Search

Introduction Forest bathing or Shinrin-Yoku is a practice of being mindful of nature and it offers multiple health benefits in both physiological and psychological factors. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and attitude of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) medical students towards forest bathing and its relationship with the sociodemographic factors. Methods A total of 165 UKM medical students were recruited using proportionate stratified random sampling. The subjects were then categorized based on the academic year (Year 1 - Year 5) from May 2021 until September 2021. Exclusion criteria includes those who deferred their academic year and/or who were hospitalized. A questionnaire was given via a google form consisting of sociodemographic data details and 15 questions for each knowledge and attitude on forest bathing. Results The prevalence of good knowledge and good attitude of UKM medical students towards forest bathing were 64.2% (n=106) and 50.9% (n=84) respectively. Female medical students had a good knowledge (n=63, 73.3%) and good attitude (n=52, 60.5%) compared to male medical students' knowledge (n=43, 54.4%) and attitude (n=32, 10.5%), with a p-value of 0.012 and 0.010 respectively. Otherwise, other sociodemographic factors including race, medical year and level of lifestyle did not affect participants' knowledge and attitude on forest bathing. Conclusions Majority of UKM medical students have a higher prevalence of good knowledge compared to good attitude on forest bathing. Therefore, we recommend forest bathing to be integrated into the medical curriculum as part of awareness especially in male medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home ownership is one key factor of the principles of livability towards achieving liveable city. In addition, there are also many factors affecting home ownership which includes income, location and accessibility factor. Various issues have been discussed by the Government of Malaysia in addressing the concern of home ownership, especially for the middle- and low-income groups in many cities in Malaysia. Using the case of Kajang city, this article aims to achieve the objective of identifying the major factors affecting home ownership for liveable city focusing the middle-income earners. Purposive sampling was used and in-depth interviews method were conducted with 41 potential homebuyer, 60 homeowners and 20 housing experts representing the Federal Government agencies, State Government agencies, Municipal Government, Developers, Banks and Real Estate-Related Consultant. The result of the study shows that the main factors affecting home ownership are income, housing loan scheme, location, government role, developer role, PR1MA affordable housing scheme, construction cost, Bumiputera quotas, lifestyle, quality of life, real estate investment and transfer, assessment/property tax, land ownership by foreigners and ownership title. The findings show that the Kajang City is an example of a city that can contribute to the affordable housing strategy requirements towards achieving liveable city. The findings also will help key stakeholder in addressing the main issues of housing affordability in the State of Selangor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue outbreak has proliferated around the developing countries, including Malaysia. Thus, understanding the distribution pattern is essential for urbanization livelihood. The objective of this study is to determine the trend of dengue cases reported from the year 2014 to 2018 and the spatial pattern for dengue spread concerning weather elements in Bangi town. Pearson's correlation analysis found that temperature element (r = -0.269) was negatively correlated with dengue cases for the year 2014 and 2018; however, rainfall amount (r = 0.286) and rain days (r = 0.250) were positively correlated with dengue cases in the year 2018. The rainfall element found to be a significant decisive factor-related for most study years compared to the temperature element. Therefore, climate change is the issue to the increase of dengue fever. Most tropical countries where dengue is more likely to spread have underdeveloped health care systems, meanwhile the primary disease prevention and control problems are growing. New efforts to prevent and monitor climate change and the occurrence of dengue, including new methods of vector control and dengue vaccine, are essential to address possible effects of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many ways children in Malaysia learn about the environment. They are thought about environment through subjects in school, co-curricular activities held at the school and other parties particularly parents and family members who are closest to them, the media, NGOs and government agencies. Hence, this study was conducted to identify the sources of the children's environmental knowledge and their perceptions about the environment. Data were collected in November 4-14, 2014, i.e. at the end of second term of school session. A total of 480 pupils from four primary schools in three states was selected as respondents. Two instruments were used in the study, first was using questionnaires to determine the sources of pupils' knowledge about environment; and second using visual technique, i.e. drawings about the environment drawn by respondents to determine their perceptions about the environment based on the knowledge they acquired from school and other sources. The results showed that pupils generate knowledge about the environment mostly from classroom (98.3%), most of the components drawn in their drawings are biotic (97.3%), and their perception of a clean environment (96.3%) dominates the number of drawings. Based on this study, it can be concluded that the majority of pupils obtained their knowledge about the environment from the classroom. Hence, the students' hold perception that the environment has clean and safe characteristics. This study showed that the importance for close engagement process especially with teachers are the important factors to ensure that the children knowledge about the environment is futher enhanced and have a significant impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A systematic overview of food waste drivers in an island-based hotels. • Using qualitative content analysis, eight food waste drivers were identified. • A holistic approach required to reduce food wastage for the hotel sector. Food waste (FW) generation from hotel operations have a significant negative impact on the environment, society and economy. Hence, the urgent need to introduce sustainable food management to reduce both FW and operational costs in hotels. The aim of this paper is to identify the drivers of FW generation and barriers to sustainable food waste management (SFWM) in island based hotels. The data were collected using in-depth interview coupled with the observations conducted at 23 selected hoteliers in Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Based on the analysis, using qualitative content analysis (QCA), eight FW drivers were identified and the drivers were classified into three categories of factors, mainly internal, external and intermediate influence. There are four FW drivers identified as internal factors that influenced the implementation of food waste management namely (1) poor hotel management and policies, (2) lack of skills in food preparation, (3) lack of facilities and FW technology and (4) non-implementation of waste audit and waste separation. For external factors, there are two FW drivers, including (5) unsustainable food consumption patterns of the customers and (6) risk of food ingredients spoilage. As for intermediate factors, two FW drivers were identified, which are (7) ineffective communication and (8) inadequate education and awareness. Findings from this study contribute towards a better understanding on the complexity of FW issues, particularly for island-based hotel sector. It was also suggested that a holistic approach with multi-stakeholders is crucial to reduce food wastage towards achieving SFWM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seriousness of e-waste problem is down to three realities: exponential increase in total amount, environmental degradation and health complications. A call for sustainable e-waste management is no longer a utopian ambition but an absolute necessity. In accordance to that, this study aims to evaluate e-waste management practices in three Asian countries: Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia, and consequently propose recommendations and insights for Malaysia on how to manage e-waste in a sustainable manner. The comparative analysis is conducted based on three central aspects comprising governance, infrastructure, and stakeholders' participation. The outcome of this study indicates that e-waste management needs to be initiated by comprehensive regulations that are focussed on proper e-waste handling and stakeholders' accountability. Besides, it has to be accompanied by robust infrastructure where appropriate mechanisms and effective enforcement are taking place. Finally, active participation from relevant stakeholders through involvement, support and compliance is crucial. On the whole, developing a sustainable e-waste management system is not an easy endeavour; it requires sufficient effort, capital, and time while complemented with continuous improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to evaluate the environmental performance of the cockle farming activity in Malaysia. The study was conducted by a mid-point approach following the ISO 14040 series of standard and CML-IA Baseline V3.01 method using SimaPro 8 software. A total often impact categories were selected namely abiotic depletion (ABD), global warming potential (GWP), ozone layer depletion (OLD), human toxicity (HT), freshwater ecotoxicity (FET), marine aquatic ecotoxicity (MET), terrestrial ecotoxicity (TET), photochemical oxidation (PO), acidification (ACD), and eutrophication (EUT). Capital goods dominate the impact of HT (82.20%), ABD (81.72%), EUT (81.36%), FET (79.3%), PO (79.02%), MET (75.06%), TET (59.8%), and GWP (53.15%). Operational goods dominate OLD at 80.24% and ACD at 53% Fiberglass material dominated almost the entire environmental impact except for the eutrophication which was dominated by polypropylene. Harvesting process was identified as the main process contributed to the potential environmental impact in cockle farming. LCA is potentially expanded not only to the entire chain of cockle production, but also to put into practice other aquaculture systems in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the management and regulation of hazardous and toxic substances in Malaysia. Impact of the national strategy of Vision 2020 on the manufacture and use of hazardous and toxic substances in the country; Dangerous materials that are considered hazardous; Chemicals management in Malaysia.

Reports on the impact of the rapid growth of manufacturing industries on the production of industrial waste in Malaysia. Development of the manufacturing industry in the country; Aspect of resource management; Effect of manufacturing industry development on the economic growth of the country.

• Impact of land use changes towards air quality at mega urban were investigated. • All air pollutants showed a rising trend, except SO 2 concentrations. • The built-up lands increase with a reduction in vegetation and water bodies area. • The increase of built-up lands responsible for motor vehicle and industrial emissions. • The land use categories have a significant impact on NO, NO 2 , NO x , CO and SO 2. This study aims to determine the impact of land use changes on air quality at the largest conurbation area in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Extended Mega Urban Regions (KLEMUR) from 2000 to 2015. Statistical and geostatistical analysis were used to analyse air quality and land use data. The results showed that only the daily average concentration of PM 10 at several stations exceeded the concentration suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO). All air pollutants measured showed a rising trend, with the exception of the SO 2. The land use trends during the 16-year research period showed an increase in built-up lands (4.0 %) and a reduction in vegetation (3.3 %) and water bodies (2.3 %) which caused the spatial distribution of air pollutants to expand from the centre of KLEMUR to the north and south. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated that 52.68 % of the air pollution was influenced by vehicular and industrial emissions given that the strong factor loadings (>0.70) consisted of NO, NO 2 , NO x , CO and SO 2. The land use changes have a significant impact (p < 0.10) on air pollution in KLEMUR since NO, NO 2 , NO x , CO and SO 2 were positively correlated with the built-up lands and negatively correlated with vegetation and water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia is facing an increasing trend in industrial solid waste generation due to industrial development. Thus, there is a paramount need in taking practical actions and measurements to move toward sustainable industrial waste management. The main aim of this study is to assess practicing solid waste minimization by manufacturing firms. Analysis showed that majority of firms (92%) dispose of their wastes rather than utilize other sustainable waste management options. Also, waste minimization methods such as segregation of wastes, on-site recycle and reuse, improved housekeeping, and equipment modification were found to have significant contribution to waste reduction (p < 0.05). Lack of expertise (M = 3.50), lack of enough information (M = 3.54), lack of equipment modification (M = 3.16), and lack of specific waste minimization guidelines (M = 3.49) have higher mean score comparing with other barriers in different categories. These data were interpreted for elaborating on SWOT and TOWS (strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities) matrix to highlight strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. Subsequently, ten policies were recommended for improvement of practicing waste minimization by manufacturing firms as the main objective of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, dengue outbreaks have become increasingly common around the developing countries, including Malaysia. Thus, it is essential for rural as well as urbanised livelihood to understand the distribution pattern of this infection. The objective of this study is to determine the trend of dengue cases reported from the year 2014 to 2018 and the spatial pattern for this spread. Spatial statistical analyses conducted found that the distribution pattern and spatial mean centre for dengue cases were clustered in the eastern part of the Bangi region. Directional distribution observed that the elongated polygon of dengue cluster stretched from the Northeast to the Southwest of Bangi District. The standard distance observed for dengue cases was smallest in the year 2014 (0.017 m), and largest in 2016 (0.019 m), whereas in the year 2015, 2017 and 2018, it measured 0.018 m. The average nearest neighbour analysis also displayed clustered patterns for dengue cases in the Bangi District. The three spatial statistical analyses (spatial mean centre, standard distance and directional distribution) findings illustrate that the dengue cases from the year 2014 to 2018 are clustered in the Northeast to the Southwest of the study region.