This study examined the relationships between psychosocial work factors and risk of WRMSDs among public hospital nurses in the Klang Valley, Malaysia.
We conducted a cross-sectional study among 660 ...public hospital nurses. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the occurrence of WRMSDs according to body regions, socio-demographic profiles, occupational information and psychosocial risk factors. 468 questionnaires were returned (response rate of 71%), and 376 questionnaires qualified for subsequent analysis. Univariate analyses were applied to test for mean and categorical differences across the WRMSDs; multiple logistic regression was applied to predict WRMSDs based on the Job Strain Model's psychosocial risk factors.
Over two thirds of the sample of nurses experienced discomfort or pain in at least one site of the musculoskeletal system within the last year. The neck was the most prevalent site (48.94%), followed by the feet (47.20%), the upper back (40.69%) and the lower back (35.28%). More than 50% of the nurses complained of having discomfort in region one (neck, shoulders and upperback) and region four (hips, knees, ankles, and feet). The results also revealed that psychological job demands, job strain and iso-strain ratio demonstrated statistically significant mean differences (p < 0.05) between nurses with and without WRMSDs. According to univariate logistic regression, all psychosocial risk factors illustrated significant association with the occurrence of WRMSDs in various regions of the body (OR: 1.52-2.14). Multiple logistic regression showed all psychosocial risk factors were significantly associated with WRMSDs across body regions (OR: 1.03-1.19) except for region 1 (neck, shoulders and upper back) and region 4 (hips, knees, ankles, and feet). All demographic variables except for years of employment were statistically and significantly associated with WRMSDs (p < 0.05).
The findings indicated the high prevalence of WRMSDs in many body regions, and the risks of developing WRMSDs according to the various body regions were associated with important psychosocial risk factors based on the job strain model. These findings have implications for the management of WRMSDs among public hospital nurses in the Klang Valley, Malaysia.
The last decade of the 20th century brought radical changes in information and communication technology. Internet usage is being widely researched in the business world. However, the use of the ...Internet in academic settings in general and in vocational and technical establishment in particular is a neglected area. Successful use of the Internet is largely dependent upon the user's behaviour that, in turn, affects their attitudes. Even when remarkable opportunities exist for the deployment of technology, adverse attitude can inhibit use. Keeping this in mind, a survey of 166 academics of four technical and vocational colleges was conducted to study the attitudes of academics toward the use of the Internet. This study develops a model and validates two specific attitudinal variables--perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use--which are hypothesized to be fundamental determinants of use of the Internet. Adding two more variables--such as task characteristics and computer exposure--test the parsimony of the model further. A structural equation modelling technique is used to validate the model. The study confirmed that 79% of academics are using the Internet. Computer experience, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use remain to be fundamental determinants of attitude formation. No other variables have been found to be significant.
The most common autosomal form of Chronic Granulomatous Disease, p47-phox deficient CGD, generally features a GT (deltaGT) deletion in the GTGT sequence at the start of exon 2 on the NCF-1 gene. This ...consistency is due to the coexistence of and the recombination between 2 homologous pseudogenes (psi s) and NCF-1. The GTGT: deltaGT ratio mirrors the NCF-I: NCF-1 psi ratio and is 2:4 in normal individuals.
To determine the molecular basis of the Autosomal-CGD in a family with 2 children, a male and female, affected by the disease. The female patient suffered recurrent infection, retinitis pigmentosa and discoid lupus.
Chemiluminescence (CL) was used to study the respiratory burst, while genetic analysis was done by RT-PCR, PCR, deltaGT and the 20bp gene scans.
The CL response of the patient was profoundly low. The patient's p47-phox band was absent in the RT-PCR for NADPH-oxidase component mRNAs. The deltaGT scan showed that the patient's GTGT: deltaGT ratio was 0:6, the parents' and the younger brother's was 1:5 and the younger sister's was 2:4. Examination of other NCF-1/ NCF-1 psi s differences showed that the father had a compound deltaGT allele ie. deltaGT-20bp, inherited by the patient, and that both parents had compound GTGT alleles with a single 30bp segment in intron 1.
The patient was a classic, homozygous deltaGT p47-phox deficient CGD with one allele harbouring a compound deltaGT-20bp gene. The deltaGT and 20bp gene scans offer a relatively simple and efficient means of defining a p47-phox deficient CGD patient.
Current information systems (IS) literature has paid considerable attention to measuring the computer attitudes of students and schoolteachers. Computer attitudes of non-computing academics working ...particularly in technical colleges have, however, received scant attention. Moreover, studies on computer attitudes among Asian academics are least reported. Keeping this in view, this study was undertaken by validating an instrument to measure computer attitudes of non-computing academics working among technical colleges in Brunei Darussalam. This study also identified factors that contributed to the formation of computer attitudes of academics. This was achieved by undertaking a survey of 192 non-computing academics from four technical colleges. Attributes related to demographics and education of academics appeared to have little impact on computer attitudes. In contrast, ownership of a personal computer (PC) and level of computer skill were found to be important.
Computing is a fast changing technology. As such, empirical studies are often conducted, particularly in the United States, to identify those critical skills that organizations foresee important for ...entry-level computer programmers. No such studies have ever been undertaken in Brunei Darussalam, a small oil-rich kingdom located near Singapore and Malaysia—where information technology (IT) is gaining increased prominence at the national level. An attempt was thus made to identify the type of skills for entry-level programmers, as required by the Brunei-based organizations. Moreover, efforts were directed to determine whether the skills of entry-level programmers varied significantly based on organization size. The results suggest that technical skills are no longer the core skills sought by the participating organizations. Communication skills appeared to be the top-most requirement, followed by skills in Database Management Systems (DBMS), application development method, and tools. Lastly, the need for programming skill, particularly in the third generation languages, seem to be declining. This shift in skill demand needs recognition from both academics and IT managers. These findings are discussed, and some suggestions are offered.
The practices of software development methods and techniques have been widely reported in the information systems (IS) literature. However, a vast majority of the literature describes solely the use ...of well advocated methods and techniques, while a few studies are available that investigated influence of organisational attributes on method adoption. Moreover, experiences of method use within US organisations dominate IS literature, while reports from the Asian region are non-existent. Based on these rationales, a study was undertaken to examine the method adoption pattern of the public and private sector organisations in Brunei Darussalam. Out of 100 organisations, 36 (36%) participated in the survey. Two thirds (67%) of the participating organisations reported adoption of a systematic approach to software development by embracing a method. Even though it appears satisfactory for a newly established small country like Brunei, the use of individual methods, particularly the well known ones like structured methods, is less than expected. Statistical analysis reveals that method use is dependent on the type of organisation, and varied between matured and novice organisations. The implications of these findings are discussed. These findings are also compared with those of US, UK and Australian studies, and interesting differences are highlighted.
Software piracy committed by university students in the western world has been published widely in various computer literature. Little is reported however about why and what proportion of students, ...particularly computing students, in a South East Asian Country like Brunei Darussalam, use pirated software. A survey was thus conducted among the computing students of all the higher educational institutions in Brunei Darussalam. A normative model was also developed that brought together eight factors related to student demography, nature of educational institutions and copyright laws. This model was empirically tested using 91 responses received from the survey. Several interesting findings emerged. Firstly, nearly two-thirds of the students admitted to having used pirated software. Secondly, entertainment was the prominent reason for using pirated software. Thirdly, gender, computer experience and ownership of a personal computer, were found to affect students' use of pirated software. Fourthly, even those students who supported the introduction of copyright laws committed software piracy. The implications of these findings are discussed, and are compared with some related studies. Finally, limitations of the study are mentioned, and areas of further research are identified.
This article reports the results of a survey in Brunei Darussalam concerning the use of pirated software among academics. Though, the suspicion of academics using pirated software has long been ...circulating around in East and South East Asia, no "hard data" has ever been collected. This article confirms the suspicion, and provides new information on the use of pirated software outside the USA. Also reveals the type of tasks accomplished by academics with pirated software, and identifies the reasons for using such software. Moreover, relates academics' use of pirated software with nine factors related to demographics, computer exposure, and job profile of academics. The findings are discussed, and are compared with some related findings reported elsewhere. Finally, concludes with some suggestions to curb piracy, and identifies areas of further research.
Softlifting, a form of software piracy, has received considerable attention in the information systems (IS) literature. However, existing studies have primarily focused on business students, ...academics, and managers. Softlifting practice of computing students has not been examined adequately. This paper aims to analyze the softlifting intention of computing students in Brunei Darussalam. A model was developed, which was tested using survey data collected from 205 respondents. Several important findings have emerged. First, softlifting intention of students varied depending on the type of task for which they intended to use pirated software. Second, attitude of students toward software piracy significantly affected their softlifting intention. Third, gender and family income also affected softlifting intention of students, but to a lesser extent. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Homebound status is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in older adults, yet little is known about homebound older adults in Canada. Our objectives were to describe time ...trends in the prevalence of homebound status among community-dwelling long-term home care recipients and the characteristics associated with homebound status.
This was a retrospective cross-sectional and cohort study using linked health administrative data in Canada's most populous province, Ontario. We included adults aged 65 years and older who received at least one long-term home care assessment from 2006 to 2017 (N = 666,514). Homebound individuals were those who exited the home an average of 0-1 days/week over the previous 30 days; not homebound comparators exited the home 2-7 days per week. We compared baseline characteristics between groups and estimated the association between these characteristics and homebound status at baseline and over time.
From 2006 to 2017, the annual proportion of long-term home care recipients who were homebound increased from 48% to 65%. At first assessment, 50% of the cohort (331,836 of 666,514) were homebound. Among those with a 4-12 month repeat assessment, homebound status persisted over time for 80%, and developed anew in 24%. Dependency on others for locomotion, use of an assistive device, poor access to dwelling, older age, and female sex were most strongly associated with homebound status at baseline, as well as its development and persistence over time.
We found that half of Ontario older adult long-stay home care clients were homebound at the time of their first assessment, and that the prevalence of homebound status among home care recipients rose steadily from 2006 to 2017. This informs further research and policy development to ensure the adequacy of supports for older homebound persons.
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