• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.443-453
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• 2022

This study examines the effect of board structure and audit committee structure on financial reporting timeliness among Malaysia's top 100 public listed companies. Specifically, this study examines whether board independence, CEO duality, board ownership, audit committee independence, audit committee competence, and audit committee diligence influence the financial reporting timeliness of the public listed companies. This study selects the top 100 public listed companies by market capitalization listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia as the sample since the main board has more public reprimands on financial reporting timeliness compared to other boards. The content analysis on annual reports for five years from 2015 to 2019 is utilized. The results show that audit committee competence and audit committee diligence significantly affect financial reporting timeliness. In contrast, board independence, CEO duality, board ownership, and audit committee independence have insignificant relationships with financial reporting timeliness. The findings in this study are helpful for compliance analysis and strategy formation in enhancing financial reporting timeliness. This study contributes to the agency theory by providing a new perspective on how different sections of corporate governance features interact together to influence financial reporting timeliness. In addition, the findings can assist the regulators in establishing quality corporate governance.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.259-271
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• 2022

The role of Islamic spirituality in the relationship between organizational justice (OJ) and job satisfaction is investigated in this study (JS). The three components of OJ in this study are distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Islamic spirituality (IS) is founded on piety values, and IS was used as a moderating factor in this study to alter the link between OJ and JS among Malaysian employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Four hundred sets of the questionnaire were issued using a simple random selection procedure, yielding 276 completed responses, suggesting a 69 percent response rate. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (MLRA) was used to test the proposed relationships. The findings of the study demonstrate that the three OJ aspects have a considerable impact on employee JS, indicating the significance of these elements in ensuring that employees are satisfied with their jobs. IS, on the other hand, had no effect on the link between the OJ dimensions and JS. This research has added to the existing body of knowledge by giving further empirical evidence on the impact of OJ aspects on employee JS in SMEs, notably in Malaysia.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.477-480
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• 2015

Construction projects are high-risk activities. When undertaking such projects in an international setting, it can be complicated by foreign exchange (FOREX) fluctuation risk. This affects the construction business performance in various ways, namely its progress due to delays, which in turn create further problems, specifically cost overruns as a result of price increase in raw materials, disputes, arbitration, litigation and even, total abandonment. Thus, the effective management of FOREX fluctuations is crucial. Previous studies have focused on the need for contract safeguards, adequate insurance, careful planning and management, as well as foreign exchange futures hedging to address some of the risks triggered by FOREX fluctuations. An analysis of FOREX fluctuations in the international construction industry revealed that more often it was focused on project-specific issues. Currently, there is a relative lack of awareness on Organizational Capabilities (OC), the abilities that owned by the organization, which is essential in managing the impact of FOREX fluctuations. Where research has focused on OC, these are viewed in isolation. Therefore, this study attempts to close the gap by proposing a framework on managing the impact of FOREX fluctuations in the international construction industry, employing the OC perspective.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.21-31
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• 2023

In this paper, we focused on the problem of evaluating multi-class classification accuracy and simulation of multiple classifier performance metrics. Multi-class classifiers for sentiment analysis involved many challenges, whereas previous research narrowed to the binary classification model since it provides higher accuracy when dealing with text data. Thus, we take inspiration from the non-linear Support Vector Machine to modify the algorithm by embedding dynamic hyperplanes representing multiple class labels. Then we analyzed the performance of multi-class classifiers using macro-accuracy, micro-accuracy and several other metrics to justify the significance of our algorithm enhancement. Furthermore, we hybridized Enhanced Convolution Neural Network (ECNN) with Dynamic Support Vector Machine (DSVM) to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the classifier towards multi-class text data. We performed experiments on three hybrid classifiers, which are ECNN with Binary SVM (ECNN-BSVM), and ECNN with linear Multi-Class SVM (ECNN-MCSVM) and our proposed algorithm (ECNNDSVM). Comparative experiments of hybrid algorithms yielded 85.12 % for single metric accuracy; 86.95 % for multiple metrics on average. As for our modified algorithm of the ECNN-DSVM classifier, we reached 98.29 % micro-accuracy results with an f-score value of 98 % at most. For the future direction of this research, we are aiming for hyperplane optimization analysis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2237-2242
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• 2013

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of applied progressive muscle relaxation training on the levels of depression, anxiety and stress among prostate cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) over six months. Prostate cancer patients from UMMC received the intervention and patients from UKMMC were taken as controls. The level of depression, anxiety and stress were measured using Depression, Anxiety Stress Scales - 21 (DASS-21). Results: A total of 77 patients from the UMMC and 78 patients from the UKMMC participated. At the end of the study, 90.9% and 87.2% of patients from the UMMC and UKMMC groups completed the study respectively. There were significant improvements in anxiety (p<0.001, partial ${\eta}^2$=0.198) and stress (p<0.001, partial ${\eta}^2$=0.103) at the end of the study in those receiving muscle training. However, there was no improvement in depression (p=0.956). Conclusions: The improvement in anxiety and stress showed the potential of APMRT in the management of prostate cancer patients. Future studies should be carried out over a longer duration to provide stronger evidence for the introduction of relaxation therapy among prostate cancer patients as a coping strategy to improve their anxiety and stress.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.4661-4664
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• 2016

Background: Artificial light at night (ALAN) has been linked to increased risk of cancers in body sites like the breast and colorectum. However exposure of ALAN as an environmental risk factor and its relation to cancers in humans has never been studied in detail. Objective: To explore the association of ALAN with all forms of cancers in 158 countries. Materials and Methods: An ecological study encompassing global data was conducted from January to June 2015, with age-standardized rates (ASR) of cancers as the outcome measure. ALAN, in the protected areas, as the exposure variable, was measured with reference to the Protected Area Light Pollution Indicator (PALI) and the Protected Area Human Influence Indicator (PAHI). Pearson's correlations were calculated for PALI and PAHI with ASR of cancers for 158 countries, adjusted for country populations, electricity consumption, air pollution, and total area covered by forest. Stratified analysis was conducted according to the country income levels. Linear regression was applied to measure the variation in cancers explained by PALI and PAHI. Results: PALI and PAHI were positively associated with ASR of all forms of cancer, and also the four most common cancers (p < 0.05). These positive correlations remained statistically significant for PAHI with all forms of cancer, lung, breast, and colorectal cancer after adjusting for confounders. Positive associations of PALI and PAHI with cancers varied with income level of the individual countries. Variation in all forms of cancers, and the four most common cancers explained by PALI and PAHI, ranged from 3.3 - 35.5%. Conclusion: Artificial light at night is significantly correlated for all forms of cancer as well as lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers individually. Immediate measures should be taken to limit artificial light at night in the main cities around the world and also inside houses.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.302-313
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• 2016

Use of a passive bistatic radar (PBR) system in the surveillance or monitoring of an area has its advantages. For example, a PBR system is able to utilize any available signal of opportunity (for example, broadcasting, communication, or radio navigation signals) for the purposes of surveillance. With this in mind, there are potentially many research areas to be explored; in particular, the capability of signals from existing and future communication systems, such as 4G and 5G. Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is the world's most current communication system. Given this fact, this paper presents the latest feasibility studies and experimental results from using LTE signals in PBR applications. Details are provided about aspects such as signal characteristics, experimental configurations, and SNR studies. Six experimental scenarios are carried out to investigate the detection performance of our proposed system on ground-moving targets. The ability to detect is demonstrated through use of the cross-ambiguity function. The detection results suggest that LTE signals are suitable as a source signal for PBR.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.85-102
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• 2020

Accurate load evaluation is essential in any performance-based design. Design wind speeds and associated wind loads are well defined for synoptic boundary layer winds but not for thunderstorms. The method presented in the current study represents a new approach to obtain design wind speeds associated with thunderstorms and their gust fronts using historical data and Monte Carlo simulations. The method consists of the following steps (i) developing a numerical model for thunderstorm downdrafts (i.e. downbursts) to account for storm translation and outflow dissipation, (ii) utilizing the model to characterize previous events and (iii) extrapolating the limited wind speed data to cover life-span of structures. The numerical model relies on a previously generated CFD wind field, which is validated using six documented thunderstorm events. The model suggests that 10 parameters are required to describe the characteristics of an event. The model is then utilized to analyze wind records obtained at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB) meteorological station to identify the thunderstorm parameters for this location, obtain their probability distributions, and utilized in the Monte Carlo simulation of thunderstorm gust front events for many thousands of years for the purpose of estimating design wind speeds. The analysis suggests a potential underestimation of design wind speeds when neglecting thunderstorm gust fronts, which is common practice in analyzing historical wind records. When compared to the design wind speed for a 700-year MRI in ASCE 7-10 and ASCE 7-16, the estimated wind speeds from the simulation were 10% and 11.5% higher, respectively.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.5999-6004
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• 2012

Measurement of quality of life among prostate cancer patients helps the health care providers to understand the impact of the disease in the patients' own perspective. The main aim of this study is to measure the quality of life among prostate cancer patients at University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) and to ascertain the association factors for physical coefficient summary (PCS) and mental coefficient summary (MCS). A hospital based, cross sectional study using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire was conducted over a period of 6 months. A total of 193 respondents were recruited. Their total quality of life score was $70.1{\pm}14.7$ and the PCS score was lower compared to MCS. The factors associated for PCS were: age, living partner, renal problem, urinary problem of intermittency, dysuria and hematuria. Factors associated for MCS were: age, living partner, renal problem, presenting prostatic specific antigen and urinary problem of intermittency and dysuria. Our prostate cancer patients had moderate quality of life in the physical health components but their mental health was less affected.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.687-696
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• 2013

Background Ischemic preconditioning has been shown to improve the outcomes of hypoxic tolerance of the heart, brain, lung, liver, jejunum, skin, and muscle tissues. However, to date, no report of ischemic preconditioning on vascularized bone grafts has been published. Methods Sixteen rabbits were divided into four groups with ischemic times of 2, 6, 14, and 18 hours. Half of the rabbits in each group underwent ischemic preconditioning. The osteomyocutaneous flaps consisted of the tibia bone, from which the overlying muscle and skin were raised. The technique of ischemic preconditioning involved applying a vascular clamp to the pedicle for 3 cycles of 10 minutes each. The rabbits then underwent serial plain radiography and computed tomography imaging on the first, second, fourth, and sixth postoperative weeks. Following this, all of the rabbits were sacrificed and histological examinations were performed. Results The results showed that for clinical analysis of the skin flaps and bone grafts, the preconditioned groups showed better survivability. In the plain radiographs, except for two non-preconditioned rabbits with intraoperative ischemic times of 6 hours, all began to show early callus formation at the fourth week. The computed tomography findings showed more callus formation in the preconditioned groups for all of the ischemic times except for the 18- hour group. The histological findings correlated with the radiological findings. There was no statistical significance in the difference between the two groups. Conclusions In conclusion, ischemic preconditioning improved the survivability of skin flaps and increased callus formation during the healing process of vascularized bone grafts.