Aspects of wellness in a traditional leisure time game: an integrated approach for teaching innovation / Mawarni Mohamed and Puteri Aquila Tajuddin.

Malaysia and ASEAN society are rich with a variety of traditional games and usually played during leisure time. ‘Tossing the Stones’ or Batu Seremban was chosen in this survey. Using a purposive sampling technique, respondents from Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand went through the game intervention and answered the questionnaires provided. The goal was to understand how they perceived wellness while playing this game, after identifying the frequency of Traditional Games engagement. Results showed that Batu Seremban gave high wellness scores such as; M=4.16, SD=.722. The physical, intellectual, social and emotional elements identified in ‘Tossing the Stones’ showed that strong educational elements identified in the traditional leisure game can also be used to teach children and young adults through integration in the curriculum. Suggestions on how the game can be used in classrooms were made based on the findings

Rain fade dynamics for Ka-band satellite communication mitigation technique in equatorial Malaysia

Modern satellite communication system in higher frequency (Ka-band and above) is very much impaired by rain attenuation particularly in tropical and equatorial region. The desired Quality of Service (QoS) and system availability can be guaranteed only by resorting to smart strategies, named Propagation Impairment Mitigation Techniques (PIMTs) such as power control, adaptive modulation schemes and link diversity. These requires knowledge of the first- and second-order statistics of rain attenuation. Hence, this work concentrates on those aspects in equatorial Johor Bahru, Malaysia, based on one year Ka-band propagation measurement campaign, utilizing the equipment of Beacon Receiver and 2D-Video-Disdrometer (2DVD). Study begins by investigation the rain fade behaviour such as rain attenuation, fade duration, inter-fade duration and fade slope as well as their seasonal and diurnal variations. It is observed that rain attenuation experienced by the Ka-band link requires fade margin of 26.8 dB for 99.9% link availability with the convective events mostly like to occur during the afternoon hour (12:00 pm to 6:00 pm) at high intensity, shorter duration and relatively high rate of change of attenuation particularly during Northeast Moonsoon. Then, the Stratiform Convective-Synthetic Storm Technique (SC-SST) is proposed to estimate the dynamic characteristics of rain attenuation in equatorial region. The SC-SST is found 11% better than SST and 51% better than ITU-R P.1623-1 model in average value of fade dynamics prediction. Finally, a time diversity technique is recommended to mitigate strong signal fades in equatorial region. The results depicted that 10-minute outage tolerance will significantly lower the fade margin requirement to 15 dB for 99.9% of link availability. Afterwards, the generation of time diversity statistics is modelled which can be best represents by gamma-law in this area. The results can provide system engineers with critical information in the design and implementation of PIMTs, and it is expected that the probability of system outages will be greatly reduced

Interfade Duration Statistics at Ku-band for Satellite Earth Links System in Equatorial Malaysia: Modeling Distribution

 Fade dynamics is one of more important parameters when implementing Fade Mitigation Techniques (FMTs) to counteract an excessive attenuation that affect satellite communication systems operating above 10 GHz. The statistics of probable duration between two rain fade namely interfade duration enables system operator to estimate how long the system will need to recover before the next outage and assist in designing the FMTs. In this paper, interfade duration statistics have been derived from one year of slant path attenuation measurements data collected in Equatorial Johor Bahru at 12.2 GHz with elevation angle of 75.61o. The result had shown the dependency of number of events with attenuation thresholds. Empirical interfade duration statistics are also obtained and suitable model distribution are proposed.

The Understanding of Meaning and Cultural Significance of Leisure, Recreation and Sport in Malaysia towards Capitalizing Human Resources

This paper is concerned with examining the impact towards capitalizing human resource (i) the meaning of leisure, recreation and sport in the context of Malay language and (ii) the cultural significance of leisure, recreation and sport in Malaysia. There is no single word in Malay that could be translated as leisure and recreation. Most Malaysians understand leisure as “kegiatan masa lapang” (free time activity) or “waktu senggang” and recreation as” riadah” (active recreation) or “santai” (passive recreation). The direct translation for sport is “sukan”. The availability of the term” sukan” has helped sport to be more familiar among Malaysians than leisure and recreation. Leisure, recreation and sport in Malaysia are manifested in the patterns of the Malay language and culture. Culture is commonly used to describe a way of life. The symbols and rituals of some Malaysians indicate the strength of their adherence to certain behavioural norms related to good health and well-being. Attitude wise, Malaysians seem to enjoy „time after work‟, holidays and out of door activities during their leisure time. In Malaysia, sport persons are not as popular as a hero / role model as compared to a politician. Furthermore, Malaysians, being Eastern-oriented, are more inclined to incorporate their religious values into leisure, recreation and sport, although Islam allows one to proceed towards excellence in sport but the emphasis is on healthy bodies, family recreation and social harmony. Since sport is generally based on Western interpretations, many regulations such as dress codes, do not in accordance to Islamic principles, and this may make it difficult for some Malaysians, especially Muslim women, to participate

Ludological application in the gamification of tertiary level education / Mohamad Izwan Ismail...[et al.]

The education system is meant to prepare young minds for the workforce. Yet, despite the rapidly evolving industry, this system is still reminiscent of industrial-age values whereby students are trained to sit in line and follow instructions. On the contrary, the current industry requires candidates who are capable of critical thinking, creativity or flexibility, maintaining motivation, and being engaged with their work. The current conventional education approach lacks the necessary mechanics that drives the development of engagement in students. Through ludology, or game studies and gamification, it becomes possible to modify the current education approach and instill these values in students. Here, we aimed to develop a framework for applying ludological mechanics in the form of gamification to improve student participation and engagement in an education course. The core of the gamification system was developed using Microsoft Excel. The key student participation elements were first identified and segregated into three general categories; in-class participation, lab participation, and participation outside of the classroom. These were then broken down further for a more accurate record of each participation. A points-based reward system was then developed, dubbed “Extra Points” or “ExP” to act as a gamification currency. A shop mechanic was then designed to attribute value to the points. To avoid inflation, a balanced point-based economy was then developed, taking into account student behavior, perceived preferences, as well as feedback. The ExP system effectively assimilates the core values of well-balanced RPGs, encouraging students to willingly and actively participate and engage with the system. In this regard, the ludological approach successfully improves self-motivation in students while enumerating their participation, providing a clear indicator of each students perceived level of engagement during class

Harmonic Suppression Rectangular Patch Antenna with Circularly Polarized

The rectangular patch antenna with proximity coupling at 2.45 GHz is designed and printed on FR-4 substrate with dielectric constant 4.3 and loss tangent 0.019. The overall size of proposed antenna gives 36 % reduction of substrate area as compared to conventional designs. The symmetrical arm of inverted U-stub and U-slot embedded on the transmission feed line suppress harmonic signal effectively at second and third order with minimum reflection coefficients of –0.51 dB and -2.28 dB respectively while circularly polarization was obtained by corner truncated and U-slot on the patch element. The return loss is -23.95 dB at fundamental modes with gain 4.61 dB and axial ratio of 1.48 dB

English language learning motivation of sports exchange students

One of the benefits from students exchange program is to learn a foreign language. In the Faculty of Sports Science, UNNES, most students going abroad all-around Southeast Asia which English is the medium of instruction between countries. Thus, the exchange program were likely helped to motivate them to learn English. However, limited studies have discussed the English learning motivation of students who have been studying abroad. This study aims to explain the students’ motivation to learn English after being exposed to the exchange experience. The study explains their motivation in two domains: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It is descriptive quantitative research with a set of questionnaires as the primary source of data supported by interviews as the secondary data. The subjects of this study are 37 students from 4 majors; sports science (12), public health (11), physical education (7), and coaching education (7) which consisted of 20 females and 17 males, under the Faculty of Sports Science, UNNES who experienced the exchange programs between 2018-2019. The study found that personal belief on the importance of English to upgrade self-capacity, followed by practical practice of independent study to upgrade English performance, are the intrinsic motivational factors embraced by the exchange students. Furthermore, the exchange students’ view of the importance of English for their future career and the positive opinion from their environment on the people who can speak English have extrinsically motivated them to learn English. Future study needs to involve bigger participants by comparing those exchange and non-exchange students and examine the role of motivation toward the student's learning performance

Physical activity level among women: Promoting sports and exercises across demographic determinants / Marwa Abd Malek and Mawarni Mohamed

The top ten killer diseases in Malaysia are largely associated with inactivity. In relation to that, Malaysia has come out with policies on prevention, control and management of non-communicable diseases (NCD) into the social, economic and environmental systems through various stakeholders. Thus, this study examined the level of physical activity (PA) among women with regards to demographic profiles, namely marital status, occupation, academic qualification and BMI. A sample of 390 women in Selangor was randomly selected. This research employed a quantitative method using a set of questionnaire adapted from International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in order to obtain information from the respondents. Then, descriptive analysis was employed to obtain the frequency and percentage of PA level. ANOVA was also used to find out the difference in PA with regards to demographic profiles. This study revealed that women in Selangor were generally at low level of PA. In terms of marital status, single women were moderately participated in PA as compared to married and divorced women who participated in low PA. In terms of occupation, home maker, self-employed, white-collar and students participated moderately in PA. On the other hand, professionals and unemployed women participated in low PA. It was also found that school leavers and women with certificate participated at moderate level of PA, yet, women with degree and above as well as diploma were doing low PA. Women with extra body weight, normal body weight and less body weight were found to participate at high, moderate and low level of PA respectively. Besides, findings proved that academic qualification and BMI were highly associated with PA participation. However, marital status and occupation did not associate with PA participation

A Circularly Polarized Harmonic-Rejecting Antenna At 2.45 Ghz For Wireless Power Transfer

A novel compact proximity coupled microstrip antenna harmonic suppression with resonant at 2.45 GHz of rectenna application is presented in this paper using inexpensive FR4 substrate. An unbalanced slot has been fit on the radiating element to block the harmonic signals and achieve circularly polarized antenna. The evolution of the harmonic rejecting techniques began with a circular slot on the circular patch antenna followed by another circular slot positioned on the other side of radiating patch. Adequate suppressions of the second and third harmonics are obtained with minimum reflection coefficients up to greater than -3 dB respectively. The return loss of proposed design yields -29.16 dB at 2.45 GHz and offer high gain with 6.23 dB with bandwidth around 125 MHz. The proposed antenna also gives 24% size reduction compare with conventional circular patch. From the simulation result, the proposed antenna can be a good choice in the rectenna system for future wireless power transmission application

Current Development of Antenna Designs with Harmonic Suppression for Wireless Power Transfer

This paper presents the results of ongoing research in the area of the wireless power transfer application focusing on the receiving antenna. The invention of antenna harmonic suppression has been investigated to get high conversion efficiency at the output of rectenna by suppressing re-radiation of harmonics generated in diode of rectifying circuit.  Various techniques that incorporate with harmonic rejection with circularly polarization were reviewed to propose an optimum topology that suits in energy scavenging and most importantly, the new proposed structure must have high gain for overall system performance. The printed microstrip antenna is designed and analyzed using the CST Software. This antenna with harmonic suppression would be useful in microwave systems and can be integrated with rectenna system or wearable energy application where the systems give size reduction