ASSOCIATION OF TREE COMMUNITIES WITH SOIL PROPERTIES IN A SEMI DECIDUOUS FOREST OF PERLIS, PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Plant community distribution is associated with environmental factors, particularly, the soil properties of habitats. This study was conducted to determine the effect of soil properties on the association of tree communities within three distinct habitats in a semi-deciduous forest in Perlis State Park (PSP), Perlis.  Eighteen plots of 40 m × 60 m (0.24 ha each) with sampling areas of 1.92 ha (8 plots) in Setul Formation, 0.96 ha (4 plots) in Granite and 1.44 ha (6 plots) in Kubang Pasu Formation (totalling 4.32 ha) were established at the PSP. All trees with 5.0 cm and above diameter at breast height (dbh) were enumerated, while the top soil samples were collected from each plot for soil analyses. A total of 412 tree species, 207 genera, and 68 families were recorded; 270 tree species from 152 genera and 57 families in the Setul forest; 204 tree species of 130 genera and 50 families in the Granite forest; and 109 tree species from 76 genera and 31 families in the Kubang Pasu forest. Euphorbiaceae was the most represented family at Setul, Granite and Kubang Pasu with 36, 19 and 12 species, respectively. Soil properties significantly varied among the study sites.  Setul had loam, Kubang Pasu had clay-loam, and Granite had the sandy-loam texture.  The soils were acidic, and had low to high concentrations of available nutrients. Ordinations using canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the soil factors play an important role in the distribution and diversity of plants in these forest habitats

A meta-analysis of the economic value of forest carbon stock

Global climate change has become a critical issue due to the global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions dominated by carbon dioxide (CO2). Forest ecosystems are becoming increasingly essential in mitigating climate change by absorbing the atmospheric CO2 and storing it in tree biomass, a process known as carbon sequestration. Decades of environmental valuation research show that forest carbon has a positive economic impact. Economic valuation of forest carbon provides mechanism for climate change mitigation policy instruments, compare rival forestry and environmental initiatives, and infuse public willingness to pay in forest conservation projects. It is also required for carbon trading, conservation, and management of the forests. However, carbon storage estimates in forest ecosystems throughout the world differ substantially. Thus, this study conducts a global meta-analysis to estimate the marginal economic value of forest carbon per hectare. A systematic review of scientific literature leads to the selection of 60 primary studies from 30 different countries published between 1990 to 2021. The meta-analysis identified wide variations in economic values of forest carbon across the globe. The outcome of the meta-analysis reveals that global economic value of forest carbon is USD2005 per hectare. This study provides an insight on the marginal economic value of global forest carbon which would be helpful to understand the necessity of avoiding deforestation and conserving more forested areas that ultimately helps to mitigate global climate change through emission reduction

Effect of cylinder deactivation strategies on engine performances using one-dimensional simulation technique

In order to meet consumer and legislation requirements, big investments on key technology strategies have been made to ensure fuel consumption is reduced. Recent technologies for gasoline engines are lean combustion technologies (including direct injection and homogenous charged compression ignition), optimizing intake and exhaust valve timing with valve lift and also cylinder deactivation system (CDA) have been practised to improve the engine efficiency. The purpose of this study is to investigate the engine behavior when running at different cylinder deactivation (CDA) strategies. One-dimensional engine model software called GT-Power is used to predict the engine performances. Five strategies were considered namely normal mode, spark plug off mode, cylinder deactivation mode, intake normal with exhaust off mode, and intake off with exhaust normal mode. Engine performance outputs of each strategy are predicted and compared at BMEP of 3 bars with engine speed of 2500 rpm. Also, the effect of CDA strategies on in-cylinder pressure and pumping loss are performed. The study shows that all of these cylinder deactivation strategies are capable of reducing the pumping loss (PMEP) and fuel consumption, thus increasing the thermal efficiency of the engine. The results suggest that the most beneficial strategy for activating CDA is for the case whereby both the intake and exhaust valves are kept closed. This CDA mode capable of increasing brake thermal efficiency up to 22% at entire engine speeds operation. This strategy successfully reduced the BSFC. It was found that most of these cylinder deactivation strategies improve the engine performance during part load engine condition

Fault tree analysis of fires on rooftops with photovoltaic systems

A fault tree analysis of fires related to photovoltaic (PV) systems was made with a focus of understanding the failure rate of the electric components. The failure rate of different components of these systems was calculated from data obtained from reports, research studies, and fire incident statistics of four countries. The results explain the significant causes of fire on the component level and various failure patterns resulting in PV-related fires. The qualitative analysis identified seven major events that led to incidents caused by a PV-related ignition source, with electrical arcing being the main cause of fires. This finding is highly related to the imprudent installation practices due to negligence and low awareness of the fire risk associated with PV systems by installers. The quantitative results show that 33% of the PV fire incidents are due to unknown or unrelated ignition sources, indicating that great focus should be given to mitigate the consequences caused by PV-related fires. The PV module, isolator, inverter, and connector are the major PV system components that are highly responsible for the ignition of PV-related fires, with the connector being the prime contributor in 17% of the PV-related fires. Finally, the quantitative analysis established an annual fire incident frequency of 0.0289 fires per MW. The results enable estimation of the number of fire incidents linked to the installed PV capacity, and the fault tree analyses highlight where improvements are most critical. Based on the results of the analyses, two questions are suggested for implementation in the post-incident reports of the national fire and rescue services

Phenology of Gonystylus bancanus in Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia

A study on the phenology of Gonystylus bancanus (ramin melawis) was conducted in Pekan Forest Reserve, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia, which covers areas of virgin and logged-over forests. Observations revealed that the flowering of G. bancanus was supra-annual. The smallest G. bancanus tree to flower was 29 cm in diameter at breast height (dbh) and was located in a logged-over site. Most trees that flowered had larger dbh of more than 40 cm and were found in logged-over and virgin forests. A total of 71-86 days was recorded for full development from the budding stage to mature fruit formation. The budding phase was quite long, extending for more than a month. However, it took only about two weeks for the flowers to become fruits. The flowers of G. bancanus were pollinated by thrips (Heterothripts sp.) and stingless bees (Trigona canifrons and T. laeviceps), while aphids (Aphis sp.), Prevost's squirrels (Callosciurus prevostii) and plantain squirrels (C. notatus) were identified as predators of G. bancanus flowers and fruits. Gonystylus bancanus seeds were mainly dispersed by gravity but the Malayan flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus) was also observed to disperse the fruits. Other fruit bats, namely, Cynopterus sphinx, Megaerops ecaudatus and Penthetor lucasi were also identified as potential seed dispersal agents of G. bancanus

THE EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE DETERMINANTS OF MOSLEM CONSUMERS TO PURCHASE HALAL PRODUCTS

Nowadays, the issue of Halal has been debated and argued by so many parties and Moslem consumers in Malaysia have to select acceptable food products which contain many ingredients in varying quantities, including trace amounts of haram or questionable ingredients. Halal starts from the very beginning of food preparation process until the product reaches the consumer. Thus, it must be prepared, processed, manufactured and storage using equipment untainted by anything unclean (S. Shafie and O. Mohamad, 2002). The primary objective of this study is to identify the determinants of Halal perceived by the Moslem consumer in Malaysia and measuring the consumer perception on the Malaysia Halal certification. This study presents primary data collected by self-administered statements involving 385 responses from the Moslem respondents within concentration in Klang Valley and East Coast region of Malaysia. The factors are analyzed using factor analysis with varimax rotation, to cluster the criteria into several variables to determine the dimensions of Moslem consumers’ perception towards Halal food produce. The result shows that religiosity commitment is a significant determinant for Moslem consumer to purchase Halal products in Malaysia. We also found encouraging result that shopping orientation is among important factor by Muslim consumers in their buying behavior towards Halal products

Stocking and species composition of second growth forests in Peninsular Malaysia.

Management of the production forests in Malaysia is currently undergoing a major change as the total extent of undisturbed forest being harvested is diminishing. Currently most of the harvesting operations are being conducted in second growth (rotation) forests and in the near future all production forest will solely consist of only logged forests. This is expected to result in a significant reduction of the supply of raw materials to the industry because second growth forest stands are generally poorer and not so well-stocked with quality timber species. According to the forest management systems applied to these forests, namely the Selective Management System (SMS) and the Malayan Uniform System (MUS), the residual forests should be able to recover in the specified rotation cycle and there should be sufficient quality crop for the second and subsequent harvests. To understand the situation, a study was carried to assess the stocking and species composition of second rotation forests in two production forests located in Tekam Forests Reserve, Pahang and Cherul Forest Reserve, Terengganu. The study results indicated that the second rotation forests are not as productive as predicted but still able to produce an economic harvest in terms of total timber yield within the specified rotation cycle. However, based on inventory projections of existing stocks, it was found that in general the forests have not fully recovered in terms of stocking of commercial species. Species composition has been altered favouring higher dominance of non-dipterocarp species. Some of the major factors that could have contributed to this phenomenon are slower recovery of the forest after the first cut, higher mortality due to logging damage, and implementation of cutting limit prescriptions that favour high removal of dipterocarps as they are dominant in the upper diameter classes. It must be noted that the second growth forest assessed were those that were more than 20 years old. Currently, forest management practices have improved significantly and thus the recent second growth forests are expected to be in a much better condition. The information generated from this project on the status of the stocking and species composition of second growth forest will be essential for improving planning and management of the resource with the aim of enhancing future productivity

Pengaruh motivasi dan kompetensi terhadap perubahan pengurusan data murid di Sabah

Kajian dijalankan bertujuan mengetahui pengaruh motivasi dan kompetensi guru terhadap perubahan pengurusan data murid di negeri Sabah. Tahap perubahan pengurusan data murid sebagai pemboleh ubah bersandar. Motivasi guru dan kompetensi pengetua merupakan pemboleh ubah tidak bersandar. Kajian ini dijalankan dengan menggunakan instrumen iaitu soal selidik. Populasi guru kelas di Sabah adalah seramai 6341 orang guru. Kajian yang dijalankan melibatkan 402 orang guru kelas yang terdiri daripada sekolah daripada zon utara, zon selatan, zon pantai barat, zon pantai timur dan zon tenggara di negeri Sabah. Data dianalisis menggunakan perisian Statistical Package for Science (SPSS) versi 21.0 untuk mendapatkan keputusan kajian yang tepat

Growth factors for construction companies in Malaysia

In General, most firms have multiple objectives to sustain and success in their business. For the short term, firms pay more attention to profit maximization. However for the long term, profit is no longer a prime objective because one of the objectives which may dominate the management of firm is growth. It is a change in assets, turnover, profits, number of employees and share price during the process of organizational change. Growth does not take place automatically, but must be planned strategically and implemented effectively by the organizations. The strategies for growth are vital for companies’ success. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to establish factors determining growth of construction companies in Malaysia. This paper starts of with reviewing past literature on growth of firm and attempt to establish a new area that need further investigation. Study focuses on the growth factors that responsible for the growth of construction companies in Malaysia

Effectiveness of travel time during evacuation in high-rise residential buildings: a case study in Selangor, Malaysia

Purpose: In recent years, the number of high-rise buildings in Malaysia has been increasing. Therefore, it is essential to take evacuation into consideration especially for emergency conditions such as fire, explosion and natural disasters. This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the escape time in typical Malaysian high-rise residential buildings. Design/methodology/approach: This work comprises simulation on three buildings around the Selangor area in Malaysia. Quantitative methodology is adopted using Pathfinder software to simulate the evacuation process and time of the three typical Malaysian high-rise residential buildings. Four parameters were studied namely, the occupant load density, walking speed of first and last occupants, average of evacuation time per floor for the three buildings and effect of placement of emergency staircase on travel time. Findings: Findings show that 12 m2 which is double the allowable occupants' density in Malaysia increases evacuation time by 67.9% while the placement of the emergency staircase on the left and middle section of a building significantly affects the evacuation time by 21.2%. In conclusion, from the simulation studies, it is recognized that a higher occupant's density affects the evacuation time. Originality/value: This work could provide information on escape time for future construction of high-rise buildings in Malaysia. Hence, the specification and design of buildings could be reviewed based on the results obtained from this simulation. This information could be beneficial to the building regulators and developers thus enhancing the knowledge of building constructor and possible issues in the design of staircases, corridors and height of buildings