13474 research outputs found
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Halal cosmetics discourse in selected Malaysian media and consumer perceptions / Faatihah Zaharah Mohamed Razif
No full textThe global Halal industry is estimated to be worth around USD 2.3 trillion a year and is now one of the fastest-growing markets. With the increase in both supply and demand, halal has turned into a commodity. While many studies have attempted to look at consumers’ intention to purchase and behaviour towards halal products and services within the domain of business management studies, the linguistic studies are very limited. To fill in this niche area, the present study, relying on Van Leeuwen’s (2008) socio-semantic approach to CDA, aims at identifying the (de)legitimation strategies used in the discourse of halal cosmetics in Malaysian media. The study also goes beyond the portrayal of the halal discourse in the text by attempting to understand the perception of halal cosmetics consumers towards halal discourse as represented in the selected news media. A total of fifteen (15) newspaper articles and eleven (11) magazine articles were analyzed and it was found that the main legitimation strategies employed in the discourses are the strategies of authorization, moral evaluation, and rationalization. Having analyzed the legitimizing strategies, semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen (13) participants. Thematic analysis of the data revealed four main themes namely the benefits of halal, the importance and credibility of halal certification and logo, the universality of halal cosmetics, and the marketability of halal products. The combination of the analyzed texts and the interviews suggests that understanding the social and cultural identity is essential in analyzing the perceptions of consumers based on texts, to the social and cultural practices in Malaysia
Detection of COVID-19 pneumonia on computed tomography images using a Lightweight Deep Learning Model / Serena Low Woan Ching
No full textSARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, is a novel contagious respiratory disease discovered in 2019 that caused a worldwide pandemic that claimed many lives. The virus epidemic was initially discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It immediately escalated into an international crisis, causing widespread illness, death, and significant socio-economic disruptions. The rapid and accurate identification of COVID-19 is crucial to the ongoing global epidemic. One of the various medical devices is computed tomography (CT) imaging, which has shown promise in its application to detect distinctive patterns associated with lung tissue deterioration. The common practice is relying on radiologists to diagnose the CT images, which is time-consuming. Various advanced CNN architectures can detect and classify CT images. However, most require high computational costs and are not designed for commercial use. The study aims to automatically detect and classify ‘COVID-19 pneumonia’, 'normal', and ‘pneumonia’ lung CT images using transfer learning of the pre-existing CNN models and the proposed model. The study proposed a DL model inspired by ResNeXt and Inception to create a synergistic effect. The research conducted binary classification to compare the results of the existing models and multi-classification to compare the existing models and the proposed model. The existing models are DenseNet 201, GoogLeNet, ResNet 50, ResNet 101, ResNet 152, and ResNeXt 101. The dataset was collected from medRxiv, bioRxiv, NEJM, JAMA, Lancet, and the China National Centre of Bioinformatics. A comprehensive dataset was subdivided into training, validation, and testing. The images were then pre-trained using existing CNN architectures. Pre-trained models that had been fine-tuned extracted the features from the CT images. The research study applied transfer learning and deterministic concepts to the existing and proposed models to evaluate and compare their results. The proposed model is also designed to capture nuanced features indicative of COVID-19 infection, inspired by ResNeXt 101 and Inception, to achieve a lightweight and efficient CNN model. Data augmentation was applied to the dataset to introduce variations of unseen data to the proposed model. The study indicated the results for binary classification, ResNeXt 101, which obtained the best results among the existing CNN architectures. It acquired the highest sensitivity, specificity, precision, negative predicted value (NPV), accuracy, and F1-score of 0.9571, 1.0000, 1.0000, 0.9639, 0.9800, and 0.9781. The experimental results for multi-class classification showcase the efficacy of the proposed model, achieving an impressive accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score of 0.9980. The proposed model has 7,724,523 parameters, 11 times less than ResNeXt 101 while having similar accuracy. The research depicted the possibilities of the proposed model in aiding medical diagnosis, especially in COVID-19 pneumonia detection using CT images. In conclusion, the proposed model and other developed models from the thesis offer promising tools for healthcare professionals to identify and detect COVID-19 pneumonia CT images early. It encourages the application of CNN architectures as a diagnostic aid for radiologists, particularly during the pandemic
The effect of assurance provider, level of assurance and personal characteristics on investment decision making in socially responsible investing / Hawariah Dal Nial
No full textAssurance report for non-financial information such as sustainability reporting is no longer guaranteed on their quality which led to differences in individual investors’ investment decision making in socially responsible investing (SRI). This is much due to the report’s relative novelty and unregulated nature of practice reported by the company. While professional accountant plays a major role in assurance market, other professional also contribute to the proportion. Hence, this doctoral research endeavor extends the literature on type of assuror and the level of assurance by examining how they influence individual investment decision-making when they attempt to achieve the best environmental goals of their invested fund through evaluation of environmental reporting assurance options. An experimental research model proposed for this study in comparison of the most credible source of information by leveraging the premise of Source Credibility Theory. The goal of the study is to determine from individual investors point of view, which professional affiliation provide the significant difference between type of assuror and the level of assurance when they use them to make decision-making. The study also investigates the role of personal characteristics by using Big Five Inventory (BFI) measurement as possible moderator in the above relationships. The experiment was conducted on 315 participants recruited from investment class from Klang Valley. The data analysis was conducted by using Two-Way ANOVA for group comparisons in a factorial design approach, while the moderated-moderation effect was tested through Hayes Process Macro in SPSS (model 1 and 3). The findings show that there is a significant difference in the impact of different types of assurors and levels of assurance on individual investors' investment decisions in SRI. The difference remains significant in presence of different personality characteristic. This research also reveals that the relationship between the type of assuror and an individual's investment decision in SRI is moderated by both the level of assurance and the personality characteristics of the investor. This study further examines whether a significant moderated-moderation relationship exists in an integrated model with the type of assuror and individual investment decision in SRI. The findings of this experimental research suggest that type of assuror influence individual investment decision making when level of assurance and personality characteristics are combined to evaluate investment options
Three essays on contrarian returns in Asian emergingmarkets / Ali Fayyaz Munir
No full textThis study evaluates the contrarian effect in time-varying circumstances of emerging Asian economies. The study is divided into three objectives: (i) To examine the relationship between varying stock market conditions and contrarian returns with reference to the dynamic market assumption of Adaptive Market Hypothesis (AMH); (ii) To examine the impact of firm-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic factors on contrarian strategy’s profitability; and (iii) To examine the impact of varying degrees of financial liberalization on contrarian strategy payoffs. Accordingly, each research objective is represented by a separate essay.
The first essay dealing with objective 1 investigates the relation between time-varying stock market conditions and contrarian returns in South Asian stock markets based on the dynamic market assumption of the Adaptive Market Hypothesis (AMH). Not only the existence of significant contrarian returns is confirmed in all the sample emerging markets, but the study also finds that these returns are time-varying, where the excess return opportunities wax and wane over time based on contrarian portfolios. Further investigations indicate that contrarian returns strengthen during the negative market states, higher volatility and crises periods, particularly during the Asian financial crisis. Interestingly, the market state is found to be the primary predictor of contrarian payoffs instead of market volatility, which contradicts the findings of developed markets.
The second essay addressing objective 2 examines the predictive ability of firm-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic factors over contrarian strategy payoffs. By employing portfolio formation and subsequent rebalancing methodology, this study finds that firm-specific factors such as trading volume and market value have significant predictive power towards contrarian returns. Stocks with lowest trading volume group generate highest contrarian returns. This finding supports the conjecture that trading volume proxying information asymmetry can be a determining factor for contrarian profitability in South Asian stock markets. Regarding industry analysis, the empirical findings provide evidence for short-term industry contrarian effect. Using data spanning different market states, the study finds that industry contrarian effect was stronger during the Asian and global financial crisis, while industry momentum effect was evident after the global financial crisis and during COVID epidemic. The overall findings of this section imply that Industry aspect cannot be neglected while interpreting the returns of trading strategies in emerging markets. Next, the findings based on predictive regressions suggest that three-month treasury rate, balance of trade and world market return (MSCI) have significant predictive power for contrarian profitability in South Asian stock markets.
Finally, the third essay representing objective 3 investigates the behavior of contrarian strategy payoffs under varying degrees of financial liberalization in Asia-Pacific emerging markets, namely China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand. These markets represent economies that display a gradual change in the degree of financial liberalization instead of fully opening their markets to foreign investors at once. By using the dataset of all listed firms and four different measures of the degree of financial liberalization, the study employs portfolio formation, panel regressions and binary modelling methods to reveal the impact of partial and complete financial liberalization on contrarian returns. This study documents a negative relationship between the degree of financial liberalization and contrarian strategy payoffs. The results further indicate that small-sized emerging markets reveal more significant and higher contrarian returns as compared to their larger counterparts. The study findings are consistent with the investor-base broadening hypothesis, where the small and less liberalized emerging markets offer opportunities for investors and fund managers to produce abnormal contrarian returns that cannot be earned by other conventional investment strategies
Sustainability reporting standards: Analysis of IFRS comment letters / Nor Diana Zainun
No full textInvestigation on lobbying behaviour related to accounting standards has been a long tradition on the basis of comment letters. However, there have been no attempts to investigate lobbying conduct in comment letters in relation to other types of reporting standards, such as sustainability reporting standards, which have similar public consultation processes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the comment letters submitted to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in regard to sustainability reporting standards. This research focuses on stakeholders' reactions to the IFRS consultation paper on developing a standardised framework, which may benefit stakeholders and influence the development of the sustainability reporting standard. The key contribution of this study is to demonstrate the main concern of the users regarding sustainability reports and provide a substantial view to all stakeholders and standard setters on the need for a globalised framework. Using a qualitative content analysis method, this study examines the comment letters of participants in this process with a view to revealing how stakeholders’ groups produce justification to promote their position on the IFRS proposal. The analysis has been done for all the questions listed by IFRS in the consultation paper. The result of the research can crucially contribute to the understanding on why organisations demand for sustainability reporting standards. The findings of this study also reveal that stakeholders will actively participate in lobbying behaviour to influence the standard setting due process
Digital-related capabilities and organizational performance: The role of performance measurement systems / Yupei Xie
No full textThe performance measurement system is considered a management mechanism to
ensure corporate executives. With the development of the Internet and big data
technology, digitalization is not only a trend but will also with a faster speed. The
impact of digitalization on enterprises is all-round, while traditional performance
measurement systems' role is weakening. Therefore, digitalization and performance
measurement systems should be combined to address the challenges and opportunities
of digitalization. In contemporary empirical studies, only some people pay attention to
how digital-related capabilities are related to performance, resulting in a knowledge gap
in this area.
Consequently, to close this gap, this study aims to study how PMS can assist different
types of digital-related capabilities in improving organizational performance and the
relationship between PMS and organizational performance. This study focuses on
relationships between data collection, data analysis, and testing structures. In
quantitative research, researchers employ two standard research methods - survey and
experimental (Creswell, 2009). The survey research method was used in this study
because it helps to provide standardized information to describe and examine the
relationship between variables (Malhotra & Grover, 1998). As part of this study,
structured questionnaires were used to collect survey data from 411 large and mediumsized
Internet enterprises in China.
Additionally, structural equation and model (SEM) analysis from the partial least square (PLS) approach was used to analyze the data. This study first explains how various
digital-related capabilities can promote PMS to improve organizational performance
and subsequently improve organizational performance. It fills a gap in the literature on
digital-related capabilities and the mediating role of organizational performance and
performance measurement systems. This study encourages businesses to adapt to the
digital age, aiming to improve organizational performance. The relationship between
PMS, digital-related capabilities, and organizational performance is investigated in this
study, which provides a detailed explanation of the relationship between each variable.
This study also outlines data analysis strategies and discusses statistical studies used to
determine the reliability and validity of research models
Market integration, corruption and capital structure decision: Evidence from emerging economies/ Ahsan Ahmed
No full textThis thesis investigates the impact of financial integration on the capital structure of the firms operating in 22 emerging countries listed in the MSCI Index. The main objective of this study is to determine the level of integration that has the strongest influence on the financing decisions of the firms and their maturity. For this purpose, we examine a large sample of unbalanced data of firm-level and country-level integrating variables for 9563 firms over the period of twenty-six years i.e. 1990 – 2015. The study also uses some institutional factors like the law and level of corruption that affects the integration level of the country and hinder firm financing decisions. The results of the fixed effect indicate that firms involved in foreign sales (Internationalization) can secure more loans in emerging markets. For country-level integration, we find that credit market integration is positively related to firms' leverage with short maturity while equity market integration is negatively related. The positive relation of leverage with credit markets suggests that the firms take benefit from cheaper loan options that are not available in their own country. However, the effect of equity market integration is more pronounced on the firm’s capital structure and its debt maturity as it serves as the cheapest source. The results also suggest that countries that follow Common laws and have a lower level of corruption are more integrated as the firms in these countries can secure more loans with long maturities. The results provide valuable implications on financial integration to the policymakers and capital structure decision-making for managers in emerging markets
The effect of self-perineal care education on knowledge, episiotomy pain and wound healing among primipara mothers / Lilly Mary G.P Lazarus
No full textA nurse-midwife ensures all mothers receive the best care to be safe and healthy
throughout pregnancy and childbirth. However, it is challenging for midwives to provide
holistic nursing care as postpartum mothers spend only a brief period in the postnatal
ward due to the high demand for the facilities there. The primary objective of this study
was to investigate the effect of self-perineal care education (SPC education) on
knowledge, episiotomy pain, and wound healing outcomes among primipara mothers and
explore their opinions regarding self-perineal care education and their challenges and
practices at home. Mixed-methods research using the embedded design was conducted to
address the research questions. A quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control
group pre-test and post-test design was employed, supported by a qualitative study. A total
of 130 primipara mothers were selected using consecutive sampling and were placed into
the intervention group (n=65) and the control group (n=65). The structured self-perineal
care education was given in two phases during the antenatal and postnatal periods. Self-
perineal care knowledge was assessed using 16 multiple-choice questions with a single
response. The Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) was used to record pain scores, and
the REEDA scale (Red, Oedema, Ecchymosis, Discharge, Approximation) was used to
assess wound healing outcomes. As for the qualitative, a face-to-face, in-depth interview
session was done. Structured questions were asked to 12 primipara mothers from the
intervention group to explore their self-perineal care practice and the challenges they
faced at home.
This interview was carried out six weeks post-delivery follow-up in Maternal Child
Health Clinic. The findings showed no significant difference in the SPC knowledge
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scores between the two groups at baseline (p=.155). Post-analysis, there was a significant
increase in the SPC knowledge score in the intervention (p < .001) but not in the control
group (p= .133). There was no significant association between the primipara mothers�
demographical variables and the change in their knowledge score in the intervention
group. The overall pain score and REEDA score were significantly lower in the
intervention group than in the control group for the first seven days post-delivery, with a
p-value < .001 except for 4 hours of baseline observation. For each activity associated
with daily living, the scores were lower in the intervention group for the seven days post-
delivery. Two main themes emerged from the study: "perceived benefit� and �challenges
of self-perineal care.� Seven sub-themes identified from the main themes such as �self-
awareness,� �boosted confidence level,� �self-empowerment, �enhancement of wound
healing,� �lack of family support, �and �lack of knowledge and resources in using mobile
applications,� and �traditional beliefs.� The primipara mothers perceived the benefit of
self-perineal care education during antenatal as increasing their knowledge and improving
their practice. However, some barriers to good practice persisted. These should be
anticipated in the future to facilitate self-perineal care education in the clinical setting and
to improve outcomes. Using a mobile application to provide accurate, reliable, consistent
information and to allow self-reporting on pain scores and wound healing outcomes
empowers women to take responsibility for their own health
English language use and attitude of international Chinese students in Malaysia / Ning Jing
No full textThe choice of Chinese university students' language attitudes as the research topic stems from language contact and language competition in China's rapid development. China is one of the countries with the most language assets. The researcher has determined from these phenomena that Chinese people have different opinions about English and its use and attitudes. Language attitude reflects social psychology, which is people's feelings and evaluations of language variants of a particular language or dialect. The study of language attitude is a subject of theoretical value in sociolinguistics and great practical value in understanding the psychological characteristics of a nation, a group, or an association. Therefore, in this study, the researcher found that there is a low level of English language use among Chinese university students in Malaysia. In comparison, Chinese university students have a moderate attitude towards the English language.Furthermore, the researcher also found out that there is a significant relationship between English language use and attitude towards English among Chinese university students, which the previous studies have not included. In order to have detailed knowledge regarding this topic, the researcher has analyzed the significant difference between all five variables and English language use and attitude. Findings show that only one age group has a significant difference in English language use among Chinese university students in Malaysia
Exploring the factors influencing the application of telegram by Malaysian Tamil primary school teachers / Sri Raman Nair Chukumaran
No full textFor this study, we sought: (1) to identify motivating, group-interactive, knowledge sharing, and confidence-increasing factors that influence teachers' use of Telegram in Malaysian Tamil Primary School; (2) to identify relationships between these determinants ("triggering event," exploration," integration," resolution. A total of 500 teachers from Malaysian Tamil Primary Schools (SJKT) took part in the workshop (SJKT). Surveys were used to collect the data. Data from the questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS and sophisticated PLS to examine the correlations between variables. A technique known as partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to investigate factors that may influence teachers' future willingness to use Telegram. A correlational study found that instructors' attitudes of Telegram were linked to their intention to use it in the future, as well as their perception of behavioral control. Teachers' intentions to use Telegram in the future have a negligible negative link with social norm, according to the research. It is clear from the results of this study that using Telegram in the educational sector will be important in the future