Pre-school children's play behaviour influenced by classroom's spatial definitions? / Mohamed Yusoff Abbas, Mansor Othman and Puteri Zabariah Megat Abdul Rahman

Quality education is one of Malaysia's six KRAs (Key Result Areas) which has been accorded priority in the 2010 Budget, and in the planning of the 10'" Malaysia Plan 2011-2015. 0/ interest is the RMlOO million allocations under the 2010 budget to the Permata Negara programme which focuses on early childcare education. Despite this huge allocation, there currently appears to be a lot of emphasis on just the non-physical aspects of preschools. In more developed countries, the qualities of both the physical and non-physical aspects of preschool classrooms are given equal emphasis in providing quality education. Earlier research has established that the physical environment impacts children's behaviour and their progressive developments. Has the physical environment 0/ Malaysian preschools attained a standard of quality on par with developed nations? Based on an ongoing research project which investigated the relationship between the physical environment of public pre-schools and children's play behaviour, this paper focused on the influence of the spatial definitions of the classrooms upon the children's play behaviour. Three types of spatial definitions in existing pre-school classrooms and the children's five types of play behaviours were investigated. The research design strategised on surveys, while the methodology involved a pilot study, the use of questionnaire surveys, natural unobtrusive observations with video recordings, structured interviews and Moore's (2008) Children's Physical Environment Rating Scale (CPERS). Overall, the data collected involved observations upon 494 children in 20 classroom settings from the 10 public pre-schools located at both urban and non-urban locations within the Klang Valley in Malaysia. Data were analysed using the SPSS statistical analysis. The findings revealed that spatial definition of the classrooms had a significant effect on the children's behaviours. Implications in the design of future pre-school classrooms were discussed

Off-Axis and On-Axis Performance of Novel Acrylic Thermoplastic (Elium®) 3D Fibre-Reinforced Composites under Flexure Load

The flexure response of novel thermoplastic (Elium®) 3D fibre-reinforced composites (FRC) was evaluated and compared with a conventional thermoset (Epolam®)-based 3D-FRC. Ten different types of sample 3D-FRC were prepared by varying fibre orientations, i.e., 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°, and resin system, i.e., thermoplastic and thermoset. The bending characteristics and failure mechanisms were determined by conducting a three-point bend test. Results elucidate that The flexure response of novel thermoplastic (Elium®) 3D fibre-reinforced composites (FRC) was evaluated and compared with a conventional thermoset (Epolam®)-based 3D-FRC. Ten different types of sample 3D-FRC were prepared by varying fibre orientations, i.e., 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°, and resin system, i.e., thermoplastic and thermoset. The bending characteristics and failure mechanisms were determined by conducting a three-point bend test. Results elucidate that the on-axis specimens show linear response and brittle failure; in contrast, the off-axis specimens depicted highly The flexure response of novel thermoplastic (Elium®) 3D fibre-reinforced composites (FRC) was evaluated and compared with a conventional thermoset (Epolam®)-based 3D-FRC. Ten different types of sample 3D-FRC were prepared by varying fibre orientations, i.e., 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°, and resin system, i.e., thermoplastic and thermoset. The bending characteristics and failure mechanisms were determined by conducting a three-point bend test. Results elucidate that the on-axis specimens show linear response and brittle failure; in contrast, the off-axis specimens depicted highly nonlinear response and ductile failure. The thermoplastic on-axis specimen exhibited almost similar flexure strength; in comparison, the off-axis specimens show ~17% lower flexure strength compared to thermoset 3D-FRC. Thermoplastic 3D-FRC shows ~40% higher energy absorption, ~23% lower flexure modulus and ~27% higher flexure strains as compared to its thermoset counterpart

Off-axis tensile performance of notched resin-infused thermoplastic 3D fibre-reinforced composites

This study presents a comparison of off-axis tensile performance for notched (open-hole) and unnotched (no-hole) 3D fibre reinforced composites (FRC) specimens having two different types of matrices. The two matrix systems compared are, a novel infusible thermoplastic (Elium) resin and conventional thermoset (epoxy). Three different configurations, (one unnotched and two notched) were tested for each 3D-FRC. The resulting notched net strength, gross strength, failure strains, notch sensitivity and energy absorbed by each configuration were evaluated and compared. Additionally, 2D digital image correlation (DIC) was used to evaluate full-field strain distribution in each case. The results elucidate that thermoplastic 3D-FRCs are notch insensitive irrespective of the notch size and possess higher failure strains (around 30 percent in the cases investigated) and energy absorption (around 33 percent in the cases investigated). In contrast, thermoset 3D-FRC appeared to be notch sensitive, as the notched size increased, and they failed at lower axial strains (up to 60 percent reduction compared to unnotched specimens for the size investigated). Thus, resin-infused thermoplastic off-axis configurations are effective for composite joint applications, particularly in notch-insensitive designs, requiring higher energy absorption and failure strains

Ecotourism demand forecasting at National Park, Kuala Tahan, in Pahang

Tourism forecasting can lead to an important element in tourism industry to ensure that each investment by individuals, companies and government was worth it. From economy perspective, ecotourism is a growing business nowadays and can be an important indicator to the tourism industry. Hence, this study attempt to forecast the ecotourism product demand in Pahang based on number of tourist arrivals in National Park Kuala Tahan, Pahang. Box-Jenkins (Seasonal ARIMA) model is used to make analysis and forecast of the number of international and domestic tourist since 2013 until present. The accuracy and validation of the results is measured using mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Results obtained by applying the proposed model and numerical calculation shows that Seasonal ARIMA models is effective for forecasting the number of tourist arrivals in National Park Kuala Tahan. The best model in forecasting ecotourism product demand in Pahang is 12 SARIMA 0,0,1 2,0,1 with MAPE value 13.92%

Multiscale Damage Modelling of Notched and Un-Notched 3D Woven Composites With Randomly Distributed Manufacturing Defects

This work proposes a stochastic multiscale computational framework for damage modelling in 3D woven composite laminates, by considering the random distribution of manufacturing-induced imperfections. The proposed method is demonstrated to be accurate, while being simple to implement and requiring modest computational resources. In this approach, a limited number of cross-sectional views obtained from micro-computed tomography (µCT) are used to obtain the stochastic distribution of two key manufacturing-induced defects, namely waviness and voids. This distribution is fed into a multiscale progressive damage model to predict the damage response of three-dimensional (3D) orthogonal woven composites. The accuracy of the proposed model was demonstrated by performing a series of finite element simulations of the un-notched and notched tensile tests (having two different hole sizes) for resin-infused thermoplastic (Elium®) 3D woven composites. Excellent correlation was achieved between experiments and the stochastic finite element simulations. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed stochastic multiscale model. The model successfully captured the stochastic nature of tensile responses (ultimate tensile strength and stiffness), damage modes (matrix damage and fibre failure), and initiation and propagation of transverse cracks in thermoplastic 3D woven composites, consistent with experimental observation. The stochastic computational framework presented in this paper can be used to guide the design and optimization of 3D textile composite structures

SARIMA and exponential smoothing model for forecasting ecotourism demand: A case study in National Park Kuala Tahan, Pahang

Tourism forecasting can lead to an important element in tourism industry to ensure that each investment by individuals, companies and government is profitable. From economy perspective, eco- tourism is a growing business, and it is an important indicator to the tourism industry. It also generates income revenue to the owner and surrounding communities. This research aims to forecast the eco-tourism demand based on number of tourist arrival for both local and foreign tourist at National Park Kuala Tahan, Pahang. The forecasting models used are seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) and exponential smoothing. Both forecasting models are compared and assessed using mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). The result demonstrated that SARIMA (1,0,0)(1,0,1)12 the best model to forecast the number of tourist arrival in National Park Kuala Tahan, Pahang is which give the smallest forecast evaluation values. Hence, the exponential smoothing is not as good as the SARIMA model in forecasting tourist arrival for the data used. In future study, SARIMA model can be used to compare the local and foreign tourist arrival for eco-tourism destination

Bearing performance and damage characteristics of rein-infused thermoplastic 3D woven composites bolted joints

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the single-bolt single-shear (SBSS) and double-bolt single shear (DBSS) lap joint performance of resin-infused thermoplastic 3D fibre-reinforced composite (FRC) in on-axis (0°and 90°) and off-axis (45°) configurations. The bearing performance and failure mechanisms are compared with thermoset 3D-FRC. The resin-infused thermoplastic 3D-FRC bolted joint shows improved bearing performance in terms of higher ultimate bearing strength, stiffness loss strength, and reduced damage severity than its thermoset counterpart. Additionally, this paper presents a detailed study on the intermediate and final failure mechanisms, obtained from scanning electron microscopy of the interrupted and ultimate bearing tests, to understand damage progression in SBSS and BDSS lap joints at the submicron level. The major damage characteristics of a thermoplastic 3D-FRC bolted joint include plastic deformation and plastic kinking at the hole front tip, which improve the bearing capacity and reduce stress concentration, damage severity, and its deleterious effects

Effect of Environmental Degradation on Mechanical Properties of Kenaf/Polyethylene Terephthalate Fiber Reinforced Polyoxymethylene Hybrid Composite

The main objective of this research is to investigate the effect of environmental degradation on the mechanical properties of kenaf/PET fiber reinforced POM hybrid composite. Kenaf and PET fibers were selected as reinforcements because of their good mechanical properties and resistance to photodegradation. The test samples were produced by compression molding. The samples were exposed to moisture, water spray, and ultraviolet penetration in an accelerated weathering chamber for 672 hours. The tensile strength of the long fiber POM/kenaf (80/20) composite dropped by 50% from 127.8 to 64.8 MPa while that of the hybrid composite dropped by only 2% from 73.8 to 72.5 MPa. This suggests that the hybrid composite had higher resistance to tensile strength than the POM/kenaf composite. Similarly, the results of flexural and impact strengths also revealed that the hybrid composite showed less degradation compared to the kenaf fiber composite. The results of the investigation revealed that the hybrid composite had better retention of mechanical properties than that of the kenaf fiber composites and may be suitable for outdoor application in the automotive industry

Enhancing classroom engagement through padlet as a learning tool: a case study

Activities conducted in classrooms are important to acquire students’ understanding and participation in a learning environment. Some of perceived barriers that prevent students to participate in classroom activities include difficulty to speak, shy, fear to interact or provide comments. This paper focuses on using Padlet for e-learning and presents the activities of engaging and stimulating students in active learning. This is one way of how instructors can obtain information from each student by encouraging participation. The research employs quantitative approach. A semi-structured questionnaire was distributed among 39 postgraduate students who enrolled in the Business Statistics for Data Science course. Factors such as motivation, active learning, collaboration, learning opportunity, usefulness, ease of use, and satisfaction were used to measure their engagement. The findings show that active learning through Padlet has a significant effect on improving students’ engagement in classroom activities

Growth and physiological responses to shade and nitrogen fertilizer levels on Gynura procumbens

Gynura procumbens, is one of the most common medicinal plants belonging to the family of Asteraceae. Its non-toxic leaves have been documented as having phytochemicals with high potentials to be used in phytomedicine. It could be improved through varying agronomic practices such as light intensity and nitrogen fertilization that have been documented to be the main limiting factors in the production of primary and secondary metabolites. The present study evaluated 4 shade levels (0, 30, 50 and 70%) and 4 nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg N ha-1) on growth and physiological responses of Gynura procumbens. Results showed that significant interaction between shade and nitrogen fertilizer were recorded on plants grown under 30% shade with 300 kg N ha-1 fertilizer rate resulting in high total leaf fresh weight (TLFW) (213.64 g), total fresh weight (TFW) (323.98 g), total leaf dry weight (TLDW) (21.26 g) and total dry weight (TDW) (43.13 g), together with increased number of branches, higher crop growth rate and relative growth rate. While, the control treatment of full sunlight (0% of shade) and no nitrogen application (0 kg N ha-1) revealed the lowest fresh and dry biomass yield of TLFW (29.37 g), TFW (44.63 g), TLDW (2.70 g) and TDW (4.83 g) due to low net photosynthesis rate, total chlorophyll content, leaf area and number of branches under same treatment. The study concluded that for high biomass production, Gynura procumbens is to be grown under 30% shade level with 300 kg ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer