Malaysians' willingness to support Japanese expatriates

Expatriates' success studies have always focused on the expatriates' home country preparation, cross cultural adjustment ability and host country environment. This study examined the host country nationals' perspective, particularly their willingness to support Japanese expatriates. Malaysians' openness to change, openness to linguistic diversity and perceived reciprocity were found to significantly explain their willingness to support Japanese expatriates. The outcome of this study provided information to companies on strategies they can use in improving host country nationals' willingness to support expatriates

Factors affecting office rent in Kuala Lumpur (KL)

The oversupply of office space in the Golden Triangle Kuala Lumpur (GTKL) and slow on-going demand has resulted in pressure on rental performance. Studies have shown that there are several strategies to improve rent performance. The purpose of this paper is to obtain a deeper understanding of these strategies and their applicability in the context of GTKL. Questionnaires were distributed to 42 office buildings in the GTKL. A total of 212 tenants completed the questionnaire and secondary data on building certifications and the building average rents were extracted from reliable property website sources. The results suggest that office building rental performance can be improved if the building management charges lower rent to longer-stay tenants, attracts more foreign-owned or bigger-sized firm and gets Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) or Green certifications. The implications for managers and theories in this regard are then discussed

Assessing technical and functional features of office buildings and their effects on satisfaction and loyalty

This study assesses the service performance of commercial office buildings in the Golden Triangle Kuala Lumpur (GTKL) and understands how they influence tenant satisfaction and loyalty. Literature suggests that the commercial office building leasing context provides more service components compared to goods, hence, the service performance (SERVPERF) framework was used in this study. Data was collected from 250 tenants of 48 buildings using questionnaires. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) technique was used to test the hypothesis and three significant relationships were found. The result indicated that Building Features, Services and Management performance (BFSM), agglomeration performance and Responsive Customer Orientation (RCO) significantly influenced tenant satisfaction, and subsequently resulted in loyalty. The implications for managers and the theories in this regard are then discussed

Cause-related marketing: it's influence on consumers' choice of hypermarket

Malaysia has undergone market changes which lead to transformation from small shops to larger scale shops due to the globalization. The larger scale shop such as hypermarkets will increase the supply from local suppliers if the demand of consumers toward local product is high. This indicates that cause-related marketing concept can be applied if consumers are favour to hypermarkets that intend to support local product. Therefore, this study aims to examine the factors that influence consumers’ participation intention on “support local product” CRM campaign in the Malaysia context. There were six variables included to determine their effects on participation intention in “support local product” campaign which were firm motive, perceived corporate social responsibility, offer elaboration, brand attitude, ethnocentrism and environmental concern. Multiple regression and one-way ANOVA analysis were used to carry out data analysis. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that all the predictors have significant relationships with participation intentions except for firm motive. Based on the findings, hypermarket might choose to engage in CRM campaign that use “support local product” as a cause. By doing so, it might assist the hypermarket to differentiate themselves with other competitors in retail industry

Stakeholder’s Perception on Malaysia’s Edu-Tourism Sustainability Performance

This study shows that Edu-Tourism is manageable by considering various sustainability indicators that are identified from the evaluation of international students’ satisfaction. Differ from past sustainable tourism researches which usually investigate the tourism supply side of stakeholders (economics, social and environmental), this study adds value to the sustainable tourism literature by examining the tourism demand side of stakeholders (tourist satisfaction). Generally, Malaysia Edu-Tourism is operating within “potentially sustainable” category, improvements are needed to achieve “sustainable” status. Six indicators (reputation of university, perceived faculty academic competence, student-student interactions, perceived quality of faculty communications, climate and study environment, information availability) are moderately performed. Best performer being perceived quality of electronic communications and student-admin interaction. Worst performer being social links and geographic proximity. A quantitative research approach was used in this study where questionnaires were distributed for data collection. The sample size of the study consisted of 264 international students of different public and private sector universities. Structural Equation Model using SMARTPLS was used to identify significant indicators and then descriptive analysis was performed to evaluate sustainability of Malaysia Edu-Tourism sector. The article concludes with a discussion of the research and implications of the study along with suggestions for future research

Impact of positive and negative corporate social responsibility on automotive firms' financial performance: A market-based asset perspective

Prevailing studies on the economic implication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for businesses has mainly stressed on the positive facet of corporate social responsibility (PCSR), failing to comprehend that firms also espouse behaviors and initiatives which can be characterized as negative corporate social responsibility (NCSR). Additionally, limited researches have considered how both PCSR and NCSR influence corporate financial performance (CFP). In consideration of this view, we present a framework that connects both PCSR as well as NCSR to CFP. We also analyzed the moderating role of the firm's market-based asset. Using 924 observations from 2011 to 2017 and a combined secondary data of 132 global automotive firms from CSRHub and Thomson Reuters Datastream, we examined how increases in either PCSR or NCSR relate to CFP via dynamic panel data system Generalise Moment of Method estimates. Our results demonstrate that PCSR improves CFP while and NCSR is detrimental to a firm's financial performance. Correspondingly, the results indicate that market-based asset moderates the relationship between PCSR and NCSR. Firms that possess higher market-based assets tend to enjoy higher profitability with PCSR as they are in a better position. However, it has been observed that market-based assets tend to weaken the relationship between CFP and NCSR

Are doctors assessing patients with hypertension appropriately at their initial presentation?

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which primary care doctors assessed patients newly diagnosed with hypertension for the risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) during the patients’ first clinic visit for hypertension. The study also aimed to examine the trend of assessment for CVD risk factors over a 15-year period. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted between January and May 2012. Data was extracted from the paper-based medical records of patients with hypertension using a 1:4 systematic random sampling method. Data collected included CVD risk factors and a history of target organ damage (TOD), which were identified during the patient’s first visit to the primary care doctor for hypertension, as well as the results of the physical examinations and investigations performed during the same visit. Result: A total of 1,060 medical records were reviewed. We found that assessment of CVD risk factors during the first clinic visit for hypertension was poor (5.4%–40.8%). Assessments for a history of TOD were found in only 5.8%–11.8% of the records, and documented physical examinations and investigations for the assessment of TOD and secondary hypertension ranged from 0.1%–63.3%. Over time, there was a decreasing trend in the percentage of documented physical examinations performed, but an increasing trend in the percentage of investigations ordered Conclusion: There was poor assessment of the patients’ CVD risk factors, secondary causes of hypertension and TOD at their first clinic visit for hypertension. The trends observed in the assessment suggest an over-reliance on investigations over clinical examinations

Development of high resolution melting analysis for the diagnosis of human malaria

Molecular detection has overcome limitations of microscopic examination by providing greater sensitivity and specificity in Plasmodium species detection. The objective of the present study was to develop a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction coupled with high-resolution melting (qRT-PCR-HRM) assay for rapid, accurate and simultaneous detection of all five human Plasmodium spp. A pair of primers targeted the 18S SSU rRNA gene of the Plasmodium spp. was designed for qRT-PCR-HRM assay development. Analytical sensitivity and specificity of the assay were evaluated. Samples collected from 229 malaria suspected patients recruited from Sabah, Malaysia were screened using the assay and results were compared with data obtained using PlasmoNexTM, a hexaplex PCR system. The qRT-PCR-HRM assay was able to detect and discriminate the five Plasmodium spp. with lowest detection limits of 1–100 copy numbers without nonspecific amplifications. The detection of Plasmodium spp. in clinical samples using this assay also achieved 100% concordance with that obtained using PlasmoNexTM. This indicated that the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of this assay in Plasmodium spp. detection is comparable with those of PlasmoNexTM. The qRT-PCR-HRM assay is simple, produces results in two hours and enables high-throughput screening. Thus, it is an alternative method for rapid and accurate malaria diagnosis

Case study 11: The use of camera traps to monitor medium to large mammals in HCVAs, Wilmar Oil Palm Plantation, Miri, Sarawak

Wilmar has a long-term collaboration with UNIMAS since 2013 to conduct biodiversity monitoring (including camera trapping for monitoring mammals) at its oil palm estates in the Miri Division in Sarawak. The biodiversity monitoring sites consist of three HCVAs that are located within the estates. These forested areas are designated as HCVAs as they contain substantial proportions of remnant native biodiversity. Camera trapping has been extensively used in wildlife research as it is highly effi cient and cost-effective for monitoring mammals (Tobler et al., 2008; Rovero et al., 2014), especially in the case of tropical rainforests where species can be cryptic and elusive in nature (Azlan, 2006). Three mammalian surveys via camera trapping were conducted in the Wilmar Oil Palm Plantation, Miri, Sarawak in years 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2018-2020. Study sites consisted of three High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) that are located within the estates of Saremas 1, Saremas 2 and Segarmas. Bukit Durang is the largest HCVA measuring 989.9ha, Segarmas HCVA is 147.9ha and the smallest is Saremas 1 HCVA at 116.3ha (see accompanying map). Bukit Durang HCVA is classifi ed as HCV 1 while Saremas 1 and Saremas 2 HCVAs are classed as HCV 4. These forests were designated as HCVAs as they contain substantial proportions of remnant native biodiversity. The HCVs are managed by Wilmar’s Eco Management Unit (EMU) under the Sustainability Division and fi nanced by the individual estates. Wilmar Oil Palm Plantation is certifi ed by MSPO, ISCC and RSPO

Mindfulness-based supportive therapy on reducing suffering in patients with advanced cancer: randomised controlled trial

Objectives Suffering is common among patients with advanced cancer. The practice of mindfulness during patient care can potentially reduce suffering. We aimed to examine the efficacy of mindfulness-based supportive therapy (MBST) on reducing suffering in patients with advanced cancer. Methods We conducted a parallel-group, single-blinded, randomised controlled trial at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. Seventy-three patients with advanced cancer with an overall suffering score ≥4/10 based on the Suffering Pictogram were recruited and randomly assigned into either the MBST group (n=34) or the control group (n=39). Results There was a statistically significant reduction in the overall suffering score in the MBST group compared with the control group (U=432.5, median1 =−2.0, median2 =−1.0, z=−2.645, p=0.008). There was also significant improvement in the total Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score (U=483.5, median1 =−4.0, median2 =−3.0, z=−1.994, p=0.046), and the total Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being score (U=252.0, median1 =+14.5, median2 =+5.0, z=−4.549, p=0.000) in the MBST group compared with the control group. Conclusions The results provided evidence that the practice of MBST during patient care could promote positive psychosocial outcome