Obstacles to innovation : evidence from Malaysian manufacturing firms

The paper investigates the obstacles to innovation faced by Malaysian manufacturing firms during the process of innovation. The data are from the National Survey of Innovation 2000-2001 (NSI-3). The shortcomings and the relevance of each of these osbtacles are evaluated by type of innovator firms. For this, each firms is categorized - based on its level of innovation activity - as an innovator or as a non-innovator. The analysis also explores the differences between firms by industry type and firm size. The results show that among all obstacles, economic related factors appear to be most important. Furthermore, the level of importance of osbtacles is different for innovator and non-innovator firms. The paper concludes with an analysis of the complementarities between osbtacles in order to arrive at the primary factors that are obstacles to innovation activity.Obstacles to innovation; Complementarity; Innovation policy

Media coverage of Malaysian Airline Flight MH370: a preliminary study on the framing of the crisis in the Malaysian mainstream and alternative newspapers

This study proposes to investigate and compare the coverage of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by Malaysian mainstream and alternative newspapers – The Star newspaper and Malaysiakini. The MH370 crisis in March 2014 is considered as the greatest aviation crisis in the history of Malaysia because of its magnitude and attracted massive local and international media coverage. It presented Malaysian authorities with a new form of challenge, resulting in various criticisms from aviation, media and crisis communication experts over how information regarding the crisis was handled by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) in particular, and the Malaysian government in general. On the other hand, the role of the media during a crisis is not only to provide information regarding the crisis, but also to act as the peoples' advocate by providing an avenue for public engagements and discussions. However, the ability of the media to play this role depends to a certain extent on ownership, and a large extent on the degree of freedom it enjoys in a country. Through quantitative content analysis, the study compares the framing of the crisis by the selected newspapers, the sources of information for their news stories, and slants of the news. The study found that the mainstream newspaper The Star provided general and limited viewpoints with a concentration on the human interest frame, while the alternative newspaper, Malaysiakini, had more critical news reports with a focus on the attribute of responsibility frame

Faktor-faktor sosio-ekonomi yang mempengaruhi corak perbelanjaan isirumah di Semenanjung Malaysia

Tujuan utama kajian ini adalah memberi satu pemahaman asas akan tingkahlaku isirumah dari segi peruntukan pendapatan di antara jumlah perbelanjaan dan tabungan serta peruntukan jumlah perbelanjaan di antara pelbagai jenis barangan. Kajian ini telah berjaya memperolehi banyak penemuan penting mengenai corak perbelanjaan dan tabungan isirumah di Semenanjung Malaysia. Faktor pendapatan merupakan faktor yang terpenting dalam mempengaruhi corak perbelanjaan dan tabungan isirumah. Ia mempunyai pengaruh postif yang nyata ke atas kesemua jenis perbelanjaan barangan dan tabungan. Peningkatan perbelanjaan berikutan daripada peningkatan pendapatan adalah berbeza dari satu barangan ke barangan yang lain. Selain daripada pendapatan, lokasi kediaman, saiz isirumah dan keturunan etnik juga mempunyai pengaruh yang nyata ke atas perbelanjaan barangan yang berbeza. Tambahan pula, kedua-dua faktor saiz isirumah dan keturunan etnik juga memainkan peranan yang penting dalam mempengaruhi tabungan isirumah. The main objective of this study is to provide a basic understanding of household behaviour, particularly on how households allocate their income between total expenditure and savings as well as how they allocate their total expenditure among various consumption goods. This study has resulted in a number of important findings on the household expenditure and savings patterns in Peninsular Malaysia. Income is the most important determinant of household expenditure and savings patterns. It has a significant positive effect on the expenditure on all commodities and on the savings. The increase in expenditure with respect to an increase in income not only differs from one good to another good, but it also varies from one household group to another. Besides income, place of residence, household size and ethnic group also have significant effects on the expenditure on different commodities. Furthermore, both household size and ethnic group also play an important role in influencing household savings

DOES DARK COMPLEXION MATTER? A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SELECTED ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS FROM WATSONS AND GUARDIAN IN 2017

Purpose of the study: This study attempt to analyze the frame of online advertisements from Watsons and Guardian. Both companies utilized a similar storyline in advertising its products during the Hari Raya period, however, an advertisement from Watsons had given rise to controversy and the racial issue has been raised. Methodology: This study employed quantitative content analysis and qualitative textual analysis to ensure a more reliable finding in research. Main Findings: The finding reveals that advertisement from Watsons often framed women in a negative light by 1) Defining beauty as being fair-skinned, 2) Interpreting women’s quality of relationship correlates with the fairness of their skin, 3) Framing and judging dark-skinned women as negative and unable to pursue their dream love life, and 4) providing skin whitening remedies to solve their problems. This contrasts with Guardian’s advertisement which was framed more neutral. Applications of this study: This study stressed the significance of business ethics and corporate responsibility. It is not uncommon when an advertiser exaggerates some characteristics of the advertisements in order to attract people’s attention. However, exaggerated advertisements might contain some misleading information that may influence the credibility and truthfulness of the then and future advertisements and hence could further affect the company negatively as consumers had lost confidence in the company. Novelty/Originality of this study: Most framing studies focused on types of frames, information/news sources, and slants of the frame, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the four framing functions suggested by Entman, which is less explored in the field.&nbsp

Remote Ischemic Conditioning: From Bench to Bedside

Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a therapeutic strategy for protecting organs or tissue against the detrimental effects of acute ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). It describes an endogenous phenomenon in which the application of one or more brief cycles of non-lethal ischemia and reperfusion to an organ or tissue protects a remote organ or tissue from a sustained episode of lethal IRI. Although RIC protection was first demonstrated to protect the heart against acute myocardial infarction, its beneficial effects are also seen in other organs (lung, liver, kidney, intestine, brain) and tissues (skeletal muscle) subjected to acute IRI. The recent discovery that RIC can be induced non-invasively by simply inflating and deflating a standard blood pressure cuff placed on the upper arm or leg, has facilitated its translation into the clinical setting, where it has been reported to be beneficial in a variety of cardiac scenarios. In this review article we provide an overview of RIC, the potential underlying mechanisms, and its potential as a novel therapeutic strategy for protecting the heart and other organs from acute IRI

Obstacles to innovation : evidence from Malaysian manufacturing firms

The paper investigates the obstacles to innovation faced by Malaysian manufacturing firms during the process of innovation. The data are from the National Survey of Innovation 2000-2001 (NSI-3). The shortcomings and the relevance of each of these osbtacles are evaluated by type of innovator firms. For this, each firms is categorized - based on its level of innovation activity - as an innovator or as a non-innovator. The analysis also explores the differences between firms by industry type and firm size. The results show that among all obstacles, economic related factors appear to be most important. Furthermore, the level of importance of osbtacles is different for innovator and non-innovator firms. The paper concludes with an analysis of the complementarities between osbtacles in order to arrive at the primary factors that are obstacles to innovation activity

Obstacles to innovation : evidence from Malaysian manufacturing firms

The paper investigates the obstacles to innovation faced by Malaysian manufacturing firms during the process of innovation. The data are from the National Survey of Innovation 2000-2001 (NSI-3). The shortcomings and the relevance of each of these osbtacles are evaluated by type of innovator firms. For this, each firms is categorized - based on its level of innovation activity - as an innovator or as a non-innovator. The analysis also explores the differences between firms by industry type and firm size. The results show that among all obstacles, economic related factors appear to be most important. Furthermore, the level of importance of osbtacles is different for innovator and non-innovator firms. The paper concludes with an analysis of the complementarities between osbtacles in order to arrive at the primary factors that are obstacles to innovation activity

Committing Digital Music Piracy: A Study in Penang

Piracy is one of the primary challenges facing the music industry. Music piracy has accounted for substantial revenue losses in this industry in Malaysia, a country in which intellectual property regimes are deemed as a matter of concern. If music piracy is left unchecked, it may destroy the value chain of the music industry. This study aims to explore the extent to which digital music copyright violations prevails in society and examine the characteristics of copyright violators. The analysis was carried out using primary data collected from a survey carried out in Penang, a highly urbanised state in Malaysia. A descriptive approach was used for the analysis. The findings from this study offer insights into the phenomenon of music piracy in Malaysia. The incidence of violating copyright was high, with seven out of ten persons involved in illegally using digital music. Copyright violators have distinguishing characteristics that differentiate them from non-copyright violators. The results found that awareness about intellectual property rights was rather low among violators and that they had misconceptions about music piracy. While most participants agreed that effective enforcement was critical in reducing illegal music activities, fewer perceived the risks of being caught and the high costs associated with punishment. Policies aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of intellectual property rights and the possible societal implications of copyright issues were discussed. The need to enhance copyright enforcement protection in the country is also highlighted

The Proangiogenic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Therapeutic Applications

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from many tissue types and following in vitro culture expansion, large numbers of patient-specific or allogenic cells can be produced for clinical applications. MSCs exhibit anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties and are identified as lacking major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules. Cellular-based approaches using MSCs to enhance new blood vessel formation have shown promise in preclinical models and preliminary clinical trials. Transplantation of MSCs in vivo has significantly enhanced the formation of new blood vessels and promoted the healing of chronic wounds. The proangiogenic potential of MSCs can be further enhanced through gene delivery such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) providing long-term therapeutic expression. In this chapter, we review recent advances on the isolation and characterization of MSCs and in vivo applications for promoting angiogenesis. Enhancement of angiogenesis is also required for improved healing in myocardial infarction and cerebral ischemia, and the use of MSCs in these areas will also be reviewed. Furthermore, the combination of MSCs with biomaterials has greatly improved their survival and potency with improved vascularization of tissue-engineered constructs and integration within the host. In summary, this chapter provides an overview of both the basic science supporting the proangiogenic properties of MSCs and their translational use

Screening of Rickettsia sp. in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from small mammals in three recreational forests in Selangor, Malaysia

Rickettsia is a gram-negative, non-motile, and obligate intracellular bacterium that usually associated with arthropods vectors such as ticks, fleas, lice and mites. These bacteria have the ability to cause diseases in humans, however, in Malaysia, knowledge on the prevalence and distribution of these bacteria mainly focused on humans and information of these bacteria in small mammal hosts is limited. Thus, this study aims to investigate the presence of Rickettsia sp. in the DNA of tick’s samples collected from small mammals in three different recreational forests in Selangor, Malaysia. Sampling was conducted in which 200 cage traps were set up randomly along streams and forest trails for five nights. A total of 106 fully engorged and adult ticks were collected from 23 individuals of seven small mammals host species. All samples were tested for Rickettsia bacteria based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using partial 17kDa antigen gene. The PCR results obtained from this study showed no infestation of Rickettsia sp. in all tick samples. Our findings revealed that none of the tick samples from these forests’ sites were infected with Rickettsia pathogen, however, more intense and extensive surveillance for Rickettsia sp. from other tick species is still necessary for greater geographical areas across Malaysia