Effect of Atmosphere and Biomass Form on torrefaction

Torrefaction of palm oil empty fruit bunches (EFB), mesocarp fibre and kernel shell, wastes from the palm oil industry, was carried out in a fixed bed tubular reactor in the presence of oxygen at different concentrations from 0 to 15 % (nitrogen balance). The effects of torrefaction conditions, oxygen concentration (0, 3, 9 and 15 %), temperature (493, 523 and 573 K) and biomass size (0.375, 1.5, 3 and 6 mm), on the mass and energy yields were investigated. The mass yield decreased with an increase in temperature and oxygen concentration, but was not affected by biomass size. The energy yield decreased with an increase in oxygen concentration. It was found that oxidation was occurring along with torrefaction in this project. The ultimate analysis was also conducted

Economies of Scale in the Malaysian Insurance Industry

The insurance industry in Malaysia contributes only a small percentage to the Gross National Product (GNP). Hence in the past not much attention was paid to this industry. The recession years of the mid eighties have, however, forced the authorities to look at the industry rather closely. In fact, the government has made further intervention into the industry by placing it under the supervision of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Since the takeover, the BNM has been active in revising the present insurance Act and has been issuing a number of guidelines to assist insurance companies to operate in an efficient manner. From the statistics reported in, the Annual Report of the Director General of Insurance (DGI), there has been some improvements in both sectors. For example, the forfeiture and surrender rates for the life sector has decreased due to improvement in the insurers' services. In the general sector on the other hand, the commission and management expense rates for the high premium bracket insurers (> RM 45 million) were able to be reduced even though for the low premium bracket insurers « RM 20 million) it was still high. The thesis analysed the operation of the insurance industry by examining their cost of operation. This is done by estimating the industry's cost function as well as estimating the minimum efficient scale (MES). The estimation of the cost function made use of the statistical cost function approach. In the analysis of the life sector, the lapse ratio, new policies and the dummy variable for ownership (foreign or local) have been shown to affect the average cost. The life sector also experienced economies of scale but the number of companies which were able to reach that MES level was still small compared to insurers which experienced economies of scale but failed to have the minimum scale of cost. Estimation results for the general insurance industry showed that the industry did experience the economies of scale. However, the level of the minimum efficient scale was not able to be determined. Results showed that in general foreign companies were doing better than the locals. The overall results for both sectors implied that the size of the local companies beside the internal problems faced by the sector e.g. high costs for the general, was a constraint for achieving the efficient scale of production. The B NM should continue supervising and regulating the industry so that the companies in the industry can perform to expectations

Exploring the relationship between perceived transformational leadership styles & employee retention in a telecommunication company in Malaysia

This study investigates the relationship between perceived leadership styles and employee retention among employees in the telecommunication company in Malaysia. To achieve this objective, four determinant of transformational leadership style: individual consideration ,intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealized influence and seven determinants of employees retention : compensation, job characteristics, opportunities or training and development, supervisor support, career opportunities and work-life balance. A census strategy will be employed to collect information through the conducted survey since the target population is limited to 220 respondents (n=220) distributed within several branches in the telecommunication company. Their perceptive were translated into reports based only on transformational leadership styles. Based on the regression analysis, it is clearly seen that only one determinant; idealized influence that does not has significant relationship towards employees retention whereas all three other determinants; individual consideration, intellectual stimulation and inspirational motivation does has significant relationship with employees retentio

Pemahaman pelajar matrikulasi tentang logaritma

Logarithm is a difficult topic for most students. Lacking the appropriate skills to apply logarithmic rules, a weak understanding of concepts in Logarithm and the way students are taught could cause the students to face difficulty in understanding the subject. Consequently, students‟ competence to solve logarithmic questions and their mathematics performance at higher educational levels will be affected. This study was carried out to explore and identify the issues involved in the understanding of Logarithm among Matriculation students. This study had adopted the sequential explanatory research design. A total of 138 students in the first semester 2011/2012 session of the Two-Year Matriculation Program at a Matriculation College in northern Peninsular Malaysia participated in this study. In the first phase of the study, the Student‟s Understanding of Logarithm (ToSUL) test was used to determine these students‟ achievement in Module I, II, and III Logarithm. In phase two, interviews were carried out using the interview protocol which was developed by the researcher. ToSUL was scored using the marking scheme which was developed by a group of experts. Students‟ scores for every item were recorded on a Microsoft Excel worksheet and the overall percentage scores were sorted in ascending order. The students‟ achievements in the ToSUL were categorized as “pass” or “fail” in accordance with the achievement standards set by the Matriculation Division, Ministry of Education. A total of 117 (84.78%) students failed the test. Results of the Post Hoc Gabriel test showed a significance difference in the achievement in ToSUL between Module II and Module III students. Five students were unable to provide the definition for "logarithm‟. Attention was given more to the procedures to obtain the answers instead. The inclination towards procedural and instrumental understanding of Logarithm was more prevalent. Four types of errors made were in algebra, the generalization of logarithmic rules, understanding the concept of indices, and the failure to follow the instructions about the questions. The research participants attributed three factors for their problems in using logarithmic rules, namely the instructor, the students themselves, and the questions. The instrumental or procedural understanding of Logarithm and the mismatch between teaching and learning appeared to have consequences on students‟ competence to solve logarithmic questions. This study contributes to the research findings in mathematics education and the formation of policy related to the development of mathematics education curriculum for matriculation students

Evaluation of cake doughnut with sweet potato as ingredient

The purpose of this study was to develop a product (cake doughnut) utilizing sweet potato as an ingredient and to evaluate certain quality factors including chemical composition, physical and sensory attributes, and caloric content of the product. Three types of sweet potato were prepared: sweet potato flour, baked, and steam cooked sweet potato. Four levels of each type were substituted at 0, 7, 14 and 21% for equal amounts of wheat flour of the doughnut recipe. Consistency of the dough prepared with sweet potato was adjusted to that of the control dough (0% sweet potato). Reducing the amount of water permitted a change in consistency of the dough. Doughs of similar consistency for all treatments were used to prepare doughnuts for evaluation. Proximate composition of raw, cured sweet potato flesh and cooked doughnuts was determined. Generally, the amount of crude fat in the doughnuts increased as the level of steam cooked sweet potato was increased. Crude protein decreased as the level of sweet potato was increased due to lower crude protein content in sweet potato than in wheat flour. Other changes were due to the level of sweet potato. Highest caloric content was found in doughnuts with steam cooked potato. Doughnuts prepared from steam cooked sweet potato were softer and higher in volume than doughnuts prepared with sweet potato flour or baked sweet potato. Type and level of sweet potato had no effect on Hunter L values (lightness) for the crust. The crumb became darker as the level of baked and steam cooked sweet potato was increased. Steam cooked sweet potato produced the darkest crumb in doughnuts, while sweet potato flour produced the lightest crumb. The presence of sweet potato had little or no effect on degree of redness of the crust, but the crumb became more red as the level of sweet potato was increased. Small differences in degree of redness were determined for crust and crumb among types of sweet potato. Yellow coloration of crust was not affected by type or level of sweet potato. Yellowness of the crumb was affected by type and level of sweet potato. Doughnuts with steam cooked sweet potato were more yellow than doughnuts with baked sweet potatoes since baking destroys some of the carotenoid pigments. The doughnuts were evaluated by a sensory panel for 13 attributes: 6 for flavor, 4 for texture, and 3 for surface appearance and color. Type of sweet potato affected the sweet, bready, oily, spicy and sweet potato flavor while level of sweet potato affected all of the flavor attributes except salty and oily. As the level of sweet potato was increased, the doughnuts became sweeter. Increasing the level of the three types of sweet potato produced a progressively greater sweet potato flavor in doughnuts. Doughnuts with steam cooked sweet potato were more oily than the control doughnuts. Increased levels of baked sweet potato made the doughnuts sweeter; increased levels of sweet potato flour, more bready and spicy; increased levels of steam cooked, more oily; and increased levels of flour and baked, exhibit a greater sweet potato flavor. All textural attributes were affected by type and level of sweet potato. Elasticity decreased with increasing levels of baked sweet potato; tenderness decreased with increasing levels of steam cooked sweet potato; and adhesiveness increased with increased levels of sweet potato flour and baked sweet potato. Doughnuts with steam cooked potato were more elastic; with steam cooked sweet potato flavor, most tender; with sweet potato flour and baked sweet potato, more sticky; and with baked sweet potato, more gummy. The sweet potato in the doughnuts affected crumb color, and level of sweet potato affected surface appearance and crumb color. With increasing levels of all types of sweet potato, the yellowness of the crumb increased. Baked sweet potato produced doughnuts with darker crust and steam cooked sweet potato produced doughnuts with more yellow crumb. While doughnuts with sweet potato flour had many desirable attributes, the production cost may make the use of flour uneconomical. Baked or steam cooked sweet potato may be used to produce doughnuts of satisfactory quality. However, a blend of baked and steam cooked sweet potato may be used to take advantage of the higher sweet flavor of the baked and the higher volume development of the steam cooked sweet potato. Since doughnuts with baked sweet potato alone were relatively hard, use of steam cooked sweet potato would counteract this effect, producing a more desirably soft doughnut

Mixed research tools for thermal comfort studies of medium density mass housing

This paper describes the methodology used in the investigation of thermal comfort studies with the notion that energy efficient design adapted to double-storey terraced houses in Malaysia can increase thermal comfort and decrease energy consumption. The study requires a method of exploring the thermal performance of existing and hypothetical dwellings. Hence, the paper aims to determine that, if from the outset, houses are designed by taking into consideration energy efficient design strategies; in this case, orientation studies and the utilisation of passive design features, the result will be dwellings with lower internal temperatures and thus, lower energy consumption. Utilising three different methods of investigations: the questionnaire survey, temperature survey and computer simulation to corroborate findings from each, this paper describes the process undertaken. The triangulation of the mixed methods validated the findings to the problems identified in this study indicating increment of thermal comfort and reduction of energy consumption. Keywords: thermal comfort, terraced-houses, questionnaire survey, data monitoring, computer simulation

THE EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES ON YOUTH BEHAVIOR

The primary purpose is to identify the behavioral efects of youth playing violent video games on various devices. Research in violent video games is still being debated. Although past researchers have examined the positive and negative efects of violent video games, the results have yet to identify whether the efects of playing violent video games can cause a person’s behavior to change. Moreover, to determine whether exposure to spending a lot of time playing characters in video games caused them to be easily infuenced. In addition, this study also looked at the efects of exposure to video games able to infuence players in behavior. Past researchers were more focused on which gender spent more time playing violent video games. The efort of this study is to identify whether playing violent video games can have a behavioral efect on youth. Thus, the Media Dependency Theory was applied to achieve the objective of the study

Generating Avian Egg Using Rational Bezier Quadratic Curves

The main purpose of this research is to design an avian egg geometrically and to estimate the egg volume by using Computer Aided Geometric Design (CAGD) approach. Tujuan utama kajian ini adalah untuk merekabentuk telur dari spesies burung (avian) menggunakan pendekatan Rekabentuk Geometri Berbantukan Komputer (RGBK) dan menganggarkan isipadu telur menggunakan pendekatan yang sama

Lipase Mediated Hydrolysis Of Crude Palm Oil In Enzymatic Membrane Reactor And Recovery Of Carotenes And Tocopherol

Production of fatty acid and glycerol from oils are important especially in oleochemical industries. Nowadays, researchers prefer to use enzyme to conduct hydrolysis in order to reduce energy consumption and minimize thermal degradation of the products. The advantages of the enzyme hydrolysis technique include; the use of bio-route technology that only requires a mild temperature, simple operational procedure and low cost as well as energy consumption. The present investigation focuses on hydrolysis of triglyceride to produce free fatty acids and glycerol from crude palm oil (CPO) using Candida rugosa lipase in batch and enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR). At the same time, the recovery of carotenes and tocopherol was also studied. The optimization in hydrolysis of CPO for batch process was carried out using Design of Experiment that focuses on response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the hydrolysis reaction. The process variables which were taken into account include; enzyme loading, A (0.30 – 0.80 g), oil loading, B (0.15 – 0.35 g/ml), reaction temperature, C (40oC - 50oC) and pH of buffer solution D, (6.5-7.5). The optimum conditions found for the enzymatic hydrolysis of CPO under investigation are: 0.43 grams of enzyme, 0.15 g/ml of oil with temperature of 45oC and buffer solutions at pH 7.0. The yield predicted for fatty acids produced can reach up to 90.95% and the actual value was found to be 90.67% (5.59 x 10-5 mol hr-1 g-1 enzyme)

A review of the evolution of the Cocos Malays dwellings in Australia

This paper studies the unique anthropology of the Cocos Malays of Cocos (Keeling) Island in Australia. The focus of the study is on the evolution and transformation of their dwelling architecture and culture. Cocos Island is an isolated coral atoll located in the vast Indian Ocean and it became a home for the small community of Cocos Malays. Cocos Malays is a group of people from various ethnicities who were brought by a British merchant as slaves when he decided to inhabit and settle on the island in the 1820s. The slaves were a combination of people, mostly of Malay origin with the majority coming from Banjarmasin, Indonesia. These people later became assimilated into what is known today as the Cocos Malays. Starting by being slaves to the British and later as Australian subjects, this paper traces their history through the transformation of their dwelling culture until the present time. The dwellings, apart from serving the function of basic needs for the human being also acts as a place for them to experience their sense of belonging, culture and worth of a people displaced by circumstances beyond their control. Through archival research and present observations, the paper in progress elucidates the transformation of the architectural practices of the Cocos Malays’ dwelling culture