Factors for analysing and improving performance of R&D in Malaysian universities

This paper presents a model for analysing and improving performance of R&D in Malaysian universities. There are various general models for R&D analysis, but none is specific for improving the performance of R&D in Malaysian universities. This research attempts to fill a gap in the body of knowledge with regard to developing countries by explicitly focusing on factors that are relevant for analysing and improving R&D performance in Malaysian universities.\ud The project's methodology essentially entails a deductive route to identify and progressively refine the factors that determine R&D performance. It is based on extensive literature study aimed at developing a model that is appropriate for researching and improving R&D in an emerging economy. The paper addresses the development of the model and the research project’s approach. This model will be applied in collecting data from surveys and a number of field studies. The results will be used to improve the model as well as recommending points of improvement for Malaysian universities

Calvijns uitleg van Romeinen 9-11 tegen de achtergrond van de geschiedenis van de exegese van Origenes tot de Glossa ordinaria

The purpose of this article is to listen to John Calvin’s view on the place of Israel from his exegesis of Romans 9-11, against the backdrop of the history of Christian exegesis of this same passage. After establishing that Calvin’s view of Israel and the Jews was primarily determined by his biblical exegesis (and not so much by any noteworthy interaction with the Jews of his time), the historical voices of Origen, Ambrose, Augustine, Pelagius and Glossa Ordinaria are explored. In the last part Calvin’s exegesis of Romans 9-11 is investigated. This investigation makes clear that Calvin is not caught up in a dogmatic discussion of predestination, but that he rather focuses on Paul’s preaching with regards to Israel. There is the scandalum of Israel’s unbelief whereby the visible body of the people of Israel has been generally rejected. But this is not a complete rejection. The secret election of God means that there is still an adoption, which is completely grounded in God’s grace. Calvin has a broad understanding of ‘Israel’ which includes both Jewish and gentile Christians. But for the reformer of Geneva the Jews always remain the firstborn in God’s house. Regarding the Jewish people as a collective, Calvin does not harbour any particular expectations. OpsommingDie doel van hierdie artikel is om te luister na Johannes Calvyn se visie op die plek van Israel vanuit sy eksegese van Romeine 9-11, teen die agtergrond van die geskiedenis van die Christelike Bybeluitleg van dieselfde gedeelte. Nadat vasgestel is dat Calvyn se visie op Israel en die Jode primêr bepaal is deur sy Bybeluitleg (en nie soseer deur enige noemenswaardige omgang met die Jode van sy tyd nie), klink agtereenvolgens die stemme van Origenes, Ambrosius, Augustinus, Pelagius en die Glossa Ordinaria. In die laaste gedeelte word Calvyn se eksegese van Romeine 9-11 ondersoek. Hierdie ondersoek maak duidelik dat Calvyn nie vasgevang is in ’n dogmatiese behandeling van die uitverkiesing nie, maar dat hy eerder die aandag rig op Paulus se prediking met betrekking tot Israel. Deur die scandalum van Israel se ongeloof is daar ’n algemene verwerping van die sigbare volk. Maar dit is geen algehele verwerping nie. Die geheime uitverkiesing van God beteken dat daar steeds ’n aanneming is, wat volledig in God se genade gegrond is. Calvyn het ’n breë verstaan van ‘Israel’ – dit sluit sowel Joodse Christene as Christene uit die heidendom in. Vir die Geneefse hervormer bly die Jode egter altyd die eersgeborenes in God se huis. Wat betref die Joodse volk as kollektief, koester Calvyn geen besondere verwagting nie. https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.82.1.235

The death of a leader: Calvin commenting on Joshua in the last year of his life (1563)

In the early modern period the testament, death, burial and funeral orations of public figures were often registered carefully. Such accounts told the story of the esteem in which the leaders were held, as the example of Martin Luther shows. While the account of John Calvin’s demise seems simpler, in his case the story of his dying days is focused on his farewell addresses. The surviving manuscripts of Calvin’s contributions to the Bible study of Joshua in 1563–1564 testify to his awareness of his mortality. How did he, their moderator, address the Company of Pastors in the course of their treatment of the book of Joshua in the weekly congrégations during the last year of his life? Both the end of the Pentateuch Harmony and the Joshua commentary cover farewell speeches of Israel’s leaders. Did Calvin compare the Old Testament prophets and leaders with the preachers of Geneva? The academic discussion of Calvin’s perception of himself as a prophet is taken up in the discussion of his self-awareness in the last year of collegial exposition of the Bible

Guy de Bre`s’s "Le baston de la foy chrestienne": From Personal Notebook to Patristic Anthology (1555-1565)

Guy de Brès, who would become the author of the "Confessio Belgica", published his first work in 1555, "Le baston de la foy chrestienne", a florilegium of quotes from the Bible and the Church Fathers, that was intended as a guide for the faithful who were engaged in dispute over Reformed doctrine. De Brès, a preacher in the South of the Low Countries, travelled to Lausanne and Geneva (1556-1559) to further study theology and improve his Latin. The connection between his studies at both institutions, his work on three more editions of his book, and the sources of his patristic knowledge are discussed. A critical edition of his work, that preceded the composition of the Belgic Confession, is being prepared

A Farey Tail for Attractor Black Holes

The microstates of 4d BPS black holes in IIA string theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau manifold are counted by a (generalized) elliptic genus of a (0,4) conformal field theory. By exploiting a spectral flow that relates states with different charges, and using the Rademacher formula, we find that the elliptic genus has an exact asymptotic expansion in terms of semi-classical saddle-points of the dual supergravity theory. This generalizes the known "Black Hole Farey Tail" of [1] to the case of attractor black holes.Comment: 36 pages, 3 figures, note adde

On the Holographic Renormalization Group

We propose a direct correspondence between the classical evolution equations of 5-d supergravity and the renormalization group (RG) equations of the dual 4-d large $N$ gauge theory. Using standard Hamilton-Jacobi theory, we derive first order flow equations for the classical supergravity action $S$, that take the usual form of the Callan-Symanzik equations, including the corrections due to the conformal anomaly. This result gives direct support for the identification of $S$ with the quantum effective action of the gauge theory. In addition we find interesting new relations between the beta-functions and the counterterms that affect the 4-d cosmological and Newton constant

Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for studying drug induced mitochondrial toxicity

Today HIV-1 infection is recognized as a chronic disease with obligatory lifelong treatment to keep viral titers below detectable levels. The continuous intake of antiretroviral drugs however, leads to severe and even life-threatening side effects, supposedly by the deleterious impact of nucleoside-analogue type compounds on the functioning of the mitochondrial DNA polymerase. For detailed investigation of the yet partially understood underlying mechanisms, the availability of a versatile model system is crucial. We therefore set out to develop the use of Caenorhabditis elegansto study drug induced mitochondrial toxicity. Using a combination of molecular-biological and functional assays, combined with a quantitative analysis of mitochondrial network morphology, we conclude that anti-retroviral drugs with similar working mechanisms can be classified into distinct groups based on their effects on mitochondrial morphology and biochemistry. Additionally we show that mitochondrial toxicity of antiretroviral drugs cannot be exclusively attributed to interference with the mitochondrial DNA polymerase

4π4\pi periodic Andreev bound states in a Dirac semimetal

Electrons in a Dirac semimetals possess linear dispersion in all three spatial dimensions, and form part of a developing platform of novel quantum materials. Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_x$ supports a three-dimensional Dirac cone at the Sb-induced band inversion point. Nanoscale phase-sensitive junction technology is used to induce superconductivity in this Dirac semimetal. Radio frequency irradiation experiments reveal a significant contribution of 4$\pi$-periodic Andreev bound states to the supercurrent in Nb-Bi$_{0.97}$Sb$_{0.03}$-Nb Josephson junctions. The conditions for a substantial $4\pi$ contribution to the supercurrent are favourable because of the Dirac cone's topological protection against backscattering, providing very broad transmission resonances. The large g-factor of the Zeeman effect from a magnetic field applied in the plane of the junction, allows tuning of the Josephson junctions from 0 to $\pi$ regimes.Comment: Supplementary information is include

Does Disclosure of Performance Information Influence Street-level Bureaucrats' Enforcement Style?

Governments use different regulatory instruments to ensure that businesses owners or "inspectees" comply with rules and regulations. One tool that is increasingly applied is disclosing inspectees' performance information to other stakeholders. Disclosing performance information has consequences for street-level bureaucrats because it increases the visibility of their day-to-day work. Using a survey (n =507) among Dutch inspectors of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, this article shows that the disclosure of performance information has an impact on enforcement style at the street level. Findings show that perceived disclosed performance information positively enhances all three dimensions of street-level bureaucrats' enforcement style (legal, facilitation, and accommodation). This effect is strongest for facilitation and accommodation and weakest for the legal style. Perceived resistance by inspectees partly explains this effect. Contrary to expectations, more perceived disclosure does not result in more but in less perceived resistance of inspectees by street-level bureaucrats

A formal actor-based model for streaming the future

Asynchronous Actor-based programming has gained increasing attention as a model of concurrency and distribution. The Abstract Behavioral Specification (ABS) language is an actor-based programming language that has been developed for both the modeling and formal analysis of distributed systems. In ABS, actors are modeled as concurrent objects that communicate by asynchronous method calls. Return values are also communicated asynchronously via return statements and so-called futures. Many modern distributed software