Developing a qualifications structure for the finance services industry in Malaysia and beyond

The development of qualifications systems and frameworks assists in promoting lifelong learning and work-based recognition systems. Several nations in the Asian Pacific region have established national qualifications frameworks across their respective educational sectors (e.g., Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines), whilst others have frameworks for specific educational sectors (e.g., Singapore and Thailand). Work is also underway to develop an ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework which “will enhance each country’s national qualification framework or qualification system while providing a mechanism to facilitate comparison and transparency” (ASEAN 2013: p. 2). However, academic- and vocational-based qualifications remain the primary emphasis of these frameworks. This paper focuses on the development of a Finance Qualifications Structure (FQS) and the crucial role this will play in the development of human capital in the financial services industry (FSI) not only in Malaysia, but across Asia and beyond into the Middle East, African and European regions. The FQS aims to integrate and harmonise all the professional qualifications in the FSI into a single structure on the basis of FAA Learning Standards and FAA Recognition of Learning (RPL). Talent management and mobility in the FSI is a key concern as is the need to recognise the competencies of those who have been working in the sector for many years but may possess only professional but not academic qualifications. The paper is centred on the role played by the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA) in developing the FQS through high levels of stakeholder engagement and consultation, both nationally and internationally and the important role played by the recognition of prior learning. The level of industry and stakeholder engagement in the development of the FQS and the importance of the FAA Recognition of Learning (FRL) have been outstanding features of FAA’s activities and have been identified as key enablers by the International Labour Organization (ILO) for fostering effective lifelong policy and practice (Singh and Duvekot 2013)

Performance evaluation of time-based black hole attack detection in mobile ad hoc networks

Efficient and quick attack detection is critical in any networks, especially if the attack is harmful and can bring down the whole network within a short period of time. A black hole or packet drop attack is one example of a harmful attack in mobile ad hoc networks. In this study, we implement a series of time-based black hole attack detection of different time intervals and compare the results. We study the performances of the networks, the packet delivery ratio percentage, with detection interval time of 900, 450 and 300 seconds with a total of 900 seconds of simulation time. The results suggest that appropriate time interval is critical in providing reliable detection results in timely manner. In general, the 450 seconds detection interval time has provided more reliable results, with lower false positive percentage in comparison to those of the 300 seconds detection interval time. The best explanation to the high false positive rate in the shorter detection interval time is due to the insufficient time given to the packets to arrive to the destinations during the detection process. Meanwhile, implementing the attack detection only after 900 seconds may be considered too late and thus, may have a devastating impact to the networks

Microwave sintering of zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA)-TiO2-Cr2O3 ceramic composite: the effects on microstructure and properties

This paper focuses on the development of a zirconia-toughened alumina ZTA-TiO2-Cr2O3 ceramic composite by means of microwave sintering at 2.45 GHz within the range 1200 °C–1400 °C, with a dwell time of 5–20 min. It is aimed at attaining improved microstructure and properties at a lower sintering temperature and shorter soaking time, compared to using a conventional heating method. Consequently, the effects of sintering temperature and soaking time on densification, properties and microstructural behaviour of the composite, are investigated. XRD analysis reveals that the microwave-sintered samples possess a higher crystallinity at a higher sintering temperature. Microstructural analysis confirms the uniform distribution of particles and controlled grain growth; with the lowest AGI value being 1.28 grains/μm. The sample that is microwave-sintered at 1350 °C with 10 min of soaking time achieves a high density (95.74% of the theoretical density), elevated hardness (1803.4 HV), and excellent fracture toughness (9.61 MPa m1/2), and intergranular cracks. This proves that the microwave sintering technique enhances densification, microstructural evolution and the properties of the ceramic composite at a lower temperature and shorter soaking time, compared to conventional heating. Overall, the improved mechanical properties of the microwave-sintered ceramics, compared to conventionally-sintered ceramics, are attributed to the enhanced densification and finer and more homogeneous microstructure that is achieved through the use of a microwave sintering method. The results reveal that microwave sintering is effective in improving the microstructure and density of materials, and will be useful for enhancing the mechanical properties of ZTA-TiO2-Cr2O3 ceramic composites

Effect of Cr2O3-TiO2 addition on the physical properties of zirconia toughened alumina

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) has good mechanical properties and widely used in cutting insert application. Although the ZTA is well known of its good mechanical properties, its still can be improved in order to produce better properties. It can be done by adding additives as reinforcement such as magnesium oxide (MgO), cerium oxide (CeO2), titania (TiO2) and chromia (Cr2O3). The effects of TiO2-Cr2O3 addition on the physical properties of ZTA were investigated in this study. The composition of TiO2 was varied from 0 wt.% to 3.5 wt.% while Cr2O3 was fixed at 5 wt.%. The starting powder materials were mixed by wet mixing for 30 minutes in acetone. Then the powder mixtures were hydraulically pressed at 260 MPa. The green pellets were sintered at 1600 °C for 1 hour using an electrical furnace in presureless condition. The results were characterized by XRD, density, and also Vickers hardness. The ZTA-Cr2O3-TiO2 ceramic composite achieved the highest density of 4.1 g/cm3 and Vickers hardness of 1919 HV prior to the addition of 2.0 wt.% TiO2. Therefore, it can be decisively concluded that the addition of Cr2O3-TiO2 does affected the properties of ZTA

Effect of titania and magnesia on the physical properties of zirconia toughened alumina

ZTA based ceramic composite system is widely accepted as cutting tools for many of these harder and wear resistant workpiece materials. This is due to their beneficial mechanical properties i.e. high temperature strength, high hardness and ability to maintain its cutting edge shape at higher temperatures. Although a lot of works have focused on the effect of various sintering additives on the ZTA ceramic system, the effect of Magnesia (MgO) and Titania (TiO2) on ZTA has not yet been studied. In this work, the physical properties of Zirconia Toughened Alumina (ZTA) ceramic composite with MgO and TiO2 as additives were investigated. The composition of TiO2 varied from 0 wt.% to 3.5 wt.% whereby other materials such as Al2O3, Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) and MgO were kept at constant weight percentage. Sintered samples were then tested and analyzed by XRD, Vickers hardness and high precision densimeter to investigate phase content, hardness value and densification respectively. Results showed that the solubility limit of TiO2 in ZTA-MgO ceramic composites is at 2.0 wt.%. Further addition of TiO2 resulted in the formation of secondary phase known as Zirconium titanium oxide (Zr0.35TiO0.65O2) which deteriorates the properties exhibited by ZTA-MgO-TiO2 ceramic composites