Search

India is one of the world’s top remittance recipient countries. However, there is an ongoing debate on whether workers’ remittances serve as a ‘political curse or cure.’ Additionally, remittances influence the domestic labour supply left behind by migrant workers. Our study aims to utilise the ARDL bounds test and Granger causality to examine the long-run and short-run relationship between remittances, institutional quality, and labour supply from 1990 to 2018 in India. The results from the ARDL bounds test indicate a cointegrating relationship when institutional quality is treated as the dependent variable. The Granger causality test further supports unidirectional causality from remittances and labour supply to institutional quality in India. In the short run, findings indicate bidirectional causality between remittances and labour supply. The study contributes to the literature by constructing a composite index for a more accurate measure of institutional quality. Furthermore, the study includes relevant break dates as dummy variables, as it allows for country-specific structural breaks to be considered. Contrary to prior studies, we find no evidence of a public moral hazard problem created by India’s remittances. We argue that inbound remittances improve the well-being of recipients and pressure policymakers for more political accountability and better governance.

The advent of deepfake videos, a new form of media manipulation, took the world by storm. Malicious use of this technology for fraud, misrepresentation, and abuse created more perils than opportuni...

Background Chronic diseases and the associated risk factors are preventable with lifestyle changes such as eating a healthier diet and being more physically active. In Malaysia, the prevalence of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases, has risen. In the present study, we explore the potential of co-designing and implementing a digital wellness intervention to promote socially-driven health knowledge and practices in the workplace in Malaysia, drawing on social cognitive theory, social impact theory, and social influence theory. Objective This study aims to co-design and assess the feasibility of a socially-driven digital health intervention to promote healthy behavior and prevent chronic diseases in a workplace in Malaysia. Methods This study involves two phases: (i) identifying the barriers and facilitators to healthy behaviors at work and co-designing the intervention activities with the employees, (ii) implementing and evaluating the intervention’s feasibility. Phase 1 will involve qualitative data collection and analysis through semi-structured, in-depth interviews and co-design workshops with the employees, while Phase 2 will consist of a feasibility study employing quantitative measurements of health behaviors through accelerometers and questionnaires. Results This study was funded in June 2021 and ethics approval for Phase 1 was obtained from the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee in January 2022. As of August 2022, qualitative interviews with 12 employees have been completed and the data has been transcribed and analyzed. These results will be published in a future paper with results from all Phase 1 activities. Conclusions The study will help us to better understand the mechanisms through which digital technologies can promote socially-driven health knowledge and behaviors. This research will also result in a scalable wellness intervention that could be further tailored and expanded to other employers and social groups across the region. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/39238

Healthcare service is experiencing a paradigm shift due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has caused unprecedented fatalities and taken a toll on medical resources globally. Researchers and healthcare professionals value how data accessibility and analytics can save lives. Developing countries are fast leveraging on the electronic medical record (EMR) system to enhance decision-making effectiveness and patient care. However, for many healthcare professionals, there remain unexplored possibilities of how the use of this ‘normally’ operational-centric EMR might change post-pandemic. We investigate the antecedents (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, habit) of the intention to use EMR, and its impact on dynamic capabilities and physician productivity pre- and post-pandemic, focusing on physicians who are at the frontline of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Malaysia. This study evidences two significant findings: (1) before the pandemic in the ‘normal’ condition of EMR use, technology perception has significant indirect impact on physician productivity via the key role of dynamic capabilities. However, (2) after the pandemic in the ‘abnormal’ condition, technology perception no longer has any significant impact on physician productivity though their intention to use EMR may have a very weak direct impact on their productivity. A key significant change in the new norm post-pandemic is that dynamic capabilities no longer mediate but strongly and directly impact physician productivity. This direct positive effect is much stronger than before the pandemic. Theoretically, the study is among the first few to integrate perspectives from information systems and dynamic capabilities to examine the impact of EMR use on physician dynamic capabilities for knowledge acquisition and deployment towards enhancing their productivity. The study also offers insights into how a pandemic could accelerate technology perception and contributes to the dynamic use of technology to aid physicians.

Successful regional cooperation observed in many parts of the world has spurred global travel and tourism. The Southeast Asian region lies at the heart of this global integration with the ASEAN establishment. In 2017, ASEAN will celebrate its 50th golden year anniversary by launching the Visit ASEAN year. Surprisingly, to date not much progress is seen in promoting ASEAN as a single-destination area. The aim of this article is to assess the progress undertaken by the ASEAN establishment in terms of tourism development and evaluate the possible challenges of such intra-regional cooperation.

Globally income inequality is on the rise. With growing income inequality, market outcomes are no longer Pareto efficient as it is benefiting only a small group of individuals. Working with the World Values Survey data, this paper aims to provide an additional perspective on income inequality in Malaysia. We find evidence that individuals' underlying beliefs, ideologies and education level are important determinants of their attitudes toward income distribution. In addition, the paper concludes that individuals' preference for income distribution is significantly shaped by the experiences and economic condition in their local communities. States that are poorer and more ethnically diverse prefer more equal income.

The year 2017 will be a crucial year for the tourism industry in Central Asia. The region is poised to benefit from a common regional tourism development program fostered by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Greater regional integration and closer interaction in three important areas (political, economic and social cooperation) are expected to be the catalyst for tourism development. The aim of this paper is to assess the progress undertaken by the SCO thus far, and to evaluate how the convergence of these three areas of cooperation would contribute to greater opportunities as well as challenges for tourism in Central Asia.

A short post publication review of a recent AJIS paper.

This paper assesses the empirical desirability of the East Asian economies to form a monetary union. The Structural Vector Autoregression (VAR) method is employed to assess the nature of macroeconomic disturbances among the East Asian countries, as a preliminary guide in identifying potential candidates for forming an Optimum Currency Area (OCA). In comparison with European countries, East Asia has less symmetric underlying structural shocks but the speed of adjustment to shocks is much faster. The empirical results suggest that there exists a scope among some small sub-regions, comprising mainly of ASEAN countries, for potential monetary integration. The finding of an increased symmetry of shocks among countries after the Asian Financial crisis indicates that the regional policy-coordinating effort after the crisis has put the region on the right track if monetary union is a desired goal.

In recent years, blockchain technology has garnered phenomenal interest across various industries due to its disruptive potential on business improvement. The capability of blockchain technology in enhancing efficient data management and providing traceability offers significant value to manufacturing. Given the increasing traction of blockchain application, the confluence of blockchain technology with other emergent technologies is poised to transform the manufacturing industry. This study addresses the paucity of scholarly research by deciphering how blockchain technology can contribute to manufacturing improvement. Based on neural network analysis, this study maps the future pathways in blockchain technology research in manufacturing improvement by revealing the emerging themes, offer recommendations, and raise the call for more studies.