The effectiveness of teacher focused feedback (form or content) on the quality of the students' essays among the form two students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Intan Zaharah, Dungun, Terengganu Darul Iman / Ahmad Mohd Ali

Teachers have been spending much of their time dealing with the students and their writing capabilities especially essay writing. Among the approaches used by the teachers in managing the writing lessons are form-focused and content - focused feedback where the students are provided with the respective feedback, either on forms or contents. Twenty Form 2 students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Intan Zaharah, Dungun, Terengganu participated in the study. One of the English teachers of the school also participated in the study. Presently, he taught them writing compositions. In the study, the students were required to write four compositions. They were divided into four groups and given different types of feedback The different types of feedback were form feedback, content feedback, both form and content feedback and no feedback Their mean scores for their first and final compositions were calculated, analyzed and compared to find out the effect of their respective feedback. Among the findings of this study was that focused feedback have brought about improvement in students’ writings An interesting finding was that, the students’ writing performances improved regardless of any feedback given to them. However this study showed that the level of improvement did depend on a few factors including the types of feedback the syudents received. Therefore, this study was aimed at giving teachers guidelines on the types of feedback that they could apply when dealing with their students’ writing activities. Their skills and knowledge in providing the suitable response to students’ writing would enhance their students’ writing progress and their motivation to write better composition

Periodic pp-adic Gibbs measures of qq-states Potts model on Cayley tree: The chaos implies the vastness of pp-adic Gibbs measures

We study the set of $p$-adic Gibbs measures of the $q$-states Potts model on the Cayley tree of order three. We prove the vastness of the periodic $p$-adic Gibbs measures for such model by showing the chaotic behavior of the correspondence Potts--Bethe mapping over $\mathbb{Q}\_p$ for $p\equiv 1 \ (\rm{mod} \ 3)$. In fact, for$0 < |\theta-1|\_p < |q|\_p^2 < 1$, there exists a subsystem that isometrically conjugate to the full shift on three symbols. Meanwhile, for$0 < |q|\_p^2 \leq |\theta-1|\_p < |q|\_p < 1$, there exists a subsystem that isometrically conjugate to a subshift of finite type on$r$symbols where$r \geq 4$. However, these subshifts on$r$symbols are all topologically conjugate to the full shift on three symbols. The$p$-adic Gibbs measures of the same model for the cases$p=2,3$and the corresponding Potts--Bethe mapping are also discussed.Furthermore, for$0 < |\theta-1|\_p < |q|\_p < 1,$we remark that the Potts--Bethe mapping is not chaotic when$p=2,\ p=3$and$p\equiv 2 \ (\rm{mod} \ 3)$and we could not conclude the vastness of the periodic$p$-adic Gibbs measures. In a forthcoming paper with the same title, we will treat the case$0 < |q|\_p \leq |\theta-1|\_p < 1$for all$p$

Role of Zakat in Poverty Reduction in Kelantan, Malaysia

This study attempts to examine the effectiveness of monthly zakat distribution as a mechanism to poverty reduction in the state of Kelantan. The target population of this study is the fuqara and masakin categories of the Majlis Agama Islam Kelantan (MAIK) zakat recipients. Simple Random sampling procedure is applied to collect primary data related to zakat recipients from the poor and needy category of the ten districts of Kelantan. Poverty maps are derived based on the collected data. These facilitate an examination of the most affected area of poverty within the context of selected socio economic variables. The effects of zakat distribution on poverty are analyzed within the context of burden of poverty; specifically in terms of incidence, intensity and severity of poverty. These are examined using four major indices of poverty, which include the Headcount Index, Average Poverty Gap, Income Gap and Sen Index. The poverty incidence will be measured by using the headcount index that measures the ratio of people living below the poverty line compared to the total population. The Income Gap ratio and Poverty Gap Index will be used to measure the extent of poverty. These poverty measures give a more informative picture about how deep poverty is than the headcount index. It is obtained by multiplying the poverty headcount index by the ratio of the difference between the poverty line and the average income of the population living under the poverty line expressed as fraction of the poverty line. Finally, the Sen Index is used to measure the severity of poverty because it provides adequate information on the exact income distribution among the poor. Sen Index incorporates all the information on the number of poor, the extent of poverty short-fall per person and the income distribution among the poor as well. The analysis reveals that zakat distribution reduces poverty incidence, reduces the extent of poverty and lessens the severity of poverty. However, the current practice of zakat distribution in Kelantan only gives a small effect on increasing the income of the poor. Hence, by locating the perfect amount of zakat distribution to eliminate poverty and to offer alternative zakat distribution model is the best way in reducing the income inequality and maximization of social welfare. The best model of zakat distribution identified is based on had-kifayah. The above findings together with the identification of the group most affected by income inequality and poverty will pave the way towards policies for a more effective and efficient utilization of scarce zakat resources

Dyeing studies with henna and madder: A research on effect of tin (II) chloride mordant

The present paper deals with the application of natural dyes extracted from powdered henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaves and madder (Rubia cordifolia) roots on woolen yarn and assessment of effect of stannous chloride mordant on dyeability, color characteristics, fastness properties and antifungal activity of dyed woolen yarn. Sixteen shades have been developed for the characterization of their color characteristics and fastness properties. The color strength (K/S value) has been found to be very good in all dyed woolen yarn samples. The color fastness with respect to light exposure, washing and rubbing was quite satisfactory for both henna as well as madder dyed samples. Henna leaves extract was found very effective against Candida glabrata both in solution as well as after application on wool substrate but no antifungal activity is reported in case of madder both in solution as well as on wool substrate

Foreign direct investment in Malaysia: Trends and prospects

This paper reports on a study analyzing recent trends, pattern and prospects of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia in the post-1997 financial crisis period. Among the ASEAN-4 countries, Malaysia continues to remain as the main centre for attracting FDI.The macroeconomic variables such as GDP, exports and employment are found to be positively influenced by the growth of FDI in Malaysia. To enhance the positive effect of FDI on the growth process of the Malaysian economy the flow of FDI into export-oriented sector and use of domestic inputs by the foreign oriented firms need to be encouraged.It is suggested that for sustained flow of FDI, continual price stability, macroeconomic balances, good governance and economic liberalization reforms are crucially important in the country.In the event of declining inflows of FDI, Malaysia has to shiR towards inward looking policies and search other alternatives to sustain its growth and economic prosperity by seeking more investment oufflows as a global player

Determination of poverty among the poor and needy in a developing country / Ahmad Fahme Mohd Ali and Mohd Faisol Ibrahim.

This article attempts to analyse the determination of poverty among the poor and needy of the zakat recipients in Kelantan, Malaysia. The study is motivated from the Kelantan zakat collection (2003-2015) that suggests that the growth alone (high collection) is not enough to eliminate poverty, there are indeed, other elements of poverty eradication like the socio economic, demographic factors, remittances and the investments in social and economic factors like the food subsidy for the poorest, good quality education, opportunities for the most needy, regulation of job markets, and purposively designed social security nets also have significant impact on permanent reduction in poverty. In Kelantan, despite zakat centres having disbursed an increasing amount of expenditure annually on the two categories of zakat recipients, hitherto the number of fuqara (poor) and masakin (needy) households is still increasing (MAIK, 2014; JAWHAR, 2012). Thus, it is important to understand the nature and scale of poverty, the various driving forces that affect it and the determinants of poverty among the poor and needy as linked to this process. A sample of 505 households from 2016 Household Expenditure Survey (HES) among the poor and needy zakat recipients in Kelantan has been used in this study. The findings have important policy implications for Kelantan Zakat Department (MAIK) in making the zakat distribution becomes more efficient and uplift the important role of zakat as one of the poverty alleviation tools among the Muslims. This study recommends the method of zakat distribution should be improved and channelled accordingly in order to strengthen the Muslims economy condition and then, it would facilitate the poverty alleviation programmes by the zakat department

Mechanical properties and thermal behaviour of two-stage concrete containing palm oil fuel ash

Two-stage concrete (TSC) is a special type of concrete which is made by placing coarse aggregate in a formwork and injecting a grout either by pump or under the gravity force to fill the voids. Over the decades, the application of supplementary cementing materials in conventional concrete has become widespread, and this trend is expected to continue in TSC as well. Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is one of the ashes which has been recognized as a good pozzolanic material. This paper presents the experimental results on the performance behaviour of POFA in developing physical and mechanical properties of two-stage concrete. Four concrete mixes namely, TSC with 100% OPC as a control, and TSC with 10, 20 and 30% POFA were cast, and the temperature growth due to heat of hydration and heat transfer in the mixes was recorded. It has been found that POFA significantly reduced the temperature rise in two-stage aggregate concrete and delayed the transfer of heat to the mass of concrete. The compressive and tensile strengths, however, increased with the replacement of up to 20% POFA. The results obtained and the observation made in this study suggest that the substitution of OPC by POFA is beneficial, particularly for prepacked mass concrete where thermal cracking due to extreme heat rise is of great importance

The Enhancement of Micro Grinding Process by Using NdFeB to Seize Material Dust

By the substitution of ferrite to NdFeB materials, the process of seizing material dust in micro grinding process will be faster. Magnetic, chemical, corrosion, mechanical and magnetisation properties of the different materials are described and compared to enable the replacement. The concept design of magnetic steel attachment is to build a close steel attachment that can be adhered to pressure vessel so that the material dust will not be plunged out to the environment work. The sample of bonded NdFeB magnet is prepared by mixing die NdFeB powder with 5% of epoxy binder, NdFeB magnet also undergoes Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (X-RD) test for further analysis. The final test would be the micro grinding process is operated with NdFeB bonded magnet placed at the base of the steel attachment