Halimah Awang

Technology adoption in the public sector: an exploratory study of e-government in Malaysia

All around the world, the quest to improve government service delivery is becoming an important agenda for most governments. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the Internet in particular have opened new possibilities for the government and the governed. Successful delivery of online services has rapidly become an important measure of effective public sector management and this has made many governments to deploy Electronic Government (e-Government) as a tool to achieve this vision. The dual objectives of e-Government are to reinvent the government of Malaysia in terms of service delivery through the use of ICT and to catalyze the successful development of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) with ICT as one of the leading sectors of the economy. This paper provides the various initiatives taken by the government in implementing e-Government projects as well as the issues, challenges and benefits derived. A brief case study on electronic procurement as one of the projects in e-Government initiative will be presented.

Midlife crisis perceptions, experiences, help-seeking, and needs among multi-ethnic malaysian women.

In the present study, researchers explored attitudes toward midlife crises, experience with midlife crises, help-seeking, and needs among multi-ethnic Malaysian women. A total of 14 focus group discussions were conducted with 89 Malaysian women of different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Women expressed concern over physical aging and decline in their physical functional health. Having a midlife crisis was frequently reported. Issues that were frequently reported to trigger a midlife crisis, such as empty nest syndrome, impact of aging on sexual and reproductive function, extended parenthood, caring for aging or ill parents, and career challenges were noted by the study participants (listed here in order of most to least frequently reporting of these themes across the group discussions). Overall, these issues were associated with attitudes about aging. A comparatively less open attitude toward sexual attitudes and help-seeking for sexual problems were found among the Malay and Indian women. This may imply that intervention to increase positive attitudes concerning both sexuality and help-seeking intentions should be culturally specific. The use of religious coping for comfort and consolation was frequently reported; therefore, those providing midlife crisis prevention and intervention programs should consider involving faith-based interventions in the Malaysian setting.

Electronic procurement: a case study of Malaysia's e-Perolehan (e-procurement) initiative

This paper presents a case study of Malaysias e-procurement initiative. This initiative is locally known as e-Perolehan. The case reports among others, the vision of the Malaysian government in the light of embarking on e-procurement, the process flow within e-Perolehan, and the issues therein. The general consensus amongst both the buyer and seller communities is that e-procurement will become an important management tool to enhance the performance of the supply chain, especially in the public sector. We expect that between the next three and five years, more suppliers will grab the opportunity and benefit fully from the e-Perolehan initiative in Malaysia.

Determinants of breastfeeding duration in Peninsular Malaysia.

The health benefits of breastfeeding to infants and mothers have been well recognised. This study applies linear regression analysis to assess the determinants of breastfeeding duration of first born using data from the Second Malaysian Family Life Survey. The proportion of women who breastfed their first child is 82 percent, of which 97 percent reported their breastfeeding duration. The distribution of breastfeeding duration has a mean of 5.7 months and a median of two months. Important determinants of breastfeeding duration include maternal age, ethnicity, period of first birth, husbands occupation and work status of the woman. Asia Pac JPublic Health 2000;12(2): 102-106

Determinants of Domestic Violence: Evidence from Malaysia

This study investigates the determinants of domestic violence, which is often unseen, and is a widespread form of gender-based violence affecting women the world over. The analysis is limited to the household impact in examining how demographic and marital capital factors relate to domestic violence in Malaysia. Empirical evidence used in this study is based on secondary data obtained from Women’s Aid Organisation’s case files. Results indicate three variables, specifically the perpetrator’s age, the survivor’s income status, and the number of children, show a significant link to the level of violence in a household.

Knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases and sexual behaviours among Malaysian male youths

This study examines the knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among male youths in Malaysia. A self-administered survey was carried out on a sample of 952 never-married males aged 15-24 years. The respondents were asked about their knowledge of STDs, how these diseases get transmitted and their sexual behaviours. The data showed that 92% of the respondents knew of at least one STD (syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, herpes, genital warts, yeast infection, trichomoniasis or HIV/AIDS). About 95% of them knew of at least one method of STD transmission. Urban and tertiary-educated male youths showed a substantially higher proportion of awareness of STDs and transmission methods compared with their rural and less-educated counterparts. The data also indicated that 10% of the study sample admitted to having had sexual experiences. There were still a large proportion of the respondents who were not aware of STDs other than syphilis and HIV/AIDS and the means of transmission, such as multiple sex partners, including those who claimed to be sexually active. Thus there is a need for more concerted efforts to disseminate information on STDs and transmission methods to a wider audience in Malaysia, especially youths in rural areas.

Return-to-Work Program for Injured Workers Factors of Successful Return to Employment

This study examined the factors of successful return to employment among participants in the return to work program (RTW) following work-related injury. Data were obtained from the Social Security Organization database containing 9850 injured workers who underwent RTW in 2010 to 2013. About 65% had successfully returned to employment. Significant factors of successful return include gender, employer interest, motivation, age, intervention duration, and type of injury. Male and motivated employees were more likely to return to employment compared with female and unmotivated employees, respectively. Participants from interested employers were 23.22 times more likely to return to work than those from uninterested employers, whereas participants whose intervention period exceeded 5 months were 41% less likely to return to work compared with those whose intervention period was within 3 months. Appropriate strategy and enhanced collaboration between the stakeholders would improve the proportion of successful return to employment.

Determinants of waiting time to third pregnancy using censored linear regression.

The intervals between pregnancies have important effects on fertility and maternal and infant health outcomes. This study uses linear regression with censored observation to assess the determinants of the waiting time to third pregnancy. The analysis is applied to data from the Second Malaysian Family Life Survey consisting of 1172 women who had their second delivery ending in a live birth. Contraceptive use, age of the woman, duration of breast-feeding, length of previous pregnancy interval and education of the woman all affect the waiting time to third pregnancy significantly.

Understanding ageing: fear of chronic diseases later in life

Objectives Ageing is often associated with deteriorating mental and physical health and the need for long-term care, creating a fear of ageing. We investigated what people fear most in terms of disabling chronic diseases and their concerns regarding having long-term illnesses. Methods Data were obtained from an online survey of 518 respondents aged 40 years and older residing in Malaysia, which was based on a convenience sample collected in May 2015 to January 2016. Data were analyzed using chi-squared tests and multinomial logistic regression. Results Of the most dreaded diseases, heart disease and cancer are life-threatening; however, dementia, diabetes, and hypertension persist and have a disabling effect for a long time. While there were variations in the diseases feared most across sex, ethnicity, and place of residence, the biggest worry for all respondents with regard to having a long-term illness was that they would become a burden to their family, a concern that superseded fear of dying. Conclusions We found our survey respondents had a fear of chronic diseases and placing a burden on others. Thus, there is a need to provide motivation for people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, to remain healthy.

An outreach venture: bringing computer literacy to rural women in Malaysia

With each IT/ICT development, the digital divide grows wider between the information “haves” and the “have-nots”. In the effort to narrow the gap and to facilitate the adoption of ICT by rural residents, an outreach training course through the Community Communications Development Program was initiated to provide hands-on training in computer literacy to cultivate interest and appreciation in the importance of ICT knowledge and skills. The training was conducted on-site using a mobile unit equipped with 16 computers and peripherals, and was stationed in a selected area for 5 days. Training was divided into morning and afternoon sessions with 15 trainees per session to provide them with one computer each. The men attended the morning session, and the women the afternoon sessions. They were taught for a total of 16 hours on how to operate a basic computer system, Microsoft Word and the Internet facilitated by 3 trainers. The participants had little or no knowledge on IT/ICT and many had never touched a computer before. At the beginning the women had more fear due to their lack of confidence in handling the so-called sophisticated machine than their male counterparts. Compared to the men, women took a longer time to learn keyboarding skills but they had more patience and stronger learning perseverance. There was no difference between rural men and women in terms of attitude and willingness to learn and use the new technology.