Review on fuel economy standard and label for vehicle in selected ASEAN countries

Sustainable supply of energy at affordable prices is vital to ensure the human development. ASEAN is committed pursuing for a clean and green region with fully established mechanisms for sustainable development to ensure the protection of regional environment, resources and the high quality of people's life. Nowadays, energy use in the transportation sector represents an important issue in ASEAN countries. Therefore, it is believed that the introduction of fuel economy standards and labels is the key to save energy in this sector. Fuel economy standards and labels are relatively cheap measure to influence consumer behaviour and to induce car manufacturers to produce more efficient vehicles. Fuel economy standards and labels for vehicle are being implemented in many countries around the world to save fuel consumption and mitigate CO₂ emission. This paper is a review on fuel economy standard and labels for vehicle in some selected ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It has been found that Singapore is the leading country in ASEAN that has implemented fuel economy standards and labels. Moreover, it has been found that the implementation of cleaner fuels standard play a crucial role in protecting public health and the environment from transportation sector emissions. The most common alternative fuels used in ASEAN are biodiesel, ethanol, methanol, propane, hydrogen and natural gas.     

浅析FIDIC(EPC)合同条件下马来西亚沐若水电工程的索赔

以FIDIC设计采购施工(EPC)/交钥匙工程合同条件(即FIDIC银皮书)作为通用条款,马来西亚沐若水电工程EPC合同作为特殊条款,结合商法原则和商业惯例,对EPC合同条件下马来西亚沐若工程索赔条件进行分析。研究内容可为我国相关海外工程建设合同索赔提供参考。     

马来西亚巴贡水电站导流洞封堵设计计算

水工隧洞封堵堵头是水工建筑物的重要组成部分。经过几十年的探索和实践,设计人员对封堵堵头的受力机理已有了深刻地认识,堵头并不完全是靠基础面的剪摩作用维持平衡。经过对堵头前端扩挖并进行灌浆等处理后,堵头在水荷载作用下实际上是一个四周受围岩约束的刚体,它的超载能力很强。通过对马来西亚巴贡水电站导流隧洞堵头及围岩三维有限元计算,大大缩短了堵头的长度,节约了工程投资。     

Food safety knowledge and attitudes: culture and environment impact on hawkers in Malaysia.: Knowledge and attitudes are key attributes of concern in hawker foodhandling practices and outbreaks of food poisoning and their prevention

This study determined the impact of culture and environment on knowledge and attitudes of hawkers towards food safety, foodborne illnesses and their prevention. One hundred hawkers in Kuala Lumpur (KL) were interviewed, using a structured interview schedule. Environment did not effect hawkers’ knowledge and attitudes. Education influenced knowledge and attitudes scores of the interviewees. Differences in knowledge of the ethnic groups were in cross-contamination, equipment, utensils and premises, personal hygiene, hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) and food regulations and control. Malay and Indian hawkers had better educational background, hence better knowledge and attitude scores than Chinese. The findings highlight the importance of education to bridge cultural gaps in food safety knowledge and attitudes. A strong relationship exists between the knowledge and attitudes of hawkers.     

Gender and age: Do they really moderate mobile tourism shopping behavior?

With the growing popularity of mobile devices (m-devices) and technological advancement in wireless networks, a new form of shopping channel has emerged in the tourism industry. Mobile tourism shopping refers to the use of m-devices to shop for tourism products and services. Given the benefits and potential of this channel, the acceptance however is not widespread and currently an under-addressed topic among academicians. Specifically practitioners are also sceptical if consumers are ready to accept this alternative channel. Drawing upon the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (UTAUT) as a baseline model, the proposed model was integrated with flow theory, psychological characteristic, social environment and security concern factors to study on the mobile consumers' behavioral intention. Through the use of Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling of 503 mobile respondents, it was discovered that some of the structural paths are not consistent with past literatures. Additionally, a non-parametric permutation approach has also been conducted to discover the gender and age differences in the decision making. The findings however are mixed and therefore require further testing. This study has valuable contributions to academicians, practitioners, and society. Academically, the integrated framework contributes to the tourism and marketing literatures by uniting UTAUT, flow theory, psychological characteristic, social environment and security concern factors. Practically, by focusing on the important factors affecting consumers’ decision to adopt mobile tourism shopping, organisations can create effective mobile marketing campaigns. Socially, the study contributes to job creations and revenue generation for the host country.     

Screening of aflatoxin M1 occurrence in selected milk and dairy products in Terengganu,Malaysia

The study was conducted to screen the occurrence of aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) in 53 selected milk and dairy product samples (11 liquid milk, 12 powdered milk, 8 3-in-1 beverages, 6 condensed sweetened milk, 2 evaporated milk, 7 cultured milk drink, 5 yogurt and 2 cheese samples). These samples were purchased from selected markets in Terengganu, Malaysia in January 2014 based on a questionnaire survey among 212 respondents on the types and brands of milk and dairy products that were frequently consumed. Based on the responses, 53 milk and dairy products were purchased and the competitive enzyme-linked immune-absorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to determine the level of AFM₁ in the samples. Of 53 samples, 19 samples were positive with AFM₁ (35.8%) ranging from 3.5 to 100.5 ng/L. Although 4/53 (7.5%) of the tested samples had the contamination level greater than the European Commission (EC) limit (>50 ng/L), the contamination levels were still below the Malaysia Food Regulation 1985 limit (less than 500 ng/L). This study provided a pioneering data on the occurrence of AFM₁ in milk and dairy products in Malaysia.     

Peninsular Malaysia: Conflict between economic and social goals

This article reports urbanization trends in Peninsular Malaysia and analyses national and strategic plans. The national strategy for urban development is examined, attention being paid to the goal of increasing the economic participation of ethnic Malays (Bumiputras). Regional plans for the Kelang Valley, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban are outlined. The author concludes by pointing out the conflicts inherent in current Malaysian urban policy, particularly between national and federal plans and between policies for economic growth and the desire to increase Bumiputra participation.     

马来西亚对油棕种植材料研究及棕榈油产品生产

油棕种植业与棕榈油加工业是马来西亚国民经济重要组成部分。我国与马来西亚有大量棕榈 油进口贸易,检验检疫工作繁重且多样。该文探讨马来西亚对油棕种植材料研究现状及主要棕榈油产 品生产过程和用途。     

石钢烧结配加马来西亚粉烧结性能的研究

研究了石钢烧结生产配加马来西亚粉对烧结矿利用系数、烧结矿转鼓强度及返矿率等指标的影响,试验结果显示烧结矿的冶金性能有所改善,认为在生产条件下配加马来西亚粉烧结是可行的。通过生产跟踪,确定马来西亚粉的最佳配比为10%~15%。     

A Field of Possibilities: The Post-Oil Future of Bahrain

Much of the continuing urban development of the Gulf region rests on the oil economy. What happens, though, when the oil runs out? What is the alternative model? Bahrain is already facing the depletion of the oil that supported its rapid growth. Noura Al Sayeh , the Head of Architectural Affairs at the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Bahrain, highlights how architecture might be developed to generate new urban forms that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.