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The moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between social capital and social well-being among youth
No full textThe purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between social capital and social well-being. In particular, this research aims to examine the demographic characteristics of the Pakistani youth in Punjab and the moderating effect of self-efficacy, on the relationship between various types of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) and social well-being. The disparities in respondents' social well-being based on their demographic profile will also be investigated. This study adopted the quantitative research design. Using a multistage sampling strategy, data from 852 students enrolled in selected public universities in Punjab, Pakistan, were obtained for this study. The findings reveal that bonding, bridging, and linking types of social capital are positively associated with social well-being. In terms of the moderating hypothesis, self-efficacy moderates the relationship between bonding and bridging social capital and social well-being. Likewise, self-efficacy does not simplify the relationship between social capital and social well-being. Additionally, comparative analysis revealed that the respondents’ social well-being differs according to their gender, marital status, type of family, age, study program, and monthly household income. The number of family members, friends in the community, friends on social media, and average time spent on social media are other factors that contribute to this disparity. This study concludes that the Pakistani government should invest in the youth’s social capital, self-efficacy, and social well-being, which are essential for the country's development and the elimination of socioeconomic inequalities
The impact of crisis management communications, national media, and social media management on sustainable international relations in the United Arab Emirates
Get PDFSustainable international relations and their sustainability is the branch of political science that deals with interactions between government agencies and the image of the state in the international system, through many tools, including crisis communications, national media and social media management. The problem of the study lies in the extent to which the United Arab Emirates is able to benefit from these emerging means in their impact on international relations. The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of crisis management communications, national media, and social media management on sustainable political relations in the UAE as a dependent variable. The study is a quantitative research that benefited from statistical evaluation based on detailed solutions and techniques of variance, covariance, correlation, and regression. The study was conducted on the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies in the United Arab Emirates. In total, the valid data set contains 338 samples from a targeted sample size of 357. The result of the study showed a positive evaluation of the impact of crisis management communications, national media, and social media management on sustainable international relations through a satisfactory predictive power. The proposed model, according to the statistical results, can explain 60% of the change in the sustainable international relations of the UAE. The study made several recommendations, the most important of which is the need for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit an integrated plan related to communications in crises. The study also recommended, with regard to crisis management in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the need to draw a clear road map and a path to move on. It also recommended the positive and constructive development of the UAE's international relations system with the countries of the world
Best weighted approximation and its degree for (co) convex and unconstrained polynomials
Get PDFApproximation theory is a branch of analysis and applied mathematics that approximates a function f which is defined on a finite interval [a,b] with preserving certain intrinsic shape properties and known as concavities of the functions. The study of (co)convex and unconstrained polynomial (COCUNP) are the important properties in finding the best approximation of a function. Numerous studies have been conducted using COCUNP approximation to construct a degree of the best approximation, but it depended on the Ditzian-Totik modulus of smoothness (DTMS) of f and also limited to a uniform norm space. Moreover, this approach could not be extended to the best weighted approximation of functions in general abstract spaces. Thus, to overcome this shortcoming, this study established a new symmetric difference using properties of Lebesgue Stieltjes integral-i which is called generalization of symmetric difference. Then, the best weighted approximation known as weighted DTMS is developed by taking the supremum of generalization of symmetric difference. In addition, new degrees of best (co)convex and unconstrained polynomial approximation are constructed using the proposed weighted DTMS. The result shows that the new approach is able to extend the best weighted approximation of functions in general abstract spaces. In addition, the weighted approximation by (co)convex polynomial provided a better accuracy compared to unconstrained polynomial. In conclusion, this study has successfully established the best weighted approximation and improved its degrees for (co)convex polynomial and COCUNP
An analysis on integrated supply chain management in academic university library
Get PDFSupply chain management has been widely used in manufacturing industries and proven by researchers and practitioners as a best practice. It can satisfy stakeholders, increase revenues, and decrease the total costs. However, very few service industries, particularly the academic library, have implemented supply chain management. Several problems related to the academic library supply chain should be addressed, such as how to model the entities and their functions for the general practice of an academic library supply chain, and the linkage among these entities as an integrated model. This research develops an integrated academic library supply chain model, which can be used for the strategic planning of the academic library. It identifies entities and their functions for the academic library supply chain, constructs a conceptual model of the integrated supply chain of the academic library, and analyses the interrelationship among the newly developed model entities. This research used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to achieve the research objectives. The process of identifying the entities and their functions of the academic library supply chain was accomplished by using a theoretical literature review and content analysis techniques. The proposed conceptual supply chain model was developed based on the system thinking method. Eventually, it was validated through the Fuzzy Delphi method, an expert judgment technique. Three conceptual models for the supply chain academic library were successfully developed: The Holistic View of Supply Chain Model for Academic Library, the Material Purchasing Decision Making Model, and the Integrated Academic Library Supply Chain Model. These three models were validated by the academic librarians. This research expands the knowledge of supply chain theory, particularly in the supply chain academic library. It also contributes to the academic library management in planning and formulating a roadmap for the library to increase its quality services for all stakeholders
A comparative study of the foreign direct investment laws at the pre-entry stage in Bangladesh and Malaysia
Get PDFThe primary purpose of economic globalisation is the economic development of the developing and least-developed countries as well as to facilitate benefits of the home states. Due to recent economic crisis and negative effects of FDI in various places in
the world, many host states has started to adopt restrictive entry regulation for the multinational enterprises (MNEs). These regulatory conditions and restrictions differ between countries, depending on the development goals and objectives of the
respective host states. Accordingly, restrictions on entry and permission imposed by different host states can be categorised primarily into three groups: (a) Sovereignty, national interest and security; and foreign ownership; (b) Capitalisation and performance requirements; (c) Screening of investment proposal and environmental protection. Due to fierce competition and attracting more foreign investments, host states like Bangladesh and Malaysia has lax regulatory laws and policies. Even though FDI has played a key role in the modernisation of Bangladesh and Malaysia’s economy, there are also negative effects, which are caused due to lack of effective legislation and control. Similarly, findings of this study shows that BITs and TIPs of both countries mainly protect foreign investors and lacks specific regulatory
provisions to control them. In this study, six factors: sovereignty, national interest and security, foreign ownership, capitalisation requirement, performance requirement, screening of foreign investment and environmental protection has been selected and
discussed in order to regulate FDI during the pre-entry stage. The primary research question was – to what extent the existing FDI governing laws were comparative at the pre-entry stage in Bangladesh and Malaysia? In this relation, the existing legal
framework, BITs and TIPs of both countries have been critically evaluated. The primary research objective was to compare the FDI laws, BITs and TIPs in both countries. This study adopts qualitative, doctrinal and non-doctrinal legal research and comparative research methodology. The qualitative and doctrinal aspects are
library-based complemented by ten semi-structured interviews, while the comparative aspect involves reference to relevant FDI laws of various host states. The analysis of data employs doctrinal, comparative, thematic, critical and analytical methods. The findings indicate that the existing legal framework of both Bangladesh and Malaysia are not completely harmonious in relation to six factors to regulate foreign investors at the pre-entry stage. Similarly, the BITs and TIPs of both states mainly protect foreign investors and most of them lack specific provisions to cover six factors at the pre-entry stage. Based on the findings, this study recommends that
the Government of Bangladesh and Malaysia could consider including these six factors, either through amending the existing legal framework or the BITs and TIPs. At the same time, implementation of the legal frameworks must be strengthened
further to ensure that the foreign investors are fulfilling all the requirements at the pre-entry stage in both countries
Mengukur tahap kecekapan perkhidmatan bekalan air di kalangan negeri-negeri industri dan hubungan dengan KDNK
Get PDFWater supply services in Peninsular Malaysia were initially under the authority of the Ministry of Works through the Jabatan Kerja Raya, but after Independence it was placed under the state government, namely as Jabatan Kerja Raya Negeri until it split into the Water Department, Water Supply, Corporate Companies and privatization in 1990s. Johor, Selangor, and Pulau Pinang are developed states in Malaysia which have fully privatized the water division of JKR to the private sector, namely as Johor Holdings (1994), Selangor Water Supply Company (1996), and Penang Water Supply Corporation (1999). Due to rapid population growth and municipality, as well as the demand in industrial sectors, demand for water has increased in Selangor, Johor and Pulau Pinang. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the level of efficiency between industrial states of Malaysia and to determine the relationship between GDP growth and water efficiency. Other factors that affect the level of efficiency of the state’s water operator will be analyzed. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach is used to measure technical efficiency and factors influencing the level of water efficiency over the period 2006-2017. While Tobit model will be used to determine other factors influencing the level of efficiency. The DEA score showed that the industrial states such as Johor and Selangor managed to score average 60% and 53%, respectively whereas Pulau Pinang managed to score an average of 92% over the study period. The Tobit model showed a positive relationship between GDP growth and water efficiency. Other factors such as water capacity and NRW also have an impact on water technical efficiency in Malaysia
Multinational entities and transfer pricing disclosures
Get PDFGlobalisation opened new ways for companies to find ways to mitigate and/or avoid tax. Aggressive or abusive transfer pricing methods is one of the main tax avoidance practices engaged by multinational enterprises (“MNEs”). Following the request by G7, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”), published Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) report in 2015 on the fifteen-action plans to tackle aggressive and abusive tax avoidance practices and three of these focussed on transfer pricing matters. Although the International Accounting Standard’s Boards’ Conceptual Framework requires that the financial statements provide useful information for the financial statement readers, the relevant standards do not require MNEs to provide transfer pricing related disclosures. This study observed thirty listed MNEs, comprising of the top fifteen MNEs from Bursa Malaysia and the top fifteen MNEs from London Stock Exchange listings. The study found that most of the sample MNEs included some transfer pricing related disclosures in the annual reports but this was mainly restricted to confirmation that the related party transactions were at arm’s length. The study also found that there was significant difference between the disclosures provided by Malaysian and the UK MNE samples. However, there were no significant differences between the number of MNEs including a transfer pricing disclosure in 2020 compared to 2016. In addition, firm size, the presence of a higher proportion of independent non-executive directors on the board, CEO duality, total number of overseas subsidiaries and proportion of overseas subsidiaries within the group had a positive impact on the transfer pricing disclosure. This study provides insight for IASB & IRB on the current practice by MNEs and whether IASB should consider reviewing their guidance in relation to transfer pricing issues from an accounting perspective. GRI 207 which came into force in January 2021, provides guidance on transfer pricing disclosures for tax transparency reporting. Future studies could expand on this study to observe how the MNEs comply with the new requirement
Improving the audit quality of the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia through action research
Get PDFAudit quality is a critical element in the audit process to ensure that there is no taxpayer non-compliance with tax returns. However, the current audit quality of the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM), measured by additional tax assessment, case processing time, and achievement of each key performance indicator (KPI), still needs improvement. The purpose of this study is to improve the audit quality of IRBM audit officers through an action research process involving planning, acting, observing, and reflecting.This research executes secondary data, interviews, and observations through five major cycles: problem identification, systematic data collection, analysis and reflection, intervention, and evaluation. The process took 10 months from January to October 202. Based on the findings, five selected IRBM audit officers underwent one week of training and three months of coaching (acting), collecting participant feedback (observing), and reflecting on the feedback through further counseling and coaching. At the end of the cycle, all audit officers completed their aging cases within the specified completion period, which was three months. In practice, this study has shown that time training and continuous coaching can improve examination quality and competence in IRBM audit tasks. Therefore, it is recommended that both aspects should be introduced in all branches and made part of the IRBM policies
Oil politics in African resource communities: Rationales for conflict and peacebuilding process in Nigeria’s Ogoniland
Get PDFExploitation of natural resources and degradation of the environment is breeding conflict between multinational corporations and their host communities in Africa. From oil conflict to blood diamonds, the relationship between multinational corporations and several African resource communities has remained uncordial for decades. In Nigeria, there has been an enduring conflict in the oil-rich Niger Delta region between the Ogoni community and Shell Petroleum Development Company. This study examined the rationales for conflict and peacebuilding process in Ogoniland. Data for the study was collected and analysed via qualitative method. Primary and secondary data were employed. The source of primary data includes in-depth interviews, informal conversation, personnal encounter, and visits to important sites – to verify some of the claims made by the interviewees. The secondary source of information includes articles in journals, books, archival materials, media chronicles, and reports of inquiries conducted by both governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis technique was employed to analyze data; for the purpose of answering the four questions derived from research gap after review of extant literatures. Question one – considered in chapter three – investigated the ways Nigerian national politics is amplifying the oil conflict in Ogoniland. The chapter identifies exploitative laws, environmental neglect, repression and revenue deprival as the means through which Nigerian national politics has impacted and amplified the conflict in Ogoni. Question two – considered in chapter four – investigated the inconveniencies making Ogoni people protest against Shell and oil production in their communities. Findings unveiled the series of oil spill-induced inconvenience Ogoni people are facing in respect of the environment; ancestral agriculture livelihood; health; and economy of the community. Question three – considered in chapter five – examined the actions taken by Shell, Nigerian government and global authority to eradicate the ruinous oil spills inciting Ogoni. The study found that Nigerian government, UNEP, and Shell have taken series of actions, but that of Nigerian government and Shell have not produced significant results that could discourage Ogoni from conflict. Question four – considered in chapter six – explored means of reconciling the hostility between Ogoni people, Shell, and Nigerian government for peace to reign in Ogoniland. Findings show that owing to long duration and complexities, Ogoni conflict is characterised by changing contours and has evolved strongly overtime. Past efforts to resolve the impasse were flawed, thus actions to engender peace were promulgated for Shell, Nigerian government, and the people of Ogoni
Implementation of entrepreneurship education in the resettlement training program
No full textThe effectiveness of entrepreneurship program in entrepreneurship education has always been debated in the literature, which opens up the need for an evaluation study. This study evaluates entrepreneurship education’s implementation of the Resettlement Training Program. Context-Input-Process-Product (CIPP), an evaluation model under the System Theory was used as the underpinning theory in this research. The study focuses on input (entrepreneurship training curriculum, role model, and entrepreneurial support), process (students’ orientation, business planning, practical knowledge, and entrepreneurial networking), and product evaluation (entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial interest). A self-administered questionnaire was employed to collect data from 542 respondents. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression. This study reveals a significant difference in entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial interest of participants trained by the School of Management and Services Sector (BPSPP) and the School of Technical and Vocational (BPTV). Additionally, there is a significant contribution of all input programs towards product programs, namely entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial interest. All process programs also have significant contribution towards entrepreneurial thinking but only three out of four variables in process program have significant contribution towards entrepreneurial interest. Practical knowledge has no relationship with entrepreneurial interest. Entrepreneurial support in the input program and students’ orientation in the process program are the most significant contributors to entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial interest. It is recommended that the implementation process of the entrepreneurship training curriculum, particularly practical knowledge, be reviewed and realigned to improve the product programs, namely entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial interest of participants, thus helping PERHEBAT to produce more entrepreneurs. The implementation of input and process programs of entrepreneurship education in the Resettlement Training Program must be well understood and practiced by all parties involved so as to produce veterans with both high level of entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial interest. Future study may consider to evaluate how respondents’ demographic can contribute to the outcome of entrepreneurship education