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Social Entrepreneurship: Cracking the Unknown Phenomenon of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFDespite numerous initiatives made by various organisations to increase employment opportunities for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), they remain unemployed. The unemployment rate for individuals with ASD remains high. Therefore, this study seeks to understand the employment challenges for individuals with ASD and develop innovative solutions to address them. This study selected six founders of social enterprises in Klang Valley, Malaysia, that target individuals with ASD as participants. The study uses a face to-face interview as a means of data collection. By implementing the thematic analysis, the study will uncover key themes and patterns that can inform future initiatives and policies to promote inclusion and diversity in the Malaysian workforce. These findings will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by marginalised groups and the strategies that can be implemented to address them effectively
Democracy, Federalism and Governance in Nigeria
Get PDFNigeria became one of the federal societies under the supervision of the British colonial government in 1954. Federalism and democracy ceased when the military government usurped and suspended the Republican Constitution in 1966. The periods of military rule witnessed over-centralization of power at the centre, while the federating states became Lilliputians. The usurpation of jurisdictional competencies and centralization of power made the federating states and local governments default on their socio-economic responsibilities. The paper aims to elucidate the intricate relationship between federalism and democracy in Nigeria, shedding light on the repercussions of their erosion during military rule. Through a comprehensive review of historical events and constitutional changes, this study examined the consequences of over-centralization and jurisdictional encroachments during military governance. The paper revealed that the institutionalization of federalism once embraced without due consideration, led to detrimental adjustments and crises during military rule, significantly impeding socio-economic and political development. The paper concluded that democracy and federalism are twins ‘brothers’ and will remain relevant and last long when Nigerian leaders, particularly elected representatives, undertake constitutional reforms that prioritized power devolution to states and local governments. This adjustment, rooted in justice and fairness, will rejuvenate the symbiotic relationship between democracy and federalism, ensuring lasting relevanc
Impact of Social Policy on CPI in Malaysia Between 2005-2023
Get PDFThe social policy that the government in Malaysia implemented had positive influences on the local community and economy in Malaysia as well, which focused on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the idea that the trend would change if social policy were made. A study focused on the effect of social policy specified in Malaysia’s education, health, and housing areas on CPI. This study used the quantitative method based on the model of ordinary least squares (OLS), and CPI (Y) was the dependent variable, while government education spending (X1), government health spending (X2), and government housing spending (X3) were the independent variables. According to the results of this research, it seems that there was a positive impact of social policy on the CPI, but no significant social policy that the Malaysian government implemented had a determined power over the CPI. Most country research on the impact of social policy on CPI was also insignificant, based on the previous studies. These findings found that CPI was affected by other factors apart from social policy as well and need to be studied as potential factors in the future, as there was a slight significance. To emphasize this study, ARMA is the best-suggested way to analyse the trend of CPI in Malaysi
Integrating Service Learning in Higher Education for Enhanced Environmental Consciousness in Yan, Kedah
Get PDFThe Service-Learning Malaysia (SULAM) initiative is a credit-bearing program that focuses on experiential learning to enable students to work with faculty to solve community problems using the knowledge and skills they gained from their academic disciplines. SULAM projects carried out for the Environmental Administration Group A course in the Development Management Program at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) during Semester A222 were conducted in collaboration with the community in the district of Kampung Singkir Darat, Yan, Kedah. The objective of these projects was to address environmental issues faced by the community. The methodology used in this project was designed based on the data obtained from SULAM activities, which explores various aspects including methods of implementation, evaluation and documentation. The findings of the projects helped to improve the knowledge and skills of the students, enabling them to become exceptional graduates and responsible citizens. However, there were challenges faced during the SULAM projects, including communication barriers and resource constraints. To overcome these challenges, the students and faculty had to come up with creative solutions, such as using technology to communicate with the community and leveraging local resources to complete the projects. Overall, the SULAM initiative serves as a great example of how experiential learning can be used to solve real-world problems and create a positive impact on societ
Akal Budi dalam Sempama Jaku Iban (Peribahasa) Berimejkan Mamalia berdasarkan Perspektif Semantik Inkuistif
Get PDFPeribahasa telah digunakan oleh masyarakat Iban untuk menyampaikan nilai-nilai (positif dan negatif), ajaran (nasihat dan petunjuk), kearifan tempatan, dan pengalaman hidup. Masyarakat Iban juga menggunakan imej perlambangan di sekitar mereka untuk menonjolkan hubungan antara sikap manusia atau situasi kehidupan. Contohnya, imej perlambangan haiwan (mamalia). Maka, kajian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis peribahasa Iban yang menggunakan imej perlambangan haiwan (mamalia) berpandukan pendekatan semantik inkuisitif (Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin, 2014). Data kajian pula diperoleh daripada Bup Sempama Iban yang ditulis oleh Casper Kayong Umping (2011). Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa, penciptaan peribahasa yang melibatkan imej perlambangan (mamalia) dalam masyarakat Iban terbahagi kepada dua, iaitu: (1) hidupan lautan, seperti ‘ikan iyu’, serta (2) hidupan daratan, seperti ‘mayau’, ‘tupai’, ‘ukui’, ‘jugam’, ‘kera’, ‘kijang’, dan ‘empeliau’. Rumusannya, keterlibatan imej perlambangan (mamalia) dalam peribahasa dapat mencerminkan pandangan masyarakat Iban terhadap alam dan haiwan sebagai sumber inspirasi. Masyarakat Iban juga memberikan penekanan pada nilai-nilai seperti kejujuran, ketelitian, disiplin, dan tindakan nyata dalam usaha mencapai tujuan hidup melalui penciptaan peribahasa berimejkan mamali
Hybrid Real-Value-Genetic-Algorithm and Extended-Nelder- Mead Algorithm for Short Term Energy Demand Prediction
Get PDFEnergy consumption planning of an area is very important. It is essential to accurately predict the amount of short-term power required by an area using a highly effective prediction technique. The real-value-genetics-algorithm (RVGA) is the most effective technique that is currently used. However, the RVGA has some drawbacks, including the fact that it gets caught in premature convergence even when the search is performed over long iterations. This study proposes a hybrid prediction algorithm which comprises the RVGA and the extended-Nelder-Mead (ENM) algorithm. The ENM was implemented to speed up the search for the best among all solutions produced by the RVGA. The RVGA was configured to run under small iterations, and the ENM was used to achieve convergence. Experiments were performed on historical datasets containing the monthly electricity demand of the Gorontalo area, a region in Indonesia. The performance of the hybrid algorithm was compared to the hybrid Genetic Algorithm-Particle Swarm Optimisation (GA-PSO) and Real Coded-Genetic Algorithm (RC-GA) energy demand models based on the mean-absolute-percentage-error (MAPE), mean-square-error (MSE), root-mean-square-error (RMSE), and mean-absolute-deviation (MAD) error rates. The results showed that the proposed hybrid algorithm’s MAPE, MSE, RMSE, and MAD errors were 2.95 percent, 0.13 percent, 0.36 percent and 1.29 percent, respectively. Based on the accuracy measure obtained from this study, it implies that the RVGAENM hybrid is the best model for forecasting monthly electricity demand
Online Machine Learning from Non-stationary Data Streams in the Presence of Concept Drift and Class Imbalance: A Systematic Review
Get PDFIn IoT environment applications generate continuous non-stationary data streams with in-built problems of concept drift and class imbalance which cause classifier performance degradation. The imbalanced data affects the classifier during concept detection and concept adaptation. In general, for concept detection, a separate mechanism is added in parallel with the classifier to detect the concept drift called a drift detector. For concept adaptation, the classifier updates itself or trains a new classifier to replace the older one. In case, the data stream faces a class imbalance issue, the classifier may not properly adapt to the latest concept. In this survey, we study how the existing work addresses the issues of class imbalance and concept drift while learning from nonstationary
data streams. We further highlight the limitation of existing work and challenges caused by other factors of class imbalance along
with concept drift in data stream classification. Results of our survey found that, out of 1110 studies, by using our inclusion and exclusion criteria, we were able to narrow the pool of articles down to 35 that directly addressed our study objectives. The study found that issues such as multiple concept drift types, dynamic class imbalance ratio, and multi-class imbalance in presence of concept drift are still open for further research. We also observed that, while major research efforts have been dedicated to resolving concept drift and class imbalance, not much attention has been given to with-in-class imbalance, rear examples, and borderline instances when they exist with concept drift in multi-class data. This paper concludes with some suggested future directions
A Discovery on Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Adherence to Policy Mandates in Classroom-based Assessment Practices
Get PDFPurpose – Although there exists a substantial body of research discussing the efficient implementation of classroom-based assessment (CBA), there is a dearth of knowledge regarding its application within the context of English as a Second Language (ESL) education in Malaysia. The current study aimed to investigate the ESL teachers’ practices in implementing CBA, with a specific emphasis on the alignment of their assessment procedures with the policy requirements.
Methodology – Hence, this research utilizes a qualitative approach, employing data triangulation through semi-structured interviews,
classroom observations, and document analysis. Four ESL teachers from two public secondary schools in the northeast district of the Malaysian city of Pulau Pinang were selected to participate in the study. The four ESL teachers taught the same grade (Form 2) at the secondary level. The data collected were analyzed through thematic analysis procedures.
Findings – This research discovered that teachers demonstrate commendable practices in planning the CBA. They exhibited discernment by formulating instructional objectives in line with the curriculum document. However, a misalignment was observed
in teachers’ practices during the implementation phase. Despite employing various assessment methods, teachers predominantly
leaned towards formal assessments, with less emphasis on studentcentred approaches. Challenges surfaced when explicit learning objectives were not effectively communicated, and the use of standardized rubrics, was not tailored to students’ diverse capabilities. At the reporting phase, concerns were raised about an excessive focus on administrative data recording. This study brought to light that teachers relied on the accumulation of students’ grades and marks to determine the mastery levels, thus corroborating with the examoriented practices.
Significance – This study holds significant value for the field of ESL education in Malaysia by shedding light on the actual implementation of CBA and its alignment with policy directives. By providing information on how policies are implemented at the local level, contributes to the improvement of assessment policies that can be tailored to classroom realities
Analyzing the Double Crossover Moving Averages Strategy Before, During and After the Lockdown Period
Get PDFTrading is a business, not an investment. Traders focus on minor to secondary trends, while investors focus on the primary trend. The
trading timeframe is crucial in technical analysis. As such a trader who trades with a minor trend timeframe, must have a trading strategy. We aim to examine the impact of the moving averages double crossover strategy on traders’ profit factor based on minor and secondary trend timeframes before, during and after the lockdown periods. Dow Theory was adopted for this study as a trend should be in effect until it gives a definite signal for a reversal. Data was collected from the Nasdaq Composite Index for a five-year period, from 2018 to 2022. During this time frame, the required data for the study was obtained at the point of the golden crossover and exiting at the dead crossover, in which 2018 to 2019 was the period before the lockdown, 2020 to 2021 was the period during lockdown, and 2022 was the year after lockdown. By using trading profits and loss for both longs and shorts, we back tested three strategies of double crossover moving averages that were as follows: i) EMA5 crossover EMA10, ii) EMA5 crossover EMA20 and iii) EMA20 crossover EMA50. A non-parametric analysis of independent samples was used. The result shows that there was a significant difference among those three strategies before the lockdown period, but no significant difference during and after the lockdown period
