Fully-Triaxial Rock Failure Criteria for Anisotropic Rocks

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Analysis of Micro-Morphology, Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Diffusivity and Specific Heat Capacity of Coconut Fibre Reinforced Foamed Concrete

With the quest for green construction and affordable housing systems for both rural and urban populations in Malaysia, various proposals focusing on cutting down on conventional building material costs have been put forward. One vanguard suggestion has been the sourcing, development and use of alternative, non-conventional local construction materials including the prospect of using some agricultural wastes as construction materials. This research describes experimental studies on the use of coconut coir fibre as an enhancer of foamed concrete with a focus on 2 parameters which are morphology properties and thermal properties of different percentages of coconut fibre (0%, 0.2% and 0.4%). In this study the addition of coconut fibre significantly improved all the properties investigated. The results of the tests showed that the thermal properties of foamed concrete improved with an increase in the proportion of coconut fibre. Findings from this research will also be used to address the knowledge gap on the subject of foamed concrete and will provide an improved understanding and raised awareness of the potential for using waste materials for domestic construction

Voltage Stability Analysis of Grid-Connected Wind Farms with FACTS: Static and Dynamic Analysis

Recently, analysis of some major blackouts and failures of power system shows that voltage instability problem has been one of the main reasons of these disturbances and networks collapse. In this paper, a systematic approach to voltage stability analysis using various techniques for the IEEE 14-bus case study, is presented. Static analysis is used to analyze the voltage stability of the system under study, whilst the dynamic analysis is used to evaluate the performance of compensators. The static techniques used are Power Flow, V–P curve analysis, and Q–V modal analysis. In this study, Flexible Alternating Current Transmission system (FACTS) devices- namely, Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOMs) and Static Var Compensators (SVCs) - are used as reactive power compensators, taking into account maintaining the violated voltage magnitudes of the weak buses within the acceptable limits defined in ANSI C84.1. Simulation results validate that both the STATCOMs and the SVCs can be effectively used to enhance the static voltage stability and increasing network loadability margin. Additionally, based on the dynamic analysis results, it has been shown that STATCOMs have superior performance, in dynamic voltage stability enhancement, compared to SVCs

The Effect of Leadership Styles and Personal Characteristics on Employees Organizational Commitment Among Malaysian Sports Organizations.

This study investigates the impact of leadership styles and personal characteristics on employees' organizational commitment within Malaysia Sports Organizations. The study aims to contribute to the understanding of how leadership practices and individual traits influence employees'commitment to their respective sports organizations. This study adopts a quantitative survey. A comprehensive literature review establishes the theoretical foundations, exploring key concepts such as leadership styles, organizational commitment, and personal characteristics. The theoretical framework integrates various leadership theories, including transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and ii servant leadership, to analyze their effects on organizational commitment.The sample for this study consists of employees from two sports organizations, which is Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia and National Sports Council of Malaysia. The quantitative phase involves the distribution of surveys to assess employees' perceptions of leadership styles, personal characteristics, and organizational commitment. The data collected is analyzed using statistical techniques such as regression analysis and correlation analysis to identify significant relationships and patterns.The findings of this research contribute to the existing literature by shedding light on the specific leadership styles and personal characteristics that positively influence employees' organizational commitment within sports organizations. It also highlights potential areas for improvement and provides recommendations for enhancing leadership practices to foster stronger organizational commitment.This study is of significant relevance to sports organizations, as understanding the factors that influence employee commitment can contribute to improved organizational performance, employee satisfaction, and overall success. By identifying effective leadership styles and recognizing the importance of personal characteristics, sports organizations can develop strategies to cultivate a positive work environment and enhance iii employee engagement and commitment.Table of Contents Abstract i Aknowlegements iv Table of Contents vi List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Chapter 1. Introduction 01 1.1. Study Background 1.2. Problem Statement 1.3. Purpose of the Study 1.4. Significance of the Study 1.5. Research Question 1.6. Definitions of Terms Chapter 2. Literature Review 12 2.1. Leadership as a Concept 2.1.1. Leadership Theories 2.1.1.1. Trait Theory 2.1.1.2. Behavior Theory 2.1.1.3. Contingency Theory 2.1.2. Transactional Leadership and Transformational Leadership 2.1.1.1. Transactional Leadership 2.1.1.2. Transformational Leadership 2.1.1.3. Transactional and Transformational Leadership 2.1.1.4. Transactional and Transformational Leadership in Sport 2.2. Organizational Commitment vii 2.2.1. A three-component model of commitment 2.2.2. The Antecedents of Organizational Commitment 2.3. Leadership Styles and Organizational Commitment 2.4. Personal Characteristics and Organizational Commitment 2.5. Research Model and Hypothesis Chapter 3. Method 61 3.1. Research Design and Procedure 3.2. Selection of Sample 3.3. Instruments 3.3.1. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x Short) 3.3.2. Personal Characteristics Questionnaire 3.3.3. Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) 3.4 Data Analysis Chapter 4. Results 71 4.1. Description of Respondents Characteristics 4.2. Reliability and validity test 4.3. Descriptive statistics 4.4. Statistical analysis Chapter 5. Discussion 83 5.1. Interpretation 5.2. Conclusion 5.3. Implications and recommendations 5.4. Limitation and future research References 92 국 문 초 록 107Maste

Efficacy of chili plant diseases classification using deep learning: a preliminary study

Plant disease classification using deep learning techniques is a popular research area due to the numerous opportunities for introducing advance and robust classifiers. Nevertheless, classifying chilli plant diseases accurately from images under uncontrolled environment and various imaging conditions remains unsolved due to the lack of chilli disease image datasets. In this study, the efficacy of three high-performance deep learning algorithms, namely VGG16, InceptionV3, and EfficientNetB0, in classifying three types of chilli leaves diseases, namely upward curling, mosaic/mottling, and the bacterial spot, is demonstrated. These methods are popularly used for other plant disease classifications due to their effectiveness. The experiments were performed on the 3,000 chilli plant disease images collected from three different field environments in Selangor, Malaysia. The images were captured with a complex background and various illuminations, angles, and distances to reflect the real-life scenarios. The complexity of the collected images was created based on the taxonomic information of chilli leaves diseases and the unavailability of chilli disease images under various imaging conditions in the publicly available plant disease databases. Experimented using appropriate specifications, the models demonstrated outstanding performance with more than 95% accuracy with the highest accuracy of 98.83% by InceptionV3

Study of occupational safety and health hazard identification, risk assesment and risk control at NGK Spark Plug Malaysia Berhad / Muhammad Zhafri Hisyam Rozlan

The study has been done at NGK Spark Plug at production line C and D where operator needs to transfer spark plugs from machine to conveyor. Operator that work at this section need to work fast and repetitively to achieve daily production amount and it effecting their health and mentality. This study aims to perform conducting Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) and utilize the engineering control as an alternative control measures to reduce risk associated hazard in workplace. It is significantly importance for an organizational to identify the hazard in a proper manner and the writer also implementing a fish bone method which is a combination of brainstorming, checklist and structured what-if (SWIFT) and applicable for individually as a safety personnel. To overcome this problem, simulation by using Delmia Quest software to make comparison between 10 slot conveyor and 15 slot conveyor. As a result, the operator idle time and utilization of conveyor are increased and it can reduce the operator stressfulness, which one of psychological health issue and hazards. With the use of information and previous study, it can be concluded that the method and control applied can be applicable to many organizational which reflected a good production line and safety and health working job

Assessment of energy credits for the enhancement of the Egyptian Green Pyramid Rating System

Energy is one of the most important categories in the Green Building Rating Systems all over the world. Green Building is a building that meets the energy requirements of the present with low energy consumption and investment costs without infringing on the rights of forthcoming generations to find their own needs. Despite having more than a qualified rating system, it is clear that each system has different priorities and needs on the other. Accordingly, this paper proposes a methodology using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for assessment of the energy credits through studying and comparing four of the common global rating systems, the British Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the American Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the Australian Green Stars (GS), and the PEARL assessment system of the United Arab Emirates, in order to contribute to the enhancement of the Egyptian Green Pyramid Rating System (GPRS). The results show the mandatory and optional energy credits that should be considered with their proposed weights according to the present and future needs of green Egypt. The results are compared to data gathered through desk studies and results extracted from recent questionnaires

A study on farmers' acceptance towards biopesticides application in organic paddy farming / Ummi Kalsom Rozlan

Paddy is the most important food source that consumed by 1.6 billion people in Asia. In Malaysia, paddy is considered as staple food. Pesticides is one of the important element that used by the plant to grow healthy. Synthetic pesticides are used widely for the control of various insect pests because it can be applied whenever and wherever needed, economical and most important thing is the reliability of control method. However, synthetic pesticides have also caused unprecedented ecological damage, also induced serious health hazard among workers during manufacture, formulation and field applications. To overcome the problems of synthetic hazards, one of the best control measures is the use biopesticides. However organic farmers in Malaysia especially in Besut, Terengganu area may lacks of knowledge and have different attitudes towards biopesticides application. Therefore, a research study was held at Kampung Durian Telor to evaluate farmers' acceptance towards biopesticides application. Data was collected by questionnaires form that being answered by farmers that registered under lPNT Daerah Besut. About 10 farmers or respondents were selected to answer the questionnaires. Pearson Correlation method was used to determine the relationship between independent variable which is knowledge of farmers and attitude of farmers towards biopesticides application. Multiple regression also being used to evaluate the most influence factor that influencing dependent variable. From the study, finding that have been found that independent variable have positively relationship with dependent variable. From the result also shows that knowledge is the most influencing factor that affecting farmers' acceptance towards biopesticides application

Fabrication And Characterization Of Normoxic Polymer Gel Dosimeter By Using Raman Spectroscopy At Low X-Ray Energies

Polymer gel dosimeters are fabricated from radiation sensitive chemicals which, upon irradiation, polymerize as a function of the absorbed radiation dose. Two types of normoxic polymer gel dosimeters were fabricated, which is PHEAG (polyhydroxyethyl acrylate) and PHEMAG (polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate) gel dosimeters. These polymer were fabricated by using gelatin, N' N-methylene-bisacrylamide (BIS), ascorbic acid (AA), deionized water and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) for PHEAG and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate for PHEMAG. The ability of AA to bind oxygen in the gel solution was investigated by using an oxygen dissolve meter. The concentrations of AA used are 5, 10, 15 and 35 mM and each concentration was applied to each batch of PHEAG and PHEMAG. The sensitivity of PHEAG and PHEMAG towards low X-ray energy was investigated. The structural changes of the monomeric components in PHEAG and PHEMAG after irradiation were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy