Mosque architecture in Malaysia : classification of styles and possible influence

The main purpose of the research is to set up an initial framework of architectural description of Muslim architecture in Malaysia within the context of the architectural concern of ‘style’. The main concern is to elucidate clearly the different architectural styles of Muslim architecture and suggest hypotheses for future studies in relation to the forces which might have been instrumental in the conception of these styles. The research is important in order to project the message that much of what we understand as ‘Islamic Architecture’ in the present literature comes from various artistic and political agendas that have questionable merits compared to an analytical approach of Islamic architecture from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The research is also important for practicing architects to understand that the present syntax of ‘Islamic Architecture’ with its references in Middle Eastern, Mid Asian and African models are not necessarily the best precedence to project the architectural message of Islam. As opposed to the three classification of Traditional, Colonial and Modern styles of mosque architecture, the research has identified seven main styles with a suggestion of the rationale and influences of those styles

Introducing reflective practice to teachers in an English medium lower secondary private school in Chitral

This paper reports insight from an action research conducted to introduce and improve the reflective practice among teachers working in a secondary private school in rural Pakistan. It was found that though very challenging to familiarize the teachers with the concept and practice of reflection, this concept is a power school based teacher learning model especially in a context where teachers have nominal exposure to in-service professional development. However, the low capacity of teachers in pedagogy, their traditional beliefs on professional development as well as the shortage of time are the factors hindering reflective practice. It is suggested that instead of depending on workshops and literature on reflection, focusing real classroom issues and providing ongoing support to teachers could be helpful in initiating and sustaining reflective practice

Axinos in Cosmology and at Colliders

The axino, the fermionic superpartner of the axion, is a well-motivated candidate for cold dark matter if it is the lightest supersymmetric particle. Since the axino couples very weakly to the matter multiplets, the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) has a long lifetime, which has important consequences for both cosmology and collider phenomenology. Assuming that a charged slepton is the NLSP, we calculate the complete leading one- and two-loop contributions to its decay. We analyze in detail constraints on the parameters space from cosmology and discuss how this scenario can be probed at colliders. Scenarios in which both the axino and the gravitino are lighter than the long-lived charged slepton are also explored with particular emphasis on cosmological constraints and collider phenomenology.Comment: 64 pages, 22 figure

Penerapan Metode Pembelajaran Edutainment (Education Entertainment) Terhadap Hasil Belajar Fisika Pada Peserta Didik Kelas X.6 SMA Negeri 16 Makassar

Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian pra eksperimen dengan desain one-shot case study yang bertujuan: 1. Untuk mengetahui besarnya pencapaian hasil belajar Fisika peserta didik pada kelas X.6 SMA Negeri 16 Makassar Tahun Ajaran 2013/2014 setelah diajar melalui metode pembelajaran Edutainment. 2. Untuk mengetahui hasil belajar fisika kelas X.6 SMA Negeri 16 Makassar Tahun Ajaran 2013/2014 memenuhi standar KKM setelah diajar melalui metode pembelajaran Edutainment. Subjek populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh peserta didik kelas X.6 SMA Negeri 16 Makassar yang terdiri dari 9 kelas, sedangkan sampel dalam penelitian ini adalah X.6 yang diperoleh dari acak kelas. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah tes hasil belajar yang terdiri dari 30 item dalam bentuk pilihan ganda yang telah divalidasi oleh dua orang validator, dan diuji coba pada kelas X.9 untuk mengetahui validitas tes. Data yang terkumpul dianalisis dengan menggunakan teknik analisis deskriptif dan inferensial. Dari analisis deskriptif hasil belajar Fisika peserta didik kelas X.6 SMA Negeri 16 Makassar setelah diajar dengan menggunakan metode pembelajaran Edutainment diperoleh nilai rata-rata sebesar 78,50 yang berarti berada pada kategori tinggi. Sedangkan analisis inferensial menunjukkan bahwa hasil belajar Fisika peserta didik kelas X.6 SMA Negeri 16 Makassar Tahun Ajaran 2013/2014 telah memenuhi Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal yang telah ditetapkan.Kata kunci: Hasil Belajar, Metode Pembelajaran EdutainmentThis research is a pre-experimental design with one-shot case study aims: 1. To determine the learning achievement of students in the physics class SMA Negeri 16 Makassar X.6 Academic Year 2013/2014 after being taught through learning methods Edutainment. 2. To determine the results of learning physics class SMA Negeri 16 Makassar X.6 Academic Year 2013/2014 meets the standards KKM after being taught through learning methods Edutainment. Subjects in this study population was all students X.6 class SMA Negeri 16 Makassar consisting of nine classes, while samples in this study were obtained from a random X.6 class. The data collection technique used is the achievement test consisting of 30 multiple choice items that have been validated by two validators, and tested in the classroom X.9 to determine the validity of the test. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis techniques. From the descriptive analysis of learning outcomes learners Physics X.6 class SMA Negeri 16 Makassar after being taught by using learning methods Edutainment obtained an average value of 78.50, which means at the high category. While inferential analysis showed that the learning outcomes of learners Physics X.6 class SMA Negeri 16 Makassar Academic Year 2013/2014 has met the minimum completeness criteria that have been set

Nitrogen Cycling in Indonesian Agriculture Around 1968 to 2008 and Its Environmental Impacts

The objectives of this study were to examine the efficiency of nitrogen and its lost to the environment, to estimate its environmental impacts and their mitigation measures. Nitrogen mass-balance models were developed to determine production, efficiency and the nitrogen losses. The results showed the trend of the system, increased the lost and decreased the efficiency of nitrogen fertliser around 1968 dan 2008. The material balance model outputs predicted that around 140 kg N/ha.year in 2008 were lost and entering the environment or ecosystem. The future of Indonesian agriculture will be more intensive and fertiliser application will increase. Fertiliser impacts are decreased of nitrogen efficiency, soil organic matters, macro-elements and organisms, and groundwater contamination and air pollution. It is strongly recommended that the future of Indonesian agricultural development should sustain the production by optimising the input and cut the losses

A study of primary school teachers’ professional development programme : The translation of theory into practice in schools

Professional development programmes are criticized for not meeting the practical needs of teachers and teachers are blamed for going to their comfort zones despite their participations in professional development programmes. This qualitative case study explored effectiveness of the program of primary education certificate course looking into participant teachers’ new knowledge, skills and attitude gained from the programme and the implementation of their new learning into their respective classrooms. Nine teachers and 27 students participated in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured and open-ended interviews, classroom observations, documents analysis and focused group discussions with students. The study reports a shift in teachers’ non-reflective attitudes to more reflective attitudes. The quality of their reflections however found to be technical in nature showing their inability to detect limitations of their teaching. The study also found graduate teachers using more learner-centered pedagogies but required more content specific trainings to teach some concepts. The findings also suggest that the graduate teachers developed skills in pedagogy and the utility of those pedagogical skills in their classrooms reshaped their beliefs of teaching, learning and learner. The positive experiences in turn reconstructed teachers’ conception of classroom environment vital in fostering learning of students

Pengendalian Motor Sinkron Magnet Permanen Menggunakan Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control Dan Adaptive Field Weakening Control

Paper ini akan membahas sebuah pendekatan kendali adaptive untuk Motor sinkron magnet permanen (MSMP) tipe surface mounted dalam seluruh rentang kecepatannya. Pendekatan ini membutuhkan koordinasi antara arus sumbu direct id dan arus sumbu quadratur iq. Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control digunakan untuk mengendalikan arus sumbu quadratur. Sedangkan arus sumbu direct dikendalikan dengan pendekatan Adaptive Field Weakening pada saat kecepatan bertambah dimana inverter dalam kondisi saturasi. Skema kendali dari Adaptive Field Weakening yang dikembangkan dapat menentukan besar id yang tepat pada sembarang kondisi operasi tampa perlu mengetahui torka beban, parameter motor atau inverter