Abundant waste agricultural residues such as oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) can provide alternative sources of biomass for producing furfural. The aims of this study were to propose a method of preparing furfural and dissolving pulp (DP) from EFB using prehydrolysis with nitric acid, and to examine how the prehydrolysate, which contains xylan, can be used for furfural production. The furfural yield in the nitric acid prehydrolysate was increased to 6.2% of the EFB material weight by dehydration with an acid catalyst. Nitric acid prehydrolysis followed by soda cooking under atmospheric pressure was also applied to the preparation of DP. The obtained pulp was then bleached by using peroxymonosulfuric acid (Psa), chlorine dioxide (D0, D1), and hydrogen peroxide (Ep) in the elementary chlorine-free Psa-D0-Ep-D1 sequence. The pulp demonstrated a brightness of 90.4% ISO and a viscosity of 6.5 cP, which met the National Standard of Indonesia, although the xylan content was a little high and the α-cellulose content was 83.0%.

Self-directed learning (SDL) is essential in medical education. The rapid development of medical science and the expansion of health problems need a physician who can meet that challenges. A physician must have lifelong learning ability. SDL is one of the important requirements for lifelong learning ability. In SDL, learners are the controller of learning and learners have the freedom to learn according to their needs. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the role of the teacher in the SDL process, particularly in medical education. This study used a qualitative exploratory design. Twelve teachers and 23 medical students were selected by purposive sampling. There were seven themes that emerged from the analysis. The role of teacher in the SDL process includes: (1) Competent; (2) Concern; (3) Creative; (4) Facilitator; (5) Motivator; (6) Partners; and (7) Role Model.

Studi pendahuluan, menunjukkan hasil bahwa pasien stroke yang datang di rumah sakit dalam waktu 3 jam sejumlah <34%. Lebih dari 35% pasien tiba di rumah sakit diatas 24 jam. Fakta ini dapat merupakan fenomena gunung es, yaitu masih banyak pasien stroke yang tidak dibawa ke rumah sakit dengan berbagai alasan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui perilaku pasien stroke dalam mencari pertolongan kesehatan sehubungan dengan penyakitnya. Disain penelitian ini adalah deskriptif observasional. Penelitian ini menggunakan 101 pasien stroke yang ada di masyarakat Kecamatan Kepanjen. Responden diperoleh dari penelusuran berkas rekam medik pasien stroke dan informasi dari mulut ke mulut (snowball sampling). Hasil menunjukkan bahwa 31,5% pasien langsung datang ke rumah sakit ketika terkena stroke dengan rentang waktu bervariasi. Pasien stroke yang pergi ke rumah sakit dalam waktu 3 jam sebesar 18,7%, sedangkan sisanya tiba dalam waktu >3 jam. Pasien yang diperiksakan ke petugas kesehatan terlebih dulu, kemudian dibawa ke rumah sakit adalah sebesar 46,5%, dan pasien yang tidak dibawa ke rumah sakit setelah dibawa ke petugas kesehatan maupun non kesehatan sebesar 22%. Health seeking behaviour ini dipengaruhi oleh beberapa faktor yaitu faktor demografi dan geografi, sosio-budaya, klinis, persepsi, dan pengetahuan. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat 3 alur health seeking behaviour pada pasien stroke yang ada di masyarakat, yaitu langsung ke rumah sakit, ke rumah sakit setelah dibawa ke petugas kesehatan atau non petugas kesehatan, dan tidak pergi ke rumah sakit setelah dibawa ke petugas kesehatan atau non petugas kesehatan.

The aim of the study is to identify the importance of poster as a learning media that can be utilized in learning activities. It also aims to explore the learning outcomes of students who use poster as learning media. In Indonesia, high school students are not allowed to carry a mobile phone, while the school on the other hand, does not provide enough computers for all students. The school computer laboratory could only cater for students need interchangeably. Therefore, teachers in schools choose other media that they think are effective, such as poster media. The poster media was seemed very relevant and appropriate to improve the quality of learning and student achievement. This study involved both qualitative and quantitative research method through Four-D model (Define, Design, Development, and Dissemination) that used for the learning material development. The data was collected through interview with two experts and experimental research design among two groups of students. The qualitative data were analyzed and the experimental data was tested using T-test statistical analysis. The learning outcomes with poster as learning media showed the mean values of the control and experimental groups were, respectively, 60.97 and 85.86. It indicated the difference in learning outcomes of 24.89. The produced poster was also assessed by media experts and curriculum experts. This study recommended that poster is very feasible and relevant to be utilized as a form of learning media in improving quality of learning and engagement with students.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the negative effect of intra-firm causal ambiguity on the project team’s performance—efficiency and effectiveness, and also examine the moderating role of openness and the integrative capabilities. Design/methodology/approach The population in this study is teams that come from a variety of companies which work with cross-functional teams or matrices, such as advertising agencies, recreational or amusement parks, television companies, production houses, radio stations, private education providers, manufacturing enterprises and IT companies. The sample population was chosen based on their tendency to form creative teams to respond to environmental/market dynamics by involving employees from different backgrounds and levels in the planning and implementation of projects. Findings As hypothesized, intra-firm causal ambiguity negatively influenced the project team’s efficiency and effectiveness, while openness moderated the effect of intra-firm causal ambiguity to efficiency, but not to effectiveness, and the team’s integrative capabilities did not moderate the above relationship. Research limitations/implications First, the sample in this study only focused on teams with creativity doing a project. Any future research is expected to focus more on the selection of sample types which also have a tendency to apply openness, and focus their activities on improving their integrative capabilities. Second, there are no data about the background experience of the members of the teams in working together on previous projects, so future studies need to discover whether that experience also affects the variables included in this study. Third, the category of the time horizon samples for the project’s implementation, which were between one month and two years, is still too wide. It may have contributed to the overlapping of the moderating effect, so future studies need the sample project’s categories to have a much narrower range (one to three months, four to six months, or one year). Fourth, the regression results for the moderating variables are partially not supported. This may relate to the characteristics of the respondents. To obtain the data and a more complete knowledge, further research can be done into creative on-going team types, such as an interior design team, a company’s production performance team and others. Practical implications A practical implication based on the research that has been done is that, when the condition of intra-firm causal ambiguity occurs, strategies to reduce the condition are needed. First, before a project starts, all the team members must understand the systemic process of the project’s resources related to the environment and the objectives. Systemic understanding of the resources system can help the team to effectively manage any causal ambiguity in the resources system. Second, referring that the higher the intra-firm causal ambiguity is, the efforts to codify the resources and the systemic process of the project should also be higher as well. So the second strategy is to codify/create tools that guide the project, in order to make it easily understandable, accessible and always up to date, over the lifespan of the project. Originality/value The results of research into the impacts of intra-firm causal ambiguity on the organizational performance are still inconsistent. Some researchers claim that intra-firm causal ambiguity has a negative effect on performance, but there are also studies that show the opposite result. This research accommodates these inconsistencies by examining the effects of a moderating variable on the impact of intra-firm causal ambiguity on a cross-functional team’s performance, in its contextual and internal aspects. The contextual aspect is represented by the openness of the team, while the team’s ability to integrate the diversity of knowledge, i.e. its integrative capability, is represented as the internal aspect.

Etlingera alba is one of the Etlingera plants that has not been studied intensively. Plants that belong to the same genus have similar constituents and pharmacological activities. Thus, we aim to investigate the chemical composition and pharmacological activities, namely, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, of E. alba rhizome extract (EA). The chemical constituent was detected using the test tube method. The inflammatory model rats were obtained by inducing them with 1% carrageenan, and their palm edema volume and cytokine levels, namely, IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α, were measured. Antibacterial activity was performed with broth microdilution. The phytochemical screening of EA was detecting alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, and phenols. The EA has anti-inflammatory activity by reducing the palms’ edema volume and cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α), and the optimal concentration was 400 mg/kg body weight (BW). On the other hand, EA also exhibited antibacterial properties against E. coli and S. enterica. In conclusion, similar to other Etlingera plants, EA also demonstrates pharmacological activities, namely, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

The aim of the study is to identify the importance of poster as a learning media that can be utilized in learning activities. It also aims to explore the learning outcomes of students who use poster as learning media. In Indonesia, high school students are not allowed to carry a mobile phone, while the school on the other hand, does not provide enough computers for all students. The school computer laboratory could only cater for students need interchangeably. Therefore, teachers in schools choose other media that they think are effective, such as poster media. The poster media was seemed very relevant and appropriate to improve the quality of learning and student achievement. This study involved both qualitative and quantitative research method through Four-D model (Define, Design, Development, and Dissemination) that used for the learning material development. The data was collected through interview with two experts and experimental research design among two groups of students. The qualitative data were analyzed and the experimental data was tested using T-test statistical analysis. The learning outcomes with poster as learning media showed the mean values of the control and experimental groups were, respectively, 60.97 and 85.86. It indicated the difference in learning outcomes of 24.89. The produced poster was also assessed by media experts and curriculum experts. This study recommended that poster is very feasible and relevant to be utilized as a form of learning media in improving quality of learning and engagement with students.