Permasalahan pertuturan dalam bahasa Arab sebagai bahasa kedua

Kajian ini dijalankan ke atas sekelompok pelajar yang mengikuti kursus kemahiran bertutur bahasa Arab, iaitu BA (LQS 0415) yang ditawarkan oleh CELPAD (Centre for Languages & Pre-University Academic Development), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Gombak, kepada pelajar yang membuat pengkhususan dalam Pengajian Islam dan Bahasa Arab (IRKHS). Kursus tersebut dilaksanakan bagi membantu meningkatkan prestasi akademik golongan pelajar melalui penguasaan kemahiran untuk bertutur bahasa Arab. Akan tetapi, didapati bahawa sejumlah 70% pelajar tidak mampu mengikuti perbincangan dalam kelas dengan efektif disebabkan penguasaan Bahasa Arab mereka yang lemah. Justeru, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti masalah yang dihadapi pelajar ketika bertutur bahasa Arab dengan meneliti secara langsung akan kesukaran-kesukaran yang pelajar hadapi ketika mereka melaksanakan tugasan yang melibatkan aktiviti pertuturan. Metode kajian yang digunakan ialah pemerhatian dan temu bual. Tiga tugasan berbahasa Arab bersifat tunggal dan berbilang telah ditugaskan kepada pelajar yang merangkumi: 1) melakonkan situasi, 2) penceritaan semula dan (3) perkongsian pengalaman. Ketiga-tiga tugasan berbahasa Arab tersebut mempunyai tahap kesukaran yang berbeza sama ada ia disokong oleh konteks atau tidak. Di samping itu, para responden diberikan tempoh persediaan sebelum tugasan mereka dibentangkan. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa kesukaran dalam berbahasa Arab telah membantutkan keupayaan pelajar dalam aktiviti yang memerlukan kemahiran bertutur. Pelajar berdepan dengan lebih banyak masalah ketika melaksanakan tugasan secara individu kerana mereka perlu melaksanakannya dengan sendiri. Selain itu, kekurangan kosa kata semasa bertutur juga mengganggu kelancaran pelajar ketika sesi penyampaian. Setelah mengenal pasti permasalahan pelajar dalam pertuturan, guru digalakkan memfokuskan aktiviti pembelajaran kepada pengukuhan kosa kata serta memperbanyakkan aktiviti berkumpulan dengan menekankan aspek berkomunikasi dalam Bahasa Arab semasa tugasan-tugasan tersebut dilaksanakan. Pelajar didapati dapat mengatasi masalah yang mereka hadapi dengan bantuan rakan sekumpulan. Selain itu, aktiviti berkumpulan juga mampu mencetuskan suasana kebahasaan yang dapat merangsang penggunaan bahasa yang dipelajari

Financial constraints and firm investment in Malaysia: an investigation of investment-cash flow relationship

This paper investigates the presence of financial constraints among firms in Malaysia using firm level panel data analysis. The empirical results based on panel GMM demonstrate that financial constraints are present in the market, which indicate that the firms are unable to access to external forms of financing. In addition, the presence also signifies the presence of asymmetric information problem between the firm and its financer. Thus, the neoclassical investment theory which based on assumption of complete information such that only factor prices and technology determine firm’s desired capital stock is simply rejected. Eventually, their investments are much affected by fluctuations in their cash flows or retained earnings

Considering risk contexts in explaining the paradoxical HIV increase among female sex workers in Mumbai and Thane, India.

BACKGROUND: The period 2006-2009 saw intensive scale-up of HIV prevention efforts and an increase in reported safer sex among brothel and street-based sex workers in Mumbai and Thane (Maharashtra, India). Yet during the same period, the prevalence of HIV increased in these groups. A better understanding of sex workers' risk environment is needed to explain this paradox. METHODS: In this qualitative study we conducted 36 individual interviews, 9 joint interviews, and 10 focus group discussions with people associated with HIV interventions between March and May 2012. RESULTS: Dramatic changes in Mumbai's urban landscape dominated participants' accounts, with dwindling sex worker numbers in traditional brothel areas attributed to urban restructuring. Gentrification and anti-trafficking efforts explained an escalation in police raids. This contributed to dispersal of sex work with the sex-trade management adapting by becoming more hidden and mobile, leading to increased vulnerability. Affordable mobile phone technology enabled independent sex workers to trade in more hidden ways and there was an increased dependence on lovers for support. The risk context has become ever more challenging, with animosity against sex work amplified since the scale up of targeted interventions. Focus on condom use with sex workers inadvertently contributed to the diversification of the sex trade as clients seek out women who are less visible. Sex workers and other marginalised women who sell sex all strictly prioritise anonymity. Power structures in the sex trade continue to pose insurmountable barriers to reaching young and new sex workers. Economic vulnerability shaped women's decisions to compromise on condom use. Surveys monitoring HIV prevalence among 'visible' street and brothel-bases sex workers are increasingly un-representative of all women selling sex and self-reported condom use is no longer a valid measure of risk reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted harm reduction programmes with sex workers fail when implemented in complex urban environments that favour abolition. Increased stigmatisation and dispersal of risk can no longer be considered as unexpected. Reaching the increasing proportion of sex workers who intentionally avoid HIV prevention programmes has become the main challenge. Future evaluations need to incorporate building 'dark logic' models to predict potential harms

Does firm size matter for the financial constraints?

This article empirically investigates the presence of financial constraints in the Malaysian capital market. The existence of financial constraints gives firm less access to external funds to finance their investment activities. Therefore, the constrained firm has to rely on internal sources of financing. The severity of financial constraints is relatively different according to firm size. Hence, the sample is divided into large and small firm subsamples. Using the Q model of investment, the results show that financial constraints are present in the Malaysian market using the full sample. The subsample results however show that large firms are not financially constrained. On the other hand, the smaller firms are facing the constraints in their investment decisions

RISE OF FACEBOOK, AMAZON, APPLE, NETFLIX, GOOGLE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

FAANG is an acronym for Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet (which was previously known as Google), the five most important technology giants in the United States. The technology breakthroughs of these companies have had a significant impact on global economies, since they create jobs, link people, supply goods, and generate entertainment. As a result, a detailed analysis of FAANG stocks adds to the existing body of knowledge. Furthermore, because stock markets are very volatile and are influenced by a variety of known and unknown causes, it is vital to employ adequate tools for assessing their behavior (Jadhav et al., 2021). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spreading over the world since the end of 2019. The first case of COVID-19 was discovered in Wuhan, a city in China, in December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) initially issued a global notice on COVID-19 on January 30, 2020(WHO 2020a). The WHO declared it a pandemic as the number of confirmed cases grew to 118,319 cases on March 11th 2020 around the world. Some researchers and media sites commented in March 2020 on how this dreadful epidemic would damage the economies of the afflicted countries (He et al., 2020). Unemployment in the US was on a rise during the pandemic as lockdowns were imposed in various states and small businesses like restaurants, coffee shops, General stores, shopping malls, and massage parlors were forced to shut down for an uncertain amount of time. Public gatherings were banned, and businesses were forced to carry out operations online. For the businesses mentioned above, it was not possible to conduct operations online since they require people to go to the physical location to conduct business. Despite these tough times, FAANG companies thrived and their business grew despite the ongoing pandemic (Hobbs,2020)

X-ray and ion emission studies from subnanosecond laser-irradiated SiO2 aerogel foam targets

In this experiment, a comparative study of ion and X-ray emission from both a SiO2 aerogel foam and a quartz target is performed. The experiment is performed using Nd:glass laser system operated at laser energy up to 15 J with a pulse duration of 500 ps with focusable intensity of 1013–1014 W/cm2 on target. X-ray fluxes in different spectral ranges (soft and hard) are measured by using X-ray diodes covered with Al filters of thickness 5 µm (0.9–1.56 keV) and 20 µm (3.4–16 keV). A 2.5 times enhancement in soft X-ray flux (0.9–1.56 keV) and a decrease of 1.8 times in hard X rays (3.4–16 keV) for 50 mg/cc SiO2 aerogel foam is observed compared with the solid quartz. A decrease in the flux of the K-shell line emission spectrum of soft X rays is noticed in the case of the foam targets. The high-resolution K-shell spectra (He-like) of Si ions in both the cases are analyzed for the determination of plasma parameters by comparing with FLYCHK simulations. The estimated plasma temperature and density are T c = 180 eV, n e = 7 × 1020 cm−3 and T c = 190 eV, n e = 4 × 1020 cm−3 for quartz and SiO2 aerogel foam, respectively. To measure the evolution of the plasma moving away from the targets, four identical ion collectors are placed at different angles (22.5, 30, 45, and 67.5°) from target normal. The angular distribution of the thermal ions are scaled as cosnθ with respect to target normal, where n = 3.8 and 4.8 for the foam and quartz, respectively. The experimental plasma volume measured from the ion collectors and shadowgraphy images are verified by a two-dimensional Eulerian radiative–hydrodynamic simulation (POLLUX code

Algorithm for Detection of Spectrum Holes for OFDM Based CR in Multipath EnvironmentÂ

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Vendor Managed Inventory for Multi-Vendor Single-Manufacturer Supply Chain: A Case Study of Instant Noodle Industry

This paper develops a vendor-managed inventory (VMI) model for a multiple-vendor, single-manufacturer supply chain, in which the first stage members can be traders and/or producers and the second stage member is a manufacturer. The model utilizes a realistic transportation cost which is dependent on the sizes (small- or medium-sized) of trucks. It can determine suitable sizes and numbers of trucks that minimize the transportation cost. A genetic algorithm (GA) technique, implemented in MATLAB software, is used to determine the best solution to the problem. A case study in the instant noodle industry is conducted to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed model. Based on the experimental results, the VMI model has reasonable behaviors using sensitivity analysis. To reduce the inventory level of raw materials, the penalty cost may be set at a relatively high level or the upper inventory limits may be set at relatively low levels, without significantly affecting the average total cost per period of the entire supply chain. When the vendors are allowed to make decision independently, the solution is still the same as the solution from the proposed VMI model, which means that the manufacture does not take advantage of the vendors

Performance Comparison of Two-phase LP-based Heuristic Methods for Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Three Objectives

This paper develops a two-phase LP-based heuristic for the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). It considers three objectives: (1) minimizing the total costs of fuel consumption and overtime, (2) maximizing the total personal relationships between customers and drivers, and (3) balancing the delivery weights of vehicles. The two-phase LP-based heuristic (cluster-first route-second) is proposed. First, in the clustering stage, three LP-based clustering models (denoted by C1, C2, and C3) are developed. Customers are grouped into clusters based on real distances between the customers for C1, personal relationships between the customers and drivers for C2, and the delivery weights of vehicles for C3. Second, in the routing stage, an LP-based traveling salesman problem model is used to form a route for each cluster, to minimize the total costs of fuel consumption and overtime labor. The experimental results from a case study of Thai SMEs show that when the C2 clustering model is applied, the performances are the best. Significant contributions of this paper include: (1) it is an original paper that proposes the C2 clustering model, and it has the best performances based on the experimental results, and (2) the proposed two-phase LP-based heuristic methods are suitable for practical use by SMEs since the required computational time is short, and it has multiple models with different objectives that can be selected to match a user's requirements