The Impact of increase in energy prices on sectoral costs of production of the Malaysian economy

This paper examines the impact of an increase in the petroleum price on the sectoral costs of production. Three components of costs of production, which comprise domestic materials, imported input, and labour have been identified. By using the input-output model, different scenarios of the petroleum price changes on sectoral costs of production were stimulated. The simulation results indicated that the fishing, forestry, and logging product, electricity and gas, cement, lime and plaster, and transport sectors are mostly affected by the increase in petroleum price. These sectors are expected to show large impact on costs of production as a result of petroleum price increase because these industries highly consume petroleum products as an intermediate input in their production process

Fast Monte Carlo Simulation of ⁹⁰Y Bremsstrahlung using a Kernel-based Photon Source

In targeted radionuclide therapy using ⁹⁰Y, bremsstrahlung photons can be used for imaging and subsequently for absorbed dose estimation. Monte Carlo simulation is a reliable method to study bremsstrahlung imaging but it takes a long computation time as not all ⁹⁰Y disintegrations result in emission of a bremsstrahlung photon. Furthermore the electron transport simulation is particularly time consuming. This research proposes that bremsstrahlung photons produced from the decay of a ⁹⁰Y point source are replaced with a kernel-based photon source for faster Monte Carlo simulation. This study is divided into three main parts. First, a ⁹⁰Y point source in a spherical water phantom is fully simulated using Monte Carlo simulation. The characteristics of the bremsstrahlung photons produced from the ⁹⁰Y decay are investigated. The full Monte Carlo simulation of ⁹⁰Y point source provides the relationships between the emission position, energy and emission angle of the bremsstrahlung photon. These are recorded as probability distribution functions (PDFs). Then, a kernel-based photon source which comprises of an array of photon-emitting concentric spherical shells is developed. The energy spectrum and angular distributions of the emitted photons are defined for each shell using the PDFs obtained previously from the full ⁹⁰Y Monte Carlo simulation. The kernel-based photon source shows a very close approximation to the distribution of bremsstrahlung photons generated by the full Monte Carlo simulation of ⁹⁰Y point source if the shells are sufficiently closely spaced. Finally, the accuracy and speed of the kernel-based photon source are evaluated. A simplified gamma camera model, which consists of a collimator and NaI(Tl) detector is simulated to obtain the point spread function (PSF) of the point source ‘image’. The PSF can be represented as a Gaussian function. Estimation of σ of the Gaussian function and thus the full-width half-maximum (FWHM) is used to compare the different kernel-based photon source models to represent a ‘real’ source generated by a full Monte Carlo ⁹⁰Y simulation. The results show that the FWHMs of the photon source with kernels are comparable to full Monte Carlo simulation of ⁹⁰Y point source. The FWHM determined for a photon point source with the spectrum of ⁹⁰Y bremsstrahlung underestimates the full Monte Carlo simulation of the true ⁹⁰Y point source. This demonstrates that it is important to account for the photons being emitted at a distance away from the source and all of the photons cannot be assumed to come from a single point. It is more computationally efficient to use this source model than the kernel-based photon sources as it has the shortest computation time, however it is quite inaccurate. Simplifying the kernel-based source by assuming the photon emission as isotropic reduces the accuracy of the model slightly, though the reduction in simulation time is sufficiently small that the more accurate anisotropic kernel should be preferred. The kernel-based photon source proposed in this study can be used to accurately represent the bremsstrahlung photons produced from the beta decay of a ⁹⁰Y point source. This approach greatly improves the simulation speed by almost 30 times

Impact of loan sales towards asset risk of Malayan Banking Berhad / Sahidah Zakariah

Selling loans is hardly new and the key objective is to remove these loans from the balance sheet ) that banks do not have to continue making provisions for them. In fact, during the dark days when the the region stagnated under the shadow of Asian financial crisis, housing loan worth some RM8 billion had been acquired by CAGAMAS to help support ailing banking system. Through sales, benefits are achieved for banking institutions that act as loan originators. Many have shown the empirical benefits of loan sales via securitization, and the constructive effects it has on variability of banking capital. This paper empirically analyzes the impact of loan sales (specifically in housing loan sold to agamas) toward asset risk on Malayan Banking Berhad. Despite the fact that, the main fictive is to determined the relationship between loan sales and asset risk and also found out whether loan sales activities give an impact toward asset risk faced by Malayan Banking Berhad. The time frame of the research conducted is within ten years. Where, the data which have been used in this research is between year 1998 up to year 2007.The hypothesis was being tested using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and also Linear egression. The result gathered after hypothesis testing shows that loan sales have significant relationship with asset risk (where asset risk have been represented by ratio of loan sold to total sets, ratio of deposit to loan over 5 year maturity, ratio of loan loss reserves to total loan, and ratio of landed property loan to total asset)

Bimetallic Complexes of Tungsten and Mercury

A tungsten-mercury bimetallic complex [(CO)4W(PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2HgCl2]n has been synthesized from the reaction of trans-(CO)4W(η1-PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2 and HgCl2. The value of n has not been determined due to the insolubility of the complex. The anologous reaction with HgI2 gave an insoluble, uncharacterizable complex, which best corresponds to (CO)4W(PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2Hg2I4. The geometry about tungsten in [(CO)4W(PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2HgCl2]n is cis as shown by P-31 nmr (JW-P= 230.0 and JHg-P= 4420 Hz) and by infrared spectroscopy. Isomerization of trans-(CO)4W(η1-PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2 occurred when it reacted with HgCl2. The energy barrier for isomerization is undoubtedly low and the process was probably induced as a result of steric pressure. The starting material,trans-(CO)4W(η1-PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2, was prepared from the reaction of trans-(CO)4W(PPh2CH=CH2)2 and PPh2H in the presence of base. The reaction of W(CO)6 with PPh2CH=CH2 in n-butanol in the presence of NaBH4 gave trans-(CO)4W(PPh2CH=CH2)2 (57 % yield)

Ekonomi negeri Kelantan dari perspektif analisis shift-share wilayah

Using regional shift-share analysis the present study, covering the overall period of 1980-95 which is subdivided into two sub-periods, aims at analysing the performance of Kelantan's economy vis-a-vis national economy. The state GDP data according to its major sectors are collected from EPU and the state EPU which is expressed in its real value by using GDP deflator. The results show that to investors the state is unattractive locationally, good performance of national industrialisation stimulates that of the state, and its advantage in primary sector is erroded because of structural change at the national level. The study offers few policy recommendations

Estimating cost savings through adoption of the best-practice technique: Evidence from the Malaysian manufacturing sector

By using the input-output approach, this article attempts to estimate costs of production by using the 1978 vintage and best-practiced techniques, based on the vintage hypothesis that as time progresses and price rises, adopting the best-practice technique will give more cost saving and use less amount of inputs for each unit of output produced, rather than the old techniques. This paper has identified three component production costs of vintage technology, domestic materials, imported input, and labour. It was found that costs of production for the best-practice technique are less than those of the older one (vintage), supporting the vintage hypothesis. Thus, there is a strong argument for the economy to adopt the best-practice technique because it is absolutely a considerable advantage in terms of saving in the per unit cost of production

A case study on the community acceptance and satisfaction of electronic services (E-Service) / Noradilah Zakariah

Government increasingly turn to the hitemet's as a medium for communication and publishing information related to the delivery of the public service. As the technologies continue to evolve, the government is expanding their use of this technology by providing services on the web with which the public can interact and conduct business. Rather than relying on employees to respond to inquiries or process requests for information, through the use of electronic government, the public can "serve themselves" to a wide variety of the information and services. For a research on a Case Study On The Community Acceptance And Satisfaction Of Electronic Services (EService), a set of questionnaires was distributed throughout the peninsular Malaysia especially in Pahang and Selangor. The purpose of the questionnaires (completed by 100 people) was to obtain the views of citizen's acceptance and their level of satisfaction of using electronic services, to make a comparison between traditional channel (counter) and online in the way people used and locate the government services and information and to analyze the requirement for the establishment of electronic services that will allow the government to improve services to the people through the use of the current technology. The result indicates that government has lots more to improved through their services and that people are willing to use government electronic services if the services provided is reliable and secured in terms of the transaction and the information

Bimetallic Complexes of Tungsten and Mercury

A tungsten-mercury bimetallic complex [(CO)4W(PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2HgCl2]n has been synthesized from the reaction of trans-(CO)4W(η1-PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2 and HgCl2. The value of n has not been determined due to the insolubility of the complex. The anologous reaction with HgI2 gave an insoluble, uncharacterizable complex, which best corresponds to (CO)4W(PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2Hg2I4. The geometry about tungsten in [(CO)4W(PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2HgCl2]n is cis as shown by P-31 nmr (JW-P= 230.0 and JHg-P= 4420 Hz) and by infrared spectroscopy. Isomerization of trans-(CO)4W(η1-PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2 occurred when it reacted with HgCl2. The energy barrier for isomerization is undoubtedly low and the process was probably induced as a result of steric pressure. The starting material,trans-(CO)4W(η1-PPh2CH2CH2PPh2)2, was prepared from the reaction of trans-(CO)4W(PPh2CH=CH2)2 and PPh2H in the presence of base. The reaction of W(CO)6 with PPh2CH=CH2 in n-butanol in the presence of NaBH4 gave trans-(CO)4W(PPh2CH=CH2)2 (57 % yield)

Costs of production and labour productivity: 1978 and 1983 Malaysian vintage technology

By using the 1978 and 1983 Malaysian input-output tables, the paper attempts to determine differences in costs of production caused by changing price structure. Appropriate price indices for producer and import prices and wage rates are formulated involving cost-transformation of product and trade classifications when input-output classification is adopted. The paper estimates sectoral costs of production (including labour) for each vintage and their levels measure technological change and obsolescence. It also estimates total labour requirements for each vintage. It was found that older (younger) vintage has higher (lower) costs of production and requires more (less) labour

Performance on Financial Accounting Course: Evidence from Kolej Matrikulasi Kedah

This study explores the factors that influence Kolej Matrikulasi Kedah accounting students’ performance in the Financial Accounting. The performance of the matriculation students in this study is measured by their end semester results in the Financial Accounting. In this study, the student demographic profile, subject taken by the students in secondary level are used as variables for the students’ performance in the Financial Accounting. The result shows that the variables do explain the variance in the students’ performance in the Financial Accounting. This research project attempted to determine if there was a relationship between mathematics subjects in SPM level accounting students’ performance in Financial Accounting. The result of the study will be useful to the academic communities, the public and other interested parties who are interested in improving students’ performance during their period of study in the secondary level and matriculation