The Readiness of Academicians in Sustaining SMEs Edutourism Projects in Malaysia

Edutourism initiatives in Malaysia started in 2015. It was envisaged that edutourism will affect all actors positively. However, the outcome is less than expected. The study investigates the challenges faced by the public universities in materializingedutourism initiatives. Primary data was collected through interviews with the operator/players in selected public universities. The major hindrances to edutourism are related to the readiness of academicians involved in edutourism projects, lack of incentives, and universities policies and procedure. This study contributes to an in-depth understanding of challenges in organizing edutourism. The findings would lead to further improvement of edutourism initiates and efforts.eISSN: 2398-4287© 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bsby e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, UniversitiTeknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i8.140

Exploring the impact of the political environment and national culture on readiness for internationalization in SMEs / Herwina Rosnan and Nuraisyah Chua Abdullah.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of the political environment and national culture on readiness for internationalization. The Smart-Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis was used as to investigate the research model based on a survey of 60 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from various industries which included companies in pharmaceutical, technological, electronic and foods and beverages industries in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The results supported the effects of two exogenous variables towards the endogenous variable Internationalization Readiness). Since the samples were limited to some SME companies in Klang Valley, Malaysia, the results of this study can only achieve theoretical generalization. Statistically, this study may prove not to be generalizable to the sample and should be confirmed using larger samples

Exploring political environment and national culture impact on internationalization readiness of SMEs / Herwina Rosnan and Nuraisyah Chua Abdullah.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of Political Environment and National Culture on Internationalization Readiness. The Smart-Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis was used as to investigate the research model based on the survey of 60 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from various industries which include companies in pharmaceutical, technological, electronic and foods and beverages in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The results supported the effects of two exogenous variables toward endogenous variable (Internationalization Readiness). Since the samples were limited to some SME companies in Klang Valley, Malaysia, the results of this study can only achieve theoretical generalization. Statistically, this study may prove not to be generalizable to the sample and should be confirmed using larger samples

International Transportation Network Companies: Behaviour of drivers and consumers

The growth of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) in Malaysia is an evidence that their e-hailing services are well-accepted by consumers. The emergent of TNCs which is termed as industry’s “disruptive innovation” has changed the traditional way of commuting. This paper seeks to investigate how the recent business environment affects the quality of life and the behaviour of the drivers and consumers at large. The study employs a qualitative content analysis and data was collected from secondary sources. Behaviours of drivers and consumers which contributes to the change of the industry is critical for the policy-maker to respond and introduce appropriate policy.eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i8.140

Optimization Of Boron-Based Nanolubricant For Diesel Engine

Wear and friction are unavoidable in engineering application nowadays. One of common solution to overcome these problems is by using lubricant which can reduce this friction and wear to a minimum level for promising to a better efficiency. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effect of boron based nanolubricant on the tribological mechanism and engine performance. Design of Experiment (DOE) was constructed using the Taguchi method, which consists of L9 orthogonal arrays. The optimal design parameters were determined and indicated which of these design parameters are statistically significant for obtaining a low Coefficient of Friction (COF) with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and/or alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles, dispersed in conventional diesel engine oil (SAE 15W40) as optimized nano-oil. Tribological testing was conducted using a four-ball tester according to ASTM standard D4172 procedures. The optimized nano-oil was physco-chemical characterised and the effect of dilution by biodiesel (B100) were tested before undergo for engine performance test. The optimized nano-oil was tested using AIRMAN YANMAH YX2500CXA single cylinder diesel engine which coupled with 20 horse power eddy current dynamometer. The engine performance, emission and fuel consumption testing were conducted and recorded by using DynoMite 2010 software parallel with emission analyser and fuel measurement. From analysis of Signal-to-Noise (S/N) ratio and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), COF and wear scar diameter reduced significantly by dispersing several concentrations of hBN nanoparticles in conventional diesel engine oil, compared to without nanoparticles and with Al2O3 nanoparticle additive. Contribution of 0.5 vol.% of hBN and 0.3 vol.% of oleic acid, as a surfactant, can be an optimal composition additive in conventional diesel engine oil, to obtain a lower COF. In addition, the predicted value of COF by utilizing the levels of the optimal design parameters (0.5 vol.% hBN, 0.3 vol.% surfactant), as made by the Taguchi optimization method, was consistent with the confirmation test (average value of COF = 0.07215), which fell within a 95% Confidence Interval (CI). The optimized nano-oil shown an improvement in viscosity index where it showed a 3% better VI (Viscosity Index) reading compared to the conventional engine oil in advanced the COF obtained by 20% diluted nano-oil is still maintained in lower condition compared to diluted conventional engine oil which indicated that, dilution of optimized nano-oil did not affect the detergency of the lubricant. Result of engine performance shows that, the torque and power of conventional engine oil containing hBN nanoparticle are improved approximately 12.86% and 9.1% compared with conventional engine oil. The Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (B.S.F.C) shows significant efficiency approximately 13~32% and the gas emission of CO2 and HC reduce approximately 27.5% and 5.27%. As conclusion the damage of the material due to adhesive wear type with intensive plastic deformation was less pronounced tested by optimized nano-oil

Exchange Rate Exposure: Does exchange rate movement influence tourism development?

This paper examines the impact of exchange rate exposure on tourism demand using a dynamic panel of 23 sub Saharan Africa’s tourist destinations. Although, the research question for the paper focuses on whether uncertainty on the exchange rate can help explain why could exchange rate fluctuation co-move with the travel expenditure using data from these selected African tourist destinations as well as the variations across countries in recent years. Utilising annual data from 1996 to 2015 on dynamic panel estimation techniques, we provide evidence which suggests that both variables exchange rate fluctuation and travel expenditure are statistically significant determinants of tourism demand. The Penal autoregressive distributed lagged ARDL panel cointegration test is utilised to examine the existence of a long run association between exchange rate and travel expenditure and the findings from the panel cointegration test reveals that real income, real xchange rates, price inflation and travel expenditure and international tourist arrival have long run relationship. We also employed pool (OLS), fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE) models to investigate which of the models in questions can at most have useful information to explain tourism demand subject to travel expenditure with respect to the selected sampled tourist destinations in Africa

Comparison of protein extraction methods for the leaves of Ficus deltoidea

This study investigated several extraction methods for proteins from the leaves of Ficus deltoidea. The protocols include solvent based extraction, TCA-acetone precipitation, Tris buffered phenol extraction and hybrid technique of TCA-acetone/phenol-SDS. The results indicated that the hybrid technique and Tris buffered phenol method could produce higher number and better quality of proteins. There are 22 protein bands with the wide range of molecular size ranging from 8.20 to 113.48 kDa separated by 12% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the hybrid technique. Tris buffered phenol could extract 13 protein bands from the plant, but only 9 protein bands from TCA-acetone precipitation method. pH 8.0 was the optimum value of Tris buffered phenol for protein extraction with higher protein content and better gel resolution.Keywords: Ficus deltoidea; protein extraction; TCA-acetone; phenol-SDS; p

Guidelines for Antarctic Tourism: An Evaluation

Since Antarctic tourism has special features because of its peculiar characteristics, tourism activities need to be controlled. By using the qualitative method, this paper argues that although there are guidelines related to Antarctic Tourism, there are an increasing number of consultative parties who question whether the Antarctic environment can be adequately protected through these guidelines. The paper reveals the reasons underlying the poor governance of the guidelines and in view of the argument that Antarctic tourism regulation is still largely piecemeal, therefore, this paper concludes with suggestions to overcome the problem in order to ensure the sustainability of Antarctic touris

States’ Wildlife Tourism Policy Prepares Tourists for Sustainability of Antarctica Tourism?

The recognition of animal welfare is reflected in national laws and policies to guide tourists and operators in dealing with animals. However, studies portray that tourists are ignorant that wildlife attraction is harmful to animals. This raises the issue as to whether the existing states' laws and regulations of zoos prepare tourists for sustainable tourism and tourism in more delicate destinations like the Antarctic. Using qualitative method, this paper focuses on Malaysia’s development of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and concludes that although the Act improves the condition of animals, it is not the only solution for visitors’ knowledge conversation

Haematological and histopathological evaluation of dried kacangma (Leonurus sibiricus) in New Zealand White rabbits

Kacangma (Leonurus sibiricus L.) is a popular traditional herb that has been consumed for decades by the people of Sarawak as herbal medicine and culinary ingredient. This study was conducted to evaluate the toxicity of kacangma herb on New Zealand White male and female rabbits through subchronic studies. Effects of kacangma herb intake at the level of 0.5, 5.0 and 25.0 g/kg body weight was evaluated for 90 days with focus on hematological and histopathological studies. The haematological study revealed no significant changes in all parameters studied i.e. heamoglobin, red blood cell value, white blood cell value, packed cell volume, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and mean cell haemoglobin concentration. Vice versa, in the histophatological study, administration of dried kacangma herb at medium and high dose was found to cause adverse effects on histopathological structure in liver and kidney of both male and female rabbits. However, since low dose group showed no significant differences to the control group, therefore it is considered safe and less chance of developing toxicity if the herb is consumed at the low dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight as observed throughout the 90 days period of subchronic study