The effect of student’s emotional intelligence on self-leadership in Malaysian public university

This study aims to investigate using quantitative approach the effect of student’s emotional intelligence on self-leadership among Malaysian and international students in Malaysian public university. It also strives to examine whether student nationality plays a significant moderating role between emotional intelligence and self-leadership with 171 local and international students surveyed. Structural Equation Model through SmartPLS was used to know the effect and moderation. Findings of this study reported the direct-effect of student EQ on self-leadership and found significant moderation effect of student nationality between EQ (self-management) on self-leadership. The findings of this study were discussed and some suggestions, recommendations and implications were made for future studies’ investigations and practices. © 2018, International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved

Fuzzy-PID Controller for Azimuth Position Control of Deep Space Antenna

The Deep Space Antennas are essential in achieving communication over very large distances. However, the pointing accuracy of this antenna needs to be as precise as possible to enable effective communication with the satellite. Therefore, this work addressed the pointing accuracy for a Deep Space Antenna using Fuzzy-PID control technique by improving the performance objectives (settling time, percentage overshoot rise time and mainly steady-state error) of the system. In this work, the PID controller for the system was first of all designed and simulated after which, a fuzzy controller was also designed and simulated using MATLAB and Simulink respectively for the sake of comparison with the fuzzy-PID controller. Then, the fuzzy-PID controller for the system was also designed and simulated using MATLAB and Simulink and it gives a better performance objective (rise time of 1.0057s, settling time of 1.6019s, percentage overshoot of 1.8013, and steady-state error of 2.195e-6) over the PID and fuzzy controllers respectively. Therefore, the steady state error shows improved pointing accuracy of 2.195e-6

Effect of Gelatin-Stabilized Copper Nanoparticles on Catalytic Reduction of Methylene Blue

The synthesis of copper nanoparticles was carried out with gelatin as a stabilizer by reducing CuSO4.5H2O ions using hydrazine. Ascorbic acid and aqueous NaOH were also used as an antioxidant and pH controller, respectively. The effects of NaOH, hydrazine, and concentration of gelatin as stabilizer were studied. The synthesized copper nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, zeta potential measurements, FTIR, EDX, FESEM, and TEM. The formation of CuNPs@Gelatin is initially confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopic analysis with the characteristic band at 583 nm. XRD and TEM reports revealed that CuNPs@Gelatin (0.75 wt.%) is highly crystalline and spherical in shape with optimum average size of 4.21 ± 0.95 nm. FTIR studies indicated the presence of amide group on the surface of the CuNPs indicating the stability of CuNPs which is further supported by zeta potential measurements with the negative optimum value of −37.90 ± 0.6 mV. The CuNPs@G4 showed a good catalytic activity against methylene blue (MB) reduction using NaBH4 as a reducing agent in an aqueous solution. The best enhanced properties of CuNPs@G4 were found for the 0.75 wt.% gelatin concentration. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔH and ΔS) indicate that under the studied temperature, the reduction of MB by CuNPs@G4 is not feasible and had endothermic in nature

An estimation of the factors of school climate in secondary schools: a confirmatory factor analysis modelling

The focus of this study is to estimate and develop a model and also confirms the theory of school climate in secondary schools, Nigeria through a confirmatory factor analysis approach. The model in this study was developed to explore and confirm the theory using Taguiri’s taxonomy, to confirm the factor of school climate to show if these factors are through measure of school climate and related to each other. Three hundred and fifty questionnaires were returned, valid and completed out of the 500 questionnaires distributed to participants. The data were analysed based on the perception of the respondents using a confirmatory factor analysis in the structural equation modelling. The results of the findings conclude that the constructs were true and valid measures of the latent construct of school climat

Gas hydrate characterization in sediments via x-ray microcomputed tomography

Natural gas hydrates (NGHs) are efficient and promising energy resources because of their high energy density. In addition, NGH occurs in sediments under certain pressure and temperature conditions and has the potential to meet the increasing global energy demand. However, efficient exploitation of NGH requires a precise characterization and understanding of the hydrate formation, accumulation, and dissociation mechanisms. In this context, the microstructural characterization of gas hydrate is essential and requires specialized methods and equipment. While traditional imaging and characterization tools offer fundamental microstructural analysis, x-ray microcomputed tomography (μCT) has gained recent attention in producing high-resolution three-dimensional images of the pore structure and habits of hydrate-bearing sediments and providing the spatial distribution and morphology of gas hydrate. Further, μCT offers the direct visualization of the hydrate structure and growth habits at a high resolution ranging from the macro- to micro-metric scale; therefore, it is extensively used in NGH characterization. This review summarizes the theoretical basis of μCT imaging spanning the setup of the experimental apparatus and visualization techniques. The applications of μCT in NGH reservoir characterization, such as hydrate types and their constituents, physical and chemical properties, occurrence, and accumulation, are presented. Hydrate characterization using μCT imaging is explicitly discussed, including a general understanding of hydrate pore-habit prediction, saturation and percolation behavior, seepage and permeability, and the influence of hydrate saturation on the mechanical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments. Last, conclusions and recommendations for future research are provided. This review offers a reference for understanding the application of μCT to evaluate gas hydrates, which contributes to exploiting these energy resources

Responding to cholera outbreaks in Somalia in 2017–2019

Background: Somalia reported repeated cholera outbreaks between 2017 and 2019. These outbreaks were attributed to multiple risk factors which made response challenging. Aims: To describe lessons from the preparedness and response to the cholera outbreaks in Somalia between 2017 and 2019. Methods: We reviewed outbreak response reports, surveillance records and preparedness plans for the cholera outbreaks in Somalia from January 2017 to December 2019 and other relevant literature. We present data on cholera-related response indicators including cholera cases and deaths and case fatality rates for the 3 years. Qualitative data were collected from 5 focus group discussions and 10 key informant interviews to identify the interventions, challenges and lessons learnt from the Somali experience. Results: In 2017, a total of 78 701 cholera cases and 1163 related deaths were reported (case fatality rate 1.48%), in 2018, 6448 cholera cases and 45 deaths were reported (case fatality rate 0.70%), while in 2019, some 3089 cases and 4 deaths were reported in Somalia (case fatality rate 0.13%). The protracted conflict, limited access to primary health care, and limited access to safe water and proper sanitation among displaced populations were identified as the main drivers of the repeated cholera outbreaks. Conclusions: Periodic assessment of response to and preparedness for potential epidemics is essential to identify and close gaps within the health systems. Somalia’s experience offers important lessons on preventing and controlling cholera outbreaks for countries experiencing complex humanitarian emergencies

Analysis of single sign-on protocols from the perspective of architecture deployment, security and usability

Single Sign-On (SSO) requires one time authentication with a set of username and password which then allows an authorized user to enter all resources.This scheme was introduced to overcome the issue of memorability load among users who own several accounts.Currently, there are four main SSO protocols; 1) Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), 2) OpenID, 3) Info Card and 4) OAuth.These protocols were sh~died separately and they have different architecture deployment and implementation wise.It was found from the literature, that many users were not aware of the existence of those protocols which probably explain the slow adoption.Thus, this paper seeks to study the four protocols together by making further analysis and then compare them in terms of its architecture deployment and implementation wise focusing on security and usability perspective.It is much in hope that this paper will be beneficial in giving a better understanding of the SSO protocols, and contributes to better improvement in its implementation

Preparation, characterization and catalytic activity of biomaterial-supported copper nanoparticles

Synthesis of copper nanoparticles was carried out with nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) as a support by reducing CuSO4·5H2O ions using hydrazine. Ascorbic acid and aqueous NaOH were also used as an antioxidant and pH controller, respectively. The synthesized copper nanoparticles supported on NCC (CuNPs@NCC) were characterized by UV–vis, XRD, TEM, XRF, TGA, DSC, N2 adsorption-desorption method at 77 K and FTIR. The UV–vis confirmed the formation and stability of the CuNPs, which indicated that the maximum absorbance of CuNPs@NCC was at 590 nm due to the surface plasmon absorption of CuNPs. Morphological characterization clearly showed the formation of a spherical structure of the CuNPs with the mean diameter and standard deviation of 2.71 ± 1.12 nm. Similarly, XRD showed that the synthesized CuNPs@NCC was of high purity. The thermal analysis showed that the CuNPs@NCC exhibited better thermal behaviors than NCC. BET surface area revealed that the N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms of CuNPs@NCC featured a type IV isotherm with an H3 hysterisis loop. This chemical method is simple, cost effective, and environmentally friendly. Compared to NCC-supported CuNPs and unsupported CuNPs, the as-prepared CuNPs@NCC exhibit a superior catalytic activity and high sustainability for the reduction of methylene blue with NaBH4 in aqueous solution at room temperature. The CuNPs@NCC achieved complete reduction of MB with completion time, rate constant and correlation coefficient (R 2) of 12 min, 0.7421 min−1 and 0.9922, respectively

Modelling of electroluminescence in polymeric material using dimensional analysis : effect of applied voltage and frequency

Electroluminescence (EL) method has been used by several researchers to observe the behavior of an aged polymeric material. EL is a phenomenon that occurs when the atoms of a material are being excited due to the application of and external high electrical stresses. The changes in the energy level of these excitation states can be used as an indicator for the initiation of electrical ageing. There are several factors that affect the behavior of EL emission such as, among others, applied voltage, applied frequency, ageing of material and types of materials and gases used are discussed in this paper. A mathematical approach relating these factors and the intensity of EL is proposed through the aid of Dimensional Analysis method A close relationship is obtained between experimental and simulation that suggests this mathematical approach can be utilized as a tool to predict electrical ageing of insulation material

Determinants of food demand among urban households in Minna Metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria

Agricultural products including rice, yam and cowpea play significant roles in the food consumption of urban dwellers. However, increase in crop production cost has continued to threaten urban food price in Nigeria. This study analyzed the determinants of demand for food commodities among urban households in Minna metropolis. Data were collected from 110 household heads of urban residences, which were selected through a three-stage random sampling technique. Data collected for the study were analyzed using multiple regression technique. The results showed that rice, yam and cowpea were price in-elastic. The cross-price elasticities for rice, yam and cowpea were -0.132, 0.028 and 0.005 respectively. The computed own price, cross price and income elasticity of demand for rice were –0.308, -0.132 and 0.018 respectively. For yam, the computed values were -1.262, 0.028 and 0.289 respectively. While for cowpea, these values were -0.530, 0.005 and 0.002 respectively. For the income elasticity, rice and cowpea were proven to be normal goods and yam as a luxury good. The social protection strategies in form of food aids policy should be put into action to minimize the inflationary pressure on food items in the urban areas