Moderating effect of income on the service environment and customers’ behavioral intention

The property industry acts as vital sector whereby the service environment directly correlates the customers’ behavioral intention in purchasing a property. However, to date, a study regarding service environment and its impact still not fully addressed in the property industry. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between service environment and customers’ behavioral intention moderated by income in Malaysian property industry. A total of 357 respondents were participated in this study by using a convenience sampling. The result shown that lower middle income was significantly moderated the relationship between service environment and customers’ behavioral intentio

The determinant factors that influence customers’ behavioral intention in property

The property industry acts as vital sector whereby the service environment directly correlates the customers’ behavioral intention in purchasing a property. However, to date, a study regarding service environment and its impact still not fully addressed in the property industry. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between service environment and customers’ behavioral intention moderated by income in Malaysian property industry. A total of 357 respondents were participated in this study by using a convenience sampling. The result shown that lower middle income was significantly moderated the relationship between service environment and customers’ behavioral intention

Diversity, distribution and conservation status of mangrove species in Pulias Bay, Indonesia

As an ecosystem, the mangrove ecosystem serves various purposes. The objectives of this study are to (1) identify the community structure of the important value index; and (2) evaluate the importance of the mangrove species diversity index in Pulias Bay in Ogodeide District, Tolitoli Regency. The study was conducted in 2021 using a quantitative descriptive methodology and survey method. The number of discovered species will be used to establish the species composition. The structure of the mangrove communities is being evaluated by calculating the relative density (RD) and frequency (FR). The data is tabulated to calculate the Important Value Index (IVI) value according to the Shannon-Wiener formula. There were 18 different species of mangroves discovered, including Rhizophora apiculata, Rh. mucronata, Rh. stylosa, Bruguiera parviflora, B. gymnorrhiza, Ceriops tagal, C. decandra, Sonneratia alba, S. caseolaris, S. ovata, Avicennia lanata, Xylocarpus moluccensis, Acrostichum aureum, Nypa fruticans, and Pemphis acidula. The Rhizophoraceae family predominated at each observation station, according to the findings of the vegetation analysis. Meanwhile the most rarely found species of mangrove were Acrostichum aureum, Sonneratia casiolaris, and Xylocarpus moluccensis, each with two specimens. The community structure reveals that X. moluccensis has the lowest IVI value of 12.7%, while Rhizophora mucronata has an IVI value of 101.3%. The mangrove Diversity Index (H') has a value of 2.48 and meets the standards for moderate diversity. Physical and chemical parameter measurements often indicate that the four stations or sites where the data was collected have similar conditions. Interestingly, we also found Avicennia lanata, a mangrove species that falls under the Vulnerable category. The collected information can be used to manage the mangrove forest in Pulias Bay in the Ogodeide Sub-District of the Tolitoli Regency and serve as a database for efforts to conserve mangroves and mitigate the effects of global warming

Evaluation of the effect of rock joints on the stability of underground tunnels

To facilitate the water supply to the main cities in Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, Pahang Selangor Raw Water Transfer Tunnel project is constructed in 2015. Facility tunnel of 44.6 km length with 5.2 m diameter are being constructed to transfer water from Karak to Hulu Langat. Granitic rock with dominant intrusive zones in various range of I until V were observed in the studied tunnel length. This tunnel has crossed sheared zone that categorized into fair, poor, and very poor rock classes with moderate to heavily jointed rock. At NATM-1, the discontinuities like joints that is close and far from the fault are one of the most important which caused to instability of the tunnel and reduced the performance of tunnel performance. In this paper, the joint orientation, overburden and distributions of discontinuities (joints and faults) into the tunnel were evaluated. These data were then simulated using discrete fracture networks with the direction of tunnelling excavation in the tunnel. Movement of blocks in the tunnel roof and wall is possible due to the creation of more intersection points in the critical zone. It also highlights how minor features, such as step-over joints in rock mass, can have a significant impact on instability

Inference of financial networks using the normalised mutual information rate

In this paper we study data from financial markets using an information theory tool that we call the normalised Mutual Information Rate and show how to use it to infer the underlying network structure of interrelations in foreign currency exchange rates and stock indices of 14 countries world-wide and the European Union. We first present the mathematical method and discuss about its computational aspects, and then apply it to artificial data from chaotic dynamics and to correlated random variates. Next, we apply the method to infer the network structure of the financial data. Particularly, we study and reveal the interrelations among the various foreign currency exchange rates and stock indices in two separate networks for which we also perform an analysis to identify their structural properties. Our results show that both are small-world networks sharing similar properties but also having distinct differences in terms of assortativity. Finally, the consistent relationships depicted among the 15 economies are further supported by a discussion from the economics view point

Refining value-at-risk estimates using a Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH copula-EVT model

In this paper, we propose a model for forecasting Value-at-Risk (VaR) using a Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH(1,1) model with skewed Student’s-t innovation, copula functions and extreme value theory. A Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH(1,1) model that identifies non-constant volatility over time and allows the GARCH parameters to vary over time following a Markov process, is combined with copula functions and EVT to formulate the Bayesian Markov-switching GJR-GARCH(1,1) copula-EVT VaR model, which is then used to forecast the level of risk on financial asset returns. We further propose a new method for threshold selection in EVT analysis, which we term the hybrid method. Empirical and back-testing results show that the proposed VaR models capture VaR reasonably well in periods of calm and in periods of crisis

A novel isogeometric layerwise element for piezoelectric analysis of laminated plates with straight/curvilinear fibers

This study presents an isogeometric layerwise element, L-IGA based on the principle of virtual displacement theory to model the bending behavior of laminated smart composite plates integrated with piezoelectric layers. Instead of using Lagrangian or Hermitian type polynomials encountered in standard finite element technology, L-IGA utilizes high-order Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) functions for both in-plane and through-the-thickness discretization of the geometry and the kinematic variables. Additionally, it allows different numbers of NURBS degrees and elements to be used for each patch through the thickness of the plate. In this way, exact geometry, and highly accurate solutions with rapid convergence for the benchmark electromechanical problems in the literature have been guaranteed by using L-IGA analysis. The precision of the results is meticulously verified by 3-D Ansys SOLID226 finite elements and analytical solutions. Thus, the L-IGA element can be adopted for computationally efficient and accurate static analysis of laminated plates having straight/curvilinear fibers for piezoelectric actuator and sensor configurations