The Relative Effects of Logistics, Coordination and Human Resource on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Mission Performance

Most studies on humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) missions suggest that the quality of logistics, coordination and human resource management will affect their performance. However, studies in developing countries are mainly conceptual and lack the necessary empirical evidence to support these contentions. The current paper thereby aimed to fill this knowledge gap by statistically examining the effects of the abovementioned factors on such missions. Focusing on the Malaysian army due to its extensive experience in HADR operations, the paper opted for a quantitative approach to allow for a more objective analysis of the issues. The results show that there are other potential determinants of mission success which deserve due attention in future studies. They also suggest that human resource is not easily measured as a construct, and that this limitation in methodology must be overcome to derive more accurate conclusions regarding its effect on HADR mission performance.&nbsp

Ultrasonication effects on ultrafiltration membrane cleaning and fouling mitigation

Mitigation of fouling on hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane using ultrasonication has been carried out. The effects of different contact times, at constant frequency and power of 28 kHz and 60 Watt, respectively on membrane cleaning with and without chemical agents were studied. Results showed that the best optimal membrane cleaning achieved were sonicating in 15 minutes without any chemical agents, with 57% recoveries.It should be noted that the presence of the chemical agent increased the effectiveness of ultrasonic cleaning compared to using water. The best combination method recovered the initial flux to at 67% using 1M of NaOH and 10 min sonication. This is likely the consequence of expanded cavitations movement occurring in the more surface-dynamic result

Corporate Credibility, Religion and Customer Support Intention toward Social Enterprises

Social enterprise (SE) outputs are not merely a result of the social entrepreneur’s personal vision, but an accumulation of resources and support from multiple stakeholders, particularly customers. Although marketing communication studies have long established the effects of corporate credibility on consumer attitudes and behaviors, it is worth noting that corporate credibility comprises three distinct dimensions, namely trustworthiness, expertise and dynamism, which do not necessarily have equal levels of influence on the endogenous variables. Additionally, from a social entrepreneurship perspective, the relationship between corporate credibility and consumer psychology requires a deeper inspection because of the role of religion in charitable and care-giving activities. Most religions stress the importance of spirituality, which may override their concern with the business aspects of the SE. In other words, for religious customers, it is likely that trustworthiness has a higher influence on their attitudes and support intention than expertise and dynamism. These conceptual relationships among corporate credibility, religion and consumer psychology in social entrepreneurship are elaborated in this article through a literature review, followed by the development of a theoretical framework and its associated propositions. The article concludes with some implications for SE governance, distinguishing societies with different religious backgrounds

Performance of membrane bioreactor (MBR) in high phosphate wastewater

This study presents the performance of membrane bioreactor in treating high phosphate wastewater. The laboratory scale MBR was operated at permeate flux of 25 L/m2.h with a hollow fiber membrane (polypropylene, approx. pore size 0.01 - 0.2 μm) at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 hrs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy diffusive X-ray (EDX) analyzer were used to characterize the membrane foulants. Results showed that the removal efficiencies of COD, TSS, NH3-N and PO4 3- were 93, 98, 80 and 30% respectively. On average 91% of influent soluble microbial products (SMP) were eliminated, with the eliminations of polysaccharides mostly above 80%. The main fouling resistance was cake resistance. It should be noted that SMP were found in major portions of mixed liquor that played a relatively significant role in membrane fouling. SEM and EDX analyses indicated that the foulants covering the membrane surfaces comprises not only organic substances but also inorganic elements including Mg, Ca, Al, K and P

Toxicity immobilization of refinery sludge containing heavy metals via vitrification process

Heavy metals are known to be toxic to human and the environment. Despite the growing of petrochemical and refinery industries, the world is facing problems with the heavy metals contamination from the sludge by the industries. Many methods have been applied to address these issues from the refinery sludge. In this study, stabilization and solidification of refinery sludge containing heavy metals using vitrification method was utilized to solve this problem. The ashing temperature of 550oC was selected in preparing the ash of the dried sludge prior to the vitrification process at 1110oC to 1400oC. After vitrification, all samples were morphologically, thermally and toxically analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis and Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. The sludge contained high amount of iron and aluminum, followed by some amount of magnesium, gold, arsenic and zinc with some traces of nickel and lead. Results showed that at maximum vitrified temperature of 1400oC, no magnesium, nickel and lead were detected in the sludge and only some traces of other heavy metals with less than 1 ppm. The vitrification method exhibits excellent output in immobilizing the transition metals leading to a reduction in environmental pollution caused by petrochemical and refinery sludge containing heavy metals

Dynamic membrane applications in anaerobic and aerobic digestion for industrial wastewater: a mini review

Industrial wastewater treatment using aerobic and anaerobic digestion using membrane bioreactor (MBR) has become popular due to its increasing worldwide application. MBR offers complete separation of solid–liquid by a porous membrane to produce high-quality effluent for potential non-potable water reuse. Dynamic membrane (DM) as alternative to the conventional membrane is suitable for both aerobic and anaerobic digestion. Throughout the years, DM technology has been applied to both systems and the performance was better than that of conventional membrane in terms of filtration capability, easy back washing, and in-situ reformation and economically favourable. Production of high-quality effluent with low total solid, high operational stability, treatment of wastewater under extreme conditions such as industrial wastewater has made DM used in aerobic or anaerobic systems significant. Some drawbacks remain, including membrane fouling with excessive layer cake formation made the reactor operation become unstable and time-consuming which also requires high energy for pumping. Dynamic membrane can alleviate these drawbacks using cake layer membrane itself as the filtration devices. In addition, DM uses low-cost materials as the support material, which is a better replacement to the more expensive and high maintenance conventional membranes. Further research is needed to investigate the conditions and characteristics in the dynamic membrane’s active layer cake, mechanism and its structure. Identification of the optimal conditions to ensure long-term operation thus improving final effluent without further post-treatment is also needed. In this mini review, in-depth DMs application on aerobic and anaerobic digestion is summarized and evaluated for industrial wastewater treatment

Implementasi Moderasi Beragama di Desa Dalan Lidang, Kecamatan Panyabungan, Kabupaten Mandailing Natal

This article aims to discuss religious harmony in Dalan Lindang village, Mandailing Natal Regency. Data was collected by means of participatory observation, and secondary data. The results of this study indicate that multicultural life requires understanding and awareness of multiculturalism, religion and others that respects differences, pluralism and willingness to interact with anyone fairly. It requires an attitude of religious moderation in the form of acknowledging the existence of other parties, having a tolerant attitude, respect for differences of opinion and not forcing one's will by means of violence. The role of the government, community leaders, and religious instructors is needed to socialize, develop religious moderation to the community for the realization of harmony and peace

Tourist motivation to consume Pulau Pinang local food / Norliana Hashim...[et al]

This paper presents the finding of a study that identifies the most influential factor among local tourists to consume Pulau Pinang’s food. Data collection was done in numerous tourist attraction spots in Pulau Pinang. A total 98 respondents were selected for this study, represented the local tourists who traveled to Pulau Pinang. Motivational factors included in this study are exciting experience, escape from routine, health concern, cultural experience. The finding shows that the most influential motivational factor is the cultural experience. It could be said that, the major reason for tourist to consume Pulau Pinang food is the cultural experience that they encounter during the consumption of the foods. It also shows that people engage with food tourism in Pulau Pinang to experience the local culture. The findings of the study can be used by the state’s tourism agencies to strengthen the efforts to develop and promote the food culture of Pulau Pinang hence, increasing the tourism value of the state

Knowledge and Attitude of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 among Health Sciences Students In Uitm Puncak Alam, Selangor.

Poorly controlled diabetes among young people poses a significant challenge to public health in the future since it will be affecting the economy and become a social burden. Health sciences students should have a good knowledge of diabetic Mellitus (DM) management since they play an important role in patient education. This study aims to assess the level of knowledge and attitude of DM Type 2 among health sciences students. A cross-sectional study using DKQ-24 and Attitude towards Diabetes Mellitus Questionnaire were used. More than half of the respondents scored moderate and good knowledge with 50% displaying a positive attitude and proven statistically significant. Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus; knowledge; attitude; students  eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/ eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i15.246

Characterization of empty fruit bunch for microwave-assisted pyrolysis

Agricultural waste such as oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) is of environmental concern to Malaysia as one of the world’s largest oil palm producers. Pyrolysis can be used to treat biomass waste due to its flexibility in producing solid, liquid and gas products. This study attempts to characterize EFB for pyrolysis using microwaves as an alternative heating source. EFB taken from a local oil palm mill was subjected to fuel, chemical and dielectric property analysis. The findings revealed that high moisture and 47% oxygen gave low calorific value of 16 MJ/kg. Notably, high water content is an advantage in microwave heating as water is a good microwave absorber, which results in fast drying. Further, a high volatile content at 70% gave the EFB an advantage of high reactivity. A moderate potassium content of 12.8% could also positively affect microwave absorption. The dielectric properties of EFB were observed to be proportional to the moisture content. Furthermore, the microwave penetration depth was found highest at 20% moisture, i.e. 3.5 cm. However, low values of both dielectric constant and loss of dried EFBs would require the addition of microwave absorbers for pyrolysis reaction. The fuel and chemical characteristics of EFB were found comparable to other biomasses, which indicated a good candidate for microwave pyrolysis treatment