Jigzoe: integrated cartoon animation studio institution in Ipoh, Perak

Cartoon and animation are universal, effective and entertaining tools used in conveying messages. They are being used worldwide and its industry has been growing rapidly. For many years, cartoon and animation encounter many issues regarding their approaches, methods and impacts. Four main issues have been identified to affect this industry, namely stigma (social), misuse (ethical), lost identity (cultural) and downfall industry (economic)

Effects of roof insulation on the thermal conditions of a medium scaled tropical enclosed giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) hatchery

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of roof thermal insulation on the indoor thermal environment of an existing enclosed giant freshwater prawn hatchery in relation to human thermal comfort and the thermal requirement for optimal larval growth. A typical medium scaled enclosed hatchery in Ipoh, Malaysia was chosen for this study. Thermal performances of five thermal insulation materials installed on the roof of the building were studied using Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) Virtual Environment software. Results showed no significant differences for indoor air temperatures reduction among the insulation materials. However, the installation of roof insulation gave a cooler indoor thermal environment and provided a suitable water temperature/ improved water thermal condition for the prawn larviculture. The study also suggested the aluminium foil was the best insulation for the partially transparent roof of the building

Observations of sustainability practices in Malaysian research universities: highlighting particular strengths

Although Sustainable Higher Education (SHE) is a very important issue in Malaysia, there have not been any comprehensive studies related to the current public Higher Education initiatives and efforts in sustainability. It is a relevant issue which merits a proper study to evaluate both the strengths and deficiencies of the local universities in terms of sustainability. Thus, to carry out this objective, an exploratory method was conducted by reviewing archival data, observation, interviews, as well as short and long conversations with both the staff and students of the four selected Malaysian research universities. The observation, interviews and conversations have validated the archival research. The results indicated that Malaysian research universities have already recognized the concept of SHE and embarked into the sustainability movement. However, there still remains a big gap towards achieving the idealistic goals. The findings would throw some insights into the existing policies and initiatives of SHE which could serve as a reference and preliminary study to improve the current situation

Effects of urban canyons and thermal comfort in the Persian Gulf region

Accessibility to thermal comfort spaces for citizens and urban outdoor activities could be one of the main goals of urban designers. The objective of this paper is to conduct a comparative study on two different urban fabrics, using thermal comfort and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods. Results relate the effects of urban canyon's orientation on variation of the microclimate factors and consequently, on the thermal comfort situation in the hottest period of the year. The results indicate that traditional urban fabric is more thermally comfortable than the new residential urban fabric. According to the field measurements, thermal comfort calculation, and wind simulations, the canyons with North-South direction represent a better orientation for air circulation benefiting from sea breezes as compared to other canyon orientations. The result will throw light for the urban designers and policy makers of hot and humid climate in the Middle East

Evaluating thermal effects of internal courtyard in a tropical terrace house by computational simulation

Thermal comfort conditions in residential buildings vary according to the designs, modifications of the house and adaptations of the occupants. The purpose of this paper is to examine thermal performance of terrace housing in tropical climate by exploiting internal courtyard. A case study of a terrace house was chosen, where field measurement was conducted during a three-day recording in naturally ventilated spaces of the house. Results from field measurement were used to develop a baseline model for computational experiment. Subsequently, the effects of introducing an internal courtyard on thermal comfort performance of the building were investigated using ECOTECT software. The results from simulation analysis indicate that, applying internal courtyard in the terrace house will improve natural ventilation and thermal comfort in spaces with openings to the outside environment. It shows that the influence of the internal courtyard on the thermal condition has a strong reliance on the envelop openings. This study suggests that the internal courtyard of a terrace house can affect improvements in thermal conditions of the courtyard's surrounding spaces, provided sufficient and efficient openings with shading devices are suitably incorporated

Energy consumption control of an air-cooled chiller from the use of an automatic on/off timer system: a real case study of the Penang state mosque

The manual operation of an ON/OFF controller that is being widely used in the air-cooled chiller of the air conditioning system is found to have resulted in a significant daily variation of electricity usage. As such, this study had aimed to investigate the effect from the application of a pre-programmed auto timer control system (ADTCS ON/OFF) on the performance of an air-cooled chiller and its main components in the Penang State Mosque. The ADTCS ON/OFF that had been developed for both the indoor and outdoor usage was installed to an existing air conditioning electrical distribution board (DB) via an external control panel, which had consisted of a selector switch with a timer operation, a power supply, an ON/OFF push button for the AHU, a lamp indicator as well as that of a digital timer (brand Honeywell HWTHC711A). Apart from demonstrating the implementation of the ADTCS ON/OFF control system as contributing to a more consistent operation time, this study had also shown the manual operation of the air-cooled chiller as contributing to an impactful loss of approximately 9.6 hours or 3182 kWh on a normal day when being compared to that of the ADTCS ON/OFF control system. Since the findings from this research had shown the use of an ADTCS ON/OFF control system in the air-cooled chiller system as providing a positive implication of the monthly electricity cost to the Penang State Mosque and the mosque institutions as a whole, this therefore suggests that a big savings of expenditure can also be achieved from the implementation of such a system

Evidence base prioritisation of indoor comfort perceptions in Malaysian typical multi-storey hostels

This study focuses on assessing the effects of the indoor climate in typical multi-storey hostels in Malaysia on student occupants through objective, subjective and evidence based prioritisation measurements. The objective measurements consisted of operative temperature; daylight ratio; luminance and indoor noise level. The subjective measurements were sampled from the student occupants' thermal, visual, acoustics and overall indoor comfort votes. The prioritisation measurement using Multiple Linear Regression and Friedman Tests assessed the relationship between physical indoor thermal, visual and acoustics conditions and students' overall indoor comfort perception vote. Findings suggest that subjective sensor ratings were significantly more reliable than objective measurements at predicting overall indoor comfort. Moreover, students living in hostel rooms with projected balconies voted that they were more satisfied with their indoor condition than the ones living in rooms without projected balconies. The results of this study also provide evidence that student occupants were more concerned with their rooms' thermal condition then followed by acoustics and finally visual conditions

Identifying strength and weakness of sustainable higher educational assessment approaches

Sustainable Higher Education (SHE) is regarded as one of the most influential medium of facilitating sustainable development movement in the world. SHE assessment approaches are tools or frameworks which assesses the level of sustainability in higher educational institutions. There have not been any comprehensive studies related to the existing sustainable assessment approaches. It is a relevant issue which merits a proper study to evaluate both the strengths and weakness of those SHE assessment approaches. Archival research technique, content analyses as well as interview were utilized to address this objective. Archival research technique was employed to facilitate the investigation of documents and textual materials in the realm of SHE assessment approach from 12 years starting from 1998. Content analyses were utilized as the research technique which quantify and analyzes the meanings and relationships of concepts and finally interview was employed to validate those two techniques. Comprehensiveness, popularity, novelty, conforming Three Bottom Line (TBL) theory and avoiding Subjective Judgment were the main criteria of evaluation. The study has identified 18 popular SHE assessment approaches out of which Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Rating System (STARS) and Campus Sustainability Assessment Framework (CSAF) were found out to have more strength in comparison of other SHE assessment approaches. The finding can be used for the higher educational institutions which aim to assess the level of SHE in their institutions

Daylight ratio, luminance, and visual comfort assessments in typical Malaysian hostels

Conventional tropical building designs are experiencing a new paradigm in their environmental response to improve lighting ambiance and occupants’ visual comfort through the exploitation of daylighting. However, it is important for architects to understand that flaws in daylighting strategies could lead to disadvantages as they could hinder vision, cause discomfort, increase interior heat gain, and result in excessive energy demands. The objective of this study was to assess how occupants’ perceived their visual conditions through daylight ratio and luminance level measurements. Measurements were conducted throughout a 2-month period starting from 12th May to 3rd July 2007. Three case studies were conducted at typical Malaysian hostels located in the Klang Valley. Those selected were: the Twelfth Residential College, Universiti Malaya (H1); the Eleventh Residential College, Universiti Putra Malaysia (H2); and Murni Student Apartments, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (H3). The daylighting source in all these case studies were from side-lit windows. Overall, the findings suggested that occupants were at ease with the level of daylighting available in their rooms even though rooms that were shaded by projecting balconies (i.e.,: H1) were dimmer than the rooms that were not shaded (i.e.,: H2 and H3)