This study assesses the short-term and long-term interactions between firm performance, financial education and political instability in the case of Malaysia Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The simultaneous insertion of financial education and political instability within the study is done intentionally to inspect the effect of these two elements in one equation for the Malaysian economy. Using the bound testing methodology for cointegration and error correction models, advanced within an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework, we examine whether a long-run equilibrium connection survives between firm performance and the above mentioned independent variables. Using this method, we uncover evidence of a positive long-term link between firm performance and financial education, as well as a negative long-term relationship between firm performance and political instability. It has been suggested that SME owners enhance financial literacy and to be cautious about political indicators of the country
Abstract: Plastic pollution is a major issue of the current century. This waste is found in seas, freshwater, lakes, rivers, coastal areas, and soil. In this article, this article discusses the various sources of plastic pollution, including the manufacturing process of plastics and the addition of materials to improve their properties, as well as the use of single-use plastics that are not recyclable, in addition to burning and illegal waste disposal in the open. The impact on public health is through human exposure to toxins from plastics in the environment directly through inhaling dust and fumes, consuming contaminated food and drink, and skin contact. Indirectly, when marine creatures consume microplastics, they will find their way
... Show MoreIn this paper, fire resistance and residual capacity tests were carried out on encased pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) I-beams with high-strength concrete beams. The specimens were loaded concurrently under 25% of the ultimate load and fire exposure (an increase in temperature of 700 °C) for 70 min. Subsequently, the fire-damaged specimens were allowed to cool and then were loaded statically until failure to explore the residual behaviors. The effects of using shear connectors and web stiffeners on the residual behavior were investigated. Finite Element (FE) analysis was developed to simulate the encased pultruded GFRP I-beams under the effect of fire loading. The thermal analyses were performed using the general-pu
... Show MoreA ‘locking-bolt’ demountable shear connector (LBDSC) is proposed to facilitate the deconstruction and reuse of steel-concrete composite structures, in line with achieving a more sustainable construction design paradigm. The LBDSC is comprised of a grout-filled steel tube and a geometrically compatible partially threaded bolt. The latter has a geometry that ‘locks’ the bolt in compatible holes predrilled on the steel flange and eliminates initial slip and construction tolerance issues. The structural behaviour of the LBDSC is evaluated through nine pushout tests using a horizontal test setup. The effects of the tube thickness, strength of concrete slab, and strength of infilled grout on the shear resistance, initial stiffness, and du
... Show MoreThe synthesis of new substituted cobalt Phthalocyanine (CoPc) was carried out using starting materials Naphthalene-1,4,5, tetracarbonic acid dianhydride (NDI) employing dry process method. Metal oxides (MO) alloy of (60%Ni3O4 40%-Co3O4 ) have been functionalized with multiwall carbon nanotubes (F-MWCNTs) to produce (F-MWCNTs/MO) nanocomposite (E2) and mixed with CoPc to yield (F-MWCNT/CoPc/MO) (E3). These composites were investigated using different analytical and spectrophotometric methods such as 1H-NMR (0-18 ppm), FTIR spectroscopy in the range of (400-4000cm-1), powder X-rays diffraction (PXRD, 2θ o = 10-80), Raman spectroscopy (0-4000 cm-1), and UV-Visib
... Show MoreRotational Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting (RPZTEH) is widely used due to mechanical rotational input power availability in industrial and natural environments. This paper reviews the recent studies and research in RPZTEH based on its excitation elements and design and their influence on performance. It presents different groups for comparison according to their mechanical inputs and applications, such as fluid (air or water) movement, human motion, rotational vehicle tires, and other rotational operational principal including gears. The work emphasises the discussion of different types of excitations elements, such as mass weight, magnetic force, gravity force, centrifugal force, gears teeth, and impact force, to show their effect
... Show MoreThere is no doubt that optical fiber technology is one of the most important stages of the communications revolution at all and it is of utmost importance in our daily life. In this work, five fibers with core radii 2.5, 4.5 and 6.5–8.5 μm were designed. The properties of all guided modes have been calculated at a wavelength of 1550 nm by using RP Fiber Calculator. A single-mode fiber is obtained when the core radius approaches the wavelength. As the core radius is increased, the fiber becomes a multimode. The percentage power in the core increases with increasing core radius. The modes profiles were illustrated and compared with the modern references.
Nanocomposite was prepared using unsaturated polyester (UP) resin as a matrix and graphene nanoparticles as a reinforcement material in six percentage weights (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 1 and 1.5%). Mechanical, calorimetric and thermal studies were performed on the (UP) resin/graphene nanocomposite. All tests showed a clear improvement of all mechanical properties examined (hardness, flexural strength (F.S), impact strength (I.S) and tensile strength (T.S)) with increasing graphene percentage. In addition, the temperature of glass transition and thermal conductivity of this composite increased with increasing graphene content.