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Drawing on original and published research this paper seeks to examine the current situation of eco‐labelling in Japan, and the possible roles of two connected non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) – the Marine Stewarship Council (MSC) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – may have in future decision making.

A mixed‐method survey approach is used. Two quantitative surveys are followed by unstructured interviews of stakeholders in fisheries and eco‐labelling policy.

Environmental values of Japanese seafood consumers are complex and not explained by any one demographic factor. Environmental problems are becoming complex, and solutions are being sought from beyond the bureaucratic circles, including NGOs. However, neither WWF nor MSC are important stakeholders in policy decisions, but their influence is growing, particularly through relationships with private sector.

Interviews do not offer a representative sample; important inferences but not causative conclusions can be made.

The paper contributes new findings on environmental values, MSC products, and the decision making situation surrounding seafood eco‐labels in Japan.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and to assess the capabilities of the most common finite element (FE)‐based tools to deal with global‐local analysis. Two kinds of coupling were investigated: shell to shell and shell to solid.

The issue of connecting non‐matching FE global and local models, characterized by different mesh refinements and/or different element types, was addressed by introducing appropriate kinematic constraints on the nodes at the interfaces. The coupling techniques available in the three FE‐based codes (ABAQUS^®, NASTRAN^® and ANSYS^®), were assessed by applying them on a common numerical test case (non‐linear buckling analysis of a square plate). Results of the global‐local simulations were compared to the results obtained for relevant reference solutions.

The continuity of displacements and stresses across the interface between global and local models and the influence of the presence of the local model on the global model solution were used as parameters to test the quality of the results. It was observed that the tools implemented in the different codes provide different results. The results characterized by a higher quality were found by using the Multi Point Constraint available in ABAQUS^®.

When dealing with complex structures, multi‐scale (global‐local) approaches are commonly adopted to optimize the computational cost by increasing mesh refinements and/or introducing elements with different formulations in specific region of the structures identified as “local model”. In this paper an overview of the coupling tools available in the main commercial FE code is given.

This paper aims to investigate and provide insights on knowledge-based urban development (KBUD) in the context of emerging economies. KBUD has been an effective strategy and an opportunity for emerging economies for catching up with the developed economies.

The paper scrutinizes the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) of Malaysia by focusing on the planning, development and orchestration of the knowledge corridor.

The paper reveals a number of lessons and insights drawn from the development of MSC as the largest manifestation of the KBUD initiative in Malaysia.

The paper provides lessons and recommendations on the planning, development and management of KBUD for emerging economies that are seeking a prosperous development.

This study explored implementation of the middle school concept (MSC) in Illinois middle-level schools, examining relationships between MSC implementation and schools' relative wealth, racial/ethnic composition, and achievement levels.

This quantitative study utilized a sample of 137 Illinois middle-level schools, defined as containing any combination of grades 5–9, including at least two consecutive grade levels and grade 7. Principals completed an online survey, identifying levels of implementation of advisory, teaming with common planning time (CPT), and a composite of both advisory and teaming with CPT.

Schools with high advisory implementation had significantly higher rates of Latinx enrollments. Schools with lower operating expenditures per pupil were significantly less likely to implement advisory or advisory and teaming. Teaming had a significant relationship with composite PARCC test scores, but there was no significant effect for advisory and no significant interaction of advisory and teaming together.

MSC is more expensive to implement, and affluent districts may have the financial means to absorb these costs. Although teaming facilitated improved state test scores, advisory programming did not result in significantly improved scores.

Lack of access to MSC programming in less affluent communities presents an equity issue for low-income students and students of color.

This study contributes to research examining underlying issues of race and poverty and their effects on academic achievement and the effectiveness of the MSC.

The Malaysian Government through the interventionist stance created an enabling environment for SMEs. Deliberate efforts for economic development started in the form of Industrial Estates and Export Processing Zones since early 1990s. This paper is a brief account of government efforts and its result for cluster development, in the light of recent literature. It is found that despite consistent efforts, the Malaysian answer to Silicon Valley – Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) – could not become an industrial cluster in a strict manner of the term used in the industrial cluster literature. This review highlights an array of bottlenecks that impede the competitiveness of MSC. The critical observation is that the SME firms in this “constructed cluster” are not enjoying the benefits of co-location externalities rather consider government’s financial support as an important factor affecting their co-location decision. In the absence of the significant qualitative research in the Malaysian cluster milieu, the purpose of this paper is the unique attempt to compile the previous results of significant work on the MSC and proposes future directions of research on policy-led clusters.

This paper synthesized and arranged most recent literature on economic development efforts made by Malaysian Government. Furthermore, it highlights the issues faced by policy-led cluster of MSC.

There is scant research on policy-led clusters like MSC where government plays an instrumental role from conception of this ICT cluster to development of programs and initiatives for the sustainability of it. However, the review of recent studies indicates that MSC faces some limitations to perform as cluster. There is a strong evidence that firms are not enjoying the benefits of clustering rather are attracted toward the financial incentives offered by the government in return of the firms co-location decision.

The theoretical contribution of the review is that it signals the scarcity of both breadth and depth of literature on policy-driven cluster. Although, few notable attempts indicated how cluster initiatives influence the clusters, yet various dimensions need to be explored in order to reach the conclusive findings. The current review provides a strong foundation for further empirical research. For example, the other possible avenues could be, cluster evaluation practices in policy-led clusters; enablers and barriers to innovation in policy-led clusters; development of comprehensive indicators for principled engagement, shared motivation and joint actions in collaborative initiative development and the relational dimension of networks like technological distance between the focal firms and local SMEs.

The review highlights that government agencies and the firms in the policy-led clusters perceive the cluster initiatives differently. For government an initiative may be a success but for firms it may be just eyewash. This perceptual difference can disrupt the government efforts for this cluster. Firms are dependent on Multimedia Development Corporation. They consider themselves as a guest in the cluster and expect that government will provide everything. Mere presence/attendance of firms in the programs may not indicate the effectiveness of the initiative.

The prime objective of the review was to highlight an array of bottlenecks that impede the competitiveness of MSC to become an ICT cluster. Since there is a dearth of significant qualitative research in the Malaysian cluster milieu particularly with respect to cluster initiatives taken in MSC, this review therefore is a unique attempt that compiles the previous results of significant work on a policy-driven MSC (ICT cluster) and proposes future direction of research on policy-led clusters.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the antecedents of successful organizational cross-border knowledge transfer and also the relationship among the antecedents for sustainable competitive advantage.

First, a focus group study was conducted to identify major constructs and map out the proposed framework. This is then followed by questionnaire survey from 210 Malaysian multimedia super corridor (MSC) status corporations as recipients. Their international business affiliates refer to any organizations located outside Malaysia with which the recipient firm has a relationship. Data were analysed using SPSS.

The findings suggest that the perceived value of the knowledge, relational dimension and cognitive dimension, as well as recipient learning intent and the attractiveness of a foreign source are significant related to the effectiveness of organizational cross-border knowledge transfer.

Because this research only covered 210 MSC status corporations, future research can try to have more coverage on other industry to have larger sample size for generalizability purposes. Other factors such as organizational and context characteristics can be added as antecedents to strengthen the framework for effective knowledge transfer.

The empirical findings can be used as a guideline for MSC status firms to undergo a self-check and help them rethink and reposition themselves in light of the findings. It helps MSC status corporations to frame their organizational cross-border knowledge transfer activities to enable the creation and application of knowledge which should allow them to drive the capability of creating and retaining a greater value onto their core business competencies.

This study provides valuable insights to help creating a successful foundation for organizational cross-border knowledge transfer. This study is also among few studies to examine the critical antecedents in successful organizational cross-border knowledge transfer from a multidimensional perspective in Malaysia.

The paper aimed to explore the development of the North American and the European cruise industry. The paper is discursive and it covers philosophical discussions and comparative studies of others ' work and thinking. The paper attempts to provide answers to the following questions. Is it a zero-sum game? And does the rise of new tourism destinations imply the decline of some of the existing destinations?

This paper employs literature and archival documents utilizing data from Berlitz Guides to Cruising 1992-2013, Cruise Industry News Annuals 1995-2013, and other sources were evaluated to draw conclusions.

Cruising has evolved from a source of supplemental income into the fastest growing segment of the hospitality and tourism industry. The confluence of innovative ships, improved distribution channels, market awareness, and harbor facilities, has often resulted in rapid sustained expansion. Looking at the quantity and quality of major ships, their impact on the growth and globalization of the industry is illustrated.

Ship numbers and deployment patterns can serve as precursors of growth. Analysis shows that quantitative and qualitative changes in permanently assigned ships signal transformative growth in a region ' s cruise market.

The paper serves to identify regions and times for further investigation of impact. The paper is a concise chronicle of the development of the cruise industry and it serves as a basis for further in-depth research.

The purpose of this paper is to perform a psychometric evaluation of dynamic managerial capability (DMC) scale in the context of early internationalizing firms from an emerging economy. Drawing on DMC theory, this study validates the measurement scales to operationalize DMC of entrepreneurs as managerial human capital (MHC), managerial social capital (MSC) and managerial cognition (MC).

Sample firms were drawn from the apparel industry in Bangladesh, an emerging economy. Data were collected from entrepreneurs in two waves through a questionnaire-based survey. In total, 185 firms responded during the first wave and 223 firms responded during the second wave. The first wave of data was used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to uncover the underlying dimensions of DMC and the data from the second wave were used to test the validity of the DMC scale through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

EFA suggested a three-dimension scale which was supported by CFA. The findings of the study demonstrate that DMC is a valid and reliable scale to capture the individual-level capability of entrepreneurs.

DMC is rooted in three underlying attributes as MHC, MSC and MC. It is advisable to the practitioner and researcher to operationalize DMC as a second-order construct in future studies.

The purpose of this paper is to provide comprehensive information on preventive maintenance (PM) planning and methods used in the industry in order to achieve an effective maintenance system.

The literature review is organized in a way that provides the general overview of the researches done in the PM. This paper discusses the literatures that had been reviewed on four main topics, which are the holistic view of maintenance policies, PM planning, PM planning concept and PM planning-based in developing optimal planning in executing PM actions.

PM policy is one of the original proactive techniques that has been used since the start of researches on maintenance system. Review of the methods presented in this paper shows that most researches analyse effectiveness using artificial intelligence, simulation, mathematical formulation, matrix formation, critical analysis and multi-criteria method. While in practice, PM activities were either planned based on cost, time or failure. Research trends on planning and methods for PM show that the variation of approaches used over the year from early 1990s until today.

Research about PM is known to be extensively conducted and majority of companies applied the policy in their production line. However, most analysis and method suggested in published literatures were done based on mathematical computation rather than focussing on solution to real problems in the industry. This normally would lead to the problems in understanding by the practitioner. Therefore, this paper presented researches on PM planning and suggested on the methods that are practical, simple and effective for application in the real industry.

The originality of this paper comes from its detail analysis of PM planning in term of its research focus and also direction for application. Extensive reviews on the methods adopted in relation to PM planning based on the planning-based such as cost-based, time-based and failure-based were also provided.

The problem of motif discovery has become a significant challenge in the era of big data where there are hundreds of genomes requiring annotations. The importance of motifs has led many researchers to develop different tools and algorithms for finding them. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new algorithm to increase the speed and accuracy of the motif discovering process, which is the main drawback of motif discovery algorithms.

All motifs are sorted in a tree-based indexing structure where each motif is created from a combination of nucleotides: ‘A’, ‘C’, ‘T’ and ‘G’. The full motif can be discovered by extending the search around 4-mer nucleotides in both directions, left and right. Resultant motifs would be identical or degenerated with various lengths.

The developed implementation discovers conserved string motifs in DNA without having prior information about the motifs. Even for a large data set that contains millions of nucleotides and thousands of very long sequences, the entire process is completed in a few seconds.

Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed implementation; as for a real-sequence of 1,270,000 nucleotides spread into 2,000 samples, it takes 5.9 s to complete the overall discovering process when the code ran on an Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.4 GHz machine and 26.7 s when running on an Intel Xeon x5670 @ 2.93 GHz machine. In addition, the authors have improved computational performance by parallelizing the implementation to run on multi-core machines using the OpenMP framework. The speedup achieved by parallelizing the implementation is scalable and proportional to the number of processors with a high efficiency that is close to 100%.