From centre to centrifugal dispersion of the maritime ‘Melayu’ culture: modelling the regional reverberations of the medieval Melaka empire

This paper attempts to reconstruct the famed city of Melaka at its height in the 15th and 16th centuries, to its subsequent dispersion in the 17th to 19th centuries. Melaka’s cultural-political influences and impact as a center of the common Melayu based culture and civilisation can be gauged fromits original center in Melaka city as its initial axis of power; which dispersed into surrounding regions. Through visual, cartographic and lithographic sources, the city – before 1511 - is reconstructed and its architecture and core areas are modelled. Subsequently, after its fall, its influences was traced as centrifugal forces, which manifest in terms of cultural and stylistic forms that expanded beyond the realm of its initial center and limits of its port city. As its center of power reconsolidated into surrounding regions; its infl uence goes beyond the compact Melayu city and re-consolidated into a transnational regional and cultural powerbase. The paper combines both historical and modelling methods to demonstrate the essentially ‘Melayu’ or Malay urban-architectural form of the center, and its survival in terms of a socio-cultural dominion rather than physical city-form. It remained a Malay based yet multilcultural polity which survived despite changes in its center of power. Its centrifugal dispersion is represented by reverberations of its architectural stylistic forms in surrounding regions and its centripetal influence was its cultural force that can still be seen throughout centuries in the sketches, paintings and depictions of urban life, landscape and architecture of the 17th to the 19th centuries in the South East Asian archipelago region. The paper reflects how forms of architecture, landscape and urban design are traces of a common culture and civilisation that stretches beyond present national borders and which reflect and resonates with the nature of a maritime-based culture which is reflective of a transnational, multi national and multi cultural nature of a regionally-based nation-state in medieval times

River and city: microclimatic ameliorations and accretions of the ancient urban grain

The river lies at the heart of the dynamic historical evolution of cities of maritime Southeast Asia, and the early growth of cities was primarily driven by the river—the “giver” of its life. Southeast Asian trade routes gave rise to water-based urban communities, and traders, visitors, and administrators settled and shaped cities around the growth of ports and river–estuary settlements. Cities grew initially into trading and administrative urban sites in edges and estuaries. Andaya (2008, p. 22) asserts in his observation of the link between historical geographies and the sociocultural nature of the archipelago

Effects of higher order thinking module approach on pupils' performance at primary rural school

This study was to investigate the use of HOTS-based module approach on the performance of primary school pupils. This module was developed systematically using ADDIE model with adaptation on Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CAM) as the framework to enhance Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) among year five pupils. For the purpose of the study, a quasi-experimental, nonrandomized control group, pre-test-post-test and post delayed-test design was conducted on two intact groups. This study was conducted in two national schools located in the rural area, in one of the states in Malaysia. Two primary schools were selected to get a better view on the effects of using HOTS-based module in teaching and learning mathematics. Sample in school1 was a total of 76 pupils (38 pupils in the treatment group and 38 pupils in the control group), while for school2, 51 pupils (28 pupils in the treatment group and 23 pupils in the control group) participated in this study. The instrument used in this study was the twelve items problem solving test on the topic of Measurement and Geometry developed by the researcher. Reliability of the tests were .78 for pre-test, .79 for post-test and .71 for post delayed-test. The analysis of covariate (ANCOVA) indicated that no significant difference in the post test and post delayed test for both schools. This study showed that HOTS in mathematics is still new in Malaysia, even though module approach was used especially for those pupils in rural area. More time need to be given to the teachers and pupils in rural area school to be familiar and practice using HOTS. Hence it is recommended that HOTS-based module approach should be continued in teaching and learning Mathematics in the future

Chipless radio frequency identification tag with high encoding capacity based on three coding levels

One of the key factors that provides the potential for chipless radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags as an excellent alternative to conventional barcode tags is the capacity of identities produced. This study proposes a design of chipless RFID tag with high bit capacity. Base-3 levels encoding, which consists of three encoding levels (0, 1, and 2), is employed. This new technique ensures the efficient use of each resonance frequency in the ultra-wide band (UWB) region, which entails a high encoding capacity compared with conventional base-2 levels encoding. The proposed tag comprises two coplanar wave guide (CPW) UWB monopole antennas with a CPW multiresonator that connects the antennas. The insertions loss of the multiresonator is investigated here in terms of magnitude and phase. The uniplanar propriety of the proposed tag makes this tag fully printable and low cost. Thus, the proposed technique is suitable for tagging low-cost items, such as paper documents

Measuring critical thinking skills of undergraduate students in Universiti Putra Malaysia

This paper conducted a study to measure the Critical Thinking Skills of undergraduate students at Universiti Putra Malaysia based on a pilot study involving 433 students randomly selected. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the process in determining the suitability of all the items in the CTS instrument which would be used in the actual study. Four factors of the CTS (Analysis, Evaluation, Deduction and Induction) were tested for their validity and reliability. The CTS knowledge test comprised of 22 multiple-choice questions with two alternatives. All the four factors in the instrument were adapted from (Goel et al., 1997), (Choi et al., 2007), (Stanovich and West, 1997). Results from the pilot study have shown that the items to measure CTS have good discriminating quality, validity and reliabilit

Comparative Study Between Malaysia and Indonesia: Differences of Teaching and Learning Methods (Theory-Based) Used by Engineering TVET Teachers

This study was conducted to generate empirical evidence of the differences of teaching and learning methods used by engineering TVET teachers of Malaysia and Indonesia. This study applied quantitative method that involved data collection through the newly developed instrument of teaching and learning strategies. A survey technique was used as the research design in which a total of 183 teachers from Malaysia-Indonesia vocational institutions were involved in this research. The results have shown that there were similarities and differences of the method used by the teachers. There are several teaching and learning methods used by Malaysian and Indonesian respectively. Meanwhile, there is one similar method used by both countries which is practicing. In conclusion, Vocational Pedagogy plays a crucial role in this context, and this is why the teaching and learning is very important in educating young Malaysian and Indonesian to become successful technical and vocational trainers, instructors and teachers

Heuristic resource allocation algorithm for controller placement in multi-control 5G based on SDN/NFV architecture

The integration of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is considered to be an efficient solution that enables the forecasting of highly scalable, optimal performance of 5G networks by providing an effective means of network functionality. The distributed multi-controller architecture approach is an emerging strategy that primarily aims to support network functions performed through the application of a control plane, to provide versatile network traffic management. However, the management of resource allocations across multiple data centers is an important issue that still affects 5G core networks. Using such a strategy in 5G core networks requires the controllers to be correctly located, in order to improve network reliability and cost-effectiveness. Thus, to address the controller placement problem (CPP) in a distributed 5G network, we proposed an efficient, heuristic multi-objective optimization approach, using dynamic capacitated controller placement problem (DCCPP). It is based on the K-center problem, to solve the capacitated controller placement problem (CCPP), which acts as a resource location problem, in which the location and number of controllers can be allocated to maximize resources. A Greedy Randomized Search (GRS) algorithm was used to solve the dynamic assignment of nodes to controllers to achieve load balancing. The design of the heuristic method provides proper load balancing, efficient cost management, and network resource management, as compared to the basic CCPP model. The results indicate that the allocation and the optimum number of controllers under an effective decentralized policy could achieve a higher degree of efficiency through resource assignment in such a densified network

The Mediating Effect between Some Determinants of SME Performance in Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of owner/manager knowledge, competitive intensity, complexity of marketing, technical competence, firm size with the mediation of advisory services on the performance of Nigerian SMEs. The study employed structured questionnaire survey involving a sample of 278 manufacturing SMEs operating in Kano State, a total of 198 valid questionnaires were completed and returned representing 71 percent response rate. Evidence suggests that there is significant relationship between owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision and technical competence and advisory services. In contrast, the result found no significant relationship between firm size and advisory services. Similarly, the result found that owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision, technical competence and advisory services have significant relationship with performance. The result also indicates that, there is no significant relationship between firm size performance and technical competence and Performance. We also found that advisory service mediates the relationship between owner manager knowledge and the complexity of marketing decision. The findings of this study will benefit owner/managers of SMEs, regulatory agencies, accounting firms, government at all levels and will also serve as frame of reference to future studies

The Mediating Effect between Some Determinants of SME Performance in Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of owner/manager knowledge, competitive intensity, complexity of marketing, technical competence, firm size with the mediation of advisory services on the performance of Nigerian SMEs. The study employed structured questionnaire survey involving a sample of 278 manufacturing SMEs operating in Kano State, a total of 198 valid questionnaires were completed and returned representing 71 percent response rate. Evidence suggests that there is significant relationship between owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision and technical competence and advisory services. In contrast, the result found no significant relationship between firm size and advisory services. Similarly, the result found that owner/manager knowledge, complexity of marketing decision, technical competence and advisory services have significant relationship with performance. The result also indicates that, there is no significant relationship between firm size performance and technical competence and Performance. We also found that advisory service mediates the relationship between owner manager knowledge and the complexity of marketing decision. The findings of this study will benefit owner/managers of SMEs, regulatory agencies, accounting firms, government at all levels and will also serve as frame of reference to future studies

Perspectives on Corpus Linguistics: The Methodological Synergy in Second Language Pedagogy and Research

Corpus linguistics is a new branch of linguistics but its status is still debatable - either as a theory or a methodology. This article aims to give an overview of the different approaches and perspectives of corpus linguistics. The neo-Firthians contend that corpus linguistics is a method, while other prominent corpus linguists claim that it is a theory. Other corpus linguists believe that corpus linguistics can be both a methodology as well as a theory depending on the extent and purposes it is used for. The applicability of corpus linguistics as a methodology is observed in English Language Teaching and Learning (ELT). Learner corpora are used extensively in second language pedagogy and research as either direct approach involving Data-Driven Learning (DDL) where students participated as researchers and worked directly with corpora or indirect approach where corpus is used as a research method in producing dictionaries, syllabuses, textbooks, and teaching materials