Muhammad Aiman Ahmad Fozi, Mohamed Najib Salleh and Khairul Azwan Ismail
This paper aims to develop 3D-printed customized padding to increase pressure at the zero pressure region. This padding is specifically intended for facial areas with complex…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop 3D-printed customized padding to increase pressure at the zero pressure region. This padding is specifically intended for facial areas with complex contours in pressure therapy treatment of hypertrophic scars.
Design/methodology/approach
To carry out this study, a full-face head garment was fabricated by a local occupational therapist, and pressure measurements were conducted to establish the pressure exerted by this head garment and to determine the zero pressure region. Furthermore, an additional manufacturing method was used to construct customized padding, and pressure measurements were performed to measure the pressure exerted after application of this customized padding.
Findings
The results reveal that 3D-printed customized padding can increase pressure at the zero pressure region, which occurs on complex contour surfaces with a spatial gap because of non-contact of the head garment and facial surfaces.
Practical implications
This paper suggests that an additive manufacturing method using 3D printing is capable of producing accurate, functional and low-cost medical parts for rehabilitation. Moreover, the 3D-printed padding fabricated by additive manufacturing assists in generating optimal pressure, which is necessary for effective pressure therapy.
Originality/value
Digital design using 3D scanning, computer-aided design and 3D printing is capable of designing and producing properly fitting, customized padding that functions to increase pressure from zero to an acceptable pressure range required for pressure therapy.
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Mohamed Najib Bin Salleh, Memis Acar and Neil D. Burns
The objective of this research is to develop a method for designing customised pressure garments that can be more accurately applied to a burn wound area. The method includes the…
Abstract
The objective of this research is to develop a method for designing customised pressure garments that can be more accurately applied to a burn wound area. The method includes the use of a 3D digital image of the wounded body part obtained by a body scanner and the development of a 3D pressure garment model and a 2D pattern. The scanned data contain detailed information that cannot be feasibly obtained by manual measurements, such as body curvature. The model parameters include the pressure to be exerted, pressure garment fabric properties and radius of curvature of the cross-sections of scanned body parts. By using a 3D pressure garment model, a 2D garment pattern is developed, and then, a pressure garment is constructed by using the pattern. The technique has been experimentally verified and customised pressure garments are made for a number of volunteer subjects. The customised pressure garments made for the subjects exert pressures close to the design pressure, but vary along the circumference of a given cross-section. The customised pressure garments constructed by using the developed method have shown a more accurate fit to uniformly exert the design pressure onto the whole of the wounded area.
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Mohamed Najib Bin Salleh, Memis Acar and Neil D. Burns
This paper reports a pressure distribution model that will predict the pressure applied by a pressure garment onto a wounded body segment which could facilitate the production of…
Abstract
This paper reports a pressure distribution model that will predict the pressure applied by a pressure garment onto a wounded body segment which could facilitate the production of custom made pressure garments. The model is generated by using the 3D data of the wounded body segment of a patient which are obtained by a non-intrusive non-contact measurement system. The circumference of the body segment is calculated from scanned digital data. Then, a circumference reduction factor is calculated to determine the circumference of the pressure garment in order to apply the design pressure by using a specific fabric with an experimentally determined modulus of elasticity in the circumferential direction. Then, the radius of curvature for each data point in a given layer is calculated and the pressure applied is obtained. Finally, a 3D pressure distribution model for the whole wounded part is constructed by stacking the pressure maps of adjacent layers. The model is verified through a comparison with the actual pressure measured by using custom made pressure garments and volunteer subjects. The comparison shows reasonable agreement. The model enables garment manufacturers/therapists to evaluate the effectiveness of a custom designed pressure garment before it is manufactured and eliminates the need for in-situ pressure measurements.
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This chapter explores how traditional femininity as a form of emphasized femininity influences single mothers’ decisions to be involved in romantic relationships. It explores how…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter explores how traditional femininity as a form of emphasized femininity influences single mothers’ decisions to be involved in romantic relationships. It explores how women negotiate the boundaries of emphasized femininity in making their choices related to involvement in romantic relationships.
Methodology/approach
The data for this study were collected by conducting in-depth interviews with 30 Malaysian Tamil women. They were selected using a purposive sampling method. The main criterion of selection was that participants were Malaysian Indian single mothers identifying Tamil as their mother tongue. Latent and manifest content analyses were used to scrutinize the interviews.
Findings
Single mothers identified their responsibilities qua mothers as the most important part of their life. Many have remained single because they were concerned about the well-being of their children. Other than that, many single mothers chose not to be involved in a romantic relationship because it may be stigmatized by their family or community. Involvement in a romantic relationship is seen as a transgression from the notion of traditional femininity, which is a form of emphasized femininity in Tamil society. Motherhood and karpu (chastity) are seen as central to the traditional notion of femininity in Tamil society.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of how emphasized femininity in a minority group in Malaysia influences single mothers’ decisions about romantic relationships. Furthermore, there are very few studies in Malaysia focusing on the experiences of single mothers from minority ethnic communities.
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Tamoi Janggu, Corina Joseph and Nero Madi
The main aim of the study is to find out the level and trend of CSR disclosure pattern of industrial companies in Malaysia and its relationship with companies' characteristics.
Abstract
Purpose
The main aim of the study is to find out the level and trend of CSR disclosure pattern of industrial companies in Malaysia and its relationship with companies' characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis is used to analyse the data from the corporate annual reports of the companies from 1998 to 2003. Samples are selected using simple random sampling technique.
Findings
Research findings, inter alia, indicate that there is positive relationship between CSR and companies' turnover but no apparent relationship is noticed with companies' capital. Relationship between CSR and companies' profitability is also found to be positive but weak. More disclosure by local companies as compared to their foreign counterparts is another noteworthy finding. Overall, CSR level of industrial companies in Malaysia is increasing both in terms of amount of the disclosure and the number of participating companies.
Research limitations/implications
The use of annual reports may not give a complete picture of the disclosure practices as the company may use other medium to disseminate the information. In addition, his study focuses on industrial companies in Malaysia. Thus all conclusions derived cannot be generalized to other industries.
Originality/value
The current research is the only study in Malaysia thus far that covers a disclosure pattern of six years thereby widens the horizon of CSR research. Besides that it extends the previous research to cover new variables such as individual and corporate ownership, influence of the chairman's race on the disclosure and exploring the disclosure pattern by paid‐up capital.
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Mumtaz Ali Memon, Rohani Salleh and Mohamed Noor Rosli Baharom
The purpose of this paper is to examine the casual relationship between training satisfaction, work engagement (WE) and turnover intention and the mediating role of WE between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the casual relationship between training satisfaction, work engagement (WE) and turnover intention and the mediating role of WE between training satisfaction and turnover intention.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 409 oil and gas professionals using an email survey questionnaire. Structural equation modelling, using Analysis of Moment Structures (IBM AMOS) 22.0, was performed to test the hypothesized model.
Findings
The results suggest that training satisfaction is significantly positively related to employees’ level of WE and is negatively related to turnover intention. The results also reveal that WE mediates the relationship between training satisfaction and turnover intention.
Practical implications
Training has long been thought to play an important role in achieving positive attitudinal and behaviours outcomes among employees. This study reconfirms these ideas and highlights the importance of training satisfaction as being key to achieving greater WE and reducing voluntary turnover. Therefore, the finding of this study have a number of implications for research and human resource development practitioners.
Originality/value
This study makes a significant theoretical contribution to the literature as this is the first study to demonstrate the significance of training satisfaction and the mediating effects of WE in reducing the turnover intention of employees.
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Nurul ‘Ulyani Mohd Najib, Nor’ Aini Yusof and Nazirah Zainul Abidin
The paper aims to investigate the level of student satisfaction with campus student housing facilities (SHF) at Malaysian research universities (RUs) and the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the level of student satisfaction with campus student housing facilities (SHF) at Malaysian research universities (RUs) and the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
The student residential satisfaction (SRS) framework has been proposed to investigate residential satisfaction from the students' viewpoint. Questionnaires were distributed to respondents in three RUs. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics.
Findings
In general, students are satisfied with the provided SHF with the SRS index of 2.96 or 74 per cent satisfaction level and there is a significant relationship between overall satisfaction and loyalty behaviour. The results also confirmed that the proposed model is an adequate instrument to measure SRS.
Practical implications
The existence of quality SHF is likely to act as an effective medium to attract local and international students to enrol in Malaysian universities. Further actions should be geared towards achieving a higher score of SRS index.
Originality/value
This paper introduces a practical model of SRS to be applied to universities in other countries with similar climate and culture.
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Shamsul Nahar Abdullah and Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the representation of women on the boards (WOMBDs) and audit committees is associated with a reduction in the practice of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the representation of women on the boards (WOMBDs) and audit committees is associated with a reduction in the practice of earnings management and whether women are associated with income reducing (conservative) rather than income-increasing (aggressive) earnings management. The authors further argue that family ownership moderates the relationship between the presence of WOMBDs and audit committees and earnings management.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses non-finance firms listed on Bursa Malaysia over a period of four years, i.e. from 2008 until 2011.
Findings
The evidence reveals that the presence of WOMBD or audit committee is not associated with a propensity for earnings management. In addition, the evidence also reveals that family ownership does not interact either with WOMBD or with women on the audit committee (WOMAC) to influence the propensity for earnings management. Nevertheless, the additional analyses show that, while women on boards are not associated with income-decreasing accruals, the presence of women on audit committees leads to income-reducing earnings management. The evidence further reveals that family ownership does not interact with either WOMBD or WOMAC to influence income-decreasing earnings management.
Originality/value
This study extends prior research on the role of women directors and women audit committee members on earnings management focussing on family ownership. Further, the study also examines the direction of earnings management as opposed to the most prior studies, which mainly focus on the propensity of earnings management.
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Ali Hauashdh, Junaidah Jailani, Ismail Abdul Rahman and Najib AL-fadhali
In recent years, there have been many concerns about issues surrounding building maintenance, which are continually increasing. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, there have been many concerns about issues surrounding building maintenance, which are continually increasing. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies on building maintenance issues, their effects and the way forward. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to carry out a comprehensive review of building maintenance issues, their effects and the way forward. It also aims to develop a conceptual model that can support future research.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review of the literature published from 2009 to 2019 was carried out. Five relevant databases were searched, based on this study's search terms, and a narrative synthesis of the results from the included studies was carried out. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they fulfilled the inclusion criteria of this systematic review.
Findings
This study has identified and classified building maintenance issues, their effects and the way forward, and also developed a conceptual model that demonstrates the association between issues, their effects and the way forward. The way forward of the conceptual model focuses on effective management, technical capability, development of human resources and cost optimisation.
Originality/value
This paper addresses an important topic: the aspect in which it differs from existing studies is that, in the latter, the researchers studied a single sub-issue, whereas this systematic review includes a comprehensive study of building maintenance issues. Furthermore, this review has demonstrated how the way forward can moderate issues and their effects.
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Maryam Abolghasemi, M.K.S. Al-Mhdawi, Farzad Rahimian and Abroon Qazi
In this research, the authors distributed a survey to 156 residential construction developers and 468 buyers to assess the level of perceived agreement of developers and buyers on…
Abstract
Purpose
In this research, the authors distributed a survey to 156 residential construction developers and 468 buyers to assess the level of perceived agreement of developers and buyers on the key indicators for measuring stakeholder management, project performance and stakeholder satisfaction. Following this, a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) model was developed to quantitatively analyse the direct impacts of stakeholder management on both project performance and stakeholder satisfaction, and to analyse the mediating role of stakeholder satisfaction in enhancing project performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper seeks to investigate the direct effects of stakeholder management on project performance and stakeholder satisfaction within residential construction projects, and also examine the mediating role of stakeholder satisfaction in enhancing project performance by surveying residential buildings’ developers and buyers in Malaysia.
Findings
This research found that effective stakeholder management directly improves project performance and stakeholder satisfaction within Malaysian residential construction projects. It further identified that stakeholder satisfaction significantly enhances project performance, serving as a critical mediator in the relationship between stakeholder management and project performance.
Practical implications
This study enhances the understanding of stakeholder management, stakeholder satisfaction and project performance in the Malaysian construction industry, offering strategic insights that emphasise the importance of stakeholder-centric practices for improving project outcomes, ensuring better collaboration and fostering enhanced project performance. Integrating these insights with digital technologies like building information modelling can lead to clearer communication, more informed stakeholder engagement, and, ultimately, enhanced project efficiency and satisfaction.
Originality/value
This paper offers empirical evidence on the critical role of stakeholder management and satisfaction in enhancing project performance in Malaysia’s residential construction projects, providing novel insights into stakeholder-centric approaches that contribute to improved project outcomes.