Researchers have been inspired to use technology to enable people with hearing and speech impairment to communicate and engage with others around them. Sensory approach to recognition facilitates real-time and accurate recognition of signs. Thus, this study proposes a Malaysian Sign Language (MSL) recognition framework. The framework consists of three sub-modules for the recognition of static isolated signs based on data collected from a DataGlove. The first module focuses on the characteristics of signs, yielding sign recognition system requirements. The second module describes the different steps required to develop a wearable sign-capture device. The third module discusses the real-time SL recognition approach, which uses a template-matching algorithm to recognize acquired data. The final design of the DataGlove with 65 data channel fulfils the requirement identified from an analysis of MSL. The DataGlove is able to record data for all of the signs (both dynamic and static) of MSL d.....

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Differences in business practices and preferences are vital for understanding specific industries, particularly in relation to downstream operations in emerging markets. This study explores the effects of real-time information sharing (RTIS) on downstream operations in three service sub-sectors that are dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - wholesale & retail, food & beverages, and accommodation. Drawing on information processing theory, we examine the differences in the adoption and perceived benefits for customers of RTIS through a survey of 221 middle-level managers from Malaysia. Our findings indicate that, overall, RTIS is significantly associated with customer purchase behavior (PB) in the presence of customer orientation (CO) that plays a two-fold mediating role in purchase and repurchase behavior. Our results also point to sectoral differences. RTIS?with customer PB and post-purchase behavior in the presence of CO?is more effective in the wholesale & retail a.....

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Text comprehension will suffer if the readability level is not accessible to the students. Readability formulas predict text complexity, assisting in appropriate text selection that complements students? reading abilities to improve their language development. Therefore, the study aims to find out the reading index of the prose forms in the literature component catered to lower secondary school students ages 13 and 14 years old in Form One (seventh grade) and Form Two (eighth grade) classrooms in Malaysia. The reading index is measured by using four readability formulas which are Dale-Chall, Fog, SMOG, and Flesch-Kincaid that focuses on the words, sentences, syllables, and polysyllable words. These formulas are used to predict the level of difficulty of the prose forms. The reading index calculated from these readability formulas reveals the grade level of the prose forms. The grade level indicates the best age for reading and understanding the prose forms. Two prose forms were chosen .....

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Introduction: Along with massive developments in various aspects of life, mental health is one of the issues that must be discussed to encourage optimal development of an individual. To achieve these goals, we need an instrument that can measure and determine the mental health needs of humans precisely. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a cross-sectional method with a quantitative research design. Participants in this study were adolescent students from Indonesia and Malaysia. The American Mental Health Screening Tool adapted to Indonesian and Malaysian conditions is used as an instrument to measure mental health. There were 359 people from Indonesia and 171 people from Malaysia participating in this study. This type of parameter needs to be identified by the category coefficient of the RASCH scoring function model for polycotomic responses. Results and Discussion: The results showed that the American Screening Tools Mental Health instrument had a unidimensionality v.....

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High occurrences of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis outbreak from table eggs have been reported worldwide over the past two decades. Consumptions of hard-boiled and half-boiled eggs are popular among Malaysians. However, there is a lack of study in the risk assessment of salmonellosis associated with different egg consumption patterns. The purpose of this study was to determine the survival rate of S. enterica ser. Enteritidis in different methods for cooking eggs (hard-boiled, half-boiled and a minimally cooked egg with hot cocoa drink) using the simulation model of consumers eating habits and the risk associated with different egg consumptions patterns. In this study, S. enterica ser. Enteritidis was not detected in the hard-boiled egg samples. However, the survival rate of S. enterica ser. Enteritidis in both the half-boiled and the raw egg samples were 3.15 log CFU/mL and 7.01 log CFU/mL, respectively. The Monte Carlo Simulation applying quantitative microbial risk assessme.....

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This paper was prepared to estimate soil erosion and sedimentation rate from different land use in the catchment areas using Fallout Radionuclides (FRNs). The FRNs widely used for soil erosion and sediment source tracing are 137Cs, 210Pb and 7Be. Therefore, these FRNs had been recognied as particularly indicates can be used to estimate from short-term to long-term the amount of soil erosion and sedimentation rates in the catchment during the period of the study. The study also found that both medium-term and long-term soil erosion rate is comparable to each other even though at different temporal scale. During the wet season, most sediment was stored in each catchment land use bore being transported out to the stream during the dry season. Whereas for short-term scale, large quantities of sediment are transported out of different land uses into the flow system. However, the results of this study will be discussed in more detail in this full paper. ? 2021. ASM Science Journal. All right.....

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A segmentation process is usually required in order to analyze an image. One of the available segmentation approaches is by detecting the edges on the image. Up to now, there are many edge detection algorithms that researchers have proposed. Thus, the purpose of this systematic literature review is to investigate the available quality assessment methods that researchers have utilized to evaluate the performance of the edge detection algorithms. Due to the vast number of available literature in this area, we limit our search to only open-access publications. A systematic search in five publisher websites (i.e., IEEExplore, IET digital library, Wiley, MDPI, and Hindawi) and Scopus database was carried out to gather resources that are related to the edge detection algorithms. Seventy-three publications that are about developing or comparing edge detection algorithms have been chosen. From these publication samples, we have identified 17 quality assessment methods used by researchers. Amon.....

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Nowadays, the issue of teachers? psychological well-being causes serious concern, espe-cially in Malaysia. Many studies related to psychological well-being have focused on students rather than on the health and well-being of teachers. Thus, the current study investigated the determinants of psychological well-being (depression, anxiety and stress) from the psychosocial work environment (job control, job demands and social support), and examined the moderating role of job control and social support in the relationship between job demands and psychological well-being among teachers. The design of this study was quantitative research through a survey questionnaire. The sample consisted of 335 high school teachers (23.3%?male; 76.7%?female) who responded to measuring scales of job demands, job control, social support, depression, anxiety and stress, and socio-demographic profile. The data were analyzed using two statistical methods, namely descriptive and inferential statistics. The hierar.....

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With the imposition of the Movement Control Order (MCO) or lockdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there are drastic changes in the movement and activity among Malaysians: increased psychological distress due to perception of COVID-19 as a health threat, increased time spent with families, and decreased time away from home could either intensify relationship problems or draw families closer to each other. This study aimed to examine the perceived psychological distress and relationship quality among couples before and during MCO in Malaysia and factors predictive of participants’ well-being. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Perceived Relationship Quality Component Inventory, and the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale were disseminated through the snowball sampling technique. The study found that the participants (N = 124) perceived significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress during MCO compared with before MCO. However, no .....

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Secure updating and sharing for large amounts of healthcare information (such as medical data on coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) in efficient and secure transmission are important but challenging in communication channels amongst hospitals. In particular, in addressing the above challenges, two issues are faced, namely, those related to confidentiality and integrity of their health data and to network failure that may cause concerns about data availability. To the authors? knowledge, no study provides secure updating and sharing solution for large amounts of healthcare information in communication channels amongst hospitals. Therefore, this study proposes and discusses a novel steganography-based blockchain method in the spatial domain as a solution. The novelty of the proposed method is the removal and addition of new particles in the particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm. In addition, hash function can hide secret medical COVID-19 data in hospital databases whilst providin.....

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