The Structural and Electrical Properties of Nanostructures ZnO Thin Films on Flexible Substrate

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on Teflon substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method at different substrate temperature. The dependence of residual stress on the substrate temperature was investigated in this work due to the growth process, the bombardment of energetic particles and process heating to the deposited thin films. From field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images, samples that deposited at various substrate temperatures consists nano-sized particles. The obtained X-ray diffraction (XRD) results, it suggested that ZnO thin film deposited at 40oC with highly c-axis oriented shows unstressed film compared to other thin films. Besides that, the ZnO thin films deposited at 40oC shows improved electrical properties

Hubungan stres pekerjaan dan produktiviti: tinjauan terhadap pentadbir fakulti universiti penyelidikan

Stres di tempat kerja merupakan isu kesihatan yang semakin relevan dalam konteks pentadbiran di universiti penyelidikan (RU). Kecenderungan dan persaingan dalam kalangan warga RU dalam memenuhi kriteria penarafan universiti, termasuklah dalam melipatgandakan penerbitan dan penyelidikan, menjadikan isu stres perlu diberi perhatian serius. Apatah lagi, dalam kalangan kakitangan akademik yang pada masa sama memegang jawatan pentadbiran di universiti, beban kerja tambahan boleh membawa kepada stres yang berlebihan, justeru memberi kesan negatif terhadap kesihatan pekerjaan dan akhirnya menjejaskan produktiviti individu dan organisasi. Atas dasar inilah, kajian ini dijalankan bagi mendapatkan bukti empirikal terhadap hubungan stres dan produktiviti dalam kalangan pentadbir di universiti penyelidikan. Daripada 218 soal selidik yang diedarkan, seramai 72 responden telah memberikan maklumbalas. Responden terdiri daripada para pentadbir akademik dari beberapa RU di Malaysia, termasuklah mereka yang memegang jawatan Dekan, Timbalan Dekan, Pengerusi, Ketua Jabatan, Ketua Program, Ketua Jaminan Kualiti serta Penyelaras Program. Soal selidik kajian ini dibangunkan berdasarkan soal-selidik ASSET, manakala ukuran produktiviti pula menggunakan kriteria penilaian prestasi tahunan RU. Penemuan kajian menunjukkan stres di tempat kerja sememangnya memberi kesan terhadap para pentadbir fakulti. Isu kesihatan pekerjaan merupakan impak tersembunyi yang dibimbangi akan membawa kesan yang buruk sekiranya tidak ditangani dengan baik

PUSH AND PULL FACTORS INFLUENCING THAI IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN MALAYSIA

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand the push and pull factors that influence Thai immigrant entrepreneurs (TIEs) to conduct a business in Malaysia. As a neighbouring country, Malaysia is one of the favourite migration destinations for TIEs, with an influx of them involved in restaurant businesses across the country. This phenomenon offers this study with an unconventional background for immigrant entrepreneurship as it occurs within the context of developing, non-Western countries.   Methodology: Outlined by previous studies on push and pull factors of immigration and immigrant entrepreneurship, this research employed a qualitative approach focusing on the experiences of six TIEs operating Thai/Siamese restaurants in Bandar Baru Bangi, a town located approximately 30 km south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Data were collected mainly through face-to-face interviews among owners of restaurants in their premises, which ensures richness in the data.   Findings: The findings indicated several categories of business-based emigration factors for TIEs to Malaysia, spanning from economic, political, and social factors.   Contributions: Overall, the present research extends the knowledge of immigrant entrepreneurship especially within the non-Western context. Practice-wise, this study provides implications for policymakers in relation to business activities conducted by migrants in neighbouring countries, which are useful for both Malaysia and Thailand as the host and the origin country respectively.   Keywords: Thai immigrant entrepreneurs, Thailand, Malaysia, restaurant business, push and pull factors.   Cite as: Yanai, L., Che Senik, Z., Muhamad, N. S., Abd Hamid, H., & Jamaludin, N. A. (2020). Push and pull factors influencing Thai immigrant entrepreneurs conducting business in Malaysia. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 5(2), 19-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss2pp19-4

Exploring halal tourism in Muslim-minority countries: Muslim travellers’ needs and concerns

Purpose: This study focusses on the underlying needs of Muslims to adhere to the tenets of their religion and to guide their behaviours accordingly. These requirements, for the purpose of travelling, constitute halal tourism. As Muslim-minority nations, such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, began to market their own brands of halal tourism, there are concerns of whether their current practices are able to meet the requirements of Muslim travellers. Thus, this study aims to understand the main needs and concerns of Muslim travellers when they visit Muslim-minority countries. Design/methodology/approach: Interviews were conducted on selected Muslim travellers who recently visited one of the following destinations, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan. Applying the process theory of travel, service marketing perspective and Muslim religious needs, the study’s conceptual framework served as the basis for crafting interview questions, selecting the participants and explaining the findings. Findings: Muslim travellers are mostly concerned with the need to perform daily prayers and to find halal food at the point of need, and willing to conduct extensive research on the destination prior to their visit. Muslim travellers’ experiences in these Muslim-minority countries are generally met with their expectations, although further socialisation with the locals is needed to induce greater overall satisfaction with the destinations. Practical implications: Understanding the current practices of halal tourism is critical so that improvements can be implemented in the industry. Originality/value: Key preparations, expectations, actual experiences in the destinations and reflections of Muslim travellers provide in-depth insights into their needs and concerns when travelling in Muslim-minority countries. The emergent religion-based dimensions in service experience, such as availability of social agents and halal food at the point of need, extend the conceptualisation of perishability and heterogeneity in service marketing literature

How does transformative social service develop?

How does social innovation, in the form of transformative social service, develop within a social organization? In this study, we define social innovations as new ideas that are aimed at meeting social goals, which are typically diffused and mobilized by social organizations through their social services. Although there are a number of established social organizations in Malaysia, little is known about how their services have evolved or are diffused, particularly those that are transformative in nature. This lack of understanding can lead to ineffectiveness of social innovation implementation and might compromise the achievement of the intended social purpose. Using the integrated perspectives of process theories of service development, service innovation and firm development, as well as the concept of transformative service, this qualitative historical-processual case study explained the development of transformative services of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) (translated as the Council of Trust for the People), a prominent Malaysian social organization, from its inception in 1965 until present. Data were collected through in-depth interviews of key people of MARA as well as through analyses of published documents. The study found that MARA’s three foundational services of entrepreneurship development, education and investment have evolved over time in stages, together with the development of MARA as an organization. The services were developed based on the blueprints set out by MARA and the national policy since the early days. These findings establish the link between the concept of innovation and service development to social firms development, and thus overcome some managerial and policy issues of promoting effective management and institutionalization of social organizations

Evolution of the Malaysian halal certification system : viable system model as the diagnostic framework

As a Muslim-majority country, Malaysia has a responsibility to fulfil the needs of Muslim citizens to practise their religion. Therefore, the Malaysian halal certification system needs to be viable, that is, to be self-sufficient within its environment. The extant literature has explained the elements of viable systems but placed less emphasis on how systems develop into viability. This study aims to bridge this gap by using the Viable System Model to diagnose the globally recognised Malaysian halal certification system as the system-in-focus. This qualitative study gathered data mainly from interviews with 20 executives from relevant institutions with direct involvement in the system’s implementation. The findings of the study provide insights into the development milestones of a system with elements of viability. Among others, this development was found to happen in stages that are marked by crises and corresponding actions by the respective authorities. Suggestions for the system’s viability are provided

Pelaksanaan strategi berasaskan inovasi ke arah transformasi organisasi dan masyarakat: kajian kes Majlis Amanah Rakyat

Para sarjana dalam bidang ekonomi dan pengurusan telah sekian lama mengiktiraf kepentingan inovasi terhadap pembangunan organisasi dan peningkatan kekayaan dalam masyarakat. Namun, kajian mereka banyak tertumpu kepada aspek hasil inovasi dalam bentuk produk atau perkhidmatan, manakala perbincangan tentang strategi berasaskan inovasi yang didukung sepenuhnya oleh sesebuah organisasi kurang diberi perhatian. Walhal, pendukungan ini penting kerana organisasi yang berhasrat untuk mencapai tahap prestasi yang tinggi perlu melalui proses penerapan nilai berinovasi dalam keseluruhan proses dan aktiviti organisasi. Jurang pengetahuan ini perlu diatasi lebih-lebih lagi dalam konteks negara membangun seperti Malaysia yang berhasrat untuk mencapai status negara maju yang seimbang dalam aspek pembangunan ekonomi dan sosial. Justeru, kajian kes kualitatif ini dijalankan bagi memahami konsep strategi berasaskan inovasi serta pelaksanaannya dalam organisasi Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) yang menerapkan pelan strategi berasaskan inovasi yang dinamakan ‘Kerangka Transformasi Strategik MARA 2011-2020’. Pelaksanaan strategi ini menjadi asas bagi MARA sebagai sebuah organisasi sosial untuk meneruskan misi utamanya untuk menerajui bidang keusahawanan dan pendidikan masyarakat Bumiputera di Malaysia hingga ke peringkat antarabangsa. Kajian ini menjana suatu kerangka pelaksanaan baharu bagi strategi berasaskan inovasi untuk organisasi, yang bukan sahaja memperkayakan ilmu bidang pengurusan tentang pelaksanaan inovasi sebagai suatu strategi organisasi yang mampan dan cemerlang, malah boleh menjadi asas pemikiran kepada amalan dalam mentransformasi organisasi serta masyarakat untuk kesejahteraan bersama

A cybernetics approach to inclusive growth analysis: a case of one district

Societal transformation towards greater quality of life and well-being requires an inclusive perspective of development. Existing perspectives toward inclusive growth are mainly static. As such, applications of the existing static models are limited as they do not capture the dynamic nature of growth. This problem can be remedied by viewing inclusive growth from a dynamic perspective by means of explaining the dynamic elements of growth and its constraints. Using a cybernetics approach, we illustrate an application of a dynamic inclusive growth analysis of a district. In this study, we define the system-in-focus (inclusive growth in a district) to be viewed from a human activity system. This cybernetics analysis is found to be useful in identifying the growth constraints variables in the district as well as the relationships between them

Diagnosing business incubation for social purpose: a viable system model approach

Business incubation is one of the means that promotes the overall business and economic growth of a particular location. However, to date, the role of business incubation as a social innovation, which has the aim to achieve concurrent development of firms, the economy and the society, is not yet understood. Using the systemic approach, specifically the viable system model (VSM) as the framework, the objective of this study is to diagnose the operation of an incubation programme that focuses on supporting business development for social purpose. This study utilized the qualitative methodology and selected an incubator, known as Kompleks Industri Makanan MARA (KIMAR), as the system-in-focus. KIMAR is a halal food industry complex established and operated by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA); the latter a Malaysian government agency that aims to promote the socio-economic empowerment of the indigenous people of Malaysia including the Malays. Data for the diagnosis was collected through interviews with the executives responsible for the incubator operation, as well as the managers or entrepreneurs of the businesses located within it. Our analysis found cohesions among the functions of the incubator and their functionality to manage certain varieties in the environment, although more requisite varieties are needed to manage the high complexity of global halal business development. In managing these varieties, the incubation process receives financial sponsorship and other support from its social-based parent organization. The use of systems perspective highlights operational values of responsibility, long-term perspective as well as effective management of resources that drive the impact of a social incubator, thus enriches the concept of social innovation that typically focuses on the social impact of the outcome

Classification type of asynchrony breathing image using 2-dimensional convolutional neural network

Asynchrony breathing (AB) refers to a situation where the patient's breathing does not align with the mechanical ventilator (MV), which can have a detrimental effect on the patient's recovery. A few types of AB make it difficult for clinicians to identify and manage MV properly. Hence, there is a need to develop a method that can classify the type of AB in MV patients. In this study, a 2-dimensional (2D) convolutional neural network (CNN) method is presented to classify the type of AB based on the input image of the airway pressure. A total of 866 images of airway pressure were analysed in this study, and 4 types of AB were classified: 1) double triggering (DT); 2) reverse triggering (RT); 3) delayed triggering (DC); and 4) premature cycling (PC). Two types of activation functions for classification purposes, SoftMax and Sigmoid, were compared based on performances. Results show SoftMax produced a higher accuracy of 98.5% with a training dataset of 70% and a testing dataset of 30% of the data. In contrast, the Sigmoid function produced an accuracy of 98.1% when trained and tested with the same dataset. Furthermore, this 2D-CNN model produced a range of accuracy between 89% and 96% in classifying the type of AB, with the highest accuracy of 96% in classifying DT. Overall, the developed CNN model, based on the input image of airway pressure, accurately extracts critical and unique features to precisely classify various types of AB, which could help clinicians in managing MV patients