13474 research outputs found
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State-business relations: Ministries in business / Wan Juwairiah Nurbadrin Wan Ahmad Tajuddin
No full textMalaysia practices a high level of state intervention. One method of such intervention is by employing government-linked companies (GLCs). However, it is still not widely known that Federal Ministries in Malaysia own and control GLCs. There were a total of 25 ministries in 2016, and each of them had ownership and control of GLCs. Other than that, the manner of corporate ownership by ministries varies as different ministries employ GLCs in different ways through different types of institutions. This has resulted in GLCs performing differently. This can be seen through case studies of ministries that own and control the largest number of GLCs. These ‘Big Four’ ministries, major players in the economy, are the Prime Minister's Department (PMD), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (MRRD) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). An assessment of the Big Four provides a clear view of how the government intervenes in the economy, and the implications of doing so in this manner. This study indicates that the employment of GLCs through the Big Four can be developmental or degenerative, based on the type of key institutions and key actors used when intervening in the economy. Different types of key actors and key institutions will result in different implications, socially, economically, and politically. The findings provide insights into the extent to which the government should intervene in the economy through the employment of GLCs under the jurisdiction of federal ministries in Malaysia
Reaksi sarjana Turki terhadap sains, teknologi dan modeniti pada abad ke-19 hingga awal abad ke-20 / Fadhilah Mustapha
Get PDFThe Ottoman Empire, the greatest and longest ruling Muslim empire in history, began to face enormous threats from the West even before the 17th century. In the beginning of the 17th century, the Ottomans were behind the West in the advancement of science and technology. Beginning from its defeat in Vienna in 1683, the Ottoman lost some of its provinces due to defeats in various battles. Realizing the widespread of western power, the Ottomans took steps to reinforce its power through several attempts, which include the transmission of science and technology from the West through the two main channels, which are the establishment of military, medical and higher educational institutions and translation activities by scholars. As a result, the Ottomans were exposed with the Western’s ideas which lead to the emergence of those with inclination towards the Western’s system of thought and belief, despite its contrary with their culture and religion. This situation creates mixed reactions from different scholars. The objective of this study is threefold. Firstly, is to study the transmission of Western science and technology into the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and early 20th century. Secondly, it attempts to study the form of reactions shown by the Turkish Ottoman scholars in their writings towards the acceptance of Western’s ideas in science and technology, and lastly to compare the different forms of reaction. In order to meet the objectives of the research, an analysis was concluded based on the data obtained during two week fieldwork conducted in Istanbul and the ideas written by the scholars in their writings. The findings show that some Turkish Islamic scholars are selective towards the ideas in science and technology pioneered by the West while some others either accept or reject totally any element of Western’s science and technology. Their ideas are then classified into related themes. This study focuses only on the developments occurred in the 19th and early 20th century, hence it propose that further studies to be conducted to examine the impacts of scientific and technological developments in Turkey after it became a republic
Parallel processing for data retrieval in ODOO enterprise resource planning reporting system / Roua Abdelmuniem Osman Alhag Eisa
No full textReporting process in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system plays an important role, as different information from different processes can be merged to generate reports. Management can use these reports for providing key value indicators for progress assessment, as well as the identification of poor business performance and the formulation of strategies to eliminate them. Odoo framework, previously known as OpenERP, is the most commonly installed open source ERP system worldwide. During the ERP system lifetime massive data generated from the daily operations, most implemented open source ERP systems such as the Odoo framework are using Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) as data storage, while the amount of the data increases this traditional data analysis, processing and storage technologies are not capable enough to store and/or process a large amount of data effectively and the performance became an issue as the relational database applies sequential data processing. This performance latency has an implication on overall system performance, concurrent users’ sessions, business processing, and report processing which all affect organization processes and decision making to achieve business goals. Report processing time increases while the number of data increases due to data retrieving from the relational database, where the more data are processed; the more time it needs to generate a report. This research aims to solve Odoo’s reporting latency problem, where the proposed solution is to import data from the Odoo database and store it in NoSQL data storage to perform parallel data processing to generate the required report faster than the existing approaches to generating the same report. The applied research methodology comprises several steps which include a literature review that discusses the previous ERP system comparisons, existing reporting approaches and the successful deployment of parallel data processing in various domains. Another step is preliminary experiment conduct to compare the performance of generating sale orders report using the existed approaches, the remain steps discuss the design, development and evaluation of the research proposed solution. The research results find out that the parallel data retrieval used in the developed solution shows performance improvement over sequential data retrieval used in existed approaches. Organizations with a large scale (500000 records and above per table) can get significant reporting performance improvement which has a direct impact on an organization's processes, achieve insights into business data, forecasting, decision support and to meet business goals
A study of piano teachers’ perception on the eclectic approach in elementary piano teaching / Khoo Chun Yong
No full textElementary piano teaching considers as a daunting task for piano teachers as the piano
teacher needs to advocate a more holistic and student-centred approach to maximize the
students’ music learning with numerous teaching techniques, strategies, and activities in
a one-to-one teaching setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the piano
teacher’s teaching approaches, selection of teaching materials, and their teaching
activities in one-to-one elementary piano teaching. The participants of this study were
nine piano teachers with different teaching experiences from West Malaysia. This study
employed virtual interview which utilizing ICT (Information and Communicat ions
Technology) medium or Internet-based communication tools like WhatsApp, Messenger,
and e-mail. The findings of this study indicated that teachers were selecting and
combining different teaching approaches, teaching materials, and teaching activities with
their perspectives and teaching experiences to enhance piano learning and satisfy the
needs of elementary piano students. They have applied an eclectic approach inadvertent ly
in their elementary piano teaching as they choose and applied suitable teaching
approaches, teaching materials, and teaching activities based on students’ needs. The
implications of this study suggest that an eclectic approach applicable in piano education.
The eclectic approach was based on the choice of piano teacher’s teaching approach with
their evaluation on the readiness of student and the selection of suitable teaching materials
to enhance the piano learning and performing of the student to the professional level. The
eclectic approach can be an effective piano teaching approach to facilitate student’s piano
learning and the acquiring of piano performance skills and techniques
Gender representation in selected post-Marcos plays in the Philippines / Mahtab Mahdavifar
No full textThis thesis focuses on women involvement as theater practitioners (actresses, directors and playwrights) in Filipino Theater in the time and after Marcos regime (1960-2000) with the focus on two main theater associations Philippines Educational Theater Association (PETA) and Philippines Repertory (REP). Moreover, it aims to shed light on the representation of women in the selected modern plays written in English by post- Marcos dramatists namely Jessica Hagedorn, Linda Faigao-Hall and Malou Leviste Jacob in their plays Dogeaters (1990), The Female Heart (2013) and A Significant Life (2000). In addition, the study also aims to find the ways and dominant techniques through which the post-Marcos dramatists and directors depicted women, their roles and their contribution to social changes. Furthermore, this study tries to explore the traces of gender performativity, which is defined as “the stylized repetition of acts” by American feminist Judith Butler (2011, p. 179) as a key element in breaking the traditional representation of women on stage and in print. In order to achieve this, Brechtian theories in drama and performance were employed
Bidirectional and semi-bidirectional rapidly-exploring random tree-based variants for robot motion planning / Reza Mashayekhi
No full textMotion planning is involved in various applications such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), driver-less cars, virtual prototyping,
biology, and computer graphics. Planners need to find collision-free paths for movable
agents from one point to another in state spaces. Path planning is mostly about finding
paths in continuous spaces, which is considered as an Np-hard problem. In order to
avoid this complexity, planners discretize continuous spaces into discrete spaces to limit
the number of states that planners need to check to release paths. There are two types
of motion planners: graph-based planners and sampling-based planners. Graph-based
methods, such as A*, are efficient. Nonetheless, they need to use a priori approximation
of the state space. If these approximations are not chosen accurately, they are not able to
provide appropriate solutions. If the selected resolution is low, the output would be low
quality. If the selected resolution is high, it is computationally expensive to solve. On
the other hand, sampling-based methods do not need to have any resolution for solving
planning problems. They use random sampling to avoid prior discretization of state spaces.
Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) is one of the most popular sampling-based methods
for single-query planning problems due to its ability to find solutions efficiently. Informed
RRT* is an optimized version of RRT, which not only implements the rewiring process
to optimize the tree but also limits the search area to a subset of the state space to return
near-optimal solutions faster. However, before finding an initial solution, the planner is not
able to shrink the problem domain. Therefore, it searches all over the problem domain
to be able to find an initial solution. Moreover, unidirectional RRTs, such as Informed RRT*, take more time to find initial solutions in comparison to the bidirectional RRTs.
This thesis proposes two new motion planners, one is a bidirectional motion planner
(Informed RRT*-Connect), and another one is a semi-bidirectional motion planner (Hybrid
RRT). Informed RRT*-Connect is the informed version of RRT*-Connect that uses direct
sampling after an initial solution is found. Unlike RRT*-Connect, the proposed method
checks only the states that can potentially provide better solutions than the current solution.
On the other hand, Hybrid RRT divides the planning process into three parts: finding
initial solutions by a dual-tree search, combining two trees into one, and optimizing the
solution. Hybrid RRT implements a dual-tree search to obtain its initial solution, which
helps it find solutions faster than unidirectional searches. Then, it combines the start tree
and the goal tree of the dual-tree search into one to implement informed sampling on a
single tree to optimize the current solution. The simulation has been carried out in the
Open Motion Planning Library (OMPL). Planners have been compared in terms of finding
initial solutions, success rate, and path length. The simulations show that the proposed
methods surpass state-of-the-art motions planners in terms of the success rate and the path
length
Development of soft computing prediction model for the influent physicochemical characteristics of sewage treatment plants / Mozafar Ansari
No full textThe role of sewage treatment plants (STPs) is reducing the sewage contaminates to a level that minimises the risk environmental disasters by treating the sewage to acceptable standards before being discharged into the receiving waters. Design and operation of these treatment plants depend on the influent conditions. Unlike industrial sewage treatment plants, there is not enough control over the quality and quantity of domestic influent. In this research, physical and chemical influent characteristics from 2011 to 2013, including flow rate, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3-N), pH, oil and grease (OG) and suspended solids (SS) of three sewage treatment plants, STP A, STP B, and STP C, in Kuala Lumpur were evaluated. Sugeno fuzzy inference system (FIS) algorithm was used to model influent parameter, and the FIS parameters were adjusted by ANFIS, integrated Genetic algorithms, GA-FIS, and integrated particle swarm optimisation, PSO-FIS, algorithms. To find the best modelling results, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2) were used as primary evaluation criteria, and relative error (RE) and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSC) were applied as secondary validation indices. The best algorithm for each parameter was selected based on these criteria. Moreover, the influent parameters were compared with design values that have been recommended by Malaysia National Water Services Commission. The prediction results showed that both integrated GA and PSO fuzzy algorithms performed almost at the same level and provided more accurate results for all parameters than the ANFIS model. Based on the influent assessment, the influent COD for all sewage treatment plants was higher than the design value. Beside COD, influent BOD of STP A had events that was higher than the recommended value. Moreover, the BOD, NH3-N, and OG of STP B have exceeded their design values, and in STP C, the OG was exceeded several times. These parameters were forecasted for one year to find the future condition of selected STPs. The results showed that STP B would be the STP with the highest number of exceeded parameter and STP A would have the minimum number of exceeded parameters. However, the number of influent COD events that was greater than the design value for STP C would be expected to be higher than other STPs. One of the methods that can resolve the condition of COD is reducing elements which can affect the BOD and COD value. Despite this, wasted cooking oil can be for other purposes such as biofuel. Therefore, it was recommended to collect wasted oil before entering the sewage system
Strengthening of prestressed concrete beams using combined externally bonded and prestressed near surface mounted technique / M. Obaydullah
No full textPrestressed concrete beams are now widely used in the construction field. However, there is a lack of studies on the strengthening of prestressed beams. Externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) and near surface mounted (NSM) strengthening have been used to a certain extent to strengthen prestressed beams. However, EBR is prone to premature debonding failure, while NSM reduces but does not completely eliminate premature debonding. Prestressed NSM (PNSM) strengthening is new area of research. In this research work the possibility of using both steel strands and CFRP bars with PNSM strengthening is investigated. A new strengthening technique, the combined EBR with prestressed NSM (CEBPNSM) technique is also proposed in this research work to overcome the limitations of EBR and NSM. In this study, a total of thirty two prestressed beams were strengthened in order to investigate the structural performance of steel strands and CFRP bars as PNSM reinforcement, as well as the performance of the newly proposed CEBPNSM technique. The beam specimens were divided into six groups according to the type of strengthening conducted on the beams. The first group was strengthened with NSM CFRP bars. The second group was strengthened with NSM steel strands. The third group was strengthened with NSM CFRP bars and EBR CFRP sheet. The fourth group was strengthened with NSM steel strands and EBR CFRP sheet. The fifth group was strengthened with NSM CFRP bars and EBR CFRP plate. The sixth group was strengthened with NSM steel strands and EBR CFRP plate. The prestress levels in the PNSM and CEBPNSM strengthened beams were also varied from 30% to 70% of the tensile capacity of the NSM strengthening materials to study the effect on the prestressed beam. A numerical model was also developed using finite element modeling (FEM) to simulate the structural behavior of the strengthened beams and validate the experimental results. The results of this study showed that both steel strands and CFRP bars were effective as PNSM reinforcement, although steel strands displayed better ductility and serviceability. This study also found that the CEBPNSM strengthening technique improved the structural performance of the prestressed beam significantly more than other strengthening techniques. The ultimate capacity of the CEBPNSM strengthened beams increased by 67% to 81%, depending on variations in the strengthening materials and prestress levels. The serviceability, deflection, and failure mode of the CEBPNSM beams also improved considerably. Increasing the prestress level in the PNSM and CEBPNSM strengthened beams resulted in corresponding increases in flexural performance and load capacity, especially at the service stage. The highest level of prestress (70%) provided the greatest enhancement in flexural performance. The load deflection behavior and damage patterns generated by the FEM model were compared with the experimental results and found to be in good agreement
Utility model and usability evaluation instrument for elderly’s pain management mobile applications / Umm-E-Mariya Shah
No full textThe elderly population is growing rapidly worldwide. It has turned out to be highly important in many industries to take into account the specific needs of older people. Old age people are more at risk of having chronic illness and pain is amongst their common ailments. Pain is prevalent to involve high societal cost and the most disabling condition among the other major chronic diseases. This highlights the importance of proper pain self-management to improve quality of life via mHealth technology. Nevertheless, the elderly have certain limitations in the use of mobile technology because of physical, perception, cognitive or motivational constraints. Analysis of existing electronic pain diaries and pain management applications reveals that the applications are not comprehensive in terms of self-management, and were developed without the clinical advice and elderly’s involvement. This research aims at identifying the utility and usability aspects of the pain management mobile applications that provide ease of use and acceptance among the elderly. The utility aspect was first studied. Essential features of pain self-management were identified from systematic literature review. Based on the findings of the review and the identified features in the previous studies, a conceptual utility model to aid understanding of the concept of pain management was proposed. The conceptual utility model was further evaluated and verified by nine medical doctors for its accuracy and comprehensiveness. Moreover, a focus group discussion was conducted with the medical doctors to identify their data accessibility needs, mechanism to get their involvement, acceptability of the systems in their daily workflow and other concerns about the pain management applications used by the elderly. This was followed by a questionnaire-based utility survey among the elderly patients to understand their utility preferences of the pain management applications. The finalised utility model can be used to guide development of and verify suitability and comprehensiveness of pain self-management mobile applications. On the usability aspect, an extensive review of literature was conducted to find out the domain-specific usability problems. This results in a taxonomy of design concerns, usability issues, and their solutions/recommendations. The elderly’s barriers in technology use and research gap in the elderly specific usability evaluation was also identified. Based on the findings, a usability evaluation instrument that maps the usability measures with the elderly’s barriers was proposed. The content of the instrument was verified by five experts (usability, linguistics and medical). A usability study, followed by usability evaluation and face validity, was performed with sixteen elderly participants on the pre-selected pain management mobile applications. The usability study and evaluation helped to test the reliability of the proposed usability evaluation instrument and identify the real-world issues in the applications use. The instrument also provides graphical visualization of the mapping of usability measures with the elderly’s barriers and scores of various artefacts. The graphical details will be helpful in identifying the areas of usability improvement and the scores could be helpful in comparing usability of different applications.
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Removal of selected organic pollutants in landfill leachate using natural coagulant from dillenia indica seed extract / Aziz Ahmed
No full textThis study is aimed to identify and characterise novel green coagulant from Dillenia indica seed extracts for the removal of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in landfill leachate using coagulation-flocculation process. The removal efficacy of D. indica seed extracts was compared with commercially available coagulants namely Locust Bean Gum (LBG) and alum. Additionally, it focused on the optimisation of the variables of the coagulation-flocculation process such as coagulants dosage, pH and mixing speed for POPs removal. The functional groups, morphological behaviour and surface area of the dried flocs and samples were analysed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET). POPs found in the leachate were phenol, 4,4'-(1-methylethylidene)bis- (Bisphenol A), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol, Pyridine,3-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)-,(S)- (nicotine) and p-tert-Butylphenol (P-t-BP). The seed extracts of D. indica contained active coagulating agents such as carbohydrate 19.47%, proteins 12.78%, phytic acid 6.98% and total phenolics 8.23%. At optimal conditions, D. indica seed extracts removed 66% Bisphenol A, 59% DEHP, 83% 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol, 80% nicotine, 74% P-t-BP at pH 8.5. From SEM images of floc with D. indica seed extract fibrous netlike structures were observed. FTIR studies showed that D. indica seed contains hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amino groups, as well as, hydrogen bonds. Similarly, LBG effectively removed 100% nicotine, and 96% P-t-BP, 76% Bisphenol A, 69% DEHP and 84% 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol at pH 4 and pH 6.5, respectively. Floc from treatment of leachate with LBG had identical peaks with LBG powder, but some variation in the peaks of the functional groups, which signifies the chemical interactions between flocculants and pollutant particles resulting in removal of selected POPs. SEM micrographs of floc from treatment of leachate with LBG had a rough cloudy surface and numerous macro-pores compared with alum, which enabled the capture and removal of selected POPs from leachate. The specific surface area of the LBG and D. indica seed were 0.7165 m²/g and 1.6734 m²/g, respectively. Coagulant dosage and pH variation had a significant effect on selected POPs removal in leachate. The sludge volume index (SVI) value of LBG, D. indica seed extracts and alum were 60 mL/g, 52 mL/g and 180 mL/g, respectively, at optimum condition. From the economic point of view, one million litres of leachate using D. indica seed extract (at 1000 mg/L dosage) would cost 0.6 USD while LBG (at 500 mg/L dosage) would cost 0.4 USD and alum (at 1.5 g/L dosage) would cost 3.6 USD. Because of the large surface area, effective pollutants removal efficiency and non-toxicity, D. indica and LBG can be strongly recommended as alternatives to inorganic coagulants for the treatment of POPs in landfill leachate