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This paper aims to propose a comprehensive methodology for setting up rural electrifications for indigenous villages with minimum budgets and the lowest possible cost of electricity (COE). The electricity accessibility of rural area in Malaysia is not fully covered and the cost of extending the grid to these areas can be high as RM 2.7m per km. Lack of vigorous policies and economic attraction of the rural areas are also the main barriers to rural electrification. Electricity is an essential element of economic activities and the lack of electricity exacerbates poverty and contributes to its perpetuation. Therefore, a hybrid standalone power system can be an alternative solution for the rural electrification. A hybrid standalone power system is studied to investigate the potential of the implementation and the budget required.

A site survey has been carried out in a village in Peninsular Malaysia, namely, Kampung Ulu Lawin Selatan. A standalone hybrid system is modeled in HOMER Pro software and the data collected from the selected site are used to obtain the system configuration with the lowest COE. The load following and cycle charging energy dispatch methods are compared to identify the optimal system configuration that yields the lowest COE. The diesel generator-only system is chosen as a benchmark for comparisons.

The results show that the hybrid system constituted from the diesel generator, photovoltaic (PV), micro-hydro and energy storage using the load following energy dispatch method yields the lowest COE of RM 0.519 per kWh. The COE of the hybrid system is 378 per cent lower than that of the diesel generator-only system. The lead-acid energy storage system (ESS) is able to reduce 40 per cent of COE as compared to the system without ESS.

The results indicate that the COE of the diesel-micro hydro-PV-ESS system with load following dispatch strategy is RM 0.519 per kWh, and this value is 35 per cent higher than the average electricity price in Malaysia. However, it is important to note that the costs of extending the grid to the rural area are not taken into account. If this cost is considered into the electricity price, then the standalone hybrid power system proposed by this study is still a competitive alternative for rural electrification.

This research aims to provide systematic insight into the current maturity of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in operations and supply chain management (OSCM), by analyzing the existing literature, contemporary concepts, data and gaps for future research directions.

This research uses information from existing literature regarding timeline trends, publishers, research design and method, industry engagement, geographic location, active authors and affiliated universities, concentrated topics, theories and maturity in its review. A collection of publishing databases from 1997 to 2021 were explored using the keywords “Augmented Reality,” “Virtual Reality” and “Operations” and/or “Supply Chain” in their title and abstract to examine which publications to be included. Based on the search, a total of 164 journal articles were selected, and information on a chain of variables was collected.

There has been a significant publication growth over the past 25 years regarding the adoption of AR/VR in OSCM. Key findings indicate that 52% of the publications were focused on manufacturing, with only 10% of the existing literature using background theories. AR/VR can be observed at the introduction and growth phase and have yet to reach their maturity. Furthermore, there is limited utilization of AR/VR as drivers in facilitating sustainable practices in OSCM by academics and practitioners, albeit a strong promise exists. Finally, the prospective applications of AR/VR toward post-COVID-19 supply chains recovery require special attention.

This systematic review is limited to considering only academic articles available from Emerald, Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, Springer, Scopus, JSTOR and EBSCO containing the keyword parameters.

The study used a bibliometric review to identify the trends and maturity in the evolution of AR/VR in OSCM. This research provides a better understanding of current research practices and offers directions toward the adoption of AR/VR in OSCM.

Under Malaysian Law, the maintenance and management of common property have traditionally been viewed as insoluble challenges in the self-organisational efforts for high-rise low-cost housing developments. As the population increases, more shared resources become heavily exploited with few willing to contribute towards the sustainability of resources. Many researchers argued a better way would be to convert these shared resources into a private or state-managed entity. Hence, with that assumption, this paper aims to examine how better physical characteristics can result in greater collective action.

This research paper adopted a quantitative method approach to determine how the standard of physical characteristics influenced the quality of collective action in high-rise low-cost housing. The method included a questionnaire survey of 519 parcel holders chosen via stratified purposeful random sampling from four high-rise low-cost housing areas.

The paper found a positive correlation between the quality of physical characteristics and the collective action gained. The findings highlighted that the standard of workmanship of high-rise low-cost units (including the common properties), the crime rate in the neighbourhood and the condition of lift systems – when improved – were significant positive predictors of collective action.

Housing developers should pay attention to the quality of both low-cost units and related common properties, as this endeavour will assist greatly in future collective action management.

The study was justified in terms of its originality as few research studies adopted the social-ecological system framework that focused on the correlation between the quality of physical characteristics and the collective action of parcel holders.

Human resource management

This case is suitable for use for advanced-level undergraduate students (e.g. in their third or fourth year of study) and graduate-level students enrolled in human resource management, industrial relations, organizational behavior and legal courses (e.g. business law and ethics, employment law). It can be used also in training courses and sexual harassment workshops for employees, particularly those with supervisory responsibilities or who are involved in personnel, training, or industrial relations activities. The case has been class tested with MBA students enrolled in a course on organizational behavior.

In March 2014, William Wong, the CEO of Zejaya Corporation faced a dilemma. He had just been told some disturbing news about Larry Pang, his executive director, which may or may not have legal implications for the company in relation to sexual harassment. Two of his managers had confided in him that Linda Tan, one of his managers who had recently resigned, had asked them to tell him about Pang's repeated attempts to court her in the past several months. He was undecided on how he should handle the problem.

This case was developed for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. The case provides students the opportunity to learn about the potential ethical and legal issues surrounding workplace romance and sexual harassment at work.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Acceptance and use of mobile shopping as the preferred shopping medium is becoming the new normal today. The proliferation of mobile shopping practices follows unsteady growth patterns in different countries. Despite challenges of price, quality and privacy matters, young consumers still lead the race to engage in mobile shopping activity in developing countries. This research investigates the determinants that either support or hinder the mobile shopping intentions of aspirant young consumers in Pakistan.

The present research applies a consumer-centric approach to the technology adoption framework to unearth the behavioral patterns of these young consumers in Pakistan. Employing the structural equation modeling technique, this research examines the significant effect of structural assurance, perceived risk, trust and various unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model constructs on behavioral intention to engage in mobile shopping.

This research examines the significant effect of structural assurance, perceived risk, trust and various UTAUT model constructs on behavioral intention to engage in mobile shopping. Results also demonstrate a significant moderating effect of structural assurance and prior shopping experience on the relationship between perceived risk, trust and mobile shopping intentions. Further, the mobile shopping patterns for the male and female segment indicate a significant difference for perceived risk, trust structural assurance and social influence. The research contributes to the growing body of knowledge which advocates the application of consumer-centric customized model approach to explore various factors that either facilitate or impede the adoption of mobile shopping in a developing economy.

The study validates the need to enforce structural assurance mechanism for facilitating mobile shopping in a developing country. It also offers practical implications for online businesses and marketers striving to attract and retain more mobile customers.

The study offers practical implications for online businesses and marketers striving to attract and retain more mobile customers.

This study offers fresh insights about driving elements and impediments of mobile shopping behavioral intentions. Structural assurance and prior shopping experience appear to influence the mobile shopping behavior through direct and indirect effect.