The implementation of the internship as a coursework in teaching and learning vocational education

Internship is one of the common practices of higher education institutions in Malaysia for enhancing the learning experience and technical skills among their students. Students who follow the internship programme are found not only to be able to develop their professional attributes but also have the opportunity to acquire professional networks and career paths. Besides being a conventional approach that links students with real-world employment experience for a programme, internship can also be implemented for a specific course within a programme. The article discusses the implementation of an internship programme as a pedagogical approach in providing experiential learning for a specific course, i.e., Foundation and Concrete Work. This study involved 51 second-year students who were pursuing a degree in vocational education at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Analysis on the impact of the internship experience indicates that the internship programme is an effective pedagogical approach for experiential learning for foundation and concrete work course

Mechanical Properties of Medium Density Fibreboard Composites Material Using Recycled Rubber and Coconut Coir

Natural fibre reinforced composite has emerged as highly potential replacement for synthetic fibres. Various natural waste fibres have been adopted for various engineering applications. This paper investigates the mechanical properties of medium density fibreboard composites material fabricated using recycled rubber and coconut coir. The suitability of using recycled rubber and coconut coir as a raw material and polyurethane as a resin in the manufacturer of medium density fibreboard was also studied. The medium density fibreboards were fabricated at prescribed percentages of filler. The performance of composite was evaluated by its mechanical and physical properties. Experimental investigation indicated that the mechanical strength of medium density fibreboards such as modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity increased with increasing board hardness. Overall, the results showed that medium density fibreboard had been produced with acceptable properties, thus providing alternatives to manufacturing and agricultures economic planning

Customer Awareness and Behavior Intention Towards the Use of Halal Logo on Restaurants

The trend of eating out leads the food service industry to the needs of managing customers and making sure that all their needs and preferences can be fulfilled. The certification and recognition of establishment also becomes the in thing in hospitality industry, which includes the certification of halal, HACCP, and ISO. Establishment with certification is useful as a marketing strategy to attract more customers. This study discusses the level of customer awareness of towards the halal logo used in some restaurants which is carried out to give evidence to restaurant operators regarding the importance of attaching the genuine halal logo in their restaurant. From the findings, it is showed that customers are do aware of the use of halal logo on restaurants. It is also a factor in choosing a restaurant. It is concluded that halal logo is one of the main factors for customers in choosing restaurants which in return can be a main strategy to attract and retain more customers in the future, not only for the local customer but also to foreigners

P84 co-polyimide-based tubular carbon membrane: effect of pyrolysis temperature

In this study, the effect of carbonization temperature on the performance of carbon membrane was being investigated. P84 co-polyimide-based tubular carbon membrane were fabricated through the dip-coating technique. The prepared membranes were characterized by using the thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. CO2, N2, and CH4 pure gas were utilized in determination of the carbon membrane’s permeation attributes. In order to enhance the membrane’s performance, carbonization process was performed in Ar environment; with the flow rate of 200 ml/min. The carbonization process was done at various temperature, namely 600 oC, 700 oC, 800 oC and 900 oC in a constant heating rate of 3 oC/min. The increased in the temperature of carbonization leads to the production of small pores size carbon membrane. Carbon membrane prepared at 800 oC showed the highest CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivity of 63.2±5.2 and 61.3±1.7, respectively

The effect of computer software interaction on students cognitive abilities enhancement: the case of engineering educators’ perspective

In this digital age, the deployment of modern technology in the workplace to mitigate global challenges has become paramount. Therefore, the academic program, as accredited by the regulatory and accreditation bodies, is to ensure the production of quality industry-ready engineering graduates. These products are expected to be technology savvy and proficiently skilled in using computer software (CS) for productivity towards engineering activities. Unfortunately, there exists a gap in the quality of the graduates produced by tertiary engineering institutions in the developing world. This gap can be associated with the lack of computational thinking (CT) skills to meet the industry needs in this age of IR 4.0. Therefore, the paper reports the engineering educators' perceived contributions and gains achieved while employing computer software in the course of instruction towards the cognitive ability enhancement of the engineering students. It provides an in-depth exploratory inquiry into the deployment of CT and its impacts in engineering education while focusing on its integration at what level in the course of study. The research follows a phenomeno-graphic research approach explored the experiences of engineering educators from different engineering disciplines in the higher education institutions, namely chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering, to gain valuable insights. Data collected through a semi-structured, in-depth interview was coded using NVivo 12 CAQDAS and analysed for relevant themes. The findings indicate a significant potential benefit of enhanced cognitive abilities leading to the development of special knowledge, generic intellectual abilities, and personal attributes. In addition, the integration of CS should be the focus of instruction at the most appropriate level of study to allow for considerable exposure to CS to achieve the desired learning outcome. These findings have direct implications on the engineering educators and students, engineering faculties, and other stakeholders

Integrating sustainability in a student-centered learning environment for engineering education

The integration of Sustainability in engineering education is increasingly implemented in engineering programs worldwide. Initially, the integration is implemented to meet the accreditation requirements for local and international accreditation bodies. In this study however, it was rather impractical to introduce a stand-alone Sustainability course considering the university-wide approach of traditional teaching and the complexity of the engineering program. This study therefore applies student-centered learning as a medium to integrate Sustainability in the engineering curriculum. Six engineering courses were examined and empirical evidence from faculty interviews and program documents were presented. The findings were analyzed in a systems approach and presented in three factors: input, throughput and output factors. The final part of the paper concludes by presenting the reflections of the study. There are three key findings of this study: (i) the integration of Sustainability is not fully implemented in all engineering courses, (ii) student-centered learning environment offers a learning medium to integrate Sustainability without compensating the technical and engineering contents, and (iii) when implemented, the integration of Sustainability is mainly focus on one pillar i.e., environment pillar (a singular approach)

Study on Sound Absorption Properties of Coconut Coir Fibre Reinforced Composite with Added Recycled Rubber

Sound pollutions have become worsen and creating concerns for many peoples. Conventionally, expensive sound absorption materials are employed to control noise disturbances. However, recent developments on natural fibres have created interest for researchers especially for acoustics application purposes. This paper investigates the viability of coconut coir added with recycled rubber to be implemented as sound absorption panel. The composite is constructed at prescribed percentages of fillers and polyurethane as resin. The two-microphone method was applied to obtain the acoustic properties of the samples. The samples were also tested for physical properties such as density and porosity, as well as the microstructures. The results demonstrate good acoustics performances and highlight the potential of the coconut coir reinforced with recycled rubber as the sound absorption panel

Measuring changing of problem solving ability using Rasch measurement model

The main purpose of this study is to measure changes in students’ perception on their problem solving ability over time by using Rasch Measurement Model. Pre-experimental with one group pretest-posttest design was conducted to investigate how web-based learning system of design education, known as PROUD, affected students’ perceptions of their problem solving ability. Thirty second-year students pursuing their bachelor degree in technical and vocational education participated in the study. Respondents utilized PROUD for 14 weeks in the process of learning design. Problem Solving Inventory was used as a research instrument and appeared valid and reliable to measure the changes. A pretest was administered at the beginning of the course and a posttest after the learning completed. Changes in the students’ perceptions of their problem solving ability were gauged using the rack and stack analysis. A paired sample t-test was also included in the data analysis. The result of the pretest and posttest were −0.147±1.554 logits and −0.749±0.980 logits, respectively. These findings indicate that the perceptions of the students on their ability to solve problems have increased significantly after using the PROUD (paired sample t-test, p = 0.032). These have proven that the use of PROUD changes the students’ perception on their problem solving ability throughout the learning process of design

Competencies framework for elderly caregivers in Malaysia based on 21st century skills and green skills

Malaysia needs skilled workers to achieve the vision 2020. The Malaysian government has created more job opportunities that require highly-skilled workers. The demographics of population ageing in Malaysia demand the knowledgeable, skilled and dedicated elderly caregivers. However, the main hindrance remains the shortage of trained and competent elderly caregivers in Malaysia. The problem that this study addresses is that to date research has not presented a competency framework for 21st-century job skills and green job skills for healthcare workers in the aged care industry. Therefore, the study will investigate the constructs and sub-constructs of the 21st-century job skills and green skills competency framework for elderly caregivers in the care and community services. The reason is that these skills will be needed and demand for the future human resources. The Iceberg Model by Spencer and Spencer (1993), 21st-century job skills and green job skills will be guided and presented as a conceptual framework for which this study rests. This study employed an exploratory sequential mixed method design comprising both qualitative and quantitative