Colour appearance descriptors for image browsing and retrieval

In this paper, we focus on the development of whole-scene colour appearance descriptors for classification to be used in browsing applications. The descriptors can classify a whole-scene image into various categories of semantically-based colour appearance. Colour appearance is an important feature and has been extensively used in image-analysis, retrieval and classification. By using pre-existing global CIELAB colour histograms, firstly, we try to develop metrics for wholescene colour appearance: “colour strength”, “high/low lightness” and “multicoloured”. Secondly we propose methods using these metrics either alone or combined to classify whole-scene images into five categories of appearance: strong, pastel, dark, pale and multicoloured. Experiments show positive results and that the global colour histogram is actually useful and can be used for whole-scene colour appearance classification. We have also conducted a small-scale human evaluation test on whole-scene colour appearance. The results show, with suitable threshold settings, the proposed methods can describe the whole-scene colour appearance of images close to human classification. The descriptors were tested on thousands of images from various scenes: paintings, natural scenes, objects, photographs and documents. The colour appearance classifications are being integrated into an image browsing system which allows them to also be used to refine browsing

Quantization Selection of Colour Histogram Bins to Categorize the Colour Appearance of Landscape Paintings for Image Retrieval

In the world of today, most images are digitized and kept in digital libraries for better organization and management. With the growth of information and communication technology, collection holders such as museums or cultural institutions have been increasingly interested in making their collections available anytime and anywhere for any Image Retrieval (IR) activities such as browsing and searching. In a colour image retrieval application, images retrieved by users are accomplished according to their specifications on what they want or acquire, which could be based upon so many concepts. We suggest an  approach to categorize the colour appearances of whole scene landscape painting images based on human colour perception. The colour features in the image are represented using a colour histogram. We then find  the suitable quantization bins that can be used to generate optimum colour histograms for all categories of colour appearances, which is selected based on theHarmonic Mean of the precision and recall,  also known as F-Score percentage higher saturated value. Colour appearance attributes in the CIELab colour model (L-Lightness, a and b are colour-opponent dimension) are used to generate colour appearance feature vectors namely the saturation metric, lightness metric and multicoloured metric. For the categorizations, we use the Nearest Neighbour (NN) method to detect the classes by using the predefined colour appearance descriptor measures and the pre-set thresholds.  The experimental results show that the quantization of CIELab colour model into 11 uniformly bins for each component had achieved the optimum result for all colour appearances categories

Inculcating leadership skills through Mahallah leadership training (McLEAD 2015)

The purpose of this paper is to explain the nature of the Mahallah Leadership Programme (McLead) as a means to inculcate the leadership values to the student leaders at International Islamic University, Malaysia. The analysis was done based on the progrmme which was conducted at Akademi Pembangunan Belia, Batu Gajah Perak on February 6 to 8, 2015. About 192 Mahallah representative committees from all Gombak Mahallat participated in the programme. However, only 162 participants gave their feedbacks for the programme. Several analyses were conducted based on their feedback to the programme. The results shows that there are three major reasons why the students are interested to be members of MRC; opportunity to conduct programme; ability to polish their leadership skills and lastly to develop their potential as leaders at higher levels. In another analysis the students also expressed their satisfactions with the conduct of the programme. Lastly the analysis also identified the major skills acquired by the students throughout the activities of the programme

The effect of governance code compliance on audit committee diversity and corporate voluntary disclosure: Evidence from dynamic panel approach

This study examines the impact of regulatory compliance on the relationship between the audit committee diversity and the extent of voluntary disclosure in the Nigerian listed firms. The study investigates 71 company from 10 sectors listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the period of 2011 – 2017. As we adopt a basic and causality research design, a quantitative approach through generalized method of moment (GMM) panel models was used to analyse the data collected from each company’s annual report and the stock exchange fact books. The result indicates that regulatory compliance has a positive and significant impact on the audit committee and voluntary disclosure. Furthermore, audit committee independence and financial expertise have a positive influence on voluntary disclosure due to the positive interaction effect of regulatory compliance. The main contribution is the introduction of corporate governance regulations as a moderator of this relationship besides using the system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) approach as a superior estimator. This study provides insights to policymakers and the business firms interested in improving the effectiveness of corporate governance within their countries

Exploring the Role of Universities in the Sustainability of Malaysian Bumiputera Technology-Based Firms

Previous studies suggest that academics and researchers working in universities and other institutions of higher education play an important role in ensuring the sustainability of technology entrepreneurship. The intent of this exploratory qualitative study is to extend our understanding of the roles of universities in assisting Malaysian Bumiputera technology-based firms (TBFs) to sustain their business. Based on an inductive qualitative approach, this study has uncovered three main roles of university academics in the sustainability of Bumiputera TBFs: 1) cultivating entrepreneurial cultures, 2) commercialising university research, and 3) strengthening university-industry linkages

Skills of future workforce: skills gap based on perspectives from academicians and industry players

Apart from having specific knowledge, graduates are expected to possess a set of soft and hard skills to be employed. This study aims to identify soft and hard skills relevant to the future workforce in the electrical and electronic (E&E) industry based on two perspectives; academicians from public higher education institution (HEI) and E&E industry players. Further, the study aims to investigate skills gaps between two stakeholders. A total of 50 academicians and 31 industry players in Malaysia were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using an independent t-test. In terms of soft skills, analytical thinking skills, communication skills, and discipline were more perceived by academicians, whereas decision-making skills, teamwork skills, and discipline were more favored by industry players. For hard skills, both players favored technology use, except for organizational capabilities which were perceived more by academicians while troubleshooting was favored more by industry players. This study contributes to the collaboration between public HEI and the E&E industry to address the skills gaps, which will benefit all stakeholders. This study focuses on the skills that are perceived more by both stakeholders

Physicochemical properties of tamarind and pineapple fruit pulps and powders

Tamarind and pineapple fruit pulps and powders were assessed based on their physicochemical properties such as crude protein, crude fibre, fat, ash, moisture content, water activity (Aw), particle shape, particle size distribution, and density. Both of the fruit powders were subjected to a similar spray-drying process with the addition of 10% w/v of maltodextrin. The nutritional value in terms of crude protein (0.33 - 0.60%), moisture content (4.80% - 25.31%), crude fiber (16.92 - 79.92%), and fat (0.40 - 0.63%) for both fruit pulp and powders shows a significant difference at p<0.05. Therefore the fruit powders can be developed and improved for further processing into tablets

The impact of landscape setting and architectural element on the outdoor and indoor microclimate: a case study of Masjid Al-Mukarramah, Bandar Sri Damansara

Being in the tropical region, Malaysia experience relatively high air temperature and humidity throughout the year. People are trying to avoid the sun. Improper landscape design could contribute further in the increasing outdoor air temperature. This would further affect the indoor microclimate. Nowadays people are turning to the mechanical solution when indoors. Hence, this paper aims to identify the impact of landscape setting and its microclimate, and the architectural dimension on the indoor microclimate of a mosque, by taking the Masjid Al-Mukarramah, Bandar Seri Damansara in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur as a case study. Variables of this study includes environmental data such as relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, wind direction, air temperature and surface temperature for the outdoor microclimate, air temperature and relative humidity for the indoor microclimate; landscape setting that involves ground surface material, vegetation, landscape furniture; as well as the orientation of the mosque. Therefore, this paper deals with the understanding of two components which are the architectural dimension and the landscape setting of the mosque that affects its indoor and outdoor environment. For the indoor, the focus is given to the main prayer hall of the mosque. The data were obtained through site inventories and analysis; and the environmental data collection using several equipment. The result shows that the air temperature differ between the west and east area of the indoor prayer hall following the orientation of the mosque

Green supply chain practices, environmental management accounting and performance of ISO 14001 certified organizations

Globalization and growth of sustainability development have forced organisations to act comprehensively and sensitively towards environmental issues. In recent years, studies on Green Supply Chain Practices (GSCPs) and Environmental Management Accouting (EMA) have shown significant impact on Environmental Performance (ENP) and Economic Performance (ECP). Nevertheless, to date, no single framework is established to examine the implementation of GSCPs and EMA on ISO certified organisations. Specifically, how GSCPs are influencing the improvement in ENP and ECP and how the EMA information is used by ISO 14001 certified manufacturing organisations to induce cost saving benefits from the effect of positive environmental actions are yet to be determined. Thus, this study is inspired with the aims to bridge these gaps, by proposing a quantitative method to empirically test the hypotheses. A survey questionnaire is employed for the main data collection, targeted to examine the relationships within the constructs. A sample population is drawn from Malaysian ISO 14001 certified manufacturing organisations. The targeted respondents are the Environmental Management Representatives (EMR) who are responsible for maintaining and updating organisational environmental initiatives. This study uses the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyse the relationship encapsulated among GSCPs, EMA, ENP and ECP. This study is expected to provide a set of useful references generated for operational managers, supply chain managers, accountants, EMRs and practitioners to pursuit for an integration of EMA into existing EMS and GSCPs adoption. This is to enable the facilitation for organisations to achieve environmental sustainable development

Tualang honey supplementation as cognitive enhancer in patients with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness with major clusters of symptoms, including positive symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive impairment. It is debilitating and common. It occurs in approximately 1% or nearly 21 millions of world population (WHO, 2018). Locally, the National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) at the Ministry of Health Malaysia reported an incidence rate of between 7.3 to 43.0 per 100 000 population (Malaysia, 2005). A weakening in at least one of the cognitive function domain occurred in 80% of schizophrenia patients (R. S. E. Keefe and Fenton, 2007) and cognitive impairment is a core feature. Cognitive impairment is both predictive for functional outcomes and a treatment target (Green et al., 2004)