Learning style preference and critical thinking perception among engineering students

Engineering education plays a vital role towards modernization of world. Therefore, engineering students need to be nurture with multiple skills like learning preferences and critical thinking skills. This study has been conducted to identify the learning style preferences and critical thinking perception of the engineering students from three programs electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and civil engineering at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Johor. Survey research design was applied in this study. The quantitative data was collected by two questionnaires Index of Learning Styles (ILS) that is based on Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model (FSLSM) and Critical Thinking Skills (CTS) questionnaire which consists of analysis, evaluation, induction and deduction in terms of problem solving and decision making. A total of 315 final year engineering students were participated in this study. Data was analyzed in descriptive and inferential statistics involving tests Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson Correlation and linear regression. The study discovered that engineering students are preferred to be visual learners (83.80%). Visual learning style denotes FSLSM input dimension and visual learners learn best by diagrams, charts, maps and graphical presentations. This study also found that engineering students possess critical thinking perception in all dimensions. However, there is no statistical significant difference of learning style found among engineering programs as “p” value found 0.357. Whereas, there is statistical significant critical thinking difference found among engineering programs as “p” value found 0.006. Lastly, findings revealed that there is no significant relationship found between learning styles and critical thinking skills. The study findings suggested that providing preferred learning style (visual learning style) in classroom will enhance students’ academic achievement and increase their cognitive level. This study might serve as a guideline for educators to facilitate learners to enhance their learning and thinking for better outcomes in academia as well as in workplace

Study the Effect of Oxygen to Methane Ratio on the Temperature of Partial Oxidation Unit at Direct Reduction Plant by Using CFD

Direct Reduction Plant is a plant that can produce high quality of iron product. In this plant, the very important thing is the Partial Oxidation (PO) system that allows increasing the productive rate, the quality of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI), and can save the usage of natural gas consumption. Besides, there is a transfer line with two oxygen lances is situated between the gas heater and reactor. The main objective of this study is to consider the oxygen to methane ratio supplied form the oxygen lance on the temperature profile in the combustion chamber. High temperature in the transfer line is needed in order to get high quality of iron product. In order to get the result, the simulation was performed by using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software that contents Fluent and Gambit. Volume meshing in GAMBIT is very important part before doing simulation in FLUENT as a solver. For further modification, only one lance of oxygen is considered in this study. Besides, the steady state condition of the partial oxidation system also included in this report. From this study, the temperature profile of Partial Oxidation system can be determined thus can give better performance for this system

Pemanfaatan e-commerce guna meningkatkan penjualan produk kesehatan tiens syariah di Kota Palangka Raya

Penelitian ini mengkaji tentang pemanfaatan e-commerce guna meningkatkan penjualan produk kesehatan Tiens Syariah di Kota Palangka Raya. Hal ini dikarenakan Bisnis online atau e-commerce secara sederhana dapat diartikan sebagai suatu proses jalanannya transaksi jual beli yang dilakukan secara online dengan menggunakan jaringan media internet. Berdasarkan Fatwa Dewan Syariah Nasional Majelis Ulama Indonesia (DSN MUI) Nomor 05/DSN-MUI/IV/2000, jual beli salam diartikan sebagai jual beli barang dengan cara pemesanan dan pembayaran harga lebih dahulu dengan syarat– syarat tertentu. Salah satu kemudahan yang ditawarkan dengan adanya perkembangan teknologi ialah bisnis online yang sangat terkenal yaitu e-commerce, merupakan sejenis marketplace tempat dimana terjadinya transaksi bisnis online. Kondisi ini juga ditambah dengan adanya android sebagai salah satu sistem operasi pintar yang memang sangat tepat untuk mendukung menjalankan bisnis semacam e-commerce. Maka rumusan masalahnya adalah, (1) Bagaimana pemanfaatan penjualan produk kesehatan Tiens Syariah melalui e-commerce dan sebelum menggunakan e-commerce di kota Palangka Raya; (2) Bagaimana prosedur penjualan produk kesehatan Tiens Syariah di kota Palangka Raya. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian lapangan dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif deskriptif. Adapun subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah pihak distributor aktif di Tiens Syariah dan 4 orang informan distributor aktif di Tiens Syariah serta orang yang menggunakan produk Tiens Syariah ini. Teknik pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan teknik observasi, wawancara dan dokumentasi. Pengabsahan data menggunakan teknik triangulasi metode dan triangulasi sumber, yaitu dengan cara membandingkan hasil data yang diperoleh dari beberapa metode pengumpulan data yang dilakukan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa (1)Pemanfaatan penjualan produk kesehatan Tiens Syariah melalui e-commerce dan sebelum menggunakan e-commerce di kota Palangka Raya adalah: dimana kami sangat merasakan perbedaan yang sangat signifikan dan perkembangan omzet dan juga bonus hasil penjualan juga sangat meningkat dibandingkan dengan sebelum kami menggunakan e-commerce. (2)Prosedur penjualan produk kesehatan Tiens Syariah di kota Palangka Raya ini kami menerapkan berbagai standard E-commerce yaitu: Pertukaran Data Elektronik; Buka Pembelian di Internet;Protokol Perdagangan Terbuka;Standar Pembuatan Profil Terbuka; Lapisan Stoket Aman; Transaksi Elektronik yang Aman; dan Amanah. ABSTRACT The utilization of e-commerce to enhance sales of Tiens Syariah health items in Palangka Raya City is the subject of this study. This is because online business, also known as e-commerce, may simply be defined as the process of conducting online purchasing and selling transactions through the use of the internet media network. The sale and purchase of salam is described as purchasing and selling products by ordering and paying the price in advance with specified requirements, according to the Fatwa of the National Sharia Council of the Indonesian Ulema Council (DSN MUI) Number 05/DSN-MUI/IV/2000. One of the advantages provided by technological advancement is the well-known online industry of e-commerce, which is a type of marketplace. So, the problem is formulated as follows: (1) What is the use of selling Tiens Syariah health products through e-commerce and before using e-commerce in Palangka Raya; (2) What is the e-commerce method in raising sales of Tiens Syariah health products in Palangka Raya. This is a field study that use descriptive qualitative research methods. The participants in this study include Tiens Syariah active distributors, four Tiens Syariah active distributor informants, and consumers who utilize Tiens Syariah products. Observation, interviews, and documentation approaches were employed to obtain data in this study. Validation of data utilizing method triangulation and source triangulation approaches, i.e., comparing the findings of data collected using a variety of ways. The findings of this study show that (1) When selling Tiens Syariah health items through e-commerce vs before using e-commerce in Palangka Raya, we notice a big difference, and the growth of turnover and sales bonuses is also significantly higher than before we used e-commerce. (2) We use a variety of E-commerce best practices to increase sales of Tiens Syariah health items in Palangka Raya. These best practices include: Electronic Data Interchange; Open Buying on the Internet; Open Trading Protocol;Open Profiling Standard; Secure Stoket Layer; Secure Electronic Transaction; dan Truste

Kompetensi supervisi kepala sekolah Dalam pengembangan keprofesian berkelanjutan

Abstract   The principal has a strategic role in developing and intensifying teachers’ competencies, including sustainable professional development. The Principal is under an obligation to provide guidance, assistance, assessment and supervision to teachers related to the organization and development of pedagogical skills. An appointed principal with qualified supervisory skill in carrying out these duties is necessary to accomplish the guidance and supervision processes technically in well-balanced, stable and dynamic. Supervision responsibility can be actually carried out anytime and anywhere, but in an educational organization system, supervisors should be directly presented in controlling the continual direction and guidance for the development of teachers objectively. Sustainable professionalism development for professional teachers can be emphatically actualized by providing proper awards, teacher certification, education and training, provision of learning facilities, equal distribution of teaching and learning hours, and provision of incentives based on their duties and responsibilities. Endorsements of sustainable professionality development for professional teachers consist of self-development, scientific publications, and or innovative works. Every supervision result needs to be ceaselessly followed up with an ongoing evaluation in order to get a solution in achieving the improvement of teachers’ professionalism.   Abstrak   Kepala sekolah mempunyai peran strategis dalam upaya pengembangan dan peningkatan kompetensi guru, termasuk pengembangan keprofesian berkelanjutan. Kepala Sekolah bertugas memberikan bimbingan, bantuan, pengawasan dan penilaian kepada guru terkait dengan penyelenggaraan dan pengembangan pendidikan pengajaran. Kepala sekolah dalam melaksanakan tugasnya, dengan kompetensi supervisi dapat melakukan proses pembinaan dan pengawasan secara seimbang, stabil dan dinamis. Tugas supervisi sesungguhnya dapat dilaksanakan kapan saja dan di mana saja, tetapi dalam sistem organisasi pendidikan, supervisor perlu hadir secara langsung untuk memberi arahan dan pembinaan secara objektif. Upaya pengembangan keprofesian berkelanjutan bagi guru dapat dilakukan dalam bentuk penghargaan, sertifikasi guru, pendidikan dan pelatihan, penyediaan fasilitas pembelajaran, pemerataan jam pembelajaran, pemberian insentif sesuai beban tugas dan tanggungjawabnya. Penguatan pengembangan keprofesian berkelanjutan bagi guru, meliputi pengembangan diri, publikasi ilmiah, dan karya inovatif. Setiap hasil supervisi perlu ditindaklanjuti agar mendapatkan solusi dalam rangka peningkatan profesionalisme guru

The Impact of Supply Chain Capabilities on Logistic Efficiency for the Construction Projects

Rapid technological advancements force organizations to be more proactive and efficient it operations while previous studies revealed that most of the public sector projects go over in term of time and cost. Although extensive literature is available but only for the private sector, the investigations on the public sector are scarce. After plentiful literature, it has found that timely and sage supply chain is a major hurdle. Various strategies and approaches have been proposed to tackle the situation but after a thorough investigation, it was found that flexibility and collaboration are the topmost influencing factors in improving logistic efficiency. Thus the aim of this study is to empirically verify the positive impact of flexibility and collaboration on logistic efficiency. A questionnaire was adopted and distributed by random sampling to the strategic level of the construction projects in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. Multiple regressions were applied through SPSS. The finding of the study revealed that flexibility contributes 33%, collaboration contributes 35.5% in the logistic efficiency. It can be concluded that construction projects must be flexible and force stakeholders for collaboration. This study added in the frame of knowledge as new findings for public sector projects. This study will help the managers in completing their projects timely and accurately

Needs assessment regarding occupational health and safety interventions among textile workers: A qualitative case study in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine the perceived health and safety needs identified by textile workers, managers and experts as well as direct observation of the prevailing health and safety practices in the textile industry.Methods: The qualitative study using the needs assessment conceptual framework was conducted in July-August 2015 in Karachi, and comprised focus group discussions with textile workers, in-depth interviews with factory managers and health and safety officers, and key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders and experts. A walk-through survey was also conducted in selected mills for which the Checklist of hazards in textiles was used.Results: A total of 6focus group discussions, 6 in-depth interviews and 5 key informant interviews were conducted. Workers were found to have limited knowledge of occupational hazards, preventions and diseases. They identified lack of awareness and non-existent safety mechanisms as areas for improvement. Managers thought preventive practices and health services were not standardised while influence of buyers in the form of international business regulations and legislations were thought to be the enabling factors for enforcing health and safety standards. Poor governance, lack of knowledge regarding labour rights, low literacy level, poor compliance and low wages were the barriers for health promotion at workplace, as identified by the experts. Walk-through survey found mechanisms in place for fire safety, but the workers and managers were generally not using Personal Protective Equipment despite the presence of several hazards at workplace.Conclusions: There was found a need for context-specific occupational health and safety interventions at individual, organisational and policy levels

Application of the GPS technology to assess time-location pattern of undergraduate students at a private medical university in Karachi, Pakistan: A pilot study

To compare time-location pattern of undergraduate university students through GPS and diary method, and with level of physical activity, a cross-sectional survey was conducted from September 2012 - May 2013 involving 50 undergraduate students from Aga Khan University. Data were recorded through GPS, diary method, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-L) and accelerometer (ActiGraph). Median self-reported time spent in the indoor-inside the campus, indoor-outside the campus and outdoor environment was 405 (IQR:300-540), 720 (IQR:465-840) and 300 minutes (IQR:180-495) respectively, while 52% of the students were in moderate, 40% vigorous and 8% in mild categories of physical activity. Mean differences in location (GPS versus diary method) were statistically insignificant; indoor residential, -30.2, indoor other, -26.2, outdoor at rest, 45.9 and outdoor travelling, 10.5 minutes. We conclude that students spent most of their time indoors-outside of campus and majority were physically active, while also demonstrating the applicability of GPS and ActiGraph for such studies

Donut-Shaped mmWave Printed Antenna Array for 5G Technology

This article presents compact and novel shape ring-slotted antenna array operating at mmwave band on central frequency of 28 GHz. The proposed structure designed at 0.256 mm thin Roggers 5880 is composed of a ring shape patch with a square slot etched at the top mid-section of partial ground plane. Through optimizing the ring and square slot parameters, a high bandwidth of 8 GHz is achieved, ranging from 26 to 32 GHz, with a simulated gain of 3.95 dBi and total efficiency of 96% for a single element. The proposed structure is further transformed in a 4-element linear array manner. With compact dimensions of 20 mm 22 mm for array, the proposed antenna delivers a high simulated gain of 10.7 dBi and is designed in such a way that it exhibits dual beam response over the entire band of interest and simulated results agree with fabricated prototype measurements

Effect of different types of stenosis on generalized power law model of blood flow in a bifurcated artery

This study is focus on generalized power law model of blood flow in a stenosed bifurcated artery under the effect of different types of stenosis. Stenosis can cause the narrowing of the artery that may reduce the flow of blood supply to the heart, and this may lead to the heart attacks. The geometry of the bifurcated artery with different classification of stenosis locations is considered in order to shows four possible morphologies formation of plaque from healthy artery to disease artery. The bifurcated artery is modelled as a two-dimensional rigid wall since the wall of a disease artery is reported to be less flexibility. Few assumptions are considered such as blood are incompressible, laminar, steady and characterized as the generalized power-law model. Simulation results are obtained using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2, which is a software that based on the finite element method to solve this problem. Results concerning the effect of different locations of stenosis on generalized power law model of the blood flow characteristic such as streamlines pattern are discussed