Landfill site selection by integrating analytical hierarchy process and geographic information system

In solid waste management, landfilling is still widely practiced because it is convenient and consumer friendly. Unfortunately, many landfill sites have closed and cause problem in managing the waste. The purpose of this study is to suggest suitable and po tential sites for landfill in Johor Bahru area through mapping technique and database system . Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a method for analysis and supports decision where multiple and competing objectives are involved. Fifteen parameters were id entified to use in AHP process. In this method, the process is divided into hierarchy before pair wise comparison was done and the result is prioritizing according to their weightage. The process is continued with weightage evaluation and its consistency. Landfill site selection process involved many spatial data and strenuous in handling it. Geographic Information System (GIS) can give significant help because it can potentially handle large volume of data that need to be evaluated and processed. The metho d used in GIS is digitizing, buffering and overlays. As a result in AHP, the most important criterion is river weighted 0.149 of all criteria and the least important criteria are distance to main road weighted 0.028 of other criteria. In GIS method, there are six parameters selected which are main road, plantation, residential area, swamp, grassland and river coverage . The findings identified two potential sites for landfill area because it s atisfied all given requirements. I ntegration of GIS and AHP is su itable to be used in landfill site selection process because it will helps in locating new landfill site that is environmentally, economically and socially wise

Mapping the mangrove vulnerability index using geographical information system

A mangrove vulnerability assessment's goal is to generate recommendations for reducing vulnerability. Mangrove forests, which grow in the intertidal zones and estuary mouths between land and sea, exist in two worlds at once. Mangroves provide crucial stability for preventing shoreline erosion. It helps to maintain land level by sediment accretion while balancing sediment loss by serving as buffers catching materials washed downstream. Climate change, especially the associated increase in sea level, poses a serious threat to mangrove coastal areas, and it is critical to devise strategies to mitigate vulnerability through strategic management planning. Experts are attempting to determine how mangroves have been affected by climate change and rising sea levels. How do we forecast the consequences and effect of rising sea levels on mangroves, and then adjust and mitigate them accordingly? Vulnerability implies the risk of being assaulted or hurt, whether physically or emotionally. Environmental vulnerability is a feature of impact exposure as well as ecological systems' susceptibility and adaptive potential to environmental tensors. Researchers in this study ranked mangrove vulnerability on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating very low vulnerability and 5 indicating very high vulnerability. The Physical Mangrove Index (PMI), Biological Mangrove Index (BMI), and Threat Mangrove Index (HMI) are the three major groups of the Mangrove Vulnerability Index (MVI)). The study's main objective is to develop an accurate and efficient GIS database system that has been formulated and tested or implemented in three (3) separate areas, namely, Kukup Island, Tanjung Piai, and Sungai Pulai. The study develops a GIS-based Mangrove Vulnerability Index (MVI) Model for a selected ecosystem, and highlights mangrove vulnerability by ranking them from least to most vulnerable using parameters. The study also provides a forecast for the mangrove loss in the next 50 and 100 years, as well as to classify areas where mangroves are most vulnerable

Proposed data quality evaluation method for a transportation agency

The data quality evaluation is essential towards designing a data assessment method for any company because data is an important asset. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop the data quality evaluation method for a transportation agency in Malaysia in order to quantify the quality of data in the SIKAP licensing system. This can benefit the transportation agency to improve the quality of data for the use of reporting, forecasting business operations and data integration with other agency’s systems. The relevant data evaluation dimensions have been identified from literature study and relative data evaluation framework which are necessarily required by the transportation agency to maintain high data quality in the SIKAP system. The process design for the proposed method involves data dimension identification, capturing the relevant database structure, subjective evaluation with a questionnaire and objective evaluation with data profiling. From the design process, the result shows that data evaluation method for a transportation agency must have a minimum of six data quality dimensions. SIKAP, the legacy system is in the process to revamp into a new system. Thus, this research contributes to enhance the current system’s data quality during revamping process and data migration into the new system

Pixel Value Graphical Password Scheme: K-Means as Graphical Password Fault Tolerance

Pixel value access control (PVAC) was introduced to deliver a secure and simple graphical password method where it requires users to load their image as their password. PVAC extracts the image to obtain a three-octet 8-bits Red-Green-Blue (RGB) value as its password to authenticate a user. The pixel value must be matched with the record stored in the database or otherwise, the user is failed to authenticate. However, users which prefer to store images on cloud storage would unintentionally alter and as well as the pixel value due to media compression and caused faulty pixels. Thus, the K-Means clustering algorithm is adapted to fix the issue where the faulty pixel value would be recognized as having the same pixel value cluster as the original. However, most of K-Means algorithm works were mainly developed for content-based image retrieval (CBIR) which having opposite characteristics from PVAC. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate the crucial criteria of PVAC and its compatibility with the K-Means algorithm for the problem. The theoretical analysis is used for this study where the suitable characteristics of K-Means are analyze based on PVAC requirements. The compliance analysis might become a referencing work for digital image clustering techniques adaptation on security system such as image filtering, image recognition, and object detection since most of image clustering works was focused on less sensitive image retrieval

On the approximation of the concentration parameter for von Mises distribution

The von Mises distribution is the ‘natural’ analogue on the circle of the Normal distribution on the real line and is widely used to describe circular variables. The distribution has two parameters, namely mean direction, and concentration parameter, κ. Solutions to the parameters, however, cannot be derived in the closed form. Noting the relationship of the κ to the size of sample, we examine the asymptotic normal behavior of the parameter. The simulation study is carried out and KolmogorovSmirnov test is used to test the goodness of fit for three level of significance values. The study suggests that as sample size and concentration parameter increase, the percentage of samples follow the normality assumption increase

Curing and thermal properties of co-polymerized tannin phenol–formaldehyde resin for bonding wood veneers

The aim of this study is to assess the curing behaviour and thermal properties of phenol–formaldehyde (PF) adhesives with different degree of tannin substitution using several thermal analysis techniques. Tannin from Acacia mearnsii bark was copolymerized with PF to form a bonding agent for plywood. The resin mixture was heated at 50 °C prior to adding 40% w/w tannin solution, followed by a continuous stirring for 2 h. The amounts of tannin substitution were 20%, 30% and 40% (w/w of PF solids) and 100% PF were used as control. The study shows that the addition of tannin quickened the gel time of the resin notably, parallel with the increase in viscosity of the resin. The dry shear bond strength of the tannin phenol–formaldehyde (TPF) co-polymer ranged between 1.71 and 2.58 MPa as compared to 3.41 MPa for PF. At higher addition of tannin, the shear bond strength reduced significantly predominantly the 40% tannin substitution. Formulation containing 20% tannin was found comparable to that of neat PF. Thermal test revealed that TPF starts to degrade at a lower temperature than PF resin. All TPF resins started to cure at about 125 °C and peaked at 160 °C compared to PF that began to cure at 145 °. The DMA of the resin showed an increase in the resin stiffness with an addition of tannin. These results imply that even though TPF starts to degrade at lower temperature, the cured TPF is relatively stronger than pure PF

Gamifying ESL classrooms through Gamified Teaching and learning

Modern trends lead to innovative technologies in education, including the birth of digital and gamified learning or gamification. In English language classrooms, meaningful teaching and learning are significant to developing students' English proficiency, focusing on linguistics and communicative competence. Various language activities and games are employed in lessons to instil anticipation for language learning. However, the concerns are how gamified learning is applied in English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons and the factors assisting students’ meaningful English learning. Therefore, this paper, based on the review of past literature, explores the application of gamification or gamified learning in ESL teaching and learning. Based on the review, the researchers highlighted that motivation, engagement, and competition in learning through a gamification approach could assist students' meaningful ESL learning. It is found that gamification has its own motivation structure to arouse students’ active participation. The elements in games that enhance students’ engagement might improve students’ learning. Although competition naturally arouses students’ participation during ESL lessons, the findings indicated the need to create a safe environment to prevent students from feeling demotivated. This review paper contributes to the literature surrounding gamified ESL lessons

Abstracts of the International Halal Science Conference 2023

This book presents the extended abstracts of the selected contributions to the International Halal Science Conference, held on 22-23 August 2023 by the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), IIUM, Malaysia in collaboration with Halalan Thayyiban Research Centre, University Islam Sultan Sharif (UNISSA), Brunei Darussalam. With the increasing global interest in halal products and services, this conference is timely. Conference Title:  International Halal Science ConferenceConference Acronym: IHASC23Conference Theme: Halal Industry Sustainability Through ScienceConference Date: 22-23 August 2023Conference Venue: International Islamic University (IIUM), MalaysiaConference Organizer: International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), International Islamic University (IIUM), Malaysi