Search

Studies on innovation point towards the need for both in-house research and development (R&D) capabilities along with collaborations with external organisations or linkages with other firms, universities and research institutes. The argument is that innovation is not just a firm specific factor but requires support from several other factors which in turn involves developing linkages with various actors/institutions as sources of resources and/or knowledge for innovation. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study about the Malaysian biofuel sector as an innovation system. Instead of using the neo-classical approach and proposing policy interventions based on traditional market failure rationale (Bergek et al., 2008a), the functional analysis of the technological innovation systems (TIS) approach is used to analyse the biofuel sector in Malaysia to help reveal the strengths and weaknesses in terms of its fulfillment of seven critical functions which are necessary for the generation and commercialization of a product. In addition an attempt is made to reveal the inducement and blocking mechanisms affecting the Malaysian biofuel TIS and the seeking of improved poor functionality. These functional aspects of the Malaysian biofuel sector are analysed in different phases of its development to gain an understanding of the different institutions and their functions at different phases of the development of the innovation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This quantitative study examines the expectation of 122 firms in Malaysia regarding electronic payment systems (EPS) and the extent to which banks are meeting these expectations and thus facilitating e-commerce growth in this country. This paper presents survey data on the firms; perceptions toward EPS provided by commercial banks in Malaysia. The survey data was analyzed using quadrant, gap, factor, regression analyses, and other statistical tools. The results indicate that the extent of use of electronic cheques, smart cards, and electronic cash is rather sluggish, but that the banks' service performance was found to be satisfactory. Study results also indicate that the most important factor influencing the firms, perceptions is flexibility of the payment system, followed by functionality, data management, privacy, and security of the EPS. Functionality, privacy, and security were important factors in predicting the level of EPS use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public sector policy makers and managers internationally have developed a growing interest in the concept of networks (Goodwin et al, 2004). In Malaysia, as part of the government driven Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC Malaysia) project, several inter-organisational networks were formed as private sector organisations were invited to collaborate with public sector organisations in projects under the MSC flagship applications formed to help kick start the MSC cluster project. The project itself is a policy driven Information and Communications Technology (ICT) cluster oriented initiative by the Government of Malaysia aimed at jumpstarting its transition to a knowledge-based economy. One of the key aspects of the MSC flagships is that both the foreign and local organisations work closely with the respective government organisations to develop innovative solutions for a given task. For this, the basic reward is the monetary incentive but the more critical benefit is supposed to be the exchange of knowledge among the organisations participating in the MSC flagships. Twelve years since they have been formed, based on reports and discussions, the MSC flagships seem to have had mixed successes in terms of achieving the various projects objectives. Thus, it was felt that a study of the MSC flagships was warranted and it would provide interesting insights into the subject of managing inter-organisational networks, particularly involving multinationals, domestic enterprises and government organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-specific low back pain (NS-LBP) is known to cause respiratory dysfunction. In this study, we investigated alterations in breathing, respiratory strength and endurance, core stability, diaphragm mobility, and chest expansion among patients with NS-LBP and healthy individuals. The specific aim of the study was to correlate between respiratory function and other variables among NS-LBP patients. Thirty four patients with NS-LBP were matched with 34 healthy participants before undergoing total faulty breathing scale, spirometer, respiratory pressure meter, chest expansion, ultrasound, and pressure biofeedback measurements. There were signs of faulty breathing in the NS-LBP patients when compared to the healthy participants. Diaphragmatic mobility and respiratory muscle endurance were lower in the NS-LBP group. Chest expansion exhibited a significant decrease at the level of the fourth intercostal space in the NS-LBP group, but respiratory muscle strength and core stability were not significant between the two groups. Positive correlations were found to be fairly significant regarding respiratory muscle strength. The findings of this study indicated altered respiratory characteristics in the NS-LBP patients, and suggested that they would improve through respiratory exercises., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: WHO has targeted that medicines to prevent recurrent cardiovascular disease be available in 80% of communities and used by 50% of eligible individuals by 2025. We have previously reported that use of these medicines is very low, but now aim to assess how such low use relates to their lack of availability or poor affordability., Methods: We analysed information about availability and costs of cardiovascular disease medicines (aspirin, β blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and statins) in pharmacies gathered from 596 communities in 18 countries participating in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Medicines were considered available if present at the pharmacy when surveyed, and affordable if their combined cost was less than 20% of household capacity-to-pay. We compared results from high-income, upper middle-income, lower middle-income, and low-income countries. Data from India were presented separately given its large, generic pharmaceutical industry., Findings: Communities were recruited between Jan 1, 2003, and Dec 31, 2013. All four cardiovascular disease medicines were available in 61 (95%) of 64 urban and 27 (90%) of 30 rural communities in high-income countries, 53 (80%) of 66 urban and 43 (73%) of 59 rural communities in upper middle-income countries, 69 (62%) of 111 urban and 42 (37%) of 114 rural communities in lower middle-income countries, eight (25%) of 32 urban and one (3%) of 30 rural communities in low-income countries (excluding India), and 34 (89%) of 38 urban and 42 (81%) of 52 rural communities in India. The four cardiovascular disease medicines were potentially unaffordable for 0·14% of households in high-income countries (14 of 9934 households), 25% of upper middle-income countries (6299 of 24,776), 33% of lower middle-income countries (13,253 of 40,023), 60% of low-income countries (excluding India; 1976 of 3312), and 59% households in India (9939 of 16,874). In low-income and middle-income countries, patients with previous cardiovascular disease were less likely to use all four medicines if fewer than four were available (odds ratio [OR] 0·16, 95% CI 0·04-0·57). In communities in which all four medicines were available, patients were less likely to use medicines if the household potentially could not afford them (0·16, 0·04-0·55)., Interpretation: Secondary prevention medicines are unavailable and unaffordable for a large proportion of communities and households in upper middle-income, lower middle-income, and low-income countries, which have very low use of these medicines. Improvements to the availability and affordability of key medicines is likely to enhance their use and help towards achieving WHO's targets of 50% use of key medicines by 2025., Funding: Population Health Research Institute, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, AstraZeneca (Canada), Sanofi-Aventis (France and Canada), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany and Canada), Servier, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, King Pharma, and national or local organisations in participating countries., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)