QUAL2E simulation of selected pollutant constituents for Semberong River, Batu Pahat, Johor

A comparison between actual data collected on site and laboratory analyzed against simulated results using mathematical model represented by Enhanced Stream Water Quality Model (QUAL2E) computer programme for selected pollutant constituents for part of Sungai Semberong is proposed. Four types of stream pollutant constituents will be analyzed to represent the consistency of the compared results, Conventional pollutant, conservative constituent, reactive consituent and general water characteristic. Various reaction coefficients constant and global parameter associated with the selected constituents will be analyzed to determine the most suitable value for adoption to local condition. Successful verification of the consitency and and realiability of the simulated results will pennit adoption of the mathematical model and the computer programme for subsequent analysis of the stream water quality parameters for Semberong River

Self-efficacy, locus of control and attitude among engineering students: appreciating the role of affects in learning efforts

Ignoring the contribution of the affective dimension of learning (such as attitudes) with an over emphasis on the cognitive aspect of learning are no longer adequate in providing sustainable engineering education. In this study, three psychological attributes related to the affective dimension of learning (locus of control, self-efficacy and attitude towards engineering studies) were investigated using a descriptive design method. The preliminary results involving a group of 60 diploma civil engineering students indicate that most students tend to have internal locus of control rather than external locus of control; above average level in self-efficacy and positive attitudes towards engineering with female students having stronger positive attitude compared to male students

Nypa Frutican Rachis as building envelope heat insulator

This research is conducted to investigate the possibility of cellulose in Nypa Frutican Rachis to achieve thermal comfort. As Malaysia was known as tropical country which has hot and humid climate, this research focus on to study the transfer of heat through Nypa Frutican Rachis as a roof. Since only Nypa leaves have been used as a roof and have been applied until now in East Malaysia, this project uses an innovation of Nypa palm by using its rachis that contain chemical material that have lower thermal conductivity value such as cellulose and lignin as a roof or building envelope heat insulator. This paper described the experimental study method by measuring the temperature of outer and inner surface of Nypa Frutican Rachis on small physical model study. The temperature was measured by using Digital Infrared Thermometer. The average outer and inner tempe rature for five consecutive days was obtained from the experiment is highlighted. Results show that the average of heat loss and heat transfer conduction for five consecutive days are 9.63 W/h and 9.86 W. This experiment shows a good result and proved that Nypa Frutican Rachis is suitable and effective to be a building envelope heat insulator

An affective-cognitive teaching and learning approach for enhanced behavioural engagements among engineering students

Promoting students’ engagement has been of great interest to engineering educators as it is associated with better teaching and learning effectiveness. However, students’ engagement is a multifaceted construct comprising the cognitive, affective, and behavioural aspect of engagements which makes it difficult to get a holistic measure of it. Thus, the behavioural engagement alone is often measured as it enables the researcher to investigate outcomes ‘in-action’ and evaluate the individuals’ ability at high-order thinking. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of an integrated affective-cognitive teaching and learning approach on behavioural engagements. The study utilized the quasi-experimental design method with pre- and post-test. The experimental group (n = 36) was taught a course on mechanics of material using the integrated approach while the control group (n = 34) was taught the same course using the conventional method. The results indicate that the integrated affective-cognitive learning approach promotes some types of positive behavioural engagement while suppressing other types of negative engagements. Thus, it was concluded that the integrated teaching and learning approach is effective in promoting positive behavioural engagements among engineering students

THE EFFECT OF AN INTEGRATED AFFECTIVE-COGNITIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING APPROACH ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, SELF-EFFICACY, LOCUS OF CONTROL AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS ENGINEERING

Engineers are responsible for the sustainable development of society and to be effective in their role they must possess holistic skills that encompass the skills of the affective and the cognitive domain. Therefore, engineering education must place equal emphasis on the needs of the affective domain in addition to the needs of the cognitive domain. However, existing engineering education practices do not pay adequate attention to the needs of the affective domain. Therefore, the study seeks to determine the effect of a teaching and learning approach that integrates the affective and the cognitive learning needs on academic achievement, locus of control, self-efficacy, and attitude towards engineering. A quasi-experimental design study with pre and post-test was conducted on 70 engineering students who were enrolled in the Diploma of engineering programme in the Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia with n=36 and n=34 for the experimental and control group respectively. The results indicate that the experimental group was better on the achievement test and attitude measure compared to the control group and the academic improvement was most noticeable among the low achievers. In conclusion these results indicate that an integrated affective-cognitive learning approach can be used to induce simultaneous improvements in learning of the cognitive and affective domain

An affective¬cognitive teaching and learning framework in engineering education

The affective aspect of learning (feeling, emotion, and attitude) tends to be relatively less appreciated in engineering education compared to the cognitive aspect of learning, although numerous studies support the importance of the affective dimension in facilitating the effective cognitive processes and the internalization of cognitive knowledge. Lack of appreciation of the affective dimension often results in undervaluing the students’ potential which leads to poorer realization of students’ achievement. One of the factors that may contribute to this phenomenon is the lack of a teaching and learning model for supporting the utilization of the affective dimension in the teaching for cognitive learning. Therefore, this paper proposes an affective‐cognitive framework based on the proposed study for teaching and learning in engineering education that integrates the affective aspects of learning into teaching and learning activities. The affective aspects namely, self‐efficacy, locus of control and attitude has been identified from existing knowledge on personality traits as being important in promoting learning. It is expected that the integrated approach can be used as a guideline by engineering educators in designing effective and sustainable instructional materials that would result in effective engineers for future development