Kesan perpindahan ke atas kehidupan komuniti mundur: satu kajian kes di Kampung Kobuni, Inanam

Kajian ini merupakan satu kajian yang memnJau kesan dan implikasi perpindahan ke atas kehidupan penduduk komuniti mundur di kampung Kobuni , Inanam. Disamping itu, penyelidik juga telah menerokai kesan sekunder perpindahan terhadap komuniti kajian kumpulan lokal yang terdiri daripada peluang pekerjaan, pe~dapatan tetap, kemudhan asas yang menyeluruh sena tempat tinggal yang leblh selesa merupakan slmbol pencapa1an matlamat khusus perpindahan yang dilakukan oleh ibu bapa mereka. Penyelidik mendapati responden yang telah berpindah /berhijrah ke kampung Kobuni. Ini semata mata untuk meninggalkan kesusahan kehidupan di kampung asal dan mencari kenikmatan dan kesenangan kehidupan di tempat yang baru. Ketiadaan kemudahan asas juga menjadi salah satu sebab berlakunya perpindahan oleh responden. Penyelidik mendapati kesemua responden yang berpindah ke kampung Kobuni, Inanam menginginkan pencapaian kehidupan yang lebih bermakna bukan sahaja dalam membentuk sikap diri tetapi ingin membawa kesan perubahan yang positif dalam pembangunan komuniti. Disamping itu , kajian ini juga telah mendapati keselesaan dan kenikmatan kehidupan yang dinikmati oleh responden yang berpindah dari kampung asal ke kampung Kobuni, Inanam telah dapat merasai satu perubahan dan kepuasan terhadap diri ,keluarga dan komuniti mereka

Unrecorded alcohol and alcohol-related harm in rural Sabah, Malaysia: a socio-economically deprived region with expensive beer and cheap local spirits

To investigate recorded and unrecorded alcohol and the relation to alcohol-related harm in a region with high taxation, economic deprivation and cultural use of alcohol. Methods: Two participants per household were systematically sampled from 12 different villages chosen using stratified random sampling in the North of Sabah, Malaysia. Participants were asked about each type and amount of drink consumed; price paid, whether tax was paid, number of days sick in the last year and whether they had experienced various health problems. A brief screen for mental disorders (PHQ) and an alcohol disorder screening test (AUDIT) were completed. Village heads were also interviewed about alcohol-related problems at village level. Results: 470 people were interviewed. The most commonly drunk beverages were beer and Montoku (a local distilled beverage), which had average prices of RM3.85 and RM0.48 per standard drink respectively. Montoku was more likely to be drunk by problem drinkers. Only 3.1% of alcohol drunk was believed by respondents to be taxed. Men with an AUDIT score of more than 15 were more likely to have had a sick day in the last year and have a female household member with symptoms of mental disorder on PHQ. Conclusions: Change in the taxation structure needs to be considered to reduce alcohol-related harm. Most alcohol consumed in rural Sabah is smuggled or informal. The low price of local spirits is likely to be contributing to alcohol-related harm. Differential effects on minority populations need to be considered when designing alcohol policy

Design of a Highly Efficient Wideband Multi-Frequency Ambient RF Energy Harvester

For low input radio frequency (RF) power from −35 to 5 dBm, a novel quad-band RF energy harvester (RFEH) with an improved impedance matching network (IMN) is proposed to overcome the poor conversion efficiency and limited RF power range of the ambient environment. In this research, an RF spectral survey was performed in the semi-urban region of Malaysia, and using these results, a multi-frequency highly sensitive RF energy harvester was designed to harvest energy from available frequency bands within the 0.8 GHz to 2.6 GHz frequency range. Firstly, a new IMN is implemented to improve the rectifying circuit’s efficiency in ambient conditions. Secondly, a self-complementary log-periodic higher bandwidth antenna is proposed. Finally, the design and manufacture of the proposed RF harvester’s prototype are carried out and tested to realize its output in the desired frequency bands. For an accumulative −15 dBm input RF power that is uniformly universal across the four radio frequency bands, the harvester’s calculated dc rectification efficiency is about 35 percent and reaches 52 percent at −20 dBm. Measurement in an ambient RF setting shows that the proposed harvester is able to harvest dc energy at −20 dBm up to 0.678 V

Quad-Band Rectenna for Ambient Radio Frequency (RF) Energy Harvesting

RF power is broadly available in both urban and semi-urban areas and thus exhibits as a promising candidate for ambient energy scavenging sources. In this research, a high-efficiency quad-band rectenna is designed for ambient RF wireless energy scavenging over the frequency range from 0.8 to 2.5 GHz. Firstly, the detailed characteristics (i.e., available frequency bands and associated power density levels) of the ambient RF power are studied and analyzed. The data (i.e., RF survey results) are then applied to aid the design of a new quad-band RF harvester. A newly designed impedance matching network (IMN) with an additional L-network in a third-branch of dual-port rectifier circuit is familiarized to increase the performance and RF-to-DC conversion efficiency of the harvester with comparatively very low input RF power density levels. A dual-polarized multi-frequency bow-tie antenna is designed, which has a wide bandwidth (BW) and is miniature in size. The dual cross planer structure internal triangular shape and co-axial feeding are used to decrease the size and enhance the antenna performance. Consequently, the suggested RF harvester is designed to cover all available frequency bands, including part of most mobile phone and wireless local area network (WLAN) bands in Malaysia, while the optimum resistance value for maximum dc rectification efficiency (up to 48%) is from 1 to 10 kΩ. The measurement result in the ambient environment (i.e., both indoor and outdoor) depicts that the new harvester is able to harvest dc voltage of 124.3 and 191.0 mV, respectively, which can be used for low power sensors and wireless applications