An empirical investigation on EDI determinants and outcomes in Malaysian industry

Government involvement is the main cause for the EDI acceptance in Southeast Asian countries (United Nation of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific - UNESCAP, 1996). This is significantly different from the EDI developments in the western countries in which private sector involvement in EDI is substantial (UNESCAP, 1996). As an initial step to spur EDI implementation in private sector, the Malaysian Government has imposed all companies that engage in international trade to implement EDI by doing electronic customs declarations through CIS (Customs Information System) DagangNet. For this, the Government also spent over RM 300 million to fully implement EDI nationwide (Star, 2003 December 3). Nevertheless, such implementation is not successful and it has been claimed that “EDI is not yet fully implemented even though it had been initiated since late 1990s, besides electronic data is also still not recognized for legal customs declaration purposes even if it was meant for paperless and electronic customs declarations” (Star, 2003 December 3). To date, there are dual customs declarations, both electronic and manual, in practices where the sole typical electronic transaction is registration of the customs form (Jimmy, 2005; Star, 2005 July 11). This is in contrast with electronic customs declarations by other countries such as Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore where there is a full electronic declaration including electronic payment for declarations charges (Jimmy, 2005; Star, 2005 July 11; Chau, 2001)

Dairy cattle management: survey on dairy cattle lactation trend in Sabah

A survey was conducted to obtain information on Sabah dairy cattle lactation length and lactation yield to identify the lactation trend. In the study, 18 farms with 2 types of husbandry practice namely feedlot and grazing were visited. Dairy livestock has became established part of the livestock industry with Friesian-Sahiwal crossbreed, imported from Australia and New Zealand with heredity of 62.5% Friesian 37.5% Sahiwal and 50% Friesian 50% Sahiwal respectively.Local born cattle are referred as Sabah Sahiwal Friesian (SSF). All the cows are milked twice a day. From the results obtained, the average lactation of dairy cow is around 6 liters to 12 liters per day with mean of 8.6 liters per day if there is no lactation failure. The mean for cow milked per lactation is 278 days of length and the mean for total milk yield per lactation is 2489 liters. Incidence of lactation failure happens in certain farm that had just received new imported cows, or happens in individual cow in the herd of lactating cows. The information of the survey has been obtained from selected farmers. Therefore the reliability of the data on certain aspects of dairy livestock was based on experience of farmers who provide the information.dairy cattle, Friesian-Sahiwal, lactation length, lactation yield

External particle shape analysis and its effect on tribological performance of disc brake

The open design of disc brake and its location close to the road surface may lead the road particles of various sizes and shapes to enter in between brake pads and disc rotor. This study presents an experimental approach to determine the particle shape effect on friction and wear characteristics of OEM disc brake under different operating condition. Two types of external particles which are road particles and silica sand with two range of size of 200 μm and 400 μm were used. Testing was conducted for variable load and sliding speed. Presence of external particle with various size and shape affect the wear rate, friction coefficient and surface topography of the brake pad. Smaller particle generated more wear. Moreover, the particles which have sharped shape or high angularity resulted in higher weight loss of the pad and contribute to greater formation of compacted wear debris. Wear rate and friction coefficient also increase with contact pressure

Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography-Computed Tomography (SPECT-CT) Use in Osteosarcoma with Lung Uptake

A 15-year-old patient with osteosarcoma of left distal femur underwent a bone scan with Tc-99m hydroxymethylenediphosphonate (HDP). Whole body bone scan revealed extensive bone and thoracic metastases. Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography-Computed Tomography (SPECT-CT) of the thorax localized the uptake at pleura and lung nodules. In this case study we want to share our experience using SPECT-CT

FRAGMENTATION AND CONFLICT AMONG ISLAMIC POLITICAL PARTIES IN INDONESIA DURING REFORMASI ERA (1998-2009): Anatomy, Factors and Implications

Since independence of the Republic of Indonesia, Muslims, as the majority population, have established diverse Islamic political parties. The nature of such parties has changed from the days of the Old Order to the New Order and Reformasi eras. Despite similar anatomies between Islamic parties of the Old Order and those of Reformasi, Islamic political parties profess different ideological missions. While the beginning of Old Order saw the confederation of Islamic political parties, Masyumi, seeking to promote the establishment of an Islamic State, none of the Islamic political parties which mushroomed during Reformasi era expressly struggled for the establishment of an Islamic state. However, the Islamic political parties had to weather similar problems of internal conflict and fragmentation. Different ideological strands, policy stances and leadership styles are believed to be amongst the pivotal root causes of their domestic troubles. With their popular votes and parliamentary seats significantly reduced, they prove to be no competition to the nationalist political parties

Assessment of the availability of phosphate to corn (Zea mays L) using 32P isotope dilution technique

This study investigate the effectiveness of two phosphate rocks (PRs), an unreactive phosphate rock from China (CPR) and a reactive phosphate rock from North Carolina, USA (NCPR) compared to triple superphosphate (TPR), a highly water-soluble phosphate fertilizer. These fertilizers were tested using three crops of corn (Zea mays L) grown consecutively on a Serdang series soil (Typic Paleudult). 32P isotope dilution technique was used to access their P availability. The rate of P used was 100 kg P ha-1, applied once at the beginning of the experiment. NCPR was as efficient as TSP in providing P to the first crop, while CPR showed the lowest percentage of utilization. In the second crop, NCPR was the superior source of P. However, in the third crop all three sources showed very poor percentages of utilization. The total amount of P taken up by the three crops of corn was 13.65, 18.04 and 8.56 kg ha-1 from TSP, NCPR and CPR respectively. Thus this study suggests that NCPR is an effective source of P for corn and can be used as a substitute for the water-soluble phosphate fertilizers. CPR is not a suitable phosphate source

The Influences of Workplace Environment, Job Satisfaction and Organization Commitment on Job Performance in Manufacturing Industry

 This study was conducted to examine the influence of worker environment, organizational commitment and job satisfaction on work performance among the workers in manufacturing industry in Batu Pahat, Johor. The objective of this study is to identify the dominant influence of workplace environment, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction that effects the job performance in manufacturing industry and to determine the relationship of workplace environment, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction towards job performance. To achieve the objectives, the data were collected through a questionnaire that investigated various performance aspects. Quantitative methods used to achieve the objectives of the study. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) will be used to calculate the data obtain from the soiled questions that were presented to the respondents. The aim of this study is to train researching developers from universities in view of the transfer, interpretation and scientific knowledge. This study contributes to educate and raise awareness of management, employers, and employees. The result of this study shows there are relationship of workplace environment, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction towards job performance

Implementation Of Lean Technique Towards Reducing Waiting Time In A Public Healthcare Using Arena Simulation

Lean is a set of operating philosophies and methods that can help patients create maximum value by reducing waste and waiting time. Longer waiting times are associated with increased levels of discomfort experienced by patients that may affect the patient’s mental health, leads to depression, anxiety disorder and psychological distress. The waiting time of clinic is considered one of the crucial aspects of patient satisfaction which is a key indicator of service delivery. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to implement lean techniques towards reducing waiting time at outpatient department in one of the public healthcare centres in Kedah. This study had collected the data for three days at the outpatient department by using qualitative method through interview and observation. Data was collected through a record phenomenon with instrument and observing the service time of patients in the process flow throughout the treatment period from the moment they arrived at the healthcare until treatment is provided and the patient leaves the outpatient department. Arena simulation software designed for data analysis was used to simulate the modeled process in the simulation software. The simulation system can help to produce more accurate decision for an efficient flow of the patient’s in and out of the treatment process and reduce the waiting time. The results showed the total average processing time for each patient through all the process had reduced by 7.21 minutes (15.20%) after the waste was eliminated and improvement process had been made. This can lead to an increase in the number of patients in and out in daily operation at the outpatient department

Fruit selection of a binturong (Arctictis binturong) by focal animal sampling in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

We investigated fruit selection of a radio-collared female binturong (Arctictis binturong pageli Schwarz, 1911) by focal animal sampling in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We recorded seven food species from 12 feeding trees over 16 months. The radio-collared binturong fed only ripe fig fruits (Ficus spp., Moraceae), suggesting that her diet largely depended on figs. As the present study was based on only one female individual, more efforts are needed to elucidate the feeding ecology of this cryptic carnivore

Implementation Of Lean Technique Towards Reducing Waiting Time In A Public Healthcare Using Arena Simulation

Lean is a set of operating philosophies and methods that can help patients create maximum value by reducing waste and waiting time. Longer waiting times are associated with increased levels of discomfort experienced by patients that may affect the patient’s mental health, leads to depression, anxiety disorder and psychological distress. The waiting time of clinic is considered one of the crucial aspects of patient satisfaction which is a key indicator of service delivery. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to implement lean techniques towards reducing waiting time at outpatient department in one of the public healthcare centres in Kedah. This study had collected the data for three days at the outpatient department by using qualitative method through interview and observation. Data was collected through a record phenomenon with instrument and observing the service time of patients in the process flow throughout the treatment period from the moment they arrived at the healthcare until treatment is provided and the patient leaves the outpatient department. Arena simulation software designed for data analysis was used to simulate the modeled process in the simulation software. The simulation system can help to produce more accurate decision for an efficient flow of the patient’s in and out of the treatment process and reduce the waiting time. The results showed the total average processing time for each patient through all the process had reduced by 7.21 minutes (15.20%) after the waste was eliminated and improvement process had been made. This can lead to an increase in the number of patients in and out in daily operation at the outpatient department