A Profile Analysis of Potential Investors in Ireit Waqf Investment Products

The objective of this study is to provide a profile analysis of potential investors in iREIT as an instrument for waqf asset development. By adopting a survey questionnaire approach, a total of 365 respondents participated in the survey, which assessed information pertaining to the understanding of iREIT as an investment instrument, level of acceptance towards the idea of its introduction in the context of waqf, the medium of promotion and collection that they most prefer, the suitable price, and the unique features that they agreed to have in this hybrid iREIT. The results suggest that majority of the respondents are interested to participate as investors rather than donors, indicating that greater amount of funds can be tapped from the issuance of the iREITs waqf if these preferences of the investors are given priority. Findings of this study would assist in the formulation of an innovative investment structure based on iREIT waqf that is both practical and appealing to the widest pool of investors, and further contribute towards the development of the waqf sector.     Keywords: Waqf, iREITs, investment, profiling, Islamic financ

What sways people's judgment of sleep quality? A quantitative choice-making study with good and poor sleepers

Study objectives: We conceptualized sleep quality judgment as a decision-making process and examined the relative importance of 17 parameters of sleep quality using a choice-based conjoint analysis. Methods: One hundred participants (50 good sleepers; 50 poor sleepers) were asked to choose between 2 written scenarios to answer 1 of 2 questions: “Which describes a better (or worse) night of sleep?”. Each scenario described a self-reported experience of sleep, stringing together 17 possible determinants of sleep quality that occur at different times of the day (day before, pre-sleep, during sleep, upon waking, day after). Each participant answered 48 questions. Logistic regression models were fit to their choice data. Results: Eleven of the 17 sleep quality parameters had a significant impact on the participants’ choices. The top 3 determinants of sleep quality were: Total sleep time, feeling refreshed (upon waking), and mood (day after). Sleep quality judgments were most influenced by factors that occur during sleep, followed by feelings and activities upon waking and the day after. There was a significant interaction between wake after sleep onset and feeling refreshed (upon waking) and between feeling refreshed (upon waking) and question type (better or worse night of sleep). Type of sleeper (good vs poor sleepers) did not significantly influence the judgments. Conclusions: Sleep quality judgments appear to be determined by not only what happened during sleep, but also what happened after the sleep period. Interventions that improve mood and functioning during the day may inadvertently also improve people’s self-reported evaluation of sleep quality

Dynamic Mechanical and Gel Content Properties of Irradiated ENR/PVC Blends with TiO2 Nanofillers

Numerous studies reported on irradiated epoxidized natural rubber/polyvinyl chloride (ENR/PVC) blends and the blends were found miscible at all compositional range thus it offers a broad of opportunity in modifying the blend characteristic. Addition of low loading titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofillers in the ENR/PVC blends has shown a remarkable increment in tensile strength. Thus, this study was initiated to address the effect of TiO2 nanofillers on ENR/PVC blends dynamic mechanical and gel content properties and its morphology upon exposure to electron beam irradiation. ENR/PVC blends with addition of 0, 2 and 6 phr TiO2 nanofillers were first blended in a mixing chamber before being irradiated by an electron beam accelerator at different 0-200 kGy irradiation doses. The influence of TiO2 nanofillers on the irradiation crosslinking of ENR/PVC blends was study based on the dynamic mechanical analysis which was carried out in determining the glass transition temperature and the storage modulus behavior of ENR/PVC blends incorporated with TiO2 nanofillers. Formations of irradiation crosslinking in the blend were investigated by gel content measurement. While, the TiO2 nanofillers distribution were examined by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Upon irradiation, the ENR/PVC/6 phr TiO2 formed the highest value of gel fraction. For dynamic mechanical analysis, it was found that electron beam radiation increased the Tg of all the compositions. The relationship between the crosslinking and the stiffness of the nanocomposites also can be found in this study. The enhancement in the storage modulus and Tg at higher amount of TiO2 in the blend could be correlated to the enhancement of the irradiation-induced crosslinking in the nanocomposites characteristic and also with the higher agglomerations of TiO2 evidence shown from the TEM micrograph examination. Lastly, the dimensions of TiO2 in the blends were found less than 100 nm in diameter which indicates incorporation of TiO2 nanofillers in ENR/PVC blends is potentially to provide the nanocomposites features. Doi: 10.12777/ijse.6.1.24-30 [How to cite this article: Ramlee, N.A., Ratnam, C.T., Alias, N.H., Rahman, M.F.A.. 2014. Dynamic Mechanical and Gel Content Properties of Irradiated ENR/PVC blends with TiO2 Nanofillers. International Journal of Science and Engineering, 6(1),24-30. Doi: 10.12777/ijse.6.1.24-30

Miniaturize size of dual band branch-line coupler by implementing reduced series arm of coupler with stub loaded

An extremely reduced size branch-line coupler operating at dual frequencies of WLAN band 2.45 GHz and 5.8 GHz is presented which is 58% smaller compared to the conventional design. The technique presented introduces the combination method in which the length of series lines is half than the length of shunt branch lines and the loading of stub tapped to the center of the series branch line that forms the couplers arms. Furthermore, the coupler accurately divides the input signal by two parts with the same power and 90° phase difference. Also, the reflection coefficient and the isolation are as good as conventional one. The agreement of the measurement and simulated confirms the theory and validates the proposed coupler design. The measurement shows 33.83% and 9.22% bandwidth for the lower and upper frequency, respectively

Mathematical HOTS cultivation via online learning environment and 5E inquiry model: cognitive impact and the learning activities

An ideal education is the one that enhance cognitive ability. In Malaysia, educators are currently putting enormous effort to uplift higher order thinking skills (HOTS) among students at various educational levels. The advancement of technology enables educators to apply online learning environment to further catalyze the effort. Integration of correct pedagogy is essential, 5E inquiry model by Bybee was implemented to 5E online learning environment-a learning environment developed for this research. The purpose of this research is to enhance HOTS among the samples. Thus, the cognitive impact of the learning environment was studied. The current gap of the learning activities that improve HOTS was addressed by probing into the activities done by samples. Samples are thirty-three secondary school students and had treatment with the learning environment for 4 weeks. T-test conducted found that samples' HOTS statistically significant higher after treatment compared to prior to the treatment, t (32) =-20.95, p < 0.05 that indicates the treatment improve samples' HOTS. The learning activities that materialize HOTS improvement is engaging learning module and HOTS related video. This research proves that human HOTS ability can be nurtured by using technology enhanced learning environment with the appropriate pedagogical approach. Deeper fundamental research regarding the process of learning that nurture HOTS is highly recommended in the future-one of the authors is currently working on

Lightning measurement in Sarawak, Malaysia: first results

Malaysia is one of the country with highest lightning activities in the world. Regrettably, studies on lightning characteristics is still lacking especially in the Eastern part of Malaysia, which is Sabah and Sarawak. In this study, the characteristics of electric field radiation recorded during lightning measurement campaign in Sarawak had been analyzed. The field measurement was done using parallel plate antenna attached with electronic buffer circuit. The data was recorded using a PicoScope and monitored in computer. Nineteen samples of negative first return strokes were successfully recorded during this measurement. Their electric fields waveform parameters namely peak amplitude, zero crossing time, zero to peak and 10%-90% rise time were thoroughly analyzed. All those values are 8% to 166% larger in comparison to the data obtained from lightning measurement done in the Peninsular Malaysia. It is suggested that various topology and meteorology pattern are among factors that contribute to the discrepancies

A novel green antenna phase-shift system with data acquisition boards

A novel green phase shifter system is proposed in this research. The system is developed by a combination of reconfigurable beam steering antennas and data acquisition (DAQ) boards. A combination of two reconfigurable beam steering antennas, located side-by-side, forms a spatial configuration structure with a fabricated ‘green’ element plank of rice husk placed in between. The concept of a spatial configuration technique has been ‘mutated’ by shifting the structure of spiral feed line and aperture slots of first beam steering antenna by as much as 45 ◦ . The PIN diode switches connected to the DAQ boards enable the intelligent capability of the spatial antennas. The activation of certain degree radiation patterns of either the first beam steering antenna or the second beam steering antenna depends on the memory of the DAQ boards — Beam Manager. When an intruder comes from the cardinal angles of 0◦/ 360◦, 90◦, 180◦, or 270◦, its range and angles’ location will be automatically detected by the first antenna through the output ports of the 1st DAQ: P1.0, P1.1, P1.2, and P1.3. The second antenna is then activated by the output ports of the 2nd DAQ: P2.0 up to P2.3, to adaptively maneuver the beam towards four different ordinal directions of 45◦, 135◦, 225◦, and 315◦

Towards 3D smart campus via 3D city modelling

The smart city concept may aid in improving the city management, enhance the efficiency and thus increase the effectiveness of the city, where it is mainly focused on both information and technologies. This concept appears to be applicable for a smaller area such as university campus. Based on this idea, this research tries to implement the 3D smart campus for Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). This is an initial research towards a real implementation of 3D smart campus and conceivably 3D smart cities. This research focuses on the development of UTM smart campus by using 3D city modelling. The QGIS software was used to develop the 3D models. Then, the 3D model is viewed in a web browser for better 3D visualization and navigation. Furthermore, the results show that the 3D developed models for UTM smart campus can be a reliable platform to manage the spatial query and viewing the attributes of UTM campus buildings and facilities. This can be seen beneficial to the physical future development of the UTM campus area

A Compact Antenna Design for Fifth Generation Wireless Communication System

This paper proposes a compact antenna design for wireless communication system that can operate at dual band frequencies which are 24.25 GHz and 38 GHz. The antenna with an overall size of 6.3 mm X 6.0 mm is printed on RogersRT5880 type of substrate with a thickness of 0.787 mm. The simulated reflection coefficient result is < -10 dB for both frequencies which makes it suitable for 5G applications. The proposed antenna has a stable gain value of 7.23 dBi at 24.25 GHz and 3.69 dBi at 38 GHz. All the simulation result was performed by using CST Microwave Studio Software. The result shows the feasibility of this antenna to be applied for future 5G application. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017

Aspects Of Efficiency Enhancement In Reflectarrays With Analytical Investigation And Accurate Measurement

This paper presents a thorough review of the techniques involved in the enhancement of the efficiency performance of the reflectarray antenna. The effect of the selection of a suitable patch element or a proper feeding mechanism on efficiency improvement is studied in detail. Reflectarray loss quantification is examined in relation to the design techniques involved in the efficiency improvement. A low loss patch element with a wide reflection phase range and a properly illuminated reflectarray aperture are supposed to offer high efficiency performance. Additionally, the placement, the orientation and the position of a patch element on the reflectarray surface can also affect its efficiency performance. Mathematical equations were developed to estimate the efficiencies of circular and square aperture reflectarray antennas by considering their feed footprints. Moreover, a step by step practical method of predicting and measuring the total efficiency of a reflectarray antenna is presented. The two selected apertures of the reflectarray consisting of the square patch element configuration are fabricated and measured at a frequency of 26 GHz. Their measured efficiencies have been estimated using the derived equations, and the results were compared and validated using the efficiencies obtained by the conventional gain-directivity relation