Propositions and future directions of marketers’ relationship effectiveness in mergers and acquisitions integration

Research on marketing integration related to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has paid little attention to the combination of similar resources between two similar departments, particularly in the M&A context. Furthermore, existing research does not clearly demonstrate the role of relationship among marketers within the amalgamation process between acquirer and target firm.Hence, this paper addresses a few propositions that relate to strengthening the relationship effectiveness among the marketers in both firms, which at the same time uphold the M&A performance. Collaboration and interaction are proposed as drivers to increase optimistic relationship among the marketers.A quantitative research design is suggested as this method is not popular compared to qualitative methods such as case study, event-study and longitudinal approach in M&A.Drawing from the extant literature, propositions are developed and future directions are presented elaborating success factors to improve M&A integration performance

Preparation and Characterisation of Y3fe5o12-Filled Polyvinylidene Fluoride Composite

This research project was undertaken with the main objective of preparing and characterising a wave absorbing material by utilising a magnetic material with polymer as the base material to provide the carrier template. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was chosen as the polymer due to the well-established physical properties. Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) was chosen as the magnetic filler due to its well known microwave absorbing properties. Preparation of YIG particles was carried out via a sol-gel method from nitrates raw material with a citrate route. It was found that with this method employed, the sintering temperature of YIG was minimised to 800ºC compared to 1300ºC for a normal solid state reaction method. PVDF powder was supplied by manufacturer and its film was prepared by dissolving it in cyclopentanone. This method was chosen to reduce the heating cost of preparation as a normal preparation would require hot melting of the PVDF powder. It was found that up to 30 weight percent (wt%) of PVDF could be dissolved in cyclopentanone successfully. Higher wt% hindered total dissolution of PVDF. Dissolution of PVDF powder in cyclopentanone was carried out by magnetic stirring at about 200 RPM for half an hour followed by another half an hour of stirring and heating (200 RPM and 90ºC). The whole process was carried out under reflux condition and the gel formed after the stirring was left to cool down for a few minutes. The gel was cast onto a petri dish to form film. PVDF-YIG composite was prepared by the same PVDF preparation method with additional YIG particles prepared as a raw material component. The composition of YIG is limited to 20 wt%. It was found that YIG particles prepared had an average crystallite size of about 51 nm and YIG single phase was formed at sintering temperature as low as 600ºC. Temperature of 800ºC was chosen as the sintering temperature for preparation of YIG filler particles for the composite due to a better garnet phase formed as observed by XRD. PVDF with 10 wt% of PVDF dissolved in cyclopentanone was chosen for the composite preparation. The PVDF film prepared was found to be highly crystalline with a major XRD peak observed at 77.7º (2θ). This peak was never reported before for PVDF. The PVDF film had leaf-like morphology with observable fibrils. FT-IR results confirmed the YIG and PVDF prepared conformed to reported results. EDX analysis showed that all elements were traceable although with some deviation from theoretical values. Magnetic analysis of YIG, PVDF and PVDF-YIG composites showed that all the samples prepared were wave absorbing. It was found that the PVDF film without any filler was a magnetic material and had a better wave absorbing property than the YIG itself. It was also found that imaginary permeability of composite samples showed a capacitive instead of inductive character. However, the best wave absorber was found to be the composite with 1 wt% of YIG filled which can operate at a frequency range of 2 MHz – 1 GHz with a real permeability of about 200

Corporate governance mechanisms, institutional ownership and yield spreads of conventional bonds and sukuk / Noriza Mohd Saad

Sukuk yields mimic those of conventional bonds due to having similar features. This motivated the study. Sukuk are shariah-compliant securities that offer different structures to those of conventional bonds. Therefore, it is believed that the spreading of yields should also be different. Agency theory explains the relationship between principal and agent and the possible misalignment of interest of both parties is reflected through what is termed agency cost. Reducing this agency cost requires monitoring and controlling in public listed firms which are represented by institutional investors which delegate this responsibility to the appointed board of directors (BOD). The presence of key institutional investors/owners and certain BOD characteristics as highlighted by the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) may influence the yield to maturity (YTM) of conventional bonds and sukuk. It is argued that higher institutional ownerships will produce enhanced active monitoring on the cost of debt and presumably more control on the likelihood of default risk as measured by the yield spreads for conventional bonds and sukuk. Thus, the main objective of this study is twofold. First, to investigate the significant mean difference between conventional bonds and sukuk’ yield spreads. Second, to investigate the relationship between these two yield spreads instruments with corporate governance mechanisms. The data is obtained from firm issuers’ annual reports, the Bond info Hub of the Malaysian Central Bank, the Rating Agency Malaysia (RAM), the -alaysian Department of Statistics and Bloomberg databases for the period beginning 2000 to 2014 for 256 and 405 tranches of long-term and medium-term issurances of conventional bonds and sukuk respectively

Development of a Recombinant Retrovirus Expressing the Chicken Anaemia Virus Vp3 Protein

Retrovirus is an infectious particle, hence it could be used as an efficient vector to deliver a desired gene product into mammalian cells. In this study, a recombinant viral vector was employed to carry a gene that induces apoptosis in various transformed and cancerous cell lines. The VP3 gene was cloned into pMSCV plasmid and the recombinant was used to transfect a packaging cell line to produce infectious replication-incompetent recombinant VP3-retrovirus. The sequence of the full length ORF encoding VP3 gene is similar to that of the reference CAV Cux-1 strain indicating that the VP3 gene was stably integrated into the RNA genome of the recombinant retrovirus. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed virus production in packaging cells increased from day one, but gradually decreased on day three and day four and eventually were undetectable on day five post-infection. The number of packaging cells undergoing apoptosis was shown to be directly associated with recombinant VP3-retrovirus replication and the rate of cell-to-cell infection. Cells infected by recombinant VP3-retrovirus expressed the VP3 protein in transformed and cancerous cell lines as confirmed by indirect immunoperoxidase assay using anti-VP3 monoclonal antibody. The VP3 protein was detected primarily in the nucleus of infected cells, the site in which the protein is believed to initiate the cascade of programmed cell death or apoptosis. Apoptotic genomic DNA cleavage of the transformed cells was observed. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay confirmed the occurrence of apoptosis following infection by the recombinant VP3-retrovirus. This study demonstrated the potential application of recombinant VP3-retrovirus in cancer therapy. The current recombinant VP3-retrovirus construct may serve as an excellent prototype for the generation of alternative therapy to prevent the progressive growth of many types of cancer cell

Solid Conductor in a Magnetic Field That Moves at a Uniform Velocity along a Channel

A two dimensional magnetic field is suddenly moved at a uniform velocity along a channel of infinite length containing an electrically conducting solid metal with magnetic permeability and magnetic diffusitivity under the assumption of finite Reynolds number. An analytical solution is obtained for the case of one Fourier-component magnetic field. The numerical scheme is developed with the implementation of the boundary conditions. It is shown that in the steady state the numerical and the analytical results agree well for magnetic Reynolds number in the range of! to 1200. It is found that as magnetic Reynolds number increases the solid metal behaves more and more like a perfect conductor where the field lines are frozen in the moving solid metal Pictures of evolution of field-lines with time are plotted for various times

Variability, Divergence, Heterosis, Combining Ability and Yield Component Studies in Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea Batatas (L) Lam.) from Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia

Studies were conducted to examine the breeding potential of the Malaysian indigenous sweet potato germplasm. A total of 99 sweet potato accessions was collected from five different regions in the states of Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 220 polycross progenies was obtained from sixteen randomly chosen accessions planted in a polycross block. The 99 accessions and their 220 progenies were evaluated in the field and 1 6 characters were measured. With the exception of plant type and vine thickness, other characters showed more than 20% CV values. The CV values for yield, tuber number and mean tuber woight were 76%, 57% and 48%, respectively. The means and CV's were similar for all characters between the regions indicating the presence of similar sweet potato type in all the regions. Cluster analysis showed the presence of three main groups of sweet potatoes in the states. Group 1 comprised cultivars with low yield. Cultivars in Group 2 were high yielding with spreading plant type. The third group comprised only six cultivars with orange flesh colour, big leaves, semi-compact plant type and slightly lower yield. The mean, range and CV values for all characters studied were much larger for the polycross progenies as compared to the parents. Cluster analysis showed the presence of seven groups among the progenies indicating the formation of new genotypes as a result of outcrossing. Gene interactions in the new genotypes probably have led to the presence of larger means and ranges of many characters