Assessment of Impact on Landscape Development to Ecological Service Values and Goods Using Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Amongst the impacts of converting forest to agricultural activities is the degradation of ecology service values and goods (ESVG). Impacts on ESVG can be devastating in environmental, biological, and socio-economics manners. This paper highlights the study undertaken on the impacts of agricultural development in 0.8x106 ha of forest dominated landscape in Pasoh Forest Region (PFR), Malaysia, within period of 8 years from 1995 to 2003. Three folds of impacts on agricultural development examined and analysed are: (i) relationship of total soil loss and changes in land use pattern, (ii) mapping trends of ESVG for PFR in 1995 and 2003, and (iii) risk assessment of ESVG based on simulation of converting 339x103ha of primary forest into mass-scale oil palm plantation. Results of this study indicated that although only minor changes of about 1464ha (~0.2% of PFR) of primary forest was converted to agricultural activities, it have significantly increased the total soil loss from 59x106 to 69x106 t/ha/yr. The mean rate of soil loss within PFR is 0.8x106 t/yr, and if translated into ESVG term, costing US$4.8x106/yr. However, majority of the soil loss within all land use classes are within range of very low - low risk categories (<10 t/ha/yr). Estimated cost of ESVG for PFR was US$179x106 in 1995, declined to US$114x106 in 2003 due to 0.2$963x106 and US$575x106, respectively. This difference, however, is only marginal when full 17 attributes of ESVG were considered

Pengurusan pembangunan harta wakaf: Pengalaman Majlis Agama Islam Negeri Pulau Pinang (MAINPP) terhadap wakaf Setee Aishah

Purpose– The purpose of this study is to review the waqf property development that has been implemented by the Islamic Religious Council of Pulau Pinang (MAINPP) as a trustee for the endowment land named waqf Seetee Aishah. The Seetee Aishah endowment land located at Seberang Jaya, Pulau Pinang. This waqf land was developed into a housing estate. Methodology– This study employs two types of methods – library research and field research. The library research is used as the first method for collecting data, where the data is extracted from fiqh contemporary books,fiqh classic books, journals, internet websites, annual reports and scientific conference papers.The second method of data collection is field research,where interviews were conducted with the head of the endowment (waqf) and also the project manager of the Seetee Aishah endowment at MAINPP. The methods of analysis covered three aspects – deductive, inductive and comparative.Findings – This study finds that the development of waqf properties at Pulau Pinang was carried out by the collaboration between MAINPP with the developer (UDA Holdings Bhd.).Because of the lack of cashflows, MAINPP is not able to provide financial capital (liquid assets) to carry out the development of waqf property, but able to provide unmovable capital(waqf land) for the project.Originality/Value – This study proves that joint venture between MAINPP and UDA Holdings Bhd. in developing the waqf land could increase the value of existing waqf properties.The joint venture implemented by MAINPP can also be used as a model for the other states in Malaysia to construct their waqf property more productive

Intellectual Capital (IC) Determinants: Impact on Productivity of Islamic Banks

This research aimed to investigate the relationship between the Intellectual Capital (IC) efficiency empirically. It consisted of human capital, structural capital, capital employed, and relational capital with the impact on the productivity of Islamic banks in Malaysia. The Pulic\u27s Value-Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) method with the extended and modified version introduced by former scholars was used to measure IC, whereas bank productivity was measured through Assets Turnover Ratio (ATO). Three internal factors that might have determinants effect on VAIC, namely bank size, bank risks, and leverage were further tested to find their relationship. Structural stability tests and dynamic regression models for panel data were also used for the data of 16 Islamic banks in Malaysia from 2009 to 2016. The panel-corrected standard errors estimation technique was used to estimate a panel regression model with bank productivity and VAIC as the dependent variables. The regression analysis suggests that Malaysian Islamic banks are depending heavily on the capital employed component of intellectual capital, followed by human capital, structural capital, and relational capital. The results also suggest that bank\u27s risks and leverage play a major role in determining intellectual capital. The findings may serve as a useful input for Islamic bankers to indicate whether the contribution of intellectual capital and its components needs further improvement which it has produced the best results, and internal factor might affect IC

Lake water treatment using effective microorganisms (EM) solution and mudballs

Water pollution is a change in the physical, thermal, chemical or biological properties of water that may affect any beneficial use, causing a hazardous condition to public health and safety or to life and plants [1]. Water pollution also has many sources. Humans and other organisms produce bodily hat continues to flow into rivers, lakes, oceans and other surface waters, at high concentrations these residues can cause bacterial pollution and excessive nutrient loading (eutrophication)

Latar belakang guru tahfiz dan amalan kaedah pengajaran tahfiz al-Quran di Malaysia

The aim of this study is to explore the teaching method of Quran memorization (tahfiz) at Darul Quran JAKIM and State Maahad Tahfiz Quran (MTQN). This study involved 103 teachers in 11 institutions of tahfiz and maahad who are teaching the JAKIM Diploma programme at the Tahfiz Darul Quran. The questionnaires were developed by the researcher and the contents were validated by an expert panel. The reliability score of alpha Cronbach for all parts of the questionnaires was found to be high (> 0.9). The quantitative data of the questionnaires were analyzed using the statistical descriptive method such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviations. They were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). This study found that the level of practices effectiveness for teaching methods in tahfiz was moderately high. The result of the inferential studies showed that there was no significant difference between the methods of tahfiz teaching and the teachers’ background (i.e. the gender, types of maahad tahfiz, professional qualification and teachers’ experiences). This result also described that the weak teaching process was not influenced by the teachers’ backgrounds. The implications of this study indicated that the practices of Quran tahfiz teaching should be in line with the development of the educational technology. Staff training programs should be developed to ensure that the teachers have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills in teaching and learning so that the tahfiz education will always be updated with the current educational mainstream

Review of fault location methods for distribution power system

For the past fifty years, electric power systems have rapidly grown. This has resulted in a large increase of the number of lines in op eration an d their total length. These lines experience faults which are caused by storms, lightning, snow, freezing rain, insulation breakdown and short circuits caused by birds and other external objects. In most cases, electrical faults manifest in mechanical damage, which must be repaired before returning the line to service. The restoration can be expedited if the location of the fault is either known or can be estimated with reasonable accuracy. Speedy an d precise fault location plays an important role in accelerating system restoration, reducing outage time and significantly improving system reliability. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual aspects as well as recent algorithmic developments for fault location on distribution system. Several fundamentally different approaches are discussed in the paper together with the factors affecting the assumptions of the underlying concepts and the various criteria used in the different approaches are reviewed

Effective method for optimal allocation of distributed generation units in meshed electric power systems

Improper placement of distributed generation (DG) units in power systems would not only lead to an increased power loss, but could also jeopardise the system operation. To avert these scenarios and tackle this optimisation problem, this study proposes an effective method to guide electric utility distribution companies (DISCOs) in determining the optimal size and best locations of DG sources on their power systems. The approach, taking into account the system constraints, maximises the system loading margin as well as the profit of the DISCO over the planning period. These objective functions are fuzzified into a single multi-objective function, and subsequently solved using genetic algorithm (GA). In the GA, a fuzzy controller is used to dynamically adjust the crossover and mutation rates to maintain the proper population diversity (PD) during GA's operation. This effectively overcomes the premature convergence problem of the simple genetic algorithm (SGA). The results obtained on IEEE 6-bus and 30-bus test systems with the proposed method are evaluated with the simulation results of the classical grid search algorithm, which confirm its robustness and accuracy. This study also demonstrates DG's economic viability relative to upgrading substation and feeder facilities, when the incremental cost of serving additional load is considered

Optimal placement of non-site specific DG for voltage profile improvement and energy savings in radial distribution networks

This paper proposes a model based on Fuzzy Genetic Algorithm (FGA) to determine the optimal capacity and location of a DG unit in a radial distribution network. In the FGA, a fuzzy controller is integrated into GA to adjust the crossover and mutation rates dynamically to maintain the proper population diversity during GA's operation. This effectively overcomes the premature convergence problem of the simple genetic algorithm (SGA). The main objective functions considered in this study are maximisation of cost savings arising from energy loss, minimisation of voltage drops across all lines, and maximisation of the transfer capability of the system. The model takes into account the peculiarities of radial distribution networks, such as high R/X ratio, voltage dependency and composite nature of loads. The proposed model is evaluated on three radial test distribution systems, and the results obtained are very impressive, with high computational efficiency, when compared with those of the existing approaches cited in the literature

Turning a social character trait phenomenon into a diagnostic web-based measuring instrument using a grounded theory research method

The formation of proverbs and phrases into poetic forms with synchronised sentence structures and rhyming expressions through authentic dictions that are engaging and meaningful are the treasures of one’s trait and nation. For some race or ethnic groups it is through these classical works of wisdom that a race or an ethnic group could prevail and remain recognised transcends time and age . A list of 26 basic components of social character traits of the Malays was traced through maxims and literary work s of wisdom. The list of social character traits will just remain a list of compilation to be read and forgotten, just like many others written and compiled by other Malay literary scholars. There is a need to make this list scientifically proven. This paper discusses on how these components were transformed into a measuring instrument through a grounded theory research method. The end product was not only a web-based diagnostic instrument to measure the conformity and deviation of an ethnic group but also a formation of a new theory that could be applied to all other ethnics and related groups in the world today that are interested in knowing and preserving their social character traits