An econometric analysis of the link between biodiesel demand and Malaysian palm oil market

The objective of this study is to describe the important factors affecting Malaysian palm oil industry especially biodiesel demand. To that end a market model representing palm oil production, import, world excess demand, domestic consumption, export demand, rest of the world excess supply and palm oil prices is formulated.A system of equations of eight structural equations and four identities is estimated by two stage least squares method using annual data for the period 1976-2008.The domestic price equation is formed to investigate the link between biodiesel demand and the Malaysian palm oil market. The domestic price is significantly affected by Malaysian ending stock, world palm oil price, biodiesel demand and lagged domestic price. The elasticity of Malaysian palm oil domestic price with respect to biodiesel demand is then obtained. Results suggest that biodiesel demand has a positive impact on the Malaysian palm oil domestic price. Thus, significant growth in biodiesel demand is important in explaining Malaysian palm oil price determination

Supply and Demand Model for the Malaysian Cocoa Market

This paper investigates a system of supply, demand, and price equations for Malaysian cocoa using annual data over the period 1975-2008. Theoretically, in supply and demand models, the price variable is treated as endogenous. However, Hausman specification test result indicates that there is no simultaneity problem in the model. Thus, we estimate the system of equations utilizing the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) estimation technique which might be considered a more efficient estimator for supply and demand model of the Malaysian cocoa. The results suggest that the Malaysian cocoa production is mainly affected by the previous year production, price of cocoa beans at lag two as well as the harvested area. In the export demand equation, the real effective exchange rates is statistically significant determinant while the index of industrial production of advanced economies and the world price of cocoa are found to be insignificant. The results also suggest that both Malaysian industrial production index and domestic price of cocoa beans are key determinants of domestic demand for cocoa beans in Malaysia. Finally, the domestic price of cocoa beans is highly sensitive to its domestic consumption, lagged domestic price, and its world price.Supply and Demand; Malaysian Cocoa; SUR technique

Empirical prediction of traffic noise transmission loss across plenum windows

A parametric study on the traffic noise transmission loss across plenum windows was carried out experimentally in this investigation in an attempt to establish a simple empirical model for predicting this transmission loss. A total of fourteen full scale plenum windows were included in this study. The results of a site mockup measurement were used for model validation. The present model was developed based on the existing plenum chamber theory in which the sound fields inside the plenum window cavities were assumed to make up of a diffracted wave and a reverberant field. Results suggest that both the diffracted and reverberant field inside the plenum window cavities are weaker than those assumed in existing plenum chamber theory. It is found that a model, which assumes frequency-independent diffraction directivity and percentage reverberant field attenuation, gives the best prediction of traffic noise transmission loss. This prediction model is also able to predict site test results with good accurac

Pengukuran prestasi pemaju perumahan berdasarkan sistem star rating

Pengukuran prestasi pemaju perumahan adalah sangat penting baik kepada pemaju perumahan mahupun kepada pembeli rumah. Selain daripada dapat menjana keuntungan kepada pemaju perumahan, maklumat pengukuran prestasi pemaju perumahan juga boleh dijadikan sebagai asas untuk menyediakan perkhidmatan terbaik kepada pembeli rumah. Di Malaysia, terdapat banyak aduan yang diterima daripada pembeli rumah berhubung kualiti produk perumahan dan perkhidmatan yang disampaikan oleh pemaju perumahan. Walau bagaimanapun, penyelidikan mengenai pengukuran prestasi pemaju perumahan dalam konteks kepuasan pembeli rumah belum pernah dilaksanakan. Oleh itu, penyelidikan untuk membangunkan Model Pengukuran Prestasi Pemaju Perumahan berdasarkan kepuasan pembeli rumah adalah amat penting untuk dilaksanakan. Dalam penyelidikan ini, Sistem Star Rating telah digunakan untuk membangunkan Model Pengukuran Prestasi Pemaju Perumahan berdasarkan kepuasan pembeli rumah daripada aspek rekabentuk rumah, pelengkapan rumah dan perkhidmatan. Borang kaji selidik telah diedarkan kepada 400 pembeli rumah di Johor Bahru bagi tujuan mengenal pasti tahap kepuasan mereka terhadap pemaju perumahan. Kajian ini mendedahkan bahawa tahap kepuasan pembeli rumah terhadap pemaju perumahan di Johor Bahru adalah pada tahap sederhana. Selain itu, kajian ini juga menunjukkan bahawa pemaju perumahan dapat menggunakan model ini sebagai panduan untuk meningkatkan produk dan perkhidmatan mereka. Sebagai kesimpulan, Model Pengukuran Prestasi Pemaju Perumahan berdasarkan Sistem Star Rating adalah amat signifikan kerana ia berupaya memberi panduan kepada pihak-pihak yang tertentu. Pertama, pembeli rumah dapat menggunakannya untuk memilih pemaju yang tepat. Kedua, pemaju perumahan dapat menggunakannya sebagai panduan untuk meningkatkan produk dan perkhidmatan. Manakala, yang terakhir, pemegang kepentingan seperti institusi kewangan dapat menggunakannya sebagai panduan dalam membuat keputusan penyediaan dana bagi menyokong projek perumahan

Recent development of magnetic sensor

With recent advancement of sensors development, many efforts have been made in improving technologies that can turn every measurable value in the environment into something meaningful at least that is the idea of transducers – a collection of devices that can convert physical quantities into electrical value. For instance, temperature sensor converts degree of hotness (temperature) into voltages, which in turn can be hooked on an electrical signal processing circuit to produce a thermo-controller. Various other types of transducer are available nowadays that can detect many elements, for examples ultrasonic sensor for distance, pressure sensors, proximity, infrared sensors and many others..

Mechanically coupled laminates with balanced plain weave

Definitive listings of laminate stacking sequences are derived for balanced plain weave laminated materials, assuming each layer is composed of the same material with constant thickness throughout and that standard ply angle orientations 0, 90, and ±45° are adopted; consistent with industrial design practice. A single layer of balanced plain weave material is shown to be immune to thermal distortion following a standard high temperature manufacturing process, which implies that all laminates constructed of this material possess what is commonly referred to as the hygro-thermally curvature-stable or warp-free condition, irrespective of the individual ply orientations used or the laminate stacking sequence definition. A single uncoupled parent laminate class is shown to contain sub-groups with extensionally isotropic and fully isotropic properties that are invariant with off-axis orientation of the principal material axes with respect to the system or structural axes. By contrast a single mechanically coupled parent laminate class is shown to give rise to seven unique forms of coupled laminate through judicious off-axis orientation. Invariant off-axis properties are also identified in coupled laminate designs. Finally, example calculations, abridged stacking sequence listings and design data are presented

Malaysian Cocoa Market Modeling: A Combination of Econometric and System Dynamics Approach

The Malaysian cocoa sector has undergone dramatic changes during the last few decades. In the early years of 1970s, this sector has maintained an upward trend in the area and consequently the production. However, the trend reversed in the late 1980s due to factors such as declining world prices, higher labour costs, widespread of cocoa pod diseases and the pull of more lucrative crops (in particular palm oil). By 2008 only about 19,976 hectares were planted with cocoa compared to a peak of 414,236 ha in 1989. Production of cocoa beans has trended down accordingly. The study combines the econometric and system dynamics approach in modeling the Malaysian cocoa market. A first order system was developed to capture the interdependencies of the major structural elements of the markets such as production, local and export demands, inventory and imports. Nevertheless, the model provides an understanding of the interrelationships between the system components and allows the simulation of policy variables changes. Future work will involve a detail examination of the interaction cocoa supply chain system (from farm to export) to provide a much more comprehensive representations of the dynamics of the market.Econometric methods; system dynamics; Malaysian cocoa market

Evaluation of the performance of granular fertilizer boom sprayer through computational fluid-particles-dynamid CFD simulation and scaled-down model analysis

Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) had bought two Japanese made granular fertilizer boom sprayers to test it on Malaysia’s Paddy field. In order to confirm the local feasibility of this fertilizer applicator, they had called UTHM researchers for proper experimental and numerical evaluations. A year of experimental assessments, the conclusion was supported with full range of numerical results and has a good agreement with MARDI’s findings. In this evaluation, ANSYS CFD was used for the fluid-particles-structure simulation while the statistical and image processing were made via MATLAB software. The simulation results were verified with the results from an in-house scaled-down model which was fabricated with the ratio of 2:15. The simulation was carried out by manipulating the angles of the boom sprayer collecting plates, ranging from 32o to 120o. The length of the collecting plate, the distance of the blow head, the sizes of the fertilizer and the air velocity of the blower were also varied in order to establish the correlations between the parameters. The ambient pressure was kept at 1 atm. Even though we managed to find 60o as the optimum collecting plate angle for most fertilizer sizes, there are two major factors that made it impossible to obtain good fertilizer distribution namely; the use of mixture of three different fertilizer (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) sizes at once and the varying velocity profiles throughout the boom sprayer

Contribution to the current list of Nitzschia species (Bacillariophyceae) in Malaysia

Current occurrence of Nitzschia Hassall from marine and freshwater environment in Malaysia is compiled from current and previously published materials. Phytoplankton was collected using a 20 µm plankton net from waterfronts of Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. Some Nitzschia cells were successfully isolated and established into clonal cultures. For morphology observation, organic matters of the net samples and cultures were oxidized and removed through acid treatment. Cleaned specimens were observed using light and electron microscopes. The morphology of the Nitzschia cells was described and micrographs are included. In addition to current field sampling, Nitzschia spp. records and distributions in Malaysia had also been compiled from secondary data. Sources of references whereby the Nitzschia species were listed in this article were cited accordingly. This article compiles a total of 11 Nitzschia spp. found in Malaysia including a few revisions and new records. This article could serve as an important reference for Nitzschia taxonomic and distributional study particularly in tropical region.Keywords: distribution, morphology, taxonomy, tropica

DIGITAL TRANSITION AT GOLDEN YEARS: UNCOVERING WHAT FUELS, THE SHIFT TO DIGITAL BANKING SERVICES AMONG MALAYSIAN SENIORS

The purpose of this research is to identify the factors that affect the behavioural intention to adopt digital banking among senior citizens in Malaysia. The adoption of digital banking among senior citizens is relatively low compared to the younger generation. Therefore, a survey was conducted to evaluate the factors that affect the behavioural intention to adopt digital banking among senior citizens in Malaysia. 390 questionnaires were collected from senior citizens in Malaysia's Klang Valley. Based on the data collected, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to evaluate the responses. The findings suggested that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, price value, habit, social influence, and hedonic motivation significantly influence the behavioural intention to adopt digital banking among senior citizens in Malaysia. This study's findings will allow banks, financial institutions, and policymakers to broaden their understanding of what drives the adoption of digital banking services and the obstacles that stand in the way of adopting these services. The results from this study can aid financial institutions and the banking sector in improving or enhancing these factors so that elderly banking consumers can benefit and experience the total value offered by the banking sector. The banking sector should develop digital banking services appropriately to entice senior citizens to use digital banking services. The digital banking platform should be aesthetically designed to improve senior citizens' experiences. The marketing of digital banking could be strategized based on the factors studied in this research.  Article visualizations