Technology acceptance : Malaysian industrialised building system (IBS) case

In embracing globalisation, it is necessary for all industries, including the AEC/FM industry, to be equipped with relevant technology. One such technology available for the sector is the industrialised building system (IBS). Since 1998, a substantial work of campaign in order to encourage the use of IBS in Malaysia has been done by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). For example providing large funds for research, creating standard through various training and promotional programmes. Previous studies have shown that using IBS can enhanced the management of project quality, automatically save cost and led to less rectification work of construction project. However, result revealed the adoption of IBS in Malaysia construction industry is still far from government desired. Disintegration among stakeholders during the design stage has been identified as one major barrier for implementing IBS. As such, this paper explores the potential solutions to reduce disintegration. The research presented uses focus groups to obtain qualitative data. It was found that increased collaboration and team integration, such as team accountability, structural organisation and operation in terms of work processes and environment will enhance the IBS adoption in the Malaysian construction industry

In-field measurement and sampling technologies for monitoring quality in the sugarcane industry: a review

Reliable in-field quality measurement and sampling techniques are needed in the sugarcane industry to accommodate spatial variability in crop quality during harvesting. Existing in-field monitoring systems only monitor the crop yield and do not have the ability to measure product quality. This is a serious limitation for the industry in dealing with a significant quality variation across a field. Conventional technologies for measuring sugarcane quality in a laboratory have severe limitations for field use because they require complex sample preparation procedures especially to have clarified juice samples for each measurement. This review focuses on the use of current and new emerging precision agricultural sensing technologies for measuring product quality and describes their potential application and limitation for field use in the sugarcane industry. Optical spectroscopy is among the most promising technologies for measuring sugarcane quality on a harvester. The key considerations for development of a measurement method and sampling mechanism in the field are also discussed

Social factors and overweight : evidence from nine Asian INDEPTH Network sites

BACKGROUND: Overweight/obesity increases the risk of morbidity and mortality from a number of chronic conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. This study examined the distribution of body mass index (BMI) in nine Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites in five Asian countries and investigated the association between social factors and overweight. DATA AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in nine HDSS sites in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The methodology of the WHO STEPwise approach to Surveillance with core risk factors (Step 1) and physical measurements for weight, height and waist circumference (Step 2) were included. In each site, about 2,000 men and women aged 25-64 years were selected randomly using the HDSS database. Weight was measured using electronic scales, height was measured by portable stadiometers and waist circumference was measured by measuring tape. Overweight/obesity was assessed by BMI defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres (kg/m(2)). RESULTS: At least 10% people were overweight (BMI >/= 25) in each site except for the two sites in Vietnam and WATCH HDSS in Bangladesh where few men and women were overweight. After controlling for all the variables in the model, overweight increases with age initially and then declines, with increasing education, and with gender with women being heavier than men. People who eat vegetables and fruits below the recommended level and those who do high level of physical activity are, on the whole, less heavy than those who eat more and do less physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: As the proportion of the population classified as being overweight is likely to increase in most sites and overweight varies by age, sex, and social and behavioural factors, behavioural interventions (physical exercise, healthy diet) should be developed for the whole population together with attention to policy around nutrition and the environment, in order to reduce the adverse effects of overweight on health

Forecast of dengue incidence using temperature and rainfall

INTRODUCTION: An accurate early warning system to predict impending epidemics enhances the effectiveness of preventive measures against dengue fever. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a forecasting model that could predict dengue cases and provide timely early warning in Singapore. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed a time series Poisson multivariate regression model using weekly mean temperature and cumulative rainfall over the period 2000-2010. Weather data were modeled using piecewise linear spline functions. We analyzed various lag times between dengue and weather variables to identify the optimal dengue forecasting period. Autoregression, seasonality and trend were considered in the model. We validated the model by forecasting dengue cases for week 1 of 2011 up to week 16 of 2012 using weather data alone. Model selection and validation were based on Akaike's Information Criterion, standardized Root Mean Square Error, and residuals diagnoses. A Receiver Operating Characteristics curve was used to analyze the sensitivity of the forecast of epidemics. The optimal period for dengue forecast was 16 weeks. Our model forecasted correctly with errors of 0.3 and 0.32 of the standard deviation of reported cases during the model training and validation periods, respectively. It was sensitive enough to distinguish between outbreak and non-outbreak to a 96% (CI = 93-98%) in 2004-2010 and 98% (CI = 95%-100%) in 2011. The model predicted the outbreak in 2011 accurately with less than 3% possibility of false alarm. SIGNIFICANCE: We have developed a weather-based dengue forecasting model that allows warning 16 weeks in advance of dengue epidemics with high sensitivity and specificity. We demonstrate that models using temperature and rainfall could be simple, precise, and low cost tools for dengue forecasting which could be used to enhance decision making on the timing, scale of vector control operations, and utilization of limited resources

Assessment of Radiation and Heavy Metals Risk due to the Dietary Intake of Marine Fishes (Rastrelliger kanagurta) from the Straits of Malacca

The environment of the Straits of Malacca receives pollution as a result of various industrial and anthropogenic sources, making systematic studies crucial in determining the prevailing water quality. Present study concerns concentrations of natural radionuclides and heavy metals in marine fish (Rastrelliger kanagurta) collected from the Straits of Malacca, since aquatic stock form an important source of the daily diet of the surrounding populace. Assessment was made of the concentrations of key indicator radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th, 40K) and heavy metals (As, Mn, Fe, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, Co, Sr, Al, Hg and Pb) together with various radiation indices linked to the consumption of seafish. The annual effective dose for all detected radionuclides for all study locations has been found to be within UNSCEAR acceptable limits as has the associated life-time cancer risk. The overall contamination of the sampled fish from heavy metals was also found to be within limits of tolerance