5,433 research outputs found
Lessons from Post-colonial Malaysian Economic Development
Malaysian economic development has been shaped by public policy in response to changing national and external conditions. Public investments peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s, until the policy reversals driven by sovereign debt concerns and new policy ideology fads. Foreign investments continued to be favoured after independence for ethnic political reasons. Thus, foreign investments continued to be very significant in financial services as well as manufacturing growth, both for import substitution from the 1960s and for export from the 1970s. Private investments were attracted by government provision of infrastructure, cheap but schooled labour, tax incentives, lax environmental regulations and an undervalued currency. Poverty reduction and ownership redistribution by ethnicity were most successful during the 1970s and early 1980s, although it is unclear how much these improved inter-ethnic relations. Economic liberalization and the growing influence of business interests and political elites have undermined the government’s developmental role, culminating in the 1997–8 financial crisis and lacklustre growth since. Malaysian industrialization could only have been achieved with appropriate incentives for investments and technical progress through key policy interventions.Malaysia, development strategies, liberalization, intervention
Cooperative and Distributed Localization for Wireless Sensor Networks in Multipath Environments
We consider the problem of sensor localization in a wireless network in a
multipath environment, where time and angle of arrival information are
available at each sensor. We propose a distributed algorithm based on belief
propagation, which allows sensors to cooperatively self-localize with respect
to one single anchor in a multihop network. The algorithm has low overhead and
is scalable. Simulations show that although the network is loopy, the proposed
algorithm converges, and achieves good localization accuracy
Distributed Local Linear Parameter Estimation using Gaussian SPAWN
We consider the problem of estimating local sensor parameters, where the
local parameters and sensor observations are related through linear stochastic
models. Sensors exchange messages and cooperate with each other to estimate
their own local parameters iteratively. We study the Gaussian Sum-Product
Algorithm over a Wireless Network (gSPAWN) procedure, which is based on belief
propagation, but uses fixed size broadcast messages at each sensor instead.
Compared with the popular diffusion strategies for performing network parameter
estimation, whose communication cost at each sensor increases with increasing
network density, the gSPAWN algorithm allows sensors to broadcast a message
whose size does not depend on the network size or density, making it more
suitable for applications in wireless sensor networks. We show that the gSPAWN
algorithm converges in mean and has mean-square stability under some technical
sufficient conditions, and we describe an application of the gSPAWN algorithm
to a network localization problem in non-line-of-sight environments. Numerical
results suggest that gSPAWN converges much faster in general than the diffusion
method, and has lower communication costs, with comparable root mean square
errors
Are individual differences in Information-Processing styles related to transformational leadership? A test of the cognitive experiential leadership model
The recently proposed Cognitive Experiential Leadership Model (CELM) states that leaders’ preference for rational thinking and behavioral coping will be related to their level of transformational leadership. The CELM was based on research that principally used cross-sectional self-report methods. Study 1 compared both self-ratings and follower-ratings of leadership styles with leaders’ self-rated thinking styles in 160 leader-follower dyads. Study 2 compared both self-ratings and coworker-ratings of leadership styles with leaders’ self-rated thinking styles for 74 leaders rated by 607 coworkers. In both Studies, leaders’ rational thinking, imaginative thinking, and behavioral coping correlated positively with their self-rated transformational leadership. However, only behavioral coping, but not rational thinking, was correlated with follower-rated (FR) transformational leadership in Study 1, and thinking styles were unrelated to other-rated transformational leadership in Study 2. These results partly support and partly challenge the CELM. Practically, this study suggests that leadership may be improved by leaders developing their capacity for behavioral coping
Are Asians comfortable with discussing death in health valuation studies? A study in multi-ethnic Singapore
BACKGROUND
To characterize ease in discussing death (EID) and its influence on health valuation in a multi-ethnic Asian population and to determine the acceptability of various descriptors of death and "pits"/"all-worst" in health valuation.
METHODS
In-depth interviews (English or mother-tongue) among adult Chinese, Malay and Indian Singaporeans selected to represent both genders and a wide range of ages/educational levels. Subjects rated using 0–10 visual analogue scales (VAS): (1) EID, (2) acceptability of 8 descriptors for death, and (3) appropriateness of "pits" and "all-worst" as descriptors for the worst possible health state. Subjects also valued 3 health states using VAS followed by time trade-off (TTO). The influence of sociocultural variables on EID and these descriptors was studied using univariable analyses and multiple linear regression (MLR). The influence of EID on VAS/TTO utilities with adjustment for sociocultural variables was assessed using MLR.
RESULTS
Subjects (n = 63, 35% Chinese, 32% Malay, median age 44 years) were generally comfortable with discussing death (median EID: 8.0). Only education significantly influenced EID (p = 0.045). EID correlated weakly with VAS/TTO scores (range: VAS: -0.23 to 0.07; TTO: -0.14 to 0.11). All subjects felt "passed away", "departed" and "deceased" were most acceptable (median acceptability: 8.0) while "sudden death" and "immediate death" were least acceptable (median acceptability: 5.0). Subjects clearly preferred "all-worst" to "pits" (63% vs. 19%, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Singaporeans were generally comfortable with discussing death and had clear preferences for several descriptors of death and for "all-worst". EID is unlikely to influence health preference measurement in health valuation studies
Charge Offset Stability in Si Single Electron Devices with Al Gates
We report on the charge offset drift (time stability) in Si single electron
devices (SEDs) defined with aluminum (Al) gates. The size of the charge offset
drift (0.15 ) is intermediate between that of Al/AlO/Al tunnel junctions
(greater than 1 ) and Si SEDs defined with Si gates (0.01 ). This range
of values suggests that defects in the AlO are the main cause of the charge
offset drift instability
Validation of the English and Chinese versions of the Quick-FLIC quality of life questionnaire.
A useful measure of quality of life should be easy and quick to complete. Recently, we reported the development and validation of a shortened Chinese version of the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC), which we called the Quick-FLIC. In the present study of 327 English-speaking and 221 Chinese-speaking cancer patients, we validated the English version of the Quick-FLIC and further assessed the Chinese version. The 11 Quick-FLIC items were administered alongside the 11 remaining items of the full FLIC, but there appeared to be little context effect. Validity of the English version of the Quick-FLIC was attested by its strong correlation with two other measures of quality of life, and its ability to detect differences between patients with different performance status and treatment status (each P<0.001). Its internal consistency (alpha=0.86) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation=0.76) were also satisfactory. The measure was responsive to changes in performance status (P<0.001). The Chinese version showed similar characteristics. The Quick-FLIC behaved in ways that are highly comparable with the FLIC, even though the Quick-FLIC comprised only 11 items whereas the FLIC comprised 22. Further research is required to see whether the use of shorter instruments can improve data quality and response rates, but the fact that shorter instruments place less burden on the patients is itself inherently important
Manufacturing technology adoption among lean manufacturers: An initial study
Lean manufacturing is a technique that allows work to be performed without bottlenecks or delays while eliminating wasteful activities by linking and balancing equal amounts of work steps together, enabling products to be consumed directly into the next step, one piece at a time until completed.The aim of this research is to analyse the level of implementation of manufacturing technology among lean practitioners in Malaysia.It highlights on the types of technologies applied in the lean practice and to
what extend the level of technologies being used. A questionnaire survey was used to identify the
different manufacturing technologies being used and the level of applications among lean
manufacturers in Malaysia. From the questionnaire results, it shows that there are 3 groups of
manufacturing technology used by manufacturers, mainly the direct, indirect and administrative
technology.Meanwhile, according to the results the level of technologies used by lean manufacturers
in Malaysia is considered as within medium level. This might be due to the cost of applying such
technologies or the lack of information regarding each manufacturing technologies
Lessons from post-colonial Malaysian economic development
Malaysian economic development has been shaped by public policy in response to changing national and external conditions. Public investments peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s, until the policy reversals driven by sovereign debt concerns and new policy ideology fads. Foreign investments continued to be favoured after independence for ethnic political reasons. Thus, foreign investments continued to be very significant in financial services as well as manufacturing growth, both for import substitution from the 1960s and for export from the 1970s. Private investments were attracted by government provision of infrastructure, cheap but schooled labour, tax incentives, lax environmental regulations and an undervalued currency. Poverty reduction and ownership redistribution by ethnicity were most successful during the 1970s and early 1980s, although it is unclear how much these improved inter-ethnic relations. Economic liberalization and the growing influence of business interests and political elites have undermined the government's developmental role, culminating in the 1997-8 financial crisis and lacklustre growth since. Malaysian industrialization could only have been achieved with appropriate incentives for investments and technical progress through key policy interventions
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