• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.21-27
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• 2021

PURPOSE: This study examined the relationship between the severity of a hallux valgus (HV) deformity and the kinetic three-dimensional ground reaction force (GRF) through a motion analysis system with force platforms in individuals with a HV deformity during normal speed walking. METHODS: The participants were 36 adults with a HV deformity. The participants were asked to walk on a 6 m walkway with 40 infrared reflective markers attached to their pelvic and lower extremities. A camera capture system and two force platforms were used to collect kinetic data during gait. A Vicon Nexus and Visual3D motion analysis software were used to calculate the kinetic GRF data. RESULTS: This research showed that the anterior maximal force that occurred in the terminal stance phase during gait had a negative correlation with the HV angle (r = -.762, p < .01). In addition, the HV angle showed a low negative correlation with the second vertical maximal force (r = .346, p < .05) and a moderate positive correlation with the late medial maximal force (r = .641, p < .01). CONCLUSION: A more severe HV deformity results in greater abnormal translation of the plantar pressure and a significantly reduced pressure force under the first metatarsophalangeal joint.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.421-433
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• 2021

The present multidisciplinary study, which is a nexus of engineering and political science, investigates how the modernization of Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons (NSNWs) affects the IAEA safeguards system based on the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons. To this end, this study examines the characteristics of modernized NSNWs using Monte Carlo techniques. The results thus obtained show that 10 kt NSNWs with a Circular Error Probability (CEP) of 10 m can destroy the target as effectively as a 500 kt weapon with a CEP of 100 m. The IAEA safeguards system shows that the Significant Quantity (SQ) of 1 of plutonium is 8 kg, a parameter that was established when strategic nuclear weapons were dominant. However, the results of this study indicate that in recent years, low-yield nuclear weapons such as NSNWs have been more strategically interesting than strategic nuclear weapons as NSNWs require less plutonium than strategic nuclear weapons. Therefore, we would like to conclude that reducing the SQ of plutonium can result in more robust safeguards and non-proliferation strategies.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.105-130
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• 2022

This paper argues that the war in Syria is partly the result of a global Islamist wave that contributed to fuelling conflict across large regions of Asia and Africa. Of course, the war that has consumed Syria since 2011 most certainly has multiple interrelated causes and driving forces, and any attempt to isolate one or even two or three runs the risk of advancing an overly simplistic interpretation of history. This essay, therefore, does not aim to offer an appraisal of the multiple variables that contributed to the war in Syria. Instead, it zeroes in on how political Islam came to impact Syria and its people. In doing so, it demonstrates how competing varieties of political Islam represented leading causes of conflict. Indeed, different Islamist movements contributed to the outbreak of the war in 2011, fuelled the conflict for years on end, and to this day represent major obstacles to the achievement of sustainable peace. Four broad Islamist currents are especially relevant to the case of Syria: the Muslim Brotherhood; the Shia revivalist movement at the nexus of the alliance between Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria; Salafi jihadism and its volatile and fractious underworld of competing armed groups, from Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State; and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's market-friendly Islamism, which induced Turkey to intervene in Syria's civil war.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.409-417
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• 2022

This research uses a panel data set of selected developed and emerging economies to investigate the relationship between firm value and the Islamic label. A low-debt company is a proxy for excellent governance, and good governance has a significant positive impact on a company's valuation. We can claim that the Islamic label may also be a proxy for excellent governance and will significantly impact a company's economic value because it reflects low debt Sharia-compliant companies. To explore this relationship, cross-country data from non-financial enterprises in Pakistan, the United States, Malaysia, and Indonesia was acquired from 2010 to 2015. The study's findings indicate that the Islamic label has a positive significant impact on the firm's worth in the whole sample, including all countries. With the exception of the United States, we have also collected the same information at the country level. We also discovered that the corporate governance index at the firm level has a positive significant impact on firm value. The findings show that the Islamic label reflects good governance and hence can be used as a proxy for good governance. The analysis differentiates between Islamic labeled and conventional enterprises in developed and emerging nations, adding to our understanding of who contributes to enhanced corporate financial performance.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.1-20
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• 2022

Purpose - Multiple stakeholders-including politicians, investors, and the wider public-have questioned the value of investing in port infrastructure improvements and the contributions they can make to economic performance. Design/methodology - This paper presents an empirical study of 56 countries with seaports from the year 2006 to 2019 to determine how the quality of port infrastructure affects its contribution in terms of trade openness and economic growth. To this end, this study applies hierarchical multiple regression analysis with panel data to empirically examine the economic impact of port infrastructure quality on the relationship between trade openness and economic growth. After the 56 selected countries were categorized as developed or developing, a multi-group panel data analysis was conducted. Findings - The results of this study show that trade openness has a significant positive effect on the national economy. The findings also indicate that, although developing countries should expect greater economic growth after investing in port infrastructure, this relationship weakens as developing countries become richer. Originality/value - The findings of this study not only elucidate the relationship between trade openness and national economic growth, but they also emphasize the importance of trade openness and port infrastructure in national economic growth, particularly among developing countries.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.381-389
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• 2022

Studies examining the interplay between brand transgression and brand forgiveness is notably sparse especially in the context of Southeast Asian banking customers. The purpose of this research is to add to the existing literature by examining the impact of brand transgression, which is represented by negative past experience image incongruence, and corporate wrongdoing on brand forgiveness among Islamic banking customers in Malaysia. The increasing surge in interest in unfavorable brand relationships has sparked concerns about its impact on brand forgiveness. As a result, this theoretical argument, which lacks empirical proof, has to be statistically tested. The current study was conducted utilizing a non-probability purposive sampling technique among clients in the Klang Valley who had poor experiences with Islamic banking services. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regression on a total of 211 valid replies. The findings show that two elements of brand transgression, image inconsistency, and corporate wrongdoing, have a major impact on brand forgiveness. However, the other dimension namely negative past experience was found to be non-significant to brand forgiveness. Research implications and directions for future studies are also discussed in this paper.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.9
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• pp.235-247
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• 2021

The objective of this paper is to clarify the relationship between ICT application and labor productivity in Vietnamese manufacturing firms and connect it with the context of economic restructuring in Vietnam. The study uses data of 3,428 manufacturing firms from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam and regression models. In addition to the general model, the study also runs the models for sub-samples of firms of different production technology levels. Research results show two main points. First, information technology can enhance the labor productivity of Vietnamese manufacturing firms. This is true for both ICT hardware applications, ICT services, ICT software solutions, and employees' ICT skills in firms. Second, manufacturing firms with higher levels of production technology use ICT more effectively and achieve a higher impact on labor productivity. The results confirm that the Vietnamese government can stimulate ICT application and digital transformation in firms, thereby increasing labor productivity and promoting economic restructuring in the direction of shifting from agriculture to industry and from low-tech industries to high-tech ones. The results also provide implications for business managers and policymakers in other developing countries who are adopting the digital economy as a development strategy.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.9
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• pp.1-9
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• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the existence of the Feldstein-Horioka (1980) puzzle in international macroeconomics by applying the conditional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to examine the long-run relationship between national savings and investments in Thailand and China. The input of this study relied on annual national savings and investments as a fraction of GDP during 1980-2019 which was collected from China National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Thailand National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC). Hypothetically, Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root tests were applied to test the stationary properties and to investigate the integration level of selected time series. The empirical results, confirmed by cumulative sum (CUSUM) and cumulative sum square (CUSUMSQ), maintained no serial correlation and structural break problems. The finding of this study suggested that the Feldstein-Horioka puzzle in Thailand did not exist significantly. Thailand's national savings and investments nexus was independent, following the classic economic idea that financial liberalization, or perfect capital mobility, allowed national savings and investments to flow freely to countries with better interest rates. Whereas, a strong significant correlation was found in the case of China during the fixed exchange rate regime switching in 1994 and post WTO participation after 2001-2019.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.9
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• pp.35-43
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• 2021

This study aims to investigate factors affecting eBook acceptance and learning outcomes among students experiencing online distance learning. As conventional textbooks are now switched into eBooks, the effects of contextual factors including lecturer, student computer competency, content and design of the course, access ability, infrastructure, and university support on eBook acceptance and learning outcome needs to be evaluated. The sample of this study is represented by students at the Universiti Teknologi MARA, City Campus Melaka, undertaking 'strategic management course'. Non-probability random sampling was selected as the sampling technique and a purposive sampling method was chosen to select the samples. The samples comprised 171 students randomly selected through Google Form. The questionnaire data was analyzed by using PLS-SEM. The results indicated that these factors contributed 62.3% variations in the eBook acceptance and 67.1% variations in the learning outcomes. The strongest factor affecting both dependent variables was content and design of course. Managerial implication suggested that the content for all courses taught through the eBook platform needs to be revisited and improved in accordance with the mode of online deliverance. Tutorial on how to navigate the eBook platform is important to all users as this would enhance acceptance and produce better learning outcomes among students.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.18-33
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• 2020

Purpose - This paper investigated the effect of international trade affects income inequality. It also compares the different effects between developing and developed countries over the period from 2005 to 2014 for 58 countries. Design/methodology - The econometric estimation was used to identify the relationship between export, import, FDI, GDP, unemployment and income inequality. In this empirical analysis, we utilized a Vector Error Correction (VEC) model using panel data. Findings - The findings show that there is a close correlated between trade and income inequality. The higher export ratio of GDP tends to have a 1.79 times more income inequality in developing countries than in developed countries. The higher import ratio of GDP tends to have a 2.44 times higher income inequality in developing countries than in developed countries. Further, Increasing FDI tend to have an approximately 1.43 times higher income inequality in developing countries than in developed countries. Korea is in the middle of developed and developing countries' result. Originality/value - To correct the global income inequality regarding trade, developed countries' proactive trade policies, such as granting preferential tariff benefits to developing countries, are likely to be needed and Income Safety Net in international trade must be taken into account.