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The effect of financial revenues and net financial payouts on investment efficiency: An investigation of short-termism / Abdul Majid Nasir
No full textThe underinvestment issue remains one of the serious challenges for the non-financial corporations (NFCs) in the United States of America (US). Recent studies claim that NFCs in the US have underinvested compared to the investment opportunities. This underinvestment issue is detrimental to corporate investment efficiency, output growth, long-term cash flows, income distribution and productivity. Hence, drawing from the short-termism theory, the current study investigates whether financial revenues and net financial payouts explain this distortion of investment efficiency and lead to the underinvestment problem. Additionally, this study examines whether earnings benchmarks and stock-based compensation explain the effect of financial revenues and net financial payouts on investment efficiency and underinvestment. This study employs annual panel firm-level data for US NFCs from 1999 to 2018. The current study evaluates the hypotheses through the cumulant and generalized method of moment estimators. The results reveal that financial revenues significantly reduce investment efficiency and lead to higher underinvestment. Conversely, net financial payouts improve investment efficiency and minimize underinvestment. Results also report that earnings benchmarks increase the negative effect of financial revenues and net financial payouts on investment efficiency and intensify the positive effect of financial revenues and net financial payouts on underinvestment. Finally, the results also suggest that stock-based compensation is unable to modify the effect of financial revenues on investment efficiency and underinvestment. Similarly, stock-based compensation does not influence the relationship between net financial payouts and investment efficiency. However, stock-based compensation enhances the positive effect of net financial payouts on underinvestment. Findings of the current study are consistent among high and low uncertain firms, and financially constrained and unconstrained firms. These findings are also robust to reverse causality issue. Overall, the results show that short-termism is one significant factor explaining the underinvestment issue of US NFCs. The implications of this study are of importance to firms, investors and governments, as investment efficiency is a considerable factor that enhances the corporate long-term growth. Firms and investors looking to improve investment efficiency may reinvest the financial revenues on real assets to reduce underinvestment. They may also minimize the net financial payouts in favor of investment efficiency. Moreover, based on the results of this study, analysts may also determine earnings benchmarks, which help achieve both short- and long-term corporate objectives. Besides, shareholders may redesign stock-based compensation to enhance investment efficiency. This study contributes to the existing literature as research on investment efficiency from the perspective of short-termism is still unexplored. Besides, this study develops a single framework explaining the relationship among short-term corporate decisions (financial revenues and net financial payouts), short-term objectives (earnings benchmarks and stock-based compensation) and investment efficiency. This framework helps to understand the simultaneous effect of corporate decisions and corporate short-term objectives on investment efficiency
Organisational green culture and competitive advantage in manufacturing industry: Corporate social responsibility as a mediator / Priyahdharshini Gunaseelan
No full textGreen practises are changing the economic landscape and encouraging organisations to embrace a green culture. However, there is a lack of study on the factors necessary to drive and shape this formula successfully. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) could be a driving force for gaining environmental education and economic information, as it can mobilise employee knowledge and cultivate a learning environment that can accommodate business sustainability. The research aims to examine the relationship between organisational green culture and competitive advantage of manufacturing industries in Selangor, using CSR activities as a mediator. Organisational green management and CSR activities are seen as a way to gain competitive advantage, so CSR activities are offered to sustain the relationship between an organisational green culture and its competitive advantage. Insights gained from empirical analysis could be beneficial for future researchers. This study used ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. software to collect samples from 2,400 Selangor manufacturing companies, drawn randomly from 25% of the population and distributed to 600 managers. A structured survey was conducted using Google Forms to obtain data from 196 respondents, which was analysed using SPSS version 29.This research study found that organisational green culture and CSR activities have a positive effect on competitive advantage in manufacturing firms in Selangor. It provides an empirical explanation of the relationships between variables that influence competitive advantage
Web-based accountability and sustainability in China's charitable foundations / Zhang Xun
No full textNonprofit organizations (NPOs) are important for the public and are deemed to
functionalize as complementary to government organizations. Due to the nonprofit
characteristics, financial sustainability and social sustainability issues have been
encountered by NPOs. According to the stakeholder theory, financial sustainability and
social sustainability could be improved through effective accountability. However, as the
most important NPOs in China, foundations have been troubled by continuous scandals,
and their sustainability is greatly diminished. To regain public confidence and credibility,
foundations need to ensure accountability towards the requirements of the public. With
the rapid development of the Internet in China, web-based accountability provides
advantages, such as higher accessibility and lower cost. In this study, the associations
between web-based accountability and sustainability in Chinese NPOs were investigated.
Using the quantitative approach, secondary data were analyzed through a multiple
regression model. The findings suggest that the sustainability of China foundations is
positively associated with web-based accountability. Specifically, financial and social
sustainability could be affected by both information disclosure and dialogue
communication. Notably, interactive engagement, as one special kind of dialogue
communication under a web-based environment, shows a significant positive influence
on foundations' sustainability. Overall, the findings of this study contribute theoretically
to fulfill several research gaps, and provide practical instructions to various parties, such
as governors and regulators, managers, financiers, and the public
The influence of internal control and internal quality assurance implementation on the quality of higher education institutions: The case of Indonesia / Hafiez Sofyani
No full textQuality has become a significant global issue in many higher education institutions (HEIs).
Efforts to improve the quality have led many governments in various countries to revise their
HEIs management and governance regulations. In Indonesia, efforts to improve HEIs quality
are conducted by revising the quality assurance system, management, and governance
practices of HEIs, particularly related to the implementation of internal control (IC), internal
quality assurance (IQA), and the development of information technology (IT) for both control
policies (IT-IC and IT-IQA).
This study examines the extent to which HEIs in Indonesia have implemented IC, IQA, ITIC,
and IT-IQA. This study also examines the role of these four variables on HEIs quality.
The research framework is developed based on the theory of resource-based view (RBV) and
resource orchestration. Using a resource orchestration perspective, IC is designed as the
moderating variable.
This study uses a mixed-method approach with a sequential explanatory design comprising
two stages. First, a questionnaire survey (quantitative phase) was carried out involving 457
respondents from 251 HEIs in 31 of 34 provinces in Indonesia. The number of respondents
were 206 from the IQA unit and 251 from the IC unit and HEIs management members. The
survey was undertaken to examine the extent to which policies of IC, IQA, IT-IC, and ITIQA
have been implemented and how these four policies benefit HEIs quality. The Partial
Least Square (PLS) technique is used to test the relationship among the variables. Second,
semi-structured interviews (qualitative phase) were conducted with 26 selected respondents.
The results revealed that the implementation of IC, IQA, IT-IC, and IT-IQA in Indonesian
HEIs is at a moderate level. Some aspects require improvements, including control
environment, risk assessment, monitoring, IT organizational controls, IT process controls, IT
soft variable controls, and IT-IQA. All hypotheses proposed in this research were supported.
In detail, the findings show that both effective IC and IQA implementations were positively
associated with HEIs quality. Additionally, effective IC can strengthen IQA and HEIs quality
relationships. Further, when IT-IC was positively associated with effective IC
implementation, IT-IQA was also positively associated with effective IQA implementation.
In addition, the study found that the strength of the regression model is moderate at an
adjusted R2 of 0.504. Further, the f square score of the IC moderating effect, explains that the
effect size can be considered as a medium, 0.017. The test results also indicated that the
moderating effect is quasi in nature. Furthermore, in general, the interview results also
confirmed the findings of the hypothesis test results. Interview results also provided a detailed
and contextual explanation of how the relationship between variables in the theoretical
framework could occur.
Findings from this research provide essential input for regulators, policymakers, and
management of HEIs. As suggested by RBV and resource orchestration theories, to increase
HEIs’ competitiveness, seen from their quality, Indonesian HEIs need to strengthen the role
of their internal resources, especially the four variables involved in this research
Determinants of generation Y (Gen Y) saving behaviour: An application of the integrated behavioural model / Ida Lopez Augastin Pathrose Lopez
No full textThe issue of saving behaviour is an important research agenda and has often been a key topic of discussion among researchers and policymakers across the globe. This issue is expected to gain greater importance in the coming decades due to longer life expectancies, intensified with countries having to deal with ageing populations and significant increase in old-age dependency ratio. The main objective of this study is to investigate the determinants of saving behaviour among Malaysia’s income-earning Gen Ys – born in the years 1980 to 1995 - using Integrated Behavioural Model (IBM). Gen Y is chosen as it is a fast-growing income-earning generational cohort, and with considerable number of working years left before retirement. Another motivation to target Gen Y is because prior studies revealed Gen Ys to be experiencing financial stress and anxiety and are not prepared for long-term financial security. This study applied the IBM, which primarily includes constructs from Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to evaluate determinants influencing Gen Y’s saving behaviour, namely, whether Attitude (experiential, instrumental), Perceived Norm (injunctive, descriptive), and Personal Agency (perceived Control, self-efficacy) influence intention to save regularly. In addition to intention to save regularly as a direct predictor of regular saving behaviour, this study includes two additional direct predictors of saving behaviour, namely financial literacy, and time preference. The study was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, interviews were conducted to elicit underlying beliefs that influence Attitude, Perceived Norm, and Personal Agency. In the second phase, a study using survey questionnaire was conducted on a sample of 500 Gen Y respondents. Analysis conducted using PLS-SEM revealed that there were positive relationships among Instrumental Attitude, Injunctive Norm, Perceived Control, Self-efficacy, and intention to save regularly. Only for Experiential Attitude and Descriptive Norm, significant relationships were not found. As for the direct predictors of regular saving behaviour, intention to save regularly, time preference, and financial literacy were all found to have significant positive associations with regular saving behaviour. In the third phase, an experimental study to investigate the impact of participating in an online financial awareness programme revealed that such an intervention positively impacts the path coefficients of Instrumental Attitude and Self-efficacy to intention to save regularly. This study’s theoretical contribution is it uses an Integrated Behavioural Model to explain performance of regular saving. It incorporated six predictors of intention to save to identify the predictive power of each, instead of the standard three predictors of intention in TPB. In addition, there are three predictors of regular saving behaviour. A further contribution of this study is in the conduct of three phases of data collection. Policy makers may find this study useful as the results reveal the determinants of saving behaviour of Gen Ys in Malaysia, and policies could then be formulated to improve Gen Y’s saving behaviour. For education and programme providers, this study showed that financial awareness programmes could be effective in promoting regular, long-term saving behaviour through the enhancement of Instrumental Attitude and Self-efficacy among Gen Ys in Malaysia
A case study of L2 classroom discourse analysis through dialogic lens / Sheila Adelina Ramasamy
No full textClassroom discourse which is made up of spoken interactions plays an important role in facilitating second language learning and acquisition. It is also a crucial tool for collective thinking. From a socio cognitive perspective, classroom discourses which are dialogic contribute towards second language learning and acquisition and therefore the interactional opportunities influence the success of students’ second language acquisition. Acknowledging the potentiality of dialogic classroom discourses in enhancing second language learning and acquisition (L2) amongst Malaysian students, the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) designed and implemented a professional development programme known as Oral Proficiency in English (OPS-English) which focused on dialogic teaching in the teaching of English amongst lower secondary teachers in Malaysia. (Ministry of Education, 2013). This study explored and investigated the perceptions and classroom practices of eight Malaysian second language teachers on dialogic teaching as a form of classroom discourse in facilitating students’ oral communication skills and acquisition as well as shaping students’ cognitive development. The study adopted a qualitative approach which involved a case study design comprising semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The interview findings were validated with classroom observations of four teachers to investigate the dialogic features prevalent in the discourse pattern used by the teachers. The Discourse Analysis (DA) method facilitated the identification and analysis of the dialogic features employed by the teachers. The findings of this study indicate that dialogic teaching was perceived as an interactive and meaningful discourse structure that affords L2 oral communication skills and acquisition. The adoption of dialogic teaching as a pedagogic discourse demonstrated the teachers’ pedagogical shift towards a social process of learning which took advantage of the dialogic features introduced during professional development. Nevertheless, the teachers were challenged with issues of students’ proficiency that obstructed their effective intervention process. Hence, the teachers needed improvement in enacting the dialogical approach into their L2 practices. The findings have key educational implications in terms of teacher discourse patterns and for further research in terms of facilitating second language acquisition
Investigation of nonlinear optical properties of large area monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and its application as planar waveguide saturable absorber / Chew Jing Wen
No full textTransition metal dichalcogenides are a type of two-dimensional (2D) material that has been widely studied in the last decade. Among the transition metal dichalcogenides, 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has attracted much attention among the scientific community due to its unique electrical and optical properties. To obtain MoS2 in its 2D form, top-down exfoliation technique from its bulk material or bottom-up synthesis method can be used. One of the common methods to obtain 2D MoS2 that have been used in photonics studies is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which is a bottom-up synthesis approach. It relies on the chemical reaction between molybdenum oxide and sulfur precursors at high temperature to produce 2D MoS2. This method provides advantages such as better control in MoS2 thin film thickness uniformity, which allows one to control the properties of 2D MoS2 with higher confidence level. In this work, the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, particularly the nonlinear refractive index, of a CVD-grown large area monolayer MoS2 is investigated at the telecommunication wavelength band (or C-band) using time-resolved Z-scan technique. The result shows that it exhibits a nonlinear refractive index of 1.40 10-13 m2 W-1, which is a few orders of magnitude larger than that of common bulk dielectric materials. It shows that monolayer MoS2 is a good 2D material candidate for NLO application in C-band wavelength range. To utilize the NLO properties of the monolayer MoS2, different coating lengths of the MoS2 film is transferred onto a planarized optical waveguide using a polymer-assisted transfer method. These MoS2-coated waveguides show saturable absorption properties measured using I-scan technique. Q-switched pulse lasers are produced when they are integrated into an erbium-doped fiber laser cavity. It is found that performance of the Q-switched fiber laser (in terms of the repetition rate, pulse duration, average output power, pulse energy and wavelength tunability range) does not only scale monotonically with the coating length but also depends on the coating quality of the coated MoS2 thin film as well. Among the saturable absorbers (SAs), the waveguide with MoS2 coating length of 7.2 mm shows the widest wavelength tunability. This observation can be attributed to the concentration of vacancy-defect in the thin film. This is verified upon inspections using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and optical transmission spectroscopy. Therefore, it can be concluded that a long coating length of MoS2 thin film with minimum exposed edge sites enhances the performance of Q-switching and its wavelength tunability. This work is valuable such that it paves a way for the development of a compact laser source using MoS2 as the SA, which in turn will bring benefits for the development in all-planar waveguide laser technology
Study on the implementation of MS1998:2017 - good aquaculture practices for small-scale tilapia farmers in Selangor / Nur Safirah Sapuan
No full textFisheries have been a long-established way for humanity to obtain food. As the world’s top natural protein provider in the diet of many nations, it has retained its significance, with 75% of global fish production being intended for direct human consumption. One of the government’s initiatives to improve food security is encouraging agriculture players to meet the Good Aquaculture Practices (GAqP) standard in getting the Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices (MyGAP) certificate. Participation in meeting GAqP standards will also assist smallholders in achieving maximum yield. However, small-scale fish farmers are having difficulties achieving the GAqP standards. This study was carried out to investigate such difficulties faced by the farmers in meeting GAqP standards. 30 out of 58 small-scale fish farmers in Selangor were used in this study. Their compliance with GAqP standards was evaluated together with their economic return. Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) projection and regression analysis were carried out to determine the economic return in an attempt to comply with the GAqP standards. The finding shows that the average BCR for smallholder aquaculture farms for a 5-year period was estimated at 1.23, and 64.7% of the GAqP standard complied. At the moment, the economic return was found to be profitable. Better economic return can be expected when the percentage of compliance increases. This study implies that greater commitment from both the government and fish farmers is needed in order to overcome the challenges of meeting the GAqP standards
Comparative genomics of pathogenic fungi through sequence homology and phylogenetic similarities / Kenneth Tan Lee Shean
No full textFungal pathogenicity is one of the most vigorously tackled ecological and medicinal issues facing many scientists. The emergence of DNA sequencing had allowed massive genome sequencing projects of many important and most fatal pathogenic fungi in the world, coupling with upstream bioinformatics analysis which includes genome assembly and genome annotation had resulted in publicly available datasets that can be utilized for applied bioinformatics research. This study involves building of an aggregate Fungal Pathogenicity-related gene database with 5,183 protein sequences from PHI-base, 921,174 protein sequences from Carbohydrate-Active enZYme Database, and 2,058 protein sequences from Database of Virulence Factors in Fungal Pathogens. Local database was created using makeblastdb within NCBI-BLAST+ application and homology search of protein sequences of 86 fungal species was carried out with BLASTP resulting in identification of potential common pathogenic genes between fungus in study, also to identify potential biomarkers and understanding phylogenetic relationships of pathogenic fungi. The database can be utilized as an aggregated application for fungal pathogenic genes annotation that contributes to a wider research community
Facies and bed type analysis of a thin-bed dominated turbidite succession in the Miocene Temburong formation, Kampung Bebuloh, Labuan, Malaysia / Farah Syafira Burhanuddin
No full textThin-bedded turbidites are important hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs in many mature
fields throughout the world. The type of turbidite depositional setting strongly influences
reservoir vertical and horizontal continuity. However, differentiation between lobe and
levee associated thin-bedded turbidites is still challenging because of the generally similar
facies characteristics. This study aims to solve this problem by conducting a detailed bedscale
facies and bed-type analysis on the Early Miocene Temburong Formation exposed
at Kampung Bebuloh, Labuan, Malaysia, which may uncover features that can help in
differentiating both depositional types. Six bed types are recognised in the Temburong
Formation, which are interpreted as low density turbidites (BT1 – 4), hybrid event beds
(BT 5), sustained turbidites (BT6) and possible densite muds (some BT3). Detailed facies
and ichnology analysis reveal features which are consistent with a lobe fringe deposit
rather than levee-associated environment interpretation, including tabular bed
geometries, presence of hybrid event beds, and the absence of thick-bedded channel-fill
sandstones. Five bed type associations are identified and interpreted as representing subenvironments
within an overall lobe depositional setting. A diverse trace fossil
assemblage, comprising the Nereites ichnofacies is consistent with a deep marine
environment. Further identification of the Paleodictyon and Nereites sub-ichnofacies
indicates a distal turbidite system setting, most likely lobe fringe. Based on the thick
accumulation of FA2 and FA3 and no distinct observable vertical trend, the Early
Miocene Temburong Formation in Labuan is interpreted as turbidites deposited at the
fringes of lobe complexes rather than a single lobe fringe. Earlier works into the
Temburong Formation in SW Labuan propose a middle slope to proximal basin floor setting where the thin-bedded intervals were interpreted as potentially representing either
levee deposits or the fringes of confined lobe deposits. Conversely, the Temburong
Formation at Kampung Bebuloh exhibits characteristics of an unconfined lobe setting,
suggesting an evolutionary change in depositional conditions over time