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AbstractRapid economic development since the mid-1970s has caused some segments of the Malay intelligentsia in Malaysia to rework aspects of their cultural heritage, in particular, Islamic teachings and philosophy, to create new cultures and new identities. In Sungai Pencala, a suburban Malay community that had undergone considerable social transformation and been exposed to Islamic resurgence, two such tendencies were discernible. The first was associated with the banned Al Arqam movement and the second, with state-sponsored agencies. Proceeding from a conviction that existing identities based on the family, kin groups and locality had to be deconstructed, the Al Arqam movement engaged in a project aimed at forging a group-centred identity through a commune-based living pattern and linking that identity firmly with that of the Middle East. The state's agents, on the other hand, merely sought to modify the existing loyalties so as to produce Malays who would continue to regard the family, community, locality and the nation as important contexts within which they could acquire their ethnic and religious identities. The paper argues that the contrasting tendencies in identity reformulation in Sungai Pencala have much to do with the differences in the way Islam has been used to promote the religiously-expressed interests of certain groups as with the fate of the increasingly differentiated urban-based Malays.

AbstractThe Arabs in Southeast Asia have to a large or small extent been indigenized as a result of exposure to and interaction with local cultures and societies. For those Arabs living in colonial and post-independence times in the state of Kedah, Malaysia, making the transition from being an Arab to a Malay means employing different assimilative strategies. In colonial times, because of their close relationship with the Kedah ruling family and the favour shown to them by the British, the Arabs assumed high social status in Kedah. During that time, and consistent with Malay preference for status-ranking, becoming Malay for the Arabs involved acknowledging their moral and social superiority over the local people. In the years following independence, the process entailed the new generation of Arabs in the state downplaying status differences, externalizing values of equality and demonstrating loyalty to the Malaysian nation. In so doing, they almost completely dissolved into Malay society. Though still vaguely recognizable as a social category by their phenotypical features and the use of clan names and the honorific titles of sayyid and sharifah, the Arabs in Kedah are so strongly acculturated to Malay customs, norms, beliefs and political aspirations that to them, Arabness is now an anomaly.

Objective: Transition of people with cognitive impairment to nursing home is often an option when their disease progresses and their needs become too complex. The aim of this study was to identify the needs of people with cognitive impairment living in nursing homes and factors associated with higher level of needs.Methods: A cross sectional survey involving 110 respondents with cognitive impairment aged ≥60 was carried out. Respondents were assessed using the Short Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE), Camberwell Assessment of Needs for Elderly (CANE), Barthel Index (BI), Friendship Scale (FS), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).Results: Respondents with cognitive impairment had a mean of 2.81 (SD=3.72) for unmet needs and 11.95 (SD=3.14) for the met needs, with higher mean suggesting a better outcome measure. The most frequent unmet needs were intimate relationships (66.40%), company (40.00%), and daytime activity (34.50%). Unmet needs were significantly associated with depression, social isolation, and cognitive impairment.Conclusion: Most of the needs of people with cognitive impairment in nursing homes were fulfilled, except in social area. Therefore, attention should be given in improving the care system, which emphasizes collaboration between people with cognitive impairment, family members, community, and government in helping to reduce the risk of loneliness in those with cognitive impairment. Please click PDF below to download the full paper.

The World Health Organization declares coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic, and The World Economic Forum argues that the COVID-19-induced global lockdown is the biggest psychological experiment. This study is an attempt to empirically evaluate the possible adverse psychosocial effects caused by COVID-19-related lockdown, if any. To do so, a cross-sectional study is conducted based on a comprehensive online survey using snowball sampling to analyze the level of social and psychological impacts (i.e., stress, belief in stakeholders, fear of losing job, and life satisfaction) during the early stage of the outbreak in Pakistan. The questionnaire is filled out by the residents in Pakistan including working professionals and students (sample size is 428). We find that the development of stress due to COVID-19-induced lockdown is particularly because of mood swings. Additionally, a higher prevalence of stress in the children of highly educated mothers is evident (95% confidence). To assess the belief in stakeholders, we focus gender, demographics, and education. It is observed that parental education and age significantly affect the belief in several stakeholders (i.e., government, media, religious clerics, and family). The lockdown-induced fear of losing job is lower in female and male children whose fathers are graduates. Lastly, we observe that food storage and "no fear of losing job" significantly increases the odds of life satisfaction. These findings have important implications in the context of social insurance, parental education, and policy related to COVID-19 at various levels. This study further facilitates to understand the factors that might affect the mental health and life satisfaction of people during such pandemics.

Frequent terrorist activities, the use of vehicle bomb blasts and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have brought forth the task of protection against blasts as a priority issue for engineers. Terrorists mostly target the areas where human and economic losses are significantly higher. It is really challenging to study the effects of blast loading on structures due to numerous variables. For instance, the type of detonation charge, explosive material, placement of charge and standoff distance, etc., are a few of the variables which make the system more complicated. Reinforced cement concrete (RCC) wall panels are commonly used for protecting important installations and buildings. In this research, the response of RCC wall panels has been investigated due to the blast effect caused by two TNT charge weights of 50 kg and 100 kg. These two charge weights have been selected after a detailed study of terrorist activities in the recent past. For this purpose, an existing arrangement at an important military installation, i.e., NESCOM Hospital Islamabad in Pakistan, has been selected. To reduce computational efforts, three RCC wall panels, placed side by side producing a continuous front along with a corresponding boundary and structural wall, have been considered. RCC wall panels are placed at a distance of 3 ft from the perimeter of the boundary wall and 23 ft from the structural wall. The displacement on the front face of RCC wall panels and the structural wall is measured at three levels of top, middle and bottom. ANSYS AUTODYN software has been used to simulate the model. Analysis has been carried out to identify and study the weakness of existing arrangements. Literature was reviewed for suggesting an appropriate strengthening technique for existing structures against blast loading. It was found that in addition to existing strengthening techniques, use of steel strips is amongst the most feasible technique for strengthening existing structures. It not only significantly enhanced the blast performance of structures, but it also significantly reduced z-direction displacements and pressures. The results show that the use of steel strips as the improvement technique for already placed RCC wall panels can be effective against a blast loading of up to 100 kg TNT.

Recently, the Ministry of Health Pakistan decreed that disclosures of anti- smoking messages placement in the movies should be used whereby fear based cognitive anti-smoking message is shown. Consistent with the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) assumption that persuasion messages likely influence the attitude of the relatively unmotivated individuals. This study is the first which tests and compare the ability of anti-smoking persuasion messages presented in the Direct Anti-smoking public service Advertisements (DAA) and Anti-smoking messages Placement Disclosures in movies (APD) in determining viewer's Attitude to Quit Smoking (AQS). Hence, this attempt overcomes deficient understanding about the effects of disclosing anti-smoking advertisement placement. In a between-subject experiment (N = 120), we measure the smokers' attitudes in the result of the direct anti-smoking advertisements along with the APDs in movies. Results of the experiment show that attitude to quit smoking becomes stronger when a direct anti-smoking advertisement and anti-smoking disclosure is shown. However, analyses based on Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) on Advanced Analysis for Composites (ADANCO) 2.0.1 (a new software for variance-based SEM) attitude to quit smoking is significantly higher when the anti-smoking message disclosure is shown during the movie scenes. These results have significant implications for persuasion theories and public policy about anti-smoking campaigns.

This paper empirically inquire the relation of social capital dimensions (relational social capital, structural social capital, and cognitive social capital), organization innovation capabilities, and the performance of information technology (IT) as a mediator in the said relationships. A total of 263 workers of different management cadres from software SMEs (Zhongguancun Software Park, Beijing, China) were randomly selected. However, 143 respondents submitted the complete response. Thus, the response rate was 54%. For the empirical investigation, the present paper uses Partial Least Squares, Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Importance-Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) techniques to analyze the survey data. The direct and indirect relationship between dimensions of social capital and organizational innovation capabilities is significant. However, IT generates a partial mediation effect. IPMA highlights the importance of relational and structural social capital to innovation capabilities, however, IT is indicated as the key driver that trigger the effect of social capital on organization innovation capabilities. Future studies guidelines and limitations are explained at the end of this paper.

Abstract
The ongoing development of the strategic communication research in the area of the advertising calls for the development and validation of the measurement instruments that can address the indulgence of the advertising appeals in a specific cultural context. Therefore, the present study examines and validate advertising appeals by considering the norms based on the GLOBE nine cultural dimensions in Malaysian context. The analysis involved data from 10 advertising expert for content validation, followed by 10 advertising expert rating and ranking of the scale of its relevance and clarity to assess the item-level content validation. The results provided to support the impact of cultural norms are substantial for Malaysian advertising, which are identified from content validation procedure.

Kerahsiaan merupakan satu isu yang mempunyai implikasi etika dan perundangan untuk pengamal kesihatan mental. Seseorang kaunselor boleh disabitkan kesalahan perundangan iaitu penyelewengan amalan sekiranya beliau gagal dalam mentadbirkan klien yang mengancam untuk melakukan keganasan. Di Malaysia, kajian lepas menunjukkan bahawa klien lebih suka Pusat Bimbangan dan Kaunseling di sekolah terletak jauh dari bangunan pentadbiran, selamat dan biliknya telap suara. Kenyataan ini menunjukkan bahawa klien sangat mementingkan kerahsiaan. Persampelan kajian dibuat secara rawak mudah yang melibatkan kaunselor yang bernaung di bawah Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia (LKM) dan PERKAMA. Jumlah sampel kajian adalah seramai 602 orang responden. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa wujud hubungan yang signifikan antara kefahaman legal dengan kefahaman etika iaitu nilai r² = .055 (5.5%); antara kefahaman legal dengan kesedaran (r² = .017 (1.7%); antara kefahaman etika dengan kesedaran(nilai r² = .080 (8.0%) dan antara kesedaran dengan amalan etika kerahsiaan (nilai r² = .071 (7.1%). Kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa kaunselor mempunyai kesedaran dan amalan terhadap etika kerahsiaan, namun kefahaman legal dan kefahaman etika mereka adalah di peringkat sederhana. Kesedaran dan amalan etika kerahsiaan kaunselor yang dikaji menunjukkan bahawa mereka memahami komponen kesedaran dan amalan etika kerahsiaan bukan secara mendalam iaitu hanya di peringkat permukaan (surface) sahaja. Kesedaran dan amalan etika kerahsiaan hanya akan berfungsi dalam sesi kaunseling kerana iannya menjadi keperluan asas hubungan terapeutik antara klien dengan kaunselor. KATA KUNCI: kaunselor, kefahaman, kesedaran, amalan etika kerahsiaan Abstract Confidentiality is an issue that bears ethical and legislative implications towards mental health practitioners. A counsellor can be convicted for misappropriation of practice if he fails to manage clients who threaten to cause violence. Past research in Malaysia indicates that clients are favourable of Guidance and Counselling Centres that are safe, situated far away from the administrative block as well as equipped with rooms that are non-voice permeable. This is declarative of the fact that clients favour confidentiality. Simple random sampling was administered on 602 counsellors who resided under the auspices of The Malaysian Board of Counsellors (LKM) and PERKAMA. Findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between legal and ethical understanding with a value of r2= .055 (5.5%); between legal understanding and consciousness (r2= .017 (1.7%); between ethical understanding and consciousness (with a value of r2=.080 (8.0%) and between consciousness and the practice of confidentiality ethics (with a value of r2= .071 (7.1%). This research is indicative of the fact that counsellors are conscious towards the ethics of confidentiality although their legal and ethical understanding is at a moderate level. It has also been revealed that their understanding on the ethics of consciousness and confidentiality is only at a superficial level. The practice of ethical consciousness and confidentiality will only be functional in counselling sessions as it is a basic requirement in a therapeutic relationship between a client and a counsellor. KEYWORDS: counsellor, understanding, consciousness, practice of ethical confidentiality