Covid-19 and its impacts on consumer decision-making process

The term "virus" derives from the Latin word for "venom" and refers to a microscopic infectious agent. On the other hand, "corona" is named by its shape to look like a crown ring – the scientists who coined the word coronavirus in 1968 reasoned that the virus they were studying under a microscope resembled a solar corona (Steinmetz, 2020). COVID-19 was introduced when it was first detected in late 2019 and used letters from CO-Rona-VI-rus D-isease (Bhargava, 2020). Corona infections were initially seen as cold in 1965 (Kahn & McIntosh, 2005), which is almost six decades ago. Corona was formerly thought to be a basic, non-fatal virus to human beings until 2002. Before the world witnessed a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) outbreak in November 2002, it was assumed that this virus mainly infected animals. However, this was proven incorrect. Ten years after that, a new pathogenic coronavirus known as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) spread throughout the Middle East and caused a pandemic in several countries (Shereen et a., 2020)

Solar Tracker

The generation of power from the reduction of fossil fuels is the biggest challenge for the next half century. The idea of converting solar energy into electrical energy using photovoltaic panels holds its place in the front row compared to other renewable sources. But the continuous change in the relative angle of the sun with reference to the earth reduces the watts delivered by solar panel. Conventional solar panel, fixed with a certain angle, limits their area of exposure from the sun due to rotation of the earth. Output of the solar cells depends on the intensity of the sun and the angle of incidence. To solve this problem, an automatic solar cell is needed, where the Solar Tracker will track the motion of the sun across the sky to ensure that the maximum amount of sunlight strikes the panels throughout the day. By using Light Dependent Resistors, it will navigate the solar panel to get the best angle of exposure of light from the sun

PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON RELATIONSHIP OF CRM FUNCTIONS IMPLEMENTATION TOWARDS FIRM’S BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Purpose  of  Study: The purpose of this preliminary study is to determine the reliability and validity of the instrument used and feasible for full-scale analysis of the aforementioned studied phenomenon. PLS-SEM is employed in this preliminary study that utilised SmartPLS 3.0. Methodology: Drawing on RBV (resource-based view) the implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) functions in hotel industry had become a central strategy in determining competitive advantage. Empirical studies had documented that small and medium hotels had also embraced on customer-centric business practice that endures CRM functions as their strategy in sustaining competitive advantage. Indeed, they inclines to implement elementary CRM functions that leverage the IBT’s (internet-based technologies) of hotel website. CRM functions is regarded as firms’ resource that effectively deployed may lead to competitive advantage that portray in positive business performance. A total of seventy-five respondents (managers and owners) of small and medium hotels managers and owners from Greater Kuala Lumpur participated in the survey realised through convenient sampling method. Main Findings: The result of PLS-SEM analysis on measurement model had showed a robust analysis of internal reliability and validity. Assessment of items and constructs included in the study exhibits a good internal consistency and valid, thus, reflects an acceptable research model that are feasible and ready a full-scale analysis

Sempurna Enterprise : Wemo Light Switch / Ahmad Fahmi Kamalul Arifin ...[et al.]

Sempurna Enterprise is a company which focuses on servicing of WeMo light switch in Malaysia. WeMo light switch is the most popular light switch in USA. This product become popular because it does not require to much energy from people which they can only turn on the light of their house by using their smartphones. Based on the objectives above, we are venturing into services industry. WeMo production has the potential of being a profitable business if it is done in modern way with large scale and systematically managed. We will expect that our business will become more developed in the near future because with the new innovation in our services, the demand will increase not only durrng any occasion but it might be a new daily snack. This will give more advantages for us to make our product more profitable and stable in the long run

Quantitative assessment of three Shorea spp for Sungai Menyala Virgin Jungle Reserve, Negeri Sembilan

In Peninsular Malaysia, Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR) has been established since the 1950’s and are initially known as Permanent Forest Reserve. Due to its status as a Permanent Forest Reserve, the forest has been spared from timber exploitation from the gazetting to the status since 1950. Since then, this forest area changed naturally and this condition is called a Virgin Jungle, meaning it has not been developed or exploited for commercial purposes. This study made use of the abundant tree stands from the family Dipterocarpaceae, genus Shorea present inside the forest reserve.The study was focused on three Shorea species, which all Shorea parvifolia, Shorea acuminata and Shorea leprosula. The objective of this study were to determine the abundance and distribution of these three species and to investigate the difference in basal area and volume of the three Shorea species. The primary data for each species were collected from a belt-transect plot sited at compartment 6 of the forest reserve with covering 2.0 ha. The population density of these three Shorea species, has an average population density for Shorea leprosula of 17.5 trees per hectare, for Shorea parvifolia, 14 trees per hectare and for Shorea acuminata 13.5 trees per hectare. The distribution of trees indicates the adverse characteristic of De iocourt’s factor procedure (reverse J distribution) where stems frequencies increase with the increase in DBH. The growth stage distribution has a growth stage distribution of 3.5% small trees, 37.8% medium trees, 58.7% large trees. From the results for each species in this study, it can be concluded that the study area has a high number of medium sized trees as its main forest structure with Shorea parvifolia being the dominant stand with the biggest number of individuals among the other two but with Shorea leprosula having the biggest volume and basal area, followed by Shorea parvifolia and Shorea acuminata. This study will give a guideline for relevant authority on forest inventory and stand structure determination of Sg.Menyala Permanent Forest Reserve

Land-use Assessment and its Influence on Spatial Distribution of Rainfall Erosivity: Case Study of Cameron Highlands Malaysia

Over the years, Cameron Highlands have witnessed extensive land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes due to the massive agricultural and urbanization activities. This significantly contributed to the erosion problems in the area. Rainfall erosivity that measures the aggressiveness of raindrop in triggering soil erosion is one of its major components that could be influenced by the LULC changes in watersheds. However, the research relating to the LULC changes with the erosivity especially in the complex landscape is scarce. Hence, this study applies geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques to assess the LULC changes and their influence on the rainfall erosivity distribution in mountainous watershed of Cameron Highlands. Four Landsat images and the rainfall data from the period of thirty years were analysed for the development of LULC and erosivity maps respectively in ArcGIS environment. The study showed that the study area experienced immense land-use changes especially in agriculture and urbanization which affected the erosivity distribution. The LULC change for agriculture increased linearly in the last 30 years from 7.9% in 1986 to almost 16.4% in 2016. The results showed that urban development increased from 5.1% in 1986 to 11.4% in 2016. The increasing urbanization trend was targeted to meet up with tourism requirement in Cameron Highlands. However, forest class declined tremendously due to the exploration of land for agriculture practice and other various types of development. Watershed managers and other stakeholders should find this study beneficial in tackling erosion and its associated ecological challenges

A critical analysis on the powers conferred to the attorney-general by the federal constitution / Muhammad Musawwir Kamal Hashim Kamal ... [et al.]

This study was conducted in relation to the powers conferred to the Attorney-General of Malaysia. The Attorney-General derives his powers from numerous sources of legislation, which this study seeks to analyze and scrutinize its lasting effects onto the administration of justice in the Malaysian judicial and administrative systems. During the course of this study, findings indicated that the Attorney-General of Malaysia has, by virtue of his enumerated powers from the Federal Constitution and other legislations pertaining to his duties, been granted an incredibly wide scope of discretionary power. These unfettered discretionary powers which have been amassed over numerous constitutional amendments and literal statutory interpretations have evolved the Attorney-General's position of power drastically since the inception of the role more than 50 years ago. In order to restore the role to its original stead, this study has numerous recommendations on how to curtail wide discretionary powers and will highlight the importance of doing so

Analysis of Rabin-p and HIME(R) encryption scheme on IoT platform

This paper focuses on the implementation and analysis of the performance of the Rabin-p encryption scheme on the microprocessor platform. Rabin-p is an asymmetric cryptosystem that comes with simpler cryptographic properties than the Rabin cryptosystem. Rabin-p encryptionhas yet been tested on any IoT platform. The study tries to analyze the Rabin-p behavior instead of the algorithm optimization itself on the IoT platform. The algorithm of Rabin-p tested by utilizing the C-programming and implemented on a microprocessor system namely Raspberry Pi 3 model B. The Raspberry Pi 3 can be a multi-sensor in an IoT environment. The Rabin-p runtime taken to encrypt and decrypt as well as the power consumption is then compared with the performance of another Rabin variant, the HIME(R) encryption scheme. The result shows Rabin-p encryption scheme runtime is faster at 50% and current withdraw less at 1.3% compared to HIME(R)

Abstracts of the International Halal Science Conference 2023

This book presents the extended abstracts of the selected contributions to the International Halal Science Conference, held on 22-23 August 2023 by the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), IIUM, Malaysia in collaboration with Halalan Thayyiban Research Centre, University Islam Sultan Sharif (UNISSA), Brunei Darussalam. With the increasing global interest in halal products and services, this conference is timely. Conference Title:  International Halal Science ConferenceConference Acronym: IHASC23Conference Theme: Halal Industry Sustainability Through ScienceConference Date: 22-23 August 2023Conference Venue: International Islamic University (IIUM), MalaysiaConference Organizer: International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), International Islamic University (IIUM), Malaysi