Rural communities in sub Saharan Africa have spent considerable time and energy in
their quest for obtaining cooking requirements. The utilization of solar energy for cooking is not a
widespread practice despite the fact that African countries are abundant in solar resources. A solar
cooker uses the freely, environmentally friendly, healthy and renewable solar energy resource as its
energy source, thus indicating its economical and sustainability advantages. This paper demonstrates
the possibility of using solar energy as an alternative to the traditional system of cooking local
foodstuffs within the rural communities of North-East Nigeria. The cooker was designed and fitted
with a black pot and an automatic tracking mechanism that can track the sun at 10° per hour,
following the sun movement for use in tropical dry climates. Parboiled rice of 1kg each was cooked
completely in 75 minutes at an average solar beam radiation of 623W/m2
after attaining maximum
temperature of 368K under clear weather condition. Whereas 1kg of beans and 1.1kg of yam were
cooked in 90 minutes at an average solar beam radiation of 536.5W/m2
and 430.1 W/m2
respectively.
The highest temperature reached for this test was 368K. The results indicated that a parabolic solar
cooker can easily cook these varieties of Nigerian local dishes within the range of 75 to 90 minutes
under the clear weather condition of Bauchi, north–east of Nigeria.
In this paper, Reynolds average Navier stokes models simulation was computed
with standard k-є, realizable k-є and SST k-w.The three models were proposed to forecast the
turbulence flow behaviour inside a rectangular channel with two baffle plates. The geometry
and the grid were generated using commercial CFD software fluent. The flow behaviours of
three models were characterized based on positions of the entrance to the first baffle,
positions between first and second baffle and lastly the second baffle. At the three different
positions the three models studied have demonstrate differences in the velocity profiles and
separation range. Comparison with previous literatures shows applicability of these three
models to produce velocity profile characteristics and separation behaviours. Even though
some of the models have shown slight deviation from the experimental results but in general
the three models were considered to be in close agreement with most published literatures.
A questionnaire Usability Self Learning Module is developed to measure the overall
development of the learning module Adobe Photoshop constructs involving three modules, module’s
usability, applying theory of the cognitive load and minimalist. The study was conducted to produce
empirical data on the reliability and validity of the Usability of Adobe Photoshop’s Module
questionnaire using the Rasch Measurement Model. A survey was conducted on 120 participants who
attended the course Adobe Photoshop using the modules studied. The questionnaire is distributed
using one of the Web 2.0 technology platform, Google Docs. The reliability and validity of the
Usability Adobe Photoshop’s module questionnaire were tested with the Rasch Measurement Model
using the Winstep version 3.69.1.11 program.The Rasch analysis showed that person reliability index
is 0.87 and item reliability of 0.94. In term of item polarity, each item was able to contribute to
measuring the effectiveness of the learning module development measurement since the PTMEA
CORR exceeded 0.30, in specific between 0.50 to 0.78. There are 27 items in the questionnaire, which
is divided into 3 different constructs. Each construct contains 7 to 11 items. The unidimensionality test
conducted showed standardized residuals variance of 49.8%, with the biggest secondary dimension
in the first constrast amounting variance of 6.5%. Item fit analysis showed that none of the items
needed to be dropped since infit mean square values are between 0.73 and 1.39, and the outfit mean
square values are between 0.70 and 1.40. Items in the questionnaires are ordered in a continuum of
increasing intensity for the measurement of the Usability of Module construct. This shows the validity
of the constructs in Usability of the module.The Rasch Measurement Model shows that the Usability
of the Module has a high reliability and validity to be used for measuring the usability of the module
and the application of cognitive load theory and the theory of minimalism
This paper presents a numerical simulation of flow in a microchannel heat sink. The channel
was defined as a dimension with less than 1.0milimeter and greater than 100.0micrometer. The ANSYS
CFX 2015 was used to predict the flow in the microchannel. Besides, simulations were undertaken to
determine the flow of the fluid within the microchannel in three different models. Therefore, three
different models were employed for this study. The first model was a square-shaped channel with 0.5mm
width and 0.5mm height constructed along 28.0mm channel length. The second and the third models
were in rectangular shape. The differences between these models were their width and height of
channel. The dimension for the second model was 0.75mm height and 0.5mm width (rectangular A),
while the dimension for the third model was 0.5mm height and 0.75mm width (rectangular B). All the
microchannel heat sink models had been simulated and showed results for pressure, temperature, and
velocity inside the microchannel. The results were compared for each model and the data had been
validated from published data. In addition, the initial velocity was set in a range between 0.1m/s and
0.5m/s. The highest pressure drop was recorded for the square microchannel. It was 58.12% higher
than the pressure drop found in the rectangular microchannel with 0.75mm width, while 0.02% closer
with the 0.75mm-height rectangular microchannel. Furthermore, there was a 33.34% of temperature
difference, which had been higher for the square microchannel. Nevertheless, the highest velocity of
0.57m/s was recorded at the outlet of the microchannel. These had been consistent with other published
data.
A method based on Computational Fluids Dynamics (CFD) was used to analyse the flow
behaviour in the Biodiesel reactor with 6-blade at 45° pitch blade turbines. The study, which was based
on the turbulent flow, had been associated with three sizes of the blades installed in the reactor by using
the standard k-ε turbulence model. The study also included the pitch blade turbines that were installed
at three clearances from the bottom in the reactor by using the standard k-ε turbulence model. The
results showed that the flow behaviours differed for the three various locations, which were installed at
C=T/4, C=T/2, and C=3T/4 for D=T/3. The results also showed that the flow behaviour had been
different for the three impeller diameters installed at C=T/4. Besides, good quantitative agreement for
velocity distribution was obtained. Good velocity distribution in the reactor was produced by D=T/3.
Moreover, a comparison between the three impeller diameters in terms of velocity distribution
suggested that the discharge flow from the smaller impeller had stronger axial flow during the mixing
process.
Blends of poly (vinyl chloride) and poly (ethylene oxide) with the addition of carbon black
as filler was prepared via solution casting technique to fabricate a conductive polymer film. Besides,
poly (ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether) (PEGDE) was added into the formulation in order to improve its
properties. The surface morphology of the conductive polymer film was characterized via scanning
electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the conductivity of the film was greatly enhanced
by incorporating the PEGDE as the surface modifier in the PVC/PEO conductive polymer film.
Cryptographic algorithm has become one of the most important aspects in hardware
implementation of embedded security system design. Message Digest (MD) is one of the cryptographic
algorithms that can be used in any security design application. Nowadays, designing the high speed,
low power, and small area implementation of cryptographic algorithms on reconfigurable hardware is
one of the critical subjects for hardware application. The purpose of this paper had been to analyse the
structure of MD5 hash function for high performance implementation in order to obtain small area
implementation, as well as to increase the speed of the design on FPGA. In this paper, the frequency
maximum for MD5 design with both grey and binary signal encoding is discussed. The results retrieved
from the analysis showed that the differing results were caused by the switching bit of the signal input.
Besides, the frequency maximum of MD5 that employed binary signal encoding provided the highest
frequency maximum with smaller area implementation. By using grey signal encoding, the frequency
maximum was almost similar to the MD5 binary signal encoding, but it suffered larger area
implementation. On top of that, this research focused on timing and area implementation of the design,
where TimeQuest timing analyser was applied to optimize the output of the desig
Despite of the advancement of technology in the present internet age, many college students
lack the information and communication technology (ICT) literacy skills like evaluating those necessary
to navigate, as well as using the information available today. Evaluating the quality of information
sources encompasses students’ ability to determine relevance, accuracy, and overall credibility of
sources and information. Moreover, the quality of information found online is extremely variable
because anyone can post data on the internet, and not all online sources are equally reliable, valuable,
or accurate. From a study conducted on diploma students’ assignments using rubric at an international
university in Kuala Lumpur, it was found that there was a problem in digital information evaluation
skills and lack of ability in using evaluation criteria, including authority, accuracy, currency,
objectivity, and coverage on digital information, as well as sources among diploma students. The future
work of this study will be the use of mobile devices in collaborative and interactive learning to improve
digital information evaluation skills among diploma students. This approach does not only improve the
students’ learning attitude, but also enhances the effectiveness of learning.
This paper describes the process of designing a wheelchair with the main aim of making it
compact and lightweight. A wheelchair is a common device used to assist in terms of mobility for those
with difficulty to walk. Most conventional manual wheelchairs are heavy and bulky, even after they are
folded. The designed wheelchair in this research is able to reduce the weight approximately by 30%.
The wheelchair volume after folding is also reduced significantly. Besides, the designed wheelchair was
evaluated by using 3D CAD software to analyse the strength and possible material failure. Moreover,
a virtual mannequin was used to evaluate the geometry and the comfort of the design. On top of that, a
scale down prototype was produced by using a 3D printer to evaluate the fold-ability function of the
wheelchair.
This paper presents the work of investigating and comparing the uses of CRS and QTC Pills
as a tactile sensor material for Robotic Hand application. The materials were tested for their resistivity
characteristics to determine the data reproducibility of the materials. The experiments were conducted
based on three parameters; the supply voltage, the separation gap, and the sensor construction against
the force/ load that had been exerted onto the materials. The results showed that CRS could cover the
lower loading range when compared to QTC Pills. However, the data reproducibility of QTC Pills was
better compared to those of CRS, thus making it more suitable to be used as a material for tactile
sensing application. Therefore, this paper highlights the potential of these two materials as a tactile
sensing transducer, and later, can be used as a useful guideline when designing a tactile sensor with
these materials.
In this study, fatigue failures of bio-composite materials were predicted due to
manufacturing defects. Kenaf bast fibres were used to fabricate a bio-composite material with epoxy as
a binding material. The bio-composites were manufactured by using a hand lay-up process. The defects
in the Kenaf/epoxy bio-composite were determined by a non-destructive technique using Infrared
thermal imager. Besides, the thermography analyses were verified via optical microscope and scanning
electron microscope (SEM) investigations. Determinations of fatigue, as well as damage had been
predicted, and it was found that the damage could be fixed with the predicted results.
This study presents traditional brick making in Central Aceh in Indonesia,
specifically in Silih Nara sub district. According to official statistics Silih Nara since 2008
remains the poorest area of central Aceh. Traditional brick making is the biggest industry in
the area besides agriculture. Previously no research has been conducted about bricks quality
and brick yards development in sub district. Data from the research can be use in study of
SMEs recovery after earthquake that hit Aceh in 2013. Due to reoccurring natural disasters in
the area it is important to improve quality of bricks, which are used to rebuild dwelling houses
and public facilities. This study describes methods of brick making in Silih Nara and quality of
the bricks in order to recommend changes in production which can strength final product.
Through SWOT analysis of brick industry, some recommendations were suggested for brick
makers in Silih Nara and local government to improve bricks quality, industry sustainability.
Customer care centres of Telecom Industry play vital role in telecom business field last
few years. The capital of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu is the place for telecom service providers to promote
the best service and grab the market. In this geographical location, efficiency and service excellence
are the two major goals for customer care centre as other part of Malaysia. Efficiency depends on
speed and delivery that leads to get excellent service. The objectives of the research is to identify and
explore the influential factors of the service experience in customer care centre for telecom industry in
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Based on the first part of the research, it was identified the critical
factors of service experience of customer care centre to eliminate the rigidity of service near future in
the industry. Questionnaire survey was used for this research because the research method was
quantitative and experimental. Data were collected from the people who are attached with the
customer care centre activities of telecom industry in that region in terms of usage of the product or
seeking services through customer care centre. Results of this study show that how different factors
influence and shape a better service experience and whether the factors have positive and significant
influences on customer’s service experience in a customer care centre of this industry in Sabah. In
total 18 questions were asked to answer to the 200 sample interviewee to get the real scenario of
customer care centre in terms of service excellence. This study helps to find out the factors which
affect the service experience in Customer Care Centre. The result indicates that three out of four
factors have significant influence on Customer service experience in Telecom Industry in Sabah.
Scheduling is one other method in productivity improvement. Scheduling occurs at the
operation level of production planning and control system. Scheduling is important because it can
optimize resource allocation and minimize waste. Simulation analysis can be used to evaluate the
scheduling technique in order to determine the best alternatives. A case study company, Olilys Sdn.
Bhd. Did are facing with the unsystematic scheduling methods for the job orders received from
customers. The problem became worst during peak period (high demand) where the company unable
to fulfil the customer orders. The objective of this project is to study the existing scheduling technique
and find related problem, and propose an improvement in production scheduling system. In this project,
there are five scheduling techniques proposed, which are First Come First Serve (FCFS), Shortest
Processing Time (SPT), Longest Processing Time (LPT), Priority Rules by product sequences: By Part1
and By Part 2, and Earliest Due Date (EDD). The simulation modelling and experimentation being
done by using WITNESS simulation software. Through the experimentation analysis, the best
scheduling technique was selected and suggested to the company
Previous studies on instant noodles have been aimed mostly at secondary students, and have
been concerned with the demographics, and the development of product attributes. Very few studies
have examined the role of convenience (CO), product attributes (PA), advertising (AD) and subjective
norms (SN) in predicting the intention of students towards the consumption of instant noodles. The
present rising costs of living and education may affect the intention and behaviour of university students
towards the consumption of affordable food. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to explore the
relationship between these variables and the variables of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) in
association with the intention of university students to consume instant noodles. A research model
approach was used to reflect the effects of CO, PA, AD, and SN on the TRA constructs. In total, 390
cases were gathered from three universities. Structural equation modelling was employed to assess the
proposed research model in terms of the path significance, the general requirements for a model fit,
and the testing of the hypotheses. It was found that AD has a direct positive effect on the behavioural
intention of university students towards the consumption of instant noodles. Nevertheless, CO, PA, and
SN appear to exert no significant influence on the behavioural intention of university students. The
limitation of the study was that the findings were obtained from a small dataset covering only three
universities. Therefore, future researches should cover a broader range of research samples. This paper
provides additional understanding for marketing managers and researchers into the effects of CO, PA,
AD and SN on the intention of Malaysian university students towards the consumption of instant
noodles, which can be used for formulating marketing strategies for instant noodles and for considering
future research directions in other countries.
The Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) delivers strong decision making in areas where
selection of best alternative is highly complex. This paper reviews and explain the main condensations
of MCDM models and practices in detail. The purpose is explained and identify various application
and the approaches and to suggests different MCDM models for different decision makling issues and
how to select the best alternatives. This paper also examines the DEMATEL model and problems in
DEMATEL for decision making and how DEMATEL have been improved to overcome the problems.
The MCDM methods have helped to choose the best alternatives where that they are many criteria are
present, the best can be selected and analyzed the different scope for the criteria, weights for the criteria
and the choose the ideal ones using any multi criteria decision making methods.
A Shipyard in Malaysia has been trying to change, but facing employee Resistance to
Change (RTC). Resistance is attributed to the poor coupling of tasks to its technical
core, creating bad habits leading to thoughtlessness and neglect. Lewin’s Field Theory
and Festinger’s Theory of Cognitive Dissonance was used to understand and identify
the underlying behaviour of the employees. Lean principles were used as an in-depth
intervention to understand how context provoked or shaped reactions. A Dual
Imperative Action Research (AR) with the author as a participant researcher was
conducted not only to create knowledge but also, change. To position the Shipyard in
its historical context, face-to-face interview was conducted with managers to get thick
description of the RTC and archaic documentations was reviewed. A survey using
tested questionnaire was conducted to gauge the employees RTC disposition.
Resistance is due to incoherency of a person’s belief to establish standards, giving rise
to cognitive dissonance. These dissonances hidden as non-conscious behaviour, social
habits or norms, lead the organisation to deterioration. Lean intervention reduce
dissonance, creating psychological flow in the workforce and momentum for change.
Thereby, the Shipyard managed to recover the delay of a ship undergoing a ship-life
extension program and avoided liquidated damages amounting to RM63 million. The
Shipyard also managed to reduce its average delay for ship repair from 17 to 6 months.
The knowledge on how the researcher can gain utility from RTC and mediate through
the application of Lean principles would be of considerable benefit to ‘change
managers’.
The main intention of this research is to examine the content validity of Marine
Engineer Personality Inventory or PERJURA for student candidates of Diploma in
Marine Engineering course at Malaysian Polytechnics by using Content Validity Ratio
(CVR). The assessment was conducted through the evaluation among 14 subject
matter experts (SME) selected via judgment sampling. Seven professional university
experts involved with the expertise in psychology, psychometric, educational
measurement and linguistics. The field experts specializing in particular fields of study
consisted of seven practitioners who worked in the polytechnics field and maritime
industry. The instrument involved 288 items with six main constructs. The results of
the research show that the instrument has a good content validity and proved that
PERJURA has great potential to be promoted as a good measurement instrument of
personality screening for Marine Engineering student selection process. It is
recommended to apply more sophisticated statistical analysis, such as the Item
Response Theory (IRT) model for elaborating on quality items.
The purpose of this study is to explore the issues and challenges in integrating
technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for computer programming
courses. This study employed the triangulation method of the case studies and
Grounded Theory (GT). Twenty-five computer programming educators were
interviewed via online such as e-mail, media social’s chatting and messaging
application like WhatsApp and Telegram. The main issue discovered in this study is the
misconception in using technology for teaching and learning computer programming.
Besides that, there were two major challenges found in this study. The challenges are
the instructors were not able to explore the rapid development of technology and this
may cause the lack of technological pedagogical knowledge among them. They also
showed the lack of knowledge about pedagogy and assessment for teaching and
learning computer programming that relevant to the programming content. The
research that has been done showed that TPACK model is very suitable to guide
exploration about how educators make use of technology appropriate to the pedagogy
and content. However, the exploration that has been done has limitation on how
educators integrate student’s assessment on affective and instructional design
implementation with TPACK. Therefore, this paper suggesting for the future study, in
order that more exploration should be doing about how assessment on student’s
affective and instructional design would be integrate with technology, pedagogy and
content knowledge via TPACK model.
This paper examines the concept of reform in terms of religious, political and social
aspects in PB Shelley’s literary works. Selections from Shelley’s poetry, prose, essay
and drama are reconsidered to show the concept of reform in his works. This paper
seeks to unravel Shelley’s skeptic revolutionary thoughts that were always
misunderstood by the critics of his time. Shelley as a poet perpetuated his life as a
reformer, yet his concept of reform was neglected and often downplayed because of
his idealistic view of the world. However, the significance of Shelley's concept of reform
merits, more reverence, or, at least, more critical consideration than any of the Great
Romantics.