school counselors can demonstrate good training in multicultural counseling efficiencies and enhance the effectiveness of counseling sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emphasizing only on intellectual intelligence without stressing on feelings and emotions could negatively affect an individual’s emotional development. Development of stable emotion regulation strategies is important for an individual to function appropriately in different contexts. Although there are many scales developed to measure emotional intelligence (EI), there is a dearth of instruments to measure EI in preschool children. One instrument that taps EI in preschool children is The Sullivan Emotional Intelligent Scale for Children (EISC). EISC was developed for use in the United States and there is no such instrument available in Malaysian context (to the best of our knowledge).The aim of the current study was to adapt EISC to measure Malaysian preschool children’s emotional intelligence. EISC was translated into Malay Language and the reliability value of the instrument was then tested using the Rasch Model. There are 50 respondents (preschool children) was random selected from the research area (Johor Bahru) which had same features with the real respondent for this purpose. The results show a high ‘item reliability’ of 0.94 and also a high ‘person reliability’ of 0.93 after distillations (37 out of 59 items retained). The results suggest that The Sullivan Emotional Intelligent Scale for Children (EISC), adapted for Malaysian children, can be used to determine the level of Malaysian preschool children’s EI with psychometric soundness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyculturalism is the lay belief that cultures are dynamically interconnected and mutually influencing each other historically and in contemporary times. Belief in polyculturalism is associated with various positive intergroup outcomes in intercultural social contexts, but it has never been studied in relation to intergroup attitudes in postcolonial societies. Two studies with participants from four postcolonial Asian societies (total N = 1,126) explore whether polyculturalism will also be associated with positive attitudes toward the continuing presence of former colonizers. The historical colonial experience may be socially represented positively or negatively in different societies, and in this context, the studies inquire into whether current attitudes toward former colonizers are positively associated with the belief in polyculturalism. In two studies (after controlling for belief in multiculturalism, genetic and social constructivist lay theories of race, and national identity) polyculturalism was positively associated with favorable attitudes toward continuing presence of former colonizers in Hong Kong, Macau, and Jakarta, but not in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Wonosobo, Indonesia. The positive association with polyculturalism was found only in the three societies with a high degree of intercultural contact, where the core beliefs of polyculturalism may be more meaningful. The results are discussed in terms of how intergroup relations between former colonizers and colonized peoples are forms of between-society intercultural contact that are also influenced by intergroup lay theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current study investigates mediation model design through a quantitative survey. Paper-pencil questionnaires were administered to 100 emerging adolescents who were purposely selected, aged around 12 to 14 years old from Johor, Malaysia. Findings indicated that parental involvement, psychological well-being and social support have significant positive correlations. Mediation model analysis based on SPSS Macro Process by Hayes was executed for examining whether social support had any significant mediating effect on parental involvement and psychological well-being. The outcome of the analysis showed that social support was a significant mediator between parental involvement and psychological well-being. Parents involvement for emerging adolescents was also shown to be important for the psychological well-being among emerging adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major purpose of the study was conducted to find out relationship among self-concept, vocational preference and educational needs of married women in women centre for continuing education Sokoto on senior secondary school married students. The study used a descriptive research of the correlational type design, with a population of 270 senior secondary school married students, the whole population was used as sample and purposive sampling was employed as sampling technique. The instruments used in this study were: Adopted (A) Akinboye’s Adolescent Personal Data Inventory Subscale-A (APDI) for measuring self-concept and (B) researcher designed questionnaire named Questionnaire for Vocational preference and educational needs (QVPEN) which was used in measuring vocational preference and Educational needs respectively. Four hypotheses were formulated, hypotheses 1-3 was analysed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, while hypothesis 4 was analysed using multiple regression. The major findings of this study are; there is significant relationship between self-concept and vocational preference, there is significant relationship between self-concept and educational needs, there is also significant relationship between vocational preference and educational needs and self-concept is more related to educational needs than vocational preference of married women in women centre for continuing Education. Recommendation were made as efforts to enhanced married women vocational preference through workshops their educational needs can be improved by provision of adequate qualified Teachers, enhancement of their self -concept through teacher’s efforts and school counsellors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children who have a good level of emotional intelligence will be able to manage their lives in a more orderly and harmonious. Good emotional control is a very important aspect in the well-being of individuals. This study aims to identify the reliability of emotional intelligence module (EQ) in building positive emotion in preschool children. The samples involved a total of 100 preschool children aged four to six years in Terengganu, Malaysia. The analysis used was Rasch Model analysis to see the reliability level of Emotional Intelligence Module (KE) in building positive emotions of children. The findings show that the module is used to record a good level of reliability which is the reliability of the (person) is 0.74 and reliability of the item is 0.89. This shows the selection of the sample is appropriate and in keeping with the characteristics of the research objectives. While the items that have been built are valid and appropriate to the level of ability and understanding of the study sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explored the coping strategies and challenges among student with visual impairment. In Malaysia, visually impaired people category approximately 8.9% including student at the university level. Government of Malaysia has recognize lifelong learning on this category of disbility as one of the focus to be approaches and strategies to fulfil their education needs. Furthermore, student with visual impairment also need to be proactive to set up their coping strategies based on the challenge they faced. Coping strategies elaborated based on The Goodness of Fit Model. Effective coping strategies focused on three aspect of student needs in the university students living with visual impairments in adaptive behaviour on campus, mobility on campus, and reading materials and resources. Moreover, the discussion drive the student to be more excellent in their new coping strategies in the university surounding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is far lag behind the sustainable targets that set out in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is highly needed to embark the priorities by their member countries to devise sustainable policies for accessing clean technologies, energy demand, finance, and food production to mitigate high-mass carbon emissions and conserve environmental agenda in the national policy agenda. The study evaluated United Nation's SDGs for environmental conservation and emission reduction in the panel of 35 selected SSA countries, during a period of 1995–2016. The study further analyzed the variable's relationship in inter-temporal forecasting framework for the next 10 years' time period, i.e., 2017–2026. The parameter estimates for the two models, i.e., CO2 model and PM2.5 models are analyzed by Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimator that handle possible endogeneity issue from the given models. The results rejected the inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for CO2 emissions, while it supported for PM2.5 emissions with a turning point of US$5540 GDP per capita in constant 2010 US$. The results supported the "pollution haven hypothesis" for CO2 emissions, while this hypothesis is not verified for PM2.5 emissions. The major detrimental factors are technologies, FDI inflows, and food deficit that largely increase carbon emissions in a panel of SSA countries. The IPAT hypothesis is not verified in both the emissions; however, population density will largely influenced CO2 emissions in the next 10 years' time period. The PM2.5 emissions will largely be influenced by high per capita income, followed by trade openness, and technologies, over a time horizon. Thus, the United Nation's sustainable development agenda is highly influenced by socio-economic and environmental factors that need sound action plans by their member countries to coordinate and collaborate with each other and work for Africa's green growth agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of natural disasters on external migration, price level, poverty incidence, health expenditures, energy and environmental resources, water demand, financial development, and economic growth in a panel of selected Asian countries for a period of 2005–2017. The results confirm that natural disasters in the form of storm and flood largely increase migration, price level, and poverty incidence, which negatively influenced country's economic resources, including enlarge healthcare expenditures, high energy demand, and low economic growth. The study further presented the following results: i) natural resource depletion increases external migration, ii) FDI inflows increase price level, iii) increase healthcare spending and energy demand decreases poverty headcount, iv) poverty incidence and mortality rate negatively influenced healthcare expenditures, v) industrialization increases energy demand, and vi) agriculture value added, fertilizer, and cereal yields required more water supply to produce greater yield. The study emphasized the need to magnify the intensity of natural disasters and create natural disaster mitigation unit to access the human and infrastructure cost and attempt quick recovery for global prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study is to evaluate socio-economic and environmental factors that influenced the United Nations healthcare sustainable agenda in a panel of 21 Asian and African countries. The results show that changes in price level (0.0062, p < 0.000), life risks of maternal death (4.579, p < 0.000), and under-5 mortality rate (0.374, p < 0.000) substantially increases out-of-pocket health expenditures, while CO2 emissions (5.681, p < 0.003), prevalence of undernourishment (15.184, p < 0.000), PM2.5 particulate emission (1557, p < 0.000), unemployment, and private health expenditures (30.729, p < 0000) are associated with high mortality rate across countries. Healthcare reforms affected by low healthcare spending, unsustainable environment, and ease of environmental regulations that ultimately increases mortality rate across countries. The Granger causality estimates confirmed the different causal mechanisms between socio-economic and environmental factors, which is directly linked with the country's healthcare agenda, i.e., the causality running from (i) CO2 emissions to life risks of maternal death and under-5 mortality rate, (ii) from depth of food deficit to incidence of tuberculosis and unemployment, (iii) from PM2.5 emissions to infant mortality rate, (iv) from foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to PM2.5 emissions, (v) from trade openness to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and (vi) from mortality indicators to per capita income, while there is a feedback relationship between health expenditures and per capita income across countries. The variance decomposition analysis shows that (i) under-5 mortality rate will increase out-of-pocket health expenditures, (ii) unemployment rate will increase mortality indicators, and (iii) health expenditures will increase economic well-being in a panel of selected countries, for the next 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to identify the self- efficacy, self- regulation and academic motivation among students. Research design for this study is case study which used quantitative method. The study involved 140 respondents randomly selected among students Permata Insan in Islamic Science University of Malaysia from Form 1 until Form 4 respondents involved in this study using stratified sampling method which based on their availability to participate. Instruments used are The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, The Self- Regulation Questionnaire and Academic Motivation Scale. The design of the study uses a survey method. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, independent sample t test and correlation. Research findings shows there is significant relationship between self- efficacy and academic motivation among students, significant relationship between self- regulation and academic motivation among students and significant difference between self-efficacy, self-regulation and academic motivation based on gender among students. Thus, to improve self-esteem, self-regulation and academic motivation among student, there is need of teachers to make diversify in style of teaching when delivering in classroom to ensure delivering are more effective towards students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression will be the number one major cause of illness by the year 2020. Depression has been the main factor of morbidity since a decade ago. The aim of this study is to investigate the coping styles among cardiac women patients with depression experiencing Reality Therapy. The respondents of this study are taken from Pusat Jantung Sarawak, Kota Samarahan. The respondents are four cardiac women patients waiting four heart surgery. Their age range are from 22 to 64 years old. Three respondents are from Iban ethnicity and one respondent is from Malay ethnicity. The method of the study is Qualitative method whereby four session of Reality Therapy are conducted. The data analysis method is descriptive phenomenology whereby the researcher investigates the important criterion that make up a whole structure of an experience. The findings from this study are the respondents' coping styles during the WDEP (wants, doing, evaluation and planning) intervention. Their BDI score before and after Reality therapy are also recorded. The implication of this study is Reality Therapy and WDEP intervention can be used to help people with depression. In conclusion, the depression level in cardiac women patients are reduced after experiencing Reality Therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have been conducted to examine the involvement of adolescents in sexual misconduct; however, through a literature review conducted, studies on teenage personality traits and sexual misconduct are found to be limited in Malaysia. Teenagers are easily trapped by sexual misconduct due to the process of change between childhood and adulthood. The role of personality traits, religiosity, cultural values of adolescents highlighted to shape the character of youth, which can help to build positive personality for becoming good citizen of the country. As Malaysia consists of Malay, Chinese and Indian diverse cultural societies and diverse religious people living together harmoniously in Malaysia, which has absolutely noble values to develop healthy personality; however, sexual misconduct emerging as challenge, which need to be understand in terms of unregistered pregnancy and social issues. By developing positive values and healthy personality among teenager could serve as best predictor for avoiding sexual misconduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted to evaluate coping strategies as a mediator between stress and marital quality among married postgraduate students. During tertiary education, married postgraduate students are exposed by academics and family challenges which bring impact on their marital relationship. A total number of 225 respondents from various universities (UTM=45, UPM=45, UKM=45, USM=45, UM=45) were participated. Data was collected by using purposive sampling technique. All respondents were asked to answer Conflict Resolution Style Inventory (CSRI), Graduate Stress Inventory-Revised (GSI-R) and marital Quality Questionnaire (MQQ). Data were analysed using Smart-PLS Software. Based on Partial Least Squares- Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-PLS), this study showed that there were several factors have been identified as the risk factors toward marital detrimental. In order to counter the stress, coping strategies were integrated in the mediation analysis. The results indicated that coping strategies were suitable to be a good mediator to reduce the negative effect of stress towards marital quality. This study have good implications for psychologist, counsellors and educators to understand married university students' marital relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study were to determine the factors influencing career progression of working-class married women in Oyo metropolis and to examine the influence of demographic variables of age, educational attainment, and job cadre on the respondents' view. The purposive and convenient sampling technique was used to select 220 participants; out of which, 209 questionnaire forms were adequate for data analysis. The questionnaire was a self-structured type, with a test re-test reliability coefficient of 0.82. A 3-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics was used to test hypothesis at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study revealed that childcare responsibilities, societal discrimination against women and sexual harassment from men are the factors influencing career progression of working-class married women in Oyo metropolis. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that working-class married women should seek the support of their husbands on child care; and the society should avoid discrimination against women in the workforce among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the determinants of marital adjustment among married civil servants in Ogbomosho metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study also examined the gender difference in respondents' view of determinants of marital adjustment. Using a descriptive survey, purposive and convenient sampling techniques were used to select 384 respondents who participated in the study. The data collection tool was a self-designed instrument entitled "Factors Influencing Marital Adjustment Questionnaire" (FIMAQ), with 0.72 test re-test reliability coefficient. Factor analysis and independent t-test were used to analyses the data collected and the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 alpha level. The findings revealed that communication, a gap in couple's age, a gap in couple's educational attainment, sexual fidelity, personality differences and expectations before marriage are the determinants of marital adjustment among married persons in Ogbomosho metropolis. Also, a significant difference was found between male and female respondents on determinants of marital adjustment. Relevant recommendations were made based on the findings of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a scarcity of research on suicidal phenomena in the Muslim world. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the self-reported prevalence of suicidal thoughts, attempts and motives in 12 Muslim countries. A total of 8417 (54.4% women) university students were surveyed by means of a self-report questionnaire. Overall, 22% of the participants reported suicidal ideation and 8.6% reported attempting suicide. The odds of suicidal thoughts were elevated in Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, while reduced ORs were recorded in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Malaysia. While odds of suicide attempts were high in Azerbaijan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia reduced odds ratios (OR) were detected in Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia and Tunisia. Taking drugs and using a sharp instrument were the two most frequently used methods to attempt suicide. Only 32.7% of attempts required medical attention. Escape motives were endorsed more than social motives by participants who attempted suicide. Suicidal behaviors were more frequent in women than in men. Compered to men, fewer attempts by women required medical attention. Moreover, our results show that making suicide illegal does not reduce the frequency of suicidal behavior. Results from this comparative study show that suicidal thoughts and attempts are frequent events in young adults in countries where religious scripture explicitly prohibit suicide and the frequencies of nonfatal suicidal behavior show large variation in nations adhering to the same religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of adolescent have gained attention worldwide because of the negative impact on the perpetrators, the victims, their families and significant others; it has also been found that children who are aggressive may grow up to become adults who engage in criminal activities. In school setting, high level of aggressive behavior among the students shows failing responsibility of molding the children to become responsible members of the society. Many factors have been investigated for being responsible for this behavior among the adolescents, among which is the family structure. This study therefore aims to find out the relationship between family structure and aggressive behaviors of Nigerian adolescents. The sample for the study comprised one hundred and twenty students randomly selected from three schools in Azare Metropolis in Bauchi state of Nigeria. Findings of the study revealed that there is a relationship between family structure and aggressive behaviour. Children from polygamous family without their biological mothers tend to be more aggressive while those from polygamous family which include biological father and mother, and those from monogamous family are less aggressive. It can therefore be concluded that it is not polygamy itself that is detrimental to child outcome, but the absence of the biological parents in the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between well-being and the personal strength of hope has been elaborated by the identification of internal (self) and external (family, peers, spiritual) locus-of-hope dimensions. Du, Bernardo, and Yeung (2015) showed that self-esteem (personal and relational) mediates the relationship between locus-of-hope and life satisfaction. Locus-of-hope's goal-related thoughts involve self-evaluation that may either enhance or diminish self-worth, which then influences life satisfaction. We tested the mediated model in three cultural groups: Malaysians, Macau Chinese, and Filipinos. Participants completed scales measuring locusof- hope, personal and relational self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Path analysis showed significant indirect effects in all cultures: (a) internal locus-of-hope on life satisfaction, mediated by personal self-esteem, and (b) external-family locus-of-hope on life satisfaction, mediated by relational self-esteem. Other significant indirect effects were found in specific cultural groups. Cross-cultural similarities and differences are discussed with reference to how distinct cultures give different meanings to forms of agency associated with the personal strength of hope, creating distinct pathways towards life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the dynamic linkages between alternative and nuclear energy consumption, tourism receipts, bank-specific factors, and environment and resource factors in a heterogeneous panel of countries for the period 1995-2016. The study also addresses the United Nations sustainable development agenda under a resource conservation framework across countries. A two-step differenced Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator is employed for robust inferences. The results show that bank-specific factors substantially reduce resource depletion, whereas international tourism increases energy resource depletion and carbon emissions across countries. Nuclear energy consumption reduces resource depletion, whereas industrial value added increases resource depletion and carbon emissions; thus, it is imperative to devise strong policies for sustainable production across countries. The results of panel causality tests confirm different causality patterns among the studied variables. The study concludes that an environmental and resource conservation process needs sustainable policy instruments, including cleaner production techniques, renewable energy sources, and sustainable production and consumption to achieve green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Intervention programs to strengthen hope in students have been developed and implemented in schools. The programs are based on Snyder's theory that defines hope as thoughts regarding personal capacities and pathways for goal attainment. Hope theory was recently extended to include external loci‐of‐hope, which derive from conjoint models of agency emphasized in collectivist societies. But evidence on external loci‐of‐hope's positive influence on students’ well‐being is limited. Two studies (involving student samples from four universities in Asian cities) explored how external loci‐of‐hope relate to students’ life satisfaction, personal well‐being (self‐esteem, self‐mastery), relational well‐being (relational self‐esteem, communal mastery), and coping styles for school‐related stress. Results show that external loci‐of‐hope dimensions predict students’ life satisfaction and relational aspects of well‐being, but also predict maladaptive coping. The results are discussed in relation to how the work of psychologists in schools benefit from approaches that contextualize theoretical precepts in cultural meanings and experiences in different parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Principals are school leaders who experienced stress while leading their schools towards excellence. However, principals stress experiences are always ignored and least studied. This mixed-methods study investigates primary principals’ stress experiences and their Islamic coping strategies used in incapacitating the stress experiences. A total of 216 Muslim primary principals across different gender, types of schools and years of experiences as school leaders responded to the administrative stress and the Islamic coping strategies items. In addition, seven primary principals were purposefully selected and interviewed in exploring their reasons of using Islamic coping strategies for their relieving process. Results discovered that primary principals experienced fairly stress level and they perceived managing students’ academic achievement was the most stressor followed by managing teachers’ capabilities. Although findings revealed that no significant differences in terms primary principals’ demographics; male primary principals, and experienced between 6 and 10 years and positioned in schools with least students (SLS) category have slightly higher level of stress. In terms of Islamic coping strategies used by primary principals, saying dhua to Allah, performing dhikir and reciting the Yassen are selected coping approaches employed in handling their stress. From interviews, primary principals also revealed that they used Islamic religious approaches as part of meaningful activities not just to overcoming their stress but also as part of religious approaches in remembering Allah, thinking back their past mistakes as part of the Muhasabah process. Therefore, we believed that religious approaches should be taken into consideration in principals’ training as it provides peaceful and treatment in managing principals’ stress issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiculturalism and polyculturalism are two lay theories of culture that have been associated with some similar intergroup attitudes and behaviors. But other than the studies of Rosenthal and Levy in the United States, there have been no studies that directly distinguish between these two lay theories. In this study, we use confirmatory factor analysis procedures to show that multiculturalism and polyculturalism represent two distinct latent constructs among our 1,730 participants in six Asian cultural groups (China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines). Moreover, we show that essentializing race is associated with endorsement of multiculturalism (but not polyculturalism) in five cultural groups (except Hong Kong). The results provide strong cross-cultural empirical evidence for the distinction between the two lay theories and, more importantly, point to aspects of the lay theory of multiculturalism that relate to why it is sometimes associated with stronger stereotyping and prejudice toward minority cultural groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive education emphasizes the role of hope in student achievement and in buffering the effects of students' difficulties in school. In this study, we demonstrate how internal and external loci-of-hope relate to students' use of different learning strategies in school. We asked 967 university students from four cities to answer the locus-of-hope scales, cognitive strategy scales, and engager collaborative learning scales. Separate regression analyses of data from the four cities indicate that internal locus-of-hope consistently predicted use of all three individual learning strategies (except for rehearsal in the Manila sample), whereas, external-peer locus-of-hope consistently predicted use of collaborative learning strategies. The findings extend previous findings on hope and learning by showing how hope relates to the learning strategies adopted by students. Moreover, the study extends theorizing about hope in schools by showing how relational hopeful thoughts that draw from shared agency with classmates are associated with collaborative learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship aspect of the challenge, readiness, and the role of special education teacher (SET) in implementing common approaches in inclusive classrooms. Experiences as a moderator were used to see the effect of the co-teaching component. This study used a sampling method that involved 240 respondent's representatives of the population of SET in Malaysia. The findings of this study showed that there was a high positive tendency in choosing the approach that is likely to progress than the existing ones. In this area, there were challenges and readiness of positive selection than teacher experience. Overall, this study could impact the implementation of co-teaching approach than the implementation of the existing programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we examine the mentoring program for novice headteachers and what they perceive as its purposes, as well as the constraints to successfully implementing it in Malaysian schools. Using a survey research design we analysed responses from 200 newly appointed headteachers from two state departments of education, and interviewed six headteachers through two focus group interview sessions. As expected, headteachers revealed that mentoring had significantly improved their professional values as a school leader, and had led to the creation of a knowledge sharing culture that boosted their confidence level and improved their practical knowledge related to school leadership. However, headteachers also revealed that time constraints negatively impacted on the effective implementation of mentoring. The study also offers practical suggestions for the headship training system in Malaysian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether productive coping styles and social support were significant mediators of the relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation. The survey was performed on a sample of 300 Malaysian and 300 Indian college students. The participants completed psychological assessments of productive coping styles, social support, academic stress, and suicidal ideation. Significant cultural and demographic differences emerged. Indian students reported higher suicidal ideation and academic stress than did Malaysian students, and Malaysian students received more social support and had better problem-solving coping styles than did Indian students. Overall, students who were male, non-religious, and from low-income families reported more academic stress and more suicidal ideation. Productive coping styles and overall social support strongly affected the relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation among both countries' participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A module entitled 'SayangKU' (MyLove), based on the Islamic perspective, was developed as an instrument to assist adolescents that involved in premarital sexual activity. The module comprises four phases: Love of God (Allah), Love of the Prophet, Love of Oneself, and Love of the Ummah (world). From analysis of Rasch, the value of item reliability was .80 and an individual reliability was .95. Dimensionality value was more than 40 % variance explained by measures, and level of agreement among experts was 86.88 %. The posttest shows the better result from pretest and proves the effectiveness of the module. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from two studies, the current research tests the Stereotype Content Model ( SCM) within a Malaysian context using Chinese and ethnic Malay participants. The aim of the research is to examine the theoretical underpinnings of the SCM in a new context by investigating the role of aspects of the perceived social structure that have not been considered previously. In line with the SCM it is found that the two dimensions of warmth and competence underlie in-group and out-group stereotypes in Malaysia. In addition, the in-group was evaluated more positively than the out-group on both dimensions. Furthermore, perceived economic social status rather than cultural or power status was related to out-group competence (Study 1), and to out-group warmth (Studies 1 and 2). Higher perceived economic competition was weakly and not consistently associated with less out-group warmth, and political competition was not related to warmth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The objectives of the study were to examine the relationship of positive psychological strengths and its dimensions (hope, optimism, self efficacy and resiliency) with subjective well-being, mentoring and educational encouragement; and to examine the role of demographic characteristics, mentoring and educational encouragement as a predictors of positive psychological strengths and subjective well-being. Data were collected from 464 professional course students, 200 males and 264 females residing in North India. Descriptive, correlations and regression analysis were performed. Gender, socio-economic, marital status and religious belief of the students significantly influencing on outcome variables. Significant positive relationship were found between positive psychological strengths with subjective well-being, mentoring from teachers and educational encouragement from parents, siblings and friends. Regression model revealed that mentoring on the part of the teachers significantly predicted positive psychological strengths and subjective well-being. Educational encouragement on the part of the parents, siblings and friends were significantly predicted the positive psychological strengths and subjective well-being. Role of mentoring and educational encouragement from parents, siblings and teachers was found to be imperative in developing positive psychological strengths and subjective well-being of contemporary adolescent, as well preparing skill to face challenges of life in a complex world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex differences in educational encouragement and their predictiveness of academic achievement were examined among 442 secondary school students (M age = 13.2 yr., SD = 1.9). Education-related encouragement received from mothers, fathers, friends, and teachers was assessed. Academic achievement was based on student self-reports and grades. Female adolescents reported receiving statistically significantly more educational encouragement from their mothers, fathers, friends, and teachers than did male adolescents. In regression, sex and educational encouragement from parents, friends, and teachers were found to be significant predictors of academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present article attempted to highlight the importance of Educational Encouragement in Adolescent's Academic Achievement. It is believed that if parents and teachers prepare adolescents for success by boosting up and focusing on efforts and strengths rather than outcome and weaknesses. It is suggested that educational encouragement can be one of the most important motivator to enhance academic achievement of adolescents. Encouragers always focus on endeavor rather than perfect results. The present study has implications for teachers and counselors and the framework used for this study suggests the intervention focused on the adolescents' achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]