Creativity in mathematics: Malaysian perspective

Becoming a world-class education system is one of Malaysia's aspirations that will allow the citizens to achieve their full potential besides contributing to country advancement. One of the goals of national education is to provide human resources for the needs and progress of the country. However, Malaysia is facing a phenomenon where despite its globalization in higher education, the percentage of unemployed graduates remains high. The requirement of creativity in problem-solving is not only highlighted as an essential ability in STEM education, but also one of the important skills in the industrial field. Graduates fail to meet the employer requirement due to lack of creative skills in problem-solving which leads to difficulties in getting a job. This paper attempts to discuss this deficiency from the creative perspective and highlight the reasons why it is important to study more on creativity among our students at all level especially in the field of mathematics. It is acknowledged in Malaysia's higher education blueprint where ‘improving the quality of graduates’ becomes one of its top five aspirations. Students’ performance in tertiary mathematics is reflected by what and how students learn in primary and secondary mathematics prior to the admittance into the university. They should have the creativity to apply, connect and synthesize all the knowledge and information that they attained from primary, secondary and tertiary level to the work field. Lack of creativity in mathematics could be one of the contributing factors for the struggle that the students encounter when faced with these transitions. Without enough resources and relevant articles on mathematical creativity research in Malaysia, this is a problem to tackle for the improvement of the future generation. The need arises for researchers and educators to start to assess and fully realize the level of mathematical creativity among the students in order for the next step on developing creativity for the future and increasing quality citizens for the sake of country’s growth and development

Microwave technique of measuring moisture content in the tuber of Dioscorea hispida using monopole sensor

This paper describes the application of a monopole sensor to determine the moisture content in the tuber of Dioscorea hispida, based on magnitude and phase of reflection coefficient and admittance measurement. This preliminary work is to study relationship between microwave and alkaloid dioscorine of the tuber of Dioscorea hispida. The most widely used standard technique, which is the standard oven drying method, is time consuming and only suitable for laboratory experiment. As an alternative, measurement of moisture content in the tuber of Dioscorea hispida using microwave techniques is proposed. The measurement setup consists of a monopole antenna and a FieldFox RF Analyzer N9912A. This system utilizes a monopole sensor to transmit the microwave signal in the tuber of Dioscorea hispida sample and display the magnitude and phase of the reflection coefficient on the FieldFox. The admittance, on the other hand, is derived from the reflection coefficient measurement. The relationship between the magnitude, phase shift, admittance and moisture contents were studied. The relationships were used to obtain an empirical formula which was used to predict the moisture content in the tuber of Dioscorea hispida

Monopole antenna technique for determining moisture content in the Dioscorea hispida tubers

This study demonstrates the determination of moisture content in D. hispida tuber using microwave technique. A network analyzer was used to measure the reflection coefficient of a monopole antenna inserted in D. hispida tuber at different percentage of moisture content. The actual moisture content of D. hispida tuber was determined using oven drying method. The reflection coefficient measurement was performed at operating frequency between 2 MHz and 4 GHz. The best operating frequency to model the relationship between the magnitude of reflection coefficient and moisture content in the D. hispida samples was found to be 0.8 GHz. The model based on measured data of sample D with a regression value of 0.9399 and1.71% error was the most accurate model to predict moisture content in D. hispida tuber

A microwave dipole technique for determination of moisture content of hevea rubber latex (Hevea brasiliensis Mull. Arg.)

This thesis describes a microwave reflection technique utilising a dipole sensor for determination of moisture content (MC) in hevea rubber latex (Hevea Brasiliensis). In this study the dipole sensor is used to predict the MC in hevea rubber latex by constructing a calibration equation and validating by comparing with standard method which is the over drying method. A simulation study was done using Finite Element Method (FEM) and was analyzed with measured data. The design and simulation of the dipole were carried out using Finite Element Method (FEM) in conjunction with a COMSOL Multiphysics version 3.5 software. The measurement setup for reflection measurement consists of a dipole sensor connected to a Professional Network Analyzer N5230A (PNA). All calibrations and measurements were done in the frequency range between 0.1 GHz and 4 GHz. The comparisons between measured and calculated results were carried out for unloaded sensor as well as the sensor loaded in water and hevea rubber latex sample. Complex permittivity values required as inputs to FEM modelling were obtained using an open ended coaxial probe. Relationships between dielectric constant (ε′), loss factor (ε˝), loss tangent (tan δ) percentages of MC were obtained from the study. Calibration equations relating MC to the ε′, ε˝, tan δ and magnitude of reflection coefficient (|Γ|) at various frequencies were analysed. The calibration equation based on (ε′) at 3.6 GHz was found to be the most accurate in the determination of MC with mean relative error 0.02 when compared to actual MC obtained from standard oven drying method. Calibration equations have also been obtained to predict the amount of MC from the measured |Γ|. The accuracy of the equations was determined by comparing the predicted and actual MC obtained using the calibration equation and oven drying method, respectively. The lowest mean relative error of the calibration equation for |Γ| was found to be 0.048 at 1.5 GHz. The calibration equation for reflection measurement at 1.5 GHz was established to be most accurate with mean relative error 0.048

Permittivity models for determination of moisture content in Hevea Rubber Latex

The commercial open-ended coaxial probe (Agilent 85070E) is the most commonly used sensor to determine the permittivity of wet materials. This paper extends the usability and applicability of the sensor to the estimation of moisture content in Hevea Rubber Latex. The dielectric constant and loss factor were measured using the commercial probe whilst the moisture contents were obtained using the standard oven drying method. Comparison results were obtained between the different dielectric models to predict moisture content in latex. Both the dielectric constant and the loss factor of rubber latex linearly increased with moisture content at all selected frequencies. Calibration equations were established to relate both the dielectric constant and the loss factor with moisture content. These equations were used to predict moisture content in Hevea latex from measured values of the dielectric constant and the loss factor. The lowest mean relative error between actual and predicted moisture contents was 0.02 at 1 GHz when using the Cole-Cole dielectric constant calibration equation

Determination of moisture content in the Dioscorea hispida tuber using microwave method

This study introduces an alternative method to determine percentage moisture content in a tuberous crop such as diosocorea hispida using microwave technique. Moisture content is an important parameter determining the quality of an agricultural product and their harvesting, transportation and storage processes. A microwave sensor was used in the study to penetrate deeper into the soft flesh of dioscorea hispida tuber sample. The reflection coefficient of the sensor was measured between 2 MHz and 4 GHz. The true percentage of moisture content of the sample was determined by the conventional oven drying method. The linear relationship between the conductance of the sensor and the true percentage of moisture content in the sample was determined. From the measured data, calibration equations relating conductance and percentage moisture content in the samples were established. The highest positive and negative correlations between conductance and percentage moisture content were found to be at 1.22 GHz and 3.94 GHz, respectively. The mean errors of the calibration equations at 1.22 GHz and 3.94 GHz are 10.80 and 6.95, respectively