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Population profile and insecticide resistance in dengue vector Aedes albopictus Skuse in Sarawak, Malaysia / Lau Koon Weng
No full textDengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever infections have caused adverse impact on social function and economic loss in Malaysia till present day. Most studies conducted in Malaysia were focused on Peninsular Malaysia while there are insufficient published literatures related to East Malaysia. Accordingly, the populations of Aedes albopictus from Sarawak were studied to determine their infestation pattern, population structure, and resistance status against major insecticides used for vector control programmes along with the revelation of underlying biochemical resistance mechanism. First and foremost, ovitrap surveillance was conducted in 21 residential areas across 13 districts located in eight divisions in Sarawak State. The ovitrap index (OI) of Aedes larvae was found highest in urban residential area (mean OI = 90.97%), followed by suburban (69.70%), rural (65.45%) and remote (52.63%) residential areas. Interestingly, no Aedes aegypti was observed but two species of Armigeres were found co-breeding with Ae. albopictus. This study suggested that Ae. albopictus was the dominant dengue vector in Sarawak State. The emerged adults were subjected to phylogenetic study based on analyses of the mitochondrial COI gene. The analysis revealed twenty two haplotypes from 120 samples and the haplotypes were widely distributed across all the populations. Adult and larval bioassays were performed according to the WHO standard protocols to assess knockdown and mortality rate of Ae. albopictus. Only cyfluthrin was able to inflict complete knockdown but different susceptibility patterns were observed in other adulticides. For mortality rates, adult Ae. albopictus was susceptible to cyfluthrin and dieldrin. Significant correlations were found within pyrethroid and carbamates classes. This study revealed that cyfluthrin was effective against Aedes mosquito control in Sarawak. For larval bioassay, Ae. albopictus larvae were completely susceptible to bromophos and temephos (mortality = 100%), and highly resistant to DDT, chlorpyrifos and malathion (mortality ranged from 0 – 20%). However, the larvae showed various levels of susceptibility to dieldrin, fenitrothion and fenthion. Generally, bromophos and temephos were still effective to control Ae. albopictus larvae in Sarawak. Enzyme assay was conducted to reveal the underlying biochemical mechanism which caused insecticide resistance. The results revealed that there were elevated α-esterases and β-esterases activities in three populations at adult and four populations in larval Ae. albopictus but no significant elevation of enzyme activities in mixed function oxidases (MFO) and glutathione-S-transferases (GST) among the populations. Acetylcholinsterase was insensitive to propoxur in adult Ae. albopictus from Sarikei and larval stage from Dalat. Moreover, association between activities of α-esterases and β-esterases, α-esterases and acetylcholinesterase, and β-esterases and acetylcholinesterase were also demonstrated. The efficacy of five insect growth regulators (IGRs) as alternative control agents against Ae. albopictus was also determined. Field populations of Ae. albopictus were susceptible to methoprene, pyriproxyfen, cyromazine and novaluron, but tolerance towards diflubenzuron. In summary, periodical monitoring of insecticide effectiveness is important to prevent development of resistance since chemical control remains as crucial approach in vector control programme. This study also suggested that IGR could possibly be an alternative selection to replace conventional insecticides
An analysis of primary school children’s drawings based on Wilsons’ Seven Principles / Yu Lei Tao
No full textIssues about low perception and limited information on children’s drawings in
Malaysia has led to the need of analysis of children’s drawings. This study studied and
analyzed drawings of a group of Malaysian primary school children of six age groups
based on Wilson and Wilson (2009) seven graphic principles. A quantitative research
design was adopted. A total of 335 children’s drawings were analyzed to identify the
most common used Wilsons’ graphic principle and determine the use of the principles
according to their age groups by using descriptive statistic method. In order to
determine the relationships between children’s used of Wilsons’ graphic principles and
their stage of pictorial development, inferential testing by using Chi-Square was
conducted. The findings of this study show that; conservation/multiple application
principle was the most common Wilsons’ graphic principle that children used in their
drawing, and there were similarities and differences in the use of principles for each
children’s age groups. In addition, the Chi-Square test indicated significant association
between children’s used of every principles and their stage of pictorial development
with all p values ≤ .05. Thus, it can be concluded that children’s artistic development
can be established using the Wilson and Wilson seven graphic principles. A continued
need exists for further research to be conducted to make comparisons between gender
and between cultures
Green synthesis, characterization and electrochemical biosensor application of Fe3O4-Au core-shell nanoparticles / Elisa Rasouli
No full textIn this study, Fe3O4 nanoparticle (NP) and core-shell Fe3O4-Au NP have been synthesized using natural honey as a green synthesis method. It was found that honey is an effective reducing agent and stabilizer in producing NPs. The particle size of the synthesized material can be controlled by varying the concentration of honey. The particle size could be controlled below 10 nm. The NPs were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) analysis, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UVVis) analysis, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) analysis and cytotoxicity test analysis to investigate the surface morphology, chemical composition, functional group, magnetic properties and toxicity. The TEM image of Fe3O4 NPs showed that particle size decreased from 3.21 nm to 2.22 nm with increasing honey content from 0.5% to 3.0% (w / v) respectively, and increased from 3.21 nm to 4.11 nm in Fe3O4 NPs and Fe3O4 -Au NP (by ratio molar 1:1), after being coated with a gold shell. VSM results revealed the superparamagnetic behavior of both Fe3O4 NPs and Fe3O4-Au NPs, with a decrease in the saturated magnetization from 23.78 emu g- 1 for Fe3O4 NPs to 16.98 emu g- 1 for NP Fe3O4-Au (with a ratio of 1: 1), which is assigned to the formation of gold shells. The FESEM analysis shows that the synthesized NPs possesses a spherical structure, which increases the surface area and provides an ideal environment for sensor applications. The presence of gold from the EDX analysis, SAED analysis and UV-Vis analysis demonstrated the successful gold shell formation on the surface of Fe3O4 - NPs
Assessing early literacy using school-based assessment / Nur Amalina Dayana Abd Aziz
No full textEarly literacy is an important foundation for learning. The importance of having mastered literacy early is not limited to students’ success at school but also extends into their after-school lives. Students with a good foundation in literacy are better prepared to participate as citizens. In line with the Ministry of Education Malaysia’s vision of producing world-class citizens, school-based assessment was first implemented in primary schools in 2011. Various studies on aspects such as teachers’ readiness, knowledge, understanding and practice of school-based assessment have been conducted using the quantitative method and within the context of secondary schools. The current study therefore aims to examine the assessment methods in the ESL (English as a second language) classroom at two national primary schools and to identify teachers’ perceptions of the use of school-based assessment in relation to the practice of early literacy assessment in the ESL classroom. The research design utilised is case study, with the qualitative approach used to collect data, comprising interviews, classroom observation, and relevant document collection. The data collected are then analysed using thematic analysis approach. The study reveals that teachers used various assessment practices including observation, questioning, giving tasks and providing feedback. These practices are not used independently but are incorporated as formative assessment. Teachers felt that their lack of pedagogical and content knowledge are among the biggest challenge that teachers face in carrying out the early literacy assessment in the ESL classroom. Time constraints due to their excessive workload also contribute to the challenges. The study also reveals that pressure from parents to hold examinations and lack of commitment from senior stakeholders in implementing the Ministry’s school-based assessment initiative contradicts with the purpose of having the assessment in the first place. This research infers that information is essential in ensuring quality teaching and assessment can take place in order to achieve the objectives at all level, which requires stakeholders such as the education agencies and parents to be empowered with training and input to be on the same page as teachers and be able to play their role in facilitating the assessment effectively. Further comparative research in various context concerning school-based assessment within the setting of primary school to broaden and deepen the literature are also recommended
Implementation of flipped ESL classroom at two private tertiary education institutions / Marina Mohamad Amir
No full textFlipped classroom model is a pedagogical strategy which utilises technology to move the lecture outside of the classroom, thus giving more time in the classroom for students to work cooperatively with their peers. It is even mentioned as one of the important developments in educational technology for higher education. However, only a few studies done in showing that the implementation of this model achieved favorable outcome in Malaysian tertiary ESL classrooms. It is because the elements of FC are misunderstood by the lecturers and the students. Besides, previous studies showed that the concept and design of this model was under-utilised in the tertiary education ESL classroom. Thus, this study aims to explore the implementation of this model in ESL classrooms at two private tertiary education institutions as well as to investigate the lecturers’ and students’ perceptions in conducting the lessons. In order to achieve this aim, this study has conducted a qualitative study which includes classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with the lecturers and the students. The findings showed that there are six strategies that have been implemented which are preparation of online learning content, the use of interactive platforms, a check for students’ understanding of the content, reinforcements for students to prepare prior class, iteration of online learning content and arrangement of engaging in-class activities. The lecturers perceived this model enhanced their teaching and students’ learning. In addition, the students also perceived that they prefer this model than the traditional classroom. Nonetheless, they still faced challenges while conducting flipped classroom model. As a result, ESL instructors who are interested in implementing this model should fully understand its elements and consider the challenges so that this model can be implemented successfully and reap its benefits
Spectral and prosodic feature extractions for classical Arabic accents recognition among Malay speakers / Noor Jamaliah Ibrahim
No full textThe variability of speech patterns produced by individuals is unique. The uniqueness is due to the accent being influenced by individual's native dialect. Understanding and modeling the individual variation in spoken language are considered a fundamental challenge in the field of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and accent identification. Differences in individual accent has been one of the critical issues in Classical Arabic (CA) recitation, particularly among the Malay speakers. This issue is often caused by the
misarticulated of phonemes, which is influenced by the different style used in mother language and the Malay colloquial dialect. Most ASR researchers are unable to understand the nature and features of phonemes, as well as the speech patterns in CA, which result in reduced performance of ASR system. This research focused on identifying the accent used by Malay speakers in reciting of Surah Al-Fatihah against the seven types of Quranic accents (Qira'at), using the proposed feature extraction and classification technique. The experiment started with a thorough evaluation on phonetic properties of a set of letters and phonemes, which pronunciation are almost similar in different accents. Prior knowledge about the accents provides valuable information for speaker profiling, which can be incorporated into the decision parameter and technique to improve the system performance and efficiency. A combination of spectral and prosodic features in ASR system is proposed in this study, which is primarily designed for accent recognition. A distinguished variation in features of each phoneme or syllable can help in identifying and distinguishing one accent from another. Initial acoustic cues of the confused phonemes are selected by studying the speech production. The proposed system differs than that of conventional method, which only incorporates the spectral features for feature extraction, as reported in most research on ASR system. The prosodic components in CA such as pitch, energy, and spectral-tilt need to be taken into consideration, thus, presenting significant variability in features of each phoneme, which helps in distinguishing one accent from another. On the other hand, the spectral representation of the Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) was used in determining the decorrelating property of the cepstrum. Our aim was to make use of the Gaussian Mixture Models-Universal Background Model (GMM-UBM) for automated classification of speech and make comparison with the conventional Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). Based on the results, the system performed best when the prosodic features are integrated with the spectral features of MFCC, via the GMM classification with an accuracy of 81.713% (test-set) and 89.697% (train-set); the results translates to an improvement by 7.303% (test-set) and 5.477% (train-set) as compared to that of MFCC alone. Meanwhile, in a comparison between the use of GMM-UBM and conventional GMM classifications, an accuracy of 86.148% (test-set) and 90.255% (train-set) was achieved using the former, which translates into an improvement by 4.435% (test-set) and 0.558% (train-set), as compared to the latter. Therefore, it can be concluded that, integrating the prosodic and spectral features of MFCC, and incorporated with GMM-UBM classification in ASR system, outperforms other algorithms tested in this research
Penguasaan kemahiran melakar dalam menghasilkan lakaran karya seni visual murid tahun Lima di sebuah Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina / Cherise Tan Sheau Ping
No full textKemahiran melakar merupakan langkah yang paling pantas untuk mencatatkan idea. Namun untuk menyampaikan idea secara berkesan, penguasaan prinsip asas seni reka amat diperlukan. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti penguasaan kemahiran melakar semasa proses penghasilan karya seni visual dalam kalangan murid. Secara khususnya, kajian ini adalah bertujuan mengenal pasti tahap pengetahuan dan kemahiran murid dalam menghasilkan lakaran serta strategi pengajaran yang digunakan oleh guru untuk mengajar lakaran. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kajian kes kualitatif. Seramai empat orang murid dan dua orang guru sekolah rendah terlibat dalam kajian ini. Peserta kajian dipilih secara persampelan bertujuan. Data dikumpul dengan menggunakan kaedah pemerhatian, temu bual dan kajian dokumen. Data dianalisis secara manual bagi mendapatkan tema kajian. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan kemahiran melakar murid adalah pada tahap baik berdasarkan penguasaan prinsip asas seni reka yang ditunjukkan seperti penggunaan garisan, warna, rupa dan bentuk, irama dan pergerakan, harmoni dan kepelbagaian. Kebanyakan murid dapat menunjukkan kemahiran psikomotor yang baik dalam menghasilkan lakaran melalui penggunaan peralatan melukis dan mewarna semasa mengolah idea. Murid juga boleh menggabungkan pelbagai jenis media kering dalam menghasilkan sebuah karya seperti pensel, pensel warna, arang, krayon dan soft pastel. Penguasaan murid yang baik dalam lakaran adalah disebabkan oleh pelaksanaan pelbagai strategi pengajaran dan pembelajaran guru. Guru didapati menggunakan kaedah pembelajaran autentik, kaedah imitasi, kaedah demonstrasi dan kaedah latih tubi di dalam kelas. Murid juga bebas untuk meneroka menggunakan pelbagai alat dan bahan yang dapat meningkatkan kreativiti dan minat mereka. Oleh itu, kajian ini mencadangkan supaya guru memberi penekanan terhadap kemahiran asas lakaran dan menyediakan aktiviti latih tubi yang bersesuaian kepada murid supaya murid dapat menghsilkan karya yang lebih berkualiti
Modified dynamic programming model with limited order picking capacity / Noraimi Azlin Mohd Nordin
No full textOrder picking process in a warehouse is considered as a critical stage in managing customers’ service. It is a process of retrieving goods from specified storage locations according to picking lists, and formed order according to customers’ needs. Nowadays, orders can be made through typical style by going to the shop and via online. Since ordering process is fast, customers expect to have fast return in delivery of items. Organizations need to make sure their warehouse management system is able to provide fast and efficient service to meet the standard of customers, also to adapt this new situation. In most warehouses, the order picking process is pictured as the most costly and crucial, especially in retail networks and online shops since the order picking process consumes up to 70% of all warehouse labour activities. Not only that, the costs involved in managing such procedure also is a costly operation. Nowadays, warehouses may also suffering from a limited funds and budget cuts. In handling this scenario, the decisionmakers need to take any possible action to ensure the warehouses can keep operating and meeting the requirements and satisfaction of the customers. This include provide better
service, quality items, maximum profit with minimum service level and some may affected to downsizing their operation in warehouses. Not only that, the motivation and welfare of the staffs need also to be considered in making sure the above requirements are fulfilled. However, any changes or action take could somehow limit the production level, hence, increase the response time and waiting time in the system. This means, demand may be increase but due to limited supply and availability of products will results to customers leaving the process or at certain level, leave the system. Thus, proper system and efficient management is pinnacle in making sure the target of management could always been achieved. Throughout the study, the system in the end is hoped to develop a proper procedures in order picking routine. This include different routing picking schemes that can significantly improve the order picking process results and reduce costs of the management related to order picking. Strategic locations of order pickers and picking items, systematic movement of these order pickers and minimum travel time taken to collect items are among the key factors that may reduce the waiting time of the customers. In achieving this, the objectives of the study are firstly, to develop layout routing network that is compatible with the layout of the warehouse. Next, to determine either Dijsktra’s algorithm or Dynamic Programming Method will give the most accurate shortest path and minimum travel time for order pickers. Thirdly is to develop mathematical order picking model for an automotive manufacturing company that meets the requirement of limited picking capacity and fixed number of pickers. Fourthly is to test and compare the developed mathematical order picking model with secondary data and finally to simulate the data into three types of categories; small, medium and large. The simulation was done to test whether the manufacturing company are able to cater for any variants number of demand made by customers using our mathematical model developed. The proposed model was adapted and used to solve real-case studies from the automotive manufacturing company in Malaysia. The results show a reduced of total distance by 11.6% by choosing the shortest path based on the number of order pickers and also an increased by 48% using batch picking method. Next, the dynamic simulation analysis based on the actual scenario of varying number of orders are performed. Here, the orders are categorised as small, medium and large order. The simulated results show that the picker travel time can be reduced by about 44.89%. Through this simulation model, it also helps to visualise the benefits that it may reduce the waiting time of customers that leads to increase in customers’ satisfaction. Concurrently, the motivation of workers is also considered. This study may also contribute to problem solving issues to any warehouse operation with similar procedure
Advancing internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia and its rationales through international networking: The ASEM education process / M.Miandy Munusamy
Get PDFThe international dimension of higher education plays an important role for political, economic and social development as well as for the academic performance of a country. Malaysia’s primary aspiration is to create a higher education system that ranks among the world’s leading education systems. Currently, only one public university in the country is ranked in the top 100 globally according to the QS Global ranking. Where international students are concerned, the majority studying in Malaysia are from Asia with only a small number from Europe. Within the field of higher education, the ASEM Education Process (AEP) can be considered an important platform for strategic cooperation and networking between Asia and Europe. Malaysia has been an active member of the AEP since 2008, but the impact of participation on tangible outcomes or policy development has yet to be seen. The gap in the internationalisation process has resulted in the necessity for Malaysia to seriously enhance the international dimension in higher education. This research aims to determine the rationales for internationalisation of higher education and to analyse how the AEP can support these rationales to advance the internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia. The research focuses on national level internationalisation and involvement of Malaysia in the AEP since 2008. Exploratory sequential design under mixed-methods research by employing purposive and total population sampling are employed in the study. Semi-structured interviews with fifteen officials from the Malaysian public higher education sector were conducted to determine the rationales for the internationalisation of higher education. Subsequently, the data on the support of the AEP were gathered through a Likert style questionnaire with 130 local and international respondents. The qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using the Nvivo 11 and SPSS v24 and SmartPLS v3.2.8 software respectively. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted to discover the relationship between the AEP, networking in internationalisation and the internationalisation of higher ducation in Malaysia. Both findings were triangulated and a framework with strategies to advance the internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia is recommended. The qualitative findings indicate that the Malaysian higher education system focuses mainly on the economic and socio-cultural rationales and less on the political and academic rationales. The study shows that international networking through international cooperation is crucial in strengthening Malaysian higher education internationalisation. The PLS-SEM results affirm that the AEP enables Malaysian higher education internationalisation advancement with partial mediation of networking in internationalisation. The results further reinforce the belief that networking in internationalisation has significant effects on the AEP and internationalisation to advance Malaysian higher education internationalisation. The strategies framework created through triangulation demonstrates that the AEP supports the rationales for internationalisation through networking in internationalisation which leads to more enhanced internationalisation. In practical terms, the study allows policymakers to utilise and take advantage of inter-regional cooperation, internationalisation and networking. The findings are a contribution to strategy formation for international cooperation and design of internationalisation policies by policy makers to realise Malaysia’s aim to become an international higher education hub in the region and attract 250,000 international students by 2025
Web design attributes guideline to reinforce user trust, satisfaction, and loyalty for Malaysian university students / Ranjen Naidu Vasudiven
No full textWeb site design is the most crucial factor influencing the online e-commerce business. It determines the customer's trust in the products and owners, increasing sales and recognizing its brand. There is currently no reference to understanding Malaysian university students' user preference in web site design. For this study, we evaluated Malaysian university students' user preferences for website design attributes mainly comprised of (interactivity, navigation typography, colour, and content quality). The analysis of the user preferences on the website attributes, the relationship of the attributes with the Malaysian cultures, and the findings based on the three Malaysian mostly visited bookstore websites were done. The hypothesis formed based on the literature review, and analysis of the three primarily Malaysian bookstore websites for each web attributes was discussed. Based on the hypothesis, developed a prototype, an online e-commerce book store system known as Ranjen Bookstore, was designed as a guideline. Students (n=30) participated in the test by logging the time taken for each of them, starting from the login page until the end, where they have completed the purchase by adding the items to the cart. Furthermore, the collected data based on the time logged by the 30 students in the system was analyzed. All the five web site design attributes are essential to design aspects for the development of user loyalty, satisfaction, and trust for Malaysian University students; hence, an end product, an online bookstore developed focusing mainly on the user interface incorporating these five web site design attributes. This research confirmed that the user interface helped establish trust, loyalty, and satisfaction between the user and the system. Ranjen Bookstore can be used as a reference or deciding factor by the developer when planning to design the website for Malaysian University students