Lignosus rhinocerotis, commonly known as Tiger Milk Mushroom, has been long extolled for its medicinal properties and used for treatment of asthma, cough, fever, cancer, liver-related illnesses, joint pains and as tonic. The history of usage for Tiger Milk Mushroom dates back to almost 400 years, ago but there were no records of scientific studies done due to inavailability of sufficient samples. Even when there were samples collected from the wild, the supply and quality was inconsistent. With the advent of cultivation success of one of the most utilized species of Tiger milk mushroom (L. rhinocerotis) in 2009 (known as TM02), scientific investigation was done to validate its traditional use and to investigate its safety for consumption, biochemical and biopharmacological properties. Preclinical toxicology evaluations showed that TM02 did not induce adverse effects on fertility. It also poses neither teratogenic effects nor genotoxicity. The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) dose of the TM02 in 180-day chronic toxicity study is 1000 mg/kg which is equivalent to 162 mg/kg human dose, anticipated dose for a 60 kg adult is ~10g. The effective dosage of TM02 is as low as 0.5g per day for an adult. There is therefore, a huge margin for the safe consumption of TM02. TM02 is proven to be effective in supporting the lung and respiratory health, immune health, maintenance of joint health (caused by inflammation), improving vitality and stamina and improving the quality of life for cancer patients. Recent scientific findings have shown that TM02 contains various active components such as the polysaccharides-protein complexes, β-glucans, proteins, immuno-modulatory proteins all of which could play possible roles in rendering significant therapeutic properties such as anti-inflammatory, immuno-modulatory, anti-proliferative, anti-oxidative, neurite outgrowth stimulation etc. The revelation of the genome, transcriptome, proteome of L. rhinocerotis by MMRG has provided valuable insights into the biomolecule discovery and provided the foundation for future research and exploitation of L. rhinocerotis in pharmacological and functional food applications. These data forms a valuable foundation for future research in the exploitation of the L. rhinocerotis in pharmacological and industrial applications.

한국의 쌀 수급상황을 볼 때 생산은 유지되고 소비는 줄어들며 외국산 쌀 수입은 늘게 되어 공급과잉이 전망되므로 관세화에 대한 대응책으로 수출시장 개척이 중요한 과제이다. 본연구는 최근 한국 쌀 수출이 증가하고 있는 동남아시아의 말레이시아와 홍콩 시장의 쌀 유통실태를 조사하여, 우리 쌀 수출 확대를 위한 대응방안을 모색코자 하였으며 주요 결과는다음과 같이 요약된다. 1. 한국 쌀은 지난 2007년 566톤 수출을 시작으로 조금씩증가하여 수출국 수는 40여개 국가로 늘어났다. 쌀 시장이 관세화 되면 최소한 TRQ(409천톤) 물량이 국내시장에 영향을미칠 것이므로 국내 쌀 소비확대와 더불어 수출에 대한 철저한 대비가 필요하다. 2. 한국 쌀 주요 수출시장인 말레이시아와 홍콩 시장의 쌀유통실태와 교민에 대한 설문조사 결과, 시장개척 초기단계에서 장기간 운송에 따른 품질관리와 가격경쟁력 등 문제점도있으나 쌀 시장의 선호도를 잘 파악하여 시장을 공략해 나가면 점진적으로 시장 확대 가능성이 있는 것으로 보였다. 3. 말레이시아에서 한국 쌀 가격은 비싸다(68.0%)와 아주 비싸다(9.3%)가 적당하다(25.3%)보다 많았고, 한국 수출 쌀의 품질은 아주 좋다(4.0%)와 좋다(28.0%)는 의견보다 보통이다(65.3%)가 많았다. 쌀 품질의 문제점으로는 품질이 일정하지않다(30.7%) 등을 지적했다. 수출 쌀의 개선점으로는 가격 저렴화(46.7%), 품질향상(18.7%), 마케팅(12.0%) 등이었다. 4. 홍콩의 경우 한국의 고품질 소포장 쌀이 교민시장을 넘어 현지 고급 수퍼마켓에서 일본, 미국, 호주 쌀과 경쟁하고있는데, 일본산 다음으로 높은 가격을 받으며 시장을 확대해나가고 있다. 일일생활권인 마카오시장까지 포함해서 포장재개선과 판촉활동 등 자포니카 쌀 시장에 대한 적극적인 공략이 필요하다. 5. 앞으로 한국 쌀의 수출 확대를 위해서는 최고품질과 안전성으로 승부하는 고가미 시장과 개발도상국을 대상으로 하는 중저가미 시장 등 2-트랙 전략이 필요하다. 품질을 기본으로 하면서 생산비 절감을 통한 가격경쟁력 제고가 시급한 과제이며, 한국 쌀의 인지도를 높이기 위한 홍보강화도 중요하다. 6. 잠재적 수출시장에 한국 쌀의 우수성을 알릴 수 있는 정보도 체계적으로 공급하여야 한다. 수출용 쌀 통합브랜드 개발과 엄격한 품질관리, 장기유통을 위한 포장재 개발, 수출전문 생산단지 조성과 전문 업체 및 인력육성도 필요하다. 쌀관세화로 수출여건이 개선될 전망이므로 차후에도 우리 쌀 수출시장에 대한 면밀한 조사 분석과 시장개척 등 정책적 관심이 확대되어야 할 것이다.

Maritime boundary issues have become a constraint in the relations between Indonesia and its neighboring countries, including Malaysia. One of the pending issues regarding the overlapping maritime boundary which is not yet to be resolved is the Ambalat area. The primary purpose of this research is to suggest possible senarioa to resolve the maritime delimitation dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia around Ambalt peacefully under international law. This article is prepared to explore all available ways for the peaceful settlement on Ambalat issue.The author will examine the diplomatic channel, ASEAN Way dispute settlement mechanism, adjudication process (litigation and arbitration), and dispute settlement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. He will also epropose other innovative approach, such like Joint Development Zone. The result of such examination can be used as considerations for the way forward.

Malaysia has asserted sovereign rights over the ND6 and ND7 sea blocks, which partially overlap with the Ambalat and East Ambalat sea blocks. Indonesia has also asserted sovereign rights over there. This article argues the validity of Malaysia’s claim over the ND6 and ND7 sea blocks by virtue of the Pulau Ligitan dan Pulau Sipadan case in which the International Court of Justice found that the 4°10′ N parallel mentioned in the 1891 Convention between Great Britain and the Netherlands Defining Boundaries in Borneo terminated on the east coast of Sebatik and did not extend seawards. This article finds that Malaysia may use the Sipadan and Ligitan Islands as a basis to assert sovereign rights over the ND6 and ND7 sea blocks. The authors also highlights several other documents including a 1954 British declaration and bilateral treaties between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Commercial fitness industry is booming in Malaysia and is becoming more difficult to entice new members with the built up competition. This research investigates the needs of these commercial fitness members and the role of engagement in determining overall satisfaction with service. Scale of Service Quality for Recreational Sport (SSQRS) was used for data collection reveals that fitness members are more drawn to interaction, outcome, physical environment quality and the engagement they receive from a gym membership and not much from the programs that are offered. This study’s finding will contribute to the development of marketing strategies for the sustainable growth of the fitness industry.

Malaysia is currently implementing the use of the Frog Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in all government schools in the country. This paper outlines the basis for introducing the VLE in leveraging teaching and learning in Malaysian schools. It discusses the state of current literature associated with the use of VLE. In addition, it articulates the need for programme evaluation as a means for decision-makers to plan and take necessary corrective action to better implement VLE among teachers and students in schools. To sustain the implementation of this endeavour, a monitoring and evaluation mechanism must be put in place. This would determine how the VLE is performing and ascertain key success factors with the use of the Frog VLE among teachers and students. For this purpose, a survey research was undertaken using a sample comprising 426 teachers and 223 students from primary and secondary schools throughout the country. Reliability computations show Cronbach alpha values greater than .90 for the various constructs in the scaled items of the teachers’ and students’ questionnaires. The key findings of the study show significantly different perceptions (p < .05) in the use of Frog VLE as a learning tool between primary pupils and secondary students with significantly higher perceptions from secondary students on all aspects ranging from ease of use of Frog VLE to using Frog VLE as a collaborative tool for interaction within and outside the classroom. Factor analysis via the Principal Component Analysis method shows 3 critical success factors cited by teachers in the use of Frog VLE. The first factor concerns the functionality of VLE as a pedagogical tool; the second is associated with the user-friendliness of the VLE; and the third concerns the VLE as a tool for collaboration. An analysis of ranks derived from the mean computations of the variables within the first factor shows the VLE provides a platform for teachers to share ideas and opinions being ranked first. This is followed by VLE being used by students to obtain learning materials, which is ranked second. Third, the VLE being used by teachers to source for new teaching materials. Other major findings include issues associated with slow and unstable internet connectivity where secondary schools fared worse compared to primary schools and that rural schools tended to have more problems in connectivity as compared to urban schools. This paper puts forth a proposition that educational technology needs continuous monitoring and evaluation and effective change management is imperative to attain success in its implementation.

This paper examines the experiences of selected academics pioneering e-learning in Malaysian tertiary institutions. It begins with an overview of the broad factors shaping the Malaysian educational environment and then proceeds to examine the experience of individual teachers and e-learning programs. It takes an in-depth qualitative approach to engaging with this case study material drawing heavily on semi-structured interviews with key actors. Conversations with several respondents suggested that the social networks of mentor relations found in the Malaysian case studies might be aptly described as ‘bamboo networks’. Bamboo, which happens to be plentiful in the Malaysian peninsula where these case studies are based, spreads from clump to clump through a series of underground connections involving a mature clump of bamboo sending out a subterranean runner, often over very long distances that then emerge into the open as a new bamboo clump. All of those interviewed reported that they have found it difficult to find a support base in their first years of pioneering online developments. Consequently, they tended to fall back on their peer networks linked to the institutions at which they had studied. Prominent individuals championing e-learning in the institutions where they teach tend to form small groups for information sharing and networking. They do look to their management for tacit ‘permission’ rather than direct encouragement. Consequently, the active promotion of e-learning in Malaysia can be described as being ‘middle-down’ rather than ‘top-down’ in nature. That is to say, it is mid-level teachers that inspire those below them to join in the development of e-learning programs. They are internally driven and strongly motivated. In time, their activity should produce new generations of locally developed e-learning experts but this has yet to take place in a substantial fashion. This study shows that both men and women ‘academic guanxi’, or peer networks, play a key role in the adoption of online technologies. Key early adopters become change-agents by inspiring a small network of their peers and via their guanxi networks. It was also discovered that motivation is not simply an individual matter but is also about groups and peer networks or communities of exchange and encouragement. In the development of e-learning in Malaysia, there is very little activity that is not linked to small clusters of developers who are tied into wider networks through personal contacts. Like clumping bamboo, whilst the local clusters tend to be easily seen, the longer-range ‘subterranean’ personal connections are generally not nearly so immediately obvious. These connections are often the product of previous mentoring relationships, including the relationships between influential teachers and their former postgraduate students. These relationships tend to work like bamboo runners: they run off in multiple directions, subterranean and unseen and then throw up new clumps that then send out fresh runners of their own.

작물육종 프로그램에 선충저항성은 매우 중요한 구성요소의 하나이다. 세계적으로 선충에 의한 작물의 수량 감소는 약 10% 정도로 추산되고 있으나 아시아 각국에서는 주요 작물별로 선충의 피해현황이나 저항성 작물 등에 대한 연구가 아직 미진한 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 한국, 베트남, 말레이시아 각국의 최근 선충저항성 관련 연구 현황을 분석하였다. 한국에서는 주요 경제작물 중 쌀, 콩, 고추, 오이, 참외 뿐만 아니라 장미, 카네이션, 국화 등 화훼작물에 대한 선충저항성 품종 선발 연구가 이루어졌다. 베트남에서 는 바나나, 커피, 쌀, 리치 등에 대한 선충저항성 검정연구와 식물 기생선충의 분포에 관한 연구가 이루어졌다. 말레이시아에서는 최근 파인애플에서 선충으로 인한 연작장해가 문제가 되고 있으나 저항성품종 개발 연구는 시작단계에 있다. 아시아 각국에서 선충에 대한 연구가 부진한 이유는 방제전략의 부재, 경제적인 종합방제 대책의 부족, 선충에 대한 정보 부족, 살선충제 가격 부담 등이 들 수 있다. 따라서 보다 경제적이면서 지속가능한 선충관리전략의 수립이 시급하다. 선충저항성 유전자원의 이용과 품종개발은 아시아 지역에서 경제적이고 효과적인 선충관리 대책의 하나가 될 수 있다.

국가 간 문화의 차이에 의하여 생활습관이나 방식이 많이 다르게 나타난다. 그중에서도 음식은 다른 분야보다 많은 차이를 나타난다. 특히 음식의 종류에 따라 사용되는 음식도구 중 디자인요소가 동일하고 유사한 것이 있거나 다른 요소와 기능을 갖는 경우도 있다. 따라서 각 국가 간의 음식도구를 유니버설하게 사용할 수 있는 도구 디자인 연구가 필요하다. 본 연구의 목적은 음식에 대한 행동분석프로세스를 개발하여 국가 간 음식문화의 차이에서 오는 공통점과 차이점을 찾아내어 공용으로 사용할 수 있는 음식도구의 디자인요소를 창의성의 관점에서 제안하기 위한 연구이다. 본 연구의 연구방법과 내용으로는 첫째, 음식에 대한 소비자행동분석 프로세스의 개발 및 관찰을 통하여 행동분석에 대한 이론적 고찰과 현장에서 일어나고 있는 행동분석을 접목하여 음식행동분석프로세스를 개발하였다. 둘째로, 개발된 프로세스를 이용하여 국가 간 음식의 주문부터 평가까지의 과정을 비교 분석하고 나타난 현상에 대한 문제점 파악 및 이에 대한 결과물을 각 국가별 학생들을 대상으로 음식도구에 대한 디자인 개발을 진행하였다. 셋째, 국가별 개발된 디자인 안을 대상으로 선호도, 요인분석, 상관분석을 통하여 국가별 선호요소와 창의성평가요소의 상관관계를 알아보았다. 본 연구를 통하여 얻어지는 효과는 개발된 프로세스를 이용하여 국가별, 음식별, 행동별, 식당형태별로 비교분석이 가능하도록 하게 하고 얻어진 결과를 이용하여 구체적으로 음식도구 디자인에 이용할 수 있으며 국가 간 동일 아이템을 디자인 교육시간에 진행시켜 대학의 디자인교육의 비교를 통하여 상호간에 협력과 상호보완으로 새로운 아이디어를 공유, 아이디어 전개에 도움이 될 수 있다.

The Internet, as a general utility for carrying information and communication technologies, provides a vehicle for the unprecedented availability of information. The global proliferation of the Internet and the increasing speeds of transmission mean that information is available anywhere in world, at the time and place of one’s choice, and in a manner that encourages individual exploration (Tomlinson-Keasey, 2002). For educators, information and communication technology (ICT), including the Internet, holds the promise of not only greater access but also higher quality learning materials provided to students at a lower cost, coupled with the possibility of a more learnercentered paradigm of instruction. Meanwhile, technological and economic development has placed greater demands on education systems in many countries, calling for people who are more adaptable to change, more innovative and creative, and better able to apply their knowledge to solve complex problems. Are Asian and Pacific countries meeting these challenges? This UNESCO publication, Integrating ICT into Education, clearly supports the claim that ICT has been embraced in education, at least in the six economies examined, and has made an impact on education systems. A wealth of experiences, good practices, and lessons has been generated for the benefit of others in the region. The purpose of this book is (1) to describe lessons learned in integrating ICT programs based on based on the experiences of six Asian countries— Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—and (2) to synthesize and analyze ICT integration experiences in connection with specific lessons learned and highlight best practices and the need for further improvements.

Three species of the genus Tisis are newly described from Sarawak, Malaysia: T. amabilis sp. nov., T. sabahensis sp. nov., and yasudai sp. nov.. T. luteella (Snellen) is reported for the first time from Sarawak. Taxonomical notes on some little known species are given, with illustrations of their adult images. Illustrations of the genitalia of the new species and the newly reported species from Sarawak are provided.