The Development and Usability of a Bragg’s Law Crystallography Model as a Teaching Aid in Solid State Physics Course among Undergraduate Students in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

This quantitative study was aimed to develop and determine the usability of a Bragg’s law crystallography model as a teaching aid in Solid State Physics course among undergraduate students in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). The usability of Bragg’s law crystallography model in attracting students’ interest towards the learning area and the perception of students towards the usability were evaluated. A total of 101 UPSI undergraduate students were taken as the respondents in the study via the cluster probability sampling method. A questionnaire with four points Likert scale was used to collect the data. The instruments including the model and the questionnaire were verified by evaluation experts. Pilot test was carried out to measure the reliability of instruments. The data was analysed by using the descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the developed Bragg’s law crystallography model was valid and reliable for undergraduate students in UPSI. Positive result of the students’ interest towards the learning area by using the Bragg’s law crystallography model and the usefulness of this model was showed. Students showed great interest during the lecture learning about Bragg’s law. Thus, Bragg’s law crystallography model enabled students to be more interested in the learning area and helped the educators to create better learning environment in Solid State Physics course as the implications of this research

An Empirical Study on the Demand Analysis of 0 - 3-Year-Old Infants’ Care Service in China—Based on a Survey in Province G

The study adopts the self-made questionnaire of 0 - 3-year-old children’s demand for child care, investigating 6564 families with 0 - 3-year-old children in G province by means of cluster probability sampling. The survey shows that most parents’ willingness to care is not strong, and the acceptable monthly cost of care is mainly within 2000 Yuan. The main reason for choosing care is to let children receive professional care and education. The main reasons for not choosing nursery are that families can take care of themselves; parents are most concerned about the safety of nursery institutions and the professionalism of the staff; they prefer to choose public nursery institutions. Therefore, we should actively construct a multi-level and multi-level care service system to better meet the demand of care services of 0 - 3-year-old infants.

Moving Beyond the Mean: Subgroups and dimensions of brain activity and cognitive performance across domains

Human neuroimaging during cognitive tasks has provided unique and important insights into the neurobiology of cognition. However, the vast majority of research relies upon group aggregate or average statistical maps of activity, which do not fully capture the rich variability which exists across individuals. To better characterize individual variability, hierarchical clustering was performed separately on six fMRI tasks in 822 participants from the Human Connectome Project. Across all tasks, clusters ranged from a predominantly ‘deactivating’ pattern towards a more ‘activating’ pattern of brain activity, with differences in out-of-scanner cognitive test scores between clusters. Cluster stability was assessed via bootstrapping approach. Cluster probability did not indicate distinct/clear clustering. However, when participants were plotted in a dimensionally reduced ‘similarity space’ derived from bootstrapping, variability in brain activity among participants was best represented multidimensionally. A ‘positive to negative’ axis of activity was the strongest driver of individual differences.

Integrating factors influencing hijab purchase intention among Muslim women

Purpose This study aims to examine the hijab purchase intention of Muslim women by applying the theory of reasoned action: religious commitment, satisfaction (attitude), dressing style and knowledge source (subjective norms). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 603 Malay Muslim women in four universities through a self-administered questionnaire using a multi-stage cluster probability sampling technique. Smart PLS was used for data analysis. Findings The findings demonstrate that customers’ hijab purchase intention is significantly influenced by religious commitment, satisfaction, dressing style and knowledge source. Practical implications This study is for hijab designers because it is important for them to explore and examine the hijab purchase intention of Muslim women and then design the hijab accordingly, not only to capture a big segment in Kuala Lumpur but to obtain a competitive edge as well. Originality/value This is the first paper of its kind to examine the hijab purchase intention of Malay Muslim women.

The nexus between customer equity and brand switching behaviour of millennial Muslim consumers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of customer equity on the brand-switching behaviour of millennial Muslim consumers in Pakistan and Malaysia using the theory of planned behaviour framework. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 706 millennial Muslim consumers from two universities in each country through a self-administered questionnaire using a multi-cluster probability sampling and were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings The findings demonstrate that the customer equity dimensions (awareness of American brands, perceived quality and image of American brands) are significantly different between the two countries, and moreover, customer equity strongly influences the brand-switching intention behaviour in both countries, and this consequently influences the actual brand-switching behaviour. Practical implications This study is important for those firms who have many prospective switchers and Muslim consumers, because it is essential to understand why brand-switching behaviour occurs, and to what extent such firms can discourage such consumers from leaving the brand. Originality/value This is the first paper of its kind to examine the brand-switching behaviour of millennial Muslim consumers in two different cultures.

An economic analysis on intergenerational lock-in effects of belief in rural China

Purpose – Rural China has been undergoing the “religion fever” since the Reform and Opening-up. By comparing the intergenerational lock-in effects of religious belief with that of non-religious belief, the purpose of this paper is to explain why more and more peasants convert to religion especially Christianity in China. Design/methodology/approach – Data used in this paper comes from a field survey conducted in villages, Funan county. The samples were obtained by the two-stage cluster probability proportional sampling method. Based on the collected survey data, econometric model on the intergenerational lock-in effects of belief was constructed and used for analysis. Findings – Compared with non-religious believers, religious believers can transmit their beliefs more successfully. In addition, the intergenerational lock-in effects of religious beliefs is weakened by oblique socialization in contemporary rural China. Originality/value – This is the first paper focussing on intergenerational transmission of belief in rural China; although many researchers did careful analyses on effects of parents’ belief or religiosity on children’s belief or religiosity in the West, few of them compared the success of intergenerational transmission between different beliefs. This paper fills this gap; as an interdisciplinary study, this paper tries to study religion in economics analysis approaches. This attempt extends research field in Economics and at the same time enriches analysis tools in Religion.

Research on Improvement of LEACH Protocol with Heterogeneous Nodes

It is necessary to consider the energy efficiency of nodes and load balance in wireless sensor networks. This paper combines with the network of the actual heterogeneous nodes, the improved algorithm of LEACH is proposed, which is called LEACH-HA. The optimal number of cluster heads is derived with improved in the network which increases energy of nodes become cluster probability. A hybrid communication mode that cluster heads alternate between single hop and multi-hop mode is proposed. After analysis LEACH-HA improves the energy efficiency among nodes and expands the coverage of network.

Incidences, Types, and Influencing Factors of Snow Disaster–Associated Injuries in Ningbo, China, 2008

ABSTRACTObjective:The incidence, types, and influencing factors of injuries due to snow-ice disasters are essential for public health preparedness. This study was designed to assess such factors of injuries during the 22-day snowstorm in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, in 2008.Methods:A multistage cluster probability sampling method was applied to select the study population in urban, rural, and mountainous areas. Data including sociodemographic characteristics, frequency, and types of injuries during the snowstorm between January 20 and February 10, 2008, were obtained by face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire and by checking the participants' medical records. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to determine the factors significantly associated with the risk of injuries.Results:A total of 3169 residents of 1416 families took part in this survey. In 581 residents, 602 injuries were identified. Incidences of frostbite, falling injury, and traffic accident–related injury were 12.78%, 5.30%, and 0.50%, respectively. Injury occurred more frequently in women than in men (odds ratio [OR], 1.42; 95% CI, 1.19-1.70). Frostbite occurred more frequently in women than in men (adjusted OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.43-2.41) and more frequently in urban areas than in other areas (adjusted OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.24-2.20). Travel by bus or car, wearing a scarf, wearing gloves, wearing a raincoat, reducing outdoor activity, and performing regular physical exercise were independent protective factors of frostbite, with an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 0.35 (0.20-0.61), 0.45 (0.33-0.62), 0.35 (0.26-0.48), 0.45 (0.33-0.61), 0.36 (0.27-0.48), and 0.18 (0.13-0.24), respectively. Falling injury occurred more often in mountainous areas than in other areas (adjusted OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.27-2.42). Age 45 years or older, working outside more than 15 days, and wearing a raincoat were independent risk factors of falling injury, with an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 2.30 (1.60-3.32), 1.92 (1.36-2.72), and 2.21 (1.56-3.11), respectively. Falling and traffic accident–related injuries were mainly due to slippery roads.Conclusions:Frostbite and falling injury were the major injuries caused by an unprecedented snow-ice disaster. Keeping warm and maintaining regular physical exercise appeared to reduce frostbite risk. Public health intervention also reduced the risk of falling and traffic accident–related injuries.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:363-369)