Assessing Organisations' Readiness for Technological Changes in Construction Industry

Of late, the advancements in technology have witnessed a spike in the number of schemes aimed towards enhancing the deployment of technologies in construction-based entities, thereby increasing the demand for technological modifications. This paper intends to scrutinise the keenness of construction entities to identify technological changes within the construction sector. The goals of this research work are to ascertain the degree of willingness for technological alterations, the norms which construction entities should possess regarding the readiness for technological alterations, and the obstacles encountered by construction firms in terms of technological alterations. Ten semi-structured interviews were carried out comprising ten G7 contractors in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur regarding on the implementation and adopting the technological changes within their companies. Based on the observations, most construction firms in Malaysia are fairly prepared to encounter technological fluctuations. Furthermore, the research deliberates many norms which are essential to generate the technological readiness in construction firms along with the obstacles which could impact the organisational inclination for technological changes. This work intends to help construction companies evaluate their degree of readiness and organise themselves for better adoption of technological alterations in their businesses

Field evaluation of newly-developed controlled release fertilizer on rice production and nitrogen uptake

Implementation of sound fertilizer management in rice cultivation is essential in optimizing productivity and profitability. The use of controlled release fertilizer (CRF) to improve crop production in various cropping systems has been widely explored, with new approaches and materials continually being studied to produce new CRF. A field study was carried out to determine the efficiency of local CRFs on rice production and N uptake using MR220 CL1 rice variety. Ten different types of CRFs consisting of two groups namely biochar impregnated urea (BIU 300-5, BIU 300-10, BIU 700-5 and BIU 700-10) and palm stearin (PS) coated urea with nitrification inhibitors (PS, PS+DMPP-100, PS+DMPP-50, PS+DMPP-150, PS+Cu and PS+Zn) were used as treatments. Plant height, SPAD reading, 1000-grain weight and harvest index (HI) showed significant improvement in rice treated with both biochar impregnated and palm stearin coated urea. With respect to grain yield, BIU 300-10, BIU 700-5, BIU 700-10, PS+DMPP-100, PS+DMPP-50, PS+DMPP-150 and PS+Cu treatments significantly increased rice yield. The CRFs mostly showed significantly higher N uptake in rice, especially in rice grains, however, there was no significant difference among treatments in soil residual ammonium (NH4+-N). The newly-developed CRFs showed huge potential as an alternative for common urea, especially BIU 700-5, BIU 700-10, PS+DMPP-100 and PS+DMPP-50, in increasing rice grain yield. With proper approaches, these CRFs can contribute in improving rice production to provide sufficient food for ever increasing population

Marine Pollution at Northeast of Penang Island

Abstract: Oceans cover large area of earth surface and it is important for humans to protect from pollution. Malaysia has large marine areas which consist of islands, coastal and sea areas which are facing pollution problem due to the rapid urbanization and industrialization. This study investigated sources of marine pollution occurred at area near a reclamation project at the northeast of Penang Island. Three locations were chosen for water sampling which included Sg. Fetes, North Tanjung Tokong and Gurney Drive. Experiments were conducted to investigate the parameters namely Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), the presence of Coliform and E. coli, nitrate nitrogen, Total Phosphorus (TP) and turbidity. Visual observation during the site visit was also recorded. Laboratory results show that Gurney Drive is the most polluted location compared to other sampling points as it received flows from the existing island. The highest COD was 550 mg/L recorded at Gurney Drive followed by 290 mg/L at Sg. Fetes and 187 mg/L at North Tanjung Tokong. This study shows that the marine pollution was contributed from various sources with different impacts and resulted from the discharge from the existing mainland itself. Thus, pollution input should be controlled and mitigated for better water quality in the future

Preliminary studies of the possibility of using local cement in oil and gas wells cementing operations in Malaysia

Calcareous and argillaceous materials are the raw materials used in making ordinary portland cements and portland cement class G with their main chemical compound consists of Tricalcium silicate, Dicalcium silicate, tricalcium aluminate and tetracalcium aluminoferrite. Currently the class g cement used for the oil and gas wells cementing operations is imported from other countries. To overcome this matter, the suitability studies of locally produced cement were carried out according to American Petroleum Institute (API) Specification method. Some of the test being run include determination of cement composition, free water density, fluid-loss rate, comprehensive strength and slurry thickening time. Generally, locally produced cement comply to the API Specification 10

Pengkelasan tahap pengetahuan pelajar secara pembelajaran adaptif berteknologi hipermedia - satu pendekatan rangkaian neural

Hipermedia merupakan suatu sistem yang menghubungkan maklumat secara tidak linear. Sistem hipermedia terbentuk daripada nod dan pautan, dengan nod mewakili konsep atau idea yang boleh terdiri daripada teks, grafik, animasi, audio, video atau aturcara, manakala pautan pula berperanan sebagai penghubung antara nod. Sistem hipermedia dikenali juga sebagai sistem pembelajaran yang berpusat kepada pelajar. Ini adalah kerana sistem ini memberikan pelajar sepenuh pengawalan ke atas proses pembelajaran, iaitu pelajar bebas memandu penjelajahannya dalam mendapatkan bahan pengajaran. Sistem tutor berkepintaran pula merupakan suatu sistem pengajaran pintar yang cuba meniru kepintaran seorang guru atau pengajar yang menyampaikan bahan pengajaran dengan strategi pengajaran tertentu mengikut tahap pelajar yang berbeza. Terdapat pelbagai teknik dalam menentukan tahap pengetahuan bagi pelajar, dan di antaranya adalah dengan menggunakan kaedah kepintaran buatan. Oleh yang demikian, kertas kerja ini membincangkan teknik rangkaian neural dengan menggunakan rangkaian rambatan balik bagi mengklasifikasikan tahap pengetahuan pelajar berdasarkan kepada kriteria yang terpilih iaitu purata gred kumulatif, masa belajar, skor jawapan, kekerapan meminta bantuan, dan kekerapan ulangkaji. Data terhadap tahap pengetahuan pelajar dskala pada julat tertutup (0, 1), dan pencapaian pengkelasan oleh rangkaian neural dibandingkan dengan data asal

Conceptualized framework for edutainment

Conventional technique of design in computer games normally use programming as the ultimate task for developing computer games. In this framework, the development of edutainment for developing computer games for kids will be spearhead towards educators. The development of this conceptualized environment will lead the users to build an application towards a distributed resource available to a group of children. The aim of this paper is to develop an edutainment framework to be used as a tool for non-programming users especially educators for preschool children to develop digital games. Furthermore, it will identify the need for the used of diverse media elements and accommodating different skill levels in interface controls

Characterization of Nitrogen Uptake Pattern in Malaysian Rice MR219 at Different Growth Stages Using 15N Isotope

Nitrogen (N) use efficiency is usually less than 50%, and it remains a major problem in rice cultivation. Controlled release fertilizer (CRF) technology is one of the well-known efforts to overcome this problem. The efficiency of CRF, however, is very much dependent on the timing of nutrient release. This study was conducted to determine the precise time of N uptake by rice as a guideline to develop efficient CRF. Fertilizer N uptake by rice at different growth stages was investigated by using 15N isotopic technique. Rice was planted in pots, with 15N urea as N source at the rate of 120 kg/hm2. Potassium and phosphorus were applied at the same rate of 50 kg/hm2. Standard agronomic practices were employed throughout the growing periods. Rice plants were harvested every two weeks until maturation at the 14th week and analyzed for total N and 15N content. Nitrogen derived from fertilizer was calculated. Total N uptake in plants consistently increased until the 11th week. After that, it started to plateau and finally declined. Moreover, N utilization by rice plants peaked at 50%, which occurred during the 11th week after transplanting. N derived from fertilizer in rice plants were in the range of 18.7% to 40.0% in all plant tissues. The remaining N was derived from soil. Based on this study, N release from CRF should complete by the 11th week after planting to ensure the maximum fertilizer N uptake by rice plants. Efficient CRF should contribute to higher N derived from fertilizer which also resultedin a higher total N uptake by rice plants, increasing the potential of rice to produce higher yield while at the same time of reducing loss

SPATH : An adaptive web-based learning system

Nowadays, more and more learning applications are being developed in Malaysia. Unfortunately the focus has been on multimedia technology and standalone applications. Little has been done on providing applications for web based learning, especially systems that are able to cater to the needs of the learners. Often, students are made to undergo certain modules or topics even though they have already acquired the knowledge because the system has not been able to identify this. In addition, instead of the student, it is the system that controls the learning process and thus, more often than not, the learning environment is not able to provide the student with a meaningful way of acquiring knowledge. This paper aims to describe an adaptive web-based learning engine that will identify the student’s performance using information gathered by the student model. It will then provide the student with suitable learning materials, exercises and questions. This paper also discusses AI techniques used by the adaptive engine

Investigation of petrophysical properties for Yamamma carbonate formation

Given the knowledge of the rock type, porosity, Archie's parameters and water saturation can be determined by using different logging devices. For example, if a density logging tool is to be used, the rock matrix density must be known in order to determine the porosity. Likewise, using sonic log for porosity determination, the known parameter must be the matrix travel time and for neutron log, the parameter that must correspond to the rock type is the matrix setting for the neutron logging tool. Many equations have been developed over the years based on known physical principles or on empirically derived relationships, which are used to calculate porosity, resistivity, water saturation, and estimate the lithology. NS oilfield is one of giant oilfields in the Middle East, and the formation under study is the Yammama carbonate formation which is one of the deepest hydrocarbons bearing zone in NS oilfield. Neurology software (V 5, 2008) was used to digitize the scanned copies of the available logs. Environmental corrections had been made as per SLB charts 2005. Results show that theYammama formation consists mainly of limestone, some dolomite as well as the average formation water resistivity (Rw= 0.0179), average mud filtrate resistivity (Rmf= 0.091), and Archie's parameters (m=1.94, n= 2, and a=0.7). While the porosity, true resistivity, and water saturation values with depth of formation were calculated. This study provides the cross-plots, which can be used to determined lithology of this reservoir and investigated petrophysical properties that should use to estimate original oil in place and detected the perforation zone

SPAtH: Sistem pembelajaran adaptif berteknologi hipermedia di persekitaran world wide web

Walaupun system hypermedia didapati sesuai digunakan untuk tujuan pengajaran dan pembelajaran, ia mempunyai beberapa kelemahan yang boleh mengakibatkan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran menjadi kurang berkesan. Hipermedia adaptif merupakan suatu teknik yang berpotensi untuk mengatasi masalah yang dihadapi oleh sistem hipermedia. Sistem pembelajaran adaptif berteknologi hipermedia merupakan sistem hipermedia yang melaksanakan teknik kepintaran buatan yang membenarkan pelajar mengawal proses pembelajaran mereka dan dalam masa yang sama sistem memberi bimbingan serta bantuan dari segi penyesuaian dinamik mengikut tahap dan kemampuan pelajar. Kertas kerja ini memaklumkan mengenai penyelidikan yang sedang dibuat ke atas sistem pembelajaran adaptif berteknologi hipermedia yang dikenali sebagai SPAtH. SPAtH direkabentuk supaya bahan pengajaran, soalan dan latihan boleh disesuaikan mengikut pelajar secara dinamik dalam persekitaran WWW. Ia mempunyai model pelajar yang berperanan penting untuk menyimpan maklumat mengenai individu pelajar, dan model domain yang menyusun dan menstruktur bahan pengajaran, supaya enjin adaptif dapat bertindak menyesuaikan bahan pengajaran mengikut kategori pelajar. Kertas kerja ini akan memfokuskan kepada penggunaan teknik hipermedia adaptif dan teknik kepintaran buatan ketika proses pembelajarn dilakukan oleh pelajar