Framework for an academic/university library’s collection’s budget allocation and purchasing model

The objective of this paper is to establish a framework for budget allocation and purchasing model for the university academic libraries. The proposed framework is a modification of the earlier model introduced by Engku Abu Bakar, Rahman and Yusof (2011). The framework consists of three models. The first model, Model A, is an LP model to maximize the total budget allocated to all the academic faculties/schools in the university subject to various factors such as total faculty members, total undergraduate student population, total postgraduate student population, age of programs, number of programs, total service course slots, total distance learning students, and total non-academic staff in the faculties/schools. The second model, Model B, is also an LP model to maximize the total budget allocated to all the academic departments within a faculty/school in the university, subject to the amount allocated for the school which is obtained from the optimal result of Model C and used the same set of criteria as in Model A. The final model is Model C, which is an IP model to maximize the use of the budget allocated for each department in the respective faculty/school for the purchasing of textbooks, hardcopy journals, and electronic journals. For all the three models, the Compromised- Analytic Hierarchy Process (C-AHP) method was used to calculate the weight of the determining criteria. This new-proposed framework could ensure that university libraries have a better plan in the cost allocation and expenditure according to the needs of the libraries’ stakeholders and certain conditions imposed by the university management. The three models would also help university libraries to prioritize the criteria used towards the final budget allocation decision

The Library Supply Chain Model: a brief review

The focus of this paper is to review previous works on library supply chain model towards recommendations for a framework on how to construct a library supply chain model. Thus, the aspects that relate to the objective of how to model the library supply chain were reviewed. These include all the important literature to support the required information for the library supply chain model such as the members/entities of a library supply chain model, the structural dimensions of a library chain network, and the different types of process links across a library supply chain. Finally, we also described several specific studies involving specific entities inside the library supply chain

The practice of imidazolinone-resistant rice production in the irrigated rice fields of Kg Sungai Leman

Rice is an important crop and a staple food in Malaysia. Herbicides are used extensively to control weeds, which represent a major constraint to yield production. Although the introduction of Imidazolinone-resistant Rice with its management system (IRPS) has greatly improved both yields and weed control, the system is designed to be used for only a short term before transitioning to local varieties. Thus, a survey was conducted among115 farmers to obtain information on their general knowledge on weed control and IRPS. The results showed that the majority of the farmers use herbicides to control all types of weed presented with a small minority still using manual control. The majority of farmers using IRPS were applying the herbicide imidazolinone when soil condition were right and only once per season, which is the recommendation. Most of the farmers still utilized imidazolinone to control weedy rice but would not use it on other weeds. However, many of the farmers perceived imidazolinone as becoming more ineffective and expensive and were willing to change to other herbicides if there was a viable alternative. Although herbicide is the main method employed in controlling weeds when using IRPS, farmers still regard imidazolinone as an ineffective herbicide. The reason IRPS is still in use is due to the high yields provided. This study shows a better understanding of knowledge on weeds and IRPS among farmers. Nonetheless, the IRPS will become a redundant system due to the ineffectiveness of imidazolinone and a new system should be introduced to replace it

Effect of reaction time on structural and optical properties of porous SiO2 nanoparticles

The effect of different reaction time on the structural and optical properties of porous SiO2 nanoparticles by simple precipitation method was comprehensively studied in this work. In this study, an aqueous sodium silicate was reacted with ethanol in deionized water and stirred between 30 to 180 min as for mixture to react. The filtered product was subjected to drying and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared reflection (FTIR), surface area analyzer, Raman and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The produced SiO2 nanoparticles powder was in amorphous form with the average particle size less than 100 nm. The sample with reaction time 90 min shows fine porous characteristic with the highest specific surface area and average pore volume. This different characteristic also gives a significant change in optical properties of the final product

A facile synthesis of amorphous silica nanoparticles by simple thermal treatment route

A facile thermal treatment route was for the first time used to successfully synthesize amorphous silica nanoparticles. Various techniques were employed to study the structural, phase and elemental composition of the material at different calcination temperature between 500-750oC. The XRD analysis confirms the formation silica to be in an amorphous state and further revealed that the material remained in amorphous state even when calcined at 750oC. The FT-IR spectra shows that the calcination process has enable the removal of organic source from PVP and formation of amorphous silica nanoparticles. The average particle size of the material estimated from the TEM images shows that the particle were <10nm. The optical absorbance exhibited in the UV region reveals amorphous silica nanoparticles possess a wide band gap ranging from 3.803-4.126eV calcined between 500 to 750oC. The EDX analysis has confirmed the presence of Si and O as the only elements in the material formed, which implies thermal treatment method is effective for the synthesis of amorphous silica nanoparticles

Optimization of a Continuous Hybrid Impeller Mixer via Computational Fluid Dynamics

This paper presents the preliminary steps required for conducting experiments to obtain the optimal operating conditions of a hybrid impeller mixer and to determine the residence time distribution (RTD) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this paper, impeller speed and clearance parameters are examined. The hybrid impeller mixer consists of a single Rushton turbine mounted above a single pitched blade turbine (PBT). Four impeller speeds, 50, 100, 150, and 200 rpm, and four impeller clearances, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mm, were the operation variables used in this study. CFD was utilized to initially screen the parameter ranges to reduce the number of actual experiments needed. Afterward, the residence time distribution (RTD) was determined using the respective parameters. Finally, the Fluent-predicted RTD and the experimentally measured RTD were compared. The CFD investigations revealed that an impeller speed of 50 rpm and an impeller clearance of 25 mm were not viable for experimental investigations and were thus eliminated from further analyses. The determination of RTD using a k-ε turbulence model was performed using CFD techniques. The multiple reference frame (MRF) was implemented and a steady state was initially achieved followed by a transient condition for RTD determination

Gene flow from Clearfield® rice to weedy rice under field conditions

Imidazolinone-herbicide-resistant Clearfield® (CL) rice permits the selective chemical control of weedy rice (Oryza sativa), a major weed problem in South-East Asian rice growing countries. However, there is major concern involving resistant individuals resulting from gene flow as the cultivated and weedy rice live side by side in the fields. An experiment was conducted in the rice fields of Kuala Rompin, Pahang, Malaysia to determine which Clearfield® rice cultivars and weedy rice cultivars are more prone to hybridization, and the effect on distance between the pollen donor and receptor plants. The experiment was piloted in a split plot design with four replications. Encircled population technique was used to determine the distance between the Clearfield® rice and detection of hybrids (F1). Resistance of progeny was determined after spraying with OnDuty™ and the confirmation of hybrids was done using the SSR primer RM251. Higher survival rate was recorded with cv. CL2 which was significantly different from cv. CL1. Weedy rice cultivar V1 and V2 in CL1 plots differed significantly from the same cultivar from CL2 plots. However, no significant difference was observed between weedy rice cultivars of V3 and V4, either in CL1 or CL2 plots. No survivors were found after second spraying. Suspected hybrids were found up to 5 m however the rate was much lower compared to only 1 m from the CL plots

The Practice of Imidazolinone-Resistant Rice Production in the Irrigation Rice Fields of KG Sungai Leman

Rice is an important crop and a staple food in Malaysia. Herbicides are used extensively to control weeds, which represent a major constraint to yield production. Although the introduction of Imidazolinone-resistant Rice with its management system (IRPS) has greatly improved both yields and weed control, the system is designed to be used for only a short term before transitioning to local varieties. Thus, a survey was conducted among 115 farmers to obtain information on their general knowledge on weed control and IRPS. The results showed that the majority of the farmers use herbicides to control all types of weed presented, with a small minority still using manual control. The majority of farmers using IRPS were applying the herbicide imidazolinone when soil condition were right, and only once per season, which is the recommendation. Most of the farmers still utilized imidazolinone to control weedy rice but would not use it on other weeds. However, many of the farmers perceived imidazolinone as becoming more ineffective and expensive and were willing to change to other herbicides if there was a viable alternative. Although herbicide is the main method employed in controlling weeds when using IRPS, farmers still regard imidazolinone as an ineffective herbicide. The reason IRPS is still in use is due to the high yields provided. This study shows a better understanding of knowledge on weeds and IRPS among farmers. Nonetheless, the IRPS will become a redundant system due to the ineffectiveness of imidazolinone and a new system should be introduced to replace it

The Practice of Imidazolinone-Resistant Rice Production in the Irrigation Rice Fields of KG Sungai Leman

Rice is an important crop and a staple food in Malaysia. Herbicides are used extensively to control weeds, which represent a major constraint to yield production. Although the introduction of Imidazolinone-resistant Rice with its management system (IRPS) has greatly improved both yields and weed control, the system is designed to be used for only a short term before transitioning to local varieties. Thus, a survey was conducted among 115 farmers to obtain information on their general knowledge on weed control and IRPS. The results showed that the majority of the farmers use herbicides to control all types of weed presented, with a small minority still using manual control. The majority of farmers using IRPS were applying the herbicide imidazolinone when soil condition were right, and only once per season, which is the recommendation. Most of the farmers still utilized imidazolinone to control weedy rice but would not use it on other weeds. However, many of the farmers perceived imidazolinone as becoming more ineffective and expensive and were willing to change to other herbicides if there was a viable alternative. Although herbicide is the main method employed in controlling weeds when using IRPS, farmers still regard imidazolinone as an ineffective herbicide. The reason IRPS is still in use is due to the high yields provided. This study shows a better understanding of knowledge on weeds and IRPS among farmers. Nonetheless, the IRPS will become a redundant system due to the ineffectiveness of imidazolinone and a new system should be introduced to replace it

Optimization of Integrated Impeller Mixer via Radiotracer Experiments

Radiotracer experiments are carried out in order to determine the mean residence time (MRT) as well as percentage of dead zone, Vdead (%), in an integrated mixer consisting of Rushton and pitched blade turbine (PBT). Conventionally, optimization was performed by varying one parameter and others were held constant (OFAT) which lead to enormous number of experiments. Thus, in this study, a 4-factor 3-level Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was introduced to obtain an accurate optimization of mixing efficiency with minimal number of experiments. This paper describes the optimal conditions of four process parameters, namely, impeller speed, impeller clearance, type of impeller, and sampling time, in obtaining MRT and Vdead (%) using radiotracer experiments. The optimum conditions for the experiments were 100 rpm impeller speed, 50 mm impeller clearance, Type A mixer, and 900 s sampling time to reach optimization