bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CONSISTENCY OF ONLINE CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF POSTED COMMENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF TRIPADVISOR REVIEWS
Authors: Khoo Foo Sheng , Teh Phoey Lee , Ooi Pei Boon
Published: August 2020

Ratings and comments play a dominant role in online reviews. The question, thus, arises as to whether or not there is any consistency in consumer perception of the reviews, and how future choices might be influenced. We analysed 2000 comments of 20 different hotels posted on TripAdvisor to determine if the comments posted by previous guests of a hotel influence the decisions of potential guests. Two hundred human raters were asked to consider 20 reviews and to rate a hotel based on the reviews. The Cohen Kappa coefficient was used to evaluate the degree of agreement on the hotel quality as determined by the human raters and the star rating given by the original reviewer. The results showed a high consistency between the human raters’ evaluation and the reviewers’ star rating. This research reveals the importance of website feedback such as TripAdvisor in influencing consumer choice.
A LINEAR PROGRAMMING BASED MODEL TO MEASURE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
Authors: Mat Kasim Maznah , Kashim Rosmaini , Mohamed Nadhar Khan Sahubar Ali
Published: August 2020

Measuring performance of an educational program based on its academic achievement is not sufficient without considering the cost and the impact of the program. This paper aims to demonstrate the construction of a measurement model consisting of the input, output and outcome variables. The model can estimate both the efficiency and the effectiveness of undergraduate programs. After the aforementioned variables were identified for each individual efficiency and effectiveness model, a linear programming based tool, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used as the analysis method to integrate the models since it has the ability to consider all the variables simultaneously. The two models were integrated as a product, and was defined as the final model which was verified by applying it to measure the performance of 26 undergraduate programs in a university. The results show that seven programs are efficient, six programs are effective, and six programs are both efficient and effective. The model is flexible since it can be extended to include more variables or it can be modified by defining new variables in measuring efficiency and effectiveness of other programs or organizations.
ENHANCED HEURISTIC ALGORITHMS WITH A VEHICLE TRAVEL SPEED MODEL FOR TIME-DEPENDENT VEHICLE ROUTING: A WASTE COLLECTION PROBLEM
Authors: Mat Nur Azriati , Benjamin Aida Mauziah , Abdul-Rahman Syariza
Published: August 2020

This paper proposes a vehicle travel speed model to enhance two heuristic algoritihms from previous studies, namely current initial solution (CIS) and different initial customer (DIC). Both algorithms are used to solve a real-life waste collection vehicle routing benchmark problem with dynamic travel speeds. This problem is referred to as Time-Dependent Vehicle Routing Problem (TD-VRP) in previous literature. The benchmark problem consisted of ten sub problems, involving up to 2092 customers. Previous studies solved the benchmark problem using DIC and CIS algorithms with the assumption that the vehicles are travelling with a static speed when collecting the waste. However, in this paper the static speed that was considered in both algorithms were improved by introducing dynamic travel speeds to construct vehicle routes for the waste collection drivers. Compared to previous studies the enhanced CIS and DIC with dynamic travel speeds affected the waste collection problem in terms of the number of vehicles used, the total distance travelled and the total travel time. However, different settings of speed may give different impacts to the solution. The study reveals that with a setting of dynamic speed between 40 mph and 55 mph, DIC is able to reduce two vehicles (from 98 to 96 number of vehicles used), 7.85% of total distance travelled, and 19.10% of total travel time.
COMMENT ANALYSIS FOR PRODUCT AND SERVICE SATISFACTION FROM THAI CUSTOMERS' REVIEW IN SOCIAL NETWORK
Authors: Chumwatana Todsanai
Published: August 2020

In the last decade, the amount of social media usage has rapidly increased exponentially in Thailand. A huge amount of Thai online reviews and comments are available on social network every second. Because of this fact, comment analysis, also called sentiment analysis, has then become an essential task to analyze people’s emotions, opinion, attitudes and sentiments from the amount of these online posts. This paper proposed the technique for analyzing Thai customers’ comments or opinions about the products and services by counting the polarity words of the product and service domains. To demonstrate the proposed technique, experimental studies on analyzing Thai customers’ comments in the social media are presented in this paper. The comments are classified into neutral, positive or negative. The proposed technique benefits the business domain in guiding product improvement and quality of service. Hence, this paper also benefits the end-users in making a smart decision.
A HIERARCHICAL CLASSIFIER FOR MULTICLASS PROSTATE HISTOPATHOLOGY IMAGE GLEASON GRADING
Authors: Albashish Dheeb , Sahran Shahnorbanun , Abdullah Azizi , Adam Afzan , Alweshah Mohammed
Published: August 2020

Automated classification of prostate histopathology images includes the identification of multiple classes, such as benign and cancerous (grades 3 & 4). To address the multiclass classification problem in prostate histopathology images, breakdown approaches are utilized, such as one-versus-one (OVO) and one- versus-all (Ovall). In these approaches, the multiclass problem is decomposed into numerous binary subtasks, which are separately addressed. However, OVALL introduces an artificial class imbalance, which degrades the classification performance, while in the case of OVO, the correlation between different classes not regarded as a multiclass problem is broken into multiple independent binary problems. This paper proposes a new multiclass approach called multi-level (hierarchical) learning architecture (MLA). It addresses the binary classification tasks within the framework of a hierarchical strategy. It does so by accounting for the interaction between several classes and the domain knowledge. The proposed approach relies on the ‘divide-and-conquer’ principle by allocating each binary task into two separate subtasks; strong and weak, based on the power of the samples in each binary task. Conversely, the strong samples include more information about the considered task, which motivates the production of the final prediction. Experimental results on prostate histopathological images illustrated that the MLA significantly outperforms the Ovall and OVO approaches when applied to the ensemble framework. The results also confirmed the high efficiency of the ensemble framework with the MLA scheme in dealing with the multiclass classification problem.
HOUGH TRANSFORM GENERATED STRONG IMAGE HASHING SCHEME FOR COPY DETECTION
Authors: Srivastava Mayank , Siddiqui Jamshed , Ali Mohammad Athar
Published: August 2020

The rapid development of image editing software has resulted in widespread unauthorized duplication of original images. This has given rise to the need to develop robust image hashing technique which can easily identify duplicate copies of the original images apart from differentiating it from different images. In this paper, we have proposed an image hashing technique based on discrete wavelet transform and Hough transform, which is robust to large number of image processing attacks including shifting and shearing. The input image is initially pre-processed to remove any kind of minor effects. Discrete wavelet transform is then applied to the pre-processed image to produce different wavelet coefficients from which different edges are detected by using a canny edge detector. Hough transform is finally applied to the edge-detected image to generate an image hash which is used for image identification. Different experiments were conducted to show that the proposed hashing technique has better robustness and discrimination performance as compared to the state-of-the-art techniques. Normalized average mean value difference is also calculated to show the performance of the proposed technique towards various image processing attacks. The proposed copy detection scheme can perform copy detection over large databases and can be considered to be a prototype for developing online real-time copy detection system.
THE IMPACT OF PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY ON USER EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE AND USER EXPERIENCE OVER TIME
Authors: Wan Ahmad Wan Nooraishya , Mohamad Ali Nazlena
Published: August 2020

Experience is key in deciding whether or not to adopt a system such as persuasive technology, which aims to persuade people to take up a targeted attitude or behavior. Thousands of persuasive technologies have been developed for commercial and academic uses; however, many studies on experience have mainly been conducted on products and none have focused on studying experience in the context of persuasive technologies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate emotional experience and user experience when using persuasive technology. Twenty-five participants comprising university staffs and students were given 6 weeks to use two different persuasive web applications—one on health and the other on environmental issues. A pre-post interaction approach was carried out to analyze the participants’ emotional experiences; Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) instruments and questionnaires were used to assess user experience based on the pragmatic, hedonic, and appeal quality of the web applications. From 20 PANAS emotions, only six emotions were found to have significant impact. Although a significant change happened in user experience perceptions from the pre-interaction to post-interaction stages, no significant change happened in user emotional experience. The findings imply that the changes in user experience perceptions over time may contribute towards altering persuasion, whether by increasing or reducing persuasion via persuasive technology. As a result, this study contributes new information to the theory of designing persuasive technology such that more concern is put on the hedonic quality and appealingness of a system for greater user experience and an emotionally impactful and successful persuasion.
MULTI-OBJECTIVES MEMETIC DISCRETE DIFFERENTIAL EVOLUTION ALGORITHM FOR SOLVING THE CONTAINER PRE-MARSHALLING PROBLEM
Authors: Mustafa Hossam M. J. , Ayob Masri , Ahmad Nazri Mohd Zakree , Abu-Taleb Sawsan
Published: August 2020

The Container Pre-marshalling Problem (CPMP) has the significant effect of reducing ship berthing time, and can help in increasing terminal turnover rate. In order to solve the CPMP, this research proposes a Multi-objectives Memetic Discrete Differential Evolution algorithm (MODDE). To date, existing research in CPMP only focuses on single-objective approaches. However, this is not a suitable approach due to the considerable effort required to validate the hard constraints of CPMP. Therefore, this work aims at addressing the effect of minimizing the number of miss-overlaid containers on the total number of movements in building the final feasible bay layout by embedding it in the multi-objectives evaluation function. The proposed algorithm combines the Discrete Differential Evolution mutation with the Memetic Algorithm evolutionary steps in order to find high quality CPMP solutions, achieve high convergence rate and avoid premature convergence and local optima problems. In addition, it improves the exploration and exploitation capabilities of the algorithm. The standard pre-marshalling benchmark dataset (i.e., Bortfeldt-Forster) is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results reveal that the proposed MODDE algorithm can find good solutions on instances of the standard pre-marshalling benchmarks. This demonstrates that using the multi-objectives approach with a combination of the Discrete Differential Evolution mutation and the Memetic Algorithm evolutionary is a suitable approach for solving multi-objectives CPMP.
HYBRID IMPROVED BACTERIAL SWARM OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM FOR HAND-BASED MULTIMODAL BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM
Authors: Shanmugasundaram Karthikeyan , Mohmed Ahmad Sufril Azlan , Ruhaiyem Nur Intan Raihana
Published: August 2020

This paper proposes a Hybrid Improved Bacterial Swarm (HIBS) optimization algorithm for the minimization of Equal Error Rate (EER) as a performance measure in a hand-based multimodal biometric authentication system. The hybridization of the algorithm was conducted by incorporating Bacterial Foraging Optimization (BFO) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to mitigate weaknesses in slow and premature convergence. In the proposed HIBS algorithm, the slow convergence of BFO algorithm was mitigated by using the random walk procedure of Firefly algorithm as an adaptive varying step size instead of using fixed step size. Concurrently, the local optima trap (i.e. premature convergence) of PSO algorithm was averted by using mutation operator. The HIBS algorithm was tested using benchmark functions and compared against classical BFO, PSO and other hybrid algorithms like Genetic Algorithm-Bacterial Foraging Optimization (GA-BFO), Genetic Algorithm-Particle Swarm Optimization (GA-PSO) and other BFO-PSO algorithms to prove its exploration and exploitation ability. It was observed from the experimental results that the EER values, after the influence of the proposed HIBS algorithm, dropped to 0.0070% and 0.0049% from 1.56% and 0.86% for the right and left hand images of the Bosphorus database, respectively. The results indicated the ability of the proposed HIBS in optimization problem where it optimized relevant weights in an authentication system.
PARAMETER ADAPTATION FOR ANT COLONY SYSTEM IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK
Authors: Abdul Nasir Husna Jamal , Ku-Mahamud Ku Ruhana , Kamioka Eiji
Published: August 2020

The Ant Colony System (ACS) algorithm has been applied in solving packet routing problems in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Solving these problems is complicated as packets need to be submitted through sensor nodes which are spatially distributed and heterogeneous by nature. Without an effective packet routing algorithm, energy consumption will be increased while network lifetime will be reduced. Most researches are focused on optimizing the routing process by using predefined parameters within a certain range. However, this approach will not guarantee optimal performance. This paper presents the parameter adaptation values for ACS experimental set-up in validating its performance. Possible values of each parameter within a defined range were employed. Experiments were conducted to obtain the best value of each parameter to be used for throughput, energy consumption, and latency. Results of this study can be adopted to achieve optimal performance for the packet routing process.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR AMONG ACADEMICIANS: THE CASE OF A MALAYSIAN HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTION
Authors: Mohamed Razi Mohamed Jalaldeen , Habibullah Md , Hussin Husnayati
Published: August 2020

Proper knowledge management (KM) is vital for any organization to perform to the expectation including higher learning institutions (HLIs). Hence, struggling to perform is an indication of lack of KM initiatives. Though many facets of KM have been investigated in HLIs, more studies are needed as the previous empirical works have focused only on knowledge sharing behavior among academicians. An intensive literature review exposes that nonexistence of works employing KM-related theories. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate academicians’ perceived intention (KM Intention) and involvement in KM initiatives (KM Behavior) and its predictors in a Malaysian HLI, which is struggling to perform, by relating theory of knowledge creation. KM intention explains the perception and the attitudes towards KM while the KM behavior illustrates the real behavior. Both these variables were operationalized based on knowledge creation theory through the socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization (SECI) process. A conceptual framework was developed based on the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. Six independent variables representative of the socio-cultural nature of KM - trust, management support, decentralization, IT support, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy - were considered as the predictors of KM intention, which in turn, predict KM behavior. Data were collected from 156 academicians from an HLI in Malaysia using questionnaires. The questionnaire items were adapted from previous studies. The structural model analysis confirmed that out of seven proposed hypotheses, four are supported: Trust, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy influence KM Intention, while KM Intention influences KM Behavior. Even though further research works are needed to generalize the findings, the current research and the findings can enrich the KM literature and provide some insights to the decision makers of the selected HLI on the appropriate KM implementation strategies.
SUMMARIZING INDONESIAN NEWS ARTICLES USING GRAPH CONVOLUTIONAL NETWORK
Authors: Garmastewira Garmastewira , Khodra Masayu Leylia
Published: August 2020

Multi-document summarization transforms a set of related documents into one concise summary. Existing Indonesian news articles summarizations do not take relationships between sentences into account and heavily depends on Indonesian language tools and resources. In this paper, we employ Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) which accepts word embedding sequence and sentence relationship graph as input for Indonesian news articles summarization. Our system is comprised of four main components, which are preprocess, graph construction, sentence scoring, and sentence selection components. Sentence scoring component is a neural network that uses Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and GCN to produce the scores of all sentences. We use three different representation types for the sentence relationship graph. Sentence selection component then generates summary with two different techniques, which are by greedily choosing sentences with the highest scores and by using Maximum Marginal Relevance (MMR) technique. The evaluation shows that GCN summarizer with Personalized Discourse Graph (PDG) graph representation system achieves the best results with average ROUGE-2 recall score of 0.370 for 100-word summary and 0.378 for 200-word summary. Sentence selection using greedy technique gives better results for generating 100-word summary, while MMR performs better for generating 200-word summary.
Sovereign Wealth Fund or State Capitalism: Nigeria’s Search for a Stable Economic Order
Authors: Mmaduabuchi G. S.
Published: August 2020

For quite some time now, the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) has become an issue in the front burner of Nigeria’s national debate. The manner it was handled by the federal government became suspicious because there was serious disagreement among the stake holders, starting with the source of funding. But the whole idea of SWF in itself has remained controversial especially with regard to the problem it is meant to solve. The paper makes a contribution to this debate with an analysis of the extant literature and theoretical framework. It cites examples of successful experiences of the SWF and the circumstances that back up their results and suggests that Nigeria’s search for a stable economic order does not lie in the SWF but more importantly to take care of all the necessary structural changes and erect a new political framework for a viable and durable economic development.
An Appraisal of Malaysia’s Continuing Membership in the Commonwealth Organisation
Authors: Muda Muhammad , Osman Nazariah
Published: August 2020

The Commonwealth has always had a central place in Malaya/Malaysia’s foreign policy, especially in the period immediately after independence and in the first few years of the formation of Malaysia. This was the period when Malaysia needed Commonwealth assistance most, in part, due to its requirement for external defence. Such assistance was not only relevant in the context of constructive cooperation but, more importantly, there was no other organization at that time in the region that could be of assistance to it. Whilst Britain was keen at accommodating Malaya as a member of the organisation upon independence, it were the Prime Ministers of Malaysia who played decisive roles in determining the extent of the relationship with the Commonwealth. The benefits Malaysia derived from such association were also heavily shaped by the styles and perceptions of successive Prime Ministers. Although the emergence of ASEAN, OIC, and other similar bodies in later years of which Malaysia is also a member, has gradually eroded Malaysia’s profound attachment to the Commonwealth, however, it has no intention of leaving the Commonwealth. It has continued to offer some degree of both tangible and intangible support to the organisation in which successive Malaysian Premiers have acknowledged its relevance to the country’s foreign policy as well as it being a useful platform to articulate Malaysia’s views on political and socio-economic matters concerning, not only Commonwealth countries, but also the world at large.
Nigeria: A Country Profile
Authors: Onah Emmanuel Ikechi
Published: August 2020

Nigeria is a sovereign country located in the area of West Africa bordering on the Gulf of Guinea. The country has a total area of 923, 769sq km (a little more than twice the size of California). Its physical size makes Nigeria the third largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country’s terrain consists of the lowlands in the South with mountainous formations in the South-east, which merge into the hills and plateaus of the Central belt and the plains of the far north. The climate varies from the largely equatorial climates in the South to the tropical climates in the centre and the North (Ekoko, 1990). It is also the most populous country in Africa, with a population of about 160 million (2006 census), and a population growth rate estimate of 3%. The country is bordered on the west by the Republic of Benin and the Republic of Cameroon, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north by Niger Republic and the Republic of Chad. Nigeria is endowed with numerous natural resources, the most important being petroleum and natural gas, found in the Niger Delta areas of the country. Coal, iron ore, tin, limestone, zinc, lead, gold, precious stones, and uranium are found across the country.There are many ethnic groups, roughly categorized into the majority ethnic groups and the minority ethnic groups. The majority groups are namely, the Hausa-Fulani of the North, the Yoruba of the South-west, and the Igbo of the South-east. The hundreds of so-called minority ethnic groups include the Igala, Tiv, Idoma, Junkun, Angas, Birom and others in the Central-belt, the Edo, Urhobo and Itshekiri in the Mid-west, the Ijaw, Efik, Ibibio and Ogoni in the South-south, and the Kanuri, Gwari and Kataf of the far-North. On the whole, it is estimated that the country has more than 250 ethnic groups (Osaghae, 1998). English is the official language in Nigeria, by virtue of the country being a former colony of Britain. Christianity, Islam and traditional beliefs are the religions in the country, and although there is no state religion, the various tiers of government in the country are often involved in aspects of some of these religions, including state sponsorships of annual Muslim and Christian pilgrimages to the Holy lands.
Restoring Democracy: Australian Responses to Military Coups in Fiji
Authors: Kelly Andrew
Published: August 2020

This article examines Australian responses to successive military coups in Fiji as well as the 2014 Fijian election. In each of Fiji’s three military coups, Australia failed to strike an appropriate balance between simultaneously condemning these military takeovers and taking positive steps toward restoring Fiji to normal democratic processes. Accordingly, this article argues that Australia has habitually viewed Fiji’s military coups through a broader strategic lens which has done little to encourage political change in Suva. Recent positive steps by the Abbott government to normalise relations and assist with Fiji’s 2014 election inspired some degree of confi dence about the future of Fiji and its relationship with Australia. Nevertheless, for Australia to fi nd long-term stability in Fiji, the Abbott government must learn from past mistakes, tread cautiously, and encourage stronger dialogue between the two countries.
Boko Haram Insurgency and the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria
Authors: Onah Emmanuel Ikechi
Published: August 2020

This is a study of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, and how it affected the 2015 General Elections in the country. The Boko Haram is a Muslim fundamentalist sect founded in 2002, but the insurgency it mounted in Nigeria in 2009 has dovetailed into politics. By the time of the 2015 elections in Nigeria, the insurgency had become the foremost political issue in the country. Boko Haram was central in the campaigns for the elections, and the fortunes of the political parties and their candidates literally depended on where they stood concerning the Boko Haram matter. Interestingly, the elections also affected the fortunes of Boko Haram as the incumbent government at the time had to come out in full force against the sect as a way of shoring up its chances at the polls. Since after the polls, the viability of the insurgency has considerably reduced, although the sect continues to pose a threat to the country. This paper argues that beyond victory in the battlefi eld, the government of Nigeria must also improve on its governance practices in order to remove the socio-economic conditions that help to sustain Boko Haram and other such militant groups in Nigeria.
The Korean War and US-Indonesia Relations, 1950-1954
Authors: Mason Richard
Published: August 2020

The Korean War, which broke out very closely upon the heels of the Communist victory in China, immediately assumed global implications beyond the boundaries of the Korean Peninsula. Essentially a Korean civil war, it immediately became a major ‘hot war’ in the Cold War in Asia. This paper discusses the relations between the United States and Indonesia in the aftermath of the North Korean attack on South Korea, covering the period from the outbreak of the war in 1950 through to the end of the war in 1954. The paper explores the various ways in which the United States attempted to co-opt and coerce Indonesia into the Western camp in the Cold War, and Indonesia’s responses thereto. The central theme of the paper is the interplay between the United States’ policy of containment and the Indonesian policy of non-alignment in the Cold War. An examination of the United States’ policy toward Indonesia, a non-communist but non-aligned nation, vis-à-vis the Korean War, would serve to illustrate the dynamics and nature of the Cold War in Southeast Asia.
Nigeria’s Hegemony in West Africa – Counting the Cost
Authors: Omaamaka Offu Peter , Okechukwu Groupson-Paul
Published: August 2020

The aim of this study is to examine Nigeria’s hegemony in West Africa and its implications on Nigeria’s national core development programmes. This is done via critical examination of some selected regional and national development indicators with a view to fi nd ways of improving the overall national performance as signifi cant contribution to regional development. On political impact, the study found that successive Nigerian governments were engrossed in unprecedented national corruption than development, diverting billions of dollars meant for national development in the guise of national security, regional peacekeeping, humanitarian intervention and socio-economic development of the sub region. The consequences of such political ineptitude were widespread: failed leadership, clientelism, rentierism, political apathy, escalating national insecurity, wide-spread poverty and unemployment and poor macroeconomic development. Overall, the study opines that Nigeria should shore up greater commitment and responsibility towards her national and human capital development, massively improve the infrastructure, reorientate both military and political elites to ensure integral national growth, overhaul her regional and foreign policy goals to meet her national interest goals as true catalyst for regional development.
The United Nations Security Council Reforms and The Permanent Five Challenge: A Historical Perspective
Authors: Ade-Ibijola Aderemi Opeyemi
Published: August 2020

The manner in which the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is presently constituted remains the greatest challenge to the realization of the ambitions of UNSC permanent seat seekers. For the highly infl uential economic giants better known as the “middle powers”- Japan, India, Brazil, and Germany; and African leading contenders such as Nigeria, South-Africa and Egypt ambitions to yield the desired result, they must mandatorily secure the support of the UNSC Permanent fi ve veto holding members. In light of the foregoing, this paper examines the attempts to reform the UNSC since the late 1960s and the roles of the Permanent fi ve members of the UNSC such as Britain, China, France, USA and Russia regarding this endeavour. Specifi cally, it argues that the Permanent fi ve member’s disposition to this issue has been the major challenge to the much desired reform of the UNSC. The UNSC is the main organ of the United Nations (UN) that is vested with powers to maintain international peace and security. Since its creation in mid 1940s, this organ has been criticized for its undemocratic nature by member states whose region are either not represented in the Security Council (SC) or under-represented.
An Evaluation of Malaysia’s Political Leadership in Malaysia-US Relations in the Post 9/11 Era
Authors: Mukhtaruddin Mas Juliana
Published: August 2020

The 9/11 attacks perpetrated against the United States has impacted Malaysia-US relations in a signifi cant way. Despite the murmurs of disapproval and condemnation from the international community that characterised the controversial US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Malaysia-US relations have grown from strength to strength. It is suggested that Malaysia’s political leadership is one of the contributing factors that has shaped the growing bilateral relationship. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by Malaysia’s political establishment in nurturing the progressive relations between the two countries. Certainly, both Malaysia and the US exist in a dynamic global world that is constantly shaped by events that take place within their surrounding environment.
The Impacts of Indonesia and Russia Trade Relations on Indonesia’s Maritime Security
Authors: Manurung Hendra
Published: August 2020

This article is to examine the increasing development of the bilateral trade relations between the Republic of Indonesia and the Russian Federation. Also it aims at studying the Indonesia-Russia trade relations on Indonesia’s national security. Thus, in pursuit of its national interest, Indonesia is working very hard to further strengthen its bilateral trade relations with Russia. Marking the 50 year old relationship in the beginning of the 21st century, the two countries have booked an increasing trade in their relations. This research employed qualitative research methods featuring descriptive analysis of the data on the bilateral relations within “The Framework of Friendly and Partnership in the 21st century”. Therefore, the author exposed the works of two main consultation mechanisms, namely the Indonesian-Russian Joint Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation and the Joint Commission on Military Technical Cooperation under the President Megawati Sukarnoputri administration (2003 - 2004), succeeded by the 1st team of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004 -2009) and the 2nd team of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2009-2014), and President Joko Widodo (2014 - present). An increase is recorded in the overall trade relations of the two countries. Nevertheless, Indonesia still suffered from trade deficit. In addition, the Indonesian defense capability has increased.
The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade: Wither the SADC/ICGLR Synchronised Peace Support Efforts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Recurring Conflict?
Authors: Rugeje Engelbert Abel , Maeresera Sadiki
Published: August 2020

From the time it deployed in the eastern DRC in 2013 up to the first quarter of 2016, arguably no much tangible progress has been made by the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (UN FIB). The security situation in eastern Congo continues to be unstable. This instability has serious direct security threats and spillover effects on respective neighbouring countries that are either part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). There are certain constraints that the FIB has continued to encounter in the context of regional and international political and strategic dynamics surrounding eastern Congo recurring conflict. This paper argues that one of the contributing factors behind the challenges encountered by the UN Force is the fact that both the ICGLR and the SADC efforts at enhancing peace enforcement in the eastern DRC have been overshadowed by the self-interests of international actors. Arguably, this scenario has impacted negatively on the ICGLR/SADC synchronised efforts towards the effectiveness of the FIB. The paper makes some recommendations on how best to attain sustainable synergy between the ICGLR and SADC in order to enhance the strategic and operational efficiency and the effectiveness of the UN FIB in the eastern Congo conflict.
Bio-weapons and Bio-terrorism Attacks on Commercial Shipping in Nigeria: The Potential Trojan Horse of the 21st Century
Authors: O. Abdulkadir Abdulrazaq
Published: August 2020

Biological attacks by terrorists may seem more like a plot element in an action film than a realistic threat. The possibility of biological weapons attack could be very remote. Scholars are divergent in their opinions on the plausibility of a biological attack. The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Intelligence Council stated in 2008 that bio-terrorism is a more likely threat than nuclear terrorism. Researches have revealed that of all weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons constitute the greatest worry. The most likely target for bio-terrorism is a major city or other densely crowded areas, such as transportation hubs like sea ports. This paper probes into Nigerian legislations especially the Nigerian Port Authority Act, the NIMASA Act, the Terrorism Act and the NAFDAC Act regarding biological weapons and bio-terrorism in maritime commerce parlance. It is observed in this paper that all these Acts lack preventive mechanisms in the case of the emergence of the scourge. It is argued that Nigeria is vulnerable to bio-terrorism owing to a dearth of detective measure in the boarder ports. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need to revamp the legal framework to tame the threat of bio-terrorism.
Japan – U.S. Relations under the Abe Doctrine: Shifting Policy in East Asia Regional Stability
Authors: Manurung Hendra
Published: August 2020

Reelection of Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister provides a favorable climate for both Donald Trump’s first presidential visit to Japan and an improvement of Chinese-Japanese-U.S. bilateral relations. In the 22 October 2017 ballot, Abe’s dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito, secured a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, the lower house of Japan’s bicameral legislature. The coalition already holds a supermajority, required for amending the constitution, in the upper house. It justified Abe for calling the national elections a year earlier than needed to secure a public mandate for addressing the growing North Korean threat and to validate popular support for deepening national economic reforms, which have had recent success in boosting Japan’s growth rate and the stock market. Still the outcome gave Abe a mandate for his policies. However, his stewardship was unclear as several other factors contributed to LDP’s overwhelming victory. At the structural level, Japan’s first past the post-electoral system tends to amplify electoral wins in comparison to proportional representation systems. Abe’s foreign and security policies highly charged with ideological revisionism contain the potential to shift Japan onto a new international trajectory in East Asia. Its degree of articulation and energy makes for a doctrine capable of displacing the Yoshida Doctrine that has been Japan’s dominant grand strategy in the post-war period. Abe will remain pragmatic and not challenge the status quo. However, Abe has already begun to introduce radical policies that appear to transform national security, US-Japan alliance ties and relations with China and East Asia. The Abe Doctrine is dynamic but high risk. Abe’s revisionism contains fundamental contradictions that may ultimately limit national effectiveness.
The Energy Sector and the Internet of Things – Sustainable Consumption and Enhanced Security through Industrial Revolution 4.0
Authors: Hashriq Dharfizi Awang Dzul
Published: August 2020

With integration between machine automation and data being the hallmark of industrial revolution 4.0, the resilience of energy infrastructure in modern economy has taken a new significance. The study aims at discussing the potential and examining the impacts of the Internet of Things (IoT), which are smart devices with embedded sensors and connectivity, enabling data exchange to the energy sector. This technology contributes towards enhancing industry’s sustainable practices through the industrial internet of things. With data from the “edge of the grid,” these sensors assist in efficient energy consumption, providing constant monitoring for the regulatory authority, particularly on pollutant emissions. IoT technology may complement the national electric smart-grid, enhancing its reliability by feeding these raw data into machine learning neural network for the optimal operation. All these technologies shall complement one another, as Malaysia transform from a net energy exporter into an energy importer. Practicing efficient energy consumption can reduce this external dependency, and enhance national energy security. This paper derives statistical data sourced from the Energy Commission and technical data from publications of other scholars. On smaller scale, IoT implementation in manufacturing plants may resulted in 15% operating cost reduction. The benefits on national level implementation however remains unknown.
Urgency of Political Decentralization and Regional Autonomy in Indonesia: Local Perspectives
Authors: Yakub Andi , Abdul Ghani Ahmad Bashawir , Anwar Mohammad Syafi’i
Published: August 2020

Indonesia is a country that is inhabited by hundreds of ethnic groups with different geographical condition, natural resources and social culture. Regional decentralization and autonomy that is carried out in Indonesia is an acknowledgment of ethnic diversity (pluralism) to create unity and harmony (BhinekaTunggal Ika), to form social harmony and equal development with the framework of protecting national stability. This article argues on the urgency of political decentralization and regional autonomy in Indonesia through local perspectives by using political decentralization/local democracy model approach with the centrifugal style of authority and government decentralization and structural efficiency model approach with centripetal style.
Changing Face of Sea Piracy in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region: Examining India’s Role in Maritime Cooperation
Authors: Dey Amrita
Published: August 2020

There is hardly any dispute that the Eastern Indian Ocean like its historical past is once again emerging into a ‘cosmopolitan’ maritime arena underpinned by long stretches of peaceful exchange of commodities, energy and other maritime accessories. It has witnessed a new constellation of ‘inward-looking’ regional powers with a ‘bazaar nexus’ (for mercantile goods and energy supply) with Asian and non-Asian powers. Economically, small and middle powers of this region do share and accommodate all to draw the benefits of a highly globalised ‘closely-knit’ mercantile system. Problems relating to trade hazards—‘maritime mugging,’ ‘sea piracy,’ ‘illegal transfer of arms and ammunition, maritime terrorism, has already been addressed adequately by the collective effort of member nations under the aegis of ASEAN. This goodwill effort in the maritime zone awaits response from the cultural domain as well, which still lacks its frequency and luster of the glorious past. Although loads have been talked about, there has been little in action. The present paper is an attempt to study the community building efforts of ASEAN in connivance with emerging powers like India and China; and efforts at building up an Indian Ocean community as it existed in its past—sans feuds, sans fight—but unhindered exchange of culture and trade
Human Security and the Israel-Palestine Conflict: External vs. Internal Perspectives
Authors: Baranovich Nadia , Moorthy Ravichandran
Published: August 2020

The formation of the State of Israel in 1948 has led to bloody course of events, which continues to this day, as to who has the right to claim the land home; the Palestinian-Arabs (mostly Muslim) or the Jewish (mostly non-Arab residents). The Israel-Palestine conflict is one of the most violent and bloodiest protracted conflict in the post World War II era, which has resulted in massive human casualties and human rights abuses for decades. The numerous wars in conjunction with the rise of militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas have led to the development of a human security dilemma in Palestine and Israel. Decades of violence and destruction have resulted in massive human casualties, political chaos and disruption to the way of life of the people in the region. The concept of human security began to enter mainstream human rights, security and international politics debate, more prominently, after the release of the 1994 report United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on Human Development. The report is essentially explicit manifestations of the human rights principles enshrined in the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Humans Rights (UNDHR). Human security pushes for intense promotion and greater respect for human life in all spheres of human endeavors. This article inspects the human security dimension present in the Israel-Palestine conflict. This article encompasses two major parts. The first part provides an external understanding of how human security principles can be applied to Israel- Palestine conflict and how it affects the possibility of peace. Secondly, the article addresses the question on how people ‘inside’ the conflict view human security and the possibility of peace.
The Origins of the Communist Rule in Eastern Europe: A Brief History
Authors: Mat Enh Azlizan
Published: August 2020

The history of communist rule is long and varied. Communism as a ruling system emphasizes on economy and balanced distribution of wealth and ownership of property among all the people. This system originated from the ideology of Karl Marx in 1845. Communist system in Eastern Europe was fostered by Soviet Union after the fall of Nazism at the end of World War II. This paper focuses on how the Eastern European states fell under the influence of Communist after World War II. It discusses how salami tactics were used by Soviet Union as one the methods to establish communist government in Eastern Europe. It also shows that Soviet Union’s position as a super power in Eastern Europe enabled her to spread communist ideology in the region.
ZIMBABWE : A Country Profile
Authors: Zengeni Knocks Tapiwa
Published: August 2020

Zimbabwe is a relatively small country situated in the southern part of Africa between South Africa and Zambia. It is also bounded by Mozambique in the east and Botswana in the West. This land-locked country occupies about 390,757 sq km of land and its population is about 12.4 million (CIA World Fact Book, 2011). Zimbabwe was a British colony for almost a century and was one of a few countries which belatedly achieved independence after waging a protracted liberation war. Several racial and ethnic groups reside in the county. English is the official language with two dominating native languages, that is, Shona and Sindebele being accorded national language status. Since 2000, Zimbabwe has been embroiled in the worst political and socio-economic crisis of its thirty-one year history as an independent state. Unfortunately, this unprecedented crisis has negatively affected every aspect of the country and every segment of the population. However, in February, 2009, after almost a year of uncertainty following controversial elections in 2008, a semblance of normality seems to have emerged after the main political actors agreed to set up an inclusive government. Despite these promising signs the country is still not out of the woods yet.
China’s Rise in Latin America
Authors: de Dosch Ana Lucía Salinas , Dosch Jörn
Published: August 2020

In November 2004 Chinese President Hu Jintao’s first tour of Latin America marked the beginning of a new phase in Beijing’s relationship with the region. Since then China has followed a three-fold political and economic strategy towards Latin America: first, to secure the provision of oil, minerals and agricultural products; second, to create access to new markets for the country’s growing export volume of manufactured products; and third to make sure that Latin American governments adhere to the ‘one China principle’ in their foreign relations. This is of particular importance vis-à-vis Latin America where China had previously lost diplomatic ground when some states officially recognised Taiwan. The article asks as to whether and what extent China and Latin America countries have become economic and strategic partners. Do Latin American governments play the China card to hedge against Washington? Special emphasis is given to the case of Ecuador which exemplifies the PRC’s growing prominence as an actor in Latin America. When Chinese foreign policy makers began to show some interest in Latin America during the early 1960s Ecuador was not a priority. However, the PRC has significantly strengthened its interests towards, and presence in, Ecuador since 2005. The provision of oil but also metals – primarily copper and cold - and increasingly agricultural products has taken centre-stage in Beijing’s strategy towards the Andean country. The article argues that while China’s influence in Latin America has undoubtedly increased significantly during the last half-decade, its role is still overshadowed by the US.