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The purpose of this paper is to develop a hierarchical model to rank the challenges faced by the private Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs) in the provision of quality education and subsequently their corresponding critical success factors (CSFs) to address those challenges.

A sequential mix method was adopted in this study. Semi-structured interviews with 29 participants were initially conducted to identify the challenges and CSFs. This was followed by a questionnaire survey involving 158 respondents to prioritise the identified findings. Thematic analysis was conducted in the qualitative stage, uncovering the challenges and their corresponding CSFs. Data for both stages were accumulated from internal and external stakeholders of Malaysian private HEIs. Finally, the four stages of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were applied to rank the challenges and CSFs.

The qualitative stage identified eight challenges, i.e. “academics”, “facilities”, “students”, “programmes and curriculum”, “competition”, “accreditation”, “finance” and “research” together with their corresponding CSFs. The AHP enables the ranking of these challenges. “Finance” has been found to be the most crucial challenge and “high competency in managing the institution’s finance” as the most important CSF to address this challenge.

As the study restricted its focus on Malaysian private HEIs, the results may not be generalised for public HEIs and foreign private HEIs operating in Malaysia.

The hierarchical model developed in this study is deemed important for implementation to resolve the prioritised challenges. It spells out the specific areas in which the resources of Malaysian private HEIs need to be prudently disbursed and properly managed.

The materials included in this column were selected on the basis of an item by item review of all government publications received at a major depository library. Emphasis is placed on tools of a reference format, although much else that the Federal government publishes is otherwise of high referral value. Publications not in a reference format, in the strictest sense, are included when their potential value dictates; brief entries for “how to” items and informative pamphlets are also given if deemed potentially useful, particularly for school and public libraries and wherever the identification of vertical file materials is the responsibility of the public service librarian.

Attempts to investigate whether unfunded post‐employment obligations are recognized in the borrowing costs for new state government bond issues. Suggest that such evidence would lend insight into the relationship between the unfunded liability for retiree healthcare costs and borrowing costs, which may have important implications for policy makers. Gives an overview of state retiree healthcare benefits and covers prior literature before providing substantial details of the methodology used. Results suggest that such liabilities are taken into account.

Teaching library skills to college freshmen has been a challenge for academic libraries for decades. Year after year, librarians grapple with these questions: What library skills should freshmen have? How should these skills be taught? How does basic library instruction fit in with the curriculum of the college or university?

Provides a definition of the many different forms of power transient as well as explaining their causes and suggesting remedies for each type of transient which can be taken to avoid damage to computer systems. Lists possible unexpected problems and the side effects to be expected if protection is incorrectly installed.

Details of Some Components Used for Subsidiary Services in Aircraft, Missiles and Space Vehicles. A new high‐sensitivity pressure switch—to operate control units or warning devices where reliable indication of pressure changes might be required—was announced recently by Heron Electrical Devices Ltd., Ardea Works, Benton Square, Newcastle upon Tync 12. The new switch is being marketed under the name of the Heron Airstat.

Of the three available metal‐spraying techniques, only the powder and wire processes need be considered as practicable methods for combating corrosion. The third technique using molten metal requires elaborate equipment and is now only important as a means of producing metal powders. A metallising pistol is a device for passing metal in the form of powder or wire through the centre of an oxy/fuel gas flame, where it is melted, picked up by a stream of air at high velocity and propelled on to a suitably prepared surface to form a coating. The powder and wire guns produced by the Schori division of F.W. Berk & Co. represent a fair selection of the equipment used in the metal‐spraying process.

Managing complex construction projects is a challenging task because it involves multiple factors and decision-making processes. A systematic evaluation of these complex factors is imperative for achieving project success. As most of these factors are qualitative or intangible in nature, decision makers often rely on subjective judgements when comparing and evaluating them. The hybrid techniques that integrate fuzzy set theory and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) are able to deal with such problems. This chapter discusses various hybrid techniques of the fuzzy AHP and presents an application of these techniques to the evaluation of transportation project complexity, which is essential for prioritising resource allocation and assessing project performance. Project complexity can be quantified and visualised effectively with the application of the fuzzy AHP. This chapter enhances the understanding of construction project complexity and fuzzy hybrid computing in construction engineering and management. Future research should address the calibration of fuzzy membership functions in pairwise comparisons for each individual decision maker and develop computational tools for solving optimisation problems in the constrained fuzzy AHP. In the area of construction project complexity, future research should investigate how scarce resources are allocated to better manage complex projects and how appropriate resource allocation improves their performance.

Disparities in transplant rates across social categories provide limited information about gatekeeping processes in access to kidney transplantation. We hypothesized that early opportunities for discussion of kidney transplantation potentially generate social capital that serves as a resource for patients as they navigate the transplantation pathway.

A national sample of first-year dialysis patients was surveyed and asked if kidney transplantation had been discussed with them before and after starting dialysis treatment. Associations between reported discussion and patient-specific clinical and nonclinical (sociodemographic) indicators of attributed utility for transplantation were investigated, and the association of reported transplant discussion with subsequent transplant waitlisting was analyzed.

Time to placement on the kidney transplant waiting list was significantly shorter for patients who reported that transplantation had been discussed with them before, as well as after, starting dialysis. Likelihood of reported discussion varied by patient age, employment and insurance status, cardiovascular comorbidity burden, and perceived health status; in addition, women were less likely to report early discussion.

It would be valuable to know more about the nature of the transplant discussions recalled by patients to better understand how social capital may be fostered through these discussions.

Indicators of attributed utility for successful transplantation were associated with transplant discussion both before and after starting dialysis, potentially contributing to observed disparities in access to kidney transplantation.

Predialysis nephrology care and patient participation in discussion of kidney transplantation may foster social capital that facilitates navigating the transplantation pathway.