Thermoelectric properties of the misfit cobaltate Ca3_3Co4_4O9_9

The layered misfit cobaltate Ca$_3$Co$_4$O$_9$, also known as Ca$_2$CoO$_3$[CoO$_2$]$_{1.62}$, is a promising p-type thermoelectric oxide. Employing density functional theory, we study its electronic structure and determine, on the basis of Boltzmann theory within the constant-relaxation-time approximation, the thermoelectric transport coefficients. The dependence on strain and temperature is determined. In particular, we find that the $xx$-component of the thermopower is strongly enhanced, while the $yy$-component is strongly reduced, when applying 2% tensile strain. A similar anisotropy is also found in the power factor. The temperature dependence of the conductivity in the $a$-$b$ plane is found to be rather weak above 200 K, which clearly indicates that the experimentally observed transport properties are dominated by inhomogeneities arising during sample growth, i.e., are not intrinsic.Comment: 12 pages (preprint style), 5 figure

Road Safety Analysis on Commuting Route: Ipoh to UTP

There are several routes of Ipoh-UTP trip for UTP staffs commuting to work. This research considers two major groups of staffs which are the academician, administration and support staffs. However, they tend to choose the routes that suit their personal concern very well. Alternatives of the routes and elements such as distance, travelling time, fuel consumption, ease of driving and facilities located along the road are the factors affect the decision making. During decision making process, a set of alternatives representing the possible choices is evaluated. The objectives to be achieved drive the screening of possible alternatives and determine their overall evaluation. The criteria are the yardstick for the objectives and specify the degree to which each alternative matches the objectives. By using Multiple Criteria Decision Making Method (MCDM) specifically under Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA), the attributes performance and preference of decision makers are combined to establish the overall merits of each option and highlight the best solution. The most popular routes identified were through the Ipoh-Jalan Lahat-UTP, Ipoh-Falim-UTP, Ipoh-Simpang Pulai-UTP and Ipoh-Bandar Botani-UTP. The road safety element of the most preferred route will be investigated by analyzing the accident trend along the route. The outcome of the project would be a rank of routes from the most preferred to least preferred one for UTP staff commuting to work and accident mitigation actions proposal to the local authority to improve the safety of the most preferred route

The Macroeconomics of Energy Price Shocks and Electricity Market Reforms:The Case of Bangladesh

Electricity is a vital instrument for economic growth and human development. The measure of growth in developing countries like Bangladesh is synonymous with the level of electricity use. Energy (oil) price shocks are often identified as a source of macroeconomic fluctuations since they affect economic development as well as business cycle. Accordingly, it has been argued that electricity market reforms are a possible tool to improve economic performance, efficiency, welfare and overall economic development. The Bangladesh economy is vulnerable to energy (oil) price shocks and the government has adopted different electricity reform policies in the past few years. However, there is a real gap in the energy literature with regard to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the consequences of energy (oil) price shocks and electricity market reforms towards the Bangladesh economy. This thesis is divided into two main parts. The first part contains two chapters titled, “A Survey of Literature” and “Energy Scenario in Bangladesh” which extensively review the related literature and underline the research gaps that this thesis intends to address. The second part of this thesis includes three novel papers in the literature on energy (oil) prices, electricity market reforms and the macro economy, all applied to the case of Bangladesh: “Energy Price Shocks and Real Business Cycle”, “A DSGE Analysis of Oil Price Shocks” and “A DSGE Analysis of the Welfare Effects of Alternative Electricity Pricing Schemes”. The following research questions are addressed: 1. How important aggregate energy price shocks are to explain business cycle fluctuations for the Bangladesh economy? 2. How would oil price shocks affect the macro economy of a small, oil importing, developing country like Bangladesh? 3. How would electricity market reforms affect the Bangladesh Economy? To answer these questions we develop a Real Business Cycle (RBC) model and a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model for Bangladesh, the latter including a detailed model of the energy (electricity) sector which has not been attempted before in the literature. We conclude that the RBC model does a reasonable job in capturing the qualitative changes of selected endogenous variables considering the energy and productivity shocks. We find that oil price shocks have a negative welfare effect on consumers and GDP. However, industry expands to produce more exportable goods as higher oil price makes the country worse off with regard to Terms of Trade (TOT). Lower wage and capital interest rate allow industry to employ more labour and capital and increase production. Our results also reveal that electricity reform policies (restructuring of prices and subsidy arrangements) increase household welfare and GDP in Bangladesh. Given our results, it is advisable that policymakers carefully assess the overall welfare effect of oil price shocks and electricity market reforms and when appropriate take some measures to redistribute welfare across sectors. The heterogeneity nature of the households would be more appropriate for policy analysis and the analysis of these redistribution policies is left for future research. As some other developing countries face the same issues as Bangladesh, the novel framework and results of this thesis are of relevance not only for Bangladesh but also for developing countries in general

The Experimental Analysis of Predictive Control Scheme in High Frequency Gate Driver Design

Predictive Dead Time Control Scheme is used in gate driver to overcome the problems relating to the td. This control scheme applies the prediction concept based on the feedback output from the circuit to predict and reduce the tdon the switching cycle of the gate driver. Therefore by using the application of the predictive dead time control scheme, the problem related with the td can be minimized

Adult Learners Understanding in Learning Islam Using the Andragogy Approach in Singapore

This study describes adult learners understanding in learning Islam using the andragogy approach in Singapore comprising multicultural and multi-religious society. Singapore is a secular state where freedom of religion is encrypted in the constitution and Malay/Muslim comprises 13.3% of the population. Adults learn Islam to deepen their understanding and to practice the teachings of Islam due to their strong conviction to the religion. To illustrate this study, a qualitative research was adopted. The source of the research data come from the Muslim adult learners who attended the Islamic religious class either at Kampung Siglap Mosque and/or Al-Zuhri Higher Learning Institute. To determine the source of the data, the snowball sampling was used. The emphasis of this study are on adult learners understanding in learning Islam, adult learners approach to learning Islam and adult learners’ transformation from the learning of Islam. The findings of the research illustrate adult learners formulated their own comprehension through their personal experiences. Adult learners initiated their own learning, inquisitive and engaged. They have a preconceived idea of learning the topics based on their needs related to Islam. Adult learners’ eagerness to learn depended on teachers teaching method. They aspired to be responsible Muslim and role model to family members inspired them to achieve their learning goals; having self-confidence and family support facilitates their learning of Islam effectively. The intention establishes on adult learners strengthen their determination to actualize the intention of learning Islam is to succeed in life and the hereafter. The results offer insights on the adult learners learning process in which transformative learning took place in engaging Islam with the divine intervention had transform adult learners. Keywords: Learning, Islam, Adult, Learner

Asymmetric Impact of Oil Prices and Stock Prices on Bank’s Profitability: Evidence from Saudi Islamic Banks

The soundness of financial institutions including banks depends on both internal factors and external factors. The profitability of the banks largely affected by external shocks like oil prices and stock prices. As an oil-exporting country, Saudi economy particularly its banking sector largely rely on the oil prices. This study examines the asymmetric impact of oil prices and stock prices on Saudi Islamic banks’ profitability for the period 2000-2020. Two Saudi Islamic banks’ profitability is examined by the factors like Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA) with the help of a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. The estimated results are observed to be unbiased and robust. The results of this study show that OILP and STOCKP have significant role in determining the Islamic banks’ profitability in Saudi Arabia. Both higher oil prices and stock prices have positive influence on ROE and ROA of Saudi Islamic banks. This study suggest that development and efficiency of Saudi stock market is important and macroeconomic policy should support the country’s economic diversification. The management of Islamic banks need to focus on effective risk assessment and market monitoring tools to face the fluctuation of oil prices and their stock prices as these factors affect their profitability. Besides, Saudi Islamic banks need to diversify their investment portfolios into more productive and export oriented private sectors such as Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This strategic policy will enable Islamic banks to absorb any future shock of oil prices without affecting their profitability.

Signal And Image De-Noising Using Discrete Wavelet Transform Basis Function

Wavelet transform is being used quite extensively in mathematical sciences and engineering problems notably in image compression and image de-noising. Given any signal with noise, our main objective is to remove the noise and reconstruct the original signal with an acceptable error. This objective can be achieved by using threshold method

The Concept of Loving One Another in the Perspective of the Hadith: Study of Takhrij

This study aims to discuss the hadith about the concept of mutual love between others. This research uses a qualitative approach by applying descriptive-analytical methods. The formal object of this research is the science of hadith, while the material object is the concept of mutual love between others in the narration of Bukhari No. 6828. The results and discussion of this research show that the status of hadith quality hasan li ghairihi with the qualifications of maqbul ma'mul bih for the practice of Islam in grounding affection between others. This study concludes that the hadith narrated by Imam Bukhari No. 6828 is relevant to be used as inspiration in doing good to others so that what is created is only kindness, which comes from love and compassion

Analysis of blended learning teaching model at Andalus Islamic Education Center Singapore

During the pandemic, Andalus Islamic Education Center implemented a learning process that adhered to the Singapore government's Home Based Learning policy. Based on the Ministry of Singapore's strategic direction, this institution began to transform learning. This essay attempts to assess the Blended Learning approach utilized in Islamic educational institutions in Andalusia by examining its merits and flaws. This study employs a qualitative technique, as well as a literature and field study research model. The information came from the Andalus Islamic Education Institute in the form of records, archives, or observation and interviews. With an educational analytical perspective, the data was analyzed using content analysis and descriptive analysis. The blended learning teaching process utilized at Andalusia Islamic Education was discovered to have a 50/50% teaching composition, with 50% for face-to-face activities and 50% for online learning activities. The process's strengths and weaknesses are based on two policy principles: the main priorities relating to the health and safety of students, educators, education personnel, families, and communities, as well as student growth and development and psychosocial conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Abstrak Di masa pandemi, Pusat Pendidikan Islam Andalus melakukan proses pembelajaran yang menyesuaikan dengan kebijakan home based learning yang dikeluarkan oleh pemerintah Singapura. Lembaga ini mulai memodifikasi pembelajaran berbasis arah kebijakan Kementerian Singapura. Artikel ini mencoba untuk menganalisis model blended learning yang digunakan di lembaga pendidikan Islam Andalus dengan melihat kekuatan dan kelemahannya. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan model penelitian kepustakaan dan studi lapangan. Data-data diperoleh dari Lembaga Pendidikan Islam Andalus, baik berupa dokumen, arsip, ataupun melalui observasi dan wawancara. Sedangkan analisis datanya menggunakan analisis isi dan analisis deskriptif dengan sudut pandang analisis pendidikan. Hasilnya didapat bahwa proses pengajaran blended learning yang digunakan di Pusat Pendidikan Andalusia menggunakan komposisi pengajaran 50/50%, yaitu 50% untuk kegiatan tatap muka (face to face) dan 50% untuk kegiatan pembelajaran online. Kekuatan dan kelemahan proses ini dilandasi oleh dua prinsip kebijakan, yaitu prioritas utama yang berkaitan dengan kesehatan dan keselamatan peserta didik, pendidik, tenaga kependidikan, keluarga, dan masyarakat; serta tumbuh kembang para pelajar dan kondisi psikososial selama masa pandemi Covid-19. &nbsp