35 research outputs found
Chinese literary works translated into Baba Malay: a bibliographical study
No full textAnalyses 68 unique titles of Baba translated works published between 1889 and 1950. The titles are held in the libraries of the University of Malaya (UM), Science University Malaysia (USM), National University of Malaysia (UKM), the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), National University of Singapore (NUS), National Library of Singapore (NLS) and the British Library (BL). The results reveal three periods of active publication of Baba translated works. A total of 18 works were translated before World War I, followed by 10 just after the war, 39 titles were published before the break of the World War II and 1 was identified in 1950. There were 103 persons involved in the 68 translated works, some of whom are responsible for more than one title. The most prominent translators were Chan Kim Boon, Wan Boon Seng, Seow Chin San and Lee Seng Poh. Some of the translators were also be editors, illustrators or editors. There were 31 publishers and 21 printing presses involved, all were located in Singapore. The most active publishers were Wan Boon Seng, Kim Seck Chy Press and Nanyang Romanised Malay Book Co. The translated works mainly cover historical classical Chinese stories, chivalrous stories, romances, folklore and legends. The titles were priced between 10 cents to 2 dollars in Straits currency. The University of Malaya Library held the largest number of unique title (62) out of which 15 were unique titles
A survey on Singapore's investments in China : characteristics & trends
No full textAfter a thorough study by our group on the characteristics and trends of
Singapore investments in China, it was observed that majority of the firms that
invested in China were not listed and were in fact Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs). These SMEs mostly invested in the form of joint ventures. Majority of the
investors have manufacturing as their principal activities domestically. In their
investments in China, they did not diversify into new sectors. Even for subsequent
projects, these investors chose to stay in their familiar sectors.
A general trend was observed in the provinces where investors chose to invest
in. They have begun to move deeper into inner China instead of restricting themselves
to the coastal provinces as were traditionally the case. Favourite provinces for
investments included Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian, Beijing, Shandong and Sichuan.
Our survey also revealed that there was little or no displacement effects arising
from the increasing number of investments in China. Singaporean investors felt that
these investments were beneficial to both Singapore and China in their own ways. To
Singapore or ASEAN, they represented a new and growing market which offered new
business opportunities with possible higher rates of return. To China itself, they
represented transfer of much needed technology and expertise which played an
essential role in stimulating the economic growth of China and providing job
opportunities.
The reasons that were most often cited for investing in China were the large
domestic market of China, the possible strategic alliance and the lower operating costs.
The infamous bureaucracy, its poor infrastructure and the insufficiency of skilled
management remained the major stumbling blocks to foreign investments for China. To
encourage more foreign investments, China needs to improve, if not solve, these
problems. If the present wave of investment flow to China continued, it is highly possible that in time to come, Singapore will become one of the top three foreign
investors in China.ACCOUNTANC
A Study on Malaysian Consumers’ Attitude and Behavioral Intention Towards Print Advertising
No full textThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between belief factors, consumers’ attitude, and consumers’ behavioral intention toward print advertising. This study also explores the mediating role of attitude on the relationship between belief factors and consumers’ behavioral intention. The six belief factors are product information, social role and image, hedonic/pleasure, irritation, personalization, and credibility. The study finds that product information, social role and image, hedonic/pleasure, irritation, and credibility have positive influences on consumers’ attitude and behavioral intention. The results reveal that attitude has positive influence on consumers’ behavioral intention. Moreover, the mediation analysis results indicate that the role of attitude mediating has been significant in product information, hedonic/pleasure, irritation, and credibility on behavioral intention. The target population for this study was those Malaysian people who have experience in searching for exposure to print advertising before. The respondents were classified according to their age, gender, race, occupation as well as their income levels. The questionnaires were distributed to the respondents through online survey and questionnaire tool, Google Form. Implication and recommendations for future studies are also discussed.</jats:p
Open Access Repositories on Open Educational Resources: Feasibility of Adopting the Japanese Model for Academic Libraries
No full textPurpose
Triggered by the advancement of information and communications technology, open access repositories (a variant of digital libraries) is one of the important changes impacting library services. In the context of openness to a wider community to access free resources, Wawasan Open University Library initiated a research project to build open access repositories on open educational resources. Open educational resources (OER) is an area of a multifaceted open movement in education. The purpose of this paper is to show how two web portal repositories on OER materials were developed adopting a Japanese open source software, called WEKO.
Design/methodology/approach
The design approach is based on a pull to push strategy whereby metadata of scholarly open access materials kept within the institution and network communities’ digital databases were harvested using the Open Archives Initiatives Protocol for Metadata Harvesting method into another open knowledge platform for discovery by other users.
Findings
Positive results emanating from the university open access repositories development showed how it strengthen the role of the librarian as manager of institutional assets and successfully making the content freely available from this open knowledge platform for reuse in learning and teaching.
Research limitations/implications
Developing further programmes to encourage, influence faculty members and prospective stakeholders to use and contribute content to the valuable repositories is indeed a challenging task.
Originality/value
This paper provides insight for academic libraries on how open access repositories development and metadata analysis can enhance new professional challenges for information professionals in the field of data management, data quality and intricacies of supporting data repositories and build new open models of collaboration across institutions and libraries. This paper also describes future collaboration work with institutions in sharing their open access resources
THE USAGE OF A-J+3+6 METHOD IN BRAILLE WRITING WITH SLATE AND STYLUS
No full textThe purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of Braille writing with slate and stylus the conventional method and the A-J+3+6 method. The authors conducted an experimental study at the cluster primary school for the blind; eighteen blind and visually impaired (BVI) students from Year 2 and Year 3. Ten blind students and eight low vision students were selected as samples. A modified method of braille writing using slate and stylus derived from the abkl method and Mangold method namely A-J+3+6 method was used in this mix-method study. The qualitative data of focus group interview and observations were used to support the quantitative findings. Data analysis showed that method A-J+3+6 (M=76.11 SD=17.81) is more effective in braille writing using slate and stylus rather than the conventional method (M=46.67, SD=24.6) is statistically significant at the 0.05 level (t=2.907, p0.05). Data also showed that there is no statistically significant in mastering the braille writing skills using slate and stylus between the age of onset; students with congenitally blind (M=60.42, SD=27.91) and students with adventitiously blind (M=63.33, SD=23.17) is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level (t=-0.220, p>0.05)
Days of Yore, Days of Change
No full textThe following interview was conducted by email after an initial informal meeting with the author in Kuala Lumpur in May 2013. The replies were received in July 2013
Beyond the Color Line: Intersectional Considerations in Chuah Guat Eng’s Fiction
No full textThis essay argues that the work of Malaysian-Chinese author Chuah Guat Eng gives pause to the culturalism that dominates literary analysis. Articulated primarily through identity politics (the politics of recognition), culturalism’s self- understanding keeps at a distance other forms of social justice commitments including class struggle. However, Chuah spotlights their intersectionality in Malaysia and enjoins us to combine the two – to see the native population’s demand for economic parity and rural development as coterminous in some respects with the demands for recognition made by settler communities. In particular, Chuah’s Echoes of Silence (1994) points to the commensurability between socialist principles that underpinned the left-insurgent activities many Malaysian-Chinese joined or supported during the war and immediate post-war, and the social protection principles that underpin post-independence programmes aimed at alleviating poverty. Chuah’s second novel, Days of Change (2010), in turn suggests that shared ecological conservation ideals provide an arena for redistribution and recognition interests to come together in Malaysia, and this again counters the prevailing tendency to prioritize the claims of cultural otherness. To use terms provided by Émile Durkheim, Chuah highlights organic solidarity and downplays mechanical solidarity. In this regard, her fiction rehearses the theoretical insights of Nancy Fraser, who argues cogently that the framing of redistribution and recognition interests as unrelated or dichotomous commitments is problematic. Like Fraser, Chuah urges an expanded interpretive paradigm unsettling that assumed dichotomy. To the extent that postcolonial literary studies lacks such a focus, a new conceptual vocabulary that extends its horizons is needed
Anàlisi genètica i funcional de la migranya hemiplègica i la migranya comuna
No full text[cat] Aquesta tesi es centra en la genètica de la migranya. La migranya comuna és un trastorn neurològic caracteritzat per episodis recurrents de mal de cap. Els criteris de la IHS (International Headache Society) subclasifiquen la malaltia en migranya amb aura (MA) i migranya sense aura (MO). L'aura són símptomes neurològics transitoris que poden acompanyar el mal de cap. Les aures més freqüents són les aures visuals, tot i que també existeixen les aures sensorials essent l'aura hemiplègica la seva forma severa. La nostra investigació es va dividir en dues areas d'acord amb la base genètica dels trastorns, d'una banda, s'ha estudiat la genètica complexa de la migranya comuna, d'altra banda s'ha estudiat una forma rara de la migranya que presenta una herència mendeliana anomenada migranya hemiplègica familiar (FHM).
Per entendre més la base genètica de la migranya comuna es va utilitzar un estudi d'associació tipus cas-control amb gens candidats. Amb aquesta finalitat es van seleccionar al voltant de 550 pacients amb migranya (MA i MO) i el seu corresponent grup de control. Per tal d'analitzar la seva implicació en la susceptibilitat genètica a la migranya, es van triar gens que codifiquen per als canals de la superfamília heterogeni de potencial receptor transitori (Transient Receptor Potential- TRP) que se sap que estan implicats en les vies nociceptives. Aquesta feina ha donat lloc a una publicació (Carreño et al. SNP variants within the vanilloid TRPV1 and TRPV3 receptor genes are associated with migraine in the Spanish population. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2012).
En el cas particular de les formes monogèniques de FHM es coneixen tres gens involucrats en la malatia (CACNA1A, ATP1A2 i SCN1A), les proteïnes codificades per aquests gens tenen un paper rellevant en la neurotransmissió del glutamat. L'anàlisi funcional de les mutacions que causen FHM han mostrat en última instància un augment de l'alliberament de la neurotransmissió. En el cas de mutacions al CACNA1A s'ha vist un efecte de guany de funció, a diferència de les mutacions al ATP1A2 que presenten un efecte de pèrdua de funció. En aquest treball s'ha fet un screening mutacional per identificar mutacions en pacients per seqüenciació directa. Quan les mutacions eren suficientment interessants s'han generat construccions en vectors d'expressió per subseqüents estudis funcionals en cèl·lules eucariotes. Aquesta feina ha donat lloc a tres publicacions. A la primera (Serra et al. A mutation in the first intracellular loop of CACNA1A prevents P/Q channel modulation by SNARE proteins and lowers exocytosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2010) es va identificar un canvi que modula la funció del canal de CACNA1A. Aquest estudi ajuda a explicar la contribució genètica en la heterogeneïtat clínica d'una família i a entendre millor el mecanisme molecular dels canals de calci tipus P/Q. El segon (Carreño et al. Acute striatal necrosis in hemiplegic migraine with the novo CACNA1A mutation. Headache. 2011) és un informe d'un pacient que presenta una necrosi aguda stratial. Té una rellevància clínica a causa de l'aparició primerenca dels símptomes neurològics previs als atacs hemiplègics. El tercer i últim treball (Carreño et al. Screening of the ATP1A2 and CACNA1A genes in patients with hemiplegic migraine: clinical, genetic and functional studies. [work in progress]) recull l'screening mutacional al gens ATP1A2 i CACNA1A en 19 pacients amb FHM. Es van identificar 5 mutacions prèviament descrites i dues mutacions noves.[eng] This Thesis is focused in migraine genetics, migraine is a prevalent neurological disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of headache. This research was divided in two areas according to the genetic basis of the disorders; on the one hand we studied the common migraine with a complex genetics, on the other hand we studied the rare mendelian forms of familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM).
To understand more the genetic basis of the common migraine a case-control association study approach was used with candidate genes. For that purpose, around 550 patients with migraine and their corresponding control group were selected. In order to analyze their involvement in the genetic susceptibility to migraine, we chose genes encoding for channels of the heterogeneous superfamily of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) which are known to be involved in the nociceptive pathway.
In the particular case of FHM, a monogenic form of the disorder, there are three genes known to be involved in the FHM (CACNA1A, ATP1A2 and SCN1A), whose encoded proteins are playing a relevant role in the neurotransmission of the glutamate. Functional analysis of the mutations causing FHM have shown ultimately an increased neurotransmission release. CACNA1A previous studies reveled a gain-of-function effect from FHM mutations, unlike mutations on ATP1A2 that present a loss-of-function effect. Our work consisted on identifying mutations in patients by direct sequencing. If the mutations were interesting enough vector constructions were generated for functional studies in eukaryotic cells. This work gave rise to three publications: First; the identification of a change that modulates the function of the CACNA1A channel. This study contributes to explain the genetic contribution in the clinical heterogeneity of one family and to know more about the molecular mechanism of the P/Q calcium channel. Second; a report of a patient that presents an acute stratial necrosis that had clinical relevance because of the early onset of the neurological symptoms previous to the hemiplegic attacks. Third; a mutational screening of ATP1A2 and CACNA1A genes in 19 patients with FHM. 5 previously described mutations and two new mutations were found. Functional studies were carried out for the newly mutations
Organizational Learning and Marketing Capability Development: A Study of Charity Retailing Operation of British Social Enterprises
No full textSocial enterprise is a hybrid form of profit- and social benefit-seeking organization whereby traditional nonprofit organizations pursue both their social mission and business opportunities. To embrace this new strategic direction shift, the nonprofit organizations need to develop new competences that will enable them to respond to the changes in the business model. The article investigates the learning mechanisms through which social enterprises develop a marketing capability to deploy their resources in the marketplace as the drivers of competitive advantage in their commercial practice. We study eight cases of UK-based charity retailers, in order to address the role of knowledge accumulation, articulation and codification process in the evolution of marketing capability development. We identify, amongst other things that the critical process of organizational learning for social enterprise is to transfer the experience into organization specific knowledge under the social aspects of constraints
The representation of trauma in narrative : a study of six late twentieth century novels
No full textThis thesis conducts a close analysis of representations of trauma in six
late twentieth century novels. I construct a theoretical framework by examining
debates about trauma and narrative which have taken place in the fields of
historiography, social studies, psychoanalysis and literary fiction. By drawing on
these debates, I argue that the relationship between narrative and trauma is
paradoxical: narrative is an essential tool, both for working-through and bearing
witness to the trauma, but it can also intentionally or unintentionally be used to
create an inauthentic version of events.
I illustrate the need felt by many late twentieth century theorists for the
development of a narrative form that will be able to produce an effective version
of trauma. This narrative needs to facilitate working-through and enable
witnessing of trauma. However, it must strive to avoid producing a falsifying
version of the trauma. I argue that it can achieve this by acknowledging its own
provisionality and therefore highlighting the limitations but also the necessity of
narrative representations of trauma.
I argue that the six contemporary novels I have chosen are examples of
narratives that strive to develop a more effective means of representing trauma.
The novels explore their concerns about trauma and narrative on both a thematic
and formal level. The story told in each novel follows a similar pattern of events:
in each novel the protagonist is depicted as suffering from the effects of trauma;
they all try to evade their traumas by creating falsifying versions of their
experiences; and they all offered a means of interpreting which will allow them to
work-though and, therefore, bear witness to their traumas. Finally, the six authors
utilise their narrative strategies to teach their readers this therapeutic and ethical
hermeneutics which corresponds with contemporary concerns about trauma and
narrative
