The determinants of hiring older workers in Britain revisited: an analysis using WERS 2004

This article reexamines the role of specific human capital and back loading of compensation as deterrents to hiring older workers. We utilize the framework initially suggested by Hutchens (1986) and more recently implemented by Daniel and Heywood (2007). This approach identifies the extent to which firms hire older workers at a rate less than full replacement would imply. Using the 2004 British Workplace Employment Relations Survey, we examine whether a more favourable climate including a much tighter UK labour market combined with the abandonment of defined benefit pension schemes has increased the tendency to hire older workers. We also examine the impact of private health insurance.

Whole life cycle costing for Malaysia high-rise residential building : a needs?

The continuous growth of high-rise residential properties indicates that there is a need for an effective property management system to provide a sustainable high-rise residential property development. As intensive as these studies are, they do not attempt to investigate the correlation between property management systems with the trends of Malaysia high-rise residential property development. By examining the trends and scenario of Malaysia high-rise residential property development, this paper aims to gain an understanding of impacts from the effectiveness of property management in this scope area. Findings from this scoping paper will assist in providing a greater understanding and possible solutions for the current Malaysian property management systems for the expanding high-rise residential unit market.

An exploratory review of whole life cycle costing for Malaysia property development

The demand of implementing Whole Life Cycle Costing (WLCC) towards property development has increased since the launch of Value Management Circular 3/2009 by the Economic Planning Unit Malaysia. The circular made compulsory for all public construction projects and programme including property development estimated more than RM 50 Million to conduct WLCC. However, a knowledge gap on WLCC approach still exists and become a barrier among the practitioner in Malaysia particularly in property development industry. The main focus of this paper is to discuss the WLCC approach and introduce the indicator that need to be considered in Malaysia property development.

Gated and Guarded Community (GACOS) in Malaysia : worth or not?

A 'Gated and Guarded Community' has become a popular trend in the recent years, particularly for housing areas. The increasing in population and income has lead to the increase in housing demand. The 1991 Population Census Report showed that Malaysian population has increased with an average yearly rate of 2.7% per year, that is, from 13.74 million people in 1980 to 19.35 million in 1991, followed by 20.69 million in 1995 and increase to 23.27 in year 2000. This is followed by consistent increase in the average population monthly income. Started from 1995 to 1999, the average annual growth rate of mean monthly income in Malaysia is about 5.2 %, from RM2,020.00 in 1995 to RM2,472.00 in 1999 and increasing constantly. This shows that the human growth usually have correlation between demand, income and housing. This paper presents the factors that involved in determined the Gated and Guarded Community Investment in Malaysia either it is worth to invest or otherwise. Hopefully, the results will also indicate that there may be other factors affecting their investment decision besides security and privacy. This paper is actually to draw attention to some practitioner and collect more information in establishing my research analysis.

Developing intercultural competence in pre-service teachers from Australia and Malaysia : insights from the “Patches” programme

Developing intercultural competence in pre-service teachers from Australia and Malaysia: Insights from a Patches program. Innovative pedagogies can offer pre-service teachers the opportunity to develop their intercultural competence and take up more globalised viewpoints. One such innovation is the Patches program which brought together Malaysian and Australian pre-service teachers who were studying at the same university in Brisbane, Australia, to actively explore issues of cultural and linguistic difference. The participants were 14 Australian fourth-year pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a program on inclusive education, and 58 Malaysian pre-service teachers who had recently arrived at the university in Brisbane to commence their second year of an international education program. In peer groupings, these domestic and international pre-service teachers engaged in a series of interactive tasks and reflective writing workshops exploring intercultural experiences, over a period of ten weeks. Each element or ‘patch’ in the program was designed to build up into a mosaic of intercultural learning. The flexible structuring of the Patches Program provided a supportive framework for participant interaction whilst allowing the groups to decide for themselves the nature and extent of their involvement in a series of community-related tasks. The process of negotiating and implementing these activities formed the basis for establishing meaningful relationships between the participants. The development of the participants’ intercultural competence is traced through their reflective narratives and focus group discussions, drawing on Byram’s concept of the five savoirs. Explaining aspects of Australian culture to their newly arrived Malaysian peers, allowed the Australian pre-service teachers to take a perspective of outsideness towards their own familiar social practices. In addition, being unusually positioned as the linguistic other amongst a group of Bahasa Melayu speakers, highlighted for the Australian pre-service teachers the importance of being inclusive. For the Malaysian pre-service teachers, participation in the Patches program helped to extend intercultural understandings, establish social networks with local students, and build a sense of community in their new learning environment. Both groups of pre-service teachers noted the power of “learning directly by interacting rather than through books”. In addition to interacting interculturally, the process of reflecting on these intercultural experiences is seen as integral to the development of intercultural competence.

Drivers' intention to comply with the speed limit in school zones, in Malaysia

There has been an increasing number of fatal road crashes in Malaysia in the last two decades. Among those who die on Malaysian roads are children aged 0 to 18 years (i.e., 15.5% in 2009) (Mohamed, Wong, Hashim, & Othman, 2011) . The involvement of children in road trauma, and particularly children when they are in and around school zones, generates concern among the general public. The present study utilised an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework, incorporating the additional predictors of mindfulness and habit, to understand drivers’ intention to comply with the school zone speed limit (SZSL). The study aimed to examine the extent to which TPB constructs, and additional predictors of mindfulness and habit, predicted drivers’ behavioural intention to comply with the SZSL. Malaysian drivers (N = 210) participated in this study via an online survey. Hierarchical regression was conducted, and the results showed that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, and habit were significant predictors of intention to comply with the SZSL. Specifically, drivers who expressed more positive attitudes towards compliance, greater belief that significant others would want them to comply, and more confidence in their control of their speed were more likely to report an intention to comply. These drivers appear to have developed a positive habit of compliance, which may simply be a result of the engineering measures in place around school zones in Malaysia. Mindfulness was not a significant predictor in the final model. These findings provide some support for the explanatory value of the extended TPB framework in understanding the factors influencing drivers’ intention to comply with the SZSL. The present study also provides information of potential value in the development of interventions, such as public education and mass media campaigns, aimed at improving drivers’ compliance with the SZSL.

iRAP Malaysia training course: Decade of Action for Road Safety. Report to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia-Malaysia Institute

The International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) is a not-for-profit organisation that works in partnership with governments and non-government organisations in all parts of the world to make roads safe. The iRAP Malaysia pilot study on 3,700km of road identified the potential to save 31,800 deaths and serious injuries over the next 20 years from proven engineering improvements. To help ensure the iRAP data and results are available to planners and engineers, iRAP, together with staff from the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) developed a 5-day iRAP training course that covers the background, theory and practical application of iRAP protocols, with a special focus on Malaysian case studies. Funding was provided by a competitive grant from the Australian-Malaysia Institute.

The effectiveness of public sector asset management in Malaysia

Property is an important factor in all businesses production in order to function. Nourse (1990) quoted ¡°some businesses are real estate, all businesses use real estate¡±. In recent years, the management of property assets has become the focus of many organisations, including the non-real estate businesses. Good asset management is concerned with the effective utilisation of a property owner.s assets. It is the management process of ensuring that the portfolio of properties held meets the overall requirements of the users. In short, it is the process of identifying the user.s requirement and the rationalisation of property holdings to match that requirement best, followed by a monitoring and ongoing review of practice. In Malaysia, federal agencies and local authorities are among the largest property asset owners. Recently the federal government has released a Total Asset Management Manual (TAMM). It is at the preliminary stage of implementation. This thesis will study the international practices of asset management of public sector assets and assess the effectiveness of TAMM. This research will focus on current international practices for the effective management of public sector property assets. The current application in Malaysia will be highlighted, to determine the awareness and understanding of the current practices to the recently released TAMM. This research is an exploratory research. The basis of this research relies on the combination of qualitative and quantitative approach, whereby the qualitative approach focuses on the international practices and its application to the management of public sector property assets. Questionnaires survey will be conducted among the Malaysian public property assets managers and users in the quantitative approach to gauge the collective opinion on the current practices of TAMM and its implementation

Standardisation of plant and machinery valuation practices in Malaysia

Plant and machinery valuation is important to every company.s annual financial reporting. It is reported under the non-current assets section, and the valuers are generally employed to provide the up to date valuation of the non-current assets valuation such as property, plant and equipment that can make up to 80% of the total assets of a company. The valuation of plant and machinery is also important for other purposes such as securing loan facilities, sales, takeover, insurance and auction. The application of 2005 International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) has a subsequent impact on the financial sector, as a whole. The accountants have to choose between the Historical Cost approach and Market Value approach in determining the value of the client.s assets. In Malaysia, the implementation of IFRS has a domino effect on the financial system, especially for plant and machinery valuation for financial reporting. The comparison data for plant and machinery valuation is limited unlike land and building valuation. The question of Malaysian valuer.s ability to comply with the IFRS standard keeps rising every day, not just to the accountants, but also other related parties such as financial institutions, government agencies and the clients. This is happening because of different interpretations of premise of value for plant and machinery, as well as methods been used and differences in standards of reporting among the valuers conducting plant and machinery valuation. The root of the problem lies in the lack of practical guidelines governing plant and machinery valuation practices and different schools of thought among the valuers. Some follow the United Kingdom.s RICS guidelines, whilst some valuers are more comfortable with the United State.s USPAP rules, especially on the premise of value. This research is to investigate the international best practices of plant and machinery valuation and to establish the common valuation concept, awareness and application of valuation methodology and valuation process for plant and machinery valuation in Malaysia. This research uses a combination of the qualitative and quantitative research approach. In the qualitative approach, the content analyses were conducted from the international practices and current Malaysian implementation of plant and machinery valuation. A survey (quantitative approach) via questionnaire was implemented among the registered and probationary valuers in Malaysia to investigate their understanding and opinion relating to plant and machinery valuation based on the current practices. The significance of this research is the identification of international plant and machinery practices and the understanding of current practices of plant and machinery valuation in Malaysia. It is found that issues embedding plant and machinery valuation practices are limited numbers of resources available either from scholars or practitioner. This is supported by the general finding from the research survey that indicates that there are immediate needs for practical notes or guidelines to be developed and implemented to support the Malaysian valuers practising plant and machinery valuation. This move will lead to a better understanding of plant and machinery valuation, reducing discrepancies in valuation of plant and machinery and increased accuracy among practising valuers.

Democracy and participation in Singapore : a case study

A typical characteristic of the ongoing practice of democracy in Singapore has been described by some scholars as 'illiberal democracy'. Noting that Singapore 's brand of democracy operates within a 'dominant, one-party system', other scholars cushioned such a democratic practice by their reference to 'semi-democracy', 'controlled democracy, 'guided democracy, and 'communitarian democracy'. However, despite the demonstration that there are many restrictions in the type of democracy that exists in Singapore, the benefits are numerous. Singapore is the only country in the world to have transformed itself from a developing country to a developed country in less than only forty years. But its slower move towards a culture ofparticipation must move as quickly as globalization does if it is to remain in relevant and legitimate democracy. If the younger generation understands that they should have the right to a voice before the government acknowledges it, the transition could be more tumultuous than necessary.

Knowledge based urban development lessons from a non-western country : the Malaysia experience

Knowledge based urban development (KBUD) is seen as a new paradigm in urban planning and development which is now being implemented across the globe in order to increase the competitiveness of cities and regions. The KBUD concept has been widely applied in western and more developed countries over the last decade, and many have been proven successful. This paper, however, aims to provide an overview of the KBUD exercise in a context of a non western country scenario—Malaysia. Literature suggests that the urban development process in non western countries is different and very much focusing on physical elements. Whether this is the case or otherwise, this paper scrutinises the project of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), Malaysia, which is regarded as one of the first large scale manifestations of KBUD exercise in South East Asia. Based on development policies analysis and results of the interviews with the major stakeholders, this paper investigates the application of KBUD concept within the Malaysian context by examining the development and evolution of the city of Cyberjaya—the leading intelligent city of the MSC project. In the light of the literature and case findings, the paper provides recommendations and lessons learned, on the orchestration of KBUD, for other non western cities and regions that are working hard to develop KBUD strategies, strengthening their sustainable socio-spatial policies and seeking a global recognition.

Labour market institutions and the gender wage gap in Britain and Australia, 1973–90

The importance of wage structure is frequently interpreted as indirect evidence of the role played by labour market institutions. The current paper follows in this tradition, examining the role of wage structure in explaining the trend in the gender wage gap over the period 1973–91 for both Australia and the UK. The focus is upon whether changes in wage structure (and associated gender wage gap) both across country and over time are compatible with institutional explanations. Combining comparisons both cross-country and over time yields a more stringent, albeit indirect, test of the role of institutions.

Are employment effects of gender discrimination important? Some evidence from Great Britain

Interpreting the unexplained component of the gender wage gap as indicative of discrimination, the empirical literature to date has tended to ignore the potential impact wage discrimination may have on employment. Employment effects may arise if discrimination lowers the female offered wage and the labour supply curve is upward sloping. The empirical analysis employs the British Household Panel Study and finds evidence of both wage and associated employment effects.

Projections of the future path of the gender wage gap in Great Britain

Purpose – The paper attempts to project the future trend of the gender wage gap in Great Britain up to 2031. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis utilises the British Household Panel Study Wave F together with Office for National Statistics (ONS) demographic projections. The methodology combines the ONS projections with assumptions relating to the evolution of educational attainment in order to project the future distribution of human capital skills and consequently the future size of the gender wage gap. Findings – The analysis suggests that gender wage convergence will be slow, with little female progress by 2031 unless there is a large rise in returns to female experience. Originality/value – The paper has projected the pattern of male and female skill acquisition together with the associated trend in wages up to 2031.