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Diurnal fluctuations of ozone concentrations and its precursors and prediction of ozone using multiple linear regressions
No full textThe chemical reaction of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere leads to a variety of oxidized products,
which are commonly referred to as secondary pollutants. Ground level ozone is a known secondary
photochemical pollutant of major importance possessing detrimental effects on health, agriculture,
natural/urban ecosystems and materials. Ozone (O3) can irritate lung airways and cause inflammation
much like sunburn. Hourly and monthly variations of O3 and their precursors – nitrogen oxides (NOx)
and meteorological parameters (temperature and wind speed) were presented using time series plots.
Possibility of employing multiple linear regression models as a tool for prediction of O3 concentration
was also tested. Measurement was performed continuously in 2005 at two sampling stations located in
the metropolitan area of Malaysia. Results indicated that the formation of O3 in the study area was
influenced by NOx precursors and meteorological conditions. The hourly variation showed maximum O3
concentrations were recorded between 1300 to 1400 hours, while NOx and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
exhibited two maxima, at 0800-1000 and 2000-2100 hours. The daily cycle of highest O3 concentrations
were revealed a lower night level and inverse relations between O3 and NOx. This is clear evidence of
photochemical formation of O3. Temperature has the highest influence to the high O3 concentration
Investigation on the causes of variation orders in the construction of building project - a study in the state of Selangor, Malaysia
No full textThis paper investigates the most significant causes contribute to the variation orders in
the construction of building projects in the States of Selangor Malaysia. Data was
collected from questionnaires survey which is based on the literature reviews and also
provisions in the ‘Persatuan Akitek Malaysia” (PAM 1998) standard form of building
contract that are associated with the variation orders. The data were analyzed by using
mean score method and rank to formulate the findings. The result from questionnaires
survey revealed three most significant causes variation orders which are: ‘Change of plan
by owner’, ‘Substitution of materials by owner ’, and ‘Changes of design by consultant’.
The finding concludes that owner is the major source of the variation orders in
construction of building projects and suggested that owner should have adequate
planning and recourses before initiating a project in order to avoid variation order during
the construction stage
Combustion characteristics of methane in a direct injection engine using spark plug fuel injector
No full textThe combustion characteristics of methane in a direct injection spark ignition engine using Spark Plug Fuel Injector (SPFI) was investigated. SPFI is a system developed to convert any externally-mixing (port injection, carburetor) spark ignition engine to direct injection by combining fuel injectors into spark plugs. The burning rates of methane were measured using normalized combustion pressure method, where the normalized pressure rise due to combustion is equivalent to the mass fraction burnt at the specific crank angle. A single cylinder research engine was installed with the SPFI system. Cylinder pressures were taken with engine running at 1100 rpm and stoichiometric air/fuel ratio. The spark timing was set at 25oBTDC. For comparison, the engine was run with methane port injection. The optimal fuel injection timing with SPFI was found to be 170o BTDC. Results showed that SPFI direct injection, increased the volumetric efficiency by 11% compared to port injection, resulting in higher heating value of cylinder charge per cycle. Combustion analysis show that the overall burning rate of methane direct injection is faster than the ones of port injection although is slower at the initial stage. Injection pressures affect ignition delay but not the combustion duration. Changing mixture stoichiometry affects the magnitude of ignition delay. Combustion duration increases with leaner mixture. Different load conditions have significant effect on combustion process. Lower loads tend to increase combustion duration but shorten ignition delay. SPFI Di methane system has the potential of increasing engine performance due to increased volumetric efficiency and faster burning rat
Rekabentuk peranti pencerai optik pelbagai nisbah (MROS) berasaskan pandu gelombang planar untuk penggunaan kuasa berkesan
No full textIn this paper, we present the design of Multi Ratio Optical Splitter (MROS) based on planar waveguide with SU-8 polymer material. The technology ensures low cost fabrication and excellent performance as compared to conventional technique that uses fused coupler for optical splitter fabrication. The MROS is suggested to be used in passive customer access network FTTH-PON in power management in maximizing the consumption. With this, the distance can be extended as compare to the theoretical distance (20 km). It is the first time reported. The problems arose such as the loss of output power is also discussed. The simulation result shows that various factors; namely the width of waveguide, refractive index and wide-angle branching will increase the output power loss. To obtain maximum power, the optimization of those parameters’ value must be used. This designed optical splitter is operated at wavelength 1500 nm – 1600 nm. In this study, we characterized the trend of total output power with the effect of the parameters studie
Impak program latihan pekerja sektor perhotelan, teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi
No full textNurturing a high-quality, knowledgeable and innovative human capital with strong moral and ethical
values has become a new source of driving the nation’s productivity growth and competitiveness.
Therefore, Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) was established in 1992 to generate
lifelong learning in workplace setting to enhance labor productivity, technology transfer and
innovation. In 2002 it was renamed as Human Resource Development Limited (HRDL). All
registered employers with HRDL are eligible for the employees training grants. The total approved
training scheme and disbursement of training grants had increased over the years. This study
investigates to what extent the training programs improve employee knowledge, skills, works
behavior and job performance, and what are the significant training related factors influencing job and
company performance. The result is based on data collected through self-administrated survey on
1000 employees (30.4 percent responded) at hotels, resorts and ICTs companies in three selected
states. The result shows that in general the training programs improve knowledge, skills and positive
work behavior of employees. Multiple linear regression analysis supports the hypothesis that training
related variables have positive impact on employees’ job performance and company performanc
Restitution of tax which has been paid under mistake of law
No full textThe court in the UK in 1802 applied the legal maxim ignorantia juris non excusat (which means ‘ignorance of law is no excuse’) in Bilbie v Lumley case which was involved in recovery of indemnity mistakenly paid by an insurance company to the insured. In this case the court held that insurance indemnity paid to the insured under mistake of law is not refundable because of the above maxim. In later cases courts in England also applied the above legal maxim in tax cases barring taxpayers from recovering tax paid under mistake of law. So, the above legal maxim became the English common law rule in almost every later case involving payment made under mistake of law. It is to be noted that the above legal maxim was originally developed to be applied in criminal cases. It seems that the above maxim of law was misapplied by the court in the Bilbie case in indemnity refund claim and other courts also misapplied the maxim in tax restitution cases. That maxim is acceptable in criminal cases but it is not applicable or desirable in recovery of money or tax paid under mistake of law. Hence, the House of Lords after almost two hundred years has overruled the Bilbie decision in Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City Council, decided in 199
Economic freedom and banking development: the experiences of selected east asian countries
No full textThis paper investigates the role of economic freedom in banking sector development using a panel data set for the period 1975-2006 in six East Asian countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines. We find a direct positive link between economic freedom and banking sector development for the benchmark country, Singapore and the effects of economic freedom on banking development are not common to all countries. Differential effects are observed for Malaysia and Thailand indicating that specific country factors are at work. To establish a firmer link between economic freedom and banking development, we decompose the economic freedom index into its various sub-components. We find that legal quality is the only sub-component that is positively and robustly related to all measures of banking development that we employ and that the effect for Malaysia is different from that in Singapore. This suggests that, protection of property rights and effective enforcement of contracts are critical elements in promoting banking development. A country’s legal system needs to be strengthened if banking sector is to function well. However, the extent to which legal systems need improvement differs across countries with different institutional framewor
Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi gelagat kepatuhan zakat perniagaan
No full textThis study attempts to gain explanation on the possible cause of low level of business zakah compliance behaviour. Using the theory of planned behaviour, this study attempts to reveal whether the basis of the theory such as attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control can explain the intention and compliance behaviour in the zakah environment. The results on 108 businessmen in Perlis shown that this research model is consistent with the theory of planned behavior. Thus, whatsoever actions or strategies that would be used shall consider the understanding of the underlying factors in the theory of planned behaviou
Counting fuzzy subgroups of symmetric groups S2, S3 and alternating group A4
No full textIn this article we compute the number of fuzzy subgroups of symmetric groups S2, S3 and
alternating group A4. First, we define an equivalence relation on the set of all fuzzy subgroups
of a group G. We represent all of the subgroups of S2, S4 and A4. We use their poset diagrams
to determine the number of their fuzzy subgroup
Flow over a stretching sheet in a micropolar fluid with radiation effect
No full textBoundary layer flow and heat transfer characteristics induced by a linearly stretching sheet
immersed in an incompressible micropolar fluid with prescribed surface heat flux in the
presence of radiation effect is investigated. The governing system of partial differential
equations is first transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations using similarity
transformation, which are then solved numerically using the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method.
The velocity, angular velocity and temperature profiles with the effects of various physical
parameters are presented graphically. It is found that the heat transfer rate at the surface
decreases in the presence of radiatio