Return to education in Malaysia

The aim of this paper is to present a picture of return to education in Malaysia over the period from 1984 to 1997 based on earning equations model. The paper employed a set of data comprising micro-level data from the Household Income Survey (HIS) for several years during the period 1984 to 1997. The main finding of this paper is the changes in the wage differentials favouring the middle level of education (secondary level of education) workers. In general, the results show that the return for each level of qualification declined between 1984 and 1997,especially at the higher levels (diploma and degree). Interestingly, the return to education for females at low levels of education is higher than the return by males. However, at higher levels of qualification, especially for those with secondary and high school qualifications, males traditionally have a higher return compared to females workers. The results also indicated a significant gender differential, however the differences has fallen over time

On the frontal ablation of Alaska tidewater glaciers

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013Sea level rise is a major problem that society will face in the coming century. One of the largest unknown components of sea level rise is frontal ablation (the sum of mass loss through calving and subaqueous melting) from glaciers and ice sheets. Using estimates of ice thickness, rates of glacier length change, and glacier velocities, we present a record of frontal ablation over the period 1985-2012 for 20 Alaska tidewater glaciers. We also present a new method for estimating ice thickness by solving the continuity equation between adjacent flowlines. Because of the wealth of data available, we apply this method to Columbia Glacier, Alaska. The mean ice thickness and volume of Columbia Glacier were approximately halved over the period 1957-2007, from 281 m to 143 m, and from 294 km�_ to 134 km�_, respectively. Using bedrock slope and considering how waves of thickness change propagate through the glacier, we conclude that the rapid portion of this tidewater glacier's retreat is likely nearing an end. We present a 64 year record of length change for 50 Alaska tidewater glaciers, over the period 1948-2012. Most (31) glaciers retreated over the period. Examination of the onset of glacier retreats indicates a correlation between high summer sea surface temperature and the triggering of retreat. Finally, we present a 27 year record of surface velocity for 20 Alaska tidewater glaciers derived from Landsat imagery. Surface velocities vary by as much as 80% throughout the year, indicating that using measurements from one time of year may bias estimates of frontal ablation. The total mean rate of frontal ablation for these 20 glaciers over the period 1985-2012 is 16.2 � 6.5 Gt a����_. Extending this to the remaining 30 Alaska tidewater glaciers yields an estimate of frontal ablation of 18.3 � 7.3 Gt a����_, approximately 50% of the climatic mass balance of the region. This indicates the important, non-negligible role frontal ablation can play in regional mass balance, even where tidewater glaciers cover a small fraction of the total area.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Using surface velocities to calculate ice thickness and bed topography: a case study at Columbia Glacier, Alaska -- Chapter 3. Alaska tidewater glacier terminus positions, 1948-2012 -- Chapter 4. Alaska tidewater glacier velocities and frontal ablation, 1985-2012 -- Chapter 5. Conclusions

Trade openness and wage inequality: evidence for Malaysia

This article examines the impact of trade openness on wage inequality in Malaysia during the period 1984–1997. Malaysia has operated a very open trade regime since the 1960s and has pursued aggressive import substitution and export supporting policies. This development strategy is very different to that adopted in many other emerging economies where trade liberalisation has been associated with greater wage inequality. The aim of the present study is to examine whether Malaysia's more open approach to international trade has had a similar effect on wage inequality. The results suggest, in fact, that this is not the case

A comparison of two alternative methods for determining loss of future earnings following personal injuryí

The law provides that any person injured through the fault of another can claim monetary compensation in the form of damages. Restitutio in integrum defines the objective and measure of damages. Damages in respect of loss of future earnings comprise the product of an estimated annual loss and an estimated number of years purchase. Estimates are made by means of intuition and precedent with little reference to labour economics. Damages calculated under an alternative methodology incorporating age-earnings profiles and conditional employment rates are compared with damages awarded in 100 adjudicated cases to reveal systematic and substantial under-compensation under the court method.

Workplace Performance, Worker Commitment and Loyalty

Using matched employer-employee level data drawn from the 2004 UK Workplace and Employee Relations Survey, we explore the determinants of a measure of worker commitment and loyalty (CLI) and whether CLI influences workplace performance. Factors influencing employee commitment and loyalty include age and gender, whilst workplace level characteristics of importance include human resource practices. With respect to the effects of employee commitment and loyalty upon the workplace, higher CLI is associated with enhanced workplace performance. Our findings that workplace human resources influence CLI suggest that employers may be able to exert some influence over the commitment and loyalty of its workforce, which, in turn, may affect workplace performance.labor productivity, commitment, financial performance, loyalty

A Study of the Communities of Aquatic Macro-Invertebrates of the Merging of the Mississippi and Chippewa Rivers, Using a Biplate Substrate Sampler

Using a biplate substrate sampler, aquatic macro-invertebrates were collected during the fall, winter and spring seasons at the confluence of the Mississippi and Chippewa Rivers along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. The substrate sampler proved very desirable in pointing out extreme community variations which existed between the two rivers. It was found that the members of a downstream community were a blend of the communities present in upstream tributaries. However, as compared with upstream communities, a shift in dominant organisms occurred. Striking seasonal changes appeared in the invertebrate populations as well as the environment of the rivers. All sampling revealed clean water communities were present and suggested the absence of aquatic pollution

How to have a successful educational meeting on a public issue

"Revised 1/83/2M""Citizens have the duty and opportunity to help make many group decisions about complex issues. Group decisions are those in which two or more people have a voice or vote. The decision may affect one or more persons individually or as a group. The group decision may be of a local nature such as a change in school tax, or a state problem such as water legislation, or a national issue such as commodity referendum. Increasingly there are issues that relate to broad national programs such as energy, international trade or other complex subjects about which there must be broad public support before much can be accomplished by legislation."--First page.So

Elevation changes of west-central Greenland glaciers from 1985 to 2012 from remote sensing

Greenlandic glaciers distinct from the ice sheet make up 12% of the global glacierized area and store about 10% of the global glacier ice volume (Farinotti et al., 2019). However, knowledge about recent climate change-induced volume changes of these 19,000 individual glaciers is limited. The small number of available glaciological and geodetic mass-balance observations have a limited spatial coverage, and the representativeness of these measurements for the region is largely unknown, factors which make a regional assessment of mass balance challenging. Here we use two recently released digital elevation models (DEMs) to assess glacier-wide elevation changes of 1,526 glaciers covering 3,785 km2 in west-central Greenland: The historical AeroDEM representing the surface in 1985 and a TanDEM-X composite representing 2010–2014. The results show that on average glacier surfaces lowered by about 14.0 ± 4.6 m from 1985 until 2012 or 0.5 ± 0.2 m yr−1, which is equivalent to a sample mass loss of ~45.1 ± 14.9 Gt in total or 1.7 ± 0.6 Gt yr−1. Challenges arise from the nature of the DEMs, such as large areas of data voids, fuzzy acquisition dates, and potential radar penetration. We compared several different interpolation methods to assess the best method to fill data voids and constrain unknown survey dates and the associated uncertainties with each method. The potential radar penetration is considered negligible for this assessment in view of the overall glacier changes, the length of the observation period, and the overall uncertainties. A comparison with earlier studies indicates that for glacier change assessments based on ICESat, data selection and averaging methodology strongly influences the results from these spatially limited measurements. This study promotes improved assessments of the contribution of glaciers to sea-level rise and encourages to extend geodetic glacier mass balances to all glaciers on Greenland

Sensitivity of glacier volume change estimation to DEM void interpolation

Glacier mass balance has been estimated on individual glacier and regional scales using repeat digital elevation models (DEMs). DEMs often have gaps in coverage (“voids”), the properties of which depend on the nature of the sensor used and the surface being measured. The way that these voids are accounted for has a direct impact on the estimate of geodetic glacier mass balance, though a systematic comparison of different proposed methods has been heretofore lacking. In this study, we determine the impact and sensitivity of void interpolation methods on estimates of volume change. Using two spatially complete, high-resolution DEMs over southeast Alaska, USA, we artificially generate voids in one of the DEMs using correlation values derived from photogrammetric processing of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) scenes. We then compare 11 different void interpolation methods on a glacier-by-glacier and regional basis. We find that a few methods introduce biases of up to 20&thinsp;% in the regional results, while other methods give results very close (&lt;1&thinsp;% difference) to the true, non-voided volume change estimates. By comparing results from a few of the best-performing methods, an estimate of the uncertainty introduced by interpolating voids can be obtained. Finally, by increasing the number of voids, we show that with these best-performing methods, reliable estimates of glacier-wide volume change can be obtained, even with sparse DEM coverage.</p