A spatial site yield potential model of oil palm / Haslinda Musa

The site yield potential (SYP) has been used as a realistic target for the plantation management to achieve and maximize the oil palm production. This yield potential is currently computed using an empirical and numerical model, which is non-spatial. However, the oil palm yields are known to vary spatially across the plantation. To represent this, Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies have been incorporated into the model. This has resulted in a spatial SYP model of oil palm that allows the management to quickly compare the target and actual yields over the whole plantation. The SYP model gave poor relative root mean square error of 18.12% and efficiency of -1.60, indicated that the model tended to over-estimate the site yield potential. These poor results were mainly caused by replanting area, the attacks of Rhinoceros beetles and wrong identification of Rengam soil series. When the above fields were removed from the analysis, the model gave low relative root mean square error of 10.9%. However, it still over-estimated the site yield potential by about 5% on average. Apart from this bias, the model performed satisfactorily based on the standard model parameters for precision. Results also show that the mean difference between slopes measured using clinometer and the readily available topographical map of Malaysia with a 20 m contour intervals using triangulated irregular network (TIN) model, were only 0.43 degree, which was below the accuracy of the clinometer of 1 degree, although they were statistically different. Therefore, an empirical model using GIS can be used as a tool to help the management and agronomists to focus on the main problems especially fields with large yield gap. This site yield potential model will require extensive validation before it can be adopted by the oil palm industry

Malaysian SMEs Development: Future and Challenges on Going Green

AbstractMalaysian Small Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is largest business establishment and vital component of the country's economic development. However, limited studies were examined on their development, challenges and future green prospects, especially in service sector. Therefore this article examines the development of SMEs in Malaysia, challenges and opportunities of green practices among SMEs which is play a vital role in the nation growth. The uniqueness of this paper focuses on green practices which is important for SMEs to progress and competitive in domestically and globally. The key messages from these studies examined in this paper are that Malaysian SMEs contribute to the largest business establishment in Malaysia especially service sector and majority of them are in micro size establishment. Nevertheless, there are wide recognition in the literature about the factors hinder SMEs from expanding, this is mainly because high cost of raw materials, high initial cost of investment and shortage of skilled labour. The concept of green environment is still at infancy stage in Malaysian SMEs. Environmental management literature mostly published in the developed countries has proven that ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation has a positive and significant relationship with SMEs performance. This study is important indicator to encourage other SMEs which has no green practices in place to consider joining the green bandwagon, especially SMEs service sectors. The studies focused are conditioned by the search strategy used. In addition, other key words could be including in future studies such as performance, customer satisfaction, financial performance, environmental and green supply chain management in order to expand this search. The main contribution of this paper is to identify the development of SMEs in Malaysia and future research proposals with regards to the benefit of the green practices (ISO 14001 standards) in Malaysian SMEs service sector

ANALYZING FACTORS TOWARDS ADOPTING ICT WITHIN SUPPLY NETWORK IN THE UK

Literature has shown that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had been a potential source of disruption to business and at the same time ICT might be advantageous in supporting business at risk. Data from a questionnaire survey of 110 organizations across various sectors in the United Kingdom (UK) are used to answer the research question: “what are the key determinants to the adoption of ICT in an organization within its supply network?”  The data collected were analyzed quantitatively, from simple analyses such as mean scores, and Spearman correlation coefficients, to more sophisticated analysis such as factor analysis, ANOVA, and logistic regression. Adoption level is predicted by a model with three (3) categories of independent variables including (i) the characteristics of ICT; including, the relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability), (ii) the internal and external factors of innovation characteristics (managers’ support, strategy integration, and stakeholders pressure on the innovation), and (iii) the external environment (stakeholders pressure, system openness, environmental uncertainties and supply chain complexity).The main findings revealed that the adoption behavior in organizations within the supply chain can be understood from the model developed in this study. The most significant predictors of the adoption level of ICT are relative advantage, managers’ support, and system openness

The impact of online banking on the performance of Nigerian banking sector

In this contemporary life, information technology (IT) has become a significant medium in economic and social development.Banking sector nowadays cannot move forward rapidly without the use of IT. In particular, online banking (ebanking) is one of the IT applications with the highest impact on the global economy in creating a new business environment in the sector.Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the impact of e-banking on the performance of the banking sector in Nigeria.E-banking will be measured by the expenditure made on information and communication technology (ICT) investments, number of debit cards issued to customers, and number of automated teller machines (ATMs) installed by the banks. Return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and net interest margin (NIM) will be used as performance variables.The impact of ebanking on the bank performance will be examined in two periods: pre-consolidation (i.e., before adopting the e-banking) and post-consolidation (i.e., after adopting the e-banking). Data collection involves secondary data gathered via annual reports of 21 Nigerian banks.The SPSS software will be used for data analysis

Ventaja competitiva hacia el desarrollo de proyectos de construcción en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos

This study aims to examine the impact of competitive advantage on the project development in the United Arab Emirates. This study employed a cross-sectional approach, the data obtained through a questionnaire instrument. The data obtained from 382 respondents from the construction industry. The result confirms a positive and significant impact of competitive advantage on the construction project development.  Este estudio tiene como objetivo examinar el impacto de la ventaja competitiva en el desarrollo del proyecto en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos. Este estudio empleó un enfoque transversal, los datos obtenidos a través de un instrumento de cuestionario. Los datos obtenidos de 382 encuestados de la industria de la construcción. El resultado confirma un impacto positivo y significativo de la ventaja competitiva en el desarrollo del proyecto de construcción

El papel de los recursos del proyecto en el desarrollo de proyectos de construcción en los EAU

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of project resources on project development in construction projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study is using a quantitative approach. The main test used is the correlation test to find out the direct effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. The data are collected using a survey questionnaire instrumentation. The total sample number were 300 participants from the construction industry in the UAE. The finding confirmed that project resources influence construction project development positively and significantly. El objetivo principal de este artículo es investigar el impacto de los recursos del proyecto en el desarrollo del proyecto en proyectos de construcción en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU). Este estudio está utilizando un enfoque cuantitativo. La prueba principal utilizada es la prueba de correlación para descubrir el efecto directo de la variable independiente en la variable dependiente. Los datos se recopilan utilizando un cuestionario de encuesta de instrumentación. El número total de muestras fue de 300 participantes de la industria de la construcción en los EAU. El hallazgo confirmó que los recursos del proyecto influyen en el desarrollo del proyecto de construcción de manera positiva y significativa

Analysing the Impact Factors of Customer Loyalty Among Small and Medium-Sized Hotels (Smshs) in Dubai

Purpose: This study aims to identify the most important characteristics that contribute to customer loyalty in the hotel sector, specifically in Dubai's hotels.   Theoretical framework:   Small and medium-sized hotels (SMSHs) were examined from the standpoint of their customers using customer loyalty as a performance metric. This research will shed additional light on how customer satisfaction and trust in  SMSHs contribute to customer loyalty, particularly within Dubai's hotel sector SMSHs.   Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative study involves the use of statistical analysis and numerical data to test hypotheses and draw conclusions about the relationships between variables based on a sample of 372 respondents from SMSHs in Dubai.   Findings: The findings showed a positive and significant relationship between customer trust, service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the SMSHs in Dubai. Also, customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between customer trust and customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between customer trust and customer loyalty in the SMSHs in Dubai.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  To boost client satisfaction, hotels should undertake a more detailed service assessment of online hotel performance and improve the hotel's application system, which is prone to faults, by speeding up digital technology.   Originality/value:  An original study on small and medium-sized hotels in Dubai would provide valuable insights into the unique challenges and opportunities faced by this segment of the hospitality industry in a highly competitive and dynamic market

The Characteristics of Users in the Adoption of Low Loss Microwave Transmission Glass: A Conceptual Paper

AbstractThis paper aims to examine the relationship between users’ characteristics towards adopting the LLMTG. These relations were found correlated in its intention to adopt this type of glass in building structures. Despite the indication provided by numerous empirical studies, the organizations that adopt the LLMTG will gain more competitive advantage and improvement. It is strongly believed that this attempt would contribute both to knowledge of the diffusion of innovation and to implications for practice by assisting the industry to understand the important factors when adopting innovation. Rich data will be collected using questionnaire among managers from all industrial in Malaysia

The Relationship of Emotional Intelligence and Stress In SMEs

Emotional intelligence is an important topic in management and entrepreneurial education. This study focused on the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (Cognition & Ability, Understanding Emotions, and Emotional Decision Making) and stress among SMEs. A total of 70 entrepreneurs from different areas in Melaka participated in the survey. Reliability analysis was applied to test the instrument’s reliability. Moreover, correlation analysis was applied to examine the relationship of EI factors with stress in SMEs. Regression analysis applied to determine the predicted factors of EI towards stress. The results of the analysis indicated cognition & ability, understanding other’s emotions and emotional decision making had a positive relationship with stress among SMEs. For the practicality of this study, emotional intelligence can be well implemented through education to instill a sound stress management to all potential entrepreneurs

Reducing soak air temperature inside a car compartment using ventilation fans

This article presents an investigation on the effects of using ventilation fans on the air temperature inside a car passenger compartment when the car is parked under the sun. It was found from a measurement that the air temperature inside the passenger compartment could raise up to 48°C. Computational fluid dynamics method was used to develop model of the compartment and carry out flow simulations to predict the air temperature distribution at 1 pm for two conditions: without ventilation fans and with ventilation fans. The effects of fan location, number of fans used and fan airflow velocity were examined. Results of flow simulations show that a 17% temperature reduction was achieved when two ventilation fans with airflow velocity of 2.84 m/s were placed at the rear deck. When three fans were used, an additional 3.4% temperature reduction was attained. Placing two ventilation fans at the middle of the roof also reduced the air temperature by 17%. When four fans were used a further 4.8% temperature reduction was achieved. Increasing the airflow velocity at the four fans placed at the roof, from 2.84 m/s to 15.67 m/s, caused only a small reduction in the air temperature inside the passenger compartment