The popularity of natural rubber as an important raw material was distorted in the post-World War Two period. It received heavy competition from synthetic rubber. The main purpose of this paper is to determine and to study supply elasticity and demand elasticity of natural rubber in the case of Malaysia. The main aim of analyzing the period since 1971 is that both price and quality competitiveness of Malaysian natural rubber have drastically improved. Therefore, in order for Malaysia to maintain her position as the leading producer and exporter of natural rubber in the world, supportive policies and incentives from the government would further enhance the prospects for improvements in this industry.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第21831号 / 農博第2344号 / 新制||農||1068(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H31||N5203(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科地域環境科学専攻 / (主査)教授 平井 伸博, 准教授 赤松 美紀, 教授 縄田 栄治 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Supplementary feeding continues to be a widespread strategy for child health promotion though its efficacy remains contested. The long-standing, Malaysian national food assistance program for children - Program Pemulihan Kanak-Kanak Kekurangan Zat Makanan (PPKZM) - fits this pattern, receiving severe criticism for its limited impact on child nutritional status. Still, the program remains, producing a seeming paradox and prompting questions of how it fits into (1) the larger political context of national health policy and (2) more localized village and clinic environments. This research combines historical inquiry with the in-depth, ethnographic study of two predominantly Malay coastal villages in Malaysian Borneo, where child anthropometry and household food insecurity rates establish a clear need for the PPKZM despite low coverage rates. This study assesses the ways in which common, local foods are perceived and categorized and the degree to which these understandings are shared both (1) within the communities and (2) between the communities and the clinics that serve them. Community members do not share a single core set of well-known food items. Instead, multiple microenvironments within the fieldsites likely dictate differential diets and prioritize distinct sets of foods. Agreement is more pronounced among clinic workers, who display a simple food classification system based almost exclusively on taxonomic differences with the rationale for these distinctions expressed in nutritional terms. Although community members recognize the same constitutive kinds, their categories are more nuanced and reflect the concerns of day-to-day practice, encompassing when and how a food item is encountered; its origins, relative expense, and common usage; and who will likely consume it. The dissertation relates cultural models for food classification to health education messages, PPKZM programming guidelines, community conditions, and food beliefs and practices. It facilitates an understanding of place - as viewed through the lens of food security - and addresses the relative fit of current nutritional programming within this context. The study offers concrete design recommendations for a successful, child-specific food package in the short-term while arguing for a more holistic, household-level solution.

Three main components represent the pillars of this research: Human Economic Security (HES), Islamic economics, and the Malaysian economy and policies addressing economic insecurities. HES is part of Human Security (HS), and both are presented in this research from the Islamic perspective to relate to both Islamic economics and Malaysia, the constitutionally Islamic country. To reach a conclusion regarding the subject, the researcher asks the question: "Can Malaysia actualize HES on the bases of equity and justice for all its citizens through enlarging and enhancing the performance of the Islamic Voluntary Economic Sector (IVES) institutions, specifically the redistributive institution of zakat?" The methodological approach of this research is basically a qualitative one. In the concluding chapter the researcher finds that Islamic economics could grow to become more social, more so through the growth of the IVES. However, a steady growth of the sector is not enough to actualize HES noticeably in Malaysian contexts. A more robust growth rate in the sector is conditional to decisive government interventions that favor the growth of the IVES. / 博士(グローバル社会研究) / Doctor of Philosophy in Global Society Studies / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

No

No / This study investigates the relationship between the corporate governance structure and performance of 347 companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) between 1996 and 2000. We found board size and top five substantial shareholdings to be significantly associated with both market and accounting performance measures. In addition, we found a significant relationship between multiple directorships and market performance while role duality and managerial shareholdings are significantly associated with accounting performance. The result is robust with respect to controls for gearing, company size, industry membership and growth opportunities.

Malaysians’ journeys to pursue graduate education in the U.S. generate more than just degree attainment. This dissertation looks at how experiences in the U.S., both in graduate school and in the workplace, influenced highly educated Malaysians, especially in their exploration of push and pull factors that influence their decisions to remain in the U.S. or to return to Malaysia. This study focuses on twenty-two participants comprised of those who have returned to Malaysia, those who are working in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas, those who became Permanent Residents and those who are naturalized U.S. citizens. The first major finding demonstrates that decisional turning points emerged mainly based upon national policies and employment opportunities prompted by the high demand for talented human capital. Such turning points are crucial telling moments of when individuals make decisions. The second major finding is that push and pull factors -- which include economic conditions and opportunities, quality of life, social justice and freedom perspectives, as well as social network/ social capital -- are assessed through the comparative views acquired between living in Malaysia and in the U.S. The third major finding is that the challenges and experiences participants encountered in the U.S. prompted the formation of transnationalism, wherein their identities, behaviors and values are not limited by the location in which they live. They use a dual frame of reference to evaluate their experiences in the U.S. and the continuous relationships with their family and communities in Malaysia. Understanding the notion of transnationalism in the process of individuals’ decision making could help states develop policies that promote brain circulation. Policies that support this global mobility of the highly educated and skilled workforce would not just benefit those nations that send and receive students for higher education enrollment. Because 1) the knowledge economy demands the global flow of highly educated workers and 2) people who study transnationally develop a flexible sense of identity and location, policies that enable international mobility for brain circulation are significant for all nations.

馬來人、華人和印度人構成馬來西亞的三大種族，馬來人占馬來西亞總人口半數以上，華人和印度人屬少數族群。馬來族群享有憲法上的特權，在政治、經濟、文化、語文、教育上，華人則一直遭受不平等待遇，受到歧視。馬來西亞的報界也反映了這個多種族的不平等特質，馬來文報和英文報具有政治和語言優勢，在社會上具有影響力，而華文報的影響力只侷限在華人圈子。本研究所欲探討的便是：在這種大環境下，馬來西亞華文報記者角色的自我認知。 　　本論文以Cooley的「鏡中自我」和Mead的「概化他者」為理論基礎，再引用Strauss, Stone和Goffman強調的情境式identity，配合Hirsch提出的職業、組織、制度三個研究分析層次，來深入分析華文報記者在不同層次的工作場域，以及面對不同的概化他者，所型塑出的自我認知類型。 　　筆者以滾雪球的方式，訪問了18位在吉隆坡的華文報記者，每位做了一至二小時不等的深度訪談，本研究發現，在職業層面，面對華文報同行，記者有糊口飯吃和受同行認同與賞識的自我認知，而這種自我認知則受記者在報館地位和新聞組別的影響。當面對外文報同行時，有的記者的自我認知是高人一等和承認自己弱點，而有的記者則頗負面，有不屑與卑微的自我認知。 　　在組織層面，本研究發現，記者面對報館這個概化他者時，出現三種情況：在主流與非主流報章的差異方面，非主流記者的自我認知受到報館地位的影響小，反而因為在報館享有較少的規範與約束而產生高自我認知；相反地，主流報章記者的自我認知，則因為報館地位和規範與約束的影響，產生正負兩種自我認知。此外，記者也會因報章風格而影響自我認知。在大報方面，記者的自我認知不會受報章銷售量滑落影響，反而因為報館的名聲、影響力、地位以及悠久的歷史而產生高自我認知。 　　在制度層面，本研究將記者與報業環境作連結，發現記者都將造成自我認知卑微的原因歸咎於外在的結構因素，包括華文報業結構和政治環境，卻沒有發現本身語言能力、專業素質和態度的不足，也是出現卑微的自我認知的因素之一。當記者面對政治力量和法令時，產生三種類型的自我認知，包括敢於挑戰、自我設限和反感。 　　本研究也發現，受到了馬來西亞各種族不平等的政、經、社、教情境的影響，華文報記者有既自大又自卑的自我認知。本研究係質性的「厚描」，將來如有人做量化的社會調查，當能使我們對馬來西亞的華文報與華文記者有更全、更深的認識。 / Three main races, Malays, Chinese and Indians, compose of Malaysia’s population with the majority Malays enjoying special constitutional privileges while the Chinese suffering political, economic, cultural, linguistic and educational inequality. Such state is also reflected in the Malaysia press. While the Malay and English language newspapers wave greater social and political influences, those of the Chinese language press are limited within the ethnic Chinese. This thesis is aimed at finding out the self-identity of Chinese language newspaper reporters in this unequal multi-racial Malaysian context. Conceptually, this research is constructed on Cooley’s theory of “looking glass self” and Mead’s “generalized others”. The “situational identity” proposed by Strauss, Stone and Goffman also forms a basis on which the thesis examines the identity of Chinese press reporters on institutional, organizational and individual levels as theorized by Hirsch. By a snowballing method, this author interviewed 18 Chinese language newspaper reporters in Kuala Lumpur. Each in-depth interview took from one to two hours. On the occupational level, the generalized others are found to be other Chinese language newspaper reporters, whose self-identity ranges from making a living to wanting to be recognized or appreciated by colleagues. The latter is influenced by the status of newspapers and different kinds of newsgroups. When compared with Malay or English language newspaper reporters, the Chinese language press reporters perceive themselves possessing a higher social status while at the same time admitting self’s weakness. On the other hand, there are Chinese language newspaper reporters who show an identity of disdain and humbleness. On the organizational level, three situations characterize the interviewed reporters. First, while non-mainstream newspaper reporters are less influenced by the status of newspaper, they have higher self-perception due to less restriction and higher autonomy in their work. Meanwhile, these reporters express both positive and negative self-perceptions influenced by the status and restriction of their newspaper. Second, reporters show different self-perception when the style of newspaper acts as one of the prominent factors. Thirdly, reporters at quality newspapers are less influenced by sales of the newspaper. Their higher perception self-identity is found to derive from the reputation, influence, status and history of the newspaper. On institutional level, this study has found that the interviewed reporters attribute their humble self-identity to such structural factors as Chinese language newspaper’s internal structure problems and external political environment while circumventing their own insufficiency in language command and professionalism. When faced with Malaysia’s unequal political and legal realities, there are three kinds of self-identity: daring to challenge, practicing self-censorship or showing resentment. This study adopts a qualitative method of “thick description” in its analysis. Future research shall reveal more by adopting a survey of statistically sampled reporters.

In Malaysia what was at first Standard English has over time changed and a variety called Malaysian English has arisen. This variety of English is full of colloquial expressions and the grammar also differs slightly from that of Standard English. This paper surveys Malaysian speakers’ attitudes towards Malaysian English and Standard English. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The results show that the informants consider Malaysian English useful for informal and everyday communication whereas Standard English is more useful for international communication as well as more formal purposes. A good command of Standard English is still regarded as important. It became evident that while the informers were aware of Malaysian English and its linguistic characteristics, identifying them in written sentences was not easy. The informants’ attitudes towards Malaysian English and Standard English showed that one variety does not have to exclude the existence of the other. / Vad som först var standardengelska har i Malaysia över tid ändrats och en ny variant kallad malaysisk engelska har växt fram. Denna variant av engelska är full av lokala uttryck och grammatiken skiljer sig delvis från standardengelskans. Denna studie undersöker talares attityder till malaysisk engelska och standardengelska med hjälp av en enkät. Resultaten visar att malaysisk engelska är användbar för informell och vardaglig kommunikation medan standardengelska är mer användbar för internationell samt mer formell kommunikation. Att behärska standardengelska anses fortfarande vara viktigt. Det blev tydligt att även om informanterna var medvetna om malaysisk engelskas lingvistiska särdrag så var det inte helt enkelt att identifiera dem i skrivna meningar. Informanternas attityder till malaysisk engelska och standardengelska visade att en variant inte nödvändigtvis utesluter den andra.

Seventy-four methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from two Malaysian hospitals were characterised by both phenotypic and genotypic techniques. These isolates were collected over an 18 year time period in the years, 1982, 1989, 1994 and 2000. All of the Malaysian MRSA isolates were found to be multiresistant and resistant to at least five different antimicrobial agents. Over 30% of them were non-typable by the International Basic Set of bacteriophages. The majority of the typable isolates were susceptible to the group III phages, especially phage 85. The majority of the isolates carried one to six plasmids. Only two isolates were plasmid free. The plasmid profiles of these isolates, other than the 1982 isolates, were very similar to each other. Contour-clamped homogeneous electric field (CHEF) gel electrophoresis was used to examine the genetic relatedness of the isolates. Twenty-six CHEF patterns were found among the isolates. These CHEF patterns were closely related to each other. The predominant CHEF pattern A was found in the 1982, 1989 and 1994 isolates. The CHEF patterns of the year 2000 isolates were different to CHEF pattern A, but still closely related. All of the isolates were found to carry the Allotype III SCCmec and have coagulase-gene type 24. Multilocus sequence typing was preformed on the isolates with CHEF pattern A collected in different years. These isolates were found to have either sequence type 239 (ST239), or its single locus variant. The predominant Malaysian clone belongs to the pandemic clone ST239-MRSA-III that is pandemic in Asian countries. (Enright, 2003, Ko et al., 2005). / A 1.5 kb cryptic plasmid found in Malaysian isolates was indistinguishable from a cryptic plasmid found in an Australian isolate. A 3.0 kb cryptic plasmid found in Malaysian isolates was undistinguishable from a 3.0 kb plasmid found in Singaporean isolates. Class II multiresistance plasmids of 28, 30.5 and 35 kb were commonly found together in many Malaysian MRSA isolates. Both the 28 and 30.5 kb plasmids encode resistance to the heavy-metals and nucleic acid-binding (NAB) compounds. The 35 kb plasmid carries heavy-metal and NAB resistance but also encodes β-lactamase. Structurally these three plasmids are almost identical and probably have the same origin. The differences observed between these plasmids is probably due to excision or partial deletion of the β-lactamase transposon of the original plasmid. The 28 kb plasmid is identical to the 28 kb plasmid of Singaporean and some Australian isolates. A 20 kb plasmid in Indonesian isolates was found to be closely related to these three plasmids. A conjugative plasmid, pWBG707, conferring trimethoprim-resistance was found in Malaysian isolates. It did not carry either of the two staphylococcal trimethoprim-resistance genes, dfrA and dfrD. (Lyon and Skurray, 1987, Dale et al., 1995b) It either encodes a novel resistance gene or the recently discovered dfrG gene. (Sekiguchi et al., 2005) pWBG707 was also found to mobilise a small 3.0 kb kanamycin-resistance plasmid during conjugation. / The mecR1 and mecI genes regulating the transcription of the methicillin-resistance gene, mecA, were also examined in the isolates. The Malaysian isolate, WBG7422, with the predominant CHEF pattern A has a nonsense mutation in its mecI gene that disables it. However, its mecR1 gene is intact. The eastern Australia MRSA (EA MRSA), WBG525, has a CHEF pattern that is closely related to the Malaysian predominant CHEF pattern A and its mecI gene has a mutation identical to the Malaysian isolate. Unlike the Malaysian isolate however, its mecR1 gene has a 166 bp deletion. Both WBG7422 and WBG525 express Class III heterogeneous methicillin resistance. However, WBG525 has more highly resistant cell in its population than WBG7422. The loss of aminoglycoside resistance, together with c. 114 kb of chromosomal DNA, was observed in some Malaysian isolates. The deleted segment was found to carry the aacA-aphD gene that encodes a bifunctional aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme conferring resistance to many of the aminoglycosides. The Malaysian isolates were compared with MRSA from different countries. These MRSA included 18 epidemic MRSA (EMRSA) from the United Kingdom, 15 Australian nosocomial MRSA, five classical MRSA, 22 community-acquired MRSA (CMRSA) from Australia and New Zealand and 46 nosocomial MRSAs from eight Asian-Pacific countries and South Africa. These Asian-Pacific countries were Australia, PR China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. / The CHEF patterns of most of the Asian-Pacific and South African isolates were closely related to the Malaysian isolates. Isolates from Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines were found to have an identical CHEF pattern to the Malaysian CHEF patterns A5. The Asian-Pacific and South African isolates, including the Malaysian isolates, were found to be closely related to EMRSA-1, -4 and -7. These EMRSA belong to the ST239-MRSA-III clone and are coagulase-gene type 24. The isolates from Japan were the only Asian-Pacific isolates not related to the other Asian-Pacific isolates and EMRSAs. EMRSA-1 and EA MRSA have the same 166 bp deletion in their mecR1 gene. Both of these strains have closely related CHEF patterns, the same sequence type, coagulase-gene type and SCCmec. These results indicate that these two strains belongs to the same clone and confirms the international spread of this clone in the early 1980s. However, the Malaysian isolates have CHEF patterns that are more closely related to EMRSA-4 than to EMRSA-1. Similar to the Malaysian isolates EMRSA-4 has an intact mecR1 gene. The CMRSA isolates were not related to any of the nosocomial MRSA. They also have very diverse genetic backgrounds but carry less diverse SCCmec allotypes. Most of the CMRSA carry either Allotype IV or V SCCmec These results show that the spread of Malaysian MRSA is due to a single clonal expansion. Infection control measures would have to have been more efficient if this clone was to have been contained. The Malaysian epidemic clone is the Asian pandemic clone, ST239-MRSA-III. The Malaysian isolates and EMRSA-4 probably share the same ancestor. / The presence of the same MRSA strain in Malaysian hospitals and in the hospitals of neighbouring countries indicates that the inter-hospital spread of an epidemic MRSA has occurred. This observation also suggests that the infection control measures in Malaysian hospitals have not been totally effective. The ineffectiveness of infection control has left Malaysian hospitals vulnerable to the future importation of new pandemic clones and/or highly virulent or resistant clones.