RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STOCK MARKET RETURNS AND EXCHANGERATES IN EMERGING STOCK MARKETS

Abstract-This paper aims to study the relationship between stock market returns and exchange rates in emerging stock markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines. The data is taken from January 2003 to December 2012 using weekly closing indices and separated in two periods; before (2003-2007) and second, after (2008-2012) the financial crisis of 2008. Johansen-Juselius (JJ). Granger causality tests show that unidirectional causality exists between the stock market returns and exchange rates for Thailand before the financial crisis, whilst, for Indonesia and Singapore, the unidirectional causality between the two variables is detected in the period after the financial crisis. Error Correction Model (ECM) indicates the existence of long run causality between the two variables for Philippines. This study also finds that most of the emerging stock markets are informationally inefficient

Factors Influencing Customer’s Acceptance of Islamic Banking Products and Services

The emergence of Islamic banking system has had a huge impact on the financial industry. This research attempts to identify the influential factors that are associated with Islamic banking adoption between the Muslim and non-Muslim populations in Sarawak, Malaysia. With the “adoption of Islamic banking” as the dependent variable, this study studies its relationship with seven independent variables. They are, four attributes of innovation, namely; 1) relative advantage, 2) compatibility, 3) observability and 4) complexity, and three additional variables namely; 5) perceived risk, 6) perceived trust and 7) customer innovativeness. A convenient sampling method is used whereby a questionnaire is administered to 436 respondents in Sarawak, Malaysia. Using the logistic regression method, three factors; 1) compatibility, 2) relative advantage/observability and 3) complexity are found to have significant relationship with customers’ adoption of Islamic banking products and services

Factors Influencing Customer’s Acceptance of Islamic Banking Products and Services

The emergence of Islamic banking system has had a huge impact on the financial industry. This research attempts to identify the influential factors that are associated with Islamic banking adoption between the Muslim and non-Muslim populations in Sarawak, Malaysia. With the “adoption of Islamic banking” as the dependent variable, this study studies its relationship with seven independent variables. They are, four attributes of innovation, namely; 1) relative advantage, 2) compatibility, 3) observability and 4) complexity, and three additional variables namely; 5) perceived risk, 6) perceived trust and 7) customer innovativeness. A convenient sampling method is used whereby a questionnaire is administered to 436 respondents in Sarawak, Malaysia. Using the logistic regression method, three factors; 1) compatibility, 2) relative advantage/observability and 3) complexity are found to have significant relationship with customers’ adoption of Islamic banking products and services

Perlindungan Hukum Terhadap Karya Cipta Fotografi Di Sosial Media (Studi Terhadap Penggunaan Foto Produk Tanpa Izin Untuk Kepentingan Komersial Di Onlineshop)

Buying and selling activities through social media require product photos to promote products sold to consumers. Lack of public understanding that product photos are copyrighted works that are protected by copyright. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the form of intellectual property law protection for copyrighted online shop product photos and how to resolve disputes in the event of misuse of online shop product photo works. This research was conducted using empirical juridical methods. The empirical juridical method is to examine legal provisions and what happens in the community directly. Whereas the results of research on the form of online shop product photo protection are in the form of: legal protection in a preventive way and legal protection in a repressive way. However, legal protection to obtain legal certainty is to register the product at the ministry of law and human rights. If there is a dispute regarding intellectual property rights, settlement can be carried out through court or non-judicial

Properties of Cement Brick Containing Expanded Polystyrene Beads (EPS) And Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA)

This paper assesses the mechanical properties of cement brick containing Expanded Polystyrene Beads (EPS) and Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) as partial replacement of sand and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The aim of this research are to determine the mechanical properties of brick containing EPS and POFA as partial replacement of sand and OPC. The dosage for EPS replacement is 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% EPS whereas 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% of POFA replacement. The mechanical properties of the bricks are density, compressive strength and water absorption. The bricks with 30%, 40% and 50% EPS replacement have density below 1680 kg/m3 which considered as lightweight brick. The brick with 50% EPS replacement recorded lowest density which is 1328 kg/m3 while 1629 kg/m3 for the brick with  25% POFA replacement at 56-days of curing. The water absorption testing for these brick are between 7.20%-18.19%. Brick with 0% POFA and 50% EPS replacement has the lowest water absorption properties whereas brick with 25% POFA and 0% EPS replacement has the highest water absorption properties

The Cholecystectomy As A Day Case (CAAD) Score: A Validated Score of Preoperative Predictors of Successful Day-Case Cholecystectomy Using the CholeS Data Set

Background Day-case surgery is associated with significant patient and cost benefits. However, only 43% of cholecystectomy patients are discharged home the same day. One hypothesis is day-case cholecystectomy rates, defined as patients discharged the same day as their operation, may be improved by better assessment of patients using standard preoperative variables. Methods Data were extracted from a prospectively collected data set of cholecystectomy patients from 166 UK and Irish hospitals (CholeS). Cholecystectomies performed as elective procedures were divided into main (75%) and validation (25%) data sets. Preoperative predictors were identified, and a risk score of failed day case was devised using multivariate logistic regression. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to validate the score in the validation data set. Results Of the 7426 elective cholecystectomies performed, 49% of these were discharged home the same day. Same-day discharge following cholecystectomy was less likely with older patients (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), higher ASA scores (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), complicated cholelithiasis (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.48), male gender (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58–0.74), previous acute gallstone-related admissions (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.48–0.60) and preoperative endoscopic intervention (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.34–0.47). The CAAD score was developed using these variables. When applied to the validation subgroup, a CAAD score of ≤5 was associated with 80.8% successful day-case cholecystectomy compared with 19.2% associated with a CAAD score >5 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The CAAD score which utilises data readily available from clinic letters and electronic sources can predict same-day discharges following cholecystectomy

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Misinterpretasi terhadap Al-Qur'an: Mewaspadai penyimpangan dalam menafsirkan Al-Qur'an

xxi, 175 hlm. ; 17 cm

Impulsivity of Noise due to Single Lightweight Vehicles Transit on Transverse Rumble Strip

Transverse Rumble Strips (TRS) acts as safety device that alert inattentive drivers from potential dangers. However, the noise produced due to TRS was reported as noise annoyance among the nearby residents lived adjacent to roadways. Thus, this paper investigates the impulsivity characteristic of noise due to single lightweight vehicles transit on TRS. The objectives of this study are to determine the increase of sound level and to evaluate the impulsivity of noise. Two TRS profiles namely middle overlapped (MO) and middle layer overlapped (MLO) were selected. Three types of single lightweight vehicles which include hatchback, sedan and multipurpose (MPV) were tested at speed of 30, 50 and 70km/h. The sound level was measured using sound level meter (SLM). Noise indices such as LAeq, LAIeqT, LAImax, LAFmax and LASmax were obtained from the measurement. This study considered the differences of LAImax – LAFmax > 2dBA, LAFmax – LAeq ≥ 10dBA, LAIeqT – LAeq ≥ 2dBA and LAImax – LASmax > 6dBA to evaluate the impulsivity of noise. It was found that TRS increased the sound level by at most of 6dBA. Furthermore, all single lightweight vehicles transit on TRS show significant impulsive characteristic. These results proved that TRS produce significant impact to the nearby residents