INVESTIGATION OF MINI STEAM POWER PLANT PERFORMANCE AND EMISSIONS

Steam power plant had been commonly used as an alternative to produce electric power. Steam is the most common working fluid used in vapor power cycles because of its desirable characteristics, such as low cost, availability and high enthalpy of vaporization. Since new Mini Steam Power Plant had been installed in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) Power Generation Lab, the objective of this project is to carry out further research to investigate the performance and emissions characteristics of the plant. A test guide lines need to be prepared and tested properly before this steam power plant system could be used as part of the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Thermodynamics course. But due to problem occurred to the equipment, the objective of the project had changed to study the experiments that can be conducted using the equipment. The scope of study will be covered the literature review on boiler terminology and principles, boiler from termodynamics point of view and all the calculations involved in the experiments. The results obtained based from the study and research carry out through out the semester will be discussed in results and discussion section. The result will show the experiments calculations and review based from data available. Basically, there are 3 experiments taking under consideration that are steam flow measuring system, separating and throttling calorimeter and additional boiler instrumentation. Base from the results obtained, the conclusion had been made and the recommendations from the author are also included to end up this report

Smoking Behaviour Among Resident University Students In North India: Some Issues And Challenges

The use of tobacco as cigarettes has taken a form of epidemic. Unless it is not managed properly and in time it may become an uncontrollable behavior leading to long term health and social problem. This paper is based on a survey that was intended to explore the smoking habits of university students residing in hostels, their perception towards it, factors associated with it and their implications. The study was conducted using a questionnaire based survey among 200 students, who were in the habit of smoking, belonging to different classes and residing in the hostels of a residential central University of North India. It was found that smokers were mainly from urban background. More than a quarter of the smokers spent more than 600 rupees per month on smoking only. The most important reasons given by students for smoking behavior was peer pressure followed by tension. Most of them had started smoking between 14-17 years of age, followed by 17- 21 yrs. age group. The number of cigarettes used increased with seniority. Most of the surveyed students wanted to leave the habit but could not do so because of bad habit followed by tension. 51% faced health problems, the major ones being respiratory problems. The study suggests that most effective control of the habit can be achieved by targeting the students of adolescent age and minimizing the tension among them.   Keywords: Smoking, Adolescents, students’ behavior, central universit

Developing A Holistic Project Time Management Framework Utilizing Fundamental Supply Chain Management (SCM) Tools to Overcome Delay in Malaysian Public Sector Building Projects

Project delays have been an incessant dilemma worldwide and also for the Malaysian public sector projects. Past three Malaysia Plans (RMK8, RMK9, and RMK10) have experienced ridiculously high delay rates. Surprisingly, these poor delivery records have not led to much research on the topic locally especially those concerning past Malaysia Plans. Beyond that, despite “blame-games†being a common picture when delay occur, past studies has been short of detecting their latent contributors to make delay easier to manage. Condemnations targeted on the industry have encouraged “calls for change†and many proposed Supply Chain Management (SCM) as the way to go about. SCM has been proven to reduce delays nevertheless, level of applications are still very poor and past studies lacked holistic approach. This paper presents an on-going research aimed at developing a holistic project time management framework utilizing fundamental Supply Chain Management (SCM) tools to overcome delays in Malaysian public sector building projects. Data collections would include qualitative methods in form of expert opinion interviews and also a series of focus group sessions towards gathering vastly experienced industry practitioner to contribute towards the development of final research framework. The ultimate outcome is expected to provide a holistic guide on utilizing wide-range SCM tools towards mitigating various facets of delay contributors and with proven success from past SCM tool applications leads to a cautious optimism that it could benefit project time performances in Malaysia as a whole

Bolts connection technique of bamboo in construction work

The construction industry is increasingly developing and growing rapidly with more advanced technologies. The world timber demand is increasing at a rapid rate but the timber supply is however depleting. It has been found through research that bamboo can suitably replace timber and other materials in constructions. This study was conducted to investigate the structural strength of bamboo connections involving only spliced joint and compared with control samples strength of bamboo which were not connected. Bending test was conducted on four types of bamboo connection structures which werehalf-lapped splice joint using 3 bolts, half-lapped splice joint using 2 bolts, side plate splice joint, sleeves and insert joint and control sample bamboo. Every connection had six samples to determine the structural strength of the bamboo connection. From the tests conducted, the maximum load that can be borne by the bamboo structure and the bending ofthe bamboo structure will be obtained. Data were compared with the theoretical calculation based on the study of Janssen's. The connection structure that can bear maximum load was sleeves and inserts which was 5.997 kN. The control samples bamboo maximum load was 4.504 kN. Meanwhile, half-lapped splice joint using 3 bolts and 2 bolts were 4.789 kN and 4.04 kN. Structural connections that carriedthe lowest load was side plate splice joint which was only 2.659 kN.Compared with the bending moment of Janssen’s theory, all the connections did not exceed the maximum allowable bending moment. This showed that the study was in accordance with the standards approved by Janssen's theory. The study found that the structure of connections that can be used in the construction work was sleeves and inserts

The Mediating Role of Business Simulations on the Relationship between University Role Entrepreneurship Curriculum and Assessment of Teaching Approaches and Entrepreneurial Inclination

The primary purpose of the paper is provide an insight into present landscape of the role that universities are playing through entrepreneurship curriculum and business simulations in enhancing entrepreneurial inclination of the students through business simulations. The underlying theories of Experiential learning theory, Constructivist learning Theory and Blooms Taxonomy are described in relation with the objectives of the research. This study is conducted in the context of Malaysian Universities. The results of PLS-SEM illustrate that there is a significant positive mediating effect of business simulations on the relationship between entrepreneurship curriculum and contents, assessment of teaching approaches and entrepreneurial inclinations of students at Universiti Utara Malaysia. The present study aimed at providing an overview of the role that is assumed by the institutions of higher education whereas recommendations have been proposed for practitioners and researchers to cope with the challenges that higher education is facing currently. The future agenda of the research on similar lines has also been proposed

Analysing elephant habitat parameters using GIS, remote sensing and analytic hierarchy process in Peninsular Malaysia

Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing are geospatial technologies that have been used for many years in environmental studies, including gathering and analysing of information on the physical parameters of wildlife habitats and modelling of habitat assessments. The home range estimation provided in a GIS environment offers a viable method of quantifying habitat use and facilitating a better understanding of species and habitat relationships. This study used remote sensing, GIS and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) application tools as methods to assess the habitat parameters preference of Asian elephant. Satellite images and topographical maps were used for the environmental and topographical habitat parameter generation encompassing land use-land cover (LULC), Normalized Digital Vegetation Index (NDVI), water sources, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), slope and aspect. The kernel home range was determined using elephant distribution data from satellite tracking, which were then analysed using habitat parameters to investigate any possible relationship. Subsequently, the frequency of the utilization distribution of elephants was further analysed using spatial and geostatistical analyses. This was followed by the use of AHP for identifying habitat preference, selection of significant habitat parameters and classification of criterion. The habitats occupied by the elephants showed that the conservation of these animals would require good management practices within and outside of protected areas so as to ensure the level of suitability of the habitat, particularly in translocation areas

Collaborative Supply Chain Management (SCM) Tools for Improved Teamwork in Construction Projects

Fragmentation or the separated working environment has been a major hinderance to effective collaboration among construction industry players and these has been mainly blamed upon the wasteful conventional working practice. Supply Chain Management (SCM), which hold tightly on the notion of collaboration being among its most important enabler and has also proven to contribute to many important elements of an effective collaboration such as better trust, transparency, knowledge sharing, pain-gain sharing etc.; has therefore been promoted to overcome the problem via numerous Collaborative Tools it has to offer. This paper presents part of an on-going research aimed at using SCM Tools to overcome delay and definitely collaboration is an aspect that needs improvement. After conducting a comprehensive literature reviews on past proposal and applications, a number of SCM Collaborative Tools have been identified, elaborated and discussed in this paper; which is expected to serve as a guide towards adopting SCM into construction project practices and thus, achieve the benefits it has to offer. Some of them have been applied in major projects and experienced success hence, deserve more appreciation by the construction world

The importance of usability features in enhancing online communication satisfaction

Web 2.0 is providing more responsive, interactive and online platforms of participation and engagement within users in organizations. The growth of the Internet gives a significant contribution to the development of online systems. The acceptance and usage of online system in organizations depend on various key factors such as ease of use, interactivity and usability. This study evaluates the importance of usability of online information management systems (IMS) in the context of user attitudes to online communication satisfaction which drives usage. Based on a survey of 223 employees at four research universities in Malaysia, this study adapted the communication satisfaction and usability to examine the online satisfaction in using IMS. The results indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between usability and online communication satisfaction toward IMS usage. This study reveals the importance of usability in understanding the requirements in improving communication satisfaction, especially in developing online systems

Social media and agenda setting: implications on political agenda

Since the advent of the Internet, political information is now at the fingertips of every Malaysian, especially those living in the urban areas and having access to the Internet. One does not need to have the traditional media such as radio, television or Newspaper to understand what is happening in political set up in Malaysia these days. This is because the social media, especially Facebook and twitter have made access to information so easy to the larger population. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of social media as agenda setting mechanisms in the Malaysia political scenario. The study uses secondary data sources to obtain insight on the issue. It is evident from literature that the social media, especially the social media (eg. Facebook) play an important role in shaping public opinion on important political matters. The social media has been used by the public to express their concern and grievance on issues that concern their welfare which the traditional media may not dare to report or broadcast. Agenda setting needs to be relooked into as the public agenda is taking a central stage through the new/social media. Thus, it implies, the agenda setting model could be extended or remodeled to include the new/social media due to their influence on public agenda. Further implication of this is that politicians should keep abreast with the development in the social media so that they will understand current issues that are of great concern to the people and the society at large. We have to come to terms with the fact that we are now in the digital and globalised era, hence agenda setting needs to be relooked into as the public agenda is taking a central stage through the social media

New media usage and youth participation

The Internet is considered a huge development in human civilization. It is literally considered as a practical key or essential to human development and social advancement causing massive innovation in the world. Over the years, the advent of new media has permeated most aspects of our lives, especially that of the young generation. It is against this background that this paper aims to analyse the present use of the new media by youth to gauge their usage in relation to participation and nation building. This study is a country wide survey covering Peninsula and East Malaysia. For sampling purposes the country is divided into six zones. A survey research using questionnaire as instrument was used to obtain data. Prior to the actual survey, a pilot study was first conducted. Some 1182 respondents’ age between 18 and 25 were randomly sampled from the six zones and selection was based on ethnic ratio. The data was analysed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS 20.0. From the results, majority of the respondents, 89% are social media users having a social media account. A discouraging trend with regard to participation is the very low level of giving comments on general societal issues ranging from social issues, the environmental to politics. As it is now, the youth are more inclined to using the new media for entertainment and social networking. It is time to use the new media to engage with community leaders and politicians and comment on issues related to nation building