Two new species of the genus Pomponia stål, 1866 (homoptera: cicadidae) from Peninsular Malaysia

Pomponia latiffi sp. nov. and Pomponia zaidii sp. nov., two new species of cicada from Peninsular Malaysia are described and illustrated

Attribution styles as correlates of technical drawing task-persistence and technical college students’ performance

Technical drawing is a means of communicating between the designer and the manufacturers to bring ideas into reality by means of drafting. This study investigated attribution styles as collates of students’ technical drawing task-persistence and academic performance using correlational research design. The population for this study consisted of 864 students of year II and the sample study comprised of 150 (93 males and 57 females) randomly selected from six technical colleges in Edo State, Nigeria. Three instruments, Academic Performance Attribution Style Questionnaire (APASQ), Technical Drawing Taskpersistent Rating Scale (TDTPRS); and Technical Drawing Performance Test (TDPT) were developed and used for data collection. Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to determine the reliability of the instruments and the results were obtained: SAASQ = .87; TDTPRS=.79; AND TDAT = .85. The findings of the study revealed that the technical drawing task-persistence of students was positively correlated by functional attribution style; and was negatively correlated by dysfunctional attribution style; functional attribution style positively correlated academic performance of students. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that technical drawing teachers should model and teach the students the right attribution style that will enhance their learning of technical drawing

Stick insect of Taman Negara Johor, Gunung Ledang according to the altitudes

Stick insects (Phasmida) are important herbivores in tropical ecosystem. To date, only few studies that had been conducted on phasmids diversity in Malaysia. We conducted a study on the diversity of phasmids in Gunung Ledang National Park, Johor, Malaysia. Our objective is to determine whether there is a variation in phasmids diversity at different elevation levels. Besides that, this study was aimed to provide an inventory of phasmids in Gunung Ledang for different altitudes. Samplings were denoted by four locations based on altitude i.e. Location L1 (altitude 1000 – 1200m), L2 (700 – 900m), L3 (200 – 350m) and L4 (100 – 120m). Samplings were done by active samplings for every location using torch light between 2000 to 2230 hours during a dark moon phase. This was based on twelve sampling occasions conducted from November 2012 until October 2013. A total of 765 individuals of phasmids comprising 46 species in 22 genera under 5 families (Phasmatidae, 4 spesies in 3 genera; Heteronemiidae, 35 spesies in 15 genera; Aschiphasmatidae, 4 spesies in 1 genus; Bacillidae, 2 spesies in 2 genera; Phyllidae, 1 spesies, 1 genus) has been recorded for Johore National Park, Mount Ledang. The Margalef’s Species Richness index (R’) based on altitude shows the highest at L4 (R’= 4.857) and lowest at L1 (R’ = 3.765). Analysis of Shannon Wiener Diversity Index (H’) following the altitude was highest in altitude L2 (H’ = 2.547) and L3 shows the lowest value (H’ = 1.6). The Evenness Index, E’ = 0.6072 was highest at L4 and lowest at L3 (E’ = 0.1981). Species Accumulation Curve was not reaching the asymptotes; hence, further samplings are needed in order to obtain better results to represent species richness of phasmids for these areas

Memahami Dimensi Spiritualitas dalam Praktek Pekerjaan Sosial

Spiritualitas adalah aspek penting dalam praktek pekerjaan sosial yang mengarah kepada intervensiyang bersifat psikososial. Spiritualitas dapat memberdayakan klien secara emosional melalui penemuankebermaknaan dan kepastian tujuan hidup. Spiritualitas dapat memberikan pemulihan terhadap korbankekerasan dan pelecehan seksual, juga berperan meningkatkan derajat kesehatan, berkontribusi terhadapkedamaian pikiran dan terbebas dari ketidakpastian akan tujuan hidup. Selain itu spiritualitas adalahcoping strategi pada beberapa pasangan dalam menghadapi masalah kehidupan perkawinan. Kajian inimerupakan kajian literatur yang bertujuan untuk memberikan sumbangan pemikiran terhadap pentingnyamenggali aspek-aspek spiritual klien. Dalam praktek pekerjaan sosial adalah penting untuk menjagasensitifitas dan menghargai keyakinan yang dianut oleh klien. Untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan danketerampilan dalam pemberian pelayanan adalah penting para pekerja sosial mendapatkan pelatihantertentu dalam menghadapi isu spiritualitas secara profesional

Flame retardancy and kinetic behavior of ammonium polyphosphate–treated unsaturated polyester/phenolic interpenetrating polymer network.

In this study, the flammability and kinetic behavior of flame retardant unsaturated polyester (UP)/phenolic resin were investigated. The flame retardant ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was used in this research to improve the flame resistance of a UP/phenolic resin interpenetrating polymer network (IPN). The flame resistance of UP improved from none to V-0 classification by adding phenolic resin and APP. Kinetic behavior study of UP, UP/phenolic, and APP-filled UP/phenolic IPN was carried out by the Borchardt and Daniels method. The results indicated that modification of flammable UP resin markedly improved the total heat release volume of UP and the flame retardancy of the IPN network structure was also enhanced

Formulation of refined, bleached and deodorised palm stearin with zinc dialkyl-dithiophosphate additive and its tribological performance

Vegetable oils have recently received worldwide attention for their use as a lubricant base stock that has numerous advantages, including their environmental friendliness. In this study, a refined, bleached and deodorised palm stearin was selected as the base lubricant, and its friction and wear performance were investigated with a pin-on-disk tribotester. The effect of zinc dialkyl-dithiophosphate (ZDDP) additive in concentrations of 1wt%, 3wt% and 5wt% on friction and wear performance were evaluated. Commercial semi-synthetic oil SAE 15W50 was used for comparison purposes. The experiments were conducted at a sliding speed of 1.5 m/s under a normal force of 9.81 N for 60 min. Results show that an increase in ZDDP concentrations improved both friction reduction and wear performance of the lubricant. The coefficient of friction (COF) of RBD palm stearin was reduced approximately at 71% when 5wt% of ZDDP was added and it shows that the friction reduction performance of PS+5wt% (COF=0.039) was comparable to SAE 15W50 (COF=0.035). While, wear coefficient of RBD palm stearin was reduced significantly from 2.08 × 10−3 to 8.89 × 10−5 when 5wt% ZDDP additive was added and it shows that the wear performance of PS+5wt% was better than that of SAE 15W50, 1.94 × 10−4. Further analysis of the wear worn surface with a high-resolution optical microscope was also conducted with a surface profilometer to examine the metallurgy of the pin surface and the roughness of the pin

A Conceptual Framework of Service Quality and Patient Loyalty in Muslim Friendly Healthcare

The purpose of this research is to investigate equalize of service quality in friendly Muslim hospitals and establish a conceptual framework that shows the relationship between service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty. This research is founded on a comprehensive study of current literature on quality of hospital care, patient satisfaction, and patient loyalty. Important reviews of these literature studies have resulted in the determination and interpretation of service quality dimensions and the development of a relationship between service quality, patient satisfaction and patient loyalty. This paper determined five main aspects through which patients service quality in Muslim friendly hospitals.Thesefiveareasaretangibles,empathy, assurance, reliability and responsiveness. The framework indicates a direct link between quality of care, patient satisfaction and patient loyalty. Although many studies have been carried out on thestandardofhospitalservices,neitherofthem would do project all the possible dimensions to calculate the same in a friendly hospital in Malaysia. The SERVQUAL Model adopted by this study determines all the potential dimensions of service quality in Muslim friendly healthcare