Management control systems and organisational learning: the effects of design and use

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a study on relationships between the design of management control systems (MCS), the use of MCS and organisational learning (OL). Design/methodology/approach – This study adopted a survey method. A written questionnaire was prepared and mailed out to collect quantitative data. After analysis of the empirical results, follow-up interviews were conducted to develop a deeper understanding of the empirical results. Findings – Findings of the study show that both the design and use of MCS are significantly associated with levels of OL activities in organisations, and the use of MCS is found to be a more influential factor in OL. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the accounting literature by providing empirical evidence on the relative impacts of the design and use of MCS on OL activities in organisations and the interaction between the design and use of MCS in influencing OL

Impact of Customer Perception towards Online Business in Malaysia: An Empirical Study

The use of social networks has become a phenomenon of great importance to the business environment nowadays. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of customer perception towards online business in Malaysia. A total of 100 respondents aged 21 years and above were involved in this survey. Prior to the hypothesis testing, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), reliability analyses for each construct, correlation and regression were conducted to achieve the research objectives. The results found that the online business has the opportunity of doing business with a lower cost by using customer perception as their marketing platform. Thus, this online business required to be assisted by the government in order to provide the proper business courses and to comply with the law. The implication of the study would draw the bigger picture in business milieu. Although online business is generally is in the infant stage, but given the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of business and with proper guidance, there will be a future for them and there can be an expectation to expand the business on to the next level. Keywords: Customer Perception, Online Business, Malaysi

DOES TEACHING EXPERIENCE MODERATE TEAM STRUCTURE AND OPTIMIZE THE FACULTY? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM GUIZHOU UNIVERSITY IN CHINA

Establishing a well-structured faculty is not only the focus of the construction of college faculty but also the only way for the survival and development of the university. The current research is based on quantitative research methods through a measurement model and tries to gain further understanding. After that, the primary data required is collected according to the survey strategy by providing self-administered questionnaires and interviews. Full-time lecturers who teach at Guizhou University in China were selected as the sampling frame for this study. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), moderating effects were observed to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that there are moderating effects of lecturers’ teaching experience on team structure towards optimizing the faculty. Optimizing the structure of the faculty of Guizhou University not only requires Guizhou University to introduce policies that are conducive to the construction of faculty but also requires the government to give team structure support to the faculty of the university. Finally, this research brings some implications to the policymakers and regulators as well. JEL: I20, I23, J24  Article visualizations

DETERMINING FACTORS FOR CHINA UNDERGRADUATE TO STUDY IN MALAYSIAN HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors for china undergraduate to study in Malaysia higher learning institutions, whereby understanding the factors which influence the student’s decision to study in Malaysia is very much needed. “Push-Pull” theory has been widely applied in the field of education, including the phenomenon of studying abroad. The push-pull factor theory has become a widely accepted analytical framework to explain the reasons for international students’ mobility. The target population of this study is all the third-year high school students, who are in the urban area of four third-tier cities in Jiangxi province of China. In this study, the unlimited probability sampling design or simple random sampling is utilized finally. This research has contributed to the theoretical implications. Notably, this study improves the current written literature on influential factors towards intention of student enrolment in HEI. The factors being examined are student belief, social influence and brand equity. Moreover, the finding indicates that all the independent variables have a significant relationship towards foreign student enrolment. Therefore, the finding from this study can help researchers to have a clear insight and greater understanding of foreign students’ enrolment of HEI in Malaysia in future by referring this research.  Article visualizations

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE INTENTION AND DECISION OF CHINESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO STUDY AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN MALAYSIA

The internationalization of higher education has provided more opportunities for China students. In view of the problems of studying abroad and cross-border of higher education, a large number of studies have been found in Malaysia. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to find out the main factors that influence the choice of Chinese high school students to study in Malaysia. Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) has been applied in this study considering the theory essentially studied consumer behaviour especially in the field of marketing. The target population of this study is all the third-year high school students, who are in the urban area of four third-tier cities in Jiangxi province of China and the unit of analysis is every third-year high school student, who is in the urban area of four third-tier cities in Jiangxi province of China. In this study, the unlimited probability sampling design or simple random sampling is utilized. It was found in this study that academic expectation is not significant in influencing China’s students’ intention to study in Malaysia and China’s student intention to study in Malaysia does not mediate between academic expectation and decision to study in Malaysian higher education institution. With the vast population of China with different demographic settings due to cultural and background differences, this study may not have conclusively covered all spectrum for this study. However, this can be done by having a larger coverage of China target population, entrepreneur or marketers have to hire a highly qualified academic staffs to convey appropriate and high-quality knowledge to the students. The brand equity of foreign students was one of the significant factors that impact their enrolment in of higher education institution. Notably, this study improves the current written literature on influential factors towards intention of student enrolment in of higher education institution. However, future researchers are advisable to ensure target respondents of questionnaire survey are distributed fairly based on the region and to produce a result with higher generalizability and representative for all foreign students.  Article visualizations

The Quantized O(1,2)/O(2)×Z2O(1,2)/O(2)\times Z_2 Sigma Model Has No Continuum Limit in Four Dimensions. I. Theoretical Framework

The nonlinear sigma model for which the field takes its values in the coset space $O(1,2)/O(2)\times Z_2$ is similar to quantum gravity in being perturbatively nonrenormalizable and having a noncompact curved configuration space. It is therefore a good model for testing nonperturbative methods that may be useful in quantum gravity, especially methods based on lattice field theory. In this paper we develop the theoretical framework necessary for recognizing and studying a consistent nonperturbative quantum field theory of the $O(1,2)/O(2)\times Z_2$ model. We describe the action, the geometry of the configuration space, the conserved Noether currents, and the current algebra, and we construct a version of the Ward-Slavnov identity that makes it easy to switch from a given field to a nonlinearly related one. Renormalization of the model is defined via the effective action and via current algebra. The two definitions are shown to be equivalent. In a companion paper we develop a lattice formulation of the theory that is particularly well suited to the sigma model, and we report the results of Monte Carlo simulations of this lattice model. These simulations indicate that as the lattice cutoff is removed the theory becomes that of a pair of massless free fields. Because the geometry and symmetries of these fields differ from those of the original model we conclude that a continuum limit of the $O(1,2)/O(2)\times Z_2$ model which preserves these properties does not exist.Comment: 25 pages, no figure

A simple example of "Quantum Darwinism": Redundant information storage in many-spin environments

As quantum information science approaches the goal of constructing quantum computers, understanding loss of information through decoherence becomes increasingly important. The information about a system that can be obtained from its environment can facilitate quantum control and error correction. Moreover, observers gain most of their information indirectly, by monitoring (primarily photon) environments of the "objects of interest." Exactly how this information is inscribed in the environment is essential for the emergence of "the classical" from the quantum substrate. In this paper, we examine how many-qubit (or many-spin) environments can store information about a single system. The information lost to the environment can be stored redundantly, or it can be encoded in entangled modes of the environment. We go on to show that randomly chosen states of the environment almost always encode the information so that an observer must capture a majority of the environment to deduce the system's state. Conversely, in the states produced by a typical decoherence process, information about a particular observable of the system is stored redundantly. This selective proliferation of "the fittest information" (known as Quantum Darwinism) plays a key role in choosing the preferred, effectively classical observables of macroscopic systems. The developing appreciation that the environment functions not just as a garbage dump, but as a communication channel, is extending our understanding of the environment's role in the quantum-classical transition beyond the traditional paradigm of decoherence.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, RevTex 4. Submitted to Foundations of Physics (Asher Peres Festschrift

Contribution of the μ-opioid receptor system to affective disorders in temporal lobe epilepsy: A bidirectional relationship?

OBJECTIVE Affective disorders are frequent comorbidities of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The endogenous opioid system has been implicated in both epilepsy and affective disorders, and may play a significant role in their bidirectional relationship. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the association between μ-opioid receptor binding and affective disorders in patients with TLE. METHODS Nine patients with TLE and depression/anxiety underwent $^{11}$ C-carfentanil positron emission tomography (CFN PET) and neuropsychiatric assessment, including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. The normalized CFN PET scans were compared with those of 26 age-matched healthy controls. Correlation analyses with affective symptoms were performed by region of interest-based analysis focusing on the limbic circuit and orbitofrontal cortex. RESULTS We observed widely reduced CFN binding potential (BP) in bilateral frontal lobes and striata in patients with TLE compared to healthy controls. In the TLE group, more severe anxiety and negative affect were associated with decreased CFN BP in the posterior cingulate gyrus. SIGNIFICANCE In patients with TLE, interictally reduced binding in the opioid system was associated with higher levels of anxiety and negative affect. We speculate that seizure-related agonist-driven desensitization and downregulation of opioid receptors could be a potential underlying pathomechanism

Serotonin transporter in the temporal lobe, hippocampus and amygdala in SUDEP

Several lines of evidence link deficient serotonin function and SUDEP. Chronic treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) reduces ictal central apnoea, a risk factor for SUDEP. Reduced medullary serotonergic neurones, modulators of respiration in response to hypercapnia, were reported in a SUDEP post-mortem series. The amygdala and hippocampus have high serotonergic innervation and are functionally implicated in seizure-related respiratory dysregulation. We explored serotonergic networks in mesial temporal lobe structures in a surgical and post-mortem epilepsy series in relation to SUDEP risk. We stratified 75 temporal lobe epilepsy patients with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE/HS) into high (16), medium (11) and low risk (48) groups for SUDEP based on generalised seizure frequency. We also included the amygdala in 35 post-mortem cases, including SUDEP (17), epilepsy controls (10) and non-epilepsy controls (8). The immunohistochemistry labelling index (LI) and axonal length (AL) of serotonin transporter (SERT)-positive axons were quantified in 13 regions of interest with image analysis. SERT LI was highest in amygdala and subiculum regions. In the surgical series, higher SERT LI was observed in high risk than low risk cases in the dentate gyrus, CA1 and subiculum (p<0.05). In the post-mortem cases higher SERT LI and AL was observed in the basal and accessory basal nuclei of the amygdala and peri-amygdala cortex in SUDEP compared to epilepsy controls (p<0.05). Patients on SRI showed higher SERT in the dentate gyrus (p<0.005) and CA4 (p<0.05) but there was no difference in patients with or without a psychiatric history. Higher SERT in hippocampal subfields in TLE/HS cases with SUDEP risk factors and higher amygdala SERT in post-mortem SUDEP cases than epilepsy controls supports a role for altered serotonergic networks involving limbic regions in SUDEP. This may be of functional relevance through reduced 5-HT availability