Commercialising of innovative research product in the Malaysian public university: challenges and ways for improvement

Commercialization of an innovative research product has been perceived as a platform to increase the wealth for a country including Malaysia.Although many efforts have been emphasized to encourage for commercialization activities, the rate of success is still less encouraging.Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the challenges faced by academic researchers in commercializing their innovative research products and to suggest ways for improvement for commercialization activities particularly in the university.Interviews were conducted with five academic researchers who have successfully commercialized their innovative research products. This study identified that there are main challenges with respect to intellectual property protection and commercialization policy, producing innovative research products and gaps between academics and industry collaborators.The most challenging factor is the intellectual property protection and commercialization policy

Kepekaan majikan terhadap hak dan tanggungjawab mereka ke atas pembantu rumah asing

This article attempts to identify the level of awareness among the employers towards the welfare and rights of foreign domestic workers (FDW) being employed.This survey involves 72 employers (management and professional staffs) of 3 public universities (IPTA) i.e UUM, KUKUM and UiTM at Arau. Factor analyses and correlations were used to identify the dimensions of employers’ awareness within their profiles and FDW. Results of analyses identified 13 dimensions relating to employers’ awareness, namely, (1) basic and human rights, (2) recruitment process of FDW at Immigration Department, (3) salaries offered based on employers’ wants, (4) monetary rights and work benefits to FDW, (5) FDW’s rights to union, (6) crime and civil liability of FDW, (7) filing of important documents belonging to FDW, (8) FDW’s rights to protection from embassy, (9) responsibility towards contract,(10) renewal of work permit and medical check-up,(11) discretionary power,(12) leave and training of FDW, and(13) religious rights of FDW. The findings of correlation analysis show that employers with low and high incomes were inclined to use discretionary power and there were significant differences in terms of the level of awareness based on gender, contract period, age of FDW, and FDW’s work experience. Among the recommendations discussed are such that if conflicts arise from the use of discretionary power and legal provision hence, employers should therefore resort to legal provision.The use of discretionary power is only confined to selected cases involving problem solving related to human rights and FDW’s personal needs requiring employers’ consideration

Perlindungan undang-undang terhadap paten di Malaysia

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti peruntukan undang-undang berkaitan pelanggaran paten di Malaysia. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa peruntukan dalam Akta Paten 1983 memberi perlindungan yang agak menyeluruh kepada pemilik paten berdaftar dan dikemaskinikan dari masa ke semasa supaya selaras dengan kehendak perjanjian TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) dan Konvensyen Paris. Namun demikian, bilangan kes yang dibawa ke mahkamah setakat ini adalah kecil. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa faktor yang menyumbang kepada keadaan ini termasuklah tempoh pendaftaran paten yang lama,prosuder permohonan yang rumit dan remeh serta melibatkan perbelanjaan yang mahal. Dari segi remedi pula,akta ini tidak memperuntukkan hukuman jenayah bagi kesalahan pelanggaran paten. Kajian ini diharapkan dapat membantu masyarakat khususnya golongan penyelidik,perekacipta dan usahawan untuk mengetahui hak mereka di sisi undang-undang berhubung dengan paten

Tekanan akulturasi pelajar Malaysia di luar negara

Laporan Perangkaan Pendidikan Nasional bagi sektor pengajian tinggi negara mencatatkan sejumlah 78, 936 orang bilangan pelajar Malaysia yang melanjutkan pengajian di luar negara pada tahun 2013 sama ada melalui pembiayaan persendirian mahupun melalui tajaan pendidikan. Masyarakat Malaysia dikatakan mula berhijrah ke negara-negara lain bagi memenuhi keperluan dalam setiap aspek kehidupan mereka antaranya ialah bagi tujuan melanjutkan pengajian. Apabila berlakunya migrasi ke negara luar, pelajar-pelajar, atau dalam erti kata lain, sorjurner, akan melalui proses adaptasi. Kertas ini akan membincangkan tentang fasa kejutan budaya yang dialami oleh pelajar Malaysia yang belajar di luar negara. Secara khusus, ia akan menyentuh tentang isu-isu utama yang dihadapi, yang menjadi tekanan akulturasi semasa fasa kejutan budaya. Suatu tembual mendalam telah dibuat bersama informan pelajar Malaysia di luar negara yang dipilih dari enam (6) negara yang daripadanya ramai komuniti Malaysia (lebih daripada satu ribu orang pelajar) dan empat (4) lagi merupakan negara yang mempunyai kurang komuniti Malaysia (bawah lima ratus orang pelajar Malaysia). Berdasarkan analisis ke atas data temubual, terdapat tujuh (7) bentuk tekanan akulturasi yang dialami oleh responden pada peringkat kejutan budaya ini iaitu persepsi negatif terhadap masyarakat dalam budaya baru, diskriminasi, sistem pendidikan, halangan bahasa, kerinduan dan kesunyian. Media baharu pula, digunakan sebagai salah satu cara untuk menghadapi tekanan akulturasi semasa fasa kejutan budaya

Skim penyusunan semula di bawah seksyen 176 Akta Syarikat 1965: Satu penyelesaian alternatif

Apabila sesebuah syarikat diperbadankan, ia mempunyai entiti perundangan yang berasingan yang membolehkannya menjalankan perniagaan. Walau bagaimanapun, apabila syarat menjadi insolven, hak untuk meneruskan perniagaan ini akan terhalang. Malah, dalam keadaan tertentu ia juga boleh digulungkan. Dalam situasi ini pihak pemiutang akan berlumba-lumba mengambil tindakan terhadap syarikat untuk menuntut hutang mereka, Akibatnya, operasi syarikat terpaksa dihentikan dan kesemua asetnya akan dibahagi di kalangan pemiutang terlebih dahulu bagi melangsaikan hutangnya. Amat malang bagi sesebuah syarikat yang terpaksa dikenakan tindakan sedemikian dan lebih malang lagi sekiranya syarikat tersebut sebenarnya masih berdaya maju untuk meneruskan perniagaannya. Kertas kerja ini cuba membincangkan skim penyusunan semula di bawah sesyen 176 Akta Syarikat 1965 sebagai mekanisme alternatif bagi memulihkan semula prestasi syarikat serta menghalang syarikat dari terus terlungkup. Perbincangan akan meliputi skop pemakaian seksyen 176, masalah sehingga membawa kepada pindaan Seksyen 176(10))pada tahun 1998 serta kesannya terhadap syarikat

Trademark counterfeiting : comparative legal analysis on enforcement within Malaysia and the United Kingdom and at their borders

Trademarks play an important role in conveying reliable information to consumers about the quality of goods and the manufacturer’s reputation. Counterfeiting can destroy these important benefits. Despite difficulty in quantifying its scope and effects, many studies recognise the global prevalence of counterfeiting. Its invasion across product categories harms legitimate producers, economies and society. While there are many contributing factors to its proliferation, the only real area where a government can make a difference is in setting up a responsive legal system that includes good enforcement against counterfeiting. This study aims to address that need by examining comparatively how the relevant intellectual property laws can be used as effective enforcement mechanisms in Malaysia and the UK. The importance and, effectiveness of and key obstacles in judicial proceedings and border measures in both countries are examined and analyzed, using a combination of comparative, doctrinal and socio-legal research. The data used derives from relevant legislation, case law, legal literature and public domain statistics. These sources are supplemented and corroborated by interviews with key figures (official, judicial, practitioner) in Malaysia and Europe. This study draws the following conclusions: (1) Civil proceedings in both countries are comprehensive but the responsible authorities need to review litigation costs to ensure the effectiveness of civil remedies. Malaysia should explicitly provide for remedies in its Trade Marks Act 1976. (2) In criminal actions, forfeiture of assets obtained through counterfeiting activities could be the most effective form of punishment and deterrence, coupled with the use of officers experienced in handling prosecutions. (3) Compared to judicial proceedings, border measures could be the most effective mechanisms in preventing the proliferation of counterfeit goods, but close co-operation and effective communication between rights-holders and customs authorities are crucial in this regard.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceUniversiti Utara MalaysiaMalaysian Ministry of Higher EducationGBUnited Kingdo

Pematuhan majikan terhadap prosedur siasatan dalaman kajian terhadap kes-kes yang diputuskan di Mahkamah Perusahaan

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk Menganalisa pematuhan majikan terhadap prosedur siasatan dalaman berdasarkan kes-kes yang diputuskan di Mahkamah Perusahaan dari tahun 1998 sehingga 2001.Kajian ini juga bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti pendekatan yang digunakan oleh mahkamah terhadap kesan ketidakpatuhan majikan dalam melaksanakan prosedur siasatan dalaman serta kecenderungannya dalam menentukan jenis remedi yang diberikan kepada pekerja dalam kes-kes pemecatan salah. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa ramai di kalangan majikan yang tidak mematuhi prosedur siasatan dalaman. Dalan kes-kes majikan yang mematuhi syarat ini, hasil kajian mendapati masih ramai di kalangan mereka yang melaksanakannya tanpa mematuhi cara yang ditetapkan. Hasil kajian juga menunjukkan bahawa pendirian Mahkamah Perusahaan adalah tidak konsisten dalam menangani masalah pelanggaran prosedur ini dan remedi yang sering diberikan kepada pekerja ialah bayaran gantirugi yang merupakan remedi tidak setimpal dengan kerugian yang ditanggung, pekerja akibat dipecat secara salah oleh majikan

A Graph-Based Approach to Interpreting Recurrent Neural Networks in Process Mining

Process mining is often used by organisations to audit their business processes and improve their services and customer relations. Indeed, process execution (or event) logs constantly generated through various information systems can be employed to derive valuable insights about business operations. Compared to traditional process mining techniques such as Petri nets and the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), deep learning methods such as Recurrent Neural Networks, and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) in particular, have proven to achieve a better performance in terms of accuracy and generalising ability when predicting next events in business processes. However, unlike the traditional network-based process mining techniques that can be used to visually present the entire discovered process, the existing deep learning-based methods for process mining lack a mechanism explaining how the predictions of next events are made. This study proposes a new approach to process mining by combining the benefits of the earlier, visually explainable graph-based methods and later, more accurate but unexplainable deep learning methods. According to the proposed approach, an LSTM model is employed first to find probabilities for each known event to appear in the process next. These probabilities are then used to generate a visually interpretable process model graph that represents the decision-making process of the LSTM model. The level of detail in this graph can be adjusted using a probability threshold, allowing to address a range of process mining tasks such as business process discovery and conformance checking. The advantages of the proposed approach over existing LSTM-based process mining methods in terms of both accuracy and explainability are demonstrated using real-world event logs

A cobweb of exception to copyright law for research purposes

Access to copyrighted materials and resources for research purposes have been increasingly conducted across borders. In certain circumstances, access to copyright materials that may be needed for research purposes may be restricted due to copyright law. International copyright conventions do provide exceptions to copyright law for research purposes as what has been generally covered under the ‘three step test’. However, this rule may be interpreted either narrowly or flexibly by member countries, which leads to different countries adapting different laws pertaining to it. This paper analyses the Malaysian copyright provision relating to copyright exceptions that may be used for research purposes and its recent amendments made in 2012 as compared to Australia and the United Kingdom provisions. This paper will discuss the implications of the recent amendment and further explains the future direction researchers could take to ensure the legality of their actions when using copyrighted materials for research purposes

Fighting counterfeiting: importance of enforcement of intellectual property rights

Counterfeiting has currently been labelled as the crime of the twenty-first century.It has evolved into a much more lucrative business in very sophisticated ways.While there are many contributing factors to the proliferation of counterfeiting in recent years, the only real area where the government can make a difference is in setting up a responsive legal system that includes good enforcement.The aim of this paper is to examine the scale of counterfeiting activity derived from the seizure data issued by the World Customs Organization, emphasizing on the worldwide scenario.This is followed by examination on the motivations behind counterfeiting activity to identify gap in the existing enforcement mechanisms so that recommendations can be made to improve the competency of those mechanisms to address counterfeiting.The paper then critically examines and relates the reasons of why effective enforcement is necessary in the fight against counterfeiting