• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.41-50
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aims to identify the distribution of skill evolution for accounting personnel during the health crisis and investigate the impact of accounting skills in developing resilience among accounting personnel. Research design, data, and methodology: A total of 131 respondents of accounting personnel participated in a self-administered survey questionnaire. This data is analysed using the partial least square structural equation modeling. Results: The results show that accounting skills, digital skills, and writing skills have a significant impact on developing accounting personnel's motivation, subsequently leading to resilience. Conclusions: This study adds to the literature on the new requirements and future profiles of Malaysian organisation and the accounting profession. This will be a good reference for the practitioners to identify the relevant skills required for accountants after the pandemic. Furthermore, this study includes encouraging motivation and skills to improve resilience in the Malaysian context further to understand the push factors on skills evolution among the accountants. Higher education institutions with accounting courses would consider the potential future skills of accountants to meet market demands on time when updating the institutions' curricula program. Hence, the relevant skills required can be developed and practiced at the education level, especially secondary and tertiary levels.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5401-5406
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of mortality around the world. However, the majority of cancers occur as a result of modifiable risk factors; hence public awareness of cancer risk factors is crucial to reduce the incidence. The objective of this study was to identify the level of public awareness of cancer risk factors among the adult Omani population. Materials and Methods: A community based survey using the Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) questionnaire was conducted in three areas of Oman to measure public awareness of cancer risk factors. Omani adults aged 18 years and above were invited to participate in the study. SPPSS (ver.20) was used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 384 participated from 500 invited individuals (response rate =77%). The majority of respondents agreed that smoking cigarettes (320, 83.3%), passive smoking (279, 72.7%) and excessive drinking of alcohol (265, 69%) are risks factors for cancer. However, fewer respondents agreed that eating less fruit and vegetables (83, 21.6%), eating more red or processed meat (116, 30.2%), being overweight (BMI> 25) (123, 32%), doing less physical exercise (119, 31%), being over 70 years old (72, 18.8%), having a close relative with cancer (134, 34.9%), infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) (117, 30.5%) and getting frequent sunburn during childhood (149, 38.8%) are risk factors for cancer. A significant association was found between participant responses and their educational level. The higher the educational level, the more likely that respondents identified cancer risk factors including smoking (p<0.0005), passive smoking (p= 0.007), excessive drinking of alcohol (p<0.0005), eating less fruit and vegetables (p= 0.001) and infection with HPV (p<0.0005). Conclusions: The majority of respondents in this study in Oman were not aware of the common risk factors for cancer. It may be possible to reduce the incidence of cancers in Oman by developing strategies to educate the public about these risk factors.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1036-1040
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• 2005

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopic (NIRS) calibrations were developed for accurate and fast prediction of whole broiler chicken carcass composition. The Feed and Forage Foss systems Model 5000 Reflectance Transport Model 5000 with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)-WinISI II windows software was used for this purpose. One equation was developed for the prediction of each carcass component. One hundred and fifty freeze dried broiler whole carcass samples were ground in a Cyclotech 1,093 sample mill and analyzed for dry matter, protein, fat, calcium and phosphate. Samples were divided into two sets: a calibration set from which equations were derived and a prediction set used to validate these equations. The chemical analysis values (mean${\pm}$SD) were calculated based on dry matter basis as follows: dry matter: 33.41${\pm}$2.78 (range: 26.41-43.47), protein: 54.04${\pm}$6.63 (range: 36.20-76.09), fat 35.44${\pm}$8.34 (range: 7.50-55.03), calcium 2.55${\pm}$0.65 (range: 0.99-4.41), phosphorus 1.38${\pm}$0.26 (range: 0.60-2.28). One hundred and three samples were used to calibrate the equations and prediction values. The software used was modified to obtain partial least square regression statistics, as it is the most suitable for natural products analysis. The coefficients of determination ($R^2$) and the standard errors of prediction were 0.82 and 1.83 for the dry matter, 0.96 and 1.98 for protein, 0.99 and 1.07 for fat, 0.90 and 0.30 for calcium and 0.91 and 0.11 for phosphorus, respectively. The present study indicated that NIRS can be calibrated to predict the whole broiler carcass chemical composition, including minerals in a rapid, accurate, and cost effective manner. It neither requires skilled operators nor generates hazardous waste. These findings may have practical importance to improve instrumental procedures for quick evaluation of broiler carcass composition.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.43-52
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• 2020

This paper examines how macroeconomic variables, such as interest rate differences, inflation, exchange rates, economic growth and external debt growth, affect capital flight in the ASEAN-8 countries. We apply a panel data model with fixed effect estimation for the data for eight countries from the period 1994 to 2018. We use the residual approach used by the World Bank to measure the value of capital flight. The results show that the interest rate differences, exchange rates, economic growth and foreign debt growth had a positive and significant effect on outward capital flight. A further implication of this finding is that the interest rate differences, exchange rate, economic growth and foreign debt growth are factors that trigger an increase in capital outflow in the ASEAN-8 countries. Nonetheless, inflation rate is not considered to be the main factor influencing capital flight, as average inflation in the ASEAN-8 countries remains relatively stable. This paper will be beneficial for policymakers in the ASEAN-8 countries and encourage them to constantly pay attention to these four variables, as they significantly influence capital flight, whereas they can disregard the impact of the inflation variable that is not significant in influencing capital flight.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.457-464
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• 2020

This study aims to recognize customers' real sentiment and then discover the data-driven insights for strategic decision-making in the financial sector of Saudi Arabia. The data was collected from the social media (Facebook and Twitter) from start till October 2018 in financial companies (NCB, Al Rajhi, and Bupa) selected in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia according to criteria. Then, it was analyzed using a sentiment analysis, one of data mining techniques. All three companies have similar likes and followers as they serve customers as B2B and B2C companies. In addition, for Al Rajhi no negative sentiment was detected in English posts, while it can be seen that Internet penetration of both banks are higher than BUPA, rarely mentioned in few hours. This study helps to predict the overall popularity as well as the perception or real mood of people by identifying the positive and negative feelings or emotions behind customers' social media posts or messages. This research presents meaningful insights in data-driven approaches using a specific data mining technique as a tool for corporate decision-making and forecasting. Understanding what the key issues are from customers' perspective, it becomes possible to develop a better data-based global strategies to create a sustainable competitive advantage.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.11-19
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• 2018

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic literature review related to environmental upgrading in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and suggest possible future research agendas in advancing environmental upgrading and ultimately GVC boundaries. Research design, data, and methodology - The academic databases such as Science Direct, EBSCO, ProQuest and Google Scholar were explored using a structured keywords searches to identify relevant research in the environmental upgrading area in GVCs. Only relevant papers were selected after reading the abstracts, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results - Overall analysis of the literature review suggests two critical developments in the field of environmental upgrading. The first and foremost major development is an enhanced understanding of environmental upgrading as a concept and phenomenon. The second significant development is that environmental upgrading has been empirically proven to be fundamentally based on relationships and power structures within GVCs. Conclusions - Environmental upgrading in GVCs has been studied individually and not in relation to financial outcomes and social upgrading. Hence, the relationship of environmental upgrading with financial outcomes and social upgrading needs to be investigated. Furthermore, the impact of the interaction of varying institutional structures on environmental upgrading is worthy of future study.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.33-40
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• 2017

Purpose - This study aims to examine the analysis of pattern on Arab countries consumers' preferences of the Korean Contents using social media, Facebook since Korean entertainment contents have been distributed in the global marketplace. Then we focus on developing Predictive model using a Data Mining Technique. Research design, data and methodology - In order to understand preference growth of Korean contents in Arabic countries, we- collected data from two popular Facebook pages: 'Korean movies and drama' and 'K-pop'. Then, we adopted a data-driven approach based on Data Mining techniques. Results - It is obvious that the number of likes for K-pop will increase for all North African and Middle Eastern countries, however concerning Korean Movies and Drama except Tunisia it is decreasing for Algeria, Egypt and Morocco. Also, concerning Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, the number of likes will decrease for Korean Movies and Drama which is not the case for Iraq. Conclusions - It is noted in this study that K-contents such as drama, movie and music are sometimes a gateway to a wider interest in Korean culture, food and brands. Moreover, this study gives significant implications for developing predictive model to forecast Korean contents' consumption and preferences.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.23-31
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• 2020

This paper investigates the impact of monetary policy independence shock on bond yield by allowing for heterogeneous coefficients in the model based on panel data for 19 developing countries using quarterly data from 1991 to 2016. First, we estimate the model using conventional panel VAR estimation with the assumption of homogeneous coefficients across countries. Second, by performing Chow and Roy-Zellner tests to check the homogeneity assumption, we find that the assumption does not hold in the model. Third, we apply a mean-group estimation for panel VAR as a solution for heterogeneity panel model. The results reveal that central bank independence is effective in reducing bond yield with the maximum at period 6 after the shock. Shock one standard deviation bond yield has a negative effect on consumption and investment. We determine that central bank independence has a contradictory effect on real activity; a negative effect on consumption but a positive influence on investment for the first two years after the shock. Additionally, we split our sample into three groups to make the subgroups pool. Our empirical result shows that monetary policy independence shock reduces bond yield. Meanwhile, the response of economic activity to bond yield varies for all three groups.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.259-268
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• 2020

Several studies demonstrate that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming a dominant issue in both research and companies' management due to stakeholders' pressure. The identification of internal and external drivers and barriers is an initial stage of the corporate social responsibility implementation. The study aims to identify and analyze the drivers and barriers of CSR in Saudi Arabia's private organizations. For this purpose, primary data were collected using a survey questionnaire that was administered to a representative sample of companies from different sectors in Saudi Arabia. The results show that the main drivers behind the adoption of CSR among Saudi companies are improvement of corporate image, ethical/moral commitment, and to some extend customers' requirements and risk management. The findings of this study also suggest that there are important barriers hindering the adoption of corporate social responsibility. Among these, the lack of management commitment and the lack of investors' interests together with the lack of economic resources and lack of employees' competencies are the most prominent. The findings of this study not only contribute to a deeper understanding of CSR drivers and barriers, but could also encourage firms' managers and stakeholders to improve CSR activities for more effective implementation.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.47-56
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• 2019

Purpose - This case study illustrates the story of eBay Korea, which owns two most leading Korean open market companies, AUCTION and Gmarket. The main concerns are to take over the Korean top domestic companies one by one, then, emerge these two giants through its well-developed post-merger Integration by eBay, an American multinational corporation. Research design, data, and methodology - This case explores various secondary resources such as periodicals, annual reviews, magazine, news articles, commentaries, even some interview materials related to 'eBay Korea' and industry source on condition of anonymity based on the critical reviewing of existing studies on these topics as well. Results - The findings of this study show the merger and acquisition of two market leaders in Korea is the only successful case in Asian Markets. The eBay's choice of entry mode is appropriate considering the timing, synergy and efficiency by sharing their resources. Conclusions - This study examines the successful entry and settlement process of foreign, multinational company through mergers and acquisitions in the Korean market. This would be a valuable in the studies of International Business and Global entry or distribution strategy in the e-commerce and open market dealing with M&A and its post-merger integration.