Corporate restructuring and its wealth effects: the case of Lion Group

This case study evolves around four announcements related to a specific corporate restructuring proposal. The primary reason for the corporate restructuring is to restructure the debt of six companies: Lion Industries(LICB), Silverstone (SCB), Amsteel Corp Berhad (ACB), Lion Corporation(LCB), Lion Forest Industries (LFI), and Lion Diversified Holding Berhad(LDH). The track record of the companies revealed that these companies have been heavily levered causing them to be financially risky and therefore, highly sensitive to any economic shocks, let alone a fatal financial typhoon like the 1997 economic crisis. As at the end of the study period on June 30, 2003, that is, more than three years after the initial announcement of the proposed corporate restructuring, the plan has yet to be completed. Nonetheless, the present study had managed to produce some interesting results. By applying the common event-study approach, the results indicated that information about the restructuring plan has been significantly conveyed to the market in each restructuring announcement. Generally, the market regards all announcements in event window (-1,+1) unfavourably

High-Velocity Impact Penetration Behavior of Recycled Aluminum Alloy 6061: A Brief Look

Aluminum demand is projected to increase in the future. To help meet the demand, recycling aluminum has been employed for quite some time. Conventional recycling of aluminum leads to CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, direct recycling techniques such as hot press forging are being used and researched to provide an alternate recycling route that leads to even lower emissions, material losses, and energy consumption. The recycled aluminum 6061 alloy obtained from hot press forging is relatively new. Hence, not much is known about its capabilities and properties, including its impact penetration behavior. In this study, recycled 6061 aluminum alloy plates of 5 mm obtained through hot press forging are used in high-velocity impact tests using a single-stage gas gun to test the material’s penetration behavior. Two tests are carried out at velocities ranging from 141 to 308 m/s, all resulting in full penetration. The material was observed to have decent energy absorption capabilities, ranging from 70% to 81%. The penetration behavior, however erratic, shows signs of both ductile and brittle failure modes

Subband decomposition techniques for adaptive channel equalisation

In this contribution, the convergence behaviour of the adaptive linear equaliser based on subband decomposition technique is investigated. Two different subband-based linear equalisers are employed, with the aim of improving the equaliser's convergence performance. Simulation results over three channel models having different spectral characteristic are presented. Computer simulations indicate that subband-based equalisers outperform the conventional fullband linear equaliser when channel exhibit severe spectral dynamic. Convergence rate of subband equalisers are governed by the slowest subband, whereby different convergence behaviour in each individual subband is observed. Finally, the complexity of fullband and subband equalisers is discussed

Customer satisfaction towards quality of mail services (Post express, Poslaju and Parcel) in the Pos Malaysia Batu Pahat / Nor Azylia Mohd Alias

Post office, Pos Malaysia Batu Pahat is one of Pos Malaysia Berhad district branches in Johor. It has been established in Jalan Rahmat, Batu Pahat since 1932. It has services that been one of the well-known outlets of postal services to the residents of Batu Pahat. This research, which studies the customers' satisfaction, could give some ideas to post office, Pos Malaysia Batu Pahat regarding its external customers management. The aim of this study is to find out how far Pos Malaysia Batu Pahat customers are satisfied with the mail services available that one provided in post office. Several factors are related such as mail services provided, problems that occur when using the Post Express, Poslaju and Parcel services, the staff management in doing the tasks given, efficiency and effectiveness, timeless and others a little influence of quality, productivity performance of the mail services given by the post office. Literature review is conducted to obtain the information and review regarding the quality mail services provided in the post office, Pos Malaysia Batu Pahat. The research paper outlines the interpretation of data and finding analysis, which are based on the questionnaires and interview conducted. Convenience and judgment sampling has been utilized with 60 respondents as the sample size. A self-administered questionnaire was used as the survey instruments beside interviews as the sources of primary data. By using Statistical Package for Social Science-SPSS" (Version 11).(SPSS), results are analysed and beside that, conclusion and recommendations have been made according to the result from the findings. Finally, the researcher also has included the suggestion and comments from the respondents and from the point of view through the observation as a step to improve the mail services in the post office, Pos Malaysia Batu Pahat

Corporate restructuring: film characteristics and performance

Theoretically, corporate restructuring is meant to remove firms' operating and financial constraints and improve firm perfonnance. However, corporate restructuring announcement might be interpreted differently by the market. Using event-study method, this study examines the impact of corporate restructuring announcements made by selected firm on their stock prices. Overall, the effect of the restructuring announcements, made by these companies on stock prices was significant while the average two years of return on total assets and return on operating cash flow in the post restructuring period were mixed. Evidence also indicates that debt reduction, refocusing and alignment of interest between management and shareholders through board of directors' ownership do not constitute the main focus for some finns in the post restructuring period

Sex differences in high opioid dose escalation among Malaysian patients with long term opioid therapy

Purpose: This study evaluated the risk of opioid dose escalation as it relates to sex differences among patients receiving opioids for long-term therapy. Patients and methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in tertiary hospital settings in Malaysia using electronic prescription records. Opioid naïve patients, aged ≥ 18 years, who were undergoing long-term opioid therapy of ≥ 90 days, with at least one opioid prescription (buprenorphine, morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, dihydrocodeine or tramadol) between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2016, were included in the study. They were followed until (i) the end of the study period, (ii) death from any cause or (iii) discontinuation of therapy from their first opioid prescription without any intervals of ≥ 120 days between successive prescriptions. The risk of high opioid dose escalation to ≥ 100 mg/day and ≥ 200 mg/day relative to men and women was measured. Results: A total of 4688 patients (58.8% women, 41.3% men) on long-term opioid therapy were identified. Among these patients, 248 (5.29%) were escalated to high opioid doses of ≥ 100 mg/day and 69 (1.47%) were escalated to ≥ 200 mg/day. The escalation to high-dose opioid therapy was more likely to occur in men than in women, even after adjustment for age (dose ≥ 100 mg/day [adjusted hazard ratio 2.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.79 to 3.00; p < 0.0001] and ≥ 200 mg/day [adjusted hazard ratio 6.10; 95% CI, 3.39 to 10.98; p < 0.0001]). Conclusion: The risk of opioid dose escalation differed between men and women, as men were at higher risk than women for high opioid dose escalation

Factor that influence knowledge sharing among undergraduate student Universiti Utara Malaysia

The objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence knowledge sharing among students. The factors covered individual, classroom, and technological aspects. A questionnaire was used for collecting data. 100 students from School of Technology Management and Logistics (STML), UUM participated in this study. It was found that technology support, student’s ability to share and degree of competition with the classmates significantly influence knowledge sharing of students respectively. In contrast, student’s willingness to share, instructor support and technology availability have no influence on knowledge sharing of students

Hibah in the administration of Islamic property: ijtihadi elements and reality in Malaysia

A guarantee of successful life in this world and the hereafter would be achieved if Muslims live according to Islamic principles and teachings. Property and power that are entrusted to men by Allah SWT ought to be judiciously administered based on Islamic precepts. In brief, the administration of Islamic property aims to achieve hasanah (goodness) not only here but also the hereafter. Islam, as a complete way of life, has outlined the absolute guidance on property administration through a systematic law, i.e. the Islamic law of inheritance by means of wasiat (will), hibah (gift inter vivos) and waqf (charity). This article focused on the instrument of hibah under the administration of Islamic property and this includes comparisons of its principles and the reality of its application in Malaysia. Hibah is an element of the distribution of assets as drawn under the Islamic concept of managing property. Its concept, application and implementation need to be intensely understood. It has been occasionally observed that disputes would take place after the demise of the donor (the person who had exercised hibah) which complicates the distribution of the assets. Therefore, if this instrument is exercised differ entry between institutions but effectively and cautiously in line with the Islamic rules and principles, the rights of those entitled would be certainly safeguarded

INVESTIGATING THE NEEDS OF DEVELOPING A DIGITAL VOCABULARY LEARNING MATERIAL FOR MALAYSIAN INDIGENOUS LEARNERS IN ESL CLASSROOM

Background and Purpose: An intervention program becomes a necessity when a learning problem arises. To ensure the program effectiveness, pedagogical and assessment decisions rely heavily on the actual needs of learners. Hence, this study aimed to conduct a needs analysis survey to investigate the indigenous learners’ needs in terms of their attitudes towards ESL learning, favorable language skills, topics of interest and preferable modes of learning. Unlike other groups of Malaysian learners, the indigenous experience extreme ESL learning disadvantage due to their struggle to assimilate themselves in a multi-ethnic school environment. &nbsp; Methodology: This study employed design-based research (DBR) methodology with the utilization of mixed-method tools in the forms of document analysis and close-ended questionnaire. These data variations aim for the breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration. Past public examination results were used to highlight the indigenous learning problems in ESL learning followed by a survey questionnaire on forty-eight (48) 13-year-old indigenous learners. &nbsp; Findings: The findings reveal that the indigenous possessed extremely poor vocabulary mastery and experienced high language anxiety. Nevertheless, they surprisingly exhibited high awareness towards the potential usage of English language, and this level of awareness posits their needs and readiness to explore other means of learning which are not currently offered to them such as digital game-based learning. &nbsp; Contributions: The study informs ESL practitioners on the importance of considering the needs of the targeted learners and teachers involved so that contextualized, practical, and effective instruction could be designed, developed, and successfully delivered. &nbsp; Keywords: Design-based research, indigenous learners, instructional design, mixed-method tools, needs analysis. &nbsp; Cite as: Wan Mahzan, M. S., Alias, N. A., &amp; Ismail, I. S. (2020). Investigating the needs of developing a digital vocabulary learning material for Malaysian indigenous learners in ESL classroom. Journal of Nusantara Studies 2020, 5(2), 282-302. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss2pp282-30

Willingness to pay in Kubah National Park and Matang Wildlife Centre: a contingent valuation method

National Park is an important component in the protected area system, and plays a key role in the tourism industry, precisely through ecotourism. Since its inception, the national park concept has been defined in different ways, but it is often connected with the idea of conservation and preservation of the nature and its ecosystems. Having the challenges in the determination of the value (price) of the non-market goods and services, non-market valuation techniques such as Contingent Valuation Method and Choice Experiment have been developed to cater the issues in valuing environmental goods. This study seeks to study on the association of ecotourism as a segment of tourism in Malaysia. However, the scope of this study is limited to the valuation of ecotourism of NPs in Malaysia, particularly in Kubah National Park, Sarawak. Data were obtained using questionnaires from face-to face interviews. A sample of 618 respondents, comprising of visitors and non-visitors (Kuching residents) were involved in the study